Latest On Cubs’ Bullpen Targets
The Cubs’ bullpen search figures to be expansive this offseason, but Patrick Mooney of NBC Sports Chicago provides some insight into the team’s thinking. Per Mooney, while the Cubs performed their due diligence on Zach Britton at this week’s GM Meetings, they found the asking price to be too high this past summer and aren’t likely to rekindle those talks. Rather, they’ve landed on free-agent righty Brandon Morrow as one potential ninth-inning option and will also monitor the market for former White Sox/D-backs/Mets closer Addison Reed in free agency, according to Mooney.
Chicago got an up-close look at Morrow in the National League Championship Series as he made four practically unblemished appearances against them (4 2/3 innings, one hit, one walk, no runs, seven strikeouts). The resurgent Morrow, whom the Dodgers signed on a minor league contract last offseason, burst back onto the scene midway through the 2017 campaign and emerged as the Dodgers’ best non-Kenley Jansen reliever late in the year. The 33-year-old Morrow turned in a 2.06 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and a 45 percent ground-ball rate in 43 2/3 regular-season innings before dominating for much of the postseason.
The Dodgers rode Morrow incredibly hard in the playoffs, though, and by the end of the World Series some fatigue was clear. Morrow became just the second pitcher in MLB history to pitch in all seven games of the World Series, and he appeared in a staggering 14 of the Dodgers’ 15 postseason contests. Though he was excellent in most of those games, he was shelled for four runs without recording an out in Game 5 of the World Series — the lone game in 2017 in which he was asked to pitch on three consecutive days.
That extreme postseason workload and Morrow’s greater injury history could give some teams pause in the free-agent market, but interest in Morrow figures to be robust all the same. We pegged him for a three-year deal on our top 50 free agent list, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see half the league express some level of interest.
As for Reed, he’s been as durable as relievers come. The 28-year-old (29 next month) has never been on the disabled list in the Majors and has averaged 67 appearances and 66 innings per season over the life of his big league career. Reed has plenty of ninth-inning experience, having 15 or more games in four separate seasons.
Control was an issue for the Chicago bullpen for much of the season — their 4.25 BB/9 rate tied for second-worst among big league bullpens — and it’s one area in which Reed excels. He’s averaged just 2.3 walks per nine innings pitched in his seven-year career, and that includes an even more minuscule 1.6 BB/9 mark over the past two years. (It’s perhaps telling that the Cubs are interested in two free-agent relievers that ranked among the top of the free-agent class in terms of best control.) Reed’s age, durability and track record make him one of the more appealing arms on the market — to the point that we pegged him as one of just four relievers to secure a four-year deal on this year’s free agent market.
It stands to reason that Morrow and Reed are just two of many names that the Cubs are intrigued by in the early stages of the offseason. In addition to free agency, there will be no shortage of relievers discussed in trades this offseason. President of baseball ops Theo Epstein, however, implied to Mooney that the Cubs may not continue to operate as they have in recent years when it comes to targeting bullpen talent, stating that he has no desire to “make a it a habit” to trade players with five or six years of control (e.g. Jorge Soler, Gleyber Torres) for one-year rentals.
Free Agent Rumblings: Walker, Cobb, Chatwood, Minor, Lucroy, Bautista
As major league organizations compete to bring home the shiniest new cars in Playoffville (Copyright Scott Boras), let’s check in on the latest rumored connections:
- The Pirates have at least “some interest” in old friend Neil Walker, Jon Morosi of MLB Network tweets. Morosi cites uncertainty surrounding Jung Ho Kang as driving the possibility of a reunion, though as MLB.com’s Adam Berry writes, there’s another perspective on that subject, too. GM Neal Huntington says there’s still some hope that Kang will be able to return and finish his contract. If not, though, he feels the team is in good shape in the infield without him, due in part to the acquisition of Sean Rodriguez over the summer.
- It seems there’s some mutual interest between the Cubs and righty Alex Cobb, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. That’s not a surprising connection, given the common roots with the Rays of Cobb and several key Cubs figures. The sides have engaged in preliminary discussions, though Wittenmyer’s sources tell him that contract particulars haven’t yet been broached.
