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Braves Re-Sign Marcell Ozuna

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7:56pm: The Braves have designated outfielder Kyle Garlick for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Ozuna’s re-signing, according to David O’Brien of The Athletic. Formerly a Dodger and Phillie, Garlick joined the Braves as a waiver claim on Jan. 23.

7:27pm: The Braves are re-signing outfielder Marcell Ozuna to a four-year deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The club has announced the move, and it’s a $65MM guarantee that could reach $80MM if the Braves pick up an option in Year 5, per Robert Murray of Fansided. Hector Gomez reported earlier Friday that Ozuna was close to returning to Atlanta. The buyout in 2025 is worth $1MM, Craig Mish of SportsGrid relays. Ozuna is a client of CAA Sports.

This is an enormous raise for Ozuna, a former Marlin and Cardinal who parlayed a history of above-average production into an $18MM guarantee with the Braves last winter. It ended up as a great move by Atlanta, as Ozuna slashed a monstrous .338/.431/.636 with 18 home runs in 60 games and 267 plate appearances. Along with his stellar bottom-line numbers, Ozuna ranked as an elite hitter by Statcast’s standards.

If there’s any criticism of Ozuna’s 2020, it’s that he didn’t play much defense, only lining up in the outfield 21 times during a year in which the National League featured the universal designated hitter. It remains unclear whether the NL will keep the DH around in 2021, but even if it doesn’t, the Braves will bank on the 30-year-old Ozuna’s offensive abilities remaining intact. The back-to-back-to-back NL East champions clearly needed to either re-sign Ozuna or pick up another big bat to replace him this offseason, and now they have succeeded in retaining one of MLB’s premier hitters.

Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos isn’t known for signing players to long-term deals, but he made an exception in this case to keep together an offense built around Ozuna, 2020 NL MVP Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. The Braves made earlier notable free-agent signings when they added starters Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly on shorter pacts. Considering what the Braves have done this offseason, they ought to be a force again in the NL East next season, though the Mets, Nationals, Phillies and Marlins should make it difficult on them to win the division yet again.

The MLB offseason got off to an incredibly slow start, but high-end free agents have come flying off the board in the past few weeks. Ozuna’s re-signing means none of MLBTR’s top 10 free agents from the beginning of the winter are left without jobs. MLBTR ranked Ozuna fourth among available players and predicted he would earn a four-year, $72MM deal.

FA News & Rumors: Puig, Phils, Mets, Dee, Soria

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Despite sitting out all of last season, outfielder Yasiel Puig looks as if he could be an interesting and inexpensive pickup for someone this winter. The problem is that no one seems to be aggressively pursuing Puig. The Royals, Marlins and Yankees have all been connected to Puig in recent weeks, but none of them are going after him, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Puig, who turned 30 in December, was a standout with the Dodgers earlier in his career, but he endured a mediocre 2019 between the Reds and Indians and sat on the open market for all of last year. While Puig did appear to have a deal with the Braves in the summer, that collapsed when he tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-July.

  • The Phillies have shown interest in a pair of utility players – Marwin Gonzalez (previously reported) and Brad Miller – as well as outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, according to Heyman. The division-rival Mets are also considering Gonzalez, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com relays. Gonzalez and Miller are fits just about anywhere because of their histories of combining respectable offense with defensive versatility, whereas the Phillies and other NL teams look like an imperfect match for Choo. Not only is he 38 years old, but Choo has struggled as a defender for most of his career.
  • Four to five teams are in the mix for middle infielder/outfielder Dee Strange-Gordon, and he could make a decision on his next club by week’s end, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. The Red Sox were interested in Strange-Gordon earlier this offseason, but they’re likely out of the running after signing fellow infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernandez, per Cotillo. The Reds are reportedly one of the teams in on the 32-year-old speedster, who’s a free agent at an inopportune time after three consecutive dismal seasons with the Mariners.
  • Veteran reliever Joakim Soria agreed to join the Diamondbacks for a $3.5MM guarantee Wednesday, but he turned down bigger offers from elsewhere to do so, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The 36-year-old right-hander, a two-time All-Star who turned in his latest solid season with the Athletics in 2020, is in line to close for Arizona.

