Archives for February 2021

Free Agent Notes: Braun, Shreve, Kintzler, Marlins, Rondon

By Mark Polishuk | February 2, 2021 at 3:00pm CDT

The Brewers continue to remain in touch with Ryan Braun, but GM David Stearns told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (Twitter links) that there isn’t much new to report about the possibility of a reunion between the two sides. Braun hit free agency for the first time in his career after the Brew Crew declined their half of a $14MM option on his services for 2021, on the heels of an injury-hampered season that saw Braun hit .233/.281/.488 over 141 plate appearances.

After starting 15 games as a designated hitter last season, it’s quite possible Braun’s chances of a return to Milwaukee could hinge on whether or not the universal DH is a part of the 2021 season. Stearns gave no specifics on this front, other than to say that his team is making preparations to play either with or without a DH in the lineup. While Braun is entering his age-37 season and doesn’t exactly fit the Brewers’ preferred model of multi-positional players, his 14-year tenure as the face of the franchise could create some room for a return — perhaps for just a final season, as Braun has weighed the idea of retirement but also said he wants to play another year.

Angels Suspend Pitching Coach Mickey Callaway After Accusations Of Lewd Behavior

By Connor Byrne | February 2, 2021 at 2:36pm CDT

TODAY: The Angels announced that Callaway has been suspended. According to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN, Callaway “has denied any wrongdoing,” thus preventing him from being fired without an investigation.

FEB. 1: Five women in sports media have accused Angels pitching coach Mickey Callaway of lewd behavior, Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang of The Athletic report. Callaway “aggressively pursued” these women over the span of at least a half-decade and was part of three different organizations during that time.

The 45-year-old Callaway is accused of sending three women inappropriate photographs and requesting naked photos in return from one of them, per Ghiroli and Strang. He’s also accused of making them uncomfortable in other ways, including thrusting his crotch in a reporter’s face while she interviewed him and telling another woman he’d provide information about the Mets if she got drunk with him.

Callaway’s alleged behavior has apparently been well-known in some corners of baseball, as one of the accusers told Ghiroli and Strang, “It was the worst-kept secret in sports.”

Callaway responded to The Athletic in an email, writing: “Rather than rush to respond to these general allegations of which I have just been made aware, I look forward to an opportunity to provide more specific responses. Any relationship in which I was engaged has been consensual, and my conduct was in no way intended to be disrespectful to any women involved. I am married and my wife has been made aware of these general allegations.”

The Angels issued their own response to the story.

“The behavior being reported violates the Angels Organization’s values and policies,” the team said. “We take this very seriously and will conduct a full investigation with MLB.”

Callaway is entering his second season as the Angels’ pitching coach, but he may not retain the position (the Mets fired GM Jared Porter last month after he was accused of sexual harassment). Before joining the Angels, Callaway served as the Indians’ pitching coach from 2013-17 and the Mets’ manager between 2018-19.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | February 2, 2021 at 2:07pm CDT

Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.

Phillies, Red Sox Interested In Marwin Gonzalez

By Mark Polishuk | February 2, 2021 at 1:34pm CDT

Utilityman Marwin Gonzalez is garnering interest from at least six teams, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). The Red Sox have been linked to Gonzalez in recent weeks and continue to be involved in his market, Feinsand writes, while NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury (via Twitter) reports that the Phillies are also interested in Gonzalez’s services.

Gonzalez has been roughly a league-average hitter over the last seven seasons with the Astros and Twins, with two exceptions — his .907 OPS outburst over 515 plate appearances for Houston’s World Series team in 2017, and his dismal .211/.286/.320 slash line over 199 PA with Minnesota last season. Gonzalez’s hard-contact numbers weren’t impressive in 2020, but his .241 BABIP indicates that there was perhaps a bit of misfortune at play, not to mention the overall unusual nature of the 2020 season adding uncertainty to stats.

Should Gonzalez get back to his usual level of production, his switch-hitting and ability to play multiple positions could make him a fit on many teams, Boston and Philadelphia included. The Red Sox are known to be looking for a left-handed bat to augment their largely right-handed projected roster, while the Phillies are in need of bench depth and could also use a more proven bat that can hit from the left side of the plate.

The Tigers and Twins have also reportedly shown interest in Gonzalez at various points this offseason, though it isn’t known if either team is still considering the 31-year-old. Of the known suitors, Detroit can offer Gonzalez the most playing time and even an everyday role considering the lack of depth on the Tigers’ roster, though Gonzalez might prefer to play for a team closer to contending in 2021.

