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Archives for March 2021

Felix Hernandez Opts Out Of Orioles Contract

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1:19pm: The Orioles announced that Hernandez has requested and been granted his release. He’s not expected to re-sign a new deal with the O’s, tweets Joe Trezza of MLB.com.

7:25am: Felix Hernandez has chosen to opt out of his contract with the Baltimore Orioles and become a free agent, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter).

For awhile this spring, it looked like King Felix would indeed win an opportunity to begin the season in the Orioles rotation, but an elbow injury knocked him out of action in mid-March and undermined his efforts. Had he made the roster, he would have been in line for a $1MM salary.

Prior to the injury, Hernandez made three starts, threw 5 2/3 innings, and allowed five earned runs, six hits, two walks, and a hit batsman. He also struck out five. But there simply wasn’t enough evidence that Hernandez would even be healthy enough to take a turn every five days.

Hernandez last pitched in the Majors in 2019. He has a 169-136 record in 2,729 2/3 innings over 418 career starts – all with the Mariners. The soon-to-be 35-year-old put up 50.3 bWAR/54.1 fWAR over 15 seasons in Seattle.

Reds Select Tyler Naquin, Cam Bedrosian

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The Reds announced Monday that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Tyler Naquin and right-handed reliever Cam Bedrosian. Both were in camp on non-roster deals and have now formally made the Opening Day club.

The Reds already had one open 40-man roster spot, and right-hander Brandon Bailey, who had Tommy John surgery earlier this spring, was placed on the 60-day IL to create a second one. Meanwhile, infielder Mike Freeman and right-handers Heath Hembree and Braden Shipley were all reassigned to minor league camp and will not make the Opening Day squad.

It’s not hard to see why either Naquin or Bedrosian made the club. The 29-year-old Naquin, a former Indians first-rounder who spent the past five seasons in Cleveland, posted a terrific .310/.375/.667 batting line with three homers, four doubles and a triple in 48 plate appearances. He struck out a bit too much (14 times) but also drew five walks.

Naquin probably won’t draw starting duties in Cincinnati, where the Reds have Jesse Winker, Nick Senzel and Nick Castellanos ahead of him on the depth chart. However, with Shogo Akiyama still on the mend from a hamstring strain, Naquin gives the Reds a left-handed-hitting outfielder capable of playing all three spots.

Bedrosian, meanwhile, allowed three homers and yielded four total runs in 8 2/3 innings this spring (4.15 ERA). However, he also punched out half of the 32 batters he faced and issued just three walks. His K/BB numbers went the wrong direction in last year’s shortened season, but Bedrosian has a generally strong track record with the Angels, having compiled a 3.20 ERA with a 25.1 percent strikeout rate and 9.0 percent walk rate dating back to 2016.

Jonathan Lucroy Granted Release By White Sox

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The White Sox have released veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy from his minor league contract, reports FanSided’s Robert Murray (via Twitter). The decision leaves Zack Collins and Yermin Mercedes as backup catching options still in camp. The Sox have already optioned Seby Zavala, and Yasmani Grandal is of course slated to serve as the primary catcher again in 2021. The Athletic’s James Fegan tweets that Lucroy asked for his release after being informed that he would not crack the Opening Day roster.

Lucroy, 34, appeared in 14 games with the Sox during Spring Training but only tallied 23 trips to the plate. It’s a small sample of work, but he hit well in that time, going 6-for-18 with a double and drawing five walks against just one strikeout. He’d long looked like a very plausible backup option behind Grandal, but it seems the Sox will instead turn things over to younger, in-house alternatives.

Keeping Lucroy would’ve required opening another 40-man roster spot. They’ll already need to do so for Andrew Vaughn at the very least — assuming he makes the club, as expected — and could need to do so for Jake Lamb, depending on the terms of the agreement he reached with the South Siders earlier this morning. Eloy Jimenez can be moved to the 60-day IL to create one such opening, but the Sox may not be keen on finding ways to open too many additional spots.

Lucroy was arguably MLB’s premier catcher at one point, but that was back in 2016 and his subsequent decline has been precipitous, to say the least. Since Opening Day 2017, Lucroy has posted a combined .248/.315/.305 batting line that clocks in at 24 percent worse than league-average production by measure of both OPS+ and wRC+. His once-vaunted framing numbers have tumbled as well, as has his ability to catch opposing base thieves. Lucroy appeared in just one big league game last year, with the Red Sox, and did not tally a plate appearance.