- Another starter getting a bite is Tyler Chatwood, in whom the Orioles have shown interest, per Morosi (via Twitter). That’s a connection that comes as little surprise. Baltimore is going to have to take some chances to fill out its staff, and Chatwood looks to be one of the market’s more interesting possibilities to provide value. He won’t turn 28 until December and has posted solid results outside of Coors Field, prompting MLBTR to predict a three-year deal (albeit at a relatively modest annual value). While Camden Yards and the AL East are an intimidating prospect for many pitchers, Chatwood at least has plenty of experience dealing with similar challenges.
- The Mets are among the teams with interest in free agent southpaw Mike Minor, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. We’ve heard recently about New York’s desire to pursue impact relief pitching, and Minor certainly fits that mold. Given his past history as a starter and dominance against southpaws last year, the 29-year-old would provide quite a bit of functionality.
- The Astros are showing some interest in free agent catcher Jonathan Lucroy, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Lucroy could make for an interesting fit in Houston, though adding a backstop of that quality no doubt would represent a luxury for the team that already has most everything. Presumably, the ‘Stros could plan to split time between Lucroy and fellow veteran Brian McCann, with the other spending quite a lot of time at DH (if not also some first base). Signing Lucroy could mean non-tendering Evan Gattis, though he might also be retained and also utilized in the same rotation. There are certainly some intriguing possibilities here, though Lucroy should also be pursued by others that might offer him significant time as a primary catcher.
- It seems the Rays could again be a suitor for veteran slugger Jose Bautista, per Morosi (Twitter links). Talks haven’t really progressed to this point, but that’s hardly surprising — particularly since Tampa Bay’s entire offseason approach remains largely unclear. For his part, Bautista is said to be willing to spend time at DH or the corner infield, per agent Jay Alou.
Trade Rumblings: Padres, Ellsbury, Profar, Cardinals
The Padres have built up a number of options to use at second base or third base in 2018 and beyond, so much so that they’re receiving calls on infielders Yangervis Solarte, Cory Spangenberg and Carlos Asuaje, reports MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. “That’s an area where we’ve created some Major League depth,” GM A.J. Preller said. “…It gives us a group of infielders that we’re excited about. And it’s a group that, other teams, they see that depth as well.” Solarte is the most established of the bunch and is cost-controlled through 2020 thanks to last offseason’s contract extension. He’ll earn $4.125MM in 2018 and has a pair of options valued at $5.5MM and $8MM for the following two seasons. Spangenberg is arbitration-eligible through that same period of time, while Asuaje can still be controlled all the way through the 2023 season.
A few more notes on some trade scenarios throughout the league…
- Though many Yankees fans may be hopeful that the team can find a way to shed some of Jacoby Ellsbury‘s contract this winter, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports that there’s been no traction to this point on a potential deal. In fact, GM Brian Cashman tells Davidoff that he hasn’t so much as even broached the subject of Ellsbury’s no-trade clause with agent Scott Boras. “They have the full no-trade for a reason and I would walk through that process with the highest level of communication and respect because of it,” says Cashman. In addition to that full no-trade provision, Ellsbury is guaranteed more than $65MM over the life of the next three seasons, meaning the Yankees would have to pay down a massive amount of that remaining salary in order to facilitate a deal.
- Jurickson Profar is among the most oft-speculated trade candidates of the winter, but GM Jon Daniels stressed today that the Rangers don’t need to move him to another club this winter (link via MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan). Profar, 25 in February, will be out of minor league options next season and will need to be carried on the 25-man roster to avoid being exposed to waivers. However, Daniels notes that Elvis Andrus has the ability to opt out of his contract following the 2018 season — the same point at which Adrian Beltre‘s contract will expire. To be sure, there’d be sense in keeping Profar around in a utility capacity next year while prepping him for a potentially larger role, though there still figures to be interest as teams look to buy low on the former No. 1 overall prospect.
- The Cardinals are looking to trade multiple outfielders given their logjam of upper-level talent, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Phillies, Orioles and Giants have had interest in some of the Cards’ outfielders in the past, Goold notes, adding that Randal Grichuk is the outfielder that “comes up the most often.” Goold also reports that the Dodgers tried to pry Tommy Pham away from the Cardinals prior to the non-waiver trade deadline but were unsuccessful in doing so. In addition to Grichuk and Pham, the Cards have Stephen Piscotty, Dexter Fowler and Jose Martinez at the big league level. Beyond that, younger options include Harrison Bader, Magneuris Sierra, Randy Arozarena (who Goold profiles at the beginning of his column) and Tyler O’Neill.
