Phillies Sign Zack Wheeler
DECEMBER 9: This deal is now official, per a team announcement.
DECEMBER 4: The Phillies have made the biggest free-agent splash of the offseason to date, as they reached a reported five-year, $118MM agreement with free-agent right-hander Zack Wheeler on Wednesday afternoon. The contract is still pending a physical. Wheeler is represented by Jet Sports Management.
Wheeler, 29, has been arguably the most in-demand pitcher on the free agent market early in the offseason. While he’s regarded as the third-best arm on the market behind Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg, that duo’s sky-high earning power priced out a number of pitching-needy teams from the outset. Wheeler, however, has been viewed as a more affordable pitcher with high-end stuff — one whom many believe can still take another step forward in the years to come.
Of course, that’s not to say that the current iteration of Wheeler isn’t a quality arm; he very much is. Over his past 55 Major League starts, the right-hander has worked to a 3.47 ERA (3.27 FIP) with 9.0 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 349 2/3 innings. He’s distanced himself from Tommy John surgery and the ensuing complications that wiped out nearly two full seasons of his career, combining to make 60 starts dating back to Opening Day 2018.
Wheeler was also the second-hardest-throwing starter on the open market, with his career-best 96.7 mph average heater trailing only the aforementioned Cole. Beyond that, he possesses above-average spin on his heater and curveball, and he’s excelled in terms of minimizing hard contact against him (90th percentile average exit-velocity among MLB starters, per Statcast). Given that he’s played in front of one the worst defenses in the game over the past couple of seasons, there’s a belief that he could excel with a change of scenery, although it’s of course worth noting that the Philadelphia defense has had its own share of struggles over that same time.
Rotation help has been the clear top priority for the Phillies this winter, as their collective group of starters was a decidedly subpar group in 2019. Philadelphia entered the season with Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta anchoring the starting staff. And, after a 2018-19 offseason that focused largely on augmenting the lineup, the Phils leaned heavily on younger, inexperienced arms like Zach Eflin, Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez to round out the rotation.
Of that trio, only Eflin yielded any real dividends, however. The 25-year-old proved a serviceable fourth starter with a 4.13 ERA over 28 starts (32 total appearances), while Pivetta and Velasquez combined for an ERA well north of 5.00. Meanwhile, Arrieta struggled through his worst performance since his breakout and ultimately underwent season-ending surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow. Even Nola, who finished third in 2018 NL Cy Young voting, took a notable step back in 2019. The end result was a Phillies starting staff that finished 17th in ERA (4.64), 24th in FIP (4.91) and 16th in xFIP (4.59) last year.
Wheeler will now slot into the Phillies’ rotation alongside Nola, Eflin and Arrieta — with the hope being that the removal of the bone spur through which Arrieta pitched in 2019 will help to bring about a rejuvenation of sorts. There’s still room for another rotation addition, to be sure, and there’s also room on the payroll to make that a reality. Before agreeing to terms with Wheeler, the Phils’ payroll checked in a bit shy of $150MM (including projected arbitration salaries). They’ll see Arrieta, David Robertson and the small portion of the Jay Bruce contract they’re paying all come off the books next season, lending some long-term flexibility even in spite of substantial commitments to Wheeler, Bryce Harper and others.
Earlier this offseason, Philadelphia general manager Matt Klentak voiced a preference to eventually move away from signing players who’ve rejected qualifying offers, but it appears that was far from a mandate, as the Phillies will now do so for a third consecutive winter. Signing Wheeler will cost Philadelphia its second-round pick and $500K of international bonus allotments. The Mets, meanwhile, will pick up a compensatory draft pick after Competitive Balance Round B — likely in the 75 to 80 range of next year’s draft. They’ll also, of course, now be on the lookout for another starting pitcher — although they were never viewed as a serious player to re-sign Wheeler.
