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Pirates Sign Socrates Brito, Miguel Del Pozo, Phillip Evans

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The Pirates have announced a series of minor-league signings. Outfielder Socrates Brito, southpaw Miguel Del Pozo, and infielder Phillip Evans have all received non-roster invitations, as has Hector Noesi, whose signing was previously reported.

Brito was once viewed as a quality prospect but hasn’t shown much in the majors. The 27-year-old carries a lifetime .179/.216/.309 slash in 218 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. But he did turn in a .282/.328/.510 batting line in 428 trips to the dish last year at Triple-A with the Blue Jays organization. New Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington is well-acquainted with Brito, having come over from Toronto.

The 27-year-old Del Pozo debuted in the bigs last year with the Angels after a mid-season claim from the Rangers. He didn’t exactly stake out a firm claim to a permanent job, allowing 11 earned runs on three long balls with an 11:8 K/BB ratio in 9 1/3 frames. But the southpaw works in the mid-nineties with his heater and delivered 68 strikeouts in 48 2/3 Triple-A innings.

As for Evans, also 27, he touched the bigs in the two prior seasons with the Mets but didn’t make it back in 2019 with the Cubs. He did see steady action with the Chicago organization’s top affiliate, slashing .283/.371/.470 in 539 plate appearances — good for a solid but hardly exceptional 106 wRC+ in the International League.

Cubs To Sign Hernan Perez

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The Cubs have agreed to a minor-league pact with utilityman Hernan Perez, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links). It’s said to include a non-roster invitation to participate in big league camp. Perez would earn $1MM in the majors and could double that via incentives.

Perez, 28, is at his best a notable stolen-base threat who delivers quality glovework all over the field. But his bat has never kept pace and has increasingly drooped into unplayable territory.

Back in 2016, Perez swiped 34 bags and delivered 13 long balls with a .272/.302/.428 slash line in 430 trips to the plate for the Brewers. But that has proven to be a high-water mark. Last year, he managed only a .228/.252/.379 batting line in 246 plate appearances.

While it’s easy to envision the Cubs finding a role for Perez, particularly with an extra roster spot and a few recent infield stalwarts departing the team earlier in the winter, the organization will want to see him earn a job in camp. Beyond the need to make strides with the bat, he’ll need to show he can reverse a worrying drop in sprint speed. After hovering in the 80th percentile range, Perez fell to the 55.9th percentile in 2019.

Padres To Sign Kyle Barraclough

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The Padres have agreed to a minors deal with righty Kyle Barraclough, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). It includes an invitation to participate in the MLB side of spring camp.

Barraclough has at times tantalized with his talent as a late-inning reliever, including a run of success to open his career with the Marlins, but he has been wholly inconsistent. He spent much of 2019 with the Nationals, who jettisoned him after 25 2/3 innings of 6.66 ERA ball.

After landing with the Giants, Barraclough allowed only a pair of runs in eight innings. But he also issued nine walks to go with ten strikeouts, continuing a career-long battle with free passes and convincing the team to allow him to reach the open market at season’s end. Now, the division-rival Friars will take a low-risk shot at getting Barraclough back to being an effective hurler.

Brewers Sign Ryon Healy

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The Brewers announced a one-year deal with corner infielder Ryon Healy. Financial terms aren’t known. Healy had been cut loose by the Mariners at the outset of the offseason.

Healy will presumably be given a shot at earning a role in camp — if he can show he’s at full health. He’s still working back to full health after an injury-wrecked 2019 season that ended with hip surgery in August. Just when he’ll be fully able to contribute remains to be seen.

28 in January, Healy offers plenty of pop. He swatted 31 home runs in his 711 total plate appearances with the Mariners and might well have delivered more had he been able to participate more fully in the offensively charged 2019 environment. But Healy maintained a miserable .280 on-base percentage in Seattle.

The Brewers will surely hope that Healy can find a way to gain in the OBP department. He has never drawn many walks but also doesn’t strike out a ton. Healy carried lofty BABIP numbers on his way up the farm and in his early career with the Athletics, but fell off upon moving up the coast to the M’s. Statcast figures indicate that Healy may have been a bit unfortunate of late, perhaps bolstering the idea of taking a shot on him.

Defense isn’t seen as a strong suit for Healy, who has graded poorly at both first and third base to this point in his career. To what extend he’s seen as an option at the hot corner remains to be seen. The Brewers have shown a willingness to take chances on defensively suspect sluggers in recent years, relying in part upon advanced shifting to help cover for less-than-elite glovework.

