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White Sox Claim Daniel Palka

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The White Sox have claimed corner outfielder Daniel Palka from the Twins, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). He was placed on outright waivers as part of Minnesota’s 40-man roster-trimming efforts.

Palka has been regarded as a bat-first prospect of some note, but has not yet received a shot at the majors. A former third-round pick who just turned 26 years of age, he looks to be a fairly interesting target for the rebuilding South Siders.

Power is Palka’s calling card, as he swatted 34 long balls in the upper minors in 2016. But he is also known for his swing-and-miss proclivities and did not have a terribly strong 2017 campaign. Over 362 Triple-A plate appearances on the year, he pared back on the whiffs (22.1% strikeout rate) but posted only a .278/.330/.444 slash with 13 dingers.

Orioles Decline Options Over J.J. Hardy & Wade Miley

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The Orioles have declined their club options over shortstop J.J. Hardy and lefty Wade Miley, per a club announcement. Both players will hit the open market for the first time.

Hardy, 35, will receive a $2MM buyout rather than playing at a $14MM salary. While Baltimore has relied on Hardy at short for the better part of the past seven seasons, this was an easy decision after he stumbled through an injury-plagued 2017. He ended the season with a meager .217/.255/.323 batting line over just 268 plate appearances.

It is expected that mid-season acquisition Tim Beckham will shoulder the load for the O’s in 2018. Perhaps there’s some possibility, though, that Hardy could be brought back (at a much lower rate) as a reserve. More likely, he’ll set out looking for a chance at more playing time elsewhere.

As for Miley, he would have cost $12MM but will instead take home a $500K buyout. Soon to turn 31, the southpaw starter made all 32 starts but lasted just 157 1/3 frames, limping to a 5.61 ERA while his walk rate lept to 5.3 per nine innings. His departure, anticipated though it was, leaves the O’s clearly in need of at least two rotation acquisitions (if not more).

It has been a few years now since Miley was an effective rotation piece, though by some key measures (swinging-strike rate, hard-hit rate) he has been much the same pitcher as he was previously. Miley will undoubtedly get a shot elsewhere at a lesser rate of pay. Among other things, he’ll need to tamp down on the long balls if he’s to regain his footing in the majors.

Twins Outright Niko Goodrum

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The Twins have outrighted infielder/outfielder Niko Goodrum, as MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. He has already cleared waivers, but it appears that he will be eligible for minor-league free agency.

Goodrum, 25, received his first brief taste of the majors in 2017 but spent most of the season at Triple-A. He slashed .265/.309/.425 over 499 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, with a carer-best 13 home runs. Goodrum has featured mostly as an infielder, but saw quite a bit of action in the outfield last year as the Twins seemingly sought to boost his versatility.

Indians Exercise Club Options Over Michael Brantley & Josh Tomlin

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The Indians have announced that they have picked up the club options over both outfielder Michael Brantley and righty Josh Tomlin. The decision on Brantley, in particular, represents an important part of the team’s offseason puzzle.

Entering the winter, it seemed unclear whether the Cleveland organization would elect to retain Brantley at an $11MM price tag or pay him a $1MM buyout. While he’s one of their best players when healthy, shoulder and ankle issues have impacted him quite a bit in recent years. His ability to stay on the field will likely have a significant impact on the club’s fortunes in 2018.

Brantley, 30, emerged as one of the game’s most productive hitters in 2014-15, blending outstanding contact skills with good pop. But he missed almost all of 2016 and wasn’t quite as productive when on the field in 2017. Brantley still produced a strong .299/.357/.444 batting line with nine home runs and 11 steals over 375 plate appearances, but underwent a significant ankle procedure after the end of the season.

The decision on Tomlin didn’t require quite as much of a gut check. He’ll earn a relatively meager $3MM (rather than a $750K buyout) for his services in 2018 before qualifying for free agency. Cleveland can utilize him in the rotation or out of the bullpen, depending upon how things shake out.

The 33-year-old gave the Indians 141 frames over 26 starts in 2017, posting only a 4.98 ERA but carrying more promising peripherals. In particular, the soft-tossing control artist posted a solid 7.0 K/9 vs. 0.9 BB/9. That said, Tomlin will need to tamp down on the long ball (1.47 per nine in 2017).

