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Francisco Liriano

Francisco Liriano Opts Out Of 2020 Season

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Free-agent LHP Francisco Liriano has opted out of the 2020 season, according to MLB insider Robert Murray. Per Murray, the 36-year-old left “multiple guaranteed offers” on the table.

Liriano is the 19th player (not including Nick Markakis, who chose to return to play after initially opting out) to spend this season on the sidelines. He is one of several players to have made such a decision in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 outbreaks within the Marlins and Cardinals organizations.

Liriano, of course, wasn’t on an MLB roster and so won’t change his current status, but as stated by Murray, the veteran southpaw may have been poised to ink a deal with a team in the near future.

Instead, he’ll have to wait until the winter to do so, assuming there’s still interest when a new crop of free agents hit the market. Notably, teams won’t be able to deploy Liriano as a typical lefty specialist given new MLB rules. However, that shouldn’t hurt Liriano too much, owing to his background as a starter; he average more than an inning per appearance last year.

His 2019 season, spent with the Pirates, was the first time in Liriano’s 14-year career he was deployed exclusively as a reliever, and it was a relatively successful transition for the former All-Star. In 69 games for Pittsburgh, he worked 70 innings and finished with a 3.47 ERA, striking out 63 batters. As has long been the case for the southpaw, he was prone to walking batters, surrendering a base on balls every two innings, on average.

He still boasts two deadly offerings, with a stellar slider and a changeup that allows him to compete with right-handed batters. Contrary to what you might expect of a 36-year-old veteran, his velocity hasn’t declined significantly from his Twins days, though the changeup-slider combination is still the bread and butter of his repertoire. He threw the changeup more often than ever last year, and the pitch yielded a swing-and-miss on 43.4% of offerings, which, coupled with a slider with a comparable 42.1% whiff rate, should make Liriano a viable lefty for plenty of teams next year.

Phillies Release Logan Forsythe, Francisco Liriano; Neil Walker To Make Opening Day Roster

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The Phillies announced a series of roster moves, including the news that left-hander Francisco Liriano and infielder Logan Forsythe have been granted releases.  Infielder Neil Walker, meanwhile, has been told he will be on Philadelphia’s Opening Day roster, so the team will be officially selecting his minor league contract at some point between now and the first game.  In other moves, catcher Henri Lartigue has been removed from the Summer Camp player pool and righty Victor Arano was optioned to Triple-A.

Liriano and Forsythe both had opt-out decisions coming this week, and it seems as if the club gave them an early start on the open market since neither were in the Phillies’ plans.  Walker, by contrast, also had an opt-out clause but will now receive the prorated sum of his original (non-specified) guarantee for making the big league team.

Forsythe and Walker were among several veteran infielders added by the Phillies this winter, as Josh Harrison, Ronald Torreyes, and Phil Gosselin were also signed to minor league deals.  The latter trio is still in camp, though it remains to be seen how many other roster spots will be available.  Scott Kingery is back after recovering from COVID-19 though it isn’t yet known if he’ll be ready for Opening Day, while star prospect Alec Bohm figures to arrive at some point in 2020, perhaps once service time considerations are no longer a factor.

Walker, 34, hit .261/.344/.395 with eight homers over 381 PA with Miami last season, delivering roughly league-average (98 OPS+, 99 wRC+) offensive production.  The switch-hitting Walker did much of his damage from the left side of the plate last season, as has been the norm for much of his career.

It seemed as if Forsythe was having a comeback season for the first two months of his tenure with the Rangers last season, but a hot start quickly turned, and the 33-year-old ended up with only a .227/.325/.353 slash line from 367 PA.  Forsythe will now look to catch on with his fifth different organization within the last two years.

There was some doubt as to whether or not Liriano would play at all during the 2020 season, as the southpaw reportedly considered sitting out due to COVID-19 concerns before eventually showing up at Philadelphia’s camp.  2019 saw Liriano work exclusively as a reliever for the first time in his long career, and he delivered a 3.47 ERA, 1.80 K/BB rate, 50.3% grounder rate, and 8.1 K/9 over 70 innings out of the Pirates’ bullpen.  As you would expect, Liriano performed better against left-handed batters (holding them to a .659 OPS) but also held righty swingers to a respectable .730 OPS.

Beyond these numbers, however, Liriano also allowed a lot of hard contract, so there is some uncertainty as to whether he’d be able to replicate his solid 2019 statistics again.  Given teams’ ever-present need for left-handed pitching, one would think Liriano will be able to find another minor league deal elsewhere.

