Latest On J.D. Martinez’s Market
8:27pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that, in addition to the five-year offer from the Red Sox (which he pegs for “at least” $120MM), Martinez has discussed both long- and short-term scenarios to return to the Diamondbacks.
A shorter-term deal to return to the D-backs would come as something of a surprise, though it’d be somewhat similar to Yoenis Cespedes‘ initial deal to return to the Mets. Unable to find the long-term pact he sought on the open market in the 2015-16 offseason, Cespedes instead returned to the Mets on a three-year, $75MM contract with an opt-out after the first season of the contract. He’d go on to sign a four-year, $110MM pact with the Mets the following offseason.
Nightengale reported earlier today that the only other formal offer that Martinez had received outside of Boston was a one-year pact to return to Arizona, though certainly that doesn’t mean that Martinez and Boras haven’t discussed other parameters with the Diamondbacks (or potentially with other clubs whose interest has yet to be firmly reported).
7:30pm: Boras, unsurprisingly, rejected the notion that Martinez is unhappy with any potential suitor, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Rather, the agent tells Silverman that Martinez is “involved in multiple negotiations and is pleased with the participants and the good faith process,” calling suggestions to the contrary “not accurate.”
12:15am: The staredown between J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox doesn’t appear to be all that close to ending. Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston spoke to agent Scott Boras Tuesday evening, with Boras making clear that his client is willing to wait until after the start of Spring Training to sign a contract. Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that Martinez has become “fed up” with the lack of flexibility on Boston’s part and may actually prefer to sign with another club at this point.
“The dialogue is ongoing, we have not reached any kind of agreement,” Boras tells Drellich, noting that Martinez doesn’t necessarily need a full Spring Training to work himself into game shape. “Particularly for position players, these guys are in great shape, they’re ready to go.”
Boston has reportedly offered Martinez a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $125MM, and to this point there hasn’t been much in the way of serious competition that has been widely reported. The D-backs would love to retain Martinez, but they’re already facing a record payroll in 2018 without Martinez in the fold and have an onerous commitment to Yasmany Tomas on the books. Beyond that, one has to imagine some concerns from the Arizona brass when it comes to Martinez’s glovework in the outfield over the course of a long-term pact.
Rosenthal reports that the Red Sox don’t seem anxious to up their bid. President of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski preached to Rosenthal a “wait-and-see” approach when it came to Martinez, expressing some confidence that Hanley Ramirez could rebound and ably fill the team’s DH slot in 2018 (though that belief seems more like lip service than anything else when made against the backdrop of a reported $125MM offer to another right-handed bat that would clearly supplant Ramirez as the primary designated hitter).
“I don’t have a (timetable) on it because I really don’t know,” said Dombrowski to Rosenthal. “Perhaps if I was losing options, juggling three guys, or if we were in the starting-pitching market where there are four (top) guys, I would say, ‘Hey, I need an answer now, or I’m going to turn to this guy.’ But we’re really not in that situation.”
Beyond the lack of competition for Martinez on the free-agent market, Dombrowski also suggested that the trade market could yet be a viable approach. The veteran exec called it “amazing” to be hearing of so many players available in trade talks at this juncture of the offseason.
“At this time of year, you normally don’t get phone calls out of the blue about such-and-such being available,” said Dombrowski. “I have. I don’t know what’s going to go on.”
Outside of Boston and Arizona, there’s been little talk of serious competition for Martinez’s services. The Giants and Blue Jays were both rumored landing spots at one point, but both have made multiple outfield acquisitions since that time. It’s certainly possible that a spring injury creates a new opening for Martinez, and the very presence of a five-year offer in the currently reported range suggests that the Red Sox feel there’s some degree of competition a bit below that level (perhaps from the D-backs, though that’s purely speculative).
Nightengale’s Latest: Martinez, Encarnacion, Darvish, Arrieta
As sparring continues over the ongoing free agent freeze — see Boras v. Halem, Clark v. Manfred — Bob Nightengale of USA Today takes an interesting look at how he believes the market might shake out for the top available players. His overall analysis and predictions are well worth a look, but a few items of information bear highlighting as part of the market landscape.
