Keon Broxton Has Minor League Option Remaining
Contrary to popular belief, Brewers center fielder Keon Broxton is not out of minor league options, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Because Broxton spent fewer than 20 days in the minors in 2017, he did not burn his final option year, McCalvy reports (Twitter link).
This normally wouldn’t be a particularly newsworthy development, but it’s interesting in Broxton’s case because he has come up as a trade candidate this offseason. Thanks in part to the Brewers’ acquisitions of fellow outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich this week, an out-of-options Broxton very easily could have found himself in another organization by the start of the season. While that still might be the case, the Brewers do have the chance to keep the soon-to-be 28-year-old around as minor league depth. If he remains a Brewer, earning a big league role at the outset of the season could be difficult with Cain, Yelich, Domingo Santana, Ryan Braun and Brett Phillips also in the fold (though Santana’s popular in the rumor mill, too).
Broxton emerged on the big league scene in 2016, overcoming a 36.1 percent strikeout rate to slash .242/.354/.430 with nine home runs and 23 stolen bases over 244 plate appearances. He also graded well in the grass, with nine Defensive Runs Saved and a 5.4 Ultimate Zone Rating. All said, Broxton was worth 2.1 fWAR that year, which was a boon to a Milwaukee club that essentially stole him from the division-rival Pirates in a December 2015 trade.
Unfortunately for Broxton and the Brewers, he went backward in 2017. While Broxton was a 20-20 player, finishing with exactly that many HRs and 21 stolen bases, he increased his already high K rate to 37.8 percent and hit a meager .220/.299/.420 across 463 PAs. Additionally, Broxton drew poor defensive marks according to DRS (minus-7) and UZR (minus-2.1), though Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric ranked him among the game’s best outfielders.
In the midst of his struggles last year, the Brewers sent Broxton to the minors in July. Because it was such a short-lived demotion, he could head back to Triple-A Colorado Springs this year if the Brewers don’t trade him. Broxton would likely have value in a deal, though, considering his upside and team control. He’s under wraps through the 2022 campaign and won’t be eligible for arbitration until at least next offseason.
NL Notes: Braves, Brewers, Braun, Marlins
A few notes from the National League…
- Alex Anthopoulos hasn’t made many headline-grabbing transactions this winter, his first as Atlanta’s GM, though he revealed Saturday that the Braves “kicked around trying to get a (number) one- or two-type starter.” They’re holding off on that for the time being, though, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jeff Schultz, who relays that the Braves are still considering adding to their bullpen and acquiring a third baseman to potentially unseat starter Johan Camargo. They’re said to have interest in free agent infielder Eduardo Nunez, one of the top third base-capable players on the market.
- Thanks in part to their acquisitions of star outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, the Brewers will attempt to work around their OF surplus by occasionally using Ryan Braun at first base in 2018. Interestingly, there’s also a chance Braun will factor in at second base, where the Brewers are currently lacking an obvious solution. Braun has discussed playing second with GM David Stearns, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports (via Twitter) The 34-year-old hasn’t seen any action in the middle infield since his days as a shortstop with the Miami Hurricanes, so it seems he’d be a long shot to play much at the keystone. Indeed, McCalvy doesn’t expect Braun to be a real factor there (Twitter link).
- Brewers pitching coach Derek Johnson told fans Sunday that the club expects right-hander Jimmy Nelson to return “around June,” McCalvy tweets. Nelson himself still isn’t willing to put a timetable on his recovery, however (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been on the mend from the surgery he underwent on a torn labrum in September, which came as an especially unfortunate development after he emerged as one of the league’s top starters in 2017.
- New Marlins owners Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter have drawn plenty of criticism for their payroll-slashing methods in their first offseason atop the franchise. Before securing the Marlins last year, Sherman and Jeter had to outbid a potential ownership group including Hall of Fame hurler Tom Glavine. As it turns out, had Glavine & Co. purchased the team, they would have operated similarly to how Sherman and Jeter have. Glavine told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that his faction was “of the same mind-set as to the moves that had to be made to get payroll under control.” They’d have attempted to do things differently in terms of public relations, though, with Glavine acknowledging that Sherman and Jeter haven’t “done themselves any favors from a PR standpoint.”
