- The Tigers are reportedly set on adding relief arms to their Spring Training mix after adding Bobby Parnell on a minor league pact, but MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that the team could yet bring in another player on a minor league deal — likely an infielder. The infield market has been largely picked clean, though a few recognizable names such as Alberto Callaspo, Jonathan Herrera and Dan Uggla have yet to sign this offseason.
Tigers Rumors
Tigers Likely Done Adding Arms For Camp
- The Tigers were said to be looking around at depth arms to bring into camp, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (Twitter links), with former big leaguer Lucas Harrell among those under consideration. But the team’s addition of righty Bobby Parnell likely rounds out the organization’s pitching moves heading into camp, per Beck. It seems that the 30-year-old Harrell will look to catch on with another club. He spent last year pitching in Korea, racking up 171 2/3 innings of 4.93 ERA pitching with 7.9 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9.
Tigers, Bobby Parnell Agree To Minors Deal
The Tigers and former Mets closer Bobby Parnell have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, reports Lynn Henning of the Detroit News (via Twitter). Parnell, a client of ACES, will compete for a spot in the bullpen alongside locks such as Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Lowe, Justin Wilson, Alex Wilson and presumably Blaine Hardy.
Parnell, 31, enjoyed an excellent run at the back of the Mets’ bullpen from 2010-13, registering a 2.79 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 55.4 percent ground-ball rate in 213 innings of work. Parnell ultimately landed in the closer’s role for New York, saving 22 games once he took over the job in 2013 — a season in which he recorded a career-best 2.16 ERA. However, that campaign was cut short by a herniated disk in Parnell’s neck, and the following season was wiped out entirely (aside from one lone inning) due to Tommy John surgery. Parnell returned to the Mets in 2015, but his velocity (93 mph average fastball) was down significantly from its peak of 97.2 mph in 2011, and his control was nowhere to be found. Parnell walked more batters (17) than he struck out (13) in 24 innings last year, en route to an unsightly and uncharacteristic 6.38 ERA. He landed on the disabled list with what was termed right shoulder tendinitis in mid-August and didn’t pitch again for the remainder of the season.
Tigers' Fulmer Could Emerge As 'Pen Option
- Right-hander Michael Fulmer, the key piece received by the Tigers in July’s Yoenis Cespedes trade, is viewed by the organization as a starter but could factor into the team’s bullpen in 2016, writes Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey are locks for the rotation, with lefty Daniel Norris favored to land the fifth spot, but manager Brad Ausmus was open to the idea of Fulmer in a relief role this year. “Realistically, if he were to make the club, he would probably be a reliever,” Ausmus told Fenech. “If he were not to make the club, he would probably be a starter. … You have enough time in spring training that even if he’s coming out of the pen right now in big league camp, there will be a point where if you think he’s going to be a starter in Toledo, we can make the switch and get his innings up before the start of the season.”
AL Central Notes: Sano, Indians, Gurriel, Tigers
On this day in 2005, the Twins signed Johan Santana to a four-year, $39.75MM extension in the wake of the southpaw’s Cy Young Award season. The deal not only gave the small-market Twins some cost certainty through Santana’s arbitration seasons and his first free agent year, it also proved to be a nice bargain as Santana put up sterling numbers from 2005-07 (including another Cy Young in 2006). He didn’t finish out that deal in a Twins uniform, however, as Santana was traded to the Mets in February 2008. Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…
- The Twins’ signing of Miguel Sano is chronicled by Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a transaction that the team hopes will not only help the Major League roster if and when Sano becomes a star slugger, but one that also cemented the Twins as players on the international market. Minnesota encountered several obstacles in its pursuit of Sano, including a lengthy investigation into his age and the team’s willingness to go beyond its international spending comfort zone to land a prospect that seemingly everyone in the Twins organization believed was an elite talent.
- The Indians have scouted Yulieski and Lourdes Gurriel and will check in on the two Cuban stars, though Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer doesn’t think the Tribe has the money it will take to land either player. Hoynes also addressed several other Tribe-related topics as part of this mailbag piece.
- The Tigers like drafting hard-throwing college pitchers, yet as ESPN’s Keith Law tells George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press, nobody who fits that description is likely to be available when the club makes the ninth overall pick in June. Law suggests that the Tigers could opt for a high school pitcher instead (such as Forrest Whitley or Greg Veliz) or they could possibly go for position player talent instead with Puerto Rican shortstop Delvin Perez.
