Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/24/19

By Mark Polishuk | January 24, 2019 at 1:49pm CDT

The latest minor moves from around baseball….

Latest Moves

The Rays announced that left-hander Oliver Drake has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, as Drake cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. This represents some rare stability for Drake, who has switched organizations seven times within the last nine months and became the first player to ever pitch for five different MLB teams in a single season. Drake posted a 5.29 ERA over 47 2/3 combined innings for his five clubs, with a 9.6 K/9 and 3.00 K/BB rate.

Earlier Today

The White Sox reportedly signed corner infielder Chris Johnson to a minors contract, though he won’t receive an invitation to MLB Spring Training, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Johnson hit .275/.313/.404 over 2995 plate appearances for five different Major League teams from 2009-16, including an impressive 2013 campaign that earned him a three-year, $23.5MM extension from the Braves (which ultimately didn’t pan out for the team). Johnson spent 2017 in the Orioles’ farm system and didn’t play at all in 2018, so the 34-year-old will be attempting something of a comeback as he tries to catch on with Chicago.
The Diamondbacks signed catcher Alberto Rosario to a minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. The 32-year-old backstop will return for his second season in Arizona’s organization. Rosario hit .253/.288/.313 over 179 combined plate appearances for the Snakes’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2018, missing over two months of the season to a pair of DL stints. A veteran of 13 professional seasons, Rosario appeared in 23 big league games with the Cardinals in 2016-17.

Cubs To Sign Brad Brach

By Mark Polishuk | January 24, 2019 at 1:24pm CDT

1:24PM: Brach will earn at least $4.35MM in guaranteed money in 2019, Rosenthal tweets. The mutual option is also more of a dual option for the 2020 season, similar to what we’ve seen in recent contracts for Zach Britton and Yusei Kikuchi. If the Cubs exercise their option for 2020, Brach will receive $9.5MM over the course of the two seasons. If Brach exercises his side of the option but the Cubs do not, Brach is still under team control for 2020 but at a lesser salary.

11:59AM: The Cubs have agreed to sign free agent reliever Brad Brach, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). The deal is a one-year contract worth $3MM, as per Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports (Twitter links), and the two sides hold a mutual option for the 2020 season. Brach, a client of Big League Management Company, will have to pass a physical before the deal is official.

After four years of excellent numbers out of the Orioles’ bullpen from 2014-17, Brach’s production stumbled in the first half of the 2018 season, as he posted a 4.85 ERA over 39 innings with Baltimore. Brach had an untidy 4.4 BB/9 rate over that stretch, though an inflated BABIP may have somewhat unfairly contributed to Brach’s struggles. After a deadline trade to the Braves, however, Brach looked more like his old self, delivering a 1.52 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and a 2.44 K/BB rate over 23 2/3 frames for Atlanta.

On the whole, Brach posted a career-best 46% grounder rate in 2018, though he also had a career-worst 35% hard-hit ball rate, far surpassing his previous high of 29.6%. His fastball also averaged 94.4mph after three years of topping the 95mph threshold, though Brach also threw his fastball less often than usual last season, instead using his changeup with greater frequency in 2018 than in any season save 2015.

These warning signs and Brach’s age (33 in April) may have been enough to lower Brach’s price tag to just one guaranteed season. (MLBTR ranked Brach 41st on our Top 50 Free Agents list, with Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Jeff Todd projecting Brach for a two-year, $12MM deal.) The mutual option does provide the right-hander with the ability to test free agency again next winter if he returns to his old form, making the deal essentially a pillow contract.

Brach served as Baltimore’s closer in 2017 when Britton was on the disabled list, and he could very well pick up some save opportunities early next season as Brandon Morrow recovers from November elbow surgery. At the very least, Brach will provide some backing behind Pedro Strop, Carl Edwards Jr., or whomever ends up handling the ninth inning while Morrow is out, assuming Joe Maddon doesn’t deploy a committee approach.

Getting the 2013-17 version of Brach for, at most, $9.5MM over two years would be a nice coup for a Cubs team that has been facing a payroll crunch all winter. Even the modest expenditure for Brach, however, puts Chicago into a higher Competitive Balance Tax bracket. As per Roster Resource’s projections, the Cubs now have a luxury tax payroll over just under $229MM for next season, putting them in line for an additional tax beyond the usual 20% “first-time” rate for not only exceeding the $206MM luxury tax threshold, but exceeding it by more than $20MM. There had been speculation that the Cubs could explore trading a big contract or two off its current roster to afford bullpen help or other acquisitions, and it remains to be seen if Theo Epstein’s front office has more moves in store to cut payroll and/or land new players.

