Quick Hits: Arenado, Boyd, Andujar, Giants
Nolan Arenado‘s name has frequented the rumor mill of late, but ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required) that one evaluator whose team has spoken to the Rockies about Arenado is under the impression that the club isn’t aggressively looking to offload the contract. Arenado has seven years and $234MM remaining on his contract, an opt-out clause after 2021 and a full o-trade clause, making him a difficult player to trade even if the front office was strongly motivated to do so. Colorado GM Jeff Bridich rather broadly acknowledged that “this is the time of year where we at least listen” earlier this month, but there’s been little indication that there’s anything more significant than that “listening” going on with regard to Arenado.
Some more trade talk from around the league…
- Matthew Boyd‘s second-half struggles won’t push the Tigers to back down from the high asking price they’ve set in trade talks, writes Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. General manager Al Avila has repeatedly downplayed the notion that he’s shopping Boyd while also acknowledging that he’s been willing to listen to offers when approached by another club. Fenech, though, suggests that Boyd is likely to be Spring Training with the Tigers and might have to endure another half season’s worth of trade inquiries leading up to the July 31 trade deadline in 2020. He adds that Avila and the Tigers have yet to approach Boyd regarding an extension, which isn’t a huge surprise given the team’s rebuilding status and the fact that Boyd is controlled through 2022 anyhow.
- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone both said Friday that they expect third baseman Miguel Andujar to be ready for Spring Training, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. A shoulder injury that required surgery torpedoed Andujar’s would-be sophomore season in the Bronx. In his absence, he was both a subject of trade inquiries and at least somewhat pushed for his starting job by the surprise breakout of Gio Urshela. Andujar and Urshela seem likely to compete for at-bats this spring, though Cashman has previously called the hot corner Urshela’s position to lose. Andujar has minor league options remaining if he shows signs of rust in Florida; Urshela is out of minor league options.
- The Giants will likely continue experimenting with the roles of their pitchers in 2020, writes Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Shaun Anderson is one of several younger pitchers identified by Pavlovic for a potential hybrid starter/reliever role, and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi tells Pavlovic that the right-hander expressed a willingness to pitch in any role in a meeting between the two after the season. It’s hard to imagine veterans Johnny Cueto or Jeff Samrdzija being deployed as anything other than conventional starters, and the Giants will surely want some continuity in their starting staff beyond that. (Offseason signee Kevin Gausman has been primarily a starter in the big leagues and was compensated as such with his $9MM deal.) But, as Pavlovic explores, the Giants also have several fringe rotation candidates who could get looks in multi-inning roles as the team looks to build out its pitching staff for the foreseeable future.
Braves Have Gauged Asking Price On Nolan Arenado
The Braves are among the teams that have inquired with the Rockies about a potential Nolan Arenado trade, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Braves fans should pump the brakes before running too wild with scenarios just yet, though. It stands to reason that the majority of contending clubs have at least gauged the asking price — front offices wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they didn’t at least explore even a fringe chance at adding a superstar-caliber player — and Morosi notes that there haven’t been any recent discussions between the two teams.
Frankly, it seems a stretch to imagine that the Braves would take on Arenado and the whopping seven years and $234MM remaining on his contract. Atlanta’s franchise-record Opening Day payroll came back in 2017 ($122.6MM), but they’re already projected to top that by $15MM or more. Add in a $35MM salary for Arenado in 2020, and the Braves would be shattering their previous spending thresholds by $50MM or more. Even if the Rockies were willing to include cash in the deal and/or take another contract back in exchange, adding Arenado would demolish payroll precedents in Atlanta.
Beyond that, Arenado is only about 10 months younger than Anthony Rendon, whose seven-year $245MM deal closely resembles what’s left on Arenado’s contract, and the Braves were never serious bidders for Rendon. Numerous reports have also indicated Atlanta’s reluctance to offer Josh Donaldson a fourth guaranteed year at a lower annual rate than either Arenado or Rendon is earning. It’s true that a four-year deal would run through Donaldson’s age-37 season, whereas Arenado is “only” signed through age 35, but the discrepancy is nonetheless notable.
