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Latest On Yasiel Puig And The Outfield Market

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The Marlins have been tied to a number of outfielders lately, including Anthony Santander of the Orioles and Andrew Benintendi of the Red Sox. Limited financial resources will curb their willingness to bid on free agent options like Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario, tweets Jon Heyman. They do, however, have some prospect capital that they’re willing to spend on the right player. At present, Corey Dickerson returns to left, Starling Marte to center, and Garrett Cooper to right, with Brian Anderson occasionally shifting from third base to right, and Lewis Brinson, Harold Ramirez, and Magneuris Sierra filling as speed and defensive replacements. If the Marlins go the free agent route, however, they may explore a union with Yasiel Puig. Not having played in the Majors since 2019, Puig is a candidate to sign a value or incentive-laden deal, should if he land a contract this winter.

The Yankees and Royals are also possible destinations for Puig, per Jim Bowden of MLB Network (via Twitter). For the Royals’ part, they have been looking for another bat to join a largely-unproven group in the grass made up of Franchy Cordero, Michael A. Taylor, and a number of options who could end up elsewhere on the diamond, such as Whit Merrifield, Ryan McBroom, Hunter Dozier, and likely DH Jorge Soler. In looking to add to that group, they’ve generally zeroed in on left-handed hitters. Even with the group they have in-house, the Royals could possibly still add a couple of outfielders, if the price were right.

As for the Yankees, they would be a surprising destination for Puig, if there were no corresponding moves. They are, after all, pretty well-stocked in the outfield with Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier, Aaron Judge, and Mike Tauchman on the roster, Greg Allen on the 40-man roster, and Brett Gardner hanging out in free agency. Puig’s colorful personality would also be an interesting fit on the Yankees, who for literal and metaphorical reasons are generally regarded as a clean-cut organization. Still, that doesn’t preclude Puig from heading to the Bronx. After all, it’s not as if an interesting character or two haven’t donned pinstripes in the past.

Orioles Notes: Marlins, Santander, Mancini, Deferrals, MASN

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The Marlins have had some trade discussions with the Orioles about outfielder Anthony Santander, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter link).  The depth of these talks isn’t known, Kubatko notes, as it could have been due diligence on the Marlins’ part rather than a sign that Santander could be heading to Miami or anywhere.

Santander enjoyed something of a breakout performance during the abbreviated 2020 season, hitting .261/.315/.575 with 11 home runs over 165 plate appearances before an oblique injury ended his season on September 4.  A look at the advanced metrics reveals some interesting details, as Santander didn’t make much hard contact or take many walks, but he also didn’t get much batted-ball luck in the form of a .248 BABIP.

Still, between some strong right field defense and 31 homers in 570 PA since the start of the 2019 season, Santander has made himself a key part of Baltimore’s rebuilding effort.  He turned 26 last October and is controlled through the 2024 season, as Santander is a Super Two player and only became arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.  (The two sides are scheduled for a hearing to determine Santander’s 2021 salary, with the outfielder looking for $2.475MM and the Orioles offering $2.1MM.)

This combination of talent and cost-effective team control would make Santander an attractive trade possibility for many teams, but particularly a Marlins club that is looking to both continue contending for the postseason without too much of a budget stretch.  The switch-hitting Santander would also help balance out a Miami lineup heavy on right-handed batters.  Garrett Cooper is currently slated to handle right field for the Marlins, but the team would have plenty of room to find at-bats for everyone if the DH returned to the National League in 2021.  Since Starling Marte and Corey Dickerson are both free agents after the season, Santander would also be a longer-term outfield addition that could fill the void if either player departed.

Whether the Orioles see Santander as a long-term piece is another intriguing element, as a case could be made that the O’s should try to sell high on Santander now (or perhaps before the 2021 trade deadline) if they don’t think he’ll still be a prime contributor by the time Baltimore is ready to contend.  Given that the Orioles still have a long ways to go in their rebuild, they might not be ready to compete by 2024, Santander’s age-29 season and his last under team control.