Retaining Brantley puts the Indians at over $120MM in likely 2018 payroll as the offseason gets underway. (That rough estimate includes guaranteed contracts and projected arbitration payouts.) Cleveland will see Carlos Santana (assuming he declines an anticipated qualifying offer) and Jay Bruce hit the open market. With Brantley on the books, it seems unlikely that the Indians will be able to retain both of those players, though certainly it’s still possible to imagine one more significant position-player contract.

There are still plenty of moving parts in Cleveland. The team could conceivably line Brantley up at first base and slide Jason Kipnis into left. If Brantley stays in the outfield, then it’s unclear what’ll become of the veteran second baseman, who seems likely to be bumped off of his usual position by Jose Ramirez. Third base, too, is largely unresolved, though the organization has a few options there (including, perhaps, Ramirez — if Kipnis stays at second).

Pirates Exercise Club Option Over Andrew McCutchen, Decline Chris Stewart & Wade LeBlanc

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The Pirates have picked up their club option over outfielder Andrew McCutchen, per a club announcement. He’ll earn $14.5MM in the final year of his contract.

Meanwhile, the Bucs have declined their options over catcher Chris Stewart and lefty Wade LeBlanc. The team also adds that LeBlanc has been outrighted to Triple-A.

It comes as no surprise that Pittsburgh elected to retain McCutchen rather than paying a $1MM buyout. Stewart would have earned $1.5MM but will instead receive a $250K buyout. LeBlanc will take home a $50K buyout on his $1.25MM option.

McCutchen, 31, turned things around after a tepid start to the 2017 campaign. He ended the year with a .279/.363/.486 batting line with 28 long balls and 11 steals over 650 plate appearances. That didn’t represent a full bounce all the way to back to his prior, MVP-level output, but certainly constituted a turnaround after a worrying 2016 season.

The question remains though, whether the Bucs will end up keeping Cutch’s contract. He’ll be pursue by other organizations over the offseason, with the Pirates weighing a potential infusion of young talent against the loss of a high-quality and still-affordable player. Perhaps there’s still some faint possibility of the sides considering a new extension, but in truth that’s difficult to see happening.

Stewart could end up back in Pittsburgh on a minors deal, but won’t be retained as the backup catcher after turning in a woeful .183/.241/.221 slash line in 2017. The 33-year-old LeBlanc, a soft-tossing southpaw, was perhaps a bit unlucky to post a 4.50 ERA in his 68 frames, but did not show the Pirates enough for his contract to be guaranteed for another year. LeBlanc, who continued to post his typical reverse platoon splits, will have the righty to elect free agency.

Brad Miller Undergoes Core Muscle Surgery

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Rays infielder Brad Miller has undergone core muscle surgery, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The procedure addressed nagging problems in his groin and lower abdominals, per the report.

Miller, 28, was quite productive in 2016, when he swatted thirty long balls in 601 plate appearances — though he also carried a meager .304 OBP. But he failed to follow up on that in 2017, slashing just .201/.327/.337 with nine dingers over 407 trips to the plate. Oddly, despite the power drop, Miller doubled his walk rate as against the prior season.

It seems fair to attribute at least some of Miller’s struggles to the injuries that have now been addressed surgically. He missed time on the DL and says he “was obviously laboring for a while and didn’t feel right.” Miller will only need about six weeks to recover from the procedure, so he’s expected to be fully ready for Spring Training.

The question remains, though, whether the Rays will be the organization to take a shot on a rebound — or, perhaps, a dream scenario where Miller fuses power and patience while also delivering palatable defense at second base. MLBTR projects Miller to earn $4.4MM in his second (and second-to-last) season of arbitration eligibility. That’s not too steep a salary, but is fairly hefty for a Rays team that has eyes on trimming an already meager payroll.

Diamondbacks Exercise Club Option Over Daniel Descalso

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The Diamondbacks have picked up their club option over utilityman Daniel Descalso, per a club announcement. He’ll earn $2MM for the 2018 season.

