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Jackie Bradley Jr.

Latest On Jackie Bradley Jr.

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10:07pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI passes along different information, tweeting that the D-backs are not targeting Bradley.

5:37pm: Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is near the top of the Diamondbacks’ wish list, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter.

There’s a clear connection to Bradley in Arizona, whose general manager, Mike Hazen, worked in Boston’s front office before taking the helm of the Diamondbacks in 2016. The 28-year-old Bradley’s also familiar with Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo from his time on the Red Sox’s coaching staff. And the world champion Red Sox are reportedly taking offers on Bradley and other veterans, perhaps making a JBJ trade a realistic possibility. It’s worth noting the Red Sox would still be loaded in the outfield even without Bradley, which could make him expendable in the team’s estimation.

Arizona’s need for a center fielder is obvious, on the other hand, as previous starter A.J. Pollock is now a free agent and is sure to price himself out of the desert. Bradley, meanwhile, has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining and is projected to make a reasonable $7.9MM next season. Bradley’s coming off his third straight campaign with at least 2.2 fWAR, having totaled 2.8 as he combined passable offense (.234/.314/.403 with 13 home runs and 17 steals in 535 plate appearances) with another year of plus defense.

Report: Red Sox Taking Offers On Rick Porcello, Others

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The defending World Series champion Red Sox are at least opening the door to some surprising sell-side moves, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter links). Though the club is obviously not going to divert from its attempt to repeat, it seems there’s a movement afoot to pare back some existing payroll.

The true end goal here isn’t clear. Boston already splurged to re-sign Nathan Eovaldi, giving him a four-year deal at a $17MM rate of pay, and it doesn’t seem as if the club is interested in doing anything that would substantially harm its competitive position. The division, after all, promises to be quite competitive — to say nothing of the top-heavy American League.

Still, the Sox are said to be “openly listening” to offers for veteran right-hander Rick Porcello, who’ll earn $21MM this year before reaching free agency. Yet more surprisingly, the club is said to be “willing to talk about” star shortstop Xander Bogaerts (projected $11.9MM arbitration salary in final season of eligibility) and quality center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. ($7.9MM, second-to-last season of eligibility).

Parting with any of these players would clearly harm the team’s 2019 roster — unless, that is, there was a plan in place to add a different piece to fill the opening. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the idea would indeed be to repurpose any payroll savings, perhaps opening the door to some bullpen reinforcements.

While that’s sensible from one perspective, it still feels like an incomplete picture. After all, it’s not as if the Boston organization has high-quality fill-in pieces knocking down the door.  In Porcello’s case, at least, there’s an argument that the Red Sox have sufficient depth after bringing back Eovaldi, but it obviously wouldn’t be as good as the sturdy 29-year-old. Bogaerts is not remotely replaceable from within; presumably, the club would go onto the market for a different option at short. As for Bradley, it’s easy to imagine Andrew Benintendi taking over in center, but that’d still leave an outfield opening that would need to be addressed in some regard (perhaps in part through reliance upon Steve Pearce and other existing reserves).

It’s fair to wonder just what the Sox could anticipate recouping in hypothetical trades. Porcello’s hefty salary limits his appeal, making him more of a candidate to be dealt for another spendy veteran or perhaps a limited prospect return. Bogaerts has plenty of rental value, though the Red Sox would be dealing with fellow contenders to find a fit and there’s limited demand at the shortstop position. Bradley is controllable fr two years and could fit in plenty of places, though his offensive numbers have been down and he’s not the type of piece that most teams would go wild to acquire — particularly with some similar players potentially also available via trade.

Generally speaking, boosting the farm would certainly be of interest, but it’d be quite tricky to do that and save money without significantly damaging the team’s immediate competitiveness. Sussing out how this potential strategy could make sense in the aggregate is frankly difficult to do without contemplating multiple successive transactions. It’s certainly a fascinating development for the Red Sox and the broader market, but it is tough to guess at this point how it might all play out.

Dodgers, Red Sox Set World Series Rosters

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With the World Series set to kick off tonight, both teams have announced changes to their 25-man rosters.

