D-backs Decline Options On Mike Leake, Hector Rondon, Junior Guerra
The Diamondbacks are declining their 2021 options over right-handers Mike Leake, Hector Rondon and Junior Guerra, general manager Mike Hazen announced to reporters (Twitter link via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). Leake’s five-year, $80MM contract (originally signed with the Cardinals) carried an $18MM club option with a $5MM buyout. Rondon’s one-year, $3MM deal included a $4MM club option that will instead be bought out for $500K. Guerra’s $3.5MM club option is being bought out for $100K, but he’ll remain under club control via arbitration.
Leake, who’ll turn 33 in a couple weeks, didn’t pitch in 2020 after becoming the first of several veterans to opt out of the season due to health and safety concerns. He made 10 starts for the D-backs in 2019 after coming over from the Mariners via trade, pitching to a 4.35 ERA with a 27-to-8 K/BB ratio in 60 innings.
Leake’s five-year deal didn’t at all go how the Cardinals envisioned — they ate a sizable portion of the deal to facilitate a trade to Seattle just a year and a half into the contract — but he was rather solid from 2017-19 under the deal. Leake made 94 starts in that time and logged a collective 4.19 ERA through 568 2/3 frames. He’s never been one to miss many bats, but Leake typically has excellent control and ranked sixth among all MLB pitchers in games started from 2011-19.
Rondon, once the Cubs closer, enjoyed a solid 2018-19 run with the Astros before scuffling through a disastrous 2020 season in Arizona. He tallied 20 innings of work but was clobbered for a 7.65 ERA in what will go down as his lone season with the team. In those 20 frames, Rondon yielded 17 earned runs on 25 hits (six homers) 11 walks with 23 strikeouts. He still has a career 3.49 ERA and 3.63 FIP even in spite of this year’s woeful results, so he should be able to get another look somewhere in 2021, his age-33 season — though it’d likely have to come on a non-guaranteed deal.
Guerra, who’ll turn 36 in January, notched a tidy 3.04 ERA in 23 innings this past season, although his 21-to-15 K/BB ratio and 5.03 SIERA tell another story. Guerra was a frequent contributor for the Brewers prior to signing in Arizona, as he pitched to a combined 3.78 ERA in 416 2/3 frames with Milwaukee from 2016-19. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a possible $2.8MM salary for Guerra via arbitration, and if the D-backs feel similarly, it’s not a surprise that they opted not to pay the full freight of his 2021 option.
Diamondbacks Outright Silvino Bracho, Bo Takahashi
The Diamondbacks announced that they have outrighted righties Silvino Bracho and Bo Takahashi to Triple-A Reno. They now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.
The 28-year-old Bracho was an effective part of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen in 2018, when he pitched to a 3.19 ERA/3.26 FIP with 9.87 K/9 and 3.48 BB/9 over 31 innings. But Bracho underwent Tommy John surgery before 2019, costing him that entire season, and he only threw one frame this year after testing positive for COVID-19.
Takahashi, 23, has been part of the D-backs’ minor league system since 2014. He reached Double-A ball in both the 2018 and ’19 seasons, when he combined for a 4.09 ERA and logged 8.5 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 191 2/3 innings.
Diamondbacks Release Artie Lewicki
TODAY: SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization are in negotiations with Lewicki, according to a report from MBC Plus (hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net)
OCTOBER 24: The Diamondbacks have released right-hander Artie Lewicki, as per the MLB.com transactions page. According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, Lewicki will be signing with a team in Asia.
Lewicki appeared in two games for the D’Backs this season, making his return to the field after Tommy John surgery sidelined him for all of 2019. Lewicki posted a 5.14 ERA over 49 innings for Detroit in 2017-18 before the D’Backs claimed him off waivers following the 2018 campaign.
Originally an eighth-round pick for the Tigers in the 2014 draft, Lewicki had some solid numbers over 398 2/3 innings in the Detroit farm system. Starting 68 of 81 games, Lewicki had a 3.54 ERA, 3.54 K/BB, and 8.1 K/9 as a minor leaguer.
