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Rangers Sign Zach McAllister

By Steve Adams | January 22, 2019 at 4:21pm CDT

4:21pm: The Rangers have now formally announced the addition of McAllister on a one-year deal. Their 40-man roster is now full, meaning they’ll need to make a corresponding move once Asdrubal Cabrera’s reported one-year agreement becomes official.

3:55pm: The Rangers are in agreement on a one-year, Major League contract with veteran right-handed reliever Zach McAllister, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Excel Sports client will earn a $1MM salary in 2019, and Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that he can boost his earnings via an incentives package.

McAllister, 31, struggled through an awful 2018 campaign with the Indians and Tigers, posting a combined 6.20 ERA in 45 innings of relief between the two clubs. He did turn in a quality 39-to-10 K/BB ratio in that time, though, and McAllister’s 95.3 mph average fastball velocity was as strong as ever. Additionally, he actually made some gains in swinging-strike rate and particularly on his opponents’ chase rate on out-of-zone pitches.

It’s also worth noting that McAllister was a quality reliever for Cleveland from 2015-17, during which time he turned in a 2.99 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 through 183 1/3 innings of work. Texas has plenty of open spots in its relief corps behind closer Jose Leclerc and the re-signed Jesse Chavez, so it’s not all that surprising to see the organization add an affordable veteran arm. If McAllister can successfully rebound to his 2015-17 form, he’d presumably become a trade asset for the Rangers this summer.

The Rangers organization has yet to announce the move, but Texas did announce a trio of minor league signees today — right-handers Taylor Guerrieri and Michael Tonkin, as well as catcher Tony Sanchez. Each will be invited to Major League Spring Training. Tonkin’s addition was already covered here at MLBTR earlier this month.

Guerrieri, 26, made his MLB with the Blue Jays this past season but only appeared in nine games, totaling 9 2/3 innings with a 4.66 ERA (five runs allowed). A former first-round pick and top prospect with the Rays, Guerrieri’s career has been slowed by injury — most notably including Tommy John surgery in 2013. He’s also served a 50-game suspension in the minor leagues (for a “drug of abuse” as opposed to a performance-enhancing substance). Guerrieri has pitched to a 3.31 ERA in parts of two Double-A seasons (182 innings) but has not yet found much in the way of success in Triple-A or the Majors.

Sanchez, now 30 years of age, was a first-rounder himself back in ’09 but has appeared in just 52 big league games with a .257/.301/.375 slash to his name through 156 plate appearances. He’s a career .253/.340/.403 hitter in nearly 2000 Triple-A plate appearances, though, and he’ll give Texas some depth behind 40-man options that include Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jeff Mathis and Jose Trevino. Jett Bandy, too, will be in camp with the Rangers as a non-roster invitee.

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Texas Rangers Transactions Taylor Guerrieri Tony Sanchez Zach McAllister

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Reds Acquire, Extend Sonny Gray As Part Of Three-Team Trade

By Steve Adams | January 21, 2019 at 4:15pm CDT

After several days of reporting and speculation, right-hander Sonny Gray has officially been traded from the Yankees to the Reds and also agreed to a contract extension with Cincinnati. It’s a three-team deal that also involves the Mariners. Second base prospect Shed Long and a Competitive Balance Round A pick go from the Reds to the Yankees in exchange for Gray and left-hander Reiver Sanmartin. New York, in turn, has flipped Long directly to the Mariners in return for center field prospect Josh Stowers — the Mariners’ second-round pick in the 2018 draft.

Sonny Gray | Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

As part of the trade, Gray has agreed to a new, three-year contract extension with the Reds that’ll span the 2020-22 seasons. He’ll earn $30.5MM over those three campaigns — that’s in addition to his $7.5MM salary for the 2019 season. Along with a $500K signing bonus, the deal reportedly promises $10MM in each of its three years and also comes with a $12MM club option for the 2023 season. There are $500K worth of incentives in each new season of the deal, with that value achievable in full at 190 innings pitched, and his annual salaries can grow based on performance escalators. Gray’s contract doesn’t contain a no-trade clause but stipulates that he be paid a $1MM assignment bonus each time he is traded.

