AL West Notes: Astros, Rangers, Pierzynski
The Astros will have a new division, sharp new logo, and some new faces as well in 2013. Chip Bailey of the Houston Chronicle looked at three areas of change for the club and asked if they are truly upgrades. The move to install Jose Veras as the team's closer given his lack of experience in finishing games is something of a head scratcher for Bailey. The Astros surprised a lot of people when they signed Carlos Pena to a one-year, $2.9MM deal, money that may have been better spent elsewhere. However, Bailey tips his cap to General Manager Jeff Luhnow for his efforts to upgrade the club's rotation. Houston made a trio of low-risk gambles in Alex White, Philip Humber, and John Ely. Here's more out of the AL West..
- At today's introductory press conference for A.J. Pierzynski, Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels said that there is a decent chance that they'll add another bat, tweets Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest.
- Rangers skipper Ron Washington told reporters that incumbent Geovany Soto will get some playing time but Pierzynski will be the club's No. 1 catcher, Andro tweets. The club re-signed Soto to a one-year, $2.75MM deal with $250K in incentives.
- Pierzynski says that he came to Texas in part because of his affinity for playing there and the climate (Twitter link).
Hanrahan Trade Reactions: Bailey, Melancon, Grilli
Earlier today, the Red Sox and the Pirates finalized the trade that will send closer Joel Hanrahan to Boston. The swap has Hanrahan and infielder Brock Holt joining the Red Sox with outfielder Jerry Sands, right-handers Stolmy Pimentel and Mark Melancon, and Ivan De Jesus Jr. going to Pittsburgh. Here's a look at some of the reactions to the trade..
- Both the Red Sox and Pirates did well in the trade, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Pittsburgh sees similarity between Melancon now and Hanrahan when they originally acquired him from the Nationals.
- ESPN's Keith Law says the Red Sox received a small upgrade at a small cost with the trade. He opines that the Pirates would have been off moving Hanrahan last offseason.
- The Red Sox were wise to remake their bullpen, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Heyman believes that Andrew Bailey will make a fine set-up man and the plan to have Hanrahan close makes sense.
- Melancon was asked if he got a fair shot in Boston and while he was diplomatic, it would seem that he was less-than-thrilled with how things went. “It is what it is. It’s over and done with. Obviously, I didn’t pitch as well as I wanted to," said the pitcher, according to Tim Britton of The Providence Journal (on Twitter).
- Melancon told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) a few weeks ago that his biggest problem in Boston was manager Bobby Valentine. Abraham expects Melancon to do well in Pittsburgh now that he has a fresh start.
- For the Pirates, the deal effectively works as a 5-for-2 or even a 6-for-2, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Francisco Liriano will get most of the money that would have gone to Hanrahan and there still may be room for one more budget free agent.
- Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal notes (on Twitter) the Red Sox will have roughly $175MM committed to payroll in 2013 if Hanrahan gets $7MM through arbitration. Matt Swartz projects a $6.9MM salary.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com notes the Red Sox could flip Hanrahan at the trade deadline if they fall out of contention. He says they'll also consider making him a qualifying offer after the season.
- The most cost-efficient free agent signing of the winter may be the Pirates' signing of Jason Grilli on a two-year, $6.75MM deal as he will now take over as their closer, Heyman tweets.
- The Red Sox traded for Bailey on this date one year ago and it'll be interesting to see what this trade means for him, Abraham tweets.
- Red Sox manager John Farrell said that the club "didn't go into the offseason looking for a closer" but the trade makes Boston a better team, according to Abraham (on Twitter).
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Yankees To Sign Matt Diaz
6:04pm: The outfielder can earn as much as $800K in incentives, sources tell Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link).
5:44pm: Diaz will earn $1.2MM plus incentives if he makes the big league club, sources tell Feinsand (on Twitter).
5:05pm: The Yankees have agreed to terms with Matt Diaz on a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). Feinsand tipped the signing earlier this week when he noted that the outfielder would be a potential fit for the Bombers.
Diaz spent last season with the Braves and posted a .222/.280/.333 batting line in 51 big league games. The Reynolds Sports Management client boasts a career .324/.364/.498 slash line against lefties.
Pirates Designate Chad Beck For Assignment
The Pirates have designated right-hander Chad Beck for assignment, according to Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). The Pirates claimed Beck off waivers in October from the Blue Jays.
