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Diamondbacks To Sign Joaquin Arias To Minors Deal

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to sign infielder Joaquin Arias to a minor league contract, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Arias will be invited to Arizona’s big league Spring Training camp.

Arias, 31, has spent the last four years as a utility infielder for the Giants, hitting .262/.286/.346 over 843 plate appearances with San Francisco (plus a cool 5-for-12 over 12 career postseason PA for two of the Giants’ World Series-winning teams.)  He’s seen lots of time at second, third and short with defensive metrics indicating that the hot corner is his best defensive position.  Arias played in only 40 games in 2015, and was both designated for assignment and then outrighted off San Francisco’s 40-man roster last summer.

Playing time could be hard to come by for Arias in Arizona since the D’Backs are already deep in infield options.  The signing could be a hint that the Snakes are planning to move another infielder, or (perhaps more likely) Arias is being signed to provide Triple-A depth.

Nationals Sign Shawn Kelley

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After days of conflicting reports, the Nationals have officially announced the signing of right-hander Shawn Kelley to a three-year contract. The Frye McCann Sports client is said to have received a $15MM total guarantee over three years, with salaries of $4MM (2016) and $5.5MM (2017 and 2018).

Jun 30, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres relief pitcher <a rel=

Kelley, who turns 32 in April, posted a 2.45 ERA and 63 strikeouts (against just 15 walks) in 51 1/3 relief innings for the Padres in 2015.  This fine performance was backed up by metrics like FIP (2.57), xFIP (2.91) and SIERA (2.55). Kelley also pitched well according to those advanced statistics in 2013-14 as a reliever for the Yankees but wasn’t as lucky on the ERA front, posting a 4.46 ERA in those two seasons.

It was certainly an opportune time for Kelley to post the best of his seven Major League seasons.  Kelley has a career 3.67 ERA, 3.33 K/BB rate, 10.2 K/9 over 284 1/3 career innings.  He has only a 33% ground ball rate for his career, but he improved greatly in that category last season with a career-best 42.7% number.  He’s been effective against hitters on either side of the plate, and Kelley’s career splits indicate he’s actually been better against left-handed batters (.666 OPS) than right-handed batters (.711 OPS).

Between Kelley and left-hander Oliver Perez, Washington has now agreed to contracts with two notable relievers within the last week.  The two deals are a big step towards the bullpen overhaul many expected for the Nats this offseason.

And since the news of the Kelley signing first broke, the Nats added two more pen arms. After agreeing to terms with veteran righty Yusmeiro Petit, the club shipped Yunel Escobar to the Angels for 23-year-old flamethrower Trevor Gott. All told, the Nats’ pen will features at least four new faces, though more change could still be to come.

It remains to be seen what the Nationals will end up doing in terms of high-leverage arms. Closer Jonathan Papelbon and setup man Drew Storen are both reportedly on the trading block, but it’s not clear what direction the organization could take in terms of acquisitions with Darren O’Day headed to the Orioles and Aroldis Chapman’s status in limbo.

Reports surfaced recently that Kelley’s market was heating up, so it’s no surprise that the reliever has now landed a new contract. Kelley was rated 44th on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list, with Tim Dierkes projecting him to land a two-year, $12MM deal.

ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweeted the financial parameters of the deal, with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeting details. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that the deal would go through. Jack Curry of the YES Network originally reported the signing (via Twitter) on December 8, though later reports suggested agreement was not yet finalized.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Royals Sign Joakim Soria

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DECEMBER 10: The deal is official, with Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (via Twitter) and Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star (Twitter links) providing details.

Soria will earn $7MM next year and receive successive $1MM raises for the next two campaigns. The mutual option is priced at $10MM and comes with a $1MM buyout. Soria’s incentive package tops out at $4MM annually and can be met through games finished or games started.

Needless to say, it’s a shock to hear that the sides have contemplated the use of Soria in a starting capacity, but that has indeed made its way into the contract as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported (via Twitter) would likely be the case. Entering his age-32 season, Soria has never started a big league game and made only 18 in the minors (excluding a one-inning rehab start in 2013).

