Universal DH Will Be Implemented For 2020
After months of return-to-play discussions, a shortened 2020 season looks to be upon us — and with it comes the long-anticipated and highly divisive implementation of the universal designated hitter. National League fans and baseball traditionalists recoil at the idea, but both polls we’ve conducted on the universal DH have shown that fans are pretty evenly split on the notion. In our poll earlier this spring, some were open to the idea for 2020 alone if that was one of the health/safety conditions necessary to bring about a 2020 season of some form.
That proved to be the case. And while there was talk about implementing the DH in 2021 as well, that was only on the table in the jointly negotiated season proposals between MLB and the MLBPA. The 2021 universal DH went out the window when no agreement was reached and commissioner Rob Manfred implemented a 60-game season. The two sides could — and very likely will — revisit a 2021 implementation this winter. Most expect that the DH will be here to stay, although for the time being, it’s still a temporary quirk to the upcoming campaign.
The expected lifting of the transaction freeze on Friday could lead some clubs to add a new bat to this mix — Yasiel Puig remains unsigned, and trades will again be allowed — but here’s a high-level look at each club’s options (with links to more in-depth explorations)…
NL West
- Dodgers: As explored earlier this spring, the Dodgers have a ridiculous amount of depth that should allow them to play matchups and keep their players fresh. With Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger in the outfield, one of Joc Pederson or A.J. Pollock was likely to be on the bench on a given day. Others like Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez or youngsters Edwin Rios and Matt Beaty could get DH looks at times, too.
- Diamondbacks: The D-backs have a number of options, including veteran Jake Lamb, but 2019 minor league home run king Kevin Cron might be a more intriguing option, as profiled here a couple months back.
- Padres: Outfield has been a carousel in San Diego for awhile, and trades might’ve brought some more stability to the mix but they pushed some outfield options to a more likely DH role. As Jeff Todd examined recently, Wil Myers, Josh Naylor and Franchy Cordero are among the many options.
- Giants: That late pickup of Hunter Pence looks all the more valuable now, and the Giants have plenty of other options both young and old to rotate through the spot. Plus, they’re reported to be interested in Yasiel Puig, which could impact the mix.
- Rockies: Perhaps the DH could be a means of both keeping Daniel Murphy healthier and removing his glove from the regular defensive alignment. That’d help to finally get Ryan McMahon some more regular at-bats. Ian Desmond seems likely to get some reps as well.
NL Central
- Cardinals: The Cards already had plenty of inexperienced players vying for limited at-bats (Tyler O’Neill, Rangel Ravelo, Lane Thomas, Dylan Carlson), and the DH helps to create an easier path. Veterans like Brad Miller and Matt Carpenter could factor, too.
- Cubs: Kyle Schwarber has long been mentioned in DH talks. Defensive metrics are all over the map on his performance in left, but it seems likely he’ll get some looks there in 2020. Steven Souza Jr. could see some time there as he eases back into action after a grisly knee injury.
- Brewers: There’s a crowded outfield scene in Milwaukee, particularly after adding Avisail Garcia, which could mean that Ryan Braun will have the opportunity to stay fresher at DH. The Crew also added Justin Smoak, Jedd Gyorko and Ryon Healy this winter. There are options.
- Reds: With a deep outfield mix featuring Nick Castellanos, Shogo Akiyama, Nick Senzel and Aristides Aquino, Cincinnati isn’t short on options. As Jeff Todd wrote back in May, if the Reds are willing to use Senzel in a super-utility role (still playing near every day), their flexibility would be enviable.
- Pirates: I wrote last month that the Buccos’ options at DH are pretty limited. A rebuilding, small-market club that didn’t spend money this winter after a last-place finish doesn’t have much to offer. But the short season could be used to get top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes an audition at third base, pushing current corner infielders Colin Moran and Josh Bell to DH more often.
NL East
- Nationals: The Nats have a deep roster themselves and plenty of options. MLBTR’s TC Zencka explored the roster’s composition and how it’s well-stocked with DH options — likely led by playoff hero Howie Kendrick.
- Braves: Atlanta has a blend of veteran options (Nick Markakis, Adam Duvall) and younger players (Austin Riley) who could cycle through the DH spot. It may not be the absolute best unit in the league, but the pieces are there for a solid group.
