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Diamondbacks Outright Albert Suarez

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The Diamondbacks outrighted right-hander Albert Suarez after he cleared waivers, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports on Twitter. He has accepted the assignment, per the report.

Suarez was selected in the Rule 5 draft from the Giants in December. He did not have to be offered back to the San Francisco organization, though, owing to the fact that he had previously been outrighted.

For Arizona, the result is the chance to hang onto the out-of-options Suarez at Triple-A as depth when the season gets underway. Suarez has some MLB experience, having thrown 115 2/3 innings of 4.51 ERA ball over the past two seasons. He allowed nine earned runs on 15 hits and five walks while recording ten strikeouts in his 12 1/3 innings this spring.

Diamondbacks To Extend Ketel Marte

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TODAY: The deal is now official.

YESTERDAY, 4:26pm: Zach Buchanan of The Athletic has tweeted the full breakdown. Marte will receive a $2MM signing bonus and $1MM salary for the coming season, followed by $2MM, $4MM, $6MM, and $8MM salaries through the guaranteed seasons (2019-22).

The options are valued at $10MM and $12MM, each of which come with a $1MM buyout. Incentives (details of which remain unknown) could tack on another $4MM overall.

11:41am: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a five-year, $24MM extension with middle infielder Ketel Marte, Robert Murray of FanRag reports. The deal also comes with a pair of option years worth a combined $22MM, which could make it a seven-year, $46MM pact. Marte is a client of the Legacy Agency.

The Diamondbacks already had Marte under control for the next half-decade, including four arbitration-eligible years, but the extension means they won’t go through that process at all with him. The Phillies made a similar decision Sunday when they signed infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery to a five-year, $24MM guarantee of his own.

The 24-year-old Marte is about to begin his second season in Arizona, which acquired him from Seattle in a blockbuster November 2016 trade. Because the deal also featured Taijuan Walker, Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger, Marte flew under the radar at the time, especially after enduring a rough 2016 with the Mariners. Marte impressed his new team last year, however, even though he didn’t post eye-popping offensive numbers in the majors.

After spending nearly the first three months of 2017 at the Triple-A level, where he raked over 338 plate appearances (.338/.391/.514 – good for a 135 wRC+), the Diamondbacks promoted Marte in late June. The switch-hitter went on to bat .260/.345/.395 (89 wRC+) with five home runs and three stolen bases in 255 PAs. To his credit, Marte collected nearly as many walks (29) as strikeouts (37), and as Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs wrote in December, there’s data suggesting he could be in line for a breakout. Marte was somewhat of a Statcast darling last year, evidenced by his 19th-place ranking in sprint speed and a quality xwOBA (.342).

While Marte’s only a .265/.319/.361 hitter (84 wRC+) with eight homers and 22 steals in 968 major league PAs, the D-backs seem optimistic he’s indeed capable of more in their uniform. And they saw him fare nicely in the field last season, where he logged four Defensive Runs Saved and a 1.1 Ultimate Zone Rating in 507 innings at shortstop. Marte’s now likely to give up short in favor of Nick Ahmed, a gifted defender who missed most of last season, and move to second. It’ll be a relatively new position in the bigs for Marte, who hasn’t lined up at the keystone since logging 31 innings there as a rookie in 2015.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/26/18

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We’ll use this post to run down the day’s minor moves:

  • After being designated for assignment yesterday, catcher Chris Herrmann was released by the Diamondbacks, per a club announcement. The 30-year-old won’t get a chance to prove he can return to the strong batting output he produced in 2016 — at least in Arizona.  That effort earned Herrmann a career-high 256 plate appearances last season, but he managed only a .181/.273/.345 batting line. He has, however, enjoyed a solid spring, swatting two long balls and carrying a .300/.324/.567 slash in 34 Cactus League plate appearances.
  • The Nationals have brought back Alejandro De Aza on a minor-league deal after releasing him to avoid the necessity of a $100K retention bonus, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Soon to turn 34, De Aza is at this point mostly an organizational depth piece, though he has at times in the not-so-distant past been a significant contributor at the MLB level. Indeed, he carries an approximately league-average overall offensive line through nearly three thousand major-league plate appearances, most of which have come since the start of the 2012 season. De Aza played only briefly in the majors last year with the Nats and hit .280/.368/.403 in his 212 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • Also re-signing after being released was infielder Gordon Beckham, who’ll head to the minors with the Mariners, per Cotillo (via Twitter). The 31-year-old had a torrid spring but, like De Aza, has generally been on the downswing of late after receiving quite a lot of opportunities earlier in his career. Until last year, Beckham had played in at least 88 MLB contests annually since cracking the majors (despite minimal minor-league seasoning) in 2009. But his chances, which were already on the decline, largely petered out in 2017, as he made it into just 11 games in the majors. In his 355 plate appearances at Triple-A in the Mariners organization, Beckham posted a .262/.313/.393 batting line.
  • The Diamondbacks have sent outfielder Ramon Flores to the Red Sox, Cotillo also tweets. It is not apparent what Arizona is getting back in return, or whether Flores might even be the PTBNL in the recent swap between the teams. Either way, it’s a minor transactions. Flores signed a minors deal with Arizona and has struggled this spring. He carries only a .204/.281/.256 slash line in 331 plate appearances, but has generally hit well at Triple-A. Last year, Flores hit .312/.409/.460 with ten home runs and 68 walks against 70 strikeouts in his 493 trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors.