Free Agent Notes: Duda, Tillman, Upton, Moylan, Rosario
Some of the same teams to have looked into other free agent first basemen — the Red Sox, Angels, and Mariners — have each contacted Lucas Duda as well, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). While he is arguably best served as a platoon option, it’s worth noting that Duda has generally been quite a productive offensive player and could represent a more affordable target than some other sluggers. The 31-year-old could turn into an excellent value if he’s able to approach the kind of output he sustained from 2014-15 and also demonstrated in the first half of the 2017 campaign.
Here are some more notes on free agents:
- Righty Chris Tillman will pursue a one-year deal, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). That’s a sensible strategy for a hurler that had been on track for a nice, multi-year deal before a disastrous 2017 campaign. Tillman, who is still just 29 years of age, dealt with shoulder problems and stumbled to a 7.84 ERA over 93 frames. Still, he seems like a prime target for organizations that need innings and can afford to roll the dice a bit.
- Veteran outfielder Melvin Upton intends to play in 2018, agent Larry Reynolds tells MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). The 33-year-old appeared briefly at Triple-A last year but missed most of the season due to injury. He had enjoyed a renaissance with the Padres in 2015-16 before scuffling upon a mid-season trade to the Blue Jays. It’s certainly possible to imagine an organization giving him a shot at earning a bench role in camp.
- The Orioles and Braves are interested in righty Peter Moylan, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). Moylan, a 38-year-old Aussie, has befuddled hitters for three years running, compiling a 3.46 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 over his past 114 1/3 innings since beginning an unlikely comeback. Moylan had signed with the Braves as a minor-league player/coach in 2015; he has excelled all the more since going to the Royals for the ensuing season and led the American League in appearances in 2017. While clubhouse presence is a factor that’s difficult to assess from the outside, Moylan also promises to make a tangible off-field contribution to whatever team lands him.
- There’s some interest on the market for former Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Still just 28 years of age, Rosario has starred as a first baseman for Korea’s Hanwha Eagles over the past two seasons. In over one thousand trips to the plate in the KBO, Rosario owns a .330/.390/.625 slash with 70 home runs and just 151 strikeouts. His market will surely be limited since he’s evidently no longer a real option behind the dish, but the power has always been tantalizing and he ought to be worthy of an opportunity in Spring Training, at the least.
GM Meetings Notes: The American League East
Rivals are no doubt watching to see how the Rays decide to approach the offseason, as the team’s stable of intriguing trade candidates could change the market quite a bit. The organization is still at “an info-gathering stage,” GM Erik Neander tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It seems, though, that there’s at least some consideration of dealing some veteran assets. Topkin analyzes the possibility of a full-throated rebuild, something that Neander acknowledges having considered. Of course, the young GM also says he doesn’t think a focus on the future “necessarily always has to come from tearing an organization down to the studs and then building it up.” Indeed, he argues that the Rays have managed to amass young talent while remaining competitive, even if the results haven’t quite been there of late.
More from Tampa Bay and the rest of the AL East:
- Also tackling the Rays situation were Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) and Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Rosenthal calls on Tampa Bay to “deconstruct,” perhaps to the point of marketing all of its best MLB talent, while Heyman says that Tampa Bay is listening to interest from other organizations on its top assets. Both pieces note that third baseman Evan Longoria remains just shy of ten-and-five rights, meaning he can’t block a trade, though Rosenthal also suggests he wouldn’t stand in the way of a move if the club decides not to compete. While Longoria clearly isn’t the team’s most valuable asset — that’d be righty Chris Archer — and is coming off of his worst-ever offensive campaign, the 32-year-old would still surely draw real interest from organizations in need of a third baseman.
- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski covered a host of topics in his chat with reporters yesterday. As Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports, some of the most interesting comments covered the team’s search for a “proven bat.” Most notably, Dombrowski suggested that there are limits to the team’s willingness to pursue trade avenues, with the Sox uninterested in dealing away current MLB assets and cognizant of the need to “be careful” of further depleting their stock of prospects. With Boston having dipped below the luxury tax line last year, perhaps it’s now more appealing to take on salary via free agency than to give value in trade. Meanwhile, Dombrowski addressed the question of how the team will help cover for Dustin Pedroia early in the season. He hinted that a significant acquisition might not be necessary, highlighting Marco Hernandez as a strong internal candidate to bridge the gap.
