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Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr.

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The Red Sox have avoided arbitration with outfielders Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. Betts, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, will receive a record-setting $27MM for his final season of club control. Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe, meanwhile, tweets that Bradley will earn $11MM. Betts’ record payout comes in $700K shy of his $27.7MM projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, while Bradley’s $11MM salary is an exact match with his projection.  The Boston organization also locked up righty Brandon Workman to a $3.5MM deal, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

Betts’ contract sets a record for an arbitration salary, topping previous record holder Nolan Arenado’s old mark by a full million dollars. He’ll head into his final season of club control as one of the more fascinating storylines in baseball; Red Sox ownership reportedly is intent on dipping south of the luxury tax, and while there’s been no indication that the team is definitively planning to move Betts this winter — much the opposite, as of late, in fact — they could find themselves in a trickier situation as the trade deadline approaches.

Boston could yet take another run at extending Betts, but the former AL MVP has been vocal and candid about his desire to test the open market once he accrues six years of Major League service. As such, the team’s previous efforts to hammer out a long-term deal have fallen flat.

It’s another case altogether with Bradley, who is also entering his final year of club control but is a much more plausible trade candidate. Moving him wouldn’t dip the Red Sox below the luxury line in one fell swoop, as moving Betts effectively would, but as the season draws nearer it’d be a surprise if Bradley’s name weren’t bandied about the rumor circuit to an extent. While his overall season numbers in 2019 weren’t particularly eye-catching, Bradley hit .252/.342/.504 over his final 422 plate appearances and has long been considered a standout defender. Given the lack of center field options available in free agency, he could yet hold appeal to a club looking for a short-term boost in center.

Arbitration Breakdown: Mookie Betts

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Over the coming days, I am discussing some of the higher profile upcoming arbitration cases. So far, we’ve previewed Josh Bell, Cody Bellinger, Francisco Lindor, Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, George Springer, and Jonathan Villar. For these pieces, I rely partly on my arbitration model developed exclusively for MLB Trade Rumors, but will also break out some interesting comparables and determine where the model might be wrong. 2020 projections are available right here. 

As first-year arbitration awards continue to grow with the revenue and payrolls in baseball today, they provide higher platforms through which arbitration records in later years can be more easily broken. Mookie Betts will go through the arbitration process one more time after earning $20.1MM including bonuses during his penultimate year through the arb process, putting him in line to potentially break Nolan Arenado’s record of $26MM his last time through arbitration. Betts’ potential salary is high enough that he has frequently been featured in trade rumors as the Red Sox seek to reset themselves below the luxury tax threshold in 2020.

Either way, Betts’ case is going to simultaneously take a large chunk of someone’s payroll while also being a relative bargain to similarly-producing free agents. After a historic season in 2018 in which Betts hit 32 home runs, stole 30 bases, and racked up an amazing slash line of .346/.438/.640, Betts had a slightly more pedestrian year — by his standards — in 2019. Betts batted .295 and hit 29 home runs while stealing 16 bases, while recording 80 RBI and a league-leading 135 runs scored.

The model uses the generally accurate fact that players’ salaries in subsequent years in arbitration are determined as raises based on their platform year production alone. So while Betts may not have had a historic season, he does have a good case for breaking Arenado’s record, thanks to Betts’ $20.1MM salary in 2019. My model projects a $7.6MM raise for 2020, which would land the Red Sox outfielder at $27.7MM.

Even coming down to earth in 2019, Betts still put up rare numbers. There are very few hitters who have reached their third year of arbitration eligibility with at least 25 home runs and double-digit stolen bases in their platform year — in the last five years, only four players hit both plateaus. Charlie Blackmon got a $6.7MM raise in 2018 after hitting .331 with 37 homers, 104 RBI, and 14 steals the prior year.

Although Blackmon’s batting average obviously bested Betts’ .295, the other three hitters had far lower averages. Todd Frazier hit .225 with 40 HR, 98 RBI, and 15 steals and got just a $3.75MM raise in 2017. Didi Gregorius hit .268/27/86 with 10 stolen bases and got a $3.5MM raise last year, while Aaron Hicks hit .248/27/79 with 11 stolen bases last year en route to a $3.2MM raise.  Still, the Red Sox could argue that Betts may deserve a smaller bump over Frazier, Gregorius, and Hicks, and potentially less than Blackmon’s $6.7MM.