Pittsburgh had to make a 40-man move after the Joel Hanrahan trade sent two players out and brought four players in. The soon-to-be 28-year-old had a 1.31 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 43 Triple-A relief appearances. Beck also has 17 major league games to his credit over the last two seasons.
Red Sox Acquire Joel Hanrahan In Six-Player Trade
On the heels of back-to-back All-Star appearances, the Pirates have traded away their closer one year before he hits free agency. Pittsburgh has dealt Joel Hanrahan and infielder Brock Holt to the Red Sox in exchange for reliever Mark Melancon, first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands, infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr., and right-hander Stolmy Pimentel. Both teams have announced the trade.
Hanrahan, 31, pitched to a 2.72 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh last season. Despite having a reputation as a strong closer, some rival evaluators have been concerned about his conditioning and recent proclivity for walks. Hanrahan's walk rate climbed from 2.1 BB/9 in 2011 to 5.4 BB/9 in 2012. Matt Swartz projects the right-hander to earn $6.9MM through arbitration this winter after pulling down $4.1MM in 2012. Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal notes he will not net the Red Sox a compensation draft pick if he signs elsewhere based on the assumption Hanrahan will accept a pricey qualifying offer (Twitter links).
Melancon, 27, pitched to a 6.20 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 45 relief innings with the Red Sox after being acquired from the Astros last winter. He spent some time in Triple-A as well, then returned to the big league club at midseason. Melancon struck out 40 and walked just ten in his final 43 innings of the season. The former Houston closer will step into Pittsburgh's bullpen to provide depth behind the recently re-signing Jason Grilli, who will take over as closer.
Both Sands and De Jesus came to the Red Sox in their summer blockbuster trade with the Dodgers. The 25-year-old Sands owns a Triple-A batting line of .288/.362/.552 with 55 home runs in 940 plate appearances across the past two years. He also has 70 big league games to his credit, most of which came in 2011. De Jesus, 25, has 80 big league plate appearances under his belt and is a .303/.355/.416 hitter in 1,294 career Triple-A plate appearances. The Red Sox had recently removed him from their 40-man roster.
Pimentel, 22, was rated as the sixth best prospect in the Red Sox's organization in 2010 by Baseball America but was bumped down to No. 23 the following year. The 6-foot-3 right-hander boasts a strong changeup but has failed to impress at the Double-A level. In 37 starts for Double-A Portland, the youngster has posted a 5.96 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. Alex Speier of WEEI.com notes that Pimentel was targeted by the Pirates in 2008 as part of the three-way deal with the Dodgers and Red Sox that resulted in Manny Ramirez going to LA and Jason Bay coming to Boston, but the Sox refused to include him.
Holt, 24, was rated as the 27th best prospect in the Pirates' farm system in 2010 by Baseball America, but he has not been featured by the publication in their annual Prospect Handbook since. He hit .292/.329/.354 in 72 big league plate appearances this season, his MLB debut. Holt has hit .317/.381/.427 throughout his minor league career, including a .344/.406/.453 showing between Double-A and Triple-A this past season. He's played the middle infield exclusively as a professional, spending most of his time at short rather than second.
Andrew Bailey, Boston's incumbent closer, pitched to a 7.04 ERA in 15 1/3 innings in 2012 while missing most of the year with injuries. The additions of Hanrahan and Koji Uehara give the Red Sox some late-inning bullpen depth along with Junichi Tazawa and possibly Daniel Bard if he can bounceback from a disastrous season. The Pirates will pair Melancon and Grilli with Jared Hughes and Tony Watson, though they could also seek additional relief help on the free agent market.
ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes first reported that the two sides were nearing an agreement while ESPN's Jim Bowden reported the agreement (on Twitter). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, John Tomase of the Boston Herald, MLB.com's Evan Drellich, MLB.com's Peter Gammons, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports all added details on Twitter. Mike Axisa contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rangers Sign A.J. Pierzynski
After eight years on Chicago's south side, A.J. Pierzynski is heading a little further south. The Rangers have officially signed the catcher to a one-year deal, the team announced. It's worth $7.5MM. Fellow backstop Luis Martinez was designated for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster.
The Octagon client met with Rangers brass last week in Arlington and the club reportedly did extensive homework on him. Pierzynski fills a major gap behind the plate for the Rangers, who lost Mike Napoli. The catcher posted a .278/.326/.501 batting line in 520 plate appearances with 27 home runs in 2012. Pierzynski also appeared in 135 games, reaching the 100 games threshold for the 12th consecutive season.