Twins To Sign Randy Dobnak To Five-Year Extension

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TODAY: Bob Nightengale of USA Today provides the details on Dobnak’s extension. He’ll make $700K this season, $800K in 2022, $1.5MM in 2023, $2.25MM in 2024, and $3MM in 2025, his final year of initial team control. The three team options will be worth $6MM in 2026, $7MM in 2027, and $8.5MM in 2028 with buyouts of $1MM for 2026 and just $100K for both 2027 and 2028.

MARCH 29: The Minnesota Twins are in agreement with right-hander Randy Dobnak on a five-year, $9.25MM extension, per Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). The deal includes three club option years with escalators that can bring the total amount up to $29.75MM. The first option year in 2026 will include a $1MM buyout, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter). That leaves $8.25MM to be spread out among the five seasons prior. For each of the three option years, escalators can add up to $1.8MM per season based on innings pitched thresholds.  Dobnak is a client of Gaeta Sports Management.

This definitely rates as somewhat of a surprise, given that Dobnak, 26, will begin the year in the bullpen after spending all of last season in the rotation. While starting the year in a piggyback role might seem like a demotion, the Twins clearly feel compelled enough by Dobnak’s performance to guarantee his role in the organization for years to come. Further, with just 1.047 days of service time, he wasn’t likely to become arbitration-eligible until 2023.

The Twins, meanwhile, get three additional seasons of optional team control at what are likely to be reasonable rates. Both sides benefit from the financial certainty, though the escalators still provide Dobnak with a path to increasing his future earnings. Importantly, this is likely to be Dobnak’s primary source of career earnings: If the Twins choose to buy out the option years, it’s not likely to lead to a higher salary elsewhere, and if the Twins don’t buyout any of the option years, Dobnak will reach free agency for the first time prior to his age-34 season. Still, given his non-traditional path to professional baseball, it’s certainly understandable why a deal like this would appeal to Dobnak.

His rise, after all, certainly qualifies as one of the less likely origin stories in recent season. The Twins signed Dobnak with a mere $500 signing bonus in July 2017 after scouting him exclusively over YouTube, writes the Athletic’s Dan Hayes. He supplemented his income by driving for Uber and excelled through the Twins’ system despite overwhelming velocity or a knock-out put-away pitch. For a 26-year-old who signed out of independent ball, this deal represents life-changing money.

On the hill, suffice it so say that Dobnak has repeatedly overcome his underdog status to provide valuable innings for Minnesota. He was a genuine revelation in making his debut during the 2019 season, posting a 1.59 ERA/3.92 SIERA in five starts and four relief appearances covering 28 1/3 innings. Dobnak’s sophomore season had more ups-and-downs, but he still managed a 4.05 ERA/4.56 SIERA in 10 starts covering 46 2/3 innings. In 75 total career innings, Dobnak has achieved an excellent 58.8 percent groundball rate with a similarly-encouraging 5.7 percent walk rate and less-than-thrilling 15.7 percent strikeout rate.

He certainly doesn’t fit the mold of today’s hurler. His fastball lands in the 31st percentile for velocity and 5th percentile for spin rate. He is in the 13th percentile for whiff rate and fourth percentile by strikeout rate. Nevertheless, he has been better than average at avoiding barrels and coaxing below-average exit velocity while burning worms and avoiding free passes.

The recipe has worked for Dobnak thus far and earned him a long-term home in Minnesota. His four-seam fastball/sinker averaged just 91.4 mph, but strong arm-side run has proved it particularly effective against righties. He re-worked his slider and increased its usage in 2020 to promising results. While he will begin the season in the bullpen, the Twins rotation features a number of veterans with a history of injuries. It’s highly unlikely that the Twins won’t need to access their depth behind Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda, J.A. Happ, and the oft-injured Matt Shoemaker. Chances are the Twins’ mustachioed, bespectacled, newly-wealthy right-hander will be called on for bulk innings in 2021 and beyond.

