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Red Sox Sign Trevor Story

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March 23: The Red Sox have formally announced the signing of Story to a six-year contract.

March 20: The Red Sox are in agreement with Trevor Story on a six year, $140MM contract. After the fourth year, 2025, Story can opt out of the final two years of the deal. However, Boston can negate that opt-out by picking up a seventh year option for $25MM, or pay a $5MM buyout. If they were to exercise that option, it would add $20MM to the deal, effectively making it a seven-year, $160MM arrangement. Story will not have any no-trade protection as part of the contract. Story is a client of Excel Sports Management.

Story will take over at second base with Xander Bogaerts staying on as the team’s shortstop, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic. Red Sox manager Alex Cora has confirmed that plan, per Marly Rivera of ESPN.

It had been a fairly quiet offseason for the Red Sox up to this point, with the club mostly focused on its pitching staff, adding veterans like Rich Hill, Michael Wacha and Jake Diekman. On the position player side of things, they had only really subtracted since the offseason began, sending Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers for Jackie Bradley Jr. and prospects. Story, however, they have certainly add a tremendous impact bat to their lineup.

After the departure of Troy Tulowitzki, Story took over the everyday shortstop job in Colorado and ran with it. Over the past six seasons, he has played in 745 games and hit 158 home runs, hitting an overall .272/.340/.523, for a wRC+ of 112. He also stole 100 bases and provided excellent defense, accruing 21.6 fWAR in that time.

In addition to helping out the Red Sox this year, the addition of Story makes sense from a long-term view. Xander Bogaerts can opt out of the remainder of his contract at the end of this season, when he will have three years and $60MM left on it, something he seems likely to do. If that should come to pass, they could already have his replacement on the roster. As noted above, the plan for this season is to keep Bogaerts at short and have Story play second, moving Enrique Hernandez to regular outfield duty. Story missed some of last year’s season with an injury to his throwing elbow, and some scouts expressed the belief that he would be best utilized at second base due to that injury impacting his throwing arm. Boston will now have at least one year to see if Story’s arm can rebound in any way before deciding how to proceed beyond 2022.

Although the writing has seemed to be on the wall for quite some time now, this officially ends the Trevor Story era in Colorado. Much like with Nolan Arenado before him, there seemed to be a falling out between the club and their marquee player. Last year, as Story was headed into free agency and the club not in contention, he seemed like an obvious candidate to be traded to a contender. However, the deadline came and went without a deal coming to fruition, something that left Story confused. “I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded,” Story said in the immediate aftermath of the deadline. During the offseason, there didn’t seem to be any belief that a reunion was in the cards. The club apparently offered him more than the $140MM he got from the Red Sox, with Story preferring his chances of competing in Boston, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Between Story and Tulowitzki, the shortstop position in Colorado has been spoken for since 2006. For now, it seems like Jose Iglesias will be taking over, as he signed with the club a week ago. Since the club made a qualifying offer that Story rejected, they will receive a compensatory draft pick after the first round. The Red Sox forfeit their second-highest pick and and will have their international signing bonus pool reduced by $500K.

This deal also closes the book on this year’s mega class of free agent shortstops, which featured Story, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Javier Baez and Marcus Semien. Going into the offseason, it was expected by many that the Yankees would be prominent players in this market, given their penchant for high payrolls and obvious need at the position that has been apparent since Gleyber Torres was moved to second base last year. But reports emerged in November that they were considering sitting out the shortstop bidding, content to acquire a stopgap solution as they wait for either of Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe to graduate from prospects to big leaguers. That now seems to have been the case, as the club acquired glove-first shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa to man the position, while the big five shortstops all landed with surprising suitors. The rebuilding Rangers grabbed both Seager and Semien, while another rebuilding club, the Tigers, nabbed Baez. Correa shockingly lingered on the market before settling on a short-term deal with the Twins, a team not known for reeling in the top fish in free agency. Now Story has come off the board, landing on a team that didn’t have an obvious fit at the position.

