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Cherington: Pirates Open To Discussing Trades On Any Players

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New Pirates GM Ben Cherington told reporters yesterday that he’s fielding interest in loads of players, as Rob Biertempfel writes for The Athletic (subscription link). Cherington indicated that he isn’t rebuffing inquiries on any segments of the Pittsburgh roster.

“We wouldn’t want to stop any conversation about any player,” Cherington explains. Right now, he’s gathering information in anticipation of opportunities that haven’t quite presented themselves. “The more information you have, the more clearly you can think about what makes sense for the Pirates when you’re kind of pushed to make a decision,” says Cherington.

The player the Bucs seem likeliest to end up moving is center fielder Starling Marte. It was already known that he was available. He’s in a position of demand and would surely be of greater utility to another team that’s seeking to contend. But the market situation is still taking shape.

There are some new data points to consider with respect to Marte. The Diamondbacks are among the teams showing interest in the veteran, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links). That creates another potential landing spot to help generate offers. The full scope of interested teams isn’t clear.

If Marte is to be moved, the Pirates hope to land a controllable backstop in return, per Heyman. Of course, that sort of desire isn’t always attainable. It stands to reason that the organization will focus first and foremost on value rather than worrying too much about filling a specific need.

For that same reason, the Pirates won’t insist upon receiving high-end, far-away prospects in trade talks. Young MLB pieces could also be of interest to the Bucs, Biertempfel tweets. That’s particularly sensible since the organization does have a solid amount of young talent at or near the MLB level. While the results have obviously been disappointing of late, the roster is at the moment in much better shape than those of teams undergoing full-blown rebuilds.

Though much of the focus remains on Marte, the versatile Adam Frazier is said to be getting the most hits, per Heyman (Twitter link). Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had noted yesterday that Frazier was drawing interest. He’s a capable hitter who’d provide function to most any roster at a reasonable price.

Diamondbacks Notes: Haniger, Mazara, Akiyama, Bullpen

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“The Diamondbacks are said to have interest in both” Mitch Haniger and Nomar Mazara, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes.  Either player would address Arizona’s need for a right fielder, and though the D’Backs would be taking something of a risk either both are coming off disappointing 2019 seasons.  Haniger didn’t play after June 6 due to a ruptured testicle, and even in the 283 plate appearances prior to his injury was already delivering less production than during his impressive 2017-18 campaigns.  Mazara has been a steadily subpar offensive performer (92 wRC+, 93 OPS+) over his four career seasons with the Rangers, hitting .261/.320/.435 with 79 homers over 2189 PA and generating only 1.7 total fWAR.

That said, both offer upside for interested trade partners.  Mazara is a former top prospect and he has hit right-handed pitching decently well, which Piecoro notes is an area of need for the D’Backs.  Haniger, of course, is a known quantity in Arizona — he broke into the big leagues with the Snakes and then was dealt to the Mariners as part of the November 2016 trade that brought Ketel Marte to the desert.  Mazara has two remaining years of arbitration eligibility, while Haniger is arb-eligible for the first time this winter (and at a projected $3MM price tag, so his rough 2019 season also lowered his ceiling for future arbitration earnings).  While Seattle is at least open to discussing Haniger in trades, GM Jerry Dipoto still highly values Haniger, so a deal wouldn’t come easily for the Diamondbacks.  It would seem that Mazara would be the more available of the two options, as Texas has been rumored to be looking to deal from its surplus of left-handed hitting outfielders.

Here’s more from Arizona…

  • In terms of what the D’Backs might give up for Haniger, Mazara, or any other veteran upgrades, GM Mike Hazen indicated that his team is “willing to” part with some “good minor league players.”  Piecoro suggests that the team wouldn’t be likely to trade its very top prospects, but would be open to dealing youngsters “from the next tier down” in the rankings.  It is perhaps noteworthy that the three names Piecoro cites as “the players [the Diamondbacks] view as their best prospects” are Daulton Varsho, Geraldo Perdomo, and Corbin Carroll, whereas two other prospects (Alek Thomas and Kristian Robinson) occupy the top two spots on MLB Pipeline’s ranking of Arizona’s top 30 minor leaguers, though Piecoro said “perhaps others” are also in the team’s internal top tier.
  • Beyond right field, the Diamondbacks are also on the lookout for center field help.  While Marte played both center field and second base last year, Hazen told The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (Twitter link) and other reporters that he would prefer to land a center fielder to lighten the load on Marte.  Shogo Akiyama has been mentioned as a potential target for the D’Backs, though Hazen said that he hasn’t yet met with the Japanese center fielder and doesn’t have meetings scheduled for the future.
  • Hazen told Piecoro and other reporters that after signing Junior Guerra, the D’Backs are still looking for “one more” reliever.  Archie Bradley pitched well enough in the closer role last year that a new reliever doesn’t necessarily require closing experience to be considered, though Hazen said that a reliever that could be used “toward the back end [of the bullpen] would be ideal.”