Geography played a pivotal role in Wheeler’s decision to sign with Philadelphia, it seems. The Athletic’s Marc Carig, who first broke the news, noted in his original report that Wheeler’s fiancee is from nearby New Jersey, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the White Sox’ bid on Wheeler was actually higher than that of the Phillies. Meanwhile, Darren Wolfson of 1500 SKOR North in Minneapolis tweets that the Twins, too, made a five-year offer to Wheeler and that money wasn’t the ultimate factor in rejecting that bid. Presumably, an offer that blew Philadelphia’s out of the water could’ve swayed Wheeler to stray from the East Coast, but it seems that family considerations won the day when final bids wound up comparable.
In the end, Wheeler drew varying levels of interest from the White Sox, Twins, Reds, Astros, Rangers, Yankees and Blue Jays before his agreement with the Phils. That level of interest was largely foreseeable, and the fit with the Phillies has long been a particularly sensible one, as was predicted on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agent list at the start of the offseason. The choice of destination proved to be spot on, but the considerable interest in Wheeler ultimately pushed his guarantee north of the five years and $100MM estimate put forth at that time.
Marc Carig of The Athletic broke news of the agreement (via Twitter). Bob Nightengale of USA Today, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia all reported financial details on the contract (all links to Twitter).
Cubs Sign Dan Winkler
2:42pm: The deal has now been announced.
10:09am: Winkler agreed to a split Major League contract with a $750K salary in the Majors and a $200K salary in the minors, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). He can earn an additional $750K in the Majors via incentives.
8:20am: The Cubs and free-agent righty Dan Winkler are in agreement on a one-year, Major League contract, Robert Murray reports (via Twitter). The MVP Sports Group client elected free agency at season’s end after being outrighted off the Giants’ 40-man roster.
Winkler, 30 in February, was one of the players sent from Atlanta to San Francisco in the Mark Melancon salary dump. He lasted only a day on the Giants’ 40-man roster, though, further underscoring that the trade was primarily a financially motivated transaction.
But while Winkler struggled through 21 2/3 innings at the MLB level in 2019 (4.98 ERA, 22-to-11 K/BB ratio), he was a very effective bullpen piece with the Braves just a year prior. In 2018, Winkler returned from a grueling injury absence to post 60 1/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball with 10.3 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.
Winkler had previously gone down to Tommy John surgery in 2014 and, upon returning to the mound in 2016, sustained another gut-wrenching injury when he (audibly) fractured his elbow while throwing a pitch. From 2015-17, he totaled just 41 1/3 innings between the big leagues and the minors thanks to those injuries, but the right-hander is seemingly healthy now. In addition to his work in the Majors last year, Winkler tossed 30 2/3 innings in Triple-A (with a 2.93 ERA, 29 strikeouts and a troubling 23 walks).
If Winkler is able to return to form with his new team, the Cubs will be able to control him through the 2021 season via arbitration. He also has minor league options remaining, so the Cubs can shuttle him back and forth between Triple-A Iowa and Chicago on an as-needed basis if he doesn’t solidify his spot in the ‘pen from the outset.
Pirates Open To Offers For Starling Marte
The Pirates will listen to offers on center fielder Starling Marte, although to this point there’s no traction toward any sort of a trade, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. That Marte would be available with two years of club control remaining comes as no surprise. If anything, prior suggestions that he wouldn’t be moved this winter (which came under the previous front office regime) were more unexpected. Marte himself has since even gone on record to state that he’d be open to being dealt to a contending club.
The $24MM Marte can earn over the next two seasons — $11.5MM salary in 2020, $12.5MM option for 2021 — is an expensive sum for the perennially low-spending Pirates but an affordable rate for many others throughout the league. The Pittsburgh organization also just overhauled its front office and field staff on the heels of a disastrous 93-loss season and doesn’t seem likely to contend in 2020. Listening on Marte is to be expected, which is why he checked in near the top of MLBTR’s most recent inventory of baseball’s top trade candidates. The Pirates, Heyman notes, would like to add a high-end catching prospect by some means this winter (although they’ll have other players to market beyond Marte).