- Slugger J.D. Martinez was the focus of a skirmish yesterday in the war of words, with some sparring over the fact that the Red Sox have not upped their longstanding offer — which evidently still stands at a previously reported five-year, $125MM level. Per Nightengale, the only other offer on the table right now is from the Diamondbacks, but it’s just a one-year deal. Clearly, all involved have reason to anticipate that there’d be greater interest than that from other organizations, but it’s a notable point in relation to Martinez’s hopes for generating pressure on the Sox.
- Notably, too, the Red Sox are perhaps still aware of other means of fulfilling their desire for right-handed power. Nightengale says the organization spoke with the Indians earlier in the offseason about a potential deal that would have brought Edwin Encarnacion to Boston. Whether or not there’s any plausible hope of reviving those discussions isn’t clear, though, and the Sox are said not to have been willing to send Jackie Bradley Jr. to Cleveland. Clearly, that’s no surprise, as Bradley is a much younger and more affordable player who still offers plenty of value to the Sox. Indeed, it’s amply arguable that Bradley is a more valuable overall performer than is Encarnacion.
- Top free agent starter Yu Darvish is sitting on multiple five-year offers, per Nightengale. At the moment, he’s still hoping an organization will decide to give him an extra year — or, in a longer-shot scenario, that the Dodgers or Yankees will find a way to move other contracts to open the door to a Darvish signing. For the most part, this seems to represent a continuation of the status quo, as is the case for the other top starters.
- As for Jake Arrieta, we have not heard a ton of public chatter. There isn’t much new, it seems, but Nightengale does suggest that one hypothetical possibility isn’t likely: the incumbent Cubs have “barely even engaged in contract talks” with their former staff ace, per the report. That is not very surprising, of course. The sides already know one another (and their respective bargaining positions) quite well. And it’s clear that, while a reunion has always remained hypothetically possible, both team and player intended to explore alternatives during the winter. Still, it’s notable that they have evidently not circled back around to one another to this point.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/5/18
Here are Monday’s minor moves throughout the league…
- Lefty Dan Runzler has joined the Rays on a minors pact, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Soon to turn 33, Runzler made it back to the majors in 2017 after a long layoff. All told, he owns a 3.89 ERA in 76 1/3 total MLB frames. The southpaw spent most of last year at Triple-A in the Pirates organization, where he worked to a 3.05 ERA in 41 1/3 innings with 7.8 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9.
- The Diamondbacks announced today that outfielder Rey Fuentes has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Reno. He’ll be in Spring Training with the D-backs as a non-roster invitee. Fuentes, 27 next week, was designated for assignment last Wednesday to clear a roster spot for the recently signed Alex Avila. Fuentes logged a career-high 145 plate appearances with Arizona last season and batted .235/.278/.338 with three homers and four stolen bases while spending time at all three outfield spots. He’ll vie for a backup role with the D-backs, who currently project to have David Peralta, A.J. Pollock and Yasmany Tomas as their starters in the outfield.
NL Notes: D-backs, Mets, Cards, A. Reyes
Thanks in part to the signing of catcher Alex Avila to a two-year, $8.25MM deal this week, the Diamondbacks are on track to run a franchise-record payroll in 2018 (upward of $120MM), as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes. They may not be done adding, either, as general manager Mike Hazen informed Piecoro that the Diamondbacks still have financial flexibility and are seeking another outfielder. “We’re still very much involved in both,” Hazen said of free agency and the trade market. “We have enough balls in the air, we could be a couple of yesses away from something getting done in any direction. We’re not close on anything just yet.” With A.J. Pollock being the only natural center fielder on the D-backs’ 40-man roster, they could pick up someone capable of handling that spot, Piecoro reports.
