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Mets Name John Ricco Senior Vice President & Strategy Officer

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The Mets announced Tuesday evening that senior vice president of baseball operations/assistant general manager John Ricco will be changing roles and now holds the newly created title of senior vice president and senior strategy officer. The North Jersey Bergen Record’s Matt Ehalt first reported that Ricco was taking on a new role within the organization (Twitter links).

“John has been invaluable to this organization for many years,” Wilpon said in the press release announcing the change. “I’m extremely grateful that he’s remaining with us. He brings a wealth of knowledge on a variety of topics and we know he will have a lot of success in his new role.”

It’s a hybrid role for Ricco, who’ll continue to have a hand in baseball operations matters but will also report directly to chief operating officer Fred Wilpon and play a larger role in some key financial prospects for the club (e.g. construction projects at the team’s Spring Training and minor league facilities). On the baseball side of the coin, the Mets’ release specifies that Ricco will continue to work with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen in “salary arbitration and oversight of the Baseball Operations budget and Major League payroll.”

This past summer, Ricco was one of three veteran executives tasked with overseeing the baseball operations department after Sandy Alderson stepped down from the position due to a recurrence of the cancer he’d battled for several years. (Alderson, for those who missed it, accepted a role as a senior advisor in the Athletics front office earlier today.) Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya split Alderson’s duties among them, but Ricciardi is no longer in the organization and it seems now that Ricco will have a more limited role in baseball operations after it was long believed that he was being groomed as a possible successor to Alderson.

Marlins Sign Neil Walker

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7:12pm: Walker will receive a $2MM salary on the contract, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Walker’s primary role will be platooning with Peter O’Brien at first base, president of baseball ops Mike Hill told reporters (Twitter link via Wells Dusenbery of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, but he’ll also see action at second base and third base from time to time.

5:02pm: The Marlins announced Tuesday that they’ve signed free-agent infielder Neil Walker to a one-year contract. Miami has reportedly been seeking a left-handed bat, and the switch-hitting Walker can offer additional flexibility both at the plate and in the field. It stands to reason that Walker, 33, could be slotted in at multiple infield positions or even in the corner outfield after seeing time all over the diamond in a utility role with the Yankees in 2018. He’s represented by Excel Sports Management.

Neil Walker | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Walker’s overall .219/.309/.354 slash from last season certainly doesn’t look appealing, though the veteran posted a more palatable .235/.335/.403 slash from May 1 through season’s and enjoyed a generally solid second half (.247/.346/.442). Much of his 2018 struggles were confined to a disastrous showing through the end of April (.402 OPS), and while there’s no direct evidence of causation, it’s worth noting that Walker didn’t sign with the Yankees until March 12 last year.

Walker was one of many free agents to sign after Spring Training was well underway, and it’s perhaps telling that a number of those players struggled through awful starts to the 2018 season. Lance Lynn, Logan Morrison, Alex Cobb, Greg Holland and Jonathan Lucroy were among the March signees who had underwhelming 2018 seasons — particularly early in the year.

This time around, Walker will look to rebound with the benefit of a full spring workload to ramp up for what will be his 11th Major League season. Last year’s struggles aside, Walker was one of the game’s more consistent hitters from 2010-17, as I outlined in depth at the time. If he’s able to get back to those previous levels, the Marlins will find themselves with a bargain on their hands and, quite likely, a summer trade chip.

While adding Walker makes plenty of sense for Miami, it’s nevertheless confounding that the organization elected to move on from Derek Dietrich only to sign a 33-year-old player with a similar skill set. Granted, Walker is a switch-hitter, but he’s not a massive defensive upgrade over Dietrich and for all his past success, is still four years older. The financial savings figure to be minimal, as well, as Dietrich had been projected to earn a rather modest $4.8MM salary. It’s likely that Walker’s salary will check in lower than that, of course, but going from Dietrich to Walker still seems like somewhat of a lateral move.