- One key need for the Blue Jays is to find a quality middle infielder to supplement the team’s injury-prone duo of Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. The team is looking for a player that is capable of handling more-or-less full-time duties, even if that may not ultimately be required. “Our priority is complementing our infield in some way with versatility, someone that can not just play when needed, but someone who can potentially get 600 plate appearances across our infield in some form or fashion,” GM Ross Atkins explains, while also noting that such a player could supplement the outfield mix as well. As Ben Nicholson-Smith further explores, finding that sort of player could well come at a cost. Several rival general managers suggested that they won’t easily part with assets that could meet Toronto’s specifications. As Nicholson-Smith tweets, pitching depth remains on the team’s wish list, too, though it may not be as critical as adding the above-described player and filling at least one outfield vacancy.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman discussed his approach to the offseason with reporters including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter links). “We have a lot of good players signed,” he said, “so we’re not in a situation where we have to be pressured into moving fast on anything.” Indeed, with quality internal options at most every spot on the roster, New York can seemingly stand to be opportunistic, particularly given that the team is set to dispense its open payroll space judiciously. Cashman also noted that he sees Aaron Hicks as an everyday player. That stance, along with the payroll considerations, seemingly makes it all the more likely that the Yanks will see if they can find a taker for Jacoby Ellsbury and some of his remaining salary obligations.
- The Orioles, of course, face a variety of needs that will be tough to fill with somewhat limited payroll availability. Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun provides a look at some veteran international targets that could be on the O’s radar. Signing foreign players to smaller, MLB deals has certainly been a notable Baltimore strategy in the past, and Meoli says the organization is “looking strongly” at doing so yet again.
Orioles Willing To Entertain Offers On Zach Britton
The Orioles are willing to listen to trade scenarios involving closer Zach Britton, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. While prior signals were that the organization would hold on to the southpaw this winter, it seems there’s now at least some possibility of a swap coming together.
Baltimore engaged in chatter involving Britton last summer and nearly dealt him to the Astros. But talks sputtered at the last minute and he ended up remaining on hand. MLBTR projects that Britton will earn a hefty $12.2MM in arbitration.
As Heyman notes, the O’s could find it advantageous to reallocate that payroll space to a rotation that’s badly in need of attention. Plus, with Britton slated for free agency after the season, this would be an opportune time to cash him in for young talent.
Houston is not presently among the organizations engaged on Britton, per the report. But the Dodgers and Cubs have already engaged in some chatter surrounding the 29-year-old hurler.
It remains unclear just how strong the market will be for Britton. Prior to the 2017 season, he had established himself as one of the game’s most dominant relievers. But the campaign didn’t quite go as hoped, as he fell short of his own lofty standards while dealing with elbow issues.
Britton ended the year with 37 1/3 innings of 2.89 ERA ball, posting 7.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 while inducing grounders on more than 70% of the balls put in play against him for the fourth-straight season. While his swinging-strike rate dropped off to 11.5% after topping out at 17.2% in 2016, Britton kept his monster sinker at over 96 mph and was obviously still able to use it to draw quite a few worm-burners.
East Notes: Mets, Red Sox, Orioles
Following a 92-loss season, the Mets will reimagine the way they use their pitching staff, says Marc Carig of newsday.com. The so-called “philosophical shift” may in part be driven by the Mets’ recent hire of former Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway as their new manager. According to one of Carig’s sources, Mets starters not named Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom may be shielded from facing lineups more than twice through the order, following a continuing trend throughout the league. In order to compensate for potentially fewer innnings from their starters, the Amazins plan to employ an eight man bullpen. The dramatic change in plans comes after the team posted a 5.01 combined ERA (the second-worst mark in the National League in 2017) despite watching deGrom finish as one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Carig lays out the opponent OPS for each Mets pitcher per times through the batting order as well.
More from baseball’s East division…
- In a lengthy piece for the Providence Journal, Tim Britton urges against many reactionary moves suggested by Red Sox fans. The body of the article includes 24 fan suggestions for Dave Dombrowski that Britton sought out on Twitter. Among them are cases for why Boston shouldn’t trade for Giancarlo Stanton, why signing Eric Hosmer doesn’t make sense, and why they should neither shop David Price nor move him to the bullpen permanently. While many such suggestions from fans have obvious flaws in logic, Britton’s piece is well worth a read for his detailed perspective on each subject.
