Minor MLB Transactions: 1/22/20
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Reds have added outfielder Boog Powell on a minor league pact, Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America reports. Powell has bounced around several organizations since Oakland chose him in Round 20 of the 2012 draft, but he hasn’t hit poorly during his brief major league experience. The 27-year-old owns a .262/.333/.383 line in 160 career plate appearances. Most of Powell’s at-bats in recent years have come in Triple-A ball, where he has hit .279/.368/.390 in 1,356 PA.
- The Marlins have released outfielder Brayan Hernandez, per Hilburn-Trenkle. Hernandez, who joined the Miami organization in a 2017 trade with Seattle centering on David Phelps, was a touted prospect when he came out of Venezuela in 2014. The 22-year-old didn’t perform well in the minors from 2018-19, however, and managed a miserable .461 OPS in 166 trips to the plate between Single-A and low-A ball last season.
- The Mariners have signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Hudson entered the pro ranks as a sixth-round pick of Cincinnati in 2012, and he ended up appearing in the majors with the Angels in 2018 and the Cardinals last season. The 28-year-old collected just 13 plate appearances during that span, though. Hudson spent most of last year at the Triple-A level, where he hit .223/.293/.411 with 10 home runs in 222 PA.
NL Central Notes: Castellanos, Ozuna, Pirates
The Reds “remain a player” for free-agent outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The extent to which the Reds are interested is far from clear, though. Cincinnati has already signed Shogo Akiyama to a three-year deal and has Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker and Aristides Aquino atop an already deep list of incumbent outfield options. And, unlike the Rangers, who are also said to have interest in Castellanos, there’s no option of plugging him in at first base, where Joey Votto is entrenched in Cincinnati.
It’s difficult to envision much of a fit in Cincinnati unless Castellanos winds up taking a short-term deal along the lines of the one Marcell Ozuna signed in Atlanta just yesterday. Even if such an opportunity were to materialize for the Reds, they’d likely still need to move an outfielder to alleviate the logjam that’d come with signing Castellanos. Corner outfielders have had a hard time cashing in this winter, and the market for Castellanos looks rather limited at this point. If he and agent Scott Boras are willing to wait things out, it’s possible that an injury early in camp or a Cubs trade that sheds some cash will change his market’s landscape. At present, however, demand doesn’t exactly appear frenzied.
More from the division…
- Marcell Ozuna asked his agent to initiate extension talks with the Cardinals in late June, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, but the Cardinals seemingly didn’t have much interest in exploring such a deal. President of baseball ops John Mozeliak said over the summer that the team preferred to address Ozuna’s contract status in the offseason — even at a time when Ozuna was vocal in voicing that remaining in St. Louis was his “priority.” Tyler O’Neill and Lane Thomas as the top candidates to step into the left field void created by Ozuna’s absence, though Hummel adds that GM Mike Girsch listed first baseman/outfielder Rangel Ravelo and outfielder Justin Williams as players who’ll get consideration this spring. Cardinals fans can still hold out hope for a more notable addition, but owner Bill DeWitt Jr.’s recent comments strongly suggest that’s not on the horizon.
- Retired closer Joel Hanrahan will serve as the pitching coach for the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate in 2020, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). Hanrahan held the same position with the Pirates’ Double-A club in 2019 and was the pitching coach with the organization’s Class-A Advanced affiliate back in 2017. It’s the latest step in a fairly swift rise through the system for Hanrahan — one that comes in spite of the offseason shakeup in the Pittsburgh front office. It stands to reason that whether it’s in Pittsburgh or elsewhere, Hanrahan’s rapidly growing resume will earn him some consideration for a big league coaching spot.
This Date In Transactions History: Sonny To Cincy
It was on this date a year ago that the Reds made one of their best pickups in recent memory. Then desperate for rotation help, the Reds took a flier on former standout right-hander Sonny Gray, acquiring him and young reliever Reiver Sanmartin from the Yankees in a three-team trade that also included the Mariners. The Yankees received middle infielder/outfielder Shed Long and a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick in the swap, though they quickly flipped Long to the Mariners for outfield prospect Josh Stowers.
