MLBTR Podcast With Brewers GM David Stearns
Milwaukee’s GM David Stearns joins the show to talk about how he’s begun shaping the Brewers in his first three months on the job. He covers an array of topics, including the team’s efforts to acquire controllable talent, the status of veteran catcher Jonathan Lucroy, and what he’s hoping for out of the 2016 season.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams then hops on with host Jeff Todd to talk through the current market outlook for talented infielders Ian Desmond and Howie Kendrick. While there are still plenty of possibilities for both players, the requirement of draft compensation and a dwindling number of contenders with clear needs may have sapped some of their leverage.
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The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.
Brewers Acquire Rymer Liriano, Designate Shane Peterson
The Brewers announced on Thursday that they have acquired outfielder Rymer Liriano from the Padres in exchange for minor league left-hander Trevor Seidenberger. In order to clear a spot for Liriano on the team’s 40-man roster, the Brewers designated fellow outfielder Shane Peterson for assignment.
Liriano, formerly one of the Padres’ most highly regarded prospects, was designated for assignment himself last Friday to clear a spot for shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who signed a one-year deal with the Padres.. Still just 24 years old, Liriano struggled in his lone glimpse of Major League action, batting just .220/.289/.266 in 121 plate appearances back in 2014. He is, however, a highly accomplished hitter in the minors, having batted a combined .311/.399/.483 to go along with 14 homers and 21 steals in 620 Triple-A plate appearances. Liriano has played more corner outfield throughout his minor league career, but he also saw 168 innings in center field this past season and 349 innings there in 2014. That, it would seem, is his best path to the Brewers’ Major League roster, as Milwaukee is already flush right-handed-hitting corner outfield options, including Khris Davis, Ryan Braun and Domingo Santana.
Prior to the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Liriano made an appearance on a number of league-wide Top 100 prospects, including those from Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus, where he ranged anywhere from 39th overall (B-Pro, pre-2013) to 60th overall (MLB.com, pre-2012). Baseball America credited him with the best outfield arm in San Diego’s system for three consecutive seasons, and prior to the 2012 campaign BA also tabbed him as the best power-hitting prospect in the Padres’ minor league ranks.
Liriano underwent Tommy John surgery that cost him the entirety of his 2013 season, but he’s always produced at the minor league level when on the field. Scouting reports have, in the past, praised him for his ability to hit to all fields with power, even though there’s a general expectation that he’ll lose some of the speed he displayed earlier in the minors as he continues to fill out his frame.
Seidenberger, 23, was Milwaukee’s 12th-round pick in the 2013 draft and advanced to the Double-A level last season, though he struggled in a short time there after excelling at Class-A Advanced. He’s worked exclusively as a reliever — said by Baseball America at the time he was drafted to be his best role — and pitched to a collective 4.38 ERA as a professional thus far. After struggling initially in 2013 following the draft, Seidenberger has stepped up his game, averaging better than a strikeout per inning and working to a 3.77 ERA. He’ll likely head to Double-A to begin the 2016 campaign in the Padres organization, though he is, of course, not on the 40-man roster.
Peterson, 27, batted .259/.324/.353 with a pair of homers in 226 plate appearances for Milwaukee last season, spending time in all three outfield spots. He’s a career .297/.383/.461 hitter in parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level but never received much of a look in the outfield with the Athletics, who originally acquired him from the Cardinals as part of the 2009 Matt Holliday trade. This past season was Peterson’s first in the Milwaukee organization, and he’ll hope now to be claimed by a new club looking for some outfield depth with a fair bit of success in the minor leagues.
Jon Morosi of FOX Sports first reported that the Brewers were nearing a deal for Liriano (on Twitter).
