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Cesar Hernandez

Central Notes: White Sox, Cubs, Tigers

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The White Sox rolled out a $128MM payroll on opening day this year, already the highest in franchise history, but don’t expect Chicago to curb their spending now. Team options for the newly acquired Cesar Hernandez and Craig Kimbrel would bring their payroll for next season up to $150MM — and that’s before arbitration raises – but owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Rick Hahn have prepared for this payroll spike and they’re ready for it, per The Athletic’s James Fegan. If Hernandez and/or Kimbrel aren’t part of the 2022 Sox, it won’t be because of their impact on the payroll. Elsewhere from the flyover states…

White Sox Acquire Cesar Hernandez

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After searching the infield market for second base upgrades over the past few weeks, the White Sox announced Thursday that they’ve acquired veteran Cesar Hernandez from the division-rival Indians in exchange for minor league left-hander Konnor Pilkington. Chicago released right-hander Tyler Johnson in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Cesar Hernandez | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Second base has been a clear area of focus for a White Sox team that lost Nick Madrigal for the season (torn hamstring) earlier this year. Chicago has been hit hard by injuries in the outfield, but with Eloy Jimenez returning this week and Luis Robert on the mend, the infield began to look like a more logical target. The Sox have been connected to Jonathan Schoop, Trevor Story, Adam Frazier and other infield targets, but they’ll go with the solid, switch-hitting Hernandez to step in and solidify the lineup.

Hernandez, 31, is playing the season on a one-year, $5MM contract that contains a $6MM club option for the 2022 campaign. He’s still owed about $1.8MM of that $5MM sum through season’s end, and there’s no buyout on the option, so it’ll be a straight $6MM call for Chicago after the season. Given that Madrigal is expected to be healthy for the 2022 campaign, Hernandez could well be viewed as a rental option for the South Siders, although the $6MM price point isn’t so steep that he couldn’t be kept as a potential utility option.

Hernandez isn’t hitting for average as he typically does, but his 18 home runs already represent a career-high mark. He’s not striking out any less often than he did in 2020, when he batted .283, but Hernandez has been plagued by a career-low .256 average on balls in play that sits 74 points below his career mark. It’s possible, then, that he’s in for some positive regression over the season’s final couple months.

Even if that’s not the case, however, his .231/.307/.431 batting line is a solid enough plug-in to a strong ChiSox lineup. That production is exactly league-average after adjusting for Hernandez’s league and park, by measure of wRC+, which falls right in line with what Hernrnadez has been for the past six seasons.

On the Indians’ side of the swap, they’ll add Pilkington, a 23-year-old lefty whom the White Sox selected out of Mississippi State in the third round of the 2018 draft. He’s spent this season pitching in Double-A and has fared well, working to a 3.48 ERA with a 30.5 percent strikeout rate, a 9.0 percent walk rate and a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate in 14 starts — a total of 62 innings.

Pilkington wasn’t presently ranked among the White Sox’ top prospects, though that’s surely at least in part due to scouts not being able to get a look at him during 2020. He entered the ’20 campaign ranked 17th among Sox farmhands at Baseball America, and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tabbed him 21st in the system last year. BA’s 2020 report on the lefty noted that he lacks the “knockout repertoire” evaluators prefer to see but suggested he could still be a fifth starter. That type of profile is also the type that could tick up in the bullpen, of course, so it’s possible that’s where Pilkington ultimately lands. Given his age and success at the Double-A level, Pilkington is a relatively near-term addition for Cleveland.

The 25-year-old Johnson’s release comes after the 2015 fifth-rounder has struggled across three minor league levels in 2021. The South Carolina product has spent time at Triple-A and both Class-A affiliates in Chicago’s system but allowed a combined 23 runs (17 earned) in 16 innings of work.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the trade was close (Twitter link). The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that a deal had been reached. Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base first reported that Pilkington was going back to the Indians (Twitter link)

Indians’ Recent Struggles Lead To Difficult Deadline Decisions

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A couple weeks ago, the Indians season seemed to hit a crossroads. The team was in a good place in the standings. As recently as June 26, Cleveland was sporting a 41-32 record, sitting only a game and a half behind the AL Central-leading White Sox. They were the only real threat to Chicago in an otherwise bad division.