For the Dodgers, left-handed reliever Scott Alexander replaces Caleb Ferguson, the team announced. Alexander will be LA’s third left-handed option out of the pen, along with 22-year-old Julio Urias and regular season starter Alex Wood. The Dodgers have shuffled between Urias, Ferguson and Alexander as the third left-hander in the pen this postseason, with each player making the roster for two of the three playoff rounds. 

Of the three, the 21-year-old Ferguson is the least seasoned, whereas Alexander profiles most-closely to a left-handed specialist – though none have drastic platoon splits. Still, it’s likely Alexander spent the weekend going over the scouting reports of Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, Mitch Moreland and Jackie Bradley Jr. 

For the Red Sox, they’ve also made a change to their bullpen. The team announced the addition of lefty Drew Pomeranz over right-handed options Brandon Workman or Steven Wright. It’s a bit of a surprising move given Pomeranz hasn’t pitched since September 30th. Conversely, Wright is recovering from left knee issues, while Workman was shelled in his three October appearances. Workman appeared twice in the ALDS and and once in the ALCS, pitching one third of an inning each time, surrendering a total five earned runs and seven hits in his one total inning of work.

You have to figure the Red Sox believe Pomeranz is closer to his 2017 self (137 ERA+) than his 2018 self (72 ERA+). One glimmer of hope in Pomeranz’s disastrous 2018 campaign: all 12 HRs surrendered this season were vs. right-handed hitters. For his career, lefties have hit .224/.305/.313 against Pomeranz, whereas righties have hit .247/.330/.420. Should Chris Sale or David Price fail to go deep into games, Boston will have the option of deploying Pomeranz as a long-man, or as a lefty specialist to counter Max Muncy, Joc Pederson and/or NLCS MVP Cody Bellinger. 

Quick Hits: Kikuchi, Sugano, BoSox, JBJ, Rangers, D-backs

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Japanese starting pitchers Yusei Kikuchi and Tomoyuki Sugano have been garnering attention from major league scouts, according to Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times. Several teams sent representatives to see the left-handed Kikuchi (Seibu Lions) and the right-handed Sugano (Yomiuri Giants) square off last Friday. The belief is that the 26-year-old Kikuchi will be the first of the pair to immigrate to the majors, perhaps as early as the upcoming offseason, per Coskrey. Notably, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported in March that Kikuchi could end up with a contract in the $100MM vicinity if he does head to North America. Kikuchi would be posted, whereas Sugano may have to wait until he becomes an international free agent in 2021 because Yomiuri doesn’t post players, Coskrey explains. By then, he’ll be 32.

Here’s more from around the game:

  • In the event the Red Sox upgrade their offense this summer, it will probably come at center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.’s expense, Chad Jennings of The Athletic writes (subscription required). For the most part, Boston’s offense is well positioned, Jennings observes, but Bradley hasn’t helped matters with a .184/.280/.301 line in 236 plate appearances. Barring a turnaround, then, he may be head to the bench or even another team via trade. Speculatively, the Red Sox could seek a solid-hitting corner outfielder on the market and have left fielder Andrew Benintendi take over for JBJ in center.
  • The Rangers’ Jurickson Profar has easily outperformed teammate Rougned Odor this year. Despite that, the Rangers’ second base job will continue to belong to Odor, in part because of his contract, according to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram. Odor still has four and a half years remaining on the six-year, $49.5MM guarantee he landed prior to 2017, and because of that, it seems Texas would rather have him try to figure things out as its starting second baseman than on its bench or in the minors. That’s not to suggest Odor will keep Profar off the diamond, though, as manager Jeff Banister said that the latter could see action five times a week at second, third and short. Profar may even emerge as the Rangers’ full-time shortstop in 2019 if Elvis Andrus opts out of his contract after this season and leaves as a free agent, Wilson points out.
  • Both Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and right-hander Shelby Miller are progressing in their injury recoveries, according to Richard Morin of AZCentral.com. Souza, out since May 22 with a strained right pectoral, is close to embarking on a rehab assignment. And Miller, who’s working back from May 2017 Tommy John surgery, looked great in his fourth rehab appearance Saturday. Pitching at the Single-A level, Miller threw 81 pitches and struck out 10 (with just three hits allowed and no walks) over 6 1/3 innings. He also saw his fastball top out at 95 mph. It’s not yet clear whether Miller will make another rehab appearance, nor is it known if he’ll work as a starter or in relief upon his return to the majors, manager Torey Lovullo suggested. Regardless, the D-backs are “very encouraged” by his progress, Lovullo said.

