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Quick Hits: Red Sox, Bloom, KBO, Kim, Reds

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With the offseason now firmly underway, let’s survey the baseball landscape with a few brief Saturday notes…

  • For Red Sox fans eager to gain an inkling as to how their team’s front office might behave under new chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, it might be worth reading Jen McCaffrey’s latest work for The Athletic, in which she uses Tampa Bay’s moves in 2019 as a blueprint for how Bloom might operate in Boston. The Rays, of course, overcame one of baseball’s smallest payrolls and took the Astros to five games in the ALDS, while the Red Sox missed out on the postseason entirely despite a comparatively astronomical payroll. Boston can expect Bloom to deploy many of the same strategies that brought success to Tampa, though he’ll of course have a greater bank of resources at his disposal. One might liken Bloom to the Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman, another former Rays exec who inherited a big-market budget when he was hired to spearhead the Dodgers’ baseball operations.
  • A flurry of teams sent scouts to watch Kwang-hyun Kim of the KBO’s SK Wyverns, according to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO. Scouts from more than ten teams—including the Padres, Twins, and Dodgers, among others—were recently spotted at one of Kim’s games. Though he hasn’t yet been posted, Kim has expressed his desire to play in the Majors in 2020, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who also reports that his club is “weighing its options” regarding Kim’s posting. A 31-year-old lefty, Kim logged a 2.51 ERA in 190 1/3 innings of work in the 2019 KBO season, striking out 180 batters while walking just 38. He’s had previous opportunities to play stateside, most notably in 2014 when he and the Padres failed to agree on a contract. He could slot in as a mid-tier free agent option for clubs unwilling to pony up the money necessary to pursue the top options on the market.
  • The Reds have hired a new assistant pitching coordinator, with Eric Jagers announcing on Twitter that he’ll join the Reds staff after a year in the Phillies organization. With the Phillies, Jagers worked in the minor league player development department, filling a new position in the organization as a pitch strategist. He broke into the MLB coaching scene after cutting his teeth as Driveline Baseball’s pitching coordinator. Notably, with the Reds he’ll work alongside another Driveline alum, Kyle Boddy, who founded the company and parlayed its success into a position as the Reds’ pitching coordinator. The addition of Jagers continues the organizational overhaul of its pitching infrastructure, which began with the team’s hiring of Derek Johnson, who coached the club to the National League’s fourth-lowest ERA in 2019.

Trevor Bauer Explores Different Agency Experience, Becomes First Client Of Luba Sports

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Enigmatic hurler Trevor Bauer has left the Wasserman Media Group to become the first client of Luba Sports, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Luba Sports is a new sports agency started by Rachel Luba, who officially became certified as an MLB agent on November 1st. Luba Sports will make up just one part of Bauer’s new representation, however. Bauer hired another certified MLB agent, Jon Fetterolf, a litigator from Zuckerman Spaeder who has a history of assisting agents in arbitration proceedings.

Bauer had no qualms with his previous agency, who did, after all, help him win consecutive arbitration cases against the Cleveland Indians, but at this stage in his career, he’s looking not only at his own upcoming arbitration case, but at the system as a whole. Surprise surprise, but the innovative and free-thinking Bauer has eyes towards making a difference for the betterment of players. Still, Bauer makes a point not to disparage the Wasserman Media Group or the current system. Rather, he aims to give players another option of representation moving forward

As such, the structure of representation set up between Bauer, Luba, and Fetterolf differs from the standard practice in baseball, in which players typically pay 5% of their salaries to their agents upon reaching the majors. Instead, Fetterolf will make a lower commission (1.5 to 2.5%) that differs depending on the player’s career status, plus an hourly rate. Still, the overall fee caps at 5% for an arbitration-eligible player and 4% for a free agent. Depending on the hourly workload, then, players have the potential to pay a good deal less under this structure.

The goal of this system would be to allow players to pay strictly for services rendered, thereby allowing a more personalized agency experience. Rather than being locked into the commission model, an “a la carte” system gives players the option of paying less for fewer services (or paying more for more). This would not wholly upend the player-agent relationship, though it does provide an interesting opportunity for players to reconsider the current structure and explore a system that might work more in their favor. It’s certainly on brand for Bauer to push for this type of innovation, and it will be interesting to follow the extent to which Luba Sports or similar agencies can make inroads with the MLB player community.