Poll: Grading The Brewers’ Blockbuster Moves
For a brief time this week, the Brewers turned this maddeningly slow offseason on its head. Within a one-hour period on Thursday afternoon, Milwaukee agreed to acquire two star-caliber outfielders – free agent Lorenzo Cain and then-Marlin Christian Yelich – in moves that the club hopes will help end its five-year playoff drought in 2018. Those additions came on the heels of a year in which the Brewers were among baseball’s surprise success stories, as they entered as expected non-contenders and exited with a solid 86 wins – one fewer than Colorado, which earned the National League’s last playoff spot.
With Cain and Yelich in the fold, it would be understandable to have high expectations for the Brewers as presently constructed. Although, general manager David Stearns clearly still has work to do, particularly to improve a less-than-stellar pitching staff. Thanks in part to the Brewers’ unspectacular group of hurlers, FanGraphs is only projecting them to win 77 games at the moment. That, of course, factors in notable contributions from Cain and Yelich, who are forecast to combine for just under 7.0 fWAR.
While Stearns figures to make further moves to improve Milwaukee’s chances, including potentially dealing from the team’s outfield surplus to upgrade elsewhere, we can still offer initial judgments on the Cain and Yelich pickups. Those who follow the league know what Cain is by now – a gifted center fielder, hitter and baserunner who was likely Kansas City’s best player during his tenure there from 2012-17. Cain’s track record led the Brewers to hand him easily the offseason’s richest contract, a five-year, $80MM deal with decreasing no-trade rights as the pact progresses. Cain absolutely could live up to that payday, though red flags come in the form of his age (32 in April) and injury history (he went on the disabled list in 2012, ’13, ’14 and ’16). All things considered, did Milwaukee make the right move in signing him?
(Poll link for App users)
Grade the Cain deal
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B 49% (10,088)
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A 23% (4,788)
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C 22% (4,457)
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D 5% (952)
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F 2% (405)
Total votes: 20,690
Meanwhile, at 26, Yelich has a few prime years left, and he’s under contract for all of those seasons at eminently affordable rates. Milwaukee could control Yelich through 2022 for a combined $58.25MM, and there’s nothing to suggest he won’t be worth that money. Since he became a regular in 2014, Yelich has racked up 15.9 fWAR, with FanGraphs valuing that four-year performance at a whopping $125.6MM. He could have continued to be part of the solution in Miami, but with the Marlins in the early stages of a major teardown, they figured it would make more sense to cash in their top trade chip.
Of course, given all the pluses Yelich brings to the table, prying him out of Miami wasn’t easy. To secure Yelich, the Brewers waved goodbye to four prospects – outfielders Lewis Brinson and Monte Harrison, infielder Isan Diaz and right-hander Jordan Yamamoto. In Baseball America’s newest top 100 prospect list, which came out this past Monday, Brinson ranks 18th and Harrison 75th. There are also reasons for optimism that Diaz and Yamamoto will develop into productive major leaguers, as FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote in the wake of the trade. So, it’s fair to say the Brewers took a sizable bite out of their farm system to make this deal. Was it worth it?
(Link for App users)
Grade the Yelich trade from Milwaukee's perspective
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A 61% (11,572)
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B 28% (5,364)
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C 8% (1,449)
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D 2% (331)
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F 1% (221)
Total votes: 18,937
Dodgers Notes: Darvish, Kershaw, Utley, Kemp
On the possibility of re-signing free agent right-hander Yu Darvish, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi admitted Saturday that “there would be some hurdles for us to add any significant contracts at this point” (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, on Twitter). Zaidi didn’t specifically cite LA’s goal to stay under the $197MM luxury tax threshold, but Plunkett notes that the club doesn’t want to get any closer to the mark than it currently is. The Dodgers already have approximately $186MM committed to their 2018 roster. With Darvish seemingly poised to sign a contract worth in the neighborhood of $25MM per year sometime during this glacial offseason, a return to the reigning NL champs obviously looks unrealistic.
Here’s more on the Dodgers, courtesy of Plunkett unless otherwise noted:
- Darvish’s presence on the open market puts his future in question, and left-hander Clayton Kershaw could find himself in a similar position next winter if he opts out of his contract after the season. When discussing the option Friday, Kershaw said he’s focused on staying healthy in 2018, his age-30 season, and “everything will take care of itself from there.” While Kershaw is the game’s top pitcher when he’s available, back injuries limited him in both 2016 and ’17 – thus destroying his Cy Young chances in each campaign. Still, barring a disastrous 2018, it seems likely he’ll exit the final two years and $65MM of his contract in favor of securing a richer deal. Regardless of whether he hits the market in a year, Kershaw expects far more action in free agency than we’ve seen this winter – in part because teams intent on avoiding the tax (including the Dodgers) won’t have that same motivation.
