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Sandy Leon Clears Waivers, Accepts Outright Assignment

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March 28: Leon has accepted his assignment to Triple-A, the team announced.

March 26: 1:14pm: Abraham now tweets that Leon has not actually not yet made a decision on whether he’ll accept the assignment. He has 48 hours to do so.

12:54pm: The Red Sox announced Tuesday that catcher Sandy Leon has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket. Evan Drellich first reported (via Twitter) that Leon had gone unclaimed, and the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham tweets that Leon has accepted an outright assignment.

Because Leon has more than three years of MLB service time (4.149 years), he could’ve rejected the assignment in favor of free agency. However, only players with five-plus years of service can reject an outright assignment without forfeiting the salary on their contract, so electing free agency would’ve cost Leon $2.475MM. He’ll remain with the organization and, while he won’t count against the 40-man roster, he will count against the team’s luxury tax calculations (a technicality that was changed in the last CBA).

Leon, 30, struggled through an awful season at the plate in 2018, hitting just .177/.232/.279 through 288 PAs. His bat has continually declined since what now looks like a clear outlier campaign in 2016, but he’s regarded as a terrific defender in terms of limiting the running game, framing pitches, and managing a staff.

Despite that proficient glovework, however, Leon found himself squeezed off the Boston roster by a cluttered catching mix no longer deemed tenable by the organization. Boston spent the entire 2018 campaign juggling playing time for Leon, Christian Vazquez and seldom-used former top prospect Blake Swihart. With both Swihart and Leon out of minor league options and Vazquez locked in as the team’s No. 1 catcher, the Sox ultimately cut bait on Leon in favor of Swihart, who’ll now serve as the primary backup in 2019. If Leon does stick with the club, he could eventually resurface in the big leagues in the event of an injury or prolonged struggles for one either Vazquez or Swihart.

Rick Porcello Attempted To Work Out Extension With Red Sox

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Red Sox righty Rick Porcello tried to get the team’s interest in a new contract over the offseason, he tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. While the sides completed some background work, talks never gained traction.

Porcello says he and agent Jim Murray “expressed our willingness to take a discount” in order to expand the relationship. The club was not able to work out a scenario that made much sense from its perspective and ultimately did not put an offer on the table for the veteran starter.

As things stand, the 30-year-old is set to play out the final season of the four-year, $82.5MM deal he inked early in the 2015 season. He had just wrapped up his first spring with the Sox after being acquired earlier that winter for Yoenis Cespedes.

Porcello has to this point had an uneven tenure in Boston. He has been durable, taking all but a handful of his scheduled starts and twice topping 200 innings, but has only once posted a sub-4.00 ERA — a sparkling 3.15 ERA, 22-4 campaign in 2016. His once-excellent groundball rate has drooped, though he’s also generating more strikeouts than he did with the Tigers.

By some measures, last year was actually one of Porcello’s best in Boston. He easily set a new personal high-water mark with 8.9 K/9 and still managed a sturdy 44.1% groundball rate and stingy 2.3 BB/9 walk rate. With a 3.77 SIERA and 3.87 xFIP, Porcello was about as good from a peripheral perspective as ever before.

That said, Porcello’s outcomes have long lagged ERA estimators’ expectations. He has allowed 4.26 earned runs per nine in over three hundred career starts, and no longer has the advantageous mix of experience and youth that he did at the point of his prior extension.

It’s not terribly surprising to learn that the Red Sox weren’t particularly eager to work out a new contract. Having gone on to lock up Chris Sale, the team is committed to four starters for at least the next several years. Facing some budgetary restrictions, the team even reportedly considered dealing Porcello. The veteran hurler would surely be worthy of some kind of future investment, but perhaps not a significant one — in advance of the coming season, at least. It is not known what kind of annual payout the veteran hurler might have been seeking.

Porcello says he remains interested in remaining with the club and would be open to mid-season talks, though the team has signaled it isn’t inclined to do so. That leaves the righty preparing to “leave a positive last impression” in 2019. Even if he reaches the open market, it’s not hard to imagine a reunion, though both sides will perhaps first spend some time exploring alternatives.

Red Sox Place Sandy Leon On Waivers

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The Red Sox have placed catcher Sandy Leon on waivers, as per WEEI.com’s Evan Drellich (Twitter link).