Cafardo’s Latest: Peavy, Abreu, Moose, Braves, Fish, BoSox, Rangers

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Free-agent right-hander Jake Peavy was reportedly going to throw in a scouting showcase around May 1, but that hasn’t happened yet, the soon-to-be 37-year-old tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Nevertheless, Peavy is still aiming to return to the majors, where he last pitched in 2016 with the Giants. “In the next three weeks I’ll make a decision,” said Peavy, who added that he wanted to consult with his four kids before attempting a comeback. Continued Peavy: “I feel that I can help a team in the second half. My arm feels great. I’ve had a chance to rest it so I feel as strong as I’ve felt in a long time. I’ve kept in shape. I throw bullpens. So I’m hoping that once I make the decision to do it, that the interest will be there.” Notably, the onetime NL Cy Young Award winner realizes he’d “have to sign an incentive-based deal” and work his way back to MLB via the minors.

Here’s more from Cafardo:

  • First baseman Jose Abreu is “likely” to be the next player the White Sox trade, Cafardo writes. Even though the White Sox are rebuilding, they’ve continued to hold on to the 31-year-old Abreu, in part because he has emerged as a key mentor to their young players. Abreu would figure to garner interest from contenders, though, considering he’s having another big offensive season (.294/.366/.518 with eight HRs in 183 plate appearances) and under wraps through 2019.
  • “There’s a growing feeling among talent evaluators” that the Braves will go after Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, according to Cafardo. That may have become even more likely Sunday when the Braves ended their brief Jose Bautista experiment, though they’re bent on giving Johan Camargo a serious look at third base for the time being. Regardless, Moustakas does seem like a strong bet to finish the season outside of Kansas City, which is rebuilding and doesn’t have him under contract beyond this season (there is a $15MM mutual option, however). Moustakas is making a very reasonable salary ($5.5MM) and enjoying a terrific year at the plate, having slashed .294/.333/.528 with 10 long balls in 195 PAs.
  • The Marlins expect reliever Kyle Barraclough to generate interest prior to the deadline, Cafardo reports. The 27-year-old is amid his fourth straight high-strikeout/high-walk/low-ERA season, with 11.32 K/9, 5.23 BB/9 and a 1.74 ERA through 20 2/3 innings. Adding to his appeal, Barraclough’s under control through 2021 and making just over $1.1MM this season.
  • The Rangers had interest in Red Sox utilityman Blake Swihart as recently as a week ago, per Cafardo, who notes “that avenue may still be available.” A catcher by trade, Swihart’s out of options and doesn’t seem to have a place on this year’s Red Sox, which led his agent to request a trade earlier this week. Still, Boston’s unsure about parting with the 26-year-old, Cafardo suggests. If the Sox do explore a deal, though, there are other fits besides Texas, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams pointed out Wednesday.
  • More on the Red Sox, who’d “likely want bullpen help and/or a prospect” in a trade for center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., Cafardo observes. Boston spurned teams’ interest in Bradley in the offseason and has since gotten off to one of the majors’ best starts, though the 28-year-old hasn’t contributed to that as much as expected. Bradley has posted an ugly .165/.267/.252 line in 146 trips to the plate, leading Alex Speier of the Boston Globe to wonder if the Red Sox could consider demoting him despite his $6.1MM salary when second baseman Dustin Pedroia comes off the disabled list soon. While it’s a long shot, Speier concedes, a Bradley-less Red Sox team would still feature the enviable outfield trio of Mookie Betts in right, Andrew Benintendi in center and J.D. Martinez in left.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tulo, Rays, Drury

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With J.D. Martinez heading to Boston, the Red Sox are facing somewhat of a roster crunch, writes Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston. It is not, however, at first base as many have suggested. Manager Alex Cora suggested Tuesday that he views Hanley Ramirez as his No. 3 hitter and primary first baseman, even though the team re-upped Mitch Moreland on a two-year deal this winter. As Drellich points out, though, each of Moreland, Ramirez and Martinez have dealt with injury issues in recent years, so Moreland still figures to get his share of at-bats.

