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NL West Notes: Utley, Rockies, Pollock

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Chase Utley was one of many players this offseason — including Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner Rich Hill and Sergio Romo — to take less money to join or stay with the Dodgers, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register notes. The Dodgers already had players in Logan Forsythe and Turner who appear likely to take most of the at-bats at the positions Utley plays, but as Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman puts it, “You never say never with a guy like Chase,” who is well regarded in the clubhouse. Here’s more from the NL West.

  • Righty Jeff Hoffman, outfielder Gerardo Parra and catcher Tom Murphy top the list of Rockies who have much to prove in Spring Training, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. Hoffman is slated to compete with German Marquez for the Rockies’ fifth starter job and could provide the team with a jolt of upside if he lives up to the billing that made him one of the keys to the Troy Tulowitzki trade. Parra is coming off an extremely poor 2016 season in which he batted just .253/.271/.399 despite playing half his games in Coors Field; he’ll need to prove himself in the second year of the three-year, $27.5MM contract he signed with the team last January. And Murphy needs to show he can call a good game behind the dish so that he can Tony Wolters can make the Rockies’ catcher position an asset despite that duo’s lack of experience.
  • Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock is the game’s most underrated player, Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs writes. The broken elbow Pollock suffered in Spring Training in 2016 cost him most of the season, and since then he’s been under the radar, making him again underrated, as he was prior to his brilliant 2015 campaign. When healthy, Pollock is as well-rounded as they come — he hits and runs the bases well and is a terrific defender in center field. And unlike someone like Michael Brantley, the injury that limited Pollock last season shouldn’t be a major concern going forward.

NL Central Notes: Lorenzen, Kang, Gosselin, Cardinals, Gonzales

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Reds righty Michael Lorenzen’s August 19 home run soon after the death of his father Clif was the most notable highlight of the team’s season. But Lorenzen’s father was troubled by substance abuse, and their relationship was complex, as the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Zach Buchanan writes in a long piece about what that home run meant. After Lorenzen’s father left when he was 12, Lorenzen began getting into trouble himself, and his older brother, Jonathan, had his own pro baseball career derailed when the Dodgers released him after he allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl at their Spring Training site. Michael Lorenzen cites finding faith as a teenager as a turning point in his life. Now, Lorenzen looks back at his home run — which came in the seventh inning of a 9-2 win against the Dodgers — as evidence that his father’s death had a purpose, as he frequently receives messages from fans telling him that moment was an inspiration to them. Here’s more from the NL Central.

  • The Pirates expect that third baseman Jung Ho Kang will not attempt to move his February 22 court date in South Korea and will therefore miss the beginning of Spring Training, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. The Bucs’ acquisition of fellow infielder Phil Gosselin from the Diamondbacks on Friday was made with the expectation that Kang would be out indefinitely as he faces trial for driving drunk and leaving the scene of a DUI crash. Kang’s arrest in early December was his third DUI arrest in South Korea. The Gosselin trade “does serve as insurance (for Kang’s absence) if needed,” says Pirates GM Neal Huntington. “But we also have been looking for an extra right-handed hitter, and Gosselin is a guy who can play multiple positions.”
  • Cardinals manager Mike Matheny is unimpressed by Baseball Prospectus’ recent PECOTA projection that his team would finish a disappointing 76-86 this season, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “That’s unbelievable. Yeah, I saw it. I hope the guys saw it, too,” Matheny says. “I just want to make sure our guys take a good look around and see what we really are and what we have. We’ve got guys who are motivated. Guys have an edge as to how it finished last year. We’ve got the makings of a fun, fun season.” Matheny says his team will pay increased attention to defensive coaching in Spring Training this year, and it seems part of his plan for improving in 2017 will be getting better defensive performances from his infielders. He notes that many of his infielders (such as Aledmys Diaz and Kolten Wong) enter the upcoming season with what could be valuable extra years of experience, and points out that other players, such as Jedd Gyorko and Randal Grichuk, played positions last season at which they had limited big-league experience. Gyorko could return to a roving role this year. The offseason signing of Dexter Fowler will bump Grichuk back to a corner outfield spot.
  • Cardinals lefty Marco Gonzales threw from a mound on Friday for the first time in almost a year, Hummel also notes. Gonzales had Tommy John surgery in April and also missed much of the 2015 season due to injury. The former first-round draft pick hopes to pitch in game action by May. That timeline (which presumably would include a rehab assignment) would have him back on an active roster (whether that’s in Triple-A Memphis or in St. Louis) by early summer.