NL West Links: Lamet, Giants, Salas, Dodgers

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Padres right-hander Dinelson Lamet is headed for the disabled list after leaving Sunday’s outing after just six batters due to elbow pain, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.  There doesn’t appear to be any structural damage to Lamet’s elbow and a source tells Acee that the righty will miss just “minimal time,” though that absence looks like it could last into May.  “The hope is he will miss only the season’s first month,” Acee writes, which is a somewhat ominously vague timeframe for a pitcher who was expected to play a big role in San Diego’s rotation.  Lamet posted a 4.57 ERA, 2.57 K/BB rate and a whopping 10.9 K/9 over 114 1/3 innings in his rookie season, displaying some control and home run-allowance issues but impressing many with his ability to miss bats.

More from around the NL West…

  • A Giants trade for starting pitching help is “not likely” as of tonight, a source tells MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter links), though the team is considering adding a starter with Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija both on the DL.  Morosi cites the Astros’ Brad Peacock and Collin McHugh as arms that could be available, though these could be speculative names rather than pitchers the Giants are directly targeting.  San Francisco doesn’t have much luxury tax room to afford taking on any significant salary, nor does the club have much in the way of prospect depth to trade away, so it will be interesting to see how (or if) the Giants can adjust to these devastating early-season rotation losses.
  • Fernando Salas’ minor league contract with the Diamondbacks will pay him $1.5MM in base salary now that he has made the team’s Opening Day roster, The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan reports (Twitter link).  The right-hander can also earn some additional money via performances bonuses.  Salas posted an 0.90 ERA, 7.2 K/9, and just two walks over 10 spring innings for the D’Backs, an impressive performance that won him a slot on the 25-man roster.
  • Even though the Dodgers made moves to get under the luxury tax threshold this winter, ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) isn’t certain that this team will use the reset of their tax penalties to pursue a big-name free agent like Manny Machado or Bryce Harper.  Splurging on a decade-long contract for Machado or Harper would seem to run counter to how president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman works, though Olney wonders if Friedman could pursue a tactic like offering a shorter-term deal but with a higher average annual value.  Of course, L.A. could also spend in different ways next winter, such as acquiring an expensive player in a trade, or (most importantly) exploring an extension for Clayton Kershaw, who can opt out of his current deal after the season.

Diamondbacks Designate Chris Herrmann For Assignment, Select Jorge De La Rosa’s Contract

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The Diamondbacks have designated catcher Chris Herrmann for assignment, as per a team press release.  In a corresponding move, the team also selected the contract of left-hander Jorge De La Rosa.

Herrmann enjoyed something of a breakout season in part-time action with Arizona in 2016, when he hit .284/.352/.493 over 166 plate appearances with the team.  He was a particularly valuable part-time piece due to his ability to not just work behind the plate, but also to play some corner outfield if need be, not to mention a couple of games each in center field and first base.  Unfortunately for Herrmann, his production took a big step backwards last season with just a .181/.273/.345 slash line over 256 PA, though a .207 BABIP certainly may have contributed to that dropoff.

With Alex Avila signed as the new regular catcher and Jeff Mathis still in the mix for backup duty, Herrmann become an expendable piece for the D’Backs.  Though the club regularly used three catchers last season, John Ryan Murphy looks like the top choice for that role, perhaps due to his lower price tag.  Herrmann avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.3MM with the D’Backs for 2018, though since arbitration salaries aren’t guaranteed, the team would only owe Herrmann 30 days’ worth of termination pay (just under $227K) if the catcher was released before Opening Day.