Rather, Drellich observes, the bigger crunch will be on the bench. Sandy Leon is the favorite to serve as the backup catcher, and one of Moreland or Ramirez will be on the bench most days. The Sox have two out-of-options players in Deven Marrero and Blake Swihart that are current bench options, but they also have Brock Holt who agreed to a $2.2MM arbitration salary earlier this winter. That deal, like the vast majority of arb deals, is non-guaranteed, but Holt’s versatility has been valuable for the Sox in recent seasons and he seems unlikely to be cut loose. Holt does have minor league options remaining, though obviously paying him to play in Triple-A is suboptimal as well.

A bit more on the Sox and their division…

  • The Red Sox are unlikely to trade Jackie Bradley after signing J.D. Martinez this week, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. That’s not much of a surprise, as Bradley’s name hasn’t come up on the rumor circuit much in recent months, and the trio of Bradley, Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts should be among the best defensive outfield units in all of baseball.
  • The Blue Jays are still seeking upgrades after last week’s signing of lefty Jaime Garcia to round out the rotation, and GM Ross Atkins suggested to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that there’s a strong likelihood that they’ll make a move before Opening Day (Twitter links). Atkins somewhat candidly said he felt there’s about a 90 percent chance the Jays have another addition in store, citing a reliever as the likeliest pickup. Notably, Atkins added that improving at backup catcher, where light-hitting Luke Maile projects as the reserve behind Russell Martin, “is less likely at this point.”
  • Troy Tulowitzki is making progress from last year’s ankle injury, which included torn ligaments in his foot as well as a compression factor, writes Nicholson-Smith in a full column. However, he has yet to begin running this spring. Tulowitzki’s goal is to be ready for Opening Day, though the 33-year-old veteran said he’s not putting any timelines on his recovery and won’t risk a setback by pushing himself too far. He fielded grounders thrown to him by the coaching staff today, though the drills “weren’t designed to test his range too much” just yet, per Nicholson-Smith. Even if Tulo isn’t ready for Opening Day, the Blue Jays are much better prepared from a depth vantage point up the middle, where they’ll have offseason trade acquisitions Yangervis Solarte and Aledmys Diaz backing up Tulowitzki and Devon Travis.
  • Following the trade of Jake Odorizzi to the Twins, the Rays plan to use a four-man rotation of Chris Archer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jake Faria and Blake Snell for the first six weeks of the season or so, manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The increased amount of off-days in the schedule this year due to the season’s earlier start will allow the club to use fifth starter Matt Andriese as a multi-inning reliever. The Rays, unsurprisingly, plan to keep top prospects like Brent Honeywell in the minors to begin the season, which will allow them to gain extra control and avoid Super Two status for arbitration purposes.
  • The most likely scenario for the Yankees and newly acquired Brandon Drury is that Drury opens the season as the team’s starting third baseman, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That’d allow the Yankees to go with either Ronald Torreyes or veteran Danny Espinosa at second base and avoid rushing prospects Miguel Andujar or Gleyber Torres early in the season. Interestingly, despite the fact that Torres missed half the 2017 season with Tommy John surgery (in his non-throwing arm), the Yankees view Torres as closer to the Majors, per Sherman. Andujar is nearly two years older than Torres and has twice the Triple-A experience, though neither has even appeared in 60 games at the top minor league level yet.

