Minor MLB Transactions: 11/26/19
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Mariners have signed outfielder/first baseman Jose Marmolejos to a minor league contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The deal comes with an invitation to spring training for the 26-year-old Marmolejos, who had been with the Nationals his entire professional career (which began in 2011). He divided last season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .315/.366/.545 with 16 home runs in 382 plate appearances at the minors’ highest level.
Dodgers Interested In Top Free Agents
The big-budget Dodgers have the money to spend on any of the absolute best free agents – right-handers Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg and third baseman Anthony Rendon – and they are indeed considering them, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. However, the luxury tax-minded team’s going to stay “disciplined” in its pursuit of those three, per Heyman.
There are few need areas on the Dodgers, evidenced by the fact they won a National League-high 106 games in 2019. Although the Dodgers fell in an upset to the eventual World Series-winning Nationals in the NLDS, it’s hard to deny the talent that’s on hand. The Dodgers could do next to nothing this offseason and still look like one of the majors’ premier teams at the outset of next year, but president Andrew Friedman & Co. are nonetheless working to better the roster in an effort to improve LA’s chances of breaking a championship drought that goes back to the 1980s.
That said, adding any of Cole, Strasburg or Rendon would represent a far more expensive pickup than anyone the Friedman-led Dodgers have signed thus far. Since Friedman took over after the 2014 season, the Dodgers have spent $80MM at most on a free agent, having re-signed Kenley Jansen entering 2017. Cole may end up tripling that total, with MLBTR predicting a $256MM guarantee, while Rendon should eclipse $200MM in his own right and Strasburg has a strong chance to approach that amount.
Either Cole or Strasburg would seemingly serve as a capable replacement for Hyun-Jin Ryu, who’s a free agent after what was a near-Cy Young season in 2019. Even with none of those names in the fold, the Dodgers look to be in good shape with Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias, Kenta Maeda and Dustin May lining up as their top starters for next season. And they’re also doing quite well at third with Justin Turner, though he could move across the diamond if they make a major splash at the hot corner.
Adrian Sampson Signs With KBO’s Lotte Giants
NOVEMBER 25: Sampson has formally been granted his release to pursue the KBO opportunity, the Rangers announced. Texas’ 40-man roster now sits at 39 players.
NOVEMBER 20: The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization are set to sign Rangers right-hander Adrian Sampson, Naver Sports reports (hat tip to Levi Weaver of The Athletic). The deal comes with a $500K salary and a $339,700 signing bonus, per Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net.
The 28-year-old Sampson has been a member of multiple MLB organizations since the Pirates used a fifth-round pick on him in 2012. He went to the Mariners in a 2015 trade for left-hander J.A. Happ, though the M’s cut ties with Sampson after 2016, leading the Rangers to claim him off waivers.
Sampson, then recovering from elbow surgery, didn’t pitch in the majors in his first year with the Rangers. However, the majority of his innings have come at the MLB level since then. While Sampson amassed all 125 1/3 innings of his 2019 frames as part of Texas’ staff, he could only muster a 5.89 ERA/5.69 FIP despite playable strikeout and walk rates of 7.25 and 2.59 per nine. Sampson has enjoyed more success preventing runs in Triple-A ball, where he owns a 4.11 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 over 398 2/3 innings.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: 11/25/19
Click here to read a transcript of Monday’s live chat with Connor Byrne of MLBTR.
Agency Changes: Jeffress, Rengifo
The latest agency changes from around the majors…
- Free-agent right-hander Jeremy Jeffress has joined Roc Nation Sports and agent Kyle Thousand, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Jeffress, who was one of the majors’ most effective relievers not long ago, has been seeking a new team since the Brewers released him at the beginning of September. The 32-year-old put up an ugly 5.02 ERA in 52 innings this past season, though he did record more encouraging strikeout and walk rates (7.96 K/9, 2.94 BB/9) with a 3.96 FIP and a 48.4 percent groundball mark. However, there was a marked drop in average fastball velocity for Jeffress, whose typical four-seamer fell from 95.3 mph in 2018 to 93.8 this year.