There’s every reason to think that interest in Marte will be robust in the coming weeks (or possibly months). The best center fielders in free agency are Brett Gardner, who seems likely to return to the Yankees, and a wild card option in Japanese star Shogo Akiyama. Other trade candidates could certainly crop up on the market, but few would be able to match Marte’s level of production and relatively affordable control.
Marte will play the entire 2020 season at age 31 and is fresh off a .295/.342/.503 batting line with a career-high 23 home runs. Obligatory juiced ball caveat aside, Marte also swatted 20 long balls a year prior. Skeptics surely questioned his true offensive abilities (and perhaps still do) following 2017’s 80-game PED ban, but Marte has posted a strong .285/.336/.462 batting line in 1472 plate appearances since returning from suspension that July.
He may not quite be a superstar-level performer at the plate, but Marte has demonstrated that he’s clearly a quality hitter at a premium defensive position. He was 19 to 20 percent better than a league-average hitter in 2019 by measure of park- and league-adjusted metrics like wRC+ (119) and OPS+ (120). That’s particularly impressive when considering that center fielders, as a collective group, hit five percent worse than the league average in 2019 (95 wRC+). Add in that his 58 stolen bases over the past two seasons tie him for sixth-most in the Majors, and there’s plenty to like about Marte’s all-around capabilities on offense.
Defensive stats present more of a mixed bag. Although Statcast credited Marte with a respectable two outs above average in center this year, both Defensive Runs Saved (-9) and Ultimate Zone Rating (-7.6) felt that the 2019 campaign was the worst of his career in center. For a player entering his age-31 season, that’s not ideal, but it’s worth noting that he graded out anywhere from above-average to excellent by all three of those metrics as recently as 2018. At worst, he could be viewed as a player with another year of center field left in him before transitioning to an outfield corner. Even with substandard defensive marks, Marte was worth 3.0 fWAR and 2.9 bWAR in 2019, so he’s a plenty valuable asset and well worth his remaining contractual obligation.
The trade market should see plenty of teams with potential center field needs inquire. The Phillies, Cubs, Reds, D-backs, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Braves and White Sox all seem like clubs that could inquire and gauge the asking price on Marte. The Blue Jays could represent an on-paper fit, but recent reports indicate that they’re not planning to pursue such a swap. The Mets, too, could use a center fielder — although they did just pick up Jake Marisnick, a more cost-effective option, in a swap with the Astros yesterday. If nothing else, Pirates fans should brace themselves for the inevitability that Marte’s name will be a popular one at next week’s Winter Meetings.
Cubs, Brandon Morrow Discussing Minor League Deal
The Cubs and right-hander Brandon Morrow are discussing a minor league contract that would bring the former closer back for a third season in the Cubs organization, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score/CBS Chicago reports (Twitter link). A deal isn’t close at this point and could still take a bit to be ironed out, per Levine. Mutual interest between the Cubs and Morrow was reported last month.
“The Cubs invested a lot of time into Brandon, and money, of course, and Brandon feels a certain sense of loyalty and obligation back to the Cubs to stay with them if they want him on a minor-league contract or something like that,” agent Joel Wolfe told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times in early November. Today’s report makes it all the more clear that the Cubs do indeed have interest in such a pact.
Some Cubs fans might bristle at the idea of continuing the relationship with Morrow, 35, after injuries limited him to just 30 2/3 innings over the life of his previous two-year, $21MM contract with the team. But Morrow was objectively excellent with the Cubs when healthy in 2018, pitching to a 1.47 ERA (2.96 FIP) with a 31-to-9 K/BB ratio and would’ve been a career-best 51.9 percent ground-ball rate had he sustained it for the remainder of the season.
Morrow was also one of the game’s best relievers with the Dodgers in 2017 when he posted a 2.06 ERA and a 50-to-9 K/BB ratio in 43 2/3 frames, although Los Angeles leaned heavily on the injury-prone righty in the postseason that year, as he appeared in 14 of their 15 games. The extent to which that heavy workload impacted Morrow’s first tenure with the Cubs can’t be known, but a biceps injury cut his 2018 season in half and he’s since undergone a pair of elbow surgeries without setting foot on a big league mound.
