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Archives for February 2020

Marco Estrada Preparing For Rebound Effort In 2020

By Jeff Todd | February 21, 2020 at 3:03pm CDT

We haven’t heard much from veteran righty Marco Estrada since he was cut loose by the Athletics last year. At the time, he was struggling to deal with back issues that more or less took his entire 2019 season.

The 36-year-old hasn’t given up his hopes of a return to the majors. Estrada is still working to get back to full strength and overcome those back maladies, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports on Twitter.

Estrada has already begun chatting with a few potentially interested clubs. He’s not going to be a candidate to work at full speed on Opening Day but is hopeful of being ready by the summer — perhaps as soon as June.

While health questions have dogged Estrada for some time, he had thrown plenty of innings until things got worse last year. From 2014 to 2018, Estrada averaged 167 frames of 4.27 ERA pitching annually.

Even after a tough 2018 effort, Estrada commanded a $4MM guarantee from the A’s last winter. He’s all but certain to field minor-league offers this time around, but could certainly be a worthwhile target for the right team if he shows that he’s in good form once his rehab is complete.

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Uncategorized Marco Estrada

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Phillies, Hector Neris Avoid Arbitration

By Steve Adams | February 21, 2020 at 1:38pm CDT

1:38pm: The option is priced at $7MM, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter), but that value can move significantly north. It’ll cost an extra $50K for every five games finished, beginning at his 10th and ending at his 35th. The needle moves $100K at 40, 45, and 50 games finished. And the option price jumps $200K at numbers 55, 60, and 63. That adds up to $1.2MM in total potential escalators.

9:42am: The Phillies have announced their agreement with Neris, revealing that the contract also contains a club option for the 2021 season. That it’s not a straight one-year pact perhaps explains the reason that the team broke from the file-and-trial approach. If the team ultimately declines the option, Neris would still remain under club control as an arbitration-eligible player.

7:35am: The Phillies have avoided an arbitration hearing with right-hander Hector Neris, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports (via Twitter). The last-minute settlement will guarantee Neris a $4.6MM salary for the upcoming season. Neris settled slightly below the midpoint between his own $5.2MM submission and the club’s $4.25MM counter.

Neris, 30, racked up 28 saves as the Phillies’ primary closer in 2019, pitching to a strong 2.93 ERA with averages of 11.8 strikeouts, 3.2 walks and 1.33 home runs per nine innings pitched. He appeared in 68 games and tallied 67 2/3 innings en route to an impressive rebound effort from a down year in 2018. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for a third and final time next winter before reaching free agency in the 2021-22 offseason.

The one-year arrangement represents a rarity in today’s arbitration environment. Virtually all clubs utilize a “file and trial” approach to the process — meaning that once figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year settlement cease, leaving the two sides to determine the player’s salary in a hearing. (Multi-year deals are typically still negotiated if there’s mutual interest, however.) Astros outfielder George Springer also avoided arb on a one-year deal last month, although that agreement was seemingly negotiated directly with owner Jim Crane after he dismissed president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow.

The Phillies won an arbitration hearing over All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto yesterday, thus keeping his salary at the $10MM figure they submitted — as opposed to Realmuto’s own $12.4MM submission. With their arbitration cases now resolved, the Phillies should check in with a bottom-line payroll just north of $182.5MM and roughly $203.9MM in luxury tax commitments (per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez). That leaves them just over $4MM shy of the luxury tax barrier.

With Neris’ salary now in place, the last pending arbitration result is that of D-backs closer Archie Bradley (as reflected in MLBTR’s 2020 Arbitration Tracker).

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Hector Neris

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Mariners Claim Taylor Williams, Designate Phillips Valdez

By Jeff Todd | February 21, 2020 at 1:06pm CDT

The Mariners have claimed reliever Taylor Williams off waivers from the Brewers, per a club announcement. The Seattle org designated fellow 28-year-old righty Phillips Valdez to create roster space.

Williams, who recently lost his spot in the Milwaukee bullpen mix, seemed like a possible waiver target. While the hard-throwing righty hasn’t yet entrenched himself in a MLB relief unit, he turned in 54 innings of 2.83 ERA ball at the Triple-A level last year. He racked up 9.5 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 while carrying a strong 54.0% groundball rate.

As for Valdez, he was claimed earlier in the winter but didn’t last long in camp before losing his roster spot. If he clears waivers, he’ll presumably remain on hand as a non-roster player. Valdez debuted in the majors last year, recording 16 innings of 3.94 ERA ball, but spent most of the year as a swingman at Triple-A. He worked to a 4.92 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and a 51.6% groundball rate in 78 2/3 innings of action in the PCL.

