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Freddy Galvis

Yankees Notes: Givens, Galvis, Lefty Hitting, Spending

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Some items from the Bronx…

  • The Yankees “tried hard” to land Orioles reliever Mychal Givens at the trade deadline, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports.  The right-hander was a popular figure on the rumor mill last July, with such clubs as the Indians, Dodgers, Braves, Phillies, and Nationals all reportedly showing interest in acquiring his services.  It isn’t any surprise that the Yankees were also involved given how New York is constantly looking to reinforce its already strong bullpen, and it isn’t out of the question that the Yankees could ask about Givens again this winter.  The 29-year-old is under team control for two more seasons (and projected to make $3.2MM in arbitration this winter), though Givens is coming off the worst of his five big league seasons.  Givens posted a 12.3 K/9 and 3.31 K/BB rate over 63 innings but his ERA ballooned to 4.57, due in large part to a lot of problems keeping the ball in the park (1.9 HR/9).
  • Sticking with Sherman’s piece, he wonders if the Yankees could perhaps try to land both Givens and Jonathan Villar from the Orioles in a package deal that would also address another team need — a lack of left-handed hitting.  Interestingly, Sherman writes that there is some strategy behind this lineup imbalance, as the Yankees have preferred to deploy right-handed bats with opposite-field power rather than actual left-handed hitters, as lefty bats can be more easily hampered by defensive shifts.  If the Bronx Bombers did decide to add more pop from the left side, however, Sherman feels the best possible solution would be switch-hitting superstar Francisco Lindor, if the Indians made him available in a trade.  Beyond Villar, Sherman lists a few other players (old friend Didi Gregorius, Freddy Galvis, Tucker Barnhart, Jason Castro) who could be signed or acquired in trades to add left-handed balance to either the lineup or bench.  In Galvis’ case, Sherman reports that he was the Yankees’ second choice as shortstop depth last offseason before they landed Troy Tulowitzki.
  • The Yankees’ decision to exercise some financial restraint has drawn criticism from some fans and pundits, particularly since the club has now gone 10 full seasons without a World Series title.  As Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards observes in a look at the last 20 years of Yankees spending, the franchise made a gigantic payroll spike in 2003-2004 (up into the $200MM-$240MM range, around three times as much as the average payroll) that possibly “outstripped what might have been reasonable compared to their revenues and financial status, and that staying at around $240 million reflected a necessary correction.”  The Yankees’ average payroll increase hasn’t matched the rest of the league’s overall increase over the last decade, however, even while the Yankees franchise has increased its revenues.

Reds Exercise Club Option On Freddy Galvis

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Nov. 1: The Reds have formally announced that Galvis’ option has indeed been picked up.

Oct. 31: The Reds will exercise their $5.5MM club option on Freddy Galvis for the 2020 season, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  The Reds had a $4.5MM decision to make on the veteran shortstop, as Galvis’ contract contained a $1MM buyout.

Galvis hit .260/.296/.438 with a career-best 23 homers over 589 plate appearances last season, coming over to Cincinnati in a midseason trade from the Blue Jays.  He was one of many players to benefit from inflated power numbers in the homer-happy 2019 season, as his batting average, OBP, and even his slugging percentage weren’t too far removed from career norms.  Playing mostly at shortstop in Toronto and then mostly as a second baseman with the Reds, Galvis posted decent defensive statistics at both positions, making him a flexible bench piece for next season as Cincinnati decides on its next step in the middle infield.

Jose Peraza and Derek Dietrich are also on hand as potential infield candidates, and Nick Senzel could also potentially factor back into the second base mix if the Reds opt to acquire an everyday center fielder rather than continue to deploying Senzel on the grass.  Galvis’ $5.5MM is more than either Peraza ($3.6MM) or Dietrich ($3.1MM) are projected to earn in arbitration, making one or both players expendable as non-tender candidates.  With the Reds firmly intent on a postseason berth next year, they could be aggressive in looking for an everyday shortstop AND center fielder, thus making Senzel the new second baseman and keeping Galvis in a utility infield role.