It was obvious entering last offseason that the Yankees would try to trade Gray, whose tenure in their uniform was a letdown. The Yankees paid what was then a high price to acquire Gray, who was coming off a strong run in Oakland, back in July 2017. But Gray wasn’t the same pitcher in New York, particularly struggling at Yankee Stadium, and the club left him off its playoff roster in 2018. After that, general manager Brian Cashman admitted that “it’s probably best to try somewhere else” for Gray.
Twelve months later, the change of scenery has been a godsend for Gray and Reds. For the team, not only has the trade paid off, but the three-year, $30MM contract Cincy gave Gray the moment it acquired him looks like a bargain.
In his first season as a Red, the 30-year-old Gray performed like one of the premier starters in the sport and earned his second All-Star nod in the process. Gray tossed 175 1/3 innings, his most since 2015, and turned in the third-lowest ERA of his career (2.87). He also notched a 3.42 FIP with a 50.8 percent groundball rate and fanned more hitters than ever. Gray’s 10.52 K/9 was easily a personal best, while he also posted his second-highest swinging-strike percentage (11.3). When batters did make contact, they seldom did much damage, as Gray ranked near the top of the league in hard-hit rate, exit velocity and expected weighted on-base average against.
Despite Gray’s efforts, the Reds endured yet another sub-.500 season in 2019. However, he’s still among the reasons they now look like a team on the upswing. Gray, Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Anthony DeSclafani and Wade Miley now make up one of the game’s most formidable-looking rotations on paper. That’s a drastic 180 for a club whose starting staff was among baseball’s worst the season before it hauled in Gray.
The Gray-less Yankees, for their part, appear to have an even better rotation than the Reds at this point. That said, no one knows whether they’ll get anything from the players they landed for Gray. Both Stowers and lefty TJ Sikkema, whom the Yankees chose with the pick they received in the trade, are still a ways off from the majors. The 22-year-old Stowers isn’t far removed from going in Round 2 of the 2018 draft, though, and he was plenty productive at the Single-A level last season, hitting .273/.386/.400 with 35 steals across 460 plate appearances. Sikkema, 21, had a very brief but very dominant showing in low-A ball after the Yankees drafted him.
As for the rebuilding Mariners, it looks as if they did well to insert themselves into this swap. Long joined the team as a promising prospect and then lived up to the billing in his first major league action last season. The 24-year-old amassed 168 PA and batted .263/.333/.454, also gaining a solid amount of experience at second base and in the outfield. Long figures to see even more time in Seattle this year, when the team no doubt hopes he’ll further demonstrate that he’s capable of serving as a core member of its roster.
Thanks to this trade, the Reds have a core piece for their rotation in Gray. A year into Gray’s time in Cincinnati, he and the team are surely thrilled with how their union has worked out.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Reds Sign Jesse Biddle
The Reds have signed left-handed reliever Jesse Biddle to a minor league contract, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports. The deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.
Biddle’s the second veteran reliever the Reds have added on a minors pact this week. They previously picked up former White Sox standout Nate Jones on a low-risk accord.
As recently as 2018, Biddle was a standout in his own right. The former first-round pick (2010, Phillies) fired 63 2/3 innings of 3.11 ERA/3.88 FIP ball with 9.47 K/9, 4.38 BB/9 and a sterling 55.6 percent groundball rate as a member of the Braves. But things went south in a hurry for the 28-year-old, who divided his 2019 among the Braves, Mariners and Rangers. Biddle dealt with shoulder troubles and stumbled to an 8.38 ERA/6.46 FIP across 28 frames, and the rest of his numbers also took a turn for the worse. He struck out 8.36 hitters per nine, posted a whopping 7.07 BB/9 and saw his grounder percentage plummet to 45.8. His average fastball velocity also tumbled a bit, going from 94.5 mph the prior season to 93.9.