Nightengale’s Latest: Martinez, Encarnacion, Darvish, Arrieta

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As sparring continues over the ongoing free agent freeze — see Boras v. Halem, Clark v. Manfred — Bob Nightengale of USA Today takes an interesting look at how he believes the market might shake out for the top available players. His overall analysis and predictions are well worth a look, but a few items of information bear highlighting as part of the market landscape.

  • Slugger J.D. Martinez was the focus of a skirmish yesterday in the war of words, with some sparring over the fact that the Red Sox have not upped their longstanding offer — which evidently still stands at a previously reported five-year, $125MM level. Per Nightengale, the only other offer on the table right now is from the Diamondbacks, but it’s just a one-year deal. Clearly, all involved have reason to anticipate that there’d be greater interest than that from other organizations, but it’s a notable point in relation to Martinez’s hopes for generating pressure on the Sox.
  • Notably, too, the Red Sox are perhaps still aware of other means of fulfilling their desire for right-handed power. Nightengale says the organization spoke with the Indians earlier in the offseason about a potential deal that would have brought Edwin Encarnacion to Boston. Whether or not there’s any plausible hope of reviving those discussions isn’t clear, though, and the Sox are said not to have been willing to send Jackie Bradley Jr. to Cleveland. Clearly, that’s no surprise, as Bradley is a much younger and more affordable player who still offers plenty of value to the Sox. Indeed, it’s amply arguable that Bradley is a more valuable overall performer than is Encarnacion.
  • Top free agent starter Yu Darvish is sitting on multiple five-year offers, per Nightengale. At the moment, he’s still hoping an organization will decide to give him an extra year — or, in a longer-shot scenario, that the Dodgers or Yankees will find a way to move other contracts to open the door to a Darvish signing. For the most part, this seems to represent a continuation of the status quo, as is the case for the other top starters.
  • As for Jake Arrieta, we have not heard a ton of public chatter. There isn’t much new, it seems, but Nightengale does suggest that one hypothetical possibility isn’t likely: the incumbent Cubs have “barely even engaged in contract talks” with their former staff ace, per the report. That is not very surprising, of course. The sides already know one another (and their respective bargaining positions) quite well. And it’s clear that, while a reunion has always remained hypothetically possible, both team and player intended to explore alternatives during the winter. Still, it’s notable that they have evidently not circled back around to one another to this point.

Quick Hits: Yanks, Pirates, C. Frazier, BoSox, JBJ, Kinsler

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The Yankees were reportedly willing to part with outfield prospect Clint Frazier in a trade for then-Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole earlier this offseason, but no deal come together between the teams. Although Pittsburgh ended up trading Cole to Houston on Saturday for a four-player package, the Pirates valued Frazier over everyone they got back from the Astros, according to Jim Bowden of The Athletic. However, the Pirates liked the package they got from the Astros better than the offers the Yankees made, including a final pitch from the Bombers that consisted of three prospects, per Bowden (Twitter link).

More from around the game…

  • While Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. has been popular in trade rumors this offseason, they’re not going to deal him, Peter Gammons of The Athletic writes (subscription required/highly recommended). Boston’s front office regards Bradley as one of the team’s most important players, as it places great value on his “elite” defense and leadership, Gammons details.
  • When the Angels agreed to acquire Ian Kinsler from the Tigers in December, the second baseman had the Halos on his 10-team no-trade list. Kinsler explained to Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription required/highly recommended) that it was “because of tax reasons.” He also pointed out that taxes led him to put the other California teams and both New York clubs on his no-trade list. Kinsler still waived his NTC for the Angels, though, thanks in part to the presence of good friend and teammate Justin Upton (whom he played with in Detroit). Kinsler revealed that the Halos were the only one of the 10 clubs for which he’d have waived his limited no-trade rights. His interview with Strang is worth checking out in full, as it includes Kinsler’s thoughts on prospects, new teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, and the Tigers, among other subjects.
  • There are “ongoing” talks regarding pace of play between MLB and the MLBPA, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Commissioner Rob Manfred sent the players a formal proposal to consider, Rosenthal adds. The two sides met on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney. While Olney regards their dialogue as a positive sign, he notes that MLB has the ability to impose whichever rules it wants, thus giving it all the leverage in negotiations. So, even if talks aren’t constructive, Olney at least expects the league to implement a 20-second pitch clock and limit mound meetings in 2018.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for MLB teams to exchange salary arbitration figures with their arbitration-eligible players is today at 1pm ET. As such, there will be a veritable flood of arb agreements piling up in the next few hours — especially in light of a more universal approach to the “file and trial” method for teams. (That is to say, those teams will no longer negotiate one-year deals after arb figures are exchanged and will instead head to a hearing with those players, barring an agreemenr on a multi-year deal.)