More from the NL:
- The Mets plan to continue with a timeshare at catcher consisting of Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki in 2018, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. Although there may be an upgrade available in free agency (past Mets target Jonathan Lucroy, to be specific), GM Sandy Alderson is inclined to stick with with his in-house tandem. “At that position, I think it would be difficult for us to find a pair that we like appreciably better,” he said. “I think we’ve been generally happy with our catching play.” The 28-year-old d’Arnaud and Plawecki, 26, represent a pair of former top 100 prospects who haven’t delivered as hoped in the majors (injury woes are partly to blame in the former’s case), but they each posted passable offensive numbers a season ago. D’Arnaud also graded as one of the majors’ top pitch framers in 2017, per Baseball Prospectus (though StatCorner saw things differently).
- As he continues working back from February 2017 Tommy John surgery, Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes is in Jupiter Fla., throwing off a mound and facing hitters in live batting practice sessions, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com relays. The Cardinals are hopeful Reyes will be able to return to game action by May 1, according to Langosch. The highly touted 23-year-old figures to fill a bullpen role upon coming back, but the Cards continue to regard him as a long-term starter, per Langosch.
- Former Mets manager Terry Collins is now working as a special assistant to Alderson, and he explained what some of his new role will entail to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. “I will be another set of eyes, and one of the things is to make sure the instruction at the minor league level is efficient,” revealed Collins, a former minor league manager. “We have to make sure, when they call up a player, he’s ready. I think I still have something to give to the game.” On whether he’d like to manage in the majors again, the 68-year-old Collins said, “I would, but I don’t think with the new era of stuff that would happen.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/1/18
Here are the latest minor moves from around the sport, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Diamondbacks have signed first baseman Cody Decker, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The deal is presumably a minor league contract. Decker has a .261/.340/.517 slash line over 3537 career plate appearances in the minors, with his first seven seasons spent in the Padres’ organization (including his only MLB exposure, an eight-game stint in 2015). He played for the Mets in 2017, almost exactly splitting time between the Double-A and Triple-A levels, and also played for Team Israel during the World Baseball Classic. While primarily a first baseman, Decker also has experience at third base, catcher, and both corner outfield spots.
Diamondbacks Hire Jonny Gomes As Rookie League Hitting Coach
The Diamondbacks announced a number of hirings, title changes, and promotions throughout their organization today, including the news that Jonny Gomes will be the new hitting coach for the team’s rookie ball affiliate in the Arizona League. The move would seem to indicate that the 37-year-old Gomes has decided to call it a career after 13 seasons in the big leagues.
Gomes played for seven MLB teams from 2003-15, with his first six seasons spent in Tampa Bay. His first extended taste of Major League action resulted in a third-place finish in AL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2005, after he hit .282/.372/.534 with 21 homers over 407 plate appearances. While Gomes was rarely an everyday player during his career, he found plenty of regular playing time as a noted masher of left-handed pitching, posting a lifetime slash line of .273/.376/.479 against southpaws.
Beyond just his performance on the field, Gomes was well-known for his fiery personality and reputation as a clubhouse leader. During his final four seasons, he was sought out as a mentor for young A’s and Royals teams making postseason runs, and Gomes was one of the originators of the beard craze that defined the World Series-winning 2013 Red Sox.
Several notable names were included in the Diamondbacks’ list of baseball operations moves, including the promotion of Burke Badenhop to special assistant to the general manager. Badenhop, an eight-year MLB veteran, worked as an analyst in the D’Backs front office in 2017. The recently-retired Daniel Bard is also joining the organization in the newly-created Player Mentor role.
Shelby Miller Wins Arbitration Hearing Against Diamondbacks
Right-hander Shelby Miller has won his arbitration hearing against the D-backs, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). The Roc Nation Sports client will earn $4.9MM in 2018 as opposed to the $4.7MM figure that was submitted by the team. His $4.9MM payday lines up with his projected arbitration salary from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Miller, of course, underwent Tommy John surgery early in the season, thus making it somewhat of a surprise to see him earn a modest raise. However, he did make four starts and post a 4.09 ERA with 20 strikeouts against 12 walks in 22 innings, and the arbitration panel apparently deemed that small sample of work worthy of a modest boost in pay. Arizona’s $4.7MM submission was merely a repeat of the salary that Miller earned in 2017, so their proposal was simply to not offer a raise at all and renew him at his previous rate of pay.