The state of the roster, though, told a different story. Cleveland’s offense has underwhelmed all year, with the team’s strong run prevention keeping them in the race. The Indians were dealt a series of injuries to their top three starters — Zach Plesac, Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale — in fairly rapid succession, though. That left an unproven, inexperienced group taking the bump without the benefit of a high-powered lineup to back them up.

Not surprisingly, it’s been tough sledding for Cleveland in recent weeks. The Indians have gone just 4-10 over their last fourteen games, falling 7.5 back of the White Sox. They’re a more manageable four games back in the Wild Card race, but their skid has raised some questions about the team’s ability to stay in contention. Plesac returned from the IL this week, but the Indians are still without Bieber and Civale and continue to have questions about the lineup. FanGraphs gives the Indians just a 7.1% chance of reaching the postseason at this point, with their odds of winning the division down to 3.5%.

The front office is no doubt aware of those dwindling playoff odds. Indeed, Jon Heyman of MLB Network hears from rival executives that Cleveland has made some players on the big league roster available to other clubs in advance of the July 30 trade deadline.

It’s not clear specifically which players are on the market, but there’s no indication the Indians are planning any sort of full-on teardown. Bieber and José Ramírez would be the top two players on the trade market were they made available, but it seems highly unlikely the Indians would market those kinds of controllable stars in response to two weeks of poor play. The Cleveland front office would probably figure to listen to offers on players with less club control. There aren’t many players on the Indians roster who stand out as obvious trade chips at first glance, though.

Second baseman César Hernández looks like the team’s most plausible trade candidate. He’s hitting .226/.305/.413 and has already tied his career high in home runs (15) this season. It’s a nontraditional shape of production for Hernández, who typically hits for strong averages and reaches base at a high clip without hitting for much power. While Hernández’s profile has changed in 2021, he’s been similarly valuable as before. His 95 wRC+ this year isn’t far off his career mark (99) and is essentially unchanged from his 2019-20 production (97). Hernández is making an affordable $5MM this season and comes with a $6MM club option (no buyout) for 2022.

Cleveland would figure to welcome interest in corner outfielder Eddie Rosario. He’s making $8MM, though, and wasn’t having a particularly good year even before landing on the 10-day injured list with an abdominal strain this week. The Indians have a handful of young relievers (James Karinchak, Emmanuel Clase, Nick Sandlin) who would figure to draw plenty of attention, but it’s not clear the team would consider moving any of them. Veteran relievers Nick Wittgren and Bryan Shaw would probably be more attainable but wouldn’t bring back franchise-altering returns.

More broadly, the Indians are facing an interesting few months as an organization. The controllable core of Ramírez, Bieber, Civale, Plesac and Franmil Reyes looks good enough to anchor a contender. They would obviously love for Andrés Giménez and Amed Rosario to produce enough to supplement that group. The farm system is regarded as one of the league’s best. It’s not inconceivable to see the Indians as a threat in the division in the coming years, even if the front office moves a couple veterans before the deadline in an acknowledgment of their increasingly slim playoff chances in 2021.

As the past few weeks have shown, though, there’s still plenty of work to be done to make the current roster a legitimate contender. The rotation is very strong at the top but the recent injury woes have exposed its lack of depth. The outfield has been a weak point for years. The catching duo of Roberto Pérez and Austin Hedges is a well-regarded defensive grouping but has offered virtually nothing at the plate, and the team’s first basemen have been the worst offensively in MLB this year. Giménez also struggled in his first crack at locking down shortstop.