Central Notes: Brewers, Tigers, Mauer
Former Brewers GM Doug Melvin says he’s sleeping better in the six months since he ceded the team’s GM job to David Stearns, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes. Now a senior advisor, Melvin has continued to work in player development with the Brewers, but he’s also taken more time for himself. “It’s like the difference between a coach and a manager. When you’re a coach, you have your certain responsibilities. You’re available. But when you’re the manager, you feel responsible to 25 players, plus the coaches and the trainers and everybody,” says Melvin. As a GM, he says, “[you feel a total responsibility. Pro scouting, amateur scouting, international scouting, player development, the Major League team — there’s always something to think about.” Here’s more from the Central divisions.
- Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is the closest thing the game has to a modern-day George Steinbrenner, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. After adding Justin Upton and Jordan Zimmermann this offseason, the Tigers have four players signed to nine-figure contracts. Of course, the ends of those kinds of contracts can create roster flexibility issues of the sort the Yankees have dealt with in recent years, and Sherman notes that the Tigers already have $122MM committed for the 2018 season for Upton, Zimmermann, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander and Victor Martinez.
- Twins star Joe Mauer says lingering concussion symptoms caused him to have blurred vision while hitting the past two seasons, Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press writes. The vision issues were caused by sunlight, Mauer says he will try hitting with sunglasses in an effort to improve his ability to pick up pitches. “If you’re just a little off, you’re fouling off pitches you should be driving into the gap,” says Mauer. “In the big leagues, you don’t get too many more opportunities to see good ones to hit.” Mauer adds that he does not want his concussion issues to be an “excuse” for his performance the last two seasons, in which he’s seen a dramatic decline in offense. (He’s hit .270/348/.376 the last two years, compared to a previous career average of .323/.405/.468.) Mauer is still signed for the next three years at $23MM per season, so he could provide a big long-term boost to the Twins if he were to get back on track.
Tigers, J.D. Martinez Agree To Two-Year Extension
7:30pm: Martinez will receive $6.75MM this year and $11.75MM for the following campaign, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
7:07pm: The Tigers have reportedly bought out the remaining arbitration eligibility of outfielder J.D. Martinez. The RMG Baseball client is said to have a deal in place for two years and $18.5MM.
Martinez, 28, has long been said to be discussing a long-term pact with Detroit, but it appears that the sides have settled on a deal to avoid an arbitration hearing this year and lock in a salary for 2017 as well. As MLBTR’s Matt Swartz explained earlier this winter, Martinez had an interesting arbitration case. He projected at $7.8MM and filed at $8MM, with the team countering at $6MM.
Obviously, the two-year arrangement won’t buy up any free agent years. But it will get the breakout star a guaranteed contract for both of the next two seasons. And the Tigers could well stand to save some money. Martinez was projected at a $4.8MM raise from his 2015 salary, and anything approaching his numbers from last season would have set him up for yet more in his final year of arb eligibility.
It remains to be seen whether this contract will set the stage for future talks — or, instead, represent a compromise agreement that lines Martinez up for the open market. We’ve seen several recent examples of arb-only extensions for prominent players, in large part as a mechanism to help resolve the initial year’s arbitration disagreement. Lorenzo Cain and the Royals did the same back in January.
In several other instances, new deals were never reached. Players such as Todd Frazier (Reds), Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann (Nationals) were either traded or allowed to reach free agency. While further negotiations are hardly out of the question in Martinez’s case, the salary agreement does remove one major motivator for further talks.
Martinez looks to be a bargain at that rate — as would be expected given the way the arb system works. He’s been nothing short of outstanding since coming to the Tigers as a minor league free agent before the 2014 campaign. Martinez owns a composite .296/.350/.543 slash and has hit 61 home runs over 1,137 plate appearances for Detroit. It’s fair to note, too, that Martinez received positive marks in right field last year from both UZR and DRS.
Robert Murray of Baseball Essential first noted “unconfirmed rumblings” of a two-year, $18.5MM deal on Twitter. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation confirmed the deal, years, and dollars (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Agent Larry Reynolds On Justin Upton, Howie Kendrick
Larry Reynolds, the agent whose client list includes Justin Upton and Howie Kendrick, spoke to MLB Network Radio Sunday. Here are the highlights (links to SoundCloud).