Since Chaim Bloom left the small-market Rays and took over as Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer after the 2019 season, the club has been undergoing a sort of semi-rebuild process. It was a few months into his tenure that they traded Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers as part of a process to strip down payroll, despite winning the World Series in 2018. On the heels of that trade, the club went 24-36 in the pandemic-shortened season, slipping beneath the lowly Orioles and into last place in the AL East. After some modest additions to the club, many went into 2021 expecting they would be unable to compete in such a strong division. However, they rallied for a 92-win season, just edging out the Blue Jays for a Wild Card berth, making it as far as the ALCS before falling to the Astros. On the heels of that surprise campaign, it seemed for the past few months that the club might again opt for only modest upgrades. Instead, the Fenway Faithful have the big splash that they were desperately hoping for, easily the biggest since Bloom took over, as the AL East figures to be a four-headed beast yet again.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported that Boston and Story were in agreement, as well as the $140MM guarantee. (Twitter links) Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report the six-year term. The fact that there was an unusual opt-out was first relayed by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The fourth-year opt-out with the seventh-year option structure was first relayed by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The $5MM buyout and $25MM salary for the final year were first relayed by Heyman. The lack of a no-trade clause was first reported by Sherman.

MLB, MLBPA Reach Tentative Agreement To Reimplement Ghost Runner In 2022

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Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a tentative agreement to bring the extra-innings ghost runner back for the 2022 season, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Additionally, they have agreed to expand active rosters from 26 to 28 players this season until May 1. The league’s 30 owners need to vote next week to officially ratify the conditions, but Sherman writes that only a simple majority is needed and the provisions aren’t expected to have any issue passing.

Neither development is especially surprising, as reports emerged a couple weeks ago that both were under consideration. The lockout lingered into the second week of March, compressing the Spring Training schedule by two weeks even with the start of the regular season pushed back eight days. The concern is that the shortened ramp-up period might not afford enough time for players to get ready to shoulder a typical regular season workload. By adding a couple players in the early going and limiting the potential for marathon games, the league and union will give managers some extra flexibility in keeping playing time in check.

Sherman adds there won’t be any restrictions on the number of pitchers teams can carry in April. MLB is instituting its 13-pitcher limit this year. That rule change was originally slated to go into effect in 2020, but MLB scrapped it in each of the past two seasons due to concerns about overworking arms while teams were facing the possibility of COVID-19 outbreaks on their rosters. That’ll eventually be a challenge for clubs, but they’ll have some extra leeway on the mound for the first couple weeks of the season.

The return of the extra-innings runner figures to be the more notable development for fans. It was first implemented in 2020 as part of the pandemic protocols. There’s little doubt the rule has indeed served its purpose of preventing marathon games. There has only been one MLB game that exceeded thirteen innings in either of the past two seasons; there were 23 such games in 2019 alone. Nevertheless, the rule has predictably proven divisive among fans, many of whom perceive the placement of a free runner on second base to start extras as gimmicky.

Sherman writes that the ghost-runner rule has only been approved for 2022, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the league and union revisit it again down the line. The other big on-field pandemic rules change — the seven-inning doubleheader — will not return this year.

One rule that will be in effect permanently is a modification to the designated hitter, albeit one that only seems likely to affect one player. If a team uses the same player as both that day’s starting pitcher and as their DH, he can remain in the game as a hitter even after being removed from the mound. That’s obviously a provision designed to allow the Angels to keep Shohei Ohtani in the lineup deep into games he starts.

Astros, Franklin Barreto Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Astros are signing Franklin Barreto to a minor league contract, reports Martín Gallegos of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 26-year-old remains in the AL West after stints with the A’s and Angels.

Barreto is probably best-known for being part of the A’s four-player return from the Blue Jays in the Josh Donaldson deal. That offseason marked the first of four straight in which the right-handed hitting infielder was ranked among Baseball America’s Top 100 overall prospects. He was a top 50 farmhand each season from 2016-18, flashing a promising combination of bat-to-ball skills, power and defensive ability.

While those physical tools have translated to a .285/.356/.505 line in parts of four Triple-A seasons, Barreto has yet to find any success at the big league level. He saw some MLB action in each year from 2017-20, but he only managed a cumulative 237 plate appearances. Barreto owns just a .175/.207/.342 mark in that time, with a dreadful combination of a 42.2% strikeout rate and a 3% walk percentage.