Rangers Designate Jack Reinheimer For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | January 24, 2019 at 11:17am CDT

The Rangers have designated infielder Jack Reinheimer for assignment, as per a team press release. The move creates roster space for Asdrubal Cabrera, whose one-year deal with Texas is now official.

It has already been a busy offseason for Reinheimer, who began November with the Mets but since went to both the Cubs and Rangers on waiver claims. Originally a fifth-round pick for the Mariners in the 2013 draft, Reinheimer has appeared in 23 Major League games, racking up 40 total plate appearances for the Mets and Diamondbacks in the last two seasons. The 26-year-old owns a .275/.343/.361 slash line over 2805 career PA in the minors, and has mostly lined up as a shortstop while also seeing quite a bit of time at second base and third base. This versatility could make him a claim target once more, though if he remains in the Texas organization, Reinheimer provides the Rangers with some infield depth in the minors.

Astros Still Interested In Dallas Keuchel

By Mark Polishuk | January 24, 2019 at 10:44am CDT

It’s too early to count out a reunion between Dallas Keuchel and the Astros, as Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that Houston continues to have interest in the free agent left-hander. We haven’t heard much connecting Keuchel and the Astros this winter, though back in late December, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart speculated that the Astros could reconsider signing Keuchel if he was still on the market by late January, and if the team hadn’t made any other notable pitching signings.

This is exactly the situation both sides find themselves in, four weeks later, and it’s fair to wonder if there could be more than a “slim” chance (as McTaggart described things) of Keuchel again donning a Houston uniform in 2019. There hasn’t been much recent news on Keuchel, as it could be that his market is being held up until Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado both sign contracts. Of the teams who have been linked to Keuchel this offseason, at least three (the Phillies, Nationals, and Padres) have also had interest in one or both of Harper and Machado. Of course, Washington could be out of the running for Keuchel regardless of what happens with Harper, as the Nats have already augmented their rotation by signing Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez.

Beyond those three teams, the Reds, Rangers, Brewers, Angels, Braves, and Blue Jays have all reportedly had some level of interest in Keuchel at certain points this offseason. This group could all still be fits on paper, though Texas, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles have all preferred to add shorter-term arms to their rotations. Keuchel, meanwhile, was still looking for at least a five-year contract as of last month.

With all this in mind, there seems to be some room for the Astros to re-emerge as a potential landing spot. Keuchel is represented by Scott Boras, who has negotiated some creative contracts for his pitching clients in recent months, and thus could find some common ground if Houston is wary of making a big multi-year commitment to a 31-year-old southpaw. Since Keuchel rejected a qualifying offer, the Astros are currently in line for a compensatory draft pick if signs elsewhere, but the club could decide that foregoing that extra pick is worth it if Keuchel could be re-signed at an acceptable price.

The Astros’ pitching staff was already expected to take a hit this winter with Keuchel and Charlie Morton (now with the Rays) hitting free agency, but they lost another arm in early November when Lance McCullers underwent Tommy John surgery. While the one-two combo of Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole gives Houston plenty of quality at the front of the rotation, the back end is less certain. Collin McHugh is returning to starting after a year in the bullpen, youngsters Josh James and Framber Valdez have less than a year of MLB experience between them, and some highly-touted arms in the farm system (namely top prospect Forrest Whitley and righty J.B. Bukauskas) are entirely unproven at the big league level. Adding a seasoned, playoff-tested veteran like Keuchel would go a long way towards reinforcing the staff in a year that the Astros hope to again contend for a World Series title.

Mets Notes: McNeil, Free Agents, D’Arnaud, Davis

By Mark Polishuk | January 24, 2019 at 9:50am CDT

The latest from the Amazins….

