Reds Claim Juan Graterol, Gabriel Guerrero Off Waivers
The Reds have claimed catcher Juan Graterol off waivers from the Angels and claimed outfielder Gabriel Guerrero off waivers from the Diamondbacks, the team announced today. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster, the Reds have designated right-hander Keyvius Sampson and catcher Ramon Cabrera for assignment.
The 22-year-old Guerrero is the nephew of former Major League superstar Vladimir Guerrero and long rated as one of the top prospects in the Mariners’ system before being traded to Arizona in last year’s Mark Trumbo/Welington Castillo trade. Guerrero posted strong numbers as recently as 2014 in Class-A Advanced — .307/.347/.467 with 18 homers and 18 steals in 530 plate appearances — but his production has plummeted upon reaching the upper levels of the minors. He hit just .223/.258/.346 between his two organizations’ Double-A affiliates in 2015 and struggled similarly this year, hitting .234/.281/.383 between Double-A and Triple-A.
Graterol, 27, made his Major League debut and tallied 15 PAs with the Halos this past season. The former Royals farmhand spent the 2015 season in the Yankees organization before inking a minors pact with the Halos last offseason. He’s a career .274/.306/.338 hitter in parts of three seasons (95 games) at the Triple-A level and has halted stolen base attempts at a very strong 38 percent clip in the minors. Baseball Prospectus gives him average pitch-framing grades in the minors as well.
Sampson, 25, pitched 39 1/3 innings with the Reds this year across 18 games — two starts, 16 relief appearances — and logged a 4.35 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 6.2 BB/9. Control has long been an issue for Sampson, who has walked 53 men, hit two batters and also rattled off seven wild pitches in his 91 2/3 big league innings. The former Padres farmhand pitched well in the minors up through Double-A but began to struggle at Triple-A (5.18 ERA in 231 innings) and clearly hasn’t fared much better in the Majors, where he owns a collective 5.60 ERA.
Cabrera, meanwhile, made his big league debut with the Reds in 2015 and played in a career-high 61 games for Cincinnati this season. The 27-year-old received 185 plate appearances due largely to the season-ending injury sustained by Devin Mesoraco and batted .246/.279/.357 with three homers and 10 doubles. He’s a lifetime .274/.327/.343 hitter at the Triple-A level and could end up elsewhere on waivers, though he’s never excelled at throwing out runners (23 percent in the minors) and draws routinely negative framing marks. From that standpoint, it’s not difficult to see why the Reds felt that Graterol was a superior option to function as the third catcher on their 40-man roster, behind Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart.
AL West Notes: S-Rod, Athletics, Gray, Astros, Cashner
Here’s the latest from the AL West…
- The Angels discussed signing Sean Rodriguez before the utilityman agreed to a deal with the Braves yesterday, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter link). Fletcher isn’t sure whether the Halos had serious interest or were just considering all options. Rodriguez could have stepped right in to fill the Angels’ hole at second base, or potentially taken over third base if Yunel Escobar had been switched to second. Besides the Halos, the Dodgers, Pirates and Blue Jays were also known to have interest in the versatile Rodriguez.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports joins CSNBayArea.com’s Joe Stiglich on the A’s Insider podcast (audio link) to discuss several offseason topics, including the possibility of some Athletics trades. Rosenthal figures other teams will have “some lively discussions” with the A’s about Stephen Vogt given the lack of catching around the game, and Oakland will get interest in Sonny Gray given the thin free agent pitching market. That said, Rosenthal isn’t sure whether Gray will be dealt since his stock has been lowered by his rough 2016 season. “I’m not so sure this is the right time to trade him because obviously if he puts together a good first half you’ve got the best guy at the deadline,” Rosenthal said. “At the same time, there’s always the risk he gets hurt again. Maybe he doesn’t bounce back, maybe you lose value.”
- The Astros and Rangers still look like the class of the AL West, in Rosenthal’s opinion, though both teams still have clear needs — Houston needs to add another starting pitcher, while Texas has holes to fill in its everyday roster due to several free agents.