- There’s mutual interest in a reunion between the Dodgers and free agent infielder Chase Utley, as Zaidi revealed that the two sides continue to “have conversations.” As a free agent last winter, Utley stayed on the market until late February before returning to the Dodgers for $2MM. He went on to provide solid bang for LA’s buck in his age-38 campaign, during which he hit .236/.324/.405 in 353 plate appearances.
- In an ideal world, the Dodgers would be able to dump outfielder Matt Kemp and his two-year, $43MM commitment on another club. Of course, they’ve had no luck in that department since acquiring the 33-year-old in an unusual, tax-geared trade with the Braves in December. Unless something changes by spring training, the Dodgers expect Kemp to be part of their left field competition, Zaidi informed reporters, including Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Joc Pederson, Andrew Toles, Enrique Hernandez, Alex Verdugo and Trayce Thompson will join Kemp in vying for roles, Gurnick writes. Kemp has gotten into “great shape” this offseason, per Zaidi, who contends that “a motivated Matt Kemp can help a lot of teams in baseball, including us.” Kemp hasn’t been all that helpful to any club since 2014, when he slashed .287/.346/.506 in 599 PAs to conclude his first tenure with the Dodgers. Even then, though, Kemp’s well-known defensive limitations somewhat offset his contributions at the plate.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Brewers, Jays, Rox, Pirates, Mets, Indians
This week in baseball blogs…
- The First Out At Third, Chin Music Baseball and Bronx To Bushville (links: 1, 2) each react to the Brewers’ acquisitions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain.
- Blue Jays Beat ponders the team’s next move after it came up short in the Yelich sweepstakes, while Blue Jay Hunter finds the silver lining in their failure to acquire him.
- The Junkball Daily makes an argument that Nolan Arenado is the game’s most complete slugger.
- The Point of Pittsburgh sees potential for a breakout from reliever Michael Feliz.
- 216Stitches isn’t sure if Joe Musgrove, who came with Feliz in the Gerrit Cole trade, is a good fit for the Pirates.
- The Sports Esquires explores the effects of the ongoing television rights dispute between the Nationals and Orioles.
- Baseball Takes evaluates J.D. Martinez.
- Good Fundies slams the Mets for operating like a small-market franchise.
- Believeland Ball takes a look at how Edwin Encarnacion‘s contract has affected the Indians’ strategy this offseason.
- Sports Talk Philly interviews longtime major leaguer Paul Konerko about one of his former teammates, new Hall of Famer Jim Thome.
- The Sports Tank pays tribute to Thome’s career.
- Camden Depot asks if Adam Jones is undervalued.
- Nyrdcast wants more moves from the Cardinals.
- District On Deck lists five potential midseason trade targets for the Nationals.
- Pirates Breakdown is frustrated that the Bucs seem to be lagging well behind some of their division rivals.
- Big Three Sports ranks the game’s 100 best prospects.
- East Village Times contends signing Eric Hosmer may be the Padres’ only chance to land a big-time free agent.
- Jays From the Couch assesses Toronto’s outfield options.
- Rotisserie Duck posits that Joey Votto may be the most underrated star in baseball.
- Pinstriped Prospects chats with Yankees right-handed prospect Taylor Widener.
- The 3rd Man In talks with Clemson slugger Seth Beer, one of the top prospects set to enter this year’s draft.
- The Loop Sports revisits the 2011 trade that saw the Cubs send DJ LeMahieu to the Rockies.
- The Giants Cove looks back at past labor strife and ahead to the next CBA negotations.
- The Runner Sports (links: 1, 2, 3) delves into the Twins’ pursuit of Yu Darvish, evaluates which ex-Yankees could make the Hall of Fame in 2019, and offers info on the Astros’ minor league coaching staffs.
- DiNardo’s Dugout (podcast) discusses the Brewers’ big moves and Hall of Fame snubs.
- Clubhouse Corner‘s Bernie Pleskoff discusses the melding and blending of money and metrics in baseball.
- Puckett’s Pond wonders if the Twins would be smart to extend Brian Dozier.
- Around the Foghorn analyzes the Giants’ signing of Austin Jackson.
- The K Zone is bullish on Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo.