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Milwaukee Brewers Seattle Mariners Transactions Phillips Valdez Taylor Williams

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Rockies Sign Daniel Bard

By Steve Adams | February 21, 2020 at 11:29am CDT

Daniel Bard’s latest comeback attempt is officially underway. The former Red Sox reliever has agreed to a minor league deal with the Rockies and will had to Major League camp, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham reported last week that Bard was working toward a comeback.

Now 34 years old, Bard once looked like a potential closer in waiting for the Red Sox. The No. 28 overall pick in the 2006 draft debuted in 2009 and made an immediate impact with a 2.88 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9 in his first 197 innings. Control issues arose soon after, though, and spiraled into a full-blown case of the Yips. Bard averaged 6.5 walks per nine innings pitched and posted a 6.22 ERA in 2012, and his career went completely off the rails following that effort.

Bard missed time with an abdominal injury in 2013 and pitched only a combined 16 1/3 innings between the Majors and Triple-A — walking a staggering 27 batters in that span. Winter ball in the 2013-14 offseason and a brief stint with the Rangers in 2014 only confirmed that Bard’s control had vanished; Bard walked 18 of the 31 hitters he faced between the Puerto Rican Winter League and his quick run with the Rangers’ Class-A club. He embarked on comeback attempts with the Cardinals and Mets in 2016-17 but encountered similar results.

With the Rockies, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the righty can tap into the talent that once made him such a well-regarded young pitcher. Colorado’s bullpen has more than its share of highly compensated, underperforming veterans — Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, Jake McGee — but the Rox coaxed varying levels of success out of Scott Oberg, Carlos Estevez and Jairo Diaz. There should still be a spot or two up for grabs, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise if the Rockies brought Bard along slowly and eased him back into pro ball with some minor league work before considering him for the big league bullpen.

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Colorado Rockies Transactions Daniel Bard

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Luis Severino Shut Down Due To Forearm Discomfort

By Steve Adams and Mark Polishuk | February 21, 2020 at 11:05am CDT

11:05am: Boone said this morning at Yankees camp that Severino will travel to New York and undergo another series of tests on Monday (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler).

February 21, 9:10am: A pair of MRIs and a CT scan have all come back negative, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters yesterday (video link via MLB.com). For now, Severino has been placed on a new anti-inflammatory and will be reevaluated in a few days’ time.

February 20: In yet another bit of troubling injury news for Yankees fans, manager Aaron Boone revealed Thursday that right-hander Luis Severino is experiencing forearm soreness that dates all the way back to his final ALCS appearance in 2019 (Twitter links via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch).  Severino also has a loose body in his elbow, per Boone.  He’ll be shut down for at least the next few days and will be examined by team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad tomorrow.  Asked if Severino would be ready for Opening Day, Boone could only reply, “We’ll see.”

While tomorrow’s doctor visit will shed more light on the specifics of Severino’s issue, obviously this isn’t at all how the righty hoped to begin his Spring Training, especially not in the wake of what was essentially a lost 2019 season.  Severino pitched only 20 1/3 total innings (12 in the regular season, 8 1/3 in the postseason) last year after a shoulder injury and then a lat strain kept him from making his season debut until September 17.

Any mention of a forearm injury also raises the specter of Tommy John surgery, the worst-case scenario that would sideline Severino until Opening Day 2021 at the earliest.  Back in 2016 (and on the updated list in 2017), MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum created a model for predicting what pitchers are the largest risks for TJ surgeries, with Severino ranking as having a better-than-average chance at a future procedure in both rankings.

It was a little over one year ago that Severino signed a four-year, $40MM extension that has yet to yield any return for the Yankees.  The deal covered Severino’s four arbitration-eligible years (and, via a club option for 2023, the first of his free-agent seasons) so the Yankees gained some cost certainty with the extension, though it did boost the right-hander’s luxury tax number over the course of the next four seasons.  While a $10MM average annual value is small potatoes for a big-market team like New York, every extra dollar is impactful for Competitive Balance Tax purposes, considering the Yankees were over the luxury tax threshold in 2019 and are currently projected to soar well over the highest luxury tax penalty threshold of $248MM in 2020.

With James Paxton already out of action until at least May, the Yankees’ rotation would take a further hit if Severino is required to miss any time.  Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ are the projected top three in the rotation, with a group that consists of Jordan Montgomery, Luis Cessa, Deivi Garcia, Michael King, and Jonathan Loaisiga now potentially battling for two rotation spots, rather than just the fifth starter’s role in Paxton’s absence.

