Ervin Santana’s Latest Asking Price In $60MM Range
At least as of one week ago, free agent starter Ervin Santana indicated that he was seeking a four-year deal in the $60MM range, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Though Santana had been said to be seeking a much larger contract earlier in the offseason, Passan wonders whether even the lowered asking price will be achievable at this point.
Santana, 31, has two major factors working against him: first, he suffered through a terrible 2012 season before finding redemption last year in Kansas City. And second, he comes with draft pick compensation attached since he declined the Royals' qualifying offer after the season.
With Matt Garza signing today for just four years and $52MM, it is fair to ask whether Santana can land a substantially larger contract. He may not be quite as good a pitcher as Garza, although he does not have the recent durability issues that the latter came with. But Santana, unlike Garza, will require his new team to give up a draft pick, and he remains on a market that has a competing arm in Ubaldo Jimenez.
Brewers In Discussions With Matt Garza
The Brewers are in discussions with Matt Garza on a deal believed to be for four years and $52MM, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). News of the club's pursuit of Garza was first reported by MLB.com's Brewer Nation blog.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Release Bryan LaHair
The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball league of Japan have released former big leaguer Bryan LaHair, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). LaHair was transferred to the Hawks from the Cubs after the 2012 season, agreeing to a two-year, $4.7MM deal that included an opt-out provision.
LaHair had a breakout 2012 season as a 29-year-old, posting huge first-half numbers that led to an unlikely All-Star appearance. But he faded in the back half of the year, ultimately ending up with a .259/.334/.450 line for the season, including 16 home runs, over 380 plate appearances. In Japan last year, LaHair matched that tally of homers over a similar 389 plate appearances, but saw his line dip to .230/.306/.428.
The left-handed swinging LaHair has seen time at both first and the corner outfields, increasing his versatility. He was limited almost exclusively to facing righties in his big 2012 season, and has only 96 career MLB plate appearances against southpaws, over which he has a meager .380 OPS. In his last full season in the minors, 2011, LaHair posted a 1.120 OPS against righties and a .875 mark against same-handed hurlers.
LaHair joins a thin group of corner options with left-handed power, and could prove attractive to MLB clubs looking for some pop off of the bench.
Scherzer Hopes To Reach Extension With Tigers
Cy Young winner Max Scherzer is optimistic on his contract situation, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com, and hopes to reach agreement on a new deal with the Tigers before the start of the season. Scherzer will not participate in contract talks after Spring Training, Beck adds.
Scherzer is playing out his last arbitration-eligible season on a one-year, $15.525MM deal that broke the record for a raise by a five-year service time pitcher. The 29-year-old was outstanding last year for Detroit, posting a 2.90 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 214 1/3 innings. He figures to headline a strong class of free agent starters next year, if a new deal is not reached first.
The two major recent pitching deals could have an impact on Scherzer's negotiations with Detroit. Though it obviously cannot be argued that Clayton Kershaw is a fair comparable for Scherzer — or anyone else, for that matter — his seven-year, $215MM deal raises the ceiling for the market. Indirectly, Kershaw's absence from the 2015 free agent class transfers some leverage to Scherzer, who would stand to be the best starter available.
More relevant, perhaps, is the seven-year, $155MM Masahiro Tanaka signing, which rises to the $175MM level when the $20MM release fee is included. Though Tanaka is obviously much younger than Scherzer, he has never thrown a pitch in North America, let alone landed a Cy Young. It is not hard to imagine Scherzer's agent, Scott Boras, arguing that his client deserves a larger guarantee than the Japanese ace.
As I explained back in December, the Tigers have cleared a substantial amount of future payroll space over recent months. Whether or not an extension for Scherzer was part of the reason for those maneuvers, Detroit certainly has additional flexibility to fit a new deal.
For his part, Scherzer says that he is excited by the prospect of free agency, but that Detroit "is a place where I want to be." "Going forward, I'm hopeful we can come to some terms on what we can do in the future," said Scherzer. "But if it doesn't happen in the near term, I'm sure we can get it done in the offseason."
Quick Hits: Sizemore, Tanaka
Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs took a stab at evaluating Grady Sizemore, who signed yesterday with the Red Sox, but ultimately concludes that there is too much uncertainty to make a projection reasonable. Here are some more notes on Sizemore and another notable signing from yesterday:
- The Reds offered a big league deal to Grady Sizemore and expected to land him, tweets Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "He changed his mind," GM Walt Jocketty told Sheldon.
- Discussing his decision to sign with the Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka expressed excitement with joining the game's most historically prominent club, the Associated Press reports (via the New York Times; video available via MLB.com). "They gave me the highest evaluation and are a world famous team," said Tanaka, who said his goal is to win a World Series in pinstripes.