NL Central Notes: Liriano, Pirates, Brewers, Cardinals, Tanking
Francisco Liriano embodies the rising trend of pitchers throwing fewer pitches in the strike zone than ever, writes Fangraphs’ August Fagerstrom. In 2014-15, Liriano recorded to two lowest single-season zone percentage marks (the number of pitches thrown in the designated strike zone) since the stat began being tracked. However, he also coerced opposing hitters into chasing more than a third of his out-of-zone pitches, yielding high quality results in his third year with the Pirates. As Fagerstrom notes, though, the decrease of pitches in the strike zone is not confined to Liriano’s left arm but is rather a league-wide phenomenon. And, despite the rapidly decreasing number of pitches thrown in the zone, hitters are failing to adjust and continuing to chase. While it’s not the case with Liriano specifically, Fagerstrom hypothesizes that the record levels of velocity throughout the game mean hitters must be more geared up for velocity than ever before, thereby limiting their ability to recognize and lay off breaking pitches out of the zone. Additionally, he speculates that the fact that umpires are continuing to expand the strike zone creates a greater urgency within hitters to protect themselves at the plate. It’s an interesting analysis that’s well worth reading in its entirety. (Additionally, while his column doesn’t state this, Fagerstrom’s analysis reminds how strong Liriano’s work was in the first season of a three-year, $39MM investment that right now looks to be an excellent move for the club.)
Onto some other items pertaining more closely to the Pirates and their division…
- The Pirates will face a challenge in replacing Francisco Cervelli, who hits free agency next winter, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates have picked up a trio of excellent pitch-framers in Cervelli, Russell Martin and Chris Stewart in recent years, but the Martin contract shows what a premium the market now places on catcher defense, Sawchik notes, thus making it seem unlikely that they’ll re-sign Cervelli, who could end up as the market’s most valuable catcher. Sawchik sees no chance that the two sides will hammer out an extension, and he points out that while top prospect Reese McGuire draws strong praise for his glovework, he can’t be expected to be a contributor before 2018.
- Later in that same piece, Sawchik notes that the Pirates‘ front office has taken a number of significant hits this winter — the most recent of which is the loss of Tyrone Brooks to the Commissioner’s Office. Brooks, the former director of player personnel, oversaw the team’s international and pro scouting efforts and played a large role in the acquisition of Jung Ho Kang. The Pirates have also lost special assistants Jim Benedict (who was renowned for his work with the team’s pitchers) and Marc DelPiano — both of whom left the organization to take positions with the Marlins.
- There’s been little in the way of trade talk surrounding Brewers right fielder Ryan Braun, Jon Heyman tweeted recently. Milwaukee has made more of an effort with catcher Jonathan Lucroy to this point, per Heyman, perhaps due to the club’s recognition of what would be a limited market for Braun. The asking price on Lucroy is said to be high, though Lucroy himself is open to a deal. As for Braun, his five-year, $105MM extension begins this season, but his value has been tarnished by a PED suspension as well as offseason back surgery and a nerve issue in his thumb that twice required a cryotherapy treatment last year. Braun did enjoy a nice season at the plate, however, hitting .285/.356/.498 with 25 homers and 24 steals.
- Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta‘s second-half decline may have been part of the impetus to trade for Jedd Gyorko, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While Peralta himself said this past weekend that he doesn’t feel he wore down late in the year and always wants to play in as many games as possible, the 33-year-old batted just .247/.313/.305 over the season’s final two months. Hummel writes that Gyorko could be used to spell Peralta at third base despite a suspect glove at the position. Moreover, he notes that Aledmys Diaz, fresh off a monster second half and Arizona Fall League showing, could soon knock on the door to the Majors. “We’re excited where he is,” said GM John Mozeliak of Diaz. “I think you’ll probably see (Diaz) playing in the big leagues at some point this year, I wouldn’t rule that out at all and I welcome that.” Peralta expressed comfort with moving anywhere on the diamond, should the need arise, citing previous experience at third base and even at first base and in the outfield.