Latest On Phillies & COVID-19

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1:07pm: Liriano has decided to report to camp, Robert Murray tweets.

12:24pm: The Phillies were hit with several coronavirus cases relating to their Florida facility late last month. GM Matt Klentak updated the team’s situation today in comments to reporters including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer (links to Twitter).

It runs out that outfielder Adam Haseley never had any real COVID-19 concerns. He had been away from camp, but not due to a positive test or contact with a suspected infection. Rather, it turns out that a lab error held up the 24-year-old.

That’s good news for Haseley, who’s now ready to roll. It’s a bit of a gut-check to hear of a mistake in the handling of testing, though at least the error was made in the direction of caution.

Of the four Phillies players that had been placed on the coronavirus IL, at least two — Scott Kingery and Tommy Hunter — are said to have tested positive for coronavirus. Former top overall draft pick Mikie Mahtook also registered a COVID-19 infection, which will obviously also take him out of commission while he recovers.

It’s clear there’s an even greater need for the Phils to clamp down and exercise care than most other clubs. In addition to those players, there are three coaches that have tested positive: bench coach Rob Thomson, catching coach Greg Brodzkinski, and bullpen coach Jim Gott.

Thankfully, there’s no indication to this point that any of the affected individuals is suffering significant symptoms. But the concern is obvious. Indeed, veteran lefty Francisco Liriano — who’s with the org on a minor-league deal — is said to be considering whether or not to opt out of the season.

Phillies, J.T. Realmuto Pause Extension Talks

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Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto has been an obvious extension candidate for a while, but nothing has come together yet as he nears his final season of team control. With the coronavirus pushing back the start of the season for the foreseeable future, it doesn’t appear a new Realmuto pact will materialize in the near term. The Phillies and Realmuto have hit the pause button on negotiations for the time being, general manager Matt Klentak revealed Tuesday (via Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer).

As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd explained Tuesday, there isn’t a roster freeze or a moratorium on extensions, so teams and players aren’t prohibited from hammering out long-term agreements. On the other hand, with the start of the 2020 campaign off the table for a while, there’s a lot less urgency for the two sides to get something done. The Phillies had been prioritizing a preseason extension for Realmuto, though. Therefore, it stands to reason they’ll get back to work on one when there’s clarity regarding the date of Opening Day, if not sooner.

While Realmuto at least has a contract for this year, players from the Phillies and other teams who signed minor league deals containing opt-out clauses are facing quite a bit of uncertainty.

Klentak spoke on their statuses, saying: “We do not have clarity. There’s a possibility we will have to make some of those decisions this week.”

Philadelphia has a few established veterans who landed non-guaranteed pacts with opt-outs and were competing for big league roles before the postponement of spring training. As Lauber notes, infielders Neil Walker and Logan Forsythe and relievers Anthony Swarzak and Francisco Liriano may all exit their deals Thursday. Speculatively, however, MLB could push the deadlines back for players in those situations.

Phillies To Sign Francisco Liriano

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The Phillies have reached agreement on a deal with veteran lefty Francisco Liriano, per Robert Murray (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of MLB Network had tweeted that a deal was close.

It’s said to be a minor-league pact and will obviously include an invitation to MLB camp. Liriano can earn $1.5MM in the majors and double that through incentives.

The 36-year-old Liriano spent last year working exclusively as a reliever, but had previously functioned primarily as a starter. Odds are he’ll be looked at primarily as a pen candidate by the Philadelphia organization, but his wealth of experience in multi-inning situations surely doesn’t hurt.

While he pitched to a 3.47 ERA over seventy frames in 2019, it’s not hard to see why Liriano was forced to settle for a minor-league arrangement. He posted 8.1 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9 along with a 50.3% groundball rate. Fielding-independent pitching metrics weren’t overly enthused (4.52 FIP; 4.92 xFIP; 4.76 SIERA) and Statcast indicates that Liriano gave up loads of hard contact.

Then again, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see Liriano in the picture with the Phils. He was able to generate a 13.5% swinging-strike rate last year, his loftiest mark since 2015. And lefties that can handle right-handed batters are perhaps more in demand than ever before, given the onset of the 3-batter minimum rule.

Francisco Liriano Plans To Pitch In 2020

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Set to turn 36 next month, Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano hopes to keep pitching for a couple more seasons, Stephen Nesbitt of The Athletic reports (subscription required). There’s no word on whether the Pirates are interested in re-signing the pending free agent, though.

