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Rosenthal’s Latest: Kimbrel, Keuchel, Eloy, Pillar, Joyce

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There isn’t much indication that Craig Kimbrel or Dallas Keuchel are closing in on new contracts, though that hasn’t stopped teams from keeping in touch with the two free agents.  Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required) list the Mets and Brewers as two of the clubs checking in on both pitchers, though Milwaukee is more focused on Kimbrel as a potential add.  The Rays are also still maintaining contact with Kimbrel, after reports during Spring Training suggested Tampa Bay was at least considering signing the closer.  Rosenthal and Lin described the Mets’ interest in Keuchel and Kimbrel “as a matter of due diligence,” with MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and Newsday’s Tim Healey (both Twitter links) adding that it doesn’t seem likely that either pitcher will end up in a Mets uniform.

Here’s more from Rosenthal, via his most recent Full Count video for FOX Sports…

  • Eloy Jimenez’s career-opening extension with the White Sox included “an understanding” that Jimenez and his camp wouldn’t pursue a service-time grievance with the league and players’ union.  Jimenez’s agents expressed public displeasure last summer when their client wasn’t given a late-season promotion, and the young slugger had been ticketed to begin this season in Triple-A before he inked his extension, which opened the door for Jimenez to join Chicago’s Opening Day roster.  The evidence seems to pretty clearly suggest that the White Sox were aiming to extend their control over Jimenez for an extra year, though the Sox are far from the only team that deploys this strategy with top prospects.
  • The Giants are the only team known to be involved in the Kevin Pillar trade market, though Rosenthal notes that the Blue Jays have also talked with multiple other teams about the center fielder.  Pillar offers two years of team control and a center field glove that was elite from 2015-17, as per the UZR/150 and Defensive Runs Saved metrics.  Last season, however, Pillar’s glovework was rated closer to average overall, and he has yet to post even league-average run production over his six MLB seasons.  If a trade did take place, Pillar would join Kendrys Morales, Russell Martin, and Troy Tulowitzki as Jays veterans sent out of town as Toronto makes room for its younger players.
  • The Braves acquired Matt Joyce from the Giants last weekend, just three days after Joyce joined San Francisco on a minor league contract.  Rosenthal provides some details on the transaction, stating that while the Giants were prepared to part ways with Joyce regardless, Atlanta chose to send some cash to the Giants in a trade rather than simply sign Joyce when he became available.  Since league offices were closed last Saturday on the day of the trade, Joyce’s arrival in the Braves’ spring camp could have been further delayed had the two sides been required to wait for the contract to be officially approved.  With a trade, however, Joyce was able to get some time in Atlanta’s camp, which led to his placement on the club’s Opening Day roster (Joyce marked his first PA with his new team by swatting a pinch-hit homer).

Giants Notes: Pillar, Guyer, Choo, Harper

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The latest on the Giants’ search for outfield help…

