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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.

Quick Hits: Sandoval, Tigers, Royals, Paxton

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Third baseman Pablo Sandoval’s reunion with the Giants this season has been a disaster from a statistical standpoint, as the former franchise linchpin has batted just .213/.253/.346 in 146 plate appearances in his return to the Bay Area. Nevertheless, the Giants seem primed to keep Sandoval on their 40-man roster into next spring, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports. Factors working in Sandoval’s favor include his inexpensive price tag – the 31-year-old has a club option for 2018 worth the league minimum – and manager Bruce Bochy’s favorable opinion of him. Bochy said Saturday that the Sandoval experiment has “gone well,” and he praised the former member of the Red Sox for his defensive work at both corner infield positions. Because injuries frequently kept Sandoval out of action during his nightmarish stint in Boston from 2015-17, he’ll play winter ball during the upcoming offseason in an effort to make up for some of the missed time. After that, it appears he’ll have an opportunity in spring training to earn a spot on San Francisco’s 25-man roster.

  • The Tigers announced that reliever Alex Wilson suffered a broken right leg (a non-displaced fibular fracture, to be exact) in their game against the Twins on Saturday. The injury occurred in the eighth inning when a 103.8 mph line drive off Joe Mauer’s bat struck Wilson. Wilson’s now facing a three-month recovery, giving him plenty of time to work back to full strength by next spring, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. The 30-year-old right-hander logged 60 innings of 4.50 ERA ball and posted 6.3 K/9 against 2.25 BB/9 in 2017. Wilson, who earned $1.18MM this year, is scheduled to make his second trip through arbitration over the winter.
  • Royals manager Ned Yost tells Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com that the team will consider using the athletic Raul Mondesi in center field next season. Mondesi has only played the middle infield in the majors since debuting last year, but he could help the club fill impending free agent Lorenzo Cain’s void should the standout center fielder depart in the offseason. It may be wishful thinking for the Royals, though, as the 22-year-old Mondesi has batted an ugly .178/.224/.265 in 206 plate appearances in the majors. Mondesi did provide some reason for hope at the Triple-A level this year, however, with a .305/.340/.539 line, 13 home runs and 21 stolen bases across 357 PAs.
  • Separate stints on the disabled list have kept Mariners ace James Paxton out for approximately two months this year and limited him to 124 2/3 innings. In an effort to ward off injuries in 2018, Paxton will undergo body and blood testing in the offseason to find diet and workout regimens that suit him, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Paxton has pitched to a 3.03 ERA and registered 10.25 K/9 against 2.67 BB/9 this year, which are the type of numbers that could make him a Cy Young contender over a full season of work.

AL Injury Notes: Price, Mariners, Twins, Gomez, Angels

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Red Sox southpaw David Price threw a two-inning sim game Saturday as he continues to work back from forearm problems, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com was among those to report (links here). While Price hasn’t taken the mound for the Red Sox since July 22 and only threw 32 pitches Saturday, they’re hopeful he’ll be able to come back this year as a starter, Lauber notes. The Sox will have a clearer idea about Price’s future after he throws another sim game midway through next week, but the likelihood is that he’ll finish 2017 as a reliever because he won’t have enough time to ramp back up as a starter, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes.

More injury news from around the American League:

