Diamondbacks Re-Sign Jake Buchanan
The Diamondbacks have agreed to a minors pact with righty Jake Buchanan, per a club announcement. (H/t Chris Cotillo of SB Nation for the heads up.)
Buchanan, 28, has seen time in each of the past four MLB campaigns, though he has made just 29 appearances in that span. In 64 2/3 total frames, Buchanan owns a 4.73 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
In 2017, Buchanan opened at Triple-A with the Cubs, was claimed by the Reds, and ultimately took the ball a few times in the majors with Cincinnati. After being designated for assignment, he rejected an outright assignment and ultimately landed in the Arizona organization.
Over 105 2/3 innings at the highest level of the minors in 2017, Buchanan carried a 4.51 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. That’s a close match for his overall numbers at Triple-A, where he has thrown over five hundred frames in six seasons, with a cumulative 4.39 ERA and 5.9 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
NL West Notes: A-Gon, Giants, Hamilton, Tomas
Some notes from around the NL West…
- The Rockies haven’t been in touch with Adrian Gonzalez, GM Jeff Bridich tells MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. The just-released veteran could be signed for just a league-minimum salary, as the Braves are on the hook for the remainder of the $21.5MM Gonzalez is owed for the 2018 season. Gonzalez was still an above-average hitter as recently as 2016, though it remains to be seen how productive or healthy he can be next year after a serious back injury severely limited him last season. Colorado has been linked to some first basemen this winter, though they also have internal options like rookie Ryan McMahon, who Harding profiles in the piece.
- The Giants are still in the market for an outfielder and bullpen help, and some in the organization think both needs could be met in one trade, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic writes. The reliever trade market in particular is more appealing to some in the office than signing a bullpen arm. On the outfield front, the Giants are still talking with the Reds about Billy Hamilton, though Cincinnati is still making “high demands” for the speedy center fielder. As Pavlovic notes, the Giants could be even less likely to move young talent after swapping Christian Arroyo and two young pitching prospects to the Rays as part of the Evan Longoria trade.
- The Giants are also on the lookout for a veteran starter on a minor league deal, Pavlovic adds. Chris Stratton, Ty Blach, Tyler Beede, and Andrew Suarez are the in-house contenders for the two open spots in San Francisco’s rotation, and the team wants a more experienced arm in the mix to compete with all the youngsters.
- Yasmany Tomas recently underwent a surgical procedure on his core area, this one to clean out scar tissue, the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reports. This seems like a less-serious procedure than the core surgery that ended Tomas’ season back in August, as the Diamondbacks say the Cuban outfielder is expected to be ready by the beginning of Spring Training. Tomas was bothered by the injury for much of last season, which contributed to his sub-par .241/.294/.464 slash line over just 180 PA. He and the D’Backs are still hoping for a proper breakout campaign in his fourth MLB season, as Tomas is still owed $42.5MM through the 2020 season.
Latest on Gerrit Cole
TODAY: Chance Adams and Miguel Andujar could be part of a hypothetical Yankees/Pirates trade for Cole, Kristie Ackert and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News report. If those two prospects and Frazier are all included, that could mean the Pirates will also include Josh Harrison in the deal. While the Yankees have also talked to the Diamondbacks about Patrick Corbin and the Tigers about Michael Fulmer, it seems as if Cole is New York’s preferred target of the three pitchers; Corbin is under control for just the 2018 season while Detroit is putting an enormous asking price on Fulmer’s services.
SATURDAY: A trade of Gerrit Cole doesn’t appear to be imminent at this point, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter). Though it seemed at one point that talks between the Yankees and Pirates were picking up momentum, Crasnick says that multiple clubs have engaged with the Pirates since the winter meetings; the prospect of a Cole trade isn’t “Yankees or bust”.
The Yankees don’t appear to have tunnel vision on a Cole deal, either. Though the Bronx Bombers are trying to net Pittsburgh’s prized right-hander with proposals centered around Clint Frazier, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Bombers offered similar packages to the Rays and Tigers for Chris Archer and Michael Fulmer, respectively. From my perspective, it seems as though the Yankees may not be interested in Cole specifically, but rather could have a broader objective to move the 23-year-old Frazier in exchange for pitching help. Following the club’s acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton, it appears as though Frazier is destined to be a high-ceiling depth piece for the Yankees, whose outfield picture features Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and Stanton, with Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury also on the roster.
