Brewers Interested In Avisail Garcia
Along with the previously reported Rays and Marlins, the Brewers have interest in free-agent outfielder Avisail Garcia, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
As a member of the Rays, the 28-year-old Garcia spent the majority of last season in right field, where the Brewers employ the incredible Christian Yelich. However, the club’s not nearly as well off in left, especially after trading Trent Grisham to the Padres. Although he doesn’t carry much experience at the position, Garcia could fit in there for Milwaukee. Based on his 2019 performance, Garcia would be an upgrade over Ben Gamel and could enable Ryan Braun to primarily handle first base, where the Brewers don’t have an obvious answer.
Garcia, who has spent almost all of his MLB tenure with the White Sox, has had an up-and-down career to this point. In fact, he has been a replacement-level player or worse across a few seasons. However, Garcia performed well last season in Tampa Bay, which led MLBTR to predict he’d land a two-year, $12MM contract in free agency.
Over 530 trips to the plate as a Ray, Garcia slashed .282/.332/.464 with 20 home runs en route to a 112 wRC+ and 1.8 fWAR. While the big-bodied Garcia doesn’t look like a speedster, he stole 10 bases, ranked in the 90th percentile in Statcast’s sprint speed metric and acquitted himself well in the field. In 869 innings as a defender last season, Garcia saved a pair of runs, posted a 2.2 Ultimate Zone Rating and finished plus-3 in Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric.
Brewers Sign Brett Anderson
The Brewers have announced a one-year deal with lefty Brett Anderson. The GSE Worldwide client will be guaranteed $5MM with up to $2MM in potential incentives, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter).
Anderson, who his closing in on his 32nd birthday, becomes the latest addition to the Milwaukee pitching staff. The club recently agreed to terms with Josh Lindblom.
This probably isn’t the high-impact rotation move some would like to see the Brewers make. But that has simply not been the way GM David Stearns has operated.
Anderson did put in a strong effort in 2019, throwing 176 innings of 3.89 ERA ball over 31 starts with the Athletics. He averaged just 4.6 strikeouts per nine, but was quite stingy with the free passes (2.5 BB/9) and delivered a typically strong 54.5% groundball rate.
It remains to be seen just what role Anderson will occupy. With the Brewers’ flexible approach to deploying pitchers, it’s possible that he will start but perhaps not be asked to go deep into games. In 2019, opposing hitters ramped up against Anderson as the game went on, with >100 OPS point jumps each time through the order (.631, .735, .841).
The Brewers will presumably still be seeking additional arms. While they’ve added Eric Lauer along with Lindblom and now Anderson, the team has also seen the departures of Zach Davies, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra, Jimmy Nelson, Jordan Lyles, and Gio Gonzalez.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pitching Rumors: Ryu, Leclerc, Betances, Hader, Thor
Earlier this week, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters that he has discussed a new deal for Hyun-Jin Ryu with agent Scott Boras. For now, though, Ryu’s under the impression his longtime club isn’t particularly interested in bringing him back. “If the Dodgers wanted to re-sign me, they would have told my agent,” the left-hander said (via Yonhap News Agency). “I haven’t heard from him yet, and honestly, I don’t have much to tell you right now.” Ryu and Madison Bumgarner, another potential Dodgers target, represent the two best free-agent starters left in a market that has lost Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg over the past few days. Should the Dodgers fail to sign either of them, it’s unclear where they’ll turn if they’re determined to land another high-end starter.
- Rangers right-handed reliever Jose Leclerc is generating “a lot of interest” from other clubs, Levi Weaver of The Athletic tweets. That said, it’s not known whether the Rangers are open to trading their most valuable reliever – whom they signed to a team-friendly extension last offseason. The hard-throwing Leclerc, 25, is controllable for five more seasons (including two club options) and is only due a guaranteed $12.25MM over the rest of his deal. That’s one of the reasons he’d likely bring back a quality haul in a trade, which could create a conundrum for general manager Jon Daniels.
- It appears increasingly likely that reliever Dellin Betances‘ time with the Yankees is up. There’s no “active dialogue” between the Yankees and the free-agent righty’s camp, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. The 31-year-old Betances was excellent as a Yankee until injuries derailed him in 2019, when he faced a total of two batters. It seems the Yankees have turned their attention to another established reliever, Brewers lefty Josh Hader, whom they’re reportedly pursuing on the trade market. But Sherman throws a bit of cold water on that, writing that the two teams “did not seem to have substantial traction” in talks as the Winter Meetings wrapped up.