The move comes after months of trade rumors surrounding Boston’s catching situation, as the team didn’t plan on keeping all three of Leon, Christian Vazquez, and Blake Swihart on its Opening Day roster.  No deals materialized, however, as Boston’s attempts were undoubtedly complicated both by a busiest-than-expected catching market this winter, as well as the simple fact that none of the trio played well in 2018.  (Plus, all three were out of minor league options.)

As of last spring, the Red Sox were known to be putting a rather large asking price on Swihart befitting his former top-prospect status, and it isn’t known if that price dropped in the wake of Swihart’s lackluster performance last season.  Vazquez came with a notable financial cost (owed $13.55MM through 2021), while even Leon’s modest $2.475MM salary for 2019 could be seen as an overpay for a defense-only catcher, given what players with similar skillsets have landed this winter.

That said, it seems likely that several teams will check in on Leon now that they’ll just have to pay his salary (rather than give something up to the Sox in a trade).  Leon is ranked by both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner as a top-tier pitch-framer, and has also received above-average marks for his blocking and throwing arm.  More anecdotally, teammates and coaches have raved about Leon’s ability to call a game and manage pitchers.  At the plate, Leon has a surprisingly strong 2016, but has since batted only .201/.262/.317 over 589 plate appearances.

If Leon isn’t claimed, he will be removed from Boston’s 40-man roster and then have the choice to either become a free agent or remain with the Red Sox as Triple-A depth.  Assuming he leaves, Boston would then have just Vazquez and Swihart behind the plate, and Juan Centeno as their top minor league depth candidate.

Vazquez is himself a strong defender, and obviously the Sox aren’t ready to give up on a player they only recently extended.  Swihart is still a question mark defensively (both at catcher and elsewhere around the diamond), though the Red Sox also still think enough of his potential that they’re willing to take the defensive dropoff as Swihart continues to develop.  With all this uncertainty, Boston could possibly be a midseason candidate to acquire a catcher at the deadline, though it’s worth noting that the club was content to use a defense-first approach to the catcher position last season and it still led to a championship.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Tepera, Norris, Trumbo

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Chris Sale’s freshly-inked 5-year contract extension will leave the Red Sox searching for answers to a number of questions as they move forward, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI. With Sale’s contract including an opt-out after 2022, the Red Sox could find themselves in a tricky situation at that time. Bradford notes that the contracts of fellow starters Nathan Eovaldi and David Price expire after 2022, and lefty Eduardo Rodriguez is controllable through 2021, meaning that if Sale chooses to exercise his opt-out clause, the team could find itself wanting for starters. Of course, it’s far from a foregone conclusion that Sale will opt for free agency after the third year of his new contract, but it is certainly a situation that Red Sox brass will monitor as that time draws nearer. Pressure could be on the Red Sox to find and develop a new guard of young pitchers to fill the shoes of big-name Boston starters.

Some other notes from the AL East…

  • The Blue Jays received some encouraging news today, with manager Charlie Montoyo informing reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi) that right-handed reliever Ryan Tepera, who has recently been dealing with elbow inflammation, will not require surgery. Having been cleared, Tepera will resume throwing on Tuesday. Montoyo added (Twitter link) that fellow right-hander Bud Norris is expected to be ready to play on Opening Day and will pitch an inning today.
  • Orioles designated hitter Mark Trumbo will begin the season on the IL, reports Dan Connolly of The Athletic. After undergoing knee surgery last September, the slugger will have to wait to make his 2019 debut. With Trumbo on the shelf, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde may look to allocate DH at-bats by committee, though Trey Mancini appears the most obvious candidate to fill that role. While it remains unclear just how much time Trumbo will miss, he said that it could be a month or more before he’s able to take the field (via MASN’s Roch Kubatko on Twitter).
  • The Rays will get right-handed pitcher Sam McWilliams back, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com (Twitter link). McWilliams had been selected by the Royals in December’s Rule-5 Draft, but will be returned to his prior club after failing to crack Kansas City’s Opening Day roster. McWilliams, who is not on the Rays’ 40-man roster, will report to minor league camp with the Rays.