- Rox Pile names five statistical areas in which the Rockies must improve in 2018.
- Everything Bluebirds highlights a few free agent relievers Toronto could sign to replace Dominic Leone.
- STL Hat Trick writes about what Leone will bring to the Cardinals.
- Notes from the Sally previews the 2018 Greenville Drive, Boston’s South Atlantic League affiliate.
- Dodgers Way projects the club’s 25-man roster.
- Real McCoy Minor News profiles Twins prospects Nick Gordon and Royce Lewis.
- NY Yankees Digest predicts who will make the Hall of Fame in 2019.
- Call to the Pen (links: 1, 2) focuses on potential starting pitcher targets for the Phillies, and spotlights a couple unheralded records that are likely unbreakable.
- Mets Daddy doesn’t see Trevor Hoffman as a deserving Hall of Famer.
- Motor City Bengals looks at what became of some members of the Tigers’ 2006 pennant-winning team.
Please send submissions to ZachBBWI @gmail.com.
Phillies Sign Francisco Rodriguez To Minor League Deal
The Phillies have signed reliever Francisco Rodriguez to a minor league contract, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports (Twitter links). Rodriguez will make $2.5MM plus incentives if he earns a spot on Philadelphia’s roster.
The 36-year-old K-Rod brings 437 career saves and a lifetime 2.86 ERA to the table, though he’s now forced to rebuild his stock after a disastrous 2017 in which he managed the worst velocity of his career. In 25 1/3 innings with the Tigers, Rodriguez pitched to an unsightly 7.82 ERA despite passable strikeout and walk rates (8.17 K/9, 3.91 BB/9). A career-low groundball rate (30.1 percent) and home run issues (3.2 per nine) helped lead to Rodriguez’s undoing in Detroit, which released him in late June. Rodriguez caught on with the Nationals a few days later, though the organization cut him in mid-July after he totaled a mere five innings in its minor league system.
Although last year was a nightmare for Rodriguez, he’s not far removed from a quality 2016 campaign in which he logged a 3.24 ERA over 58 1/3 innings with the Tigers. That season also saw Rodriguez register the highest grounder rate of his career (54.7 percent) and convert 44 of 49 save opportunities.
Rodriguez recently topped out at 93 mph while throwing for scouts, easily trumping last year’s high-80s and leading to offers from the Phillies and other clubs, per Heyman. If those gains stick, Rodriguez could emerge as a useful piece for a Phillies team whose bullpen welcomed a pair of pricey free agents – Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter – earlier this winter.
Central Notes: Brewers, Indians, Salazar, Pirates
A look around the Central divisions…
- The Brewers are loaded in the outfield in the wake of this week’s Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich acquisitions, and the club could mitigate the logjam by dealing one of its top trade chips, Domingo Santana. Doing so would presumably allow the Brewers to address their shaky rotation. With that in mind, the Brewers and starter-rich Indians seem like logical trade partners, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com observes. A deal centering on Santana and Indians righty Danny Salazar would make sense for both clubs, Hoynes opines, and Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com tweets that Milwaukee has shown interest in Salazar this offseason. The hard-throwing Salazar brings the more impressive big league track record of the two players, though age (25 to 28), team control (four years to three) and 2017 performance are all on Santana’s side.
- Milwaukee could also take from its outfield surplus by occasionally playing Ryan Braun at first base. Braun, for his part, is open to giving first a try in spring training, general manager David Stearns told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com and other reporters Friday. The 34-year-old hasn’t lined up in the infield since his rookie year, 2007, when he played 112 games at third base. Nevertheless, with injuries having limited Braun to 104 games last year, spending some time at first could be beneficial to his health, McCalvy notes. The Brewers already have a pair of viable first basemen in Eric Thames and Jesus Aguilar, but it seems a healthy Braun would at least be an offensive upgrade over Aguilar – a fellow righty-swinger whose 2017 production plummeted after the All-Star break.
- Pirates left-hander Nik Turley received an 80-game suspension Saturday after testing positive for Ipamorelin, a performance-enhancing drug. The 28-year-old will go on the restricted list, thus opening up a spot on the Pirates’ 40-man roster (which was at capacity before his ban). Turley is in his first offseason with the Pirates, who claimed him off waivers from the Twins in November. The former Yankees prospect made his big league debut with Minnesota last season and struggled across 10 appearances (11.21 ERA, 6.62 K/9 and 4.08 BB/9 in 17 2/3 innings).