Cubs Notes: Butler, Mills, Hammel

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The Cubs continued adding to their starting pitching depth in the past two weeks by trading for righties Eddie Butler and Alec Mills, both of whom had been designated for assignment by their old teams. Notably, the Cubs gave up prospects of at least modest value to acquire those players — righty James Farris went to the Rockies with an international bonus slot in the Butler deal, and outfielder Donnie Dewees headed to Kansas City for Mills. But the Cubs felt Butler and Mills were attracting enough interest to justify giving up talent to get them, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.

“Both were getting phone calls,” Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said Thursday in an interview with ESPN 1000. “They have options. They can make starts for you. Finding guys who can make starts for you is very difficult and very expensive. We showed the appropriate urgency to get those guys.”

The fact that both pitchers had options was clearly important to the Cubs, as Rogers notes. But the team also thinks Butler, in particular, has a chance to be more than a depth starter.

“He’s an excellent change-of-scenery guy,” said Hoyer. “Our best example is Jake Arrieta. Sometimes a talented guy needs a change of scenery, and that was our logic with Eddie Butler.”

As Rogers notes, Mills was only designated for assignment when the Royals signed Jason Hammel, whose option the Cubs declined earlier in the offseason. The team’s pursuit of starting depth now raises the question of whether the team would have been better off had it simply exercised the option. But Rogers says a key reason the two sides parted ways was that Hammel had a conflicted relationship with manager Joe Maddon, who Hammel felt didn’t have appropriate faith in him and who frustrated him by pulling him out of games before he would have liked to depart. Though the option on Hammel’s contract was a team option, the Cubs allowed him to decide whether he wanted to leave, and Hammel made the call. Rogers’ sources tell him that was due primarily to his relationship with Maddon.

In any case, beyond Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey, the Cubs now have Mike Montgomery and Brett Anderson, along with Rob Zastryzny, Ryan Williams and now Butler and Mills. Of the last four, it has yet to be determined who the Cubs will turn to first should they need extra rotation help in the big leagues.

East Notes: Top Prospects, Fernandez, Mackanin

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Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi is the best prospect in baseball, according to Baseball America’s new top 100 prospects list. Following Benintendi is Yoan Moncada, who would have given the Red Sox the top two prospects in baseball had he not been traded to the White Sox this offseason. In fact, what sticks out about Baseball America’s list and other recent top prospect lists is just how many top talents have been traded lately, including Moncada as well as the players at spots No. 3 (Dansby Swanson), No. 5 (Gleyber Torres), No. 21 (Anderson Espinoza), No. 24 (Manuel Margot) No. 25 (Lucas Giolito), No. 27 (Lewis Brinson) and No. 29 (Jose De Leon). Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • The families of Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Jesus Macias, who were killed in a boat wreck along with former Marlins ace Jose Fernandez last September, are suing Fernandez’s estate for $2MM each, Rafael Olmeda of the Sun Sentinel writes. Fernandez’s attorney says a settlement is “highly unlikely,” noting that he expects the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s pending investigation of the wreck to show that Fernandez was not driving the boat when it crashed. He also adds that there are indications Fernandez’s use of cocaine that night was “not voluntary” and that Fernandez might not have known he had the drug in his system.
  • Phillies manager Pete Mackanin’s contract runs through 2017 with a team option for 2018, but GM Matt Klentak remains mum on an extension or an exercise of Mackanin’s option, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury writes. “We have time to do that,” says Klentak. “Obviously last year we talked about his status in spring training and I’m sure the time will come when we’ll sit down and talk about it again.” The Phillies signed Mackanin to his current contract last March. Salisbury points out that there’s no danger of Mackanin losing his job at this time after the Phillies improved from 63 to 71 wins in 2016, so Mackanin’s contract now qualifies as a “low-priority item.”

Reactions To Mike Ilitch’s Passing

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Here’s a roundup of remembrances of Detroit Tigers and Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, who passed away yesterday at the age of 87.