D-backs Claim Taylor Guilbeau From Mariners; M’s Outright Gerson Bautista
The Diamondbacks have claimed left-hander Taylor Guilbeau off waivers from the Mariners, per an announcement from Seattle. The M’s also announced that righty Gerson Bautista has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma.
Now 27 years old, Guilbeau joined the Mariners as part of their return from the Nationals in a 2019 deal that sent relievers Roenis Elias and Hunter Strickland to Washington. Guilbeau went on to toss 20 innings of 2.70 ERA ball with a 59.1 percent groundball rate as a member of the Mariners, though he also struck out barely more hitters (10) than he walked (nine). He dealt with a shoulder strain in 2020 and saw his velocity tumble.
Bautista, whom the Mariners acquired in their pre-2019 trade with the Mets centering on Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz, has only thrown nine innings with Seattle. He racked up all of those frames in 2019, as the 25-year-old missed all of this season with a flexor strain in his right elbow.
Red Sox Interview Luis Urueta, Don Kelly, Skip Schumaker, James Rowson
6:15pm: The Red Sox have also interviewed Marlins bench coach James Rowson, Speier tweets.
5:46pm: The Red Sox have asked the Twins for permission to interview their bench coach, Mike Bell, according to Speier.
3:33pm: Boston has also interviewed Padres associate manager Skip Schumaker, Kevin Acee of the San Diego-Union Tribune tweets.
10:45am: The Red Sox interviewed Diamondbacks bench coach Luis Urueta for their vacant managerial post last week, ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reports. It’s the second time in the past year that Urueta has interviewed for the position. He was also a candidate after Alex Cora was let go, although the team opted to instead stick with an internal option in Ron Roenicke, who won’t return as skipper in 2021. Meanwhile, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports that the Sox interviewed Pirates bench coach Don Kelly as well.
Urueta, 40 in January, has held his current position in Arizona for three seasons. He’s previously served as Arizona’s minor league field coordinator in addition to managing the Diamondbacks’ Rookie-level affiliate, managing in the Dominican Winter League and managing Team Colombia in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
The 40-year-old Kelly has fast risen as a popular managerial candidate after retiring as a player following the 2016 season. The longtime Tigers utilityman began working in Detroit’s player development part upon retiring and moved to their scouting staff the next year. He was hired as Houston’s first base coach for the 2018 season and hired as the Pirates’ bench coach under rookie skipper Derek Shelton last offseason.
There’s considerable speculation that Cora could return to Boston after his suspension for his role in the Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal has been served. That ban runs through the current postseason. However, the Red Sox have also reportedly interviewed Cubs third base coach Will Venable and, per Heyman, could talk to Dodgers first base coach George Lombard.
Junior Guerra Changes Representation
Diamondbacks reliever Junior Guerra is changing representation, per Robert Murray (Twitter link). He’ll now be represented by MVP Sports Group.
Guerra, 35, signed a one-year contract with Arizona last offseason worth a guaranteed $2.65MM. That deal comes with a $3.5MM club option for 2021. It’ll be an interesting decision for GM Mike Hazen and the rest of the D-Backs front office. The veteran righty worked to a strong 3.04 ERA in 23.2 innings this season, but that was driven by an unsustainably low opponents’ BABIP (.250) and HR/FB rate (7.1%). Guerra’s 21:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio hints at potential regression. If Arizona decides to exercise the option, they’ll control him through 2022 via arbitration.
The change has been updated in our Agency Database. If you see any notable errors or omissions within the database, please let us know via e-mail: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
Diamondbacks Will Retain Coaching Staff For 2021
The Arizona Diamondbacks are bringing back their coaching staff intact for the 2021 season, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
After remaining surprisingly competitive throughout the 2019 season, the Diamondbacks entered 2020 as a dark horse contender in the National League. The season went about as poorly as possible for Arizona, who finished 25-35, last place in the NL West. They ended with the second-worst record in the National League, better only than the 19-41 Pirates. Still, manager Torey Lovullo and those in the organization are not letting themselves be swayed by the bizarre circumstances of a 60-game season. It would not be uncommon, of course, for a team in their situation to make some changes on the coaching staff, even if ownership were intent on retaining the manager. Credit the Diamondbacks for their show of faith in this group. Arizona’s coaching staff will now get at least another season to prove the anomalous nature of their 60-game stretch in 2020.