  • The Mariners will welcome James Paxton and Felix Hernandez back to their rotation during the upcoming week, Greg Johns of MLB.com relays (on Twitter). Both hurlers will hover around the 50- to 60-pitch marks during their first starts back. Paxton went on the disabled list with a strained left pectoral on Aug. 11, depriving the Mariners of a burgeoning ace for a key stretch. Hernandez, who preceded Paxton as the Mariners’ top starter, landed on the DL on Aug. 5 with shoulder bursitis. The 31-year-old previously missed all of May and most of June with the same injury.
  • Twins manager Paul Molitor told reporters Friday that left-hander Hector Santiago is likely done for the season (via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Santiago, who hasn’t taken a major league mound since July 2 because of a shoulder strain, threw just 84 mph to 87 mph in a Triple-A rehab start Sunday (down from his usual low-90s velocity) and is undergoing further testing in Minnesota, according to Bollinger. With his contract set to expire at season’s end, the 29-year-old Santiago may be done as a Twin. Formerly a capable starter with the White Sox and Angels, Santiago has posted unsightly numbers – including a 5.61 ERA and a 28.4 percent groundball rate – over 131 2/3 innings since the Twins acquired him from Los Angeles last summer.
  • Rangers center fielder Carlos Gomez could miss a fair amount of time after suffering a high ankle sprain Saturday against the Yankees, per Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Gomez, who departed the game in the second inning after injuring his right ankle, was on crutches and in a walking boot afterward. A lengthy Gomez absence would be the second notable loss in recent weeks for a Texas offense that saw superstar third baseman Adrian Beltre go down with a hamstring strain Sept. 1. While he’s not nearly as impactful as Beltre, Gomez has still had a decent contract year (.251/.337/.459, 2.0 fWAR in 407 plate appearances) for a team that’s three games out of a wild-card spot.
  • Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar had another setback in his rehab from an oblique injury, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Nevertheless, manager Mike Scioscia still expects to see Escobar again this season. The impending free agent hasn’t played since Aug. 6 and was in the middle of a mediocre season at the time of his injury (.274/.333/.397 in 381 PAs).

Mariners Place James Paxton On 10-Day DL

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The Mariners have placed top lefty James Paxton on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He is dealing with a strained left pectoral muscle. Young starter Andrew Moore has been recalled to take the open roster spot.

Paxton is expected to miss at least three weeks of action, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). That’s a significant blow for the M’s, who are already dealing with other pitching injuries while trying to edge out numerous other competitors for a Wild Card spot.

Losing Paxton, though, is about more than just the need to find a serviceable replacement. He has emerged as one of the game’s top starters this year, throwing 119 2/3 innings of 2.78 ERA ball with 10.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 to go with a 47.2% groundball rate. Seattle will go without the player who has easily been its best this year — at just about the worst possible time.

Unfortunately, there’ may not be much that the Mariners can do but dip into the farm and hope for the best. While the August trade market could still hold some possibilities, the best among them will be costly. Given the prior additions the club has made, it’s far from clear how much appetite there is to take on more salary or sacrifice additional prospects.

AL Injury Notes: Hanley, Paxton/M’s, Graveman/Hahn, Griffin

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The Red Sox won’t count on Hanley Ramirez being capable of playing first base again this year, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Shoulder troubles have persisted for the veteran, relegating him to DH duties. “The potential negatives of him going out and [playing first], at this point don’t outweigh the positives that we get from having his bat in as our DH,” Dombrowski explained. “We just have to maneuver around it.” For the time being, at least, rookie Sam Travis is up to provide a right-handed-hitting option at first along side lefty Mitch Moreland.

Here’s more on some injury situations around the American League:

  • There’s some welcome news on the injury front for the Mariners, who watched lefty James Paxton through four innings and 55 pitches tonight in a rehab outing, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports (Twitter links). The expectation is that he’ll take the ball for Seattle on Wednesday. Fellow rehabbing starters Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma are slated for bullpen sessions in the coming days, too, leading skipper Scott Servais to say that the club is finally “starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
  • Two Athletics pitchers, meanwhile, are dealing with injury issues. Right-hander Kendall Graveman is suffering from some shoulder issues, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, though the seriousness isn’t yet clear. And while the MRI results were promising for fellow righty Jesse Hahn, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports on Twitter, his triceps problem is likely to require a DL stint. Jharel Cotton will come up to take a rotation spot this weekend.
  • Finally, the Rangers will be awaiting the results of further evaluation on righty A.J. Griffin, but he’s heading to the DL, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Per a club announcement, he left his start tonight with a left intercostal strain. Even if Griffin ends up missing some time, though, it may not work out too badly for Texas. As Grant notes (Twitter links), the team could fill the opening with Tyson Ross — if he’s ready. Alternatively, Yohander Mendez could be an option. For the time being, though, veteran Dillon Gee will head onto the active roster.

