AL Rumors: Yanks, Gardner, Dellin, Rays, A’s, Hill, Shaw, Jays, BoSox
Multiple teams are showing interest in free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner on a multiyear contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. However, Gardner continues to prefer re-signing with the Yankees, according to Heyman, who adds that the two sides are “still talking.” Indeed, as of a few days, Gardner and the Yankees were continuing to negotiate a new contract. Should they reach an agreement, the 36-year-old Gardner would continue as the longest-tenured player on the Yankees’ roster. Until then, he’ll remain as arguably the most appealing center field-capable player on a market which is weak in that regard.
- Sticking with the Yankees, they’ve “engaged” with another of their longtime contributors, free-agent reliever Dellin Betances, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets. But so have one of their division rivals, the Rays. Wherever Betances ends up, it’s “likely” he’ll sign a one-year contract in an effort to rebuild his value, per Curry. Although the 31-year-old Betances is one of the game’s most successful relievers in recent memory, injuries to the right-hander’s shoulder, lat and Achilles prevented him from making any meaningful contributions in 2019. Nevertheless, MLBTR expects Betances to land a $7MM payday over one year (with the Rays).
- The Athletics are showing interest in Royals southpaw Tim Hill, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. This isn’t the first trade chatter we’ve heard on the 29-year-old, who turned in 39 2/3 innings of 3.63 ERA ball last year. Why the interest from AL contenders in a player that most fans have never heard of? Hill didn’t carry overwhelming overall K/BB numbers (39:13), but did generate a healthy 29.2% K rate against righties while delivering an excellent 57.3% groundball rate. That combination of tools is all the more interesting given the soon-to-be-minted three-batter minimum rule.
- Free-agent infielder Travis Shaw, on the market since the Brewers let him go at the non-tender deadline a week ago, has garnered interest from the Blue Jays, Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays. Additionally, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com relays that the third baseman/second baseman has expressed a willingness to return to the Red Sox, his first MLB team, though it’s unclear if they’re open to a reunion. Shaw, whom the Red Sox traded to the Brewers in December 2017, had a pair of highly productive years in Milwaukee before his numbers fell off a cliff this past season. That caused the Brewers to move on from Shaw, leaving the 29-year-old as a buy-low candidate this winter.
Royals Sign Trevor Rosenthal To Minor League Deal
The Royals have signed hard-throwing right-hander Trevor Rosenthal to a minor league deal, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star. The deal will pay the 29-year-old $2MM if he makes the team with an additional $2.25MM in performance bonuses, per Worthy. Additionally, Rosenthal will be a non-roster invite to MLB spring training.
Rosenthal famously endured one of the more disappointing 2019 seasons league-wide after signing for $8MM guaranteed with the eventual World Champion Washington Nationals. That the Nats had to come from so far behind in the standings was at least partially attributable to the complete backfiring of their offseason bullpen makeover, which was largely dependent on Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough soaking up the 7th and 8th innings. Neither pitcher finished the season with the Nats.
Rosenthal finished in DC with a 22.74 ERA across 12 appearances before signing a minor league deal with the Tigers. The Tigers released him after 10 ML appearances with a 7.00 ERA, after which he signed another minor league deal with the Yankees to finish out the year.
That said, his stuff remains electric, and if the Royals can help him find the strike zone again, he could once again become a valuable piece of a bullpen. If you’re looking for signs of positive regression, this will be Rosenthal’s second full season since elbow issues cost him all of 2018, he still averaged a clean 98.0 mph on his fastball, and in Kansas City, he will be reunited with manager Mike Matheny, under whom he’d played his whole career prior to 2019. Last year’s atrocity included, Rosenthal boasts a career 3.46 ERA/2.79 FIP in 350 big league games with 12.0 K/9 and 121 career saves.
Winter Meetings Previews: Royals, White Sox
In advance of the winter meetings, let’s take a moment to quickly preview a couple teams from the American League Central…
- The Kansas City Royals will look for value buys on the free agent market, per Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star. Given the sale of the team and the managerial transition underway, the Royals have more justification than usual for patience this offseason. With Kansas City, however, there’s often a sense that internal valuations of the talent on hand differs from those of the general public. The Royals continue to present the idea that they are happy with their core, an impression bolstered by the “moon, sun, and stars” type packages the Royals are demanding for players like Whit Merrifield, Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy. Senior VP of Baseball Ops & GM Dayton Moore refined his fence-walking trick recently while saying both, “…we’re very encouraged with where we are based on how our players performed individually last year,” and also, “I think we’ve got to upgrade everywhere, really.” Pitching is definitely a target, and Moore has been active in trade discussions already, enough to have a sense of where trades might happen – though from Moore’s comments, it seems the Royals are disinclined to be major players on the trade market unless opposing GMs become more amenable to Moore’s ask(s). They do have four open spots on the 40-man roster and should be active in the Rule 5 draft, per The Athletic’s Alec Lewis.