The starting pitching presented particularly poorly over the first half as Robbie Ray, Madison Bumgarner, and Luke Weaver each got off to poor starts. Their struggles were untenable over a full campaign, and positive regression was sure to come had it been a normal season. Of course, how much of a return-to-form to expect is difficult to gauge. Bumgarner, for example, entered the 2020 campaign without ever yielding an ERA or FIP over 3.99. The 31-year-old free agent prize nevertheless posted a 8.53 ERA over his first 7 starts while opposing hitters slashed .319/.392/.689.
A pair of spotless 5-inning outings to finish the year somewhat salvaged his campaign, though Bumgarner still finished with a highly uncharacteristic 6.48 ERA/7.18 FIP. Though his final two outings didn’t accomplish much in terms of lessening the eyesore of his 2020 season, they did lend some credence to the idea that significant positive regression was in the offing has the season continued to its usual length.
Regarding the true talent level for this group, Piecoro provides a quote from General Manager Mike Hazen, who said, “My mindset going (into the offseason) is I feel like we have a good baseball team. I feel like we have a good baseball team that did not — and as a group, for whatever reason — we didn’t come out on the end of making the playoffs. That still doesn’t take away from what I feel like is the talent base of the roster and we need to make sure we maintain some focus on that and not overreact in the other direction.”
Diamondbacks Outright Joe Mantiply
OCT. 1: The D-backs announced that they have outrighted Mantiply to Triple-A Reno.
SEPT. 28: The Diamondbacks announced that they have designated left-hander Joe Mantiply for assignment. They reinstated infielder Domingo Leyba from the restricted list in a corresponding move.
Mantiply, a former Tiger and Yankee whom the Diamondbacks signed to a minor league contract last winter, threw 2 1/3 innings of four-run ball for the D-backs in 2020. The 29-year-old has tossed just eight major league innings and surrendered 12 earned runs on 13 hits with more walks (eight) than strikeouts (six) thus far.
Leyba, meanwhile, is back with the Snakes after receiving an 80-game suspension for a positive performance-enhancing drug test last March. The 25-year-old Leyba made his D-backs debut a season ago with 30 plate appearances and seven hits. FanGraphs ranked Leyba as the D-backs’ 26th-best prospect last November.
Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall On Payroll, Future Plans, 2020 Disappointment
On the strength of three consecutive winning seasons and an aggressive offseason, the Diamondbacks were a trendy playoff pick and even a dark-horse NL pennant contender last spring, but things didn’t at all go to plan. The D’Backs have a 24-35 record, and tonight’s loss to the Rockies ensured that Arizona will finish last in the NL West for the first time since 2014.
It was “a disappointing season, obviously, for everybody” in the organization, team president and CEO Derrick Hall told The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan and other reporters. How the D’Backs will regroup for 2021 is still up in the air, and it is quite possible “the uncertainty of this upcoming season” means that the club might just decide to run things back as best as possible next year.
“I would never say never, but I have had no indication that anyone wants to make changes as a result of this year,” Hall said. “I also think it’s so difficult to judge the performance of either leadership or the majority of the players in such a short and strange season. It may not have worked out well for us, and I think there’s obviously nearly half the teams that could say the same thing and be disappointed, but it’s too short a season in a strange season to make those judgment calls. I’m excited to turn the page, start over and see how we do with guys that we have a lot of confidence in down there.”
However, some changes will be afoot for the D’Backs, as Hall called it “far-fetched” that the club will have the same payroll it was prepared to spend coming into a normal season. The Diamondbacks were projected to have roughly a $124MM payroll going into Opening Day back in March, and they already have over $51MM committed to next year’s payroll. Yasmany Tomas‘ salary will finally come off the books, though those savings will mostly be eaten up by the second-year raise built into Madison Bumgarner‘s contract.