Padres Extend A.J. Preller

By Mark Polishuk | February 2, 2021 at 12:57pm CDT

The Padres have extended general manager A.J. Preller through the 2026 season and given him the title of president of baseball operations, the team announced. President of business operations Erik Greupner has also been given a promotion to Chief Executive Officer and a similar contract extension through 2026.

“Erik and A.J. have earned their promotions by assembling strong business and baseball operations groups within our organization while working together towards our singular goal of winning a World Series championship,” Padres owner Peter Seidler said as part of a statement released by the team. “Erik is a steady hand and multi-talented leader, and he has been the driving force behind our innovative business growth in a continuously evolving sports landscape. A.J. has skillfully built both a playoff-caliber Major League club and a top tier minor league system. I look forward to working with Erik and A.J. towards an exciting future for our deserving and extraordinarily supportive fans.”

This is the second contract extension signed by Preller since he was originally hired by the team in August 2014, and his previous deal was set to expire after the 2022 season. Clearly the Padres wanted to act quickly in committing to an executive who, despite a lot of ups and downs, now seems to have positioned San Diego to contend for the better part of the coming decade.

Preller’s first offseason in charge of the Padres saw the team load up on established veterans, an aggressive strategy that backfired with another losing season in 2015 and, eventually, led to another rebuild. Preller spent the next few seasons overseeing the development of arguably baseball’s minor league system, setting the groundwork for a multi-year effort to again obtain star players in various trades, while also hanging onto many of the most highly-regarded members of this farm system. Combine this with Padres ownership’s willingness to break the bank on expensive free agent signings like Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer, and the Padres have suddenly amassed a very deep and talented roster intent on overthrowing the Dodgers atop the NL West and finally bringing San Diego its first World Series title.

It has been quite a turn-around for Preller considering that he was reportedly close to being fired back in 2016 after a 30-day suspension issued by Major League Baseball. Preller was punished for failing to disclose medical information about Drew Pomeranz when the Padres dealt him to the Red Sox for prospect Anderson Espinoza, and multiple other teams also spoke to the league about similar alleged actions in other Padres trades.

2020 was the Padres’ first winning season of Preller’s tenure, as the team went 37-23 in the regular season and defeated the Cardinals in the Wild Card Series before falling to the Dodgers in the NLDS. With a playoff berth finally under his belt, Preller was again aggressive this winter, adding Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Joe Musgrove in newsworthy trades, re-signing Jurickson Profar to a three-year deal, and signing Korean star Ha-Seong Kim to a free agent contract.

The addition of the president of baseball operations title doesn’t materially change Preller’s duties, as he was already the team’s top front office decision-maker. Teams use various designations (whether president of baseball ops, chief baseball officer, senior VP, general manager, etc.) for the person in charge of their baseball operations department, though the new title just cements Preller’s position and perhaps keeps other teams from trying to lure him away in the future with offers of a promtion.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Red Sox Sign Enrique Hernandez

By Connor Byrne | February 2, 2021 at 12:42pm CDT

TODAY: The Red Sox officially announced the two-year contract. Hernandez has a $6MM salary in 2021 and an $8MM salary in 2022, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, although the contract carries some heavy deferrals despite its affordable nature. Heyman indicates that $1.5MM of that 2021 salary will be paid in $250K installments from 2027-32, while $1MM of the 2022 salary will be paid in $250K installments from 2033-36.

JANUARY 22, 9:43pm: The contract includes deferrals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

7:24pm: It’s a two-year, $14MM pact for Hernandez, Feinsand reports. As Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com points out, this is the biggest free-agent deal chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has given out since he took over Boston’s front office last offseason.

7:00pm: Boston has agreed to a multiyear deal with Hernandez, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Hernandez is a Wasserman client.

3:5opm: The Red Sox and free-agent utilityman Enrique Hernandez have made progress toward a contract and could have an agreement by the end of the weekend, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com.

A Boston-Hernandez agreement wouldn’t come as any surprise, as the two sides have been linked in rumors for at least the past few weeks. Plus, as Morosi notes, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was Team Puerto Rico’s GM in the 2017 World Baseball Classic when Hernandez was part of the club.

