Reds Rumors

NL Central Notes: Otani, Reds Affiliate, Cards Staff, Pirates

By Steve Adams | October 5, 2017 at 8:46am CDT

Reds general manager Dick Williams was on hand to witness what might have been right-hander Shohei Otani’s final start in Nippon Professional Baseball, reports C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Otani didn’t disappoint, as he held the Orix Buffaloes to just two hits while racking up 10 strikeouts in a masterful shutout. Per Rosecrans, the Reds have legitimate interest in signing Otani despite the fact that they’re prohibited from signing an international amateur — and Otani does qualify as an amateur under MLB’s 2017-21 CBA despite significant pro experience in Japan — for more than $300K. Otani’s decision to leave well over $100MM on the table to jump to MLB this offseason instead of two years from now suggests that money isn’t his ultimate motivation, thus giving Cincinnati and other clubs in the international “penalty box” some degree of hope. That said, Rosecrans notes that Cincinnati is still a long shot to sign Otani, who may land in the AL where he can serve as a DH when not pitching.

Here’s more out of the NL Central …

The Reds have decided to add a lower-level affiliate, as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. The Cincinnati organization will own and operate a ballclub in the Appalachian League, taking the open slot for a team in Greeneville, Tennessee. Jumping on this opportunity was part of a longstanding effort to add another lower-level affiliate, Buchanan notes.
As the Cardinals look to improve upon a disappointing 2017 campaign, the team will change up the coaches working with the pitching staff, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Pitching coach Derek Lilliquist and bullpen coach Blaise Ilsley are both on the way out, with the Cards said to be seeking “a more modern approach to starter usage and bullpen deployment.” The St. Louis org says it hopes to make new hires in short order.
This winter holds as much or more uncertainty for the Pirates, though it’s not at all clear there’ll be much roster change. Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tackles some fan questions in an interesting read. He predicts that, so long as the team doesn’t find trades for significant players, it will likely keep the same essential form as it had this year. (Side note: best wishes to Stephen as he transitions off of the beat into a new role, as he discusses in the link.)

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/4/17

By Jeff Todd | October 4, 2017 at 9:42pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor moves:

Righty Rob Wooten tweets that he has agreed to a new deal with the Reds for the 2018 season. Presumably, it’s a minor-league deal. The 32-year-old had joined Cincinnati on a minors pact for the 2017 season, but only made six Triple-A appearances before going down with injury. Despite previously working almost exclusively from the bullpen, Wooten was starting before he was hurt. He racked up an impressive 26:5 K/BB ratio in 23 1/3 frames, but also allowed 18 earned runs on 34 hits. Wooten will attempt to work back to the majors for the first time since 2015; he has compiled 68 total frames of 5.03 ERA pitching at the game’s highest level, spread over three seasons.

Reds Outright Asher Wojciechowski, Alejandro Chacin, Nick Travieso

By Steve Adams | October 4, 2017 at 1:31pm CDT

The Reds announced that they’ve outrighted right-handers Asher Wojciechowski, Alejandro Chacin and Nick Travieso off the 40-man roster after each of the three cleared waivers. Cincinnati also announced that righty Luke Farrell failed to clear waivers and was claimed by the division-rival Cubs. The cuts drop Cincinnati’s 40-man roster to a total of 36 players.

Wojciechowski, 28, logged the most time with the Reds this season, soaking up 62 1/3 innings for an injury-marred Reds staff that was one of the worst collective units in all of baseball. In his 25 appearances (eight of them starts), Wojciechowski was hit hard, logging a 6.50 earned run average. While his 9.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 marks were solid, Wojciechowski was one of the more extreme fly-ball pitchers in baseball, inducing grounders at just a 29.1 percent clip as compared to a 51.1 percent fly-ball rate. While the 15.1 percent of Wojciechowski’s fly-balls that turned into homers is certainly an above-average rate, it’s not exorbitant by 2017 standards (league average was 13.7 percent). However, the sheer volume of fly-balls surrendered by Wojciechowski led to far too many long balls.