The Orioles’ financial situation adds another wrinkle, as The Athletic’s Dan Connelly reports that the team offered salary deferrals to Santander and Trey Mancini when talking to both players about their 2021 contracts.  Both turned down the offers, which would have seen around 25% of their salary pushed ahead to 2022 or 2023.  Mancini ended up avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.75MM deal.

Deferrals are a common element of contract negotiations, yet the idea of deferring money on a one-year arbitration contract was unheard of among “multiple agents and baseball arbitration experts…contacted for this story,” Connolly writes.  While the deferral offers could have just been some creativity on the part of GM Mike Elias, Connolly also wonders if the offers were indicative of how little the Orioles might have to spend in the wake of 2020’s revenue losses.  If this is the case, the O’s might look to try and deal Santander, perhaps attaching him to a larger contract (i.e. Alex Cobb and his $15MM salary) to clear as much money as possible off the books.

In other revenue news, The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli reports that the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (owned by both the Orioles and the Nationals) has made significant cuts, including several prominent on-air personalities.  “This is a cash-flow problem, and there’s apparently not a lot of it,” a source said.  Changes include the reduction of the pre-game and post-game shows from 30 to 15 minutes, with the broadcasters at the ballpark handling these shows rather than studio hosts and analysts.  If the Orioles or Nationals want to continue the usual pre-game and post-game shows, MASN has informed the teams that they will have to fund them, rather than the network.

Marlins, Anthony Bass Agree To Two-Year Deal

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12:07pm: Bass is guaranteed a total of $5MM on the contract, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

8:21am: It’s a two-year deal for Bass, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets. The contract also contains a club option for the 2023 season.

8:04am: The Marlins have reached an agreement with free-agent right-hander Anthony Bass, reports SportsGrid’s Craig Mish (via Twitter). Bass is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Anthony Bass | Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Miami has been known to be in the market for affordable bullpen upgrades for some time now, and the 33-year-old Bass fits the bill. The righty had an unspectacular five-year run with the Padres, Astros and Rangers from 2011-15 before heading to Japan for two seasons, where he took his game to new heights.

The Marlins will be the fourth team in four seasons for Bass, but over the past three years he’s emerged as a solid late-inning arm. In that time, he’s pitched to a combined 3.44 ERA with a 3.89 SIERA, a slightly below-league-average strikeout rate (22.2 percent) and a slightly better-than-average walk rate (8.2 percent). He tallied five saves and six holds with the Mariners in 2019 before saving seven games and notching three holds in Toronto last year. He hasn’t had a full season as a set-in-stone closer or go-to setup man, but he could be afforded just that type of opportunity with the Marlins in 2021.

Like the Marlins’ 2020 closer, Brandon Kintzler, Bass is a ground-ball specialist whose primary offering is a power sinker in the 95 mph range. He induced grounders at a career-best 62.3 percent in 2020 — a mark that ranked fourth-highest among the 323 pitchers to throw at least 20 big league innings.

Bass also matched a career-high with an 11.5 percent swinging-strike rate, and he graded out quite well in most key Statcast metrics; the right-hander ranked in the 95th percentile or better in terms of opponents’ barrel rate, expected batting average against, expected slugging percentage, expected ERA and expected wOBA. His sinker sat in just the eighth percentile in terms of spin rate, which is actually a good trait for sinkers, where low spin is preferable (as opposed to high spin on a four-seamer).

The Marlins’ bullpen, as it stands, is a relatively inexperienced group, though Bass and fellow offseason signing Ross Detwiler add a pair of veteran arms to the mix. They, along with right-hander Yimi Garcia and lefty Richard Bleier, are the only Miami relievers with at least 150 big league innings under their belts.

Roles in the Miami ’pen will surely be defined this spring, but given the multi-year deal promised to Bass, he should join Garcia as one of the favorites to hold down ninth-inning duties. Further additions could yet lend some clarity to the ninth-inning picture in Miami, and Mish tweets that he expects Miami to continue adding to the ’pen.

