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Pitching Rumors: Hand, Jeffress, Anibal, Teheran

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The Dodgers have been linked to free-agent lefty Brad Hand over the past week or so, but they’re more on the “periphery” of his market, writes Fansided’s Robert Murray. The Mets are still in talks with Hand and his representatives, while both the Astros and Blue Jays are also involved to varying extents. Reports that Hand was closing in on a deal with the Mets last week proved a bit premature, although it seems they’re still squarely in the mix for the former All-Star closer. As for the Dodgers, even if they’re not major players in the Hand market at the moment, Murray suggests they’d still like to add another reliever to the bullpen.

A few more notes on the free agent pitching market as it starts to percolate…

  • MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that Jeremy Jeffress is on the radar of several clubs, including the Red Sox, Cubs, Astros, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, Nationals and Blue Jays. It’s a wide field, though the level of interest of each team surely varies. The 33-year-old Jeffress was dominant back in 2018 but hasn’t replicated that form since. He did post an aesthetically pleasing 1.54 ERA and 54.4 percent grounder rate in 23 1/3 innings with the Cubs last year, but the rest of his numbers were something of a mess. Jeffress’ 13.6 percent walk rate was his worst since establishing himself as a consistent presence in MLB bullpens, while his 19.3 percent strikeout rate was 10 percent lower than his 29.8 percent clip from that brilliant 2018 campaign. Last year also saw Jeffress post career-worsts in average fastball velocity (93.3 mph), average exit velocity (89.9 mph) and hard-hit rate (45.6 percent). If Jeffress can rediscover his ’18 form, he’d be a premium late-inning option, but last year’s ERA was propped up by a .161 average on balls in play that is miles south of his career .308 mark.
  • Anibal Sanchez and Julio Teheran will be throwing in front of scouts during a showcase today, and several teams will have personnel on hand.  The list of confirmed attendees includes the Rays (as per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times), Twins (SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson), Marlins (MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola), and Mets (the New York Post’s Mike Puma).

Mets Fire GM Jared Porter

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12:35PM: Major League Baseball is preparing an investigation into Porter, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.  Pending the results of this investigation, Porter could face a suspension, and would then have to apply for reinstatement in order to again work with another MLB team.

7:17AM: Mets owner Steve Cohen announced on Twitter this morning that the organization has terminated general manager Jared Porter following last night’s revelation that he had harassed a female reporter in 2016 via a string of 60-plus unreturned text messages, which included unsolicited, explicit images.

“In my initial press conference I spoke about the importance of integrity and I meant it,” writes Cohen. “There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”

Mets president Sandy Alderson said last night in statement to ESPN that Porter had acknowledged his prior actions and expressed remorse. Alderson added that the organization would “follow up as we review the facts regarding this serious issue.” Cohen and Alderson acted swiftly and decisively, and Cohen’s announcement that Porter has been “terminated” did not mince words.

Whether the Mets will hire a new general manager this winter remains to be seen. Alderson has been heading up baseball operations since Cohen purchased the club and brought him back to the organization, and the expectation was that Porter was either being groomed to eventually take over baseball operations himself eventually or that a more seasoned executive would be brought in to take over the 72-year-old Alderson’s role down the line. Alderson, of course, has decades of experience in running baseball operations departments and is more than capable of helming the ship in 2021 should the team decide to wait until next winter to look for a replacement.

Porter’s tenure lasted all of 37 days, marking the second consecutive winter in which the Mets have hired and fired a key organizational leader within mere weeks. The Mets named Carlos Beltran their manager early in the 2019-20 offseason, only to fire him just over two months later after his role in architecting the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal had come to light.

Padres Acquire Joe Musgrove In 3-Team Trade

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TODAY: The trade is official.  The Padres get Musgrove, the Mets get Lucchesi, and the Pirates receive the five prospects (Rodriguez, Head, Cruz, Fellows, and Bednar).

JANUARY 18, 5:47pm: This is a three-team trade, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray, who reports that the Mets will acquire Lucchesi. The Pirates will get catcher/outfielder Endy Rodriguez, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.

5:40pm: Pittsburgh will get five players in return, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Head and lefty Omar Cruz are among those going to the Pirates, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Southpaw Joey Lucchesi is also part of the trade, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, as are righties David Bednar and and Drake Fellows, Lin relays.

5:18pm: The Padres have agreed to acquire right-hander Joe Musgrove from the Pirates, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. The Pirates will receive “a large package of prospects,” potentially including outfielder Hudson Head, according to Passan.

This is the fourth significant trade for a starter in recent months for the Padres, who first acquired righty Mike Clevinger from Cleveland before last August’s deadline. Clevinger was quite effective for the Padres after the trade, but elbow issues limited him to one inning during the team’s NLDS loss to the division-rival Dodgers in October, and he won’t pitch at all in 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November.