Despite the difficulties Biddle endured last season, there’s no real harm in taking a flier on him from the Reds’ standpoint. He’ll compete for a spot in a bullpen that has one lefty lock, Amir Garrett, and could also feature Cody Reed.
Reds Interested In Brock Holt
The Reds are among the teams with interest in free-agent utilityman Brock Holt, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The report comes just one day after Cincinnati president of baseball operations Dick Williams indicated that his club may not yet be done adding pieces prior to the season.
The 31-year-old Holt landed on MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents heading into the offseason after putting together a solid campaign in the last season of a seven-year run with the Red Sox. An eye injury (scratched cornea) kept Holt off the field for several weeks early in the season, but he returned to post a quality .297/.369/.402 slash through 295 trips to the plate. That output aligned closely with what Holt managed to produce a year prior, and his combined .286/.366/.407 slash in 662 plate appearances dating back to 2018 marked a decidedly above-average output.
Holt’s strong showing of late is all the more valuable when factoring in his defensive versatility. He’s been primarily a second baseman over the past two seasons (914 innings) but has also seen time at third base (57 innings), shortstop (186 innings), first base (61 innings), left field (50 innings) and right field (107 innings). Holt has brief experience in center field as well but hasn’t lined up there since 2015. Not only is he versatile, but Holt has racked up +9 Outs Above Average playing around the infield over the past two seasons, per Statcast.
For the Reds, it’s unlikely that Holt would be viewed as a starter at any one position, but he’d give them a nice backup option for any of Joey Votto, Mike Moustakas, Freddy Galvis or Eugenio Suarez. His ability to play virtually any position on the diamond is all the more appealing to an NL skipper who’ll be making frequent double-switches, too. And Holt provides a particularly nice safety net in the event of an injury to Suarez; in an extended absence for Cincinnati’s excellent third baseman, Moustakas could slide over to his natural position at the hot corner with Holt stepping in for regular reps at his own best position, second base.
From a payroll vantage point, the Reds could surely work what would figure to be a modest salary for Holt into the mix. Cincinnati is currently projected to open the year at roughly $128MM, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez, with only $148MM in luxury obligations. That’s only marginally higher than the roughly $126.5MM payroll with which they opened the 2018 season, and ownership has shown increased aggression and a willingness to move payroll forward.
It’s been a relatively quiet winter with regards to Holt and the rumor circuit, although with most of the top options now off the free-agent market, several clubs should have interest in bolstering their infield mix with a player who boasts this level of versatility.
NL Notes: Giants, Zimmerman, Reds
The Giants finalized their coaching staff with today’s announcements that Alyssa Nakken and Mark Hallberg have been hired as Major League assistant coaches. Nakken becomes the first woman to ever hold a coaching position on a big league team, after working for the Giants in various organizational roles since 2014. Hallberg, a former Diamondbacks minor leaguer, has coached in the Cape Cod League and spent the last two seasons as a coach and manager with the Giants’ short-season A-ball team.
The two new hires give San Francisco an unusually large 13-person coaching staff under new manager Gabe Kapler. Third base coach Ron Wotus is the only member of that group to return to the club from Bruce Bochy’s 2019 coaching staff.
More from the Senior Circuit…
- Ryan Zimmerman feels “it’s just a matter of time” before he signs a new contract with the Nationals, the veteran first baseman tells The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli (subscription required). “We’ve talked. We are continuing to talk,” Zimmerman said. “I’ve made my intentions pretty clear, they know where I stand and we know where they stand. We’ve been going back and forth the last couple weeks.” It has been widely assumed that Zimmerman will return for his 16th season with the Nats, and as Ghiroli notes, a deal doesn’t necessarily need to be finalized before camp opens since Zimmerman “has never been a big fan of spring training.”