In a brilliant piece for the New York Post, Joel Sherman points out that the Yankees can afford to be patient, as they did with Stanton this winter and Sonny Gray this summer. They’re not desperate for pitching right now, as their rotation is set to feature Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Gray, CC Sabathia and Jordan Montgomery. While each of those pitchers carries a question mark or two (or in Sherman’s words, “red flag possibilities”), the ballclub wouldn’t be chastised if it were to have these five in the rotation come Opening Day. Furthermore, top prospects Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield could reach the majors before long, with Adams being the more likely of the two to contribute in 2018.
From the Pirates’ side, they don’t necessarily need another outfielder. However, it stands to reason that a trade of Cole could set off a domino effect that prompts Pittsburgh to sell off other pieces. As Brink states in a separate article (one that deals with the “what if” scenario of a Cole trade), trading the right-hander could act as “the first tug on the rope that raises the white flag on 2018.” In that case, they’d be highly likely to shop Andrew McCutchen, the 2013 NL MVP, and his hypothetical trade would mean that Frazier could suddenly become a useful piece.
It’s unclear how serious the Pirates’ talks are with other potential suitors at this time, or even whether those clubs have made formal offers. Crasnick notes in his above tweet that a deal probably won’t come together before Christmas, but adds that trade talks could pick up again between then and New Year’s. It stands to reason that Pittsburgh could be patient for months, or even wait until the 2018 trade deadline to trade Cole (if they opt to move him at all). It will of course be far more evident how the Pirates’ playoff chances compare with those of the other NL Central clubs. However, there are plenty of reasons to move him now as well, including the high probability that clubs would be willing to pay more to have Cole for a full season, and the risk that the Yankees might acquire a different starter.
Heyman’s Latest: Blue Jays, D-Backs, Cobb, Lagares, Castro
Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reported on a few items of note in his latest column and has followed up with some additional bits of information. We’ll run down some of the key takeaways here:
- While the Blue Jays have been quiet thus far, Heyman says they could be lurking on a few interesting names. In the outfield, J.D. Martinez is a legitimate target, he says, as are Carlos Gonzalez and Lorenzo Cain. The club is also considering quality utility options such as Eduardo Nunez and Howie Kendrick. Meanwhile, Toronto has reached out to the Padres on Brad Hand, who’s a highly valuable relief asset. It remains to be seen whether the Jays will be willing to pony up a lot of cash or prospect assets to make a significant win-now move, but it’s notable that the team is at least exploring some notable possibilities.
- The Diamondbacks reportedly had real interest in Orioles infielder Manny Machado, but Heyman says the Snakes were not willing to consider moving third bagger Jake Lamb in a deal. That’s not terribly surprising; after all, the 27-year-old Lamb has only just reached arbitration eligibility and posted consecutive solid campaigns in which he has maintained a composite .248/.345/.498 batting line. Though he’s clearly an inferior overall player to Machado, Lamb is the type of affordable, quality regular that a team with Arizona’s payroll can ill afford to part with.
- Thus far, free agent righty Alex Cobb “is thought to have been asking for about $20 million a year,” Heyman writes, noting that his agents may view Mike Leake as a comp. Of course, Cobb is older and less durable than Leake was when he hit the open market, though Cobb also has a loftier established ceiling on the mound (at least, dating to his output before undergoing Tommy John surgery).
- There’s some interest from rival organizations in Mets center fielder Juan Lagares, Heyman reports on Twitter. Of course, it’s far from clear that the New York organization has real interest in dealing away the 28-year-old. To the contrary, indications to date have been that the Mets expect to utilize Lagares quite heavily. The rangy defender last topped 400 plate appearances in 2015 and has not posted a league-average season with the bat since the season before that.