- Phillies: Between the versatility that Scott Kingery brings on the defensive side of things and the looming presence of top prospect Alec Bohm, the Phillies should be able mix-and-match their way to a largely productive group. Kingery allows them to rest virtually anyone on a daily basis — and they could particularly lean into that on days when Bohm plays third base. Bohm could also see time at first and push Rhys Hoskins to DH occasionally.
- Mets: A pair of aging veterans (Robinson Cano, wild card Yoenis Cespedes) and a blocked former top prospect (Dominic Smith) might all benefit from the addition of a DH spot to the lineup over in Queens.
- Marlins: Matt Kemp‘s ugly 2019 season makes it easy to forget that he was a very strong hitter as recently as 2019. Connor Byrne profiled Kemp and several other options in exploring the Marlins’ DH picture earlier this spring.
Rockies, Zac Veen Agree To Terms
The Rockies have agreed to terms with first-round pick Zac Veen, Carlos Collazo of Baseball America reports (via Twitter). He’ll take home a $5MM bonus that checks in slightly north of his No. 9 overall selection’s $4.949MM slot value. Veen had been committed to Florida but will forgo that commitment to embark on his pro career.
A high school outfielder out of Florida, Veen was a consensus top 10 talent in this year’s draft based his 6’5″, 200-pound frame, plus raw power, potential for an above-average hit tool and above-average speed. Veen is a center fielder right now, though many scouting reports on him project that he’ll move to a corner as he fills out (and, perhaps, adds more power to his game). The Athletic’s Keith Law calls Veen the “best combination of probability and upside” among this year’s crop of high school bats.
The 18-year-old Veen ranked no “worse” than seventh in this year’s class on any of the rankings from Baseball America, MLB.com, FanGraphs, ESPN or The Athletic, and the Rockies were surely pleased to be able to select him with the ninth overall pick. Both Baseball America (No. 75) and FanGraphs (No. 80) already have Veen as a top-100 prospect in MLB on their updated rankings, so he’ll add some much-needed talent to what is regarded as a thin Rockies farm system.
MLB Transaction Freeze Lifts This Friday
The Major League Baseball season now has a target date for players to report to “Summer” Training (July 1) and for a truncated 60-game season to at last begin on July 23-24. Starved baseball fans finally have some dates to look forward to — and teams throughout the league suddenly have some work to do.
Major League Baseball rosters have been frozen since late March, but that freeze will come to an end this Friday at noon ET, and any club looking to bring in new players will want to give those players as much notice as possible. Plus, with a universal DH and with Opening Day rosters expanding to 30 players (and shrinking to 28 and 26, respectively, 15 and 29 days into the season), it’ll be all the more critical for teams to have depth.
What can we expect? The trade deadline is Aug. 31, and there’s no indication that there are any restrictions on making swaps prior to the season. Perhaps that’ll prove to be the case, but to this point it seems that player movement can come back in full force in just over 48 hours. And, between some lingering names from the offseason market and the sweeping releases made by teams in the past several weeks, there are some recognizable names out there.
Still Unsigned From 2019-20 Offseason
Yasiel Puig is the big name to watch, of course. The longtime Dodgers slugger recently drew interest from a KBO team but told their GM he preferred to take another shot at latching on with an MLB team in 2020. Just last night, Puig tweeted: “Baseball is back and God knows I’m ready #letthewildhorseloose”.
Puig isn’t the only one though. Among the notable names: Russell Martin, Scooter Gennett, Melky Cabrera, Jacoby Ellsbury, Hanley Ramirez, Mark Trumbo, Clay Buchholz, Andrew Cashner, Marco Estrada, Matt Harvey, Danny Salazar, Aaron Sanchez, Jason Vargas, Matt Albers, Pat Neshek, Fernando Rodney, Arodys Vizcaino, Tony Cingrani, Zach Duke, Tony Sipp and Jonny Venters.
Released in Recent Weeks
Many teams throughout the league cut more than 30 minor leaguers beginning in late March, and while most were lower-level names that have no big league experience, there were some recognizable names among the bunch. Teams in need of depth could take a look at the likes of: Edwin Jackson, Shane Carle, Tim Melville, Carlos Asuaje, David Huff, Brock Stewart, Deck McGuire, Brooks Pounders, T.J. Rivera, Aaron Blair, Dalton Pompey, Jake Elmore, Travis Snider and others.