NL Notes: Nationals, Pirates, Cardinals

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The Nationals will enter the season with Starlin Castro as their everyday third baseman. Josh Harrison will get most of the starts at second, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Veterans Jordy Mercer and Hernan Perez will back them up. The latter duo had just 28 plate appearances between them in 2020. This wasn’t exactly the plan as designed for how to replace Anthony Rendon, who is finally recognized as one of the best in the game at the hot corner.

Unfortunately, Carter Kieboom hasn’t totally turned the corner after tying for the 10-lowest ISO mark (.010 ISO) among batters with at least 100 plate appearances in the past twenty seasons. Among those in the bottom-10, three promptly retired, while others continued on as rarely-used bench players. Take it for what you will, then, that a Kieboom resurgence still likely presents the highest possible ceiling of the options available. For now, the Nats will trudge forward with their cadre of veterans. This might not be a short-term solution, however. Manager Dave Martinez said he wants Castro at third because he’s going to play everyday and he doesn’t want to move him around, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Martinez prefers Harrison’s range at second. Meanwhile, we’re just three days from opening day…

  • Former Nationals Wilmer Difo and Brian Goodwin were reassigned to minor league camp along with right-hander Steven Wright, the Pirates announced today. Right-hander Geoff Hartlieb has also been optioned to the minors. That means Anthony Alford likely starts the year as the starting centerfielder, notes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with Dustin Fowler backing up all three outfield spots. Alford, 26, jumps right into a regular role after experiencing mere cups of coffee in the four years prior. Going back to his debut with the Blue Jays in 2017, here are Alford’s season totals for plate appearances: 8, 21, 30, and 29.
  • Tommy Edman will be the Cardinals’ backup centerfielder to start the season, per Jeff Jones of MLB.com (via Twitter). Tyler O’Neill will line up after him. Harrison Bader’s injury has certainly thrown a bit of a wrench into the Cardinals defensive alignment. With Bader, St. Louis was preparing an otherworldly defensive unit: Paul Goldschmidt is a three-time Gold Glove winner at first; Yadier Molina is a nine-time winner and the consensus best defensive catcher of his generation; Paul DeJong has been frozen out of award season, but he’s been easily among the NL’s best defensive shortstops in recent seasons; ditto for Bader in center, while O’Neill posted 9 DRS in left last season; Nolan Arenado, of course, has never not won the Gold Glove. Not mentioned there, Carlson and Edman, who are, apparently, capable of shifting to centerfield at a moment’s notice. No matter who mans center, it seems, the Cards plan on catching the baseball.

NL West Notes: Diamondbacks, Widener, Closer, Ahmed, Dodgers, McKinstry

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Taylor Widener will open the season as a member of the Diamondbacks rotation, per MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (via Twitter). Widener beat out Taylor Clarke to take Zac Gallen’s spot in the rotation. Widener has been a highly-regarded prospect, first in the Yankees’ system and then with the Diamondbacks. He made 12 appearances out of the Dbacks’ pen in 2020 with a 4.50 ERA/6.49 FIP across 20 innings. Clarke, meanwhile, will head to the bullpen. Elsewhere in the desert…

  • The Diamondbacks are going with a closer-by-committee approach to start the season, per Zach Buchanan of the Athletic (via Twitter). Joakim Soria has been the presumptive closer given his past experience in the role compared to the other options on the roster. Soria’s 223 career saves easily set the pace. Tyler Clippard is second with 68 career saves, and Stefan Crichton comes in third with just five career saves. Nevertheless, Crichton is one of the guys manager Torey Lovullo may turn to late in game. The Diamondbacks might simply want to push some of their less proven bullpen arms to see what exactly they have in someone like Crichton or Kevin Ginkel.
  • Nick Ahmed’s been experiencing knee pain, an issue that he has dealt with in the past. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection as treatment and plans to be ready for opening day, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Arizona doesn’t have a perfect solution to replace Ahmed, were he to miss time. Josh Rojas would likely slide to short with Asdrubal Cabrera seeing more regular time at the keystone. For now, however, they’ll assume good health and move ahead with Ahmed. While he’s not among the elite at his position, Ahmed has put together a quality three-year stretch, pairing gold glove defense with an acceptable 89 wRC+.
  • Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed that none of the non-roster invitees are still in the running to make their opening day roster, per Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Presumably, that means Zach McKinstry has made the roster as a utility option off the bench. There is still one roster decision pending for the champs, however, as Roberts says they are not yet decided about their fifth starter. David Price, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin are all still under consideration for the role. Price was scratched from his recent start because of illness. He plans to pitch today in a simulated game. (Twitter links). Gonsolin struggled through 3 2/3 innings against the Angels on Sunday night.

