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Cafardo’s Latest: Ortiz, Buchholz, Pomeranz, Papelbon, Haren, Preller

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Here’s the latest from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

  • The Red Sox are in reasonable position to welcome David Ortiz back to the fold if he chooses to delay retirement. Cafardo points out that there could be many factors getting in the way of an Ortiz return, like the fact that Ortiz retired in the first place, or that his return would have luxury tax ramifications for the club. But the team has avoided substantial commitments to players who might get in his way, and even Mitch Moreland, recently added on a one-year deal, might be more of a replacement for Travis Shaw’s work at first base than Ortiz’s at DH. And Ortiz, of course, recently penned a provocative Instgram post expressing excitement at the Red Sox’ acquisition of Chris Sale.
  • The Red Sox would prefer to trade Clay Buchholz, but they would generate more interest from other teams if they were to make Drew Pomeranz available instead, Cafardo writes. Buchholz is set to make $13.5MM next year, while Pomeranz will make about $4.7MM, as MLBTR projected. (I’d add that Pomeranz is also controllable through 2018, while Buchholz is not.) The medicals on both pitchers “probably aren’t that great,” a rival executive says. Buchholz missed time in 2015 with an elbow injury, and Pomeranz had a forearm issue last year.
  • It doesn’t sound like Jonathan Papelbon will pick a new team anytime soon. According to his agent, Seth Levinson, Papelbon is dealing with a family matter, and wants to be dedicated to that issue until it’s resolved. “We hope that people can respect his privacy during this time,” Levinson says.
  • The Diamondbacks recently added retired righty Dan Haren as a “pitching strategist,” but D’backs manager Torey Lovullo says not to expect Haren to be in the public eye. “I think he’s going to be somebody behind the scenes, and that’s by his choice,” Lovullo says. “He wants to just remain behind the scenes and help our pitchers be successful. I think he has an attachment to Arizona. … So I think there’s a good starting point for him to come in and come up with a game plan as to how to reach some of these guys and how to help them as quickly as possible.”
  • Rival front offices have been careful in making trades with Padres GM A.J. Preller, who recently served a 30-day suspension over a failure to disclose medical information. “I think it’s just human nature to keep your eyes open when dealing with him at least for a while,” says one executive.

Diamondbacks Sign Fernando Rodney

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DECEMBER 9: Arizona appears to have acknowledged the signing via Twitter, with a clever nod to Rodney’s post-save, arrow-shooting celebration.

Jack Magruder of Fan Rag tweeted the details of the incentives clause, which he says maxes out at $4MM. That includes $250K apiece if and when Rodney reaches 40, 50, and 60 appearances, with a $500K payout if he gets to 70.

DEC. 7: SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Rodney’s deal would max out at $5MM if all of the incentives are reached.

DEC. 6: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent reliever Fernando Rodney, Jon Heyman of FanRag writes (Twitter links). Rodney will receive $2.75MM guaranteed, plus considerable incentives, and he’ll open the year as the Diamondbacks’ closer. Heyman had previously tweeted that the Diamondbacks and Padres were in talks with Rodney, who is an Octagon client.

It was a tale of two seasons for the Rodney in 2016 — he was brilliant for the Padres to start the year, allowing just one earned run through 28 1/3 innings in San Diego, but then he allowed twice as many walks in 36 2/3 innings after a trade to Miami. His 5.89 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9 in Florida led the Marlins to decline his 2017 option, which was effectively worth $4.5MM after incentives.

Where that leaves Rodney for 2017 is unclear — on one hand, he has closing experience, can still strike batters out and induce grounders, and managed to post a reasonable composite line in 2016 (3.44 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 5.1 BB/9). On the other hand, he faded down the stretch, walks too many batters, and will be 40 in March.

In any case, the Diamondbacks didn’t have an established closer, so the deal provides both player and team with an opportunity. Rodney can reestablish himself as a big-league closer. The Diamondbacks, who don’t appear likely to contend, can either keep him for the year or attempt to trade him, much as the Padres did last season — San Diego received a decent starting pitching prospect, Chris Paddack, when it dealt Rodney last June.

Diamondbacks Willing To Listen On Starters

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Arizona’s recent acquisition of Taijuan Walker gave the team quite a bit of depth in the rotation, and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the D-backs have shown a willingness to listen to offers on their starters during this week’s Winter Meetings. Per Piecoro, the Diamondbacks are most open to moving left-hander Patrick Corbin and right-hander Shelby Miller. Elsewhere in the rotation, the Diamondbacks have Walker, Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray, with young right-handers Braden Shipley and Archie Bradley behind them. The asking price on both starters has been lofty, Piecoro adds.