Spring Opt-Outs/Releases
Just prior to the shutdown, veteran righty Jared Hughes opted out of his deal with the Astros, making him available to sign anywhere as well. Among players who were cut loose or opted out prior to the shutdown, he may be the best of the bunch based on recent track record, but there are others. Veteran righties Hunter Strickland and David Hernandez were cut loose by the Nats but have both had their share of success in the big leagues. Right-hander Sam Tuivailala was released by the Mariners as well after some velocity red flags in camp, but he has youth on his side and was a promising young reliever before injuries sidetracked him for the past couple years.
Trade Scenarios to Consider
We don’t know precisely how teams will react to being able to exchange players with each other once again. Some clubs will likely look to unload salary early on after experiencing unprecedented revenue losses — but buyers could be reluctant for similar reasons. At the same time, might the shortened 60-game season embolden less-concrete contenders to make bold plays early on? Teams like the White Sox and Reds were among the most aggressive in free agency this winter; would they take their foot off the pedal now? That seems unlikely.
The opposite could hold true as well. Normally, a team getting out to a slow start wouldn’t be seen as a nail in the coffin — the 2019 World Champs say “hello!” — but three- or four-week slump to start the 2020 campaign could push clubs into “sell” mode early. A team that starts the season 8-13, for instance, would be through 35 percent of its games and could feel forced to begin mulling tough decisions.
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There’s so much that’s unknown still about just how transactions will look. The league and players union may very well still be hammering out some of these specifics. We know that each club will submit a 60-name list of players who can participate in Spring Training by Sunday, but the very fact that trades and transactions are permitted suggests that there’s room for those lists and taxi squads to be adjusted throughout the season (just as would be the case with the 40-man roster under normal circumstances). However the specifics play out, fans can ready for some actual player movement beginning this weekend.
Nationals Finalize Deals With All Six Draft Picks
The Nationals agreed to a well-above-slot deal with second-round pick Cole Henry, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports. The Louisiana State righty signed for a $2MM bonus that checks in nearly $700K north of the $1.307MM value of his No. 55 overall slot. Washington also agreed to a $500K bonus with third-rounder Holden Powell, per MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo (via Twitter). That checks in a bit shy of the UCLA closer’s $618,200 slot value at No. 94. With those two signings in place, the Nats have wrapped up their entire draft class — which they formally announced last night.
A draft-eligible sophomore, Henry was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 44 player in the class but regarded as a potentially tough sign (hence the over-slot deal). His collegiate career will come to a close with just 77 1/3 innings in the books, in part due to his sophomore status and the 2020 season shutdown but also due to some arm troubles his freshman year. He’s been great when on the mound, posting a 3.03 ERA with 95 punchouts against 24 walks.
Scouting reports give Henry credit for three average or better offerings, and he landed no worse than 72nd overall on any of the draft rankings from BA, MLB.com, FanGraphs, ESPN or The Athletic. That said, all scouting reports on him acknowledge that he could eventually land in the bullpen, with The Athletic’s Keith Law pointing to his “max-effort” delivery and freshman elbow soreness.
Powell is already a bullpen prospect but a good one. He’s been a buzzsaw since the start of his sophomore season in 2019, pitching to a 1.54 ERA with a gaudy 85-to-29 K/BB ratio in 58 1/3 frames. That includes an even more impressive (and, admittedly brief) showing in 2020, when he notched a 20-to-2 K/BB ratio in 9 1/3 innings. Both BA and MLB.com tab him as a pure reliever who won’t be tried as a starter. Thanks to his high-end fastball/slider combo, Powell could move quickly through the Nats’ system and knock on the door to the Majors sooner than most draft prospects.
The Nationals’ deals with first-rounder Cade Cavalli and comp pick Sammy Infante were already known, as was the case with their signings of fourth-round pick Brady Lindsly and fifth-rounder Mitchell Parker.
Latest On Yasiel Puig
8:25pm: The Giants expect to be contenders to sign Puig when the league lifts its transaction freeze Friday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets. They were connected to Puig on multiple occasions over the winter.
11:01am: Prior to their deal with former Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization spoke to outfielder Yasiel Puig about a potential deal for the 2020 season, Heroes GM Kim Chi-hyun tells Jee-ho of the Yonhap News Agency (Twitter link). Ultimately, Puig’s preference was to take another shot at latching on with a Major League team once play resumes.
