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MLB Releases 2019-20 International Bonus Pools

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Major League Baseball has released the bonus pools for each team for the 2019-20 international market, as Baseball America’s Ben Badler provides. There are no longer any carryover spending limitations from the prior international system, so every team is free now to operate without limitation under the new rules — though there is one organization that still faces a notable limitation.

Before we get to the numbers, here’s a quick primer on the specifics of the international free agency system (as adapted from a prior post from MLBTR’s Steve Adams).

  • Hard Cap: Under the prior system, clubs could exceed their spending allocation if they were willing to accept penalties. Now, they face a hard cap.
  • Trades: Teams may trade for up to 75 percent of their originally allotted bonus pool; they are free to trade away all of their pool availability if they so choose. Spending capacity must be traded in increments of $250K — unless it includes the last portion of a team’s pool.
  • Competitive Balance funds: Teams that are eligible for competitive balance picks also receive additional international spending money, with more or less of a boost depending upon whether they are picking in round A ($541,500) or round B ($1,082,900) in a given year.
  • Qualifying Offer penalty: A club that exceeded the luxury tax threshold in the previous season and also signs a free agent who had declined a qualifying offer surrenders $1MM of its international pool in the following period. It’s a $500K pool hit for a club that did not exceed the luxury tax but also did not benefit from revenue sharing. (Thus a signing of Dallas Keuchel or Craig Kimbrel could still result in changes to the numbers below.)

Without further ado:

  • Astros: $5,398,300
  • Angels: $5,398,300
  • Athletics: $5,939,800
  • Blue Jays: $5,398,300
  • Braves: $0 (penalty)
  • Brewers: $5,939,800
  • Cardinals: $6,481,200
  • Cubs: $5,398,300
  • Dodgers: $4,821,400
  • Diamondbacks: $6,481,200
  • Giants: $5,398,300
  • Indians: $6,481,200
  • Mariners: $5,398,300
  • Marlins: $5,939,800
  • Mets: $5,398,300
  • Nationals: $4,321,400
  • Orioles: $6,481,200
  • Padres: $6,481,200
  • Phillies: $4,821,400
  • Pirates: $6,481,200
  • Rangers: $5,398,300
  • Rays: $5,939,800
  • Red Sox: $5,398,300
  • Reds: $5,939,800
  • Rockies: $6,481,200
  • Royals: $6,481,200
  • Tigers: $5,398,300
  • Twins: $5,939,800
  • White Sox: $5,398,300
  • Yankees: $5,398,300

 

 

Mariners Reportedly Agree To Deal With Neftali Feliz

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The Mariners have struck a minor-league accord with right-hander Neftali Feliz, according to multiple reports. Dominican journalist Hector Gomez appears to have had the news first, via Twitter.

If indeed the deal is completed, the Seattle organization will add another veteran depth piece. Odds are that Feliz would be asked to open at Triple-A Tacoma, though he may first head to extended spring training to build up arm strength.

Feliz debuted way back in 2009 but is still just thirty years of age. He didn’t appear in the majors last year, the first such season since his arrival on the scene with the Rangers.

Though he once possessed one of the game’s most intriguing arms — and indeed won the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award — Feliz was sidetracked by injuries after trying to move back from the bullpen into the rotation. His has been a journeyman’s experience since wrapping up his time in Texas.

Feliz was able to rack up 53 2/3 innings of 3.52 ERA ball in 2016, running 10.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 but also allowing ten long balls. The dinger issues arose again in the ensuing season, with nine balls leaving the yard in his 46 frames with the Brewers and Royals. Feliz finished with a 5.48 ERA and took a minors deal with the D-Backs. He made a dozen starts and 25 relief appearances but managed only a 4.81 ERA with a middling 75:54 K/BB ratio.

Cubs Release Jen-Ho Tseng

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The Cubs announced today that they have released righty Jen-Ho Tseng, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to tweet. He had been designated for assignment recently.

Now 24 years of age, Tseng originally signed with the Cubs out of Taiwan in 2013. He has produced good results at times in the minors, but the club obviously did not feel he was likely to provide much at the game’s highest level.

After a strong 2017 showing in the upper minors, Tseng was knocked around last year for a 6.27 ERA in 136 1/3 Triple-A innings. Tseng did manage a reasonably promising combination of 7.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, and a 48.4% groundball rate, and was likely unfortunate to carry only a 59.2% strand rate, but he was also touched for twenty long balls.

Tseng only has eight MLB frames under his belt, over which he has compiled an impressive 11:2 K/BB ratio. But he has also surrendered three home runs and eight earned runs in that brief span. Tseng struggled badly in limited Cactus League action this spring.

Cardinals Extend Matt Carpenter

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The Cardinals have locked up a key member of their lineup and one of their longest-tenured players, announcing on Wednesday the signing of infielder Matt Carpenter to a two-year contract extension spanning the 2020-21 seasons. Carpenter, a client of SSG Baseball, will reportedly earn $39MM on the new arrangement. He’d previously been signed through the end of the 2019 season with a club option for the 2020 campaign.

