Red Sox, Marco Hernandez Agree To New Deal
The Red Sox and infielder Marco Hernandez are in agreement on a new contract, Robert Murray reports (via Twitter). Boston non-tendered the 27-year-old yesterday.
Presumably, the two sides have struck up a minor league pact and an invite to Spring Training, as Hernandez was only projected to earn $700K in arbitration prior to being non-tendered — just $136K north of the league minimum. Hernandez has been up and down with the Red Sox over the past few seasons, seeing time at second base, third base and shortstop but struggling to produce much at the plate. In 271 plate appearances at the MLB level, Hernandez is a .265/.300/.342 hitter — including a .250/.279/.338 this past season in a career-high 155 plate appearances.
Indians Acquire Sandy Leon, Designate James Hoyt
9:18pm: Leon’s deal with the Indians comes with a $2MM salary with performance bonuses of $25K each for 75 and 100 games started at catcher, Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets.
7:20pm: The Indians announced Monday that they’ve acquired catcher Sandy Leon from the Red Sox in exchange for minor league right-hander Adenys Bautista. In order to open a spot for Leon on the 40-man roster, Cleveland has designated right-hander James Hoyt for assignment.
Leon, 30, would’ve likely been non-tendered by the Red Sox but now seems likely to be tendered a contract by his new organization. The swap doesn’t exactly bode well for Kevin Plawecki, who’d previously been in line to serve as the primary backup to 2019 breakout catcher Roberto Perez. Leon is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $2.8MM in 2020, whereas Plawecki is projected to earn $1.5MM.
In Leon, the Indians are acquiring a switch-hitting veteran, although his value lies in his glove as opposed to his bat. Leon did have one standout season at the plate back in 2016, when he hit .310/.369/.476 in 283 plate appearances, but that output looks like an anomaly; in three years since that strong showing, he’s managed only a .199/.259/.312 batting line in 780 trips to the plate.
Leon has generally rated as an above-average framer and, with the exception of a 21 percent caught-stealing rate in 2019, has been excellent at controlling the running game throughout his MLB tenure (career 34 percent caught-stealing rate). Still, it’s at least somewhat of a surprise to see the Indians ostensibly swap out Plawecki for Leon, as Plawecki rated as the better defender in 2019, hit better than Leon over the past several seasons and was the cheaper option with two additional seasons of club control. Leon will be a free agent at season’s end.
Boston’s return isn’t particularly exciting — as one would expect when trading a backup catcher who was in line to be non-tendered. The 21-year-old Bautista has yet to advance beyond the Rookie-level Arizona League and has only pitched 43 2/3 innings of pro ball in total. He’s posted an ugly 5.98 ERA with nearly as many walks (31) as strikeouts (32) in that time and has demonstrated below-average ground-ball tendencies.
Hoyt, 33, has displayed huge strikeout numbers and passable control in his limited MLB chances. Through 80 innings between the Astros and Indians, he’s worked to a 4.16 ERA with 11.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 45.5 percent ground-ball rate. He’s been quite homer-prone, however, which has limited his results a bit. Still, a pitcher with those strikeout totals, a 16.8 percent swinging-strike rate, a 36.8 percent opponents’ chase rate and a fastball that has averaged 93.9 mph feels like he should be a more interesting commodity than he’s been to either the Houston or the Cleveland organization. Hoyt still has a minor league option remaining, which should only enhance his appeal to another club.
Teams Announce Final Non-Tenders
We’ve been tracking the day’s arbitration decisions in the run-up to tonight’s deadline, which has produced a bevy of last-minute calls. In addition to those already covered elsewhere (with all projected salary figures from MLBTR/Matt Swartz projections) …
- The Padres announced they have non-tendered Miguel Diaz and Pedro Avila. Neither hurler had yet been eligible for arbitration, so this amounts to no more than a roster cleanup. Avila had already been designated for assignment. Diaz, meanwhile, saw extensive action as a Rule V pick in 2017 but has only sporadically logged MLB time since.