Brewers Reportedly Close To Making Trade
There’s “buzz” that the Brewers are closing in on a trade, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports. Crasnick doesn’t offer any details about an exact trade partner or players involved, though he notes that the Brewers have been discussing outfielders with multiple teams (Twitter link).
At present, the Brewers have several outfielders who are either established major leaguers or players who are closing in on regular roles. The group includes Ryan Braun, Domingo Santana, Keon Broxton, Brett Phillips and Lewis Brinson. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported earlier this month that the Brewers could move someone from that quintet for much-needed starting pitching and to open up room for free agent center fielder Lorenzo Cain. The 31-year-old Cain was a “frequent topic of conversation” for Milwaukee’s front office, Rosenthal wrote at the time.
If a deal does happen, it won’t be with San Francisco, according to Crasnick, even though the Giants and Brewers discussed Santana and Broxton earlier this offseason. The White Sox, on the other hand, are a possibility, Crasnick suggests (via Twitter).
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds (on Twitter) that the Brewers have been shopping Santana since last month’s Winter Meetings, and he notes that they’re also in the market for second base help. Milwaukee received disappointing production at the keystone most of last season from Jonathan Villar, who remains in the fold. Villar’s down season led the Brewers to acquire Neil Walker last August. Although Walker thrived during his month and a half with the Brewers, he’s currently a free agent.
Quick Hits: Cobb, Uehara, Slow Offseason
Right-hander Alex Cobb entered free agency among the best available players, a 30-year-old destined to land one of the offseason’s richest contracts. While a hefty payday should still come, Cobb – like the rest of this year’s premier free agents – continues to wait for a deal nearly three months after the market opened. Cobb acknowledged to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that his trip to free agency during this famously plodding winter hasn’t gone according to plan, noting that “somewhere between November and December you realize how slow things are going and you kind of start reading the writing on the wall that this is a little bit of a different offseason than years before.” Cobb added that there has been frustration along the way, though he realizes he’s in the same situation as so many other unsigned players. “You just kind of change your frame of mind to accepting the fact that this thing is going to go down to the wire and you get comfortable with that,” he told Topkin in a piece that features other interesting quotes.
- Reliever Koji Uehara also seems perturbed with this offseason’s free agent process. And at 42 years old (43 in March), he’s unsure if he’s going to receive a major league offer. If one doesn’t come, Uehara could call it quits. “I’ll retire if I’m only offered a minor league deal,” he said (via the Kyodo News). “There have been some talks, but no offers have been forthcoming. It seems like something’s on the horizon and then it isn’t. I can be patient for a little longer.” In the event Uehara does secure a big league pact for 2018, he’s “more than 90 percent certain” he’ll stick with his previously stated goal to retire after the season. That would give him 10 major league campaigns and 10 years as a pro in his native Japan. Despite his age, Uehara remained a major league-caliber reliever in 2017. As a member of the Cubs, the righty registered a 3.98 ERA with 10.47 K/9 and 2.51 BB/9 across 43 innings.
- As MLB and the MLBPA spar over the league’s forthcoming implementation of a pitch clock, Buster Olney of ESPN writes that the two sides’ relationship may be at its worst point since the 1994-95 labor stoppage. The current collective bargaining agreement (which expires in December 2021) is seemingly a key reason, as many agents have suggested to Olney that the MLBPA “lost enormous financial ground” when it agreed to the CBA a year ago. As mentioned earlier, there’s a lack of movement in free agency; some agents believe the market inactivity has helped lead to the union’s close-mindedness toward the league’s ideas to speed up pace of play, per Olney, who argues that would be senseless on the MLBPA’s part. While there are plenty of theories about what has caused the offseason to go the way it has, one agent opined to Olney that collusion on the part of teams isn’t an issue. “I don’t think for one instant that this is collusion,” stated the agent. “[The union] negotiated the terms of this CBA, and it’s up to us [the agents] to adjust and give the best possible advice to our clients based on the market.”
- Continuing with the slow winter theme, Travis Sawchik of The Athletic observes that teams’ growing skepticism toward paying for free agents’ decline years is among the primary reasons for the glacial pace (subscription required/highly recommended). Indeed, one executive told Sawchik that “it’s not if you will lose on free agency, it’s how much you will lose.” Sawchik goes on to posit that the longer the offseason stays this way, the more likely it is low- to mid-spending teams could land quality players at discounted costs. He points to the Pirates’ signing of David Freese in 2016 and the Indians’ addition of Edwin Encarnacion last winter as recent examples of that happening.
