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Minor MLB Transactions: 1/30/20

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The latest minor transactions from around the majors…

  • The Athletics announced the signing of right-hander Shohei Tomioka to a minor league pact earlier this week. The agreement doesn’t include an invitation to major league spring training, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 23-year-old Tomioka is coming over from Japan, where he pitched with an independent-level team – not in the country’s top league, Nippon Professional Baseball. He owns a four-pitch repertoire and can hit 92-95 mph with his fastball, according to Shea.
  • The Padres have signed left-hander Hector Hernandez to a minor league contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. He’ll be at minors camp for the Padres. The 28-year-old Hernandez is a veteran of three MLB organizations (the Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Indians) who debuted in the pro ranks back in 2009 but still hasn’t reached the bigs. To this point, Hernandez has maxed out at the Triple-A level, though he has only thrown 9 1/3 innings there. Hernandez spent the majority of last year as a member of the Indians’ High-A affiliate, with which he amassed 44 2/3 frames of 2.22 ERA pitching and posted 10.07 K/9 against 3.02 BB/9.

MLBTR Poll: Kris Bryant’s Future

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The long-running service-time grievance battle between Kris Bryant and the Cubs finally came to an end Wednesday. To no one’s surprise, Bryant lost the hearing – had he won, he’d have been eligible to reach free agency after 2020 instead of 2021 – though it took longer than expected for a decision to come down.

[RELATED – MLBTR Video: Kris Bryant Loses Grievance]

Bryant’s grievance was heard back in October, not long after the Cubs’ disappointing 2019 season came to an end. Back then, there was widespread belief that the Cubs would shake up their roster this offseason, maybe even with a Bryant trade, but they’ve instead sat on the sidelines for the most part. There hasn’t been a core-altering trade, nor have there been any especially noteworthy signings, leaving the Cubs with a team which doesn’t look any better than the one that mustered 84 wins and a third-place finish in the National League Central a season ago.

Spring training is fast approaching, so the window’s shrinking for an earth-shaking Cubs trade to come together before the season. Still, despite the outcome of his grievance, it’s up in the air how much longer Bryant will last as a Cub. There was trade speculation centering on the 28-year-old former NL MVP before Wednesday, and it continued then with a rumor linking him to Colorado and a one-for-one swap for fellow star third baseman Nolan Arenado. That type of deal seems highly unlikely to occur, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams detailed, though that doesn’t mean someone (Dodgers? Rangers? Braves?) won’t make the Cubs a palatable offer for Bryant sometime soon.

Of course, if the Cubs plan to contend in 2020, it’s hard to imagine a Bryant trade doing anything but worsening their chances. At the same time, moving him could presumably upgrade a farm system that has already made recent improvements and, to many fans’ chagrin, help the club avoid the luxury tax in 2020. Bryant’s due a $18.6MM salary, and getting rid of it would put the Cubs under the $208MM threshold by a fair margin (they’re currently projected at $214MM-plus, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource). That said, the Cubs have until the end of the season to get under $208MM, meaning they may be inclined to see how they perform over the first few months of the year before deciding whether to sell off Bryant or any other high-priced players.

Bryant, for his part, doesn’t seem like a player who’s champing at the bit to get out of Chicago. Even though the grievance didn’t go his way, Bryant harbors “no ill will whatsoever” against the Cubs, which is yet another reason they don’t have to trade him. Nevertheless, we could still see more Bryant-headlined rumors in the coming weeks. Do you expect him to open 2020 as a Cub?

(Poll link for app users)

Will Kris Bryant be a Cub on Opening Day?
Yes 67.61% (13,886 votes)
No 32.39% (6,652 votes)
Total Votes: 20,538

Reds To Sign Pedro Strop

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The Reds have agreed to a one-year, $1.825MM deal with free-agent reliever Pedro Strop, according to Hector Gomez of Deportivo Z 101 (Twitter link). The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal adds that incentives can push the value of the deal, which is still pending a physical, up to $3.5MM. Strop is represented by the Movement Management Group.