Successfully striking gold on Morrow, as the Dodgers did in 2017, would be a boon for what looks like an uncertain Chicago relief corps at the moment. Craig Kimbrel will be back in both 2020 and 2021, and the Cubs will have to hope that a normal offseason and a full Spring Training ramp-up period can help him round back into form after an ugly half-season debut in 2019. Meanwhile, veterans Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop and Brandon Kintzler have all set out into free agency, leaving Kyle Ryan, Rowan Wick and demoted starter Tyler Chatwood among the likeliest names to be included in next year’s bullpen. The Cubs are reportedly taking a low-cost flier on righty Dan Winkler to perhaps join that group, but there’s quite a bit more work to do to turn this into anything resembling a reliable relief unit.
Nationals To Re-Sign Howie Kendrick
9:00am: The two sides have finalized a one-year deal that promises Kendrick a $6.25MM guarantee, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link). It’s the same guarantee that Steve Pearce received from the Red Sox on the heels of his own postseason heroics following the 2018 World Series.
8:47am: The Nationals are “closing in” on a deal to bring postseason hero Howie Kendrick back to the team, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports (via Twitter). It’ll be a one-year deal with a mutual option for the Reynolds Sports client once completed, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets, adding that Kendrick spurned guaranteed two-year offers to return to Washington.
Kendrick, 36, has been nothing short of outstanding with the Nats over the past two seasons, hitting a combined .331/.375/.541 with 21 homers, 37 doubles and a triple through 530 plate appearances. With Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Adams, Brian Dozier and Asdrubal Cabrera all entering free agency, the Nats have some uncertainty at first base and second base, making a reunion with Kendrick a rather sensible pursuit.
Of course, as good as Kendrick has been during the regular season, it was his postseason heroics that truly endeared him to fans and entrenched his place in franchise lore. Kendrick’s 10th-inning grand slam against the Dodgers in the NLDS put Washington up for good and sent them toward a date with the Cardinals in the NLCS, where Kendrick was named the series MVP after hitting .333/.412/.600 in a four-game sweep. And in the World Series, it was Kendrick’s remarkable Game 7, opposite-field shot off the foul pole that put the Nationals ahead by a 3-2 margin they’d never relinquish.
Kendrick becomes the second member of the Nationals’ championship club to re-up on a new contract, joining catcher Yan Gomes, who agreed to a two-year, $10MM contract two weeks ago. The Nats still have bigger targets to address, as both Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon are looming on the free-agent market, but Kendrick’s return shores up some infield needs and ensures that one of their most productive bats over the past two and a half seasons will remain in the fold.
Even with Kendrick aboard for another season, the Nationals’ 2020 payroll currently projects to about $132MM, while their luxury-tax considerations come in around $142MM (via Jason Martinez of Roster Resource). Viewed through that lens, it certainly seems as though the Nats have the payroll capacity to retain both Strasburg and Rendon, although owner Mark Lerner perhaps dubiously suggested otherwise yesterday in claiming his club could only afford to sign one of its two departing stars to a long-term deal. The Nats do have some pricey arbitration cases beginning to mount — Trea Turner is a second-time-eligible Super Two player in 2020 and Juan Soto will be eligible in 2021 — but Patrick Corbin is currently the only player the team has signed beyond the 2021 campaign.
Latest On Madison Bumgarner’s Market
TODAY, 1:58pm: The Cardinals could also have interest in Bumgarner, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes.
WEDNESDAY, 7:52pm: The Reds are indeed among the teams with ongoing interest in Bumgarner, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Cincinnati has been aggressive thus far and has also been linked to free-agent outfielder Marcell Ozuna, further backing reports that they’re willing to sign players who rejected a qualifying offer.
5:35pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests otherwise regarding the White Sox, writing that they’ve been zeroed in on Wheeler and have yet to even enter into negotiations with Bumgarner’s camp.