Teams have shown trade interest in utilityman Jeff McNeil, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required), though Rosenthal is doubtful the Mets would move the 26-year-old. McNeil’s first MLB season saw him hit an eye-popping .329/.381/.471 over 248 plate appearances for New York, numbers that seemingly had him penciled in as the Mets’ second baseman in 2019. After the acquisitions of Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie, however, McNeil may spend more time in the outfield than the infield next season as the team intends to deploy him as a depth piece all over the diamond. Given his six years of team control and the lengthy injury history of several Mets veterans, it makes sense that New York isn’t looking to deal McNeil, though he would certainly be one of the club’s better trade chips if GM Brodie Van Wagenen wanted to make another bold move.
The larger focus of Rosenthal’s piece is on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, as Rosenthal opines that the Mets should be pursuing either player as a way to make a final push as a true contender. The Mets haven’t been considered as prime candidates for either superstar free agent since both players seem out of New York’s price range, though Rosenthal notes that the Mets will recoup a lot of money from insurance on David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes. Earlier today on MLBTR, Steve Adams listed the Mets as a reasonable candidate as one of the “mystery teams” who are reportedly in the hunt for Machado.
Travis d’Arnaud is another player who could be taking on a multi-position role for the Mets next season, which the catcher is eager to assume. “Wherever the team needs me or wants me to play, I’ll play,” d’Arnaud tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. More than anything, d’Arnaud just wants to get back on the field in general, after missing almost all of 2018 due to a partial UCL tear in his throwing elbow. This was the latest in a long list of injuries for d’Arnaud, which is why the Mets signed Wilson Ramos and relegated d’Arnaud to backup catcher, or perhaps hybrid bench duty as a catcher or corner infielder. There’s also still a chance d’Arnaud could be traded, though he seems to have a clear path to the backup job after Kevin Plawecki was dealt to Cleveland.
Speaking of roster versatility, J.D. Davis is open to helping the Mets as a pitcher, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. “It’s a set skill that I have — a good arm and a good fastball — I can go out there and compete and throw some strikes and get some outs, that’s for sure,” Davis said. The Mets don’t yet have any plans to work Davis out as a pitcher during Spring Training, DiComo reports, though he notes that Van Wagenen has twice referenced Davis’ ability on the mound since acquiring Davis from the Astros earlier this month. Davis pitched in college and owns a 92-mph fastball, which he showed off in three mop-up duty relief outings for Houston over the last two seasons. For now, however, his primary role with the Mets will be as depth at both corner infield and corner outfield spots.

Padres Sign Carlos Torres To Minors Deal

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2019 at 12:13am CDT

The Padres have signed right-hander Carlos Torres to a minor league contract, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The deal includes an invitation to the Padres’ big league Spring Training camp.

Torres, 36, posted a 6.52 ERA over just 9 2/3 innings out of the Nationals’ bullpen in 2018, his lowest innings total in any of his nine Major League seasons. It was a far cry from Torres’ usual workhorse performances of recent years, which included an average of 68 appearances and 77 innings per season from 2014-17 with the Mets and Brewers.

Torres’ walk rate and strikeout rate both took negative turns in 2017, however, and he was only able to land a minors deal from Washington last offseason. (The Nats picked Torres up after he was released from another minor league contract with the Indians during Spring Training.) Torres did have some good Triple-A numbers last year, however, so there’s some reason to believe that he could bounce back in 2019. At worst, he’ll provide some additional veteran depth in what should still be a strong Padres bullpen next season.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Santana, Marlins, Happ, Gray, Reds, Perez, Boras

By Mark Polishuk | January 20, 2019 at 11:06pm CDT

Carlos Santana in a Marlins uniform? Surprising at it may seem, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required) reports that Miami was in talks with the Mariners about the veteran first baseman before Seattle flipped Santana to the Indians as part of a three-team deal with the Rays. It’s been a quiet offseason for the Marlins as they continue their rebuild and weigh J.T. Realmuto trade offers, though since their past fire-sale moves have cleared a lot of future payroll space, there have been indications that the Fish could use this room to potentially to add future trade chips. The Marlins had interest in free agent D.J. LeMahieu, and Santana is owed $35MM over the next two seasons.

Between the Marlins’ flexibility and Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto’s creativity in swinging deals, any number of scenarios could have been floated. The most obvious offer could have been a “buying a prospect” type of trade, where the Marlins absorb a big chunk of Santana’s salary if the Mariners added some minor leaguers along in the deal. If not a prospect, perhaps the M’s could have included a Major League player along with Santana in a package to Miami, potentially a needed reliever or a left-handed bat. Whatever was discussed, Seattle ended up preferring the return from the three-team deal (a Competitive Balance Round draft pick and $10MM in salary relief), though the Marlins are certainly emerging as a possible trade partner for teams trying to unload an ill-fitting contract.

