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Market Notes: Smith/Watson, Reds, White Sox, AGon

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Let’s catch up on a few market notes from around the game after a busy day on the arbitration front …

  • The Angels are evidently a team to watch on Giants southpaws Will Smith and Tony Watson, as Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports that the teams “have been in constant contact this winter” regarding both pitchers (subscription link). It’s not surprising to see the Halos chasing lefties, as their current staff is quite thin in that area. Whether or not the club will offer up enough to entice the Giants remains to be seen. The San Francisco org is surely willing to deal either or both of these veteran relievers, each of whom is coming off of a strong season with an appealing contract situation, but there figures to be ample interest from other teams as well. With many of the best free agent relievers already off the board, now may be the time for new Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi to market his southpaws in earnest.
  • The Reds are still looking to add another starter, per MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. He ticks through some possibilities, though it’s not clear that any particular pitcher is especially likely at this point. Among the potential targets, the Reds are still pursuing Yankees starter Sonny Gray, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). While the New York club made clear at the outset of the winter that Gray was on the block, recent indications are that there’s some consideration of hanging on to him. If nothing else, the Yanks are still trying to get value back. Heyman says that GM Brian Cashman is asking for more than one pitching prospect in return. While it’s doubtful he expects to land a premium arm, the veteran exec is said to be seeking “multiple … upper level guys with a chance.”
  • Likewise, the White Sox are still interested in filling out their rotation, GM Rick Hahn told reporters including Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com (Twitter link). While the veteran exec emphasized that the organization still sees Manny Banuelos and Dylan Covey as possibilities, he indicated that depth remains a consideration. Needless to say, neither of those pitchers has established himself as a reliable MLB starter to this point, so it’s unsurprising to hear that the South Siders are still flipping through some external targets.
  • Veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is readying for a showcase in the coming days, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports on Twitter. He’s said to be in “excellent shape,” though teams will surely remain a bit skeptical after two consecutive unproductive campaigns. The 36-year-old Gonzalez was long one of the game’s most respected hitters, of course, but it’s tough to imagine him securing a MLB roster spot on the open market at this stage. Still, there should be some teams with bench bat needs that would be glad to give Gonzalez a shot to show what he’s got left in camp.

Phillies Sign Andrew Romine, Gift Ngoepe

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The Phillies have inked infielders Andrew Romine and Gift Ngoepe, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Both are joining the organization on minor-league deals.

Romine, now 33, has appeared in every one of the past nine MLB seasons, though only once has he surpassed three hundred plate appearances in a given campaign. Through 1,323 total trips to the dish at the game’s highest level, he’s a .235/.291/.301 hitter.

Clearly, teams are more intrigued by Romine’s glovework than his bat. The same holds for Ngoepe, who is the first African-born player to play in the big leagues. Soon to turn 29, Ngoepe has yet to show that he can hit enough to command more than spot duty in the majors. In 902 career Triple-A plate appearances, he’s hitting .212/.297/.344.

Nationals Avoid Arbitration With Anthony Rendon

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The Nationals have avoided arbitration with star third baseman Anthony Rendon, the club announced. It’ll be a $18.8MM payday for Rendon, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link).

Rendon had been projected to earn $17.6MM in his final season of arb eligibility. Instead, he’ll top that mark by a decent bit, landing a healthy $6.5MM raise over his 2018 salary.

Of course, this may only be a prelude to a much larger contract. There have been indications all winter long that the sides are engaged in extension talks. Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported (subscription link) that Rendon is looking for a deal on the order of the $163.5MM pact the Astros agreed to with Jose Altuve last year.

Dodgers Acquire Russell Martin

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5:48pm: Los Angeles will take on $3.6MM of Martin’s salary, with the Jays paying the other $16.4MM of what’s still due, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

1:30pm: The Blue Jays have formally announced the trade. They’ll send Martin and cash to Los Angeles in exchange for minor league shortstop Ronny Brito and minor league right-hander Andrew Sopko.

1:12pm: The Dodgers have reached an agreement on a trade with the Blue Jays that will bring veteran catcher Russell Martin back to Los Angeles, reports Arash Madani of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Martin will earn $20MM in 2019 — the final season of a five-year, $82MM contract with the Jays. Presumably, Toronto is paying down a hefty portion of that remaining salary as part of the trade.

