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Players Electing Free Agency

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Quite a few players will hit the open market this fall, and they’ll do so by way of varying mechanisms. The end of the regular season triggered a recent wave of free agents, consisting of a certain subset of players — namely, those who were outrighted from 40-man rosters during the season and accepted minor-league assignments at that time despite having the right to elect free agency. Players in that situation are entitled instead to hit the open market at season’s end, if they were not added back to the 40-man roster in the meantime.

As conveyed by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who also covers quite a few other minor moves, these players have now elected free agency:

Athletics: RHP Raul Alcantara, LHP Danny Coulombe

Blue Jays: RHP Mike Hauschild, INF/OF Darnell Sweeney

Braves: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Miguel Socolovich

Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons

Indians: RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Alexi Ogando

Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Mike Morin, INF Zach Vincej

Marlins: OF JB Shuck

Mets: RHP Chris Beck, OF Bryce Brentz, RHP Scott Copeland, OF Matt den Dekker, INF Ty Kelly

Nationals: LHP Tommy Milone, OF Moises Sierra, RHP Carlos Torres

Orioles: RHP Jhan Marinez, INF Luis Sardinas

Padres: OF Matt Szczur

Phillies: INF Trevor Plouffe

Pirates: LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP A.J. Schugel

Rangers: C Juan Centeno, LHP Anthony Gose, RHP Drew Hutchison, INF Tommy Joseph, RHP Chris Rowley

Rays: INF Brandon Snyder, RHP Ryan Weber

Reds: C Tim Federowicz, RHP Kevin Quackenbush

Tigers: INF Dixon Machado, RHP Jacob Turner

White Sox: RHP Tyler Danish

AL Central Notes: Molitor, Mauer, Iglesias, Rajai

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Though the Twins have offered recently dismissed manager Paul Molitor a new position with a “likely” focus on player development (per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes), USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Molitor’s preference is to continue coaching or managing at the big league level. The 62-year-old isn’t likely to accept the new role within the Twins organization, per Nightengale, who notes that Molitor is still owed a total of $3.2MM through 2020 as part of last October’s contract extension. There are several other managerial openings around the league — Orioles, Angels, Blue Jays, Reds — for which Molitor could potentially emerge as a candidate if he does indeed rebuff the Twins’ latest offer. He also has experience as a big league hitting coach, and both the D-backs and Pirates have announced they’ll be looking for a new voice in that role.

More from the AL Central…

  • The decision to move on from Molitor caught Twins cornerstone Joe Mauer by surprise, writes La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Mauer, like Molitor, is a St. Paul native (the two even attended the same high school — St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall) and spoke about his relationship with the Hall of Famer, who had spent four seasons as the manager in Minnesota. Mauer is mulling retirement after an emotional sendoff from his hometown organization — the only team he’s ever known — and said that Molitor’s dismissal will factor into the calculus. “There are many factors that will go into my decision going forward, and Paul’s absence as our manager is another thing I will be adding to my list of things to consider,” said Mauer. “He’s been an incredible leader and role model and will be greatly missed by all who have played under him.”
  • Jose Iglesias bid farewell to the Tigers organization on Instagram today, and Evan Woodbery of MLive.com writes that it’s become increasingly apparent that the Tigers aren’t likely to pursue a reunion. Manager Ron Gardenhire bluntly indicated that the team is “looking for cheaper and inexpensive” as it looks to fill its middle infield voids. A return for Iglesias certainly doesn’t seem impossible — Woodbery notes that trade interest in him has been nonexistent over the past two seasons, which doesn’t bode well for free agency — but it doesn’t sound as if he’ll be an immediate priority for the club. Woodbery adds that Dixon Machado isn’t likely to be in the team’s plans, either; he elected free agency yesterday after being removed from the Tigers’ 40-man roster several months ago.
  • The Indians’ final roster spot for the American League Division Series will go to Rajai Davis, manager Terry Francona told reporters today (link via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian). The decision came down to the veteran Davis versus infielder Erik Gonzalez, but Francona indicated that the potential to utilize Davis as a late-inning baserunning threat ultimately outweighed the desire to have a true backup option at shortstop. The 37-year-old Davis didn’t hit much this season — .224/.278/.281 in 216 plate appearances — but he still managed to swipe 21 bases in a very limited role.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/8/18