The A’s moved on from Barreto at the 2020 trade deadline, flipping him to Anaheim for Tommy La Stella. Barreto would only appear in six games as an Angel, though. He began last season on the injured list and underwent Tommy John surgery in May, ending his campaign before it began. The Angels outrighted him off the 40-man roster at the end of the year, at which point he elected minor league free agency.

Things obviously hasn’t gone as planned for Barreto at the big league level, but there’s little harm for the Astros in getting a look at him this spring. He’s still relatively young and not all that far removed from being regarded as one of the more promising hitting prospects in the game. Second base — Barreto’s primary position — is obviously spoken for by José Altuve in Houston, but Carlos Correa’s departure has left some uncertainty at shortstop. Barreto will be behind top prospect Jeremy Peña and utilitymen Niko Goodrum and Aledmys Díaz in the organizational pecking order, but he could serve as an upside depth flier at Triple-A Sugar Land.

Luis Castillo Behind Schedule, Justin Dunn Out “Months” With Shoulder Injury

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The Reds could be without top starter Luis Castillo when Opening Day rolls around, as manager David Bell told reporters Tuesday that Castillo was briefly shut down due to some shoulder soreness (Twitter link via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Castillo is healthy now and has resumed throwing, per Bell, but he’s behind schedule in his buildup for the season. There was more concerning news on righty Justin Dunn, acquired in last week’s Jesse Winker trade, as Bell revealed that he’ll miss at least a couple of months due to ongoing shoulder troubles. Nightengale further notes that the Reds were aware of Dunn’s injury status when acquiring him.

The good news for Reds fans is that there’s no indication Castillo is being plagued by a serious injury. It’s possible he’d only miss the first turn or two through the rotation, so long as there are no further setbacks as he builds back up.

For much of the offseason, Castillo stood out as one of the more logical trade candidates on the market. General manager Nick Krall began the offseason speaking of a need to align the Reds’ payroll to its resources, and the first few moves continued a cost-cutting sequence that dated back to last offseason. The Reds placed Wade Miley and his eminently reasonable $10MM salary on waivers and traded catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Tigers. In the days coming out of the lockout, Cincinnati dealt Sonny Gray to the Reds and traded both Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez to the Mariners.

Since shedding the remainder of the Suarez deal, however, the Reds have begun to make some more modest additions to the payroll. They picked up about $7MM of salary obligations in the trade that sent Amir Garrett to Kansas City in exchange for Mike Minor, and the Reds have also given out small big league deals to infielder Donovan Solano and reliever Hunter Strickland. Krall has since publicly stated that he does not expect to trade either Castillo or right-hander Tyler Mahle, who was a popular trade target of pitching-needy teams himself.

Castillo, 29, got out to a rocky start in 2021 when he posted an ugly 7.22 ERA through his first 11 appearances. His return to form was swift and emphatic, however, as Castillo closed out the year with a brilliant stretch of 22 starts that saw him work to a 2.73 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. Over the past three seasons, he’s given the Reds 448 1/3 innings of 3.61 ERA ball with a 27% strikeout rate, a 9.3% walk rate and an outstanding 56.8% grounder rates. He’s controllable through the 2023 campaign, and it stands to reason that if the Reds don’t contend this year, Castillo’s name will again surface on the summer trade market. It’s a similar story with Mahle, who’s also controlled through 2023.

As for Dunn, the news of a months-long absence due to a shoulder problem that dates back to June 2021, when the right-hander last pitched, is surely a source of frustration. The 26-year-old Dunn pitched 50 1/3 innings of 3.75 ERA ball with Seattle last year but did so with a below-average 22.8% strikeout rate, a bloated 11.3% walk rate and a low 33.8% grounder rate. He last took the ball on June 17.

Dunn is a former first-round pick and well-regarded prospect, having been drafted 19th overall by the Mets in 2016 and traded to the Mariners alongside Jarred Kelenic in the deal that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to New York. He can still be controlled all the way through the 2025 season, but it now seems that by the time he’s ready to go for the Reds, he’ll have missed upwards of a year due to shoulder troubles.