Cubs Designate Max Schrock

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The Cubs have designated infielder Max Schrock for assignment, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. The DFA helps clear room for Joc Pederson, Trevor Williams and Andrew Chafin, whom the Cubs recently agreed to sign.

Schrock had a short stay on the Cubs’ 40-man roster, as they claimed him off waivers from the Cardinals at the end of October. The 26-year-old has limited major league experience (17 plate appearances, all of which came in 2o20) and hasn’t posted impressive production at the Triple-A level. Over 760 PA there, Schrock has batted .260/.324/.350 with six home runs.

Tigers Designate Travis Demeritte

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The Tigers announced that they have designated outfielder Travis Demeritte for assignment. His 40-man roster spot will go to second baseman Jonathan Schoop, whom the team agreed to re-sign Friday.

Demeritte was a first-round pick (No. 3o) of the Rangers in 2013 who became a member of the Braves organization in 2016. The Braves wound up trading Demeritte to the Tigers in a 2019 deal centering on reliever Shane Greene, though Demeritte never made much of a mark in the Motor City. Between 2019-20, Demeritte batted just .217/.284/.323 with three home runs in 219 plate appearances.

Despite his issues in the bigs, Demeritte may appeal to other teams. Still just 26 years old, Demeritte has slashed .286/.387/.558 in 399 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. He also has two minor league options remaining.

Tigers To Re-Sign Jonathan Schoop

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The Tigers are re-signing second baseman Jonathan Schoop to a one-year, $4.5MM contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Schoop is a client of VC Sports Group.

A member of the Orioles, Brewers and Twins earlier in his career, Schoop signed a $6.1MM deal with the Tigers heading into last season. At his best, Schoop slashed .293/.338/.503 with 32 home runs in 675 plate appearances as an Oriole in 2017. Schoop has never been that effective in any other season, but he did do a nice job last year as a member of the Tigers, with whom he batted .278/.324/.475 with eight homers over 177 trips to the plate. However, the 29-year-old did have a difficult season by Statcast’s standards, ranking way below average in most important categories, including exit velocity, hard-hit rate and expected weighted on-base average.

The Tigers, though, aren’t necessarily pushing for a star at the keystone right now. For the most part, as a rebuilding team that doesn’t figure to fight for a playoff spot in the near future, Detroit wants veteran Band-Aids to fit positions not occupied by younger players. Keeping the 29-year-old Schoop seems to make sense for the Tigers, then, considering they’re only guaranteeing him one more season on their roster. Meanwhile, free agency has lost yet another capable starter at second.

Top 10 Remaining Free Agents

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It took more than two months, but high-end free agents have finally come flying off the board in Major League Baseball over the past few weeks. J.T. Realmuto, George Springer, DJ LeMahieu, Didi Gregorius, Masahiro Tanaka, Liam Hendriks, Michael Brantley, Marcus Semien, Andrelton Simmons, Joc Pederson, Jose Quintana and Nelson Cruz – all among MLBTR’s top 20 free agents when the offseason began – have agreed to deals since 2021 opened. The open market does still feature several notable names from MLBTR’s rankings, though, as you’ll see below…

1.) Trevor Bauer, RHP (original prediction: four years, $128MM)

  • The reigning NL Cy Young winner remains without an employer as spring training approaches, though a resolution could come very soon. It may now be a two-horse race between the Mets and Dodgers to secure Bauer’s services.

4.) Marcell Ozuna, OF/DH (original prediction: four years, $72MM)

  • Ozuna is still in limbo partly because MLB hasn’t announced whether the universal DH will return in 2021. He spent most of his season there last year with Atlanta and was a premier hitter in terms of both bottom-line production and Statcast figures. The Dodgers, Brewers, Yankees, Red Sox and Twins have been connected to Ozuna in the rumor mill. The Twins have since agreed to re-sign DH Nelson Cruz, so Ozuna may have lost one suitor this week.