- Upton ended up with a robust six-year, $132.75MM deal with the Tigers this winter, Reynolds says that Upton’s search for a new team hit a snag this offseason before he ultimately signed. Some teams’ potential interest in Upton was muted by their desire to avoid exceeding the luxury tax threshold. (Reynolds doesn’t say who, but it’s easy to imagine the Angels, for example, worrying about that issue.) Also, a robust trade market held up potential free agent signings, with some teams wanting to explore that market before making a commitment to a free agent. Reynolds also says that many teams were offering Upton short-term deals. The agent understandably notes that he found such deals unappealing, given that Upton is highly talented and just 28. Of course, Detroit ultimately came through with a long-term offer.
- It was, perhaps, a rough winter for Kendrick, who lingered on the free agent market before officially signing a seemingly disappointing two-year, $20MM deal to stay with the Dodgers. The qualifying offer had a strong impact on Kendrick, Reynolds says, since he didn’t have the “star power” of some other free agents who rejected the QO. For Kendrick, the effect of the qualifying offer on his market wasn’t purely about the amount of money he could get, but about the way it restricted his ability to choose what team (what manager, what front office, and so on) he wanted to play for. Reynolds says that it “wasn’t a slam dunk to jump out into the market” rather than accepting the qualifying offer, but Kendrick felt, and Reynolds agreed, that Kendrick had earned the right to choose his next team via free agency.
Arbitration Hearing Notes: Donaldson, Arrieta, Martinez, Britton, Astros
The arbitration hearing between the Blue Jays and Josh Donaldson is set for Feb. 15, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter), giving the two sides 10 days to work out a multi-year deal. President Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins said last night that the two sides have been discussing such a pact, and the hearing deadline certainly gives the club motivation to strike a deal. The Blue Jays employ a file-and-trial approach to arbitration, which is to say that the team is one of many that have a policy against negotiating on one-year deals once figures are exchanged. That approach led to a hearing between the Blue Jays and Donaldson last year, and both sides undoubtedly would prefer to avoid a hearing for the second straight season. The Blue Jays won a hearing over Donaldson last winter, though he’ll have an American League MVP Award in his corner this season. Those interested in Donaldson’s case can check out an in-depth look from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, written as part of his Arbitration Breakdown series, prior to the exchange of figures.
Some more notes on various arbitration hearings around the league…
- The Cubs and reigning NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta are on a tighter schedule, as Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670thescore.com reports (on Twitter). Arrieta’s arbitration hearing is set to come next Tuesday — Feb. 9. The $5.5MM gap between Arrieta’s submitted figure of $13MM and the Cubs’ $7.5MM counter is the largest of any case this year. Swartz also examined Arrieta’s case at length.
- J.D. Martinez and the Tigers are continuing to discuss both one- and two-year deals, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Martinez appears open to a considerably longer-term deal, having voiced a desire to spend the rest of his career with the Tigers. Martinez said last month that the two sides have discussed a long-term deal, but it’s unclear whether talks on a contract extending the club’s control beyond Martinez’s two remaining arbitration seasons has been seriously discussed. Swartz broke down Martinez’s case at length as well.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports that the Orioles and Zach Britton have a hearing set for Feb. 17 (Twitter link). The two sides are facing a fairly sizable $2.3MM gap between Britton’s $7.9MM figure and the club’s $5.6MM counter. If a deal can’t be reached, it’d mark the second straight season with an arb hearing for the Orioles, who won a hearing over Alejandro De Aza last February.
- The Astros have arbitration hearings for Jason Castro and Evan Gattis set for Feb. 8 and Feb. 16, respectively, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter link). With Houston taking a file-and-trial approach to arbitration, both cases seem likely to reach a trial. Castro, in particular, seems destined for that outcome, as he’s a free agent following the season and thus unlikely to hammer out a multi-year deal.
- While in many cases, the gap between the player and team submission appears trivial, there’s a reason that many teams take such a firm stance. MLBTR spoke to multiple Major League executives on the topic last February to get their explanation of the responsibility felt by teams in arbitration.
All of the remaining unresolved cases, as well as the exchange of figures and settled amounts for all 156 players that filed for arbitration can be viewed in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.
Tigers Sign Cuban Shortstop Leonardo Laffita
- The Tigers have signed Cuban shortstop Leonardo Laffita to a minor league deal with a $250K bonus, according to Eddy. The 24-year-old Laffita spent a bit of time in the Mexican League last season, where he batted .280/.345/.360 in 57 plate appearances. Within Eddy’s piece, BA’s Ben Badler weighs in on Laffita, noting that he’ll have to move to center field or second base. Laffita stood out for his speed, hand-eye coordination and bat speed, per Badler, but he’s a free swinger with questionable plate discipline.