  • Former Tigers manager and current special assistant Jim Leyland was “brokenhearted” that the team couldn’t win a World Series for Ilitch, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes. “I can remember how bad we wanted it,” says Leyland. “That’s the one thing we were always brokenhearted about: That we didn’t get a World Series for him because he’s the guy that we wanted it for. We just fell a little bit short.” The Tigers reached the World Series twice in seven years with Leyland as manager and Ilitch in the owner’s box, but lost both times. Ilitch, of course, spent heavily to win a championship in that period. “He never one time interfered with me trying to do my job and I always had a great appreciation for that,” says Leyland. “But you always knew who the boss was.”
  • Former Tigers GM (and current Red Sox president of baseball operations) Dave Dombrowski says Ilitch was the reason he joined the organization, Fenech writes. “The reason why I joined (the Tigers) was because of him,” says Dombrowski. “He treated me well. He made me feel welcome and that part of it made me feel really good and it turned out to be a really great 14 years there.” That era ended when the Tigers parted ways with Dombrowski in August 2015, in the wake of the team’s near misses in the playoffs and World Series. “That was the thing in Detroit, that you always wanted to win a world championship for him,” Dombrowski says. “He did everything he possibly could to achieve it and we got so close. It hurt that we weren’t able to do that for him.”
  • Current Tigers GM Al Avila said Friday night in a statement that Ilitch’s impact on Detroit was “immeasurable.”  Said Avila, “He was always there to give us whatever we needed because he wanted greatness and happiness for all of us – especially the fans. Mr. I was truly one of the great ones. He was a friend and an inspiration and he will be deeply missed.”
  • Ilitch had huge ambitions, but he was first and foremost a native of Detroit, writes Fan Rag’s Jon Heyman. Heyman points to the Tigers’ 119-loss 2003 season as a key for Ilitch and the organization. Ilitch reacted by having the Tigers add superstars Ivan Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez, and the Tigers made it to the World Series in 2006. Those successful big signings encouraged Ilitch to continue investing heavily in the team, as he did for more than a decade thereafter.
  • Ilitch and the city of Detroit were like an aging married couple, writes Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown. “[Y]ou couldn’t ever be sure which was holding up the other,” but they were “good together,” he writes. Fans of many teams view their owners with suspicion, but Ilitch was a native Detroiter who proved his commitment to winning by repeatedly stepping up financially.

5 Key Stories: 2/4/17 – 2/10/17

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Here’s a look back at the key stories from this week of coverage at MLBTR.

Tigers owner Mike Ilitch passes away. News broke Friday that Tigers and Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch had died at the age of 87. Ilitch also owned Little Caesars and was a former Tigers minor league infielder. Going forward, it appears Ilitch’s son Christopher will assume his role.

Jeffrey Loria reaches “handshake agreement” to sell Marlins. As of Thursday, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria reportedly had a “handshake agreement” to sell the team for $1.6 billion. New York real estate executive Charles Kushner — the father of Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared — was rumored to be involved with the sale, but the league quickly issued a statement that they had not heard anything about Kushner’s involvement. Other reports linked Charles Kushner’s son Joshua to the sale.

"<strongRoyals sign Jason Hammel. The Royals added veteran righty Jason Hammel on a two-year deal with a mutual option for 2019. Hammel received a surprisingly small guarantee of $16MM, suggesting the Cubs’ earlier decision to decline his $12MM option (a decision that had previously looked generous to Hammel) did not pay off for the pitcher. For the Royals, Hammel will help fill the void left by the tragic passing of Yordano Ventura earlier this offseason.

Sluggers find one-year deals. The market for 1B/DH power hitters has been notably slow this winter, but two of them did find homes this week, with Mike Napoli returning to the Rangers and Chris Carter heading to the Yankees, both on one-year contracts. Napoli’s deal, when it’s official, will likely pay less than $10MM (although he declined more money from the Twins to return to Texas), while Carter received a modest $3.5MM guarantee after tying for the NL lead in homers last season.

Dodgers make depth additions. The Dodgers agreed to re-sign second baseman Chase Utley to a one-year deal, and he’ll fit with them in a bench/platoon role, giving Logan Forsythe and Justin Turner rests against some righties. The Dodgers also added veteran outfielder Franklin Gutierrez on a one-year deal, and the right-handed hitter figures to play primarily against lefties.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Royals Sign Jason Hammel

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The Royals have added a veteran arm to their rotation, announcing on Wednesday that they’ve signed right-hander Jason Hammel to a two-year deal with a mutual option for the 2019 season.

