Blue Jays To Sign Jake Petricka
The Blue Jays have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty Jake Petricka, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter). He’ll have the opportunity to earn a $1.3MM base salary with $500K in incentives if he can crack the MLB roster.
Petricka, 29, is a former second-rounder who has delivered good results at times in the majors. Between 2013 and 2015, he posted a 3.24 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 over 144 1/3 innings. Despite the middling strikeout and walk figures, Petricka allowed only five home runs in that span. With a mid-nineties sinker, he has traditionally delivered big groundball rates (61.5% career).
Unfortunately, injuries and performance lapses arose more recently. A hip procedure cost Petrickamost of 2016. And he managed only 25 2/3 innings last year, allowing twenty earned runs but also posting a 26:6 K/BB ratio. He ultimately underwent a nerve transposition and flexor tendon debridement procedure in October of 2017.
At the time of that surgery, it was estimated Petricka would need to lay off for at least three or four months. The White Sox ended up non-tendering him rather than working out an arbitration salary. (He projected to earn $1.1MM.) With just over four years of MLB service on his clock, Petricka could still be tendered a contract in the future.
Petricka’s current status isn’t fully clear, but in all likelihood he’ll be handled with some care as he works back to full health. Whether or not he’ll have a real shot at earning a MLB pen job in camp, Petricka could well represent an interesting option for the Jays at some point in the coming season.
Jake Odorizzi, Collin McHugh Reportedly Drawing Trade Interest
Starters Jake Odorizzi of the Rays and Collin McHugh of the Astros continue to draw trade interest, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes, though he adds that neither is evidently close to being dealt.
With all the top free agent starters still unsigned, some teams are surely still waiting to see whether they can land a bigger fish before turning to these sturdy hurlers. Still, both are certainly accomplished enough to believe that they could be targeted as more than mere fallback options.
Odorizzi has not even yet turned 28 but already has compiled 705 1/3 innings of 3.83 ERA pitching in his career. On the other hand, he’s coming off of a homer-prone season in which he surrendered a personal-high 4.14 earned runs per nine. McHugh, 30, posted strong results last year after a somewhat tepid 2016 effort, but only after missing a major chunk of the season due to injury. He ended up posting a 3.55 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 63 1/3 frames over a dozen starts.
Importantly, both Odorizzi and McHugh are still playing out their final two seasons of arbitration eligibility, making for a favorable financial situation. Their 2018 salaries remain unresolved, but neither will break the bank. As MLBTR’s 2018 MLB Arbitration Tracker shows, the former will play for somewhere at or between $6.3MM and $6.05MM while the latter will land in the range of $5MM and $4.55MM. In both cases, there’s no commitment for 2019; potential acquirers will no doubt value the chance to pick up what’s effectively a floating-price option for an added campaign.
All things considered, it seems clear that there’s excess value in the rights to each player. Just how much — and how much it’ll fetch on the trade market — is an open question. As Rosenthal notes, both teams are looking for something in return in dangling these established starters.
At the same time, of course, the Rays and ‘Stros have reasons to move the players in question, largely due to the presence of other pitchers. In that regard, their availability has long been evident. Tampa Bay has long been said to be looking for ways to trim payroll and reallocate some resources; Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times wrote a few days ago that a trade is almost inevitable to take place at some point. In Houston’s case, the club simply doesn’t have an open rotation spot after dealing for Gerrit Cole earlier in the offseason.
Rosenthal pegs the Orioles as a team with interest in Odorizzi and perhaps also McHugh. That’s not surprising, as Baltimore continues to hunt for multiple starters. The Twins have long been tied to Odorizzi, and Rosenthal suggests that remains the case. Previously, too, the Nationals have been connected to Odorizzi.
It’s not difficult to imagine quite a few other organizations having interest in both of these starters, particularly when one considers what it might cost to acquire free agents such as Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, and Andrew Cashner. Certainly, the ongoing availability of Odorizzi and McHugh could continue to weigh down interest in those open-market options to some extent.