It’s surprising that the Reds are coming away with Strop, who was reportedly deciding between the Marlins and Rangers as of last week. Nevertheless, it’s the latest strike in free agency for Cincinnati, a team clearly bent on returning to contention after a six-year drought. The Reds rank near the top of the National League in offseason spending via the open market, and Strop will go down as the second free agent they’ve pilfered from the division-rival Cubs. They took outfielder Nick Castellanos from Chicago earlier this week, though he cost far more money ($64MM) than Strop will collect.

While the Reds have been aggressive in bettering their roster this winter, they haven’t been all that active in upgrading a bullpen that was middle of the pack last season. They’re returning some quality holdovers – Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, Amir Garrett and Robert Stephenson, to name a few – and the hope is Strop will accompany them as a key late-game option for the club in 2020.

The right-handed Strop, 34, has been quietly terrific over the past several years. Dating back to his 2011 breakout with the Rangers and Orioles, Strop has combined for a 3.00 ERA/3.32 FIP with 9.82 K/9, 3.89 BB/9 and a 54.8 percent groundball rate across 483 2/3 innings. He was mostly excellent with the Cubs from 2013-19, including during their championship drought-breaking 2016 campaign, but fell on hard times last season.

A hamstring injury limiting Strop to 41 2/3 innings, his fewest since 2011, and he only managed a 4.97 ERA/4.53 FIP when he was healthy enough to pitch. He also saw his average fastball velocity dip from 95.1 mph the previous season to 93.6 mph. Despite the drop in heat, Strop did strike out 10.58 batters per nine and induce grounders at a 52.9 percent clip; however, he struggled with control and home runs. Strop walked 4.32 hitters per nine and yielded homers on a career-worst 18.8 percent of fly balls, though he was hardly alone in surrendering more dingers than usual during the most HR-friendly season in the history of the sport.

The Reds are, of course, hoping Strop’s HR-FB rate bounces back toward his career mean of 10.1 percent. Regardless, he’s the latest of MLBTR’s top 50 free agents they’ve added. The club has now come away with five players from that list this offseason. And now that Strop’s coming off the board, Yasiel Puig (an ex-Red) and Brock Holt are the last ones standing.

Latest On Astros’ Coaching Staff

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The Astros have a new manager in Dusty Baker, whom they hired Wednesday, but they’ll have the same bench coach in 2020. Joe Espada will stay on in that role as part of Baker’s staff, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweets. Expectations are that Baker will add one coach from outside the organization, though, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

At this late stage of the offseason, it would’ve been difficult for Baker to shake up the Astros’ staff even if he wanted to go that route. Thanks to the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal from 2017, they recently found themselves in the awkward position of having to replace manager A.J. Hinch just weeks before spring training. By now, just about all coaching staffs have been established, so Baker’s not in position to make many changes to the group he inherited from Hinch.

In Espada, Baker’s getting a well-regarded right-hand man who has two years in Houston under his belt and has drawn significant interest from manager-needy teams over the past couple offseasons. The Giants, for instance, looked as if they’d hire Espada as their manager this winter before tabbing Gabe Kapler for the role.

If Baker does end up hiring one more coach to fill a to-be-determined position, Chris Speier’s the probable pick, according to Rosenthal. The 69-year-old ex-infielder has already been on Baker’s staffs with the Cubs, Reds and Nationals.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/29/20

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Checking in on a few minor moves…

  • Rob Whalen walked away from the game last February, but the right-hander has returned to professional baseball less than a year later. He announced Wednesday on Twitter that he has joined the Mets on a minor league contract. This will be the second go-around with the Mets for the 25-year-old Whalen, who broke into the pro ranks as a 12th-round pick of the club in 2012. He wound up pitching in the majors with the Braves and Mariners from 2016-18, but battles with anxiety and depression played a part in his decision to briefly step away from the game.
  • The Royals announced that they’ve outrighted hurler Heath Fillmyer to Triple-A Omaha. The club designated Fillmyer Jan. 22 to clear a roster spot for the re-signed Alex Gordon. Fillmyer hasn’t been outrighted before, nor does he have the service time to elect free agency, so he’ll stay with the KC organization. Notably, Wednesday’s the two-year anniversary of the Royals acquiring Fillmyer from the Athletics in a trade that also included Ryan Buchter, Brandon Moss and Jesse Hahn. Fillmyer performed reasonably well in his first year as a Royal (4.26 ERA/4.75 FIP with 6.23 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 82 1/3 innings), but his numbers went south at the major league and Triple-A levels last season. The 25-year-old righty spent the majority of 2019 in Omaha, where he pitched to a 5.11 ERA/5.72 FIP and logged 9.3 K/9 against 4.74 BB/9 over 49 1/3 frames.
  • The Twins have signed righty Chris Rowley to a minors deal, per Nate Rowan, the director of communications for their Triple-A affiliate in Rochester. The 29-year-old, a former standout at West Point, saw a bit of major league action with the Blue Jays from 2017-18. Rowley spent last season in Triple-A ball as a member of the San Diego organization, though, and injuries helped limit him to 16 1/3 innings. Rowley gave up a whopping 20 earned runs on 27 hits and nine walks (with 11 strikeouts) in that span.

