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Red Sox, Matt Barnes Discussed Extension Prior To Shutdown

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Red Sox righty Matt Barnes will be a free agent after the 2021 season, but the 30-year-old tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that he hopes to spend his entire career in Boston. To that end, Barnes revealed that he and the organization had discussed a multi-year deal that would have extended his time with the Red Sox “beyond next year.”

There’s no indication to this point that the two sides plan to resume talks, although Barnes makes clear that he’s plenty open to the possibility. All 30 big league clubs were impacted by the lack of gate revenue in 2020, and all are still waiting to ascertain just what the 2021 season will look like in terms of fan attendance, length of season and other factors.

Barnes saw his strikeout and walk rates both trend in the wrong direction in 2020, although as Speier points out, he finished the season with a strong showing in September. Barnes’ track record on the whole in Boston is quite good, and the past four seasons in particular have seen him assume a prominent role in the team’s relief corps. Dating back to 2017, Barnes owns a 3.83 ERA and a 3.30 FIP, having averaged 13.2 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and 0.99 HR/9 with a 49.1 percent ground-ball rate. From 2018-19, only four of the 108 qualified relievers in MLB struck out a greater percentage of batters faced than Barnes: Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, Aroldis Chapman and Kirby Yates.

Barnes and the Red Sox agreed to a $4.5MM salary for the upcoming season earlier this week, so his earnings are locked in barring the restructuring of that salary as part of a longer-term deal. Any such contract talks aren’t likely to happen in the near future, however. Extensions are most commonly negotiated during Spring Training even under normal circumstances — hence last spring’s talks referenced by Barnes — and that figures to be more true than ever as teams wait to gather information that will determine their revenue streams in 2021.

If Barnes does eventually reach the market next winter, he’ll join what looks to be a rather weak class of free-agent relievers. Assuming a solid season in 2021, Barnes could make a case for himself as one of the more appealing names on the market.

Red Sox Acquire Christian Koss From Rockies

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  • The Rockies announced that they have acquired left-hander Yoan Aybar from the Red Sox for infielder Christian Koss. Aybar, now 23, didn’t produce much as an outfielder through 2017, which led the Red Sox to move him to the mound. With a fastball that can reach triple digits, Aybar pitched to a 4.61 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings between the Single-A and High-A levels in 2019. Koss, who will turn 23 in January, was a 12th-round pick of the Rockies in 2019 who hasn’t gotten past rookie ball. He did perform very well there during his first pro season, though, as he slashed .332/.447/.605 with 11 home runs in 238 plate appearances.

Red Sox Interested In Eddie Rosario

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  • The Red Sox have shown interest in free-agent outfielder Eddie Rosario, Morosi tweets. The Twins non-tendered Rosario on Wednesday as opposed to paying him in the $8.6MM to $12.9MM range in arbitration. The power-hitting Rosario would join Alex Verdugo to form Boston’s tandem of corner outfielders.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/2/20

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With the non-tender deadline coming today at 7pm CT, expect quite a few players to agree to contracts for the 2021 season, avoiding arbitration in advance.  In many (but not all) cases, these deals — referred to as “pre-tender” deals because they fall prior to the deadline — will fall shy of expectations and projections.  Teams will sometimes present borderline non-tender candidates with a “take it or leave it” style offer which will be accepted for fear of being non-tendered and sent out into an uncertain market.  Speculatively, such deals could increase in 2020 due to the economic uncertainty sweeping through the game, although there are also widespread expectations of record non-tender numbers.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through today’s smaller-scale pre-tender deals in this post.  You can also check out Matt Swartz’s arbitration salary projections here.