- One oft-mentioned concern with Tanaka was his heavy usage in Japan. Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker posted Tanaka's actual pitch counts from last season, which he found in an Isao Chiba article from Shukan Baseball. Last year, the hurler threw 2,981 pitches over over 211 innings in 27 starts, or 109.7 pitches per start last year. (He also threw one inning in relief.) For reference, Clayton Kershaw — who is less than a year older than Tanaka — has exceeded 3,000 pitches in each of the last five seasons (last year, 3,428) while averaging around 104 to 105 pitches per start in his last four campaigns.
- The Cubs' final offer to Masahiro Tanaka was for six years and $120MM, a source tells Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link). That amount does not include the $20MM release fee.
- Chicago was competitive in terms of years and dollars, a source tells David Kaplan of CSN Chicago and WGN Radio (Twitter link), but the Cubs refused to include an opt-out after four years. That position certainly seems to make sense from the perspective of the rebuilding Cubs, especially, since much of the allure of Tanaka is in his ability to deliver value at the back end of his contract.
Red Sox To Sign Grady Sizemore
The Red Sox have officially reached agreement on a one-year, $750K MLB contract with outfielder Grady Sizemore, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Sizemore, 31, is represented by CAA Sports. The deal includes significant incentives based on both plate appearances and the number of days Sizemore appears on the Sox roster, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports (Twitter links). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter link) that the deal could reach $6MM if all are met.
Once one of the game's brightest stars, Sizemore has not played since 2011 due to a variety of injury issues, including microfracture surgery on his knee as well as operations on his back and a sports hernia. Over the 2005-09 time frame, Sizmore put up an excellent .276/.368/.488 line (with 125 home runs and 128 steals) while playing outstanding center field defense. That made him the fifth most valuable position player in the game over that time, according to Fangraphs, which values him at 28.7 fWAR over that stretch. Over 2010-11, however, Sizemore only saw a total of 435 plate appearances and posted a meager .220/.280/.379 triple-slash.
For a Red Sox team that saw longtime center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury leave via free agency, Sizemore represents an interesting option. Boston had figured to go forward with top prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. as the starter, and the team also controls another player with substantial center field experience in Shane Victorino. But Sizemore brings both depth and upside to the table, and is expected to compete with Bradley for the center field job over the spring, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
If the Sox decide at some point to give active roster spots to Sizemore and Bradley (both lefties), fellow lefty Mike Carp (already the subject of trade speculation) could end up as trade bait. Of course, given Sizemore's injury history and long layoff — not to mention Bradley's own inexperience — the Sox could wait to see how things play out in Spring Training before making any other moves.
Red Sox Designate Brayan Villarreal For Assignment
In order to clear roster space for Grady Sizemore, the Red Sox have designated right-handed reliever Brayan Villarreal for assignment, reports Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Villarreal came to Boston as part of the last year's Jake Peavy deal.
Villarreal faced only one batter for Boston last year, and spent most of the year at Triple-A for the Tigers. In 42 1/3 innings at that level, he posted a 2.76 ERA and 10.6 K/9 against 6.4 BB/9. Only 26 years of age, Villarreal was strong in his only season of full-time MLB work, throwing 54 2/3 innings of 2.63 ERA ball for the Tigers in 2012 (including 10.9 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9). As Alex Speier of WEEI.com tweets, Villarreal is out of options and therefore faced an uphill battle to stick on the 40-man roster.
Royals Avoid Arbitration With Justin Maxwell
WEDNESDAY: Maxwell will earn $1.325MM next year, MLB.com's Dick Kaegel reports.
TUESDAY: The Royals have avoided arbitration with outfielder Justin Maxwell, the club announced via press release. Kansas City did not disclose the terms of the deal other than its one-year duration.
The 30-year-old Maxwell was picked up from the Astros last year just before the trade deadline. He was excellent in his 111 plate appearances for his new club, posting a .268/.351/.505 line (including five home runs) in 35 games. Maxwell's career stats, however, do not back up that performance. In 874 lifetime plate appearances over five seasons, Maxwell has a .228/.316/.430 line.
Maxwell will be eligible for arbitration two more times before qualifying for free agency after the 2016 season.
Cubs Looking At Starters, Will Not Re-Sign Scott Baker
After losing out on Masahiro Tanaka, the Cubs remain interested in adding rotation depth, likely in the form of a relatively minor signing, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. Chicago will not be in the market for one of the top remaining free agent starter, such as former Cubbie Matt Garza, unless a golden opportunity arises.
Neither is the club interested in bringing back Scott Baker, Rogers adds. According to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter), the Mariners and Indians are more likely landing spots for the 32-year-old righty. The Cubs signed Baker to a one-year, $5.5MM deal last year, but Baker was only able to make three starts after a long Tommy John rehab.
Chicago has been linked to other mid-tier starting options, Rogers notes, including Paul Maholm and Jason Hammel. Both pitchers would seem to fit the mold of the club's rotation signings from last year, which included Baker, Scott Feldman (one year, $6MM), and Carlos Villanueva (two years, $10MM). Internal candidates for the club's final rotation spot, according to Rogers, include Justin Grimm, Kyle Hendricks, and Chris Rusin.