Matt Carpenter | Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Carpenter will reportedly take home annual salaries of $18.5MM in 2020 and 2021, with a vesting option for the same amount triggering if he makes a combined 1100 plate appearances in 2020-21 (with at least 550 of those 1100 coming in 2021). If the option does not vest, it’ll function as a pure club option with a $2MM buyout. Carpenter will also pick up a no-trade provision for the 2020 season.

Carpenter, 33, is coming off of a stellar 2018 season in which he posted a hefty .257/.374/.523 slash line with a career-high 36 home runs. He has turned in well-above-average offensive work in every one of his seven full seasons in the majors. The new deal comes as Carpenter’s prior pact neared a conclusion. His early 2014 extension included a $14.5MM salary for the current season along with a $18.5MM club option ($2MM buyout) for 2020.

Carpenter joins newly acquired first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in signing on for the foreseeable future. There’s risk in locking into two such corner pieces into their mid-thirties, but both are immensely productive hitters. With that duo now under control through the 2021 season at the very least, it seems that Carpenter will continue to hold down third base for the Cards for the foreseeable future. Carpenter has some experience at second base as well, but the Cards already have a premium defensive option at that position, Kolten Wong, under contract on a long-term deal of his own that runs through the 2020 season and contains a club option for 2021.

That $19.5MM annual value on the new contract won’t put the Cardinals near the luxury tax threshold but will boost the amount of money already committed to next year’s payroll to a hefty $147MM. Fortunately for the Cards, they’re likely ticketed for a small class of arbitration-eligible players, as only John Brebbia, Alex Reyes, John Gant and Dominic Leone are set to receive arbitration raises. Of that quartet, the first three will be eligible for the first time. The Cards will also face a $13MM option ($1MM buyout) on infielder Jedd Gyorko.

With Carpenter now locked into place, the Cardinals suddenly look to have nearly their entire 2020 lineup in house. Goldschmidt, Carpenter, Wong and Paul DeJong are all under contract for next season, as is franchise icon Yadier Molina. Harrison Bader has cemented himself as the team’s center fielder, and although Marcell Ozuna is slated to hit free agency, he’s expected to be replaced by Tyler O’Neill in 2020 and beyond. Dexter Fowler remains under contract through 2021 and figures to handle a corner position unless he struggles through a similarly nightmarish campaign to the one he experienced in 2018.

The Cardinals’ system has a few quality third base prospects, led by 2018 first-rounder Nolan Gorman, but most of the team’s talent in that regard is still multiple years from MLB readiness. It’s possible that Elehuris Montero could’ve been ready for a look in the Majors late in 2019 or at some point in 2020, but he’s still just 20 years of age and only getting his feet wet in Double-A. Gorman has yet to play above A-ball, while well-regarded 18-year-old Malcom Nunez will start his pro career in Rookie ball this summer. By the time Carpenter’s contract is nearing its conclusion, perhaps one of those promising young players will be on the cusp of the big leagues, but the lack of an immediate heir-apparent likely further pushed the Cards into keeping Carpenter on board into the 2021 season.

The Cardinals originally announced a press conference earlier this afternoon. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch broke the news that the presser was to announce a new deal for Carpenter. MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reported the length of the contract (Twitter link). The Athletic’s Mark Saxon reported the terms of the deal (via Twitter), with Goold adding the yearly breakdown and 2020 no-trade protection.

Dodgers Place Russell Martin On 10-Day IL

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The Dodgers announced today that backstop Russell Martin has been placed on the 10-day injured list with lower back inflammation. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by fellow receiver Rocky Gale.

Acquired over the winter via trade, Martin has shared time behind the plate with Austin Barnes. Expectations were tempered for the 36-year-old’s second stint in Los Angeles, as he has been limited by injuries and seen his offensive numbers dip in recent seasons. But things had gone rather well to this point, with Martin off to a .333/.500/.600 start with the bat through 22 plate appearances.

Dipoto On Mariners’ Hot Start

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Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto’s frequent roster tinkering is now legend. It’s only natural to wonder whether the club’s fast start to the 2019 season will spur another round of action, and Dipoto discussed the matter with Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.

Dipoto’s most recent round of tweaks was intended to set the club up for near-future success, with the idea being to spend a year regrouping in hopes of a breakout 2020 campaign. While he says an 11-2 run to begin the year won’t likely result in a mid-season buying spree, the top Seattle baseball exec did seem to acknowledge that the performance could impact the team’s roster calculations.

First and foremost, Dipoto made clear that the M’s “won’t take anything away from our long-term plan in order to address short-term needs.” But he wasn’t shy to admit that he’s “intrigued” and “excited” by the development and output he’s seen from the roster he has already assembled. If the club is “still performing like the best lineup in history” at the trade deadline, he says, “clearly we’ll address areas of need.”

It sounds as if the door is at least potentially open to some win-now movement, then, though the Mariners will likely see how things play out and may not be overly bold when the time comes. As Dipoto says, though, he has been “creative” in his past dealmaking — including an early-season, buy-side swap last year — so it’s tough to rule anything out.