Here’s more from Rosenthal’s latest set of notes from around baseball…

The Reds were willing to offer J.A. Happ a three-year contract and give him more in guaranteed money than the $34MM he received from the Yankees in a two-year deal (with a $17MM vesting option for 2021). New York’s offer, however, included a higher average annual value than Cincinnati’s offer. Rosenthal speculates that Happ could have based on his decision on a desire to return to a contender, or perhaps the fact that pitchers are generally wary of the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.
The Happ situation could be a reason the Reds are looking to work out an extension with Sonny Gray before acquiring him from the Yankees, a tactic that Rosenthal says has surprised some rival agents and executives. While Gray’s success outside of Yankee Stadium has made him a popular bounce-back candidate on another team, Rosenthal wonders if the right-hander might want to lock in a multi-year payday now in the wake of his 2018 struggles. Gray might welcome a chance to avoid a free agent market that has become less friendly to veterans, and Cincinnati offers him a familiar face in pitching coach Derek Johnson (Gray’s former coach at Vanderbilt).
Rosenthal’s piece also offers a broader overview of the Reds’ offseason, which has seen the club try to make significant upgrades even while still looking like postseason longshots in the competitive NL Central. Cincinnati has been willing to trade some second-tier prospects to add established Major League players, while resisting moving any of its top minor league talents (such as Nick Senzel or Taylor Trammell).
The Astros and Mariners both had interest in left-hander Martin Perez before Perez agreed to join the Twins yesterday. Perez picked Minnesota since he wanted to be a starting pitcher next season, which likely gave the Twins the edge over the Mets, though the other suitors might have had more room in their rotation. The Astros are thin on pitching, though since Houston plans to contend next season, it might have been a taller order to assign a starting spot to a pitcher who struggled as Perez did in 2018. The Mariners have a full rotation plus Justus Sheffield waiting in the wings at Triple-A, though more room could have made for Perez — Felix Hernandez’s health and future as a starting pitcher is questionable, and Mike Leake has been the subject of trade rumors this winter.
Scott Boras has been vocal about what he sees as a lack of competitiveness around baseball, and has made several suggestions (though not yet officially to the league or players’ union) about ways to better motivate teams to win games — and, of course, have more incentive to spend money on Boras clients in free agency. The list includes such concepts as extra playoff teams, cash bonuses to teams that reach the postseason, and draft pick compensation for teams that sign a veteran free agent or win a draft lottery for passing various wins thresholds. Boras also proposes an anti-tanking rule that would prevent teams from receiving a top-five draft pick if they win 68 or fewer games. “Our system is like a restaurant saying, ’If I can’t be an elite, fine-dining restaurant, I am no longer going to make a good hamburger. I’m just going to give poor meat to my clientele,’ ” Boras said. “Which results in fewer patrons, a downturn in (overall major-league) attendance three years running.”

NL Notes: Cubs, Reds, Pederson, Bourgeois

By Mark Polishuk | January 20, 2019 at 9:42pm CDT

The Cubs have struggled to develop homegrown pitchers during Theo Epstein’s regime, though senior VP of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that “this is probably the first year I can confidently sit here and feel like we have the guys that can help this team in the major leagues this year, if needed.” The Cubs are already overloaded with veteran rotation options on the 25-man roster, with Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, Yu Darvish, swingman Mike Montgomery, and Tyler Chatwood all on hand to make starts. Of course, those seven account for over $100MM in salary next season, as the Cubs have been forced to spend big on starting pitching to account for a lack of help from the farm.

Jen-Ho Tseng and Duane Underwood Jr. are Triple-A arms who cracked the big leagues in 2018, plus a variety of 2016 draft picks (Thomas Hatch, Michael Rucker, Duncan Robinson) could potentially make the MLB level this season, possibly in the bullpen if not the rotation. The 2016 class is noteworthy, as McLeod said the player development staff has been “more aggressive” with how it brings along its pitchers given the lack of results in earlier years. “We tried to fit everyone neatly into a box,” McLeod said. “Do these mechanics lead to what we think is going to be long-term health? And has he thrown enough strikes that we think prior performance is going to equal this type of performance going forward? We put so many checks on guys…that probably hamstrung us a little bit.”

Austin Bibens-Dirkx Signs With Taiwan’s Uni-President Lions

By Mark Polishuk | January 20, 2019 at 7:32pm CDT

The Uni-President Lions of the Taiwan-based Chinese Professional Baseball League have signed right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx to a contract for the 2019 season. NOWnews reported the signing last week (hat tip to CPBLStats.com) and Bibens-Dirkx confirmed the deal himself on his Instagram page (while also announcing that he and his wife Leah are expecting a baby in June — congratulations to the Bibens-Dirkx family!)