Souza Jr. Open To Return To Tampa

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After missing much of 2018 and all of 2019, outfielder Steven Souza Jr. will be looking for a place to reboot his career in 2020. Souza was recently non-tendered by the Diamondbacks, but he insists he is finally healthy and cleared for game action. One club he wouldn’t mind spending the 2020 season with is the Tampa Bay Rays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The best seasons of Souza’s career were with Tampa in 2016 and 2017, but outside of a particularly strong 2017 in which he posted a 121 wRC+, Souza has largely performed within arm’s reach of league average – from both above and below. The spotty record combined with the injuries of the past two seasons means Souza will likely have to settle for a prove-yourself type of deal, which could put the Rays among interested teams. That’s all speculation for now, however, as the market for Souza isn’t likely to take shape with any immediacy. While we wait, let’s check out a couple other quick bits of news from around the baseball world…

Diamondbacks To Sign Junior Guerra

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with right-hander Junior Guerra on a one-year deal that includes a club option for a second year, first reported by Kyle Lesniewski of Brew Crew Ball and confirmed by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal will pay Guerra $2.55MM in 2020 along with a $100K buyout on the club option, making for a $2.65MM overall guarantee, as reported by Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.

Guerra, who had been arbitration-eligible for the first time, was non-tendered by the Brewers, meaning that he will remain under team control for three more years. He had been projected by MLBTR to earn $3.5MM in arbitration.

The 34-year-old Guerra adds another option to the Arizona bullpen, as well as an arm that can provide multiple innings. Guerra emerged as one of Craig Counsell’s most reliable options in the second half of 2019, tossing 83 2/3 innings in 72 games with Milwaukee, including 23 appearances in which he recorded more than three outs.

A converted starter, 2019 marked the first season in which Guerra was deployed as a full-time reliever, and he delivered solid results, logging a 3.55 ERA and 4.52 FIP while striking out 77 batters and walking 36. He’ll join a bullpen that graded out as firmly middle of the road in 2019, providing some much needed depth to Torey Lovullo’s arsenal.

D-backs Expect To Spread Free Agent Spending

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The Diamondbacks will have money to work with this winter, but don’t expect them to land a premium free agent. As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes, the team intends to spread its free cash around to plug multiple holes.

Team CEO Derrick Hall wasn’t looking to play hide-and-seek with his payroll planning. He made clear the team expects to open with about as much on the books for 2020 as it had in the prior two campaigns. That leaves $30MM and change to spend toward the 2020 roster, per Piecoro’s tabulations, depending upon the opportunities available and any desire to keep a war chest handy for mid-season moves.

It’s “doubtful” the team will “put it all in on one big free agent,” Hall says. Rather, the intention is to “look at multiple guys.” So, the intention is to compete. At the same time, the organization won’t rule out trading from its MLB roster.

Flexibility is the name of the game for GM Mike Hazen. The Snakes feel they have it and are willing to utilize it … so long as it doesn’t handcuff them in the future. Even as the team explores possible deals involving southpaw Robbie Ray, who’ll be a free agent after the season, Hall says there’s a “surplus of talent” on the farm that could allow the organization to structure deals to improve the MLB product.

The possibilities are endless as the Winter Meetings approach. Click here to read our full preview of the Arizona offseason (which we published before reports emerged of Ray’s ongoing availability).

D-backs, Giants Join Cubs With Interest In Nicholas Castellanos

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12:30pm: The Diamondbacks are also showing some interest, Morosi tweets. It’s good news for Castellanos to have National League teams involved, though it’s still not clear which if any would be interested in a lengthy commitment.

10:42am: The Giants have joined the Cubs in showing interest in free agent outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, according to a report from Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Other pursuers remain unknown.

Castellanos is one of the many Scott Boras-repped players populating the upper reaches of the open market. He joins Marcell Ozuna among the top-available outfield options.

While it’s a bit worrisome to imagine Castellanos patrolling the spacious Oracle Park outfield, the club is pulling in the fences this winter. And as Morosi notes, it’s also possible that the youthful slugger could at some point step back into the infield. (He never managed to stick at third base previously but could presumably be expected to play a palatable first base.)

Castellanos is an exceptionally difficult free agent to prognosticate. We ultimately settled on a prediction of four years and $58MM, but batted around quite a few alternative concepts. Castellanos is an accomplished but hardly all-world hitter who has shown some improvements in the field but remains a bat-first player. Involvement of the Giants in his market would assuredly help, as the level of demand has constituted a major element of uncertainty in the earning outlook.