Angels Option Ty Buttrey, Sign Noe Ramirez

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The Angels bullpen finished 12th in the Majors by measure of FIP in 2020 and 21st by ERA, but the most gaudy failures came at the end of games. The Angels blew 14 saves, the most in the Majors. New GM Perry Minasian acted decisively to address their bullpen woes this winter. Raisel Iglesias was the big get coming over from Cincinnati, but he’s not the only new face: Alex Claudio signed early in December, Junior Guerra in January, and Aaron Slegers was acquired via trade from the much-vaunted Tampa bullpen.

They continued to tinker with their bullpen mix with a pair of moves today. In a surprising development, the club optioned Ty Buttrey to Triple-A, the team announced. After joining the Angels from Boston along with Williams Jerez as part of the Ian Kinsler deadline deal in 2018, Buttrey posted a 1.4 fWAR season in 2019 in 72 appearances covering 72 1/3 innings. He earned his 3.98 ERA/3.58 SIERA while striking out 27.2 percent of hitters and walking just 7.4 percent. Entering 2020, Buttrey was a key variable in the Angels’ run-prevention equation.

Over 27 games in 2020, however, Buttrey’s strikeout rate fell to a concerning 16.1 percent. His ERA- saw a year-over-year spike from 87 to 132. He was responsible for four of the Angels’ 14 blown saves while notching just a pair of holds. The North Carolina native converted 26 holds the year prior. His velocity fell from 97.1 mph to 96.1 mph, and while that still ranked in the 88th percentile for fastball velocity, his whiff rate with the offering fell from 25.5 percent to 16.8 percent. Perhaps more to the point, his slider suffered significantly diminished side-to-side break. He recorded just one strikeout with his slider while opponents hammered it for a .511 expected slugging mark. He’ll now begin the 2021 season at the Angels’ alternate site looking “to regain the consistency that eluded the right-handed in his third major-league season,” writes Kevin Modesti of the Orange County Register.

The Angels also moved quickly today to bring right-hander Noe Ramirez back to the organization after he was released by the Reds. Terms of the deal haven’t yet been released, but it’s not believed to be a Major League deal. Ramirez, of course, was the primary Major League piece sent to Cincinnati in exchange for Iglesias. Like Buttrey, he also began his career with the Red Sox before the Angels claimed him off waivers in 2017. From 2018 to 2020, Ramirez logged 172 innings over 141 appearances out of the Angels’ pen with a 4.13 ERA/3.63 SIERA. Ramirez’s strikeout rate also fell alarmingly in 2020, though a favorable HR/FB rate helped produce a 3.00 ERA despite the uninspiring peripherals.

On the whole, Ramirez has been much more effective against same-handed hitters. That trend was amplified in 2020 as righties hit just .173/.267/.269 off Ramirez compared to lefties, who successfully produced a .273/.360/.455 line. Against the 60 right-handed hitters he faced, Ramirez logged a 23.3 percent strikeout rate, which isn’t all that far off his career 28.8 percent mark. He failed to strike out any of the 25 left-handed hitters he faced, however, compared to a 19.7 percent strikeout rate against lefties for his career. He has long been more effective against righties, but if the properties of his work continue as seen in 2020, he’ll require heavily-scripted usage to be an effective piece of manager Joe Maddon’s pen.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/28/21

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The latest minor moves around the league…

Latest

  • The A’s announced a pair of roster moves, optioning Vimael Machin and Seth Brown to Triple-A. That means Rule 5 selection Ka’ai Tom is likely to make the roster as a reserve outfielder, notes Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Tom didn’t get a full spring because of an oblique injury, but he apparently showed enough for the A’s to keep him on the active roster. He’ll need to stay there for the entire season or else be returned to the Indians. Machin spent some of last season standing in for Matt Chapman at third before Jake Lamb arrived, but a relatively punchless .206/.296/.238 across 71 plate appearances likely returns the difficult-to-strikeout left-handed hitter to an emergency fill-in role. Brown, 28, contributed 0.7 fWAR in a highly-productive 26-game sample in 2019, but he logged only five plate appearances across seven games in 2020.

