Rosenthal On Dodgers’ Search For Second Baseman
The Dodgers have expanded their search for a second baseman, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Los Angeles remains engaged on longstanding targets Brian Dozier, Ian Kinsler, and Logan Forsythe, but appears to be looking elsewhere in the event that those players can’t be had at a palatable rate.
Among the players that could potentially be fits, per Rosenthal, are switch-hitters Jurickson Profar of the Rangers, Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies, and Wilmer Difo of the Nationals, though he notes that of that trio, Profar is the only one on whom the Dodgers have definitively inquired. All are young and controllable somewhat controllable — Profar through 2019, Hernandez through 2020 and Difo all the way through 2022. Only Hernandez, though, has put up a full and productive major league season.
Beyond those possibilities, Rosenthal says that there’s still some potential for a reunion with Chase Utley. Still, the club would rather find a hitter who swings from the right side. That would also appear to leave little room for interest in the other top remaining second-base-capable free agents.
Dave Cameron of Fangraphs recently suggested that the best fit on paper might be Javier Baez, with young pitching going to the Cubs in exchange. But that doesn’t seem particularly likely, as Cameron notes and Rosenthal also echoes.
All things considered, Rosenthal explains, Dozier might still be the likeliest target for the Dodgers. Though the club seemingly broke off its talks with the Twins recently, Rosenthal says that the door remains open to a deal. It’s imaginable that Los Angeles could line up with the Rays on Forsythe, but the biggest issue there seems to be that Tampa Bay doesn’t have a ready replacement.
Josh Johnson To Retire
Veteran righty Josh Johnson has decided to retire, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). The 32-year-old had agreed to a minor-league deal with the Giants for the 2017 season but will instead hang up his spikes.
Johnson was working his way back from Tommy John surgery — his third such procedure — and would have faced an uphill battle to crack the San Francisco roster. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2013, owing to a series of arm injuries.
Johnson’s most recent big league campaign was his least successful, as he struggled to a 6.20 ERA — but still racked up 9.2 K/9 — over 81 1/3 innings in his lone season with the Blue Jays. Before that, though, he had provided the Marlins with eight seasons of largely outstanding work. Over nearly 1,000 innings in Miami, Johnson pitched to a 3.15 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.
Since wrapping up his time in Toronto, Johnson twice signed agreements with the Padres in hopes of sparking a return to form. But he was stopped short by injury and never threw a pitch for San Diego, which had invested a total of $9MM in hopes of securing a bargain.
At his best, Johnson was one of the game’s most dominant starters, as he worked off of a mid-nineties heater to post strong strikeout tallies and induce mostly weak contact. His 2010 campaign, at age 26, was his best overall effort. He threw 183 2/3 innings over 28 starts, posting a 2.30 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9, picking up his second-straight All-Star nod and coming in fifth in the National League Cy Young vote.
While it’s tempting to view Johnson’s career as a disappointment, given his lofty peak and evident talent, it’s hard to fault him for the physical ailments that derailed him before his thirtieth birthday. Even after accounting for his forgettable year in Toronto, Johnson posted 21.3 fWAR and 23.8 rWAR over his parts of nine total MLB seasons. MLBTR wishes Johnson the very best as he moves on to the next phase of his life.
Orioles Nearing Deal With Mark Trumbo
4:29pm: Trumbo will be guaranteed less than $40MM in the deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter.
4:20pm: The sides are nearing a deal, Heyman adds in another tweet. If completed, it’ll be for three years, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets.
4:07pm: The sides are “making progress” in their talks, Heyman tweets.
3:54pm: The Orioles are “back in touch” with free-agent slugger Mark Trumbo, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). It’s not immediately apparent how serious talks are, but Heyman notes that there’s a possibility of a deal coming together.
Trumbo and the O’s were said to be in deep discussions about a deal to bring him back to Baltimore earlier in the winter. But the team pulled its offer — reported to be about either three or four years at around $14MM annually — when an agreement did not come together.
Now, it seems, the sides have picked up where they left off. Whether the O’s will still be willing to put as much cash on the table remains to be seen. Last winter, the organization circled back to Chris Davis and gave him a monster deal, though he was certainly also a unique case given his standing in the organization. But Baltimore may now also feel that Trumbo’s market demand isn’t as great.
Last we heard, teams like the Rockies and Rangers are also involved in Trumbo’s market, though it’s not clear to what extent. The 31-year-old is arguably the best remaining free agent, though demand is also impacted by the presence of a variety of other power hitters, and Trumbo’s top-tier slugging is offset by his limited on-base abilities and mediocre glovework in the outfield.