Rays Acquire Logan Forsythe In Seven-Player Trade
Logan Forsythe's name has been on the trading block in the past week or so, and it didn't take the Rays long to make a deal happen. The Rays and Padres have both announced a seven-player deal that sends lefty reliever Alex Torres and right-hander Jesse Hahn to the Padres in exchange for Forsythe, right-hander Brad Boxberger, minor league right-handers Matt Andriese and Matt Lollis, and minor league second baseman Maxx Tissenbaum.
We heard yesterday that San Diego was receiving interest in the 27-year-old. With several other utility options, led by Alexi Amarista, the Padres presumably felt Forsythe was expendable. The versatile defender had a nice 2012 campaign (107 OPS+), but struggled last year with a .214/.281/.332 triple-slash in 243 plate appearances last year. Swinging from the right side, Forsythe has had much better success against southpaws over his career than against same-handed hurlers (.793 vs .594 OPS).
The Rays will control Forsythe for four seasons, though only the coming year will be at the league minimum. Having spent time at second, short, third, and the corner outfield, Forsythe certainly fits Tampa's liking for flexible players. He will battle for a roster spot and playing time with players like Sean Rodriguez, Vince Belnome, and Jayson Nix. With prospects Hak-Ju Lee and (more recently) Tim Beckham suffering significant knee injuries, the Rays have seen their middle infield depth tested.
As I noted yesterday, a left-handed reliever would make sense in a deal for Forsythe, and it appears that could be just what the Padres will receive. Torres, 26, emerged last year for Tampa after converting to relief. He tossed 58 innings of 1.71 ERA ball, posting 9.6 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 and a miniscule 0.897 WHIP. Torres did, however, benefit from a low BABIP (.221), high strand rate (80.2% LOB), and low home run tally (.16 HR/9), making him a candidate for regression. Torres will not be eligible for free agency until 2020. Though the Rays got an extra option year to use on Torres, it appears they used it last year, leaving him without options.
Hahn, 24, entered the 2013 season ranked as the Rays' No. 14 prospect (per Baseball America) and enjoyed a strong year, though he split the season between Class-A Advanced and Rookie Ball — two levels at which he's older than the league average. Still, he posted a 2.09 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 69 innings of work across the two levels. BA notes that at one point heading into the 2010 draft, Hahn looked to be a first-round talent, but an arm injury caused him to fall to the sixth round and ultimately resulted in Tommy John surgery. Though all 20 of his appearances in 2013 were starts, he never pitched more than five innings, and he only hit that total one time. He did not rank among the Rays' Top 10 prospects heading into 2014, per BA.
Boxberger, 25, has a career 2.72 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 5.6 BB/9 and a 41.2 percent ground-ball rate in 49 2/3 innings with the Padres from 2012-13. The former supplemental-round draft pick was one of four players received by the Padres in the trade that sent Mat Latos to the Reds. Boxberger is a power arm that as a prospect was said to have closer upside but needs to limit his walks more effectively to reach that potential. He's averaged just 3.7 BB/9 in his Triple-A career, so there's reason to believe he can improve. He's controllable for six years but projects as a likely Super Two player due to the fact that he has 129 days of service time already under his belt.
The 24-year-old Andriese reached Triple-A for the first time in 2013 and enjoyed a strong season overall, compiling a 3.27 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 134 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. MLB.com ranked him 19th among Padres prospects following the season, noting that he could profile as a middle-of-the-rotation starter. BA ranked him 20th heading into 2013 and agreed with the mid-rotation upside, praising his power curveball and noting that if he didn't make it as a starter, his arm should translate to the bullpen.
Lollis, 23, transitioned to the bullpen full-time in 2013 and posted a 4.62 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 across three levels, including Triple-A. However, most of his success came at Class-A Advanced (2.32 ERA), as he posted ERAs north of 6.00 in Double-A and Triple-A. Lollis once ranked among the Padres' Top 5 prospects (per BA) but has seen his stock fall dramatically over the past three years.
Tissenbaum, 22, was an 11th-round pick by the Padres in 2012. In his first full season of pro ball, the lefty swinger that shares an alma mater with Joe Nathan (Stony Brook University) batted .277/.365/.359 with a pair of homers and four stolen bases in 490 plate appearances for Class-A Fort Wayne.
Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish first reported that Forsythe was headed to the Rays and Torres was likely on his way to Tampa. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times confirmed Torres' involvement (via Twitter), and ESPN's Keith Law reported that Hahn, Andriese, Lollis and Boxberger were changing hands (All Twitter links). Topkin then reported that a fifth player could be headed to Tampa as well (via Twitter), which was confirmed when the Padres announced the deal.
Steve Adams contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.