- Relievers Javy Guerra and Koda Glover were non-tendered by the Nationals, per a club announcement. Guerra would have cost a projected $1.3MM. Glover announced earlier today that he would retire.
- The Red Sox non-tendered infielder Marco Hernandez and reliever Josh Osich, per a team announcement. Neither projected at big dollars — $700K and $1.0MM, respectively — but obviously the club felt it could put the roster spots to better use on other players.
- The Blue Jays have non-tendered relievers Derek Law and Jason Adam, along with backstop Luke Maile. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter) and Scott Mitchell of TSN (on Twitter) were on the news. Law projected at $1.3MM, while Maile was in line for a $800K payday. Adam is still pre-arb eligible.
- The Giants announced today that they have non-tendered outfielder Joey Rickard ($1.1MM projection), southpaw Tyler Anderson ($2.625MM), and righty Rico Garcia (pre-arb). Both Anderson and Garcia were claimed from the division-rival Rockies after the end of the 2019 season.
- In addition to other moves earlier today, the Braves have non-tendered catcher John Ryan Murphy and outfielder Rafael Ortega. Each provided depth down the stretch in 2019 for the Atlanta organization. Murphy would’ve been owed a projected $1.2MM, while Ortega remains shy of arbitration eligibility.
- A host of players were non-tendered by the Royals, per a club announcement. Righty Jesse Hahn was cut loose along with infielders Humberto Arteaga, Cheslor Cuthbert and Erick Mejia. Among these players, Hahn (projected $900K) and Cuthbert ($1.8MM) have the most MLB experience. With these 40-man trimmings, the K.C. org should be able to place some claims and/or make Rule 5 selections in the coming weeks.
- Righties Ian Gibaut and Wei-Chieh Huang are each heading to free agency after being non-tendered by the Rangers. Neither is anywhere near the service time needed for arbitration eligibility, so this was just an opportune time for the Texas org to drop them from the MLB roster.
Phillies Claim Trevor Kelley
The Phillies announced that they have claimed righty Trevor Kelley off waivers from the Red Sox. He had been selected to the Boston roster in July.
Kelley, 26, didn’t exactly stake a claim to a permanent job in his brief action last year at the game’s highest level. He didn’t get many swings and misses and surrendered eight earned runs in his first 8 1/3 big league innings.
But there was a reason that the Red Sox called upon the sidearming, sinkerballing newcomer. In his 65 1/3 Triple-A innings, Kelley carried a 1.79 ERA that stood out in the hitter-friendly International League. While his peripherals — 8.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 1.10 HR/9, 33.5% groundball rate — weren’t exactly eye-popping, Kelley showed enough to make the Phils believe he can at least serve as worthwhile pen depth.
Red Sox Will Tender Contract To Jackie Bradley Jr.
Despite some recent speculation that the Red Sox could non-tender Jackie Bradley Jr. prior to tonight’s 8pm ET deadline, the organization will tender him a contract for the 2020 season, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link).
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal suggested last night that a non-tender of Bradley could be possible (subscription required), pointing out that the $11MM that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Bradley to earn in his final season of club control may be steeper than the team prefers. But Bradley’s strong defensive track record, extra-base pop and speed are seemingly enough that the Boston organization feels he’ll at least be valued at that rate elsewhere. The dearth of useful center fielders in free agency certainly makes that likely.
It stands to reason that Bradley is still a candidate to change hands between now and Opening Day 2020. Boston’s payroll is already in the $230MM neighborhood (including arbitration projections and pre-arbitration salaries to round out the roster), and there are notable holes to address on the roster. Moving Bradley would be the second of what could be several moves designed to scale back on the 2020 payroll; the Red Sox also traded catcher Sandy Leon to the Indians earlier this morning, shedding a projected $2.8MM salary in the process.
The 29-year-old Bradley hit .225/.317/.421 with 21 long balls, 28 doubles and three triples in 567 plate appearances with the Sox this past season. However, he hasn’t had an above-average year at the plate (by measure of OPS+ or wRC+) since his All-Star 2016 season, and his typically brilliant defensive ratings slid in 2019 as well. Bradley drew ratings of -1 Defensive Runs Saved and a -1.2 Ultimate Zone Rating, although Statcast’s Outs Above Average still pegged him as a quality defender (+6). The 2018 Gold Glover has long been considered to be one of the game’s better defensive outfielders.