Injury Notes: Hill, Ethier, AGon, Bailey, Melancon, Mariners, Kluber, Gray

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Here’s the latest on some notable health situations from around the game:

  • The Dodgers have updates on a number of players. Lefty Rich Hill is going to return as a starter, but if his blister issue recurs then the team will consider moving him into some kind of relief role, manager Dave Roberts tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). The timeline remains a ways off for outfielder Andre Ethier, meanwhile. He’s still not able to run without feeling pain in his back, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports, making it seem unlikely he’d be able to return early July. Finally, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week, Alanna Rizzo of Sportsnet LA tweets. He may only require two or three games before returning.
  • On the other side of the city, the Angels are sending righty Andrew Bailey for a visit with Dr. David Altchek, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The reliever “felt something” in his shoulder during a recent throwing session. Shoulder issues have kept him on the DL all year.
  • Further north, the Giants have cause for hope that closer Mark Melancon will require only the brief DL timeline the club had charted when he was taken off the active roster. As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter, Melancon is reporting reduced symptoms in his forearm. The righty will test things out by playing catch tomorrow.
  • Continuing up the coast, the Mariners also have a smattering of health updates of note, as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports. Key young talents James Paxton and Mitch Haniger are moving in the right direction, with the hope still being that they’ll return before the month is out. Reliever Steve Cishek is also close. But Felix Hernandez is going to rest his ailing shoulder a bit more, leaving his timeline somewhat cloudy, and it’s still not clear what to expect from Hisashi Iwakuma.
  • Indians righty Corey Kluber is moving slowly in his rehab, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Out with lower back issues, Kluber has begun throwing from flat ground but still hasn’t taken the hill. Manager Terry Francona did say that the team is seeing progress, though perhaps the biggest test is yet to come.
  • Rockies staff ace Jon Gray is also taking longer than had been hoped, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post writes. Gray is still in a walking boot while his broken left foot heals, though the hope seems to be he’ll be ready to shed that soon. While Gray has been able to continue throwing, he’ll obviously need to boost his conditioning and ensure his foot is at full health before undertaking at least some kind of rehab assignment.

AL West Notes: Cotton, Alonso, Paxton, Ramirez

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The Athletics announced on Thursday that right-hander Jharel Cotton has been optioned to Triple-A Nashville. While Cotton has been impressive at times, he’s also allowed five or more runs in three of his starts, including a seven-run drubbing at the hands of the Angels on Tuesday. As Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, GM David Forst suggested that Cotton merely needs to improve his consistency and may not be long for the minors. ““Jharel has pitched better than what his overall line shows,” said the GM. “…[H]e just needs some more consistency with his performance. The bottom line is that we currently have six starters who are probably deserving of being in the big leagues; Jharel needs to continue to improve in Nashville so he’s ready when the next opportunity arises.” Cotton’s demotion will clear a spot in the rotation for lefty Sean Manaea, who is returning from shoulder troubles early next week. Manaea will be joined by Sonny Gray, Kendall Graveman, Andrew Triggs and Jesse Hahn in the starting five.

More from the AL West…

  • While there’s been plenty of talk about Yonder Alonso altering his launch angle and adopting a more fly-ball-heavy approach, Athletics hitting coach Darren Bush tells Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area that Alonso hasn’t fundamentally changed his approach at the plate. Rather, Alonso has adopted a leg kick that has improved his timing and the quality of his contact. “All he’s trying to do is be in position and execute a good swing, and the by-product is the ball is going the way that it should,” says Bush. “…This year, his leg kick is just on time. He’s given himself time to read the pitch, he’s given himself time to execute his swing. … He doesn’t have a two-part swing. It’s just one fluid swing.” Alonso, once one of the game’s to overall prospects, has been a light-hitting first baseman for years but is off to a ludicrous start in 2017. To date, he’s batting .303/.389/.687 with 11 home runs and five doubles through 113 plate appearances.
  • Mariners southpaw James Paxton, on the disabled list due to a forearm strain, has already been cleared by doctors to begin throwing, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Word of Paxton’s injury — particularly the ever-ominous forearm strain — was a disheartening blow the Mariners and their fans, though GM Jerry Dipoto expressed optimism that Paxton would only miss two starts at the time of the injury. While it’s not yet certain that his absence will be that brief in nature, a return to throwing just six days after landing on the DL is certainly encouraging.
  • In his latest Angels mailbag, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tackles a number of topics, ranging from Yunel Escobar’s trade candidacy to the dearth of production the Halos have received in left field. On right-hander J.C. Ramirez, Moura notes that pitching coach Charles Nagy urged Ramirez to ditch his erratic four-seam fastball for a two-seamer late last season, and the results have somewhat quietly been excellent. The hard-throwing 28-year-old has a 3.21 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 46.6 percent ground-ball rate in 47 2/3 innings dating back to last September. Moura notes that scouts to whom he’s spoken still don’t know what to make of Ramirez in the long run, but his early work as a starter in 2017 has been a bright spot for the Halos — especially as they deal with injuries elsewhere in the rotation.