Miller is still young, as he’ll pitch next season at the age of 26, but his first season in Arizona was an enormous struggle, as he posted a 6.15 ERA and saw each of his K/9 rate (6.4), BB/9 rate (3.8), ground-ball rate (41.9 percent) and average fastball velocity (93 mph) trend in the wrong direction. Miller’s struggles led to a Triple-A demotion that would’ve seemed unfathomable on Opening Day, and he also spent time on the disabled list with a sprained index finger on his pitching hand.

While all of those red flags are cause for concern, Miller’s age and the fact that he’s just a season removed from 200+ innings with a 3.02 ERA could certainly make him an intriguing rebound candidate for teams on the hunt for pitching help. Furthermore, the demotion to the minors delayed his free agency by a season, so Miller is still controllable for three years before he’ll hit the open market. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him to earn $4.9MM next year.

Corbin, 27, broke out for the D-backs in 2013 when he posted a 3.41 ERA in 208 1/3 innings with 7.7 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate. Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2014 campaign, but Corbin looked similarly encouraging in a half season when he returned in 2015, totaling 85 innings with a 3.60 ERA, a higher strikeout rate (8.3 K/9) and a lower walk rate (1.8 BB/9). Like most of Arizona’s pitchers, though, Corbin found the 2016 season challenging and struggled to a 5.15 ERA in 155 2/3 innings. His walk rate spiked (3.8 BB/9), and though his ground-ball rate increased, Corbin struggled to strand runners and found himself increasingly susceptible to home runs. With two years of team control and an affordable $4.2MM arbitration projection from Swartz, Corbin makes financial sense for plenty of teams.

It’s not entirely clear exactly how high Arizona’s asking price is, though one exec speculated to Piecoro that the team might be seeking a potential starting catcher. Piecoro cites multiple sources in reporting that Red Sox GM Mike Hazen and his staff checked in with their former Red Sox colleagues on the availability of Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez — not necessarily in connection to Miller or Corbin — so teams with readily available catching help could line up as potential trade partners.

Bullpen Rumors: Marlins, Nats, Melancon, Tigers, D-backs

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The Marlins are interested in free agent relievers Brad Ziegler and Koji Uehara as fallback options if they’re unable to reel in Kenley Jansen or Aroldis Chapman, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Miami could sign both Ziegler and Uehara if it loses out on Jansen and Chapman, per Frisaro (Twitter links). Ziegler and Uehara each carry strong track records, though the former is 37 and the latter will turn 42 in April. The pair finished last season in Boston, where Uehara has pitched since 2013. In other Marlins-related bullpen news, the club is “highly unlikely” to re-sign left-hander Mike Dunn, but it continues “monitoring his status,” tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.

More bullpen-related rumors:

  • The Nationals offered “at least $10MM less” than the Giants’ winning four-year, $62MM bid for closer Mark Melancon, the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner told MLB Network Radio on Monday (Twitter link).
  • The Tigers are gauging interest in southpaw setup man Justin Wilson and right-handed reliever Shane Greene, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). This is the second time Wilson’s name has hit the rumor mill since last week. The 29-year-old impressed with a 9.97 K/9, 2.61 BB/9 and 54.6 ground-ball rate in 58 2/3 innings last season. However, a .340 BABIP (47 points higher than his career .293 mark) and a 12.2 percent home run-to-fly ball ratio (up from a lifetime 8 percent mark) helped lead to an unspectacular ERA of 4.14. Wilson has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a reasonable $2.7MM salary for next season. Greene, 28, comes with four years of team control – including a pre-arb year in 2017 – but he posted a 5.82 ERA in 60 1/3 frames last season despite an 8.8 K/9, 3.28 BB/9 and 47.6 grounder rate.
  • With only Randall Delgado and Jake Barrett as strong in-house bets to crack the Diamondbacks’ bullpen next April, the club wants to add “multiple” relievers and has enough spending room to do so, general manager Mike Hazen told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Moreover, Hazen expects the D-backs’ lack of established options to serve as an advantage in reeling in outside help. “Most times, a lot of players in a lot of cases want opportunity or some definition of role,” Hazen said. “I think we can offer those things in a lot of cases. We’re not asking some of the players that we’re talking to to come here and do something you’re unaccustomed to. That does give us a little clarity. We’re not the only ones that have that ability, but we do have that right now in the bullpen.” Ziegler and Daniel Hudson, two longtime Diamondbacks, are among the free agents the team has contacted this offseason.