Looking around the league, several teams (Cubs, Mets, D-backs, Braves, Phillies, Reds, White Sox) could be in the market for a short-term addition in center field. The D-backs, in particular, seem like a plausible fit given the presence of former Boston execs Mike Hazen, Amiel Sawdaye and Jared Porter in the front office and given the team’s history of acquiring former Red Sox players (Clay Buchholz, Blake Swihart, Robby Scott, Deven Marrero, Henry Owens). Arizona “would have interest” in acquiring Bradley, Rosenthal wrote last night, which would allow them to play Ketel Marte at second base rather than in center field.
Chris Sale Cleared To Begin Throwing
Red Sox ace Chris Sale has been cleared to begin throwing again after a visit with Dr. James Andrews, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI Radio. The goal is for Sale to be a full go for Spring Training in a few short months. Sale’s latest visit to the physician comes as a follow-up to an August appointment in which Sale received a platelet-rich plasma injection.
The Red Sox had originally expected to have their star lefty re-evaluated six weeks after the fact, but their early departure from the playoff picture allowed them to play it slow when it became apparent that Sale wouldn’t be needed in October. So the prolonged timeline is not reflective of Sale’s progress; assistant GM Brian O’Halloran said that “the rehab has gone very well and Chris is exactly where we want him to be.”
Sale missed all of September and much of August after encountering problems with his throwing elbow, landing on the injured list after experiencing inflammation in the wake of an August 13 start.
Even when he was healthy, Sale wasn’t himself, finishing the season with a 4.40 ERA, the worst mark of his career. His peripheral numbers were more in line with his career norms, but that did little to mitigate concerns about diminished fastball velocity. Luckily, it seems that Sale’s early-season dip in velocity was unconnected to the elbow injury, which is believed to have surfaced in August.
Still, any unanswered questions will be magnified by Sale’s hefty price tag, with a five-year contract extension worth $145MM taking effect in 2020, when Sale will earn $30MM. He’ll earn similar salaries through his age-35 season. From a financial perspective, Sale’s injury concerns could hardly have come at a worse time, but it seems there’s hope that Sale’s 2019 injuries won’t linger into the offseason and beyond. He didn’t suffer any ligament damage, and today’s update should inspire some optimism that Sale will once again be a stalwart in the Boston rotation and return to the Cy Young form that he maintained for the better part of a decade.
AL East Notes: Avisail, Pedroia, Johnson, Orioles
Avisail Garcia has been a popular figure in the first weeks of free agency, and his list of suitors includes Garcia’s most recent organization. “There is interest, and engagement” from the Rays in a reunion with Garcia, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, updating his own report from late October that originally detailed the potential for another contract between the two sides. Garcia was a nice low-cost buy for Tampa last offseason, as the outfielder inked a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Rays and hit .282/.332/.464 with 20 homers (good for a 111 OPS+ and 112 wRC+) while posting slightly above-average hard-hit ball numbers and defensive metrics in right field.
This solid but unspectacular season might keep Garcia within Tampa Bay’s rather limited price range, as MLBTR predicted only a two-year, $12MM deal for Garcia this winter. A bigger question could be where Garcia fits into a Rays outfield that already has Tommy Pham, Kevin Kiermaier, and Austin Meadows, though the right-handed hitting Garcia is a nice complement amidst lefty swingers like Meadows and first base/DH options like Ji-Man Choi and Nate Lowe.
Here’s more from around the AL East…
- While Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia intends to resume his career in 2020 after multiple knee surgeries, “the most optimistic projection for Pedroia would be playing for the Sox in late May or June,” Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe hears from multiple sources. Pedroia has appeared in only nine games over the last two seasons, and with so much uncertainty around his availability, second base is a clear area of need for the team this winter.