Putting aside the possibility of additions, the early run may be enough to stave off or even eliminate some veteran departures that might otherwise have been anticipated. “The way guys are playing together right now, I have no interest in changing the rhythm and mojo going on,” Dipoto said when asked about some of the team’s short-term, elder statesmen. “Let’s let it play out a bit.”

That attitude seemingly represents a departure from the late-spring dealmaking posture that the M’s seemed to take. Their decision to hold onto sluggers Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce, in particular, seemed mostly to reflect a lack of demand. Keeping them on the roster was supposed to help keep the team competitive and provide a showcase for a potential mid-season swap.

Now, there’s a greater likelihood that the Mariners will at least hold steady and let the roster take things wherever it can. But as Dipoto and Stone both caution, there’s still plenty of time in advance of the trade deadline for the situation to change. For now, the GM is just watching and enjoying.

Nationals, Bud Norris Discussing Minor League Deal

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TODAY: The team is evaluating the results of an MRI that Norris underwent today, Ghiroli tweets. If it comes back clean, the agreement will go into effect; otherwise, the club will potentially reconsider.

YESTERDAY, 3:52pm: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo tells reporters that there’s no agreement between the two sides, but Norris is headed to the team’s spring complex to evaluate him (Twitter link via Zuckerman). If the team deems him physically ready, a minor league agreement will be completed.

3:32pm: There’s no agreement in place between the two sides just yet, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post tweets. There’s mutual interest between the two sides, but Dougherty notes that the Nats “need to be convinced that Norris is healthy enough to be effective.”

Norris and the Jays agreed to part ways last week due to the fact that he felt ready to pitch at the MLB level while the Toronto organization wanted him to continue building arm strength, so perhaps there’s a similar dynamic at play here.

2:23pm: The Nationals have agreed to a deal with right-hander Bud Norris, according to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic (via Twitter). It’ll be a minors pact if completed, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. Norris will first need to pass a physical before a deal is finalized.

Norris will not head directly onto the active roster, but may not be far from joining a team that’s badly in need of relief. The Nats bullpen has been a mess in the early going, with all but two members of the unit carrying earned run averages north of 5 per nine.

The veteran Norris could offer a key stabilizing presence. The 34-year-old has been a solid performer since moving into a full-time relief role. Over the past two seasons, he owns a 3.91 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over 119 2/3 innings. Norris has compiled 47 saves in that span as well, though he won’t be expected to handle the ninth in D.C.

Norris had been expected to crack the Blue Jays pen after surprisingly settling for a minor-league deal. The Toronto org paid him a $100K retention bonus late in camp to keep him around, but ultimately released him right at the start of the season. It seems that Norris believed he was ready for the majors, while the club wanted him to keep throwing in extended camp to build his arm strength.

It’s not known how the Nats feel about the matter of Norris’s readiness. He has worked in the mid-nineties with his fastball in recent years. Like most pitchers, Norris is likelier to be successful if he has the velocity when he wants it. But the D.C. org is also in no position to turn up its nose at an experienced pitcher who isn’t quite on top of his game. Presumably, they’ll bring him onto the active roster in relatively short order so long as Norris seems mostly himself.

Call-Ups: Tim Collins, Joe Harvey

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We’ll cover a few of the day’s notable call-ups in this post:

  • The Cubs will promote lefty Tim Collins to take the roster spot of injured starter Jon Lester, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com (via Twitter). Collins inked a MLB deal late this spring after being cut loose by the Twins and was optioned to open the season. He’ll try to help settle a relief unit that has sputtered out of the gates. Collins didn’t exactly excel last year with the Nats, but did make it his way back to full health and back up to the majors after several lost seasons. He has racked up an impressive number of strikeouts in 2019, with 13 in 9 1/3 spring innings and three more in 2 2/3 at Triple-A.
  • Joining the Yankees roster is right-handed reliever Joe Harvey, per a club announcement. The club dropped Jonathan Loaisiga back to Triple-A on optional assignment to clear active roster space; Harvey already owned a 40-man spot. With a pair of off-days in the upcoming schedule, Loaisiga can get some work in at Triple-A while the MLB club enjoys an extra reliever. Harvey will get his first taste of the majors at 27 years of age. Last year, he worked to an impressive 1.66 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 54 1/3 innings over 38 appearances at the highest level of the minors.

Jon Niese Signs With Long Island Ducks

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Long-time MLB lefty Jon Niese will try to revive his career with an independent ball stint. He has signed on with the Long Island Ducks, per a club announcement.

Niese hasn’t appeared at any level in the past two seasons. When last he did pitch in the affiliated ranks, back in 2016, he struggled to a 5.50 ERA in 121 frames and packed up early after knee surgery. Most recently, a 2018 spring audition with the Rangers ended when Niese was released after being diagnosed with a sub scapularis muscle strain.

Despite that unfortunate run, there could be hope yet for Niese to get things going. He’s still just 32 years of age, after all, and had worked to a 3.91 ERA over 1,068 1/3 innings with the Mets between 2008 and 2015. If Niese shows well, he could be the latest pitcher to use the Atlantic League as a launching pad to the majors.

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