- The Astros‘ need for pitching is what differentiates them from the Cubs, though as the New York Post’s Joel Sherman points out, Houston bears a lot of similarity to the World Series champs. Like the Astros, Chicago also totally purged the roster in a rebuild effort and added several impressive young position players through the draft. The Cubs then spent big to add veterans in free agency and trades to score the missing pieces, and the Astros seem to be on the same track by adding Brian McCann and Josh Reddick this winter. The key for Houston, of course, is if Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers can provide the same top-of-the-rotation strength that Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta (not to mention Kyle Hendricks) gave the Cubs.
- Andrew Cashner is an improvement over the departing Derek Holland in the Rangers‘ rotation, Kevin Sherrington of SportsDayDFW.com opines. Cashner, who the Rangers recently signed to a one-year/$10MM deal, has much better velocity, and the loss of zip on Holland’s fastball makes him vulnerable. Also, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan previously noted, Rangers pitching coach Doug Brocail believes he can “fix” Cashner.
Brewers Claim Blake Parker, Designate David Goforth
The Brewers have announced that they’ve claimed reliever Blake Parker off waivers from the Angels, who designated him for assignment last weekend. To clear space on their 40-man roster, they’ve designated fellow righty David Goforth for assignment.
The 32-year-old Parker has been a fixture in the transactions pages recently — he began the 2016 season with the Mariners, then headed to the Yankees and then Angels via waiver claims. He hasn’t pitched more than 21 innings in the big leagues in a season since 2013 with the Cubs, but it’s easy to see why a variety of teams have shown interest in him, since he posted an outstanding 2.72 ERA, 12.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 39 2/3 innings with Triple-A Tacoma in 2016. He also pitched 17 1/3 innings in the big leagues, posting a 4.67 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 while registering an average fastball velocity of 92.2 MPH. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt tweets, Brewers pitching coach Derek Johnson is likely quite familiar with Parker, since Johnson was the Cubs’ minor league pitching coordinator for several years while Parker pitched in the Cubs’ system.
The 28-year-old Goforth struggled in both Triple-A and the big leagues in 2016, allowing 14 runs in 10 2/3 innings in the Brewers bullpen. He held his own in the Majors in his rookie season in 2015, but has since struggled to replicate that modest success — which isn’t a huge surprise, given control problems that have plagued him in parts of four seasons in the high minors.
Angels Designate Jose Valdez, Blake Parker, Abel De Los Santos
WEDNESDAY: The Angels have announced that they’ve outrighted Valdez and De Los Santos to Triple-A Salt Lake. As we’ve noted elsewhere, the Brewers claimed Parker off waivers.
FRIDAY: The Angels announced that they’ve designated right-handed pitchers Jose Valdez, Blake Parker and Abel De Los Santos for assignment and also outrighted infielder Rey Navarro off the 40-man roster. The moves pave way for the addition of left-hander Nate Smith and right-handers Keynan Middleton, Austin Adams and Eduardo Paredes to the 40-man roster.
Valdez, 26, posted a respectable 4.24 ERA in 23 1/3 innings with the Angels this season and averaged a robust 95.3 mph on his heater, making him at least an intriguing future option for the Halos next season. However, he also issued 16 walks, hit a batter and uncorked a pair of wild pitches in that brief time with the Angels, demonstrating enough of a control issue that the team didn’t see fit to dedicate a 40-man roster slot to him this winter.
Parker, 31, split the 2016 season between the Mariners and Yankees, totaling 17 1/3 innings of 4.67 ERA ball with 15 strikeouts against eight unintentional walks. The Angels claimed him back in earlyt October, on the heels of a season in which he actually averaged a career-best 92.2 mph on his fastball this season and does come with a 3.67 career ERA in 90 1/3 innings at the Major League level. He’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher and has averaged 10.5 K/9 in parts of nine seasons at Triple-A but has also averaged 4.2 walks per nine innings there.
De Los Santos was also an offseason waiver claim by the Angels, out of the Reds organization. De Los Santos tossed 20 1/3 innings in Triple-A this season and logged a 3.54 ERA with a 26-to-13 K/BB ratio, and he has a lifetime 3.03 ERA in Double-A as well. He has just 7 1/3 innings of big league experience under his belt, during which he’s allowed eight runs.
