Red Sox Re-Sign Sandy Leon; Alexi Ogando Elects Free Agency
SUNDAY: Ogando has elected to become a free agent, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has learned.
FRIDAY: The Red Sox announced a series of moves this afternoon, including the re-signing of catcher Sandy Leon. Boston also outrighted several players off of its 40-man roster (joining Ryan Cook, who was claimed by the Cubs).
Leon was given a major league deal, but simultaneously was outrighted off of the 40-man roster to Triple-A. He’ll earn $534K in the big leagues and $273K in the minors, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter links). The move was obviously conceived of as a mechanism to keep him around as a back-up plan behind the plate without committing a 40-man roster spot.
Meanwhile, Boston has outrighted first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig along with relievers Alexi Ogando and Jean Machi. Craig, of course, is still playing under a significant extension and has now twice been outrighted off of the team’s big league roster. Ogando and Machi were both eligible for arbitration — with MLBTR projecting salaries of $2.4MM and $900K, respectively. Obviously, the club was not interested in committing to that level of pay to the pair of righties.
Nexen Heroes Accept $12.85MM Posting Fee For Byung-ho Park
SATURDAY: Neither the Indians nor the Tigers submitted the winning bid for Park, via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and MLive.com’s Chris Iott (on Twitter). The Indians did bid for Park, although their bid came up short; the Tigers did not bid for him. The Rangers are not the team either, via a tweet from MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The Orioles, who looked like a potential fit for Park, were outbid and will not be signing him, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The Padres did not win the bidding either, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Jeff Passan of Yahoo tweets that the Red Sox did not win the bid and will stick with Hanley Ramirez at first base.
FRIDAY: Korea’s Nexen Heroes have decided to accept a $12.85MM bid on the rights to negotiate a big league contract with first baseman Byung-Ho Park, the club said in an announcement. (The news comes via Korean outlet Naver Sports, at a Korean language link. Han Lee of Global Sporting Integration tweeted the key portion of the report in English.)
It is not yet known what MLB club won the posting process, but the as-yet-unidentified team will have thirty days to work out a contract with the first baseman. Nexen technically has until Monday afternoon to make its formal decision on the bid, at which point the clock will begin to run.
If Park and his new club are not able to reach agreement on a contract, all involved would lose something. Nexen would not receive the posting fee, Park would not be able to play in North America, and the winning team would not only miss out on the player but also the time spent in talks. It’s far from certain that a contract will be agreed upon, but the incentives are aligned to make it happen.
The reported $12.85MM fee would fall well shy of the $25MM+ posting amount commanded by lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu. But it steadily outpaces what the Pirates paid Nexen last year (around $5MM) for the rights to reach a deal with infielder Jung-Ho Kang. After the team-to-team transfer was arrived at, Kang and the Bucs agreed to a four-year, $11MM guarantee.
Surely, the success of the latter this year in the majors helped boost the appeal of Park. Both had similarly outlandish numbers in the KBO, though Park has done it more consistently over several seasond. Of course, he’s also a first baseman.
In the just-released list of MLBTR’s top fifty free agents, Tim Dierkes predicted that Park would command a $10MM posting fee and a five-year, $40MM contract from the winning team. The first part of that was close, but it remains to be seen how negotiations will proceed.
Market Notes: Wieters, Morneau, Twins, Freese, Astros
Now that it’s November 7th, on the east coast at least, free agency has officially begun. Qualifying offers (twenty of them) and option decisions marked the final key elements to set up the market. Here are a few notable reports as business opens:
- The Braves will not pursue catcher Matt Wieters, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com tweets. Atlanta has appeared at least to be a plausible landing spot, depending perhaps on what they decide with youngster Christian Bethancourt, but Gammons’ sources certainly make that possibility seem unlikely. Wieters received a qualifying offer today, so a signing team would need to sacrifice a draft pick to add him, though Atlanta’s top choice is protected.
- First baseman Justin Morneau is not entertaining thoughts of retiring and “definitely” wants to keep playing, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports on Twitter. That had always seemed to be the case, since Morneau worked back from his latest head and neck issues just for a few weeks at the end of the year. The 34-year-old has looked good at the plate over the last two years and should draw plenty of interest — particularly from American League clubs.
- We’ve also heard some chatter that Morneau and the Twins could have mutual interest in a reunion, though Joe Mauer is entrenched at first. Morneau could theoretically slot in as the DH, but the club needs to find a way to get Miguel Sano into the lineup and still has the solid Trevor Plouffe at third. It’s possible, Berardino writes, that Sano could begin spending some time in the outfield in winter ball in an effort to open the possibility of him getting action there next season. Of course, the team’s handling of Sano and Plouffe likely won’t be dictated by the veteran Morneau, but it’s obviously intriguing to consider the possibilities.