Marlins Attend Sanchez/Teheran Showcase

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Players Avoiding Arbitration: 1/15/21

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The deadline to exchange arbitration figures is today at 1pm ET. As of this morning, there were 125 arbitration-eligible players who’d yet to agree to terms on their contract for the upcoming 2021 season. Arbitration is muddier than ever before thanks to the shortened 2020 schedule, which most believe will lead to record number of arb hearings this winter. Be that as it may, it’s still reasonable to expect dozens of contractual agreements to filter in over the next couple of hours.

We’ll highlight some of the more high-profile cases in separate posts with more in-depth breakdowns, but the majority of today’s dealings will be smaller-scale increases that don’t radically alter a team’s payroll or a player’s trade candidacy. As such, we’ll just run through most of today’s agreements in this post.

I’ve embedded MLBTR’s 2021 Arbitration Tracker in the post (those in the mobile app or viewing on mobile web will want to turn their phones sideways). Our tracker can be sorted by team, by service time and/or by Super Two status, allowing users to check the status on whichever groups of players they like. You can also check out Matt Swartz’s projected arbitration salaries for this year’s class, and we’ll do a quick sentence on each player’s agreement at the bottom of this post as well, with the most recent agreements sitting atop the list.

Today’s Agreements (chronologically, newest to oldest)

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Corey Kluber, Steve Cishek, Anthony Swarzak Throw For Teams

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Jan. 14: ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that Kluber’s market could come together rather quickly with one throwing session for teams in the books. He’s not expected to require a second showcase to further demonstrate his health.

Jan. 13: Free-agent right-hander Corey Kluber held a showcase for interested teams today, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that relievers Anthony Swarzak and Steve Cishek both threw for teams as well. (All three are clients of Jet Sports Management, so it’s natural that they’d host the workout together.) As many as 25 teams were present, per The Atheltic’s Britt Ghiroli (Twitter link).

ESPN’s Jeff Passan notes that Kluber’s velocity topped out at 90 mph, though given where he is in the rehab process from last year’s injuries, it wasn’t expected that he’d be up to peak velocity just yet. Eric Cressey, whose strength and conditioning facility hosted the showcase, told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers yesterday that Kluber was at 87-89 mph in the prior session. Cressey suggested that Kluber is already ahead of many pitchers who’ve not yet ramped up their throwing to this point. Kluber averaged 92 mph on his heater back during his excellent 2018 campaign.

The full list of teams in attendance isn’t known, although given that this was an open look at a two-time Cy Young winner and a pair of relievers with considerable late-inning MLB experience, it’d be more notable to learn which few teams weren’t in attendance than to know which clubs were. Still, it’s at least worth noting that each of the Mets, Yankees, Nationals, Red Sox, Rays, Twins, Cubs, Rangers, Marlins, Tigers, Pirates, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Indians were all reported to be attending the showcase. Obviously, it’s not an all-encompassing list.

Broadly speaking, if Kluber is indeed at a point in his rehab that inspires confidence, one would imagine the market for him will be robust. The extent to which clubs are willing to bet on a guaranteed contract on the two-time Cy Young winner will vary, but he should easily command a big league deal with plenty of incentives on top of whatever base the highest bidder will commit.

Kluber may be something of a lottery ticket at this point, but few gambles come with such pronounced upside. From 2014-18, the right-hander was one of the game’s premier pitchers, working to a combined 2.85 ERA while striking out 28.5 percent of the hitters he faced against just a 5.2 percent walk rate. Only three of the 179 qualified starting pitchers in that time period — Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer — topped Kluber’s 23.3 K-BB%.

Since that time, however, he’s been limited to 36 2/3 innings by a fractured forearm (sustained when he was hit by a line drive), an oblique strain and a teres major strain. Traded from Cleveland to Texas last winter, Kluber pitched just one inning for the Rangers in 2020.

While most of the focus is understandably on Kluber, the presence of Swarzak and Cishek is certainly notable as well. Both righties are looking for rebounds of their own. Swarzak signed with the Phillies last winter but was released at the end of summer camp and didn’t sign with another club. A two-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Mets prior to the 2018 season proved regrettable, as shoulder issues torpedoed both of those seasons. However, back in 2017 Swarzak tossed 77 1/3 frames with a 2.33 ERA with 91 punchouts against just 22 walks.