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Keeping track of Sunday’s minor moves…

  • Tigers infielder Dixon Machado has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo, per an announcement from Detroit. Machado had the right to elect free agency instead, but he’ll remain with the Tigers, who designated him on July 4. Although the 26-year-old opened the season as the Tigers’ starting second baseman, he lost his grip on both that job and his roster spot after hitting just .206/.263/.290 in 233 plate appearances.
  • Padres outfielder Matt Szczur will also remain with his organization after clearing waivers, the team announced. The Padres designated Szczur last weekend, after the 28-year-old began 2018 with a .187/.265/.267 line in 84 trips to the plate.
  • The Cubs announced that they’ve selected right-hander James Norwood from Triple-A and placed reliever Anthony Bass on the disabled list (illness, retroactive to July 5). Norwood is in position to make his major league debut four years after the Cubs chose him in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. The 24-year-old has spent most of this season at Double-A, where he has pitched to a sterling 2.48 ERA with 9.92 K/9 and 3.31 BB/9 over 32 2/3 innings.
  • The Royals have signed right-hander Dallas Beeler to a minor league contract and assigned him to their Double-A affiliate, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. The 29-year-old Beeler comes with a bit of major league experience, having pitched 19 1/3 innings for the Cubs from 2014-15. Beeler has mostly worked at the Triple-A level as a professional, combining for a 3.73 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in 243 2/3 innings. He didn’t pitch for anyone last season, though, and then opened 2018 with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League.

Tigers Designate Dixon Machado For Assignment

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The Tigers announced a series of roster moves, including the news that infielder Dixon Machado has been designated for assignment.  The 40-man roster spot will be filled by right-hander Victor Alcantara, whose contract will be selected from Triple-A before tomorrow’s game.  Right-hander Warwick Saupold has also been optioned to Triple-A, with infielder Ronny Rodriguez headed up to the big league club.

Machado began the season as Detroit’s everyday second baseman, as the rebuilding team sought to give the 26-year-old a long look at the position with Ian Kinsler dealt to the Angels.  He produced passable defensive grades but the bigger issue was Machado’s lack of hitting, as he managed only a .206/.263/.290 slash line and one home run over 233 plate appearances.  The bat has never really been Machado’s calling card (he had just a .640 career OPS over 3329 PA in the minors), though the Tigers couldn’t ignore such a dire performance for much longer, especially with Niko Goodrum increasingly taking over regular duty at second base.

If the out-of-options Machado isn’t claimed or traded during his DFA period, he could still leave the organization as a free agent, as MLive.com’s Evan Woodbury tweets.  Machado was outrighted off the roster back in 2013, so he would have the option of choosing free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.

Alcantara will join the Tigers’ Major League roster for the first time this season.  The 25-year-old righty made his big league debut in 2017, posting an 8.59 ERA over 7 1/3 relief innings out of Detroit’s bullpen.  He was outrighted off the 40-man in the offseason, though regained some stature within the organization with a 2.68 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and a 7.33 K/BB rate over 47 innings at Triple-A Toledo this season.

Heyman’s Latest: Arrieta, Lucroy, Tigers, Puig, Gordon, K-Rod, Acuna

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The Cubs were known to have made “one last call” to Jake Arrieta’s agent Scott Boras before signing Yu Darvish, and FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman provided some new details on that exchange.  Theo Epstein proposed a “theoretical” offer of six years and $120MM to Arrieta if, and only if, things did not work out with Darvish.  Epstein reportedly didn’t seriously think Arrieta’s camp would take the offer, and the executive was “just making the call to show respect” to a player who was such a major factor in Chicago’s recent success.  Even if Darvish had turned the Cubs down, it still doesn’t seem as if Arrieta and the team would’ve been able to come to an agreement, as Arrieta simply wanted a larger average annual value than Chicago was willing to offer (due to their desire to stay under the luxury tax threshold).  The Cubbies also are said to have put $48MM over four years on the table for Alex Cobb earlier in the winter before putting pen to paper with Darvish, and Heyman speculates that the Cubs might have eventually become interested in Alex Cobb had they missed out on both Darvish and Arrieta.