- After being spurned by Zack Wheeler, the White Sox remain in the hunt for starting pitching, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Chicago was also among the teams in on Jordan Lyles before the righty signed with the Rangers, tweets the MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Their rotation candidates are currently made up of high-ceiling but largely-unestablished youngsters, fronted by 2019 breakout superstar Lucas Giolito. Speculatively, Dallas Keuchel fits nicely from a culture perspective as the perennially-attention-starved White Sox have already added Yasmani Grandal from the nobody-believes-in-us free agent pool – and they like playing with a chip on their shoulder on the southside. As for position players, Chicago boasts close to a full house now that Grandal and Jose Abreu are officially on board. With prospects Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal expected to play a large portion of 2020 in the big leagues, they have one of the more intriguing groups on that side of the ball. Still, there’s definitely room to tinker around the edges, especially in the outfield, where Luis Alexander Basabe, Daniel Palka, Leury Garcia, Adam Engel, and Luis Gonzalez make up the flexible collection of candidates to join Eloy Jimenez and Robert in the outfield.
AL Central Notes: Tsutsugo, Lindblom, Royals, Indians
Past reports have already linked the Blue Jays and Marlins to Yoshitomo Tsutsugo‘s market, and now MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that three AL Central teams are also in the mix. The White Sox, Tigers, and Twins all have some interest in the Japanese slugger, who has hit 185 homers for Yokohama since the start of the 2014 season. Tsutsugo’s left-handed power would fit in any of the three teams’ lineups, though his limited defensive capability as a first baseman or outfielder could see him mostly play first base if he wound up in Minnesota, since Nelson Cruz is locked into DH duties. Chicago could deploy Tsutsugo along with Jose Abreu in the first base/DH mix or play Tsutsugo in the outfield on days when Yasmani Grandal is getting a DH or first base day, while Tsutsugo would simply step right into an everyday role for the hitting-starved Tigers.
Any team that signs Tsutsugo will have to pay his former team, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, a release fee that will be determined by the size of Tsutsugo’s eventual MLB contract. The 30-day posting window for Tsutsugo to find a contract in North America ends on December 19, so there is still lots of time for one of his five known suitors or perhaps other teams to strike a deal.
Here’s more from the AL Central….
- Morosi reports on another potential Detroit target in another tweet, noting that the Tigers and Angels are two of the teams interested in Josh Lindblom. The right-hander is looking to return to the majors on the heels of two outstanding seasons in South Korea’s KBO League, and some very impressive spin rate numbers on his four-seam fastball. Morosi writes that Lindblom has already received multi-year offers from more than one team, which isn’t surprising given how Lindblom would be an inexpensive yet high-ceiling addition to a lot of pitching staffs (such as rebuilding teams like the Tigers or hopeful contenders like the Angels).
- The Royals announced their 2020 coaching staff under new manager Mike Matheny, with a few new faces in the mix and some familiar faces returning in some different roles. Pitching coach Cal Eldred and hitting coach Terry Bradshaw will remain in their positions, while Pedro Grifol moves to bench coach from his past quality control/catching coach job, and Vance Wilson goes from bullpen coach to third base coach. Rusty Kuntz will become the Royals’ first base coach for the third time in his 12-year stint as a member of the K.C. organization, while Larry Carter will take over as bullpen coach after 22 years in various minor league roles for the club. John Mabry joins the staff as a Major League coach, after working under Matheny as the Cardinals’ hitting coach when Matheny was the St. Louis manager. Former coaches Dale Sveum and Mike Jirschele will remain with the Royals in as-yet-unassigned new roles.