Jason HammelThe 34-year-old ACES client will reportedly receive a $16MM guarantee that includes a $5MM salary in 2017, a $9MM salary in 2018 and a $2MM buyout on his option. He can also earn an additional $250K per season for reaching 200 innings pitched.

[Related: Updated Kansas City Royals Depth Chart]

Hammel’s long offseason began when the Cubs allowed him to decide whether he wanted them to exercise his $12MM 2017 option or give him a $2MM buyout. The Cubs ultimately declined the option, already an unusual decision on a reportedly healthy pitcher coming off a solid 3.83 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 season as a back-end starter, and Hammel hit the open market, only to linger there for almost four months. That long period on the market included a change of agencies, from Octagon to ACES.

The $16MM guarantee Hammel will receive over two years has to qualify as a disappointing outcome for him, at least relative to his likely expectations earlier in the offseason. While this offseason was a slow one for starting pitchers in general, Hammel compares favorably to several starters who received similar or greater amounts, either in total contract value or average annual value, including Charlie Morton (two years, $14MM), Bartolo Colon (one year, $12.5MM) and former Royal Edinson Volquez (two years, $22MM).

A fit with the Royals seemingly emerged following the tragic death of Yordano Ventura in a car wreck in the Dominican two weeks ago. Hammel represented the top available starting pitcher on the free agent market at that point. Now he’ll enter a Kansas City rotation picture that will also feature Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Nate Karns, Jason Vargas and Chris Young.

With the exception of an ugly 2013 season in Baltimore, Hammel has generally posted consistently solid results since leaving Colorado in prior to the 2012 campaign — he’s eaten 771 innings in that time, with a slightly-above-average 3.88 ERA to go with 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. Those peripheral numbers slipped a bit last season with Chicago, to 7.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9, but he was still generally effective, with a 3.83 ERA. He relies heavily on his very good slider, a pitch he threw more frequently (35.1%) than any other qualified starter last season except Michael Pineda, Chris Archer and Ervin Santana.

Hammel turned 34 in September, so his new deal will cover his age-34 and age-35 seasons, with the mutual option covering his age-36 campaign. A large number of Royals (including Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar and Vargas) are eligible for free agency next winter, so Hammel’s addition will help the club bridge the gap between next season and the immediate future beyond it. As Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets, the Royals’ late deals with Hammel and Brandon Moss have sent their payroll north somewhat, although those increases have been offset in part by the departures of Wade Davis and Jarrod Dyson, as well as Duffy’s extension, which reduced the 2017 salary he would have received through the arbitration process.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement (Twitter link). Hammel will receive $16MM guaranteed, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweeted the terms, and Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reported the year-to-year breakdown (via Twitter). MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reported the deal’s incentives (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLBTR Poll: Finding A Fit For Chris Carter

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As we head into February, Chris Carter’s winter continues to drag on. The slugger tied Nolan Arenado for the NL home run crown last season, but the Brewers non-tendered him, casting him into a market full of similar players, many of whom also still haven’t found new teams. Also, at least a couple recent signings (such as Mark Trumbo to the Orioles, Brandon Moss to the Royals and perhaps even Mark Reynolds to the Rockies) have seemingly foreclosed upon possible destinations for Carter. A variety of teams have been connected to Carter recently, and MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently listed some more speculative fits. Where do you think he might end up? Here are some possibilities, some admittedly more likely than others.

Rays. Tampa Bay recently came to terms with Logan Morrison, but is seemingly still interested in acquiring a right-handed bat. Carter would certainly qualify, although there are a number of other possibilities, including Mike Napoli, Franklin Gutierrez and Byung Ho Park.

Rangers. Texas has been strongly connected to Napoli, although no deal has been consummated yet, and Carter would seemingly work as a backup option. Scott Boras, meanwhile, is reportedly trying to sell the Rangers on signing another potential DH, Pedro Alvarez.

Marlins. Carter would give Miami a righty to pair with Justin Bour at first base, and the Marlins reportedly have had interest in Carter. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, though, recently pointed out that the Marlins don’t figure to spend much more than their current $110MM payroll, and wrote that the possibility they would sign Carter was “extremely remote.”

White Sox. The White Sox are only a speculative possibility, as there’s been little or no reporting connecting them to Carter. But the team has a clear opening at DH, and Carter would be a fun fit at homer-happy Guaranteed Rate Field.