Giants Expect To Make Outfield Additions

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Although the Giants’ outfield ended the 2019 campaign a lowly 22nd in WAR and 28th in wRC+, the club hasn’t made any notable moves to upgrade the area since then. But president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi believes that will change before spring training opens, as he told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.

“I would still expect us to add one or two players to the outfield mix before we get to camp,” Zaidi said. “Whether by trade or free agency, whether it’s the NRI (non-roster invitee) route or the major-league roster, there are still guys out there we think will be good additions for us. That would still be our expectation.”

Zaidi was unwilling to comment on specific players who are available, but he revealed that the team’s “evaluating every guy.” While free agency is low on potentially impactful players at this stage, it’s worth noting that at least a few of the top outfielders remaining do have Giants connections. The best outfielder left, Yasiel Puig, played for the archrival Dodgers when Zaidi was their GM. Kevin Pillar was a well-respected Giant during his time there last season, but the team non-tendered him in November instead of paying him a projected $9.7MM in arbitration (however, perhaps San Francisco will circle back to him at a cheaper cost). Cameron Maybin’s also still unsigned – he was a Giant last spring, though they released him before the start of the season.

Elsewhere on the market, another ex-Giant, Hunter Pence, as well as Domingo Santana, Jarrod Dyson, Billy Hamilton, Jacoby Ellsbury and Juan Lagares represent other notable outfield-capable players looking for jobs. As you’d expect at this stage of the offseason, though, all come with their share of warts. Pence and Santana are likely better suited for DH roles; Dyson, Hamilton and Lagares bring little to the table offensively; and the injury-riddled Ellsbury hasn’t taken the field since 2017.

As things stand, the Giants are projected to enter 2020 with a fairly unproven outfield, which was also the case last year before they acquired Pillar from Toronto at the start of April. Now, Mike Yastrzemski looks like the most promising member of the group, having enjoyed a strong rookie season in 2019. Alex Dickerson also put up good overall offensive numbers, but the lefty hitter did all of his damage versus righties and saw his production plummet as the season progressed. Meanwhile, the Giants’ other projected starting outfielder, Steven Duggar, endured a rough year while dealing with injuries.

Beyond Yastrzemski, Dickerson and Duggar, the Giants have Jaylin Davis – whom FanGraphs calls “a potential low-end regular” – as well as Austin Slater, Joey Rickard and Drew Robinson, among others, as possibilities to begin the year on the roster. Judging by Zaidi’s comments, though, they and the rest of San Francisco’s in-house outfield candidates could have more company when camp opens.

Latest On Astros’ GM Opening

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The Astros have spent a large portion of January reeling from the fallout of their 2017 sign-stealing scandal – one that cost them championship-winning GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch. They’ve already replaced Hinch, having hired decorated veteran skipper Dusty Baker on Wednesday, but there’s no successor to Luhnow yet. However, the Astros continue to tack on candidates in their quest to replace him.

Houston has interviewed Royals director of pro scouting/special assistant Gene Watson and Rays vice president of baseball operations James Click for its GM role, per reports from Jeff Passan of ESPN.com and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Watson and Click join MLB’s senior vice president of baseball operations, Peter Woodfork, and former Giants GM Bobby Evans as known candidates for the Astros’ vacancy.