- “Tanking” has become a popular buzzword due to the number of rebuilding clubs in the National League, but Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron rejects the idea that any of the so-called tanking teams is actually trying to lose as many games as possible. The Brewers have held onto the likes of Lucroy and Will Smith thus far despite favorable contracts that appeal to other clubs, and they haven’t paid down a significant portion of Braun’s deal to move his bat, either — a reasonable expectation for a club gunning for the No. 1 pick. The Reds have prioritized proximity to the Majors over long-term upside in trades of veterans and haven’t made an effort to move their best player, Joey Votto, Cameron writes. The Braves have signed Nick Markakis and targeted MLB-ready help like Shelby Miller, Ender Inciarte and Hector Olivera in trades over the past 15 months, to say nothing of their Nick Markakis signing (and, I might add, the complementary signings of A.J. Pierzynski, Jason Grilli, Jim Johnson and others). The Phillies are the only team that could reasonably fit the definition of “tanking” we see in the NBA, writes Cameron, but the best players in baseball can’t influence a team in the same manner they can in basketball. And, he rhetorically asks, would baseball truly be better off if the Phillies followed the path the Rockies have for the past several years — staunchly refusing to trade veterans (prior to this summer’s Troy Tulowitzki deal) and remaining in a noncompetitive state as opposed to “bottoming out in the hopes of bouncing back to high levels?”
Brewers Sign Chris Capuano, Cesar Jimenez To Minor League Deals
The Brewers announced on Monday that they have signed left-handers Chris Capuano and Cesar Jimenez to minor league contracts with invitations to big league Spring Training (Twitter link). Jimenez spent the latter portion of the 2015 campaign in Milwaukee, and Capuano, of course, spent seven years in the Brewers organization earlier in his career.
Capuano was originally drafted by the D-backs but was traded to Milwaukee in 2003 alongside the man who now writes out the lineup card on a daily basis: Craig Counsell. Capuano, Counsell, Lyle Overbay, Jorge De La Rosa, Junior Spivey and Chad Moeller all went to Milwaukee in a trade that netted the D-backs Richie Sexson and two others in a trade that now looks quite lopsided, especially considering the fact that injuries held Sexson to 23 games in his lone year with Arizona.
Capuano would go on to pitch 744 2/3 innings of 4.34 ERA ball with the Brewers over the next seven years — two of which were completely wiped out by injuries. For his career, Capuano has a similar 4.39 ERA in 1405 2/3 innings, the most recent of which came in 2015 as a member of the Yankees. Capuano became an unfortunate poster boy for the DFA process last summer when New York designated him for assignment on four different occasions over a one-month span. His collective efforts with the Yankees resulted in a 7.97 ERA in 40 2/3 innings — making last year the clear worst season of his career.
Jimenez on the other hand, was a nice success story after being claimed off waivers from the Phillies organization. In 19 2/3 innings with the Brewers, the 31-year-old recorded a 3.66 ERA with a 21-to-8 K/BB ratio. All told, Jimenez pitched 23 big league innings last season and struck out 25 hitters against eight walks with a 3.13 ERA. Opposing left-handers batted a mere .200/.273/.200 against Jimenez, and he also held righties to a weak .208/.276/.358 batting line. Jimenez hasn’t always held righties in check so well (.749 lifetime OPS against), but left-handers have hit him at just a .231/.303/.327 clip in his career. With three-plus years of service time under his belt, the Brewers could technically control Jimenez through the 2018 campaign if he makes the team and establishes himself in their bullpen.
Both pitchers figure to compete for bullpen spots, though Capuano would probably be more in line for a long relief role, whereas Jimenez will hope to be deployed in similar fashion to the way in which he was used last season. The Brewers currently project to have only Will Smith in the bullpen as a left-handed option, so there’s certainly an opportunity to grab a spot for either player.
Brewers, Angels, Rangers, Cubs Among Possible Austin Jackson Suitors
The Brewers, Angels, and Rangers are among the teams that have at least some level of interest in outfielder Austin Jackson, according to a report from ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Meanwhile, he adds, the Cubs could conceivably bring Jackson back “for the right price.”
