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Indians Sign Hanley Ramirez To Minor League Deal

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Feb. 26: The Indians have formally announced the signing.

Feb. 24: Ramirez will earn $1MM in guaranteed salary if he makes Cleveland’s roster, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets, with some more money available in incentives.

Feb. 23: The Indians have agreed to a minor league deal, pending a physical, with free-agent first baseman Hanley Ramirez, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Cleveland’s the first team for the 35-year-old Ramirez since Boston unceremoniously released him last June 1. Ramirez drew little reported interest after the Red Sox cut ties with him, owing to back-to-back seasons of subpar production at the plate and an inability to add value in the field or on the base paths. Formerly a superstar with the Marlins and a quality player with the Dodgers, Ramirez combined to hit a meager .245/.318/.421 (91 wRC+) with 29 home runs and minus-0.7 fWAR in 748 plate appearances from 2017-18.

Ramirez was an easily above-average hitter as recently as 2016, but that was his lone productive year with the Red Sox, who signed him to a four-year, $88MM deal prior to 2015. The contract was a bust for Boston, with which Ramirez contributed a microscopic 0.9 fWAR over 1,798 PAs. He also left much to be desired in left field and at first base during his Red Sox tenure, though he did earn playable marks from Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating at the latter position in a combined 358 innings from 2017-18.

There was obviously considerable risk for the Red Sox when they signed Ramirez, whereas the Indians are buying low on him now and hoping to land a solid contributor for a nominal fee. It’s possible the right-handed Ramirez will catch on with the Indians in a first base/designated hitter platoon, as their projected starter at the former spot – Jake Bauers – is a lefty. Bauers struggled versus same-handed hurlers in 2018, but Ramirez pulverized southpaws last year and owns a lifetime .896 OPS against them.

Indians To Sign Tyler Clippard

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The Indians have a deal in place with righty reliever Tyler Clippard, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). It’s a minor-league pact that would pay him $1.75MM in the majors with up to $1MM in incentives.

Clippard worked plenty of useful frames last year for the Blue Jays, compiling a 3.67 ERA in 68 2/3 innings. That’s well shy of his prime levels, when he was a late-inning stalwart for the Nationals, but still represents a productive campaign.

Interestingly, Clippard has become an even more extreme pitcher than he was in his heyday. The 34-year-old worked at a healthy 14.3% swinging-strike rate and carried 11.1 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9. He also carried a 19.2% groundball rate last year, the lowest rate in all of baseball. Clippard still knows how to get hitters to chase and whiff on his change-up. The question remains what happens with his high heaters.

In each of the past three seasons, more than 12 percent of the balls put in the air against Clippard have ended up leaving the yard, breaking a string of six-straight years with a HR/FB rate of less than ten percent. As a result, Clippard has surrendered 33 dingers over his past 192 innings — a boost in long ball frequency that maps to a reduction in his average four-seam velocity.

On the other hand, Clippard did still bounce back to a well-above-average 16.3% infield fly rate, allowing him to rack up easy outs. When he keeps the ball in the yard, Clippard remains awfully tough to touch. In fact, he allowed earned runs in only five contests last year in which he did not also surrender a home run.

All things considered, it seems like an easy risk for the Indians to take. Clippard wasn’t well-loved by FIP (4.24) and xFIP (4.28) last year, or in the prior few campaigns, but checked in with an appealing 3.42 SIERA number in 2018. He also fared well in the eyes of Statcast, which credited him with a .278 xwOBA (compared with a .309 wOBA). Clippard is also the game’s most durable reliever, easily topping the league in total innings over the past decade.

AL Central Notes: Abreu, Moncada, Zimmer, Cowart

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White Sox GM Rick Hahn addressed the situation of pending free agent first baseman Jose Abreu, as Scott Merkin of MLB.com tweets. It seems the organization may not be optimistic of reaching a deal to keep Abreu from the open market. “Never say never,” says Hahn, “but we prefer to handle our business in the offseason.” Perhaps there’s still some room for talks in camp, but that comment certainly did not strike a tone that suggests it’s seen as a particularly likely outcome.