Note that you can keep an eye on all of today’s deals using MLBTR’s 2018 Arbitration Tracker, which can be filtered to show only the results of the team you follow and is also sortable by service time and dollar value of the agreement. All projections that are referenced come from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s annual compilation of projected arbitration salarie

American League West

  • The Astros and Evan Gattis agreed to a $6.7MM deal for 2018, per FanRag’s Robert Murray (Twitter link). A free agent next season, Gattis lands within $100K of his $6.6MM projection. The club also has deals (for values unknown) with starters Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., and Brad Peacock, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Rangers agreed to a $1.05MM deal with infielder Jurickson Profar, tweets Murray. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, meanwhile, tweets that lefty Jake Diekman landed a $2.7125MM deal and righty Keone Kela will earn $1.2MM. Profar had been projected at $1.1MM and is controllable another three seasons. Diekman, a free agent next winter, was projected at $2.8MM. And Kela, still controlled for three more years, matched his $1.2MM projection on the dot.
  • The Athletics and closer Blake Treinen agreed to a $2.15MM deal for next year, tweets Murray. The A’s can control Treinen for another three years. He was projected at $2.3MM. Shortstop Marcus Semien has settled for $3.125MM, Heyman tweets; his $3.2MM projection was nearly spot-on. Oakland has announced that it has avoided arbitration with Liam Hendriks and Josh Phegley as well, but their salaries have yet to be reported.
  • The Angels have a one-year, $7.3MM agreement in place with right-hander Garrett Richards, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Richards, a free agent next offseason, tops his $7MM projection by a margin of $300K. The Halos have also avoided arb with first baseman C.J. Cron ($2.3MM) and left-hander Tyler Skaggs ($1.875MM), tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Cron’s total falls a ways shy of his $2.8MM projection, while Skaggs comes in just $25K south of his $1.9MM projection. Both are controllable through the 2020 season. Lastly, Murray tweets that Matt Shoemaker agreed to a $4.125MM deal. He’s controlled through 2020 and projected at $4.4MM. Fletcher also tweets that the club has agreed with righty J.C. Ramirez ($1.9MM salary vs. $2.6MM projection) and lefty Jose Alvarez ($1.05MM salary vs. $1.1MM projection). Finally, righty Cam Bedrosian has agreed at $1.1MM, Flecher tweets, which represents a payday close to his projection of $1.2MM.
  • Left-hander James Paxton will earn $4.9MM with the Mariners in 2018, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Murray tweets that the Mariners and David Phelps agreed to a $5.55MM deal. Paxton, controlled through 2020, projected to earn $5.6MM, while Phelps was pegged at $5.8MM. He’s a free agent next winter. Righty Erasmo Ramirez took a $4.2MM deal, MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports. That’s half a million shy of what the model suggested. Fellow right-hander Nick Vincent also has an agreement, but the terms aren’t yet known.