Bauer and Luba’s relationship dates back to their days as undergraduates at UCLA when they met in a communication studies class. Luba would go on to become an attorney and work for the players’ union during the 2018 arbitration season. She would be offered a position as an agent with another agency, but chose to forge her own path instead.

The timing here, of course, is not coincidental as Bauer prepares for his final time through arbitration this winter. MLB Contributor Matt Swartz projects Bauer to earn $18.6MM with the Reds this season.

Reds Showing Interest In Didi Gregorius

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The Reds have started off an important winter by showing interest in free agent shortstop Didi Gregorius, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter).

Now 29 years of age, Gregorius spent his first five seasons as a professional with the Cincinnati organization and briefly debuted in the majors there in 2012. He ended up being traded away to the Diamondbacks and then on to the Yankees, where he established himself as a high-quality piece up the middle.

That’s not the only upper-tier free agent that has been linked to the Reds already this offseason — though others have been connected on a somewhat more speculative basis. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer recently highlighted backstop Yasmani Grandal as a possibility, writing that “all signs point toward a serious run” at securing his services. Young corner outfielders Nicholas Castellanos and Marcell Ozuna were also cited as possibilities.

MLBTR recently released its ranking of the top fifty free agents this winter. We predicted both Gregorius and Grandal to land with the Reds, banking on the organization to make good on its oft-stated intention to open the pocketbook up this winter.

Gregorius graded out as our 12th-best free agent. We toyed with the idea of guessing he’d settle for a one-year, make-good contract since he wasn’t in top form late in 2019 after returning from Tommy John surgery. But we ultimately guessed that he’d be able to secure a three-year contract. There are relatively few teams in obvious need of a regular shortstop, but there’s also a shortage of supply outside of Gregorius.

Reds Outright Four Players

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The Reds announced Monday that infielder/outfielder Derek Dietrich, infielder Christian Colon, right-hander Jackson Stephens and right-hander Keury Mella all went unclaimed on waivers and were set outright to Triple Louisville.

Dietrich, 30, is the most notable name of the group and will surely reject the assignment to once again become a free agent. The former Marlin parlayed a minor league deal in Cincinnati this offseason into an Opening Day roster spot and went on one of the more memorable power surges in recent memory midway through the year. Dietrich launched a dozen homers over a span of just 68 plate appearances in May and carried a 1.000 OPS into June. However, he fell into a slump that was perhaps even more remarkable than that home-run binge; in his final 71 plate appearances, he hit just .071/.257/.179.

Mella, 26, was acquired from the Giants alongside Adam Duvall in the 2015 trade that shipped righty Mike Leake to the Giants. He was considered to be among the more promising pitching prospects in Cincinnati in the couple of years following that trade but has seen his stock dip considerably. The righty yielded 15 runs in 17 Major League innings across parts of three seasons, posting an uninspiring 13-to-12 K/BB ratio during those stints. At the time of his acquisition, Mella was averaging better than a strikeout per inning against older competition in Class-A Advanced, but in parts of three Triple-A seasons he has a 4.59 ERA with 6.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 172 2/3 innings.

The 25-year-old Stephens had a big year with Double-A Pensacola back in 2016 but has limped to an ERA north of 5.00 in three trips through Triple-A Louisville while struggling to a 4.83 ERA through multiple MLB auditions. He spent the 2019 season in Triple-A, where he logged a 5.14 ERA with an 80-to-37 K/BB ratio in 84 innings, mostly as a reliever.

Colon, once the fourth overall pick in the draft and a top prospect with the Royals, appeared in just eight games with the Reds and made eight plate appearances. He’s a career .256/.321/.218 hitter in the Majors and batted .300/.372/.443 in Triple-A with the Reds this past season.

Reds Exercise Club Option On Freddy Galvis

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Nov. 1: The Reds have formally announced that Galvis’ option has indeed been picked up.

Oct. 31: The Reds will exercise their $5.5MM club option on Freddy Galvis for the 2020 season, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  The Reds had a $4.5MM decision to make on the veteran shortstop, as Galvis’ contract contained a $1MM buyout.