- Too many strikeouts and too few walks plagued the Orioles once again in 2017, writes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. The team’s 23.0% strikeout rate ranked 5th-highest in the majors, while their 6.4% combined walk rate was the worst in the majors. That horrid walk rate was over two full percentage points below the major-league average. Among the strikeout culprits was first baseman Chris Davis, who led all qualifiers in baseball with a whopping 37.2% strikeout rate. Melewski noted that a quick turnaround in this category isn’t unheard of; the Astros went from having the AL’s worst strikeout rate in 2015 to the league’s best this past season en route to a World Series victory. The Orioles will hope they can follow that example to some extent and put more balls in play next season.
AL Notes: Choo, Rangers, BoSox, M’s, Ichiro, Orioles
Outfielder/designated hitter Shin-Soo Choo is a “luxury” the Rangers can’t afford, opines the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant, who contends that the team should shop the 35-year-old in hopes of improving elsewhere. Choo has an onerous contract, though, as he’s owed $62MM through 2020, so the Rangers’ best hope might be flipping him for another team’s unappealing deal, Grant writes. With that in mind, Grant lists three right-handers signed through 2020 – the Tigers’ Jordan Zimmermann ($74MM remaining on his pact), the Royals’ Ian Kennedy ($49MM) and the Reds’ Homer Bailey ($49MM, including a $5MM buyout in 2020) – as players the starter-needy Rangers could potentially acquire in exchange for Choo. Notably, Choo spent the 2013 campaign in Cincinnati and thrived, which helped pave the way for him to sign a seven-year, $130MM pact with the Rangers in the ensuing offseason.
More from the American League:
- Red Sox catcher prospect Daniel Flores passed away Wednesday over complications stemming from cancer treatment, but he was only diagnosed with the disease (testicular cancer) in late October, family friend Jose Salas Jr. told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. “When we saw it was bad, we did CT scans, X-rays, and stuff, and it was way too late, it was already too late,” said Salas, who was also Flores’ trainer. “He was so strong that he wouldn’t feel pain. . . . There were no indications, nothing suspicious, no negligence, there was nothing. . . . I don’t know what to tell you.” Flores was playing in the Dominican Republic instructional league shortly before he received his diagnosis, which came after he complained of back pain, and teammate and pitching prospect Alex Scherff informed Speier that “you literally couldn’t have been able to see that he was in that condition at all. He completely dominates the game. He’s the best catcher I’ve ever seen, no doubt in my mind at all.” Speier’s piece, which further profiles Flores and includes more quotes from Salas and Scherff, is certainly worth checking out in full.
- The Mariners are “highly unlikely” to reunite with free agent outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, Greg Johns of MLB.com hears. While Ichiro established himself as a Mariners legend during his time with the club from 2001-12, bringing the 44-year-old back would go against the team’s plans to get younger, Johns notes. It’s also unclear how much the future Hall of Famer has left at this point, given that he slashed a paltry .255/.318/.332 in 215 plate appearances with the Marlins this past season. That subpar output led the Fish to decline Ichiro’s inexpensive team option ($2MM).
- Although Zach Britton, Richard Bleier and Donnie Hart remain on hand after seeing plenty of action in 2017, the Orioles are nonetheless on the lookout for left-handed relief help, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The top available free agents include Mike Minor, Jake McGee, ex-Oriole Brian Duensing and Tony Watson, though the club could instead opt for a low-profile addition on a minor league deal, Kubatko suggests.
Orioles Interested In Andrew Cashner, Jason Vargas
The Orioles are known to be on the hunt for multiple starting pitchers this offseason — possibly as many as three — and MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes that the team has “definite” interest in righty Andrew Cashner and southpaw Jason Vargas. GM Dan Duquette has suggested in recent weeks that he’d prefer to add at least one lefty to his rotation, and Vargas would accomplish that goal.
Neither Cashner nor Vargas are among the top tier of free-agent starters, though it’s long seemed unlikely that the O’s would play at the top of the market. Given the team’s sizable needs in the rotation behind Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy, the Orioles will most likely have to add multiple arms from the second and third tiers of free-agent starters to fill out the starting five. Starting pitching, of course, is hardly Baltimore’s only need. The O’s could also very well take a look at some depth options in both the infield and the outfield, as they currently project to rely heavily upon a host of young and/or unproven assets (e.g. Tim Beckham at shortstop, Trey Mancini and Austin Hays in the outfield corners).