Cincinnati emerged as a front-runner to land Gray last Friday, and his addition will be the third such pickup of the Reds’ offseason, joining lefty Alex Wood and fellow righty Tanner Roark. That trio will be added to a new-look Cincinnati rotation that’s also projected to include holdovers Luis Castillo and Anthony DeSclafani. It’s a group that should give the Reds a vastly more competitive outlook in 2019 while likely pushing names such as Robert Stephenson, Brandon Finnegan, Tyler Mahle, Jackson Stephens and others out of the Major League rotation mix and either into bullpen roles or back to the minors (Stephenson, it should be noted, is out of options).

A change of scenery for Gray, 29, only makes sense after he struggled profusely with the Yankees in 2018 — particularly when pitching at Yankee Stadium. Gray posted a ghastly 6.98 ERA at home in 2018 compared to a 3.17 ERA on the road, and while there’s surely more at play in those splits than the surface-level numbers exhibit, the contrast between the two numbers is unequivocally jarring.

The Reds quite likely found it encouraging that Gray’s velocity remained consistent with its previous levels (93.8 mph average fastball), that his swinging-strike rate remained north of 10 percent and that his ground-ball tendencies (50 percent) remained above the league average. Gray actually allowed home runs at his lowest rate since 2015 as well (0.97 HR/9; 13.3% HR/FB), despite pitching more than 40 percent of his innings at the homer-friendly Yankee Stadium. Of course, he’ll be moving to a similarly hitter-friendly setting in the form of Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, though the move to the National League should prove beneficial.

With the extension now in place, the trade of Gray differs starkly from Cincinnati’s acquisition of Wood and Roark, each of whom is a pure one-year rental. In essence, it’s a bet that the move into a lower-pressure setting could help Gray in a similar manner that Matt Harvey seemed to benefit following his own trade over from the Mets this past May. Gray, it should be noted, is not far removed from an extended run as a high-quality arm; the former No. 18 overall draft pick entered the 2018 season with a career 3.45 ERA in 770 1/3 innings, highlighted by an All-Star nod and a third-place Cy Young finish in 2015.

While it may be too much to expect for Gray to return to those lofty heights, he at the very least has the potential to help comprise a radically improved Reds rotation and gives the team some long-term stability a a time when many of the pitching prospects acquired over the course of Cincinnati’s rebuild have yet failed to pan out.

Cincinnati will also add a left-handed option to the middle levels of its farm system in the form of Sanmartin. While he wasn’t considered to be one of the organization’s top prospects, Sanmartin reached Double-A for the first time last season, at the age of 22, and pitched to an overall 2.81 ERA with a 58-to-4 K/BB ratio in 67 1/3 innings between Class-A, Class-A Advanced and Double-A. New York originally acquired Sanmartin out of the Rangers organization in a swap that sent righty Ronald Herrera to Texas.

Long, meanwhile, will head to the Mariners in a surprise development and give Seattle a prospect that is not far from big league readiness. The 23-year-old Long was a 12th-round pick by the Reds back in 2013 but has vastly outperformed that draft billing, rising to the Double-A ranks and hitting at a .261/.353/.412 clip with a dozen homers and 19 stolen bases this past season. Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs ranked Long seventh among Reds farmhands just last month, noting that the converted catcher still has some defensive question marks at second base. That said, he has the bat to profile as a regular there if he can improve his glovework, and if not, he could move to an outfield corner.

Stowers, in turn, is several years further from the point where he’d need to be added to the 40-man roster in New York. He went a round or two higher in the draft than many expected on the heels of a strong finish to his college season at Louisville, and it seems that given New York’s quick acquisition of him, the Mariners weren’t the only ones who hoped to snag him in the draft’s early rounds. The Yankees will also acquire a pick that is currently slotted in at No. 36 overall but could move a bit, depending on the outcome of the remaining free agents who rejected qualifying offers (and the subsequent draft pick compensation attached to them). The No. 36 slot last season came with a $1.967MM slot value, meaning the Yankees have likely added another $2MM+ to their bonus pool in the 2019 draft.

