Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Brewers Rumors

Marlins, Rangers Reportedly Finalists To Sign Pedro Strop

By | at

The chase for Pedro Strop may not rate as national news, but it’s an important situation in the context of the remaining relief market. Perusing the slate of still-available pen pieces should convince you of that.

The group of pursuers was defined recently and seems now to have been culled again. The Marlins and Rangers are the two final clubs in the bidding, according to Hector Gomez of Deportivo Z 101 (Twitter link), with the Brewers and Cubs evidently exiting the picture.

For the Fish, Strop would represent something of a finishing flourish to an offseason full of bullpen movement. The Miami organization has dumped a whole lot of talented but unreliable younger hurlers and obviously has interest in plugging in a late-inning veteran.

Should he land instead in Texas, Strop would help buttress a unit that still has some uncertainty. Jose Leclerc and a resurgent Rafael Montero provide some potential fire at the back of the unit, but it’d be nice to pair Strop with Jesse Chavez to lock in some sturdy frames.

Strop has been a steady performer for years now, though he’s coming off of a down 2019. With injuries limiting his availability and effectiveness, the 34-year-old managed only a 4.97 ERA. More than anything, he (like many of his peers) was suddenly prone to the long ball, allowing about twice as many per nine innings as he had over the preceding five years. And a fairly significant velocity decline gave some cause for concern. But it’s not hard to envision a quick bounce back if Strop is at full health, as he still proved capable of inducing an enticing mix of swings and misses and groundballs.

Brewers Sign Mike Morin

By | at

The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed right-handed reliever Mike Morin to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. Morin is represented by Meister Sports.

The 28-year-old Morin split the 2019 season between the Twins and the Phillies, pitching to a combined 4.62 ERA with 4.6 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9 and a 40.4 percent grounder rate through 50 2/3 innings. That represented his largest MLB workload since 2016, as Morin has bounced up and down with the Angels, Royals and Mariners in recent years in an effort to recreate his terrific rookie campaign in 2014.

That season saw Morin debut just prior to his 23rd birthday and go on to rack up 59 innings of 2.90 ERA/3.08 FIP ball. Along the way, he averaged 8.2 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. He’s had a rough go of it since that time, though Morin’s 2019 season does provide some reason for optimism. Statcast ranked him in the 96th percentile in terms of average exit velocity allowed and 98th in terms of overall hard-hit rate. If he can continue to limit hard contact at that rate, he could emerge as a low-cost bargain option in the ’pen. Morin also only has four years of big league service, so there’s potential to control him into 2021 if he makes the roster and enjoys a solid season.

Jake Faria Clears Waivers

By | at

The Brewers will hang onto righty Jake Faria, who had recently been designated for assignment. According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter), Faria was outrighted after clearing waivers.

The Milwaukee organization will be glad to retain Faria for depth, but he hasn’t pitched to expectations to this point. He arrived in the mid-season swap that sent Jesus Aguilar to the Rays — a change-of-scenery arrangement that didn’t yield results for anyone involved.

Faria is still just 26 years of age and has a history of some success in the majors. He sat just under 94 mph with his fastball and drew a 12.8% swinging-strike rate in 2019. But he was also knocked around in brief MLB action this year, following a similarly unsuccessful showing in 2018.

Pedro Strop Weighing Multiple Offers

By | at

Free-agent righty Pedro Strop is mulling offers from multiple clubs, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter links). The longtime Cubs setup man has three offers in hand at the moment, Nicholson-Smith adds, citing the Marlins, Brewers, Cubs and Rangers as teams who’ve been showing interest of late.

While it’s not clear which combination of that group has offers on the table, it’d be a surprise to see the Cubs make a competitive offer following ownership’s recent spending limitations and the team’s general lack of offseason activity to date. Nicholson-Smith does indicate that two NL clubs and an AL team have put an offer out to Strop, which at least speculatively speaking, would make the Marlins, Brewers and Rangers a trio that fits the description. Miami was already tied to Strop two weeks ago when FNTSY Sports Radio’s Craig Mish reported their interest.