There are other plausible trade candidates that could factor in the overall picture, it’s worth bearing in mind. Beyond top targets such as Odorizzi’s teammate, Chris Archer, organizations looking for solid but affordable rotation pieces could try to acquire hurlers such as Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks, Dan Straily of the Marlins, or Danny Salazar of the Indians.
Yolmer Sanchez Wins Arbitration Hearing Against White Sox
Yolmer Sanchez has won his arbitration hearing against the White Sox, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports on Twitter and the team has now announced. Sanchez, a client of MVP Sports Group, will play for $2.35MM in 2018.
The 25-year-old Sanchez qualified for arbitration as a Super Two. MLBTR projected that he’d earn $2.1MM, which is also the number that the South Siders submitted to the arb panel.
After three straight seasons of middling offensive production, Sanchez emerged with a solid effort in 2017. He saw regular action for the rebuilding White Sox, slashing .267/.319/.413 with a dozen home runs over 534 plate appearances.
With highly-rated glovework at second and third base mixed in, Sanchez graded out as an average or better regular last year. If he can maintain anything like that overall productivity moving forward, he’ll represent quite a useful asset for the White Sox.
As always, you can find all the latest arbitration numbers at MLBTR’s 2018 MLB Arbitration Tracker.
Orioles Sign David Holmberg, Elvis Araujo
The Orioles have announced the signings of lefties David Holmberg and Elvis Araujo. Baltimore also made its deal with Craig Gentry official. Neither Holmberg nor Araujo will be invited to MLB Spring Training. Presumably, though, both have recent MLB experience.
Holmberg, 26, threw 57 2/3 innings last year for the White Sox, making seven starts along with thirty relief appearances. He carried a 4.68 ERA, but things look even worse when you look deeper. Holmberg coughed up a dozen home runs and managed only 33 strikeouts to go with 34 walks on the year.
Araujo is also 26. He’s a year removed from a two-year run in the Phillies’ pen, over which he maintained a 4.35 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 over 62 total innings. He took the ball just six times for Japan’s Chunichi Dragons in 2017, so he’ll be looking to regain his footing upon returning to affiliated ball.
Obviously, the O’s don’t expect either of these two hurlers to compete for roster spots in camp. But it’s possible to imagine either ending up in the majors at some point, depending upon how the season unfolds. Baltimore still has a largely unsettled mix of lefties in its MLB relief corps. Beyond injured closer Zach Britton, the 40-man roster currently includes Richard Bleier, Donnie Hart, and Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes. The O’s have already have several southpaws slated to participate in MLB camp as non-roster players, including Josh Edgin, Joely Rodriguez, Jason Gurka, and Andrew Faulkner.
Yankees Acquire Russell Wilson
The Yankees and Rangers have worked out a deal that will deliver the baseball rights to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson from Texas to New York, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports. Unknown future considerations will make up the return.
As Crasnick explains, nobody involved expects Wilson ever to factor on the diamond. While he once had a bright outlook in the sport, suiting up in the minors with the Rockies after being selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, he has no intentions of splitting his attention as he prepares for his seventh season under center for the Seahawks.
Rather, per Crasnick, the arrangement is designed to accommodate Wilson’s desire to “play” for the Yankees. After two years of participating in Spring Training with the Rangers, he’ll evidently do so in 2018 with his new organization. Wilson thanked the Texas organization for “the chance to experience professional baseball again,” adding that “baseball remains a huge part of where I came from and who I am today.”
Observant readers will note that both of New York’s MLB organizations now have contractual control over current or former NFL quarterbacks. Tim Tebow is expected to be a full participant in major league camp for the Mets after completing his first pro baseball season in 2017.
Mets Sign Todd Frazier
WEDNESDAY: The Mets have announced the deal.
TUESDAY: Frazier will earn $8MM in 2018 and $9MM in 2019, Rosenthal tweets.
MONDAY:The Mets have struck a two-year deal with third baseman Todd Frazier, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). If he passes a physical, Frazier will receive a $17MM guarantee. The deal includes a $500K assignment bonus in the event that Frazier is traded, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets. Frazier is represented by Creative Artists Agency.