Liriano could be days from wrapping up his second stint with the Pirates, who inked him to a minor league contract last February. While the well-traveled Liriano was a starter (and a good one at that) during his previous run with the Pirates from 2013-16, he has settled into a full-time relief role this season.

Pittsburgh’s decision to buy low on a Liriano reunion and use him in its bullpen has worked out for both parties. He earned a roster spot out of camp and has since logged 69 innings (which paces all Pirates relievers) of 3.39 ERA ball with 8.09 K/9, 4.43 BB/9 and a 49.2 percent groundball rate. ERA indicators FIP (4.54), xFIP (4.93) and SIERA (4.76) suggest Lirirano has been fortunate to prevent runs at such a useful clip, but it’s worth pointing out he has done so by inducing harmless contact more than the vast majority of major league hurlers. Liriano’s infield fly percentage (15.2) sits 22nd among all of the game’s qualified relievers, while he ranks in the league’s 99th percentile in average exit velocity against (84.5 mph) and hard-hit percentage (28.7), according to Statcast.

Assuming Liriano remains a reliever going forward, it doesn’t seem he’ll be fazed by the three-batter minimum rule that MLB will implement in 2020. That could push southpaw relievers who struggle versus right-handed hitters out of the bigs, but Liriano has done a satisfactory job retiring them. Righties have posted a .309 weighted on-base average against Liriano, which isn’t a great deal higher than the .295 mark lefties have managed.

Despite his success this year, Liriano obviously isn’t going to come at a high cost as a free agent. Liriano has earned a $1.8MM salary this year, and if he does land a guaranteed contract during the offseason, the value doesn’t seem likely to stray far from that neighborhood.

Pirates Place Lonnie Chisenhall On Injured List, Select Contract Of Melky Cabrera

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2:33pm: Bucs trainer Todd Tomczyk told reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (Twitter link), that it’s “inaccurate right now” to suggest Chisenhall will miss four-to-six weeks. The issue appears to be in his finger; for the time being, he’ll be shut down for ten days before being reevaluated.

10:21am: The Pittsburgh org has now announced the rest of its roster moves, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry covers (Twitter links). Jordan Lyles will also open the season with an IL stint owing to discomfort in his right side. He’ll be joined there by fellow reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, catcher Elias Diaz, corner infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna, and Polanco.

The club will indeed add Shuck, Cabrera, and lefty Francisco Liriano to the 40-man. To create roster space, righty Edgar Santana was placed on the 60-day IL while recovering from Tommy John surgery and the team designated relievers Jake Barrett and Aaron Slegers for assignment.

10:09am: Pirates outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall has been diagnosed with a broken hand, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’s expected to miss four to six weeks of action to open the season. The team has also announced it’s Opening Day roster, which as expected includes veteran outfielder Melky Cabrera.

It’s a tough-luck development for the 30-year-old, who was hit by a pitch late in camp. This is hardly the way he hoped to begin an effort at a bounceback season after an injury-marred pair of seasons.

Chisenhall inked a one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Bucs over the winter. The hope was that he’d serve as the primary option in right field while Gregory Polanco is working back to full health. Instead, he’ll have to do the same before he can contribute.

To open the year, at least, Cabrera will get a run instead in the corner outfield. It seems he’ll be joined in the mix by JB Shuck, another minor-league signee who spent camp with the Pittsburgh organization, though that has yet to be announced.

Pirates To Add Francisco Liriano, Melky Cabrera To Opening Day Roster

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The Pirates have announced that left-hander Francisco Liriano and outfielder Melky Cabrera will be on the team’s 25-man roster for Opening Day.  (MLB.com’s Adam Berry was among those to report the news.)  Since both players are in camp on minor league contracts, the Bucs will still need to make some room on their 40-man roster.  Only one more spot will need to be created, as Edgar Santana is already headed for the 60-day injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery last September.

The news means that Liriano will officially make his return to the Pirates, after previously pitching for the club from 2013-16.  Liriano will become the primary left-handed option in the Pittsburgh bullpen, with closer Felipe Vazquez currently the only other southpaw projected by Roster Resource for the 25-man roster.  Steven Brault is the only other lefty on the 40-man roster, so Liriano clearly had opportunity to win himself a job.