- The Mets just added two starters in Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha, giving them at least viable rotation candidates. Those somewhat modest signings won’t affect righty Noah Syndergaard‘s place on the team’s roster, though. GM Brodie Van Wagenen continues to insist the Mets are not going to trade Syndergaard, Sherman relays. In fact, with Jacob deGrom, Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, Steven Matz, Porcello and Wacha as the Mets’ top six starters, Van Wagenen’s of the belief that they have the deepest rotation in baseball.
Yankees, Dodgers, Mets Reportedly In Market For Josh Hader
With the top end of the relief market going off the board early, teams looking for elite pen arms have been eyeing trade possibilities. The most intriguing of those: star Brewers lefty Josh Hader, who was recently reported to have been made available in talks. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently updated the market situation (subscription link).
Left-handed American League East hitters will be particularly distraught to learn that the Yankees “have been the most active pursuer” of Hader. The Yanks already possess two dynamic southpaws in Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton. Having already brought in Chapman and Gerrit Cole this offseason, a move for Hader would make a stunning trifecta of high-powered arms.
Other clubs have also put in calls to Brewers GM David Stearns. The list includes the Dodgers and Mets, according to Rosenthal. No doubt a variety of other organizations are also checking in to see whether it might be possible to structure a mutually agreeable trade. Hader could take over as a traditional closer or function as a roving high-leverage out-getter, as suits a given team’s preferences.
Hader’s appeal lies not only in his strikeout-producing left arm, but also his age (26 in April) and contract rights. He’s controllable for four more seasons through the arbitration process. Those won’t come cheap, as Hader projects to earn $4.6MM as a Super Two and could yet attempt to argue for more in a high-stakes hearing. (A prior attempt to shake up the arb system for relievers didn’t work out for Dellin Betances, though Hader has more saves to his record.) Still, it’s a far sight shy of what it would cost to acquire a similar pitcher on the open market — not that it’s even possible to do so.
Pitcher Rumors: Cole, LA, Porcello, Roark, Reds, Brewers, Jays, Fish
The latest on several pitchers…
- The Yankees won the bidding for right-handed ace Gerrit Cole on Tuesday, when the two sides agreed to a history-making deal worth $324MM over nine years. But the runners-up, the Angels and Dodgers, made mighty competitive offers in their own right. Both clubs were willing to go to eight years, with the Dodgers’ bid at exactly $300MM and the Angels’ just below that line, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports. Both teams’ offers included deferrals, whereas the Yankees’ didn’t.
- Free-agent righty-hander Rick Porcello has a three-year offer in hand, but he’s more inclined to accept a one-year contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network relays. By taking a short-term pact, Porcello would be betting on himself and pinning his hopes on bouncing back next year after a tough 2019. In possibly his last season as a member of the Red Sox, the former AL Cy Young winner struggled to a below-average 5.52 ERA/4.76 FIP, though the durable 30-year-old did pile up at least 170 innings (174 1/3) for the 10th time in his career.
- Righty Tanner Roark came off the market Wednesday when he reached a two-year, $24MM agreement with Toronto, but a couple NL Central teams were also in the race for him. The Reds, with whom Roark spent the first half of 2019, and the Brewers pursued him, per reports from Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. So far this offseason, Cincinnati hasn’t yet added to an already formidable rotation fronted by Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani. On the other hand, the Brewers made a low-risk, possibly high-reward signing Wednesday in grabbing former KBO star Josh Lindblom.
- Speaking of Lindblom, the Blue Jays put a “significant” offer on the table for him before he headed to Milwaukee, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The details of that proposal aren’t known. Lindblom would up agreeing to a three-year deal worth $9.125MM.
- The Marlins are drawing some interest in righty Jose Urena, Craig Mish of MLB Network reports on Twitter. The Blue Jays are said to be one of the clubs to have called on the hard-throwing 28-year-old, who’s under arbitration control for two more seasons. Fellow Marlins starters Sandy Alcantara, Caleb Smith and Pablo Lopez have also gotten clubs’ attention, as upward of half the league’s teams have inquired about them, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets. However, Frisaro writes that it’s “extremely unlikely” the Marlins will trade anyone from that trio.