A trade of Gray has been expected since early in the offseason since Yankees general manager Brian Cashman openly spoke about his desire to find a change of scenery for Gray. Today’s swap gives the Yankees a rotation consisting of Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia. With Gray no longer in the fold, the Yankees’ top depth options are Domingo German, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa and Chance Adams. The organization likely hopes to have lefty Jordan Montgomery, who underwent Tommy John surgery early last summer, can return late in the 2019 season, though it certainly possesses ample rotation depth even if he’s shelved into the 2020 season.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Friday that the Reds were closing in on a deal to acquire Gray. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted over the weekend that Long and the draft pick would likely be involved in the deal, if completed. Rosenthal first added that the trade could hinge on an extension. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported today that Gray had been traded, confirming Long’s inclusion and adding that he’d been flipped to Seattle for Stowers. Rosenthal reported the extension and the terms of Gray’s new contract, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today adding salary details. Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer added Sanmartin’s inclusion in the swap. Heyman tweeted the trade assignment bonus.

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Cincinnati Reds New York Yankees Newsstand Seattle Mariners Transactions Josh Stowers Reiver Sanmartin Shed Long Sonny Gray

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Diamondbacks Designate Jared Miller For Assignment

By Steve Adams | January 21, 2019 at 3:17pm CDT

The Diamondbacks announced Monday that they’ve designated left-hander Jared Miller for assignment. His roster spot will go to infielder Wilmer Flores, whose previously reported one-year deal with the team has now been officially announced.

Miller, 25, hasn’t yet cracked the big leagues but was added to the 40-man roster last winter. At the time, he was coming off of an impressive 2017 campaign that he split nearly evenly between Double-A and Triple-A. Miller threw 70 2/3 innings of 2.93 ERA ball with 12.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9, seemingly setting the stage for an eventual MLB opportunity in the season to come.

Unfortunately, though he had never before exhibited such issues, Miller exhibited dramatic control problems in 2018. Through 42 Triple-A innings, he handed out 63 free passes to go with 59 strikeouts. Unsurprisingly, the results (7.71 ERA) were not pleasant. Still, it seems there’s significant raw potential remaining in Miller’s left arm.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Transactions Jared Miller

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Diamondbacks Sign Wilmer Flores

By Steve Adams | January 21, 2019 at 3:05pm CDT

Jan. 21: The Diamondbacks have formally announced the signing.

Jan. 16, 3:00pm: Flores’ contract guarantees him $4.25MM, Passan tweets. He’ll earn a $3.75MM base salary in 2019 and have a $500K buyout on a $6MM option for the 2020 season.

2:22pm: The Diamondbacks are in agreement on a one-year contract with free-agent infielder Wilmer Flores, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). The contract also contains a club option for a second season. Passan’s colleague, Pedro Gomez, had previously tweeted that the McNamara Baseball Group client was closing in on a deal with an NL West club, and Fancred’s Jon Heyman listed the D-backs as one of his suitors shortly thereafter. The deal is still pending completion of a physical.

Wilmer Flores | Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Flores, 27, was non-tendered by the Mets earlier this winter in his final offseason or arbitration eligibility. He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4.7MM, and the new-look Mets front office felt that sum to be too costly coming given the team’s crowded infield mix (which has since become more cluttered) and a diagnosis of early onset arthritis in both knees.

Last season, Flores hit .267/.319/.417 with 11 homers and 25 doubles in 386 trips to the plate while seeing time at first base, second base, third base and (during interleague play) designated hitter for the Mets. That production is more or less in line with what Flores had done in each of the past two seasons, but it’s worth noting that Flores’ output against left-handed pitching cratered last season.