Rangers Designate John Andreoli For Assignment

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The Rangers announced that they’ve designated outfielder John Andreoli for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Shawn Kelley, whose one-year deal with the team is now official. Texas had claimed the 28-year-old Andreoli off waivers just two weeks ago.

Andreoli split the 2018 season between the Orioles and the Mariners, posting a combined .230/.284/.262 slash in a tiny sample of 67 plate appearances. He has a strong track record of getting on base in the upper minors, as evidenced by his .264/.371/.408 batting line in nearly 2000 Triple-A plate appearances, and he’s knocked 34 homers, 83 doubles and 26 triples in that time while also collecting 121 steals.

This past season in Triple-A was one of his best, as Andreoli got on base at a robust .397 clip in 388 PAs with the Seattle organization. He has experience playing all three outfield positions and has minor league options remaining, although this is also the fourth time he’s lost a 40-man roster spot since mid-August.

Rangers Sign Shawn Kelley

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Jan. 29: The Rangers have formally announced the signing. Heyman tweets that Kelley will earn an extra $62,500 for reaching his 50th, 55th, 60th and 65th appearance in both seasons of the contract. It’s worth pointing out that Kelley has only appeared in 60 games once in his career, so the top end of those incentives could be difficult to achieve.

Jan. 28, 5:55pm: The two sides are in agreement on a one-year contract with a club option for a second season, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that Kelley will earn $2.5MM in 2019, and his 2020 option is also for $2.5MM with a $250K buyout. As such, his total guarantee will be $2.75MM. There are incentives packages in each season that can boost his annual salary to $3MM, and Kelley has already passed his physical, Feinsand adds.

5:49pm: The Rangers are closing in on a contract with free-agent right-hander Shawn Kelley, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Kelley was said late last week to be choosing among three potential suitors as he neared a decision. The veteran reliever is represented by Frye McCann Sports.

Shawn Kelley | Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Kelley, 35 in April, just wrapped up a three-year, $15MM deal originally signed with the Nationals (though he finished it out in Oakland). In the final season of that pact, Kelley posted a 2.94 ERA with 9.2 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.29 HR/9 and a 30.2 percent grounder rate in 49 innings — his third sub-3.00 ERA in the past four seasons. The interim season was an ugly one, as Kelley limped to a 7.27 ERA in 26 innings as part of a season in which he was hampered by a lower back strain, a trapezius strain and eventually bone chips in his right elbow — each of which sent him to the disabled list.

Texas hasn’t made much in the way of large-scale splashes this offseason, with Lance Lynn’s three-year, $30MM contract and the trade of Jurickson Profar to Oakland standing out as the largest moves to date for president of baseball operations Jon Daniels. However, the Rangers have steadily added a bevy of affordable veteran arms on short-term commitments, with Kelley joining a list that also includes Shelby Miller (one year, $2MM), Drew Smyly (acquired in a trade with the Cubs), Jesse Chavez (two years, $8MM) and Zach McAllister (one year, $1MM). Texas also picked up veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera on a one-year pact to help offset the departure of Profar. It’s unlikely that all of those moves will pan out, but the bulk nature of value additions should yield some smaller-scale trade assets for Daniels & Co. this summer.

Kelley will now join Chavez and McAllister as somewhat new additions — Chavez was with the Rangers on a one-year deal last season before being traded to the Cubs, so he’s not all that new to the organization — who will hope to comprise a setup core for electric young reliever Jose Leclerc. Durability will be the chief concern for Kelley, who has never reached 60 innings in a Major League season, but he’s generally been a quality bullpen piece when healthy enough to take the hill.

Marlins Designate Nick Wittgren For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that they’ve designated right-hander Nick Wittgren for assignment. His roster spot will go to veteran infielder Neil Walker, who signed a one-year contract with Miami this evening.

