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Phillies To Sign Neil Walker

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The Phillies have reached a minor-league deal with veteran infielder Neil Walker, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). There’s a big-league camp invite; other details remain unknown.

Walker, 34, was once a sturdy MLB regular at second base. But he has functioned as more of a part-time corner player — first, third, and the outfield as well — over the past two seasons. He could battle with former Pirates teammate Josh Harrison and others for a utility role in Philly.

It’s a reasonable opportunity, but this still represents yet another suboptimal trip onto the open market for Walker. He took a qualifying offer from the Mets in 2017 and seemingly made good on the bet with another season of solidly above-average hitting. To that point of his career, Walker was a .272/.341/.437 hitter through more than four thousand MLB plate appearances. But he ran into the same headwinds that impacted so many others and ultimate landed with the Yankees on a surprisingly light, late-breaking contract. Hamstring and back issues no doubt hurt his market standing as well.

As it turned out, Walker hit a wall at the plate in the 2018 campaign. He was left with a $2MM deal with the Marlins. The results were improved in 2019, as Walker turned in an approximately league-average .261/.344/.395 output in 381 plate appearances. But that came despite judicious platoon deployment by the Fish. Walker has long carried yawning platoon splits and is best held to facing right-handed pitching.

Phillies To Sign Francisco Liriano

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The Phillies have reached agreement on a deal with veteran lefty Francisco Liriano, per Robert Murray (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of MLB Network had tweeted that a deal was close.

It’s said to be a minor-league pact and will obviously include an invitation to MLB camp. Liriano can earn $1.5MM in the majors and double that through incentives.

The 36-year-old Liriano spent last year working exclusively as a reliever, but had previously functioned primarily as a starter. Odds are he’ll be looked at primarily as a pen candidate by the Philadelphia organization, but his wealth of experience in multi-inning situations surely doesn’t hurt.

While he pitched to a 3.47 ERA over seventy frames in 2019, it’s not hard to see why Liriano was forced to settle for a minor-league arrangement. He posted 8.1 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9 along with a 50.3% groundball rate. Fielding-independent pitching metrics weren’t overly enthused (4.52 FIP; 4.92 xFIP; 4.76 SIERA) and Statcast indicates that Liriano gave up loads of hard contact.

Then again, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see Liriano in the picture with the Phils. He was able to generate a 13.5% swinging-strike rate last year, his loftiest mark since 2015. And lefties that can handle right-handed batters are perhaps more in demand than ever before, given the onset of the 3-batter minimum rule.

Tigers Sign Hector Santiago

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The Tigers have announced a minor-league deal with lefty Hector Santiago. He’ll receive an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training.

Santiago had some rather productive campaigns earlier in his career. But at 32 years of age, he has settled into the existence of a journeying southpaw swingman.

Over the past three years, Santiago has transitioned from membership in a 5-man rotation to long relief duties. He carries only a 5.20 ERA in the 206 innings he has thrown during that span. Santiago has struck out 8.5 batters per nine over that time but has also handed out excessive numbers of walks (4.9 per nine) and home runs (1.7).

It’s tough to imagine Santiago having much of a shot at the Detroit rotation in camp. But he could challenge for a bullpen role or otherwise slot into the Triple-A staff to provide depth.

Cubs Sign Danny Hultzen, Rex Brothers, Noel Cuevas

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The Cubs have minor-league deals lined up with southpaws Danny Hultzen and Rex Brothers as well as outfielder Noel Cuevas, per the latest minor-league deal log from Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had previously reported the Cuevas signing, via Twitter.

Hultzen had been dropped from the Chicago 40-man roster in December after making his long-awaited big-league debut late in 2019. The former second overall draft pick saw his career with the Mariners derailed by a series of debilitating arm injuries, but he reemerged with the Cubs organization.

Though Hultzen didn’t throw many innings in 2019, he did turn in some interesting numbers. In 18 total frames (3 1/3 in the majors and the balance at Triple-A), he racked up 28 strikeouts against 11 walks and permitted just a pair of earned runs on eight hits. During his MLB action, Hultzen worked in the 93 to 94 mph range with his fastball and got swings and misses on 12.3% of the pitches he delivered.

As for the flamethrowing Brothers, he spent the ’19 campaign turning in typically high-K, high-walk outings for the Yankees’ top affiliate. In 45 2/3 innings at Triple-A, the former Rockies and Braves hurler struck out 81 opposing hitters but also doled out 36 free passes. He ended the year with a 4.93 ERA. Once a fixture in the Colorado bullpen, Brothers has seen his big-league opportunities dwindle in more recent seasons.