Obviously, we are limiting the potential list of comparables by requiring double-digit stolen bases. A couple more recent names (both third basemen) emerge when dropping that requirement. Anthony Rendon got a $6.5MM raise in 2018 after putting up a solid .301/25/100 campaign — and that could easily serve as a benchmark for Betts. Arenado last year got an $8.25MM raise after a .297/38/110 season. Given that Arenado’s numbers were at Coors Field, Betts could certainly argue for that as a basis.

I suspect Betts would be able to successfully argue for at least topping Rendon’s $6.5MM, although Blackmon’s $6.7MM could be a ceiling. I could see Betts even getting up to an $8.25MM raise like Arenado did last year as well, though that might be more difficult. Based on this list of potential comps, the $5.9MM Betts would need to break Arenado’s record definitely seems doable if not guaranteed, and the model’s $7.6MM projection does seem out of reach either.

Sam Travis Clears Waivers

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January 9: Travis cleared outright waivers and will remain in the organization, Cotillo tweets. He’ll presumably be assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket and be in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.

January 2: The Red Sox have designated first baseman Sam Travis for assignment, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The move opens up roster space for newly added catcher Kevin Plawecki.

This could put an end to what has been a disappointing Red Sox tenure for Travis. Now 26 years old, Travis was a second-round pick of the Red Sox in 2014 who quickly became one of their best prospects. Travis was an extremely productive low-minors hitter in the organization the first couple years after Boston drafted him, but his Triple-A and major league numbers have been less than stellar so far.

Travis debuted in Triple-A back in 2016, and since then, he has batted .267/.339/.392 with 27 home runs in 1,198 plate appearances. He appeared in the majors in each of the previous three seasons, combining for a .230/.288/.371 line and seven home runs over the life of 278 trips to the plate.

Sign-Stealing Punishment For Astros Expected In Coming Weeks

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It’s widely accepted at this point that the Astros impermissibly utilized technology to steal signs and then conveyed the information gleaned to hitters in the batters’ box during regular-season games. According to a report from Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, the subjects of the resulting investigation have copped to the bad acts.

With the investigative work nearing a conclusion, Passan says that commissioner Rob Manfred will likely mete out discipline within the next two weeks. Several notable figures are reportedly potential suspension targets: GM Jeff Luhnow, manager A.J. Hinch, and former bench coach/current Red Sox skipper Alex Cora.

Notably, per the report, players that participated in the elaborate-yet-ham-fisted scheme are not expected to be disciplined. But the team could end up paying a massive fine. There’s no indication yet whether a loss of draft picks or other competitive sanction might be applied. In handing down punishment for improper use of technology in 2017, Manfred promised that such penalties were on the table, saying: “[A]ll 30 Clubs have been notified that future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.”

It would never be acceptable for the product of baseball — individual contests and the overall regular/post-season championship schedule — to be compromised by teams acting outside of the rules, especially in a scheme as devious and concerted as the one allegedly put into action by the Astros. The stakes are raised yet higher by the fact that MLB is wading into murky waters in the gambling arena. And it probably doesn’t help that the league is currently facing major pushback for its plans to dramatically curtail minor league ball.

It’s a major decision for Manfred, who already watched as the Astros bungled a self-inflicted scandal involving since-fired assistant GM Brandon Taubman just months ago. He’ll certainly need to create precedent that serves as a legitimate deterrent. But doing so with respect to a marquee roster could prove challenging.

The complexities deepen when one considers the potential entanglements. Cora is one major instance. Reporting earlier today implicates the Red Sox in a less-egregious but nevertheless impermissible act of signaling espionage. The skipper could conceivably be at fault in both episodes. The Boston organization may not be alone in its manner of harnessing technology.

Untangling all of this could prove tricky. Andy Martino of SNY.tv even seems to suggest (Twitter link) that the Astros have claimed or could claim that such actions on the part of competitors might justify or at least mitigate their own rule-breaking. A source suggests, rather bizarrely, that the Houston club was simply making up for the fact that it was not able to mis-use its own replay room because it “was far away” from the dugout, unlike most other teams. If this strained logic is any indication of the thinking around the game — not to mention the actual and/or perceived pervasiveness of cheating — then the MLB rules and enforcement regime is badly in need of re-working, beginning with the imposition of clear and effective disincentives relating to this incident.

Red Sox Reportedly Utilized Replay Room To Ascertain Opponents’ Signs In 2018

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The Astros stand accused of utilizing technology to steal catcher signs and then relay them in real-time to batters in the box. While the investigation into that matter continues — we’ve already seen rather convincing documentation of at least some malfeasance — broader scrutiny has unsurprisingly begun.