It registers as at least a moderate surprise to see Wittgren cut loose, as the right-hander pitched to a 2.94 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 0.27 HR/9 and a career-best 46 percent ground-ball rate in 33 2/3 innings with Miami this past season. However, Wittgren isn’t likely to repeat the success he had in limiting homers last season (one allowed; 2.7 percent homer-to-fly ball ratio), and the four walks he averaged on a per-nine-inning basis was the highest mark of his career.

Last year was a roller coaster for Wittgren. He allowed just one earned run through his first 15 2/3 inning, posting a 17-to-7 K/BB ratio along the way before being absolutely destroyed over the next month. Wittgren missed a bit of time with a finger injury along the way and was ultimately torched for eight runs on 14 hits and six walks through just 6 2/3 innings before being optioned to Triple-A. He returned as a September call-up, though, and posted a brilliant 1.59 ERA (two runs in 11 1/3 innings) with an 11-to-2 K/BB ratio.

All of that said, Wittgren is a 27-year-old righty (28 in late May) with a career 3.60 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 127 2/3 of big league relief. He also has a minor league option remaining, which could boost his appeal should the Marlins look to find a trade partner. Wittgren did miss some time in 2017 due to an elbow strain, but he avoided elbow troubles in 2018. His 92.1 mph average fastball in 2018 falls right in line with his 92.2 mph career mark, though he relies heavily on that offering and doesn’t generate much spin on it.

Diamondbacks Extend Torey Lovullo

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5:30pm: Lovullo’s contract will run through the 2021 season, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

5:07pm: The Diamondbacks announced this afternoon that they’ve agreed to a contract extension of undisclosed length with manager Torey Lovullo. His previous contract had run through the 2019 season.

Torey Lovullo | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

“Torey’s leadership and ability to connect with people, specifically our players and coaches, provides the foundation for the culture we continue to cultivate and grow in Arizona,” said D-backs general manager Mike Hazen in a statement accompanying the announcement. “This is an exciting day for Torey, his family and the D-backs. We can’t wait to get started at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in two weeks.”

Lovullo, 53, is entering his third season as the Diamondbacks’ skipper after having previously served as a bench coach to John Farrell in Boston. That time with the Red Sox surely played no small part in his ultimate hiring in Arizona; Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen and assistant GMs Amiel Sawdaye and Jared Porter were all with the Red Sox prior to being named to their current positions.

In two seasons at the helm of the Diamondbacks, Lovullo has overseen a 175-149 club. That includes a second-place finish in the NL West in his rookie season — one that resulted in a Wild Card victory and a trip to the National League Division Series. Few pegged the D-backs as contenders heading into the 2017 season, and the manner in which the team exceeded expectations led to Lovullo being named 2017 National League Manager of the Year.

Things didn’t play out as nicely in 2018, as the Diamondbacks were unable to meet the lofty expectations placed on them following that surprise playoff run. The D-backs dealt with several notable injuries and saw some key players take a step back in ’18, ultimately resulting in a solid but unspectacular 82-80 record — a finish that left them 8.5 games back of the second-place Rockies and 9.5 games behind the division-winning Dodgers.

Clearly, however, that disappointing finish did little to make Hazen and the rest of the Arizona front office question Lovullo’s status as the person they prefer to lead the dugout. The Diamondbacks will again enter the season with little in terms of expectations. Face of the franchise Paul Goldschmidt to the Cardinals, while top starter Patrick Corbin and center fielder A.J. Pollock have signed elsewhere in free agecy. Lovullo, then, will be tasked with helping to maximize the potential of a new core group as the D-backs enter a transitional phase. The continued development of right-hander Luke Weaver and catcher Carson Kelly, acquired in the Goldschmidt trade, will be keys to the organization’s long-term outlook, as will the manner in which prospects like Jon Duplantier, Jazz Chisholm, Daulton Varsho and Taylor Widener adjust to the Majors (particularly in the case of Duplantier and Widener, who are on the cusp of MLB readiness).