We haven’t heard much at all on the market for Jackson, who has endured a tough run of late but remains an intriguing player as he nears his 29th birthday. He’s queued up behind Dexter Fowler among center fielders, and Fowler could well be waiting to see what happens with Yoenis Cespedes before he commits to a contract.
But Jackson is a notable free agent in his own right. He entered the offseason placing 35th on the top-fifty list of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes, landing with a one-year, $12MM prediction. As Dierkes noted at the time, it has always been unclear whether Jackson would land with some kind of multi-year arrangement or instead take a one-year pillow deal in hopes of finding a bigger contract next winter.
At his best, Jackson has delivered pop and speed to go with a quality glove in center — rather a difficult mix to find. Indeed, he tallied over 15 rWAR in his first three years in the league. Things have trended downward since, as Jackson owns a cumulative .269/.319/.382 batting line since the start of 2013.
While teams probably won’t be expecting a return to his established ceiling, even the diminished Jackson looks to be a useful performer. He’s still a capable center fielder with near a league-average bat, and has traditionally performed about as well against both left-handed and right-handed pitching. And it isn’t difficult to see the reasoning behind the interest from the clubs that appear in Crasnick’s report.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained in today’s podcast (around the 21:00 mark), in fact, Jackson looks like a nice fit with Texas since he could fill in all across the outfield. Los Angeles has long been seeking a solution in left field, while the Brewers’ could certainly stand to add a solid veteran in center — potentially with the hope of flipping him at the deadline or extending a qualifying offer after the season. And Chicago obviously was interested enough to add Jackson late last year. He’d possibly add an up-the-middle option to the Cubs’ outfield mix, especially if the team were to strike a trade involving Jorge Soler.
NL Central Notes: Bastardo, Pirates, Rosenthal, Lucroy, Peraza
The Pirates made an effort to re-sign left-hander Antonio Bastardo, tweets Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray. Pittsburgh was willing to offer the lefty a two-year, $8MM contract to return to the bullpen, but he eclipsed that mark fairly handily in landing a total of $12MM over the life of his two-year deal with the Mets. Bastardo reportedly drew varying levels of interest from the Dodgers, Orioles, Blue Jays and Twins in addition to Pittsburgh and New York. From my vantage point, given the willingness to go to two years on Bastardo and the lack of internal options on the 40-man roster beyond excellent setup man Tony Watson and DFA reclamation Kyle Lobstein, the Pirates make sense as a landing spot for a veteran lefty on a one-year deal.
Elsewhere in the NL Central…
- The upcoming wave of collective bargaining negotiations will be a critical one for small-market teams like the Pirates, writes USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who spoke to Pirates owner Bob Nutting for the column. Nutting spoke about how he’d “love to see [Andrew McCutchen] stay with us forever,” though as Nightengale notes, that’s a difficult proposition considering Pittsburgh’s payroll constraints and the robust free agent prices (specifically, Nightengale references Jason Heyward‘s deal, though comparing a 26-year-old to McCutchen, who will be entering his age-32 season when hitting the open market after 2018, is somewhat of an imperfect analogy). Revenue sharing and possible alterations to the luxury tax in an attempt to level the playing field, to some extent, will both be topics of discussion, Nightengale notes, though as he points out, it’s unlikely that the Pirates, Brewers, Indians and other small-market clubs will ever be able to spend at the level of the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox. Nutting feels this CBA will be “critically” important to small-market clubs and hopes steps are taken to give such teams greater access to talent acquisition.
- Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal tells Ben Frederickson and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that there have been no talks of a long-term deal with the team at this point. “As far as contractual, multi-year type things, I guess we haven’t had any talks,” said Rosenthal. “I don’t know what they’re thinking, what we’re thinking. I don’t know how any of that looks because I haven’t gone through it. Going through the arbitration process was pretty good. Smooth. I’m happy with how it ended up.” That’s a perhaps unsurprising revelation, as Rosenthal is represented by Scott Boras, whose clients rarely take contract extensions prior to hitting the open market. Beyond that, Rosenthal is already earning significant money in arbitration, having agreed to a $5.6MM salary for the 2016 season last week.
- Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who candidly expressed his frustration with the team’s rebuilding process yesterday, tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he’s working to avoid further concussions after suffering a serious one late in the 2015 season. Specifically, Lucroy explained that doctors and team trainers have preached neck strengthening exercises, as studies have shown that neck strength can help to limit the impact of a concussion.
- Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan examines the decline in Lucroy’s pitch-framing marks over the past four years and whether or not the Brewers (or an acquiring team) should expect him to bounce back in that regard. Sullivan’s research finds that catchers that see their pitch-framing numbers decline rarely experience a rebound in that particular metric, and perhaps more troubling, finds that Lucroy’s decline has been the most rapid of virtually any catcher in the league. As Sullivan notes, quantifiable pitch-framing metrics are relatively new, so there are some uncertainties with the information and there could be elements not being considered. Nonetheless, the initial returns on his examination don’t paint a particularly bright picture.
- Because Brandon Phillips elected not to waive his no-trade rights earlier this offseason, Reds fans could see newly acquired prospect Jose Peraza at a number of positions in 2016, writes MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. “I think it’s important to remember that Peraza has played a lot at shortstop,” GM Dick Williams tells Sheldon. “He has played center field. There’s a chance we could see him in different spots. I don’t think getting playing time for him will be an issue. We’d gladly take an approach where we get him some time at different areas and see where he can be of assistance to the team.” Sheldon notes that one means of enticing Phillips to approve a trade would be to reduce his playing time somewhat in favor of Peraza, though that could result in some clubhouse problems by making a still-productive veteran feel slighted by the organization.
Jonathan Lucroy Discusses Trade Possibility
Jonathan Lucroy has seen his name bandied about in trade rumors for quite some time, dating back to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Today, the Brewers’ catcher candidly and openly discussed the possibility of a trade with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and while he stopped short of asking new GM David Stearns to trade him Lucroy implied that a trade might be best for both him and the rebuilding Brewers. Via Haudricourt, Lucroy offered the following statement:
“I’m not going to sit here and say we’re going to compete for the playoffs this year. If I did that, you’d call me a liar. I’d lose credibility and respect. I want to win and I don’t see us winning in the foreseeable future. I want to go to a World Series. That’s what all players want. Rebuilding is not a lot of fun for any veteran guy. … It’s not guaranteed that I’m going to win if I am traded. But I’m going to be a 30-year-old catcher (in June). I can’t put numbers on how much longer I’m going to play, but as players we want to win. I don’t care about the money; I just want to win. That’s the bottom line.”
One thing made clear by Lucroy after those comments is that he is not asking for a trade, nor is he expecting to be traded. In fact, Lucroy told Haudricourt that he’s planning on heading to camp with the Brewers and will be playing this season “with a chip on [his] shoulder” as he looks to prove naysayers wrong in the wake of a down season in 2015. Last year, Lucroy was limited to 103 games by a fractured big toe and a concussion that came with lasting effects and forced him to finish the year at first base. “I want to go out and tear it up. It wasn’t for a lack of effort last year,” said Lucroy. “I just did not compete at the level I know I’m capable of. There’s always doubters out there, which is fine. I plan on proving a lot of people wrong.”