There’s still a few weeks for president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and the rest of the front office to settle on a pre-deadline plan. Even if they stand pat or serve as minor sellers, the upcoming offseason will be a pivotal one to determining the franchise’s long-term direction.

Quick Hits: Indians, Payroll, Patton, Nationals, Catchers

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The Indians did not budget enough money in 2021 to both re-sign Cesar Hernandez and add free agent Eddie Rosario. With those two completing the lineup, the Indians’ roster is more-or-less set with a payroll around $50MM, per Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Take this for what it is, but the Indians exceeded payroll just to get there. Owner Paul Dolan made an extra concession to allow the addition of Rosario. To their credit, he represents a somewhat major addition given their inability to field above-average offensive outfielders. Over the last two seasons, Rosario slashed .271/.305/.494 with 45 home runs over 821 plate appearances, good for a modest 105 wRC+. That Nolan was willing to stretch the payroll speaks volumes about how the Indians value Rosario’s fit in the lineup.

  • Spencer Patton is throwing an improved change-up with the hopes of bringing three viable pitches out of the bullpen, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The 32-year-old right-hander led Nippon Professional Baseball with 57 appearances last season, which is no small feat to MLB teams aware of the perils in ramping up pitcher workloads in 2021. Patton’s numbers from Japan won’t blow you away, however, with a 4.92 ERA, respectable 28.1 percent strikeout rate, and slightly-concerning 11.7 percent walk rate. Patton will throw for teams again on February 2nd, with the Braves, Rays, Angels, Royals, Rangers, and Giants being among the teams to have shown some interest thus far.
  • Pitching has long been the focus for the Nationals organization, but at the same time, they’ve lagged behind in the catching department, writes MASNSports.com’s Mark Zuckerman. Pedro Severino is the most prolific homegrown catcher with 105 games played for the organization – though he didn’t break out until joining the Orioles. Raudy Read or Tres Barrera are next in line to have an opportunity, but the recent signing of Alex Avila suggests GM Mike Rizzo isn’t ready to give either one too long of a look out of the blocks. Both Barrera and Read have served PED suspensions in the past, however, and Welington Castillo will also be in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Indians Re-Sign Cesar Hernandez

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JAN. 29: The signing is official, per Zack Meisel of The Athletic. The club option is worth $6MM. There’s no buyout, according to Heyman.

JAN. 26, 1:21pm: Hernandez will earn $5MM, Heyman tweets.

9:12am: The two sides are in agreement on a deal, pending the completion of a physical, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

9:02am: The Indians are nearing a deal to re-sign free agent second baseman Cesar Hernandez, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base. If completed, it’d be a one-year deal with a club option for a second season in 2022. Hernandez, an Octagon client, has left his winter league team in Venezuela in order to finalize the new contract, according to Alvarez.

Cesar Hernandez | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The 30-year-old Hernandez spent the 2020 season as Cleveland’s primary second baseman after signing a one-year, $6.25MM deal last winter. That contract paid off nicely for the club, as Hernandez turned in a characteristically solid .283/.355/.408 batting line with three homers and an AL-best 20 doubles while playing in 58 of the 60 games during last year’s shortened slate. He also went 3-for-8 with another double in his tiny sample of postseason work.

Beyond his strong showing at the plate, Hernandez enjoyed an excellent year in the field. The eight-year big league veteran took home his first Gold Glove in 2020 after posting strong marks in Defensive Runs Saved (6), Ultimate Zone Rating (3.8) and Outs Above Average (4).

The Hernandez reunion will be the first move made by Cleveland this winter that actually adds to the payroll. The Indians have been largely focused on shedding as much salary as possible, having declined a $10MM option on Brad Hand — he recently agreed to a $10.5MM deal with the Nats — and traded both Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets. Prior to the new agreement with Hernandez, the Indians were projected to carry a payroll of less than $40MM, which was far and away the lowest projected payroll in the game.