Earlier Updates

  • The Rangers released Nick Vincent yesterday, but today they announced that he will stay with the organization on a minor league contract. We’ll see this pattern with a number of players between now and opening day. The 34-year-old Vincent has seen action in every season going back to 2012 when he debuted with the Padres. He has appeared in 405 games over his nine-year career with exactly matching 3.38 ERA/FIP marks while suiting up for the Pads, Mariners, Giants, Phillies, and Marlins.
  • 16-year-old Cuban outfielder Luis Mario Piño has agreed to sign with the Cardinals for $767K, per ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (Twitter links). Pino had multiple offers both for this signing period and next, but he ultimately has decided to join the Cardinals’ 2021-22 class of international signees. The White Sox, A’s, and Red Sox were among the teams who were said to be interested in Pino.

Phillies To Select Ronald Torreyes, Release C.J. Chatham

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After the Phillies made the surprising decision to option Scott Kingery to Triple-A, manager Joe Girardi was in need of a utility option for his opening day roster. Thus, Ronald Torreyes has been told that he made the team, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki (via Twitter). Torreyes, 28, appeared in four games with the Phillies in 2020, though he saw significant playing time with the Yankees from 2016 to 2018. Also appearing for the Dodgers and Twins, Torreyes owns a career .277/.306/.369 line in 639 plate appearances across six years. He has mostly split his time between second, third, and short, though he has technically seen time in each of the three outfield positions, albeit sparingly.

The Phillies also announced the release of C.J. Chatham, per the Athletic’s Matt Gelb (via Twitter). The right-handed infielder and former second-round pick of the Red Sox was another contender for the roster spot that went to Torreyes. Chatham has yet to make his Major League debut, though he posted a solid season in the upper minors in 2019. He marked a .297/.333/.403 in 376 plate appearances in Double-A and a .302/.333/.430 in 91 plate appearances with Triple-A Pawtucket.

Torreyes’ presence on the roster likely means that only two of Adam Haseley, Roman Quinn, and Odubel Herrera will make the team. The likeliest outcome is that Haseley begins the season in the minors. He has options remaining and missed a decent chunk of the spring due to injury. Quinn has the best numbers this spring with a .294/.351/.441 line across 38 plate appearance, and since he is out of options, it’s safe to assume he’ll make the roster. That said, the stats themselves aren’t necessarily the barometer that Girardi and company are using to make these roster decisions.

Philadelphia does have two open spots on their 40-man roster. Torreyes needs one of those spots, however, and Matt Joyce would need one as well if he makes the team. Herrera and Brandon Kintzler are also roster candidates who would need to be added to the 40-man.

Offseason In Review: Kansas City Royals

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The Royals have been near the bottom of the American League three years running. They took steps to correct that over the winter, adding a few veterans to deepen the roster. This spring, the Royals locked up a couple key contributors on long-term extensions, one via the largest deal in franchise history.

Major League Signings

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

The Royals’ run of consecutive losing seasons reached four in 2020, as they finished 26-34 in the abbreviated slate. That was at least an improvement over 2018-19, during which time Kansas City had the third-worst combined record in the league (better only than the Orioles and Tigers). The Royals view 2020 as a stepping stone, a sign the organization has put those horrible two seasons behind them. Entering the offseason, general manager Dayton Moore said he expected the team to be more competitive in 2021 than it had been in years past.

Moore was also rather forthright about what he saw as the team’s deficiencies. “We definitely need more on-base guys,” the GM told reporters last October. “We need more quality [at-bats] from probably two other spots in that lineup.” Not coincidentally, the Royals’ biggest free agent position player pickup ended up being Carlos Santana. The veteran first baseman is one of the game’s best at taking quality at-bats. Since breaking into the majors in 2010, Santana has reached base at a .366 clip, a mark that ranks 25th leaguewide (minimum 2000 plate appearances).