Cishek, meanwhile, rattled off four straight seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA from 2016-19, leading to a $6MM deal with the White Sox last winter. He didn’t last on Chicago’s South Side, however, as he was roughed up for a 5.40 ERA in just 20 innings. Cishek’s control has been trending in the wrong direction the past couple of seasons, but he missed bats at his typical levels and didn’t see a velocity dip in 2020.

Red Sox Discussing Andrew Benintendi In Trade Talks

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JANUARY 12, 7:23pm: A rival executive told Mark Feinsand of MLB.com that he will be “shocked” if the Red Sox don’t trade Benintendi before the end of the weekend.

4:26pm: The Red Sox have discussed Benintendi with more teams than the ones mentioned below, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. One of those clubs “has discussed trading big-league pitching depth for Benintendi,” Speier writes.

1:51PM: “Another American League team not mentioned has had deeper discussions” about Benintendi, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford tweets.  A source also tells Bradford that the Rangers aren’t in on Benintendi.

12:35PM: The Astros, Athletics, and Rangers have all been in touch with the Red Sox about Benintendi, Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal reports (Twitter link).  A source tells McAdam that Benintendi could be on the move soon, though it won’t be to the Marlins, another club previously linked to the outfielder in reports.

JANUARY 9: The Red Sox have been in “serious trade talks” about the possibility of moving left fielder Andrew Benintendi, writes The Athletic’s Jim Bowden (via Twitter). The Red Sox have a particular interest in pitcher and outfielder prospects, notes Bowden, but that’s likely a starting point more than a mandate. However serious discussions have been thus far, there is no deal pending.

There may be some bombast to Bowden’s report, which is only to say that there is a wide range of interpretations for “serious trade talks.” That could speak to an earnestness on Boston’s part in terms of their willingness to deal Benintendi, or it could reference a specific exchange of names, or something else entirely. Regardless, it’s not a shocking development for Benintendi’s name to emerge on the hot stove. Boston would be selling low on their 26-year-old outfielder, however, who is coming off a 43 wRC+ showing in 14 games in an injury-shortened 2020. Interested teams, however, are paying more attention to his 2019 production (100 wRC+, 2.0 fWAR) than 2020, adds Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (via Twitter).

His 2020 performance aside, there is some concern that Benintendi has declined in foot speed, which could have major repercussions on his game. He has not yet boasted the explosive power traditionally associated with a corner outfielder (.162 career ISO). Per Statcast, Benintendi’s sprint speed has slowed from 28.6 feet per second as a 22-year-old in 2016 to 27.7 ft/s as a 24-year-old in 2018 to 26.6 ft/s as a 26-year-old in the short sample of 2020. That’s a rather stunning fall from the 89th percentile to the 43rd percentile.

If anything, the decline in speed could threaten his viability as a centerfielder. Benintendi hasn’t played much center in his career, but he hasn’t needed to with Jackie Bradley Jr. manning the middle in Boston. With Bradley a free agent, the Red Sox are looking at a starting outfield of Benintendi, Alex Verdugo, and Hunter Renfroe. All three have traditionally fit better in the corner. Hypothetically, if Boston didn’t think Benintendi was a good fit in center, they could look to move him to give more playing time to Verdugo and Renfroe. At the same time, Renfroe was a part-time player with the Rays last season, and he could continue in that capacity this season. Jarren Duran could make the Major League team at some point, and he might fit better in center than anyone else currently on the Boston roster. All of which merely speaks to why Boston might view Benintendi as an expendable asset, not necessarily why they would or should desire to move him.

As a prospect, Benintendi possessed a monster hit tool with the possibility for big power, and his game hardly predicated solely on his foot speed (though he was viewed more as a gap-to-gap hitter than a home run leader). Remember, he was the No. 1 ranked prospect in the game as recently as 2017 per Baseball America, who wrote in their prospect report after he made his debut in 2016: “Multiple evaluators believe that Benintendi has a chance to be a perennial all-star who competes for batting titles. ’He’s a once-in-a-decade hitter,’ one said. Benintendi combines excellent hand-eye coordination with the pitch recognition to avoid strike zone expansion. His precisely-tuned swing, with his strong forearms and core along with a rare knack for putting the bat on the ball, allow him to drive the ball with surprising authority given his diminutive stature.” Those skills at peak development still play even if he doesn’t run as well as before. Certainly, a team that sees even a portion of that upside would have more than enough cause to make a run at Benintendi, depending on Boston’s asking price.