Blue Jays Notes: Smoak, Galvis, Bichette, Catcher

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A day after suggesting that Rowdy Tellez was in line to receive more playing time down than Justin Smoak down the stretch, Blue Jays skipper Charlie Montoyo has walked that assertion back a bit. “Maybe it came out like he’s going to play more than Smoak, but it’s still the same way,” Montoyo told reporters, including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “Smoak will DH, play first. I don’t see that much of a difference.” Smoak himself was caught off guard by Montoyo’s initial comments, but the first baseman said Montoyo took him aside in an effort to sort things out. It seems that Smoak and Tellez will share first base/designated hitter duties down the stretch, though Montoyo has no shortage of other players he’ll need to try to work into the mix at DH. Davidi adds that the Blue Jays “seem to have no intention” of placing Smoak on outright waivers in the manner they did with Freddy Galvis, who was claimed by the Reds earlier this week.

More out of Toronto…

  • The Blue Jays didn’t find much in the way of trade interest for Galvis prior to the trade deadline, writes The Toronto Sun’s Ryan Wolstat, but the arrival (and immediate success) of Bo Bichette prompted the club to give the veteran Galvis an opportunity to be claimed by a club that’d play him every day at his natural position. General manager Ross Atkins said the club and Galvis were open and honest with each other leading up to the move. Montoyo effused praise for Galvis’ professionalism and leadership, and teammates such as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. expressed some sadness in seeing Galvis depart. “He taught me a lot, not just to me, to the rest of the guys and I will always carry that with me,” said Gurriel of Galvis. “Freddy’s a huge mentor for any player.” The Reds will now have the ability to exercise Galvis’ $5.5MM club option for the 2020 season, though they’ll also be on the hook for the $1MM buyout should they not decide to bring him back.
  • While Danny Jansen is still the favorite to serve as the Jays’ primary catcher in 2020, TSN’s Scott Mitchell writes that Reese McGuire will be given an opportunity to show he can be a significant piece of the catching puzzle in the season’s final six weeks. Both Jansen and McGuire drew heaps of praise for their defensive prowess from catching coordinator John Schneider, and Jansen indeed ranks among the game’s best backstops in terms of pitch framing, pitch blocking, Defensive Runs Saved and Baseball Prospectus’ fielding runs above average. Jansen has also salvaged what was shaping up to be a miserable season at the plate, hitting .252/.316/.484 dating back to June 1. As Mitchell points out, the Jays have a number of other catching options coming up through the system, giving them some potential trade commodities to address other holes on the club if the Jansen/McGuire pairing is indeed determined to be the long-term catching tandem.

Reds Claim Freddy Galvis

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The Reds have claimed shortstop Freddy Galvis off waivers from the Blue Jays, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.

This is the second notable waiver claim in the past week for the Reds, who are taking advantage of a system now devoid of an August trade deadline in an attempt to bolster their roster. The Reds grabbed right-hander Kevin Gausman off waivers from the Braves last Monday.

Gausman and Galvis could boost the Reds’ playoff chances this year – they’re five games back of a wild-card spot right now – and will be able to contribute to the club in 2020. In Galvis’ case, he’s on a $4MM salary this year, which the Reds will have to assume the rest of, and can be controlled with a $5.5MM club option (or a $1MM buyout) next season.

Also a former Phillie and Padre, the durable, switch-hitting Galvis, 29, has slashed a respectable .267/.299/.444 (93 wRC+) with 18 home runs and 1.4 fWAR in 473 plate appearances this year. He was expendable to the Blue Jays, who have seen youngsters Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio come up from the minors this season to grab a stranglehold on their middle infield spots.