As entertaining as it might’ve been to see what type of numbers Puig could post in the KBO (to say nothing of the bat flips he might unleash), it’s not much of a surprise that he prefers to wait to see what type of interest he might garner on a big league deal at this point. Puig doesn’t appear to have been thrilled with the offers he received over the winter and surely won’t find a better deal now amid enormous revenue losses throughout MLB, but there’s plenty of reason to think he might yet find his way onto a roster.
Not only are teams are expected to expand active rosters to 30 players — plus a taxi squad of up to perhaps 20 players — but the universal DH is expected to be implemented for the 2020 season. That’s not to say that Puig is a poor fielder or prime DH candidate. To the contrary, he graded out as an average right fielder in 2019 and has a track record of above average performances. But the added bat to each lineup of the 15 NL clubs still makes it easier for any of them to justify signing him, whether to serve as a primary DH, to push a lesser defensive outfielder into a DH role or simply to add him to a corner outfield/DH rotation. The truncated 60-game schedule might give some clubs hope of fielding a competitive club under an “anything can happen” mentality.
Financially speaking, Puig it doesn’t seem likely that Puig would field particularly lucrative offers once the transaction freeze is lifted. That said, he might still stand to earn more than he would’ve in the KBO, where the maximum salary for a first-year foreign player is $1MM (and where he’d be playing on a prorated deal as well, since the season is already underway). Plus, in order to sign with the Heroes or any other KBO team, he’d have had to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arriving in South Korea. At this point, assuming MLB is actually able to begin play on July 24-26 as hoped, the timeline for Puig to get into an MLB game and the timeline to get into a KBO game might not be all that different.
Royals Sign Asa Lacy & Rest Of Draft Class
7:09pm: Lacy signed for $6.67MM, Jim Callis of MLB.com tweets.
2:13pm: The Royals announced Tuesday that they’ve officially signed left-hander Asa Lacy. The former Texas A&M ace was the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft after compiling a career 2.07 ERA with 13.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 152 total innings of college ball (21 starts, 21 relief appearances). He’s the highest pick to come to terms so far, and while his bonus figure wasn’t announced by the club, the No. 4 slot comes with a $6.664MM value.
The Kansas City organization didn’t stop there. It also added shortstop Nick Loftin on a $3MM bonus, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports on Twitter. That’s a far sight higher than the $2,257,300 allocation that came with the competitive balance round A selection with which he was chosen. Loftin decided to go pro rather than returning for another year at Baylor.
Righty Ben Hernandez, an Illinois high-schooler chosen in the second round, agreed to a $1.45MM bonus. (Via Callis; Twitter links.) That freed up nearly $400K to help cover the amount due to Loftin. The Royals also saved a bit on third-rounder Tyler Gentry, an outfielder out of the University of Alabama, who inked for $750K ($818,200 slot value). The Royals also agreed to as-yet-unreported bonuses with Christian Chamberlain, LHP, Oregon State (4th round) and Will Klein, RHP, Eastern Illinois (5th round).
The Royals also announced seven undrafted player signings, rounding out a widely heralded incoming class of amateur talent:
- Saul Garza, C/1B, Louisiana State
- John McMillon, RHP, Texas Tech
- A.J. Block, LHP, Washington State
- Tucker Bradley, OF, Georgia
- Matt Schmidt, INF, Michigan
- Kale Emshoff, C, Arkansas-Little Rock
- Chase Wallace, RHP, Tennessee
While there’s plenty of promise from multiple new prospects, Lacy remains the crown jewel. He was the consensus top pitcher available, which made it rather surprising to see him fall to the Royals at the fourth selection. Virtually all draft pundits graded him as one of the three best prospects up for grabs in 2020.
The Royals will be especially excited with Lacy because of the team’s long-stated intention to engineer a quick rebuild. Having gone heavy on advanced college pitching prospects in recent drafts, with promising early returns, the K.C. club can now look forward to another fast-rising youngster. Lacy possesses and commands an impressive four-pitch arsenal and has already proven himself against top college competition.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Julio Teheran Changes Agencies
Angels right-hander Julio Teheran has hired a new agent and will now be represented by Mato Sports Management moving forward, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. He’d previously been represented by Wasserman.
The 2020 season will be the first that Teheran, 29, plays with an organization other than the Braves. Atlanta paid him a $1MM buyout rather than exercising his $12MM club option for the upcoming season, making Teheran a free agent for the first time. He’d previously signed a six-year, $32.4MM contract extension back before he’d even accrued two full years of MLB service. Now, he’ll play the shortened 2020 season on a prorated $9MM salary after signing with the Angels back in December.