Red Sox, Chris Sale Agree To Extension

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TODAY, 1:43pm: Bob Nightengale of USA Today adds (via Twitter) that Sale’s vesting option for 2025 will be exercised if Sale earns a top-10 finish in AL Cy Young voting in 2024 and does not finish the year on the IL.

SATURDAY, 8:12am: The Red Sox have officially announced Sale’s new contract.

FRIDAY, 9:01pm: Sale has passed his physical, Rosenthal tweets, so all that remains is for the contract to be announced. Sale will earn $30MM in each of the first three seasons of the deal, after which time he has the right to opt out of the remaining two seasons. Those campaigns are valued at $27.5MM, meaning Sale will be deciding on two years and $55MM versus a trip onto the open market.

There’s further upside in the deal as well, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter links). It includes a vesting option at a floating value (minimum $20MM) based upon games started. There are also Cy Young-based escalators in years 2021-24 and in the option year. Sale receives full no-trade protection beginning in the middle of the 2020 season.

There are competing reports on the accounting of the deal. Rosenthal and others say the deal will wrap in Sale’s preexisting 2019 salary, creating a readjustment of his luxury tax hit for the present season (and pushing the team into the highest level of penalties). That’s not the case, though, per Speier (Twitter link). He reports that the Boston organization will elect to keep the ’19 season separate, which will avoid immediate tax entanglements but increase the luxury tax hit over the new years of the deal, potentially leading to future luxury obligations.

2:30pm: The Red Sox and ace Chris Sale are closing in on a contract extension, as first reported by Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Sale, a client of Jet Sports Management, will receive $145MM over five seasons (2020-24) if he passes a physical, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (Twitter links).

Chris Sale | Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier this spring, both Sale and the Red Sox expressed mutual interest in working out a long-term arrangement that’d keep the left-hander, who is slated to become a free agent at season’s end, in Boston for the long term. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently broke down several possible scenarios when exploring what a Sale extension would cost the Sox.

Sale, 30 next week, has been among the game’s elite starters since moving to the rotation with the White Sox back in 2012. He’s made seven consecutive All-Star teams and registered six consecutive Top-5 finishes in American League Cy Young voting, though he’s somewhat incredibly never taken home a Cy Young trophy himself.

Since being traded to Boston in the 2016 blockbuster that sent Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz to Chicago, Sale has pitched to a brilliant 2.56 ERA while averaging 13.2 strikeouts and just 1.9 walks per nine innings pitched. That level of K/BB excellence is nothing new for Sale, who holds the all-time Major League records for both K/9 (10.88) and K/BB ratio (5.31) among pitchers with at least 1000 innings pitched.

Any extension for Sale would begin in his age-31 season — he’ll pitch the 2019 season at age 30 — and figures to come with as much as a 100 percent increase over this year’s $15MM salary. The length of the contract was surely a sticking point in negotiations between Sale and the Sox, given last season’s shoulder troubles that limited him to 158 regular-season innings. Beyond that, his age likely gives Boston some degree of pause, as teams have become increasingly reluctant to guarantee players — particularly pitchers — significant salaries into their late 30s.

The luxury tax also undoubtedly plays a factor in negotiations, as the Red Sox’ payroll currently carries about $240.8MM in annual values that count against the tax ledger (as MLBTR recently examined when highlighting the unlikelihood of a Craig Kimbrel reunion). Should the Sox cross the $246MM threshold, they’d move into the top bracket of luxury penalization, which would include a 75 percent tax on any dollars spent beyond that point and would also cause their top pick in the 2020 draft to be pushed back by 10 spots, though for the Sox, keeping Sale from testing the open market looks to have been deemed worth of incurring that level of penalization.

It’s still possible that the Sox manage to lessen the luxury hit, though; Boston is reportedly shopping catcher Sandy Leon and his $2.475MM salary, and trimming that off the books would lighten the sting in terms of luxury payments on a new contract for Sale. A theoretical $30MM annual value for Sale would effectively take his luxury hit from $15MM (his current one-year salary, as options are treated in the CBA) to $27.5MM (the five-year, $150MM term plus this year’s $15MM salary divided over a six-year span). That $12.5MM increase currently stands to put the Red Sox about $6.5MM over the top luxury line, so shedding Leon’s contract could ultimately leave Boston’s luxury commitments at about $250-251MM. That’s still a huge penalty, but they’d only be paying the 75 percent tax on about $4-5MM of expenditures in that scenario.