Hamstring and neck injuries limited Strop to just 41 2/3 innings in 2019 and quite possibly hindered his on-field production; the typically hard-throwing righty logged a 4.97 ERA and saw his heater dip from an average of 95.1 mph in 2018 to 93.6 mph in 2019. That said, Strop still racked up strikeouts at an impressive clip (10.6 K/9) and notched a quality 13.5 percent swinging-strike rate.

And, of course, prior to his down year in 2019, Strop was a consistent force in the Chicago ’pen. The right-hander posted five consecutive sub-3.00 ERA seasons from 2014-18, pitching to a combined 2.61 mark (3.10 FIP) with averages of 10.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9 with a ground-ball rate well north of 50 percent. The Marlins have seen considerable turnover in their bullpen already this winter and are said to be eyeing a veteran addition along the lines of last year’s Sergio Romo pickup. The Brewers, meanwhile, already have a deep collection of arms but never shy away from a late-offseason value play. And the Rangers, of course, have been aggressive in reshaping their club in preparation for the opening of their new stadium in 2020.

Brewers Sign Jedd Gyorko, Designate Jake Faria

By | at

January 14: Gyorko’s option is valued at $4.5MM with a $1MM buyout, tweets Robert Murray. That indicates that his 2020 base salary will be just $1MM. Gyorko can boost the value of that club option to $5.5MM by tallying 400 plate appearances or $7MM if he reaches 500 plate appearances.

January 10: The Brewers have added further infield depth to their bench, announcing a one-year contract with veteran Jedd Gyorko. The ACES client will reportedly be guaranteed $2MM on the deal, which contains a club option for the 2021 season. Right-hander Jake Faria was designated for assignment to create roster space, per the team.

Gyorko, 31, scuffled through the worst season of his career in 2019 when he posted a .174/.248/.250 slash through 101 plate appearances while battling injuries. However, he’s long been a solid big league hitter who can handle all four infield positions and, from 2016-18 in St. Louis, posted a combined .259/.331/.463 batting line with 61 homers in 1321 plate appearances.

Milwaukee was already set to enter the 2020 season with a vastly different infield mix than the one it carried in 2019. Mike Moustakas signed a surprising four-year deal with the division-rival Reds, while Travis Shaw was non-tendered and Eric Thames’ option was bought out. Meanwhile, they’ve acquired Luis Urias in a trade with the Padres and signed a trio of infielders: first baseman Justin Smoak, second baseman/shortstop Eric Sogard and corner infielder Ryon Healy. The Brewers will also have a full season of Keston Hiura in 2020 after he began the ’19 campaign in the minors.

Gyorko isn’t likely to be promised an everyday role but could bounce around the infield and serve as a right-handed complement Sogard or even to Smoak, a switch-hitter who’s better from the left side of the dish. He’ll give the Brewers some additional depth in the event of injuries or poor showings throughout the lineup, and if he’s able to return to his 2016-18 form, he’ll be yet another value pickup for a team that tends to limit its free-agent expenditures to low-cost and/or short-term commitments (Lorenzo Cain notwithstanding).

Faria came to Milwaukee in last summer’s Jesus Aguilar trade, but the 26-year-old was knocked around in brief MLB action, yielding 11 runs in 8 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old Faria impressed with 86 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball and nearly a strikeout per frame in his rookie season back in 2017, but he hasn’t excelled in the Majors or in Triple-A since that time.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the deal (via Twitter). Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported the contract value (via Twitter).

GM Stearns "Comfortable" With Versatile Infield

By | at

  • With Jedd Gyorko now in the fold, Brewers GM David Stearns told reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) that he is “comfortable” with the club’s remodeled infield.  “We feel like we have a number of players who fit in a variety of different ways, and that’s really helpful,” Stearns said. “It gives us options.  It gives us depth. It allows us to see not only how the rest of the offseason unfolds, but how the first part of the season unfolds, in terms of how we want to structure a roster, how we want to play different players.”  Many of the Brewers’ infield pickups (Gyorko, Luis Urias, Eric Sogard, Ryon Healy) have multi-position capability, while first base has also been addressed with Justin Smoak as the top complement to Ryan Braun, who is slated for time at both first base and in the outfield.