Bullpen Rumors: Melancon, Marlins, Lefties, Diamondbacks

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There’s plenty of bullpen chatter circulating as the Winter Meetings get underway. Here’s the latest…

  • The latest updates on Mark Melancon last night revealed that the three-time All-Star has received multiple four-year offers, potentially in excess of $60MM in some cases. The Nationals have indeed made a four-year offer to closer Mark Melancon, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, but their offer was for less than $60MM guaranteed. That makes a reunion look unlikely for now, barring an increase in the offer from the Nats.
  • FanRag’s Jon Heyman writes that Melancon is the Giants’ top target, and Greg Holland could be their primary alternative, as opposed to either Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen. Heyman feels it’s unlikely that they’d pursue either Jansen or Chapman if they fall to land Melancon. The Giants and Nationals are pushing the hardest for Melancon, tweets Heyman.
  • The Nationals, Marlins, Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees and Giants are all in on Kenley Jansen, per ESPN’s Jim Bowden. Heyman tweets that the Marlins are intent on adding a top closer, and owner Jeffrey Loria is a fan of Chapman in particular. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Loria is at the Winter Meetings and is participating in meetings with the representation for top-tier bullpen arms.
  • The Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Indians, Dodgers, Rockies and Diamondbacks are all in the market for a bullpen lefty, putting names like Mike Dunn, Boone Logan and Jerry Blevins in a good position, Heyman tweets. Heyman also tweeted this morning that the D-backs are focused on the bullpen at the moment and have no plans to “shock the world” like they did last offseason.
  • Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that veteran southpaw Joe Beimel is at the Winter Meetings and is seeking a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Beimel, 40 in April, hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2015 but had a nice two-year stretch in Seattle from 2014-15, posting a 3.12 ERA in 92 1/3 innings.

NL News & Rumors: D-backs, Cubs, Padres, Reds, Marlins

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The Diamondbacks are aiming to improve their bullpen and have reached out to a pair of familiar free agent relievers, Brad Ziegler and Daniel Hudson, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Ziegler previously spent parts of six seasons with the Diamondbacks, who traded him to Boston in July. New D-backs executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen was the Red Sox’s GM at the time, of course, so he’s familiar with Ziegler. Hudson, meanwhile, has been with Arizona since 2010. The 29-year-old has recorded a 4.50 ERA, 9.07 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 128 innings as a reliever over the past two seasons.

More from Arizona and a few other NL cities:

  • Along with bolstering his bullpen, Hazen hopes to add left-handed hitters, he told Piecoro. “I think being a little more left-handed could certainly help us,” Hazen said. “Pigeonholing it into one specific focus, I think, would be too complicated to try to pull off. I think we can be opportunistic about that.” The Diamondbacks have four established or potential regulars who are either lefties or switch-hitters in third baseman Jake Lamb, outfielder David Peralta, catcher Chris Herrmann and infielder Ketel Marte, notes Piecoro. They could trade outfielder Yasmany Tomas in an attempt to become less right-handed, but there’s not much of a market for him, sources informed Piecoro. While Tomas belted 29 home runs in 2016, the 26-year-old’s .272/.313/.508 line wasn’t great overall; further, he doesn’t provide defensive or baserunning value and still has $48.5MM coming his way through the 2020 season.
  • The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. “The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro,” a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. “San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals.” Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.
  • The rebuilding Reds are committed to giving regular playing time to young middle infielder Jose Peraza in 2017, general manager Dick Williams and manager Bryan Price told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). That’s particularly notable with two up-the-middle veterans – second baseman Brandon Phillips and shortstop Zack Cozart – in place. Cincinnati attempted to deal Phillips last offseason, but he took advantage of his ability to block a trade. Phillips, who has one year and $14MM left on his contract, is reportedly more open to waiving his no-trade clause this offseason. Cozart also has one year of club control remaining, and he nearly went to the Mariners prior to last summer’s non-waiver trade deadline. Seattle has since acquired Jean Segura, taking it out of the running for Cozart, but he could still interest other shortstop-needy teams looking for a capable and affordable stopgap. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.7MM arbitration award for Cozart.
  • With Jeff Mathis headed to Arizona, the Marlins are in the market for a veteran backup catcher, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Free agents like Geovany Soto and Dioner Navarro are candidates to end up in Miami as the main reserve behind J.T. Realmuto, writes Frisaro.