The injury news on Dunn squarely takes him out of the running for the fifth spot in the rotation, and with Castillo ailing to a much lesser degree, there’s some uncertainty regarding who’ll round out the starting staff. If Castillo isn’t ready to go, Opening Day would likely fall to Mahle. He’d be followed by Minor and Vladimir Gutierrez, with right-hander Tony Santillan and perhaps lefty Reiver Sanmartin serving as early options as well. The Reds figure to get a look at several top pitching prospects in 2022 — Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Brandon Williamson among them — but it’s unclear whether they’d consider dipping into their farm for an early-season stopgap.

Yankees Avoid Arbitration With Joey Gallo

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The Yankees announced this afternoon they’ve agreed to terms with 11 of their 12 arbitration-eligible players. Among them is All-Star outfielder Joey Gallo, whom Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (Twitter link) settled for $10.275MM.

That’s right in line with the $10.2MM projection of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Gallo will avoid a hearing during his final trip through the process, as he’s slated to hit free agency at the end of the season. The 28-year-old bounced back from a rough showing in the 2020 shortened campaign to hit .223/.379/.490 through last season’s first few months in Texas. Upon being dealt to the Yankees, however, he slumped to a .160/.303/.404 mark.

If he can regain his first-half form in the Bronx, Gallo would line up as one of the top players in next year’s free agent class. Teammate Aaron Judge will likely be even more coveted, though — if he makes it to the open market. Judge is going through arbitration for a final time this offseason, and the Yankees have maintained they’ll soon initiate extension talks with the three-time All-Star.

They’ll do so with some uncertainty about how much money Judge will make in 2022, however. He was the only of the Yankees’ arb-eligible players not to come to terms with the team today. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reports (Twitter link) that Judge filed for a $21MM salary while the team offered him $17MM. (Swartz’s $17.1MM projection came in much closer to the team’s filing figure than to the player’s). They didn’t close that gap, and it seems they could be headed for a hearing to determine his ultimate price point.

If Judge and the Yankees agree on a long-term deal in the coming weeks, that’ll prove moot. If they don’t, the 29-year-old’s salary for the upcoming season will likely be chosen by an arbitrator. If it goes to a hearing, the third-party would unilaterally set Judge’s salary at either his desired $21MM or the team’s offered $17MM, not at any sort of midpoint. The Yankees and Judge’s camp could continue to kick around a possible settlement until the hearing begins if they so desire.

Nationals Avoid Arbitration With Juan Soto, Josh Bell

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The Nationals have avoided arbitration with star outfielder Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). Soto will make $17.1MM, while Bell will collect an even $10MM.

It’s a massive second-year number for Soto, who had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $16.2MM mark. That’s a reflection of the 23-year-old’s otherworldly track record, as he’s coming off as good a year at the plate as anyone in the game. Soto hit .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs in 654 plate appearances. That earned him a notable bump over his 2021 salary of $8.5MM. Soto reached arbitration last winter as a Super Two and is controllable through 2024.

Bell’s $10MM salary is an exact match for Swartz’s projection. The former Pirate is coming off a decent first season in the District, posting a .261/.347/.476 line with 27 homers. After a pedestrian first half, Bell caught fire down the stretch. He’ll try to keep that going this season and set himself up for a nice payday next winter, when he’ll reach the open market for the first time.

With those agreements in place, the Nationals now have around $135MM on the books, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That’s nearly $50MM lower than last year’s season-opening mark, as the Nats kicked off a retooling effort last summer.

Dodgers, Trea Turner Avoid Arbitration

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The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with star shortstop Trea Turner, settling on a $21MM salary, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). That marks the highest arbitration settlement of any player in this year’s class so far.

That’s not to say it’s an especially surprising figure. Turner always looked likely to land one of the top numbers of any arb-eligible player. Not only is he one of the sport’s best players, he’s headed into his fourth year of arbitration after qualifying as a Super Two in 2018. Turner settled for $13MM with the Nationals last offseason, and he’ll get an $8MM bump this year.