Cuevas has a more recent track record with the Rockies organization. He struggled in the majors during his 2018 debut and was injured in his first game up in 2019. He ended up spending most of the just-completed campaign at Triple-A, where he turned in uninspiring numbers. But Cuevas has at times produced at an above-average rate at the plate in the upper minors. The 28-year-old is capable of playing all three outfield positions.

Angels Sign Jacob Barnes, Jake Thompson

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The Angels have inked a pair of former MLB righties to minor-league deals, according to the latest round-up of deals from Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle. Jacob Barnes and Jake Thompson will both be in camp trying to impress the Halos.

Barnes was once seen as a part of the long-term pitching picture in Milwaukee, Barnes is now looking for a bounceback opportunity after a rough 2019 season. Through his first three MLB campaigns, Barnes carried a 3.54 ERA with 153 strikeouts and 62 walks in 147 1/3 innings, all while producing grounders on about half the balls put in play against him.

That’s a pretty appealing overall statistical profile. But Barnes couldn’t keep things going in 2019. He was tagged for 27 earned runs and seven home runs in just 32 2/3 innings, split between the Brewers and Royals. He lost about two ticks of fastball velocity (though still averaged 94 mph) and saw his swinging-strike rate dive from the 13-15% range to 9.3%.

Thompson, who’s still just shy of his 26th birthday, will also be trying to get back on track. The former second-round draft pick washed out with the Phillies and didn’t perform as hoped in 2019 with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, working to a 4.74 ERA in 62 2/3 innings.

Jake Faria Clears Waivers

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The Brewers will hang onto righty Jake Faria, who had recently been designated for assignment. According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter), Faria was outrighted after clearing waivers.

The Milwaukee organization will be glad to retain Faria for depth, but he hasn’t pitched to expectations to this point. He arrived in the mid-season swap that sent Jesus Aguilar to the Rays — a change-of-scenery arrangement that didn’t yield results for anyone involved.

Faria is still just 26 years of age and has a history of some success in the majors. He sat just under 94 mph with his fastball and drew a 12.8% swinging-strike rate in 2019. But he was also knocked around in brief MLB action this year, following a similarly unsuccessful showing in 2018.

J.T. Realmuto On Arbitration, Contract Talks With Phillies

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Phillies backstop J.T. Realmuto is pursuing a significant raise in his final season of arbitration eligibility. But the wage dispute is a pragmatic one, the star explained to reporters including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

There’s a sizable spread between what Realmuto is seeking and what the Philadelphia organization is defending, raising the possibility of a relatively high-stakes hearing of the sort that can lead to some emotional moments. Whether or not there’s any mud-slinging before the arbitration panel, the backstop suggests that hurt feelings won’t be the cause or the result.

“I have a pretty good understanding of the process,” he says, “and I know it’s not the Phillies trying to slight me at all. It’s more the system. There’s no hard feelings there.”

Realmuto explains that he feels the Phils were generally fair in negotiations to this point. The Phillies filed at $10MM, coming in just shy of the $10.3MM projected by the computer model of MLBTR & arbitration guru Matt Swartz, so the club obviously was at least within reasonable bounds with its numbers. But Realmuto sees an argument for greater earnings — not only for himself, but also future backstops.

“Historically, catchers haven’t been treated very well in the arbitration process,” Realmuto opines. “So we feel like this is an opportunity for us to advance that for future catchers.”

It’ll be interesting to see how Realmuto and his reps go about trying to nudge the system in the player’s favor. Certainly, the rise in measurable catching statistics — Realmuto grades as one of the game’s top defensive backstops — creates some new potential evidence to work with. That the Phillies organization has heaped public praise upon Realmuto surely doesn’t hurt.

So, what does this all mean for a possible extension? Bad blood evidently won’t scuttle a deal. But a Realpolitik Realmuto will presumably also be a hard bargainer when it comes time to value his future.

“Anybody who knows much about the arbitration process knows that it’s business,” says Realmuto. “It’s not necessarily me against the Phillies right now. There’s definitely not any hard feelings there. So, I feel like we’re in the same place we were two or three months ago with the contract extension.”