- While Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams warned The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans and other reporters “don’t expect anything imminent” in terms of near-term roster moves, “I think it’s very possible that we’ll see additional free-agent signings or potential trades. I’m pretty sure there will be some changes between now and camp.” The signings of Mike Moustakas, Shogo Akiyama, and Wade Miley have already made it a busy offseason in Cincinnati, though the club still has some question marks at shortstop, catcher, in the bullpen, and whether or not to add to an already-crowded outfield mix.
Phillies Outright Odubel Herrera To Triple-A, Claim Nick Martini
TODAY: Herrera has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, the Phillies announced.
JANUARY 14: The Phillies announced Tuesday that center fielder Odubel Herrera has been designated for assignment. His 40-man roster spot will go to Nick Martini, whom the Phillies have claimed off waivers from the Reds.
Not long ago, such a move would’ve been unthinkable for the Phils, who extended Herrera on a five-year, $30.5MM deal spanning the 2017-21 seasons. However, Herrera sat out the the final 85 games of the 2019 season under a domestic violence suspension, and even when he was on the field in 2019, he failed to produce at the plate or with the glove. After batting .281/.325/.452 and drawing strong defensive marks across the board as recently as 2017, Herrera turned in an awful .222/.288/.341 line in 2019 with below-average marks from Ultimate Zone Rating, Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average.
While Herrera has played poorly in each of the past two seasons, he might well have been given another chance in 2020 were it not for the charges levied against him and the subsequent suspension. He’s still owed a hefty $19.5MM under that aforementioned extension, but the Phils are apparently willing to eat the remainder of that contract to cut ties with Herrera.
During Herrera’s absence, he was surpassed on the depth chart by former No. 8 overall pick Adam Haseley, who debuted with a .266/.324/.396 slash line and plus defensive ratings (per DRS, UZR and OAA) — all of which look to be improvements over Herrera’s 2018-19 play. The Phils could yet look to add a platoon partner for the left-handed-hitting Haseley, or they could play the versatile Scott Kingery in center field against tough lefties. Speedy Roman Quinn remains on hand as an option as well, and he’ll surely make the club given that he’s out of minor league options.
Martini himself will give the Phils another option at any of the three outfield spots, as he has at least 1900 minor league innings in left, center and right field. The left-handed-hitting Martini has been a veritable on-base machine in the upper minors, hitting at a robust .305/.401/.435 clip in parts of five Triple-A seasons.
While he doesn’t hit for much power, Martini has walked in 13.5 percent of his career plate appearances in Triple-A. That general profile has carried over to the big leagues, where in 288 plate appearances between the Padres and A’s, Martini has slashed .269/.372/.380. He still has a minor league option remaining, so Martini will give the Phillies some roster flexibility in addition to his intriguing on-base prowess.
The Phillies will have a week to trade Herrera, put him on outright waivers or release him. It’s likely that they’ve tried and failed to find a taker for his services prior to designating him for assignment, though, and he’ll surely go unclaimed on waivers. He doesn’t yet have five years of MLB service, so while he could reject an outright assignment, doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of his contract, which obviously won’t happen. If the Phils wish to retain him, they could outright him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If not, the likeliest outcome is that they’ll simply release Herrera, at which point any club would be able to sign him for the league minimum (which would be subtracted from the sum owed to him by the Phillies). Whether he’d even draw interest at that minimal level of commitment remains to be seen, however.
Reds Sign Nate Jones
The Reds have agreed to a minor league contract with right-handed reliever Nate Jones, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. The deal includes an invitation to big league camp. Jones would earn at a $1.5MM rate in the majors with up to a million more in incentives, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com (via Twitter).
In Jones, the Reds are getting a native of nearby Kentucky who, when healthy, has been one of the game’s most effective relievers during his career. Jones, who debuted in 2012, owns a sterling 3.12 ERA/3.38 FIP with 9.82 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent groundball rate over 291 1/3 innings – all of which have come in a White Sox uniform.