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New York Yankees Newsstand Luis Severino

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Archie Bradley Wins Arbitration Hearing Against Diamondbacks

By Steve Adams | February 21, 2020 at 9:50am CDT

Diamondbacks closer Archie Bradley won his arbitration hearing against the team, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). He’ll earn the $4.1MM salary figure submitted by his representatives at the BBI Sports Group rather than the $3.625MM sum proposed by the D-backs. That’s a $2.27MM raise over last season’s $1.83MM salary. Bradley will be eligible for arbitration for the final time next winter before becoming a free agent in the 2021-22 offseason.

The 27-year-old Bradley, the No. 7 overall draft pick back in 2011, never quite panned out as a starter but has found his groove in a relief role. The righty has gradually been entrusted with increasing amounts of high-leverage innings and eventually supplanted Opening Day closer Greg Holland as Arizona’s top ninth-inning option in 2019. Overall, he pitched to a 3.52 ERA with 18 saves, 10.9 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 0.63 HR/9 and a 45.2 percent ground-ball rate. He’s the clear favorite for save opportunities heading into the 2020 season.

Since moving to the bullpen full time in 2017, Bradley has helped to anchor the Arizona bullpen with a 2.95 ERA (3.24 FIP) and 10 strikeouts per nine inning pitched over the course of 216 1/3 innings. He’s appeared in at least 63 games and pitched at least 71 2/3 innings in each of those three seasons. As it stands, he’s slated to hit the open market in advance of his age-29 campaign, so if he continues on his current trajectory without incurring a significant injury, his age should put him in position for a relatively handsome payday.

With Bradley’s victory and this morning’s last-minute settlement by Phillies closer Hector Neris ($4.6MM with a 2021 club option), all of this year’s arbitration cases have now been resolved. Teams rushed out to an early 4-0 lead over the players but ultimately wound up at a more balanced 7-5 when all was said and done. Now that all of this year’s cases are in the books, you can see the full slate of pre-trial agreements, extensions and hearing outcomes in MLBTR’s 2020 Arbitration Tracker.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Transactions Archie Bradley

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Carlos Carrasco Day-To-Day With Hip Flexor Strain

By Steve Adams | February 21, 2020 at 9:20am CDT

February 21: Indians fans can breathe a sigh of relief, it seems. Bell tweets that the MRI revealed a mild strain of Carrasco’s hip flexor but nothing more serious. The club has listed him as day-to-day.

February 20: In more ominous news surrounding an already banged-up Indians rotation, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that righty Carlos Carrasco is slated to undergo an MRI on his right leg. MLB.com’s Mandy Bell tweets that Carrasco entered the clubhouse this morning using a crutch after experiencing discomfort in his most recent workouts. The club offered no further specifics, Hoynes adds.

Carrasco, 33 next month, won American League Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2019 after stepping away from baseball in May following a leukemia diagnosis but returning to great (and well-deserved) fanfare just three months later. He struggled in a bullpen role down the stretch, but the results were secondary to the rapid, remarkable recovery for one of the game’s best and most respected pitchers.

Cleveland is already down a starter following Mike Clevinger’s meniscus surgery. There’s hope that he won’t be sidelined for much of the regular season, but he’s still very early in the recovery process. Regardless, the pair of injuries to two of the Indians’ three most notable starters is a worrisome development — particularly in light of the offseason trade that sent Corey Kluber to Texas.

Right-hander Shane Bieber is the top healthy name in the rotation mix at present. The Indians have a characteristically deep mix of alternatives from which to draw. Right-handers Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale, Jefry Rodriguez and Adam Plutko all threw in the big leagues last season. Lefties Logan Allen and Scott Moss could be options, too, and well-regarded prospect also Triston McKenzie looms in the upper minors. If the Indians want to add some depth from outside the organization, there are still a few notable names who’ve yet to sign (e.g. Jason Vargas, Andrew Cashner, Clay Buchholz, Clayton Richard, Matt Harvey).

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Cleveland Guardians Carlos Carrasco

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Prospect Notes: Carlson, Graterol, Dunning, Ramos

By Steve Adams | February 21, 2020 at 6:42am CDT

The Cardinals’ hole in left field has many fans focused on top prospect Dylan Carlson, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explores the 21-year-old’s potential timeline to the big leagues. The Cards, Goold notes, don’t have a history of service time manipulation — in part because they’re aggressive in trying to lock up key young players on long-term contracts that buy out the seventh year that would be gained by holding a prospect down in the minors. That said, Carlson has limited exposure in Triple-A and several competitors he’ll have to outplay in decisive fashion this spring in order to be considered for the Opening Day roster. Tyler O’Neill, Lane Thomas, Justin Williams and waiver claim Austin Dean are all in the mix for at-bats in the outfield. Goold spoke with president of baseball ops John Mozeliak, manager Mike Schildt, teammate Jack Flaherty and Carlson himself about what it’d take to complete the former No. 33 overall pick’s ascent to the Majors. Mozeliak wouldn’t expressly rule out an Opening Day nod for Carlson, indicating that the club would use Spring Training “to figure out exactly what we have.” Barring injury, it’d be a surprise if Carlson didn’t play in the Majors at some point in 2020.