Here are a few items from Heyman, in his latest notes column…

  • The Nationals could potentially be contenders to sign Jonathan Lucroy next offseason.  Matt Wieters is in his last year under contract, and Washington had some interest in Lucroy this winter despite Wieters still being on the hook for $10.5MM this season.  Of course, quite a bit could happen to affect this interest between now and next winter, particularly since Lucroy is looking to rebound with the Athletics after a very inconsistent 2017 season.  If Lucroy does bounce back and the A’s are out of contention this year, I would think it possible that the Nats could even target Lucroy at the trade deadline.
  • In some Tigers agency news, righty Franklin Perez is joining Beverly Hills Sports Council while infielder Dixon Machado is now with Octagon. You can track the latest representation information with MLBTR’s agency database.
  • Speaking of agents, Yasiel Puig has been in talks with “several agencies” about representation since the Wasserman agency cut ties with the Dodgers outfielder in February.  Puig has also been considering having one of his current financial advisors represent him, though the MLBPA has “strongly advised” Puig to work with an established agency.
  • “It was very much a split decision” within the Royals front office to re-sign Alex Gordon to a four-year, $72MM deal in the 2015-16 offseason.  Gordon’s return to Kansas City was seen as something of a surprise at the time, though he had a strong personal desire to return to the team and the Royals were willing to spend extra to retain a key member of their World Series-winning team.  Gordon was entering his age-32 season at the time, however, and some in the organization felt “he had had worn down by that point” and wasn’t a good investment.  These concerns seem to have been well-founded, as Gordon has hit just .213/.300/.343 over 1071 PA through two-plus years of that contract.
  • Reliever Francisco Rodriguez is determined to continue pitching at age 36, even if it means going to an indy ball club.  He was released by the Phillies last month after spending most of the spring with the organization on a minor league deal, and K-Rod posted a 5.40 ERA over 6 2/3 Grapefruit League innings.
  • Shortstop Luisangel Acuna, the younger brother of star Braves prospect Ronald Acuna, will be a sought-after name in the next July 2 international signing period, Heyman writes in a separate piece.  The Rangers are one of multiple teams interested in the younger Acuna, who could receive a bonus as high as $500K.  This estimated price tag will keep the Braves out of the running, as they are limited to spending no more than $300K on any single international prospect for the next July 2 period.  MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes that some scouts feel Acuna will eventually have to move to second base, and he “has shown some power and has the potential to be an average-or-better hitter with proper instruction, but he’ll have to grow” beyond his current 5’9″, 160-pound frame.

AL Notes: Mariners, Tigers, Lawrie, Rodon, Morton

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The competition for the Mariners’ utility infield job is down to Shawn O’Malley and Taylor Motter for the time being now that Mike Freeman has been designated for assignment, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Seattle hopes that Freeman will clear waivers and remain in the organization, but the 29-year-old does have a strong track record of hitting for average and getting on base in Triple-A, to say nothing of some defensive versatility, so that outcome isn’t a guarantee. GM Jerry Dipoto said the ultimate decision came down to which utility candidate he considered to have the best chance of passing through waivers. That proved to be Freeman, due largely to the fact that he’s the oldest of the three competitors and has the least MLB time. Johns notes that those in competition for the utility infield role will see plenty of opportunity to prove themselves this spring, as starting shortstop Jean Segura will be playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

A few more notes on some competitions for the final roster spots around the league…