Chacin, 24, only pitched six innings for the Reds after having his contract selected in late August. The 24-year-old did post a 2.60 ERA through 69 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball this year, though, averaging 8.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with a 42.1 percent ground-ball clip in Louisville. That solid but not dominant performance apparently wasn’t enough to get him a look on another club’s 40-man roster, though, and he’ll now be able to explore other opportunities in minor league free agency.

The outright of Travieso is an unfortunate outcome for a player whom the Reds selected with the 14th overall pick of the 2012 draft. Travieso entered the year as a candidate to make his MLB debut at some point in 2017, but as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported back in June, he required shoulder surgery that will sideline him for nine months. Travieso didn’t throw a pitch in the minors this year, though he did log a 3.84 ERA in 117 1/3 innings in Double-A as a 22-year-old last season.

Cubs Claim Luke Farrell From Reds, Designate Felix Pena

By Steve Adams | October 4, 2017 at 1:28pm CDT

The Cubs announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Luke Farrell off waivers from the Reds and designated righty Felix Pena for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Farrell, whose father manages the Boston Red Sox, made his big league debut with the Royals in 2017 but has bounced from Kansas City to the Dodgers to the Reds to the Cubs in minor trades and waiver claims over the past several months. His lone outing in Kansas City produced nightmarish results (five runs on seven hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings), but he enjoyed better success in a larger sample with Cincinnati. In 10 1/3 innings as a Red, he allowed three runs on just five hits, though he also walked seven in that time. Overall, Farrell’s first taste of the big leagues resulted in a 5.54 ERA and a 9-to-10 K/BB ratio in 13 innings.

Farrell has, however, produced solid Triple-A results in 2016-17, working to a combined 3.83 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and roughly a 36 percent ground-ball rate in 199 2/3 innings. He has a pair of minor league options remaining beyond this season, so if the Cubs choose to keep him on the roster this winter, they could option him to Triple-A Iowa next spring without first exposing him to waivers. Alternatively, the Cubs could try to pass Farrell through waivers themselves in hopes of retaining his arm as a depth piece without the need of committing a 40-man roster spot.

The 27-year-old Pena, meanwhile, averaged 93.4 mph on his heater in 34 1/3 innings with the Cubs this year. He also averaged a hearty 9.7 K/9 against a more troublesome 4.7 BB/9 and a sub-par 34.7 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 5.24 earned run average.

NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Iglesias, Williams, Kirby

By Steve Adams | September 27, 2017 at 6:12pm CDT

The Cardinals announced on Wednesday that they’ve promoted director of international operations Moises Rodriguez to the position of assistant general manager. Rodriguez has spent 10 years working in the Cardinals’ front office, and the team notes within its press release that he was “instrumental” in signing and developing prospects such as Carlos Martinez, Alex Reyes, Magneuris Sierra and the late Oscar Taveras. Born in Puerto Rico, Rodriguez explained in discussing his new title (video link via the Cardinals, on Twitter) that he grew up in New York City cheering for the Cardinals while largely surrounded by Mets fans. Newly promoted GM Michael Girsch says that Rodriguez has done “an amazing job” building out the team’s international department, adding that Rodriguez’s views at times differ from his own, which is “ideal” and “makes everyone better.” The Cardinals did not name a new director of international operations and expect to do so “early this offseason,” per their release.

Bronson Arroyo To Retire

By Connor Byrne | September 24, 2017 at 8:31am CDT

Reds right-hander Bronson Arroyo has decided to retire, according to reports from Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer and Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Reds honored the 40-year-old Arroyo before and after their game Saturday against the Red Sox, one of his former teams.

“It feels now like my senior year in high school and I’m ready to get out,” Arroyo said. “I’m honestly ready to go.”

Injuries derailed Arroyo’s career in recent seasons and prevented him from taking the mound after June 18 this year, making his choice to walk away from the game unsurprising.

Arroyo underwent Tommy John surgery as a member of the Diamondbacks in 2014, causing him to miss all of 2015, and was unable to earn a spot with the Nationals entering the 2016 season thanks in part to a torn rotator cuff. He returned to the Reds, with whom he pitched from 2006-13, on a minor league deal last offseason. While Arroyo improbably earned a spot in the Reds’ rotation in the spring, he dealt with shoulder problems that limited him to 71 innings of 7.35 ERA ball in his final season.

