Blue Jays Non-Tender Yangervis Solarte
The Blue Jays have non-tendered infielder Yangervis Solarte, per a club announcement. His $5.5MM option had already been declined, but Solarte still remained eligible for arbitration.
Given that Solarte projected to earn $5.9MM, this decision was inevitable. The 31-year-old will certainly draw looks as a reserve piece. He has certainly had his moments at the plate and is capable of playing second third base, as well as some shortstop if pressed. But Solarte is also coming off of the two least-productive seasons of his career as a hitter. In 2018, he slashed just .226/.277/.378.
D-Backs Non-Tender Boxberger, Miller, Owings
The Diamondbacks have non-tendered a trio of notable players, per a club announcement. Reliever Brad Boxberger, starter Shelby Miller, and infielder/outfielder Chris Owings will all be sent onto the open market.
This slate of departures will save some significant cash for an Arizona club that is in a bit of a transition. Boxberger and Miller each projected to earn a hefty $4.9MM, while Owings would have been due something in the vicinity of $3.6MM.
All three are among the most interesting players set loose tonight. The 30-year-old Boxberger has late-inning experience and has little trouble racking up strikeouts, though he also struggled with walks and dingers in 2018. Miller’s highs and lows are well-documented, but he’s still just 28 years of age. As for Owings, the 27-year-old has not quite fulfilled his initial promise but has mostly been a usefully versatile player. Unfortunately, his bat fell off a cliff last year, so he’ll be looking for a chance at redemption.
Brewers Non-Tender Jonathan Schoop, Xavier Cedeno, Dan Jennings
The Brewers announced this evening that they have non-tendered three players. Infielder Jonathan Schoop is the most notable name who’ll be sent onto the open market; he’ll be joined by veteran lefties Xavier Cedeno and Dan Jennings.
[RELATED: Projecting Payrolls: Milwaukee Brewers]
Schoop was picked up last summer with intentions of installing him as a key figure in the infield for the 2019 season as well. As GM David Stearns acknowledged today, though, that deal simply did not work out.
Ultimately, the Brewers felt they could put the projected $10.1MM Schoop would have earned through arbitration to better use through other investments. There are indeed loads of possibilities on the second base market. Schoop, meanwhile, will join a crowded group — but will stand out from may owing to his power ceiling and young age.
Otherwise, Stearns and co. were obviously uninterested in continuing to commit roster space to a pair of lefty specialists who did not project for much of a payroll hit ($1.6MM for Jennings; $1.5MM for Cedeno). It seems likely the Brewers will end up looking at other southpaws on the market this winter, as ace reliever Josh Hader is the lone lefty remaining in the pen.
Indians Discussing New Contract With Carlos Carrasco
As rumors fly regarding the possibility of the Indians dealing one of their outstanding starting pitchers, there’s an interesting new wrinkle. The club is discussing a new contract with Carlos Carrasco, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links).
Details aren’t known, but the Indians obviously see an opportunity to achieve yet more value with Carrasco, a player who has contributed plenty to the organization over the years. He previously inked a four-year, $22MM pact that included two options and has worked out quite favorably for the club. Carrasco has turned in 722 innings of 3.40 ERA ball since putting pen to paper, with advanced metrics suggesting he has been even better than the results alone would indicate.
That contract still has two years left to go; he’ll earn just $9.75MM in 2019, while the club also possesses a 2020 option priced at $9.5MM (with the potential to rise by up to $4MM based upon Cy Young Award-driven escalators). Given that Carrasco is already 31 years of age, he obviously is not working from the strongest position of leverage in talks. Given that he’s discussing another long-term deal with the club, though, it also seems fair to presume that he truly wishes to remain with the only organization he has pitched for at the MLB level.
As this news confirms, but was already evident, the Indians aren’t in a full-blown selling stance. The club still profiles as a massive favorite in the American League Central and is no doubt hard at work thinking of ways to challenge the other top dogs in the AL. Rather, the Indians are trying to pull off a series of moves that will not only leave them in excellent shape for 2019, but will enhance their long-term sustainability.
If a new deal comes together, Carrasco would obviously not be marketed this winter. That’d leave Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer as potentially massive trade chips for the Indians to cash in for younger, controllable position players at an area of need. It’s not hard to see the appeal behind that concept, particularly given the still-impressive pitching depth in the organization. But doubling down on the existing investment in Carrasco is another intriguing avenue for achieving long-term value.