MLBTR predicted this match, but expected the veteran to take home a significantly bigger contract (three years and $33MM). The market for third basemen certainly hasn’t developed as the players might have hoped. Long-time shortstop Zack Cozart moved to the hot corner upon joining the Angels on a three-year, $39MM deal. The Giants filled their own need by acquiring Evan Longoria via trade. The Yankees have an ongoing opening but little to spend if they are to stay beneath the luxury tax line.
That situation had left Frazier, Mike Moustakas, and others without as much interest as had been anticipated. Indeed, in this case, it seems that some developments had to occur before the match could come together. Mets infielder Asdrubal Cabrera had seemingly been set to move to third. But he indicated recently he’d actually prefer to move to second base, leading GM Sandy Alderson to note that the flexibility might open up some new avenues for the organization.
New York held an obvious draw for Frazier, a New Jersey native who got a taste of playing near his home town last year with the Yankees. As Jon Heyman of Fan Rag notes on Twitter, that geographic preference seemingly played a role in the agreement that has now come together. It may have helped the Mets land a solid player at a reasonable price.
[RELATED: Updated Mets Depth Chart]
On the one hand, Frazier has not shown of late the kind of well-above-average offensive output he did at his peak with the Reds. At his best, Frazier produced about twenty percent more offense than the average hitter, with significant home run output and even some value on the basepaths offsetting subpar on-base abilities.
Frazier has been unable to produce both significant power and a useful OBP over the past two seasons. In 2016, he tallied forty long balls but only a .302 on-base mark. Last season, he rode a personal-best 14.4% walk rate (and personal-low 9.3% swinging-strike rate) to a .344 OBP but managed only 27 dingers and a .428 slugging percentage. While Frazier still generated a strong .215 isolated slugging mark, his batting average (.213) and batting average on balls in play (.226) remained at the sorts of low levels he has sported in recent campaigns. (For what it’s worth, there may well be at least some poor fortune in Frazier’s lowly BABIP; he carried a .352 xwOBA that lagged his .340 wOBA in 2017.)
Even if the Mets can anticipate only slightly above-average offensive work from Frazier, the deal holds plenty of promise. He has long graded as a quality performer with the glove and turned in one of his best-ever seasons in 2017. Both DRS (+10) and UZR (+6.7) credited him with saving plenty of runs as a full-time player at third base. Frazier also has an excellent track record of durability, having suited up for an average of 154 games annually since the start of 2013.
As an above-average regular for each of the past six seasons, Frazier surely anticipated a bigger contract entering the winter. At the same time, his earning power was always limited by his age. The somewhat late-blooming slugger will turn 32 years of age in a week. With teams seemingly more hesitant than ever to lock in commitments to aging players, and the league as a whole hewing younger, Frazier always seemed unlikely to drive a massive bidding war.
Still, this contract seems likely to deliver the Mets some quality infield value, much as Cabrera did on a similar contract (two years, $18.5MM plus an option that was exercised for 2018). While Frazier could conceivably also spend time at first base, the likelihood is he’ll be the primary third baseman. In that sense, perhaps, the move all but formalizes the already evident fact that the chronically injured David Wright is unlikely to factor again at the hot corner for New York.
As he reunites with his former Cincinnati teammate Jay Bruce, Frazier will hope to be part of a resurgent Mets roster. The club has brought back most of the band despite a disappointing 2017 campaign, with a few modifications. New York has now filled its most glaring needs and certainly has the talent to compete in the coming season, though the organization still faces its fair share of uncertainty — particularly in the injury department.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nightengale’s Latest: Martinez, Encarnacion, Darvish, Arrieta
As sparring continues over the ongoing free agent freeze — see Boras v. Halem, Clark v. Manfred — Bob Nightengale of USA Today takes an interesting look at how he believes the market might shake out for the top available players. His overall analysis and predictions are well worth a look, but a few items of information bear highlighting as part of the market landscape.
- Slugger J.D. Martinez was the focus of a skirmish yesterday in the war of words, with some sparring over the fact that the Red Sox have not upped their longstanding offer — which evidently still stands at a previously reported five-year, $125MM level. Per Nightengale, the only other offer on the table right now is from the Diamondbacks, but it’s just a one-year deal. Clearly, all involved have reason to anticipate that there’d be greater interest than that from other organizations, but it’s a notable point in relation to Martinez’s hopes for generating pressure on the Sox.