Russell Martin | David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The addition of Martin shouldn’t strictly take the Dodgers out of the running for Marlins star J.T. Realmuto, though there’s certainly less urgency for Los Angeles to meet Miami’s lofty asking price with this deal in place. Still, it’s not inconceivable that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman could make a strong offer for Realmuto even with Martin and Austin Barnes on the roster. Barnes has a minor league option remaining and is capable of playing the infield, and some reports have indicated that Miami would like a catcher with MLB experience as part of a Realmuto deal (in addition to multiple top prospects); Barnes could fit that description, speculatively speaking.

Soon to turn 36, Martin will bring a keen eye a the plate and strong defensive skills to the Dodgers, who of course originally drafted and developed the four-time All-Star. While last season’s .194/.338/.325 batting line obviously looks ugly, Martin walked at a nearly 16 percent clip, one of the highest rates in the league, and demonstrated that he still has a bit of pop — certainly enough to make him comparable to other catchers throughout the game. Martin hit 10 homers and recorded a .133 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average), the latter of which checked in only slightly south of the mark of a league-average catcher (.141 ISO).

Martin did hit the ball on the ground (51.2 percent) and pop up (19.4 percent of his fly-balls were pop-ups) at career-high rates in 2018, so the .234 average on balls in play he posted last season may not be as much of a fluke as it would seem at first glance. But, if he’s able to correct either of those issues in a return to Chavez Ravine, he’ll give the Dodgers a high-quality defender with excellent on-base skills. Martin’s caught-stealing numbers have dwindled recently (22 percent in 2018), but he remains a premium pitch framer and was among the best in baseball at blocking pitches in the dirt, per Baseball Prospectus’ metrics.

The trade of Martin to Los Angeles will open the door for Jays catching prospect Danny Jansen to audition as a long-term piece behind the dish. The 23-year-old Jansen has long rated as one of the organization’s better prospects and enjoyed a solid late-2018 debut with a .247/.347/.432 slash and three homers in 95 plate appearances. Jansen will team with 27-year-old Luke Maile, a strong defensive backstop who had a career-best .248/.333/.366 batting line in 231 plate appearances last season.

Brito, 20 in March, signed with the Dodgers for a $2MM bonus as a 16-year-old amateur and has yet to ascend beyond Rookie ball. He split the 2018 season between the Dominican Summer League (eight games) and the Pioneer League (53 games), posting a combined .295/.359/.496 batting line with 11 homers and 14 doubles in 262 plate appearances. He’s quite a ways from big league relevance, but he did enjoy solid production against older competition in the Pioneer League this past season.

Sopko is a 24-year-old righty whom the Dodgers selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. He opened the 2018 season at Class-A Advanced and ascended to Double-A midway through the season. Between those two levels, Sopko notched a 3.52 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9. As a fly-ball righty with a low-90s heater who relies on control, his realistic ceiling is more along the lines of a back-end starter, but his success in Double-A means he shouldn’t be too far from getting a look at the big league level.

White Sox Avoid Arbitration With Jose Abreu

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The White Sox have hammered out a deal to avoid arbitration with veteran first baseman Jose Abreu, per Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com (via Twitter). Abreu will earn $16MM in his final season of arb eligibility.

That figure is a dead-on match for the $16MM that MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz projected entering the offseason. It’s a redemptive day for the arb model, which had struggled to deal with a player who originally signed a large, guaranteed contract but opted out of it upon reaching his third year of service time.

Abreu, 31, wasn’t as productive last year as he had been in the past. Still, he was a well-above-average hitter, as he has been in his five seasons in the majors. All told, Abreu carries a .295/.353/.516 batting line with 146 home runs.

Indians Claim A.J. Cole

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The Indians have claimed righty A.J. Cole off waivers from the Yankees, per club announcements. Brandon Warne of Zone Coverage first tweeted the news.

Cole, who recently turned 27, had failed to catch on with the Nationals before landing with the Yanks last year. He carved out a role in the New York bullpen, where he worked to a 4.26 ERA in 38 innings over 28 appearances. The out-of-options hurler could function as a long man for a Cleveland org that is looking for ways to improve on the cheap.