When exploring any Arenado trade scenarios, it’s also worth emphasizing his full no-trade clause and the fact that an acquiring team will be wary of the opt-out provision in his contract. A perennial MVP candidate, Arenado can walk away from the final five years and $164MM of his contract and enter the open market. He’d be leaving a $32.8MM annual salary on the table to do so, but he’d be opting out in advance of only his age-31 season in 2022. It’s not out of the question that he could land a six- or even a seven-year deal in free agency if he continues on as an elite performer. And if he unexpectedly begins to decline sooner than that, an acquiring team would then be stuck paying nearly $33MM per season for said decline phase.
The Braves have a deep farm system that is rich in pitching prospects and position players alike, so they have the young talent to acquire virtually any player who is made available by another team. Atlanta would also have an obvious hole at third base if Donaldson signs elsewhere. Be that as it may, acquiring Arenado would require heretofore unseen levels of spending from ownership and would surely cost the Braves a sizable amount of young talent as well. If Donaldson departs, the Braves would (speculatively) make a very sensible trade partner for the Cubs and Kris Bryant, but it’s hard to see Arenado suiting up at SunTrust Park in 2020.
Rangers Have Interest In Nolan Arenado
5:15PM: The Rangers’ calls about Arenado are more “due diligence” for now, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports (Twitter link), though Texas is legitimately interested in the third baseman.
4:21PM: The Rangers missed out on Anthony Rendon, and reportedly have stepped back from the race to sign Josh Donaldson. However, Texas is still on the lookout for a big-ticket addition at third base, and the club has been in talks with the Rockies about Nolan Arenado, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required).
Texas isn’t the only interested party, as the Rockies have spoken to multiple teams about Arenado’s services. While the Cardinals and Dodgers aren’t specifically cited as two of those other clubs, Rosenthal notes that St. Louis and Los Angeles each “have a longstanding interest in Arenado,” though the Dodgers are doubtful that Arenado would be sent to one of Colorado’s division rivals.
Rockies GM Jeff Bridich has unofficially confirmed that he has been listening to offers for Arenado, though of course, that is markedly different from actively exploring trades of the franchise player. As Rosenthal observes, “many in the industry are skeptical it [an Arenado trade] will happen this offseason” due to several complicating elements — Arenado has a full no-trade clause, he is owed $234MM over through the 2026 season, and Arenado has the right to opt out of that deal following the 2021 campaign.
It doesn’t make for a long list of teams that could potentially fit as a trade partner, especially since “Arenado effectively controls the process” via his no-trade clause. It can’t hurt for Bridich to listen to offers for the sake of due diligence, especially since the third base market will shift again once Donaldson comes off the board.
In the Rangers’ case, much of their offseason work has been focused on upgrading their pitching staff, adding Corey Kluber, Kyle Gibson, and Jordan Lyles to join incumbents Mike Minor and Lance Lynn. More work still needs to be done on the position player side, however, and Texas has created some room by moving Nomar Mazara and Delino DeShields from its crowded outfield mix. If the Rangers are indeed no longer pursuing Donaldson, it stands to reason that they could be looking for a lower-key solution at third base (an in-house option like Nick Solak or a stopgap free agent) and instead be looking to spend on another outfield bat. Nicholas Castellanos is reportedly been on the Rangers’ list of targets, and the team also had interest in Marcell Ozuna earlier in the offseason.
Rockies, Mike Gerber Agree To Minor League Pact
The Rockies are in agreement with free-agent outfielder Mike Gerber on a minor league contract, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.
The 27-year-old Gerber spent the 2019 season in the Giants organization but didn’t find any success in a limited big league stint. The former Tigers farmhand went 1-for-24 in his brief time with the Giants. However, Gerber did put together an impressive .308/.368/.569 batting line with 26 homers in Triple-A. He’d previously struggled quite a bit in limited time at the Triple-A level, but the Rockies will take a no-risk look as they gauge whether the strides he took were more attributable to genuine improvement or to this year’s video-game-esque offensive environment in Triple-A.