Arizona could have parted ways with the veteran while paying a $150K buyout. But the 31-year-old established himself as a steady member of the NL Wild Card-winning club and will again represent an affordable and versatile roster asset.

Descalso was asked to do more than likely was anticipated when he joined the Snakes last winter, moving over from the division-rival Rockies. He ended up seeing action in 131 games, posting a .233/.332/.395 slash with ten home runs over 398 plate appearances.

For the past two seasons, Descalso has drawn walks in about a dozen out of every hundred plate appearances, though he has never ended a MLB season with even an average level of offensive production. Most of all, though, Descalso is valued for his ability to line up all over the diamond, including

Angels Decline Options Over Huston Street, Ricky Nolasco

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The Angels have declined their club options over righties Huston Street and Ricky Nolasco, per a club announcement. Fellow right-hander Deolis Guerra was outrighted off of the 40-man roster, the team also announced.

While the news hardly comes as a surprise, it nevertheless sends some notable names onto the open market.

Street, 34, will receive a $1MM buyout in lieu of what would’ve been a $10MM salary for the coming season. Thus ends the extension he signed in May of 2015 — a two-year, $18MM pact (plus the option) that kept him from hitting free agency at the end of that year.

Owing to injury, Street has thrown only 26 1/3 frames over the life of that contract. Never a hard thrower, Street has dropped to the 88 mph range more recently. While he managed four scoreless appearances in 2017, and could yet engineer a return, it seemed clear that there wasn’t enough promise for the Halos to pick up the option.

Nolasco is also now 34 years of age and past his prime. His four-year, $49MM contract — signed with the Twins and sent to Los Angeles last summer — included a $13MM club option for 2018, but he’ll settle instead for a $1MM buyout.

Clubs will no doubt value the fact that Nolasco has managed to take 65 starts over the past two years, tallying 378 2/3 frames. But a palatable 2016 effort — he pitched to a 4.42 ERA with metrics suggesting he had been a bit unlucky — gave way to a rough showing in the most recent season. While averaging a fairly typical 7.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9, with his velocity and whiff rates largely holding steady, Nolasco surrendered 1.74 homers per nine and ended with a 4.92 ERA in his 181 innings.

As for Guerra, 28, he failed to follow up a solid showing in 2016, in which he rode a stingy 1.2 BB/9 walk rate to a 3.21 ERA. This year, he managed only a 4.68 ERA over 25 frames while coughing up 4.3 free passes per nine — though he was much better (1.98 ERA, 9.0 K/9 vs. 1.8 BB/9) in 41 Triple-A frames. Since he has previously been outrighted, Guerra will have the right to elect free agency.

Rangers To Hire Don Wakamatsu As Bench Coach

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The Rangers are slated to hire Don Wakamatsu to become their bench coach, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). He’ll join a reshuffled staff under manager Jeff Banister, who is looking to bounce back from his first losing season since taking over the Rangers dugout in 2015.

Wakamatsu, 54, has previously served as the bench coach in Texas, among his many other stops as a big league coach. He also skippered the Mariners in the 2009 and 2010 seasons and has been noted as a managerial candidate on several occasions since. Most recently, Wakamatsu was the bench coach for the Royals.

With the addition, the team will bump last year’s bench coach, Steve Buechele, to the first base coaching job. He had been the Rangers’ bench coach for each of the past three seasons.

Nationals Hire Kevin Long As Hitting Coach

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The Nationals have hired Kevin Long to become the team’s hitting coach, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post first reported on Twitter. He had most recently functioned in the same capacity for the division-rival Mets (and the Yankees before that).

Long was a candidate for the Nats’ and Mets’ open managerial positions, but both clubs went in different directions. It became clear once he missed out on running the dugout in Queens that Long would likely be destined for another organization.

There are a few preexisting ties between the Nationals and Long. His son, Jaron Long, pitches in the organization, for one. And current Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy flourished under Long’s tutelage in New York.

As Janes notes (Twitter link), the move means that previous Nationals hitting coach Rick Schu will be out of a job. He had held down the job since 2013.

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