Diamondbacks Non-Tender Taijuan Walker, Steven Souza, Caleb Joseph

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6:26pm: Righty Matt Andriese, another seeming NT candidate, will be tendered by the club, according to Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (via Twitter). He projects to earn $1.4MM via arbitration.

6:05pm: In a stunning twist, the Snakes are not dropping Jake Lamb but are parting ways with Taijuan Walker, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter) and John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM (via Twitter). Walker had seemed to be a prime bounceback candidate, albeit also a clear injury risk at a $5.025MM projected price tag.

The Arizona org has more information than the rest of us regarding the status of Walker’s right arm. He was stricken of late by a torn ulnar collateral ligament and then a shoulder injury. Though the talented hurler made it back to the majors — if only barely — the Diamondbacks front office obviously saw reason to doubt whether Walker could return to anything approaching his former performance level.

Meanwhile, Lamb receives quite a vote of confidence (and a nice payday, unless he’s cut loose at a later time). He’s projected to earn $5.0MM after two lost seasons. Injuries played a role in his downturn after several productive campaigns, but Lamb seemed a likely non-tender candidate after turning in a cumulative .208/.315/.350 slash since the start of 2018.

5:27pm: The Diamondbacks have non-tendered outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and catcher Caleb Joseph, according to reports from Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (Twitter link) and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). MLBTR had projected the former to earn $4.125MM and the latter to take home $1.2MM in arbitration.

When the Snakes acquired Souza on the heels of a productive 2017 effort, the hope was that he’d be a high-quality corner outfield piece. But things just never shook out in Arizona. He scuffled through a forgettable 72-game stint in 2018 and never even made it on to the field in 2019.

Souza’s major knee injury last spring not only wrecked his ’19 campaign but put his future in doubt. Fortunately, there are some signs of optimism in the health department. He’ll represent an interesting buy-low target for the right organization, while the D-Backs will look to invest their payroll elsewhere.

As for Joseph, he’ll be a candidate to compete for a reserve role or take up a depth spot at Triple-A. While he’s trusted behind the dish, Joseph has a meager .223/.270/.350 career batting line in the majors.

Players Avoiding Arbitration Prior To 2019 Non-Tender Deadline

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With tonight’s 8pm ET deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming, there’ll be several players who agree to one-year contracts for the 2020 season today. It’s common for the day of the non-tender deadline to be a big one for arbitration agreements, though it’s also worth noting that many of the players who agree to terms today will do so at a rate that’s lower than the salary figures projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

Broadly speaking, players who agree to terms on a salary this far in advance tend to be those who were at risk of being non-tendered, and their teams are able to use tonight’s deadline as leverage in bringing about a deal that saves them a bit of cash. A look at some of the early instances of players agreeing to terms reveals this to be true already; Mike Zunino ($4.5MM salary vs. $4.9MM projection), Wilmer Difo ($1MM salary vs. $1.2MM projection) and Scott Alexander ($875K salary vs. $1MM projection) have all agreed to lesser terms rather than risk being cast out into the free-agent market.

We’ll keep track of today’s players who avoid arbitration in this post and update throughout the day…

  • The Padres have a deal for $1.5MM with infielder Greg Garcia, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. That’s a shade under his $1.7MM projection for the 30-year-old.
  • Infielder Orlando Arcia has avoided arbitration with the Brewers, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Though he’s set to lose some playing time, it seems Arcia will be expected to retain a notable role. He’s considered a talented defender at short and was long expected to come around with the bat, but it hasn’t happened yet.
  • Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes is in agreement on a $1.1MM deal, per Robert Murray (Twitter link). It’s a guaranteed deal, which isn’t standard for arbitration pacts. Barnes had projected at $1.3MM on the heels of a disappointing season. It seems he’ll be asked to function as the club’s second backstop in 2020.