The 2018 Red Sox team, which followed the Astros as World Series champs, now stand charged of misusing technology. As Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report (subscription link), on the basis of team sources, “at least some players visited the video replay room during games to learn the sign sequence opponents were using.” The behavior is said to have occurred during the regular season but not during the postseason.

The sources that spoke with The Athletic make clear that the Sox’ uniformed personnel made dedicated pursuit of electronic sign-stealing. But the approach was fundamentally different from that allegedly employed by the Astros. The Houston organization is said to have had a team employee watching a live game feed, conveying the pitch type via audio signal (banging on a trash can). In Boston, upon sussing out the signs, the Red Sox would reportedly utilize the information in a time-honored manner: runners reaching second base would look in at the catcher and then deliver the news to the hitter by some visual cue.

In spite of those differences, it seems clear that the Red Sox’ purported action also violated the rules. Per Drellich and Rosenthal, a league memo issued prior to the ’18 campaign provided: “Electronic equipment, including game feeds in the Club replay room and/or video room, may never be used during a game for the purpose of stealing the opposing team’s signs.” That wouldn’t appear to leave much room for interpretation.

Notably, the Boston organization was fined and chastised by commissioner Rob Manfred at the end of the 2017 season for improper utilization of technology. At the time, Manfred indicated that he had received assurances of future compliance from the Sox. The commissioner also provided in a press release:  “[A]ll 30 Clubs have been notified that future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks.”

Latest On Dodgers’ Interest In Mookie Betts

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The Dodgers have been linked to several superstar players in both free agency and potential trades this winter, though with so many of the big free agents already signed elsewhere, the trade market might be Los Angeles’ best avenue to land a major roster upgrade.  To this end, the Dodgers have continued to explore the possibility of acquiring Mookie Betts from the Red Sox, according to MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi.

The deal could potentially be expanded to involve multiple players heading from Boston to Chavez Ravine, as Morosi suggests that David Price might be a fit as the veteran arm the Dodgers are looking to add to their rotation.  With the Red Sox looking to cut payroll and ideally get under the luxury tax threshold, rumors have swirled all winter about Price, Betts, and other high-priced Boston names being floated as trade chips.  Betts is projected for a hefty $27.7MM salary in his final year of arbitration, though that’s certainly a reasonable price to pay (especially for a big-market team like the Dodgers) for one of the sport’s very best players.

As game-changing as the idea of a Betts trade may be, the Sox aren’t actively trying to deal him, since the club would naturally prefer to explore other cost-saving options before parting ways with the 2018 AL MVP.  Moving Price and the $96MM owed to the southpaw through 2022 would be one of those preferred options.  While the Sox have drummed up some trade interest in Price, however, it still seems unlikely that a suitor would take on most of that contract given Price’s age (34) and recent injury concerns.

Moving Betts along with Price would definitely make a trade suitors more willing to absorb perhaps even all of Price’s contract, though obviously the Red Sox aren’t willing to move Betts just for the sake of a salary dump.  Indeed, Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom recently downplayed the idea of giving away any sort of younger talent along with Price, saying “so much of what we’re always going to be trying to accomplish, but certainly now, is to make sure we have as strong a farm system as possible.”

Morosi opines that the Red Sox would want one of the Dodgers’ top young pitchers (i.e. Dustin May or Tony Gonsolin) as part of a trade, though “Boston appears less insistent on” including infielder Gavin Lux as part of a trade package.  It could be for this reason that L.A. is perhaps currently more focused on Betts than on Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, another All-Star who has been heavily rumored to be on the Dodgers’ list of targets.  The Lindor talks appear to be in something of a stalemate — Cleveland has continued to demand Lux in any deal for Lindor, while the Dodgers think so highly of Lux’s potential that they “have refused to include him in any offer for Lindor alone.”  The Dodgers are also known to be pursuing Cleveland righty Mike Clevinger, so it’s safe to assume that some multi-player offers have been floated in the Tribe’s direction.

Red Sox To Sign Kevin Plawecki

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The Red Sox have reached an agreement with free-agent catcher Kevin Plawecki, Robert Murray reports. It’s a major league contract, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that it’s for one year. Plawecki, an ACES client, will earn $900K, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.

The 28-year-old Plawecki seems likely to serve as the backup in Boston to starting catcher Christian Vazquez. However, Plawecki – once a 35th overall pick (2012) and a top 100 prospect of the Mets – hasn’t been especially effective in the majors since he debuted in 2015. Plawecki put up a .218/.308/.330 line in 804 plate appearances with the Mets from 2015-18 before they moved on from him last winter. The club traded Plawecki to the Indians almost exactly one year ago, on Jan. 6, 2019.