- Though the Angels did not extend a qualifying offer to third baseman David Freese, new GM Billy Eppler said that the team will at least look into a return, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports. “We’ll engage him in the marketplace,” said Eppler. “We love what he brings on the field and in the clubhouse.”
- While the Astros have proven willing to act boldly to improve their major league roster, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes that it could be a relatively quiet offseason for the club. “With the exception of lefthanded relievers, there’s nothing I’d say we absolutely have to do,” explained GM Jeff Luhnow. “There’s a lot we want to do,” he added, perhaps suggesting that the organization might pursue some creative opportunities without feeling much urgency.
Twenty Free Agents Receive Qualifying Offers
Today marked the deadline for players to receive one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offers, and we saw a record 20 players receive them. There were only nine recipients in 2012-13, followed by 13 the next year and a dozen last winter. This winter’s slate of free agents has long been considered robust, but that’s still a remarkable increase in the use of the QO.
Here are this year’s free agents who were extended a qualifying offer by their teams (in alphabetical order)
- Brett Anderson, SP (Dodgers)
- Wei-Yin Chen, SP (Orioles)
- Chris Davis, 1B (Orioles)
- Ian Desmond, SS (Nationals)
- Marco Estrada, SP (Blue Jays)
- Dexter Fowler, OF (Cubs)
- Yovani Gallardo, SP (Rangers)
- Alex Gordon, OF (Royals)
- Zack Greinke, SP (Dodgers)
- Jason Heyward, OF (Cardinals)
- Hisashi Iwakuma, SP (Mariners)
- Howie Kendrick, 2B (Dodgers)
- Ian Kennedy, SP (Padres)
- John Lackey, SP (Cardinals)
- Daniel Murphy, 2B/3B (Mets)
- Colby Rasmus, OF (Astros)
- Jeff Samardzija, SP (White Sox)
- Justin Upton, OF (Padres)
- Matt Wieters, C (Orioles)
- Jordan Zimmermann, SP (Nationals)
The rules regarding the qualifying offer are set forth in full detail right here. In brief, though, should these players reject the offer and sign with a new team, their former team will stand to receive a “sandwich” round draft pick as compensation. Those new teams, in turn, will have to forfeit their top unprotected draft pick (or picks, if they sign multiple QO-rejecting players). If a player rejects a QO but ultimately re-signs with the same team, no draft pick shuffling occurs.
The net result is that players who reject qualifying offers enter the market with the requirement of draft compensation weighing them down. The players listed above will now have one week to decide whether or not to accept the QO and play on a one-year deal worth $15.8MM, or instead to or reject the offer in search of a larger guarantee on the open market.
The word “guarantee” is the key to that sentiment: while many will focus on whether or not the players can top that average annual value on the free agent market, more often than not, a player is concerned primarily with maximizing the amount of money he can earn over his prime seasons. Few players are ever sold on the idea of playing on a one-year deal when a multi-year guarantee can be had. Single-year contracts, on the free agent market, are often reserved for older players who don’t know how long they wish to continue playing (e.g. Torii Hunter last year), players coming off significant injuries (e.g. Brett Anderson last winter) or players who have underperformed in a contract year (e.g. Colby Rasmus last offseason).
Indeed, we’ve yet to see a single player accept a qualifying offer. While upon first glance it might make sense to suggest a player with a spotty track record, such as Anderson, should accept the offer, there’s quite possibly more downside for him in accepting than in rejecting. Even if Anderson is faced with a cold market, he’d likely be able to find a one-year contract at an AAV north of $10MM — which is what he got last year after an injury-shortened season — if not a one-year offer commensurate with the total sum of the qualifying offer, as Ervin Santana did previously when signing a one-year, $14.1MM contract (that year’s QO value). Whereas the downside in accepting is “settling” for a one-year deal a few ticks below the QO level, the upside in rejecting is finding perhaps a three-year deal that could more than double the guarantee he’d otherwise receive. This risk/benefit calculus generally points toward testing the market.
Reports on whether or not any player will accept the offer should be filtering in over the next week, but those looking for a quick resource to check the status of each can use MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker (the provided link is already filtered to show only free agents that have received the QO, and their status will change from “Received” to “Rejected” or “Accepted” upon a decision being reached).