American League Central

  • New lefty Luis Avilan has agreed to a $2.45MM deal with the White Sox, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports via Twitter. The recent trade acquisition came with a projected $2.3MM price tag. Fellow southpaw Carlos Rodon will receive $2.3MM, a bit of a bump over the $2MM he projected to receive. Also, utilityman Leury Garcia gets $1.175MM, which is just $25K short of his projected value.
  • The Royals and righty Nate Karns agreed to a $1.375MM deal for 2018, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports (on Twitter). That lands within $25K of his $1.4MM projection for the coming season. Kansas City controls Karns through 2020. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (via Twitter) that Kelvin Herrera will earn $7.9375MM in 2018, landing a bit shy of his $8.3MM projection. Herrera is a free agent next winter.
  • The Indians have a $5MM agreement with righty Danny Salazar, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. He had projected to earn just $200K more, this falls right in line with expectations. Cleveland also agreed with Lonnie Chisenhall on a $5.5875MM deal, tweets Nightengale. The third baseman-turned-outfielder, who was projected to earn $5.8MM, will be a free agent following the 2018 season.
  • Trevor May has a $650K agreement with the Twins for the 2018 season, according to Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. May, who missed the entire season due to Tommy John surgery (and did some writing for MLBTR during his rehab process), had been projected at $600K. The Twins also agreed to a $1MM deal with infielder Ehire Adrianza, per La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. Meanwhile, righty Ryan Pressly has agreed to a $1.6MM deal, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Both deals are identical matches with their projections. Adrianza has three years of team control remaining, while Pressly has two. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that outfielder Robbie Grossman settled at $2MM, leaving him $400K shy of his projection. Grossman is controlled for another three seasons.
  • Tigers third baseman/outfielder Nick Castellanos will earn $6.05MM, per Heyman (via Twitter). He had projected at a much heftier $7.6MM in his second-to-last season of arb eligibility. MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports (Twitter links) that the Tigers and right-handed reliever Alex Wilson settled at $1.925MM, while fellow righty Shane Greene will earn $1.95MM. Wilson was projected to earn $2.1MM, while Greene was at $1.7MM. Wilson is controlled through 2019, while Greene is under control through 2020.

American League East

  • The Yankees have knocked out some of their biggest arb cases, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links). Shortstop Didi Gregorius receives $8.25MM and righty Sonny Gray checks in at $6.5MM. The former had projected to earn $9.0MM while the algorithm was just $100K high on the latter.Backstop Austin Romine will earn $1.1MM, Heyman also tweets, which is also $100K below the projection. Righty Adam Warren and the Yankees have a $3.315MM deal, per Murray (Twitter link). This is Warren’s final season of eligibility before hitting the open market next winter. He’d been projected at $3.1MM. Meanwhile, fellow right-hander Dellin Betances has agreed to a $5.1MM deal, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). That’s just $100K more than Betances had sought last year, when he took his case to a hearing that he ultimately lost. But it’s quite a bit more than the $4.4MM he projected to receive after a subpar season in which he played at a $3MM salary.
  • The Red Sox have agreed to pay $8.5MM to southpaw Drew Pomeranz, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). That’s short of the $9.1MM that had been projected after Pomeranz turned in a productive 2017 season. Boston and Jackie Bradley Jr. settled at $6.1MM, tweets Murray. That’s a bit north of the $5.9MM at which he’d been projected for the upcoming season. Bradley Jr., a Super Two player, has another three seasons of club control remaining. Nightengale tweets that righty Joe Kelly ($3.6MM projection) agreed to a $3.825MM deal. He’ll be a free agent next winter. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez ($2.375MM salary vs. $2.7MM projection) and righty Brandon Workman ($835K salary vs. $900K projection) are two other Sox hurlers that have agreed to terms, Speier reports (Twitter links). On the position player side, catcher Sandy Leon falls a bit under his projection $1.95MM (via Speier, on Twitter) while utilityman Brock Holt just beats expectations at $2.225MM (per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, on Twitter). The team also agreed with shortstop Xander Bogaerts for $7.05MM, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets, which comes in a bit shy of his $7.6MM projection. Boston also announced agreement with backstop Christian Vazquez, who’ll earn $1.425MM, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne (via Twitter). That’s just under the projection of $1.5MM.
  • The Blue Jays and righty Aaron Sanchez agreed to a $2.7MM deal for 2018, according to Nightengale (Twitter link). That crushes his $1.9MM projection, which was likely suppressed due Sanchez’s lack of innings (just 36) in 2017. He’s under Jays control through 2020. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, meanwhile, tweets that second baseman Devon Travis will make $1.45MM next year, falling a bit shy of his $1.7MM forecast. Other Toronto players agreeing to terms include Kevin Pillar ($3.25MM vs. $4.0MM projection) and Dominic Leone ($1.085MM vs. $1.2MM projection), MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm tweets.
  • The Rays and closer Alex Colome settled at $5.3M, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (on Twitter). He’d been projected at $5.5MM and is controllable for three more years. They also settled at $5.95MM with outfielder/DH Corey Dickerson ($6.4MM projection) and $4.5MM with infielder Brad Miller ($4.4MM projection), per Murray (all Twitter links). Steven Souza, according to Murray will earn $3.55MM, placing him right in line with his $3.6MM projection. Dickerson and Miller are controlled through 2019. Souza is controlled through 2020.