The season-ending surgery for Miller served to create a second consecutive disappointing season in Arizona after the D-backs infamously gave up Ender Inciarte and Dansby Swanson in order to acquire Miller two offseasons ago. However, it’s worth noting that Miller’s velocity, swinging-strike rate and overall strike percentage had demonstrated legitimate improvement through his first four starts after a nightmarish 2016 season in which he logged a 6.15 ERA in 101 innings.
Those 2016 struggles prompted the D-backs to, somewhat stunningly, option Miller to Triple-A Reno. (The move itself wasn’t necessarily stunning in light of his significant struggles, but it’d have been borderline unbelievable prior to Opening Day 2016.) That minor league demotion cost Miller enough service time to buy the Diamondbacks another year of control over Miller, who can still be controlled for another two seasons via arbitration. If he returns healthy in 2018, his raise for the 2019 season will now have a marginally higher base point.
The $200K discrepancy between the figures submitted by the two sides may seem like an exceptionally small gap to bridge in such a dramatic fashion. But, Miller’s modest raise will now serve as a data point in all future arbitration scenarios (for both the D-backs and the 29 other clubs), and teams often feel obligated to take a hard line against making too many concessions and progressing the market for future waves of arbitration negotiations. That’s a subject which MLBTR explored at length a few years back, for those interested in reading more about the team’s viewpoints on arbitration matters.
West Notes: Giles, Cruz, Mariners, Avila, Iannetta
The Astros‘ arbitration hearing with right-hander Ken Giles is taking place today in Phoenix, reports Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The team submitted a $4.2MM salary figure for Giles, who countered with a $4.6MM proposal. While the $400K difference between those sums will likely seem trivial to most fans, it’s worth remembering that the salary set today will impact the raises that Giles receives in his next two trips through the arb process. Furthermore, teams are ever cognizant of not inflating the future arbitration market by making too many concessions and often feel a responsibility to take a firm negotiation stance. I spoke with a few different assistant GMs and GMs on the matter a few years back in a lengthier exploration of arbitration from the team vantage point, for those interested in some of the intricacies of the process.
A few more notes on some teams in the game’s Western divisions…
- Looking to add a bit of versatility to his repertoire, Mariners designated hitter/outfielder Nelson Cruz revealed that he’s been working out at first base this offseason (Instagram link). Seattle already acquired Ryon Healy from the A’s in hopes that the young slugger can hold down their first base spot for years to come, but Cruz could conceivably see some time there when Healy needs a day off or in the event of an injury.
- Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times takes a lengthy, comprehensive look at the Mariners‘ bottom-ranked farm system (by Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law). Divish’s column has extensive quotes from GM Jerry Dipoto, director of player development Andy McKay and a pair of scouts from other clubs, each weighing in on Seattle’s lack of depth. Dipoto, as he has in the past, indicates that his front office has elected to use the bulk of its prospect depth to acquire MLB assets such as Healy, Mitch Haniger, Ben Gamel, Dee Gordon and Jean Segura. The rival scouts are critical of the system, with one calling it “barren.” However, they didn’t condemn the actions of the Dipoto-led front office as unwise. “It wasn’t a very good system when he got here so you use what you can to build for the big league and then down,” a scout from an AL club tells Divish. “I see their vision. They’ve traded a lot of midrange prospects, but you can’t replenish them as quickly as they’ve traded them off and that affects depth.”
- The Diamondbacks‘ signing of Alex Avila over Chris Iannetta (at a near-identical price) came down to simple timing, GM Mike Hazen tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The D-backs, according to Piecoro, made a two-year, $4MM offer to Iannetta before he signed for slightly more than twice that with the Rockies, but that came back in early December. Arizona wasn’t ready to make an $8MM+ commitment at that time, preferring first to explore the trade market for a longer-term solution. When that didn’t materialize, the club circled back to the still-available Avila. Hazen, according to Piecoro, added that the D-backs are likely to carry three catchers on their roster early in the season. Jeff Mathis, John Ryan Murphy and Chris Herrmann are all on the 40-man roster, though Murphy and Herrmann are out of minor league options. The D-backs could still add an outfielder as well, per Hazen.