De La Rosa posted a 4.21 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 2.14 K/BB rate over 51 1/3 innings for Arizona last season, his first full year as a relief pitcher.  While it could be something of a waste using a durable former starter as a specialist, De La Rosa had such enormous splits last season (left-handed batters hit just .192/.253/.292 slash line against De La Rosa in 79 PA, while right-handed batters hit .262/.362/.458 against him in 140 PA) that the D’Backs could be well-advised to at least limit his exposure against righty-swingers.  With Andrew Chafin and T.J. McFarland also projected to serve as left-handed options in the Snakes’ bullpen, the club has some flexibility to be creative with how it deploys its southpaw relief corps.

By making the Opening Day roster, De La Rosa will now earn $2.25MM in base salary, as per the terms of his minor league contract with the D’Backs.  Another $600K is available in bonus money.

NL Notes: Tomas, Wainwright, Padres

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A few notes from the National League…

  • The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve optioned outfielder Yasmany Tomas to Triple-A Reno. With a $10MM salary, Tomas ranks among the D-backs’ highest-paid players, which makes this an especially notable move. Despite both Tomas’ price tag and starting oufielder Steven Souza Jr.’s injury, the former still wasn’t able to win a roster spot this spring. It’s the latest negative development in what has been a disappointing major league career for Tomas, who parlayed stardom in Cuba into a six-year, $68.5MM guarantee with Arizona heading into 2015. Still just 27, Tomas has been worth minus-1.4 fWAR in the majors, where he has batted a mediocre .268/.307/.462 in 1,169 plate appearances and been borderline unplayable in the outfield (minus-30 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-23.3 Ultimate Zone Rating).
  • The Cardinals scratched Adam Wainwright from his start Sunday, and president John Mozeliak told reporters (including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that the right-hander is dealing with a hamstring injury. Consequently, Wainwright will start the season on the disabled list, and righty Jack Flaherty will replace him, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports. The 36-year-old Wainwright was on the shelf for a large portion of last season because of elbow problems, and he managed some of the worst run prevention numbers of his stellar career during the abbreviated campaign. Across 123 1/3 innings, the former ace pitched to a personal-high 5.11 ERA, though he did post a 4.29 FIP with 7.01 K/9, 3.28 BB/9 and a 47.2 percent groundball rate.
  • Padres outfielder Franchy Cordero will begin the season on the disabled list because of a groin injury, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Cordero, 23, had been in the running for a big league roster spot, but that bid’s now on hold. As a result, it’s likely Hunter Renfroe and one of Matt Szczur or Travis Jankowski will open 2018 as the Padres’ reserves behind starting outfielders Wil Myers, Manny Margot and Jose Pirela, Cassavell suggests.

Market Notes: Youth, Holland, Werth, Rays, D-backs

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The fans are more excited about youth than ever before, writes Grant Brisbee of SB Nation. That’s good news for the owners, as they’re getting rich off the youth movement flooding this era of baseball. Young players are cheap, and Brisbee points out why that matters in an example featuring the Astros’ World Series lineup. Their first five hitters were George Springer, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel; the latter made about $5MM more in 2017 than the first four combined. Having elite young talent under control on relatively cheap salaries allows teams the financial flexibility to fill a few holes en route to a championship-caliber roster. As Brisbee notes, player salaries are determined more by circumstance than by talent nowadays, describing this fact as “the secret of baseball, the only part of Moneyball that really matters.” After seeing proof of concept from the Cubs and Astros in recent years, fans are actually getting excited about rebuilds and trades for prospects, which means ownership has less of a reason to spend money on players that Brisbee describes as “just a guy” types. This quote from his piece describes it best: “Prospects aren’t just future major leaguers; they’re memorable seasons and postseason runs that haven’t happened yet.”

A few more market-related items…

  • Jim Bowden of The Athletic confirms in a tweet that the Braves, Diamondbacks and Cardinals have all checked in on free agent reliever Greg Holland. However, none of them feel as though they can be competitive financially based on the right-hander’s current asking price. Bowden suggests that Holland should take the best offer on the table. With less than a week left until opening day, it’s hard to argue that point.
  • Jayson Werth is still looking to continue his career, as he tells Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The 38-year-old is currently working out and waiting for someone to give him an opportunity. He’s coming off a season in which he hit just .226/.322/.393 and missed nearly three months due to a toe injury, though he still managed double-digit homers in half a season’s worth of plate appearances. The fact that his walk rate has been above 10% in every season of his career could also make him worth a look.
  • Werth could be a good fit in theory for the Rays. The club is still on the lookout for a right-handed hitter who can play the outfield, according Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Jose Bautista and Melky Cabrera represent the top remaining options on the free agent market. Players like Domingo Santana and Hunter Renfroe could potentially be had in a trade, though neither of them would come cheap.