Mariners Place James Paxton On 10-Day DL With Forearm Strain

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4:39pm: Per GM Jerry Dipoto, the hope is that Paxton will only miss two starts with what has been diagnosed as a grade 1 strain, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (Twitter links). It’s likely that either Christian Bergman or Dillon Overton will step in for him temporarily. Seattle also has some promising news on Hernandez, it seems, as Dipoto says he’s almost ready to begin a throwing program and could return by the middle of the month.

4:03pm: The Mariners have announced that lefty James Paxton has been placed on the 10-day DL with a forearm strain. While his prognosis is not known at this time, that’s obviously concerning news for the club.

Paxton, 28, has made six eye-opening starts thus far, spinning 37 2/3 innings of 1.43 ERA ball with 10.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. With the club already missing Felix Herandez and Drew Smyly, his presence was all the more critical.

It’s not at all clear at this point that Paxton will require a lengthy DL stint. But the M’s can ill afford any missed time from the big lefty given the other injuries and with six games already separating them from the top of the AL West standings. And it’s always concerning to hear about forearm strains, which can be precursors to more significant ligament and tendon problems.

For now, Seattle will call up reliever Evan Marshall along with infielder Mike Freeman. But the team will likely need to make more changes to sort out its rotation in the coming days.

AL West Notes: Hamilton, Bailey, Mariners, Devenski

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Some news and notes from around the AL West…

  • Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Monday, the club told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).  Hamilton underwent two surgical procedures on that same knee last year and has been bothered by soreness in the same joint this spring.  According to assistant GM Mike Daly, the Rangers still “feel good that Josh is going to play,” and haven’t had any talks with the veteran about his future with the organization.  Texas re-signed Hamilton to a minor league deal over the winter as the former AL MVP is attempting to revive his career after several injury-plagued down years, plus a lost 2016 that saw him play in just one minor league game.
  • Andrew Bailey “never seriously considered leaving” the Angels in free agency this winter, the veteran reliever tells Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times.  “I feel like, with where I’m at in my career and what I’ve been through, signing early and getting something done and focusing on getting ready for this year was more important to me than chasing something else,” Bailey said.  Amusing, he didn’t actually realize he was headed for free agency until last September, as Bailey believed he was still arbitration-eligible; he just barely passed the required six years of service time to hit the open market.  The righty pitched well after signing a minor league deal with the Angels last August, and showed signs of recovery from several injury-plagued years by tossing 43 2/3 innings in 2016.
  • The Mariners were counting on their “big three” of James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen to anchor their rotation for years to come, though as Larry Stone of the Seattle Times observes, only Paxton is still on the M’s roster.  Walker was dealt to the Diamondbacks in November as part of the multi-player deal that brought Jean Segura to the M’s while Hultzen is simply trying to resume his career in the wake of multiple arm injuries.
  • Chris Devenski’s surprising rise from unheralded prospect to a major weapon out of the Astros bullpen gives Houston some pitching flexibility, ESPN’s Mark Simon writes.  The ’Stros could utilize Devenski as one of their many setup options, a multi-inning fireman like Andrew Miller or potentially even as starting depth in the back end of the rotation.  Over 108 1/3 innings as a rookie last season, Devenski posted a very impressive 2.16 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 5.2 K/BB rate.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures has come and gone, and there have been dozens of agreements broken throughout the league today. So many, in fact, that I’ve split the list up into a pair of league-specific posts to avoid having 100-something names in this list. You can see all the NL players here, and both of these will be updated as quickly as we’re able.