MLBTR Poll: Josh Hader’s Future

By | at

Friday has been an arbitration bonanza across Major League Baseball. Teams have either agreed to deals to avoid the process with their arbitration-eligible players, or they’re at risk of having to go to hearings because they couldn’t find common ground. As of now, standout Brewers reliever Josh Hader is among those whose asking price outpaces what his team’s willing to pay. The left-handed Hader requested $6.4MM in 2020, his first of four arb-eligible seasons, while the Brewers submitted a $4.1MM offer.

Considering what he has brought to the table since he debuted in 2017, Hader’s desired salary looks plenty fair. Dating back to his first season, the hard-throwing Hader has posted a 2.42 ERA/2.74 FIP with a ridiculous 15.35 K/9 against 3.17 BB/9. And Hader has proven himself as more than a three-out weapon, as he ranked 13th among all relievers in frames (204 2/3) during his three-season stretch of brilliance. He has also made it clear he can dominate as a setup man or a closer. Just last season, Hader racked up 37 saves on 44 attempts.

Even though they’re a small-market, low-spending club, there’s no obvious reason for the Brewers to trade Hader. They’re a team coming off back-to-back playoff seasons, Hader’s one of their most valuable players, and he’ll be easily affordable in 2020 no matter how his current financial situation pans out. With that said, the latter reason could influence the Brewers to go in another direction if they receive an enticing enough offer. As of Dec. 1, Milwaukee was willing to listen to proposals for Hader, who has drawn interest from such big-market teams as the Yankees, Mets and Dodgers this winter. Surely, if Milwaukee’s truly willing to let Hader go, other playoff-caliber clubs and hopeful contenders would enter the mix. That’s all the more true considering the dearth of high-end relievers left in free agency.

For the time being, Hader remains a member of the Brewers, who could at least retain him and decide on his long-term future around July’s trade deadline. But do you expect the club to move on from him before the upcoming season?

(Poll link for app users)

2020 Arbitration Filing Numbers

By | at

MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker is the place to go to see the arbitration contracts agreed upon thus far, as well as the figures exchanged between teams and players that were not able to reach agreement before today’s deadline to swap salary positions. Matt Swartz’s arbitration projections are available here.

After a busy day of dealmaking, 161 players (at last check) have reached agreement on arbitration salaries for the coming season. But 29 other tendered players have yet to reach reported agreements with their clubs. Of course, those players can still settle before their hearings (which will take place in early to mid-February). If the case goes to a hearing, the arbitrator must choose one side’s figures, rather than settling on a midpoint. It’s hardly an unusual number of unresolved cases at this stage, but there are quite a few high-dollar situations still at issue and teams have increasingly adopted a “file-and-trial” approach to the process in recent years. (That is, no negotiations on single-season salaries after the deadline to exchange figures.)

We’ve gathered the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining in this post, but you can find them all in the tracker. We’ll update this list as the figures are reported:

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

By and | at

Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.

We’ll track the majority of the National League’s settlements in this post and are maintaining a separate one for American League settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