The Plawecki acquisition didn’t work out as hoped for the Indians, with whom he batted a dismal .222/.287/.342 across 174 PA as Roberto Perez’s backup. On the other hand, Plawecki was a standout behind the plate, where he ranked near the top of the majors in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.

Report: Red Sox Aren’t “Actively Shopping” Mookie Betts

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Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts’ name has been bandied about in offseason trade speculation, particularly with the club trying to get under the $208MM luxury-tax threshold in 2020. But the Red Sox still have a very good roster, and Betts is an irreplaceable member of it, so there doesn’t seem to be any hurry on their part to move him.

The Red Sox, led by new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, aren’t “actively shopping” the former AL MVP, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Trading Betts is not part of Boston’s ideal plan for cutting payroll, though the team may at least consider offers, Bradford suggests.

As of now, the Red Sox are projected for a luxury-tax outlay of $237MM-plus for 2020, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Getting rid of Betts’ projected $27.7MM arbitration salary would put them in striking distance of $208MM, and he’d likely bring back a nice return at the same time. With that said, trading Betts – the Red Sox’s best player and one of the game’s elite performers – could cripple their chances of pushing for a playoff return next season. The 27-year-old Betts was a 10-WAR player as recently as 2018, his MVP campaign, and though his numbers dropped a season ago, he was still worth upward of 6 WAR.

Going forward, Betts is in line to become a free agent in less than a year’s time, but the Red Sox figure to put on a full-court press to extend him before truly considering a trade. Betts has indicated on multiple occasions he’s gearing up to test free agency, but as we saw when the Angels extended Mike Trout before last season, an enticing enough offer can keep a superstar from trying his luck on the market.

In Betts’ case, an extension should mean a guarantee approaching or exceeding $400MM (Trout got 10 years and $360MM in new money). But if the Red Sox aren’t willing to go to those lengths, or if Betts is dead set on shopping himself around the league next winter, he could dominate trade rumors leading up to the July deadline. In the meantime, left-hander David Price and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. seem like more attainable trade candidates on a team that’s hoping to reduce its payroll while remaining competitive.

Remaining Needs: AL East

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With the new year upon us, MLBTR is going through all 30 teams’ remaining needs by division.  We’ve already checked in on the NL East, AL West, AL Central, NL Central, and NL West. That leaves the American League East …

Baltimore Orioles [Offseason Outlook]

Outside of dealing away Dylan Bundy, it has been a quiet winter for sophomore GM Mike Elias. There just isn’t much pressing roster-building work to be done for a club that was badly in need of a full rebuild when Elias took the helm.

More than anything, the O’s will spend the next few weeks exploring further trade possibilities. Reliever Mychal Givens and slugger Trey Mancini are obvious candidates to be dealt. Hanser Alberto and a few others could also conceivably be of interest elsewhere.

Other than filling in for any further departures, the O’s still need to add a few pieces — both to keep some standard of MLB capabilities and to seek upside that might be turned into trade capital. The departure of Jonathan Villar leaves an opening at shortstop that hasn’t yet been filled. (Last year’s Rule 5 pick, Richie Martin, ought to get some dearly missed Triple-A seasoning.) The O’s could easily find space for a buy-low option at third base or the corner outfield as well. Adding Kohl Stewart and a pair of Rule 5 hurlers helps the pitching depth picture, but there’s still plenty of room to add arms onto the roster.

Boston Red Sox [Offseason Outlook]

Incoming chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was tasked with getting the Sox beneath the luxury line but staying competitive. He has taken several steps towards that goal by buying low on Martin Perez and Jose Peraza. Standing alone, however, those deals only add salary to the MLB roster.

It’d be a big surprise at this point if the Boston organization doesn’t swing a significant trade or two over the next several weeks. David Price and Jackie Bradley Jr. seem likeliest to be dealt, though Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, Eduardo Rodriguez, and others probably can’t be ruled out entirely.

Back-filling for any departures will be a top priority. No matter who leaves, Bloom will be hunting for value in the bullpen, eyeing up rotation depth, and exploring bench improvements. The Sox could still stand to add another piece to the first base mix (perhaps a left-handed hitter to pair with Michael Chavis) and are hurting for catching depth. Just how much flexibility Bloom will have to pursue new adds will depend upon how much salary he sheds via trade.

