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Archives for February 2021

Phillies Sign Jeff Mathis To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies announced Tuesday that they’ve signed veteran catcher Jeff Mathis to a minor league deal and invited him to Major League Spring Training. The Phils also confirmed previously reported non-roster invites for veterans Neftali Feliz, Brandon Kintzler, Bryan Mitchell, Ivan Nova, Hector Rondon, Michael Ynoa, Ronald Torreyes, Travis Jankowski and Matt Joyce. Mathis a client of Jet Sports Management, would earn $1.8MM if he makes the roster, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Mathis, 38 in March, just wrapped up a two-year stint with the Rangers. He didn’t hit well at all in Texas, but the Rangers surely weren’t expecting him to provide anything with the bat, either. Mathis hit .207/.274/.297 in the two prior seasons with the D-backs and was nonetheless signed to a two-year deal almost exclusively for his defensive prowess behind the dish.

Long considered one of the best all-around defensive catchers in the game, Mathis will head to Spring Training with the Phillies as the quintessential veteran mentor for the team’s younger players. It seems difficult to envision him cracking the Opening Day roster with J.T. Realmuto re-signed to a new five-year deal, Andrew Knapp the likely backup and a third catcher, Rafael Marchan, on the 40-man roster. But Mathis can work with Knapp and the 22-year-old Marchan on their defensive aptitude behind the plate and has no shortage of veteran insight to share with the pitching staff after spending the past 16 seasons in the Majors.

Mathis has appeared in 945 Major League games and tallied 3006 plate appearances between the Angels, Blue Jays, Marlins, D-backs and Rangers. He’s just a .194/.253/.300 hitter in that time, but at his peak he controlled the running game brilliantly and was among the league’s best both in terms of pitch framing and blocking balls in the dirt.

As one might expect for a player as he enters his late 30s, Mathis has seen his defensive ratings dip in recent years, but he made known back in September that he hoped to continue his playing career and the Phillies are giving him the opportunity to do so. Mathis can always head to Triple-A Lehigh Valley if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, and it’s common for veterans of this nature to have multiple out dates in non-guaranteed deals, allowing them to return to the market near the end of camp (and/or early in the regular season) if they haven’t been added to the Major League roster.

Yankees To Sign Robinson Chirinos To Minors Deal

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Feb. 16: The Chirinos deal comes with a $1MM base salary in the big leagues plus another $500K of attainable incentives, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. He’ll also be provided multiple opt-out dates in the event that he’s not added to the Major League roster.

Feb. 15: The Yankees have reached a minor league agreement with free-agent catcher Robinson Chirinos, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The 36-year-old Chirinos has been a very good offensive catcher since he earned a regular role with the Rangers in 2014, but he hit free agency at an inopportune time this winter after a rough campaign divided between Texas and the Mets. Chirinos only put up a .162/.232/.243 line with one home run and an ISO of .081 82 plate appearances in 82 plate appearances. Those numbers paled in comparison to the .235/.331/.445 mark with 85 HRs that Chirinos managed in 1,953 PA between the Rangers and Astros in the previous six seasons.

Chirinos has never been known as a major defensive asset, but if the Yankees are confident he’ll rebound at the plate, he could push Kyle Higashioka for their backup role behind starter Gary Sanchez. Higashioka is ace Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher, though Chirinos did catch Cole in 2019 when they were members of the Astros.

Latest On Edwin Encarnacion

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Although free-agent designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion is one of baseball’s most prolific sluggers over the past several years, there is no guarantee he will suit up in the majors again. Encarnacion wants to play two more seasons, but as a defensively limited 38-year-old coming off a brutal campaign with the White Sox, it’s possible no team will sign him this year. If there’s no universal DH in 2021, it would further hurt Encarnacion’s cause, as he acknowledged to Hector Gomez of Z Sports 101 in the Dominican Republic.

“The decision that there will be no universal DH in the 2021 season has greatly affected my chances of signing,” Encarnacion said. “I want a team to give me the opportunity to play daily to show that I can still produce.”

Indeed, the lack of a DH in the NL would lead to fewer potential suitors for Encarnacion. Either way, considering how his 2020 went, it would be difficult to imagine any team guaranteeing an everyday role to Encarnacion. He hit a career-worst .157/.250/.377 in 181 plate appearances, though Encarnacion did continue to show off above-average power (10 home runs, .220 ISO). He’s also just two years removed from recording a line of .244/.344/.531 with 34 homers and a .287 ISO in 486 PA between the Mariners and Yankees. That was Encarnacion’s eighth straight season with both 30-plus homers and terrific overall offensive production.

It may be too soon to write Encarnacion off as a result of the struggles he endured over a small sample of work in 2020, though it’s worth pointing out he also had an awful year by Statcast’s standards as well. For instance, Encarnacion posted a .372 expected weighted on-base average in 2019, but that figure plummeted to .268 last year as his exit velocity fell to near the bottom of the league (85.4 mph) and his strikeout rate soared to 29.8 percent.