Latest Agreements

Earlier Agreements

  • Twins righty Jose Berrios will earn $6.1MM with a $500K signing bonus in 2021, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. Catcher Mitch Garver will rake in $1.875MM, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Center fielder Byron Buxton ($5.125MM) and reliever Taylor Rogers (terms not released) also agreed to deals, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
  • The Phillies have deals with starter Zach Eflin ($4.45MM) and relievers Hector Neris ($5MM), David Hale ($850K) and Seranthony Dominguez ($727,500), Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Heyman and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com relay.
  • The Marlins and first baseman Garrett Cooper have a $1.8MM agreement that could max out at $2.05MM with performance bonuses, Craig Mish of Sportsgrid tweets.
  • The Brewers are keeping catcher Manny Pina in the fold for $1.65MM, according to Heyman. They’re also retaining first baseman Daniel Vogelbach for $1.4MM, Nightengale reports.
  • The Giants and outfielder Austin Slater have a one-year, $1.15MM deal, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.The club also reached a $925K agreement with lefty Wandy Peralta and a $700K pact with righty Trevor Gott, Heyman tweets.
  • The Cubs are bringing back hurlers Dan Winkler ($900K), Colin Rea ($702,500) and Kyle Ryan ($800K), Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Ryan’s agreement is a split contract that features a $250K minor league salary.
  • The Mets are retaining lefty Steven Matz for $5.2MM, Nightengale tweets. Matz had a brutal campaign in 2020 with a 9.68 ERA/7.76 FIP over 30 2/3 innings in 2020, but the Mets will give him a chance to rebound.
  • The Padres and lefty Matt Strahm have a one-year, $2MM deal, Nightengale reports. Strahm gave the Padres a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP in 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
  • Outfielder Guillermo Heredia, whom the Mets claimed from Pittsburgh in August, will earn $1MM in 2021, according to Nightengale.
  • The Astros and reliever Austin Pruitt have settled for $617, 500, per Heyman. The right-hander missed the season with elbow issues.
  • The Royals and outfielder Jorge Soler have agreed to a one-year, $8.05MM deal with $250K in incentives, Nightengale reports. Soler was a 48-home run hitter in 2019, but his production went backward this past season, in which he slashed .228/.326/.443 with eight HRs in 174 trips to the plate.
  • The Red Sox have kept relievers Matt Barnes ($4.4MM) and Ryan Brasier ($1.25MM) and catcher Kevin Plawecki ($1.6MM), per tweets from Nightengale, Robert Murray of FanSided and Heyman. Barnes has been a solid reliever as a member of the Red Sox, though he yielded more than five walks per nine and upward of four runs per nine in 2020. Brasier was more successful this past season, as he tossed 25 frames of 3.96 ERA/3.15 FIP ball and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine. Plawecki had a nice year as the backup to Christian Vazquez, as he batted .341/.393/.463 in 89 PA.
  • The Giants and southpaw Jarlin Garcia have settled for $950K, according to Heyman. Garcia is coming off an 18 1/3-inning effort in which he posted a near-perfect 0.49 (with an impressive 3.14 FIP) and 6.87 K/9 against 3.44 BB/9.
  • The Marlins have agreed to a one-year, $4.3MM deal with first baseman Jesus Aguilar, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. The 30-year-old slugger put up strong numbers in his first year with the Fish, slashing .277/.352/.457 with eight long balls in 216 plate appearances.
  • The Giants and outfielder Alex Dickerson settled at a year and $2MM, tweets Nightengale. The 30-year-old slugger has a lengthy injury history but has been excellent in limited work with the Giants, including a .298/.371/.576 slash in 170 plate appearances this past season.
  • Luis Cessa will be back with the Yankees on a one-year deal, tweets Nightengale. He’ll earn $1.05MM. The righty notched a 3.32 ERA and 3.79 FIP with a 17-to-7 K/BB ratio in 21 2/3 innings this past season. Fellow righty Ben Heller will also return, the team announced, though it didn’t disclose financial details.
  • First baseman Matt Olson and the Athletics settled on a one-year deal worth $5MM, tweets Nightengale. The 26-year-old Olson’s .198/.310/.424 slash was an obvious step back from his 2019 campaign, but he’s still viewed as a vital part of the club’s future moving forward.
  • The Braves and righty Luke Jackson agreed to a one-year deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The 29-year-old was rocked for a 6.84 ERA in this year’s shortened slate of games but posted a 3.84 ERA and 3.24 FIP with better than 13 K/9 as one of the team’s steadiest relievers in 2019. The contract is valued at $1.9MM, per a team announcement.
