Who’s Left From MLBTR’s Top 50?
Free agency lost yet another marquee name when outfielder Marcell Ozuna signed a one-year, $18MM contract with the Braves on Tuesday. Ozuna was, of course, a prominent part of the top 50 list of free agents MLBTR put together when the offseason began in November. Since then, just about every member of that class has come off the board during what has been a much quicker-moving winter than the previous couple. To be exact, 46 of MLBTR’s top 50 have already found teams. Here’s a look at the four still out there with spring training creeping ever closer…
8. Nicholas Castellanos, OF (original prediction: four years, $58MM)
- The Rangers have been mentioned more than anyone else in connection with Castellanos lately, but the deal Ozuna inked could be a negative portent for the former’s earning power. He and Ozuna, who aren’t that different in overall value when they take the field, were projected to rake in lucrative multiyear contracts as the top two outfielders on the market. The good news for Castellanos is that he’s younger (28 in March; Ozuna’s 29) and, unlike Ozuna, not saddled with a qualifying offer.
37. Yasiel Puig, OF (original prediction: one year, $8MM)
- Puig your friend? Tell that to the teams in search of an outfielder. Interest in the former star has been scarce since he completed an underwhelming season in Ohio in 2019, and clear fits are hard to find with teams like the Braves, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Marlins and Reds having addressed their outfields this winter.
41. Brock Holt, UTIL (original prediction: two years, $8MM)
- The Holt rumor mill was silent until recently. Since last week, both the Reds and Blue Jays have sprung up as reported suitors for the former Red Sox utilityman. Considering Holt’s defensive versatility and passable offense, and the fact that he won’t cost a ton to sign, it’s not hard to see the appeal.
49. Pedro Strop, RP (original prediction: one year, $5MM)
- For the most part, Strop has been eminently effective since his career began in 2009. That said, his numbers trended downward last year. In what could go down as his final season as a Cub, he pitched to a 4.97 ERA/4.53 FIP with 4.32 walks per nine and a 93.6 mph average fastball velocity. Those figures all rank among the worst of his career. On a better note, Strop once again struck out double-digit hitters per nine and recorded another groundball rate upward of 50 percent. Still, relative to the rest of his time in the majors, it looks as if the 34-year-old Strop is a free agent at the wrong time. That doesn’t mean teams aren’t interested, though, as Strop’s said to be weighing offers from the Cubs, Marlins, Brewers and Rangers.
Braves Sign Peter O’Brien, Shane Robinson
The Braves announced Wednesday that they’ve signed first baseman/outfielder Peter O’Brien and outfielder Shane Robinson to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League camp this spring. Atlanta also confirmed previously reported minor league deals with outfielder Rafael Ortega; infielders Charlie Culberson, Pete Kozma and Yangervis Solarte; and pitchers Felix Hernandez and Chris Rusin. All will be in Major League camp as well.
Now 29 years old, O’Brien was once a well-regarded prospect with the Yankees and Diamondbacks, both of whom hoped that his significant power would outweigh the defensive question marks that plagued him behind the plate. Unfortunately, that never proved to be the case, and O’Brien shifted from catcher into an outfield/first base role. He’s appeared in 36 games for the Marlins over the past two seasons, hitting at a .231/.306/.426 clip with five homers but 41 strikeouts in 121 plate appearances. Defense and making contact have long been issues for the slugger, who carries a .250/.314/.495 slash in parts of five Triple-A seasons.
The 35-year-old Robinson has seen action in nine big league seasons — the most recent of which was the 2018 campaign with the Yankees. A career .221/.288/.292 hitter through 849 trips to the plate in the Majors, Robinson clearly isn’t much of an offensive threat. But he’s logged at least 111 games at all three outfield positions and has well above-average marks at each, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. In just under 1800 total innings in the field, DRS pegs him at +24, while UZR has him at +16.9.
Blue Jays Have Interest In Brock Holt
The Blue Jays are among the clubs with interest in free-agent infielder/outfielder Brock Holt, tweets MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. Holt was reported to be of interest to the Reds last week as well.