DECEMBER 7: The Royals have a major new partner in their “law firm” of a bullpen, as the World Series champs are finalizing a three-year contract with right-hander Joakim Soria, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link).  The deal will pay Soria $25MM in guaranteed money over the three seasons, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets, plus performance bonuses are available.  Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports that there is also a mutual option for a fourth season.  The contract will be official once Soria passes a physical, according to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan.  Soria is represented by Oscar Suarez.

Kansas City’s lockdown bullpen was one of the biggest factors behind its World Series championship, and adding Soria helps keep the pen strong after some recent personnel losses.  Greg Holland will miss most of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery and was non-tendered, Ryan Madson agreed to a deal with the A’s earlier today and Franklin Morales is also a free agent.

Soria, of course, is a familiar face in K.C. as he spent his first five Major League seasons as a Royal after being selected in the 2006 Rule 5 draft.  He blossomed into a star closer and recorded 160 saves from 2007-11 but then missed a season due to Tommy John surgery and hit the open market after the Royals declined their club option on his services.

Joakim Soria

Post-surgery, Soria has returned to being a strong relief arm, recording a 2.99 ERA, 9.3 K/9 and 3.59 K/BB rate over 135 2/3 innings with the Rangers, Tigers and Pirates.  Soria actually posted his highest-ever average fastball speed (92.2 mph) just last year, so his arm certainly appears to be fully recovered.  He’s been in demand at the last two July trade deadlines, first going from Texas to Detroit in 2014 and then last July to become a setup man for the Pirates.

With Wade Davis stepping in so brilliantly as the Royals’ closer after Holland went down, it’s probable that Soria (who turns 32 in May) will again take a setup role with his new team.  The combination of Davis, Soria and Kelvin Herrera is as scary a 7th-8th-9th combination as there is in baseball, and Luke Hochevar has also emerged as a force since converting to relief work in 2013.

The $25MM guarantee doesn’t quite match the $27MM Soria was reportedly looking for, though the performance bonuses will likely give him a good shot at matching or even surpassing that total (and he’ll obviously far surpass it if he and Royals both exercise that option for 2019).  As FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier today, Soria was looking for incentive clauses that would pay him extra if he did become a closer, so it’s fair to speculate that the bonuses in his Royals deal could address that possibility.  As the only pitcher with recent and significant closing experience on the open market, it’s interesting that Soria chose a club that doesn’t have a clear path to a closing job — that could be a response to the glut of star closers that have been available in trade talks this offseason.

The Royals have never given $25MM to a reliever before, and they’ve topped that mark for very few pitchers in general over Dayton Moore’s tenure as general manager.  Clearly they were open to spend to keep their bullpen at an elite level, and the extra revenue generated by the last two years of postseason baseball surely didn’t hurt in that respect.  The Tigers, Rangers, Blue Jays and Giants are a few of the other teams known to have interest in Soria this offseason.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports Images

Giants Sign Jeff Samardzija

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DECEMBER 9: The Giants have officially announced the signing.

DECEMBER 5, 2:20pm: Samardzija’s contract breakdown is provided by Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).  The righty will receive a $9MM salary in 2016 then $18MM in each of the next four years.  Samardzija gets a $3MM bonus immediately and then another $6MM in signing bonus money will be spread out over the last four years in equal $1.5MM installments.  The no-trade clause allows Samardzija to block deals to eight teams per year.

12:06pm: The Giants have agreed to sign right-hander Jeff Samardzija to a five-year deal, CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic reports (Twitter link).  Samardzija will earn $90MM from the contract, according to Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown (via Twitter).  The contract contains a limited no-trade clause (as per CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman) and is pending a physical.

With the Giants coming up short in the Zack Greinke sweepstakes, they pivoted towards another of the top remaining arms on the free agent market.  The Giants were known to be looking for pitching help this winter and they were connected to Greinke, David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann and former Giant Mike Leake in various rumors throughout the offseason.

Jeff Samardzija

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Giants add yet another top starter to the rotation, as was speculated in the wake of the Greinke signing.  FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that the Giants are still interested in Leake and also like free agent Hisashi Iwakuma, so Samardzija could perhaps just be the first step in the team’s rotation upgrades.