AL East Notes: Bradley Jr., Yankees, Frazier, Orioles

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The Dodgers approached the Red Sox earlier this offseason about a trade that would’ve sent Yasiel Puig to Boston in exchange for Jackie Bradley Jr., reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. The Sox, valuing Bradley’s elite glove and extra year of control (three years to Puig’s two), “quickly” declined the offer, and talks between the two sides never went beyond that stage. As Speier points out, however, the scenario is instructive when gauging the Red Sox’ valuation of Bradley, who is coming off a relatively disappointing season at the plate. Puig’s .263/.346/.487 slash and 28 homers dwarfed Bradley’s .245/.323/.402 output and 17 homers, but the Sox (who’ve been searching all offseason for an offensive upgrade), seemingly gave little consideration to the notion. Bradley’s name has been oft-speculated upon in various trade scenarios by fans and pundits alike, but it doesn’t seem as though the Boston brass views him in that light; president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski has said at multiple points this winter that he’s in no rush to deal Bradley, Speier adds.

More out of the AL East…

  • The Yankees checked back in with the Orioles on Manny Machado this week, per FanRag’s Jon Heyman, but the O’s have yet to receive an offer from any team that is close to what they’d hope to receive for Machado. The Yankees remain interested in Machado, though, believing that they have a legitimate chance to sign him long-term (even without an extension window being granted). The O’s reportedly want a pair of MLB-ready pitchers for Machado, though Heyman notes that third base prospect Miguel Andujar intrigues Baltimore to some degree. For now, Andujar is viewed as the Yankees’ starter at third base, though Heyman adds that the Yanks are exploring a number of avenues in the infield; in addition to Machado, they’ve shown interest in the Pirates’ Josh Harrison and are keeping tabs on the free-agent market in case Todd Frazier’s asking price drops to one year.
  • ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand writes that the Yankees would indeed “love” to bring Frazier back into the mix, but the organization has some reservations about his asking price (both in dollars and years). At present, the Yanks are poised to head into the season with Andujar at third base and one of Ronald Torreyes, Gleyber Torres or Tyler Wade at second base. “We are currently set up to go this route, unless something presents itself between now and whenever that gives us a change of position,” GM Brian Cashman tells Marchand. Certainly, that suggests that Cashman & Co. are yet open to additions, and Marchand calls it a “pretty good bet” that the Yankees will add an infielder to the mix before the offseason concludes.
  • “Too many people” are assuming that Chance Sisco is a lock to open the year as the Orioles’ starting catcher, reports MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. (I’m guilty as charged on that front, having referenced him as the likely starter on multiple occasions.) Per Kubatko, 26-year-old Austin Wynns has a “legitimate” chance to break camp with the team thanks largely to his defensive prowess. If that happens, then the O’s would seemingly take Wynns and Caleb Joseph north to open the year while giving Sisco additional development time in Triple-A Norfolk. The O’s are also still in the market for a veteran catcher, which could prove to be either a starting-caliber option or a backup to vie for a spot alongside Sisco and Wynns. Kubatko notes that some in the organization are intrigued by the Marlins’ J.T. Realmuto, though it’s difficult to imagine the O’s coming up with the type of package that’d beat the field for Realmuto when Miami has been targeting pitching prospects in other trades.

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