  • The Tigers are facing a tough decision with powerful outfielder Steven Moya and versatile infielder Dixon Machado, writes MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery. Both players are out of minor league options, but there’s likely only one open spot on the Tigers’ bench. Alex Avila is on hand to back up James McCann behind the dish, while Andrew Romine has one utility infield job locked down. One of Tyler Collins and Mikie Mahtook is likely to be on the bench each day as well, as they’re poised to form a center field platoon. Manager Brad Ausmus noted that it’s a particularly difficult situation, as it’d be tough to get either player any sort of consistent at-bats during the regular season. But, as Woodbery notes, both could have clearer paths to playing time in 2018. Ausmus specifically noted that he can’t see Moya passing through waivers, so perhaps the team has a slight inclination to keep the 25-year-old slugger. Moya slugged 25 homers in 526 plate appearances between Triple-A and the Majors last season.
  • Parting with Brett Lawrie surely reflects a variety of factors for the White Sox, including his uninspiring performance, injury uncertainty, and rate of pay. But GM Rick Hahn (video via the Chicago Tribune) emphasized the importance the organization places on freeing playing opportunities for players who could have a longer future with the club. Hahn specifically mentioned Tyler Saladino, Carlos Sanchez, Leury Garcia, and Matt Davidson as players who he’d like to see have a chance at the majors. Of course, that was all known to the team when it agreed to terms with Lawrie to avoid arbitration; what wasn’t then clear, perhaps, was what would become of third baseman Todd Frazier, who remains with Chicago. Hahn notes, interestingly, that the team “can’t really control the pace or timing of these transactions,” saying that it had “envisioned various transactions” taking place that would have opened playing time both for Lawrie and the other names mentioned.
  • While the White Sox have suggested that nothing is amiss with lefty Carlos Rodon, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago explains on Twitter, his handling this spring is raising some eyebrows. Rodon threw his first pen session today, which means he’s on track to be ready to start the year, and the team has said that it’s merely keeping some restraints on an important young pitcher who’ll be expected to throw more innings than he did last year (165). But there are also some vague, slightly ominous hints emanating from the organization, as Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports (Twitter links). Manager Rick Renteria says that the hope is Rodon will be ready to join the Opening Day roster “without any concern,” which at least obliquely suggests there’s at least some health-related concern. And pitching coach Don Cooper referenced “arm stuff” that bothered Rodon in 2016, leading Hahn to clarify it was simply a fatigue-related matter that had been dealt with by modifications to Rodon’s preparation regimen.
  • The Astros are bullish on righty Charlie Morton, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. Houston placed a fairly substantial bet (two years, $14MM) on the 33-year-old, a groundball-heavy hurler who has dealt with his fair share of injuries. That was based not just on the team’s assessment of Morton’s abilities, but also its belief that it could help him get more out of them through improvements to his mechanics and pitch selection. Morton showed well today, McTaggart notes; he worked in the mid-nineties, a fair bit higher than his typical average fastball of 91 or 92 mph.

Tigers Notes: Wilson, Iglesias, Martinez

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The Tigers haven’t yet made much noise at the Winter Meetings, but they’ve been involved in discussions throughout the week. Here are some of the latest:

  • Lefty reliever Justin Wilson has been among the Tigers’ most popular players this week. But it appears the Tigers aren’t sitting back and letting potential trade partners come to them. The Tigers asked the Marlins, who are known to be looking for bullpen help (albeit mostly of the closer variety), whether they might have interest in trading for Wilson, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. The Marlins don’t currently have much lefty relief help beyond Hunter Cervenka.
  • Tigers GM Al Avila says shortstop Jose Iglesias has recently drawn interest, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes (Twitter links). If the Tigers were to trade Machado, they might turn to Dixon Machado at short — some in the Tigers organization believe Machado could hit enough to start. The 26-year-old Iglesias would make an interesting acquisition for a team hoping to upgrade its up-the-middle defense — he’s made little progress on his hitting, batting just .255/.306/.336 this season, but he retains good value thanks to his defense. He has two years of team control remaining before he’s eligible for free agency.
  • The Giants do not seem likely to trade for J.D. Martinez, the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea tweets. They would likely only make a deal for someone in Martinez’s position if they were to also able to trade a player making a similar salary. Martinez will make $11.75MM next season as part of the two-year deal he signed with the Tigers in March.