Among the four players added to the 40-man roster, Smith is perhaps the most interesting. The lefty had a 4.61 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 150 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year, which doesn’t really stand out, but he does rank as the top pitching prospect in the organization, per MLB.com. The Halos will enter 2017 with Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker, Tyler Skaggs and Ricky Nolasco locked into rotation spots, health permitting, leaving the fifth spot up for grabs among Smith, Jesse Chavez, Alex Meyer and Daniel Wright (plus any further offseason additions).
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/23/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Rockies have brought back infielder Josh Rutledge on a minor league deal, per the MLBRosterMoves Twitter account. He receives a camp invitation in the contract. Rutledge, 27, cracked the majors with Colorado and has taken most of his plate appearances there. After a minor league stint with the Angels, he returned to the majors with the Red Sox in each of the last two seasons, posting a cumulative .276/.338/.358 batting line over 141 plate appearances. Rutledge missed the bulk of the past season due to knee issues and took free agency after being outrighted by Boston.
Earlier Moves
- Outfielder Jaff Decker has signed on with the Athletics on a minor league pact, agent Tom O’Connell announced on Twitter. The deal includes an invitation to participate in MLB camp next spring. Deckr, 26, has seen scattered action in each of the last four major league campaigns, but has mostly plied his trade at the highest level of the minors in recent years. At Triple-A last year with the Rays, he slashed .255/.366/.421 with a dozen home runs and 18 stolen bases over 417 plate appearances.
- The Angels have struck minor league deals with outfielder Shane Robinson and infielder Rey Navarro, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports via Twitter. Both spent the 2016 season in the Halos organization, and will return for another run in 2017. Robinson, 32, hit just .173/.257/.235 over his 111 MLB plate appearances with Los Angeles, but brings a decent bit of major league experience (he’s appeared in seven seasons, though has only taken 760 trips to the plate) and provides a depth option all over the outfield. The 26-year-old Navarro, a glove-first utility piece, hit .227/.253/.325 in his 175 plate appearances at Triple-A last year.
- Righty David Buchanan has been given his release by the Phillies, per a club announcement. He was designated for assignment recently as the team overhauled its 40-man roster. Buchanan ought to draw interest from teams looking for rotation depth. He pitched to a 3.75 ERA over twenty big league starts in 2014, though he was hammered to the tune of a 6.99 earned run average in his 15 starts in the following year. Buchanan fared better at Triple-A in 2016, though, posting a 3.98 ERA over 167 1/3 innings.
- The Royals requested release waivers on catcher Tony Cruz, who was also recently designated, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. The 30-year-old will surely head onto the open market, as he’d otherwise be eligible for arbitration (with a projected $1MM salary). He spent most of 2016 at Triple-A, slashing .264/.347/.387 in 363 plate appearances.
Angels Claim Nolan Fontana, Designate Juan Graterol
The Angels announced today that they’ve claimed infielder Nolan Fontana off waivers from the Astros and designated catcher Juan Graterol for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Fontana, 25, long rated as one of Houston’s top prospects but has seen his stock decline steadily in recent seasons. Baseball America rated him 29th among Astros farmhands last winter, and by midseason, he’d fallen off MLB.com’s top 30 Astros prospects entirely. The former second-round pick batted a combined .203/.282/.273 in 451 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this year. While the ‘Stros once hoped that he could eventually man an up-the-middle infield spot, BA noted last winter that his ceiling now looked to be a utility infielder who draws plenty of walks but has bottom-of-the-scale power. BA did note that Fontana is a reliable defender at second base, even if he lacks the range or arm to handle shortstop on a regular basis. Fontana did hit .241/.369/.357 in a full season at Triple-A in 2015, so he does at least have a history of somewhat better performance at that level.
Graterol, 27, made his Major League debut and tallied 15 PAs with the Halos this past season. The former Royals farmhand spent the 2015 season in the Yankees organization before inking a minors pact with the Halos last offseason. He’s a career .274/.306/.338 hitter in parts of three seasons (95 games) at the Triple-A level.
