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Archives for January 2020

Quick Hits: Flores, Scooter, Nats, Zimmerman, Orioles

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The market for free-agent infielder Wilmer Flores has started moving, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. It’s unclear which teams are interested in Flores, but he does look like one of the most intriguing players left in a constantly thinning class of unsigned players. Still just 28 years old, Flores is coming off a season in which he batted a robust .317/.361/.487 with nine home runs in 285 plate appearances as a member of the Diamondbacks. The righty-hitting Flores did most of his damage against left-handed pitchers, which has been a regular occurrence throughout the ex-Met’s career, but he has typically been playable against same-handed hurlers. He also carries a fair amount of experience at each infield position.

  • Free-agent second baseman Scooter Gennett recently held a workout that “a number of teams” attended, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score writes. That jibes with the latest on Gennett from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who tweets that roughly six clubs (including the Cubs) are interested in the former standout. The Cubs have been the lone team linked to Gennett in the rumor mill since the Giants released him in late August. San Francisco cutting ties with the 29-year-old less than a month after acquiring him in a trade with the Reds put an end to a nightmarish season for Gennett. While he was quite productive with the Reds from 2017-18, Gennett could only muster a .226/.245/.323 line with two home runs in 139 plate appearances during an injury-limited 2019.
  • The Nationals have officially re-signed franchise icon Ryan Zimmerman for another year, but he’s not committed to playing beyond then. Zimmerman told reporters Tuesday that he and the team will continue to evaluate their union on an annual basis going forward, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post relays. That said, while Zimmerman’s due to become a free agent in another year (he’ll be 36 then), it seems doubtful Mr. National will ever put on another team’s uniform. Zimmerman’s playing time with the Nats has declined as his career has advanced, in part because of a variety of injuries, but he said he’s “okay with” his part-time role in D.C.
  • The Orioles made a small move to address their weak rotation when they signed southpaw Wade LeBlanc to a minors pact on Tuesday. The agreement came after the 35-year-old LeBlanc, who spent most of last season as a reliever in Seattle, turned down other teams’ offers in hopes of earning a spot in the Orioles’ rotation, per Joe Trezza of MLB.com. While LeBlanc could indeed take on a role as one of the O’s starters in 2020, they’re not done shopping for help in that area, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Notably, Baltimore was connected to one of its former SPs, righty Andrew Cashner, this past weekend.

Red Sox Reportedly Interested In Mark Kotsay

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Already a candidate for the Astros’ managerial vacancy – a position that might not go unfilled for much longer – Athletics quality control coach Mark Kotsay could also be on Boston’s radar. He’s “believed” to be in the running to replace ousted Red Sox manager Alex Cora, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. However, it’s unclear whether the Red Sox have interviewed Kotsay yet, Cotillo adds.

There doesn’t appear to be a clear front-runner yet to succeed Cora, one of three managers who lost his job this month as a result of the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal. For his part, Kotsay has never managed before, but the 44-year-old former outfielder and ex-member of the Red Sox has garnered front office and coaching experience since his playing days ended in 2013. And he has been a popular managerial candidate over the past several months, having drawn serious interest from the Giants and Pirates before they went in other directions back in the fall.

Once San Francisco and Pittsburgh chose their next managers, it looked as if Kotsay would have to wait at least another year to become a big league skipper. However, with Houston’s transgressions having shaken up the managerial ranks this month, Kotsay has re-emerged on the radar.

Tony Barnette Retires

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Former major league reliever Tony Barnette is calling it a career. “I’ve thrown my last pitch,” the right-hander declared Tuesday on Instagram.

It’s almost a year to the day the Cubs signed Barnette to a $750K guarantee on Feb. 1, 2019. The low-risk move didn’t work out for either side, though, as shoulder issues stopped Barnette from pitching until late June. Once Barnette did take the hill with the Cubs, he made just two appearances and threw a meager 1 1/3 innings before going on the restricted list July 1 for family reasons. The Cubs had a $3MM option on the 36-year-old for 2020, but they made the predictable decision to decline it in November.