  • Key White Sox youngster Yoan Moncada, meanwhile, appears to be slated to move to third base, as Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Had the team landed a certain prominent free agent target, those plans might have changed, but it now seems reasonably likely that the club will work with its existing infield mix. Yolmer Sanchez is seemingly slated to shift back to second base, with Tim Anderson staying at shortstop. Moncada says he’s happy to move to the hot corner. “I like that position, and with more repetitions I will feel even better,” he said. “I’m just here to help the team in whatever capacity they give me.”
  • With an outfield mix that hardly inspires much confidence, the Indians could certainly stand to receive a comeback effort from former top prospect Bradley Zimmer. As Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports, the 26-year-old appears to be making solid progress in his efforts to return from shoulder surgery. Right now, he’s just starting to take cuts in the cage, so there’s still a ways to go. When last we checked in, Zimmer indicated he was hopeful of landing on the earlier side of the eight-to-twelve-month recovery timeframe he was originally given when he went under the knife last July. If he stays on an upward trajectory, perhaps a reasonably early-season return is possible. Of course, Zimmer will be looking not only to come back from the injury but also a less-than-productive start to his MLB career at the plate.
  • The Tigers intend to focus on getting Kaleb Cowart up to speed as a pitcher, skipper Ron Gardenhire told reporters including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. That would appear to mean a reduction in his infield reps, though as McCosky tweeted today, Cowart was taking part in drills this morning. However things shake out in camp, Gardenhire says, pitching is the “main reason we brought [Cowart] in.” It’s a bit difficult to imagine Cowart cracking the Opening Day roster as a hurler — as the article explains, unsurprisingly, there’s plenty of rust — but he could still emerge as an option if he’s able to find a groove.

AL Notes: Angels, Rangers, Lindor, Sano

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Angels owner Arte Moreno discussed a few topics of interest today, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register covered. Moreno spoke positively of his interactions with the city of Anaheim regarding the club’s ballpark, seemingly representing an improvement in relations. He also gave a vote of confidence to the Billy Eppler-led front office. Most interestingly, though, Moreno explained the organization’s approach to spending on player contracts. It’s not about staying beneath the luxury tax line, he said; rather, the organization budgets to “allocate about 50 percent of [its] revenue towards payroll.” Moreno also added that he “bust[s] through that every year,” so it seems there’s some flexibility. Generally, though, the position helps explain some of the team’s spending patterns — including its approach this winter. Moreno says there’s still cash available for mid-season additions. Meanwhile, it’s still tough to gauge whether there’s a realistic possibility of a new deal with the incomparable Mike Trout. As MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes, Trout declined to comment on the possibility of a new deal at all, while Moreno would do little more than reiterate that there is interest on the team’s behalf.

More from the American League:

  • The Rangers are considering the possibility of pursuing extensions with several young players, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. At this point, though, it’s not clear that the team has engaged any agents. Neither is it evident which players might be approached. Sullivan tabs Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, and Jose Leclerc as the likeliest candidates. That would indeed seem to be a plausible trio. All have reasonable cases for significant money. Mazara is already into his arbitration years. Gallo and Leclerc have one more campaign to go, but each promises to accumulate the kinds of counting stats (home runs and saves, respectively) that pay well in arbitration.
  • There’s little doubt that the Indians would love to find a way to extend star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who has reportedly spurned record-setting offers in the past. He says he’s still happy for the time being to go year to year, as Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets. Lindor says he “love[s] everything about Cleveland,” but right now is “focused on arbitration” (so far as contractual matters go). That’s working out just fine, as he took down a big $10.55MM first-year arb payday. Ultimately, Lindor says, he may consider a long-term deal, though he certainly did not sound as if that’s something he’s particularly keen to pursue. Per Lindor: “If the Indians come up with the right numbers and at some point it happens — which, I’m not even thinking about — we’ll see.”
  • True, reports on conditioning entering camp are a tired trope. But given all the heartache over the years surrounding the physical form of Twins slugger Miguel Sano, it seems relevant that he’s said to be in the best shape of his life — or, at least, the best shape of his MLB career. As Dan Hayes of The Athletic writes (subscription link), Sano embarked upon a robust workout program this winter and seems to be in top form. Whether that extends to his productivity on the field remains to be seen, but it’s a positive start.