AL West Notes: Rangers, Astros, Angels
Several young Rangers prospects have been investigated by Dominican police after a reported sexual assault occurred in a hazing incident a few months ago. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported on the matter recently, with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports providing additional information today. At this time, no charges have been filed, but Passan notes that prosecutors have stated an intention to do so with regard to four players. The Rangers organization reported the matter to Major League Baseball, which placed the players on administrative leave.
Here are more notes from the American League West:
- The Rangers announced a series of front office moves in the wake of the departure of former assistant GM Thad Levine. As Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News explains, the organization promoted a trio of executives to AGM posts. Mike Daly, previously the player development director, will most directly step into Levine’s shoes. Josh Boyd will take charge of professional scouting, research and development, and the team’s operations in the Pacific region. And Jayce Tingler, who was previously a uniformed coach (most recently, major league field coordinator), will take charge of player development.
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law takes a look at the Astros‘ recent series of moves, arguing that the team managed to shore up three areas of need without dedicating too much in the way of resources. Adding Josh Reddick improves the team’s flexibility while installing a near-regular corner outfielder, and Law finds the four-year, $52MM payday to be palatable. He’s also bullish on the value signing of righty Charlie Morton, who the team will look to as a solid rotation piece after he missed most of the 2016 season with a hamstring injury. Law is somewhat less enamored of Houston’s trade for Brian McCann, who he views as a more-or-less average performer behind the plate whose age is a concern.
- Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports isn’t convinced of the Angels‘ current direction, suggesting that the organization is in the process of wasting some of the best seasons of Mike Trout‘s already incredible career. Though Trout was again recognized as the A.L. MVP despite the team’s losing season, Rosenthal says that he’s playing in “relative obscurity” since the Halos haven’t managed to complement him with enough talent. Meanwhile, of course, there are no indications that Los Angeles has any interest in trading the best player in baseball. There’s no doubt, from my perspective, that the organization is in a bit of a bind given its largely moribund farm and the fact that it’s still feeling the effects of some ill-fated signings. The only real path to improving its roster at this point is to take on yet more future salary obligations, or to roll the dice on less-appealing (but more affordable) open-market options. The Angels have already set out to find some budget-friendly solutions in the early going — dealing for Cameron Maybin and signing Jesse Chavez and Andrew Bailey — but it’ll be interesting to see if a larger move or two is in the offing.
Jason Castro Reportedly Has Multiple Three-Year Offers
9:46pm: The Twins are “still engaged” on Castro, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. It’s not clear, though, whether Minnesota has put three years on the table for the veteran backstop.
4:23pm: Free-agent catcher Jason Castro has received three-year offers from multiple clubs, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). A team willing to push its offer to four years could ultimately be the team to lock a deal into place, he notes, adding that many clubs are viewing Nick Hundley as a “Plan B” to Castro. The exception there, it seems, is the Orioles, who view Hundley as their top target, one source tells Rosenthal. BaltimoreBaseball.com’s Dan Connolly reported the Orioles’ interest in Hundley earlier today.
A fourth year for Castro would exceed even aggressive projections for the premium pitch-framer’s market, but the 29-year-old has reportedly been drawing interest from at least five teams for more than a week now. The Twins, Braves and Rays are the most oft-mentioned collection of suitors, though Rosenthal did note earlier today that the Angels have checked in on Castro recently (Twitter links). However, the Halos don’t consider an upgrade at catcher to be a top priority at this time, according to Rosenthal, which makes the fit unlikely. He adds that they’re instead looking for help at second base as well as a left-handed-hitting reserve outfielder and a pitcher that can both start and relieve in 2017.
The Rays are known to have made Castro an offer, but it’s not clear if they’ve submitted one of the three-year proposals on which the Stanford product is sitting. In addition to the teams mentioned thus far, the White Sox have been listed as a speculative fit for Castro, although they might be an unlikely fit to be adding relatively expensive veterans after GM Rick Hahn indicated earlier this winter that he could be open to selling veteran pieces as well.
