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Mariners Rumors

AL Notes: Iannetta, Gardner, Heyward, Orioles, Parra

By Jeff Todd | November 23, 2015 at 11:33pm CDT

The Mariners signed Chris Iannetta to be the team’s primary backstop, GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (story link). Dipoto said that he sees Iannetta as a likely candidate to return to his prior levels of offensive performance. Meanwhile, the new GM explained that incumbent catcher Mike Zunino will have opportunities to earn time in a part-time role. “Mike comes in with an opportunity to win playing time,” Dipoto said. “A primary catcher is different from what I would consider an everyday player. There is no catcher who is going to go out and catch 162 games. Whether it be a time-share or a backup catcher, Mike is going to be in position to win some of that playing time. He’s still a young guy, and we need to get him back on track.”

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Angels and Yankees make for a good match on outfielder Brett Gardner, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times opines (Twitter links). Though Los Angeles would rather add a slugger in left, the team also needs an OBP threat at the top of the lineup and has the asset (starting pitching) that the Yanks are after. It probably doesn’t hurt that new Halos GM Billy Eppler just came over from New York. Of course, it remains to be see what kind of pitching asset New York GM Brian Cashman hopes to find, and what kind of value Eppler places on Gardner.
  • Meanwhile, the Angels could still dabble at the top of the free agent market, says Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, who writes that the Halos “aren’t ruling out a pursuit” of Jason Heyward. That match makes sense on paper, of course, given the need and the club’s large budget. Of course, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez explained to me on last week’s MLBTR Podcast, the club’s ability to land a player of that magnitude will depend on the payroll levels approved by owner Arte Moreno.
  • With so many needs, the Orioles are giving serious consideration to utilizing Trey Mancini at first base next year (assuming that Chris Davis departs in free agency), ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes (links to Twitter). The 23-year-old had a huge year at the High-A and Double-A levels last year. Though he feasted on opposing southpaws, he was quite good against right-handed pitching as well. Of course, leaping into the majors could be a big ask. But as Crasnick notes, there are limits to the teams other options. It lacks top-level system depth to trade from and is understandably uninterested in swapping young, MLB-level players such as Kevin Gausman and Jonathan Schoop, he says.
  • The Orioles have interest in a new deal with free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra, Crasnick also tweets. But Baltimore isn’t looking to go past two years with Parra, who was a trade deadline acquisition. From my perspective, that stance makes a reunion unlikely.
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Baltimore Orioles Los Angeles Angels New York Yankees Seattle Mariners Brett Gardner Chris Iannetta Gerardo Parra Jason Heyward Mike Zunino

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Minor MLB Transactions: 11/23/15

By Steve Adams | November 23, 2015 at 7:05pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor signings from around the league…

  • Infielder Steve Tolleson is headed to the Orioles on a minor league deal, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Tolleson will receive an invitation to major league camp. The 32-year-old owns a .245/.299/.372 slash in 363 career plate appearances in the bigs.
  • Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee is joining the Giants on a minor league deal, Matt Eddy reported as part of a slew of signings. (See his Twitter feed for these and more.) Formerly a top prospect with the Rays, the 25-year-old suffered a serious knee injury and has not hit much since at the Triple-A level. Among other deals, San Francisco also brought back lefty Ricky Romero, per Eddy.
  • The Diamondbacks have added righty Kyle Drabek on a minors deal, according to Eddy. He joins outfielder Kyle Jensen and third baseman Carlos Rivero as Arizona minor league free agent signees. Once one of the game’s best-regarded pitching prospects with the Blue Jays, the 27-year-old Drabek did not live up to his promise in Toronto. But he did toss a solid 137 1/3 innings last year at Triple-A for the White Sox, working to a 3.47 ERA with 5.5 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.
  • The White Sox have signed righty Phillippe Aumont to a minor league pact, Josh Norris of Baseball America tweets. The former Phillies prospect lost his 40-man roster spot last year. He did put up a 3.14 ERA after moving back into the rotation at Triple-A, but continued to demonstrate serious control problems with 6.8 BB/9.

