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Six Players Decline Qualifying Offers

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The seven free agents who were issued qualifying offers by their former teams must decide by 4pm CT today whether or not to accept.  You can get the full rundown of how the qualifying offer system works here, but in brief — if a player takes the offer, they will return to their team on a one-year, $17.9MM contract for the 2019 season and can never again be issued a QO in any future trips to the free agent market.  If a player rejects the offer, their former team will receive a compensatory draft pick should another club sign the player.  (The signing team will also have to give up at least one draft pick and potentially some funds from their international signing bonus pool.)

Most free agents reject the QO in search of a richer, more long-term contract, and this is expected to be the case for most (though not all) of this year’s qualifying offer class.  The MLB Player’s Association has now announced all of these decisions, so they’re all official:

  • A.J. Pollock will enter free agency after turning down the Diamondbacks’ qualifying offer, tweets Jon Heyman of Fancred.  He’ll be the top center fielder available and should draw interest from a fair number of teams, though his market demand is not yet clear.
  • Bryce Harper declined the Nationals’ qualifying offer, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). That’s utterly unsurprising, as the superstar is lining up nine-figure offers as we speak.
  • Craig Kimbrel is heading to the market rather than taking the one-year pact to stay with the Red Sox, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com was among those to tweet. The veteran closer is expected to command a much larger and lengthier contract in free agency.
  • Patrick Corbin won’t be accepting the Diamondbacks’ qualifying offer, as per Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  No surprises with this decision, as Corbin is set to receive the biggest contract of any free agent pitcher this winter.
  • Yasmani Grandal won’t accept the Dodgers’ qualifying offer, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez (via Twitter).  Even in the wake of another mediocre postseason performance, there was little doubt Grandal would turn down the QO, as he projects to earn a strong contract as the best catcher in the free agent market.
  • Dallas Keuchel has rejected the Astros’ qualifying offer, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (Twitter link).  The ground-ball specialist and 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner will hit the open market, and it remains to be seen if a return to Houston could be in the cards.  The Astros could also lose Charlie Morton in free agency, and Lance McCullers Jr. will miss all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
  • Hyun-Jin Ryu has accepted the Dodgers’ qualifying offer, as we explored in detail earlier today.  Ryu becomes the sixth player to ever accept a QO, out of the 80 free agents who have been offered the deal over the last seven offseasons.

Quintin Berry Retires, Joins Brewers Coaching Staff

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After thirteen seasons in professional baseball, outfielder Quintin Berry has officially hung up his cleats. Berry announces his retirement via Twitter, but adds that he will be joining the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2019 season as an outfield and baserunning coordinating (Twitter links). The Brewers have not yet announced the hire.

Berry’s most significant playing time came with the 2012 Tigers when he made his ML debut. He played in 94 games as a 27-year-old rookie, hitting .258/.330/.354 and stealing 21 bases in 21 attempts. Since then, Berry has been one of baseball’s few speed specialists, seeing time as an occasional stolen base threat off the bench, a la Terrance Gore.

Berry, who turns 34 years-old on November 21st, was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 5th round of the 2006 draft. He spent time with 12 organizations in total, including major-league appearances for the Tigers, Red Sox, Orioles, Cubs and most-recently the 2017 Brewers, for whom he stole two bases in three attempts after rosters expanded in September. Notably, Berry stole three bases in three attempts for the Red Sox during their World Series run in 2013. After pinch-running for David Ortiz, he stole second base off Yadier Molina in the eighth inning of a Game 4 Boston victory.

Red Sox Rumors: JDM, Bogaerts, Kikuchi, Payroll, Farm

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Both J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts are likely to test free agency a year from now, writes Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston. Martinez has an opt-out provision in his five-year, $110MM contract with the Red Sox, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski gave no indication of interest in restructuring that deal, per Drellich. “He can choose to leave, it’s his opt out,” said Dombrowski. “But the reason we put ‘em in there were medically oriented as we went through at the time. That medical hasn’t changed.” Dombrowski is referring to medical provisions that were worked into the contract, allowing the Red Sox to convert the final two seasons of the deal into mutual options in the event that Martinez misses enough time due to a preexisting Lisfranc injury in his foot. As for Bogaerts, Dombrowski called his contract situation “important” for the team. Agent Scott Boras, meanwhile, told Drellich he’s “open to any thoughts [the Red Sox] have on the subject.” Asked about a recent extension for fellow client Jose Altuve, Boras pointed out that Bogaerts is two and a half years younger and also plays shortstop.