Mariners. This is another speculative fit, and perhaps a less likely one, since the team has Nelson Cruz at DH and righty Danny Valencia said upon being acquired earlier this offseason that he expected to play first base (where he’ll presumably complement lefty Dan Vogelbach). Given Valencia’s ability to play other positions, though, and given that the Mariners have preferred to allow Cruz to play the outfield once a series or so, perhaps the Mariners could see an opportunity here, although that seems like a stretch.

Athletics. Incumbent A’s first baseman Yonder Alonso is coming off a very poor season, and the team could potentially use Carter at first and DH while also using Ryon Healy at those positions. The A’s tend to be opportunistic and haven’t been shy about making moves in February, although there’s been nothing specifically connecting them to Carter.

Japan. Carter’s agent, former Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart, recently said his client could consider offers from overseas, and Japanese teams would surely love to acquire a high-profile MLB hitter like Carter. And as MLBTR’s Adams pointed out, the Brewers were not able to find a trade partner for Carter when his projected arbitration salary was in the $8MM range, suggesting that he won’t be able to land much of a guaranteed MLB salary. Carter himself recently said his priority was to sign with an MLB team, however.

Other. There are, of course, more out-of-nowhere possibilities. Perhaps the Nationals could see a chance to upgrade at first, although one would think they’d have more interest in a left-handed hitter they could pair with Ryan Zimmerman, who’s controllable through 2020. Maybe the Mets could attempt to add Carter after Lucas Duda’s injury-plagued 2016 and Jay Bruce’s underwhelming stint with them, although it seems like quite a stretch to think that Duda or Carter would ever play the outfield, and the team could use Bruce or Michael Conforto at first if Duda’s back issues flare up again. Maybe the Blue Jays could see a chance to upgrade, although their acquisition of the lefty-mashing Steve Pearce complicates that possibility quite a bit. And perhaps Carter could even return to the Brewers, although that would have seemed far more likely had they traded Ryan Braun, whose departure could have bumped Eric Thames to the outfield. There’s also the possibility an injury could create an opportunity for Carter that we haven’t yet anticipated.

So where do you think Carter will go? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors app users)

Key Recent February Trades

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The month of February is upon us, and it’s typically a relatively quiet month for significant trades. Still, there have been a few big ones in the past five years. Here’s a look back at some of the key trades to take place in Februaries of the recent past.

2016

February 12: Athletics acquire OF Khris Davis from Brewers for C Jacob Nottingham and P Bubba Derby. The A’s acquired some power last February, grabbing Davis from a rebuilding Brewers club. Davis hit a solid .247/.307/.524 and tied for third in the AL with 42 homers in his first year in Oakland. Nottingham, meanwhile, hit a disappointing .234/.295/.347 with the Brewers’ Double-A affiliate, although he was young for the level; he currently ranks as the 16th-best prospect in the Brewers’ much-improved system, according to MLB.com. Derby struggled in Class A+.

February 25: Athletics acquire OF Chris Coghlan from Cubs for P Aaron Brooks. The Davis trade wasn’t the Athletics’ only outfielder acquisition last February, although their deal to pick up Coghlan didn’t go nearly as well as the Davis trade, even though Coghlan was coming off two straight productive seasons in Chicago. Coghlan batted a miserable .146/.215/.272 in 172 plate appearances in Oakland before the A’s shipped him back to the Cubs for Arismendy Alcantara in June. Brooks, meanwhile, missed the entire season due to a hip contusion; he’ll serve as depth for the Cubs in 2017.

2015: None

2014

February 13: Rays acquire P Nate Karns from Nationals for P Felipe Rivero, C Jose Lobaton and OF Drew Vettleson. This deal turned out to be more interesting than it looked at the time. Karns had spent the 2013 season as a 25-year-old pitching well but not spectacularly at the Double-A level. He spent most of 2014 at Triple-A, then quietly had a strong season with the Rays in 2015 before heading to Seattle in a six-player deal that netted the Rays Brad Miller, Danny Farquhar and Logan Morrison. For the Nationals, Lobaton, a backup catcher, looked like the centerpiece of their side of the deal at the time. He’s had a good run in Washington, hitting respectably and framing well, but it was Rivero who became the highest-value asset — he emerged as a flame-throwing lefty reliever, and the Nats eventually shipped him to Pittsburgh as the key piece in the Mark Melancon deal. Vettleson was a first-round pick in 2010, but he’s stalled in the Nationals system and was demoted to Class A+ last year.