Diamondbacks Designate Rey Fuentes For Assignment
The D-backs announced that outfielder Rey Fuentes has been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Alex Avila, whose previously reported two-year contract with Arizona is now official.
Fuentes, 27 next month, logged a career-high 145 plate appearances with Arizona last season and batted .235/.278/.338 with three homers and four stolen bases while spending time at all three outfield spots. The former first-rounder has, at times, been considered among the best prospects in both the Red Sox and Padres organizations and was one of four players sent from Boston to San Diego in the 2010 Adrian Gonzalez blockbuster.
Through 225 plate appearances in the Majors, Fuentes has just a .595 OPS, but hit at a .300/.361/.397 clip in 1154 plate appearances in parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level.
Diamondbacks Sign Alex Avila
5:25pm: The D-backs have now announced the signing.
3:45pm: Rosenthal tweets that Avila has already passed his physical, making the deal official. The D-backs have yet to announce the signing, though, which will require a corresponding 40-man roster move.
Jan. 31, 1:19pm: Avila will receive a two-year contract worth $8.25MM, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter). Another $250K per season will be available to Avila in incentives, according to Heyman.
Jan. 30, 6:44pm: The two sides have a deal, pending a physical, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets.
6:36pm: The Diamondbacks are nearing an agreement with free agent catcher Alex Avila, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. Terms are unknown, but MLBTR predicted a two-year, $16MM contract for Avila at the outset of free agency.
The 31-year-old Avila will add an offensively capable backstop to an Arizona club whose catchers batted a paltry .219/.306/.404 last season. That was with a very good performance from Chris Iannetta, who joined the NL West rival Rockies in free agency, leaving the Diamondbacks with Jeff Mathis and Chris Herrmann as their top options. Mathis, the team’s likely starter prior to the Avila agreement, is known for his defensive prowess. However, his bat has never come close to keeping up with his work behind the plate.
[RELATED: Updated D-backs Depth Chart]
Unlike Mathis, defense is not Avila’s calling card – in fact, he was among the game’s worst pitch framers in 2017, according to both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner. But the lefty-swinger did his best to make up for it at the plate, where he slashed an outstanding .264/.387/.447 with 14 home runs and a .183 ISO in 376 plate appearances divided between the Tigers and Cubs. Avila’s numbers dropped off after the Cubs acquired him prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline (.274/.394/.475 versus .239/.369/.380), though he still offered the North Siders above-average offensive production relative to his position.
While Avila managed a hard-to-sustain .382 batting average on balls in play last season and struck out in 31.9 percent of PAs, he helped his cause significantly with scorching contact. Among those with at least 300 PAs, Avila ranked second in the majors in hard-hit rate (48.7 percent, compared to a career mark of 36.6). And out of 387 hitters who put at least 100 balls in play, he finished tied for 18th in average exit velocity (90.4 mph) and tied for 21st in barrels per PA (7.4). Consequently, he posted a tremendous xwOBA (.395) that easily outpaced his still-high wOBA (.368).
Last year’s offensive outburst was Avila’s most impressive showing since 2011, when the then-Tiger earned his lone All-Star nod, but success with the bat isn’t anything new for the lifetime .243/.351/.401 hitter. He comes with notable platoon splits, though, having held his own against right-handed pitching (.250/.362/.426) while failing to present a threat versus southpaws (.212/.306/.305) since debuting in 2009. He also brings durability concerns, having gone on the disabled list several times in his career, including twice during a 57-game season with the White Sox in 2016.
After his lone campaign with the ChiSox, Avila returned to the Tigers last winter for a $2MM guarantee. Avila’s sure to do better this time around, but it’ll be interesting to see how much the Diamondbacks will guarantee him. With an estimated $122MM-plus in commitments at the moment, the D-backs are known to have limited payroll flexibility, which is seemingly standing in the way of a reunion with free agent slugger J.D. Martinez – Avila’s former teammate in Detroit – and may lead to cost-cutting trades (they could deal $7.5MM left-hander Patrick Corbin, for instance). The club has only opened a season beyond the $100MM mark twice, including when it spent a franchise-record $112MM-plus in 2014.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.