The Reds’ middle infield doesn’t boast the type of promise the Blue Jays’ does, on the other hand. Free agent-to-be Jose Iglesias has been dealing with a biceps injury, which has left shortstop of late to the struggling Jose Peraza, and the light-hitting Iglesias’ offensive numbers have largely cratered since a decent start over the season’s first couple months. Meanwhile, having traded Scooter Gennett to the Giants at last month’s deadline, the Reds have turned to a combination of Peraza, Josh VanMeter, Kyle Farmer and Derek Dietrich at the keystone in the past couple weeks. Perhaps Galvis will also factor in at second, though he has spent almost all of his career at short since debuting in 2012.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lack Of Deadline Interest In Justin Smoak, Freddy Galvis

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Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak and shortstop Freddy Galvis looked like prime trade candidates going into Wednesday’s deadline, but it doesn’t appear either player generated much interest. The markets for Smoak and Galvis were just about nonexistent on deadline day, Scott Mitchell of TSN reports. Both players may have wound up on the move this month had the August waiver deadline stuck around, as Mitchell notes, but that’s no longer a factor.

Smoak was reportedly drawing a fair amount of interest as of Tuesday, when the Indians and Rays were said to be among the teams in on him. But things went unfavorably from there for rebuilding Toronto, which first saw the Indians augment their offense by acquiring outfielders Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes late Tuesday. The Rays then added first baseman Jesus Aguilar in a trade with the Brewers early Wednesday. Aguilar’s far cheaper and controllable for longer than Smoak – a pending free agent on an $8MM salary.

There has been speculation about the Blue Jays extending Smoak, which could be more realistic now that they won’t be able to trade the soon-to-be 33-year-old. A Blue Jay since 2015, the switch-hitting Smoak broke out with the club from 2017-18, but his bottom-line production has declined this season. Smoak has slashed .213/.356/.420 (110 wRC+) with 18 home runs in 368 plate appearances.

Smoak’s numbers aren’t going to put him in position to break the bank on his next contract, especially as an aging first baseman, though he has likely deserved better this year. Smoak has drawn almost as many walks (61) as strikeouts (72), while his .219 batting average on balls in play is 48 points below his career mark (.267), and he boasts an excellent .389 expected weighted on-base average. That figure vastly outdoes Smoak’s real wOBA (.343) and ranks among the best in baseball.

Galvis, set to turn 30 in November, joined the Blue Jays on the open market last winter for a guaranteed $5MM. His pact includes a $5.5MM club option for 2020, but the Jays might reject it in favor of a $1MM buyout now that high-end middle infield prospects Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio have come up to the majors.

With Bichette and Biggio in the mix, Galvis’ time as a regular in Toronto appears to be over. However, to Galvis’ credit, the switch-hitter has continued his impressive run of durability this season and chipped in a career-best .264/.299/.436 line (91 wRC+) with 16 HRs over 435 trips to the plate. That production wasn’t enough to excite a contender, though, and it didn’t help Toronto’s cause that there wasn’t a great deal of demand for middle infielders approaching the deadline.

Quick Hits: Domingo S., Rays, Molina, Red Sox, Jays

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Although Mariners outfielder Domingo Santana has come up as a potential target for the Rays, it doesn’t look as if the two teams will reach a deal for the slugger. Tampa Bay has “cooled on” Santana, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Divish cites the elbow problems that have bothered Santana over the past few weeks as a potential reason the Rays have backed off their pursuit. The 26-year-old has endured his worst month of the season, perhaps on account of his elbow, having batted .246/.310/.354 with 25 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances. July has marred Santana’s offensive numbers to an extent, though he has still slashed a solid .273/.342/.475 with 20 home runs in 446 plate appearances.