Typically, Flores’ right-handed bat is a thorn in the side of opposing southpaws, but he instead mustered a timid .237/.284/.326 slash in 135 plate appearances with the platoon advantage. That’s a far cry from the .314/.349/.620 slash that Flores registered in 324 PAs against lefties from 2015-17 and was obviously a cause for concern among Mets decision-makers.

With the Diamondbacks, Flores can bounce around the infield, giving the Snakes a right-handed complement to Jake Lamb (who struggles mightily against lefties) while also spelling Ketel Marte at second base. There’s also been talk of moving Marte to center field, and the addition of Flores could make that transition easier on the Diamondbacks, should Marte prove adept in the outfield come Spring Training. At the very least, perhaps Arizona could play Marte in center field against lefties and deploy Flores at second base those days, thus giving Jarrod Dyson (who has also struggled against southpaws in his career) some protection from same-handed pitchers.

The D-backs may not done adding complementary pieces to their infield and outfield mix, so it’s possible, too, that future signings/acquisitions will further shed some light on the manner in which the organization plans to utilize Flores.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Newsstand Transactions Wilmer Flores

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Rangers Have Been In Contact With Clay Buchholz

By Steve Adams | January 21, 2019 at 1:34pm CDT

The Rangers have dramatically revamped their rotation this offseason by adding Drew Smyly, Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller (in addition to selecting Edinson Volquez to the 40-man roster), but Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Texas organization has also “been in contact” with free-agent righty Clay Buchholz. He further qualifies that there’s “no word” whether a deal between the two sides is close, but the connection is nonetheless of some note.

It’s been a quiet season in terms of teams being connected to Buchholz. The 34-year-old was nothing short of spectacular in 2018, as he turned in 98 1/3 brilliant innings with the D-backs after being cut loose by Kansas City. With Arizona, Buchholz pitched to a 2.01 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.82 HR/9 and a 42.6 percent ground-ball rate in 16 starts.

The veteran Buchholz looked to be positioning himself for a multi-year contract in free agency, but he unfortunately suffered a flexor mass strain in his right forearm that truncated his season in September. The injury didn’t require surgical repair — Buchholz underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection — but did give teams some understandable cause for concern, especially when considering his injury history. Buchholz did, after all, miss nearly the entire 2017 season due to a flexor tear in his right arm and also missed substantial time in 2015 due to a flexor strain.

For the Rangers or any other pitching-needy team, Buchholz is a sensible buy-low option — likely on a one-year deal, depending on the current state of his forearm and progress he’s made in rehabbing the injury. Joining the Rangers and their homer-happy home park may not be the most appealing option for Buchholz, though Miller wasn’t deterred by that concept when signing a one-year deal with Texas.

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Texas Rangers Clay Buchholz

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Cardinals Notes: Additional Moves, Martinez, Wainwright

By Steve Adams | January 21, 2019 at 9:26am CDT

There may not be another significant move on the horizon for the Cardinals this offseason, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak suggested over the weekend (link via Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com). “We don’t feel like there’s that one player out there that if we could target we’d go after if we’re patient enough,” Mozeliak said. The team surely wouldn’t broadcast its intentions even if one specific target of interest remained on the market, but it’s nonetheless notable to hear the Cards’ top decision-maker plainly state that he doesn’t “see anything that makes us want to change direction” when looking at the market of available talent. As Langosch notes, the Cards can still add some veterans on minor league contracts in hopes that someone forces his way onto the active roster this spring, but Mozeliak spoke like an exec who has completed most of his offseason shopping.