Prior to joining the Cubs, Barnette was at times a highly successful bullpen option with the Rangers. As a rookie in 2016, Barnette pitched to a sterling 2.09 ERA across 60 1/3 innings. That was the beginning of an up-and-down Texas tenure for Barnette, who struggled in 2017 but posted great numbers the next season; however, shoulder problems cut him down that year and held him to 26 1/3 innings.

Of course, it would be unfair to Barnette to ignore the overseas success he enjoyed during his professional baseball career. He was a 10th-round pick of the Diamondbacks in 2006 who, after spending a few years in the minors, joined the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball in advance of the 2010 season. Barnette was terrific in Japan, where he posted a 3.58 ERA across 316 1/3 innings, logged 9.6 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 and amassed 97 saves in six seasons before returning stateside.

Barnette only picked up two saves in the majors, but he’ll still end his MLB career with solid numbers – a 3.53 ERA with 8.17 K/9 and 2.66 BB/9 in 145 1/3 frames. MLBTR wishes him the best in retirement.

Royals, Greg Holland Agree To Minor League Deal

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8:24pm: Holland can earn $1.25MM upon making the Royals’ roster with another $1.125MM available via incentive pay, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com.

7:53pm: The Royals have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Greg Holland, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He’ll be in Major League camp this spring and look to secure a spot in the team’s bullpen. The agreement marks a reunion between the two sides, as Holland was a 2007 draftee of the Royals and starred in their bullpen from 2011-15 before undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Holland’s return from Tommy John surgery in 2017 proved to be a success, as he anchored the bullpen for a Rockies club that secured an NL Wild Card playoff berth and paced the senior circuit in both games finished (58) and saves (41). Holland logged a 3.61 ERA and averaged 11 punchouts per nine innings that year, but he showed some worrying red flags late in the summer and struggled to find the type of lucrative deal he’d hoped in free agency.

The right-hander eventually signed an Opening Day deal with the Cardinals (where current Royals skipper Mike Matheny was managing at the time), locking in a $14MM salary for the 2018 campaign. Holland sprinted through a minor league tuneup and was in the big leagues just nine days after signing, and the veteran closer never seemed to find his footing. He posted a disastrous 7.92 ERA in 25 innings as a Cardinal before being released in a summer bullpen shakeup … only to latch on with the Nationals and rattle off 21 1/3 innings of 0.82 ERA ball. A once-again resurgent Holland landed a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks last winter and posted a 4.54 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against an unpalatable 6.1 BB/9 before being released in August.

Kansas City is clearly hoping that the reunion will yield dividends, although five full seasons have elapsed since the now-34-year-old Holland turned in a full, dominant season of relief work. That said, the Royals’ bullpen is hardly a collection of juggernaut relievers, either. Starter-turned-closer Ian Kennedy is again in line for ninth-inning duties, but the entire setup is unproven. Hard-throwing Scott Barlow showed flashes of brilliance in 2019 but lacked consistency. Right-hander Kevin McCarthy was a durable middle man but struggled to miss bats. Southpaw Tim Hill has had mixed results in his two big league seasons but is coming off a quality ’19 campaign.

Other options in the K.C. ’pen include injury reclamation Jesse Hahn, waiver claim Randy Rosario, injury-prone former first rounder Kyle Zimmer and Rule 5 pick Stephen Woods. Suffice it to say, there’s plenty of room for Holland (and others) to force his way into the mix if he can impress Royals decision-makers this spring. It’s quite arguable, in fact, that the Royals should’ve done more to address such an uncertain unit this winter, although much of the relief market has already been picked clean.

Luis Urias To Miss 6-8 Weeks After Hamate Bone Surgery

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Newly acquired Brewers infielder Luis Urias has undergone surgery to repair a fractured left hamate bone, Robert Murray reports. He’s expected to miss six to eight weeks, which seems to jeopardize his spring training and the beginning of the regular season.

Urias paused his winter ball season just a few days ago on account of soreness in his wrist, but the expectation then was that he was dealing with a relatively minor issue. That doesn’t appear to be the case, though, and now it’s possible the Brewers will have to begin the campaign without one of their key offseason additions.