More from around the majors…

  • The hope was Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina would return at the beginning of August when he landed on the injured list July 11 with a right thumb tendon strain. We now know that won’t happen. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced Monday that Molina was just cleared for “light baseball activities,” which still puts him around two weeks from rejoining the Cardinals, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Molina’s thumb has hampered him since May, which could at least partially explain his uncharacteristic .261/.286/.368 line in 276 plate appearances. Backup Matt Wieters has offered far better offensive production than Molina this season.
  • Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon has hired The MAS+ Agency for representation, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Leon, who’s earning $2.475MM this season, is slated to go through arbitration for the fourth and final time during the winter. Although Leon was the Red Sox’s best option behind the plate in 2016 – he slashed .310/.369/.476 with 2.3 fWAR in 283 plate appearances – he hasn’t come close to replicating that production since then. Dating back to 2017, Leon has hit .202/.263/.318 with 1.4 fWAR across 722 trips to the plate. The 30-year-old has largely done well behind the plate, including at framing pitches and throwing runners out, but his offensive decline has helped opened the door for Christian Vazquez to take over as Boston’s primary catcher over the past couple years.
  • Shortstop Freddy Galvis was a late scratch from the Blue Jays’ lineup Monday, which led to speculation they were on the verge of trading the 29-year-old. That didn’t prove to be the case, though, as Galvis sat on account of lower back tightness (via Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star). Fortunately for Toronto, it doesn’t appear this issue will prove severe enough to kill Galvis’ trade value – which could be happening with Blue Jays closer Ken Giles and his balky elbow. Manager Charlie Montoyo said that Galvis should return Tuesday, per Scott Mitchell of TSN. Any kind of injury is a rare occurrence for Galvis, who came into the season with back-to-back 162-game campaigns under his belt. Galvis has missed more time than usual this year, but he has still appeared in 102 games and hit a career-best .265/.299/.435 with 15 homers in 421 PA.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Bleier, Gurriel, Rays

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The Red Sox have been surprisingly silent on the bullpen market this winter despite the fact that Joe Kelly has left for the Dodgers and Craig Kimbrel remains unsigned — seemingly likely to land with another organization as well, based on comments from Boston president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required), however, that the Sox are confident in a number of internal options. Recent draftees Travis Lakins (sixth round, 2015) and Durbin Feltman (third round, 2018) could both emerge at the MLB level in 2019, while many in the Red Sox’ analytics department are intrigued by trade pickup Colten Brewer (whom the Sox tried to acquire last summer as well, Olney notes). Tyler Thornburg represents a notable bounceback option, as well. It’s nonetheless jarring to see the Sox take a passive approach to rounding out the ’pen on the heels of a World Series championship. Perhaps there’s yet another move in store with several relievers still available (MLBTR Free Agent Tracker link), but it seems likely that the Boston ’pen will have to prove its share of naysayers wrong in 2019.

Here’s more from the division…

  • Orioles southpaw Richard Bleier tells Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com that he believes he’ll be ready to roll for the start of the 2019 season. That’s great news for the O’s, as Bleier had been a revelatory hurler before suffering a major injury to his lat. Already 31 years of age, Bleier certainly qualifies as a late bloomer. He’s also an outlier, having now made it through 119 MLB innings with a sub-2.00 ERA despite averaging just 4.1 strikeouts per nine. A big 63.3% groundball rate and low 1.6 BB/9 walk rate go a long way toward explaining the results. Before he can get back to disproving those who question the sustainability of that success, Bleier will need to show he’s back to full health. For the O’s, it would help quite a bit if he can do so. After all, Bleier could be quite a nice trade asset this summer or in the winter to come, especially since he’s still shy of reaching arbitration eligibility.
  • The Blue Jays’ signing of Freddy Galvis this week was tied to the club’s uncertainty about the glovework of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. As Davidi explores at length, the Jays are wary of poor infield defense at a time when they’re developing numerous young pitchers and when rotation holdovers Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez are heavy ground-ball pitchers. Gurriel has more offensive upside than Galvis but could be squeezed for playing time with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Brandon Drury and Devon Travis all still factoring into the infield mix. There have been suggestions that Gurriel could land in the outfield eventually, but as Davidi outlines, that already crowded mix is further muddied with the now-out-of-options Dalton Pompey surprisingly still on the roster. It’s a comprehensive look at a crowded roster, though surely injuries and Spring Training roster moves could eventually impact how things play out. It’s also worth noting that Gurriel still has a minor league option remaining.
  • Juan Toribio of MLB.com tackles a number of questions on the Rays’ roster in his latest Inbox column, highlighting several battles for Opening Day roster spots while also writing that the Rays look unlikely to add another free-agent reliever this offseason. That, he notes, could open the door for Triple-A standout Colin Poche to crack the big league roster either out of camp or early in the season. The Rays, as Toribio notes, are rife with infield depth both on the 25-man roster and in the upper minors but are also cognizant that their projected group of 2019 infielders is lacking experience. So while players such as Christian Arroyo and Kean Wong don’t have clear paths to the Majors at the moment, Tampa Bay is likely to hang onto its depth. Arroyo, once a top prospect with the Giants and the key player received in last winter’s Evan Longoria trade, struggled through a lost season in 2018 and still has a minor league option remaining.