Both Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl are entrenched in the Colorado outfield, while Sam Hilliard impressed quite a bit in his brief MLB debut in 2019. Longtime prospect Raimel Tapia is out of minor league options, so stumbled through a rough 2019 showing, he seems likely to have a good shot at cracking the MLB roster. Garrett Hampson, meanwhile, struggled early in the year and has played more infield than outfield, but he was logging time in center during a torrid stretch September and could be in line for outfield time next season. Yonathan Daza, 25, represents another 40-man option that Gerber would have to leapfrog in order to make the roster, but there’s enough uncertainty on the Rockies’ 40-man unit at present that he could conceivably earn a look at some point.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/16/19
Here are the latest minor moves from around the baseball world…
- Outfielder Nicky Delmonico announced Monday on Instagram that he has rejoined the White Sox. He’ll head to big league camp as a non-roster invitee, per Lamond Pope of the Chicago Tribune. Delmonico had been without a team since the White Sox released him in June on the heels of season-ending shoulder surgery. Before that, the 27-year-old struggled through a subpar year and a half as a member of the club. While Delmonico stood out during a 166-plate appearance major league debut in 2017, evidenced by a .262/.373/.482 slash, he has stumbled to an underwhelming .213/.290/.357 line in 386 MLB trips to the dish since then.
- Rockies right-hander Joe Harvey has been outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque after clearing waivers, the team announced. Harvey, whom Colorado acquired from the Yankees at last season’s trade deadline, divided the majority of 2019 between the two clubs’ Triple-A affiliates. A bloated walk rate (5.19 per nine) helped lead to a less-than-stellar 4.93 ERA across 34 2/3 innings, though the 27-year-old Harvey did strike out upward of 12 batters per nine at the minors’ top level. The former 14th-round pick (2014) picked up his first MLB experience last season, but he yielded 10 earned runs on 18 hits and 13 walks (against 17 strikeouts) over 18 frames between New York and Colorado.
- Outfielder Jerry Sands has reached an agreement with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Jim Allen relays. Sands, a once-promising prospect, appeared with a few major league teams from 2011-16, but he had trouble establishing himself in the bigs. On the other hand, the 32-year-old was excellent in the Korea Baseball Organization over parts of the previous two seasons, during which he combined for a .306/.394/.574 line with 40 homers in 706 PA as a member of the Kiwoom Heroes.
Trade/FA Rumblings: Arenado, Keuchel, Cards, Twins, Marlins, Mets, Correa
The Rockies are reportedly willing to listen to offers for their franchise player, third baseman Nolan Arenado. General manager Jeff Bridich all but confirmed that’s the case, Nick Groke of The Athletic relays (subscription link).
“Look, this is the time of year where those conversations happen,” Bridich said. “This is the time of year where we at least listen to teams and go, ‘OK, well, should we try to investigate and put something together.’ We have people to do those sorts of things. I can’t sit here and say, ‘No, never, ever.’ Some of this stuff started back at the trade deadline and it’s kind of ongoing.”
Bridich is still of the opinion the Rockies, as presently constructed, can push for a championship in 2020, Groke notes. Arenado, of course, plays an irreplaceable role in that belief. However, with so few above-average third basemen currently available (Josh Donaldson‘s a free agent and Kris Bryant may end up on the move via trade), teams could come calling with appealing offers if the Rockies place Arenado on the block. Arenado has full no-trade rights as part of the seven-year, $234MM extension Colorado signed him to last offseason, though he has expressed frustration regarding the Rockies’ nightmarish 2019. So, if a contender tries to acquire him, perhaps the 28-year-old will be open to leaving the Rockies. Regardless of whether a trade comes together, Arenado has the ability to opt out of his contract after 2021.
Here are more rumblings from around the game…
- A report earlier this week suggested the Cardinals haven’t shown much recent interest in Dallas Keuchel, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the club’s “intrigued” by the free-agent left-hander. The Cardinals were also among the teams in on Keuchel last season before he signed a one-year, $13MM contract with the Braves in June, thereby ending a shockingly long stay on the market. The soon-to-be 32-year-old didn’t have a great few months in Atlanta, but he should nonetheless do better in free agency this time. MLBTR predicts he’ll sign a three-year, $39MM pact.
