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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/23/21

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Tuesday’s minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Travis Snider, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The former Blue Jay will now reunite with Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who was the GM in Toronto during part of Snider’s tenure there. Snider was a star prospect early in his Jays tenure but hasn’t lived up to the hype in the majors. The 33-year-old owns a .244/.311/.399 line with 54 home runs in 1,971 plate appearances, and he hasn’t appeared in the bigs since he split 2015 between Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
  • The Mariners announced that they have outrighted Robert Dugger to Triple-A. The team designated the right-hander for assignment last week, which came a little over two months after it claimed him off waivers from the Marlins in December. Dugger, 25, pitched to a 7.40 ERA with a similarly poor 4.2 K-BB percentage in 45 innings as a Marlin from 2019-20. He’ll remain with the M’s as depth for at least the time being.

Braves Sign Jake Lamb

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Feb. 23: The Braves announced their one-year deal with Lamb. While it is technically a Major League deal, it’s also a non-guaranteed deal, per the team. That means Lamb could yet be cut in Spring Training for only a portion of his salary. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports that salary to be $1MM.

Feb. 21: The Braves are in agreement on a contract with corner infielder Jake Lamb, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter link). It’s expected to be a major league pact, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical. Lamb is a client of CAA Sports.

Lamb once looked like a building block for the Diamondbacks, with whom he began his career. Between 2016-17, he hit .248/.345/.498 with 59 home runs, earning an All-Star berth in the latter season. Unfortunately, the left-handed slugger was plagued by a shoulder issue that eventually required surgery in 2018, knocking him off course. Over the past three seasons, Lamb has just a .205/.309/.351 line with 15 homers across 563 plate appearances. That led Arizona to release him last September.

To his credit, Lamb hooked on with the Athletics after being cut loose by the Diamondbacks and hit very well down the stretch. That production came over just thirteen games on the heels of two-plus seasons of subpar performance, though, so it seems unlikely he’s completely regained his footing at the plate.

The Braves needn’t get his return to peak form for this to make for a worthwhile addition, though. Lamb won’t see much action at first base, thanks to the presence of reigning NL MVP Freddie Freeman, but third base was a problem area last season. The combination of Austin Riley, Johan Camargo and the since-departed Adeiny Hechavarría struggled to varying degrees at the plate. Lamb isn’t a sure thing to produce himself, but he’ll bring a left-handed bat with some power to the mix, which could pair well with the right-handed hitting Riley. Non-roster invitees Jason Kipnis and Ehire Adrianza will try to work their way onto the roster during spring training, as well.

Quick Hits: Pujols, T. Rosenthal, Gardner, Hoskins

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Deirdre Pujols, wife of Angels first baseman Albert Pujols, suggested on Instagram on Monday that this will be the final season of the 41-year-old’s storied career. However, she quickly amended her post and made it clear that he won’t necessarily retire after 2021. Indeed, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report that Pujols hasn’t made a decision on his future beyond this year. But as someone who has struggled immensely over the past few seasons, it doesn’t seem likely that the future Hall of Famer will land another guaranteed contract even if he wants to play in 2022. Regardless, he’ll earn $30MM this season on the 10-year, $254MM deal he signed with the Angels entering the 2012 campaign.

  • The Brewers were among the teams that tried to sign reliever Trevor Rosenthal before he inked a one-year, $11MM guarantee with the Athletics, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The Braves were also known to be in the mix, and they made the right-hander a back-loaded offer for two years, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Trevor Rosenthal ultimately chose the A’s back-loaded proposal (they’ll pay him through 2023).
  • Outfielder Brett Gardner re-signed with the Yankees for a $5.15MM guarantee, but at least a few other teams considered prying him out of New York. The Braves, Angels and Blue Jays all showed interest in Gardner during his long stay in free agency, per Heyman. However, Gardner’s goal was to remain a member of the Yankees. A 2005 third-round pick who made his big league debut in 2008, Gardner is easily the Yankees’ longest-tenured player.
  • Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who underwent Tommy John surgery last October, said that he has been “medically cleared” for all spring training activities, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. It’s not certain whether Hoskins will be in the Phillies’ lineup on Opening Day – that will depend on how many reps he gets this spring – but it’s not “out of the picture,” he stated. After a somewhat disappointing 2019, the 27-year-old slugger enjoyed a major rebound last season, when he slashed .245/.384/.503 (140 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 185 plate appearances.

Braves Claim Phillip Ervin Off Waivers From Cubs

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The Braves announced that outfielder Phillip Ervin has been claimed off waivers from the Cubs.  Ervin was designated for assignment by Chicago yesterday.

Ervin joins his fourth organization in less than six months, after being designated for assignment by the Reds in August and then picked up on successive waiver claims by the Mariners and Cubs.  Ervin had previously spent his entire career with Cincinnati after the Reds selected him with the 27th overall pick of the 2013 draft.

The 28-year-old hit .262/.326/.438 over 571 plate appearances from 2017-19, with most of the damage coming against left-handed pitching.  Ervin’s production badly fell off last season, as hit hit only .149/.292/.189 over 89 PA with the Reds and Mariners.  This led Seattle to expose him to the DFA wire to create roster space for Keynan Middleton, and after Chicago made a claim, the Cubs DFA’ed Ervin themselves when Jake Marisnick was signed.

Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna will play every day in the Atlanta outfield, with Acuna’s ability to play either center or right field opening the door for a number of possibilities for the third slot.  Highly-touted youngster Cristian Pache might have the first crack at the center field job, while Ervin joins Ender Inciarte as a backup option who can play all three outfield positions.  Abraham Almonte and utilityman Johan Camargo are also in the mix for outfield at-bats.  Ervin is out of minor league options, so he may be facing another trip to DFA waivers if he doesn’t land a job on the Braves’ active roster.

Quick Hits: Braves, Rosenthal, Ohtani, Ray, Cherington

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The Braves had interest in Trevor Rosenthal before the reliever signed with the A’s, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman writes (Twitter link).  With Rosenthal now off the market, Atlanta is still looking for right-handed relief help, and Heyman wonders if the Braves could turn to a familiar face in Shane Greene.  Apart from some consideration from the Twins earlier this month, there hasn’t been much buzz about Greene this offseason, despite his 2.39 ERA over 90 1/3 innings since the start of the 2019 season.  Greene doesn’t have a big fastball and his peripherals haven’t been overly impressive, however, which could explain why he still available heading into his age-32 season.  Atlanta did recently add veteran righty Nate Jones to their bullpen mix on a minor league deal.

Some more notes from around baseball…

  • Most players make changes in the wake of a rough season, but Shohei Ohtani faced the increased challenge of overhauling himself as both a hitter and a pitcher after a 2020 campaign the Angels star called “pathetic.”  Ohtani’s offseason endeavors included a trip to Driveline Baseball, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports, and Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo told reporters that the pitcher/DH has adopted a new training regiment, a new diet, and made changes to his swing.  Ohtani’s training has been helped by the fact that he is now recovered from a flexor strain that limited him to 1 2/3 innings as a pitcher in 2020, which came after not pitching at all in 2019 due to Tommy John surgery.
  • Robbie Ray’s foray into the open market didn’t last long, as the southpaw re-signed with the Blue Jays shortly after the free agent period opened in early November.  This gave Ray more time to spend with Jays coaches on trying to correct his form following a mediocre 2020 season, Ray told reporters (including The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm).  Ray made changes to his arm slot prior to the 2020 season, which may have led to such disastrous results as a 6.62 ERA and 45 walks over just 51 2/3 innings with the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays.
  • The Pirates are still in the early stages of a rebuild, and GM Ben Cherington gave an outline of the team’s basic plan to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other reporters.  Modeled after how other clubs have undergone rebuilds, Cherington broke it down into three steps: talent accumulation, developing that talent, and then adding to that talent base through trades and free agency.  The general manager also made it clear that the Bucs are still in the first step, as “whatever improvement we’ve seen in our overall organizational talent — and I think we have seen some improvements in the last year — it’s not enough.  We’ve got to keep going.  We’ve got to be one of the stronger organizations just in terms of overall talent to give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/21/21

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The latest minor moves from around the game:

  • The Braves announced that outfielder Travis Demeritte has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. The move opens a 40-man roster spot, which figures to go to infielder Jake Lamb once his one-year deal is finalized. This is Demeritte’s second stint the Braves, as Atlanta traded Demeritte to the Tigers in 2019 but brought him back via waivers last week. The 26-year-old will remain in the Atlanta organization as non-roster depth. Over 219 plate appearances in Detroit the past two seasons, Demeritte hit just .217/.284/.323 with three home runs.
  • The Padres announced they have signed catcher Wynston Sawyer to a minor-league contract with an invitation to big league spring training. A former eighth-round pick of the Orioles, Sawyer has also spent time in the minors with the Dodgers and Twins. The 29-year-old hasn’t gotten any MLB action, but he did earn a spot on the Yankees’ 40-man roster at the end of last season. Sawyer has generally been productive in the high minors, compiling a .263/.328/.421 line in three seasons at Double-A and hitting .277/.370/.405 at the Triple-A level. San Diego currently has Austin Nola, Víctor Caratini and top prospect Luis Campusano on the 40-man roster at the position.

2021 Arbitration Hearing Results & Post-Deadline Agreements

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January 15 was the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to officially submit salary figures for the 2021, and by the time the day was done, only 13 players didn’t reach agreement on a contract.  The majority of teams now adhere to the “file or trial” strategy, meaning that no further negotiations on a one-year deal will take place between the arbitration deadline and a hearing with an arbiter, which theoretically puts pressure on players to get a deal done if they are wary about taking their case to a third party.

“File and trial” tactics didn’t stop the Astros and Carlos Correa from agreeing to a one-year deal for just the 2021 season, which is also Correa’s last year before gaining free agent eligibility.  We also saw three multi-year deals reached, all from the greater Los Angeles area — the Dodgers reached two-year deals with Walker Buehler and Austin Barnes, while the Angels inked a two-year pact with Shohei Ohtani.