Of course, those injuries — specifically the late concussion — make Lucroy a difficult trade chip for teams to assess. On the one hand, Lucroy batted .297/.359/.472 and averaged 18 homers per 162 games from 2012-14 as Milwaukee’s primary catcher. He’s also signed to a highly affordable deal that will pay him $4MM in 2016 plus a $5.25MM club option for the 2017 campaign. Those components of the Lucroy equation paint the picture of a player teeming with trade value — one of baseball’s most coveted assets. However, the other side of the coin is a bit murkier; Lucroy batted .264/.326/.391 with seven home runs this past season — solid production for a catcher, but nowhere near the levels he displayed in the three years prior. On top of that, Lucroy caught his final game of the season on Sept. 8 due to the aforementioned concussion, with the remainder of his time coming as either a pinch-hitter or first baseman.
That creates somewhat of a difficult situation when looking to trade Lucroy. Stearns has reportedly been seeking an enormous return to part with Lucroy, and the 29-year-old’s outstanding track record and contract make that a justifiable request. However, teams are probably wary of the potential for lingering concussion effects, causing reluctance to surrender significant talent to part with Lucroy. By hanging onto Lucroy, Stearns runs the risk of continued diminished production, which would only drop his value further. But, trading Lucroy now would be selling low if Lucroy is indeed able to bounce back to his previous heights.
Haudricourt notes that the Brewers also value Lucroy’s leadership and his ability to be a voice of calm and reason on a rebuilding club that will likely go through some painful stretches in the upcoming season. Lucroy insists that his clubhouse demeanor won’t be any different if he remains with the team, saying he won’t “dog it” or be a bad teammate/clubhouse presence in 2016 if he’s not moved.
A number of teams have been linked to Lucroy over the course of the offseason, with the Rangers perhaps representing the most commonly cited team with interest. James Wagner of the Washington Post recently wrote that the Nationals like Lucroy quite a bit as well, and Washington is said to have explored the trade market for upgrades at the catcher position.
I’ll add that readers are encouraged to check out Haudricourt’s interview in its entirety, as the column contains far more quotes from Lucroy than are transcribed here in addition to plenty of insight from Milwaukee’s seasoned beat writer.
Central Notes: Lucroy, Cardinals, Aiken
As the United States celebrates one of its greatest heroes, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., it’s worth remembering that his cause, and even his own story, have many links with baseball. The wonderful Negro League Museum, which captures a uniquely compelling and important segment of American and baseball history, provides some incredible photos to drive this point home today (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mike Bertha explores those connections in honor of King. And as Examiner.com reminds us, you’ll want to revisit this Time story featuring a King anecdote from legendary Dodgers hurler Don Newcombe.
The threads of history extend everywhere, of course; as Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explores, Pirates reliever Tony Watson‘s great uncle, Tom Offenburger, served as an aide to King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. On this somber but grateful day, here are some notes from the game’s central divisions:
- A pre-season trade of Brewers backstop Jonathan Lucroy appears to be increasingly unlikely, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel suggests (Twitter links). Milwaukee has put a justifiably steep price tag on the veteran, says Haudricourt, and it seems that “has scared off suitors.” Of course, it’s probably fair to add that the situation still warrants attention this spring. A strong Cactus League showing from Lucroy and/or a key injury for a contender could quickly shift the balance of considerations.
- There’s no getting around the fact that some of the Cardinals‘ most important players are getting up in years, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, but that aging core still has plenty of confidence entering 2016. “Nobody likes being called old, right?” said veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright. “But I think they’re right, for the most part. We are aging. We’re just becoming more wise. Somebody has to get old. If we’re still playing and older it means we still have some ability.” As Wainwright and owner Bill DeWitt Jr. rightly point out, too, it isn’t as if the organization lacks for any talented, younger players on its major league roster. Still, St. Louis remains one of the more interesting clubs to watch as it tries to defend its N.L. Central crown against two strong challengers in the Pirates and Cubs.