- The Indians‘ homegrown pitching has been the backbone of the team’s success in recent years, and The Athletic’s Zack Meisel (subscription link) looks at how the organization has been able to turn the likes of Corey Kluber, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, and other relatively unheralded — none were drafted before the third round by the Tribe or other teams — arms into top-flight hurlers. Ruben Niebla, formerly the minor league pitching coordinator and now the big league team’s assistant pitching coach, has been a key figure in the system of finding what works for each pitcher, getting the pitcher to buy into the strategy, and then tailoring that development through all levels of the pitcher’s trip up the organizational ladder. “That communication is vitally important to us, that we make sure we have continuity and the same message as he goes through. There’s no confusion. It’s clear,” Niebla said.
Teams Announce Final Non-Tenders
We’ve been tracking the day’s arbitration decisions in the run-up to tonight’s deadline, which has produced a bevy of last-minute calls. In addition to those already covered elsewhere (with all projected salary figures from MLBTR/Matt Swartz projections) …
- The Padres announced they have non-tendered Miguel Diaz and Pedro Avila. Neither hurler had yet been eligible for arbitration, so this amounts to no more than a roster cleanup. Avila had already been designated for assignment. Diaz, meanwhile, saw extensive action as a Rule V pick in 2017 but has only sporadically logged MLB time since.
- Relievers Javy Guerra and Koda Glover were non-tendered by the Nationals, per a club announcement. Guerra would have cost a projected $1.3MM. Glover announced earlier today that he would retire.
- The Red Sox non-tendered infielder Marco Hernandez and reliever Josh Osich, per a team announcement. Neither projected at big dollars — $700K and $1.0MM, respectively — but obviously the club felt it could put the roster spots to better use on other players.
- The Blue Jays have non-tendered relievers Derek Law and Jason Adam, along with backstop Luke Maile. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter) and Scott Mitchell of TSN (on Twitter) were on the news. Law projected at $1.3MM, while Maile was in line for a $800K payday. Adam is still pre-arb eligible.
- The Giants announced today that they have non-tendered outfielder Joey Rickard ($1.1MM projection), southpaw Tyler Anderson ($2.625MM), and righty Rico Garcia (pre-arb). Both Anderson and Garcia were claimed from the division-rival Rockies after the end of the 2019 season.
- In addition to other moves earlier today, the Braves have non-tendered catcher John Ryan Murphy and outfielder Rafael Ortega. Each provided depth down the stretch in 2019 for the Atlanta organization. Murphy would’ve been owed a projected $1.2MM, while Ortega remains shy of arbitration eligibility.
- A host of players were non-tendered by the Royals, per a club announcement. Righty Jesse Hahn was cut loose along with infielders Humberto Arteaga, Cheslor Cuthbert and Erick Mejia. Among these players, Hahn (projected $900K) and Cuthbert ($1.8MM) have the most MLB experience. With these 40-man trimmings, the K.C. org should be able to place some claims and/or make Rule 5 selections in the coming weeks.
- Righties Ian Gibaut and Wei-Chieh Huang are each heading to free agency after being non-tendered by the Rangers. Neither is anywhere near the service time needed for arbitration eligibility, so this was just an opportune time for the Texas org to drop them from the MLB roster.
Players Avoiding Arbitration Prior To 2019 Non-Tender Deadline
With tonight’s 8pm ET deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming, there’ll be several players who agree to one-year contracts for the 2020 season today. It’s common for the day of the non-tender deadline to be a big one for arbitration agreements, though it’s also worth noting that many of the players who agree to terms today will do so at a rate that’s lower than the salary figures projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Broadly speaking, players who agree to terms on a salary this far in advance tend to be those who were at risk of being non-tendered, and their teams are able to use tonight’s deadline as leverage in bringing about a deal that saves them a bit of cash. A look at some of the early instances of players agreeing to terms reveals this to be true already; Mike Zunino ($4.5MM salary vs. $4.9MM projection), Wilmer Difo ($1MM salary vs. $1.2MM projection) and Scott Alexander ($875K salary vs. $1MM projection) have all agreed to lesser terms rather than risk being cast out into the free-agent market.
We’ll keep track of today’s players who avoid arbitration in this post and update throughout the day…
- The Padres have a deal for $1.5MM with infielder Greg Garcia, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. That’s a shade under his $1.7MM projection for the 30-year-old.
- Infielder Orlando Arcia has avoided arbitration with the Brewers, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Though he’s set to lose some playing time, it seems Arcia will be expected to retain a notable role. He’s considered a talented defender at short and was long expected to come around with the bat, but it hasn’t happened yet.
- Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes is in agreement on a $1.1MM deal, per Robert Murray (Twitter link). It’s a guaranteed deal, which isn’t standard for arbitration pacts. Barnes had projected at $1.3MM on the heels of a disappointing season. It seems he’ll be asked to function as the club’s second backstop in 2020.
Earlier Moves
- The Rangers have a deal in place with right-hander Nick Goody, the club announced. He’ll earn $915K, according to MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). Goody projected to earn $1.1MM, so he’s taking a discount on that mark with his new club.
- Just-acquired righty Jharel Cotton has agreed to a $640K deal with the Cubs, Rosenthal tweets. Cotton had projected at $800K but he’s surely focused first and foremost on getting a significant MLB opportunity. He didn’t quite make it back to the majors in 2019 after a long injury layoff but figures to represent a swingman option for the Chicago club in 2020.
- Outfielder Alex Dickerson and lefty Wandy Peralta are in agreement with the Giants, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). Dickerson settled for $925K, which is well under his $1.2MM projected earning power. The 29-year-old has had trouble staying healthy but usually hits when he is on the field. He rewarded the San Francisco organization for taking a shot on him last year by turning in a .290/.351/.529 batting line in 171 plate appearances. As for Peralta, he lands right at his projected value with a $805K salary. The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers late in the 2019 season.
- The White Sox and James McCann avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $5.4MM, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. McCann’s deal checks in a half million dollars north of his $4.9MM projection. Chicago’s addition of Yasmani Grandal has likely relegated McCann to backup duties, so he’ll be a rather expensive second catcher for the South Siders. A free agent next winter, McCann hit .273/.328/.460 with a career-high 18 home runs, but his bat went dormant in the season’s final few months and his .359 BABIP seems particularly ripe for regression.
- The Athletics avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.8MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. That salary effectively puts McFarland in line for the same salary he’d have received had he had his $1.85MM club option exercised by the Diamondbacks. Arizona, however, bought him out for $50K and then ran him through waivers, at which point the A’s claimed him. The 30-year-old posted a 4.82 ERA with a middling 5.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings this past season, but he’s a ground-ball behemoth (61.1 percent). He’ll be a free agent next winter and had been projected at $2.1MM.
- Infielder Ehire Adrianza and the Twins agreed on a $1.6MM salary for the upcoming season, Nightengale tweets. The versatile utilityman hit .272/.349/.416 in 236 plate appearances while appearing at all four infield spots and both outfield corners. Adrianza, a free agent next winter, was projected at $1.9MM.
- Outfielder Travis Jankowski agreed to a rare arbitration pay cut with the Reds, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. After earning $1.165MM in 2019, he’ll be owed $1.05MM in 2020 if he makes the club. A fractured wrist cost him much of the season in 2019, and he was just 4-for-22 when healthy and in the Majors. Jankowski did have a nice season in Triple-A, though (.393 OBP in 39 games), and the Reds gave up some international funds to acquire him, which seemingly indicated that they planned to tender him a contract. He was projected to earn $1.2MM.
Yankees Reportedly Among Teams Interested In Royals’ Tim Hill
There is “plenty of trade interest” in Royals submarining left-hander Tim Hill, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes. The Yankees are among Hill’s most ardent suitors, according to Feinsand.
While he didn’t debut in the majors until 2018 and hasn’t posted lights-out results since then, it’s still not hard to see Hill’s appeal. He’s a respectable reliever who comes with several years’ team control, as he’s not slated to reach arbitration until after the 2021 season or free agency until the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
The groundball-heavy Hill’s coming off a season in which he induced worm burners at a 57.3 percent rate, struck out 8.85 batters per nine and walked 2.95. Those solid numbers helped the soon-to-be 30-year-old to a 3.63 ERA/3.84 FIP across 39 2/3 innings. And the relatively soft-tossing Hill, owner of a 90.2 mph average fastball velocity this past year, proved capable of retiring same- and right-handed hitters. Granted, Hill was markedly better against lefties (.217 wOBA) than righties (.316).
For the Yankees, adding Hill would seemingly give an already strong bullpen a third sturdy lefty to go with Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman. The club’s bullpen is facing the departure of righty Dellin Betances in free agency, though injuries prevented him from factoring in during its 103-victory, AL East-winning campaign in 2019.