More from St. Louis…

  • If the Cardinals do make a move, writes Mark Saxon of The Athletic (subscription required), they’d likely be zeroed in on versatile position players and bullpen help. “Theorizing that relievers and guys who play multiple positions are what we’re looking at is probably not the worst theory in the world,” said general manager Mike Girsch late last week. If anything, though, it seems that the Cardinals will be more opportunistic rather than setting their sights on one specific player to pursue him at all costs. Saxon does run through some remaining free agents who could hold interest, noting that Oliver Perez could make some sense “if the Cardinals don’t want to pay the asking price in trade talks with the San Francisco Giants for Will Smith.”
  • Girsch also spoke to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Ben Frederickson about the decision to hang onto Jose Martinez rather than trade him. “Other teams looked at it as a guy who was not a fit for us, and that maybe they could get him on the cheap,” said Girsch of the team’s exploration of the market for Martinez. The Cardinals, it seems, had little interest in weakening their 2019 roster by moving Martinez solely for prospects, knowing his bat holds significant value even in a more limited role. Martinez hit .305/.364/.457 in a career-high 590 plate appearances last year and is a career .309/.372/.478 hitter in 915 MLB plate appearances. Frederickson also offers up some quotes from skipper Mike Shildt about the manner in whcih Martinez will be used in 2019, with Shildt believing he’ll be more involved than a typical bench bat and specifically touting Martinez’s proficiency against left-handed pitching (.332/.408/.560). However, it’s clear that heading into the season, Dexter Fowler will be given a chance to reestablish himself as a viable option in right field.
  • Righty Adam Wainwright spoke at this weekend’s Winter Warm-Up event about his decision to return for the 2019 season (link via Langosch). The three-time All-Star was candid in discussing the pain he’s pitched through in recent seasons and also in talking about the unexpected rebound his arm felt late in the season. “I stopped feeling like my arm was going to break every time I threw the ball,”  said Wainwright, who also touched on the possibility of pitching in relief if he can’t secure a rotation spot in Spring Training. However, Langosch notes that the Cardinals’ plan is to give the 37-year-old a real chance to do so. If Wainwright is indeed on a “whole different level health-wise” than he’s been in recent years, as he says, then perhaps it’d be unwise to bet against him. Wainwright has a combined 4.77 ERA in 362 1/3 innings across the past three seasons but was, of course, one of the game’s premier arms for quite some time before that; he returned from Tommy John surgery in 2012 and tossed 695 innings of 2.99 ERA ball from 2012-15.
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San Francisco Giants St. Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright Jose Martinez Will Smith

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NL Central Notes: Cubs, Miley, Reyes

By Steve Adams | January 18, 2019 at 11:52pm CDT

Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein held an interesting chat today with Waddle and Silvy of ESPN Chicago (audio link). He likened his desire to acquire a premium free agent to a second helping of dessert — of course, he wants it, but he just can’t have it — and says the organization still believes it can find improvement from its current roster. Epstein insists there’s positive energy within the friendly confines; despite the lack of roster activity, he says, the offseason has otherwise been a proactive one in which the entire organization has focused on hitting the ground running from the start of the present season. At the tail end of the talk, the veteran baseball executive also gives a detailed account of the organization’s stance on embattled shortstop Addison Russell. It’s well worth a listen, regardless of one’s general viewpoint on that subject.

Elsewhere in the division…

  • The Brewers still have interest in bringing Wade Miley back to the organization, writes MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy in his latest inbox column, and Miley thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Milwaukee organization. However, Miley’s camp is still holding out for a multi-year deal, and the Brewers have a fairly large collection of arms from which to choose as it is. Jimmy Nelson, Jhoulys Chacin, Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Zach Davies, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra and Adrian Houser are all options to start for Milwaukee. Given that depth, it seems that GM David Stearns is content to see if Miley’s price (or the price for any pitching target) comes down to a more palatable point.
  • The Cardinals still don’t have a defined timeline regarding right-hander Alex Reyes’ return from shoulder surgery, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The prized 24-year-old prospect has been throwing recently, and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak tells Goold that Reyes is “long-tossing without limitation.” The expectation, per Mozeliak, is that Reyes will progress to mound work within the next two weeks. However, he’ll also have an “individualized build-up” in Spring Training, and his return to pitching in a game setting will be determined based on milestones within that personalized program. Reyes has long been touted as one of the game’s most promising arms, but he’s never reached 120 innings in any professional season. Given that he’s already had Tommy John surgery and now last year’s shoulder surgery, one can imagine the Cardinals will be particularly cautious in getting him back up to speed.
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Chicago Cubs Milwaukee Brewers St. Louis Cardinals Addison Russell Alex Reyes Wade Miley