Castro is coming off a season in which he batted just .210/.307/.377 with 11 homers, but he’s regarded as an excellent defender/framer and does have an All-Star season under his belt. It’s been three years since he slashed a highly impressive .276/.350/.485 with 18 homers back in 2013, though, and he’s also struck out in nearly 31 percent of his plate appearances since that time. Castro is a quality bat against right-handed pitching, however (.247/.328/.424 in his career), and paired with his glovework, that’s been enough to generate some interest early in the offseason. What isn’t certain is exactly how many teams are willing to go even to the three-year threshold; to this point the only teams that have been repeatedly linked to him are Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Atlanta, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times downplayed the Rays’ ability to go to three years at all, let alone win a bidding war, over the weekend.
Players Added To The 40-Man
We’ll use this post to keep track of the players being added to their teams’ respective 40-man rosters today, which is the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Players must be added to the big league roster within either four years (if they were 19 or older at the time of their original signing) or five years (if 18 or younger) of their signing year in order to be shielded from selection.
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo took a look at some of the biggest names who face roster decisions, though most of those won’t be much in question. At the fringes, teams must also consider the major league readiness of the player, since that factors heavily into whether they’ll be taken and kept. Any drafting team, of course, must keep a player on its active MLB roster for the full season (with certain exceptions relating to the DL) in order for their control rights to vest. Adding a player to the 40-man too early can have its own risks, because it limits flexibility and could require a team to expose that player to waivers if a need arises. With 26-man rosters reportedly under consideration, the Rule 5 draft could be quite intriguing this year, and that may bleed into today’s decisions as well.
Below is a division-by-division rundown of the names that were added to each team’s 40-man roster (plus the various waiver claims that spawned from teams trying to outright players to protect Rule 5-eligible prospects). We won’t delve into each player’s background, but if you’re looking to a little more about the names that were added, I’d highly recommend this tremendous, in-depth examination of each team’s additions by Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper. If you want to see how the moves look in the context of a team’s roster, head over to Roster Resource for your club’s depth chart.
Onto the moves…
American League West
- Angels: Nate Smith (LHP), Keynan Middleton (RHP), Austin Adams (RHP) and Eduardo Paredes (RHP)
- Astros: None today
- Athletics: Paul Blackburn (RHP), Bobby Wahl (RHP), Franklin Barreto (SS), Yairo Munoz (INF) and Jaycob Brugman (OF)
- Mariners: Paul Fry (LHP), D.J. Peterson (1B/3B) and Thyago Vieira (RHP); Also acquired LHP James Pazos (link), 1B/OF Richie Shaffer and INF/OF Taylor Motter (link)
- Rangers: Ronald Guzman (1B); Also claimed RHP Tyler Wagner
American League Central
- Indians: Francisco Mejia (C); Also claimed LHPs Tim Cooney (link) and Edwin Escobar (link)
- Royals: Andrew Edwards (RHP), Jake Junis (RHP), Cam Gallagher (C), Samir Duenez (1B)
- Tigers: Sandy Baez (RHP)
- Twins: Felix Jorge (RHP), Fernando Romero (RHP), Zach Granite (OF), Daniel Palka (OF), Mitch Garver (C), Engelb Vielma (SS)
- White Sox: Brad Goldberg (RHP), Adam Engel (OF), Jacob May (OF)
American League East
- Blue Jays: Anthony Alford (OF), Ryan Borucki (LHP), Richard Urena (INF); Also claimed RHPs Dominic Leone (link) and Leonel Campos (link)
- Orioles: Joe Gunkel (RHP) and Jesus Liranzo (RHP)