Reds Have “Made Progress” In Realmuto Trade Talks; Other Clubs Still Involved

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4:30pm: While the Reds’ interest in Realmuto is genuine, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic, the organization also doesn’t view him as a necessity and isn’t willing to overpay in order to acquire the All-Star.

Jan. 29, 9:13am: Whatever progress was made has clearly not yet resulted in a deal. It’s not just that the Marlins want to wait to see if other clubs will increase their offers. Rather, per Heyman (via Twitter), the Fish and the Reds are “still apart on prospects,” with other clubs also still engaged with the Miami organization.

Jan. 28, 3:59pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that there are “substantive” talks ongoing between Cincinnati and Miami, adding that India is indeed a player being discussed as part of the return.

The Marlins, though, are still talking with the Dodgers and Padres, at the very least, and are seeking the best package of two to four players they can obtain.

3:03pm: Third base prospect Jonathan India, whom the Reds selected with the No. 5 overall pick in this past summer’s draft, is also of interest to the Marlins, Heyman tweets. The former Florida Gators star hit a combined .240/.380/.433 in 184 plate appearances this past season in his pro debut — though he struggled in the Class-A Midwest League a bit after tearing through the Rookie-level Appalachian League with a .995 OPS in 14 games (the type of production one would expect from a fairly polished college bat in Rookie ball).

2:37pm: The Reds are “making progress” in their effort to pry catcher J.T. Realmuto away from the Marlins, reports Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Prospects Nick Senzel, Taylor Trammell and Hunter Greene are all of interest to Miami, Heyman notes, which isn’t exactly a surprise given that they’re the organization’s consensus top three farmhands. Cincinnati is reluctant to part with any of that trio, but the two sides still appear to be gaining steam. Tucker Barnhart could be part of the package going back to Miami if a deal is reached, Heyman adds.

Whether it’s with the Reds or another club, it does seem as though the Marlins are at long last moving toward a deal. SiriusXM’s Craig Mish tweets that the Padres have been making a “late charge” for Realmuto and suggests that the “final chapter of the saga is upon us.” Heyman tweets that the Padres and Dodgers have been among the most aggressive teams in pursuit of Realmuto in recent days, prior to Cincinnati’s increased efforts. The Braves, according to Mish, are also in the mix though perhaps not to the same extent as the other three.

If the Reds are to ultimately strike a deal, it’ll be the latest move in an aggressive offseason of trades that has dramatically altered the complexion of the club. Cincinnati has already acquired (and extended) Sonny Gray in a deal with the Yankees, and the Reds have also picked up Alex Wood, Tanner Roark, Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp in another pair of deals.

While catcher isn’t a clear-cut area of need given that Barnhart is a solid option behind the dish himself, Realmuto has emerged as arguably the game’s best all-around catcher over the past couple of seasons, meaning he’d still be an upgrade for the Reds if Barnhart is indeed shipped to Miami as part of the trade. It should be noted, too, that Barnhart took a step back in several key areas last year; the 28-year-old had a career-high strikeout rate (18.4%) and saw his OBP and average dip as his batting average on balls in play regressed closer to his career norm.

Even defensively, the well-regarded Barnhart saw his caught-stealing rate plummet from a league-leading 44 percent in 2017 to a below-average 24 percent in 2018. In spite of his 2017 Gold Glove Award and strong reputation, Barnhart has never graded out as a plus pitch-framer, but he posted the worst marks of his career in that regard in 2018 as well (per Baseball Prospectus).

All of that said, Barnhart is still a .257/.331/.374 hitter across the past four seasons, and while the resulting 88 OPS+ is below average relative to the rest of the league, it checks in a bit better than that of the average catcher over that same span. He’d be a better replacement for Realmuto than the majority of the free-agent options remaining on the market, and with $10.25MM guaranteed to him over the next three seasons (plus a 2022 option), he’d be plenty affordable even for the low-spending Marlins. He’d also give Miami another potential trade piece should the team look to flip him quickly this offseason or perhaps this summer at the deadline.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia Retires

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Veteran catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia has announced that he is calling it a career. The 33-year-old spent parts of a dozen seasons at the MLB level.