This will be the most far-flung destination yet for Bibens-Dirkx over a 13-year professional career that has seen him pitch for six different MLB organizations, as well as a couple of stints in independent baseball. The 33-year-old spent the last three seasons with the Rangers, which led to his first taste of Major League action. Bibens-Dirkx posted a 5.27 ERA, 5.6 K/9, and 2.09 K/BB rate over 114 1/3 innings for Texas in 2017-18, starting 12 of his 37 games played.

Bibens-Dirkx underwent knee surgery at the end of last season, though it doesn’t appear to have been too major a setback. (His Instagram page also has multiple posts chronicling Bibens-Dirkx’s offseason throwing sessions.) The Rangers outrighted Bibens-Dirkx off their 40-man roster in November and he elected to become a free agent.

Cardinals, Miles Mikolas Interested in Extension

By Mark Polishuk | January 20, 2019 at 6:54pm CDT

Right-hander Miles Mikolas is scheduled for free agency after the 2019 season, though both he and the Cardinals have interest in negotiating a contract extension. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the team has already been in touch with Mikolas’ agent “about what the framework would look like for an extension,” while Mikolas told Goold and other reporters that he would be open to a longer-term stint in St. Louis.

“It’s something that the Cardinals and my agency have to work out – if the numbers work out and everything turns out to be it’s absolutely something that could happen,” Mikolas said.

Talks may not begin in earnest until the Cards open their Spring Training camp, which conveniently takes place in Mikolas’ hometown of Jupiter, Florida. While most players prefer to have contract negotiations wrapped up before Opening Day in order to avoid distractions, Mikolas doesn’t mind if talks stretch into the season. This could give the Cardinals some time to address other extension candidates, though GM Michael Girsch recently indicated that the team may take something of a wait-and-see attitude towards Marcell Ozuna, Michael Wacha, and Paul Goldschmidt — the latter because he has yet to play a game in a Cardinals uniform, and Ozuna and Wacha because of some injury concerns in 2018.

Mikolas signed a two-year, $15.5MM deal with the Cardinals last winter in the wake of a dominant three-year run in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants, following an undistinguished 91 1/3 innings with the Padres and Rangers from 2012-14. Mikolas’ second stint in the big leagues was, needless to say, a vast improvement over his first — the righty posted a 2.83 ERA, 5.03 K/BB rate, and 49.3% grounder rate for St. Louis, while his 200 2/3 innings pitched ranked tenth among all MLB starters.

ERA predictors (3.28 FIP, 3.67 xFIP, 3.93 SIERA) weren’t quite as bullish on Mikolas’ performance, and he didn’t miss many bats, with only a 6.55 K/9 rate. Still, Mikolas exhibited excellent control (a league-low 1.3 BB/9) and limited his hard contact, with a .271 wOBA and an only-slightly higher .283 xWOBA. Mikolas turns 31 in August, though his arm hasn’t faced too much of a workload over 10 pro seasons, after Mikolas spent his first five seasons as a reliever. Indeed, Mikolas has looked quite durable over the last two years, with just 200+ inning performance for the Cardinals and a 188-inning performance for the Yomiuri Giants in 2017.

That first Mikolas contract has already proven to be a bargain for the Cardinals, yet Mikolas has also benefited since he has quickly lined himself up for an even larger payday, whether as a free agent next winter or in an extension. Mikolas’ contract came without any allowance for his lack of Major League service time, so the Cardinals don’t retain any arbitration control over Mikolas even though he’ll only have slightly more than three years of MLB service time by the end of the 2019 season.

The Cards haven’t been shy about locking up key players during John Mozeliak’s reign atop the baseball operations department, and Goold estimates that a Mikolas extension could fall somewhere between Kyle Lohse’s extension in 2008 (four years, $41MM) and the five-year, $80MM free agent pact Mike Leake signed with St. Louis in the 2015-16 offseason. The Cardinals face losing Wacha in free agency and Adam Wainwright is year-to-year at this point, and while the team has a number of intriguing young arms in the fold, there’s certainly value in keeping a durable veteran like Mikolas amidst these more unproven rotation options.

Mikolas’ unique career history makes him something of difficult player to find a comp for, extension-wise. Mikolas might also feel a desire to lock in another big salary while his value is at its highest, rather than test what is becoming an increasingly hard-to-predict free agent market next winter. Even if Mikolas pitches well for the Cardinals this season, it would be interesting to see what teams would offer a 31-year-old who doesn’t generate a ton of strikeouts, especially if the Cards were to issue Mikolas a qualifying offer in the fall.

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