That said, an affordable deal for Hernandez could provide some indirect cost savings down the line. Cleveland picked up middle infielders Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez from the Mets in that Lindor/Carrasco blockbuster, and if Gimenez spends even a few weeks in the minor leagues this year, his path to free agency would be pushed back from the 2025-26 offseason to the 2026-27 offseason. That surely isn’t the sole reason Cleveland brought Hernandez back — he’s a solid player at a reasonable price who can now be retained through 2022  — but starting the year with Rosario at short and Hernandez at second undeniably has some added appeal for that reason.

Final judgment on the Indians’ chances in 2021 will be reserved until we see what further additions (and/or subtractions) the team makes between now and Opening Day. But it’s clear that after trading away not only Lindor and Carrasco but also Mike Clevinger, Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and buying out Hand’s option that the team is aiming for a radically lower payroll that will render it difficult to compete with an aggressive White Sox club and a Twins  roster that has won consecutive division titles.

Latest On Red Sox’ Free Agent Targets

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The Red Sox hope Jeter Downs can be the guy to take over second base in the future, but the 22-year-old is likely to begin 2021 in Triple-A. He had just 12 games under his belt at the Double-A level before coronavirus canceled the 2020 season. In the meantime, Yairo Munoz and Christian Arroyo both could earn time at the keystone, but the Red Sox want that pair to earn their opportunities. Otherwise, Michael Chavis looks like the incumbent, despite being a natural corner infielder.

Hence, they’ve keyed in on second baseman in free agency, exploring deals with Enrique Hernandez, Kolten Wong, Cesar Hernandez, and Dee Strange-Gordon, though no deal appears imminent.  Marwin Gonzalez could be an appealing option because of his versatility, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (Twitter links). Gonzalez has a history with Red Sox manager Alex Cora from their days in Houston, though that’s not a time period either side likely wants to highlight. Outside of Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, however, the rest of the Boston infield is still auditioning for full-time reps, so they may prefer to add a versatile glove that can function in a number of potential roster iterations.

Elsewise, Boston continues to look for arms to add to the rotation mix. Garrett Richards and Matt Moore are two names they’ve looked into recently, per Cotillo. Richards will make sense on a lot of teams now that he appears fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. He posted a 4.03 ERA/4.28 FIP in 51 1/3 innings for the Padres in 2020, with 10 starts, a 21.6 percent strikeout rate, 8.0 percent walk rate, and 40.1 percent groundball rate.

Moore would be a more surprising candidate, having registered just 10 innings since 2019. The 31-year-old southpaw played in Japan last season, logging a 2.65 ERA across 85 innings.

Of course, Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom goes way back with Moore. Their careers mirrored each other in many ways as both worked their way through the Rays’ organization. Bloom was just into the beginning of his career in the Rays’ front office when Tampa drafted Moore in the 2007 draft. Bloom was then the Assistant Director of Minor League Operations as Moore made his way through the organization. In 2011, Moore made his big league debut while Bloom was promoted to Director of Baseball Operations.

Gold Glove Nominees Announced

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The 2020 Rawlings Glove Glove Award finalists have been released, with the Cubs netting the most nominations with seven. The Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Brewers, Rays, and Red Sox were shut out.

The awards for defensive prowess will be handed out based on defensive metrics alone this year, since managers and coaches weren’t able to see players outside their regional bubble. Moving to a metrics-based system, even for a year, certainly make for interesting television, especially since these awards can make an impact on arbitration cases. Considering the uncertainty of a 60-game season, awards could carry greater weight than usual in those proceedings, thought that’s just speculation. Without further ado, here are this year’s nominees:

AL Pitcher

NL Pitcher

AL Catcher

NL Catcher

AL First Base

NL First Base

AL Second Base

NL Second Base

AL Third Base

NL Third Base

AL Shortstop

NL Shortstop

AL Left Field

NL Left Field

AL Centerfield

NL Centerfield

AL Right Field

NL Right Field

Nicky Lopez of the Royals was originally left off the list, but he is in fact a nominee at second base, one of four nominations at the keystone in the American League. It’s the only position with four nominations.