- The Marlins are still indicating to rivals that they’re not particularly interested in dealing Christian Yelich or J.T. Realmuto, Heyman tweets, though of course that could yet be a bargaining stance. Notably, though, the Fish are said to be seeking ways of parting with the recently acquired contract of Starlin Castro. Though Miami executive Gary Denbo indicated earlier today the club intends to keep Castro, it certainly would not be surprising for Miami to strike a deal if it means shedding yet more salary obligations to a player who likely won’t be a part of the organization’s next contending roster.
Diamondbacks Sign Yoshihisa Hirano
The Diamondbacks have dipped into the Japanese market in an effort to bolster their bullpen, announcing on Friday a two-year contract with right-handed reliever Yoshihisa Hirano. The deal will reportedly guarantee Hirano $6MM in total — $3MM annually plus another $1MM worth of available incentives each season. Left-hander Henry Owens was placed on outright waivers to clear room for Hirano, and he’s already been claimed by the division-rival Dodgers.
Hirano, 34 in March, has long been a dominant closer in Japan, amassing 143 saves with a 2.62 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 through 271 1/3 innings for the Orix Buffaloes from 2013-17. Because of his age and his professional experience in Nippon Professional Baseball, Hirano is exempt from both international bonus pools and the NPB/MLB posting system.
The D-backs weren’t prominently linked to Hirano prior to the agreement, though he’d reportedly drawn interest from multiple MLB clubs, including the Dodgers, Tigers and Cardinals. Jim Allen of the Kyodo News tweets that in speaking to big league scouts at the Winter Meetings, there was a consensus that while Hirano’s velocity is down from its peak earlier in his career, his splitter will still play in the Majors. Meanwhile, the Arizona Repbulic’s Nick Piecoro tweets that scouts to whom he’s spoken peg Hirano’s velocity in the 90-94 mph range and also credit him with a plus splitter and good deception in his delivery.
Fernando Rodney, who served as Arizona’s closer throughout the 2017 season, recently signed with the Twins, subtracting one late-inning arm from what was, on the whole, a generally successful group in 2017. Arizona also bid farewell to veteran lefty Jorge De La Rosa and righty J.J. Hoover this offseason, who soaked up a combined 92 2/3 innings out of the ‘pen — further creating a a need to add some innings to the back of the relief corps.
[Related: Updated Arizona Diamondbacks depth chart and payroll outlook]
While it’s a stretch to assume that Hirano will simply be handed the closer’s role in Arizona right out of the gate, there’s no clear-cut ninth-inning presence for the Diamondbacks at present. Hirano will likely compete with Archie Bradley and others for that distinction this spring, and it’s not out of the question that he could find himself in save opportunities later in the year, even if he doesn’t win the job out of camp.
The D-backs are already headed for a record payroll in 2018, though Hirano’s contract will only modestly bump the current $126MM projection ever so slightly north. That said, it doesn’t seem especially likely that they’ll be particularly aggressive spenders on the free-agent market between now and Opening Day.
While they’re fresh off an NLDS appearance and are entering into the first season of a new television contract said to be worth more than one billion dollars, the D-backs aren’t merely setting a new record payroll — they’re shattering their previous high point. Arizona is on track for a near-$30MM payroll increase over its 2017 Opening Day mark and an increase of roughly $17MM over its previous franchise high. Arizona has only opened a season with a payroll north of $100MM once in its history (2014) and has averaged a $93MM Opening Day payroll over the past three seasons.
Jim Allen of the Kyodo News first suggested that Hirano could be headed to the D-backs (Twitter link). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported there was an agreement in place and provided financial details (Twitter links). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that he’d get a multi-year deal and added the annual breakdown as well.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Dodgers Claim Henry Owens
The Dodgers announced on Friday that they’ve claimed left-hander Henry Owens off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Arizona had claimed Owens off outright waivers from the Red Sox earlier this winter.
Owens was once considered to be one of the game’s best overall prospects. However, he’s managed just a 5.19 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9 in 85 big league innings and saw his control of the strike zone, which has long been an issue for him, utterly evaporate in 2017 when he walked 115 batters, hit 17 more and threw 17 wild pitches in 126 Triple-A innings this season.