Rangers Designate Brady Dragmire
The Rangers have designated righty Brady Dragmire for assignment, the team announced. His roster spot was needed for the team’s signing of Tyson Ross.
Dragmire, 23, has already been designated once by Texas this winter — and several other times by other organizations. Now, he’ll likely continue his tour of the majors via the waiver wire, unless the Rangers can sneak him through.
As we’ve noted on each of those prior occasions, Dragmire hasn’t yet sniffed the big leagues and worked to only a 4.38 ERA over his 72 Double-A frames in 2016. Despite pedestrian K/BB numbers (5.1 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9), he also carried a 63.6 percent groundball rate that has obviously intrigued quite a few teams.
Rangers Sign Tyson Ross
JANUARY 19: The Rangers have announced the one-year deal with Ross, who can earn up to $3MM in incentives, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).
JANUARY 13, 5:04pm: The deal guarantees Ross $6MM and also comes with available incentives, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
3:42pm: The Rangers have agreed with free-agent starter Tyson Ross, as Jeff Wade of 105.3 The FAN in Dallas/Fort Worth first reported. Ross’ contract is a one-year deal, per MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (Twitter link). Salary terms are not yet reported.
[Related: Updated Texas Rangers Depth Chart]
Ross is set to turn 30 in April and is coming off a season in which shoulder troubles limited him to one lone appearance — that which he made on Opening Day. Ross attempted to rehab the injury all season without success, ultimately undergoing surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome.
The Padres, not wishing to pay him a repeat of last year’s $9.6MM salary, non-tendered Ross last month. Nearly two-third of the league showed some level of interest in Ross as a free agent, but in recent weeks it’s been reported that the Rangers and Cubd were his two likeliest landing spots, with the Nats also floating on the periphery of his market.
Because of the aforementioned TOS surgery, Ross isn’t a lock to be ready for Opening Day. Durability concerns have long accompanied Ross, but prior to the 2016 season he’d been a largely healthy and effective starter atop the San Diego rotation. From 2013-15, Ross tossed 516 2/3 innings for the Padres, logging to a 3.07 earned run average with 9.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 to go along with a superlative 58.2 percent ground-ball rate.
That level of upside is what led to the widespread interest in Ross and is what will likely lead the Rangers to plug him directly into their rotation once he’s healthy enough to take the hill. As it stands, A.J. Griffin is slotted in as the Rangers’ fifth starter behind Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels, Martin Perez and fellow offseason signee Andrew Cashner. However, Griffin tossed 119 innings with a 5.07 ERA last year and seems the likeliest to be ousted from the starting five once Ross completes his rehab. (Alternatively, the Rangers could deploy a six-man unit as a means of keeping everyone in the rotation healthy, though that’s simply speculation.)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Angels Claim Juan Graterol, Designate Blake Parker
The Angels have claimed catcher Juan Graterol off waivers from the Diamondbacks, per a club announcement. The team designated righty Blake Parker for assignment to clear roster space.
Both Graterol and Parker have now changed hands multiple times over the winter. The former, a 27-year-old receiver who reached the majors for the first time in 2016, will return to the Angels — who lost him earlier in the offseason. Ironically, he lost his 40-man spot in Arizona to former Halos backstop Chris Iannetta.
Parker has seen even more movement, bouncing from the Yankees to the Angels to the Brewers and then back to Los Angeles. Clearly, the Halos will hope that he can be outrighted successfully, though there is obviously ongoing interest from other organizations as well.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: 1/19/17
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/18/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Pirates have announced the signing of first baseman/outfielder Joey Terdoslavich to a minor-league deal that includes an invitation to MLB camp. The longtime Braves farmhand, now 28, spent parts of three seasons in the Majors with Atlanta from 2013-15 but batted just .221/.296/.324 across 162 plate appearances. Terdoslavich does have a better track record in Triple-A, where he’s authored a career .258/.331/.410 in parts of five seasons.
- Joining the Indians on a minors pact is lefty Kelvin De La Cruz, per a club announcement. He will not receive a big-league camp invite. De La Cruz hasn’t performed well in the upper minors as of late and spent last season in the independent Atlantic League, tossing 116 innings with a 4.19 ERA and 6.8 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. His 2013 season split between the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates was strong enough for the Orioles to give him a Major League deal in the offseason despite the fact that he’d never pitched in the Majors, but his results from that time haven’t been encouraging.