Diamondbacks Non-Tender Welington Castillo, Rubby De La Rosa

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The Diamondbacks decided not to tender arbitration contracts to catcher Welington Castillo and righty Rubby De La Rosa, per a team announcement. The decision on Castillo, in particular, rates as a surprise; both will be available to the highest bidder on the open market.

Castillo had been projected by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz to earn a fairly hefty $5.9MM in his final season of control. But in this market, with more teams seemingly in need of catching than there are serviceable backstops to go around, that seemed plenty reasonable.

After all, Castillo is still just 29 years of age and provided the D-Backs with 457 plate appearances of .264/.322/.423 hitting last year, while swatting 14 home runs. That was slightly below a league-average rate of production for a hitter, but is quite useful for a catcher. And Castillo had shown some real upside just a season before, when he popped 17 long balls and OPS’ed .813 over 303 plate appearances following his mid-season acquisition by the Snakes.

Of course, offense isn’t everything, particularly for the catching position. Castillo rated as a slightly below-average framer by StatCorner’s measure in 2016, though he was right at par the season prior. In the view of Baseball Prospectus, though, he was rather terrible at gaining strikes for his pitchers last year.

On the surface, even with the questions about his ability to win the corners for a team’s staff, it might have seemed that Castillo would at least have held trade appeal. Surely, though, that possibility was explored by Arizona before it finalized its course. From the organization’s perspective, it can roll the dice that Chris Herrmann (at a projected $1MM arb salary) will reprise his surprising run from 2016. And it’ll look to help nurture its rotation back to health with a steady hand in a reserve role, as the D-Backs have reportedly agreed to terms with free agent Jeff Mathis, That duo figures to cost a fair sight less than Castillo would have alone.

De La Rosa, whose elbow health is in question, was projected at a $3.0MM tab. That was an amply reasonable amount for his talent, particularly considering that there’s another season of control to go, but the team may not have been encouraged by the medical signals it received.

Last we checked in, the 27-year-old was undergoing stem cell therapy in an effort to avoid Tommy John surgery. He has previously undergone a UCL replacement in his career, and at this point, a repeat procedure surely would’ve caused him to miss all of the 2017 season. In that event, Arizona would’ve been required to promise him the same rate of pay both for 2017 and 2018, all in the hopes that he’d return (and return to form) in the second of those two years.

That being said, it’s tough to give up on a pitcher of De La Rosa’s promise. He had turned in 50 2/3 innings of 4.26 ERA pitching in 2016, and struggled with the long ball, but did post a strong 9.6 K/9 rate to go with his 3.6 BB/9. Some ERA estimators believed he had been a bit unfortunate, as he ended the year with a 3.85 FIP and 3.86 SIERA. De La Rosa brings a mid-nineties heater to the table, and will be an interesting bounceback candidate.

Market Notes: CBA, Astros, Encarnacion, Napoli, Cubs-Sox, Puig, A’s, Greinke, Bucs

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With the CBA now in place, teams and players that were waiting for clarity can move toward new agreements. While plenty of organizations have gone right ahead with their plans, others seemingly have waited. That includes the Yankees (per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, on Twitter), Nationals (per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, on Twitter), and perhaps also the Red Sox (via Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, in a tweet). Whether we’re in for a rush of moves remains to be seen, but the stage is set.

Here’s all the latest chatter on the market:

