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Clark, Boras, Moreno Upset With Betts Swap Hold-Up

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Plenty of fans and folks in the game are no doubt frustrated by the uncertainty hanging over a dramatic duo of prospective trades centered around superstar Mookie Betts. MLBPA chief Tony Clark made clear that he’s got even bigger problems with the situation in a statement today.

“The proposed trades between the Dodgers, Red Sox, Twins, and Angels need to be resolved without further delay,” Clark says in the statement. “The events of this last week have unfairly put several Players’ lives in a state of limbo.”

Clark is referring, of course, to (a) the proposed three-team swap between the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Twins that involves Betts, David Price, Kenta Maeda, Alex Verdugo, and Brusdar Graterol; and (b) the cross-town deal that would send Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling to the Angels in exchange for Luis Rengifo, with other pre-MLB players also involved. These trades were reported on Tuesday but remain unresolved.

The slow speed of concluding the dealmaking isn’t the only thing that drew Clark’s ire. Reports have indicated that issues surrounding the health of Graterol gummed up the swaps. Clark is understandably displeased with those disclosures and the role they’ve played in keeping these players in limbo.

Clark continued: “The unethical leaking of medical information as well as the perversion of the salary arbitration process serve as continued reminders that too often Players are treated as commodities by those running the game.”

Uber-agent Scott Boras, who reps Graterol, also chimed in (via Jon Heyman of MLB Network, on Twitter). He notes that the young flamethrower was operating at full tilt late last season and knocked the Red Sox’ apparent medical concerns. “They’re relying on a cursory medical record review,” says Boras, “yet noted orthopedic doctors who saw him say there’s no issue going forward.”

These comments represent is the latest volley in a long-running, multi-front battle between the union and league. Labor relations remain fraught. Evan Drellich of The Athletic recently noted on Twitter that anticipated early bargaining discussions have yet to materialize.

As for the twin Dodgers deals, it seems that frustrations are building from various quarters. Angels owner Arte Moreno is said to be furious that the hold-up of the first deal has left his organization in flux, per Heyman (via Twitter).

Rangers Sign Cody Allen

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The Rangers have announced a minor-league deal with righty Cody Allen. He’ll receive an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training.

Southpaw Brandon Mann is also joining the Texas organization. His own minors deal won’t come with a spring invite.

Allen is a classic bounceback candidate. The 31-year-old was a high-quality reliever for years until he ran into a tough 2018 season and then collapsed in the following season.

Last year, Allen’s entire approach was shaken as he lost velocity and suffered a dive in his swinging-strike rate. His walk rate shot up while opposing hitters ran up a 54.5% hard contact rate and 94.3 mph average exit velocity.

Allen does still possess elite fastball spin, so there’s something to build off of. Perhaps a lengthy respite and some tweaking will help him get back on track.

As for Mann, 35, he made a stunning (but brief) late-career MLB debut with the Rangers in 2018. He worked for Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines last year, turning in 59 1/3 innings of 4.70 ERA pitching with 10.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.

Giants Sign Billy Hamilton

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The Giants announced today that they have signed veteran center fielder Billy Hamilton. He’ll receive a minor-league deal with an invitation to MLB Spring Training.

It seems the speedy Hamilton will represent a 26th-man option as an occasional fill-in and late-inning speed-and-defense contributor. But he could also challenge Steven Duggar in camp to be the left-handed side of the team’s center field mix.

Hamilton, a seven-year MLB vet, is still just 29 years of age. He isn’t quite the unreal threat on the bases he once was, but Hamilton remains a top-line performer when not gripping a bat.

Unfortunately, the offensive numbers remain ugly for Hamilton. He has now taken over three thousand trips to the plate at the game’s highest level, with a .242/.297/.326 slash to show for it. Last year was rougher still (.218/.289/.275).

Dodgers Reach Two-Year Arbitration Deal With Chris Taylor

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The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with utilityman Chris Taylor, per a team announcement. He’ll ink a two-year deal that resolves his arb salaries for both 2020 and 2021, providing respective payouts of $5.6MM and $7.8MM, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

Taylor had been headed for an arbitration hearing. He was seeking a $5.8MM salary, with the Dodgers offering $5.25MM in return. Instead, the sides saw eye to eye on an agreement that provides Taylor some security and gives the club cost certainty.

The 29-year-old Taylor hasn’t quite performed to the level of his breakout 2017 season, but has remained a highly valuable contributor for the Dodgers in the ensuing two seasons. All told, he carries a cumulative .268/.340/.468 batting line since the start of the 2017 season.