A consensus Top 5 prospect in all of MLB from 2011-12, Teheran has at times flashed brilliance but settled in as more of a mid-rotation arm. He posted a terrific 3.03 ERA and a strong 3.58 FIP in 406 2/3 frames from 2012-13 but has since logged a 3.90 ERA and 4.50 FIP in 927 1/3 innings since. Highly durable, Teheran has made 222 starts in seven seasons since cementing himself as a big league regular — an average of 31.7 starts per year with only 27 total days on the injured list in that time. He’s made at least 30 starts in each of his seven full MLB seasons.
In changing representation, Teheran will move to a smaller firm — albeit one with several still-notable clients. Avisail Garcia, Anibal Sanchez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Danny Santana and Cameron Maybin are among his new company’s clients. All of that can be seen in MLBTR’s Agency Database of more than 2,000 players, which has been updated to reflect Teheran’s switch. If you see any omissions or errors in need of corrections in the database, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
Phillies Announce Four Additional Coronavirus Cases
The Phillies last Friday announced that five players and three staff members — all of whom had been at their Clearwater, Fla. facility — had tested positive for the coronavirus. At the time of the announcement, the Phillies indicated that 32 more tests were still pending results. Of that bunch, two more players and two staff members also tested positive, the Phillies announced today, bringing their total to a dozen cases. One of today’s positive tests was from a player at “a location other than Clearwater.” The rest of those pending tests were negative.
Over the weekend, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that 40 players and staff members throughout the league tested positive for the coronavirus just last week. These additional positive results from the Phillies appear to add to that total.
Word of the latest group of positive tests was announced as the MLBPA pores over the league’s health and safety protocols and prepares to offer a response within the next four hours. The league asked for a reply by 5pm ET today. The wave of positive tests throughout the sport won’t prevent the league from attempting to orchestrate a 60-game season, but the manner in which MLB and the Players Association are planning to both address and hopefully minimize positive results, to this point, is largely unknown.
Some of the precautions the league plans to take — daily temperature checks, testing multiple times per week, barring players from spitting, high-fiving, etc. — have come to light. However, the procedures that will be in place for positive tests when the inevitably do occur have been kept closer to the vest. Details on those protocols, crucial to the chances of playing out a 2020 season, figure to emerge late this afternoon and perhaps into tomorrow, depending on the MLBPA’s response to the league’s proposal.
Third Bidder For Mets Emerges
As Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez bolster their group to bid on the Mets and a group led by the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils also eyes a bid, a third potential buyer for the Mets appears to have surfaced. Scott Soshnick of Variety reports that brothers David and Simon Reuben, whose combined estimated worth is a whopping $14 billion, are now “exploring” a bid. Real estate opportunities in the area surrounding Citi Field are likely a driving factor in the interest, per the report.
The Reuben brothers, both in their mid- to late-70s, have built their empire through a series of real estate endeavors, investments in tech companies and in retail over in the United Kingdom. David Hellier and Natalie Wong of Bloomberg reported less than two months ago that the Reubens purchased a retail condo near Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center as they looked to expand their enterprise to New York, and a bid for the Mets would seemingly align with that interest. They’ve also expanded their residential real estate efforts into Madrid (via Bloomberg) and expressed interest in purchasing a stake in an English Premier League club.
With the Wilpon family reportedly looking to complete a sale of the team — but, according to Newsday, not the SNY Network — by year’s end, we’ve seen increased interest surfacing over the past month. Of course, the Mets believed they were already on the cusp of a gradual, five-year sale to billionaire Steve Cohen last December. At the time of the agreement, Cohen would’ve taken over an 80 percent stake of the club by 2025. However, that deal crumbled in February and left the Wilpons seeking a new buyer.
The economic downturn brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic complicates matters and will significantly cut the valuation of the franchise, but the extent isn’t yet known — nor is the level of bid which any of three potential buyers is planning. The two most recent sales of MLB clubs, the Royals in 2019 ($1 billion) and the Marlins in 2017 ($1.2 billion) both illustrate the demand for franchises, though. And as we saw with the Marlins’ sale, it’s possible that several permutations of ownership groups headed by the same principal figures could come together and fizzle thereafter before a deal is ultimately agreed upon.