The 29-year-old Hernandez was a sixth-round pick of the Astros in 2009, but he has since been part of trades that have sent him to the Marlins and Dodgers. He found a home in Los Angeles from 2014-20, where he proved to be a useful cog as someone capable of playing all over the diamond (primarily second baseman and the outfield). He also recorded roughly league-average offensive production as a member of the Dodgers, with whom he batted .240/.312/.425 (98 wRC+) with 68 home runs 1,874 plate appearances. However, Hernandez’s numbers tailed off from 2019-20, so he shouldn’t come at an especially high price this offseason.

If he does join the Red Sox, Hernandez would be an obvious candidate to get significant reps at second base, where the club finished 25th in fWAR (minus-0.2) last season. Michael Chavis and Christian Arroyo are the only healthy second basemen on Boston’s 40-man roster at the moment. Of course, they also some have questions with Jackie Bradley Jr. a free agent and Andrew Benintendi a trade candidate, so Hernandez could also be a factor in the grass.

Phillies Sign Hector Rondon, David Paulino To Minors Deals

By Mark Polishuk | February 2, 2021 at 12:25pm CDT

12:25PM: Rondon will earn $1.5MM if he makes Philadelphia’s Major League roster, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The righty can also earn up to $1MM in additional bonus incentives.

11:25AM: The Phillies announced that right-handers Hector Rondon and David Paulino have been signed to minor league contracts. Both pitchers will receive invites to the team’s big league Spring Training camp.

Rondon hit the open market in October when the Diamondbacks bought out his $4MM 2021 club option for $500K. It wasn’t an unexpected decision considering how Rondon struggled in his only season with Arizona, posting a 7.65 ERA over 20 innings with below-average 23.7% strikeout percentage and 12.4K-BB%. Rondon also allowed six homers over his 20 frames of work. This performance was a stark departure from the solid work Rondon delivered over his previous six seasons with the Cubs and Astros, so Philadelphia is surely hoping it has added some much-needed bullpen help at the lowered cost of a minor league contract.

Rondon posted a 3.06 ERA over 361 1/3 innings from 2014-19 with a 25.3K%, 18.7K-BB%, and 48.8% grounder rate, formerly serving as the Cubs’ closer and contributing to Chicago’s 2016 world championship team. A consistent hard thrower over his career, Rondon’s fastball velocity dipped slightly to a 95.6mph average in 2020, though like all his stats, that could be attributed to the odd nature of the most recent season rather than a potential sign of decline heading into his age-33 season.

Paulino last appeared in the majors in 2018, pitching with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A club in 2019 after posting a 5.48 ERA over 42 2/3 career MLB innings with Houston and Toronto from 2016-18. Once a top-100 prospect, Paulino has battled injuries and was issued an 80-game PED suspension in 2017. Only a few days shy of his 27th birthday, Paulino could still be something of a late bloomer, so there’s no risk for the Phillies in bringing him to camp and seeing if some further potential can be unclocked.

GM Jeff Bridich: Trevor Story Expected To Begin Season With Rockies

By Mark Polishuk | February 2, 2021 at 12:19pm CDT

With Nolan Arenado now officially on his way to the Cardinals, questions have inevitably turned to the future of another star Rockies infielder in Trevor Story. The shortstop is entering the final year of his contract, but the team expects that Story will begin 2021 in a Colorado uniform, as GM Jeff Bridich told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter links) and other reporters today.

Bridich stopped short of saying that Story wouldn’t be traded whatsoever, as “it’s very difficult to predict what the coming months will look like.” Beyond just Story, however, Bridich more firmly stated that the Arenado trade wasn’t the first of many for his team. “This certainly is not a total tear-down and rebuild….If that was the case, certain players already would have been traded,” the general manager said.

That comment could be a more pointed reference to Story, considering how Story can be a free agent next winter. The shortstop has been cited as a logical trade candidate for months, though while reports in December suggested the Rox were at least considering the possibility, there hasn’t been much in the way of concrete news about specific teams pursuing Story. That said, it’s probably safe to assume that every team in need of a shortstop this offseason at least placed a call to Bridich to check in on Story’s availability.

While that list of possible suitors has narrowed as several notable shortstops have come off the board in free agency and in the trade market, there would certainly still be plenty of interest in Story if the Rockies changed course and shopped him now, or even in midseason as a pure trade deadline rental. A case could certainly be made that Colorado is better off moving him now in order to maximize Story’s trade return, since waiting until closer to the trade deadline creates added risk of an injury, or Story struggling, or teams being less willing to give up multiple prospects since they’d only have Story for a portion of a season rather than all of 2021.