- Angels middle infielder Luis Rengifo has switched agencies and joined the MVP Sports Group, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports tweets. Rengifo is with his third organization in the Angels. He signed with the Mariners out of Venezuela in 2014, but they traded him to the Rays late in the 2017 season. Less than a year later, the Angels acquired him from Tampa Bay as part of a trade centering on C.J. Cron. Now 22 years old, Rengifo is coming off a respectable first taste of the major leagues. The switch-hitter wasn’t great at the Triple-A level, where he slashed .273/.338/.464 across 122 plate appearances, though he wasn’t much worse in his debut at the game’s highest level. Rengifo took 406 trips to the plate as an Angel this past season and batted .238/.321/.364 with seven home runs and 1.2 fWAR. He held his own in the field, combining for four Defensive Runs Saved and a 2.5 Ultimate Zone Rating between the two middle infield spots.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/22/19
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Mets have released right-hander Drew Gagnon, Tim Healey of Newsday tweets. They previously designated Gagnon for assignment Wednesday. Gagnon’s on the free-agent market after he pitched to a disastrous 8.37 ERA/8.96 FIP with 6.46 K/9 and 2.66 BB/9 over 23 2/3 major league innings in 2019. The 29-year-old was much better at the Triple-A level, where he logged a 2.33 ERA/4.50 FIP with 7.31 K/9 and 1.73 BB/9 across 88 2/3 frames. However, Gagnon has generally struggled in Triple-A ball, as the 2011 third-round pick of the Brewers owns a 5.02 ERA in 477 1/3 innings at the minors’ highest level.
Job Openings – Diamondbacks Short-Season Hitting Coordinator
From time to time, as a service to our readers, MLB Trade Rumors will post job opportunities of possible interest that are brought to our attention. MLBTR has no affiliation with the hiring entity, no role in the hiring process, and no financial interest in the posting of this opportunity.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are seeking a short-season hitting coordinator for their Dominican Academy, short-season clubs, Arizona operations (including spring training), extended spring, Arizona League and Instructional League as well as special assignments. Applicants should send a resume and supporting materials to bbopsjob@dbacks.com. Here are the requirements:
Duties & Responsibilities:
- An understanding of hitting technology and how it can be implemented
- Communicating hitting technologies including video and wearable technology with Spanish-speaking players and staff
- Working with hitters in one-on-one environments
- Working with short-season hitting coaches to implement philosophy
- Incorporating analytics as it relates to hitting
- Effectively communicating technical and analytical concepts to non-technical people
- Ability to carry out and create a hitting plan for players in conjunction with the Hitting Coordinator
- Ability to multitask and balance multiple projects at once
- Working and collaborating with players, staff and the front office
- Independently evaluate professional and amateur baseball players
- Flexibility to travel internationally and be on the road for weeks at a time
- Carry oneself in a respectful manner that positively represents the organization
Skills:
- Fluency in Spanish is required
- The ability to effectively communicate with and relate to people who have varying backgrounds and experiences working in and playing baseball, respecting and empathizing with both the human and analytical perspectives of the game
- Intellectual curiosity and creativity
- Experience working with Blast, K-Vest, force plates, slow motion video and Rapsodo.
- Technical knowledge pertaining to statistical analysis
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office
- Strong organizational and time management skills
- Strong work ethic and attention to detail
Reds Interested In Zack Wheeler
Add the Reds to the many teams interested in coveted free-agent right-hander Zack Wheeler, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required). Wheeler’s longtime team, the Mets, as well as the White Sox, Twins, Angels, Padres, Yankees and Blue Jays are also among the clubs that have been connected to him early this offseason.
Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams indicated last month the Reds would be active in free agency, though expectations were the team’s focus would be on the offensive side. After all, the Reds finished last season 25th in the majors in both runs and wRC+, yet there’s already plenty of talent in their rotation. The team currently boasts Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani as locks for its starting staff next year. That said, signing Wheeler would perhaps give Cincinnati an elite rotation on paper, and now that catcher Yasmani Grandal (a target for the Reds who signed with the White Sox on Thursday) is off the board, an agent told Rosenthal the club may be prepared to redirect a significant portion of its available funds to Wheeler.
The 29-year-old Wheeler would immediately become one of the biggest signings in Reds history, with MLBTR predicting he’ll land a $100MM deal over a half-decade this offseason. Wheeler would give the Reds yet another front-of-the-rotation type, having pitched to a 3.96 ERA/3.48 FIP with 8.98 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 across a career-high 195 1/3 innings in 2019. That output was enough to convince the Mets to hit the flamethrowing Wheeler with a $17.8MM qualifying offer, which he rejected. Because he’s a QO recipient, signing Wheeler would cost the Reds their third-highest pick in 2020. That won’t scare Cincy off, though, as Williams said last week the team will consider signing players who received a QO.
Dodgers Extend Andrew Friedman
The Dodgers have signed president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to a contract extension, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Terms of the deal are unknown, but it figures to be a large payday for Friedman, whose previous deal was worth a reported $35MM over five years. At the time, that was a record-setting pact for a baseball executive.
Locking up Friedman was a long-expected move for Los Angeles, which has been overwhelmingly successful since it pried him from Tampa Bay after the 2014 season. While the Dodgers’ long-running championship drought has continued since then, they have taken the NL West in each season during Friedman’s reign and won two pennants.
Friedman was at the helm when the Dodgers hired Dave Roberts as their manager entering 2016, though some fans of the team haven’t been enamored of that move. Nevertheless, Roberts has a fan in Friedman, who stuck by the skipper after the eventual title-winning Nationals upset the club in the first round of the playoffs this fall.