 

Cardinals Sign Kwang-hyun Kim

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3:57pm: The Cards have introduced Kim. It’s a two-year, $8MM deal, Goold tweets. Kim can also achieve up to $1.5MM in incentives in each year of the contract, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). The deal includes protection against a minor-league demotion, per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap (via Twitter).

1:28pm: The Cardinals have struck a deal with Korean pitcher Kwang-hyun Kim, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). Contract details aren’t yet known, but a formal introduction has already been scheduled.

It emerged yesterday that Kim was not only in talks with the Cards, but had traveled to St. Louis in an effort to finalize a contract. While the seriousness of the interest was pretty clear, we now have a final resolution.

Long considered one of the most talented hurlers in his native South Korea, Kim nearly came to the majors way back in 2014. While the Padres were willing to pay a $2MM posting fee, the club couldn’t work out a contract with Kim. 

Under the current posting system, every team in baseball was free to negotiate with Kim once his former club, SK Wyverns, decided to make him available. Rather than an up-front fee, the amount is determined in reference to the contract itself. Presuming that this contract includes less than $25MM in guaranteed money, the Cards will pay twenty percent of the total value to SK Wyverns.

Kim has long been a productive hurler in his native Korea. Though he has had some health issues at times, he’s coming off of a full 2019 campaign. While offense was down across the Korea Baseball Organization, Kim still stood out for his 190 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball. He recorded 180 strikeouts against 38 walks on the year.

It’s not yet clear how the Cards intend to utilize Kim. Long a starter in the KBO, he certainly could be given a shot in the rotation, though doing so would likely mean bumping Carlos Martinez back into the bullpen. It’s possible the club will simply allow both pitchers to stretch out in camp and then hold off on a decision until the season arrives.

Brewers Sign Avisail Garcia

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The Brewers have finalized their third free-agent signing of the past week, announcing Tuesday that they’ve agreed to a two-year contract with outfielder Avisail Garcia. The Mato Sports Management client will reportedly be guaranteed a total of $20MM and can earn up to $30MM if a 2021 club option is exercised.

The contract is said to come with a $500K signing bonus, a $7MM salary in 2020 and a $10.5MM salary in 2021. The $12MM club option contains a $2MM buyout and can be converted to a mutual option if Garcia reaches 550 plate appearances in 2021 or totals 1050 plate appearances over the first two seasons of the contract.

“Avisaíl provides an impactful right-handed hitting force in our lineup,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a press release. “Adding him to our current group of outfielders strengthens what was already one of the strongest outfields in baseball.”

This move represents the first big move on the corner outfield market. Garcia ends up getting the two-year deal that MLBTR predicted, but at a greater rate of pay than we had supposed. The contract sets an important market marker for fellow youthful, right-handed-hitting corner pieces Nicholas Castellanos, Marcell Ozuna, and Yasiel Puig.

Garcia actually received three-year offers, including from Milwaukee, according to Heyman. But he preferred the shorter pact, with the idea being that he will have a shot at returning to free agency in the first year of a new CBA. Whether that proves an optimal time to reenter the market remains to be seen, but Garcia — who won’t turn 29 until next June — will certainly still be rather young at that time.

This time last year, Garcia settled for a one-year bounceback deal with the Rays after he struggled through an injury-limited 2018 campaign. He made good on the contract, turning in 530 plate appearances of .282/.332/.464 hitting with twenty home runs, though that didn’t represent a full return to his breakout ’17 effort (.330/.380/.506).

The Brewers are betting that Garcia can at least replicate his showing last year in Tampa Bay. He graded well with the glove and has surprisingly outstanding sprint speed. While he doesn’t walk much, Garcia doesn’t strike out a ton and has shown he can hit for a high average. It’s certainly possible to envision the talented player putting it all together and delivering a star-caliber performance in Milwaukee.

Despite two-straight postseason appearances, the Brewers have taken an aggressive approach to turning over their roster this winter. The club now has a bit of an overload in the outfield, although the Brewers are generally aggressive in terms of rotating players through multiple positions. Per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (Twitter link), manager Craig Counsell has informed Garcia that the team plans to utilize him in left field and in center field next season, with Ryan Braun moving around (i.e. spending time at first base) in order to accommodate the new arrangement. Garcia also has ample experience in right field, which could help to ease the burden on Christian Yelich early in the year as he returns from a season-ending patella fracture.

Jose F. Rivera of ESPN Deportes broke the news that the two sides were close to an agreement. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the agreement and terms (via Twitter). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the annual breakdown (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Twins, Sergio Romo Agree To Deal

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Dec. 17: Romo’s new deal comes with a $4.75MM salary in 2020, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The 2021 option is valued at $5MM and comes with a $250K buyout, bringing the maximum value to $9.75MM over two years.