- Notably, too, the Red Sox are perhaps still aware of other means of fulfilling their desire for right-handed power. Nightengale says the organization spoke with the Indians earlier in the offseason about a potential deal that would have brought Edwin Encarnacion to Boston. Whether or not there’s any plausible hope of reviving those discussions isn’t clear, though, and the Sox are said not to have been willing to send Jackie Bradley Jr. to Cleveland. Clearly, that’s no surprise, as Bradley is a much younger and more affordable player who still offers plenty of value to the Sox. Indeed, it’s amply arguable that Bradley is a more valuable overall performer than is Encarnacion.
- Top free agent starter Yu Darvish is sitting on multiple five-year offers, per Nightengale. At the moment, he’s still hoping an organization will decide to give him an extra year — or, in a longer-shot scenario, that the Dodgers or Yankees will find a way to move other contracts to open the door to a Darvish signing. For the most part, this seems to represent a continuation of the status quo, as is the case for the other top starters.
- As for Jake Arrieta, we have not heard a ton of public chatter. There isn’t much new, it seems, but Nightengale does suggest that one hypothetical possibility isn’t likely: the incumbent Cubs have “barely even engaged in contract talks” with their former staff ace, per the report. That is not very surprising, of course. The sides already know one another (and their respective bargaining positions) quite well. And it’s clear that, while a reunion has always remained hypothetically possible, both team and player intended to explore alternatives during the winter. Still, it’s notable that they have evidently not circled back around to one another to this point.
Orioles To Re-Sign Craig Gentry
The Orioles have struck a minor-league deal to bring back outfielder Craig Gentry, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Gentry receives a MLB spring invite and could earn $900K in the majors.
The 34-year-old has seen action in each of the past nine MLB campaigns, including a 77-game run with the O’s last year. He took only 117 plate appearances in that span, but did produce a useful .257/.333/.386 slash line. The right-handed hitter performed much better against lefties, as he has for most of his career.
Gentry will likely battle for a bench spot in camp, with players such as the right-handed-hitting Joey Rickard, switch-hitting Anthony Santander, and lefty-swinging Jaycob Brugman also in the same general mix. The Orioles will need to give at least one spot to a lefty bat — perhaps one that’s not yet in the organization — but figure to have at least one reserve spot open to competition.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/7/18
We’ll track the most recent minor MLB transactions here:
- The Red Sox have re-signed outfielder Steve Selsky to a minors pact, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Boston claimed him last winter from the Reds, but he received only a brief shot at the majors. Selsky spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a mediocre .215/.270/.360 slash in 322 plate appearances, though he has been more productive in prior seasons in the upper minors.
- Emmanuel Burriss is joining the Angels on a minor-league deal, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). He’d earn at a $800K rate at the MLB level. Burriss, 33, is a long way removed from seeing frequent bench work with the Giants but has briefly touched the majors in each of the past two seasons. He’s just a .237/.300/.266 hitter through 856 total MLB plate appearances but is obviously seen as a worthy veteran depth piece to have in an organization.
Joe Girardi Joins MLB Network Studio Team
Former Yankees skipper Joe Girardi has joined the MLB Network as a studio analyst. The network announced the hiring, which Michael McCarthy of the Sporting News reported this morning.
It came as something of a surprise when the Yanks announced in late October that they would not seek to work out a new deal with Girardi, whose contract expired after his tenth season running the dugout. The team went on to hire Aaron Boone, who had himself worked as a TV analyst with ESPN after wrapping up his playing days.
Upon his entry onto the managerial free agent market, some wondered whether Girardi might catch on with another organization. In particular, to that point the Nationals had not yet hired Davey Martinez to take over. It turns out there was at least some contact between the Nats and Girardi, though clearly interest never developed.
With the move, Girardi will remain in the eye of the baseball-watching public throughout the coming season. Just what managerial gigs will come open during or after the 2018 campaign isn’t yet known, of course, but we can safely predict that Girardi will be among the first candidates talked about in future hiring rounds.