- Both Abraham and WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford were surprised by Boston’s decision to waive left-hander Brian Johnson earlier this week, though Johnson remained with the Red Sox (and outrighted off the 40-man roster) after going unclaimed. Johnson is also out of minor league options, which dimmed his value to other teams, Abraham hears from an evaluator. The timing of the move may have been tactical on the club’s part, Bradford notes, as Johnson was waived not long after other teams had set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and thus didn’t have the space to spare on a southpaw who pitched well in 2017-18 before struggling last year. The transaction caught Johnson himself by surprise, as he told Bradford, though “in the grand scheme of things I’m just not on the 40-man. My goals don’t change. I have the same goal going into spring training, fighting for a job either in the bullpen or starting.”
- Some of the offseason’s early moves have seemingly removed two potential Orioles trade partners for Trey Mancini or Mychal Givens, the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli writes. Mancini could have been a possible long-term piece for a White Sox team that appears ready to start competing, but Chicago’s extension with Jose Abreu and signing of Yasmani Grandal (as a part-time first baseman and DH, to go with his catching duties) would seem to limit Mancini to the outfield for the Sox, a less-than-ideal defensive fit. As for Givens, the Braves had interest in the right-hander at the trade deadline but have now addressed their bullpen needs by signing Will Smith and re-signing Chris Martin and Darren O’Day.
Brian Johnson Clears Waivers
Nov. 27: Johnson went unclaimed on waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket, the team announced. He doesn’t have the requisite service time to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, so he’ll remain with the Red Sox organization and hope for another chance at the MLB level in 2020.
Nov. 25: The Red Sox have placed southpaw Brian Johnson on outright waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). That starts a two-day window within which Johnson can be claimed.
Johnson, who’ll soon turn 29, struggled to a 6.02 ERA in 40 1/3 innings in Boston last year. Elbow troubles limited his availability and perhaps contributed to his ineffectiveness.
A first-round pick in 2012, Johnson turned in excellent results and overcame some challenges on his way up the farm ladder. He wasn’t much of a strikeout hurler but was obviously tough to square up, as opposing hitters produced meager batting averages on balls in play and didn’t muster many home runs.
That has generally been the case in the majors as well, as Johnson averages less than 90 mph with his fastball and doesn’t get many swings and misses. But he was able to limit the hard contact and post a 4.34 ERA in the 130 2/3 MLB innings he threw before the ’19 campaign.
Quick Hits: Reddick, Cubs, Betts, Attendance
A few quick items from around the game…
- Astros outfielder Josh Reddick underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder AC joint on Friday, according to a tweet from Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (link). Despite the apparently ailing shoulder, Reddick managed to appear in 151 games last season, his seventh full go-around in the majors. Reddick is expected to be ready for Spring Training, on the heels of a rather tepid 2019 that saw him hit .275/.319/.409 (94 wRC+) while grading out as a below-average regular on the whole (1.1 fWAR). After falling short in this year’s Fall Classic, it will be interesting to see what the club does with regard to Reddick. The 32-year-old is due one more season of $13MM salary before hitting free agency next offseason, so it’s not as if a trade is a likely scenario. Still, Reddick’s spot in the outfield, along with the club’s current vacancy at catcher, strikes this writer as an area of potential improvement for club president of baseball ops Jeff Luhnow to explore this winter. At the least, it will be interesting to see how Reddick’s 2020 playing time is impacted by promising in-house youngster Kyle Tucker.
- Earlier today we brought news of the Yankees’ hire of Rachel Balkovec, 32, to a minor league hitting coach role. According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, it appears the Cubs have also hired a 32-year-old Rachel with an impressive resume to their player development corps, with Bastian relaying that Marshall alum Rachel Folden will now serve as the lead hitting lab tech and fourth coach for Chicago’s Rookie League Mesa affiliate (link). Folden comes to the Cubs with experience instructing baseball and softball players “based on biomechanics, science, technology and data” via her own fastpitch instructional enterprise. Folden’s primary connection to the Cubs comes through Justin Stone, Chicago’s new director of hitting, who previously deployed Folden as a hitting consultant at his own Elite Baseball Training academy. Stone, commenting on her hire, described Folden as the “perfect person” to cross the implicit barriers that have long sidelined professionals like Balkovec and Folden.