However, the Rockies seem intent on not throwing in the towel on the coming season. At today’s press conference, owner Dick Monfort told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other media that “I truly believe this is a very talented team that underperformed the last two years.” Monfort has been notably over-optimistic about his team in the past (most notably his prediction almost exactly one year ago that the 2020 Rockies would win 94 games), and even if the Rockies were better than their 2019-20 records indicate, that certainly isn’t a promise of future success. Colorado has done little this offseason besides trade Arenado, while the Dodgers and Padres now seem prepared to dominate the NL West for years to come.

Free Agent Rumors: Bradley, Tigers, Encarnacion, Wong

By Steve Adams | February 2, 2021 at 9:38am CDT

With the Red Sox now just a few million dollars shy of the luxury-tax threshold after their deals to bring in Garrett Richards, Enrique Hernandez, Martin Perez and Adam Ottavino, a reunion with Jackie Bradley Jr. appears unlikely, ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote Sunday. That’s not especially surprising on its own, of course, but Olney notes more interestingly that Bradley “could wind up with a three-year deal elsewhere.” That’d be a strong outcome for Bradley, who’ll turn 31 in April, given the difficulty mid-tier free agents have had in securing lucrative deals this winter.

Bradley has been connected most frequently to the Mets in recent weeks, although he’s also reportedly drawn interest from the Blue Jays, the Cubs, the Phillies and the Astros at various points this winter. The Red Sox’ likely departure from any bidding for his services won’t help Bradley’s market, but most indications still seem to suggest that he has a case for a multi-year pact wherever he ultimately lands.

A few more notes on the free-agent market…

Olney also writes that the Tigers could look further at the third tier of free-agent outfielders, listing names like Adam Duvall, Jay Bruce, Kevin Pillar, Tyler Naquin and Matt Joyce as potential fits. Detroit already inked Robbie Grossman to a two-year pact and will likely hand him the keys to an everyday gig in left field, but their outfield mix still isn’t quite settled. JaCoby Jones has shown flashes of high-quality play in center field but lacked consistency while battling injuries. Victor Reyes has had a nice run at the plate over the past couple of seasons but has yet to ever tally 300 MLB plate appearances in a given campaign. The Tigers have plenty of younger options in the form of Travis Demeritte, Daz Cameron, Derek Hill, Christin Stewart and Rule 5 pick Akil Baddoo, but the first four all have minor league options remaining and Baddoo is no lock to make the club.
Agent Paul Kinzer tells MLB.com’s Jon Morosi that his client, Edwin Encarnacion, hopes to play another two seasons at the MLB level and still has aspirations of reaching 500 home runs in his career (Twitter link). It feels like a stretch that Encarnacion could get to that mark in two years, given that he’s still 76 long balls shy of that illustrious milestone, however. The 38-year-old slugger has four seasons of 38 or more homers under his belt, but he’d need to land somewhere with an opportunity for everyday at-bats (presumably as a designated hitter) to even have a chance. Coming off a .157/.250/.377 showing in 2020, such an arrangement could be tough to find. That said, if Encarnacion rebounds in 2021 and is open to playing beyond the 2022 season, it’s conceivable that he could yet reach that mark.
There’s “little interest” in bringing second baseman Kolten Wong back for the Cardinals at this point, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote in his latest Q&A with readers. A new home for Wong has felt likeliest since the Cards bought out his $12.5MM option for the 2021 season, although some Cards fans have held out hope for a new deal as the two sides have reportedly stayed in touch throughout free agency. The infield market has picked up steam recently, but that hasn’t translated to a deal for Wong — arguably the game’s best defender at his position.

Cardinals Acquire Nolan Arenado

By Connor Byrne | February 1, 2021 at 10:58pm CDT

After a few days of waiting for their complicated trade to be finalized, the Cardinals and Rockies have completed their deal centering on third baseman Nolan Arenado, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. The league and the union have signed off on the swap. The Rockies will receive left-hander Austin Gomber, third baseman Mateo Gil, infielder Elehuris Montero and right-handers Tony Locey and Jake Sommers in exchange for Arenado, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch previously reported Gomber’s spot in the deal, while Ken Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic tweeted that Gil would be in it.

The two teams agreed to this trade in principle last Friday, but it was held up over the weekend as they worked out finances and which players would be involved. St. Louis is now getting one of the game’s premier infielders, and the team will reportedly add another year and $15MM to Arenado’s contract. As such, he’ll be signed through 2027 at $214MM. The Rockies will absorb $51MM, including some in deferrals, according to Feinsand. The Rockies will pay all of Arenado’s $35MM salary in 2021, Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays.