It’s notable that Evans worked with Baker when the two were in San Francisco, but there’s no indication he or anyone else is the favorite at this point. It seems the Astros will continue to take their time in finding a new GM, as Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle explains. For now, owner Jim Crane and a four-executive team consisting of assistant GM Pete Putila, special assistant Kevin Goldstein, senior director of baseball strategy Bill Firkus and senior director of player evaluation Ehsan Bokhari are at the helm. That quartet played a part in Crane’s decision to hire Baker, per Rome, though it’s not clear whether anyone from it will emerge as a GM candidate for the club. It may not look good if the Astros do hire an in-house GM, considering that individual would have connections to the Luhnow-Hinch regime.

As for the newest outside possibilities, Watson – a Texas native – is a two-time World Series champion (2003 Marlins, 2015 Royals) with a long scouting history who has worked in Kansas City in various capacities since 2006. The Yale-educated Click caught on with the Rays the same year Watson joined the Royals. Click has since worked his way toward the top of a Rays front office that already lost another noteworthy exec earlier this offseason in Chaim Bloom, who became Boston’s chief baseball officer.

MLBTR Poll: How Good Are The Reds?

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The Reds entered the offseason on the heels of their sixth straight sub-.500 showing, but president of baseball operations Dick Williams made it known at the end of the campaign that a seventh consecutive subpar effort wouldn’t be acceptable. The team’s goal when the winter began was to build its first playoff-level roster since 2013, and with most of its offseason heavy lifting likely done by now, there’s a case Cincinnati has done just that.

As we noted previously, the Reds have been one of the highest-spending teams in the National League in free agency. They’ve added two $64MM players – infielder Mike Moustakas and newly signed outfielder Nick Castellanos – as well as $21MM outfielder Shogo Akiyama (their first-ever Japanese player) and $15MM left-hander Wade Miley via the open market.

Now, the Reds’ position player cast – a group that finished last season 21st in WAR and 25th in runs – suddenly looks promising with Castellanos, Akiyama and some mix of Jesse Winker, Aristides Aquino and Nick Senzel in the outfield, Joey Votto at first base, Moustakas at second and Eugenio Suarez at third. But there are questions in the group, including the health of the 49-home run man Suarez – who could miss the beginning of the season after undergoing right shoulder surgery – and the strength of their catcher and shortstop positions. Both spots looked ripe for upgrades when the offseason began, but the Reds have so far stuck with Tucker Barnhart and Freddy Galvis, respectively, despite their interest in landing a much more formidable option at short. Moreover, there’s the possibility of a Senzel trade, which could provide a helpful return for one of the Reds’ weak spots, but Williams doesn’t sound like someone who’s ready to deal the prized 24-year-old.

Meanwhile, there doesn’t appear to be a lot to worry about in the Reds’ starting staff. Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer, Anthony DeSclafani and Miley comprise an impressive one to five on paper, though Bauer did have more than a little bit of trouble preventing runs after the Reds acquired him from the Indians last July. The bullpen, although largely untouched this offseason, also boasts its share of stone-cold locks. Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, Robert Stephenson and Amir Garrett are all returning after posting respectable or better numbers in 2019.

While it’s nice for the Reds that they’ve bettered their roster since last season’s 75-win effort, it’s also a boon that their division has seemingly taken steps back. The Cardinals won the NL Central in 2019, but they haven’t done anything all that notable since, and they just lost their No. 1 free agent, outfielder Marcell Ozuna, to the Braves. The Brewers – fresh off their second straight playoff season – have seen quite a few changes (good and bad) to their roster, including the losses of Moustakas and an even better free agent in catcher Yasmani Grandal. The Cubs have been quiet after a dismal finish to last season, and it’s still not out of the realm of possibility they’ll trade Kris Bryant or another important member of their roster before the new campaign rolls around. And then there’s the Pirates, who figure to be among the worst teams in the game this year.

Between the improvements they’ve made and the actions (or lack thereof) of their divisional foes, this may be the time for the Reds to return to relevance in the NL. The way their roster looks now, do you think they’re capable of doing so?