11.) Jake Odorizzi, RHP (original prediction: three years, $39MM)

  • While Odorizzi went through a difficult and injury-shortened year as a Twin in 2020, they’re still interested in re-signing him. At least a few other teams are targeting the 30-year-old, so he figures to land on his feet with a nice deal in the coming weeks.

14.) Justin Turner, 3B (original prediction: two years, $24MM)

  • There appear to be four finalists for Turner, who has been a tremendous contributor for the Dodgers dating back to his 2014 breakout. A return to the Dodgers is on the table, though Turner’s age (36) is working against him when it comes to earning power. It’s possible neither Los Angeles nor any other team will give him more than a two-year deal.

21.) Jackie Bradley Jr., CF (original prediction: two years, $16MM)

  • With George Springer off the board, Bradley is undoubtedly the premier center field option left in free agency. The longtime member of the Red Sox, 30, has received interest from Boston, the Mets and the Giants over the past couple of weeks. He’s reportedly shooting for “a significant contract,” possibly for more than four years.

22.) James Paxton, LHP (original prediction: one year, $10MM)

  • Paxton held a showcase that up to 20 teams attended at the end of December, and it apparently went well. The Blue Jays, Mets, Cardinals and Phillies are among the clubs that have shown some interest in the 32-year-old Canadian. Paxton endured an injury-wrecked 2020 with the Yankees, so he’s not a free agent at the best time, but he’s only two seasons removed from putting up very good production and has historically held his own when healthy.

23.) Taijuan Walker, RHP (original prediction: two years, $16MM)

  • After a trade from the Mariners, Walker closed the year with the flourish as a member of the Blue Jays, though it’s unclear whether they’re interested in re-signing him. The 28-year-old combined for a 2.70 ERA in 53 1/3 innings between the two teams, but that came with a much less impressive 4.60 SIERA and below-average strikeout and swinging-strike rates.

27.) Trevor Rosenthal, RP (original prediction: two years, $14MM)

  • The former St. Louis closer was brilliant last season between the Royals and Padres, which came after a couple of trying years owing to injury and poor performance. Rosenthal is now the No. 1 reliever left on the board. San Diego and Toronto are a couple of the teams that have considered him so far.

32.) Yadier Molina, C (original prediction: one year, $10MM)

  • While Molina has gotten interest from other teams this offseason, a reunion with the Cardinals seems inevitable. The 38-year-old has been been part of the organization since it drafted him in 2000, and indications are that he and the Cards want to stick together.

46.) Rick Porcello, RHP (original prediction: one year, $5MM)

  • Porcello is nowhere near the AL Cy Young winner he was with the Red Sox in 2016, but he remains an innings eater who can at least fill out the back of a team’s rotation. However, the rumor mill centering on the 32-year-old has been quiet this winter.

Angels To Acquire Dexter Fowler

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9:57pm: The Angels are receiving $12.75MM in the deal, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

9:28pm: The Angels will acquire switch-hitting outfielder Dexter Fowler from the Cardinals, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Along with Fowler, they’re getting cash considerations from the Cardinals, per an announcement from the Halos. That makes it clear this is a salary dump on the Cards’ part. Fowler waived a no-trade clause to make this swap possible.

The Cardinals signed Fowler to a five-year, $82.5MM contract before the 2017 campaign, but the former Rockie, Astro and Cub hasn’t necessarily lived up to the deal so far. Fowler, who will turn 35 next month, batted .233/.334/.408 with 49 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 1,500 plate appearances as a Redbird. He’s owed another $14.5MM in 2021, the final year of his deal, but the Cardinals are moving on after acquiring former Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado’s massive contract earlier this week. Harrison Bader, Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson look as if they’ll be the team’s starting outfielders in 2021.