Earlier Transactions

  • The Blue Jays have signed first baseman Casey Kotchman, second baseman David Adams and shortstop Jiovanni Mier to minor league contract with invitations to Major League Spring Training, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The 32-year-old Kotchman comes with far and away the most big league experience, having served as an everyday first baseman (or close to it) with the Angels, Braves, Red Sox, Mariners, Rays and Indians from 2007-12. However, Kotchman hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013 and hasn’t experienced much in the way of success since his career year with the 2011 Rays. He’s a lifetime .260/.326/.385 hitter in the Majors. Adams, meanwhile, was once a promising second base prospect with the Yankees but never received a consistent chance in the Majors (in part, due to injuries). The now-28-year-old did receive 152 PAs in New York in 2013 but batted just .193/.252/.286 in that short stint. Mier, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick and top 100 prospect, but his bat has never really come around. He’s now 25 years of age and is a career .239/.333/.340 hitter in the minors.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Cleveland Guardians Los Angeles Angels New York Yankees Philadelphia Phillies San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Carlos Rivero Casey Kotchman David Adams Hak-Ju Lee Kyle Drabek Phillippe Aumont Ricky Romero Steve Tolleson

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Added To The 40-Man Roster: Friday

By Steve Adams | November 20, 2015 at 8:10pm CDT

Tonight at 8:00pm ET is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster and thereby protect them from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. In other words: there will be a significant amount of 40-man roster moves made over the course of the next 13 or so hours. Six clubs already made moves to protect prospects from the Rule 5 yesterday, and each of the remaining 24 clubs should make moves today as well.

In brief: players drafted/signed at 18 years of age or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five years of signing or be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Players drafted/signed at 19 or older must be added within four years. Those interested in all of the specifics can refer to articles from MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. Perhaps of greater interest is that Mayo lists all of the prospects from MLB.com’s Top 100 list and from their organizational Top 30 lists that much be protected in advance of tonight’s deadline, while Cooper provides brief write-ups on each player that has been protected (and will continue to do so as additions are made).

Here are today’s additions to the 40-man roster. You can check out Baseball America’s coverage to learn more about the individual players listed below …

  • The last team to report is the Giants, who have added a host of names to their 40-man: pitchers Ty Blach, Clayton Blackburn, Kyle Crick, Ian Gardeck, Adalberto Mejia, Steven Okert, Jake Smith, and Chris Stratton. With the roster filled up with that many pre-MLB arms, it’s fair to wonder whether the team anticipates trading from among that group.
  • In their second set of 40-man promotions today, the Astros have selected the contracts of outfielder Andrew Aplin and infielder Nolan Fontana.
  • Moving onto the Marlins 40-man are lefty Jarlin Garcia and a trio of righties: Jacob Esch, Austin Brice, and Nick Wittgren.
  • The Cubs have placed backstop Willson Contreras, righty Pierce Johnson, third baseman Jeimer Candelario, and first baseman Dan Vogelbach onto their 40-man, the team announced.
  • The Phillies added outfielder Roman Quinn and righties Jimmy Cordero and Edubray Ramos.
  • Joining the Royals’ 40-man are pitchers Matthew Strahm, Alec Mills, and Kyle Zimmer, infielder Ramon Torres, and outfielders Brett Eibner and Bubba Starling, the club announced.
  • The Rockies have selected the contracts of righties Carlos Estevez and Antonio Senzatela, infielder Trevor Story, and outfielder Raimel Tapia.
  • The Rays will add righties Jacob Faria, Taylor Guerrieri, and German Marquez to the 40-man roster along with infielder/outfielder Taylor Motter and rising lefty prospect Blake Snell.
  • The Pirates have added top prospects Tyler Glasnow and Josh Bell to the club’s 40-man, along with fellow youngsters Harold Ramirez (an outfielder) and Max Moroff (a middle infielder).
  • Righty Victor Alcantara has been placed on the Angels’ 40-man, the club announced. As MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez notes on Twitter, Alcantara is probably now the team’s single best prospect.