- Earlier this winter, Red Sox team president and CEO Sam Kennedy said his club would “continue to engage” with the representatives of outfielder Mookie Betts in regard to extension talks, but Kennedy allowed on Friday that those talks have yet to begin, as noted in an article from Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (link). While new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and GM Brian O’Halloran met with Betts’ reps from VC Sports during the GM Meetings last week, those talks are said to have been of a mostly informal nature. Kennedy had reiterated his desire to keep Betts in a Red Sox uniform several times this offseason, and it’s hardly unexpected that Bloom may still be getting a handle on the broadest aspects of his new role. Betts is projected to make $27.7MM this offseason in his final pass through arbitration and has long proclaimed a desire to test free agency.
- MLB attendance slipped 1.5 percent in 2019, adding to a cumulative 8.5 percent drop dating back to 2012. Joe Sheehan of Baseball America places much of the blame for this attendance swoon at the doorstep of the “rebuilding processes that are leading to unwatchable baseball”. As Sheehan notes, the Phillies, Twins, Reds, and Padres all saw attendance increases after making a few impact additions last offseason, while even winning teams like the Indians saw fewer passes through the turnstiles after largely standing pat in the winter of 2018-2019. Of course, it’s also worth noting, by my own addition, that several of the teams flagging in the attendance category also operate in some of the smallest and least economically flourishing metropolitan markets (although aspects of revenue sharing, of course, help to mitigate those factors).
East Notes: Mets, Ramos, BoSox, Holt, Rays, Braves
The latest on a few East Coast clubs…
- The Mets have reportedly shown interest in free-agent catcher Robinson Chirinos, but a union between the two sides doesn’t look realistic. Chirinos a starting-caliber catcher, after all, and the Mets already have a somewhat expensive No. 1 backstop in Wilson Ramos, who’s slated to earn $10.75MM through 2020 (including a $1.5MM buyout for ’21). While Ramos didn’t have a great year in 2019, his first as a Met, the team’s “committed to” him heading into next season, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. The 32-year-old Ramos was subpar behind the plate this season, evidenced by a 15 percent caught-stealing rate and a low ranking in Baseball Prospectus’ Framing Runs Above Average metric, but he did turn in another fine offensive campaign. Barring an unexpected turn, it seems he’ll start again next year for New York, though the team could bring in someone who – unlike Chirinos – is suited for a backup role.
- The Red Sox reached out to free-agent utilityman Brock Holt about a new deal after the season, but there haven’t been discussions since they hired Chaim Bloom as their chief baseball officer Oct. 28, Holt told Barstool Sports’ Section 10 podcast (hat tip to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com). Although other teams have contacted Holt, he revealed there’s “nothing serious” brewing between him and any clubs. MLBTR predicts a two-year, $8MM contract for the versatile Holt, who’s coming off back-to-back solid seasons at the plate. The 31-year-old batted .297/.369/.402 in 295 PA in 2019, which is looking more and more like his last season as a member of the Red Sox.
- The Rays made the decision to designate third baseman Matt Duffy for assignment Thursday after failing to find a trade partner for the 28-year-old, according to general manager Erik Neander (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). But moving on from the oft-injured Duffy was a tough call for the Rays, per Neander, who stated: “Wish that his health and his time with us would have gone different in that regard and we could have had him on the field more. He really is a special player and there’s the obvious stuff you can measure in how he impacts a game. His intangibles, his leadership, his influence on a younger impressionable clubhouse like we have is worth a lot.” Despite the respect the organization has for Duffy, Neander noted the Rays are happier with their current third basemen (including No. 1 option Yandy Diaz).
- Much like his previous deal with the Rangers, the two-year, $14MM contract reliever Chris Martin signed with the Braves gives him the opportunity to become a free agent at the end of it, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Martin will only have three-plus years’ service time then, meaning he’d remain eligible for arbitration under normal circumstances, but there’s language built into the pact that will allow him to return to the open market when it expires.