  • The Astros continue to strive to add another bat, with the team confident it will land either Edwin Encarnacion or Carlos Beltran, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Still, the Yankees, Blue Jays, and a “couple others” remain involved on Encarnacion, Heyman tweets. All three of those teams, along with the Red Sox, are in on Beltran, Nightengale adds on Twitter.
  • Several former employers of first bagger Mike Napoli have interest in a reunion, per Heyman. The Red Sox, Indians, and Rangers are perhaps the three teams most heavily invested in his market. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Astros appear to be involved at the periphery at present.
  • There have been some rumblings of late suggesting that the Cubs and White Sox likely won’t do business with one another this winter, at least not on any significant deals, and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times rounds up the latest. Ultimately, it seems, there’s not much new to chew on here: both teams say they’re open working with one another, even if they acknowledge what GM Jed Hoyer suggests is an unsurprising reality that the clubs are unlikely to to match up on an impactful swap given their market competition.
  • The Dodgers are still open to considering trades involving outfielder Yasiel Puig, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times recently noted on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Athletics continue to chase a center fielder after signing Matt Joyce, per GM David Forst (via MLB.com’s Jane Lee, on Twitter). It seems that Oakland is considering options via trade and free agency to fill the void up the middle.
  • There’s “minimal trade interest” at present in Diamondbacks righty Zack Greinke, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. His massive contract remains an obvious impediment, though rival execs tells Rosenthal that they don’t believe Arizona can afford to carry that huge commitment. It’s certainly a notable dilemma for the team.
  • The Pirates are looking into the trade market for relief help, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). It’s possible that Pittsburgh could consider moving Tony Watson, who is in his final season of team control and comes with a projected $5.9MM salary. The team does have two other solid pen lefties; while Watson currently profiles as the closer, moreover, there are a variety of potential alternatives on the open market.

Diamondbacks Sell Contract Of Kyle Jensen To Japanese Club

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The Diamondbacks have sold the contract of first baseman/outfielder Kyle Jensen to Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, per a club announcement. Robert Murray of Fan Rag reported the move.

Jensen was recently designated for assignment by Arizona. The 28-year-old received his first crack at the majors in 2016 after joining the Snakes on a minor league pact last winter, though he didn’t receive much playing time. He spent most of his time at Triple-A, as he has for the past several seasons.

There is some reason for optimism for the former 12th-round pick, who has spent each of the last three seasons with a different organization. Over 555 plate appearances at the highest level of the minors, he posted a .289/.350/.546 slash and added thirty home runs — marking the sixth-straight minor league campaign in which he has hit at least twenty long balls.

Reds Claim Juan Graterol, Gabriel Guerrero Off Waivers

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The Reds have claimed catcher Juan Graterol off waivers from the Angels and claimed outfielder Gabriel Guerrero off waivers from the Diamondbacks, the team announced today. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster, the Reds have designated right-hander Keyvius Sampson and catcher Ramon Cabrera for assignment.

The 22-year-old Guerrero is the nephew of former Major League superstar Vladimir Guerrero and long rated as one of the top prospects in the Mariners’ system before being traded to Arizona in last year’s Mark Trumbo/Welington Castillo trade. Guerrero posted strong numbers as recently as 2014 in Class-A Advanced — .307/.347/.467 with 18 homers and 18 steals in 530 plate appearances — but his production has plummeted upon reaching the upper levels of the minors. He hit just .223/.258/.346 between his two organizations’ Double-A affiliates in 2015 and struggled similarly this year, hitting .234/.281/.383 between Double-A and Triple-A.

Graterol, 27, made his Major League debut and tallied 15 PAs with the Halos this past season. The former Royals farmhand spent the 2015 season in the Yankees organization before inking a minors pact with the Halos last offseason. He’s a career .274/.306/.338 hitter in parts of three seasons (95 games) at the Triple-A level and has halted stolen base attempts at a very strong 38 percent clip in the minors. Baseball Prospectus gives him average pitch-framing grades in the minors as well.

Sampson, 25, pitched 39 1/3 innings with the Reds this year across 18 games — two starts, 16 relief appearances — and logged a 4.35 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 6.2 BB/9. Control has long been an issue for Sampson, who has walked 53 men, hit two batters and also rattled off seven wild pitches in his 91 2/3 big league innings. The former Padres farmhand pitched well in the minors up through Double-A but began to struggle at Triple-A (5.18 ERA in 231 innings) and clearly hasn’t fared much better in the Majors, where he owns a collective 5.60 ERA.

Cabrera, meanwhile, made his big league debut with the Reds in 2015 and played in a career-high 61 games for Cincinnati this season. The 27-year-old received 185 plate appearances due largely to the season-ending injury sustained by Devin Mesoraco and batted .246/.279/.357 with three homers and 10 doubles. He’s a lifetime .274/.327/.343 hitter at the Triple-A level and could end up elsewhere on waivers, though he’s never excelled at throwing out runners (23 percent in the minors) and draws routinely negative framing marks. From that standpoint, it’s not difficult to see why the Reds felt that Graterol was a superior option to function as the third catcher on their 40-man roster, behind Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart.

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