Trevor Bauer Discusses Arbitration Victory, Future Contracts

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Indians righty Trevor Bauer defeated the club for the second straight year in arbitration. He chatted about his win in a fascinating interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today in which he gave rare insight into the process and looked ahead to a third-straight hearing next winter.

Bauer is a polarizing figure for a variety of reasons, but it’s hard not to appreciate his willingness to think outside the box, put beliefs into action, and open the door to aspects of the sport that typically aren’t visible to the public. In this case, Bauer explained that he observed a “really well-argued case” on both sides — until the very end, when he was on the receiving end of what he labels “a character-assassination.”

As Bauer clarified in later remarks, and as Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports, his complaint was with the rebuttal portion of the proceeding conducted by MLB’s labor relations department (“LRD”). After both player and team have their chance at presenting a case — Bauer was represented by his agents at Wasserman, the club by assistant GM Matt Forman — the MLB Players Association and LRD each have a shot at presenting.

The LRD brought up Bauer’s highly publicized charity campaign from last offseason as a negative. Last winter, Bauer made some light of the arbitration system by initially seeking to file at $6,420,969.69, as he told Jeff Passan at the time, though he ultimately opted to file at a more conventional $6.5MM. However, he also embarked on what he termed “69 Days of Giving,” donating $420.69 per day to various charities recommended to him by social media followers in addition to one final donation of $69,420.69 to a charity of his own choosing.

The use of numbers “that mean something socially,” as Bauer put it, was intended to “continue[] the news cycle” and boost the effectiveness of his charitable efforts. But the episode was presented in the arbitration setting as a knock against Bauer’s value. “It kind of put a black mark on what I thought was a really well-argued case on both sides,” Bauer said. “There’s no room for that. Let’s just stick to the numbers. Let the numbers tell the story.”

Indians GM Chris Antonetti said that the team had input on the LRD presentation and did not request that this particular line of attack be removed, though it did do so with regard to other possible arguments. Bauer at least hinted at the fact that the structure of the proceeding allows teams to disclaim responsibility for negativity by leaving it for LRD to present. Regardless, both player and team ultimately expressed that they carry no ill will moving forward.

While all involved seem disinclined to carry grudges, that doesn’t mean that Bauer is looking ahead to a warm and fuzzy arbitration process this time next year. Saying that he intends to demand a salary commensurate with the annual value a top-end free agent starter would command, Bauer predicts that he’ll “set the record raise or the record salary in arbitration for a starting pitcher,” suggesting he ought to earn “$30 million plus.” Since such a payday “will never be agreed upon before a hearing,” he says, a return to the adversarial process seems inevitable.

[RELATED: MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker]

If Bauer does indeed seek to defend a number even approaching that magnitude, he will be looking to break new ground. He did exceed the expectations of MLBTR’s model — and Matt Swartz’s detailed breakdown — this time around. And the CBA language governing arbitration proceedings does hint that, in looking to “comparative baseball salaries,” players in their final season of arb eligibility are appropriately compared to free agents. (“The arbitration panel shall, except for a Player with five or more years of Major League service, give particular attention, for comparative salary purposes, to the contracts of Players with Major League service not exceeding one annual service group above the Player’s annual service group.”)

Still, he’ll be working off of the $13MM figure he earned this year, and arbitration typically works by adding raises on top of prior seasons’ salaries. Star third baseman Nolan Arenado filed at $30MM but settled for $26MM in his final season of eligibility — a record-breaking figure that nevertheless falls well shy of what he’d earn for just one season in free agency, even on a long-term commitment. Meanwhile, Jacob deGrom just set a record with a year-over-year raise of $9.6MM; he now sits at $17MM in 2019 earnings and will join Bauer in his final season of arb eligibility next winter — unless, that is, he first reaches an extension.

All of the battling could be forestalled if Bauer was to agree to a long-term deal with the Indians or some hypothetical team that might trade for him. But don’t hold your breath. As Nightengale examines in another piece, Bauer also reiterated his previously stated stance that he intends to “go year-to-year” for his “entire career.”