- Indians lefty Brady Aiken is excited to be back on the bump, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports. The high-ceiling youngster, who famously failed to sign with the Astros as the top overall pick before landing in Cleveland after being taken 17th overall last year, is still on a Tommy John rehab program but threw his first pitches from the mound last week. Both team and player have positive vibes from his first months in the organization, per the report, but the 19-year-old obviously has a long way to go both to regain his full physical health and then to start the grinding climb toward the majors.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday
The deadline for teams to exchange arbitration figures with eligible players is 1pm ET today. Dozens of arb agreements figure to flow in over the next few hours, and we’ll keep track of the smaller arb agreements in this post. All projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz and can be viewed on the full list of 156 players that filed for arbitration this year. Remember also that you can keep track of everyone that has avoided arbitration by checking out MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.
Onto the agreements…
- Shortstop Zack Cozart is in agreement with the Reds for an undisclosed sum, per a team announcement. He projected at $2.9MM in his second year of eligibility after a promising start to the 2015 season was cut short by a serious knee injury.
- The Diamondbacks announced that they have avoided arbitration with righty Rubby De La Rosa for an undisclosed sum. He was projected at $3.2MM but, per Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com (on Twitter), will earn only $2.35MM.
- Reliever Fernando Rodriguez settled with the Athletics for $1.05MM — beneath his projected $1.3MM — per the Associated Press.
- Dodgers infielder Justin Turner will earn $5.1MM next season, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. That’s just a shade under his $5.3MM projection.
- The Braves settled with reliever Arodys Vizcaino for $897,500, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. He had a $1.1MM projection entering the fall.
- Both Zach Putnam will earn a $975K salary next year after agreeing with the White Sox, per a club announcement. That’s $175K over the projected arb value of the Super Two.
- The Cardinals settled with first baseman Matt Adams for $1.65MM, Heyman tweets. That’s a small bump over his $1.5MM projections. The team is also in agreement with right-hander Seth Maness, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Super Two reliever projected at $1.2MM but will receive $1.4MM, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter).
- Righty Tom Koehler receives a $3.5MM payday from the Marlins, per Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The team gets a break on the $3.9MM that had been projected. The team also has an agreement with righties David Phelps and Carter Capps, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. Heyman adds (via Twitter) that Phelps will earn exactly his projected amount of $2.5MM. Capps was predicted to earn $800K, but his salary is yet to be reported.
- The Diamondbacks agreed to a $4.35MM rate with first-year-eligible starter Shelby Miller, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. He had projected at $4.9MM. Notably, Miller comes in just ahead of fellow 3+ service-class pitcher Harvey (who is covered below). Fellow Arizona hurler Patrick Corbin will earn $2.525MM next year, Passan also tweets.
- The Nationals have agreed with infielder Danny Espinosa for $2.875MM, Jon Heyman tweets. He gets a slight bump over his $2.7MM projection in his second season of arb eligibility.
- Nolan Arenado will receive a $5MM salary from the Rockies in his first season of eligibility, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. That’s exactly what fellow star young third baseman Manny Machado settled for as well, though Arenado was a Super Two. As Swartz explained recently, those two players’ cases may well have been tied together despite some important distinctions. He also explained why Arenado might not reach his sky-high $6.6MM projection in actuality.
- The Orioles have agreed with starter Miguel Gonzalez for $5.1MM, Eduardo Rodriguez of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Gonzalez projected for $4.9MM.
- Outfielder Chris Coghlan agreed at $4.8MM with the Cubs, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. That’s quite a nice increase over his projected $3.9MM. Also agreeing with Chicago was reliever Pedro Strop, who gets $4.4MM, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). He had been projected at $4.7MM.
- Both righty Michael Pineda (for $4.3MM) and infielder/outfielder Dustin Ackley ($3.2MM), according to Passan (via Twitter) and Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Those numbers largely track the projected amounts of $4.6MM and $3.1MM, respectively.
- Danny Duffy will play at $4.225MM next year after reaching terms with the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). Catcher Drew Butera, meanwhile, will get $1,162,500 from Kansas City. Both represented small bumps over their projected values of $4MM and $1.1MM.