Galvis hit .260/.296/.438 with a career-best 23 homers over 589 plate appearances last season, coming over to Cincinnati in a midseason trade from the Blue Jays.  He was one of many players to benefit from inflated power numbers in the homer-happy 2019 season, as his batting average, OBP, and even his slugging percentage weren’t too far removed from career norms.  Playing mostly at shortstop in Toronto and then mostly as a second baseman with the Reds, Galvis posted decent defensive statistics at both positions, making him a flexible bench piece for next season as Cincinnati decides on its next step in the middle infield.

Jose Peraza and Derek Dietrich are also on hand as potential infield candidates, and Nick Senzel could also potentially factor back into the second base mix if the Reds opt to acquire an everyday center fielder rather than continue to deploying Senzel on the grass.  Galvis’ $5.5MM is more than either Peraza ($3.6MM) or Dietrich ($3.1MM) are projected to earn in arbitration, making one or both players expendable as non-tender candidates.  With the Reds firmly intent on a postseason berth next year, they could be aggressive in looking for an everyday shortstop AND center fielder, thus making Senzel the new second baseman and keeping Galvis in a utility infield role.

Reds Acquire Travis Jankowski

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The Reds have acquired outfielder Travis Jankowski from the Padres, as announced on San Diego’s official team Twitter feed.  International bonus money will head back to San Diego in return.

2019 was essentially a lost year for Jankowski, who suffered a broken wrist in Spring Training and didn’t start playing until July, turning him into something of an afterthought in a crowded Padres outfield mix.  Jankowski ended up appearing in only 25 games and receiving just 24 plate appearances.  Given that abbreviated campaign, Jankowski wasn’t expected to receive much of an arbitration raise, as MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected the outfielder to receive only $1.2MM in his second of four arb years as a Super Two player.  (Jankowski earned $1.165MM in 2019.)

It’s a minor enough sum that, despite Jankowski’s struggles last year, he was still an interesting option for a Cincinnati club that is looking to add outfield depth.  Jankowski has displayed some solid glovework at all three outfield positions, making him a decent candidate for bench duty or perhaps as the left-handed hitting side of a platoon.

Between the Jankowski trade and other recent transactions, the Padres have now cleared four spots off their 40-man roster.  San Diego faces something of a 40-man roster crunch given the number of prospects that have to be protected from the Rule 5 draft, so we could perhaps see even more minor housecleaning moves from the team in the coming days.

Offseason Outlook: Cincinnati Reds

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The Reds recently wrapped up a 75-win season, their sixth consecutive sub-.500 campaign. President of baseball operations Dick Williams and general manager Nick Krall have seen enough. They have every intention of assembling a playoff-caliber roster for 2020.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Option Decisions

Free Agents

Most of the Reds’ focus last offseason went to their starting staff, and two of the three key acquisitions they made in that regard couldn’t have worked out much better. Picking up Sonny Gray from the Yankees has been a brilliant move thus far. Tanner Roark, whom the Reds landed in a trade with the Nationals, was effective for Cincinnati for a few months before the out-of-contention club flipped him to Oakland in July. Alex Wood wasn’t healthy enough to pitch for most of the season, so acquiring him from the Dodgers was the one starting addition that didn’t work out for Williams and Krall. But the two front office bigwigs swung a massive trade for then-Indian Trevor Bauer prior to the July 31 deadline, meaning the Reds are now slated to get a full year from him alongside Gray, Luis Castillo and Anthony DeSclafani. It’s unclear who will primarily occupy the last spot on Cincy’s staff (perhaps Wood or another free agent on a one-year deal), but it’s obvious the rotation is no longer a major concern for the club.

The Reds’ main problem at the moment seems to be their offense, which finished 25th in the majors in both runs and wRC+ this year. Although he surprisingly struggled this season, first baseman Joey Votto isn’t going anywhere. Neither is third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who fell one home run shy of the 50 mark.

Aside from Votto and Suarez, the Reds’ position player cast certainly isn’t etched in stone. Nick Senzel will also start somewhere, whether it’s second or center field (where he played in 2019), and his flexibility will afford the Reds the opportunity to shop for help at either of those spots. The upcoming class of free-agent center fielders looks quite weak, however, so unless the Reds swing a trade for someone like Starling Marte of the Pirates or Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Red Sox, odds are they’ll be adding second base help over center field aid. Fortunately for Cincy, free agency will be teeming with passable second basemen once the offseason rolls around. Of course, we’d be remiss to ignore that the Reds have a few in-house second base possibilities besides Senzel. Jose Peraza, Derek Dietrich and Freddy Galvis led the club’s second basemen in starts this year, and all are controllable through next season. However, Peraza and Dietrich look like possible non-tender candidates, while Galvis has a $5.5MM option or a $1MM buyout for 2020. Even if the Reds keep Galvis, his track record indicates he wouldn’t make for more than a mediocre-at-best starter at either second or shortstop.