More from Boston…

  • Boston’s interest in Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is expected to be posted for MLB teams later this month, can be described as “lukewarm,” reports WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. Dombrowski declined to comment on Kikuchi at the GM Meetings, beyond indicating that as one of Japan’s top arms, he’s a pitcher the Sox have scouted frequently in the past (as have many MLB clubs). “Yes, we have a pulse on him,” said Dombrowski. Boston could theoretically look to add some arms behind its top trio of Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello — especially considering Sale’s presence on next year’s free-agent market — but it doesn’t sound as though Kikuchi will be a prime target.
  • In a pair of columns for the Boston Globe, Alex Speier looks at Boston’s payroll/luxury tax situation as well as the team’s poorly regarded farm system. There’s virtually no scenario in which the Sox will avoid another season of luxury tax penalization, Speier observes, making the question not one of if they’ll incur penalty but rather one of how steep a penalty they’re willing to accept. Boston went into the highest luxury bracket this season and will be taxed at the maximum rate while also seeing its top draft pick dropped by 10 spots. Principal owner John Henry tells Speier, “You can’t do that all the time,” but Speier notes that it’s not clear if the organization is willing to do so once more in 2019. From a distance, it’s worth noting that this is the final season of club control over Sale, Martinez and Bogaerts, so there’s a good case to be made for maintaining aggression (though that’s just my own two cents). As for the farm system, Speier notes that a survey of rival evaluators left no real consensus as to the team’s top prospect — a fact that serves to highlight the general uncertainty that permeates the farm. But, the Sox surely have the pieces to once again be active on next summer’s rental market, Speier notes while highlighting a particular concentration of interesting third base prospects.

Red Sox Seem Unlikely To Re-Sign Craig Kimbrel

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  • If there are several starters on the menu for the Phillies, it seems they could also play at the upper reaches of the relief market. Morosi tweets that they are at least looking into top available closer Craig Kimbrel. Elsewhere, while a reunion between Kimbrel and the Red Sox can’t be counted out, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggests that it does not seem particularly likely, either. The vibe of the post is that the Boston organization is probably not preparing to out-bid the market on the veteran closer. Though Kimbrel would obviously still have appeal at a reasonable price, Cafardo seems to hint at relatively tepid interest. For instance, he writes, “Red Sox officials usually shrug their shoulders when asked about Kimbrel’s future.”

Market Chatter: White Sox, Zunino, Kimbrel, Cards, Giants, Phils, Yanks

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What role will the White Sox play in this free agent market? It’s an open question whether the club will come away with any significant players, but it also seems increasingly likely that it will be heavily involved at all levels of the market. MLBTR did not pick the South Siders to land any of the top fifty free agents, but as noted in that post, the club could pursue quite a few of the players listed. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi even names the White Sox as potential pursuers of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic points out the case for the Sox to spend (subscription link), while Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets that the club is expressing an inclination to “take a step forward now.” Meanwhile, on the other side of town, indications remain that the Cubs will not spend a big chunk of change this winter, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post is the latest to report (Twitter link).

Clearly, the White Sox are an interesting team to watch. Even if it’s arguably a bit premature for significant investments, it certainly doesn’t hurt that they play in the sport’s worst overall division. Elsewhere …

  • The competition in the AL West seems to be driving the Mariners to sell. It’s unclear as yet how deep the cuts will go, but talks are already opening up. The M’s are chatting with the Rays about catcher Mike Zunino, per Rosenthal (via Twitter). With two years of control remaining, the 27-year-old backstop presents an interesting alternative to the free agent market for catchers. He’s an inconsistent but high-powered offensive performer who is generally seen as a quality defender.
  • The Cardinals and incumbent Red Sox are among the suitors for veteran closer Craig Kimbrel, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Kimbrel is among the players who appear to be candidates to land earlier-than-usual contracts, by Morosi’s reckoning. (He mentions a few possible landing spots for others on his list, though it’s not apparent that the connections are based upon more than his analysis.)
  • Certainly, it seems the motivation is there for the Cardinals to pursue significant players. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the St. Louis front office is looking hard at ways to improve. GM Mike Girsch says the team has a competitive roster as things stand, but wants to exit the offseason with “a division-leading roster.” The piece is full of worthwhile reading for Cards fans, particularly those interested in gaining some perspective on the team’s market positioning in relation to Harper and Machado. All told, it seems reasonable not to rule the Cards out as a possible pursuer of any free agent.
  • Manny and Bryce are popular considerations for most teams, of course, even if they won’t realistically be pursued by all that many organizations. The Giants are perhaps a likelier suitor than may be evident from a passing glance, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. While the San Francisco organization struggled last year, has quite a few big contracts on the books, and doesn’t currently have a GM in place, Shea says that this kind of ownership-driven decision could still be pursued.
  • Lost in the hype for those popular young free agents is the never-ending search for pitching. While the rotation was and is a strong suit for the Phillies, that doesn’t mean they can’t improve. Indeed, as Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes, it could make sense for the organization to use some trade assets to add a starter — in addition, of course, to pursuing a superstar position player on the open market. Salisbury tabs southpaws Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks and James Paxton of the Mariners as two particular names to watch.
  • Likewise, as they consider their pitching options, the Yankees will look at the still-developing trade market. Per Heyman, via Twitter, the Yanks have at least some level of interest in the top arms that have newly entered the sphere of trade candidates. New York’s brass will meet with their counterparts with the Indians, who are dangling Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco. The Yankees are also said to have some interest in Paxton. Those three are among the game’s better starters, so it’s hardly surprising to hear the connections.