Toronto has been bringing in some veteran infield depth on minor league pacts in recent weeks, inking both Joe Panik and Ruben Tejada. Holt, however, would surely command a guaranteed deal after a strong finish to his seven-year tenure with the Red Sox. The 31-year-old tallied 662 plate appearances with Boston in 2018-19, hitting at a .286/.366/.407 clip with 10 homers, 32 doubles, four triples and eight stolen bases.
The starting infield in Toronto is full, with Travis Shaw at first base and a trio of second-generation youngsters — second baseman Cavan Biggio, shortstop Bo Bichette and third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — set to round out the quartet. Holt has ample experience at all four infield spots and across the outfield, though. He could not only capably back up any of that infield bunch, helping to safeguard against injury, but would also give the Jays a veteran fallback in the event that someone from that talented but still relatively inexperienced group takes a step back and finds himself in Triple-A.
At present, the top backup option on the infield is Brandon Drury, though he’s coming off a second consecutive poor showing, having batted just .218/.262/.380 in 447 plate appearances. Holt would give the Jays a left-handed bench option to pair with the right-handed-hitting Drury, thereby presenting manager Charlie Montoyo with defensive and lineup versatility. Toronto currently projects to a $107MM payroll, which is nearly $60MM shy of its franchise-record level of expenditure.
Rangers Outright Kyle Bird To Triple-A
The Rangers announced Wednesday that left-hander Kyle Bird has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville. He was designated for assignment last week when Texas finalized its one-year deals with Todd Frazier and Robinson Chirinos. Bird will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training this year. Texas also confirmed its previously reported minor league agreement with veteran righty Juan Nicasio.
Bird, 27 in April, came to the Rangers by way of the Rays in the three-team trade that sent Jurickson Profar to Oakland a year ago. That he went unclaimed on waivers is of mild surprise, given that he’s a lefty with minor league options remaining, a strong upper-minors track record and plenty of spin on his heater and slider.
Bird did struggle this year in his big league debut, allowing 11 runs and a staggering five homers in 12 2/3 innings of relief work. However, he also pitched to a 2.86 ERA with a 39-to-15 K/BB ratio and just four homers allowed in 34 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. Overall, he has a 3.09 ERA in 140 Double-A frames and a 2.17 mark in 95 2/3 innings in Triple-A. He’s no longer on Texas’ 40-man roster, but he’ll have a chance to work his way back into the big league picture in 2020.
Brewers Sign Mike Morin
The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed right-handed reliever Mike Morin to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. Morin is represented by Meister Sports.
The 28-year-old Morin split the 2019 season between the Twins and the Phillies, pitching to a combined 4.62 ERA with 4.6 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9 and a 40.4 percent grounder rate through 50 2/3 innings. That represented his largest MLB workload since 2016, as Morin has bounced up and down with the Angels, Royals and Mariners in recent years in an effort to recreate his terrific rookie campaign in 2014.
That season saw Morin debut just prior to his 23rd birthday and go on to rack up 59 innings of 2.90 ERA/3.08 FIP ball. Along the way, he averaged 8.2 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. He’s had a rough go of it since that time, though Morin’s 2019 season does provide some reason for optimism. Statcast ranked him in the 96th percentile in terms of average exit velocity allowed and 98th in terms of overall hard-hit rate. If he can continue to limit hard contact at that rate, he could emerge as a low-cost bargain option in the ‘pen. Morin also only has four years of big league service, so there’s potential to control him into 2021 if he makes the roster and enjoys a solid season.
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Dylan Covey Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Dylan Covey has rejected an outright assignment from the White Sox and is now a free agent, Vinnie Duber of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Chicago designated the 28-year-old for assignment last week.
Covey has appeared in part of three seasons with the White Sox, showing promise at times but struggling on the whole. In 250 1/3 big league innings, he’s pitched to a 6.54 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 1.62 HR/9 and a 50 percent ground-ball rate. The 2013 fourth-rounder (Athletics) was Chicago’s Rule 5 pick in 2016, so a rough rookie campaign was always to be expected. But Covey impressed to begin the 2018 campaign, notching a 3.45 ERA and 3.54 FIP with a whopping 60 percent ground-ball rate through his first eight starts. Things went south from there, and the sinkerballer will now look for a new club in 2020.