New York Yankees [Offseason Outlook]

The one massive priority of the offseason was achieved when Gerrit Cole went rooting around his parents’ basement to dig up the sign he brought to Yankee Stadium as a kid. (“Mom! Where’s my sign?!?!”) Retaining Brett Gardner and adding Erik Kratz for depth also checked boxes.

Any follow-ups to the Cole signing will surely feel like lesser events. But they could yet make a big impact. The Yanks don’t really need anything, but have dabbled with some elite relievers and may have a major strike up their sleeve. There’s some amount of roster pressure involving young power hitters Miguel Andujar and Clint Frazier, but they are assets the Yanks will surely put to use on the field or via trade. Moving J.A. Happ would help with payroll management.

Tampa Bay Rays [Offseason Outlook]

The Rays have not only exemplified, but driven baseball’s de-formalization of roles. Scanning their present roster really drives this fact home. The team is laden with multi-functional players and situational possibilities. This applies to both pitchers and hitters.

In theory, the Rays could add just about any player they like and make it work. Value is paramount. Those considerations explain the team’s pursuit of left-handed-hitting center fielder Shogo Akiyama despite the presence of Kevin Kiermaier, not to mention the addition of countrymate Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, who joins a roster with quite a few other quality lefty bats.

Without any glaring need, per se, the Rays can perhaps be expected to keep doing what they do. We’ve see this organization hammer out somewhat complicated trades involving under-the-radar players time and time again. But we’ve also seen targeted gambles, such as last winter’s wise inking of Charlie Morton. With the powerhouse Yankees cresting, the Rays will need to press hard — and consider going outside of their comfort zone — to add a finishing piece or two to this roster. Given the versatility on hand, just about any high-value opportunity seems plausible.

Toronto Blue Jays [Offseason Outlook]

Public pressure can’t be the sole explanation for the Jays’ big strike for Hyun-Jin Ryu, but it surely played a role. Now that Ryu, Tanner Roark, and others have been installed in a revamped rotation, the front office can breathe a bit easier.

That’s a far sight from declaring this roster a potential winner. But it does seem to have a fair bit of upside in the form of young, elite talent and post-hype bounceback candidates. The position-player unit is littered with names that populated top prospect lists. It’s an ultra high-variance mix, which seems generally appropriate for this stage of the organization’s rebuild.

It’s certainly arguable the Toronto org ought to grab an open-market option or two in favor of some of its preexisting players. The corner outfield seems particularly susceptible of improvement, though the Jays would rather not fully block some of the guys they’ve picked up in recent years. The other interesting area is the bullpen, which is loaded up with uncertainty … and which includes one of the top trade candidates on the market. It’d obviously hurt the team’s 2020 outlook to move Ken Giles, but it’s awfully tough to bypass a return — especially with what appears to be a favorable market situation — for a guy who’ll reach free agency at season’s end.

Quick Hits: Cishek, Red Sox, Cubs, Indians

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We’ll highlight a couple notes from around the league to kick off Sunday morning.

  • Veteran reliever Steve Cishek, a Cape Cod native, “would like” to sign with the Red Sox, hears Peter Gammons of the Athletic (Twitter link). Cishek is among the top relief arms remaining in a generally weak free agent class for late-game options. The 33-year-old submariner compiled a dazzling 2.55 ERA in 134.1 innings over the last two years with the Cubs. However, his age and a pedestrian combination of strikeouts (24.3%) and walks (10.3%) over that time figure to tamp down his market. The MLBTR staff forecast a modest two-year, $10MM deal for Cishek at the start of the offseason. However, it’s not clear Boston would even be willing to dole out that kind of money, Gammons notes, in light of the Sox’s failure to match the Blue Jays’ one-year, $4MM offer to reel in Travis Shaw, a player whom Boston liked. Cishek’s market has seemingly been quiet to this point, with only the Twins known to have checked in a few weeks back.
  • The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma explored the facility of new Cubs’ director of hitting Justin Stone. A biomechanics expert, Stone broke down a generic hitter’s swing and bat path, perhaps offering a sneak-peek into the work he’ll do with Chicago’s batters next season. The subscription-only piece is worth a read for those interested in how biomechanics is being used to help hitters optimize their individual swings.
  • The Indians have hired former big league infielder Andy Tracy to manage their AAA affiliate in Columbus, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Tracy served as Columbus’ hitting coach in 2019. The former 28th-round draft choice managed in the low minors in the Phillies’ organization back in 2012.
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