Despite his health issues over the past few years, Arroyo enjoyed an eminently successful career as a reliable innings eater. He entered the pro ranks as a third-round pick of the Pirates in 1995 and ultimately broke out with the Red Sox, who claimed him off waivers from Pittsburgh in 2003. With his memorable leg kick, Arroyo emerged as a quality starter in 2004 for a Boston team that came back from a 3-0 deficit in the American League Championship Series to stun the archrival Yankees and then sweep the Cardinals in the World Series to end an 86-year title drought for the Sox franchise. Arroyo spun 178 2/3 frames of 4.03 ERA pitching that regular season and figured prominently in a controversial playoff moment when the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez slapped the ball out of his glove in Game 6 of the ALCS.

Arroyo lasted another season with the Red Sox before joining the Reds in a trade for outfielder Wily Mo Pena. Then-Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein came to regret his decision to part with the popular, effective Arroyo, as Silverman writes.

“(Epstein’s) told me a few times (about the mistake),” Arroyo said. “The most prominent time was ’06, just before the All-Star break. He called me and said, ‘Bronson, I just want to tell you you’re having a fantastic year, and I can’t walk down the street without somebody screaming out of the car, ‘Why in the hell did you trade Arroyo?’ ”

Boston’s loss was a major gain for Cincinnati, which was the beneficiary of eight workhorse seasons from Arroyo, who totaled no fewer than 199 innings in each campaign and was part of three playoff teams in the Queen City. In 2006, his first year with the Reds, Arroyo posted a career-high 240 2/3 frames and a personal-best 3.29 ERA en route to his sole All-Star selection. In total, he logged a 4.05 ERA over 1,690 1/3 innings in his first stint with the Reds, parlaying that success into a two-year, $23.5MM deal with the Diamondbacks.

Arroyo was technically a member of six major league organizations – both the Braves and Dodgers acquired him in trades when he was on the shelf in 2015 – but pitched for four in a career that spanned 2,435 2/3 innings. He recorded a 148-127 win-loss record and a 4.28 ERA, to go with 25.8 rWAR and 24.0 fWAR, and earned nearly $82MM in the big leagues.

MLBTR congratulates Arroyo on a terrific career and wishes him the best in retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Suarez, Castillo, Pearce, Morimando

By Mark Polishuk | September 23, 2017 at 4:58pm CDT

Eugenio Suarez is “open for everything” in terms of discussing an extension with the Reds, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports. Suarez will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, though he’s still focused on the season and not on the numbers. “I don’t think about how much I want. I just want to sign with this team. I don’t want hesitation or arbitration,” Suarez said. The third baseman is in line for a very nice payday in the wake of a breakout season that saw him hit .265/.374/.476 with a career-best 26 home runs. As Sheldon notes, the Reds just signed Tucker Barnhart (another player about to enter arbitration eligibility) to a long-term deal, and Suarez certainly makes sense as an extension candidate this winter. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently opined that Suarez’s future with the team could be at shortstop, should Zack Cozart leave in free agency and third base prospect Nick Senzel forces his way into the big league lineup in 2018.

Here are some notes from around the big leagues…

Welington Castillo is concentrating on playing and tells Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun that he has yet to consider the player option decision facing him after the season. The catcher did say, however, that he enjoys playing in Baltimore and wants to remain with the Orioles. Castillo controls his own fate in the form of his $7MM option for 2018, though given his impressive numbers this year, he is likely to find a much richer long-term deal by testing the free agent market. From the perspective of Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette, the team would be happy to have Castillo back but the O’s also have catching depth in the form of Caleb Joseph and top prospect Chance Sisco. “Either way is helpful to the club,” Duquette said.
Steve Pearce has been shut down for the season due to a bad back, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports. Pearce will receive epidural injections next week in order to hopefully solve the back soreness that has bothered him for much of the season. Pearce will conclude his first season with the Blue Jays with a .252/.319/.438 slash line and 13 homers in 348 PA, as he was limited to 92 games due to the back problem and a month-long DL stint due to a calf strain.
Left-hander Shawn Morimando has been sent home by the Indians due to a rather unusual reason — the team simply can’t find any innings for him, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Morimando was promoted on September 1 since the Tribe wanted extra pitching on hand for a double-header, but Morimando had yet to make an appearance over three weeks into his call-up. Morimando will still receive service time and pay for the remainder of the year. The 24-year-old does have some MLB experience on his resume, appearing in two games (4 2/3 IP) for Cleveland in 2016.