Earlier Updates

  • Joining the big league side of the roster for the Yankees are righties Johnny Barbato and Rookie Davis along with outfielder Ben Gamel, the team announced.
  • The Reds announced the additions of right-handers Robert Stephenson, Sal Romano, and Stephen Johnson to the 40-man roster to keep them from Rule 5 eligibility.
  • Going onto the Rangers’ 40-man roster are outfielder Nomar Mazara, lefty Yohander Mendez, and righties Jose Leclerc and Connor Sadzeck.
  • The Dodgers brought righties Jharel Cotton and Ross Stripling onto their 40-man, per a team announcement.
  • Infielder Marco Hernandez, righty Pat Light, and lefty Williams Jerez are the newest members of the Red Sox 40-man, the club announced.
  • The White Sox have protected righties Brandon Brennan and J.B. Wendelken from the Rule 5 by giving them roster spots.
  • The Orioles have added a trio of pitchers, per an announcement. Parker Bridwell and Andrew Triggs throw from the right side, while Chris Lee is a southpaw.
  • Moving onto the 40-man for the Indians are righties Mike Clevinger, Shawn Morimando and Dylan Baker, as well as outfielders Tyler Naquin and James Ramsey, per the club.
  • The Mets announced the additions of outfielder Brandon Nimmo and righties Seth Lugo, Jeff Walters, and Robert Gsellman to the club’s major league roster.
  • Second baseman Joey Wendle and left-hander Jose Torres were added to the Athletics 40-man roster, per the club.
  • The Mariners announced that they have purchased the contracts of infielder Patrick Kivlehan and outfielder Boog Powell, thereby adding them to the 40-man roster and protecting them from the Rule 5 Draft.
  • The Astros announced the additions of catcher Alfredo Gonzalez and right-handers Jandel Gustave, Juan Minaya, Joe Musgrove and David Paulino to the 40-man roster. Notably, Gustave was a Rule 5 pick last year and found himself with both the Padres and Royals before ultimately being returned to Houston.
  • The Tigers announced that they’ve added right-handers Michael Fulmer and Montreal Robertson as well as left-hander Jairo Labourt to the 40-man. Fulmer was the main piece picked up in Detroit’s trade of Yoenis Cespedes, while Labourt was one of three lefties acquired from Toronto in the David Price trade.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Rule 5 Draft San Diego Padres Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Transactions Blake Snell Boog Powell Brandon Nimmo Bubba Starling Dan Vogelbach David Paulino David Price Jairo Labourt James Ramsey Jandel Gustave Jarlin Garcia Joe Musgrove Jonathan Mayo Josh Bell Kyle Zimmer Michael Fulmer Nomar Mazara Patrick Kivlehan Robert Stephenson Sal Romano Stephen Johnson Taylor Guerrieri Yoenis Cespedes

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Mariners Designate Danny Hultzen For Assignment

By Steve Adams | November 20, 2015 at 12:41pm CDT

The Mariners announced that they have designated left-hander and former No. 2 overall draft pick Danny Hultzen for assignment. Additionally, the team has purchased the contracts of infielder Patrick Kivlehan and outfielder Boog Powell, thereby adding them to the 40-man roster and protecting them from the Rule 5 Draft.

Selected second overall back in 2011, Hultzen’s career has been plagued by consistent shoulder problems that have limited the soon-to-be-26-year-old to a total of just 167 2/3 innings as a professional. He’s out of options and can be outrighted to the minors if he clears waivers. While Hultzen would technically be available for selection in the Rule 5, he was shut down due to shoulder issues this past July and didn’t pitch again after that point.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Danny Hultzen

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Mariners Acquire Luis Sardinas From Brewers

By Steve Adams | November 20, 2015 at 12:07pm CDT

The Mariners and Brewers announced the completion of a relatively minor trade, with infielder Luis Sardinas going to the Seattle in exchange for outfielder Ramon Flores.

Luis Sardinas

Sardinas, still just 22, has been traded twice within the past year, originally going from the Rangers to Milwaukee in the Yovani Gallardo trade. The former Top 100 prospect struggled this past season in both the Majors and may have been deemed expendable by the new front office following yesterday’s acquisition of infielder Jonathan Villar from the Astros.

In 105 plate appearances at the Major League level this season, Sardinas batted .196/.240/.216 — a notable step back from the more palatable (albeit still below-average) .261/.303/.313 line he posted in a similar sample size (125 PAs) in 2014 with Texas. Of course, Sardinas is still considerably younger than the average Triple-A player, so it’s not entirely surprising that he’d be overmatched by big league pitching.

Sardinas appears to fit GM Jerry Dipoto’s oft-stated goal of improving the Mariners’ defense. Last winter, Baseball America ranked Sardinas seventh among Rangers prospects (prior to his trade to Milwaukee, obviously), calling him a plus runner and “talented shortstop with nimble feet, smooth actions, good instincts and an above-average arm.” BA notes that Sardinas profiles as at least a utility player, if not a defensive-minded starter that can hit at the bottom of a big league lineup.