2:45pm: Zack Wheeler is off the board on a reported five-year, $118MM agreement with the Phillies, and it sounds like a decision from fellow free agent Madison Bumgarner might not be far behind. Even before word of Wheeler’s agreement broke, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweeted that some within the industry also expect Bumgarner to sign before the Winter Meetings begin next week.
At this point, the Twins and White Sox are among the “heaviest” suitors for the longtime Giants lefty, tweets Andy Martino of SNY, who adds that the Yankees are involved “to some degree.” Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that even after the Braves signed Cole Hamels to a one-year, $18MM deal earlier today, they’re still not completely out of the Bumgarner bidding. And ESPN’s Buster Olney somewhat speculatively links the Reds, who also pursued but missed out on Wheeler, to the Bumgarner market as well (Twitter link). Other clubs are surely involved as well.
It seems unlikely that the bidding for Bumgarner will escalate to the same heights as the Wheeler market, although USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted earlier that the Braves jumped on Hamels in part due to concerns that Bumgarner’s price could approach $100MM.
Regardless of where he lands, there’s little doubt that Bumgarner is among the best arms on the market this winter. He’s not the clear-cut ace that he was earlier in his career when he was busy establishing himself as a postseason legend, but the 30-year-old Bumgarner still posted a 3.90 ERA and a matching FIP through 207 2/3 innings this past season. His average fastball velocity (91.4 mph) and strikeout rate (8.8 K/9, 24.1 percent) are both down a bit from peak levels, but Bumgarner still displayed impeccable command (1.9 BB/9) this past season and topped 30 starts for the first time since his injuring his shoulder in 2017’s dirt-bike debacle.
Bumgarner has made 55 starts across the past two seasons, pitching to a 3.66 ERA (110 ERA+, 3.94 FIP) while averaging 8.3 strikeouts and 2.3 walks per nine innings pitched. He rejected a qualifying offer from the Giants, meaning he’ll require some draft and possibly international bonus forfeitures (with exact compensation dependent on which team ultimately signs him). At this point, there’s little indication that the incumbent Giants are a serious player for Bumgarner, but they’re in position to recoup a compensatory pick between Competitive Balance Round B and Round 3 of next year’s draft (as they did when Will Smith signed with the Braves).
Padres Likely To Pursue Kwang-Hyun Kim
The Padres are planning to take another run at signing lefty Kwang-Hyun Kim now that he’s been posted by the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. San Diego won the bidding on Kim when he was posted under the previous blind-bid system back in 2014, and the organization again has its sights set on the now-31-year-old southpaw.
Perhaps of even greater note is that Acee suggests the organization doesn’t intend to pursue either Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg — despite previous reports linking them to the latter — due to that duo’s expected price tag. MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell wrote yesterday that the Padres are “more optimistic” about their in-house options than the rest of the industry, adding that a pursuit of one of the top names is unlikely and that there’s been “no recent movement” to add to the rotation. Acee notes that Kim now stands out as the likeliest rotation addition for the Friars.
At present, sophomore Chris Paddack projects to front a Padres rotation that’ll also include Dinelson Lamet, Garrett Richards (in his first full year back from 2018 Tommy John surgery), recent trade acquisition Zach Davies and Joey Lucchesi. Others such as Adrian Morejon, Cal Quantrill, Michel Baez, Nick Margevicius and Ronald Bolanos represent 40-man alternatives, and uber-prospect MacKenzie Gore is likely ticketed for Double-A to open the 2020 season, thus placing him within arm’s reach of a promotion.
That pitching depth is indeed enviable, but the Padres’ payroll likely plays as much a role — if not a greater role — in their apparent aversion to inking additional free-agent pitchers. San Diego’s acquisitions of Davies and Jurickson Profar put them in line for a 2020 payroll in the $144MM range, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez. That number crushes their previous high-water mark, and even tacking on a mid-range starting pitcher would push the Padres beyond the $150MM mark both in terms of actual 2020 payroll and luxury-tax considerations.