Blue Jays Sign Freddy Galvis

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The Blue Jays announced today that they have signed veteran infielder Freddy Galvis. It’s a one-year deal that includes a club option for 2020.

Galvis receives a $5MM guarantee, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). That includes a $4MM salary for the coming season and $1MM buyout on a 2020 option that can instead be exercised at $5.5MM. Righty Danny Barnes was designated for assignment to create 40-man roster space.

Galvis, 29, has logged a ton of innings at shortstop over the past several seasons for second-division clubs. In fact, he appeared in all 162 games in 2017 with the Phillies and in 2018 with the Padres. He was rumored to be a target of the Pirates after talks for a return to San Diego seemingly fizzled earlier in the offseason.

As it turns out, Galvis will join a Toronto club that doesn’t seem to have much hope of contention but is interested in bolstering its infield situation. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be given an everyday role at short or will instead share time there with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. while also moving around the field.

The 2018 season turned out to be Galvis’s most productive overall effort at the plate, with his .248/.299/.380 slash and 13 long balls translating to a personal-high 85 wRC+. That’s still not much offense, obviously, but it’s a tick above his lifetime output (.246/.290/.374).

How to explain the fact that Galvis has been a steady regular for the past four seasons? Beyond the fact that he’s obviously a respected and dedicated professional, with the benefit of being a switch-hitter with both pop and speed, glovework obviously represents the carrying tool here.

Galvis is quite sure-handed, having been charged with just 24 total errors over the past three campaigns. Metrics are not unanimous on Galvis’s abilities at short, but generally reflect a positive view of his glovework. Oddly, he started out as a Ultimate Zone Rating darling who wasn’t as well-loved by Defensive Runs Saved, but the two systems flipped on him last year (-3.8 UZR, +7 DRS).

While he’s primarily a shortstop now, it probably doesn’t hurt that Galvis has a good bit of experience elsewhere as well. Previously, he has spent time at second base, third base, and left field (along with a one-game stint in center).

As for Barnes, the 29-year-old righty had a strong 2017 showing in Toronto, working to a 3.55 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.3 B/9 through 66 innings of relief. His extreme proneness to fly-balls, penchant for surrendering homers and an unsustainable 81.6 percent strand rate made him a clear regression candidate, though, and that proved to be the case. Barnes was clobbered for a 5.71 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 in 41 innings this past season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pirates Notes: Galvis, Gonzalez, Payroll, Free Agency, Taillon

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The latest out of Pittsburgh…