In a statement to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Facebook link), Saltalamacchia expressed gratitude to his former organizations, teammates and fans, along with his family and agent Jim Munsey. He also spoke of the honor he felt following in the footsteps of his childhood idol, Jason Varitek, over a four-year run with the Red Sox.

Ultimately, Saltalamacchia will be remembered best for his time in Boston, over which he turned in 1,329 plate appearances of .243/.307/.455 hitting with 55 home runs. He was a big part of the team’s 2013 World Series championship outfit, turning in a career year at the plate (.273/.338/.466) while appearing in 121 games for the second-straight season.

That platform campaign set the stage for a successful trip onto the open market, as he landed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Marlins. Unfortunately, things didn’t really work out in Miami. Indeed, many of the drawbacks we noted in the post on that signing — high strikeout rate, difficulties against left-handed pitching, and questionable glovework behind the dish — led to an unexpectedly brief tenure with the Fish.

Saltalamacchia ultimately made it through just nine games in the second season of that deal before he was cut loose. He rebounded later in 2015 with the Diamondbacks, and earned a significant role with the Tigers in the ensuing campaign, but never really regained his footing in the big leagues. Saltalamacchia had brief showings over the past two seasons with the Blue Jays and Tigers.

Of course, all that occurred following Salty’s most memorable moment from a hot stove perspective. After being taken 36th overall by the Braves, and debuting in the big leagues on his 22nd birthday in 2007, Saltalamacchia was shipped to the Rangers along with four other talented young players in exchange for then-star first baseman Mark Teixeira. Saltalamacchia never fully established himself in parts of four seasons in Texas before he was swapped to the Red Sox in a decidedly less flashy deal that nevertheless paid dividends for his new team.

It’s not yet clear what Saltalamacchia will pursue next from a professional perspective, but he says his initial focus will be outside of the game. As he puts it, it is now his turn to join the “cheering section” for his wife and four daughters after they did the same for him over his long playing career. MLBTR extends its best wishes to Saltalamacchia and his family.

Dillon Gee Announces Retirement

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Right-hander Dillon Gee took to Instagram on Monday evening to announce that after a professional career that spanned more than a decade and included parts of eight MLB seasons and a season in Japan, he is retiring from the game.

Gee, who’ll turn 33 in April, spent the 2018 season with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but, prior to that, appeared in eight consecutive MLB seasons with the Mets, Royals, Rangers and Twins.

Gee’s most prominent role came with the Mets, his original organization, from the 2011-14 seasons, during which he was largely a fixture in the team’s rotation. Gee appeared in 101 games, 98 of them starts, across that four-year stretch and gave the Mets a fairly steady stream of reliable innings. While he was oft overshadowed by a series of vaunted arms who were emerging on the scene around that same time (e.g. Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler), Gee turned in 606 2/3 innings of 4.01 ERA ball in that four-year period.

Unfortunately, as is the case with so many pitchers, injuries took their toll on Gee following that run. Gee dealt with a blood clot that required surgery in 2012 and perhaps even more detrimentally underwent the dreaded thoracic outlet surgery following the 2016 season. He’d go on to return with better results than many TOS patients, pitching to a 3.47 ERA through 49 1/3 innings between the Rangers and Twins in 2017, though that also proved to be his last MLB action.

In all, Gee will retire with a career 51-48 record, a 4.09 ERA, 6.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9 over the life of 853 2/3 Major League innings. Though he’ll retire at a relatively young age, Gee still did quite well for himself in baseball, taking home north of $13MM in player salaries — a sum that most 21st-round selections can scarcely fathom.

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