  • Cameron Maybin’s release has left the Giants in need of a right-handed hitting center fielder who can complement Steven Duggar.  To this end, the club has “looked into Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar and Brandon Guyer,” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  Guyer was just released by the White Sox and has a long track record of success against lefty pitching, though he would be another imperfect fit as a center field option — Guyer has only 356 career innings as a center fielder, with a -1.4 UZR.150 and -4 Defensive Runs Saved in that relatively small sample size.  Pillar is the much more accomplished defender, though not much of a hitter and also much more expensive than Guyer would be, as Pillar is set to earn $5.8MM this season.  There’s also the question of what the Giants would have to give up to Toronto in a trade, though Schulman notes “it’s unclear whether the Blue Jays would entertain a deal.”  San Francisco’s interest in Pillar dates back to earlier this offseason, though obviously no trade came together.
  • The Giants and Rangers discussed a trade that would have sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Bay Area, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required), though “the talks failed to gain momentum and at this point are barely active.”  Choo would’ve been something of a curious add for the Giants, given that he has moved into more of a DH role in recent seasons.  Choo’s bat is still potent (.264/.377/.434 with 21 homers in 665 PA last season), and while his glovework was below-average (-5 DFS, -3.9 UZR/150 in 507 1/3 innings as a corner outfielder) in 2018, the Giants might have felt the tradeoff was worth it, even if Choo’s defense would have likely further fallen off in Oracle Park’s larger outfield.  The Giants could also have possibly seen the trade as something of a bargain, since Rosenthal notes that the Rangers “would have included significant cash” to cover the $42MM remaining on Choo’s contract through 2020.  The talks didn’t revolve around the idea of dealing Choo for one of the hefty contracts (i.e. Jeff Samardzjia, Mark Melancon) on the Giants’ payroll.
  • Also from Rosenthal’s piece, he provided a sneak peek at an interview conducted with Bryce Harper that will air in full after Fox Sports 1’s broadcast of the Braves/Phillies game on March 30.  Within the interview, Harper discussed his lengthy free agent process, including the tidbit that his final decision came down to the Phillies and the Giants.  In weighing his options with his wife Kayla, Harper said the couple ultimately decided that Philadelphia was the best fit.  “It was nothing against San Francisco. They’re a great organization. It’s a great city,” Harper said.  “It just came down to what I felt. And by that point, it was Philly.”  Harper also said that the difference between spacious Oracle Park and the more hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park “was never really a factor” in his choice of teams.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed at 1pm ET yesterday, meaning over the next few hours, there will be a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track today’s minor settlements from the American League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Yankees 1B Greg Bird will make $1.2 MM next season, per Bob Nightengale on Twitter.
  • The controversial Roberto Osuna will make $6.5MM next season, per Feinsand. Teammate Jake Marisnick, who again scuffled in ’18 after a promising 2017, will make $2.2125MM.
  • Per Mark Feinsand on Twitter, A’s lefty Sean Manaea $3.15MM in what’s sure to be an injury-marred 2019.
  • Hard-throwing reliever Mychal Givens will make $2.15MM, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), with additional incentives for making the All-Star team or placing in the Top-3 for the Rivera/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards, added MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
  • The Mariners agreed on a $1.95MM deal with outfielder Domingo Santana, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). Santana is the second and last of the Mariners’ arbitration-eligible players.
  • The Angels agreed to contracts with a pair of players yesterday, per Maria Torres of the LA Times (via Twitter). Reliever Hansel Robles signed for $1.4MM. Robles threw 36 1/3 innings of 2.97 ERA baseball after the Angels claimed him off waivers from the Mets in June. Luis Garcia, acquired via trade from the Phillies this winter, signed for $1.675MM.
  • The Tigers and reliever Shane Greene settled on $4MM, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).
  • The Yankees reached an agreement with Sonny Gray for $7.5MM, per Nightengale. Gray, of course, has been involved trade rumors most of the winter, but for the time being, he stands to play a role in the Yankee pen while providing insurance for the rotation.
  • Didi Gregorius has also come to an agreement with the Yankees on a one-year, $11.75MM deal in his final season before free agency, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links).
  • New Yankee James Paxton signed for $8.575, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Paxton is under contract for the 2020 season as well.
  • The Houston Astros came to an agreement with Collin McHugh for $5.8MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). McHugh could be moving back into the rotation after a stellar season in the pen, either way this will be his final season of arb eligibility before hitting the open market.
  • Jonathan Villar comes away with $4.825MM for what will be his first full season in Baltimore, per Nightengale (via Twitter).

Earlier Updates

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NL Rumors & Notes: Brewers, Lowrie, Nats, Giants, Pillar, Kelly

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Following last month’s non-tender of Jonathan Schoop, the Brewers’ exhaustive, months-long search for a second baseman continues with the team’s pursuit of Jed Lowrie, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Lowrie, of course, is fresh off an outstanding, 4.9 fWAR 2018 season with Oakland, itself on the back almost identical offensive campaign (119 wRC+ in ’17, 122 in ’18) the year before. MLBTR projects the 34-year-old to earn a solid 3-year, $30MM deal this offseason, though Lowrie’s camp, given his recent two-year output, will surely be fighting for more. The risk with the switch-hitter lies in his subpar performance across multiple seasons (2011, ’14, ’15, and ’16), in obvious addition to his age and former propensity for the serious injury, plus the tendency of second basemen to decline earlier than most, but there could be surplus value aplenty to be found if he continues on his current trajectory.