- Rays: Chih-Wei Hu (RHP), Hunter Wood (RHP), Ryne Stanek (RHP), Austin Pruitt (RHP), Jaime Schultz (RHP), Willy Adames (INF), Daniel Robertson (INF) and Jose Alvarado (LHP)
- Red Sox: Kyle Martin (RHP) and Luis Ysla (LHP)
- Yankees: Miguel Andujar (INF), Dietrich Enns (LHP), Jorge Mateo (SS), Giovanny Gallegos (RHP), Ronald Herrera (RHP) and Yefrey Ramirez (RHP)
National League West
- Diamondbacks: Anthony Banda (LHP), Jimmie Sherfy (RHP), Dawel Lugo (SS), Jack Reinheimer (INF) and Ildemaro Vargas (2B)
- Dodgers: Chase De Jong (RHP), Jacob Rhame (RHP) and Kyle Farmer (C)
- Giants: Orlando Calixte (SS), Miguel Gomez (3B), Reyes Moronta (RHP), Dan Slania (RHP), Chase Johnson (RHP)
- Padres: Franchy Cordero (OF),Javier Guerra (SS), Walker Lockett (RHP), Jose Ruiz (C)
- Rockies: Yency Almonte (RHP), Shane Carle (RHP), Rayan Gonzalez (RHP), Zach Jemiola (RHP) and Sam Moll (LHP)
National League Central
- Brewers: Josh Hader (LHP), Taylor Williams (RHP), Lewis Brinson (OF), Ryan Cordell (OF) and Brett Phillips (OF); Also claimed 1B/OF Adam Walker
- Cardinals: Magneuris Sierra (OF), Eliezer Alvarez (INF), Edmundo Sosa (INF) and Rowan Wick (RHP)
- Cubs: Victor Caratini (C), Duane Underwood (RHP), Jacob Hannemann (OF) and Jack Leathersich (LHP); Also claimed LHP David Rollins
- Pirates: Clay Holmes (RHP)
- Reds: Barrett Astin (RHP), Keury Mella (RHP), Jackson Stephens (RHP), Nick Travieso (RHP), Aristides Aquino (OF), Phil Ervin (OF) and Jesse Winker (OF)
National League East
- Braves: Max Fried (LHP), Lucas Sims (RHP), Johan Carmago (INF); Also claimed C Tuffy Gosewisch
- Marlins: Luis Castillo (RHP), Drew Steckenrider (RHP), Austin Nola (INF), J.T. Riddle (INF); Also claimed LHP Elvis Araujo
- Mets: Amed Rosario (SS), Wuilmer Becerra (OF), Chris Flexen (RHP), Marcos Molina (RHP), and Tomas Nido (C)
- Nationals: Austin Voth (RHP), Rafael Bautista (OF), Raudy Read (C), Matt Skole (1B/3B) and Jose Marmolejos (1B/OF)
- Phillies: Drew Anderson (RHP), Mark Appel (RHP), Ricardo Pinto (RHP), Nick Pivetta (RHP), Alberto Tirado (RHP), Ben Lively (RHP), Dylan Cozens (OF), Nick Williams (OF), Andrew Knapp (C), Elniery Garcia (LHP) and Jesmuel Valentin (2B)
Mike Trout, Kris Bryant Win MVP Awards
Mike Trout of the Angels and Kris Bryant of the Cubs won the most valuable player awards in their respective leagues, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced tonight.
If Trout’s win is a surprise, it’s only because many wondered of the impact of the fact that his team wasn’t in contention. Looking only at his numbers, the case was rather clear, and he got 19 of 30 first-place votes. It may have been only a typical season for Trout, but a .315/.441/.550 batting line, 29 home runs, and 30 steals (combined with outstanding baserunning and quality defense in center) represented the best all-around output in baseball. This is his second MVP, and the fifth consecutive year he has finished in the top two of the voting.
Mookie Betts was the other top contender for the American League prize, and he was Trout’s equal in most offensive areas excepting OBP (.363), but his context-adjusted output wasn’t anywhere near as good (171 wRC+ for Trout, 135 for Betts). That said, Betts was every bit as good on the bases, and graded better defensively, but still finished over 1 WAR behind. He received nine first-place votes. Star Astros second baseman Jose Altuve came in third in the race.
On the National League side, it was long apparent that Bryant would win. He very nearly did so unanimously, but second-place finisher Daniel Murphy garnered one top nod. In just his second season in the majors, Bryant blasted 39 home runs, put up a 149 wRC+, and made a difference with his glove and legs. That he was the best player on the best team in the game surely didn’t hurt.
It was a truly great campaign for the Nationals’ Murphy, too, who slightly topped Bryant in overall offensive production (156 wRC+) but wasn’t nearly as good in the other areas of the game. Corey Seager of the Dodgers, who took the Rookie of the Year award, finished an impressive third.