Bauer’s comments on that subject are fascinating in their own right. As he notes, the tendency to seek lengthy and massive multi-year deals in free agency is a risk-averse strategy for a player to take, as it dumps much of the long-term risk (and year-over-year ups and downs) on the team. Hypothetically, a player could earn more by taking it one season at a time — supposing, at least, that they keep performing. As teams change their means of valuation, he says, players “have to find a way in that environment to still maximize their value.”

The 28-year-old therefore seems content not only doing battle in front of an arbitration panel next winter, but then setting out onto the open market several times in the future. “It’s still unproven how clubs feel about [the one-year approach],” Bauer explains, “but looking at the market, and studying it, I identified for myself personally that it’s the best route to go forward.” Like any good scientist, Bauer will presumably be open to reconsidering that strategy if new evidence or reasoning supports an alternative approach. Of course, even if that occurs, wavering from his current course would rob us all of a chance to gain some fascinating data points.

Indians Sign Asher Wojciechowski, Tim Federowicz To Minor League Deals

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The Indians announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Asher Wojciechowski and catcher Tim Federowicz to minor league contracts with invites to Major League Spring Training.

Wojciechowski, 30, will give Cleveland some depth in both the rotation and the bullpen. He’s struggled to a 6.64 ERA with 9.2 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in 78 2/3 MLB innings, most of which came with the 2017 Reds, but he has plenty of experience at the Triple-A level. In 550 1/3 innings at the top minor league level, Wojciechowski has a 4.37 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9, with all but 15 of his 108 appearances there coming as a starter. He split last season between the Triple-A affiliates for the White Sox and Orioles, working to a combined 4.53 ERA in 119 1/3 frames but with a 126-to-37 K/BB ratio. Wojciechowski’s ability to miss bats has jumped considerably in the past two seasons, and his walk rate has dropped along with that spike, which likely piqued Cleveland’s interest.

As for Federowicz, the 31-year-old has appeared in parts of seven MLB seasons split between the Dodgers, Giants, Reds, Cubs and Astros. He’s never hit much as a big leaguer, managing just a .199/.247/.323 line in 360 plate appearances. That said, he’s an accomplished (and then some) hitter in Triple-A, where he owns a terrific .303/.374/.501 line in nearly 1900 plate appearances.

With Yan Gomes traded to the Nationals, Cleveland is relying on some combination of Roberto Perez, Eric Haase and trade acquisition Kevin Plawecki to shoulder the bulk of the workload behing the plate in 2019. Federowicz will add another depth option to the equation, though it’s unlikely that he’ll emerge as a viable candidate to crack the Opening Day roster with his new organization.

AL Injury Notes: Ellsbury, Angels, Salazar, Kaprielian

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced to the media Wednesday that outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury won’t be reporting to camp until next month, as he’s currently being slowed by a case of plantar fasciitis (link via Dan Martin of the New York Post). It’s not yet clear whether Ellsbury will be ready for Opening Day, nor is it clear how much playing time would be available to Ellsbury considering a Yankees outfield mix that features Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Brett Gardner and Giancarlo Stanton (with Clint Frazier also looming in the minors). Ellsbury seems poised for a bench role after missing the entire 2018 season due to injury (most notably including hip surgery).

The injury news didn’t stop there for the Yanks, either, as right-handed pitching prospect Mike King has been shut down for the next three weeks after an MRI revealed a stress reaction in his right elbow. He’ll be re-evaluated after that three-week down period. The 23-year-old King posted a ridiculous 1.79 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 in 161 1/3 innings across three levels last season, topping out with a brilliant six-start run in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Some more injury notes from around the American League (we checked in on some NL health statuses earlier today, as well)…