  • The Brewers are bringing back catcher Omar Narvaez for one year and $2.5MM, Heyman tweets. Narvaez was a very good offensive catcher from 2o16-19 with the White Sox and Mariners, but he struggled last season after the M’s traded him to the Brewers. Thanks in part to a career-worst 31 percent strikeout rate, Narvaez could only muster a .176/.294/.269 line and a paltry two HRs in 126 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he’s in line to return to the Brewers for a second season.
  • The Brewers have agreed to a one-year, $2MM contract with shortstop Orlando Arcia, Nightengale relays. Arcia endured serious struggles on offense in prior years, but the 26-year-old managed a respectable .260/.317/.416 line with five home runs over 189 plate appearances this past season.
  • The Phillies and catcher Andrew Knapp have reached a one-year, $1.1MM agreement, per Nightengale. Typically a light-hitting backstop, Knapp batted a career-best .278/.404/.444 in 89 plate appearances in 2020. He’s currently the No. 1 catcher on a Phillies team that could lose J.T. Realmuto in free agency.
  • Pirates infielder Erik Gonzalez agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.225MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. It was the second year of arb eligibility for Gonzalez, whose glovework will earn him a contract despite a brutal .227/.255/.359 batting line in 193 plate appearances in 2020.
  • The Royals and Hunter Dozier agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.72MM in entirely guaranteed money, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports.  More is available to Dozier via contract incentives.  Dozier hit .228/.344/.392 over 186 PA after missing over the first two weeks of the season recovering from a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • The Red Sox agreed to an $870K deal with right-hander Austin Brice for the 2021 season, as per Nightengale.  Brice posted a 5.95 ERA, 11.4 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 over 19 2/3 innings in his first season in Boston, and was considered a potential non-tender candidate.
  • The Twins and righty Tyler Duffey agreed to a one-year, $2.2MM pact, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports.  According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, Duffey’s deal is fully guaranteed.
  • The Braves agreed to a one-year, $900K deal with southpaw Grant Dayton, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  Dayton had a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in 2020.
  • The Braves announced an agreement with utilityman Johan Camargo on a one-year, $1.36MM deal.  Camargo was thought to be a non-tender candidate after struggling to a .222/.267/.378 slash line in 375 plate appearances over the last two seasons, but he will return for a fifth year in Atlanta.
  • The White Sox and left-hander Jace Fry agreed to a one-year deal worth $862.5K, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Fry posted a 3.66 ERA, 2.00 K/BB rate, and 11.0 K/9 over 19 2/3 innings in 2020, and he has strong overall career numbers against left-handed batters.
  • The Orioles agreed with second baseman Yolmer Sanchez on a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).  Baltimore claimed Sanchez off waivers from the White Sox at the end of October.  A Gold Glove winner in 2019, Sanchez was non-tendered by Chicago prior to last year’s deadline, though after signing a minors deal with the Giants, he returned to the White Sox on another minors deal and appeared in 11 games on the South Side.
  • The Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth roughly $700K with left-hander Caleb Thielbar, The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports (via Twitter).  2020 marked Thielbar’s first taste of MLB action since 2015, as the southpaw worked his way back from independent ball to post a 2.25 ERA, 2.44 K/BB rate, and 9.9 K/9 over 20 innings for Minnesota.
  • The Dodgers and left-hander Scott Alexander have agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Alexander posted a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen this season, recording an equal number of walks and strikeouts (nine).  The southpaw was thought to be a potential non-tender candidate given his relative lack of usage and his non-inclusion on the Dodgers’ playoff roster, but the team will retain Alexander for his second arb-eligible year.  ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter) adds the noteworthy detail that Alexander’s $1MM salary is fully guaranteed, as opposed to the usual contracts for arbitration-eligible players that allow their teams to release them prior to Opening Day and only pay a fraction of the agreed-upon salary.