The 23-year-old Flores was acquired by the Mariners in the trade that sent Dustin Ackley to the Yankees. Flores made his big league debut with the Yankees this season but batted just .219/.219/.250 in 33 plate appearances. He has a better minor league track record (.282/.376/.449 in Triple-A) and got off to a torrid start with the Mariners’ Triple-A club, hitting .423/.534/.654 in 14 games. However, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times points out (links to Twitter), Flores broke his leg in that 14th game and had season-ending surgery as a result. Flores is out of minor league options and might not be ready for Spring Training, so he’s seemingly ticketed for the disabled list to open the 2016 season. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweets that this is an “ideal roster construction modification trade,” noting that Flores has a much better bat than Sardinas, who has considerably more defensive value than Flores.

Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that the two sides were nearing a trade. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the players involved (links to Twitter). 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Milwaukee Brewers Newsstand Seattle Mariners Transactions Luis Sardinas

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Mariners, Brewers Nearing Trade

By Steve Adams | November 20, 2015 at 11:42am CDT

The Mariners and Brewers are nearing the completion of a trade, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Passan notes that it remains unclear who is in the proposed swap, but Major Leaguers will change hands. On a perhaps related note, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal recently tweeted that there’s “lots of activity” on Adam Lind.

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Mariners Acquire Leonys Martin From Rangers For Tom Wilhelmsen

By Jeff Todd | November 16, 2015 at 4:38pm CDT

The Mariners have officially struck a deal to acquire outfielder Leonys Martin and righty Anthony Bass from the Rangers in exchange for right-handed reliever Tom Wilhelmsen, outfielder James Jones, and a player to be named later.

May 29, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder <a rel=

Martin had fallen out of favor in Texas after a rough 2015 season. The 27-year-old is an outstanding defender and major threat on the bases, but he slashed just .219/.264/.313 over 310 plate appearances. In the meantime, the Rangers found a Rule 5 gem in Delino DeShields Jr. While he and Martin made for a natural platoon pairing, there seemed to be some discord between Martin and the club after he was left off of the playoff roster and then refused to participate in Instructional League as a way to stay ready in case he was needed.

New Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto said that he sees Martin as a victim of bad luck — citing his .270 BABIP last year, which fell well below his .313 career mark — who ought to turn things around. (Via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, on Twitter.) It appears that Martin will go right to the top of the depth chart in Seattle, though Dipoto also told reporters tonight that another outfield addition could still be in the offing. It’s a good bet, though, that the team won’t now chase top free agents such as Dexter Fowler or Denard Span.

In addition to adding three years of control over Martin, Seattle will pick up three arb seasons of Bass. He represents a useful arm who will help maintain the Mariners’ bullpen depth. The 28-year-old comes with three years of arb control. He contributed only a 4.50 ERA last year, with 6.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9, but tossed 64 innings and drew more positive reviews from advanced metrics. While Wilhelmsen had represented a late-inning option, Dipoto had already gone out and added veteran set-up man Joaquin Benoit. But the club’s pen struggled last year, and adding Bass in this trade helps to guard against any scrambling for innings.

Texas, meanwhile, will add two seasons of Wilhelmsen, a 31-year-old righty who possesses a mid-90s heater. The veteran has thrown over 300 frames in the majors, working to a 2.97 overall ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9. He was right in that range in 2015, but continued a trend of posting earned run results that are much better than ERA estimators would expect. (For his career, Wilhelmsen has a 3.39 FIP, 3.94 xFIP, and 3.67 SIERA.)

Wilhelmsen figures to bolster a Rangers’ late-inning relief corps that has its share of questions. While pitchers like Shawn Tolleson, Keone Kela, Jake Diekman, and Sam Dyson all turned in quality seasons, there are enough question marks with that group that another good arm made sense.

And Jones is more than a throw-in, as he could ultimately be a cheaper and more controllable version of Martin. The left-handed hitter has not shown much of anything in his 400+ major league plate appearances, but has generally been rather productive at the plate in the high minors. Notably, last year, he not only put up a solid .294/.373/.423 batting line at Triple-A, but struck out only 68 times (against 53 walks) in his 501 trips to the plate — representing a huge improvement over prior seasons. While he may not possess an elite glove, Jones has swiped 28 bags in his limited MLB action. He could make for a useful pairing with DeShields up the middle.