Outrighted: Ruggiano, Heisey, Wilson, Perez, Beliveau, Elmore, Perez, Sadler, Cumpton
Teams are continuing to prune their 40-man rosters as decisions arise, and there were a number of outrights over the last day or two. We’ll cover them all here:
- The Dodgers outrighted both Justin Ruggiano and Chris Heisey, with both outfielders electing free agency after clearing waivers, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Ruggiano and Heisey were both added very late in the season — in the latter’s case, re-acquired — and saw limited action overall. It’s worth noting, though, that Ruggiano turned things on after he was demoted early on by the Mariners, raking at Triple-A and even slashing a cool .291/.350/.618 in his sixty plate appearances in Los Angeles. The 33-year-old will be an interesting bench target for teams looking to add a threat against southpaws.
- Catcher Bobby Wilson refused an assignment with the Rangers after clearing outright waivers, as executive VP of communications John Blake announced on Twitter. The 32-year-old spent time with both the Rays and Rangers last year, continuing to serve as a fill-in backstop who does not contribute much at the plate.
- Likewise, outfielder Juan Perez is headed for free agency after he was outrighted by the Giants, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. Perez, 28, has received 246 total plate appearances over the last three years in San Francisco, compiling a meager .224/.267/.316 batting line. He’s spent most of his time in recent years at the Triple-A level.
- Lefty Jeff Beliveau and infielder Jake Elmore have elected free agency after losing their 40-man spots with the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. Beliveau impressed in 2014, striking out 28 batters and allowing just seven earned runs in 24 frames, but missed most of 2015 after undergoing shoulder surgery. The 28-year-old Elmore, meanwhile, managed to rack up a career-high 158 plate appearances last year in Tampa Bay, but he slashed just .206/.263/.284.
- Also hitting the open market is infielder Hernan Perez, who the Brewers outrighted, per a club announcement. He’ll qualify as a minor league free agent. The 24-year-old got a 90-game audition in Milwaukee after being claimed from the Tigers, but slashed .270/.281/.365 and apparently did not force his way into the organization’s plans.
- Finally, injured righties Casey Sadler and Brandon Cumpton have lost their 40-man spots with the Pirates, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Neither has spent a significant amount of time in the big leagues, though Sadler has debuted and Cumpton did throw just over 100 frames over 2013-14. Both will factor as rotation and pen depth if and when they are ready to return from their respective arm surgeries.
Athletics Claim Andrew Lambo Off Waivers
The Athletics have claimed outfielder Andrew Lambo off waivers from the Pirates, Oakland announced today. Lambo, 27, missed much of the season as he battled plantar fasciitis.
Lambo’s calling card is his pop, which emerged in a huge 2013 campaign in which he blasted 32 long balls in 501 plate appearances (split between Double-A and Triple-A). After slashing .328/.389/.563 in his 262 Triple-A plate appearances in 2014, it seemed that Lambo was on his way to becoming an interesting power piece in the majors.
That could still come to pass, and Oakland is an interesting place for him to land. It remains to be seen what the A’s have in mind for Lambo, who has only seen minimal MLB playing time. But the club relied on several unproven players last year, including Rule 5 pick Mark Canha, and it’s plausible to imagine Lambo functioning as one left-handed-hitting component of a broader corner outfield/first base/DH rotation.
Of course, as Baseball America noted in rating Lambo the Pirates’ 21st-best prospect before the 2014 season, power is the only plus tool in his arsenal. It remains to be seen whether his in-game, MLB power output can ever be sufficient to make up for his lesser-regarded skills, such as the “fringe-average” baserunning and outfield defensive grades he got from BA.
Dodgers Decline Options On Arroyo, Peralta, Utley
The Dodgers have declined the team’s club options on starter Bronson Arroyo, reliever Joel Peralta, and infielder Chase Utley, the team announced (h/t to J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group, on Twitter). That trio will all hit the open market with the move. It would be hard to call any of the decisions a surprise, as all three veterans had their issues in 2015.
The aging Arroyo missed the entire year with Tommy John surgery, but still changed hands twice. He was moved to the Dodgers as part of a huge trade deadline swap with the Braves, who had previously taken on his salary in order to add prospect Touki Toussaint. The $4.5MM buyout on his $11MM option, then, will remain the responsibility of the Atlanta organization.
Peralta’s deal, which was signed with the Rays when now-Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was in charge there, included three successive $2.5MM options. None include buyout obligations. The first of those was picked up, but the 2016 version proved too costly after Peralta managed only 29 innings of 4.34 ERA pitching on the year. (More worrisome, perhaps, are his fading strikeout numbers and time missed due to a neck injury.)
