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Quick Hits: Ozuna, Giants, Jays, Mets, BoSox, Rosario, Ottavino

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The Giants and Blue Jays are among the teams that are interested in free-agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter links: 1, 2). Ozuna spent a good portion of 2020 as a designated hitter for the Braves, so he seems an imperfect fit for the Giants. After all, there’s no word on whether the NL will retain the DH position next year. Ozuna would be a cleaner fit for the Blue Jays, though. The Jays don’t seem to need help in the corner outfield, where they have Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez, but Ozuna could be a DH solution for the club.

  • The Mets interviewed Michael Hill for a front office job early last month, but they don’t appear likely to hire the former Miami executive. The team hasn’t spoken to Hill since president Sandy Alderson said Nov. 23 that it won’t hire a president of baseball ops, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports. The Mets are still on the lookout for a general manager, however.
  • The Red Sox have shown interest in free-agent outfielder Eddie Rosario, Morosi tweets. The Twins non-tendered Rosario on Wednesday as opposed to paying him in the $8.6MM to $12.9MM range in arbitration. The power-hitting Rosario would join Alex Verdugo to form Boston’s tandem of corner outfielders.
  • Yankees right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino has come up in trade speculation, though the 35-year-old unsurprisingly said this week he’d like to remain with the club (via Ken Davidoff of the New York Post). “I want to stay on the team. I want to prove my worth. I want to pitch well,” he told Davidoff. “I want to finish what we tried to start these last few years and win that title and all that.” Ottavino had a great first season with the Yankees in 2019 after signing a three-year, $27MM contract, but the former Rockie’s run prevention numbers took steps backward during the previous campaign. He wound up with a horrid 5.89 ERA in 18 1/3 innings, though Ottavino logged a 3.52 FIP (not far from the 3.44 mark he posted the prior year) and 12.27 K/9 against 4.42 BB/9.

Yankees Have Shown Interest In Michael Brantley

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The Yankees have been in contact with free-agent outfielder Michael Brantley, Buster Olney of ESPN tweets.

The 33-year-old Brantley, a four-time All-Star, has been a well-above-average hitter with the Indians and Astros since his career began in 2009. Most recently, Brantley slashed .300/.364/.476 (134 wRC+) with five home runs in 187 plate appearances in 2020. The Astros did not issue him a qualifying offer after the season, so any team that signs him would not give up draft-pick compensation.

While Brantley is an appealing free agent and a left-hander who would add more balance to a righty-heavy Yankees lineup, it’s fair to wonder where he would fit on their roster. Brantley has spent most of his career in left field, where the Yankees have 2020 breakout player Clint Frazier. Similarly, right field is spoken for because of Aaron Judge’s presence. Although Brantley saw more time than ever at designated hitter last season, Giancarlo Stanton has that spot locked down in New York. So, despite the interest the club has shown, it’s difficult to envision a Yankees-Brantley union happening without a significant corresponding move taking place.

Cardinals, John Gant Avoid Arbitration

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The Cardinals and right-handed reliever John Gant have reached a one-year, $2.1MM agreement to avoid arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. His salary is fully guaranteed.

Gant had been projected to earn $1.5MM to $1.9MM in arbitration, so the actual salary he’ll make in 2021 isn’t too far off from that. The 28-year-old seems well worth the money he’ll make next season, as he has been a highly productive member of the Cardinals’ bullpen over the past few seasons.

Gant debuted in 2016 with the Braves, with whom he didn’t post great numbers that season. The Braves then traded Gant to the Cardinals in a deal involving Jaime Garcia, but he was hardly lights-out during his initial action in St. Louis. However, Gant has been an integral part of the Cardinals’ bullpen dating back to 2018. The 28-year-old owns a 3.46 ERA/3.81 FIP with 7.97 K/9, 4.52 BB/9 and a 46.6 percent groundball rate in 195 1/3 innings in the past three seasons. Next year will be Gant’s penultimate season of team control.

Mariners, Sam Travis Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners announced that they and first baseman/outfielder Sam Travis have agreed to a minor league contract. Travis was previously with the Rangers, who acquired him from the Red Sox in January.