NL Notes: Goldschmidt, Cozart, Snitker, Panik

By Steve Adams | September 22, 2017 at 12:36pm CDT

There are “hints” that the D-backs plan to try locking up MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt to a longer-term deal, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in his latest NL Notes column. However, the team’s below-average revenues (in part due to the league’s lowest ticket prices) could make it difficult. Goldschmidt will earn $11MM in 2018 and has an easy-call $14.5MM club option ($2MM buyout) for the 2019 campaign on his contract as well. He’ll turn 32 years old at the end of that 2019 campaign, though he’s shown no signs of slowing down to this point in his career; Goldschmidt is hitting .305/.410/.576 with 35 homers and 18 steals in what has been a roughly 6-WAR season thus far. Of course, any long-term deal with Goldschmidt would have to be able to mesh with Zack Greinke’s considerable contract and could also impact the team’s ability to re-sign slugger J.D. Martinez.

Elsewhere in the National League…

Heyman also reports that the Reds may try to retain Zack Cozart in 2018 and beyond after holding onto him in July and August. Per Heyman, the Reds set an extremely high asking price on Cozart, asking the Orioles at one point for top outfield prospect Austin Hays in return. That’s a steep ask for a Cozart rental, considering Hays broke out with a .329/.365/.593 slash and 32 homers in 128 games between Double-A and Triple-A this season before making his MLB debut in September.
The Braves are still weighing whether to retain manager Brian Snitker beyond the 2017 season, as Heyman notes in his column and as Ken Rosenthal details at greater length for The Athletic (subscription required and strongly recommended). Per Rosenthal, the Braves don’t need to make a decision on Snitker’s 2018 option until five days after the World Series, so they still have some time to mull things over. Snitker tells Rosenthal that he’d like to continue managing for “a while,” though he says he’s not sweating the decision as it’s largely out of his control. Heyman cites a source in reporting that Atlanta is “leaning toward” making a change, though nothing’s been set in stone yet, and it’s possibly that Snitker’s option is simply exercised without any extension being issued. Rosenthal, meanwhile, takes a deeper dive into some of the reported tensions in the Braves organization and how they impact the managerial decision.
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News wonders whether Giants second baseman Joe Panik is part of the team’s future or will instead be an offseason trade chip. Panik, Baggarly reasons, is one of the Giants’ most desirable big league pieces given his lack of a long-term contract and the fact that he’s only just reaching arbitration eligibility. However, the Giants also didn’t see Christian Arroyo take the step forward that they hoped, making it perhaps tougher to deal from their more proven infield depth. Giants fans and those interested in the offseason trade market are encouraged to check out Baggarly’s well-reasoned take on the situation in full.

Reds Sign Tucker Barnhart To Four-Year Extension

By Steve Adams | September 22, 2017 at 8:07am CDT

The Reds announced on Friday morning that they’ve signed catcher Tucker Barnhart to a four-year contract extension that will keep him around through at least the 2021 season. Barnhart’s new contract also contains a club option for the 2022 season.

Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Barnhart will be guaranteed $16MM (Twitter link). That sum will paid out in the form of a $1.75MM signing bonus and annual salaries of $4MM (2018), $2.5MM (2019), $3.5MM (2020) and $3.75MM (2021). The 2022 option is valued at $7.5MM and comes with a $500K buyout, per Buchanan.

If the option is exercised, Barnhart would reach the open market in advance of his age-32 season having earned at least $23MM over the life of his new contract. Escalators could push the maximum value of the deal to as much as $24.5MM over five seasons.