In other news from around the NL …

  • The Nationals, another team with a hole at the keystone, offered Ian Kinsler a one-year deal before the 36-year-old signed a two-year pact with San Diego, per Rosenthal. Earlier this week, the club was said to have “checked-in” with free agent second-sacker D.J. LeMahieu, who would likely command a deal in excess length to the one offered to Kinsler, so it seems unclear as to exactly which direction the club will go in terms of filling the position. Carter Kieboom, a 21-year-old middle-infield prospect, has raked in the low levels of the minors and may just be a season and a half or so away, so perhaps the club is seeking just a one- or two-year stopgap in the interim.
  • Per Alex Pavlovic of NBA Bay Area, the outfield-naked Giants are interested in Blue Jays CF Kevin Pillar.  The club, who in years past has shown little interest in staking a defense-first player at the position, despite its park’s huge territory in right-center field, may be undergoing a philosophical about-face under its new, analytics-driven regime.  The club, of course, is stacked with right-handed fly-ball types in the rotation, and would seem to benefit in large measure from a ball-hawking center-fielder like Pillar.  The 29-year-old’s defensive metrics took a bit of a hit last season, but his peak from ’15-’17 (50 DRS) has rarely been matched in recent times. 25-year-old Steven Duggar would seem, at least in part, to fit the bill, but whether or not his bat will play – Steamer projects an 81 wRC+ for ’19 – is still an open question.
  • New Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly, who this week agreed to a 3-year, $25MM with the team, explained (audio version) to WEEI’s Rob Bradford why he chose LA, noting that the team was the first to extend its offer to three years. Though the duration may come as little surprise, it is notable that it came from the Dodgers, who in recent times (Kenley Jansen excluded) have preferred their relievers to be of the under-the-radar variety.

Kevin Pillar Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks

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The Blue Jays announced that they’ve placed center fielder Kevin Pillar on the 10-day disabled list with a right sternoclavicular joint sprain. They also sent infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the seven-day concussion DL and activated a pair of pitchers – righty Ryan Tepera and lefty Jaime Garcia.

Pillar, the most prominent of the quartet, is expected to miss four to six weeks, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com tweets. The defensive whiz suffered the injury while making a diving catch against Boston on Saturday, and it could have been a lot worse. Blue Jays trainer Nikki Huffman told radio play-by-play man Mike Wilner that Pillar’s injury could have been a life-threatening one had his collarbone pushed in rather than out.

While Pillar nearly put his life on the line to make yet another impressive play Saturday, he surprisingly hasn’t drawn elite reviews from defensive metrics this season. After racking up at least 14 Defensive Runs Saved in center in each of the previous three seasons, he’s at zero in 2018, though Ulimate Zone Rating (2.7) and Outs Above Average (four) have liked his work better.

With Toronto at 43-51 and well out of playoff contention, Pillar’s absence won’t have a great effect on the club in the standings. And though the Blue Jays are in line to sell at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, Pillar’s name hasn’t come up in trade rumors. The 29-year-old, who’s on a $3.25MM salary, still has two arbitration-eligible seasons remaining.

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.

Blue Jays Place Aaron Sanchez On 10-Day DL; Designate Mike Ohlman For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have placed right-hander Aaron Sanchez on the 10-day DL with a right middle finger laceration.  This was one of several roster moves announced (Twitter links) by the team, a list that also notably included catcher Russell Martin returning from the DL, Kevin Pillar returning from a two-game suspension, catcher Mike Ohlman being designated for assignment, outfielder Dwight Smith being optioned to Triple-A and righty Cesar Valdez receiving a promotion from Triple-A to the Major League roster.

[Updated Blue Jays depth chart at Roster Resource]

This is already Sanchez’s third DL stint of the season due to his bothersome finger, as Sanchez has also battled a blister and a split nail.  The right-hander made two starts since his most recent return, including a quality start last night against the Orioles (six IP, three ER, 93 pitches).  Sanchez said he felt “a little pain” (as per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) after last night’s outing, and a few drips of blood were spotted in his first start back, a five-inning outing against the Mariners on May 14.  Manager John Gibbons told MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm and other reporters that Sanchez’s latest DL stint is due to a recurrence of the blister.