(Poll link for app users)

How many Reds wins do you expect?
85-89 46.98% (11,040 votes)
80-84 25.64% (6,025 votes)
90 or more 22.26% (5,232 votes)
70-79 5.12% (1,202 votes)
Total Votes: 23,499

Free Agent Spending By Team: National League

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With the clear exception of the still-unsigned Yasiel Puig, free agency is almost devoid of high-upside contributors at this point. The majority of players capable of securing guaranteed contracts have already come off the board, making this a good time to check in on which teams have spent the most and which clubs have paid the least via the open market. We’ve already gone through the same exercise for the American League, where the Yankees have returned to the top of the heap as the biggest spenders in their league and in the sport in general. Meanwhile, over in the Senior Circuit, reigning world champion Washington clearly isn’t resting on its laurels after a storybook playoff run…

Nationals: $316.75MM on 10 players (Stephen Strasburg, Will Harris, Daniel Hudson, Starlin Castro, Yan Gomes, Howie Kendrick, Eric Thames, Asdrubal Cabrera, Ryan Zimmerman and Kyle Finnegan; financial details unclear for Finnegan; top 50 MLBTR signings: four)

Reds: $164MM on four players (Nick Castellanos, Mike Moustakas, Shogo Akiyama and Wade Miley; top 50 signings: four)

Phillies: $132MM on two players (Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius; top 50 signings: two)

Braves: $116.25MM on nine players (Will Smith, Marcell Ozuna, Cole Hamels, Travis d’Arnaud, Chris Martin, Nick Markakis, Tyler Flowers, Darren O’Day, Adeiny Hechavarria; top 50 signings: five)

Diamondbacks: $109.65MM on five players (Madison Bumgarner, Kole Calhoun, Hector Rondon, Stephen Vogt and Junior Guerra; top 50 signings: two)

Brewers: $48.38MM on eight players (Avisail Garcia, Josh Lindblom, Justin Smoak, Brett Anderson, Eric Sogard, Alex Claudio, Ryon Healy and Deolis Guerra; financial details unclear for Healy and Guerra; top 50 signings: two)

Padres: $48MM on three players (Drew Pomeranz, Craig Stammen and Pierce Johnson; top 50 signings: three)

Mets: $24.35MM on four players (Dellin Betances, Rick Porcello, Michael Wacha and Brad Brach; top 50 signings: three)

Marlins: $23.855MM on five players (Corey Dickerson, Brandon Kintzler, Francisco Cervelli, Matt Joyce and Yimi Garcia; financial details unclear for Joyce; top 50 signings: one)

Giants: $17.775MM on four players (Kevin Gausman, Drew Smyly, Tony Watson and Tyler Anderson; top 50 signings: one)

Dodgers: $15.25MM on three players (Blake Treinen, Alex Wood and Jimmy Nelson; top 50 signings: one)

Cardinals: $15MM on three players (Adam Wainwright, Kwang-hyun Kim and Matt Wieters; top 50 signings: one)

Cubs: $2.5MM on three players (Steven Souza Jr., Jeremy Jeffress and Ryan Tepera; top 50 signings: zero)

Pirates: Signed OF Guillermo Heredia and C Luke Maile (financial details unclear; top 50 signings: zero)

Rockies: Signed RHP Jose Mujica (financial details unclear; top 50 signings: zero)

Minor Transactions: 1/28/20

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A couple minor transactions from around the game…

  • The Athletics have signed utilityman Ryan Court to a minor league contract, Alex Coffey of The Athletic tweets. A 23rd-round pick of the Diamondbacks in 2011, the 31-year-old Court made his MLB debut with one of the A’s division rivals, the Mariners, last season. Court had difficulty over that 44-plate appearance showing, hitting .208/.240/.375 with 11 strikeouts. On the other hand, Court owns a much more productive .262/.355/.423 line in 1,187 PA at the Triple-A level, where he has seen action with the M’s, Red Sox and Cubs organizations dating back to 2016.
  • Former Mariners outfielder/infielder Stefen Romero won’t be returning to the bigs (or even Triple-A ball) in 2020. Romero has signed with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball, Jim Allen reports. This season will be the fourth in a row in Japan for the 31-year-old Romero, who batted .268/.332/.494 with 69 homers in 1,256 trips to the plate as a member of the Orix Buffaloes from 2017-19.

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