  • In what’s become all too familiar a theme for Angels fans, there’s some early trouble regarding right-handers Nick Tropeano and Alex Meyer. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that Tropeano has only just resumed “light” throwing after suffering a December setback in his rehab from the shoulder woes that derailed much of his 2018 season (Twitter links). Tropeano had three DL stints pertaining to his shoulder in ’18 and was eventually shut down after undergoing a platelet-rich plasma injection. He’s unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, per Fletcher. Meanwhile, Meyer had yet another surgery on his perennially problematic right shoulder — this time an arthroscopic procedure performed in November. He’s not yet been cleared to throw. The former top prospect was a long shot to factor into the pitching staff anyhow given his extremely lengthy injury history. He was cut loose by the Halos earlier this winter but returned on a minor league contract.
  • MLB.com’s Mandy Bell writes that Indians right-hander Danny Salazar is confident he’ll be able to begin throwing off a mound by the end of Spring Training. That doesn’t create much optimism for an early 2019 return, nor does the fact that Bell suggests Salazar could be able to return to the Major League roster “prior to the All-Star break.” Given Cleveland’s strong rotation and the fact that Salazar didn’t even pitch in 2018 due to shoulder troubles that necessitated surgery in July, he’ll be a part of the team’s bullpen picture whenever he does return. With the righty still only playing catch on flat ground, however, it’ll likely be awhile before a more definitive timeline takes shape.
  • An MRI performed on Athletics right-hander James Kaprielian revealed a strained lat muscle, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). He won’t throw for the next two to three weeks. Kaprielian, 25 next month, was once regarded as one of the game’s top pitching prospects and was a key piece acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Sonny Gray to the Bronx, but he hasn’t pitched since 2016 due to 2017 Tommy John surgery and a series of shoulder issues in 2018.

Bauer, Cole, Wood Win Arbitration Cases

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The players may be suffering through a winter of discontent in the free agent market, but they have now scored some notable wins in arbitration. Trevor Bauer of the Indians, Gerrit Cole of the Astros, and Alex Wood of the Reds have all been awarded the contract values they sought by their respective arbitration panels, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link).

Bauer will take home $13MM, a full $2MM more than the Indians had sought to pay him. Cole’s $13.5MM salary was about the same amount higher than the Astros’ $11.425MM filing figure. And Wood secures a $9.65MM payday that tops the $8.7MM the Reds defended.

[RELATED: MLBTR Arbitration Tracker]

Those cases break what had been a tie in arb hearings. The players already had a solid edge in the more significant cases, with Blake Treinen ($6.4MM vs. $5.6MM), Carlos Correa ($5MM vs. $4.25MM), and Tommy Pham ($4.1MM vs. $3.5MM) all coming out ahead while Kyle Barraclough ($2MM vs. $1.725MM), Michael Taylor ($3.5MM vs. $3.25MM), and Ryan Tepera ($1.8MM vs. $1.525MM) lost smaller-value contests.

In coming away with wins, all three of the starters also managed to top their projected earning power from MLBTR and Matt Swartz. Bauer ($11.6MM), Cole ($13.0MM), and Wood ($9.0MM) had projected in range of what they ultimately earned, but took shots on securing bigger paydays by making their cases to panels.

Bauer’s situation is particularly noteworthy, since he won a previous arb hearing and remains eligible for one more trip through the process after the 2019 season. This time last year, Bauer emerged with a $6.525MM salary rather than the $5.3MM the team proposed. That made him $1.225MM richer this time around as well, since his raise was dropped on top of a greater starting point. The same will hold true next year.

That serves to illustrate how important these cases can be to an individual player. But there’s also a broader market significance. Each data point that trends north can be cited by another player in the future, either in seeking a bigger arb number or in negotiating out the terms of an extension.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/11/19

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Here are Monday’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Right-hander A.J. Cole cleared waivers, the Indians announced Monday. He’s been sent outright to Triple-A Columbus and will be in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee to Major League camp. Cleveland plucked Cole off waivers when the Yankees had designated him for assignment last month. The Indians will now have the luxury of trying to capitalize on the strong ability Cole showed to miss bats last season without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to that effort. Cole averaged 11.6 K/9 with a gaudy 15.9 percent swinging-strike rate and 34.3 percent chase rate in 38 innings of relief with the Yankees. The long ball was his undoing, though, as he surrendered a wholly unacceptable nine big flies in those 38 frames (2.13 HR/9).