2013

February 4: Athletics acquire SS Jed Lowrie and P Fernando Rodriguez from Astros for 1B Chris Carter, P Brad Peacock and C Max Stassi. Lowrie was coming off a solid .244/.331/.438 season in 2012 in Houston, and he was even better in 2013 in Oakland, batting .290/.344/.446. He was modestly productive in 2014 before heading back to the Astros as a free agent. Rodriguez, meanwhile, missed all of 2013 and much of 2014 after having Tommy John surgery but pitched fairly well for the A’s in 2015 and 2016, posting a 3.99 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 99 1/3 innings with the club before heading to the Cubs as a minor-league free agent this winter. The then-rebuilding Astros, meanwhile, received a package centered on Carter, then coming off an encouraging rookie season. Carter hit 90 home runs in three seasons in Houston but struck out 545 times over that period and was ultimately non-tendered. Peacock has provided the Astros with rotation depth, while Stassi has made only brief big-league appearances over the last four seasons, generally struggling at Triple-A.

February 13: Yankees acquire P Shawn Kelley from Mariners for OF Abraham Almonte. The Mariners had designated Kelley for assignment, and acquiring Almonte was a straightforward attempt on their part to get some value for him. Seattle’s initial decision to designate Kelley remains puzzling, however. He had just posted a good 3.25 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 for them in 2012. He remained modestly productive in three seasons in New York and San Diego before landing a three-year, $15MM deal with the Nationals last winter. Almonte, meanwhile, struggled to get established with the Mariners, then the Padres and Indians.

February 22: White Sox acquire 3B Conor Gillaspie from Giants for P Jeff Soptic. This was another trade that looked relatively minor — Gillaspie was out of options, and with Pablo Sandoval then entrenched at third base, the Giants had limited use for him. He emerged as a decent regular in 2013 and 2014 with the White Sox (hitting .265/.322/.404 in that span) before struggling in 2015 and heading to the Angels in a minor trade. Soptic threw very hard but had persistent control problems and has spent the past four years at Class A+.

2012

February 6: Orioles acquire P Jason Hammel and P Matt Lindstrom from Rockies for P Jeremy Guthrie. Like many pitchers, Hammel struggled to establish himself in Colorado. But his career bloomed in Baltimore and then in Chicago. In five years since leaving Denver, he’s posted a 3.88 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 over 771 innings, and he currently rates as MLBTR’s top remaining free agent. Lindstrom pitched well for the Orioles before heading to Arizona in a midseason trade for Joe Saunders. Guthrie’s stint in Colorado went poorly, and he headed to Kansas City in another ill-fated Rockies trade; they received Jonathan Sanchez in return, and Sanchez made just three poor starts for them. Guthrie, meanwhile, reestablished himself as a good back-end rotation option in Kansas City.

February 19: Pirates acquire A.J. Burnett and cash from Yankees for P Diego Moreno and OF Exicardo Cayones. The Yankees were likely happy to be rid of Burnett and a portion of his remaining contract after he posted a 4.79, 7.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in parts of three seasons in New York. But he thrived in Pittsburgh, where he became one of the NL’s top ground-ball pitchers and served as a veteran leader for the 2013 Bucs as they had their first winning season in two decades. Moreno pitched briefly for the Yankees in 2015; Cayones never made it to Double-A.

Ramiro Pena To Play For Japan’s Hiroshima Carp

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Former Giants infielder Ramiro Pena will play next season with Japan’s Hiroshima Carp, according to a tweet from Bambino Sedano retweeted by Pena himself. Pena is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.

At last check, Pena was close to agreeing to a minor league deal that would keep him in the Giants organization, but it appears that deal is no more, if it was consummated in the first place. He is not listed among the Giants’ non-roster invitees, and his MLB.com page does not list a transaction connecting him to the Giants since he elected free agency in October.

The 31-year-old Pena collected 91 plate appearances in the big leagues in 2016 and hit well, but he spent the bulk of the season with Triple-A Sacramento, where he slashed .296/.361/.431 in 245 plate appearances while playing both middle-infield positions. He’s now appeared in parts of seven big-league seasons, batting .252/.293/.343 while splitting his time between shortstop, second and third. He’s proven to be a useful and versatile defender, but his modest offensive abilities have limited his impact at the big-league level.

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