  • The Rockies have an agreement in place with righty Jon Gray, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (via Twitter). It’s a $5.6MM deal, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
  • Outfielder Tommy Pham has struck a $7.9MM pact with the Padres, who acquired him at the outset of the offseason, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Other Friars striking deals, per an update from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, include Zach Davies ($5.25MM) and Matt Strahm ($1.4MM).
  • The Nationals announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with Trea Turner. It’s a $7.45MM agreement, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter), right in range of the $7.5MM projection.
  • The Mets are in agreement with a laundry list of players. Right-handers Marcus Stroman ($12MM) and Noah Syndergaard ($9.7MM) were the top earners, per reports from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Both come in close to their projected values of $11.8M and $9.9MM, respectively. The Mets also have a $5.1MM deal with reliever Edwin Diaz, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). He entered the offseason projected at the $7.0MM level but will fall well shy of that. Despite an outstanding overall track record, Diaz’s platform season was a dud and obviously created some risk in a hearing for his side. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo will play for $2.175MM in his first season of arb eligibility, landing well over the $1.7MM that the model projected. Southpaw Steven Matz, meanwhile, lands a $5MM deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). That’s $300K shy of his projected amount. Relievers Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo will earn $1.225MM and $2MM, respectively, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). Slugger Michael Conforto will earn $8.0MM, per SNY.tv’s Andy Martino (via Twitter), which is notably south of the $9.2MM that we projected. And fellow outfielder Jake Marisnick checks in a just over 10% north of his projection at $3,312,500, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
  • Star reliever Kirby Yates receiveds a $7,062,500 salary from the Padres, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He tops the $6.5MM that MLBTR projected by a solid margin, reflecting just how exceptional he was in 2019.
  • The Marlins will pay recently acquired infielder Jonathan Villar a $8.2MM salary, per MLB.com’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). That’s a far sight shy of the $10.4MM that the MLBTR system projected, perhaps reflecting a more difficult path to the bigger number through recent comparables. The club also had some added leverage here since Villar would likely not fare terribly well on the open market if cut loose at this stage or later. (Unless this is a guaranteed deal, Villar could still be jettisoned, with the club paying just a fraction of the settled amount.) The Fish also have also agreed to terms with lefty Adam Conley (for $1.525MM, per MLB Network Radio’s Craig Mish, via Twitter) and righty Jose Urena (for $3.75MM, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, on Twitter).
  • Righty Vince Velasquez will pitch for $3.6MM this year with the Phillies, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly (via Twitter). Fellow hurler Jose Alvarez will earn $2.95MM, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
  • The Rockies have an agreement with lefty Kyle Freeland, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). He’ll earn $2.875MM. Outfielder David Dahl takes home $2.475MM, Heyman adds on Twitter. The former had projected at $2.4MM and the latter at $3.0MM.
  • Pirates hurler Joe Musgrove will receive $2.8MM, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Fellow righty Keone Kela will earn a reported $3.725MM. Both players had projected at $3.4MM, but land well to either side of that number. Infielder Adam Frazier also has a deal at $2.8MM, per Mackey (via Twitter).
  • Righty Anthony DeSclafani will earn $5.9MM from the Reds, according to Robert Murray (via Twitter). He had projected at $5.2MM. Backstop Curt Casali will earn $1.4625MM, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). And reliever Matt Bowman takes down $865K, Murray adds on Twitter.
  • The Dodgers have worked out a non-typical deal with righty Ross Stripling, Heyman tweets. He’ll get an up-front signing bonus of $1.5MM, which he’ll receive in the next week, and then earn $600K for the campaign to come. Stripling had projected to earn $2.3MM on the year.
  • Cardinals righty John Gant will earn $1.3MM after settling with the club. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first tweeted that a deal was in place, while Murray had the number on Twitter. That comes in just under his $1.4MM projection.

Earlier Settlements

Read more

Brewers Re-Sign Tuffy Gosewisch To Minors Contract

By | at

The Brewers have re-signed catcher Tuffy Gosewisch, the team announced via Twitter.  Gosewisch will return on a minor league contract that contains an invitation to Milwaukee’s Major League Spring Training camp.

Gosewisch joined the organization on a minors deal last winter and hit .205/.299/.308 over 134 plate appearances for Triple-A San Antonio.  In all likelihood, Gosewisch will continue to serve in a similar veteran depth role this year, providing backup behind Omar Narvaez and Manny Pina on the big league roster.

The 36-year-old Gosewisch last played in the majors in 2017, appearing in 11 games with Seattle.  Over 447 PA with the Diamondbacks and Mariners from 2013-17, Gosewisch has a .190/.228/.271 career slash line.  After being released by the M’s after the 2017 campaign, Gosewisch spent the 2018 season with the Nationals’ Triple-A club.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top