Sale is far from the lone key Red Sox player who is (or was) slated to hit the open market following the 2019 season, but given the luxury implications another extension would present, he may be the only one to sign a long-term deal. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts and right-hander Rick Porcello are also free agents following the 2019 campaign, while designated hitter J.D. Martinez has the ability to opt out of the remaining three years and $62.5MM on his contract. Looking further down the line, reigning AL MVP Mookie Betts will become a free agent following the 2020 season, though Betts flatly stated this week that he doesn’t expect to sign an extension before free agency.

In the now likely event that a Sale extension is finalized, it would mark the 17th contract extension signed by a player this spring alone, including the sixth by a would-be free agent and the fifth worth greater than $100MM in total guarantees (as shown in MLBTR’s Extension Tracker). Players throughout the league have become frustrated with the slow pace of free agency and the lack of spending outside of the very top tiers of the free-agent market. Rather than test what has become a largely stagnant market, many players are simply opting into long-term arrangements with their current club, thus forgoing the stress and oft-disappointing outcomes free agency has presented over the past two years.

Red Sox Set Opening Day Deadline For Extension Talks

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  • “Unless something completely unanticipated happened,” Dave Dombrowski figures the Red Sox will halt all extension talks by Opening Day, the team president of baseball operations told the media (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com).  Most players like to have any negotiations wrapped up before the actual games begin, with Dombrowski also citing his preference for a lack of distractions.  Xander Bogaerts, Rick Porcello, and potentially J.D. Martinez (if he exercises an opt-out clause) are all scheduled for free agency after the season.  Talks with Bogaerts earlier this winter failed to materialize into an extension, while the Sox hadn’t yet discussed a new contract with Porcello as of late February.  Of course, the Red Sox already took care of one major 2019-20 free agent by inking Chris Sale to a new deal that will keep the southpaw in Boston through the 2024 season.

Extension Rumors: Martinez, Benintendi, Bogaerts

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  • Rob Bradford of WEEI spoke to J.D. Martinez about the opt-out clause in his contract with the Red Sox at the end of the season. Martinez, who can opt out of the remaining three years and $62.5MM on his current deal, said there haven’t been any discussions about an extension or a restructuring of the contract to this point. Unlike last summer, however, he at least left open a slight window for in-season talks in his most recent interview with Bradford. Martinez has an opt-out after the third year of his contract as well, at which point there’d be two years and $38.75MM remaining on the deal.
  • Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi was drafted five spot behind Alex Bregman and reached the Majors barely a week after the Astros’ third baseman, but Benintendi tells Bradford that his those similarities didn’t make him take particular note of Bregman’s $100MM extension. Rather, the 24-year-old Benintendi says it’s “fun to watch all these guys sign some deals” in a nod to the bevy of extensions throughout MLB. Benintendi and his reps have not discussed an extension with the Sox this winter, though he tells Bradford that he would “definitely” listen if the Sox initiated talks.
  • MLB Network’s Jon Heyman spoke to Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski about the team’s current slate of extension candidates (all links to Twitter). While it’s common for players to place Opening Day deadlines on extension talks, Dombrowski somewhat unusually took a similar stance. “We’re focused on winning this year,” he said. “…Unless something unexpected happens, we’re not going to do anything once the season starts.” Heyman notes that Xander Bogaerts, specifically, has stated an aversion to in-season negotiating. Regarding Martinez, Dombrowski merely stated that the Sox are “hopeful” he won’t opt out of his contract.

Red Sox “Actively” Discussing Sandy Leon Trades

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The Red Sox are currently in “active” trade talks with other clubs regarding a potential Sandy Leon swap, Buster Olney and Marly Rivera of ESPN report (via Twitter).

As has long been anticipated, something will have to give with regard to Boston’s catching situation between now and Opening Day. The Sox are carrying three catchers at the moment in Leon, Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart.

While the Boston organization managed to hang onto those three players for the entirety of the 2018 season, doing so more or less meant punting a roster spot. Swihart was so seldom used early on that he tallied all of 48 plate appearances through the season’s first two months.