Taylor adds value on the bases and in the field, where he’s especially useful given his ability to handle every non-battery position. Obviously the Dodgers foresee another productive campaign from the former fifth-round pick.

Kendrys Morales Retires

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Veteran slugger Kendrys Morales has decided to call it a career, he tells Marly Rivera of ESPN Deportes (Spanish-language link). He’ll retire after 13 seasons in the big leagues.

At his best, Morales was a high-quality threat from both sides of the plate. But the first baseman/DH had a fair number of peaks and valleys over the years. Ultimately, he finishes with 5,357 plate appearances of .265/.327/.453 hitting and 213 career long balls.

Morales’s best season came in 2009 with the Angels, when he launched 34 home runs and finished fifth in the American League MVP voting. He was similarly productive in the ensuing season until a major high turned into a brutal low. Morales shattered his ankle and lower leg on home plate after launching a walk-off grand slam. He missed over a hundred games in 2010 and all of the 2011 season.

Fortunately, Morales was able to bounce back and return to being quite a productive hitter. After a quality 2012 showing, he was shipped to the Mariners for Jason Vargas. With another good year in the books, Morales hit the open market in search of a big multi-year deal. He ended up becoming a qualifying offer cautionary tale, waiting until mid-season to sign with the Twins — who ended up dealing him back to Seattle when things didn’t go as hoped.

Despite the rough 2014 season, the Royals took a shot on Morales on a two-year deal. He produced at a 119 OPS+ clip in K.C., identical to the mark he carried over his six seasons with the Halos. Morales’s ensuing three-year, $33MM deal with the Blue Jays didn’t work out so well. He was only an average offensive performer in Toronto. The organization ended up eating most of the deal’s final year in a trade with the Athletics, who ultimately passed Morales on to the Yankees in what proved a miserable 2019 season for the veteran.

Now, at 36 years of age, Morales won’t attempt yet another bounceback. Instead, he says, he intends to spend more time with his family. MLBTR wishes Morales all the best in retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Giants To Sign Hunter Pence

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The Giants have a deal in place with outfielder Hunter Pence, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It’s a big-league pact, MLB.com’s Maria Guardado tweets.

Pence will earn $3MM, according to Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter). There’s another $2.5MM available through incentives, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). That includes $1MM in roster bonuses and another $1.5MM based upon plate appearances (beginning with his 450th), Crowley adds via Twitter.

Pence will add a right-handed-hitting component to a San Francisco outfield mix that is due to feature lefty hitters Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson, and Steven Duggar. The 36-year-old will have to hold off a few alternative candidates to carve out a role. The Giants will take a look in camp at Austin Slater. Jaylin Davis, Joey Rickard, Brandon Guyer, and others.

It seems reasonable to expect that we’ll see the 36-year-old Pence back in a Giants uniform. Beyond his fit from a roster perspective, Pence certainly suits the desire for some nostalgia as the team prepares for its first season without Madison Bumgarner. Pence was with the club for its trying 2017 and 2018 campaigns but also for two of its World Series-winning efforts in the preceding seasons.

Over parts of 13 seasons and nearly seven thousand plate appearances in the majors, Pence carries a .280/.335/.462 batting line — about 16% above the league average hitter. Pence has never walked a ton (7.4% career) and has typically exhibited good but not exceptional pop (.182 isolated power). He’s a four-time All-Star who has three 4+ fWAR seasons — at his best, a very good (and always an exceedingly likable) player.

When last he roamed Oracle (then AT&T) Park, Pence seemed to be firmly on the wane as a big leaguer. His own struggles in those ’17 and ’18 seasons mirrored and contributed to those of the ballclub at large. Pence managed only a .249/.297/.368 cumulative slash, well off his typical pace, while finishing out the five-year deal he signed at the end of the 2013 season.

When Pence finally did hit the open market, he settled for a minor-league deal with the Rangers. It was hard to expect much, but Pence ended up reworking his swing to great effect. He produced loud contact and a much steeper launch angle than he had previously, a nice combination that combined with a leaguewide power surge to enable Pence to launch 18 long balls in just 316 plate appearances. It wasn’t just the overall MLB jetstream; Pence finished with a 128 wRC+, the fourth-highest mark in his career.

Dodgers Defeat Joc Pederson In Arbitration

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The Dodgers have won their arbitration case against outfielder Joc Pederson, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). He’ll earn $7.75MM to play in Los Angeles for the coming season, though it remains to be seen which uniform he’ll be wearing.

Pederson had sought a $9.5MM payday after a strong 2019 offensive campaign. MLBTR had projected that he’d earn $8.5MM, but both sides dug in their heels. Arbitration hearings are black-and-white propositions, with the panel simply choosing the number it deems closest to the player’s true value.