There are a few other interesting things of note. Perennial candidates like Andrelton Simmons and Matt Chapman did not make the list this year due to shortened seasons, nor did last season’s Outs Above Average leader Victor Robles. Both Gurriel brothers earned nominations this year, with the younger Lourdes (LF) joining perennial candidate Yuli (1B).

There are also a couple of largely part-time players that made the cut, like Hoerner of the Cubs and Mendick for the White Sox. Neither was the everyday second baseman, but they did reach the inning minimum of 265 total defensive innings. They qualified at second because that’s where they played the most innings. Mendick, for example, registered just 226 innings at second, but with 27 innings at third and 15 at shortstop, he ended the year with 268 total defensive innings played.

Catchers required a minimum of 29 games, which is how we got a pair of White Sox catchers making the top-3. Pitchers had to throw a minimum of 50 innings.

The winners will be selected using the SABR Defensive Index and announced on November 3rd, per sabr.org.

Quick Hits: Mills, Kim, McCullers, Hernandez

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Alec Mills entered the record books today when the Cubs right-hander tossed a no-hitter in Chicago’s 12-0 victory over the Brewers.  Mills issued three walks and struck out five over his gem of an outing, recording his first career complete game to go along with his no-hit bid.  Today marked only the 15th start of Mills’ Major League career, as the 28-year-old has worked as something of a swingman during his four seasons in the bigs, though he became a full-time starter this year in the wake of injuries within the Cubs’ rotation and now owns a piece of baseball history.

More from around the Show…

  • Kwang Hyun Kim is scheduled to start the first game of the Cardinals’ doubleheader with the Brewers on Monday, marking his return from an injured list stint that retroactively began on September 2.  Kim was sidelined with a kidney problem that required a short stay in hospital, but as MLB.com’s Anne Rogers explains, Kim is now taking a blood thinner and observing other precautions that will allow him to return to action after slightly beyond the 10-day minimum IL absence.  In his first season in Major League Baseball, Kim has thus far had no problem adjusting, as the southpaw has an 0.83 ERA over his first 21 2/3 innings, starting four of his five appearances.
  • Speaking of returning starters, the Astros listed Lance McCullers Jr. as the starter for Wednesday’s game against the Rangers, indicating that the right-hander’s time on the injured list is nearing an end.  McCullers hit the 10-day IL on September 6 due to neck nerve irritation, a rather concerning-sounding issue that left a return date up in the air.  After taking an anti-inflammatory injection, however, McCullers now seems on track to get back on the mound after only a minimal IL stint.  The former first-rounder has a 5.79 ERA over eight starts and 37 1/3 innings this season, though the Astros will surely welcome whatever McCullers can contribute to a rotation mix that has managed middle-of-the-pack numbers despite multiple injuries.
  • There haven’t yet been any contract talks between Cesar Hernandez and the Indians, but the second baseman “would be looking to be part of the team for the coming years,” as he told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Hernandez was non-tendered by the Phillies last winter and signed a one-year, $6.25MM deal with the Tribe, delivering a .266/.337/.383 slash line over 210 plate appearances in 2020.  While this offensive production is slightly below average (95 wRC+), his bat in combination with his strong second base defense has made for a solid 1.0 fWAR contribution over his 46 games in a Cleveland uniform.  There are some other interesting middle infield options in the free market, plus this player pool is likely to grow once teams make their own non-tender decisions.  Hernandez is the type of decent but unspectacular player who could potentially be squeezed into a one-year contract this winter if teams tighten their budgets in the wake of this pandemic season, so the Indians (certainly a team looking to limit its payroll) could have room to re-sign Hernandez if the price is right.

Indians Designate Eric Haase For Assignment

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The Indians have designated catcher Eric Haase for assignment, the club announced. His roster spot was needed for César Hernández, whose one-year signing is now official.