Cubs Claim Robert Stock

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The Cubs announced that right-hander Robert Stock has been claimed off waivers from the Red Sox.  Stock was designated for assignment by Boston last week.

Stock posted a 4.73 ERA over 13 1/3 innings for the Red Sox last season.  The 31-year-old has a 4.24 ERA, 2.16 K/BB rate, and 9.5 K/9 over 63 2/3 career innings with Boston and San Diego from 2018-20, though Stock also pitched for a number of different organizations (both MLB-affiliated and in independent ball and Mexico) since the Cardinals made him a second-round pick in the 2009 draft.

Control has been something of an issue for Stock both in the minors and particularly in the majors over the course of his career, though he does have a live fastball that regularly sits in the mid-90s.  There’s little risk for the Cubs in seeing if they can turn that live arm into a more reliable bullpen weapon as Chicago looks to add relief help this offseason.

Red Sox Interested In Corey Kluber

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The starter-needy Red Sox are showing interest in free-agent right-hander Corey Kluber, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Kluber, who’s coming off an injury-wrecked season, could start throwing bullpen sessions this month after suffering a Grade 2 teres major strain, Morosi adds.

As a two-time Cy Young winner who fell on difficult times during the previous two seasons, the soon-to-be 35-year-old Kluber looks like an intriguing buy-low candidate. The former Indian missed almost all of 2019 after suffering a fractured forearm, and this past season’s shoulder problems with the Rangers limited him to one appearance and one inning. The Rangers then declined Kluber’s $18MM option for 2021 in favor of a $1MM buyout.

Despite Kluber’s recent hardships, it isn’t hard to see the appeal. The last time he was healthy, in 2018, Kluber fired 215 innings of 2.89 ERA/3.12 FIP ball with 9.29 K/9 and 1.42 BB/9. His 92 mph-plus fastball velocity hasn’t abandoned him since then, so it would be easy for any team to dream on Kluber returning to form on an affordable, short-term contract.

The Red Sox need all the help they can get in their rotation, as ace Chris Sale is still working back from Tommy John surgery and No. 2 Eduardo Rodriguez missed all of 2020 because of issues stemming from COVID-19 and myocarditis. Without those two around, Boston’s rotation sputtered to a 5.34 ERA/5.50 FIP. The team’s top healthy candidates slated to return include Nathan Eovaldi, Tanner Houck and Nick Pivetta, but no member of that trio has a track record that’s nearly as impressive as Kluber’s.

Red Sox, Eduardo Rodriguez Avoid Arbitration

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The Red Sox and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $8.3MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. It’s a repeat of the salary the two sides agreed to last winter, as is common with players who miss an entire season due to injury or, in Rodriguez’s case, medical concerns.

Rodriguez, 27, didn’t pitch in 2020 after testing positive for Covid-19 and eventually developing myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart muscle which rendered him unable to take the field. Rodriguez revealed in late November that he’s recovered and feels 100 percent again. After months of downtime, Rodriguez told MLB Network Radio that he’d been cleared to begin a throwing program and resume lifting weights in preparation for a return to the mound in 2021.

The Red Sox will have a difficult task in determining what type of workload Rodriguez should be earmarked for Rodriguez after not only a season away from the mound but a season lost to heart issues. Boston pitching coach Dave Bush spoke with reporters about the challenges of the situation back in September (link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne).

“For a guy like Eduardo Rodriguez, 200 innings last year and zero this year, we’re still figuring out exactly what we can expect from him next year and what’s a reasonable amount so he can pitch and be part of the rotation,” Bush said at the time. “But we also want to make sure that we don’t overdo it and don’t put him in danger at that point.”

The Red Sox badly missed Rodriguez in 2020, as a patchwork rotation often rounded out by journeymen limped to a 25th-ranked 5.34 ERA. A healthy Rodriguez is a key part of the starting staff in Boston, having pitched to a combined 3.92 ERA and 3.84 FIP with 9.7 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 from 2017-19 (470 1/3 innings).

This will be the final trip through the arbitration process for Rodriguez, who has five-plus years of Major League service and will be a free agent after the 2021 season.