The problem is that staying healthy has been extremely difficult for the 34-year-old Jones, which is why the Rangers declined his $3.75MM option in favor of a $1.25MM buyout in October after acquiring him in a midsummer trade. It’s also why he’s now settling for a non-guaranteed pact a few months later. A series of injuries, including right forearm surgery last season, have held Jones to 30 or fewer innings in four of the past five years. He threw a meager 10 1/3 frames in his final season as a member of the White Sox.
Despite Jones’ lack of contributions in recent years, it’s easy to see why the Reds are taking a low-risk chance on him. As mentioned, the results have been impressive when Jones has pitched. Moreover, although he lost 2 mph on his fastball during last year’s limited run, he was still throwing 95. And during his latest semi-extensive action, a 30-inning showing in 2018, Jones recorded a 13.6 percent swinging-strike rate that sat well above the league mean of 10.7.
Health permitting, Jones will vie for a role in a Cincinnati bullpen that hovered around average in 2019. Although the front office has been active in upgrading the team’s roster this winter, the bullpen hasn’t undergone any especially significant changes. Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, Michael Lorenzen and Robert Stephenson figure to lead the unit again in 2020, but perhaps Jones will surprise and join them as one of the Reds’ key late-game options.
NL Central Notes: Wieters, A’s, Cards, Arenado, Akiyama, Brewers
The Cardinals and Athletics were first linked to Matt Wieters during the Winter Meetings, and a month after those initial reports, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that St. Louis and Oakland continue to have interest in the veteran backstop. Wieters served as the Cards’ backup catcher last season, hitting .214/.268/.435 with 11 home runs over 183 plate appearances and 67 games — perhaps more playing time than was expected, given that workhorse Yadier Molina was limited to 113 games due to thumb injuries. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes (Twitter link) that the Cardinals have an offer out to Wieters and are hopeful of a reunion, to the point that a locker has been kept open for Wieters. The A’s would also be looking to use Wieters as a backup catcher behind promising youngster Sean Murphy, though Wieters could potentially have a larger role if Murphy were to struggle in his first full MLB season.
More from the NL Central…
- Nolan Arenado has been frequently mentioned as a trade possibility for the Cardinals, though Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch feels a potential deal with the Rockies “probably won’t” happen. Roadblocks include Arenado’s contract, which is both expensive and contains an opt-out clause after the 2021 season. While Arenado is a clear upgrade over virtually any other third baseman in the game and Matt Carpenter is coming off a rough 2019 campaign, Carpenter’s presence as the Cards’ in-house third base option further complicates matters since Carpenter is unlikely to carry much trade value. In terms of moving him to another position, Paul Goldschmidt has first base covered, and Frederickson writes that “the team has thoroughly dismissed the notion of Carpenter spending time in the outfield again.”
- The Reds‘ offseason plans put an early priority on Shogo Akiyama, and the outfielder told reporters (including The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans) that Cincinnati was the first team to make him a contract offer. “I was very inspired by their passion for how much they really wanted me. I wanted to respond to that. That’s why I chose the Reds,” Akiyama said via an interpreter. Several other teams had interest in Akiyama’s services, though the Reds came out on top with a three-year, $21MM deal with the center fielder. Akiyama becomes the first Japanese player in Reds history, and Rosecrans’ piece explores how the team has looked to improve its Asian scouting practices in recent years, as former Reds GM Walt Jocketty preferred to focus Cincinnati’s international signing efforts towards Cuban players (i.e. Raisel Iglesias, Aroldis Chapman).
- With Jedd Gyorko now in the fold, Brewers GM David Stearns told reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) that he is “comfortable” with the club’s remodeled infield. “We feel like we have a number of players who fit in a variety of different ways, and that’s really helpful,” Stearns said. “It gives us options. It gives us depth. It allows us to see not only how the rest of the offseason unfolds, but how the first part of the season unfolds, in terms of how we want to structure a roster, how we want to play different players.” Many of the Brewers’ infield pickups (Gyorko, Luis Urias, Eric Sogard, Ryon Healy) have multi-position capability, while first base has also been addressed with Justin Smoak as the top complement to Ryan Braun, who is slated for time at both first base and in the outfield.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League
Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.