After losing Clevinger for the upcoming season, the Padres swung trades with the Cubs for Yu Darvish, a National League Cy Young contender in 2020, as well as with the Rays for former AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell. They’ll presumably have Darvish, Snell, Musgrove, Dinelson Lamet (if he’s healthy after dealing with bicep troubles last year) and Chris Paddack in their season-opening rotation, though prospects MacKenzie Gore, Ryan Weathers and Adrian Morejon could be among younger Pads pushing for starts in 2021.

In Musgrove, San Diego is getting a California native who owns a 4.33 ERA in 496 2/3 innings between the Astros and Pirates, but he entered the offseason as one of the majors’ most intriguing trade chips after a career-best campaign. The 28-year-old threw 39 2/3 innings and recorded a 3.86 ERA/3.50 SIERA, all while registering a personal-high 14.4 percent swinging-strike rate and placing 10th in the majors in strikeout percentage (33.1 percent). That production would have made it more difficult for the low-payroll Pirates to extend Musgrove, who’s due $4.45MM in 2021 and has one more year of arbitration control left after that.

Lucchesi could have been part of the Padres’ rotation next season, but he’ll instead go to New York and compete for the No. 5 spot in its starting group. The Mets’ staff looked terrific before this deal with Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson comprising their top four, but Steven Matz had been the front-runner for the fifth position after a dismal 2020. He’ll now have to go against Lucchesi, who recorded ERAs in the 4.00s in 2018 and ’19 before tossing just 5 2/3 innings in the bigs last year. Lucchesi’s not eligible to become a free agent until after 2024.

With no chance to contend in the near future, it made sense for the Pirates to move on from Musgrove in favor of a package of younger players.  For Musgrove, they’re receiving at least four well-regarded prospects in Head, Cruz, Bednar and Rodriguez, whom MLB.com ranked among the top 20 farmhands in their teams’ farm systems.

Head (No. 7) went in the third round of the 2019 draft and then signed a record bonus for $3MM. The 19-year-old possesses an “extremely high” ceiling, according to MLB.com. Cruz (17) and Bednar (20) were also solid Padres prospects, with MLB.com calling Cruz a possible back-end starter and Bednar a hard thrower with promise. Fellows did not rank among the Padres’ top 30 prospects at MLB.com, and Baseball America wrote before the club drafted him that his 93 to 94 mph fastball is “often hittable because he struggles to hit his spots.” However, BA added that Fellows’ slider could at least help make him a legitimate major league reliever.

Rodriguez, 20, was the Mets’ 14th-ranked prospect at MLB.com before the trade. MLB.com writes that Rodriguez has “an advanced approach and natural bat-to-ball skills” that will be all the more valuable if he sticks at catcher, though a future in the outfield does seem like a possibility.

The main takeaway here is that the Padres remain serious about vying for a World Series – something they have never won – in the near future. Even if it doesn’t happen in the short term, though, the Padres appear to be set up to succeed for the long haul. Their MLB roster is one of the game’s best, and as BA notes on Twitter, the Padres still lead the league with seven top 100 prospects.

Mets GM Sent Unsolicited, Explicit Images To Female Reporter In 2016

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Newly named Mets general manager Jared Porter sent unsolicited, explicit text messages and images to a female reporter in 2016, Mina Kimes and Jeff Passan of ESPN report. Porter was then part of the Cubs’ front office.

The reporter, a foreign correspondent who Kimes and Passan note is no longer in the business, said Porter sent her more than 60 messages that she ignored before he sent her a lewd photo. Although Porter admitted to ESPN that he sent lewd images, he said that “the more explicit ones are not of me. Those are like, kinda like joke-stock images.”  Porter later apologized to her via text, but only after the woman replied to tell him that his conduct was “extremely inappropriate, very offensive, and getting out of line.”

Mets president Sandy Alderson told ESPN: “I have spoken directly with Jared Porter regarding events that took place in 2016 of which we were made aware tonight for the first time. Jared has acknowledged to me his serious error in judgment, has taken responsibility for his conduct, has expressed remorse and has previously apologized for his actions. The Mets take these matters seriously, expect professional and ethical behavior from all of our employees, and certainly do not condone the conduct described in your story. We will follow up as we review the facts regarding this serious issue.”

The Mets named Porter their GM on Dec. 13. It’s not yet clear whether they will retain him.

East Notes: Lindor, Yankees, Springer, Mets, Jays, Braves

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The Yankees never made a formal offer to the Indians in talks regarding Francisco Lindor, writes Buster Olney of ESPN. The two teams kicked around frameworks involving Lindor before Cleveland dealt him and right-hander Carlos Carrasco to the Mets, but the Yankees evidently never put an official proposal on the table. It seems the Yankees were deterred by Lindor’s lofty projected arbitration salary for 2021, which eventually landed at $22.3MM. New York’s main focus all winter has been agreeing to a long-term deal with DJ LeMahieu, which the team finally pulled off this week.