Earlier Moves

  • The Rangers have a deal in place with right-hander Nick Goody, the club announced. He’ll earn $915K, according to MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). Goody projected to earn $1.1MM, so he’s taking a discount on that mark with his new club.
  • Just-acquired righty Jharel Cotton has agreed to a $640K deal with the Cubs, Rosenthal tweets. Cotton had projected at $800K but he’s surely focused first and foremost on getting a significant MLB opportunity. He didn’t quite make it back to the majors in 2019 after a long injury layoff but figures to represent a swingman option for the Chicago club in 2020.
  • Outfielder Alex Dickerson and lefty Wandy Peralta are in agreement with the Giants, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). Dickerson settled for $925K, which is well under his $1.2MM projected earning power. The 29-year-old has had trouble staying healthy but usually hits when he is on the field. He rewarded the San Francisco organization for taking a shot on him last year by turning in a .290/.351/.529 batting line in 171 plate appearances. As for Peralta, he lands right at his projected value with a $805K salary. The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers late in the 2019 season.
  • The White Sox and James McCann avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $5.4MM, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. McCann’s deal checks in a half million dollars north of his $4.9MM projection. Chicago’s addition of Yasmani Grandal has likely relegated McCann to backup duties, so he’ll be a rather expensive second catcher for the South Siders. A free agent next winter, McCann hit .273/.328/.460 with a career-high 18 home runs, but his bat went dormant in the season’s final few months and his .359 BABIP seems particularly ripe for regression.
  • The Athletics avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.8MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. That salary effectively puts McFarland in line for the same salary he’d have received had he had his $1.85MM club option exercised by the Diamondbacks. Arizona, however, bought him out for $50K and then ran him through waivers, at which point the A’s claimed him. The 30-year-old posted a 4.82 ERA with a middling 5.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings this past season, but he’s a ground-ball behemoth (61.1 percent). He’ll be a free agent next winter and had been projected at $2.1MM.
  • Infielder Ehire Adrianza and the Twins agreed on a $1.6MM salary for the upcoming season, Nightengale tweets. The versatile utilityman hit .272/.349/.416 in 236 plate appearances while appearing at all four infield spots and both outfield corners. Adrianza, a free agent next winter, was projected at $1.9MM.
  • Outfielder Travis Jankowski agreed to a rare arbitration pay cut with the Reds, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. After earning $1.165MM in 2019, he’ll be owed $1.05MM in 2020 if he makes the club. A fractured wrist cost him much of the season in 2019, and he was just 4-for-22 when healthy and in the Majors. Jankowski did have a nice season in Triple-A, though (.393 OBP in 39 games), and the Reds gave up some international funds to acquire him, which seemingly indicated that they planned to tender him a contract. He was projected to earn $1.2MM.

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Red Sox Will Tender Contract To Jackie Bradley Jr.

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Despite some recent speculation that the Red Sox could non-tender Jackie Bradley Jr. prior to tonight’s 8pm ET deadline, the organization will tender him a contract for the 2020 season, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link).

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal suggested last night that a non-tender of Bradley could be possible (subscription required), pointing out that the $11MM that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Bradley to earn in his final season of club control may be steeper than the team prefers. But Bradley’s strong defensive track record, extra-base pop and speed are seemingly enough that the Boston organization feels he’ll at least be valued at that rate elsewhere. The dearth of useful center fielders in free agency certainly makes that likely.

It stands to reason that Bradley is still a candidate to change hands between now and Opening Day 2020. Boston’s payroll is already in the $230MM neighborhood (including arbitration projections and pre-arbitration salaries to round out the roster), and there are notable holes to address on the roster. Moving Bradley would be the second of what could be several moves designed to scale back on the 2020 payroll; the Red Sox also traded catcher Sandy Leon to the Indians earlier this morning, shedding a projected $2.8MM salary in the process.

The 29-year-old Bradley hit .225/.317/.421 with 21 long balls, 28 doubles and three triples in 567 plate appearances with the Sox this past season. However, he hasn’t had an above-average year at the plate (by measure of OPS+ or wRC+) since his All-Star 2016 season, and his typically brilliant defensive ratings slid in 2019 as well. Bradley drew ratings of -1 Defensive Runs Saved and a -1.2 Ultimate Zone Rating, although Statcast’s Outs Above Average still pegged him as a quality defender (+6). The 2018 Gold Glover has long been considered to be one of the game’s better defensive outfielders.

Looking around the league, several teams (Cubs, Mets, D-backs, Braves, Phillies, Reds, White Sox) could be in the market for a short-term addition in center field. The D-backs, in particular, seem like a plausible fit given the presence of former Boston execs Mike Hazen, Amiel Sawdaye and Jared Porter in the front office and given the team’s history of acquiring former Red Sox players (Clay Buchholz, Blake Swihart, Robby Scott, Deven Marrero, Henry Owens). Arizona “would have interest” in acquiring Bradley, Rosenthal wrote last night, which would allow them to play Ketel Marte at second base rather than in center field.

Diamondbacks Bet On Offense At Catcher

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The Diamondbacks’ behind-the-plate combination of Carson Kelly and Alex Avila’s was one of the National League’s best in 2019, from an offensive standpoint. The two combined for 27 homers last year, with Kelly’s 108 wRC+ falling fourth among NL backstops. The club doubled down on an offense-first approach at catcher when it signed Stephen Vogt to a one-year, $3MM deal with a 2021 vesting option earlier this week, posits Zach Buchanan of The Athletic.

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