Many teams use the arbitration exchange as a hard deadline for negotiations on one-year deals — a “file and trial” approach which effectively means that once figures are exchanged, the only option they’ll pursue before a hearing is a multi-year deal. (The Mets and Orioles are both adopting that approach this year, and other teams to use that strategy in the past include Astros, Blue Jays, Braves, Marlins, Rays, White Sox, Pirates, Reds and Nationals.)

The most significant arb agreements of the day have been snapped off into their own posts already. We’ll continue adding the smaller-scale agreements from the American League right here (all projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and all arbitration agreements and filings can be monitored in MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker)…

  • The Rangers have announced agreement on a deal to avoid arbitration with lefty Jake Diekman. With today’s deadline having passed, the sides did exchange figures — $3.1MM versus $1.9MM — but obviously were already nearing a number. The high-powered southpaw projected at $2.6MM, and will receive $2.55MM, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).
  • The Mariners announced that they’ve avoided arb with all eight of their eligible players, which includes Jean Segura (reported last night), Danny Valencia, Jarrod Dyson, Leonys Martin, Drew Smyly, James Paxton, Evan Scribner, Nick Vincent. Numbers aren’t all in yet, but Valencia took home $5.55MM, per FanRag’s Robert Murray (on Twitter). Martin will earn $4.85MM, per Heyman. They were projected at $5.3MM and $6.3MM, respectively. Meanwhile, Dyson gets $2.8MM, Heyman tweets, which lands just over his $2.5MM projection. Smyly will receive $6.85MM — right at his $6.9MM projection — while Scribner gets $907,500, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Paxton will land at $2.35MM and Vincent will receive $1.325MM, per Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (via Twitter), both of which fall shy of their respective projections ($2.7MM and $1.5MM).
  • Catcher Martin Maldonado will receive $1.725MM from the Angels, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). That’s just over his $1.6MM projection.
  • The Tigers announced that they settled with third baseman Nick Castellanos. He projected at $2.8MM, but will receive $3MM, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).
  • Jeremy Jeffress and Jurickson Profar have each avoided arbitration with the Rangers, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegarm (via Twitter). Jeffress receives $2.1MM, while Profar will receive $1.005MM. Also of note, the Jeffress deal includes incentives that can add up to $250K in incentives, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). He’ll get $50K apiece upon reaching 55, 60, 65, and 70 innings. He had projected for a $2.9MM salary, but his legal issues late last year certainly dented his bargaining power.
  • The Athletics have avoided arbitration with catcher/DH Stephen Vogt, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. Vogt will receive $2.965MM, falling shy of his $3.7MM projection. Oakland has also reached agreement with starter Sonny Gray for $3.575MM, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter), which is just shy of his $3.7MM projection. Also, reliever Liam Hendriks has agreed to terms, per John Hickey of the Mercury News. He’ll get $1.1MM, per Heyman (via Twitter).
  • Righty Adam Warren will get $2.29MM from the Yankees, per Baseball America’s Josh Norris (via Twitter). That’s just a shade under his $2.3MM projection. New York also announced deals with shortstop outfielder Aaron Hicks and lefty Tommy Layne, among other players whose arrangements were previously reported. Layne receives $1.075MM, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (via Twitter).
  • The Orioles have avoided arbitration with second baseman Jonathan Schoop, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). He’ll receive $3.475MM, just over his projection of $3.4MM.
  • Adding to their previously reported deals, the Red Sox have announced agreement with all but two of their arb-eligible players. Salaries were reported by MLB.com’s Ian Browne for the players avoiding arb: shortstop Xander Bogaerts gets $4.5MM ($5.7MM projection), utilityman Brock Holt receives $1.95MM ($1.7MM projection), righty Joe Kelly will earn $2.8MM ($2.6MM projection), catcher Sandy Leon takes home $1.3MM (the same as his projection), lefty Robbie Ross gets $1.825MM (just $25K over his projection), and new righty Tyler Thornburg will earn $2.05MM (just under his $2.2MM projection).
  • Two moreplayers have avoided arbitration with the White Sox, per Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (via Twitter). Among those not previously reported, starter Miguel Gonzalez gets $5.9MM and reliever Zach Putnam receives $1.175MM. That clearly indicates that Gonzalez and the Sox utilized his prior-years’ arb starting points, rather than his much lower earnings with the team last year. Putnam, meanwhile, had projected for $975K.

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