More out of the East divisions:

  • The Mets and Blue Jays have been the two teams most closely connected to George Springer this winter. Jon Morosi of MLB.com feels the Mets have the geographical upper hand, noting that the Connecticut native and former UConn star would prefer to play close to home. (Springer’s home town of New Britain is approximately a two-hour drive from Queens, compared to seven-plus hours to Toronto). Of course, geographical ties of this sort are often discussed as potential tiebreakers for prominent free agents but are rarely enough to overcome significant discrepancies in teams’ respective contract proposals. Indeed, Morosi acknowledges the possibility the Mets eventually turn their attention elsewhere, particularly if they manage to sign reliever Brad Hand.
  • More from Olney, who notes that the Braves “appear highly unlikely” to re-sign outfielder Marcell Ozuna. The 30-year-old slugger had an incredible season in Atlanta after signing a one-year deal last offseason. Ozuna is now in line for a much bigger multi-year accord this winter. That doesn’t fit the general approach of Braves’ GM Alex Anthopolous, who has tended to shy away from longer-term deals since taking over baseball operations. Just last winter, the Braves watched Josh Donaldson, who had starred on a similar pillow contract in 2019, walk for a four-year deal with the Twins. MLBTR projects a $72MM accord over that same length for Ozuna.

Mets, Francisco Lindor Avoid Arbitration

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The Mets and newly acquired shortstop Francisco Lindor have avoided arbitration with a $22.3MM agreement, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Lindor is a SportsMeter client.

Lindor’s settlement checks in even higher than the $17.5MM to $21.5MM arbitration projection MLBTR made for him earlier in the offseason. The four-time All-Star was still in Cleveland then, but with the team knowing it wouldn’t extend him before free agency next winter, it decided last week to send him to the Mets in a mega-trade.

Unlike Cleveland, the Mets look well-equipped to meet the 27-year-old Lindor’s demands on an extension. Lindor figures to eclipse the $300MM mark on his next contract, but that shouldn’t serve as a roadblock to deep-pocketed new owner Steve Cohen. The Mets may have to act quickly, though, as Lindor stated this week that he does not want to negotiate a contract during the season.

Mets, Michael Conforto Avoid Arbitration

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The Mets and outfielder Michael Conforto have avoided arbitration with a $12.25MM settlement, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. Conforto is a client of the Boras corporation.

Conforto, soon to turn 28, has been a terrific offensive performer since he debuted in 2015, but he found another gear last season. Across 233 plate appearances, Conforto slashed .322/.412/.515 with nine home runs. Although he did benefit from a .412 batting average on balls in play, Conforto’s 157 wRC+ was nevertheless good for the seventh-highest mark in the National League.

The upcoming season could be the last as a Met for Conforto, who’s slated to reach free agency next winter. But Conforto has expressed interest in a contract extension in the past, and team president Sandy Alderson said in November he expects to “broach” the topic of a new deal this offseason.

 

Mets, Edwin Diaz Avoid Arbitration

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The Mets are avoiding arbitration with relievers Edwin Díaz, Seth Lugo and Miguel Castro. Díaz will make $7MM next season, reports MLB.com Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Lugo comes in at $2.925MM, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Castro, meanwhile, will make $1.6875MM, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. All three pitchers are controllable through the end of the 2022 season.

Díaz comes in above his projected salary range of $5.1MM — $6.5MM. After a rocky first season in Queens, he was brilliant last year. The 26-year-old pitched to a 1.75 ERA with a 45.5% strikeout rate that ranked third among qualified relievers.

Lugo and Castro, meanwhile, fall within their projected ranges. Lugo had some tough bottom line results last year but much more impressive underlying numbers. Castro was adequate for the Mets, who acquired him midseason from the Orioles. Earlier today, New York also came to terms with Robert Gsellman and Dominic Smith.

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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Mets, Brad Hand Discussing Deal

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The Mets are working to sign free agent reliever Brad Hand to a two-year contract, per the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). A contract is not yet signed, however, and the two sides may not be particularly close to resolution, writes MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Rosenthal adds two other sources in concert with Feinsand’s assessment that the two sides are not as close to a deal as it was first reported.

Hand unwittingly became an emblematic figure for this winter’s free agency when the Indians surprisingly chose to waive him rather than bring him back on a one-year, $10MM deal. When none of the other 29 teams claimed Hand, despite the seemingly favorable terms of his one-year pact, the tenor for the winter was set. Interest has picked up in recent weeks for Hand, however, as the Astros, Blue Jays, and Dodgers all expressed at least some degree of interest along with the Mets, obviously, and the Red Sox, we learned today from Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter).

The White Sox have expressed interest in the past, though they would seem to be less likely to win the bidding for Hand after their pricey accord with Liam Hendriks. Hand would be an equally impactful signing for the Mets, should they ultimately get him. The Mets bullpen ranked 21st in the Majors last season with a 5.01 ERA, 16th by fielding independent pitching with a 4.46 FIP. That said, Hand would buoy any bullpen after a 2020 season with a 2.05 ERA/1.37 FIP over 22 innings with a 33.7 percent strikeout rate, 4.7 percent walk rate, and 26.5 percent groundball rate.

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