  • The Pirates have been connected to free-agent shortstop Freddy Galvis this winter, though general manager Neal Huntington suggested Saturday that a deal between the two sides won’t come together. “We feel like we got a young Freddy Galvis. His name is Erik Gonzalez,” said Huntington, who added the Pirates are optimistic Gonzalez and fellow middle infielder Kevin Newman will “be as good if not better than what Freddy Galvis or any of the others who are out there right now or any of the players we can get in a trade right now” (via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). The 27-year-old Gonzalez didn’t provide much at the plate in Cleveland from 2016-18, but Pittsburgh was excited to acquire him in November, and he’s now the favorite to serve as its Opening Day shortstop. Pirates scouts were “beating the table” to get Gonzalez, who they believe will be “’above average. Dynamic. Very good. More range than anybody you’ve had at short maybe some you have managed,'” manager Clint Hurdle said.
  • Gonzalez is one of a slew of cheap players for the budget-conscious Bucs, who are poised to enter the season with an outlay under $75MM, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates. Huntington defended the Pirates’ low-payroll ways Saturday, telling Adamski, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and others that they’ve succeeded in the past in spite of their financial disadvantages and adding: “Spending gives you a larger margin for error and what GM wouldn’t want a larger margin for error?” It does not guarantee you anything other than you spent money. The upgrade is not guaranteed.” And though the Pirates haven’t closed the door on making further additions on the open market, where they’ve picked up Lonnie Chisenhall, Jordan Lyles and Jung Ho Kang this winter, Huntington seemingly isn’t a big fan of taking that route. Free agency’s a “losing game,” according to Huntington. “When you sign a free agent, you have automatically outbid everybody else to get him 95, 99 percent of the time. You have theoretically overpaid to get that free agent.”
  • Pittsburgh is far from the only team eschewing sizable free-agent contracts this offseason, which Pirates right-hander and union representative Jameson Taillon spoke about Saturday. Taillon’s fellow players are “pretty riled up and pretty upset” about the current state of affairs, revealed Taillon, who was present for the union’s recent board meetings, Brink reports. While Taillon conceded that players are hard to sympathize with because many are earning millions of dollars, he pointed out that “the owners are making money too, and they’re making way more than we are.” The players, mindful of that fact, may be more inclined to go to arbitration rather than accept what often end up as team-friendly extensions during their arb-eligible years, Taillon contended. Taillon’s words are the latest indication that the players and owners could be in for an ugly labor war when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2021.

NL Rumors: Realmuto, Braves, Bucs, Galvis, Padres, Pirela, Nats

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Here’s the latest from the National League:

  • Not only are the Braves one of the teams still in the hunt to acquire Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, but they’re “slight” favorites as of now, Craig Mish of SiriusXM tweets. Braves third base prospect Austin Riley’s “on the table” in talks, Mish adds. The 21-year-old Riley – MLB.com’s 43rd-ranked prospect – got his first taste of Triple-A action in 2018 and batted a terrific .282/.346/.464 in 324 plate appearances, though he also struck out in nearly 30 percent of trips. Riley is blocked at third in Atlanta, at least temporarily, by the recently signed Josh Donaldson and 2018 starter Johan Camargo.
  • The Pirates have “big interest” in free-agent shortstop Freddy Galvis, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. In Pittsburgh, the switch-hitting 29-year-old would take over for Jordy Mercer, who signed with the Tigers earlier this week. Joining the Pirates would also mean a return to Pennsylvania for Galvis, a Phillie from 2012-17 who spent last season in San Diego. Across 3,096 major plate appearances, Galvis has batted .248/.299/.380 with 65 home runs, including 13 in 2018.
  • Once the Padres’ signing of Ian Kinsler becomes official, they’re “likely” to designate infielder/outfielder Jose Pirela for assignment, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports. Even if the Padres don’t designate Pirela, he’s not long for their roster, Cassavell suggests. The 29-year-old Pirela, a member of the San Diego organization since it acquired him from the Yankees in 2015, racked up 817 PAs at the major league level from 2017-18 and managed a respectable .265/.320/.405 line with 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases.
  • While free-agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu has been on the Nationals’ radar, they’re “more likely” to look for a cheaper infielder, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post, who lists Brian Dozier, Josh Harrison and Jed Lowrie as speculative fits. Although, in MLBTR’s estimation, Lowrie will easily land the richest contract of that quartet this offseason.

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