Royals Release Jorge Bonifacio
Nov. 27: Bonifacio has cleared waivers and is now a free agent. Additionally, the team announced that catcher Nick Dini and right-handers Conner Greene and Arnaldo Hernandez, who were designated for assignment at the same time as Bonifacio, have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha.
Nov. 25: The Royals announced that they’ve requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Jorge Bonifacio. He was designated for assignment last week.
Bonifacio, 26, was the team’s primary right fielder in 2017 and gave fans some cause for optimism, hitting .255/.320/.432 with 17 homers, 15 doubles and a triple in that rookie campaign. He’s since been tagged with an 80-game PED suspension, however, and has generally struggled to produce at the plate. Over his past 291 plate appearances in the Majors, Bonifacio hit .234/.317/.371.
Were he a proficient defender in the outfield, perhaps the Royals would’ve been more inclined to keep Bonifacio in the fold. However, he’s limited to the corners and has posted -6 Defensive Runs Saved and -7 Outs Above Average in his big league career to this point. He’s also out of minor league options, meaning he’d need to break camp with the team in Spring Training or else be designated for assignment then. The Royals opted not to wait to make that move, thus giving themselves more 40-man roster flexibility this winter.
If Bonifacio goes unclaimed, he’ll become a free agent in 48 hours.
John Sherman Officially Purchases Kansas City Royals
NOVEMBER 26: The sale has been formally announced.
NOVEMBER 21: MLB owners have approved the sale of the Kansas City Royals baseball club to area businessman John Sherman, as reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link).
In August, word came that longtime Royals owner David Glass was discussing a potential sale with the KC-based Sherman, with the final price expected to exceed $1BB. Today’s procedural approval by owners and the league itself marks an official transition of ownership.
Sherman’s acquisition was never expected to be in serious doubt, in part due to the 64-year-old’s existing ties to the game. Sherman has been a minority stakeholder in the division-rival Indians since 2016, holding the official title of vice chairman since that time. Sherman, who made his fortune in the natural gas and energy industries, is expected to divest himself of his ties to the Indians now that this sale is approved.
Glass’ tenure as KC owner saw his club reach the broadest possible spectrum of highs and lows. Glass purchased the Royals for a reported $96MM back in 2000. Over the next two decades, the franchise would record 100-or-more losses in six separate campaigns, while reaching the World Series consecutively in 2014 and 2015 (ultimately bringing home a ring in ’15). Next year will mark the 14th full season of club direction under GM Dayton Moore, with the Royals currently engaged in another future-oriented youth movement.
Cubs Interested In Whit Merrifield
The Cubs are showing “continued interest” in Royals’ second baseman/outfielder Whit Merrifield, reported Jon Paul Morosi of MLB Network earlier this week. The two-time reigning MLB hits leader is guaranteed just $15.25MM over the next three seasons (with a team option for a fourth) under the affordable extension he signed with Kansas City in January.
It’s not difficult to see why the Cubs are interested in Merrifield, but they (or any other suitor) will have a hard time prying him away from KC. Merrifield (31 in January) has been extremely durable and productive the past three seasons. Since the start of 2016, he’s taken 2,404 plate appearances of above-average hitting (.296/.344/.445, 109 wRC+), while chipping in elite baserunning and passable defense at multiple positions. The Cubs have an uncertain mix at Merrifield’s primary position, second base. Addison Russell is a non-tender candidate, and Ben Zobrist is a free agent. Nico Hoerner, David Bote and Robel García are promising options to varying extents, but none is a proven MLB contributor. Merrifield would be an unquestioned upgrade.
Of course, that combination of productivity and affordability has made him a staple in Kansas City, which hasn’t expressed any desire to let Merrifield go. Royals’ general manager Dayton Moore wouldn’t move Merrifield for anything less than a “crazy” offer (in the executive’s words) at July’s trade deadline. More recently, Moore admitted that no one on the roster is entirely untouchable given the club’s ongoing rebuild, although he then lauded the All-Star as a player and person, giving no indication the front office has seemingly changed course on trade discussions.
With the Royals’ resistance to trading Merrifield in the past, it seems unlikely anything will come to fruition with the Cubs or any other team in the immediate future. If Kansas City were to market Merrifield aggressively, other teams beyond Chicago would surely enter the fray. That said, it’s interesting that Theo Epstein and the rest of the Cubs’ front office have considered a Merrifield pursuit as one of the many options on the table for a team seemingly poised for a roster restructure this offseason.