Brewers Avoid Arbitration With Hernan Perez
The Brewers have settled on a 2019 salary with infielder Hernan Perez, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). He’ll earn $2.5MM, just a bit under the $2.7MM that MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz had projected.
More to come …
White Sox Non-Tender Avisail Garcia
The White Sox have decided not to tender a contract to outfielder Avisail Garcia, GM Rick Hahn told reporters including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin (via Twitter). He was projected by MLBTR & Matt Swartz to earn $8.0MM in arbitration.
Meanwhile, the Chicago club has reached agreement to avoid arbitration with Leury Garcia, Hahn added. He’ll earn $1.55MM, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter), which lands well shy of the $1.9MM that was projected.
More to come …
Phillies Have Reportedly Shown Interest In Jean Segura
As part of their talks with the Mariners regarding reliever Edwin Diaz, the Phillies have also shown interest in shortstop Jean Segura, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). While it seems Diaz is set to be sent elsewhere, there’s no reason that the clubs could not continue to discuss scenarios involving Segura.
The Phils entered the offseason with an obvious need at shortstop. While two oft-lauded prospects combined to see much of the action there in 2018, neither Scott Kingery nor J.P. Crawford has established himself as anything approaching a high-quality regular.
As the Mariners reposition their roster for the future, they seem to be moving rather swiftly down the line of major contracts and quality MLB assets. Segura comes with both, as he’s owed another $58MM through the 2022 campaign (including a buyout on a 2023 option) but has shown himself well worth that kind of coin. The 28-year-old has been a productive offensive player for each of the past three seasons and typically grades out as an average performer at short.
Speculation all along has been that the Phils were among the most sensible and likeliest suitors for Manny Machado. Interest in Segura doesn’t necessarily change that. The superstar free agent still surely remains under consideration in Philadelphia. Indeed, it’s not inconceivable that both players could be added, delivering a whole new left side of the infield.
Mets To Tender Travis d’Arnaud, Non-Tender Wilmer Flores
The Mets are slated to tender a contract to catcher Travis d’Arnaud, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). Things are headed in the opposite direction, however, for infielder Wilmer Flores, who’ll be cut loose.
It’s a bit of a surprise to see d’Arnaud receive a deal, as he has dealt with a bevy of injuries in recent seasons, most recently Tommy John surgery that wiped out most of his 2018 season. He’s projected by MLBTR & Matt Swartz to earn $3.7MM.
Flores, meanwhile, has been durable and dependable, but he’s a limited player. While he has been a solidly above-average hitter over the past three years, he also does most of his damage against left-handed pitching and has increasingly been limited to the corner infield. Obviously, the Mets felt his salary (projected at $4.7MM) was just too steep to warrant the ongoing commitment.
White Sox To Non-Tender Matt Davidson
The White Sox will non-tender infielder Matt Davidson, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Eligible for arbitration as a Super Two, the slugger was projected by MLBTR & Matt Swartz to earn $2.4MM.
Davidson, 28, made some positive strides with the White Sox last season, as he more than doubled his walk rate from 4.3 percent in 2017 to 10.5 percent in 2018. Davidson managed to cut back on the alarming 37.2 percent strikeout rate he posted in 2017 as well, though his 2018 rate of 33.3 percent was still far too high. Although the slugger’s overall offensive output improved from .220/.260/.452 to .228/.319/.419, his markedly improved on-base skills came with a noted downturn in his power production.
Defensively, Davidson played a respectable first base, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, but he saw limited action at his original position, third base, and was primarily a designated hitter when in the lineup. A player with such limited defensive value and questionable contact skills was apparently a tough sell in the White Sox’ front office, but Davidson could hold some value as a corner-infield bat off the bench elsewhere. He did post impressive platoon numbers, clobbering lefties at a .289/.382/.500 clip. That, however, was accompanied by a corresponding .206/.296/.391 slash against righties.
Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Tony Cingrani
The Dodgers have struck a deal with lefty Tony Cingrani to avoid arbitration, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). It’ll include a guaranteed, $2.65MM salary, per the report.
Standard arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed, so obviously something spurred the Dodgers to do so in this case. The salary does not fall far from the $2.7MM MLBTR projection, but his reps at the Bledsoe Agency may have been able to argue for more.
The 29-year-old Cingrani only managed to throw 22 2/3 MLB innings in 2018, and carried an unsightly 4.76 ERA. It sounds funny to say it, but he was otherwise quite impressive. Cingrani racked up 14.3 K/9 with just 2.4 BB/9 while drawing grounders on half of the balls put in play against him. And he drew swings and misses at a career-best 13.8% rate.