It may take a spring rebound as a non-roster invitee to earn his way back for a 17th big league season, although injuries in camp could always open a more solid opportunity. Speculatively speaking, the A’s at least represent an on-paper fit for a low-cost roll of the dice after dealing Khris Davis earlier this month.

Brewers Acquire Derek Fisher From Blue Jays

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The Brewers have acquired outfielder Derek Fisher from the Blue Jays for cash and a player to be named later, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

Milwaukee is the third organization for Fisher, who began as the 37th overall pick of the Astros in 2014. Houston sent him to Toronto five years later in a 2019 trade that delivered right-handers Aaron Sanchez and Joe Biagini to the Astros.

Fisher didn’t have much major league success with either the Astros or Jays, as evidenced by his .194/.286/.376 line with 17 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 458 plate appearances. He does, however, own a much more imposing triple-slash of .289/.379/.520 with 50 homers in 1,053 PA at the Triple-A level. Because Fisher is out of options, though, he’ll have to earn a spot on the Brewers’ 40-man roster this spring or potentially go back to the waiver wire. Christian Yelich, Avisail Garcia, Lorenzo Cain, Daniel Robertson, Tyrone Taylor, Billy McKinney, Corey Ray and Tim Lopes represent the other outfield-capable players on the Brewers’ 40-man.

Indians To Sign Blake Parker

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Free-agent reliever Blake Parker is signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Indians, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Parker could earn around $2.5MM if he hits the incentives on the contract.

Based on the production the 35-year-old right-hander has put up throughout his career, he seems like a solid bet to earn a season-opening spot in Cleveland’s bullpen. Dating back to his 2012 debut, Parker has pitched for six major league teams (Cubs, Yankees, Mariners, Angels, Twins and Phillies), with which he has combined for a 3.52 ERA/3.25 SIERA across 301 2/3 innings. While Parker doesn’t throw especially hard – his fastball has typically clocked in around 92 mph – he has managed above-average strikeout and walk percentages of 27.7 and 7.9, respectively.

Parker only threw 16 innings with the Phillies last year, but he made them count, as he registered an impressive 2.81 ERA/3.39 SIERA. He did issue an alarming amount of walks (13.0 percent), but Parker somewhat offset his control issues with a lofty strikeout percentage (36.2).

Twins To Sign Matt Shoemaker

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The Twins and free-agent right-hander Matt Shoemaker have reached a one-year, $2MM agreement, pending a physical, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. The deal includes up to $250K in performance bonuses. Shoemaker is a client of ISE Baseball.

Shoemaker began his career as a member of the Angels, with whom he pitched from 2013-18 and typically provided respectable production as a mid- to back-end type of starter. But Shoemaker had some injury issues then, throwing just 108 2/3 innings in his final two seasons as an Angel, before moving on to the Blue Jays prior to 2019.

Shoemaker was also unable to stay healthy during his two years as a Blue Jay, as a torn ACL limited him to 28 2/3 innings in 2019, while shoulder problems held him to a matching 28 2/3 frames last season. That said, Shoemaker mostly did a decent job in Toronto when he was able to take the mound. The 34-year-old now owns a 3.86 ERA/3.88 SIERA with above-average strikeout and walk percentages of 21.8 and 5.9, respectively, in 602 1/3 major league innings.

Shoemaker will be the second free-agent signing this offseason for the Twins’ rotation, which added J.A. Happ earlier in the winter. Those two are in line to complement Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios and Michael Pineda at the beginning of the season, though Randy Dobnak could also push for a starting spot. It’s unclear if the Shoemaker addition will affect whether the Twins re-sign Jake Odorizzi, arguably the No. 1 starter left in free agency.

Mets Interested In Trevor Rosenthal

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Right-hander Trevor Rosenthal may be the best reliever remaining in free agency, and he has at least one serious suitor in the Mets. They’re “clearly “in” on the reliever,” Mike Puma of the New York Post writes.

Rosenthal was largely successful with the Cardinals from 2012-17, part of which he spent as their closer, but then fell on hard times. He underwent Tommy John surgery late in 2017, missed all of the next season, and then had a horrible time between Washington and Detroit the next year. Rosenthal split 15 1/3 innings with those teams, allowing a whopping 24 runs (23 earned) on 26 walks with 17 strikeouts and 11 hits.

While Rosenthal’s career looked to be just about over at this time a year ago, he rebounded in a big way last season after inking a minor league deal with the Royals. Rosenthal did well with Kansas City over the first few weeks of the season before it sent him to San Diego leading up to the Aug. 31 trade deadline, after which he performed even better. The 30-year-old ended 2020 with a sterling 1.90 ERA/2.31 SIERA in 23 2/3 innings. Moreover, Rosenthal finished fifth among relievers in strikeout percentage (41.8) and sixth in K-BB percentage (33.0), also averaging 98 mph on his fastball and rating as a Statcast favorite.