AL Notes: Mariners, Angels, Red Sox, Aybar

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Major League Baseball’s owners have voted to approve the recent sale of the Mariners from Nintendo to a group led by new chairman and CEO John Stanton, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. That step was largely a formality to finalize the major transaction, which also transfers the team-owned Root Sports network. The sale placed the value of the franchise at $1.4B.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris is leaving the organization, according to Keith Law of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The big league veteran had held his position since the fall of 2011, when he was hired by then-GM Jerry Dipoto. Much has changed since that time, of course, as Dipoto left his post last summer and the organization ended up replacing him with Billy Eppler over the offseason.
  • Of the five young Red Sox international signees who were recently returned to the open market as a penalty for the team’s signing violations, only one — righty Cesar Gonzalez — had failed to sign with a new organization in the immediate aftermath of the move. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald recently reported, Gonzalez has now found a new home with the Padres. The 17-year-old was not considered a significant prospect, and landed only $25K from San Diego, per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter), though he’ll also get to hold onto his original signing bonus from Boston and will get a fresh start with a new organization.
  • The Tigers are looking to just-acquired infielder Erick Aybar for a boost, though they won’t necessarily install him as the regular shortstop, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press writes. It seems that the 32-year-old is likely to share time up the middle with Dixon Machado for the time being, and presumably he’ll move into more of a utility role upon the anticipated return of Jose Iglesias and Nick Castellanos from the DL later this year. Aybar got off to a hideous start with the Braves, though he had hit much better leading up to the trade. “I know it’s been a down year,” manager Brad Ausmus said of Aybar’s season to date. “He’s not necessarily here to replace anybody. If he comes in here and plays well he’ll play. Simple as that. We’re in the business of winning baseball games. If he helps us win baseball games he’ll play.”

Central Notes: Stearns, Counsell, Indians, Machado

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Freshly appointed Brewers general manager David Stearns held court with the media at Petco Park today, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel runs down a number of the topics addressed by Stearns. Perhaps most notably, Stearns characterized his first impressions of manager Craig Counsell as positive. Building a relationship with Counsell is one of the first things on Stearns’ to-do list as GM. “It’s an enormous relationship, and it needs to be a relationship that has mutual respect and mutual trust,” said Stearns of the manager-GM dynamic. “So far, we’ve gotten along very well. … Throughout the entire industry, Craig has a very positive reputation. It was also clear that he was held in high regard within the organization and up through ownership.”

A bit more from Stearns and the game’s Central divisions…

  • Also high on Stearns’ agenda is deciding on an assistant GM and an organizational structure, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Via Haudricourt, Stearns spoke about the characteristics he’d seek in an AGM. “Ultimately, you’re going to want one who complements your skill set and helps you run the front office from a variety of different aspects,” he explained. Stearns said he’s spoken to a number of baseball ops executives that pre-date him, presumably including Ash, but has yet to come to any firm personnel decisions. “I’ve had conversations with a number of them and I think a number of them will stay,” he added.
  • The Indians will have a number of roster decisions to make following the season, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Gavin Floyd, Ryan Raburn, Mike Aviles and Ryan Webb can all become free agents, and each has expressed an interest in remaining with Cleveland. Raburn could be retained via his $3.5MM club option, as the team will decide between that sum and a $1MM buyout. Hoynes also notes that Cleveland has as many as six, if not seven arbitration eligible players (depending on Jeff Manship’s Super Two eligibility). Closer Cody Allen, in particular, could be in line for a multi-year deal, per Hoynes, though that comment seemed to be speculative.
  • Though adding some additional positions to his repertoire would help Dixon Machado’s chances of making the Tigers’ roster in 2015, the team has no plans to play him anywhere but shortstop, manager Brad Ausmus told MLive.com’s James Schmehl. The Tigers view Machado as a pure shortstop, though that complicates his path to playing time in the Majors due to the presence of Jose Iglesias. Nonetheless, Ausmus was firm in his belief: “Just a shortstop, at this point. I don’t know that I’d put Machado in the (Andrew) Romine category. Although he played third base a couple of games in Toledo, I wouldn’t throw him into a utility role.” Machado, the Tigers’ No. 14 prospect, per MLB.com, hit .286/.375/.404 across two levels in 2014 but has struggled in both Triple-A and the Majors this year. Scouting reports on the 23-year-old rave about his glove but wonder if he’ll hit enough to be a regular in the Majors.

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