The Royals inked Santana to a two year, $17.5MM guarantee in December. It was a bit of a surprise to see him command a multi-year deal coming off a .199/.349/.350 line in Cleveland. Despite the mediocre bottom line numbers last year, Santana’s strike zone feel was strong as ever. The switch-hitter walked at an incredible 18.4% clip while punching out just 16.9% of the time, making him one of only seven qualified hitters with more free passes than strikeouts.

Santana was the Royals’ only major league free agent infield pickup, but the club made another important addition on a minor-league contract. Kansas City agreed to a non-roster deal with Hanser Alberto, who had been non-tendered by the Orioles. The 28-year-old seems likely to make the Opening Day roster and push incumbent second baseman Nicky Lopez for playing time. (Before signing Alberto, the Royals pursued Jurickson Profar in free agency, but the latter eventually returned to the Padres on a three-year deal).

Lopez won’t begin the year on the active roster, having been optioned to Triple-A. The Royals could turn to Whit Merrifield, who has bounced between second and the outfield in recent years, at the keystone. Alternatively, Kansas City could move Merrifield to right field on a regular basis and give the second base job to Alberto with Lopez in the minors. Alberto never walks but he makes a ton of contact, resulting in a productive .299/.322/.413 line (95 wRC+) over the past two seasons. Top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. impressed in Spring Training and could also be an option at some point this season. He’ll begin the year in the minors, perhaps at Double-A.

The left side of the infield will be filled internally. Adalberto Mondesi hasn’t consistently performed at the plate but he’s shown flashes of power, good defense and elite baserunning. The 25-year-old will get another shot at a breakout season at shortstop. After breaking in as a third baseman, Hunter Dozier moved to right field last year to accommodate the signing of Maikel Franco. Franco was reasonably productive in 2020, but the Royals non-tendered him rather than pay an arbitration salary projected in the $4.5MM – $8MM range. With Franco gone, Dozier moves back to the hot corner.

The outfield will look quite different than it has in the past. Franchise icon Alex Gordon retired at the end of last season. One of the faces of the Royals’ mid-2010’s playoff runs, Gordon walked away after an illustrious 14-year career in Kansas City. It’ll be difficult to replace his perennially elite left field defense, to say nothing of the unquantifiable impact he had in the locker room and in the community. But Gordon was a below-average hitter in each of his final five seasons, so there’s certainly room for more offense at the position.

The Royals hope that production comes from their top trade pickup of the offseason. In need of a new left fielder and on the hunt for a left-handed bat to better balance the lineup, Kansas City acquired Andrew Benintendi from the Red Sox as part of a three-team deal. They’re buying low on the 26-year-old, who took a bit of a step back from his peak form in 2019 before suffering through a disastrous 2020.

The Royals sent outfielder Franchy Cordero, whose blend of power and speed continues to intrigue teams despite a lengthy injury history and swing-and-miss issues, back to the Red Sox, along with a pair of players to be named later. Outfield prospect Khalil Lee was moved to the Mets as part of the deal. Benintendi is controllable for a pair of seasons, and the Red Sox will pay $2.8MM of his $6.6MM salary in 2021.

In the other corner outfield spot, the Royals could turn to Merrifield regularly with Alberto and/or Lopez at second base. When Merrifield’s on the dirt, Edward Olivares, Nick Heath and prospect Kyle Isbel could work in right. Those players could all be options in center field, as well, but the bulk of time there seems likely to go to a pair of free agent signings. The Royals have long valued speed and range more than most teams, and their moves at the position reflect that. Kansas City signed each of Michael A. Taylor and Jarrod Dyson to low-cost, one-year deals. Neither player offers much at the plate, but they’re high-end defenders and Dyson, in particular, is an excellent baserunner.

Dyson’s addition is also emblematic of another organizational pattern: reacquiring former Royals. Last winter, Kansas City brought back former All-Star closer Greg Holland on a minor-league deal. That proved to be a masterstroke, as Holland tossed 28.1 innings of 1.91 ERA/3.20 SIERA ball, eventually reclaiming his old ninth inning role. The veteran righty is back again, having re-signed on a surprisingly modest $2.75MM contract this offseason.