Texas lost out on a big name free agent last week when Edwin Jackson agreed to a four-year, $52MM deal with the Cubs. With Pierzynski officially joining the Rangers, he'll have Geovany Soto as his primary backup with Eli Whiteside as an additional option. The 35-year-old ranked 30th in MLBTR's list of top 50 free agents this winter and Tim Dierkes correctly predicted that he would sign with the Rangers.
Pierzynski also fills the Rangers' need for left-handed hitting as their lineup is predominantly right-handed. The veteran can also be expected to see time at DH for Texas. The Yankees were also in the mix for Pierzynski, but were less-than-enthused about his defensive skills. Yankees GM Brian Cashman confirmed earlier this month that he checked in with Pierzynski's representatives.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the two sides were close to an agreement while ESPN's Jim Bowden reported the agreement. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com added details (all Twitter links). Mike Axisa contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Quick Hits: Yankees, Royals, Orioles, Hochevar
MLBTR would like to wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas. Here's tonight's look around baseball..
- Yankees catcher Austin Romine could make an impact this season following the departure of Russell Martin, writes MLB.com's Bernie Pleskoff. Martin signed a two-year, $17MM deal with the Pirates in November. The Yankees still could make a play for a starting catcher, but as it stands, they'll head into spring training with Romine, Chris Stewart, and Francisco Cervelli.
- Royals left fielder Alex Gordon appreciates the moves that General Manager Dayton Moore has made in order to win in the short-term, writes Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star. “To be honest, it seems like we’ve been sitting on prospects the last six years…It’s given them that option to be able to do that and go get a guy like James Shields and some of the other guys they’ve picked up. Yeah, it’s a risk-reward, but it’s something that you sometimes need to pull off," said the soon-to-be 29-year-old. Gordon is signed through the next three seasons with a player option in 2016.
- Some have theorized that the Orioles won't be able to bank on the good fortune that they enjoyed last season in 2013, but Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com notes that the club has plenty of setbacks to overcome. The O's roadblocks led them to go through 52 players in the regular season and 178 roster moves in total.
- While many Royals fans would like to see them dump Luke Hochevar and Jeff Francoeur, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter) doesn't see either player being given away for nothing. Either player could be traded, but Kansas City will want something of consequence in return. The Royals reportedly called the Rockies about Hochevar earlier this month, but nothing materialized from those talks.
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looked ahead to the biggest storylines of 2013. The Blue Jays now find themselves at center stage after acquiring R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, and others this offseason. The Dodgers will also feel immense pressure to win as they'll claim the highest payroll in baseball in 2013.
- Left-hander Scott Kazmir is grateful for another shot at the major leagues, writes Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle. The soon-to-be 29-year-old inked a minor league deal with the Indians late last week. Kazmir last pitched at an All-Star level in 2008, when he posted a 3.49 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.
Few Innings Eaters Remain In Free Agency
You might think that finding an innings eater is a simple task, but there were ten teams last season that didn't have a single pitcher crack the 200 inning plateau*. It helps tremendously to have a pitcher who can give you that level of output. Statistically, the Blue Jays (73-89) had one of the weaker bullpens in baseball last season with a combined 4.33 ERA with 8.58 K/9 and 3.51 BB/9. However, their relievers were asked to cover 527 and 2/3 innings. Had they gotten more work out of their starting rotation, their pen would have had more time to rest and as a result likely would have performed better.
At this point in the offseason, most of the durable starters are off the market. The Angels picked up on this last week when they flipped Kendrys Morales for Seattle's Jason Vargas, who has logged 611 innings across the last three seasons. In fact, the only pitcher still available on the open market who pitched more than 200 innings in 2012 is Kyle Lohse, who delivered 211 IP for the Cardinals last season. Obviously, Lohse will be expected to bring more to the table than just soaking up innings and his contract will reflect that. Teams looking to get creative can look to a couple of other available names who have demonstrated the ability to go deep into games in years past.
Brett Myers was converted into a reliever in 2012 but says that he hopes to start (and, presumably, command starter money) again in 2013. The right-hander logged 439 innings between 2010 and 2011 for the Astros. Shaun Marcum missed a large part of last season with elbow issues, but he hovered around 200 innings in the two years prior to that. Left-hander Joe Saunders missed the cut in 2012 (174.2 IP), but had no trouble earning the innings eater label in '10 and '11.
At this time last winter, Saunders, Hiroki Kuroda, and Edwin Jackson stood as the only true innings eaters left available on the market. There are even fewer free agent options this time around for teams hoping to ease the burden on their bullpen.