Haase, who just turned 27, has only tallied 34 plate appearances at the game’s highest level. He spent nearly all of 2018-19 with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Columbus, where he’s tallied nearly 900 plate appearances with a cumulative .232/.302/.479 slash with 49 home runs.

He’s carried that same high-strikeout, big power profile throughout his minor-league career. Coupled with a solid defensive reputation, that was enough to make him a decent prospect, as he twice finished among the back half of Cleveland’s top 31 farmhands at Baseball America.

Haase comes with all six seasons of team control and another option year, so it’s plausible some other club will give him a look. Numerous clubs could be in the market for catching help. Speculatively speaking, teams like the Tigers and Pirates could be in position to give playing time to a talented but unproven option in hopes of striking gold.

Indians To Sign Cesar Hernandez

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The Indians have reached a one-year agreement with free-agent second baseman Cesar Hernandez, ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweets. The Octagon client will earn a $6.25MM salary for the 2020 season.

Cesar Hernandez

Hernandez, 30 in May, was non-tendered earlier this month after a run of five solid seasons as the Phillies’ primary second baseman. From 2015-19, Hernandez racked up 3026 plate appearances in Philadelphia and turned in a .278/.355/.388 batting line with 45 home runs, 106 doubles, 27 triples and 79 stolen bases. His home run totals ticked up in 2018-19 as well, when the switch-hitter logged a combined 29 round-trippers.

However, Hernandez was eligible for arbitration for the final time this winter and due a raise on last season’s $7.75MM salary. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected an $11.8MM salary for his final trip through that process. The Phillies — and, clearly, other teams — deemed Hernandez’s likely arbitration price to be too steep and opted to non-tender him, sending him out into the open market for the first time in his career.

Several factors surely contributed to the decision to cut Hernandez loose. The free-agent market is arguably deeper at second base than any other position, thus hampering the Indians’ ability to drum up trade interest in Hernandez even in spite of his steady rate of play over the past half decade. The Phillies also had a versatile pair of infielders in Jean Segura and particularly Scott Kingery, allowing them to target virtually any infield option they saw fit upon moving on from Hernandez. (Eventually, the club zeroed in on Didi Gregorius.)

With the Indians, Hernandez will now slot in as their primary second baseman, replacing mainstay Jason Kipnis, whose 2020 club  option was bought at the onset of the offseason. He’ll bring a generally solid defensive reputation to the table in Cleveland, though Hernandez isn’t likely to be bringing home any Gold Glove Awards in the near future. Metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved are a bit split on his total body of work, but Hernandez has only had one truly poor season per either of those measures. And, in 2019, he posted +6 DRS and a 0.7 UZR, suggesting he’s still more than capable of handling the position.

Installing Hernandez at second base means that two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Jose Ramirez will be locked in as Cleveland’s primary third baseman in 2020. Ramirez is capable of playing either second or third, which gave the Indians’ front office some flexibility when eyeing potential infield targets in free agency.

Of course, that flexibility only extends so far, as Cleveland ownership has rather clearly given the front office some notable payroll constraints. The Indians have already sent Corey Kluber to the Rangers in a trade that more closely resembled a salary dump than anything else. The fact that they nonetheless took what was widely regarded as a light return now — as opposed to keeping Kluber and hoping he built up some value early in the year — suggests that clearing the entirety of next year’s $17.5MM salary was a critical element of the swap.

Whether the Indians make any additional shakeups on the roster is currently one of the more interesting hot stove storylines in the game. Teams have been trying to pry superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor away from Cleveland to no avail, and burgeoning frontline starter Mike Clevinger is reported to be drawing interest as well. There’s no firm indication that the Indians plan to move either player, though, and even with Hernandez now on board, Cleveland’s payroll checks in at roughly $97MM, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez. That’s a drop of $38MM from 2018’s Opening Day mark and $22MM from 2019’s Opening Day total.

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