Kole Calhoun Market Taking Shape
We’ve yet to hear much of anything this winter regarding Kole Calhoun — a reflection both of the primacy of starting pitching on the market and the devaluation of the long ball around the league. The veteran corner outfielder has waited his turn as teams chase higher-priority targets.
Now, it seems some attention is beginning to turn to Calhoun and other possible targets. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Blue Jays, Reds, Brewers, and Marlins all have some level of interest in the 32-year-old.
Calhoun was paid a $1MM buyout by the Angels when his long-time team decided not to pick up his $14MM option. He popped 33 home runs in 2019 and has long been respected as a hard-nosed grinder with a quality glove, but his nice season wasn’t enough to warrant that level of pay even on a one-year deal.
While Calhoun has at times produced well-above-average offensive numbers, his context-adjusted output wasn’t exceptionally productive in 2019. Over 552 plate appearances, he maintained a .232/.325/.467 batting line, good for a 108 wRC+. That was an improvement on his average-ish 2017 and awful 2018 showings with the bat, but hardly an otherworldly effort. Calhoun walked at a career-best 11.1% rate but also went down on strikes at a personal-worst 25.6% clip.
The initial list of potential pursuers doesn’t seem to portend a bidding war. The Fish are biting this year, but don’t seem likely to go wild. They’re also looking at quite a few other options, as are the Reds. The Blue Jays and Brewers both make sense but don’t seem likely to spend past their internal valuations for a player such as Calhoun. Of course, it’s certainly possible that other clubs are in the picture or could join it depending upon outcomes with other segments of the market.
FA Rumors: Reds, Ozuna, Giants, Didi, Brewers, Thames, Rox, Chirinos
The Reds continue to show interest in free-agent corner outfielder Marcell Ozuna, Jon Morosi of MLB.com and Jon Heyman of MLB Network relay. In fact, the Reds and Ozuna’s camp have been in contact in the past 24 hours, Morosi adds. However, Ozuna is not expected to sign during this week’s Winter Meetings, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Instead, he seems inclined to wait for third basemen Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson to sign, which Sherman observes would leave him as the top bat on the open market (though Nicholas Castellanos may have something to say about that). A four-year deal is in play for Ozuna, Sherman suggests.
- The Giants, Brewers and Reds were the runners-up for shortstop Didi Gregorius, per reports from Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. The presence of his former Yankees manager Joe Girardi in Philadelphia helped influence Gregorius to take the Phillies’ one-year, $14MM offer on Tuesday. Of the other teams involved, the Giants’ inclusion is particularly interesting. They already have an expensive veteran shortstop in Brandon Crawford, who has a sterling defensive reputation. Speculatively, the Giants could have been after Gregorius with the intention of playing him at second base. They wound up acquiring a different infielder, former Angel Zack Cozart, on Tuesday.
- The Brewers are considering a reunion with first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames, general manager David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters Tuesday. The club bought out Thames’ option for $1MM last month in lieu of paying him $7MM next season, but doing so left the Brewers dangerously thin at first base. Outfielder Ryan Braun may be an option at the position, but manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday (via Haudricourt) that he’s not going to be the Brewers’ primary choice there in 2020.
- Robinson Chirinos, Austin Romine and Matt Wieters are among the available catchers the Rockies have spoken with, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports. The offensively solid Chirinos looks like the most appealing of the trio, as he could earn a multiyear contract worth in the neighborhood of $10MM. Whether the Rockies would be willing to go to those lengths is unknown, though it’s obvious they need help behind the plate. Their catchers (including current starter Tony Wolters) posted bottom-of-the-barrel offensive production in 2019.
Brewers, Corey Knebel Avoid Arbitration
The Brewers have avoided arbitration with right-hander reliever Corey Knebel, whom they’ve signed to a one-year contract, the team announced. Knebel had been projected to earn $5.125MM in 2020, his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility.
The 2019 campaign was a lost season for Knebel, who underwent Tommy John surgery in late March. At last check, though, Knebel was recovering well from the procedure.