In signing Samardzija, the Giants add a workhorse who has averaged 216 innings in each of the last three seasons.  This type of durability is sorely needed for a San Francisco rotation that has a lot of question marks behind ace Madison Bumgarner.  Jake Peavy was effective but limited by injuries in 2015, Matt Cain is coming off consecutive injury-shortened seasons and was very ineffective last year, and rookie Chris Heston is still something of an unknown quantity as he enters his sophomore year.  Even more depth could be added if the Giants indeed do land another starter, as Heston could conceivably take over the swingman role left by the non-tendered Yusmeiro Petit.

Of course, Samardzija himself isn’t a complete sure thing given that he’s coming off easily the worst of his four full seasons as a starting pitcher.  The righty posted a 4.96 ERA, 3.33 K/BB rate and 6.9 K/9 over 214 innings with the White Sox in 2015, allowing a league-high 29 homers and 118 earned runs.  That K/9 total was Samardzija’s lowest since 2010 and his grounder rate also plummeted to 39% after sitting at a very solid 49.2% in 2013-14.

The Giants clearly have faith that Samardzija can rebound in 2016 and beyond, however, and that he’ll return to his impressive 2012-14 form.  Samardzija turns 31 in January and has many fewer innings on his arm than most pitchers his age, thanks to extra years spent as a reliever and a relatively late start to his baseball career due to his stint as a star wide receiver for Notre Dame.  “The Shark” will also now be working in one of the game’s most pitcher-friendly stadiums (AT&T Park) and will have the Giants’ excellent defense behind him.  Samardzija’s 2015 numbers could be partially explained by the combination of the brutal White Sox defense, hitter-friendly U.S. Cellular Field and perhaps even just pitching in the American League, though the righty was excellent in his half-season with the A’s in 2014.

It may seem unusual that a pitcher coming off such a rough season would land a $90MM contract and yet MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected Samardzija for a five-year, $80MM deal (also correctly picking him to land with the Giants, to boot).  That extra $10MM bump may well have come due to the speed in which free agent aces are flying off the board.  With well-heeled teams like the Dodgers, Cardinals and Cubs still in need of pitching, it bodes well for Cueto, Leake, Wei-Yin Chen, Kenta Maeda and other remaining free agent starters that the supply of available arms is so quickly dwindling.

Since Samardzija rejected a qualifying offer from the White Sox, the Giants will have to give up their first-round draft pick (18th overall).  Chicago receives a compensation pick between the first and second rounds.

Photo courtesy of Kelvin Kuo/USA Today Sports Images

Cubs, Diamondbacks No Longer In Mix For Shelby Miller

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Shelby Miller is still an Atlanta Brave as of this morning, though trade winds are swirling around the right-hander.  Here’s the latest…

  • While the Orioles have inquired on Miller, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links), there does not appear to be a match since Atlanta obviously seems to be angling for bats.
  • The Cubs are also “not currently in [the] mix” for Miller, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets, joining Arizona in that regard. While the Dodgers have had conversations with the Braves, it’s “unclear” where they stand, per Rosenthal.
  • The Diamondbacks appear to have “moved their attention away” from Miller, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. There are still multiple clubs involved on the righty, however, Bowman adds.

Earlier Updates

  • The Braves reportedly made progress on a Miller deal and a trade could happen as soon as today, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets (and expands upon further in a report today).  Braves management met “late into [the] night” discussing Miller.
  • The Diamondbacks are still hopeful they’ll be the team to obtain Miller today, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Atlanta and Arizona have had several talks about Miller, though the D’Backs have turned down at least two offers that would’ve sent A.J. Pollock to the Braves.