Red Sox Outright Carson Smith, Tony Renda, Justin Haley

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The Red Sox have outrighted Carson Smith off of the 40-man roster, per a club announcement. He has elected free agency. Boston also announced that infielder Tony Renda and right-hander Justin Haley have been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket. Meanwhile, Dustin Pedroia, Austin Maddox and Marco Hernandez were reinstated from the 60-day disabled list and added back to the 40-man roster.

Smith’s time with the Sox was disappointing, to put things mildly. Acquired in the 2015-16 offseason in the trade that sent Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro to the Mariners, Smith was one of the first major acquisitions for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. At the time, Boston looked to have secured a long-term, high-leverage weapon for the back of the ’pen. That, of course, was far from the case.

It’s easy to forget just how dominant Smith was as a rookie in Seattle, given the three injury-ruined seasons that have since elapsed, but the righty was legitimately overpowering with the 2015 Mariners. In 70 innings of work, he pitched to a minuscule 2.31 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.26 HR/9 and a whopping 64.8 percent ground-ball rate. That combination of whiffs, strong control and elite ground-ball tendencies is exceedingly rare, so it’s easy to see why Smith was viewed as an attractive option.

Unfortunately for the Sox, Smith’s arm simply couldn’t hold up. He underwent Tommy John surgery early in the 2016 season and was only able to make it back to the field for 6 2/3 innings in 2017. The 2018 season brought an embarrassing end to his Red Sox tenure. Smith hit the disabled list with a subluxation in his right shoulder back in May — an injury which he appeared to incur after throwing his glove in the dugout out of frustration. After the fact, he told reporters that he believed fatigue from being overworked might’ve contributed to the status of his balky shoulder — a suggestion which manager Alex Cora characterized as “surprising” and with which he flatly stated he “[didn’t] agree.” Smith ultimately went under the knife in June and didn’t return to the field after the fact.

Renda, 28 in January, appeared in one game as a pinch-runner for the Sox this season and split the remainder of the season between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket. In a combined 292 minor league plate appearances, the former Reds and Nationals prospect posted a quality .318/.373/.453 slash — adding five homers, 19 doubles, a triple and 10 steals along the way.

Haley, meanwhile, was Boston’s sixth-round pick back in 2012. The 27-year-old made his Red Sox debut this season, though it wasn’t his Major League debut, as Haley logged 18 innings as a Rule 5 pick of the Twins back in 2017. In four games and a total of 7 2/3 innings with Boston this season, he allowed four runs on 10 hits and three walks without a strikeout. Overall, he has a 5.61 ERA in 25 2/3 big league innings, though he’s worked to a considerably better 3.53 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 260 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level in his career to date.

Dombrowski On Red Sox Offseason

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The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey was one of many who tweeted out comments from Dave Dombrowski on the Red Sox offseason this morning. Among the notable tidbits, the Red Sox are apparently prepared to send out qualifying offers to some of their free agents, though Dombrowski couldn’t speak to the specifics until MLB releases the names on Friday.

Presumably, this list includes only one name: closer Craig Kimbrel. Boston could look to replace him with in-house options, the top candidates being Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier (twitter links). If Kimbrel does depart, bolstering the bullpen could very well become a focus of the Boston offseason – especially if fellow free agent Joe Kelly follows Kimbrel out the door.

One player who definitely won’t be receiving a qualifying offer is Nathan Eovaldi – he is ineligible after being acquired mid-season from the Rays. Competition for the right-hander is expected to be fierce after his gutsy playoff performance with the Red Sox. Fellow mid-season acquisitions Steve Pearce and Ian Kinsler are also ineligible to receive qualifying offers.

On the health front, MLB.com’s Ian Browne was among those to confirm that Chris Sale is not expected to undergo offseason surgery (via Twitter). The lanky left-hander needs only rest to be ready for Spring Training. Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald adds (via Twitter) that the team is hopeful that Dustin Pedroia will be ready in time for Spring Training, though that is far less certain.

The catching situation in Boston remains a crowded, but capable field. It is unlikely that Boston will head into next season with all three of Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart on the active roster – but it’s not an impossibility (Twitter link). Boston experimented with using Swihart in a superutility role last season, but it’s unclear whether or not Boston believes that’s a sustainable solution moving forward.