A Rosenthal signing would be the second major free-agent offseason acquisition for the Mets’ relief corps, which added fellow setup man Trevor May on a two-year, $15.5MM deal in early December. Considering his vast experience as a closer (132 saves), Rosenthal could be a ninth-inning fallback option for the Mets if Edwin Diaz falters in 2021.

Red Sox Nearing Deal With Hirokazu Sawamura

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FEB. 15: The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) has additional contract details, saying Sawamura will earn $3MM over the course of the two-year pact and the Red Sox also have a “conditional and complex” club option on his services for the 2023 season.  If Sawamura hits every possible bonus, the contract will max out at $7.65MM over the three years.

FEB. 10: The Red Sox “appear on the cusp of” a deal with Sawamura, writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Sankei Sports reports it will be a two-year, $2.4MM deal with additional incentives available, according to Speier.

FEB. 7: The Red Sox are making progress on a deal with reliever Hirokazu Sawamura, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (Twitter link). If finalized, it’s expected to be a major league contract, per Cotillo. Sawamura is an unrestricted free agent, so the Sox would not owe any compensation to his previous Nippon Professional Baseball team, the Chiba Lotte Marines.

The 32-year-old (33 in April) has pitched to a 2.77 ERA with decent strikeout (22.0%) and walk (7.3%) rates in nine seasons at Japan’s highest level. Sawamura had a difficult start to the 2020 season with the Yomiuri Giants, pitching to a 6.08 ERA while striking out eleven and issuing eight walks in 13.2 innings. After the Giants traded him to the Marines midseason, though, Sawamura turned his fortunes around. Over 21 innings for the Marines down the stretch, the right-hander worked to a 1.71 ERA with a much better 29:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Last year’s early struggles were surely a red flag for some big league teams, but Sawamura’s post-trade rebound, his track record, and MLB-caliber arsenal have all seemingly worked in his favor as he’s talked with MLB teams this winter. Sawamura has a fastball that can reach 97 mph, a low-90s splitter that functions as his primary out pitch, and a slider.

Braves Sign Jason Kipnis To Minors Contract

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Jason Kipnis has signed a deal with the Braves, as the veteran infielder announced himself via his Twitter feed.  The MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the contract is a minor league pact with an invitation to the Braves’ Spring Training camp.

After signing a minor league deal with the Cubs last season, Kipnis ended up getting regular work at second base, getting a bit more playing time than young platoon partner Nico Hoerner.  Albeit in the smaller sample size of only 135 plate appearances, Kipnis delivered his best offensive performance in four seasons, hitting .237/.341/.404 with three home runs, good for a slightly above-average 101 OPS+ and 103 wRC+.  On the down side, Kipnis didn’t make much hard contact and his strikeout rate ballooned to a career-high 30.4%.

Much of Kipnis’ production last season came against right-handed pitching, so he could move on from platooning with Hoerner to platooning with another promising youngster in Atlanta’s Austin Riley at third base.  The wrinkle is that third base would be a new position for Kipnis, who has never played the hot corner in the big leagues and last played third base for four games of Arizona Fall League action back in 2010.

Ozzie Albies naturally has second base locked down in Atlanta, but since Kipnis has experience playing center field with the Indians in 2019, the Braves could deploy him as a backup outfielder.  Rookie Cristian Pache (another right-handed bat) is slated for regular center field duty, and Kipnis could occasionally spell Pache against some right-handed starters.

A two-time All-Star back in his prime years in Cleveland, Kipnis began to decline as he entered his 30’s, hitting just .236/.305/.403 over 1485 PA from 2017-19.  Now entering his age-34 campaign, Kipnis will look to provide some experience and multi-positional versatility off the Braves’ bench.

Yankees “In Serious Talks” With Justin Wilson

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1:45PM: The Mets are no longer candidates to sign Wilson, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).

FEB 15, 8:46AM: The Yankees appear to me “moving toward a deal” with Wilson, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). Wilson would fit well as a third southpaw to slot in ahead of closer Aroldis Chapman and setup man Zack Britton.

FEB 14: The Yankees are “in serious talks” with free agent reliever Justin Wilson, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported yesterday the sides had been in contact.

If they were to come to terms on a deal, it’d mark a return to the Yankees for Wilson, for whom he pitched in 2015. Wilson had a productive season, but they sent him to Detroit for Luis Cessa and Chad Green at year’s end. The veteran southpaw has generally remained productive since that trade.

Over the past five seasons, Wilson has worked to a 3.48 ERA with a strong strikeout rate (28.5%), albeit with a bit of an elevated walk percentage (11.4%). It was more of the same in 2020 for Wilson, who managed a 3.66 ERA/3.92 SIERA with fairly typical strikeout and walk numbers for the crosstown Mets. Now 33 years old, Wilson has maintained his 95+ MPH average fastball velocity and continues to induce swings and misses at a decent clip.

The Yankees’ bullpen looks strong, as has become typical in the past few years, but could stand to add some left-handed help Wilson would provide. Aside from closer Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton is the only southpaw reliever on New York’s 40-man roster.

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