Starting Pitching Links: Kuroda, Leake, Tribe, Lee, ChiSox

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Hiroki Kuroda will pitch another season for NPB’s Hiroshima Toyo Carp, according to a report from the Sanspo news outlet (hat tip to NPBTracker’s Patrick Newman for the translation).  Kuroda spent the first 11 years of his pro career with the Carp and, last winter, decided to cap off his career by leaving Major League Baseball to return to his old club.  The 40-year-old seemingly picked up right where he left off, posting a 2.55 ERA, 3.66 K/BB rate and 5.6 K/9 over 169 2/3 innings for the Carp in 2015.  Here are some more starting pitching items from around baseball…

  • The Cardinals and Diamondbacks are both still interested in Mike Leake, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Reports from yesterday indicated that both clubs were somewhat wary of Leake’s asking price.
  • The Indians aren’t actively shopping any of their top starting pitchers and they’d prefer to obtain hitting help without subtracting from the rotation, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian).  The Tribe is receiving plenty of offers and Antonetti is open to considering anything that would help the roster.  That being said, Antonetti also noted that “our rotation’s been a strength of the team.  So, we would be very judicious in considering trading away any one of those guys. It’s certainly not our intent. It’s not our motivation. We’re not looking to do it.”
  • Cliff Lee is looking for a one-year Major League contract and his main goal is to sign with a winning team, according to Heyman (via Twitter).  Lee’s upside is strong enough that Heyman predicts Lee “probably gets more than you’d think” in his next salary, despite his missing all of 2015.
  • The White Sox don’t seem likely to trade any of their top starters, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes tweets.  If the Sox do deal an arm, it will probably be a minor leaguer or a reliever.

Retirement Notes: Jason Lane, Armando Galarraga

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MLBTR congratulates Jason Lane and Armando Galarraga in retirement and wishes them the best in their post-baseball careers.  Here’s the news on these prominent former big leaguers who are hanging up their gloves…

  • The Brewers announced that Lane will join their Major League coaching staff next season, officially ending a rather remarkable 17-year pro career.  Lane, 38, was a former Baseball America top-100 prospect who spent his first six MLB seasons as an outfielder with the Astros, including a big 26-homer season for Houston’s 2005 NL championship team.  Lane fell out of the bigs after the 2007 season, however, and after a few years in the minors and independent leagues, pitching became his unlikely path back to the majors.  His comeback culminated in one final cup of coffee in MLB as Lane appeared in three games for the Padres in 2014, posting an impressive 0.87 ERA and striking out six batters in 10 1/3 innings.
  • Galarraga tells George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press that he’s retiring at age 33 due to arm injuries.  He is attending the Winter Meetings with the hope of landing a position as a minor league pitching coach, and Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that Galarraga has interviewed from the Mets about a job.  Galarraga posted a 4.78 ERA over 542 innings with four clubs from 2007-2012, though he’ll always be remembered for his “imperfect game” on June 2, 2010 as a member of the Tigers.  Umpire Jim Joyce’s infamous blown call on what should’ve been Galarraga’s final out of a perfect game has often been cited as one of the key influences behind MLB’s implementation of the expanded replay system used today.

Outfield Notes: Pollock, Heyward, Gomez, Gordon, Parra

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Here’s the latest news on some notable outfielders…

  • The Indians asked the Diamondbacks for A.J. Pollock in exchange for Danny Salazar, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.  Pollock has been an in-demand piece from several rival teams as the D’Backs have looked for high-end young pitchers like Salazar or Shelby Miller, to name two.  Arizona GM Dave Stewart says he’s willing to listen to offers, “but with the understanding that we’re not entering any room with the intention to trade A.J. Pollock.”  D’Backs CEO Derrick Hall described Pollock as “nearly untouchable” earlier this week, so it remains unlikely that the Snakes would actually move the star center fielder.
  • By signing John Lackey rather than a higher-priced ace, the Cubs will use some of those savings to pursue Jason Heyward, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes.  If Heyward can’t be signed, the Cubs’ backup options would be to sign Alex Gordon or try to acquire Carlos Gomez from the Astros.
  • Speaking of teams with Plan-B outfield ideas, the Royals are interested in Gerardo Parra if they can’t bring Gordon back, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi tweets.  Parra is hopeful of landing a four-year contract, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link), since he’s getting attention from multiple teams.  The Giants, Mariners, Mets and (to a limited extent) Orioles have also been linked to Parra at various points this winter.
  • If Jeff Francoeur doesn’t re-sign with the Phillies, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick sees the Brewers, Pirates and Rangers as possible fits to add the veteran outfielder as a bench bat.