Going forward, the return of a healthy Knebel should be a boon for the Brewers. The hard-throwing Knebel, now 28 years old, truly came into his own from 2017-18. During that two-year span, he posted a sterling 2.54 ERA/2.74 FIP with 14.66 K/9 and 4.25 BB/9 across 131 1/3 innings. Knebel also added 55 saves along the way. The fact that the Brewers made the postseason without him in 2019 makes their run all the more impressive, but he should be able to factor in next year as they go for a third straight playoff berth.
Report: Yankees “Actively” Trying To Trade J.A. Happ
DECEMBER 10: The Blue Jays have explored the possibility of a reunion with Happ, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports (Twitter links). The Brewers are said to be among the National League clubs with some level of interest.
DECEMBER 9: Twelve months ago, the Yankees made veteran left-hander J.A. Happ one of their key offseason signings. After a solid 2018 divided between the Blue Jays and Yankees, New York re-upped Happ to a two-year, $34MM contract. Now, the club is “actively” seeking a taker on the trade market for the 37-year-old Happ, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
The fact that the Yankees want to get out of the Happ deal isn’t particularly surprising, considering he’s slated to count $17MM against the luxury tax next season. If the Yankees succeed in signing right-hander Gerrit Cole, the No. 1 free agent on the board and someone who has a shot at a $300MM-plus contract, moving some portion of Happ’s money could help them avoid the highest level of the luxury tax ($248MM). As things stand, it seems probable they’ll blow past the first level of $208MM and likely surpass the second penalty of $228MM, Sherman notes.
In moving Happ, the Yankees would obviously be selling low. While Happ has long been a quality starter in the majors, things didn’t go well last season. Even though Happ did close on a good note during the final month of the regular campaign, he still ended the year with a subpar 4.91 ERA/5.22 FIP and 7.81 K/9 against 2.73 BB/9 over 161 1/3 innings. Going forward, Happ’s contract includes a $17MM vesting option for 2021 if he totals 165 innings or 27 starts next year. With those factors in mind, the Yankees don’t figure to have an easy time finding someone to take Happ off their hands.
NL Central Notes: Stearns, Hader, Pirates, Reds
Let’s take a look at the latest from around the NL Central…
- “Frankly, at this point, we don’t think too much about that,” Brewers GM David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter video link), MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, and other reporters when asked what pitchers are currently penciled into the starting rotation. As usual, the Brew Crew will be flexible as possible in deciding which pitchers start games and how many innings they’ll accumulate, with Stearns citing Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer, Adrian Houser, Freddy Peralta, and Corbin Burnes as hurlers with starting experience. Peralta and Burnes will indeed still get consideration for starting jobs, Stearns said, though both struggled in the role last season. This isn’t to say that rotation additions couldn’t still be made, and relief help could also come later in the offseason, Stearns said. Milwaukee had interest in re-signing both free agent Jordan Lyles and the non-tendered Junior Guerra before the two pitchers respectively signed with the Rangers and Diamondbacks.
- Eyebrows were raised earlier this week at reports that the Brewers were open to trade offers for superstar reliever Josh Hader. While Stearns didn’t deny the report or dismiss the idea of a Hader deal, he naturally didn’t give any hint about how much desire his club actually had in moving Hader, only saying that “I think we consider him the best reliever in baseball right now.” Obviously, it would take a major offer to land Hader, who is controlled via arbitration through the 2023 season as a Super Two player.
- Since Jacob Stallings is the only catcher on the Pirates‘ 40-man roster, it isn’t any shock that GM Ben Cherington told media members (including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic) that the Bucs are looking to upgrade the catching corps “in some ways.” Biertempfel notes that Cherington was “emphasizing the plural,” meaning that Pittsburgh will look to add multiple catchers for both the big league club and the farm system.
- With so much action on the free agent market so far, “I personally feel like there’s less trade activity likely to happen at the Winter Meetings than in prior years,” Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters. “I think that’s the trend and I feel like other baseball front offices…feel like it’s gotten to the point where with all the other stuff that’s going on, it’s a time to continue conversations, but it’s really hard to push things across the finish line from a trade perspective.” The Reds have already one major free agent splash in signing Mike Moustakas and have been linked to several other big names, though while Williams “would say it’s entirely possible” Cincinnati makes another signing during the Meetings, “there is not one that I would say is likely to happen yet….I don’t have one that is closing in on a physical or something.”