The Padres have reportedly been seeking trade partners for Wil Myers for more than a year but, to this point, have unsurprisingly struggled to find a taker. Myers, who’ll turn 29 next week, is still owed a massive $61MM over the next three seasons under the now-regrettable extension he signed back in Jan. 2017, and the glut of first base/corner outfield options available elsewhere in trade or in free agency make him all the more cumbersome an asset to market in trade talks. The remaining six years and $99MM on Eric Hosmer‘s eight-year contract isn’t doing the payroll any favors, either.
None of that is to say that Kim, who could be an affordable rotation option, is unworthy of an earnest pursuit. Kim has established himself as one of the best and most consistent pitchers in the hitter-friendly Korea Baseball Organization over the past decade and is fresh off a pair of sub-3.00 ERA seasons in his return from 2017 Tommy John surgery. Notably, the KBO has provided teams with extensive documentation on Kim’s health at MLB’s request, Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency reported recently.
Over his past 326 1/3 innings since surgery, Kim has pitched to a 2.70 ERA with 310 strikeouts against just 68 walks — demonstrating the best control of his career. He’s walked just 5.1 percent of the hitters he’s faced in that span against a 23.1 percent strikeout rate. Certainly, there’s cause for intrigue and reason to believe that he could be a viable mid-rotation upgrade at a lesser price than remaining second- and third-tier options on the domestic market.
Kim has been formally posted for Major League teams, who have until Jan. 5 to negotiate a contract with the former KBO MVP. Any team is free to sign him for any amount under the new posting system, but the Wyverns would be entitled to a release fee that is dependent on the size of the contract he inks. The Wyverns would receive a sum equal to 20 percent of the first $25MM in guarantees plus 17.5 percent of the next $25MM and 15 percent of any money spent beyond that level. A contract pushing beyond that $50MM mark (or even the $25MM plateau) hasn’t been expected, although the market for Kim is only just taking shape. What seems clear is that the Padres intend to be squarely in the mix as they seek to bolster their starting staff with an eye toward emerging from a lengthy rebuild.
Orioles Sign Dilson Herrera To Minor League Deal
The Orioles announced that they’ve signed infielder Dilson Herrera to a minor league contract. Presumably, he’ll be invited to Spring Training to compete for a roster spot.
Herrera, is still just 25 years of age despite the fact that he’s five years and two notable trades — Marlon Byrd, Jay Bruce — removed from his MLB debut with the Mets back in 2014. Shoulder troubles have derailed the former top prospect’s development and limited his MLB chances, but he did play a full season in Triple-A upon returning to the Mets organization on a minor league deal last year. In 460 plate appearances there, Herrera slashed .248/.330/.501 with 24 home runs but a career-worst 27.6 percent strikeout rate.
Strikeouts haven’t typically been a major detriment for Herrera, who owns a career .280/.344/.471 batting line in parts of five Triple-A seasons. The departure of Jonathan Villar has left the Orioles quite thin in the infield, so Herrera should have a shot to pick up some at-bats if he shows well next spring and makes the club. He’s primarily been a second baseman in his career, but the Mets have him time at first base, third base and in the outfield corners while playing with their Syracuse affiliate in 2019.
Mets Acquire Jake Marisnick
10:40am: The Astros and Mets have both announced the trade.
10:27am: Houston will receive left-hander Blake Taylor and outfielder Kenedy Corona in return for Marisnick, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets. Taylor was on the Mets’ 40-man roster after having his contract selected last month and will now go on Houston’s 40-man roster.
10:05am: The Mets and Astros are in agreement on a trade that will send outfielder Jake Marisnick from Houston to New York, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first (via Twitter) reported that the two sides were close to a deal. Houston will receive a pair of minor leaguers in return for Marisnick, per SNY’s Andy Martino (Twitter link).
The trade is seemingly a sensible move for both clubs. Houston has an abundance of outfielders on the roster with Michael Brantley, George Springer, Kyle Tucker, Josh Reddick, Myles Straw and Yordan Alvarez all likely ticketed for varying levels of time in the outfield in 2020. Meanwhile, the Mets have a need for a center fielder but also lack payroll flexibility, making Marisnick and his projected $3MM salary an appealing target. The Astros themselves are on the cusp of luxury tax territory, so shedding even a relatively minimal salary is of some help. As noted in our Offseason Outlook on the Astros, looking to move the salaries of Marisnick and/or Reddick was a plausible course of action for Houston this winter. It still seems likely that they’ll at least explore their options with Reddick and his $13MM salary.