The 22-year-old Urias isn’t far removed from ranking as one of the absolute best prospects in the game, but he didn’t produce much at the major league level with the Padres from 2018-19. San Diego then dealt Urias to Milwaukee in November in a four-player trade that also saw outfielder Trent Grisham and pitchers Zach Davies and Eric Lauer change hands.

Since his change of scenery, Urias has looked like the front-runner to start the year at shortstop for the Brewers. That could still happen, but it looks like a much more questionable bet now. As a result, the Brewers may have to turn back to Orlando Arcia as their No. 1 option at the outset of the season. Arcia was a promising prospect in his own right during his younger days, but the 25-year-old hasn’t done much of anything at the plate since he debuted in the majors in 2016.

Orioles To Sign Wade LeBlanc

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The Orioles have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran left-hander Wade LeBlanc, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He’ll be in Major League camp during Spring Training and would stand to earn an $800K base salary upon cracking the MLB roster.

Baltimore represents a prime location for a 35-year-old veteran on this type of contract to make a legitimate bid for a roster spot. The Orioles have already traded away Dylan Bundy this winter, leaving their rotation with a composition of John Means, Alex Cobb (health permitting) and journeyman Asher Wojciechowski. The Orioles’ only other rotation moves this winter have been to sign former Twins prospect Kohl Stewart to a big league deal and to select righty Brandon Bailey from GM Mike Elias’ former Astros organization in the Rule 5 Draft. Other internal candidates for starting gigs include right-hander David Hess, who struggled substantially in 2019, and left-hander Keegan Akin, who has yet to make his MLB debut.

It’s the sort of woeful rotation mix one would expect from an organization that is more intent on securing the first overall pick in the 2021 draft than on winning games in the upcoming season. And while that may not be good news for O’s fans, it does provide an avenue for a veteran like LeBlanc to seek out a bounceback opportunity.

LeBlanc was harmed as much as any starter in the game with last year’s juiced ball, as he yielded a staggering 2.1 homers per nine innings pitched and saw his ERA balloon by nearly two full runs over its 2018 levels (5.71 in ’19 versus 3.72 in ’18). In spite of the poor bottom-line run prevention (or lack thereof), the veteran southpaw still maintained similar K/BB tendencies to the ones he showed in a solid three-year stretch that preceded the 2019 season.

From 2016-18, LeBlanc tossed 292 innings (35 starts, 66 relief appearances) and pitched to a 3.91 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 between the Mariners and the Pirates. His soft-tossing arsenal will face a tough task in the American League East if he does land on the big league roster, as he’ll be moving from the spacious T-Mobile Park and a division that generally skews a bit more toward the pitcher-friendly side of things to the cozier Camden Yards and hitter-friendly AL East. The lack of competition for a starting spot in Baltimore, though, should give LeBlanc a legitimate chance to land a roster spot this spring.

Twins Announce Several Minor League Signings

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The Twins organization has agreed to seven more minor league deals with free agents, Triple-A Rochester director of communications Nate Rowan announced Tuesday. Right-handers Juan Minaya, Austin D. Adams, Casey Lawrence, Parker Bridwell, Alec Asher and Joey Krehbiel all agreed to deals with the Twins, as did infielder Calten Daal.

Minaya, 29, spent the past four seasons with the division-rival White Sox and logged significant innings in each of the past three. From 2017-19, Minaya pitched to a 3.89 ERA (4.19 FIP) with 10.4 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9 in 118 innings of relief for the South Siders. His average heater was down about a mile per hour in 2019, sitting at 93.4 mph, but Minaya has a steady track record of missing bats while displaying sub-par control.

Adams, 33, made a pair of appearances with the Twins and tallied 14 frames with the Tigers but allowed 13 runs in 16 2/3 frames overall. He struggled in Triple-A as well, but this will be his third stint in the Twins organization, so the club’s decision-makers clearly see something they feel they can work with even if his recent results have been poor.

