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Braves Sign Jim Johnson

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12:35pm: Johnson’s base salary will be $1.6MM, and he can earn up to $900K worth of incentives, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo.

12:07pm: The Braves announced that they have signed former Orioles closer Jim Johnson to a one-year, Major League contract (Twitter link). The right-hander is a client of Moye Sports Associates.

Jim Johnson

Johnson, 31, is just a season removed from back-to-back campaigns of 50-plus saves — each of which led the American League. His 101 saves from 2012-13 bloated his arbitration payday to $10MM last year, however, which was enough for the Orioles to trade him to the A’s in what was more or less a salary dump, despite the fact that he had continued to post solid numbers.

To say that Johnson’s Oakland tenure didn’t go as planned would be an understatement. The 2012 All-Star lost his closing gig to Sean Doolittle early in the 2014 season and never appeared comfortable in green and gold. He posted a 7.14 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a typically strong ground-ball rate of 56.8 percent. After being designated for assignment and ultimately released, Johnson latched on with the Tigers but didn’t fare much better, allowing 10 runs in 13 innings with a 14-to-12 K/BB ratio.

It’s fair to say that Johnson was never the elite reliever that one might expect by glancing solely at his saves totals. Even in his peak seasons from 2011-13, he posted a 2.70 ERA but with a sub-par 6.1 K/9 rate. However, that’s certainly not to say that Johnson isn’t a quality relief arm. If last year’s control problems are corrected, Johnson figures to be an excellent rebound candidate to replace Jordan Walden (traded to the Cardinals along with Jason Heyward) in a setup role for Craig Kimbrel. Johnson’s never posted a ground-ball rate lower than 51 percent, and that mark has been 58 percent or better in each of the past four seasons. Johnson’s sinker continued to induce grounders last season and there was no drop-off in its velocity (average 93.6 mph), so the Braves presumably have a nice buy-low candidate to add to a bullpen that features Kimbrel, Shae Simmons, James Russell and David Carpenter, among others.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2014-15 National League Non-Tenders

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Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2015 season. We’ll run down the list of National League non-tenders here, and update it as reports come in. Remember that you can track all of the action using MLBTR’s Non-Tender tracker, and we offer a full list of non-tender candidates (in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes). Also important for reference is the set of arbitration salary projections from MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz. Click here for an explanation of the process, and be sure to check out this piece featuring some interesting observations from Tim regarding non-tender considerations.

  • The Rockies have non-tendered lefty Kraig Sitton, the team announced.
  • The Pirates have non-tendered Gaby Sanchez and Chaz Roe, the club announced. Sanchez was in DFA limbo.
  • The Cardinals will non-tender Daniel Descalso, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. That move seemed rather likely, as MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reported last night.
  • Lefty Wesley Wright and catcher John Baker have been non-tendered by the Cubs, the team announced. Wright certainly qualifies as a surprise, as the 29-year-old was solid for the Cubs and was projected to earn just $2MM.
  • The Reds have non-tendered righties Logan Ondrusek and Curtis Partch, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports.
  • Meanwhile, the Giants have tendered all arb-eligible players contracts, Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News reports on Twitter.
  • The Mets have announced that Eric Young Jr. has been non-tendered, ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin tweets.
  • The Braves have dropped the biggest non-tender news of the day thus far, releasing Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to the open market. Otherwise, the only teams announcing to this point have decided to tender all of their players.
  • There will are no non-tenders to report for the Diamondbacks, who have announced that they have tendered contracts to all eligible players (via MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, on Twitter).
  • The same holds true for the Marlins, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (Twitter link).
  • The Nationals have announced that they have tendered contracts to all ten eligible players, per Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com (via Twitter). Washington had previously agreed to avoid arbitration with one other player from the packed class (Kevin Frandsen).

Braves Met Yesterday With Nick Markakis

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9:00pm: Assistant GM John Coppolella was also on the trip, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. The presence of Hart’s top lieutenant certainly lends even more credence to the idea that the pursuit is serious.

7:15pm: The Braves sent a group, led by manager Fredi Gonzalez, to meet with outfielder Nick Markakis yesterday in Maryland, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. While the meeting was more of an introductory opportunity than a negotiating session, it does seem to indicate that Atlanta is serious about pursuing Markakis.

Reports have been flying on Markakis since Connolly wrote yesterday that the long-time Oriole was set to explore the market more fully after talks had stalled with his former employer. Today, we learned that the Braves were joined (not necessarily exclusively) by the Blue Jays, Giants, and incumbent O’s in pursuit of Markakis.