Yankees Notes: Davis, Marlins, Miller, Eovaldi

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The Yankees aren’t known for having quiet offseasons, yet their relative lack of moves this winter isn’t just the calm before the storm, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News writes.  “There’s a reason they haven’t been attached to any big free agent.  They’re not in on them,” one Major League executive tells Feinsand.  Another exec says the Yankees are being truthful when they say they’re not planning to add to their payroll, as “that’s what they’ve been telling everybody publicly and privately.”  Here’s some more from the Bronx…

  • The Yankees “said they had a real interest in [Chris] Davis” earlier in the year, a source tells George A. King III of the New York Post, but backed off since “he wants Teixeira money.”  Mark Teixeira’s eight-year, $180MM deal would certainly seem to be well above the Yankees’ current comfort zone, and it could be a stretch in general as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected Davis for a six-year, $144MM deal.  (Then again, Davis’ agent Scott Boras was also the one who negotiated Teixeira’s contract back in 2008.)  King hears that the Blue Jays have been linked to Davis in “chatter.”
  • Also from King, the Marlins “have liked” Yankees pitchers Bryan Mitchell and Adam Warren, with Miami looking at Mitchell as a starter and Warren in the bullpen.  While both arms are interesting trade chips, King notes that it would obviously take a lot more for the Yankees to obtain a major Marlins player like Marcell Ozuna.
  • If the Yankees are to meet their goal of obtaining a quality starter in his pre-arb years, an AL executive tells King that dealing Andrew Miller might be the only way.  “Nobody else they have, especially if they aren’t going to trade their top prospects, brings that young starter back but Miller,” the exec said.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines that in return for Miller, the Bombers would demand a pitcher at least as well-regarded as Eduardo Rodriguez, who the Red Sox obtained for Miller at the 2014 trade deadline.
  • Also from Sherman’s piece, he hears from a rival executive who asked the Yankees about Nathan Eovaldi this winter, though “talks did not progress far.”  The fact that GM Brian Cashman was willing to discuss Eovaldi at all is a sign, Sherman opines, that the club is truly open to hearing all options to upgrade the roster.
  • Sherman notes that the Cubs still consider Brett Gardner one of several backup options if they’re unable to land another center field target.  A Gardner-for-Starlin Castro rumor surfaced last month though the Yankees were said to want pitching in a Gardner deal.

Bullpen Notes: Clippard, Chapman, Nathan, Twins, LaCava

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Here’s the latest reliever news from around the game…

  • The Mets have discussed re-signing Tyler Clippard, Newsday’s Marc Carig reports.  Clippard posted a 3.06 ERA in 32 1/3 innings for the Mets after being acquired in a late-July trade from Oakland.
  • From that same item, Carig says the Mets “briefly discussed” making a move for Aroldis Chapman at the last trade deadline but they didn’t revisit that idea this winter.
  • Joe Nathan is in Nashville talking to teams at the Winter Meetings, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links).  Nathan underwent Tommy John surgery last April and is hoping to be ready to pitch by midseason.  Rosenthal speculates that the former star closer could receive a contract that pays him a low base salary in 2016 with a higher guaranteed salary or a club option in 2017.  It will be quite a comeback for Nathan if he’s able to overcome his second Tommy John procedure for a return at age 41.
  • The Rangers, one of Nathan’s former teams, spoke with him today in what MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan described as a “courtesy meet.”
  • Though the Twins have never signed a reliever from outside the organization to a multi-year contract under GM Terry Ryan’s tenure, Ryan tells reporters (including Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that he’s “not opposed” to doing so “if it was a necessity of getting the guy we had confidence in and a need that we have.”  The Twins have been linked to several big-name relievers (Joakim Soria, Ryan Madson, Tony Sipp) who have either already signed or likely will require multi-year guarantees.
  • Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava told reporters (including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm) that his team was made contact with many of the notable relievers who have already come off the board.  “I wouldn’t say [we were] close, but we were engaged with some of the guys that signed,” LaCava said.
  • Upgrading the bullpen “will be our primary focus the rest of our time here” at the Winter Meetings, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including MLB.com’s Greg Johns.

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