Owens has a minor league option remaining, so the Dodgers will have the luxury of being able to send him to the minors to attempt to get back on track if they wish, though the Triple-A Pacific Coast League isn’t exactly a friendly environment for a pitcher looking to refine his mechanics and reestablish his confidence. Nonetheless, Los Angeles has made a habit of collecting optionable players and leveraging the flexibility those assets provide, in conjunction with the shortened 10-day DL minimum, over the course of a full big league season.
Manny Machado Rumors: Monday
Just days after the Giancarlo Stanton trade saga came to an end, the Orioles reportedly made Manny Machado available and began asking teams around the league for offers on the 25-year-old superstar. Here’s the latest chatter on Machado as the Orioles field interest in the best player in recent franchise history…
- Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic takes a lengthy look at the market for Machado (subscription required and strongly recommended), reporting that trade offers from interested parties improved over the weekend and that a deal could happen this week. Specific details on each club’s offers, of course, aren’t fully known, though Rosenthal reports that the D-backs included young infielder Brandon Drury as part of their package. Rosenthal provides an overview of how seven Machado suitors could make a deal work, though he notes that there’s still a general doubt among his sources that Orioles owner Peter Angelos would green-light a deal sending Machado to the Yankees.
- Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com paints a bit of a different picture regarding Angelos, writing that it’s possible Angelos could be swayed into approving a deal sending Machado the Bronx. Angelos, Connolly writes, solicits opinions from a wide array of trusted confidants and advisors — so many so that there are often conflicting opinions. A lack of consensus among that inner circle may have been what ultimately quashed this past July’s would-be Zach Britton trade to the Astros, per Connolly. However, Connolly hears that there’s a general sense within the organization that a deal will get done, and an organizational consensus could dissuade Angelos from interfering with any agreement, regardless of the trade partner in question. Within that same piece, Connolly also explores how the Machado situation could be slowing Baltimore’s other offseason endeavors.
- The Cardinals have been oft-linked to Machado, though president of baseball operations John Mozeliak implied in an appearance on KMOX Sports radio in St. Louis this morning that he’d have a hard time making a deal for Machado (Twitter link via KMOX’s Tom Ackerman). Said Mozeliak: “If you’re trading away two to three prospects that have a combined 18 years of control… for one [year]? That doesn’t sit well with me.” That, of course, doesn’t preclude a deal from coming together — Mozeliak did trade four pieces for two years of Marcell Ozuna — but it does seem to suggest that the Cards would have a hard time deciding to outbid the field to secure the rights to Machado’s 2018 season.
Latest On Manny Machado
SUNDAY: The White Sox and Diamondbacks had shown the most interest in Machado as of Saturday morning, Olney heard from AL sources.
THURSDAY: Trade winds continue to swirl around Manny Machado, as the Orioles’ apparent willingness to consider dealing its star third baseman was one of the major storylines of the Winter Meetings. The Orioles have received ten “legitimate offers” for Machado, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports, though the quality of those offers and the number of teams involved may be hampered by Baltimore’s refusal to allow a 72-hour window for a new team to talk to Machado’s agents about a possible extension.
The Cardinals didn’t make “a formal offer” due to that lack of negotiating period, and the White Sox (previously thought to have made the strongest of all the offers) apparently didn’t include any of their top prospects in their proposal, Nightengale reports. Two executives said that Chicago made its offer with the belief that the Sox would only have Machado for the 2018 season.
One major factor influencing talks is Baltimore owner Peter Angelos’ insistence that Machado not end up with the Yankees in 2018. This naturally rules out a direct trade with New York, though Angelos also doesn’t want a scenario where Machado is dealt to a team that would flip him to the Yankees for prospects, be it before the July trade deadline or even later this offseason. These parameters would seem to limit the Orioles’ list of potential trade partners to only contending teams, and maybe even to contenders that would seemingly have no chance of a midseason collapse and subsequent deadline fire sale (though obviously one can’t know for sure what would-be contenders could be in for a nightmare season, a la the 2017 Giants.)