Atlanta has an obvious need for a corner outfielder, and Markakis’s Georgia roots make him a natural target. Of course, it remains unclear whether the Braves’ new head baseball executive, John Hart, will really make a competitive run at an older player after dealing away Jason Heyward and seemingly marketing Justin Upton. While those two players are younger, of course, they are also pending free agents who always looked to be tough extension targets. On the other hand, Atlanta appears to have a good bit of work to do before it can again be considered a true contender, and the 31-year-old Markakis may make better sense for a team with more present-day production in its lineup.

Braves Non-Tender Medlen, Beachy, Schlosser

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The Braves have non-tendered righties Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy, and Gus Schlosser, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link). The team has tendered contracts to its remaining eligible players: lefties Mike Minor and James Russell and righty David Carpenter.

The move is somewhat jolting, though perhaps not entirely unexpected; indeed, I noted in my offseason outlook for Atlanta that the move had to at least be considered, particularly if an incentive-based arrangement could not be worked out. Both Medlen and Beachy have been outstanding when healthy, but the pair missed all of 2015 after each undergoing a second Tommy John procedure.

With Medlen projected by MLBTR/Matt Swartz to earn $5.8MM, the club was said to be looking for a way to avoid that kind of guarantee in crafting a new deal. Likewise, Beachy’s $1.5MM projected tab was probably steep given his expected timeline and likelihood of returning to form.

Despite the move, the Braves will still try to work out a contract with the now-free agent hurlers, Bowman reports on Twitter. But the team could well run into some competition, as both righties have demonstrated rather high ceilings.

Atlanta tried to entice Medlen with a deal that would have promised him $5.8MM for the coming season, matching his earnings last year, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. But the club was looking for a good rate on an option for 2016, which apparently was the sticking point in negotiations.

Braves, Blue Jays, Giants, O’s In On Markakis

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11:55am: Orioles executive VP/GM Dan Duquette tells MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli that Baltimore is still very much in the mix for Markakis (Twitter link). “Rumors of our demise are largely exaggerated,” he tells Ghiroli.

10:56am: On the heels of last night’s report that Nick Markakis is no longer likely to re-sign with the Orioles, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Braves, Blue Jays and Giants are among the teams that have shown interest in signing Markakis. Heyman notes that the Orioles, of course, will continue to try to re-sign their long-time right fielder.

As Heyman notes, Markakis is a Georgia native that grew up in the Atlanta area, attended college just two hours or so from Atlanta and has a home in that area. With the Braves trading Jason Heyward and listening on Justin Upton, it does seem like Atlanta could eventually have a fit in its outfield. The Blue Jays, Heyman writes, have been “lurking” for awhile and will look to add at least one outfielder, while the Giants’ interest may hinge on the outcome of their pursuit of Jon Lester.

Markakis hit .276/.342/.386 with 14 homers last season and was said at one point to be nearing a four-year deal with Baltimore. However, last night’s report from the Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly indicated that the O’s may not be comfortable with the four-year term of that potential contract. I profiled Markakis back in mid-October and pegged him for a four-year, $48MM pact, and it seems that his camp will now field offers from other clubs as it seeks to lock in that fourth guaranteed year. From a speculative standpoint, I’d think that the Tigers, Royals, Mariners, White Sox and Reds are also fits (though not all can necessarily afford to meet Markakis’ asking price).

Braves, Medlen Have Discussed Two-Year Deal

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With tonight’s non-tender deadline looming, the Braves have discussed a two-year deal with non-tender candidate Kris Medlen, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter links). Bowman also notes that a one-year deal with a team option for 2016 could make some degree of sense for both sides.

Medlen is a non-tender candidate through no fault of his own; he recently enjoyed an excellent 2013 campaign, but a torn ulnar collateral ligament in Spring Training led to his second career Tommy John surgery. We’ve projected Medlen to earn the same $5.8MM in 2015 that he did in 2014, though it’s possible he could have his salary cut by as much as 20 percent (the maximum allowed), meaning he’d cost at least $4.65MM next year. For a player who may not be ready for Opening Day (his Tommy John surgery came on March 18 of last year) and could potentially miss months of the 2015 campaign, that’s a somewhat risky notion.

By signing a two-year deal, the Braves could back-load the contract and remove some of the risk from Medlen’s recovery season — a season that historically isn’t as sharp for a pitcher as the subsequent seasons. Medlen, meanwhile, could guarantee himself more money than the $4.65MM to $5.8MM he stands to earn in 2015. An increased guarantee would hardly be insignificant for the 29-year-old Medlen, who has banked about $9.7MM in his career to this point.