Dec. 16: The Twins are nearing a deal with reliever Sergio Romo, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). If and when it’s complete, it’ll be a one-year arrangement that guarantees the Meister Sports client $5MM, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It seems the pact could grow to $10MM in total value if a 2021 option is exercised, but the precise details still aren’t clear.

Romo gave the Minnesota organization just what it was looking for when he came over in a summer trade. In 27 appearances, he carried a 27:4 K/BB ratio. Including his early-season work with the Marlins, Romo rode his still-biting slider to 60 1/3 innings of 3.43 ERA pitching.

Given that Romo will turn 37 before the start of the next season, it’s fair to wonder how much longer he can keep this going. Then again, he has continued to deliver good innings with much the same formula as ever before. And the Twins don’t need to worry about the long haul here. Romo is being paid for his stabilizing presence in the relief corps of a team that fully intends to contend in 2020.

That the value-conscious, analytically inclined Twins front office kept pace with the bidding on Romo is a strong indication that expectations are relatively high. While he isn’t the K/BB monster he once was — he produced seventy of the former and just five of the latter in 2011 — Romo still produced a 13.9% swinging-strike rate last year. Durability isn’t a concern. Over his dozen years in the majors, Romo has thrown 623 frames and carried a 2.92 ERA along the way.

It’s still possible imagine another bullpen move for the Twins, but this fills a big need on the Minnesota roster. That leaves the focus, as ever, on the club’s rotation. With Madison Bumgarner becoming the latest top starter to head elsewhere, and the rival White Sox among the organizations still facing a need in the rotation, the intrigue is perhaps only increasing.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Astros Re-Sign Joe Smith

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The Astros have announced a two-year deal to bring back reliever Joe Smith. The deal includes $8MM in guaranteed money, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Smith is a client of Excel Sports Management.

Smith missed a big chunk of 2019 owing to a torn Achilles, but bounced back with aplomb and threw 25 excellent innings down the stretch. The 35-year-old sidearmer obviously convinced the Houston brass that he has plenty left in the tank.

Though he has rarely been a major strikeout pitcher, Smith has always produced strong groundball numbers. Outside of his tendon tear, he has been quite durable. And he has a long and consistent history of befuddling opposing hitters. In 695 1/3 frames at the game’s highest level, he carries a 2.98 ERA and has yet to finish a season with an ERA over 3.83.

Upon his return last year, Smith sat comfortably in his typical range in terms of velocity and swinging-strike rate. He attacked the zone more than ever and lived to tell the tale, unlike many 2019 pitchers in a longball-laden season.

Despite his relatively late return to action, the Astros had gained full trust by the end of the season. They went to Smith frequently in the postseason, with four appearances each in the ALCS and World Series after a pair of divisional showings. He ultimately allowed three earned runs in 8 2/3 innings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pirates Sign Luke Maile

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4:50pm: The club has announced the signing.

3:30pm: The Pirates have agreed to a deal with free agent catcher Luke Maile, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It’ll be a MLB pact, with financial details still unknown. Maile is a client of Pro Star Management.

Maile, 28, has turned in abysmal showings with the bat in two of the past three seasons. He was nearly a league-average hitter in 2018, when he slashed .248/.333/.366 in 231 plate appearances. But Maile owns just a 48 wRC+ for his career and was worse than that in 2019.

Clearly, the Bucs aren’t making this move on the presumption that Maile will be a valuable offensive contributor. The hope is that he’ll be capable of delivering at least palatable work from the batter’s box, though the team surely knows even that can’t be relied upon.

When the Pirates decided to drop Elias Diaz at the outset of the winter, the club made clear it wanted to improve defensively. That’s an area that Maile can be trusted. He grades as an above-average overall defender, generally receiving positive reviews in the framing department, and has been trusted by the Rays and Jays in spite of his occasionally dreadful offensive output.

Yankees To Sign Adam Warren

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The Yankees have reached agreement on a minor-league contract with righty Adam Warren, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp as a non-roster invitee. It’s a two-year arrangement, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand notes on Twitter, which recognizes the fact that Warren is returning from Tommy John surgery.

The contract includes a $800K salary in the event that Warren is able to earn his way onto the big league roster. He can also pick up another $700K in incentives based upon appearances. The deal includes an August 28th opt-out clause, Rosenthal adds, which perhaps suggests that Warren is hoping to rehab on a fairly aggressive timetable from his September procedure.

Warren, 32, first cracked the majors with the Yanks and has spent parts of seven seasons in two prior stints in the Bronx. He pitched for the Padres in 2019, struggling to a 5.34 ERA in 28 2/3 innings with 7.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.

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