A repeat of that approach has never seemed desirable. The precise resolution, though, remains unclear. Vazquez is projected to be the starter in Boston, and both Leon and Swihart are out of minor league options, making a trade or even just a straight release of Leon both plausible outcomes.

Leon, 30, struggled through an awful season at the plate in 2018, hitting just .177/.232/.279 through 288 PAs. His bat has continually declined since what now looks like a clear outlier campaign in 2016, but he’s regarded as a terrific defender in terms of limiting the running game, framing pitches, and managing a staff.

Leon agreed to a $2.475MM salary to avoid arbitration this winter. That may represent a palatable sum for a trade partner seeking a defensive-minded backup catcher, though it’s just barely shy of the deal Martin Maldonado signed  few weeks back. Maldonado is also highly regarded behind the dish and is also a more accomplished (albeit still well-below-average) hitter.

Arbitration salaries aren’t fully guaranteed until Opening Day, though, so if the Sox were to move on, they’d only be on the hook for 45 days’ termination pay — a total of about $599K. To be clear, there’s no indication that the Sox have given serious thought to cutting Leon loose, but if they’re indeed planning on carrying just two catchers this winter (Vazquez and Swihart), that possibility would need to be considered if the trade route doesn’t bear fruit.

Mookie Betts Does Not Expect To Reach Extension With Red Sox

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In the midst of a run of extensions around the game — in particular, yesterday’s $360MM Mike Trout agreement — Red Sox star Mookie Betts faced another round of questions about his future in Boston from reporters including Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald (links to Twitter). While he again expressed that he’s fond of the organization, Betts left little doubt that he’s not moving off of his price point for his post-arbitration years.

Betts acknowledged having received prior offers from the Red Sox. To this point, they simply haven’t met his understandably lofty self-valuation. It was reported yesterday that the team dangled $200MM in advance of the 2018 season. That was a hefty offer under the circumstances, but Betts has little cause to regret turning it down. He went on to turn in a hugely productive season and take home American League MVP honors, setting himself up for a record-setting run through arbitration and untold riches thereafter.

When asked whether he expects to open the present season without a long-term deal, Betts responded:

“That’s exactly what I expect. Didn’t expect anything to happen until I’m a free agent.”

It certainly doesn’t sound as if there’s much cause for optimism for a deal to come together before Betts hits the open market after the 2020 season. While nothing can be ruled out, as the 26-year-old hasn’t indicated that he’s altogether opposed to listening to offers, he’ll evidently demand that the Red Sox put quite a bit more money on the table than they have to this point.

Betts offered another hint about his own views on his value and how he intends to pursue a contract that matches it. While he called some of the recent extensions “great deals” for the players involved, he also noted that “some of them could’ve gotten more.”

Details On Prior Red Sox Attempts At Extending Mookie Betts

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As part of the day’s chatter surrounding Mike Trout’s new deal with the Angels, Joel Sherman of the New York Post took a look back at some of the Red Sox’ attempts to hammer out a contract with their own star outfielder. Mookie Betts has rebuffed several prior efforts from the Boston organization, it seems.

In particular, per Sherman, Betts said no to an eye-popping offer after the 2017 campaign. The proposal was worth $200MM over eight years for Betts, who was then heading into his first season of arbitration eligibility on the heels of a good but not great season. Assuming that there was fully $200MM in guaranteed money involved, that would have easily set a new high-water mark for a first-time arb-eligible player, topping Buster Posey’s $159MM contract (as a Super Two) and Freddie Freeman’s $135MM deal (3+ service class).

Betts instead preferred to take the arbitration route, defeating the club in a hearing and earning a $10.5MM salary as a first-year arb player. After putting up a monster 2018 season and taking home MVP honors, he agreed to a cool $20MM salary for 2019 — his second (and second-to-last) season of arb eligibility.

With over $30MM in career earnings already in his pocket, and Trout no longer looming as a co-star in the 2020-21 free agent market, the 26-year-old Betts could ultimately command a record-setting deal of his own. One wonders whether the Sox would have to beat the Trout deal (ten years, $360MM in new money) to keep Betts from testing free agency — if he’s willing even to consider new offers before hitting the open market.

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