- Marlins closer A.J. Ramos will get $3.4MM in 2016, Heyman reports (Twitter links). Teammate Adeiny Hechavarria, meanwhile, will take down $2.625MM. Both first-year-eligible players went over their projections ($2.8MM and $2.3MM, respectively).
- The Mets will pay $4.325MM to Matt Harvey and $3MM to shortstop Ruben Tejada for 2016, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports (Twitter links). Harvey approaches, but doesn’t quite reach, his $4.7MM projection. Though he’s still recovering from an unfortunate leg injury suffered during the post-season, Tejada will take home a cool half-million more than had been projected.
- Righty Joe Kelly has agreed with the Red Sox at $2.6MM, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. He falls a fair sight shy of the $3.2MM that MLBTR projected. Though he reached ten wins on the year, Kelly scuffled to a 4.82 ERA over his 134 1/3 innings.
- Righty Drew Hutchison agreed with the Blue Jays for $2.2MM, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. He falls short of a $2.6MM projection after a tough 2015 campaign.
- The Tigers have reached terms with shortstop Jose Iglesias for $2.1MM, per another Heyman tweet. The deal also includes some incentives, per the report. That’s a healthy jump up over the $1.5MM projection for the slick-fielding infielder, who did have a strong 2015 season.
- The Mariners announced that they reached agreement with lefty Charlie Furbush and righty Evan Scribner. Furbush will receive $1.7MM, while Scribner will get $807.5K, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.
- Both shortstop Jean Segura and righty Wily Peralta are under contract with the Brewers, per a team announcement. Segura gets $2.6MM after being projected at $3.2MM, per Heyman (Twitter link). Matt Swartz’s system pegged Peralta at $2.8MM, and that’s exactly what he’ll earn, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter).
There are plenty more after the jump:
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/14/16
Here are some of the most recent minor moves from around the game:
- Japan’s Chiba Lotte Marines have signed infielder Yamaico Navarro for one year and $1.2MM, the team announced (via the Japan Times). The 28-year-old saw 199 MLB plate appearances over 2010-13, but has spent the past two seasons with the KBO’s Samsung Lions. Navarro earned his new deal with a .297/.404/.574 cumulative slash — and 79 home runs — over his 1,245 plate appearances in Korea.
- Catcher Josmil Pinto has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Brewers, the club announced (h/t to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Twitter link). Pinto will receive an invitation to major league camp this spring and will try to get his career back on track in the Milwaukee organization. Once a promising young big leaguer with the Twins, Pinto has suffered through a fall-off at the plate, concussion problems, and continued defensive question marks.
- Also passing through waivers unclaimed were Nationals pitchers Erik Davis and Taylor Hill, per a team announcement. Davis, 29, struggled to get back on track last year after missing 2014 due to Tommy John surgery. He logged 48 2/3 minor-league innings of 3.88 ERA pitching with 8.7 K/9 but an uncharacteristic 5.0 BB/9. Hill had a strong campaign in 2014, but scuffled to a 5.23 ERA in 118 2/3 Triple-A frames last year.
- The Rays have signed left Justin Marks, Jon Heyman tweets. Marks, who turned 28 just two days ago, made one appearance with the Royals in 2014. He pitched to a 5.63 ERA in 108 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year with the Diamondbacks organization.
- Outfielder Donald Lutz has a minor league deal to return to the Reds, Alexis Brudnicki reports. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com adds on Twitter that Lutz won’t get a camp invite in the agreement. The first player to reach the majors after coming up in German baseball, Lutz was released by Cincinnati last summer after undergoing Tommy John surgery but has been playing recently in Australia. Brudnicki provides a full update on his recovery, as well of plenty of other interest insight, in the above-linked piece.
- The Tigers inked catcher Rafael Lopez to a minors deal, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports on Twitter. Lopez briefly reached the majors with the Cubs in 2014. He has put up some solid years at the plate in the minors, though he slipped to a .266/.339/.335 batting line in 246 Triple-A plate appearances last year.