Roberts has been in charge of an enviable group of talent supplied in part by Friedman, who has acquired several stars during his run in LA. Max Muncy was a waiver claim who has turned into a standout, while the valuable Chris Taylor came over in an under-the-radar trade with the Mariners in 2016. Meantime, newly named NL MVP Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Alex Verdugo, Julio Urias and Ross Stripling represent inherited players who have developed well in the Friedman era, and the team has drafted legitimate major leaguers such as Walker Buehler, Will Smith and Tony Gonsolin during his run. It also owns one of the majors’ premier farm systems, a group headlined by Friedman draft picks in Gavin Lux (first round, 2016) and Dustin May (third round, ’16).
Friedman has excelled at loading the ultra-rich Dodgers with cheap talent, but after coming over from a low-budget team, he has largely shied away from huge contracts. Re-signing longtime ace Clayton Kershaw (three years, $93MM), closer Kenley Jansen (five years, $80MM) and and third baseman Justin Turner (four years, $64MM) stand as the largest commitments the team has doled out under Friedman. Kershaw and Turner remain highly valuable, though Jansen has fallen off over the past couple seasons. Furthermore, free-agent signing A.J. Pollock – whom the Dodgers guaranteed four years and $60MM last winter – disappointed in his first season with the club. On the other hand, Japanese righty Kenta Maeda has delivered since the Dodgers inked him to an eight-year, $25MM guarantee in advance of the 2016 campaign.
The Dodgers have the financial might to pull off more headline-grabbing signings before next season, but it remains to be seen whether Friedman will take that route. Their most notable acquisitions may end up coming via trade, as Friedman has aggressively tried to upgrade his roster by swinging deals for the likes of Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Yasmani Grandal and Enrique Hernandez in the past.
Regardless of how Friedman attempts to improve the Dodgers this offseason, they appear to be in good hands with him at the controls. No matter what happens in the coming months, they’ll be the clear-cut favorites to enter 2020 as NL West favorites and a team on the short list of predicted World Series winners. As such, it’s no surprise the Dodgers decided to keep Friedman under wraps going forward.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
MLBTR Poll: Grading The Grandal Deal
Catcher Yasmani Grandal has now been the top backstop available on the open market in back-to-back offseasons. But this winter’s trip to free agency turned out drastically different for Grandal than last year’s. Coming off a prosperous run with the Dodgers an offseason ago, Grandal turned down a four-year, $60MM offer from the Mets before signing a one-year, $18.25MM guarantee with the Brewers. Grandal’s Milwaukee pact was barely more than the qualifying offer he rejected from the Dodgers, but it did give the 31-year-old the opportunity to make a substantial amount for a single season and once again make a case for a lucrative long-term deal. A year later, it seems fair to say things worked out well for the switch-hitting Grandal.
In his lone season as a Brewer, Grandal showed yet again that he’s one of the most well-rounded catchers in baseball. He earned the second All-Star nod of his career, racked up 5.2 fWAR, slashed .246/.380/.468 with a career-high 28 home runs in 632 plate appearances, and ranked near the top of the league as a pitch framer. While Grandal’s stellar 2019 output wasn’t much different than his 2018 production, he wasn’t going to settle for another one-year deal this time.
Grandal officially departed Milwaukee on Thursday to become the highest-paid player in the history of the White Sox, who signed him to a four-year, $73MM deal with full no-trade protection in 2020 and a partial NTC thereafter. It’s an undeniably bold strike by Chicago, which hasn’t finished with a .500 or better record since 2012 and hasn’t clinched a playoff spot since 2008. However, the White Sox are aiming to wrap up a multiyear rebuild and put themselves back on the map in the AL Central division, where they’re wedged between two contenders (the Twins and Indians) and a pair of noncompetitive clubs (the Royals and Tigers).
The Grandal signing figures to help the White Sox move closer to relevance in 2020, as he’s a clear upgrade over their No. 1 catcher from last season, James McCann. Of course, as is the case with all big-money acquisitions, there’s risk involved – especially when talking about a 30-something catcher. To Grandal’s credit, though, he has been eminently durable and extraordinarily consistent to this point. And Grandal’s bat is so sturdy that it should work just fine at designated hitter, where he’ll be able to play on occasion to partially save himself from the wear and tear of catching. If there’s another reason to like this move for Chicago, it’s that the club didn’t give up any draft compensation for Grandal, who was ineligible to receive a QO.
In your opinion, did the White Sox make a wise move in handing Grandal a franchise-record payday? (Poll link for app users)
Grade Chicago's Yasmani Grandal signing
-
B 34% (8,559)
-
A 33% (8,407)
-
D 18% (4,478)
-
C 14% (3,463)
-
F 2% (487)
Total votes: 25,394