*Nationals' innings leader Gio Gonzalez came dangerously close as he pitched 199 and 1/3 innings. The Rockies are one of the ten clubs, but it should be noted that they earned this distinction by design with their "Project 5,183" system.
Poll: Which Top 50 Free Agent Will Sign Next?
As we approach the New Year, seven of Tim Dierkes' Top 50 free agents remain unsigned. Michael Bourn (#3), Kyle Lohse (#10), Adam LaRoche (#15), Rafael Soriano (#17), Shaun Marcum (#19), Joe Saunders (#25), and Jose Valverde (#44) are still on the market and most seem to be drawing a great deal of interest. It's possible that Mike Napoli (#14) re-enters the fray if his deal with the Red Sox falls through, though one has to imagine that Boston would have bailed entirely at this point if they were overly concerned about his health.
Bourn, Lohse, Soriano, and Valverde are all represented by Scott Boras, who is comfortable with waiting for the right deal. We also know that he has a knack for digging up unexpected suitors, so maybe we shouldn't shy away from picking Lohse in this poll despite his cloudy market. Of the seven top 50 free agents left, who is going to put pen to paper first?
Which Top 50 FA Will Sign Next?
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Adam LaRoche 41% (9,176)
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Michael Bourn 19% (4,357)
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Joe Saunders 14% (3,166)
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Kyle Lohse 14% (3,047)
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Shaun Marcum 7% (1,687)
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Rafael Soriano 4% (793)
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Jose Valverde 1% (282)
Total votes: 22,508
Checking In On Baseball’s Lowest Scoring Offenses
A high-powered offense alone won't punch your ticket to the playoffs, but it certainly helps the cause. The Yankees (95 wins, 804 runs scored), Rangers (93, 808), and Cardinals (88, 765) found their way to the postseason thanks in large part to their top-five offenses. Meanwhile, the five lowest scoring teams of 2012 all missed the playoffs and averaged out to 69.2 wins on the year.
We'll take a look at those bottom five teams and see what they've done to improve their offenses so far this offseason. Team name links go to a summary of the teams' moves on MLBTR's Transaction Tracker and 2012 run totals are in parentheses. For reference, the average MLB team scored roughly 705 runs this past season.
- Astros (583) – The Astros, along with the Mariners, finished in the offensive cellar two years in a row. Houston's main upgrade to their offense came with the signing of Carlos Pena to a one-year, $2.9MM deal with $1.4MM in incentives. Pena has been an offensive force in years past, but struggled mightily at the plate in 2012 with a .197/.330/.354 slash line, a career-high 182 strikeouts, and just 19 homers – his lowest total in a healthy season since 2003.
- Marlins (609) – Some expected the Marlins to make a play for Alex Rodriguez in an effort to bolster their offense, but their massive November trade with Toronto made it clear that those kinds of acquisitions weren't in the cards. The deal shipped Jose Reyes out of town and brought back Adeiny Hechavarria, a 23-year-old shorstop who has promise but doesn't project to do much offensively. Miami signed Placido Polanco to a one-year, $2.75MM contract, but he'll have to improve from his .281/.330/.356 batting line over the last three years to make a big impact.
- Cubs (613) – The Cubs spent the bulk of their money on pitching but they also made a few low-cost signings to re-tool their offense. Theo Epstein & Co. signed Nate Schierholtz to a one-year, $2.25MM deal, plucking him away from other suitors such as the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Orioles, and Mets. Another strong year from Alfonso Soriano would help propel Chicago's offense, but the Cubs may eat a big portion of the $36MM owed to him to get his salary off of the books and get a solid prospect in return.
- Mariners (619) – Last week, Seattle shipped left-hander Jason Vargas to the Angels for first baseman Kendrys Morales. The 29-year-old posted a .273/.320/.467 batting line with 22 home runs in 522 plate appearances for the Angels in 2012 after missing the entire 2011 campaign with a leg injury. The M's also picked up Raul Ibanez last week on a one-year, $2.75MM deal and signed Jason Bay to a low-risk $1MM contract.
- Dodgers (637) – The Dodgers won't be lacking in firepower in 2013 thanks to their blockbuster trade with the Red Sox in August. Adrian Gonzalez admitted that he was pressing last season as he looked to adjust to a new team and market. Carl Crawford will be back in action after missing the bulk of 2012 and will join Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to form a tremendously strong starting outfield.