This left nine unresolved cases that went all the way to a hearing (held over Zoom) between an arbiter, the player, his representative(s), and front office personnel arguing the team’s side.  The teams won five of the nine hearings, continuing the very narrow edge teams have held over players in arb cases in recent years — over the last 99 arbitration hearings, teams hold a 51-48 record over players.

For the full list of every salary for every arbitration-eligible player this offseason, check out the MLB Trade Rumors Arb Tracker.  Sticking to the 13 players with unresolved cases from January 15, here’s the rundown…

Avoided Arbitration, One-Year Contract

Avoided Arbitration, Multi-Year Contract

Arbitration Hearings, Won By Player

Arbitration Hearings, Won By Team

Braves Win Arbitration Case Against Dansby Swanson

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The Braves have won their arbitration case against shortstop Dansby Swanson, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Swanson will earn $6MM, not the $6.7MM he requested, according to Heyman.

The 2021 campaign will be the penultimate season of arbitration control for Swanson, whom the Braves acquired from the Diamondbacks in a December 2015 blockbuster. Swanson was the first overall pick in the draft during the previous summer, but he never played for the D-backs. Since debuting with Atlanta in 2016, Swanson has put together a .249/.321/.396 line with 50 home runs and 31 stolen bases in 2,038 plate appearances. The 27-year-old has been a mixed bag at short, where he has totaled 18 Defensive Runs Saved and recorded a minus-4.4 Ultimate Zone Rating.

Last season was likely the best yet for Swanson, who batted .274/.345/.464 with 10 homers and five steals in 264 PA. He complemented his above-average offensive performance with 10 DRS and a 0.2 UZR.

Braves Sign Jason Kipnis To Minors Contract

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Jason Kipnis has signed a deal with the Braves, as the veteran infielder announced himself via his Twitter feed.  The MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the contract is a minor league pact with an invitation to the Braves’ Spring Training camp.

After signing a minor league deal with the Cubs last season, Kipnis ended up getting regular work at second base, getting a bit more playing time than young platoon partner Nico Hoerner.  Albeit in the smaller sample size of only 135 plate appearances, Kipnis delivered his best offensive performance in four seasons, hitting .237/.341/.404 with three home runs, good for a slightly above-average 101 OPS+ and 103 wRC+.  On the down side, Kipnis didn’t make much hard contact and his strikeout rate ballooned to a career-high 30.4%.

Much of Kipnis’ production last season came against right-handed pitching, so he could move on from platooning with Hoerner to platooning with another promising youngster in Atlanta’s Austin Riley at third base.  The wrinkle is that third base would be a new position for Kipnis, who has never played the hot corner in the big leagues and last played third base for four games of Arizona Fall League action back in 2010.

Ozzie Albies naturally has second base locked down in Atlanta, but since Kipnis has experience playing center field with the Indians in 2019, the Braves could deploy him as a backup outfielder.  Rookie Cristian Pache (another right-handed bat) is slated for regular center field duty, and Kipnis could occasionally spell Pache against some right-handed starters.

A two-time All-Star back in his prime years in Cleveland, Kipnis began to decline as he entered his 30’s, hitting just .236/.305/.403 over 1485 PA from 2017-19.  Now entering his age-34 campaign, Kipnis will look to provide some experience and multi-positional versatility off the Braves’ bench.

Mike Soroka Wins Arbitration Case With Braves

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Right-hander Mike Soroka has won his arbitration case with the Braves, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link).  Soroka will receive $2.8MM for the 2021 season, as opposed to the $2.1MM that was offered by Atlanta.

Soroka pitched only 13 2/3 innings in 2020 before suffering a season-ending right Achilles tear, though his overall track record through his short career was enough to sway the arbiter in his favor.  The 28th overall pick of the 2015 draft, Soroka has a 2.86 ERA and 50.9% grounder rate over 214 innings in the majors, despite a fairly middling-to-below average strikeout rate (19.6K%), a solid but unspectacular 6.3 walk rate, and a fastball that has averaged only 92.5mph at the MLB level.

What the 23-year-old does have, however, is a four-pitch arsenal that he frequently mixes up, and “the strategic means to circumvent opponents” in the words of Fangraphs’ Michael Augustine.  Soroka doesn’t allow much hard contact and, especially in the homer-heavy modern game, he does a spectacular job of avoiding the long ball.  Since the start of the 2018 season, Soroka has the second-lowest HR/9 (0.63) of any pitcher in baseball with at least 210 innings pitched.

Soroka also earned enough service time over his first three MLB seasons to count as a Super Two player, and so this winter marks the first of four (rather than the usual three) arbitration-eligible seasons for the Canadian right-hander.  He just turned 23 last August, so he is on pace to hit free agency as a 27-year-old following the 2024 season.  Surely Atlanta had some interest in locking Soroka up to a long-term extension already, so the arbiter’s decision will only increase that desire to get a bit of extra cost certainty since Soroka’s price tag will keep going up over his three remaining arb years.  MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected Soroka for a salary of roughly $1.8-$1.9MM in 2021.

The Braves still have another arbitration hearing to go, as they are awaiting a decision on their case with Dansby Swanson.  Atlanta was looking to pay the shortstop $6MM in his second of three arbitration years, while Swanson countered with a $6.7MM figure.

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