As for Utley, who was picked up in an August swap, the $2MM buyout on his $15MM vesting option will be paid by the Phillies. Utley’s contract, like Peralta’s, included a trio of options. A mid-season break due to ongoing ankle issues kept Utley shy of the vesting requirement (500 plate appearances), and the 36-year-old never really got going at the plate with either organization. He ended up with a composite .212/.286/.343 batting line — by far his lowest output since he established himself as a regular in 2005.
Rangers Make Qualifying Offer To Yovani Gallardo
They waited until the last minute to pull the trigger, but the Rangers have officially announced that the club made a qualifying offer to righty Yovani Gallardo. Ultimately, GM Jon Daniels called it a “fairly easy” decision to make the one-year, $15.8MM offer.
The veteran hurler was acquired last winter from the Brewers in exchange for a trio of young players: infielder Luis Sardinas and righties Corey Knebel and Marcos Diplan. He delivered a solid season to Texas at a reasonable $14MM salary ($4MM of which was covered by Milwaukee).
Gallardo is hardly an overwhelming pitcher. His heater clocks in at a below-average velocity, and last year he generated less than six strikeouts per nine this season (while walking more than three batters per regulation game).
But he has provided a lot of solid innings, and that has plenty of value in today’s market. The 29-year-old is not exactly a sure thing to go over 200 frames annually — a feat that he’s accomplished twice, in 2011-12 — but he has made thirty or more starts in each of the last seven seasons.
While Gallardo has rarely been dominant, he does carry a lifetime 3.66 ERA. And he’s posted consecutive earned run averages of 3.51 and 3.42 over the last two seasons. ERA estimators have never quite supported those results — this year, for instance, he carried a 4.59 SIERA — but he’d still be a useful piece with some regression baked into expectations.
Denard Span, Doug Fister Will Not Receive Qualifying Offers
The Nationals announced that the club has made qualifying offers to righty Jordan Zimmermann and shortstop Ian Desmond, but did not issue an offer to center fielder Denard Span or to righty Doug Fister. (Via James Wagner of the Washington Post, on Twitter.) At one time, all four players had seemed like strong candidates to receive QOs, though only Span was on the bubble as the decision neared.
As things stand, then, the Nats will only pick up two extra draft picks this winter — assuming, as is expected, that Zimmermann and Desmond reject the offer and sign elsewhere. It’s too soon to rule out a return for either with any degree of certainty, but all signs have pointed toward new destinations. Washington reportedly attempted to work out extensions with both players a few winters back, but talks never progressed.
It is at least marginally surprising to hear that the club won’t issue an offer to Span, who has been a key cog at the top of the Nats lineup since coming to D.C. via trade three years ago. But he’s entering his age-32 season after missing both the start and the end of the season due to separate core muscle surgeries.
Washington could have chosen to roll the dice with the offer, making it with expectations that Span would decline. After all, returning on a one-year deal — possibly with reduced playing time, given the presence of Michael Taylor in center — might not have held much appeal to the veteran. And the downside wouldn’t have been terrible, given that Span would make a nice fit and wouldn’t be overwhelmingly expensive. But the front office apparently decided that some combination of the team’s needs, Span’s health, and the cost were not worth the risk.
As for Fister, who’s also headed for his age-32 campaign, 2015 was a season to forget. He did end up with a palatable-enough 4.19 ERA over 103 innings, but he lost his rotation spot and only ended up making 15 starts. Fister figures to be a popular bounceback option on this year’s free agent market.
Diamondbacks Outright Jhoulys Chacin
The Diamondbacks have outrighted right-handed starter Jhoulys Chacin, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Chacin has cleared waivers and elected free agency.
There had been rumblings that the team would retain Chacin, with chief baseball officer Tony La Russa saying that he had “seen enough” to know that the righty would be “in the competition” for the team’s 2016 rotation. But a projected $1.8MM arbitration tab apparently proved too rich, leading to today’s move.
It’s always possible that Arizona could seek a reunion on the open market. But Chacin will also have a chance to consider other possible homes. He only recorded 26 2/3 innings in the majors last year, but allowed only ten earned runs and ten walks (against 21 strikeouts) in that span. He also put up good results at Triple-A. It’s worth remembering, too, that Chacin tossed nearly 200 innings of 3.47 ERA ball — while pitching half his games at Coors Field — in the not-so-distant 2013 campaign.