Marisnick, 29 in March, will be a short-term acquisition for Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen and his staff, as he’s entering his final season of club control. He’s been utilized in a part-time capacity in Houston and hasn’t provided much offense in recent years, hitting .224/.283/.406 over the past two seasons combined. But Marisnick runs well and grades out as a terrific outfield defender; over the past two years he’s registered 17 Defensive Runs Saved, a +7.5 Ultimate Zone Rating and 21 Outs Above Average despite only logging 1327 innings in the outfield. For a Mets club that has long struggled on the defensive side of the game, Marisnick’s glove will be a welcome addition even if it comes at the cost of some offense.
In some ways, the acquisition of Marisnick mirrors the Mets’ acquisition of Keon Broxton last January. Like Broxton, Marisnick is a glove-first center fielder with notable strikeout issues and a history of OBP deficiency. His swing-and-miss troubles aren’t as extreme as were Broxton’s, however, and Marisnick has a lengthier track record as a generally useful player. He’s typically been worth between one and two wins above replacement in each of the past five years and could, of course, deliver a bit more overall value if he’s afforded more playing time. Even if he washes out in his new setting (as Broxton did), the financial hit won’t be substantial, and given his limited offensive track record and waning club control, the prospect cost to acquire him was rather minimal.
Neither Taylor nor Corona are considered to be among the Mets’ top prospects. The 24-year-old Taylor did log a 2.16 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 66 1/3 minor league innings of relief, but he did so against much younger competition. Taylor opened the year at Class-A Advanced, despite his age, and only moved up to Double-A midway through the season. Taylor did briefly reach Triple-A in 2018 but struggled both there and in Double-A, leading to the decision to have him repeat multiple minor league levels in 2019. His improved results are encouraging, but he’ll turn 25 next season and has only pitched 50 innings above A-ball, so he’s far from a sure bet to make an impact out of the Astros’ bullpen.
Corona, 19, signed with the Mets as an international amateur less than a year ago. He hit .301/.398/.470 in 63 minor league games this season, but as was the case with Taylor, he was older than the average competition he was facing. Corona, who’ll turn 20 next March, began the season in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, though he did top out with four games with the Mets’ short-season Class-A affiliate. He’ll likely be ticketed for A-ball in 2020, where the Astros will get a better idea of how he can handle more experienced competition.
Giants To Hire Brian Bannister
The Giants are set to hire Red Sox vice president of pitching development away to join their own front office, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). Bannister’s title with his new organization will be director of pitching, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. As Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe points out (via Twitter), the new position allows Bannister to live closer to his Bay Area home and spend additional time with his wife and two children.
Bannister himself confirmed that he’s moving on from the Sox, offering his gratitude to the organization (Twitter links):
Thank you to John Henry, Tom Werner, Sam Kennedy, and all the amazingly talented people in Baseball Ops for the opportunity to be a part of the Red Sox family for the last 5 years. It was a dream to call Fenway my office, and to be a very small part of a historic run in Boston. I want to specifically thank [chief baseball officer] Chaim Bloom and [general manager] Brian O’Halloran — they are incredible leaders and the Red Sox will be in good hands for a very long time. Thank you to the coaches and support staff, it was a privilege winning a World Series with you in 2018 and all the best in 2020.
Bannister, 39 in February, pitched parts of five Major League seasons from 2006-10 and joined the Red Sox as a pro scout after concluding his playing career. The Boston organization elevated him to director of pitching analysis and development in 2015 before naming him vice president of pitching development and assistant bullpen coach following the 2016 season. The Red Sox had announced after the 2019 season that they’d be going in a different direction with their pitching coach roles, though Bannister was still expected to remain in the organization prior to today’s news.