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Minor MLB Transactions: 1/18/19

By Steve Adams | January 18, 2019 at 9:30pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Pirates have outrighted righty Dario Agrazal to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets. A control-and-groundball-oriented hurler, the 24-year-old Agrazal has yet to move past the Double-A level. In his 85 2/3 innings at Altoona last year, he pitched to a 3.99 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 along with a 49.6% groundball rate. Agrazal had been designated for assignment recently to open up a 40-man roster spot.

Earlier Transactions

  • Per a team announcement, catcher Andrew Susac cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk after being designated for assignment by the Orioles. Set to turn 29 in March, Susac was once one of baseball’s premier catching prospects but has only managed a .221/.283/.373 slash in 300 plate appearances at the MLB level to date. He did hit .256/.405/.456 in a smallish sample of 158 plate appearances in Triple-A last year and has a career .248/.350/.438 line through 927 PAs at that level. He’ll remain on hand in the O’s organization as a depth option.
  • The Nationals announced that infielder Matt Reynolds has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment. He was sent outright to Triple-A Fresno. Reynolds made just 14 plate appearances with Washington last season and has spent the bulk of his career with the Mets, for whom he batted .228/.300/.351 in 226 PAs from 2016-17. The 28-year-old Reynolds can handle shortstop, second base and third base, and he’s a career .283/.350/.420 hitter in nearly 1600 Triple-A plate appearances (although most of those came in an extremely hitter-friendly setting with the Mets’ former Las Vegas affiliate in the Pacific Coast League).
  • Right-hander Jonathan Aro is headed to the Braves on a minor league contract, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter). The 28-year-old hasn’t cracked a big league roster since 2016 and has only 11 MLB frames under his belt in all. However, Aro does have a career 3.14 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9 in 174 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He’s spent the past two seasons with the Triple-A affiliates for the Mariners (2017) and the Padres (2018).
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Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Washington Nationals Andrew Susac Dario Agrazal Jonathan Aro Matt Reynolds

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NL East Notes: McNeil, Marlins, Braves

By Steve Adams | January 18, 2019 at 11:43am CDT

The Mets’ additions of Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie have eaten up most of the infield at-bats that would’ve otherwise gone to breakout 2018 rookie Jeff McNeil, writes Anthony DiComo in his latest inbox column. As such, McNeil now looks outfield bound in 2019 — a role he’s only played in a total of nine minor league games. While Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto are locked into outfield spots — likely in center and right field — McNeil will join Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton in the mix for additional outfield playing time. (Yoenis Cespedes’ status for the 2019 season is uncertain following surgery on both heels.) It’s curious to see McNeil to a more limited role after the 26-year-old burst onto the scene with a .329/.381/.471 slash in 248 plate appearances, though surely the organization feels its depth on the position player side is formidable. For those wondering, DiComo notes that Todd Frazier isn’t likely to be moved coming off a career-worst year, adding that GM Brodie Van Wagenen indicated Frazier is expected to receive regular at-bats at the infield corners. It’s somewhat curious, then, that the Mets chose to deepen their infield mix with Lowrie rather than add a reliever like Adam Ottavino, who agreed to a $9MM annual salary on a three-year deal with the Yankees yesterday.