There were certainly some positives last year, as Cole worked off of a mid-nineties fastball and logged 11.6 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 with the Yankees. He continued to struggle with the long ball, though, and has allowed nearly two per nine innings during his 148 career innings in the majors.

Indians Avoid Arbitration With Francisco Lindor

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The Indians have agreed to a 2019 salary with star shortstop Francisco Lindor, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports (Twitter links). It’s a $10.55MM deal, checking in just shy of the first-year arb-eligible record set last year by Kris Bryant at $10.85MM.

Lindor had projected to earn $10.2MM after a stellar three-plus season run to open his career in Cleveland. He’ll remain controllable for two more campaigns before reaching free agent eligibility after the end of the 2021 season.

The switch-hitting Lindor, who only just turned 25 years of age, just turned in his best season at the plate, leading the American League in plate appearances and runs while launching a career-high 38 long balls and 25 stolen bases. He slashed a robust .277/.352/.519 on the year while providing top-end glovework making him one of the most valuable players in all of baseball.

Cardinals Avoid Arbitration With Marcell Ozuna

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The Cardinals have agreed to avoid arbitration with outfielder Marcell Ozuna for a $12.25MM salary. Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com tweeted the agreement, with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporting the terms.

Ozuna had been projected by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz to earn a $13.4MM salary for the 2019 season. He’ll check in a fair sight shy of that number in his final arb-eligible season, though his salary is still within ten percent of the projected amount.

Also locking in a pay rate was reliever Dominic Leone. He’ll earn $1.26MM after an injury-shortened campaign, just a smidge under the $1.3MM predicted amount. We had heard previously that the club agreed with starter Michael Wacha.

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley

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4:05pm: The Boston org has wrapped up deals with all of its dozen arb-eligible players, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). We’ve covered several other players elsewhere. Notably, shortstop Xander Bogaerts ($12MM) and outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. ($8.55MM) have agreed to big salaries.

11:20am: The Red Sox and American League MVP Mookie Betts have settled on a one-year deal worth $20MM, tweets Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The salary figure is a record for a player in his second year of arbitration eligibility. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Betts could earn an additional $400K via awards (Twitter link). Betts, who will remain under team control through 2020, had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $18.7MM.

Fresh off a historic 2018 campaign in which he slashed an otherworldly .346/.438/.640 en route to a World Series title, Betts earned himself a $9.5MM raise from his previous salary. His record-setting deal will establish the new standard for players with four-plus years of MLB service time. In fact, notes Jeff Passan of ESPN, Betts’s new contract has been exceeded only by players in their fourth year of arbitration by virtue of the Super Two rule.

Furthermore, this development could be notable for the Red Sox in that the team failed to reach an agreement with their superstar outfielder last winter, leading to an arbitration hearing to determine his salary. It is possible that this settlement could signify an increased willingness to discuss a potential contract extension, for which it appears talks have yet to substantially progress, in the future. However, should the two sides fail to agree to a multi-year extension next offseason–Betts’s last arbitration-eligible season before reaching free agency–the three-time All-Star could command an astronomical salary in his final year of team control; at the very least, Betts appears poised to eclipse–if not shatter–the $23MM record set by Josh Donaldson one year ago, which currently marks the highest one-year arbitration salary ever.

Orioles Claim Hanser Alberto, Designate Andrew Susac

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The Orioles have claimed infielder Hanser Alberto off waivers from the Yankees, the clubs announced. To create roster space, the Baltimore org designated catcher Andrew Susac for assignment.

The 26-year-old Alberto has minimal MLB experience. He hasn’t hit much in his 192 total plate appearances over the past three seasons. In exactly one thousand total Triple-A plate appearances, however, he carries a solid .309/.330/.438 slash.

Susac, 28, has appeared in the majors in each of the past five seasons. He got off to an excellent start in a brief 2014 debut, at which time he was viewed as an intriguing prospect, but hasn’t had much offensive success in the majors since. Susac did carry a .256/.405/.456 batting line in his 158 plate appearances last year at the highest level of the minors.

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