All indications remain that Pederson will earn his new salary with the cross-town Angels. But we’re still waiting for a fun intra-Los Angeles trade to be finalized. (That seems likely to occur once another, yet more notable swap goes in the books.) This is Pederson’s final arb-eligible campaign.

Pederson, 27, appears to have been knocked out of the Dodgers’ outfield mix due to the still-pending acquisition of Mookie Betts. But that’s not to suggest that Pederson isn’t an accomplished player in his own right. He carries a cumulative .249/.331/.530 batting line with 61 long balls in 957 plate appearances over the past two seasons. While Pederson carries yawning platoon splits over his career, he’s quite a weapon when deployed almost exclusively against right-handed pitching.

Giants In Serious Talks With Hunter Pence

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It has been known for some time that the Giants had some level of interest in a reunion with Hunter Pence, but newly arising indications are that a deal could be coming together.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets that the sides have held “serious talks” for some time now. In fact, a tipster told Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports (Twitter link) that Pence is on his way to San Francisco. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic reports that there are indeed ongoing negotiations, but also that “no deal is done yet.”

Taken together, it seems there’s a rather clear indication that Pence could end up returning to the Giants, even if we can’t yet presume that a deal will be completed. If indeed things come together, no shortage of fans of the team will be thrilled to see Pence back in the bay.

Though his first stint with the Giants didn’t end on a high note, as Pence struggled through his last two seasons with the club, he’s fondly remembered for his contributions on and off the field. And Pence was quite productive for the most part with the Giants. He had a nice run from 2013 through 2016, slashing a robust .281/.339/.463 and hitting 69 home runs.

Pence rebounded in a big way after landing with the Rangers last winter. He posted a .297/.358/.552 batting line in 316 plate appearances. Statcast figures were rather positive, recording 84.7th percentile sprint speed, 91.4 mph average exist velocity, and a 10.1 degree mean launch angle that far exceeded his prior levels.

It’s a good fit on several levels for a Giants team that remains in transition. Pence would presumably function as a part-time player who’d appeal to fans, add some pop, and serve as a mentor to the organization’s younger players.

Indians Sign Cameron Rupp To Minor League Deal

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The Indians have agreed to a minor league deal with former Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp, per a team announcement. The former Phillies backstop will be in Major League camp when Spring Training opens.

Rupp, 31, hasn’t been in the big leagues since the 2017 season. He’s bounced between the Triple-A affiliates for the Twins, Rangers, Mariners, Tigers and A’s over the past couple of seasons, hitting for some power but struggling to get on base or hit for average. That general description is well in line with the skill set that Rupp displayed with the Phillies from 2013-17, when he appeared in 296 games and hit .234/.298/.407 with 39 homers in 1127 plate appearances.

The Indians don’t have an immediate need for a backup option, as Sandy Leon was brought in to support starter Roberto Perez, who enjoyed a breakout 2019 season at the plate. The Cleveland organization is a bit thin on catching depth in the upper minors, though, so Rupp will give them an experienced option to pair with fellow offseason signee Beau Taylor in Triple-A Columbus if he shows well in Spring Training.

Tyler Glasnow On Track For Spring Training After November Wrist Surgery

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Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow underwent right wrist surgery in November but is on track to be ready for the beginning of Spring Training, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Glasnow underwent a median nerve compression but is already throwing without issue (and had a bullpen session today, per Topkin).

It’s good news for the Rays that the 26-year-old appears to be on track for a regular Spring Training, though the fact that he went through the procedure at all is still of note. Glasnow missed more than three months of the 2019 season due to a forearm strain, and a fairly recent surgery on his pitching wrist will give the Rays extra reason to be cautious with the burgeoning star in 2020.

The 2019 season looks very much like the type of breakout many believed possible for Glasnow dating back to his days as a top prospect in the Pirates’ system. While the aforementioned forearm issue shelved him from May 26 through Sept. 8 and limited him to 60 2/3 regular-season innings, Glasnow was nothing short of elite in that time. He pitched to an immaculate 1.78 ERA with similarly excellent marks from fielding-independent pitching metrics (2.26 FIP, 2.94 xFIP, 3.18 SIERA). The towering right-hander induced grounders at better than a 50 percent clip, struck out nearly a third of the hitters he faced and maintained a tidy 6.1 percent walk rate.

A healthy Glasnow should be a major piece in what looks like an outstanding Rays rotation in 2020. He’ll join Charlie Morton, Blake Snell, Ryan Yarbrough and Yonny Chirinos as rotation options for manager Kevin Cash as the Rays take aim at a return trip to the postseason.

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