Baltimore currently has nearly $62MM committed to just four players in 2018: first baseman Chris Davis, center fielder Adam Jones, DH Mark Trumbo and setup man Darren O’Day. The payroll is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to balloon by another $55.1MM following a sizable slate of arbitration raises to another seven players, highlighted by Manny Machado and Zach Britton. In all, the O’s look to be on the hook for just under $127MM in 2018 before so much as spending a single penny this winter.
Assuming the payroll won’t expand too far beyond the $164MM mark at which the Orioles entered the 2017 season, that’d leave Baltimore with roughly $35-40MM to spend on new salary for the 2018 campaign. That’s not an insignificant amount of funds, to be sure, but that money will go quickly if the O’s truly intend to add three new starters and deepen their pool of position players.
Neither Cashner nor Vargas figures to break the bank, so to speak. We pegged Cashner for a two-year, $20MM contract on last week’s top 50 free-agent list and projected a one-year, $10MM pact for Vargas on the heels of a poor finish to the 2017 season. Generally speaking, it’d be a surprise to see either command more than a $12MM annual commitment in free agency, and the O’s could certainly backload any multi-year deals issued to free agents in an effort to defer some of the dollars to 2019, when some combination of Machado, Britton and Jones will all likely be off the books.
Of course, the fact that so many key Orioles contributors are just one year from the open market will play into the offseason calculus as well. The Orioles have to be cognizant of the fact that if the season goes south early on in the 2018 campaign, they’ll be faced with the unpleasant notion of having to listen to offers on longtime stars like Machado, Britton and Jones.
With that possibility looming, the team may not wish to commit to lengthy multi-year deals in free agency this winter. Speaking from a purely speculative standpoint, shorter-term deals that would allow the club to pivot in the event of a poor start to the year could be more desirable than locking in a mid-rotation arm like Lance Lynn or Alex Cobb on a three- or four-year pact that could prove more difficult to move.
Cashner, 31, gave the Rangers 166 2/3 innings of 3.40 ERA ball but did so with one of baseball’s worst strikeout rates (4.6 K/9) and a lackluster walk rate (3.5 BB/9). Fielding-independent ERA alternatives like FIP (4.61), xFIP (5.30) and SIERA (5.52) were all considerably more bearish on his 2017 output.
The 35-year-old Vargas turned in an All-Star first half in 2017, though the 2.22 ERA he carried through the end of June was buoyed by an unsustainable 86 percent strand rate. Vargas’ control slipped in the season’s final three months (3.9 BB/9), and his BABIP and strand rate regressed (substantially so in the case of the latter), leading to a bloated 6.66 ERA in the final three months of the 2017 campaign.
Welington Castillo To Decline Player Option
Orioles catcher Welington Castillo will decline a one-year, $7MM player option and re-enter the free-agent market in search of a larger multi-year contract, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. The decision has seemed likely for quite some time now given the strength of Castillo’s 2017 season in Baltimore. He’ll hit the open market as one of the top catchers available, along with Alex Avila and Jonathan Lucroy.
Castillo, 31 next April, had a career year at the plate in what looks like it will be his only season in Baltimore. Through 365 plate appearances, the slugger batted .282/.323/.490 with a career-best 20 homers. He was limited to 96 games in large part due to a testicular injury that was suffered when a ball was fouled into his groin. Castillo was sidelined for about three weeks and got off to a slow start upon returning before he closed out the year with a blistering finish. (He also missed 10 days early in the season with a minor bout of shoulder tendinitis.)
Defense has long been a knock on Castillo, but his 2017 work behind the plate showed legitimate signs of improvement as well. Castillo caught a whopping 49 percent of runners that attempted to steal against the Orioles’ pitching staff, and his oft-panned pitch-framing skills finished at a roughly league-average level, per Baseball Prospectus.
While it’s certainly possible that the O’s could kick the tires on a reunion with Castillo, the team has top prospect Chance Sisco all but ready to take over a prominent big league role in 2018. He’ll presumably pair with backup Caleb Joseph to form the Orioles’ primary catching duo in 2018 and beyond, though 26-year-old Austin Wynns is also an option to see some time behind the dish of Sisco proves to be in need of additional development.
Moving on from Castillo and going with an affordable combination of Sisco, Joseph and/or Wynns will allow the Orioles to dedicate more of their offseason resources to the starting rotation, which is clearly the organization’s top overall need.