On the whole, Dombrowski is understandably pleased with the current state of the Red Sox and would be happy to bring back the entire squad as currently constituted for 2019, per the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. Thus far, the Red Sox have kept David Price in the fold after he forewent his opt-out clause, as well as Eduardo Nunez, who picked up his $5MM option for 2019. It will obviously be expensive to keep this core together long-term, but as of now, Boston ownership has not mentioned staying under the luxury tax as a priority for 2019.

Eduardo Nunez Exercises Player Option

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As expected, Eduardo Nunez has exercised his $5MM player option to return to the Boston Red Sox for the 2019 season, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald was among those to confirm (via Twitter).

Nunez certainly earned his keep with some big hits this postseason, but it was a rough year all-in-all for the infielder. Nunez hit only .256/.289/.388 during the regular season, his first full season with Boston.

The Red Sox acquired Nunez in July of 2017 from the San Francisco Giants for a pair of minor leaguers and was re-signed last offseason for $4MM. Nunez stays with the team via a $5MM player option, selected over a $2MM buyout that would have returned the 31-year-old infielder to the free agent market.

Next season, Nunez figures to serve as a bench option for Alex Cora. His ability to play all three infield positions makes him valuable over the course of a long 162-game season, when he can spell Rafael Devers against tough left-handers and serve as depth in the middle infield, specifically second, one of the Red Sox’ few question marks heading into the offseason.

For his career, Nunez has played eight years in the big leagues with the Yankees, Twins, Giants and Red Sox. He split 2018 between second base and third base, but he came into the majors as a shortstop and has also spent limited time in the outfield corners. Nunez is a lifetime .279/.314/.410 hitter.

David Price Announces He Will Not Opt Out Of Red Sox Contract

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Red Sox lefty David Price announced today that he will not opt out of the remainder of his contract with the Red Sox, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com was among those to report on Twitter. The 33-year-old starter, who is fresh off of a redemptive run through the postseason for the World Series victors, will earn $31MM for the 2019 season and $32MM annually for the three campaigns that follow.

It’s no surprise, certainly, that Price has elected to stay in the deal that he inked in advance of the 2016 season. Though he has certainly had plenty of success during his first three campaigns in Boston, there have also been plenty of low points along the way.

At 33 years of age, it’s tough to imagine Price doing better than the four years and $127MM he already has in hand. That said, he would still have been a major part of the postseason picture had he elected to return to the open market.

In the just-completed campaign, Price threw 176 innings of 3.58 ERA ball, registering just over a strikeout per nine while allowing 2.6 BB/9. That represented a bounceback from an injury-marred 2017 campaign and an improvement on his bottom-line results (3.99 ERA) from 2016.

Of course, Price had also logged 230 frames in his first season with the Sox, a number he won’t likely approach again. And his peripherals have eroded since that time as well. Estimators valued his 2018 output well below his actual ERA, with FIP (4.02), xFIP (3.95), and SIERA (3.82) suggesting Price is now more a solid rotation presence than frontline starter.

Price’s postseason performance — which featured four excellent starts in the ALCS and World Series after a rough divisional outing — certainly showed that he can still get the job done when needed … and that he can do it on the big stage. That reversed a long run of difficulties in the postseason though it won’t turn back father time. Over the course of the 2018 campaign, Price’s average fastball (of both the four and two-seam varieties) clocked in at a personal-low 93.1 mph, while his swinging-strike rate dipped to 9.6% after sitting over 11% for the prior three seasons.

In any event, Price’s decision to opt in to the remainder of his deal at one point seemed likely to be met by widespread complaints from the Boston faithful. Instead, he’ll be lauded along with his teammates today in the club’s World Series parade. And while the expectations for the remainder of the contract will necessarily be tempered, the Red Sox have good cause to anticipate that Price will continue to be a worthwhile member of their rotation for some time to come.

Red Sox Exercise Club Option Over Chris Sale

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In one of the easiest option decisions in baseball, the Red Sox announced today that they have picked up their option over lefty Chris Sale for the 2019 season.

His contract originally called for a $13.5MM salary for the upcoming campaign, with a $1MM buyout. Owing to his prior Cy Young placement, though, it was boosted to a $15MM final value. When the deal wraps up after the 2019 campaign, Sale will have earned a total of $58MM over a seven-year term.

Acquired from the White Sox before the start of the 2017 season, the 29-year-old Sale has continued to excel since swapping his pale hose for crimson stockings. He has thrown 372 1/3 regular-season innings of 2.56 ERA ball thus far in Boston.

If there are any questions, they relate not to the quality of Sale’s work on the mound, but his ability to stay there. It would be unfair to make too much of five-start absence in 2018, as he has mostly been an exceptionally durable pitcher, but the shoulder woes that cropped up this year certainly represent something to watch moving forward. Hopefully, an offseason of rest will allow Sale to enter Spring Training at full speed.

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