Phillies To Sign Drew Storen

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The Phillies have inked reliever Drew Storen to a minors deal, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. He’ll earn at the $750K level if he’s able to crack the MLB roster.

This is another comeback bid for the 32-year-old Storen, who wasn’t able to progress last year in a similar effort with the Royals. He hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2017, when he threw 54 2/3 innings of 4.45 ERA ball with the Reds.

You have to go back quite a bit farther to find a time when Storen was a high-quality reliever: 2015, his final year with the Nationals. When that season drew to a close, he had compiled 334 frames of 3.02 ERA ball with 8.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9.

While Storen’s tenure in D.C. was generally successful, it included quite a few ups and downs. And it came to an end on the heels of a disastrous late-2015 run for both him and the Nats. After a strong first half, Storen stumbled down the stretch after being replaced in the closer’s role by mid-season acquisition Jonathan Papelbon. (The ensuing spectacle of Papelbon assaulting young star Bryce Harper was as memorable as it was unwelcome.)

Storen ended up being shipped to the Blue Jays in the ensuing offseason. He struggled in Toronto but picked things up after a mid-season swap to the Mariners. The Reds gave him a $3MM contract but weren’t really rewarded for the investment, as Storen’s velocity decline increased. His 2017 campaign ended with Tommy John surgery and he hasn’t been back to full strength since.

Dustin Pedroia Suffers “Significant Setback”

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It’s unpleasant to read about even if it isn’t entirely surprising: veteran Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has suffered a “significant setback” in his efforts to return to the field of play, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Details are scarce as yet, but it seems that Pedroia’s oft-repaired left knee is again to blame.

According to Abraham, Pedroia is now considered “questionable” at best to participate in Spring Training. That seems like a mild summation if indeed there’s a truly significant new problem with Pedroia’s long-problematic joint. He’s said to be weighing his future at the moment.

It’s not as if the Red Sox were relying heavily upon Pedroia in 2020. He was never expected to be ready until the middle of the season, if at all, in his latest attempt at a comeback after two lost seasons and multiple surgeries.

But it wasn’t hard to root for the gritty 36-year-old, a hard-nosed player beloved by Boston fans. And the team surely would’ve welcomed a contribution, given that it still owes Pedroia $25MM over the next two campaigns.

It seems the door is still cracked for a return. But even if this latest setback doesn’t completely sideline Pedroia on its own, it adds to the already heavy cumulative effect — both physically and psychologically — and raises the bar yet again for him to return to anything approaching his former glory on the ballfield.

Latest On Red Sox’ Asking Price For Mookie Betts

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We missed this recent item, but it bears highlighting. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney recently provided some details (Insider link) on the asking price the Red Sox have placed on star outfielder Mookie Betts.

It goes without saying that the Boston organization is requesting quite a bit in return for an opportunity to rent one of the game’s best players. Otherwise, we might already have seen a swap. And chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom may not have been quite so forthright in recently announcing his “expectation” that Betts will remain with the club for 2020.

Olney’s report is most interesting for its indications of the sort of structure the Red Sox would be willing to consider. He writes that the Sox would look to package Betts (and his big upcoming arbitration salary) with veteran hurler David Price (including “most or all” of his remaining $96MM in guaranteed earnings). To acquire those quality but highly compensated veterans, a rival organization would have to part with “two high-end prospects to front the deal.”

Even allowing a wide degree of latitude for interpretation regarding the quality of the talent requested in return, that feels like a steep ask. It’s also an understandable one. Betts may be costly, but he’s also a 27-year-old with a recent 10-WAR season under his belt. The well-rounded, high-end performer might conceivably take a team from plausible contender to division favorite.

The involvement of Price is notable both for what it says of the Red Sox’ valuation of the lefty — it remains rather high — and for what it means for the potential universe of Betts pursuers. All MLB teams could fit Betts into a payroll, even if it meant shuffling the deck to meet their internal targets. But adding that salary and most of the money owed Price in one fell swoop is another thing entirely. Some clubs that might theoretically match up on Betts could be taken out of the picture if Price must indeed be bundled.

It remains to be seen whether there’ll be further talks involving this Betts-Price scenario. Olney notes that the Red Sox could simply carry their young star into the season in hopes that he and others will spur a rebound performance after a laggard 2019 showing. If so, it’ll easily be worth the foregone trade return. If not, there’s always the trade deadline to reconsider, with Betts potentially featuring as a pennant-race-altering figure.

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