Short, like second, appears to be a position the Reds could give some attention in the coming months. The trouble is that free agency won’t be loaded with obvious solutions there. Jose Iglesias, who started the vast majority of the Reds’ season at the position, is due to hit free agency. The Reds could easily re-sign the defensively adept, light-hitting Iglesias for what surely wouldn’t be a sizable sum, but they’d be wise to hunt for a better alternative first. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Reds seek a reunion with Yankees free agent-to-be Didi Gregorius, whom Cincy signed as an international free agent back in 2007. Otherwise, would the Reds pursue a trade for the Indians’ Francisco Lindor or the Rockies’ Trevor Story? They’re a pair of star shortstops who are likely to come up in trade rumors during the next few months (the speculation has already started in regards to Lindor).

While the Reds could rekindle their relationship with Gregorius, the same holds true for pending free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal. Clearly the premier catcher set to hit the market in the next couple weeks, the Brewers’ Grandal was the 12th overall pick of the Reds back in 2010. Grandal never wound up playing a game for the Reds, but he’d be a massive upgrade now over the combination of Tucker Barnhart and Curt Casali. That said, signing the soon-to-be 31-year-old Grandal at this point would likely mean forking over $60MM or more in guarantees. If the Reds aren’t willing to go that far, and if they do try to add a somewhat high-profile backstop to upgrade over Barnhart, they could wind up with anyone from the affordable trio of Jason Castro, Travis d’Arnaud or Robinson Chirinos in free agency.

The way the Reds map out their 2020 outfield will depend in part on their plans for Senzel. As mentioned earlier, though, finding an obvious center field upgrade in free agency will be difficult. It’ll be less of an arduous task in the corner outfield, where ex-Red Yasiel Puig, Marcell Ozuna, Nicholas Castellanos, Avisail Garcia and Corey Dickerson are all on the cusp of becoming free agents. The Reds traded Puig in July as part of the Bauer deal, though Krall expressed interest in a Puig extension shortly before that.

Whether the Reds bring back Puig or find one or two players from the outside, their corner outfield does look as if it should be a priority. Cincinnati has in-house possibilities in Jesse Winker, Aristides Aquino, Phillip Ervin and Josh VanMeter, granted. However, they all come with warts. The left-handed Winker was just about unplayable this year versus same-handed pitchers; Aquino came back to reality after a historically remarkable start; Ervin’s decent overall numbers were buoyed by an unsustainable first few months; and VanMeter didn’t produce much outside of a red-hot July.

Meanwhile, the Reds’ bullpen seems to be much less of an issue than their outfield, though it’s still an area they (like just about every other team) could attempt to improve.. Raisel Iglesias has been a prime trade candidate in the past, but if Cincy’s as bent on pushing for a playoff spot next year as it has indicated, he seems unlikely to go anywhere this winter. So, he’ll stay a key member of a unit that will also welcome back Amir Garrett, Michael Lorenzen, Robert Stephenson and Matt Bowman, while Cody Reed, Lucas Sims and Joel Kuhnel could also be among in-house arms pushing for innings. Kevin Gausman, whom the Reds claimed from the Braves in August, may be a part of the unit again, too (or even vie for the Reds’ fifth starter job); however, considering his lofty arbitration projection for 2020, it seems more likely the Reds will non-tender Gausman.

Deciding Gausman’s future is one of the more immediate tasks on the Reds’ plate as the offseason nears its official start. If the Reds do let Gausman go, it’ll further increase spending space for a team that’s all but guaranteed to boast a franchise-record payroll in 2020. The Reds opened this season with an outlay just over $126.6MM, and Williams has said that number will go up next year as the club tries to bring an end to its long-running playoff drought.

“The goal for us now, all we’re talking about is the postseason. That’s what matters,” Williams declared a few weeks ago. “That’s the goal next year. It’s not taking incremental steps in a rebuild. It’s about the postseason.”