Earlier Moves

  • The Rays have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Tyler Cloyd, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’ll be invited to Major League Spring Training when pitchers and catchers report this week. Cloyd, 31, didn’t appear in the Majors from 2014-16 but returned to MLB with a lone inning in 2017 before tallying 17 2/3 frames for the Marlins last year. He’s allowed 17 runs in 18 2/3 innings since returning to the Majors. Cloyd did post a solid 68-to-18 K/BB ratio in 85 1/3 innings with Triple-A New Orleans last year, although a susceptibility to home runs and a low strand rate led to a less encouraging 5.17 ERA overall with the Marlins’ top affiliate. The Rays cycled through 31 pitchers a year ago (which is less than it sounds like in today’s game) and could see that number rise in 2019 if they more aggressively employ their utilization of openers and bullpen-heavy games.

Quick Hits: Arenado, Int’l Prospects, Jones, CarGo, Bauer, Storen, Marlins

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Nolan Arenado’s extension talks with the Rockies could create a big impact around baseball, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand writes in an exploration of both the short-term and long-term effects of an Arenado deal.  Most obviously, an extension would remove arguably the biggest name from the 2019-20 free agent class, which would be a boon to other stars who will be hitting the open market — in particular, Anthony Rendon would see his biggest competition in the third base market disappear.  (Of course, Rendon could also ink his own long-term deal to stay with the Nationals.)  More immediately, an Arenado extension could also set a new benchmark for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, should Arenado and the Rockies come to an agreement before Harper or Machado land contracts this winter.

Some stray items from around baseball as we head into the new week…

  • Ten of the top names available in the 2019-20 international signing market are profiled by Baseball America’s Ben Badler, all of whom have teams already unofficially attached to their services even though the market doesn’t properly open until July 2.  Dominican outfielder Jasson Dominguez and Dominican shortstop Robert Puason are projected for the highest bonuses, each expected to land something around $5MM, with Dominguez linked to the Yankees and Puason connected to the Athletics.
  • While the Indians are still looking for outfield help, the team isn’t currently “aggressively pursuing” Adam Jones or Carlos Gonzalez, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reports.  Both veterans were only moderately productive in 2018, both with below-average offensive numbers (as per wRC+) and Jones with some of the worst defensive metrics (minus-18 Defensive Runs Saved, -14.8 UZR/150) of any center fielder in baseball.  That said, both players could still represent an upgrade for Cleveland’s shaky outfield, though it appears the Tribe is checking other options for now.
  • Trevor Bauer’s arbitration hearing took place on Friday, Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes reports, so details should soon emerge about the outcome.  There was a $2MM gap between Bauer and the Indians in exchanged figures, as Bauer’s camp is looking for a $13MM salary in 2019 and the team is aiming for an $11MM salary.  This will be the second arb hearing in as many years between the two sides, as Bauer defeated the Tribe in the hearing last winter to land his desired $6.525MM salary for the 2018 season.  Like Kluber, Bauer has also been a major figure in trade rumors this offseason.  He has one less year of team control than Kluber and a less-extensive track record, though Bauer is also almost five years younger than his rotation mate.
  • The Royals have interest in veteran righty Drew Storen, The Athletic’s Jayson Stark reports (Twitter link).  Storen didn’t pitch last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2017.  The 31-year-old was a key figure in the Nationals’ bullpen from 2010-15, though he suffered through a disastrous half-season stint with the Blue Jays in 2016 before righting the ship after a July trade to the Mariners.  Prior to his injury, Storen had a 4.45 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 2.09 K/BB rate over 54 2/3 innings out of the Reds’ bullpen in 2017.  Storen won’t carry a heavy price tag as he makes his return from TJ surgery, making him a target for payroll-conscious Kansas City.
  • “Every trade, we’re trying to get back international money,” Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill told reporters, including Barry Jackson and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald.  It’s clear that the international market is a cornerstone of Miami’s rebuilding process, and the club has been successful in landing extra money for their int’l draft pool in recent trades with the Astros, Reds, Nationals, and (as part of the J.T. Realmuto trade package) Phillies.  These extra funds have already paid dividends, as the Marlins signed highly-touted Cuban brothers Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. last October.
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