While this deal shifts the assets between the clubs, it’s worth noting that it won’t have much impact on their respective payroll situations. MLBTR projects Martin to earn $3.75MM next year, matching his salary from 2015 — he would have only been projected at $1.6MM without that starting point — while Bass lands at $1.1MM. Meanwhile, the arb model pegs Wilhelmsen at an even $3MM.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the deal on Twitter. T.R. Sullivan first reported (on Twitter) the inclusion of Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Newsstand Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Transactions Leonys Martin Tom Wilhelmsen

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2015 Qualifying Offer Decisions

By Steve Adams | November 13, 2015 at 4:26pm CDT

The deadline or players to accept or reject their one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offers was today at 5pm ET. We already know that Colby Rasmus will become the first player to ever accept a qualifying offer, and Marco Estrada reached a two-year deal with the Blue Jays. Brett Anderson also accepted his qualifying offer from the Dodgers.

Here are the updates on the rest of the 20 players that received qualifying offers one week ago today…

  • Ian Desmond will reject the Nationals’ offer, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. He’ll be joined on the open market by Jordan Zimmermann, who did the same, per a tweet from MLB.com’s Bill Ladson.
  • While Brett Anderson will be returning on a one-year deal, Howie Kendrick and Zack Greinke have rejected their qualifying offers from the Dodgers, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links),
  • It’s an obvious one, but Alex Gordon will hit the open market rather than taking a one-year deal from the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Likewise, Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy of the Padres will participate in the open market his fall (per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, on Twitter) and Dexter Fowler has turned down his offer from the Cubs, as Paul Sullivan of 670thescore.com tweets.
  • The Cardinals will stand to pick up draft choices if Jason Heyward and John Lackey sign elsewhere, as they too have rejected the offer, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
  • Daniel Murphy and Jeff Samardzija have declined their offers, per reports from Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) and Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com (also via Twitter).
  • Gallardo has declined his QO, Stevenson now tweets.
  • As expected, Hisashi Iwakuma has turned down the qualifying offer issued to him by the Mariners, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.

Earlier Updates

  • Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram hears differently on Gallardo, reporting that he’s still deciding whether or not to accept (links to Twitter). Gallardo’s camp has spoken to multiple other clubs about a deal, but the righty is still mulling a return to his hometown team.
  • Yovani Gallardo will decline the Rangers’ qualifying offer in search of a multi-year contract, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Gallardo never seemed likely to accept the deal, though there may have been a bit of temptation given the fact that Gallardo is a Fort Worth native. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that he spoke to Gallardo’s agent, Bobby Witt, and was told that he’s yet to officially inform the Rangers one way or the other (Twitter link).

Those who are unfamiliar with the process can refer to MLBTR’s explanation of the qualifying offer system for full details.

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AL West Notes: Kotsay, A’s, Rangers, Astros, Dunn, Gutierrez

By Steve Adams | November 13, 2015 at 11:20am CDT

The Athletics announced yesterday that former outfielder Mark Kotsay, who most recently served as the Padres’ hitting coach, has been hired as the new bench coach in Oakland. (The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser first reported that Kotsay would be hired.) “I think every bench coach is an extension of the manager, and the manager sets the tone,” said Kotsay of the hiring (via MLB.com’s Jane Lee). “From my standpoint as a bench coach, hopefully I can share my experiences as a player and get across to them the importance of buying in and how special teams can be when the group really believes in that.” Kotsay spoke fondly of the organization, which is no surprise considering the fact that he spent four of his prime-aged seasons with the A’s, reaching the postseason in 2006. Kotsay batted .282/.336/.410 in his four years with the A’s and .276/.332/.404 across parts of 17 Major League seasons.