Fowler should be a stopgap for the Angels, who have the preeminent player in the game in center fielder Mike Trout. Left fielder Justin Upton is also still in the fold, while high-end prospects Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh haven’t established themselves in the bigs yet. Fowler, who played under now-Angels manager Joe Maddon as a Cub, should keep the seat warm in right until one of those two are ready to take over for good.

“We think there’s a lot left in the tank,” Angels general manger Perry Minasian said of Fowler (via Nightengale).

Twins, Giants Swap LaMonte Wade Jr., Shaun Anderson

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The Twins have traded outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. to the Giants for right-hander Shaun Anderson, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said earlier Thursday the team was looking for a left-handed-hitting outfielder whom they could option to the minors if necessary, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted. Wade checks those boxes. The 27-year-old has one option left, though whether he’ll prove to be a solution for the Giants at the major league level remains to be seen. He batted an unspectacular .211/.336/.347 in 113 plate appearances as a Twin from 2019-20, but Wade has put up decent production in the minors and always shown that he has a good eye. So far in the majors, Wade has amassed almost as many walks (15) as strikeouts (18). He’ll now attempt to join the Giants as a backup outfielder, as they already have Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson, Mauricio Dubon and Austin Slater in line for jobs.

Anderson, 26, pitched to a 5.17 ERA/5.26 SIERA with below-average strikeout and walk rates of 17.8 and 10.1 percent, respectively, as a Giant in 111 1/3 innings from 2019-20. But Anderson averaged almost 95 mph on his fastball last year, owns a 3.99 ERA in 85 2/3 frames in Triple-A frames, and has two options left. The Twins’ rotation is largely set with Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda, J.A. Happ and Randy Dobnak, but Anderson adds some depth as a starter or reliever for the organization.

Latest On Mets, Trevor Bauer

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While Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Mets have reached an agreement with right-hander Trevor Bauer, the top free agent on the board, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com offers different information, tweeting that the two sides do not have a deal yet. Indeed, agent Rachel Luba suggested on Twitter that there is not a contract in place.

While Bauer does not appear to be on his way to New York at this juncture, the team is said to be one of the two finalists for the reigning National League Cy Young winner. The Dodgers are also vying for the 30-year-old Bauer, who starred with the Reds last season and entered the winter as MLBTR’s top-ranked free agent. It’s unclear what the Dodgers are willing to offer Bauer, but the Mets are reportedly in the three-year, $100MM range and considered the favorites to sign him. That deal would be one of the richest ever given to a player on an annual basis, but it would fall short of Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s record of $36MM per season.

If he does go to the Mets, Bauer would be the big-splash signing their fans were expecting when deep-pocketed owner Steve Cohen took over the club earlier this offseason. The Cohen-led Mets have made some aggressive moves on his watch (the Francisco Lindor/Carlos Carrasco trade and the signings of James McCann and Trevor May, to name some), but they’ve yet to land an elite-tier free agent. That may change soon, though.

White Sox To Sign Jonathan Lucroy To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox are signing free-agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy to a minor league contract, pending a physical, Robert Murray of Fansided reports.

Now 34 years old, Lucroy was one of baseball’s finest all-around backstops during his heyday with the Brewers and Rangers from 2010-16. But Lucroy’s production, both behind the plate and as a hitter, has since deteriorated. Dating back to 2017, the two-time All-Star has batted .253/.319/.348 with 10 home runs in a combined 935 plate appearances with the Rangers, Rockies, Athletics, Angels and Cubs, and his once-elite pitch-framing skills have also eroded. While Lucroy did spend time with the Red Sox and Phillies last season, he didn’t pick up a plate appearance with either team.

Lucroy will now try for a backup role with the White Sox, who have an outstanding starter in Yasmani Grandal. He and James McCann were Chicago’s top two options in 2020, but the latter departed in free agency for a four-year, $40MM contract with the Mets. McCann’s exit left the White Sox with Grandal and Zack Collins as their No. 1 and 2 catchers. Fellow backstops Seby Zavala and Yermin Mercedes are also on the team’s 40-man roster.

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