When healthy, Medlen has been nothing short of excellent in his career. The former 10th-round pick has a lifetime 2.95 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 46.2 percent ground-ball rate in 512 2/3 innings at the Major League level. Based on that success, it’s not surprising to see the Braves trying to get a bit creative to keep Medlen in the fold.

Arbitration Notes: Ogando, Moreland, Russell, Parra, Descalso

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Tomorrow night (11pm CT) is the deadline for teams to tender or non-tender contracts to their arbitration eligible players. MLBTR has previously identified a list of non-tender candidates as well as provided projected salaries for each arbitration eligible player of the offseason (courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). In addition to those resources, you can follow along and keep track of players using our 2015 Non-Tender Tracker. We’ll cover some more of the specifics on non-tendering and arbitration tomorrow (though those who are new to the concept can check out last year’s post on explaining non-tenders), and already took a look at some notes earlier today.

Here’s the latest on the upcoming decisions:

  • Righty Alexi Ogando and first baseman Mitch Moreland are expected to be tendered contracts tomorrow, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Both players have some upside that Texas is surely loath to give up on, though each brings some uncertainty with their projected $2.6MM and $2.8MM arb costs (respectively).
  • As things stand, the Braves’ only certain tenders are slated for Mike Minor and David Carpenter, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. The team is still unsure exactly how it will proceed with respect to rehabbing starters Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy as well as pen lefty James Russell. The southpaw, who was added at the trade deadline, projects to earn a fairly meager $2.4MM and seems a decent value at that price tag.
  • Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash indicated that the team intends to tender Gerardo Parra a contract rather than cutting him loose, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Parra’s hefty $6.4MM projection is quite a sum for a fourth outfielder, though Ash noted that he has received plenty of playing time as a part-time starter and frequent reserve. And, of course, a trade could still be made.
  • It seems likely that the Cardinals will non-tender utilityman Daniel Descalso, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes. Descalso carries a $1.4MM projected salary but saw a reduced role last year and the organization has added several apparent pieces that would seem to be viable replacements.

NL Notes: Tomas, Liriano, Marlins, Harper, Braves, Gattis

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The Phillies never made an offer for outfielder Yasmany Tomas, agent Jay Alou Jr. tells Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Alou said that the club was engaged throughout the process, but that GM Ruben Amaro Jr. gave the impression that he had to “clear salary” before he could put dollars on the table. “His hands were tied,” Alou said in reference to Amaro. For his part, Amaro said only that “it was clear the Diamondbacks valued him higher than we did.” The ownership group has not created any “impediments” to his baseball operations staff, he added.

More from the National League:

  • With a line of quality pitchers queuing up behind Jon Lester and company, the Pirates are staying engaged with their own outgoing free agents, Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). Dejan Kovacevic recently reported that the club hoped to return both hurlers, even after adding A.J. Burnett.
  • Indeed, Pittsburgh is making clear to agents of other free agent starters that Liriano is their top priority on the rotation market, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports. Though the Bucs would stand to give up the sandwich pick they would receive were Liriano to sign elsewhere, he has been quite a valuable contributor to the team’s winning ways over the last two seasons.
  • The Marlins are unlikely to lock down any new extensions before the Winter Meetings, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets, though that does not mean that the team is not making a legitimate effort to work out more deals. With offers on the table or soon to be delivered to several young players, the team appears to be making a push to follow the model that the Braves pursued last year.
  • Bryce Harper and the Nationals are headed towards a grievance in December to resolve the long-lingering question whether his contract permits him to opt into arbitration, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. (To understand the background, read this post from last November.) Rosenthal wonders whether the Nats would be better served not fighting the point, if the club hopes to have a shot at extending Harper.
  • As the Braves continue to weigh their trade options, the team is more likely to deal Justin Upton than to move both he and Evan Gattis, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. The team has still not ruled out a scenario in which both players are traded, though that would obviously create quite a void in the middle of the team’s lineup.
  • Interestingly, the Braves had extended discussions earlier this offseason with the Astros about Gattis, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Atlanta wanted Houston to take a pairing of Gattis and the struggling B.J. Upton in a trade, but that involved too much payroll for the latter to stomach. The Braves expressed interest in both Dexter Fowler and Carlos Corporan in the talks. Rosenthal says that the original line of discussion faded, but that other talks involving Gattis could arise between the teams in the future.