Along with the added value to his deal, Arenado will be able to opt out of his pact after either of the next two seasons (the Cardinals added the second opt-out as part of the trade; most of the money the Rox owe will be after the opt-outs, Feinsand adds).

Considering the concessions the Cardinals are making, it’s no surprise Arenado waived his no-trade clause to become part of the club. Of course, it helps that the Cardinals look much better equipped to compete for a playoff spot than the Rockies, who saw their relationship with Arenado deteriorate over the past year-plus. The Rockies, whom Arenado played for from 2013-20, earned playoff berths in 2017 and ’18, but they’ve since fallen apart. Arenado, dissatisfied with the team’s inactivity in free agency, was part of trade rumors last offseason and even accused general manager Jeff Bridich of treating him with disrespect.

The Bridich-led Rockies are now wiping most of Arenado’s contract off the books, but they’re also losing a face-of-the-franchise type who won eight straight Gold Gloves and picked up five All-Star nods in their uniform. The 29-year-old Arenado annually blended well-above-average offense with superb defense as a Rockie, though his production at the plate did fall off during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Across 201 plate appearances, Arenado batted a career-worst .253/.303/.434 – down from a lifetime .293/.343/.541. Arenado did walk (15) nearly as much as he struck out (20), and a .241 batting average on balls in play hurt his cause, yet his Statcast numbers also plummeted.

The Cardinals no doubt regard Arenado’s 2020 decline as a small sample blip. He’ll now take over at the hot corner for the club in place of Matt Carpenter and Tommy Edman, the Cardinals’ main third base choices last year. Both Carpenter and Edman also have second base experience, so they could divvy up the keystone next season if Kolten Wong exits in free agency. However, it’s possible the Cardinals would rather find a way to jettison Carpenter, a former standout whose output was weak from 2019-20. That may not be doable, though, considering the 35-year-old’s sudden drop-off, the $20.5MM he’s due through 2021 (including a $2MM buyout for ’22) and his no-trade protection.

In order to bolster their situation at third, the Cardinals are parting with a few of their top 30 farmhands, though it doesn’t appear the Rockies are getting any blue-chip talent back. Baseball America ranked Montero 14th, Locey 26th and Gil 28th in the Cardinals’ system prior to the trade.

Montero, who topped out as BA’s 81st-ranked prospect in the sport in 2019, made his pro debut in 2015 and reached the Double-A level in 2019. While he struggled there, the 22-year-old has typically produced above-average numbers in the minors, BA wrote last season that Montero is “a physical, strong hitter with excellent hand-eye coordination, bat speed and plus raw power.” Defensively, Montero’s future could be at first base.

Locey, a third-round pick in 2019, divided his draft year between the rookie and Single-A levels. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Locey 16th in the Cardinals’ system a year ago and wrote that he could be a reliever, as his velocity mixes well with short stints.

Gil, son of former major leaguer Benji Gil, has mostly played rookie ball going back to his first taste of pro action in 2018. Longenhagen wrote in 2020 that the 20-year-old has “low-end regular upside.”

Sommers, 23, is the only prospect the Rox are getting back who was not in BA’s top 30 for the Cardinals at the time of the deal. He’s a 10th-round pick from 2019 who threw 51 2/3 innings of 4.18 ERA ball and struck out more than a batter per inning at the rookie level during his draft year.

The 27-year-old Gomber is the lone player with big league experience on his way to Colorado in this trade. Gomber, a fourth-rounder in 2014, reached the majors for the first time in 2018 and has since been effective over 104 innings for the Cardinals. He sports a lifetime 3.72 ERA, though he was even better than that last year with 29 frames of 1.86 ERA ball (mostly in relief). While Gomber did end the season with below-average figures in strikeout percentage (22.7), walk percentage (12.6) and SIERA (4.82), he should earn a role as part of Colorado’s pitching staff in 2021. He’s not on track to become eligible for arbitration until after 2022 and isn’t scheduled for free agency until the conclusion of the 2025 season.

All said, when considering Arenado’s superstar status and his massive contract, this is one of the most notable trades in recent baseball history. It’s also indicative of two teams going in opposite directions. The Cardinals, who went to the playoffs for the second straight year in 2020, are clearly going for it in a wide-open National League Central. On the other side, the Rockies seem to realize they have little chance to compete in the near term as part of an NL West led by serious contenders in the reigning World Series champion Dodgers and the up-and-coming Padres.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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