Bridwell, 28, pitched 121 innings of 3.64 ERA ball with the 2017 Angels, although his secondary numbers never really supported that mark. The righty averaged just 5.4 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 with an elevated 1.41 HR/9 rate and 38.1 percent ground-ball rate in ’17, causing FIP (4.84), xFIP (5.07) and SIERA (5.06) to view him in a less favorable light. Bridwell has an ERA north of 8.00 in a pair of injury-shortened Triple-A seasons since that time.

The 32-year-old Lawrence had a rough season in Japan in 2019 and returns to affiliated ball after just one year overseas. He spent 2017-18 in Seattle, where he soaked up 78 2/3 innings in a long relief/spot-starting role but limped to a 6.64 ERA along the way. Lawrence does have a respectable 3.73 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 in 262 2/3 Triple-A innings in his career.

Asher has just three MLB innings since 2017 and, in total, has a 5.42 ERA in 119 2/3 innings between the Phillies, Orioles and Brewers. The former Rangers prospect went to the Phils as part of the Cole Hamels deal several years ago, but he’s yet to find success in the bigs while serving mostly as a fifth starter/long reliever. The 28-year-old spent most of 2019 with the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks, working to a 3.12 ERA in 37 1/3 frames.

Krehbiel, meanwhile, has just three big league innings to his name but has averaged just under 11 strikeouts per nine innings in his minor league career. Daal, 26, is a middle infielder who never cracked the Majors after seven seasons in the Reds organization. He’s consistently posted solid batting averages but limited on-base percentages and well below-average power numbers.

Cubs Sign Steven Souza Jr.

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6:04pm: The Cubs have formally announced the signing.

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that he can earn the following incentives: $50K for reaching 200 plate appearances, $75K at 250 PAs, $125K at 300 PAs, $150K at 350 PAs and $200K for reaching each of 400, 450 and 500 PAs. Souza will also earn $200K for every 30th day on the active 26-man roster — up through 150 days.

3:50pm: The Cubs have finalized their one-year, Major League contract with free agent outfielder Steven Souza Jr., per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). The two sides were first reported to be nearing an agreement on Friday. Souza, who is represented by ACES, will receive a $1MM base salary and can earn another $2MM via incentives, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets. The team has yet to formally announce the signing.

Steven Souza Jr. | Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

It’s sure to be a low-cost deal for the Cubs, as Souza missed the entire 2019 season due to a devastating knee injury and hasn’t enjoyed a full, healthy year since a terrific 2017 campaign with the Rays. That year saw Souza turn in a .239/.351/.459 slash with career-highs in home runs (30), doubles (21), stolen bases (16) and plate appearances (617). Souza was traded to the Diamondbacks that offseason and immediately hit by injuries — namely a pectoral tear that wiped out more than half of his season and limited him to a .220/.309/.369 slash when on the field.

Bringing Souza into the fray gives the Cubs another option in what already looked like a somewhat crowded outfield mix. Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora Jr., Jason Heyward and Ian Happ are already lined up to share playing time as is. Third baseman Kris Bryant, too, has seen work in the outfield corners in each of the past five seasons. There are already plenty of question marks surrounding a potential trade involving Bryant — first and foremost centering around an ongoing service time grievance — and bringing another corner outfielder onto the roster will only spark some further speculation about other dealings.

The Souza pickup is the latest in a string of budget-friendly acquisitions from a Cubs front office that has been handcuffed both by the uncertainty surrounding Bryant’s status and by payroll constraints set forth by the Ricketts family ownership group. Chicago reportedly agreed to a tiny $850K deal with reliever Jeremy Jeffress earlier today and has otherwise made a string of minor league signings or non-guaranteed MLB deals (Dan Winkler, Ryan Tepera).

Red Sox Re-Sign Mitch Moreland

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Mitch Moreland will be back for at least a fourth season in Boston, as the Red Sox announced Tuesday that he’s been re-signed to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2021 season. The BASH Baseball client will reportedly be guaranteed $3MM in the form of a $2.5MM salary in 2020 and a $500K buyout on a $3MM option for the 2021 season. Right-hander Denyi Reyes has been designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster, per the Red Sox.