5 Key Stories: 1/13/18 – 1/20/18
Here are the biggest stories MLBTR has featured since last weekend…
Pittsburgh says goodbye to two stars: Dating back to the 2016 season, it seemed like a matter of when – not if – the Pirates would trade center fielder Andrew McCutchen and right-hander Gerrit Cole. It finally happened in separate deals over the past week. McCutchen went to San Francisco for two players, and Cole headed to Houston to join the reigning champions in a package that netted the Bucs a quartet of potential contributors.
McCutchen and Cole (particularly the former) were terrific Pirates during their long tenures with the organization, but their lack of team control helped lead to the end of both eras. The 31-year-old McCutchen is only signed through the upcoming season, and it seemed unlikely before the trade that the Pirates would extend him. While Cole has two more years remaining, the low-payroll Pirates weren’t going to re-up the Scott Boras client before his eventual trip to free agency. As such, general manager Neal Huntington took what he believed were the best offers for both players. Some Pirates fans are incredibly displeased, though, even petitioning for owner Bob Nutting to sell the franchise.
…But Felipe Rivero‘s sticking around: The Pirates’ excellent closer was already under control via arbitration for the next four seasons, but the club elected to extend him anyway. In doing so, the Bucs bought out all of Rivero’s arb years and potentially a couple free agent seasons. The reasonably priced deal guarantees the 26-year-old left-hander $22MM, while each option (2022 and ’23) is worth what will be a team-friendly $10MM if Rivero’s dominance continues. In 2017, his first full season in Pittsburgh, the ex-National saved 21 of 23 opportunities and pitched to a 1.67 ERA across 75 1/3 innings. In the process, Rivero notched 10.51 K/9 against 2.39 BB/9 and logged a 52.9 percent groundball rate.
Padres extend a (Brad) Hand: San Diego’s Hand, another of the game’s premier southpaw relievers, landed an extension before Rivero. Like Rivero, Hand was already under control prior to the deal, as he wouldn’t have been eligible for free agency until after 2019. Hand’s payday is for a guaranteed $19.75MM over the next three years, and it also comes with a $10MM club option for 2021. The soon-to-be 28-year-old Hand had been popular in trade rumors prior to the extension, but he could now be part of the next good Padres team – if their rebuild goes as planned, that is. Hand was about as effective as Rivero last season, with a 2.16 ERA, 11.8 K/9 against 2.27 BB/9 and a 46.3 percent grounder rate over 79 1/3 frames.
Blue Jays add power to outfield: The Blue Jays picked up a couple home run-hitting corner outfielders in Randal Grichuk, whom they acquired from the Cardinals, and free agent signing Curtis Granderson. Grichuk, a 26-year-old right-handed hitter, cost Toronto reliever Dominic Leone – who was a standout in 2017 – as well as pitching prospect Conner Greene. The lefty-swinging Granderson pulled in a one-year, $5MM guarantee entering his age-37 season. With Grichuk and Granderson in the fold, GM Ross Atkins acknowledged that the Jays could listen to offers for corner outfielders Steve Pearce and Ezequiel Carrera.
A few other recognizable free agents come off the board: Surprisingly, the Twins reeled in reliever Addison Reed for just $16.75MM over two years – a much lower guarantee than most expected entering the offseason. A desire to play in the Midwest reportedly helped lead Reed to Minnesota, where he’s likely to set up for recently signed closer Fernando Rodney. At 29, Reed is the youngest free agent to find a team over the past week-plus. Aside from the previously mentioned Granderson, a slew of other 30-somethings in Jay Bruce, Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick and Brian Duensing also exited the market.
Bruce got the richest deal (three years, $39MM) and is once again a member of the Mets, with whom he played parts of the previous two seasons. Gonzalez will join him as part of the 2018 Mets, though his previous employer – the Braves, who released him in December after a luxury tax-geared trade with the Dodgers – will take care of nearly all of his $22MM salary. The Mets will only pay Gonzalez a minimum salary. Kendrick, who finished 2017 with the Nationals after they acquired him from the Phillies at midseason, returned to Washington for a two-year, $7MM guarantee. He figures to once again offer the Nats a quality utility player. And after a resurgent 2017, Duensing re-upped with the Cubs – also on a two-year, $7MM contract.