We’ll track the majority of the National League’s settlements in this post and are maintaining a separate one for American League settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:
- The Rockies have an agreement in place with righty Jon Gray, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (via Twitter). It’s a $5.6MM deal, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
- Outfielder Tommy Pham has struck a $7.9MM pact with the Padres, who acquired him at the outset of the offseason, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Other Friars striking deals, per an update from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, include Zach Davies ($5.25MM) and Matt Strahm ($1.4MM).
- The Nationals announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with Trea Turner. It’s a $7.45MM agreement, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter), right in range of the $7.5MM projection.
- The Mets are in agreement with a laundry list of players. Right-handers Marcus Stroman ($12MM) and Noah Syndergaard ($9.7MM) were the top earners, per reports from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Both come in close to their projected values of $11.8M and $9.9MM, respectively. The Mets also have a $5.1MM deal with reliever Edwin Diaz, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). He entered the offseason projected at the $7.0MM level but will fall well shy of that. Despite an outstanding overall track record, Diaz’s platform season was a dud and obviously created some risk in a hearing for his side. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo will play for $2.175MM in his first season of arb eligibility, landing well over the $1.7MM that the model projected. Southpaw Steven Matz, meanwhile, lands a $5MM deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). That’s $300K shy of his projected amount. Relievers Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo will earn $1.225MM and $2MM, respectively, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). Slugger Michael Conforto will earn $8.0MM, per SNY.tv’s Andy Martino (via Twitter), which is notably south of the $9.2MM that we projected. And fellow outfielder Jake Marisnick checks in a just over 10% north of his projection at $3,312,500, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
- Star reliever Kirby Yates receiveds a $7,062,500 salary from the Padres, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He tops the $6.5MM that MLBTR projected by a solid margin, reflecting just how exceptional he was in 2019.
- The Marlins will pay recently acquired infielder Jonathan Villar a $8.2MM salary, per MLB.com’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). That’s a far sight shy of the $10.4MM that the MLBTR system projected, perhaps reflecting a more difficult path to the bigger number through recent comparables. The club also had some added leverage here since Villar would likely not fare terribly well on the open market if cut loose at this stage or later. (Unless this is a guaranteed deal, Villar could still be jettisoned, with the club paying just a fraction of the settled amount.) The Fish also have also agreed to terms with lefty Adam Conley (for $1.525MM, per MLB Network Radio’s Craig Mish, via Twitter) and righty Jose Urena (for $3.75MM, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, on Twitter).
- Righty Vince Velasquez will pitch for $3.6MM this year with the Phillies, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly (via Twitter). Fellow hurler Jose Alvarez will earn $2.95MM, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
- The Rockies have an agreement with lefty Kyle Freeland, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). He’ll earn $2.875MM. Outfielder David Dahl takes home $2.475MM, Heyman adds on Twitter. The former had projected at $2.4MM and the latter at $3.0MM.
- Pirates hurler Joe Musgrove will receive $2.8MM, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Fellow righty Keone Kela will earn a reported $3.725MM. Both players had projected at $3.4MM, but land well to either side of that number. Infielder Adam Frazier also has a deal at $2.8MM, per Mackey (via Twitter).
- Righty Anthony DeSclafani will earn $5.9MM from the Reds, according to Robert Murray (via Twitter). He had projected at $5.2MM. Backstop Curt Casali will earn $1.4625MM, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). And reliever Matt Bowman takes down $865K, Murray adds on Twitter.
- The Dodgers have worked out a non-typical deal with righty Ross Stripling, Heyman tweets. He’ll get an up-front signing bonus of $1.5MM, which he’ll receive in the next week, and then earn $600K for the campaign to come. Stripling had projected to earn $2.3MM on the year.
- Cardinals righty John Gant will earn $1.3MM after settling with the club. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first tweeted that a deal was in place, while Murray had the number on Twitter. That comes in just under his $1.4MM projection.
Earlier Settlements