- At this week’s Winter Meetings, Miami and Minnesota discussed a trade that would see the Marlins send right-hander Elieser Hernandez to the Twins for outfielder Jake Cave, according to Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio. While there’s no indication a deal is on the way, the Twins are at least “open” to trading Cave and would like a pitcher in return, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets. Age (24 versus 27) is on Hernandez’s side, but Cave was the better producer in 2019. Cave slashed .258/.351/.455 in 228 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Hernandez put up a 5.03 ERA/5.58 FIP despite logging 9.29 K/9 against 2.84 BB/9 across 82 1/3 innings. Neither player is on track to reach arbitration until after 2021.
- Although the possibility of the Mets acquiring Astros star shortstop Carlos Correa has been branded as more fantasy than reality, the teams did have “active” talks from November up to this week, Andy Martino of SNY reports. However, those discussions have “fizzled,” per Martino. For what it’s worth, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow has told Correa not to worry about a trade. Barring something unforeseen, it appears Amed Rosario will continue as New York’s starting shortstop in 2020.
Rockies Sign Drew Butera To Minors Contract
The Rockies have re-signed Drew Butera to a minor league deal, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports (Twitter link). Butera will received an invitation to Colorado’s big league Spring Training camp. Yesterday, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweeted about the possibility of Butera rejoining the Rockies on a non-guaranteed deal.
This marks the third time that the Rox have acquired Butera, after initially picking him up from the Royals in an August 2018 trade and then signing him to a minor league deal just prior to Opening Day after Butera was released by the Phillies near the end of their spring camp. Butera appeared in only 16 Major League games and received 49 plate appearances, his lowest totals in either category since 2013.
Colorado has been on the lookout for catching help this offseason, though Butera is more veteran depth than a real answer to that need. The 36-year-old journeyman has never been an offensive force (.200/.257/.297 over 1394 career plate appearances), though he has been long been considered a solid hand behind the plate.
NL West Rumors: Padres, Marte, D-backs, MadBum, Rox, Marquez
Continuing an active winter in the San Diego outfield, the Padres have joined the race to acquire Pirates center fielder Starling Marte, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The Padres have already shuffled around their outfield quite a bit this offseason, having added two players (Tommy Pham and Trent Grisham) and subtracted another (Hunter Renfroe). They could get rid of at least one more if a team takes Wil Myers off their hands. The Padres at least tried to pawn Myers off on his first professional team – the Royals – in the clubs’ talks centering on utilityman Whit Merrifield, but KC didn’t bite, according to Scott Miller of Bleacher Report.
More rumblings from the NL West…
- The Diamondbacks “floated” a proposal to Madison Bumgarner that would have promised him something in the realm of $70MM, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. That falls in line with MLBTR’s $72MM prediction (over four years) for Bumgarner, but the highly accomplished 30-year-old has his eyes fixed on a much richer contract. The longtime Giant’s reportedly aiming for a payday in the $100MM range.
- Teams have inquired about Rockies right-hander German Marquez, but they haven’t shown any willingness to trade him, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. It’s neither surprising that other teams covet the strikeout-heavy Marquez nor that the Rockies want to keep him. Before last season, they signed the 24-year-old to a club-friendly extension – one that will see him earn a guaranteed $40.5MM from 2020-23 (including a $2.5MM buyout in ’24).
- Back in late September, the Padres and lights-out closer Kirby Yates were reportedly discussing an extension. No new deal has come together since, but it appears the two sides will at least make an effort to hammer something out. In regards to a potential extension, Yates told Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune: “I’m always interested. It’s not up to me. When you get to that point, you have the discussions.” Likewise, the Padres are open to it. The club will “start talking to Kirby about his situation for next year” later this offseason, general manager A.J. Preller revealed. The 32-year-old Yates has just one remaining season of arbitration control, in which he’s projected to earn a bargain salary of $6.5MM.