That Covey went unclaimed on waivers means he’ll likely latch on elsewhere on a minor league deal. He does have a minor league option remaining, so anyone who signs him can shuttle him between Triple-A and the big leagues in 2020 if he’s ever selected to the big league roster. To his credit, Covey has been terrific at both the Double-A (1.84 ERA in 29 1/3 innings) and Triple-A levels (2.63 ERA in 95 2/3 innings).
Cardinals Re-Sign Matt Wieters
January 22: The Cardinals announced the signing. Their 40-man roster is full.
January 19: The Cardinals have agreed to a new contract with catcher Matt Wieters, as per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The deal will pay Wieters $2MM in guaranteed money, with another $1MM in incentives available. Wieters is represented by the Boras Corporation.
The A’s and Rockies each showed interest in Wieters this winter, though the 33-year-old will return for his second year in St. Louis after hitting .214/.268/.435 with 11 home runs over 183 plate appearances for the Cards in 2019. It was a solid enough performance to earn a guaranteed deal for the coming season, as Wieters had to settle for a minor league pact last winter.
Wieters hasn’t been a consistent offensive force since his heyday with the Orioles, and Baseball Prospectus has graded him as one of the league’s worst pitch-framers for several seasons. Still, Wieters provides value as a switch-hitter and above-average pitch blocker, and he also gives the Cardinals some veteran catching depth behind Yadier Molina.
With Wieters back in the fold, the Cardinals can continue to allow the promising Andrew Knizner to develop at his own pace, though Knizner has already made his big league debut and hit .283/.362/.453 over 341 PA at the Triple-A level. Both Molina and Wieters are free agents after the coming season, so Knizner could potentially step in as the heir apparent, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see Molina continue in at least a time-share role since the longtime Cardinal has said he intends to play beyond the 2020 season.
Yankees To Sign Luis Avilan
The Yankees have agreed to a minors pact with southpaw Luis Avilan, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). He’ll participate in big league camp.
It may seem like he has been around for quite a while, but Avilan is still just 30 years of age. He has found his way to the majors in each of the past seven seasons, appearing with five different organizations.
Last year, Avilan struggled to a 5.06 ERA in 32 frames with the Mets. He recorded 8.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9, right in line with his career averages, but allowed quite a few more long balls (1.4 per nine) than he has over the course of his career (0.5 per nine).
Avilan was as good against lefties as he was unplayable against righties in 2019, carrying a whopping 677-point OPS platoon spread. He has typically dominated same-handed hitters (.203/.280/.283) while finding things tougher without the platoon advantage (.259/.340/.374), though not to that extreme.
Phillies To Sign Neil Walker
The Phillies have reached a minor-league deal with veteran infielder Neil Walker, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). There’s a big-league camp invite; other details remain unknown.
Walker, 34, was once a sturdy MLB regular at second base. But he has functioned as more of a part-time corner player — first, third, and the outfield as well — over the past two seasons. He could battle with former Pirates teammate Josh Harrison and others for a utility role in Philly.
It’s a reasonable opportunity, but this still represents yet another suboptimal trip onto the open market for Walker. He took a qualifying offer from the Mets in 2017 and seemingly made good on the bet with another season of solidly above-average hitting. To that point of his career, Walker was a .272/.341/.437 hitter through more than four thousand MLB plate appearances. But he ran into the same headwinds that impacted so many others and ultimate landed with the Yankees on a surprisingly light, late-breaking contract. Hamstring and back issues no doubt hurt his market standing as well.
As it turned out, Walker hit a wall at the plate in the 2018 campaign. He was left with a $2MM deal with the Marlins. The results were improved in 2019, as Walker turned in an approximately league-average .261/.344/.395 output in 381 plate appearances. But that came despite judicious platoon deployment by the Fish. Walker has long carried yawning platoon splits and is best held to facing right-handed pitching.