Marlins Interested In Willson Contreras

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The Marlins have had discussions with the Cubs about catcher Willson Contreras, according to SportsGrid’s Craig Mish (Twitter link).  There isn’t any sense that a trade might be close, as Mish describes the situation as “very fluid” considering how “the Cubs have big decisions to make across the board” (namely, trade talks involving several of their veteran players).

As you might expect, Contreras has been a key figure in these talks, as the Angels and multiple other teams have inquired about the backstop’s services.  It stands to reason that pretty much any team with a need behind the plate has at least checked in on Contreras, and Miami’s interest hints that even teams who seemed to have a catching option in place are interested in Contreras as an upgrade.

2020 was a tough season for Jorge Alfaro, acquired as part of the J.T. Realmuto trade package in February 2019 and immediately tabbed as Miami’s next catcher of the future.  After hitting decently well in 2019, Alfaro’s numbers took a significant step backwards in the shortened 2020 season, to the point that the Marlins turned to Chad Wallach as their regular catcher in the playoffs so the club could at least get some defensive stability out of the position.

The Marlins also recently signed Sandy Leon to a minor league deal and re-signed Brian Navarreto for further depth, indicating some desire on Miami’s part to address its catching mix.  Acquiring Contreras would obviously be a much more seismic move, and it seems possible that Alfaro could be part of a hypothetical trade package heading to Chicago.  Catcher Miguel Amaya is one of the Cubs’ top prospects but has yet to play above high-A ball, so Alfaro wouldn’t necessarily be blocking Amaya’s progress.  Alfaro is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and is controlled through the 2023 season.

Contreras, meanwhile, has two arbitration seasons left and is projected to earn between $5MM-$7.4MM for the 2021 season.  It’s a very reasonable price for one of the sport’s better overall catchers, a two-time All-Star who continued to post solid (.243/.356/.407 in 225 PA) hitting and framing numbers last season.  Landing such a productive player on short-term control would be a fit for any team, but particularly a Marlins organization that is starting to stretch its payroll a bit as the Fish have become competitive.  After acquiring Starling Marte at the trade deadline and exercising his $12.5MM option for 2021, Miami has yet to swing any major moves this winter, mostly focusing on lower-level bullpen additions.

Marlins Have Inquired About Andrew Benintendi

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  • The Marlins are among the teams that have discussed outfielder Andrew Benintendi with the Red Sox, according to Jim Bowden of The Athletic. To this point, though, the two clubs have not been able to agree on compensation. Benintendi would fit the Marlins’ desire to add a corner outfield, having played the majority of his career in left since he debuted in 2016, though he would be a reclamation project for Miami. Once a superstar prospect and effective big leaguer, Benintendi posted average production in 2019 and then endured a nightmarish, injury-shortened campaign last season.

Mets Claim Stephen Tarpley

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The Mets have claimed left-hander Stephen Tarpley off waivers from the division-rival Marlins, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. The Marlins designated Tarpley for assignment last week.

Tarpley entered the majors as a third-round pick of the Orioles in 2013, but he never suited up for them. Instead, Tarpley has pitched for the Yankees and Marlins, with whom he has combined for a 6.65 ERA with a 27.2 percent strikeout rate and a 13.6 percent walk rate over 44 2/3 frames. He struggled mightily last year during his lone season as a Marlin, allowing 11 earned runs in as many innings and issuing eight walks. The 27-year-old has, however, managed a stingy 2.88 ERA across 65 2/3 Triple-A innings.

While Tarpley hasn’t exactly thrived at the game’s highest level, the Mets are taking a low-risk chance that he’ll at least provide useful depth. Notably, the club has an obvious need for left-handers relievers, as Daniel Zamora is the only southpaw bullpen option on its 40-man roster.

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