- The Diamondbacks were already known to have interest free-agent center fielder Shogo Akiyama, and GM Mike Hazen revealed they met with the Japanese standout on Tuesday, per Piecoro. The Cubs also met with Akiyama’s representatives.
Rockies Extend Scott Oberg
The Rockies have reached a contract extension with reliever Scott Oberg, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. It’s a three-year, $13MM deal with an $8MM club option for 2023. However, the pact contains escalators that could push the value to $15MM over three years and $26MM for four, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Oberg is a client of agent Brian Charles of Big League Management Company, LLC.
Prior to this extension, Oberg had been projected to earn $2MM via arbitration in 2020. That will still be the case, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who adds that Oberg will be guaranteed $4MM in 2021 and and $7MM in ’22. This extension will overlap with his final two arbitration-eligible campaigns and, if the option is exercised in a few seasons, buy out two free-agent years.
The fact that Oberg has become a core piece for the Rockies is fairly remarkable, as the team didn’t invest much in him (a 15th-round pick) when it drafted him in 2012. The right-handed Oberg became a regular out of the Colorado bullpen in 2015, but he didn’t truly blossom until 2018.
Oberg has quietly been one of the game’s most effective relievers since his breakout season, having relied on a fastball-slider combo to log a 2.35 ERA/3.20 FIP with 9.03 K/9, 2.75 BB/9 and a strong 52.7 percent groundball rate across 114 2/3 innings. Looking at Oberg’s home/road splits, it’s clear pitching at the hitter-friendly Coors Field hasn’t really fazed the 29-year-old in recent seasons.
Oberg did see his overall production plummet as 2019 progressed, but he was dealing with significant health worries then that affected his numbers. He didn’t take the mound past Aug. 16 on account of blood clots in his right elbow, which forced him to undergo surgery to address the issue. That was the second time Oberg has battled blood clots during his career, but there doesn’t seem to be any concern on the part of him or the Rockies that it’ll be an ongoing problem.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rockies “Willing To Listen” On Nolan Arenado
The Rockies are “willing to listen” to trade proposals regarding third baseman Nolan Arenado, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). But Colorado fans probably shouldn’t chuck their #28 threads just yet.
In their public statements, at least, the Rockies’ top decisionmakers have been steadfast in saying they intend to press for contention in 2020. That’s complicated by a tight budgetary picture, but we can’t ignore what the team has said to fans to this point.
Also important: Arenado has full no-trade rights under the massive extension he inked in February. He has emphasized a desire to play for a winning outfit, so perhaps he’d consider waiving his protection on the heels of a forgettable campaign for the Colorado organization. Regardless, it’s a potential complication to any negotiations.
Beyond that, it’s tough to fathom that the Rockies will let Arenado go lightly. This isn’t a case of buyer’s remorse. The 28-year-old put up a typically excellent season in 2019, slashing .315/.379/.583 with 41 home runs over 662 plate appearances. He’s a high-grade fielder who has scarcely missed any action over the past five seasons.
While Arenado’s contract is not a cheap one — $234MM over seven years, to be exact — teams with potential interest are already weighing enormous outlays for Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson. It has become clear in recent weeks that there’s not quite enough supply to meet the demand for those players, which helps explain why the Cubs have even engaged some rival teams regarding Kris Bryant.
It remains to be seen whether any serious talks emerge regarding Arenado. The fact that he can opt out after the 2021 season may reduce the willingness of teams to make a big offer, though two mid-prime seasons of Arenado is nothing to sneeze at. Regardless of how things develop, this news makes for an interesting market development as Rendon and Donaldson rise to the top of the leaderboard of available free agents.
As might be suspected, Heyman adds that the openness to discussing Arenado also implies that the Rox are not ruling out any other players entirely. Outfielder Charlie Blackmon is perhaps the most sensible high-end veteran target on paper. It’d be harder for the team to part with Trevor Story, Jon Gray, or German Marquez, but it’s now somewhat easier to imagine the Colorado front office exploring wider-ranging possibilities.