Liriano has primarily worked as a starter throughout his 13 years in the big leagues, and it’s possible he could still be some action as an emergency starter or long man for Pittsburgh this year.  At the moment, however, the 35-year-old looks to be primarily used against left-handed hitters, as Lirano has continued to excel against same-sided hitters in recent years even as his effectiveness against right-handed batters has declined.  In 2017, Liriano worked exclusively out of the bullpen for the Astros after a deadline trade from the Blue Jays, and Liriano served as a solid bullpen piece down the stretch and during Houston’s World Series run.

With Gregory Polanco sidelined for the first part of the season, the Bucs were in need of extra outfield depth beyond starting center fielder Starling Marte and left fielder Corey Dickerson.  The switch-hitting Cabrera will balance out the left-handed hitting Lonnie Chisenhall in right field, and Cabrera could also spell Dickerson against some southpaws.  Cabrera isn’t far removed from a .296/.345/.455 performance over 646 PA with the White Sox in 2016, though the 34-year-old has been roughly a league-average hitter in 2015 and 2017-18.

As per the terms of the two minor league contracts, Liriano will earn $1.8MM in guaranteed money for making the Pirates’ roster, while Cabrera will earn $1.15MM.  Both players also have more available in incentive bonuses.

25-Man Roster Notes: Indians, Pirates

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Here’s the latest on some veteran players signed to minor league contracts are faring in their bids to make the Opening Day roster…

  • The Indians reassigned outfielder Brandon Barnes, catcher Tim Federowicz, and infielder/outfielder Mike Freeman to their minor league camp, MLB.com’s Mandy Bell reports (Twitter link).  Catcher Dioner Navarro will remain with the Tribe’s MLB Spring Training camp for now, though he has also been informed that he won’t be on Cleveland’s Opening Day roster.  It isn’t yet known if any of this group will opt out of their minor league deals in order to pursue opportunities elsewhere, though Bell hears that Federowicz will “check with his agent.”
  • Francisco Liriano can opt out of his minors deal with the Pirates on Wednesday, though The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel (via Twitter) believes the veteran southpaw will break camp with the team.  Liriano hasn’t exactly excelled this spring, posting a 5.14 ERA over seven innings while allowing more walks (six) than strikeouts (five).  Still, Liriano has an advantage since Pittsburgh has just two left-handed pitchers (closer Felipe Vazquez and Steven Brault) on the 40-man roster, creating the need for more southpaw depth in the bullpen.  Should Liriano crack the big leagues, he’ll earn a guaranteed $1.8MM, with another $1.5MM available in potential incentives.

Pirates, Francisco Liriano Agree To Minors Deal

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2:43pm: Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets that Liriano would earn a $1.8MM base salary if he makes Pittsburgh’s big league roster and could also earn another $1.5MM worth of incentives.

2:35pm: It’s a minor league deal for Liriano, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

2:31pm: The Pirates have agreed to terms on a contract with left-hander Francisco Liriano, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll return to Pittsburgh, where he pitched from 2013-16 before being traded to the Blue Jays in a 2016 deadline deal.

Liriano, 35, spent the 2018 campaign with the Tigers, for whom he pitched to a 4.58 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 48.3 percent ground-ball rate in 133 2/3 innings. Liriano worked as a starter in 26 of his 27 appearances last season, though he also has some experience working out of the bullpen — namely a 2017 stint with the Astros.

Pittsburgh already has numerous rotation options in house, with Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Trevor Williams, Joe Musgrove, Jordan Lyles and the out-of-options Nick Kingham comprising the top current options. Of that bunch, Taillon, Archer and Williams are assured of spots. Looming beyond that grouping in the upper minors is top prospect Mitch Keller, who figures to make his debut at some point in 2019.

The Pirates are thinner in terms of left-handed bullpen depth. Beyond closer Felipe Vazquez, the lone 40-man lefty option for the bullpen is former starter Steven Brault, although Tyler Lyons will be in camp as a non-roster invitee and could provide some competition if the team’s plan is to try Liriano in the bullpen.

Liriano was a mainstay alongside Gerrit Cole in the Pirates’ rotation over the course of that 2013-16 run and, at one point, was one of the organization’s most successful reclamation projects. The southpaw burst onto the scene as both a Rookie of the Year and Cy Young candidate with the Twins in 2006 but saw his stock drop substantially following Tommy John surgery. The Pirates organization helped Liriano reestablish himself, resulting in a 3.26 ERA over his first 510 innings with the Buccos. He’ll look to rediscover there once again if he’s able to crack the 25-man roster in camp.

The initial version of this post mistakenly listed the Padres as the team to sign Liriano. MLBTR apologizes for the error.

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