Still, that $21MM mark checks in a bit higher than anticipated. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected the star infielder at $19.8MM entering the offseason. He earned the bump after putting up a .328/.375/.536 line with 28 homers and 32 steals between the Dodgers and Nats. That .328 average earned him his first career batting title.

Turner will return to shortstop after kicking over to second base in deference to Corey Seager down the stretch last year. With another typical season, he’d hit the market as perhaps MLB’s top free agent next offseason.

Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Teoscar Hernandez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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The Blue Jays have settled on deals with their two most notable arbitration-eligible players. Corner outfielder Teoscar Hernández will receive $10.65MM, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link); first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is in line for $7.9MM, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on Twitter).

Hernández’s deal comes in narrowly above the $10MM projection of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. It’s a notable jump from last season’s $4.325MM salary, reflecting the excellent season the right-handed hitter just posted. Hernández hit .296/.346/.524 with 32 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 595 plate appearances last year. He’ll be arbitration-eligible one final time next winter before hitting free agency over the 2023-24 offseason.

Guerrero’s salary is an exact match for Swartz’s projection. It’s the 23-year-old’s first year of arbitration, and he lands his first significant payday after finishing as the AL MVP runner-up. Guerrero hit an incredible .311/.401/.601 with 48 homers over 698 plate appearances this past season, emerging as the kind of impact hitter the Toronto fanbase had been hoping for when Guerrero was the sport’s top prospect. He owns a career .289/.367/.517 line and remains under control through 2025 after qualifying for arbitration early via the Super Two process.

Toronto also agreed to a two-year deal to buy out Matt Chapman’s final couple seasons of arbitration this afternoon. That brings the Jays’ projected payroll to around $171MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource.

A’s Avoid Arbitration With Montas, Manaea

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5:47pm: The A’s and Manaea have settled on a $9.75MM salary, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (on Twitter). That finalizes the 2022 price tags of two of the trade market’s top arms.

5:40pm: The Athletics and right-hander Frankie Montas have agreed to a $5.025MM salary to avoid arbitration, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). That’s a bit less than the $5.2MM projection of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

There have been a handful of players to settle for higher guarantees than Montas has today, but his price point is among the most notable of any arbitration-eligible player. The righty is probably the top starter available on the trade market, as the A’s have shopped essentially all of their higher-paid options. Chris Bassitt, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman have all been shipped out already; Montas and Sean Manaea are widely expected to be moved as well, with each having already been prominent targets for pitching-needy clubs.

Montas is controllable through 2023, as he’ll be arbitration-eligible again next winter. Manaea, on the other hand, is headed into his final year of control. The southpaw is projected for a $10.2MM salary. That makes Montas the more desirable trade target, as he’s both more affordable this year and any acquiring club could keep him around for an additional season.

Mets, Pete Alonso Avoid Arbitration

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The Mets and first baseman Pete Alonso have agreed to a $7.4MM salary to avoid arbitration, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). That wraps up the first of three arb years for Alonso, who remains controllable through 2024.

Alonso’s salary is right in line with the $7.3MM figure projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz entering the offseason. It marks the first significant payday of his career, as he’d played the past few seasons on deals a bit above the league minimum. In both 2019 and 2021, Alonso earned more for winning the Home Run Derby ($1MM in each season) than he did in salary from the Mets.

That he’s a two-time defending Home Run Derby champ (the 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic) speaks to the massive power he’s shown throughout his career. Alonso has hit 53 and 37 homers, respectively, in his two full seasons. He popped 16 more in the shortened 2020 season, a mark that tied for third in the National League. Altogether, he’s a .256/.347/.542 hitter as a big leaguer; he’s coming off a .262/.344/.519 showing last year.

The Mets recent run of arb agreements has brought their estimated 2022 commitments to a little under $277MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. They have a competitive balance tax number in the $286MM range, just shy of the newly-instituted $290MM tier that triggers the highest level of penalization in the CBA. The Mets will pay a 20% tax on their first $20MM in overages, a 32% tax on their next $20MM and a 62.5% fee on any money spent between $270MM and $290MM. If they exceed $290MM, they’d be taxed at an 80% rate on any expenditures thereafter.

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