Travis was a second-round pick in 2014 who was once regarded as a high-end prospect. He was quite productive in Boston’s minor league system through 2017, but success in the majors has been hard to come by so far. The 27-year-old hit a subpar .230/.288/.371 with seven home runs in 278 plate appearances as a member of the Red Sox from 2017-19. He didn’t appear in the majors last season.

Travis will now join a team that has a set first baseman in Evan White. While White didn’t hit much in 2020, the Mariners signed him to a six-year, $24MM contract before then, and he went on to win a Gold Glove Award as a rookie. Travis has also seen some action in the corner outfield, though, so he could factor in there for the Mariners if he earns a roster spot.

Staten Island Yankees Cease Operations; Team Files Lawsuit Against Yankees, MLB

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In the latest negative minor league baseball news, the longtime Single-A Yankees affiliate in Staten Island announced Thursday on Twitter that it has ceased operations and will sue both the Yankees and Major League Baseball.

In part of its statement (all of which is available at the link), the Staten Island club said, “The New York Yankees announced on November 7, 2020 that the Staten Island Yankees were no longer part of the Yankees minor league affiliation structure, even though the Yankees had made repeated assurances we would always be a minor league partner.”

Staten Island is under the impression the Yankees want them to become an “unaffiliated” team, which the minors club doesn’t believe would make for “a sustainable business entity.” As such, Staten Island is stopping operations, and the team has “filed a lawsuit against the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball to hold those entities accountable for false promises.”

This continues a brutal year for minor league baseball, which didn’t even have a 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic and is facing a “radical restructuring” that could eliminate a slew of teams. Staten Island, which has been a Yankees affiliate since 1999, appears as if it will fall victim to these unfortunate circumstances.

Rangers Sign Joe Gatto, Scott Heineman To Major League Deals

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The Rangers have signed right-hander Joe Gatto to a major league contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. They also re-signed outfielder Scott Heineman to a majors pact, TR Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. The team non-tendered Heineman on Wednesday. He has a split contract that would pay him $595K in the majors, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.

It’s somewhat surprising that Gatto, who hasn’t pitched above Double-A ball to this point, received a big league deal. The 25-year-old spent a large portion of 2018 in Double-A and all of 2019 there with the Angels organization. He combined for a 5.36 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 in 131 innings during those two seasons.

While Gatto hasn’t had great success in Double-A, he was a prospect of note during his younger days. A second-round pick of the Angels in 2014, Gatto ranked as one of their top 10 prospects at Baseball America during his first couple years with the franchise. Back when the team drafted him, Gatto was seen as one of the most talented righties to come out of New Jersey in recent memory.

Heineman, 27, has been with the Rangers since they used an 11th-rounder on him in 2015. He has often mashed in the minors, including when he hit .340/.412/.553 in 182 Triple-A plate appearances in 2019, but his success there hasn’t translated to the bigs. Heineman owns a .189/.259/.331 line with three home runs in 139 plate appearances as a Ranger.

Athletics Name Mark Kotsay Third Base Coach

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The Athletics announced that Mark Kotsay will take over as their third base coach in 2021. He’ll succeed Al Pedrique, whom the team parted with in October. The rest of the A’s coaching staff from last season will remain intact.

Kotsay is a former major league outfielder who spent part of his career (2004-07) as a member of the A’s. Since his playing days ended in 2013, Kotsay has garnered coaching and front office experience with a pair of teams. The Padres, with whom he also played, hired him as a special assistant and then a hitting coach in 2014. He spent a year there before heading back to Oakland.

The third base coach role will be the third different assignment Kotsay has had during his time on the A’s staff. He started as their bench coach but later became their quality control coach. Kotsay has since generated managerial interest around the majors, including from the Tigers this offseason. The 44-year-old figures to remain on other teams’ radars going forward.

Brewers Non-Tender Ben Gamel, Alex Claudio, Jace Peterson

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8:06pm: Reports of Knebel being non-tendered proved premature, as he’s been traded to the Dodgers, per announcements from both teams. (More on that transaction here.)

8:05pm: The Brewers have also non-tendered outfielder Ben Gamel, lefty Alex Claudio and utilityman Jace Peterson, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports.