“Tucker has made us proud on the field with his play and off the field with his community involvement,” said Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams in a statement announcing the contract. “He worked his way up through our system, improving every step of the way, and has established himself as an elite defensive catcher and a productive offensive player. Switch-hitting catchers who can impact the game defensively are tough to find.”

Barnhart, a client of the Ballengee Group, was slated to reach free agency upon completion of the 2020 campaign, so this deal will lock in one of his free-agent seasons and give the Reds control over a second would-be free-agent year. He’d have been eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter, so Barnhart’s contract will also allow him to ever avoid needing to deal with said process.

While Barnhart is far from a household name, he’s quietly produced a quality 2017 season after emerging as the Reds’ primary catcher in 2016 due to Devin Mesoraco’s persistent injury issues. Barnhart batted a respectable .257/.323/.379 for the Reds in a career-high 115 games/420 plate appearances last season, and he’s elevated his offensive profile in 2017 with a .272/.349/.399 slash. While some of his OBP is undoubtedly a product of batting eighth in a National League lineup, Barnhart typically demonstrated keen plate discipline throughout his minor league career (10.7 percent minor league walk rate) and has struck out in just 16.4 percent of his plate appearances this season.

Looking at the defensive side of his game, Barnhart has been nothing short of sensational when it comes to controlling the running game. He caught a well-above-average 33 percent of potential base thieves in the 2016 campaign and currently leads the National League with a gaudy 44 percent caught-stealing rate in 2017. Baseball Prospectus feels that he’s been the most valuable catcher in terms of throwing arm and one of the three best in terms of blocking pitches in the dirt this season. However, both B-Pro and Statcorner.com peg Barnhart’s pitch framing as well below the league average.

The Barnhart extension gives the Reds four players under contract through at least the 2019 season, although Raisel Iglesias figures to opt into arbitration this winter and, in doing so, forgo his guaranteed salaries for more sizable year-to-year paydays. Cincinnati also has Joey Votto and Homer Bailey earning a combined $48MM in 2019, and Barnhart will now join Votto as the only Reds player signed to a guaranteed deal in 2020 and in 2021.

While there’s very limited financial risk for the team in the first place, the front-loaded nature of the contract further reduces some of that risk. Barnhart seems likely to handle the bulk of catching duties next year, given the uncertainty surrounding Mesoraco’s health, or at the very least split the load in a fairly even timeshare. But, he’ll earn closer to backup catcher salaries as the contract wears on, should the Reds look to augment their catching situation with a more formidable offensive backstop.

As for Barnhart himself, he’ll lock in the first significant payday of his professional career. The former 10th-round pick signed a $250K bonus out of the draft and has earned at scarcely more than a pro-rated league-minimum rate to this point in the Majors. That his value comes more from controlling the running game and getting on base than accruing counting stats (homers, RBIs, etc.) would also likely have suppressed his earning potential in arbitration, giving Barnhart extra incentive to lock in his first fortune as a big leaguer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reds Outright D.J. Peterson

By Jeff Todd | September 19, 2017 at 12:59pm CDT

The Reds have outrighted corner infielder D.J. Peterson after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. Cincinnati had just claimed the former top prospect off waivers from the White Sox.

Clearly, the series of moves was designed to add Peterson without tying up a 40-man spot, which seems to have been successful. He will be Rule 5 eligible if another organization wants to take a look during camp, but Peterson will not be able to elect minor-league free agency at the end of the current season.

Chosen 12th overall in the 2013 draft, Peterson once rated as one of the game’s hundred or so best prospects. His stock has slipped, though, as it became evident he likely wouldn’t stick at third base and as his bat has failed to develop.

The Mariners ultimately gave up on Peterson after he slashed .264/.323/.414 at Triple-A to open the season. He hit even less upon landing with the White Sox, but became the latest stalled power hitter to land with the Reds organization on Sunday. It seems reasonable to expect that Peterson will at least have some shot at impressing his new employer in camp, assuming he’s still with the club come mid-February.

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