Judging by the Reds’ win-now attitude, they could be among the majors’ busiest teams during the upcoming offseason.

Reds Name Alan Zinter Hitting Coach

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It appears that major league front offices are taking Thursday as their opportunity to announce new coaching hires, as the Reds have announced the installment of Alan Zinter as the club’s new hitting coach and the promotion of Donnie Ecker to an assistant hitting coach and director of hitting role.

This announcement won’t carry the same impact of the managerial hires reported around the game today, but Zinter’s hire could still prove crucial for a club looking to get over the hump in 2020. A former hitting coach with the Padres, Zinter has been working in player development for the last two years in the Giants organization. Turner Ward, the club’s former hitting instructor, was relieved of duty earlier this month after one season in Cincy.

Zinter will inherit from Ward one of the game’s bottom-half offenses. The club’s 2019 cumulative 87 wRC+ figure–which accounts for park factors–placed Cincinnati 26th among major league teams last year. Though they did unlock a massive breakout from Eugenio Suarez and a nice half-season from Aristides Aquino, the Reds coaching staff received disappointing seasons from the since-departed Yasiel Puig and cornerstone Joey Votto. If hitting is the archetype of the inexact sciences, then Zinter and Ecker will be tasked with undertaking some bold experiments in 2020 to tap into the potential of a largely stagnant group of Reds hitters.

Position Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

Here are the position players that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Quick Hits: Hicks, Didi, Bradley, Nats

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As baseball takes a break until Tuesday night, we’ll touch on a few items pertaining to the upcoming offseason and looking back at how last offseason laid the foundation for where we stand.

  • Aaron Hicks made a remarkable return to action in the ALCS after sitting out over two months with a flexor strain in his right elbow. We knew at the time that Tommy John Surgery was in consideration for the 30-year-old, and with the season now over, Hicks admits it was actually recommended by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter). Hicks reiterated last night he believes he’ll avert the operation given the progress he’s made with less drastic rehabilitation methods. Hicks, who signed a seven-year extension entering the season, is surely an integral part of the Bombers’ plans moving forward.
  • It’s less clear if Didi Gregorius is part of the team’s future, but the five-year Yankee tells reporters, including James Wagner of the New York Times (Twitter link), he’d like to return to the Bronx. The 29-year-old is ticketed for free agency, where he profiles as the top shortstop option on the market. Gregorius didn’t play in the majors this season until June 7 owing to a Tommy John of his own, and he never got on track offensively, slashing .238/.276/.441 (84 wRC+) in 344 plate appearances. Nevertheless, Gregorius’ pre-2019 track record, age, and the scarcity of shortstops available in free agency make him a reasonable qualifying offer candidate. With a glut of infielders on hand, among them former shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, Brian Cashman’s front office will have some tough decisions sorting out the infield mix this winter.
  • The Reds discussed Jackie Bradley, Jr. with the Red Sox last offseason, relays the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale. While there’s no indication talks progressed very far or have picked up since, it’s still noteworthy to hear Cincinnati’s front office liked the player not too long ago. Bradley’s one of the offseason’s most obvious trade candidates, as we’ve already heard rumblings Boston would shop him this winter to ameliorate payroll concerns. MLBTR’s Connor Byrne recently explored Bradley’s market in full and noted that the Reds have some uncertainty in center field if they believe Nick Senzel to be more valuable at second base. Bradley didn’t have a banner 2019 season and comes with a rather significant arbitration projection ($11MM), but the free agent market in center field isn’t particularly robust.
  • The Nationals aren’t turning their attention to next spring just yet. As the team gears up for a World Series showdown with the Astros, the Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli looks back to the organization’s roster construction work last winter. General Manager Mike Rizzo was aggressive early in free agency, re-signing Kurt Suzuki and bringing aboard Patrick Corbin and Brian Dozier. A willingness to dangle a sixth year was perhaps the driving factor in getting Corbin (the Phillies and Yankees stopped at five), the prize of last offseason’s pitching market. That said, Rizzo’s forthrightness in negotiations certainly didn’t hurt, Corbin explains, and Dozier tells Ghiroli he declined more lucrative offers elsewhere out of a belief in what the Nats were building. It’s a worthwhile read for Nationals’ fans soaking up the enjoyment of the franchise’s first pennant.
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