The 28-year-old Gamel hit .237/.315/.404 while playing outfield spots in 2020, but the Brewers opted not to give him a raise on last year’s $1.4MM salary. It was a rough day for corner outfielders across the board, with several notable names hitting the market.

Claudio, 29 in January, posted serviceable results in 19 innings but saw his elite ground-ball rate trend more toward league-average levels this past season. Peterson’s non-tender isn’t particularly surprising given his status as a journeyman utility piece who has been on four teams in the past four seasons.

7:16pm: The Brewers have non-tendered right-handed reliever Corey Knebel, Robert Murray of FanSided tweets. He had been projected to earn more than $5MM in arbitration.

Now 29 years old, Knebel was one of the majors’ most dominant relievers for a short time. At his best, Knebel threw 76 innings of 1.78 ERA/2.53 FIP ball with 14.92 K/9 and 4.74 BB/9 en route to his lone All-Star nod in 2017. Knebel was again highly effective the next season, but he underwent Tommy John surgery before 2019 and wasn’t able to return to form this past season.

During his comeback with the Brewers, Knebel could only muster a 6.08 ERA/6.64 FIP with 10.13 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9 across 13 1/3 frames. Knebel also saw his average fastball drop from around 97 mph in his peak to 94.4 in 2020. That said, he should still draw a fair amount of interest as a buy-low, bounce-back candidate in free agency.

Twins Non-Tender Eddie Rosario, Matt Wisler

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7:30pm: The Twins have non-tendered Rosario, per a team announcement. They’ve also opted not to tender a contract to right-hander Matt Wisler.

Wisler’ departure is somewhat of a surprise, given that he pitched to a 1.07 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. Wisler allowed far too many walks (14) and hit a pair of batters as well, but his departure thins out a relief corps that has already lost Trevor May, Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard.

Dec. 2, 1:35pm: Rosario has cleared waivers, according to multiple reports (including this tweet from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale).

Dec. 1: The Twins have placed outfielder Eddie Rosario on outright waivers, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The club previously tried to find a taker for Rosario in a trade, but it wasn’t able to do so, according to Rosenthal.

Rosario has until Wednesday to join another team on waivers. If not, the Twins could non-tender Rosario or try to re-sign him for less than the $8.6MM to $12.9MM he’s projected to receive in arbitration this winter. Rosario is slated to go through arbitration for the final time in the coming months.

The 29-year-old Rosario has spent his entire career with the Twins, who chose him in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. He has typically been a productive hitter since he debuted in 2015, evidenced by his .277/.310/.478 line across 2,830 plate appearances. Rosario has even hit at least 24 home runs on three occasions, including a career-best 32 in 2019, but his somewhat above-average offensive production might not be enough to keep him in a Twins uniform. The club has touted outfield prospects Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach nearing MLB readiness, making it no surprise that it seems willing to cut the cord on Rosario.

Assuming he hits free agency next, Rosario should draw a decent amount of interest on the open market. He’d be one of the most appealing corner-capable outfielders available behind the likes of George Springer, Marcell Ozuna and Michael Brantley, who should earn much richer deals. Teams that need help in the outfield but aren’t willing to spend on any of those three could pivot to Rosario.

Blue Jays Non-Tender Travis Shaw, A.J. Cole

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The Blue Jays have non-tendered corner infielder Travis Shaw and reliever A.J. Cole, Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star tweets.

Formerly a productive third baseman with the Brewers, Shaw endured a terrible 2019 in his final season with the club. The Blue Jays still signed him to a $4MM guarantee last offseason, and while Shaw did post much better numbers, they weren’t enough for him to remain in their plans at a similar salary for 2021. The 30-year-old ended the season as a .239/.306/.411 hitter with six home runs in 180 plate appearances.

Cole has struggled with home runs at times, though he only yielded them on 9.7 percent of fly balls in 2020, helping him to a terrific 3.09 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. But some of Cole’s other numbers, including a 4.31 FIP, 7.71 K/9 and 3.47 BB/9, were less impressive. He’d have only made around $1MM via arbitration, but the Blue Jays weren’t willing to keep him around for that.

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