More notes on some of the game’s most promising young talent…

  • The Dodgers plan to utilize newly acquired flamethrower Brusdar Graterol as a reliever in 2020, writes Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. That’s the same plan that the Twins had for the highly touted righty, making it all the more perplexing that the Red Sox claim to have backed away from the three-team iteration of the Mookie Betts blockbuster upon deciding that Graterol was best suited for the ’pen in the short-term. Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts tells Castillo that his understanding of Graterol’s medical review is that he’s “asymptomatic,” and the right-hander has impressed officials with his new club right out of the gate in camp. “A guy with his stuff, it’s just a different look for our bullpen,” pitching coach Mark Prior says. “The ability to bring that kind of raw power, impact into the game is only a good thing for us.” The state of limbo in which Graterol found himself after the Red Sox backed off the initial trade iteration wasn’t easy on the righty, who felt like he “had a weight on top of” him while awaiting resolution.
  • White Sox righty Dane Dunning is slated to throw his first live batting practice of the spring next week, writes MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. That’ll be Dunning’s first time facing hitters since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019. Dunning, 25, was a consensus top 100 prospect heading into the 2019 season but didn’t throw a pitch during the season due to that surgery. Dunning, whom the White Sox acquired from the Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade, acknowledged that he’ll likely be on an innings limit in 2020. There’s no indication as to the organization’s target for him, but Dunning has never tossed more than the 144 frames he logged back in 2017 — be it in college or in pro ball.
  • A knee injury shortened the 2019 season for Giants outfield prospect Heliot Ramos, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi believes that the 2017 first-rounder can “absolutely” ascend to the Majors in 2020, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Ramos wasn’t invited to Major League Spring Training and has only played 25 games in Double-A, where he’ll likely open the 2020 campaign. But the Giants have a fairly wide-open outfield at the moment, with veteran Hunter Pence returning to join Steven Duggar and a pair of corner options with limited track records (Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson). Ramos, who hit .290/.369/.481 in 444 plate appearances between Class-A Advanced and Double-A when healthy in 2019, remains the organization’s top outfield prospect and won’t turn 21 until this September.
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Chicago White Sox Los Angeles Dodgers Notes San Francisco Giants St. Louis Cardinals Brusdar Graterol Dane Dunning Dylan Carlson Heliot Ramos

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NL Notes: Dodgers, Cubs, Bryant, Rockies, Arenado

By Connor Byrne | February 21, 2020 at 1:29am CDT

Right-hander Brusdar Graterol was part of the first version of a three-team trade sending Mookie Betts from the Red Sox to the Dodgers. But the Red Sox backed out of acquiring Graterol, then with the Twins, in favor of a different package. The Red Sox were concerned that the flamethrowing 21-year-old wouldn’t project as a starter, and they had worries about his health, thereby causing them to back out of landing him. The Dodgers “didn’t disregard” the Red Sox’s reservations about Graterol, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, but they’re happy to have the 21-year-old after acquiring him from the Twins and Betts from the Red Sox in separate trades. “A guy with his stuff, it’s just a different look for our bullpen,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior told Castillo. “The ability to bring that kind of raw power, impact into the game is only a good thing for us.” After a period of uncertainty, Graterol is relieved to know where he’ll be playing going forward. “I really felt like I had a weight on top of me,” Graterol said, “not knowing what to do with the situation.”