Sanchez has performed well (3.33 ERA in 24 1/3 IP) when he has been able to take the mound, though peripheral metrics hint that he has been a little fortunate.  His ERA indicators (4.92 FIP, 4.73 xFIP, 4.74 SIERA) are well above his actual ERA, and his grounder rate is down to 40%, well below his 56% career average.  Still, it’s hard to really evaluate Sanchez properly given the stop-and-start nature of his season.  Of all the injury woes that have plagued the Jays this season, Sanchez’s could be the most frustrating given the seemingly minor yet potentially long-lasting nature of blister injuries.  Gibbons said the Jays “want to knock it [the blister] out” to keep it from becoming a long-term problem for Sanchez, which would imply that Sanchez won’t be back until he and the club are completely certain that he is healed.

Martin is back after missing slightly more than the minimum 10 days while dealing with a nerve problem in his left shoulder.  The catcher bounced back from a terrible start to go on a hot streak just prior to his DL stint, and Martin has a .197/.365/.342 slash line over 96 plate appearances.

Ohlman was called up in the wake of Martin’s injury to back up Luke Maile, allowing the 26-year-old Ohlman to make his Major League debut after nine pro seasons.  Ohlman appeared in five games with the Jays (collecting his first two MLB hits in the process) after posting a .260/.348/.395 slash line over 2645 career PA in the minors with the Jays, Cardinals and Orioles organizations.

Blue Jays Suspend Kevin Pillar For 2 Games

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The Blue Jays have issued a two-game suspension to center fielder Kevin Pillar, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (links to Twitter). The 28-year-old has acknowledged and apologized for his use of a homophobic slur during an argument in last night’s game.

Toronto handed down the decision after consulting with the league and player’s association, per GM Ross Atkins. The salary that Pillar will forego will be donated in some manner. Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. will take Pillar’s roster spot for the time being, the club announced.

The Jays had already released a statement condemning Pillar’s comments, explaining that they were not “a reflection of the type of inclusive organization we strive to be.” But the team did also say that it views Pillar as “a respectful, high-character individual” who would hopefully “learn from this situation and continue to positively contribute and live up to our values on and off the field.”

While it’s obviously unfortunate that Pillar uttered the derogatory remark, he did take full responsibility in his own statement. By using the “inappropriate language,” he said, he “helped extend the use of a word that has no place in baseball, in sports or anywhere in society today.” For that, Pillar said, he is “completely and utterly embarrassed.” The outfielder offered his apologies to Braves reliever Jason Motte (the target of the slur) as well as to “the Braves organization and their fans, and most importantly, to the LGBTQ community” for what he called “the lack of respect I displayed last night.”

Quick Hits: Fernandez, Pillar, Tanaka, Yankees, M’s

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Some news from around baseball…

  • According to toxicology reports released today, Jose Fernandez had cocaine in his system and a blood-alcohol level that was twice the legal limit during the boat crash that took the lives of the Marlins ace, Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Jesus Macias on September 25, David Ovalle of the Miami Herald reports.  Authorities have yet to determine who was driving the boat at the time of the crash — neither Rivero or Macias were legally drunk, though they both had alcohol in their systems.  (Rivero was also found to have cocaine in his system.)
  • Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar underwent surgery this week to repair a torn thumb ligament, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports.  The defensive standout is expected to be fine by Spring Training.  Pillar hurt his thumb while stealing a base on August 6 and spent some time on the DL before playing through the injury throughout the rest of the regular season and Toronto’s postseason run.
  • The Yankees should listen to offers for Masahiro Tanaka this winter, Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog opines, though obviously it would take a big haul for New York to actually trade its ace away when the Bombers are themselves looking for quality pitching.  Tanaka can opt out of his contract after the 2017 season, which seems like a very likely possibility assuming he stays healthy and keeps delivering his usual strong performance.  Tanaka would be hitting the free agent market heading into his age-29 season and would score well beyond the three years/$67MM owed on his Yankees deal through 2020.  If New York only has one year left of control of Tanaka, it makes sense for the club to see what it could potentially get back for the right-hander in a deal.  Axisa’s mailbag piece covers other several Yankees-related topics, including how the Yankees’ prospect return in the Aroldis Chapman trade was better for the club than if they had swung the rumored Andrew Miller-for-Kyle Schwarber deal at the deadilne.
  • The Mariners aren’t likely to make a big splash in free agency, MLB.com’s Greg Johns opines as part of a reader mailbag.  Seattle already has $88.5MM locked up in just five players (Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Seager and Hisashi Iwakuma) so there isn’t much remaining payroll room for another big contract.  Johns thinks GM Jerry Dipoto will instead spread funds around to address several needs, improve depth and continue to raise the Mariners’ talent floor.

Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins Discusses Offseason

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Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins met with the media today and addressed a number of topics, including qualifying offers for the team’s free agents, his club’s offseason needs, Jason Grilli’s club option and much, much more. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith was among the many on hand and relayed a number of highlights from Atkins’ media session (all links to Twitter)…

  • The Blue Jays, as has been widely expected, will issue qualifying offers to both Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista barring some form of unforeseen injury popping up between now and the point at which that decision must formally be made. The Jays are “still working” on determining whether they’ll make a QO to Michael Saunders, who enjoyed a massively productive first half of the season before flaming out in the season’s final months. Toronto would, of course, receive a compensatory draft pick for any free agent that rejects the one-year, $17.2MM qualifying offer and signs with a new team. The Jays will “do everything” they can during contract talks with Encarnacion and Bautista in the exclusive five-day window they have with their own free agents following the completion of the World Series. Atkins added that he still feels Bautista can be an effective defensive outfielder.
  • Atkins described right-hander Jason Grilli’s affordable $3MM club option as “as near to a no-brainer” as you’ll find in baseball, per Nicholson-Smith. The soon-to-be-40-year-old Grilli came over to the Jays in a minor swap back on May 31 after struggling with the Braves through the first two months of the season and rebounded tremendously with Toronto. In 42 innings with the Blue Jays, Grilli posted a 3.64 ERA with 12.4 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9. Those numbers would’ve been better had Grilli not served up six runs in his final 1 2/3 innings of the regular season (he had a 2.45 ERA in Toronto prior to that stretch), but he was terrific in the postseason, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings with three punchouts, one hit and no walks.
  • Kevin Pillar had a thumb injury this season but played through the pain, the GM revealed. Surgery is being considered to remedy Pillar’s hand, but even if he goes under the knife he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training. A thumb injury could help to explain Pillar’s power outage over the season’s final couple of months. While he’s never exactly been a slugger, Pillar went homerless over his final 78 games of the season, hitting .270/.311/.333 in that time. Even with the thumb injury, Pillar was very arguably the best defensive player in Major League Baseball this season. His +21 marks in both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating ranked third and second among all players at all positions, with only Adam Eaton of the White Sox topping him in both categories. But, much of Eaton’s defensive work came in right field after being moved out of center partly due to poor defensive ratings there last season.
  • There are no plans to stretch closer Roberto Osuna out to try him as a starter again, so it would seem that the 22-year-old phenom has laid claim to the Toronto closer’s gig for good. Osuna came up as a starter through the minors, of course, but he wound up closing games in 2015 out of necessity and has been one of baseball’s best stoppers since assuming that role. Over the past two years, he has a 2.63 ERA with 9.8 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 143 2/3 innings.
  • Rule 5 pick Joe Biagini, on the other hand, could be stretched back out and given a look in the rotation, Atkins said (via Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star). Selected out of the Giants organization, the 26-year-old Biagini was perhaps the best pick of this year’s Rule 5 class, totaling 67 2/3 innings with a 3.06 ERA to go along with 8.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 52.2 percent ground-ball rate. Biagini was a starter with in the Giants’ minor league system and could give the Jays some valuable rotation depth if the team elects to go that route.
  • Of course, if Toronto does move Biagini to a starting role, it’ll only further the need for bullpen help. Atkins said the team expects to address that need this winter and is willing to go to three or more years for the “right” free agent reliever, per Nicholson-Smith. The Jays are set to lose Brett Cecil and Joaquin Benoit to free agency this winter.
  • Generally speaking, Atkins said the Jays will look to potentially add “more balance, more platoon advantage and potentially more speed,” via Nicholson-Smith. The Jays feel that the free-agent market suits their needs well (Twitter link), as the team has a good amount of starting depth but needs to add some corner outfield/first base/DH types, which are indeed fairly plentiful this winter.

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