Quick Hits: Sugano, Arihara, Padres, Varitek, Pirates

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Right-handers Tomoyuki Sugano and Kohei Arihara “are on the Padres’ radar,” The Athletic’s Dennis Lin writes (subscription required).  The two Nippon Professional Baseball veterans will both be available on the posting market, and represent intriguing alternatives to more established Major Leaguer hurlers in free agency.  As Lin notes, the Padres have worked to establish a scouting pipeline to the Asian leagues, with Pierce Johnson and Kazuhisa Makita representing San Diego’s most prominent NPB signings in recent years.

Sugano and Arihara are quite likely to each land multi-year deals but perhaps not overly long commitments, which could appeal to a Padres team Lin says is “mulling one-year deals as a way to reinforce a rotation.”  The Padres will be without Mike Clevinger in 2021 due to Tommy John surgery, leaving a vacancy in the starting mix.

Some more from around baseball…

  • Jason Varitek officially joined the Red Sox coaching staff earlier this month, working in the new position of game planning coordinator.  This is Varitek’s first assignment as a full-time MLB coach, and the longtime former catcher tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that eventually managing a team is “the ultimate goal” down the road in his post-playing career.  Varitek has worked as a special assistant within the Boston front office since 2012, a post that has allowed him to dabble in several different organizational facets such as scouting, player development, and (most recently) working with Red Sox catchers throughout the 2020 season.  “There are no set parameters” to the game planning coordinator job, Varitek said: “I’ll work with the catchers and pitchers and be a liaison with the analytics people.  Whatever comes my way, I’ll help out.  It ends up being the same thing I have been doing, helping the players grow.”
  • The Pirates are known to be considering all options on the trade front this winter, though The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel (subscription required) doesn’t think Josh Bell or Gregory Polanco will be dealt since the Bucs would likely be selling low on either player.  “It’s more likely than not” that Joe Musgrove will be traded, though Biertempfel also thinks it’s possible Musgrove could be signed to a contract extension, with Pittsburgh either seeing him as a long-term piece or perhaps using the extension as a way of enhancing Musgrove’s trade value.

Latest on Benintendi, Pedroia

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  • Before he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox, Alex Cora mentored Dustin Pedroia in the early stages of the second baseman’s career. Now, as that career appears to be nearing an end, Cora is again nearby to lend an ear, writes Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com. Cora won’t reveal anything about Pedroia’s plans for the future, but he did speak glowingly about the impact he has continued to have on the team, even if he hasn’t been healthy enough to contribute on the diamond. It’s largely expected that Pedroia will announce his retirement before the 2021 season, but nothing has been made official.

Red Sox Claim Joel Payamps, Designate Robert Stock

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The Red Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Joel Payamps off waivers from the D-backs and designated fellow righty Robert Stock for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Boston also announced that right-hander Ryan Weber and southpaw Matt Hall, both of whom were designated for assignment last Friday, were assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket after clearing outright waivers.

Payamps, 26, has just seven Major League innings under his belt. He’s struggled in a hitter-friendly setting with Triple-A Reno in the Pacific Coast League but was solid in Double-A Jackson in both 2018 and 2019, working to a combined 2.95 ERA with a 135-to-19 K/BB ratio in 128 innings. Payamps has worked as both a starter and a reliever in the minors, and he has a minor league option remaining for the upcoming 2021 season, which surely appeals to the Sox.

Stock, 31, has a big fastball and punched out 14 hitters in 13 1/3 innings with the Red Sox this past season, but he’s battled control issues throughout his MLB career (31 walks, three hit batters, 10 wild pitches in 63 2/3 frames).

The Red Sox gave the journeyman Weber a rotation opportunity in 2020 and held out hopes that he could elevate his game to a new level with some tweaks to his repertoire. However, while Weber managed a respectable 4.40 ERA in 43 innings of work, he also posted a lackluster 27-to-14 K/BB ratio and a 5.54 FIP. Hall was acquired out of the Tigers organization and drew some intrigue for the huge spin on his breaking ball, but he also struggled in a more limited sample with the Red Sox. Both were designated for assignment last Friday as the Sox set their roster in advance of next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

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