Mitch Moreland | Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

This marks the third time that Moreland, 34, has signed a free-agent deal with the Red Sox. Since signing in Boston prior to the 2017 season, he’s delivered a .247/.326/.455 slash with 56 home runs, 74 doubles and five triples. Most of that damage from the left-handed-hitting Moreland has come against right-handed pitching, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see right-handed-hitting Michael Chavis pair with him at the position.

Beyond his respectable contributions at the plate, Moreland is renowned for his defensive prowess at first base. Defensive metrics suggested that Moreland took a step back in his age-33 season, though most measures of his glovework still pegged him as a roughly average defender at the position, and his track record is quite strong overall. Given that he’ll come at such an affordable rate not only in 2020 but potentially in 2021, Moreland is a sensible re-signing even at a time when the Red Sox are striving to lower their luxury tax commitments.

Like fellow offseason pickup Jose Peraza, Moreland will count $3MM against the Red Sox’ luxury ledger in 2020. With Moreland back in the fold, Boston’s bottom-line payroll checks in at roughly $236MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Their luxury tax commitments, meanwhile, exceed the $208MM threshold by more than $31MM now that Moreland is set to return.

As for the 23-year-old Reyes, he was added to the 40-man roster last winter as the Red Sox sought to protect themselves against losing him in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft. At that time, Reyes had wrapped up a standout season that saw him post a combined 1.97 ERA with a superlative 145-to-19 K/BB ratio in 155 1/3 innings as a 21-year-old between Class-A and Class-A Advanced.

Reyes turned in a 4.16 ERA (3.69 FIP) against older competition in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting this past season, albeit with a diminished 6.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and 32.1 percent grounder rate. New chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom apparently wasn’t as bullish on the right-hander as the prior regime, and the Sox will have a week to either trade Reyes, place him on outright waivers or release him.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the signing.

Eugenio Suarez Will Be Limited In Spring Training Following Shoulder Surgery

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The Reds announced that third baseman Eugenio Suarez underwent surgery to remove loose cartilage from his right shoulder earlier today. The injury came about recently when Suarez was swimming, per the announcement. The team expects the 28-year-old Suarez to be ready to play in games “near the beginning of the regular season” but acknowledged that he’ll be “limited” early in Spring Training.

It’s an unwelcome development for the Reds, but the team has ample depth to withstand an absence from the slugging Suarez should he require some time on the injured list early in the year. Offseason signee Mike Moustakas, of course, has spent the majority of his career manning the hot corner, and highly touted youngster Nick Senzel has played third base more than any other position since being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft.

Then again, Reds general manager Nick Krall tells reporters (Twitter link via The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans) that Senzel isn’t likely to slot in at third base if Suarez isn’t ready to go come Opening Day. That still leaves open the possibility of utilizing Moustakas at third base and Senzel at second base, although Senzel is working back from his own shoulder surgery. If he’s not ready to go or the team prefers an alternative alignment, Josh VanMeter could also get a look at second base with Moustakas at third.

Depth aside, the loss of Suarez for even a brief period of time would be a notable blow to the Reds, who are clearly intent on returning to the postseason after an aggressive offseason of additions. Suarez’s power numbers have exploded over the past two seasons, including a 2019 effort in which he improbably flirted with the elusive 50-homer threshold. Dating back to 2018, Suarez has raked at a .277/.362/.550 clip (135 OPS+), hitting 83 homers, 44 doubles and four triples along the way. Even with Moustakas, Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama joining the party in Cincinnati, Suarez was sure to be relied on as a vital middle-of-the-order threat.

Prior to that breakout, Suarez had already established himself as a quality option at the hot corner and at the plate, but the Reds have to be thrilled with the decision to negotiate a long-term extension just prior to Opening Day 2018 as opposed to the following offseason, as his price would have escalated considerably. As it is, the seven-year, $66MM deal to which Suarez agreed on March 16, 2018, looks like a coup for the Reds’ front office — even if it was one that carried some risk at the time of the signing. Suarez is set to earn $9.25MM in 2020 under the terms of that deal and will earn subsequent salaries of $10.5MM (2021) and $11MM (2022-24). The deal also contains a $15MM team option for the 2025 season, which comes with a $2MM buyout.

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