Article XX(B) Free Agents Update: Saturday

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Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement contains a provision that allows certain free agents who are signed to minor league contracts to receive a $100K retention bonus if they are not on the team’s 25-man roster or the Major League disabled list five days prior to the season.

Free agents who qualify for this distinction are those who have at least six years of Major League service time and had a Major League contract expire at the end of the previous season, but signed a minor league deal ten or more days prior to Opening Day.

The deadline for teams to decide on these players is today at 11am central time. By the deadline, teams with these players in camp need to decide whether to:

  1. Add the player to their 25-man roster or Major League disabled list (or agree to do so in writing).
  2. Pay the player a $100K retention bonus to keep him in the organization beyond the deadline and send him to the minors.
  3. Grant the player his outright release from the minor league contract so that he may pursue opportunities with other teams.

We’ll use this post to keep track of the Article XX(B) free agents whose respective teams have elected option one or two; in other words, players who won’t be released for the time being. The most recent updates are on top.

  • Miguel Montero has been informed that he’ll make the Nationals as the club’s backup catcher, according to Jamal Collier of MLB.com. He’ll earn a $1.3MM base salary, as outlined in the details of the pact he signed with the club on February 1st. Montero beat out young backstop Pedro Severino in a camp battle for the role.

Earlier…

Diamondbacks Acquire Deven Marrero

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The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve acquired infielder Deven Marrero from the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Marrero was out of minor league options.

A former first-round pick by Boston, Marrero hasn’t been able to live up to his pre-draft billing. The 27-year-old righty hitter owns a career slash line of just .208/.259/.309, earning just 258 plate appearances at the big league level across the past three seasons. He’s struck out well over 30% of the time during that span.

Even in the upper minors, Marrero hasn’t shown a whole lot of promise. He hit .240/.266/.361 at Tripe-A Pawtucket last seasons with a meager 3.1% walk rate and a wRC+ of just 69. Only once in the minors has he managed to exceed a .375 slugging percentage, and though he managed to steal at least 25 bases in each of his first two minor league seasons, that hasn’t translated to the upper minors or at the MLB level.

The Sox have played Marrero at second base, shortstop and third base throughout his major league career, but the club had no real need to hold onto both him and fellow utilityman Brock Holt. The Diamondbacks, however, were in need of an outfielder following a recent pectoral injury to Steven Souza Jr., and with a particular urgency since they’re rumored to be considering optioning outfielder Yasmany Tomas to the minors. While Marrero has no experience in the outfield, his presence on the roster should allow Chris Owings to shift to the outfield for the time being.

 

Steven Souza Jr. Out “A Couple Of Weeks” With Pectoral Strain

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Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. has a right pec strain and will open the season on the disabled list, according to manager Torey Lovullo (via Nick Pecoro of AZ Central Sports). Lovullo expects Souza to be out of the lineup for “a couple of weeks, at least.” The soon-to-be 29-year-old Souza left Wednesday’s game after diving for a baseball in the outfield.

Needless to say, this is certainly isn’t what the Diamondbacks had planned for when they acquired Souza in a three-team trade with the Yankees and Rays earlier in the winter. Arizona gave up left-hander Anthony Banda and two players to be named later in order to acquire the free-swinging slugger, who’s coming off his best season as a major-leaguer. Though he managed just a .239 batting average last season (in part due to a 29% strikeout rate), he got on base at a .351 clip and crushed 30 homers while contributing 16 stolen bases for Tampa Bay.

It’s unclear exactly how long the club expects Souza to be out. Lovullo says that the club will “give the injury time to define itself”, which is of course incredibly vague. Zach Buchanan of The Athletic tweets that Lovullo “slipped in” mid-May to a later answer about the outfielder’s timeline. Regardless, it seems almost like good news for Souza, as it was initially thought that he may have suffered a shoulder injury. His absence from the opening day roster will open up an opportunity for more playing time for both Yasmany Tomas and Jarrod Dyson at the start of the season.

Souza was drafted and developed by the Nationals, who picked him in the third round of the 2007 draft, then later traded him to the Padres in exchange for Joe Ross and a player-to-be-named-later that ended up being Trea Turner. The righty-hitting outfielder has played in parts of four major league seasons, slashing .236/.325/.426 for his career to go along with 65 dingers and 35 steals.

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