Some more notes from the AL West…

  • While the Athletics know there is uncertainty around the health of Coco Crisp’s neck, GM David Forst told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart that he still doesn’t expect to seek much in the way of outfield help this winter. Forst spoke highly of Josh Reddick, Billy Burns, Mark Canha and Jake Smolinski as alternative options that are under club control for the 2016 season. Rather, Forst and the A’s front office are trying to determine the best way to add a starting pitcher to the mix in 2016, be it through trade or via free agency. Forst told McTaggart that he laid some groundwork with a number of other clubs and with some agents, though it’s too early to tell whether any of those talks will ultimately lead to a transaction.
  • The Rangers are in the market for a starting pitcher, a right-handed bat and a bullpen arm, McTaggart writes in a second column, and GM Jon Daniels said that the club’s current focus is more on trades than on free agency. McTaggart also spoke to Daniels about the possibility of pursuing a catcher, though Daniels didn’t make it sound like a priority, expressing confidence that Robinson Chirinos is capable of catching 110+ games in 2016 if the Rangers head into the season with him as their starter. The 31-year-old Chirinos very quietly delivered a respectable .232/.325/.438 batting line in 273 plate appearances this past season.
  • Marlins southpaw Mike Dunn would be a reasonable trade option in the Astros’ search for left-handed relief help, writes the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich. Dunn will earn $3.45MM in 2016 — his final year of club control before free agency. Dunn’s average of 95 mph on his fastball would fit GM Jeff Luhnow’s previously stated goal of adding velocity to his bullpen, and Dunn has shown the ability to retire both left- and right-handed batters over the years. Dunn does come with some control problems, and the Marlins have been reluctant to trade him in the past. Still, he does make sense as a lefty relief trade target for clubs seeking such commodities. Luhnow wouldn’t comment on Dunn when asked by Drellich, stating only that he’s checked in with all teams this offseason.
  • In a second column, Drellich examines the Astros’ front-office structure in the wake of David Stearns’ departure. Stearns, who was hired as the Brewers’ GM, handled most of the club’s arbitration negotiations and was also in touch with agents regarding contract negotiations. In his absence, director of pro scouting Kevin Goldstein has stepped up to begin talking with some agents regarding free agency, while some of the arbitration duties are falling to director of baseball ops Brandon Taubman, director of business development Samir Mayur and player development assistant Armando Velasco, per Drellich.
  • Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto called the decision to re-sign Franklin Gutierrez a “no-brainer,” writes MLB.com’s Cash Kruth. “We love his makeup, we love what he brings to our clubhouse, and just generally to the balance of the team,” said Dipoto of Gutierrez. Dipoto says that Gutierrez will likely platoon in left field with Seth Smith next season, which should create a formidable offensive duo. Smith batted .255/.343/.458 against righties in 2015 and has a lifetime .274/.356/.478 line when holding the platoon advantage. Gutierrez checked in at .317/.357/.615 against southpaws last season and has a career .291/.346/.491 line against them.
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Mariners Re-Sign Franklin Gutierrez

By Steve Adams | November 13, 2015 at 8:34am CDT

NOV. 13: Gutierrez will earn a $1.5MM base salary and can collect up to $4.25MM more via bonuses based on plate appearances, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter link).

NOV. 11: The Mariners announced that they’ve re-signed outfielder Franklin Gutierrez to a one-year, Major League contract. The Octagon client and long-time Mariner enjoyed an excellent rebound season in 2015.

Franklin Gutierrez

Gutierrez, 32, returned to the Majors in 2015 after missing all of the 2014 season. The oft-injured center fielder signed a four-year, $20MM extension with Seattle prior to the 2010 season but saw that deal turn sour due to a litany of injuries. Over that time, Gutierrez battled a stomach disease (gastritis), a torn pectoral muscle, oblique injuries, a concussion which had long-term lingering effects and a series of hamstring injuries.

Gutierrez, though, made his way back to the Majors midway through the 2015 campaign and delivered unprecedented power numbers, relative to his own standards. The 32-year-old batted .292/.354/.620 with 15 home runs in just 189 plate appearances. While Gutierrez saw far more time against left-handed pitching than he did against right-handers, he posted nearly identical OPS marks of .973 and .978 against lefties and righties, respectively.

Once known as a premier defender in center field, Gutierrez played exclusively corner outfield in 2015 and probably won’t be counted upon for center field defense at this stage of his career, considering his lengthy history of injuries. However, he still graded out quite well in 301 innings of left field duty (+3 Defensive Runs Saved, +3.4 UZR). It’d be unreasonable to expect that Gutierrez can maintain an OPS just shy of 1.000, but he could certainly profile as a capable platoon partner for left fielder Seth Smith, who has historically struggled against left-handed pitching.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Newsstand Seattle Mariners Transactions Franklin Gutierrez

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