- Red Sox signed righty Erik Cordier and lefty Cesar Cabral, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The hard-throwing Cordier, 30, will return stateside after a brief and unsuccessful stint with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2016 (10 runs in 12 1/3 innings). Cordier has long battled control issues but has shown a consistent ability to hit triple digits with his fastball in the past. His last Major League stint came in 2015. As for Cabral, the 27-year-old former Rule 5 pick has averaged about a strikeout per inning throughout his minor league career but has yet to find success at the Triple-A level. He pitched just 8 1/3 innings last season, all with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, and allowed nine earned runs on 13 hits and four walks. He’s logged 5 2/3 innings in the Majors in his career but has never been able to stick on a 25-man roster.
- The Marlins have added former Braves right-hander Brandon Cunniff on a minor league deal, also according to Eddy. The 28-year-old has totaled 52 innings for Atlanta over the past two seasons, posting a 4.50 ERA with 53 strikeouts but an unsightly 31 walks in that time as well. Cunniff’s fastball sits around 93 mph, and he has a history of missing bats in the minors, although his overall results began to tumble when he reached the Triple-A level. He’ll give Miami an experienced option to compete for a bullpen gig at some point in 2017, though the team’s offseason additions of Junichi Tazawa and Brad Ziegler make for a somewhat crowded right-handed relief picture behind A.J. Ramos, David Phelps and Kyle Barraclough.
Angels Extend Kole Calhoun
The Angels have agreed to a three-year contract extension with right fielder Kole Calhoun, per a club announcement, covering the 2017 through 2019 seasons. Importantly, the deal includes an option for 2020, which means that the team will pick up an added season of control while buying out all of Calhoun’s remaining arbitration eligibility.
Calhoun will be guaranteed $26MM in the agreement, while the option is valued at $14MM, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). He will be paid annual salaries of $6MM in 2017, $8.5MM in 2018, and $10.5MM in 2019, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). There’s also a $1MM buyout on the option year.
The deal represents a bit of a surprise given its structure. The sides had already agreed upon a $6.35MM arbitration salary for the coming season after Calhoun earned $3.4MM in 2016 as a Super Two. While arb-only agreements do occur from time to time, it’s not often that a mid-arbitration, high-quality regular gives up the rights to a free-agent eligible season just to lock in two more seasons of guarantees over arb-eligible years.
While it’s important to note that Calhoun’s future free-agent earnings were limited somewhat by his age — he’d have hit the market in advance of his age-32 season — this still looks to be a rather notable bargain for the Halos. There’s relatively little risk in the deal, given Calhoun’s track record and relative youth (he just turned 29). And promising just under $20MM for his final two arb years likely represents a discount on what he’d have earned through arbitration — barring a total fall-off in play. Adding a reasonably priced free-agent season, without taking on any lengthy commitment, provides a lot of value to the organization.
Though he was never hyped as a prospect, the former eighth-round draft pick has done nothing but perform as a professional. Calhoun showed plenty of promise during his first extended stay in the majors, back in 2013, and hasn’t looked back since. In over 2,000 trips to the big league plate, he carries a .266/.328/.436 batting line with 69 home runs. With solid glovework and baserunning added into the mix, he has steadily checked in with between 3 and 4 wins above replacement annually, making him one of the Angels’ best players.
With this move, the Angels have two-thirds of their outfield under control through 2020 at very appealing rates, given the quality of the players involved. That’s also the last season of the organization’s six-year deal with star center fielder Mike Trout. For a club that is attempting to remain highly competitive while managing some significant salaries, not all of which have gone according to plan, these extensions both represent strong values.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
J.P. Arencibia Announces Retirement
Former big league catcher J.P Arencibia has announced his retirement from the game in a message on Twitter. He’ll hang ’em up after parts of a half-dozen seasons at the major league level.
Arencibia didn’t spend any time in the big leagues last year, when he played at Triple-A with the Rays and Phillies organizations. But he had reached the majors in each of the prior six campaigns, beginning in 2010 with the Blue Jays.
Surely, Arencibia will be remembered most for his time in Toronto, where he was the regular catcher for three seasons. The first two of those went pretty well for the slugging receiver, as he combined for a .225/.279/.437 slash with 41 home runs over 2011-12.
But 2013 proved a turning point for Arencibia, who hit just .194/.227/.365 — though he appeared in a career-high 138 games. Always prone to swinging and missing, he ended that year with 148 strikeouts against just 18 walks. He later saw time in the majors with the Rangers and the Rays, but never regained his standing as a regular behind the dish.
Having failed to make it back to the game’s highest level in 2016, there was little question that the 31-year-old would have been looking at another minor-league assignment while waiting and hoping for another opportunity. Instead, he’ll move on.
As he humorously put it in his announcement: “I really never could take a walk in my career but this walk will be my biggest yet, I’m walking away from baseball.” MLBTR wishes Arencibia the very best in his future endeavors.