Holland isn’t the only member of the Royals’ old fearsome bullpen to return. Wade Davis, arguably the best reliever in baseball from 2014-16, will be on the Opening Day roster after signing a minor-league deal over the winter. Davis’ stint with the Rockies was a disaster, and he’s now a couple years removed from being productive. But there’s little risk in bringing him back and hoping for a resurgence. That’s also true of former Oriole bullpen stalwart Brad Brach, a fellow minor-league signee.

The team’s biggest free agent pickup of the winter is another player who once had plenty of success in Kansas City. Mike Minor revived his career with a breakout 2017 season working out of the Royals’ bullpen. That earned him a three-year deal with the Rangers, where Minor stretched back out as a starter. The lefty had plenty of success over his first two years in Texas, earning an All-Star selection in 2019. Minor had a difficult 2020 season in terms of run prevention, pitching to a 5.56 ERA in 56.2 innings. He struck out a career-best 25.9% of opposing hitters, though, and pitched to a 4.20 SIERA that was actually better than in either of his previous two seasons.

The Royals’ front office clearly believes in Minor’s ability to bounce back, as they signed the 33-year-old to a two-year, $18MM guarantee with a 2023 club option. He joins Brad Keller and Danny Duffy as rotation locks. Brady Singer seems likely to open the year in the starting five as well. Jakob Junis and Kris Bubic will almost certainly factor into the rotation at some point (although Bubic will open the year in the minors). Prospects Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch are in camp as non-roster invitees, as is Ervin Santana, another former Royal brought back over the winter.

Many teams around the league scaled back payroll this offseason on the heels of last year’s revenue losses. The Royals are an exception, entering 2021 in the same range they were prepared to open 2020. Cot’s Baseball Contracts pegs their projected Opening Day payroll at just under $88MM (not yet including Davis’ $1.25MM salary, which became guaranteed when he earned a spot on the active roster). The Royals opened last season just north of $89MM (before prorating salaries), Cot’s estimates.

Adding Davis to the ledger should put the Royals’ 2021 payroll at or a little above last year’s mark. (If Alberto makes the team, he’d lock in a $1.65MM base salary). That’s still one of the lower figures in the league and around $54MM shy of 2017’s franchise-record outlay of $143+MM. However, that the Royals didn’t dramatically cut costs this winter could bode well for their chances of increasing future spending as they put their rebuild behind them.

Indeed, the Royals have started to fill in the long-term books over the past few weeks. That began with an extension for Dozier that guarantees $25MM and keeps him under club control through 2025. It’s a bet on a bounce back for the 29-year-old, who performed well in 2019 before falling off a bit last year. Dozier had to work back from an early bout with COVID-19, so it’s not unreasonable to believe he can regain some of his lost power with a more normal offseason.

The Dozier extension was a precursor to a more meaningful pact. The Royals locked up Salvador Pérez, who had been scheduled to reach free agency after this season, on a four-year extension covering 2022-25 and including a club option for 2026. The deal guarantees the 30-year-old backstop $82MM and can max out at $93MM over five seasons, making it the largest investment in franchise history.

It was a bit surprising to see Pérez command that level of commitment, particularly a year in advance of free agency. Still, he’s clearly beloved within the organization and by the Kansas City fanbase and is coming off an incredible 2020 season. No one expects Pérez to repeat last year’s .333/.353/.633 slash line over a larger sample, but Pérez is one of the game’s preeminent workhorses behind the plate and has a long track record of outhitting others at the position.

It’s possible Moore and his front office look to hammer out another long-term deal or two in the next few days. They reportedly discussed an extension with Mondesi early in Spring Training. Talks apparently didn’t get very far, but they could revisit those negotiations. Mondesi is controllable through 2023 via arbitration.

There’s a bit more urgency if the front office wants to keep Jorge Soler off the open market. The 2019 AL home run champ is scheduled to be a free agent at year’s end. The Royals had interest in working out an extension with Soler last offseason. It isn’t clear if that’s still the case after he hit just .228/.326/.443 and battled an oblique injury in 2020.

It remains to be seen whether the Royals did enough to seriously contend for a playoff spot this season. Public projections still paint them as something of a longshot, but the fanbase has some reason for hope for the first time in a while. At the very least, the Royals should be more competitive in 2021 than they’ve been over the past few years.

How would you grade the Royals’ offseason? (poll link for app users)

 

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