Here’s more from the National League East…

  • Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald provides an update on a sleepy Marlins offseason, explaining that the club is still waiting for some bigger things to fall into place before adding to its roster. Beyond the obvious fact that the rebuilding club is waiting to see what players might fall through the cracks in free agency, the Marlins are not particularly interested in making moves before lining up a hopeful trade involving star catcher J.T. Realmuto. That deal could return some MLB pieces, which would dictate the team’s further needs. Jackson also reports that Miami would like to add a lefty bat who can play both the infield and the outfield — a perplexing target considering the fact that the Marlins cut Derek Dietrich, who fits that description to a tee, rather than pay him a projected $4.8MM salary. Jackson again notes that right-hander Dan Straily is available, though Miami isn’t shopping him and would be happy to have him in the rotation in 2019 if a solid offer doesn’t materialize.
  • The Braves likely wouldn’t offer Craig Kimbrel more than three years to bring him back to Atlanta, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com, and even then, the average annual value Kimbrel figures to seek could prove prohibitive. The outfield and the rotation, it seems, are still larger priorities for Atlanta decision-makers. Bowman notes that the Braves have not pursued Adam Jones in free agency despite a clear corner outfield opening, instead citing Nick Markakis as the likeliest free agent for the team to pursue.
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Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins New York Mets Adam Jones Craig Kimbrel Dan Straily Jeff McNeil Nick Markakis Todd Frazier

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Yankees Close To Dealing Sonny Gray

By Steve Adams | January 17, 2019 at 5:13pm CDT

5:13pm: “A few teams” remain in talks with the Yanks, per Jack Curry of  the YES Network (via Twitter).

3:49pm: The Athletics and Padres are involved, while the Reds do not appear to be, according to SNY.tv’s Andy Martino (Twitter link).

Heyman hears that the Giants have entered the picture (Twitter link). Contrary to Martino, he also suggests that the organizations previously rumored to have interest have dropped back — including the A’s and Pads as well as all of the other ballclubs listed below.

3:11pm: David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that any trade of Gray won’t include the Braves. There have been no recent discussions between New York and Atlanta, per O’Brien.

1:51pm: Heyman now tweets that the Yankees are “close” to trading Gray. He adds that New York is receiving interest in right-handed relievers Jonathan Holder and Tommy Kahnle, as well.

1:45pm: The Yankees, who reportedly reached an agreement with Adam Ottavino this afternoon, are “working hard” on a trade of right-hander Sonny Gray, per Fancred’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The team’s effort “appears to be getting more serious,” Heyman writes, noting that previous suitors for Gray have included the Reds, Giants, Brewers, Padres, Athletics, Braves and Mariners. It’s not clear that any of those clubs are at the forefront of New York’s current efforts to move Gray, though.

Gray and the Yankees agreed to a $7.5MM salary for the 2019 season recently. While GM Brian Cashman had previously suggested that the Yanks could hold Gray into the 2019 season despite voicing a preference to find a change of scenery for Gray, that possibility became less likely when CC Sabathia was cleared to resume baseball activities following a December angioplasty procedure. With Sabathia back on track for the ’19 season, Gray once again became a more superfluous piece for the Yanks.

A change of scenery for Gray, 29, only makes sense after he struggled profusely with the Yankees in 2018 — particularly when pitching at Yankee Stadium. Gray posted a ghastly 6.98 ERA at home in 2018 compared to a 3.17 ERA on the road, and while there’s surely more at play in those splits than the surface-level numbers exhibit, the contrast between the two numbers is unequivocally jarring.

Teams interested in Gray are undoubtedly encouraged by the fact that his velocity remained consistent with its previous levels (93.8 mph average fastball), that his swinging-strike rate remained north of 10 percent and that his ground-ball tendencies (50 percent) remained well above league average. Gray actually allowed home runs at his lowest rate since 2015, as well (0.97 HR/9; 13.3% HR/FB) despite pitching more than 40 percent of his innings at the homer-friendly Yankee Stadium.

The righty isn’t far removed from one of the American League’s better arms — he was an in-demand trade commodity at the 2017 deadline when the Yankees acquired him — and he entered the 2018 season with a lifetime 3.45 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 7.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 770 1/3 innings. Prior to 2018, he’d only had one season with an ERA higher than 3.55 — an injury-marred 2017 season — and had even finished third in 2015 American League Cy Young voting. While Gray surely has a long way to go to get back to that level, he’s a quality buy-low option whose $7.5MM salary should be affordable for just about any team in need of pitching help.

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