The Diamondbacks have never had more than a $132MM payroll since Ken Kendrick’s ownership group bought the team in 2004, and though the team has spent up to and close to that amount over the last three seasons, Hall said the loss of revenues from this season and the unanswered questions about next year’s revenues will limit spending to some extent. This doesn’t necessarily auger a drastic payroll cut or even anything beyond a minor cut, and Hall said Kendrick and company could potentially sign off on more player spending if fans are allowed at Chase Field.
“It’s hard to pinpoint where our payroll will be at this point just because it’s going to be fluid….Not just us, but every other team as well, we’re having to plan for different scenarios of revenue, different scenarios of attendance,” Hall said. “Smaller minimal crowds, no crowds, no restrictions and what that looks like. It’s going to take some time before we know exactly what that direction will be and what the payroll will look like.”
Hall also noted that GM Mike Hazen wasn’t under any mandate to cut payroll at the trade deadline. The deals of Starling Marte, Robbie Ray, and Archie Bradley shaved some significant dollars off of Arizona’s books for both this season and (in the cases of Marte and Bradley) in 2021, and it’s probably safe to assume that Hazen was taking payroll into consideration just as a matter of standard operating procedure, even if he received no direct instruction from upper management.
In the broader financial picture, Hall said the team’s explorations into a potential new ballpark have been “completely put off to the side” in the wake of the pandemic, as “in this economy, it doesn’t make sense to even kick the tires or talk to anybody.” The construction of the Diamondbacks’ new player academy in the Dominican Republic is also “on pause” for the time being.
Athletics Sign Jake Lamb
Sept. 14: The Athletics announced that they’ve signed Lamb to a Major League contract after he’d become a free agent (i.e. cleared release waivers). Lefty A.J. Puk, who is slated to undergo shoulder surgery, was moved to the 45-day injured list to open a roster spot. Oakland also placed Frankie Montas on the paternity list and added righty James Kaprielian as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader.
Sept. 13: The A’s are set to sign corner infielder Jake Lamb, as first reported last night by Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link). The Diamondbacks designated Lamb for assignment on Thursday.
The left-handed hitter isn’t officially eligible to sign until Monday, Rubin adds; presumably, he’s still on release waivers, although it’s a lock he’ll clear them since any team that claims him would absorb what remains of Lamb’s prorated $5.515MM contract. By waiting until he clears waivers, the A’s will leave the Arizona organization on the hook for all but the prorated portion of the league minimum salary. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle points out (on Twitter), Lamb’s deal should be finalized before Tuesday’s deadline for players to be eligible for a new team’s playoff roster.
Lamb came up as a third baseman, but he saw an increasing amount of time at first base in his final couple seasons in the desert. The A’s have Matt Olson locked in at first, so Lamb’s path to playing time in Oakland is surely back at the hot corner. The A’s just found out yesterday that star third baseman Matt Chapman was lost for the season. With Chapman out, Rule V pick Vimael Machin and veteran utilityman Chad Pinder have taken most of the third base work over the past week. Neither Machin nor Pinder has hit well this season, though, so the A’s are adding another bat to the mix. Additionally, Pinder also seems ticketed for the injured list after getting scratched from yesterday’s lineup with a hamstring strain.
Of course, that Lamb was designated for assignment this week speaks to his own recent struggles. While he once looked like a building block for the Arizona organization, the 29-year-old has never returned to form after a 2018 shoulder injury that eventually required surgery. Over the past three seasons, Lamb has combined for a paltry .199/.307/.330 line (73 wRC+) in 514 plate appearances. He’s continued to draw his fair share of walks, but the power he showed from 2016-17, when he combined for 59 home runs, has evaporated. Lamb has just 12 long balls over the past three seasons. He was off to the worst start of his career before the Diamondbacks moved on, hitting .116/.240/.140 in 50 plate appearances.
Lamb will be a free agent at season’s end, so he’s a short-term stopgap for the A’s. Oakland has a 40-man roster spot available already, and further space can be cleared by placing Chapman on the 45-day injured list.