Here’s more from the National League…

  • Cubs third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant is two seasons away from possibly reaching free agent, but famed agent Scott Boras is already touting his client’s value when asked. Boras told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times: “How valuable is Kris Bryant?” He is truly glue. He’s the glue of the team, where if there is a gap offensively or defensively he’s there to fill it. Now he just needs an appropriate nickname, and that is ‘Elmer.’ Because he’s Elmer’s Glue for the Cubs.” And considering Bryant has shown an ability to line up at more than one position and hit in multiple spots in the Cubs’ lineup, Boras said he and others in his office have taken to calling him ”Island Boy.” Whatever nickname you want to give Bryant, it appears he’ll remain a Cub despite an offseason rife with trade rumors. The 28-year-old and the Cubs indicated earlier this week they expect to stay together this season.
  • There have been rumblings regarding a trade that would sent Bryant to the Rockies and fellow superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Cubs. Those discussions became serious enough during the winter that both teams’ owners were on the phone with one another, but the talks didn’t get “that close,” Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com writes. Bryant and Arenado now seem as if they’ll stay where they are, at least to begin the season. Arenado addressed the Cubs rumors, though, per Rogers, saying: “That would have been interesting. That would have been crazy.”
  • As with Graterol, Bryant and Arenado, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was a prominent part of trade rumors over the winter. But like Bryant and Arenado, he hasn’t gone anywhere. The former Rookie of the Year didn’t pay much attention to that speculation, however, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register relays. Seager said he was “not bothered, maybe surprised is a better word” by the fact that his name came up in trade talks. Now, barring a blockbuster shortstop acquisition for the Dodgers (Francisco Lindor, for example), they’ll go into the upcoming season with Seager as their starter at the spot. They’re still in better position than most teams there, as the 25-year-old Seager has been one of the game’s finest shortstops since he debuted in 2015.
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Chicago Cubs Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers Notes Brusdar Graterol Corey Seager Kris Bryant Nolan Arenado

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AL Notes: Red Sox, Rusney, Sale, Indians, Pujols

By Connor Byrne | February 20, 2020 at 11:44pm CDT

Remember Rusney Castillo? Signed to a seven-year, $72.5MM contract in August 2014, the Cuban outfielder had a rough season in the majors with the Red Sox the next year and has barely appeared in the majors since. The Red Sox have minimized their luxury-tax bill by keeping Castillo in the minors, and he’s likely to stay with Triple-A Pawtucket this season, but he’ll be a free agent thereafter. The 32-year-old discussed his status with Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, saying: “My goal remains the same: I want to make it to the big leagues. And if given the opportunity, give 100% to Boston. That’s the goal, to get up there.”  As Mastrodonato notes, there’s at least an outside chance Castillo will return to Boston late in the season if the team’s well under the tax threshold by then (he’s due a $14.3MM salary, so it could be a tall order to fit him in). Castillo will first have to impress in Pawtucket for that to happen, though. He wasn’t great at the highest level of the minors in 2019, when he hit .278/.321/.448 with 17 home runs in 493 plate appearances.

  • Sticking with the Red Sox, ace Chris Sale has been on the mend from 2019 elbow problems and a recent bout of pneumonia, but he’s recovering well. Sale’s “progressing quickly and could begin to face live hitters soon,” Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. However, it’s not clear whether Sale will be ready for the start of the season. The 30-year-old had a stunning amount of difficulty preventing runs in 2019, when his ERA ballooned from 2.11 the prior season to a career-worst 4.40, but most of his other numbers looked fine. Sale notched a 3.39 FIP/2.93 xFIP with 13.32 K/9 and 2.26 BB/9, suggesting he’s still a front-of-the-rotation talent.
  • Indians closer Brad Hand turned in excellent overall production yet again in 2019, but his effectiveness waned to a worrisome degree from late June through the end of the season. That was thanks in part to injuries that limited him to 57 1/3 innings – his fewest in more than a half-decade. Hand dealt with left arm fatigue that kept him out of action for a large portion of September, and he ended the year with his worst average fastball velocity (92.9 mph, compared to 94.1 in 2018) since 2012. “For whatever reason this tired arm affected my arm slot and pitches,” Hand told Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com, adding, “This year I’ll probably take a few more steps and stay ahead of it.” Manager Terry Francona’s hopeful that Hand will build up his velocity slowly this spring, as opposed to maxing out before the season starts. This is the last guaranteed year on Hand’s contract, but if he continues to hold his own, it’s hard to believe the Indians (or, if they trade him, another team) won’t exercise his $10MM club option for 2021.
  • Angels manager Joe Maddon will sit down with first baseman/designated hitter Albert Pujols nearer to the season to discuss his 2020 role, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The 40-year-old future Hall of Famer appeared in 131 games last season, but it went down as the third straight campaign in which he logged below-replacement-level numbers. Pujols batted .244/.305/.430 with 23 homers and minus-0.2 fWAR over 545 plate appearances. The majority of his work came at first, though he may have to battle Tommy La Stella for reps at the position this season. And Pujols probably won’t get much time at DH because of the presence of Shohei Ohtani.
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Boston Red Sox Cleveland Guardians Los Angeles Angels Notes Albert Pujols Brad Hand Chris Sale Rusney Castillo

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