The White Sox aren’t expected to contend for even a couple of seasons yet, and thus would seem like potential candidates to deal Machado in order to further hasten their rebuild. The Sox are apparently willing to address Angelos’ concerns, as Nightengale writes that “if the Orioles even wanted it in writing that they’d keep him around until at least mid-summer,” Chicago would be fine with that assurance. This would be quite an unusual type of trade provisio, of course, and one that Angelos may still not be fine with if he wants to eliminate any chance of Machado wearing Yankee pinstripes in 2018.
Beyond the teams already reported as having interest in Machado, the Diamondbacks are also in the mix, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. Arizona “checked in” on the Machado talks, though it isn’t clear if the D’Backs were just performing due diligence or if they were one of the clubs who made Baltimore an offer. Machado would seem to be something of an unlikely fit for a D’Backs team that doesn’t have the payroll space to afford Machado’s $17.3 projected salary for 2018, though they could clear some of their own pricier arb-eligible players off the books by sending them back to the O’s. Patrick Corbin, for instance, would be an upgrade for the Orioles’ rotation, while Jake Lamb would replace Machado at third base and give some much-needed left-handed balance to Baltimore’s lineup.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently took a broad look at the Machado situation, gauging all 29 other teams by how plausible they seem as contenders to actually land the star infielder. Needless to say, Angelos’ specifications would seem to narrow an already thin market, since there aren’t many teams willing to meet the Orioles’ big asking price (reportedly two controllable starting pitchers) for just a year of Machado’s services. Adams listed both the White Sox and Diamondbacks as “out of the picture” candidates, so their chances of working out a deal could be even more remote given Angelos’ wariness of any “creative” follow-up trades a Machado suitor could make.
D’Backs Notes: Marte, Drury, Rodney
The latest from the desert, as per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic…
- According to a source on a rival team, Ketel Marte is the only infielder that the Diamondbacks aren’t willing to consider in trade offers. Splitting his first season with the D’Backs between Triple-A and the big leagues, Marte tore up minor league pitching and then hit .260/.345/.395 over 255 plate appearances for Arizona. Marte, one of the key parts of Arizona’s big multi-player swap with the Mariners last year, is clearly seen as the shortstop of the future, plus he will be under team control through 2022 as a probable Super Two player.
- The infielder drawing the most buzz may be Brandon Drury, who has received interest from more than a half-dozen teams. The Yankees were reportedly talking about Drury and D’Backs starter Patrick Corbin during the Winter Meetings.
- The D’Backs were linked to former closer Fernando Rodney on the rumor mill, though they didn’t make Rodney an offer before he agreed to join the Twins today. Arizona still has offers out to multiple free agent relievers, GM Mike Hazen said on Monday.
- In other Diamondbacks news from earlier today, the team checked in with the Orioles about Manny Machado…the Yankees discussed Jacoby Ellsbury with the D’Backs, who aren’t too keen on Ellsbury’s contract…three teams are interested in a Zack Greinke trade, though talks with a fourth club (the Rangers) have reportedly gone nowhere.
Pitching Notes: Greinke, Makita, Holland, Kintzler
The latest rumblings on the starting and relief pitching fronts…
- Talks between the Rangers and Diamondbacks regarding Zack Greinke are “mostly dead,” according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). Three other teams, however, have some interest. The Phillies and Yankees have both reportedly checked in on Greinke, though it isn’t clear if either is one of the three teams Heyman references. The D’Backs are willing to cover at least some of Greinke’s huge contract to facilitate a deal.
- The Rangers have interest in Japanese right-hander Kazuhisa Makita, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. The 33-year-old submariner will be posted by the Seibu Lions before December 31, though there hasn’t been much word on what other MLB clubs may be exploring Makita’s services. Adding Makita would be part of GM Jon Daniels’ overall bullpen strategy of adding lower-cost relief options rather than commit a lot of payroll space in an increasingly-expensive market for free agent relievers.
- The Rockies haven’t yet received a response to the “nice” offer they made free agent righty Greg Holland, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. Colorado is hoping to quickly polish off a deal with the closer, who obviously impressed the club in the 2017 campaign.
- The Twins had interest in a reunion with former closer Brandon Kintzler, though Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter) that the team never made a formal offer to Kintzler before he signed with the Nationals.