Braves Have Not Made Offer To Jon Lester

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Jon Lester, the top free agent without a qualifying offer attached to his name, continues to be one of the most talked-about players on the market. He’s been linked to the Cubs, Red Sox, Braves, Giants and Cardinals of late, and things only figure to pick up for Lester as next week’s Winter Meetings approach.

We’ll keep track of Monday’s Lester rumors here in this post…

  • The Braves did not make Lester an offer after their recent meeting, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team did not believe it would be able to make a competitive offer given the strength of Lester’s market, O’Brien explains. It would appear that Atlanta is not in the running to land the lefty at this point.

Earlier Updates

  • Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Cubs have offered Lester $138MM over six years, while the Red Sox have expressed a willingness to go up to $130MM following their initial offer in the $110-120MM range. Lester is meeting with the Giants today and is set to talk to two more clubs this week, per Heyman, who adds that it seems like a long shot that Lester will sign anywhere but Boston, Chicago (Cubs), Atlanta or San Francisco. Heyman adds that Lester would probably need to be willing to take a hometown discount to sign with the Braves (which is where he lives in the offseason).
  • The Giants appear to be the last serious team to meet with Lester, tweets Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. A $25MM AAV remains very possible for him at this point, Levine adds. Heyman also noted in his piece that Lester could top that milestone.
  • The Giants are meeting with Lester today, reports ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). San Francisco’s final offer to Pablo Sandoval was said to be for at least $95MM over five years, so it stands to reason that the $95-100MM they were willing to spend on Sandoval could be in play for Lester. Of course, that figure is expected to be well shy of Lester’s eventual contract, but the Giants undoubtedly have additional funds beyond the sum that was set aside for Sandoval, especially coming off another World Series victory.
  • WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that Lester’s camp would like all of its visits to interested teams to be completed prior to the Winter Meetings (Twitter link).
  • In a second tweet, Olney speculatively handicaps the Lester market with the following ranking: 1. Cubs; 2. Red Sox; 3. Everyone else.

Mariners Still Seeking Right Fielder

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Earlier today, news broke that the Mariners and Nelson Cruz had agreed to a four-year deal. While some assumed that he would serve in an outfield capacity, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that the M’s prefer to use Cruz in a DH role and will still seek a right fielder from outside the organization. According to Dutton, two possibilities are free agents Torii Hunter and Alex Rios.

Dutton also reports that the Mariners still have interest in acquiring Matt Kemp from the Dodgers, but those talks have stalled due to Los Angeles’ insistence that one of Taijuan Walker or James Paxton be included in the deal. Additionally, he adds, the Orioles have shown increased interest in Kemp, presenting Seattle with competition to acquire his services.

One player whose name has surfaced in trade speculation is right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, as many feel he could be a fit for the Red Sox in a potential swap for Yoenis Cespedes. However, ESPN’s Jayson Stark hears that Iwakuma is firmly unavailable, as the Mariners are looking to add to the club rather than subtract (Twitter link).

The Mariners feel they have the payroll flexibility to add Kemp (and thereby Hunter or Rios as well, of course) even after signing Cruz and working out a seven-year, $100MM extension for Kyle Seager. Kemp is owed $107MM over the next five seasons — a hefty investment for a power bat whose defensive skills appear to be diminishing as well.

Dutton’s report makes no mention of Justin Upton, although it would stand to reason that if Kemp is still in play, there would be continued interest in Upton as well, to whom the Mariners have been linked on multiple occasions. However, as Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweeted after Cruz’s agreement, the Braves “almost certainly” would ask for Walker in exchange for Upton, so Seattle’s interest there figures to be limited until the asking price changes.

Both Hunter and Rios would provide a veteran right-handed bat to bring further balance to a lineup that was extremely left-handed in 2014. Hunter has recently been said to be considering the Mariners as well as the Rangers, Orioles, Royals and, to a lesser extent, the Twins. Rios, meanwhile, has yet to see his name surface in too many rumors, perhaps due to a down season at the plate (.280/.311/.398). The Mariners were said to consider him a fallback option earlier this month. Should the Mariners think on a larger scale, Melky Cabrera remains a free agent, and the price for parting with him is now slightly diminished, as Seattle would only need part with its second pick after forfeiting the No. 19 pick to sign Cruz.

In addition to the names listed, the Mariners do have a fairly strong in-house candidate in the form of Michael Saunders. However, Saunders is a left-handed bat and his relationship with the organization was strained after some postseason comments from GM Jack Zduriencik and manager Lloyd McClendon. The Mariners were said to be shopping Saunders as recently as last month’s GM Meetings, and those talks could of course be revisited at next week’s Winter Meetings.

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