Cam Bedrosian Elects Free Agency; Mets Claim Jacob Barnes From Angels
The Angels announced that they have outrighted righty Cam Bedrosian, catcher Jose Briceno and infielder Elliot Soto to Triple-A. Bedrosian has elected free agency in lieu of accepting the assignment. The team also lost righty Jacob Barnes to the Mets via waivers and reinstated fellow RHP Justin Anderson from the 60-day injured list.
Bedrosian, whom the Angels drafted 29th overall in 2010, debuted in 2014 and has been rather successful at times, evidenced by his 3.70 ERA/3.60 FIP across 277 2/3 innings. But the 29-year-old has seen his velocity tumble from the mid-90s to the lower 90s in recent years, including a career-worst 92.3 mph in 2020. Bedrosian still managed a 2.45 ERA/2.92 FIP this season, but he only threw 14 1/3 innings and logged the worst K/9 (6.75) and groundball rate (34.1 percent) of his career. The Angels would have owed Bedrosian a projected $2.8MM to $3MM in arbitration for 2021, his last year of team control.
Barnes is the first acquisition for the Mets since new owner Steve Cohen was approved Friday. The 30-year-old was a fairly effective reliever with the Brewers from 2016-18, but his run prevention numbers have gone off the rails with the Brew Crew, Royals and Angels since then. Dating back to 2019, Barnes has pitched to a 6.75 ERA and walked 4.62 batters per nine over 50 1/3 innings. He did, however, post a 24:4 K:BB ratio and average upward of 95 mph on his fastball in 18 frames in 2020.
MLB Owners Approve Steve Cohen’s Mets Ownership Bid
As expected, Steve Cohen has gotten the approval of at least 23 MLB owners in his bid to purchase the Mets, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Cohen will take over 95% of the franchise from the previous ownership group, led by Fred and Jeff Wilpon, for a purchase price of around $2.475 billion.
The City of New York has also approved the sale, per Tim Healey of Newsday (Twitter link). As Healey explained yesterday, Mayor Bill de Blasio had to sign off on the deal because the municipality owns Citi Field and the associated land. Cohen will donate $17.5MM to local small businesses as part of the arrangement, he announced (via Healey).
Cohen’s group beat out a handful of competitors (most notably a Josh Harris-David Blitzer tandem and a group led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez) to gain exclusive negotiating rights for the franchise in August. It marked a second chance for Cohen and the Wilpons to work something out, after their efforts at a deal last offseason fell through. This time, even amidst massive economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the parties finalized a deal.
Today’s steps officially close the books on the sale of the franchise. Cohen, with an estimated net worth of $14.1 billion, becomes MLB’s richest owner. He and incoming baseball operations leader Sandy Alderson will have plenty of opportunities to add to the roster this winter, with most teams widely expected to act rather tepidly in the wake of pandemic-driven revenue losses.
Latest On Steve Cohen, Mets
6:38pm: Mayor de Blasio does not want MLB to approve the sale to Cohen, according to Thornton McEnery, Josh Kosman and Julie Marsh of the New York Post. Mayor de Blasio seems to have concerns over the fact that Cohen “pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in 2013,” the Post trio writes.
10:40am: In a news conference today, Mayor de Blasio told reporters (including Newsday’s Tim Healey) that the city’s decision on the Mets’ ownership change will come “at some point in the next few days.” Healey notes that city approval is expected to be granted.
OCT. 27: MLB owners are likely to vote on Cohen’s potential ownership Friday, per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. It appears they’ll approve Cohen. However, there’s concern on Cohen’s part that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio won’t approve of the ownership switch by Friday. If he doesn’t, a source told Thosar: “The worst-case scenario is if this drags on long enough, the Mets miss out on all major free agents, miss out on potential trades and they go into next season effectively in the same place they are this season. And that would really be not good. If that happens, they’re effectively crippled for next season.”
OCT. 20: Prospective owner Steve Cohen is getting closer to taking over the Mets from the beleaguered Fred Wilpon-Jeff Wilpon tandem. Major League Baseball’s eight-person Ownership Committee recently voted in favor of Cohen, 7-1, Scott Soshnick and Barry M. Bloom of Sportico report. Cohen still has to receive approval from 22 of the league’s other 29 owners in order to assume the Mets’ reins, but Soshnick and Bloom suggest that’s a formality.
As someone who currently owns 8 percent of the Mets, Cohen’s already known around the league. He agreed in mid-September to purchase 95 percent of the club for around $2.475 billion, which came after a potential agreement between Cohen and the Wilpons fell through last winter. Since then, though, the Wilpons have endured substantial losses as a result of the coronavirus-shortened season with no fans in attendance, so they became more eager to part with the franchise.
Considering his net worth comes in north of $14 billion, Mets fans are understandably excited to see Cohen on the verge of leading the organization. And if Cohen does receive the necessary approval to succeed the Wilpons in the coming weeks, it won’t be a surprise to see the team make some splashy moves in the offseason after missing the playoffs for the fourth year in a row in 2020. Any of the game’s best pending free agents (Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto and DJ LeMahieu, to name a few) could conceivably wind up on the Cohen-led Mets’ radar over the winter.
Mets To Decline Options On Ramos, Frazier, Chirinos
2:48pm: The Mets will also buy out their options on infielder Todd Frazier and catcher Robinson Chirinos, reports Tim Healey of Newsday. As with Ramos, neither decision is surprising. Both Frazier and Chirinos were acquired from the Rangers at the trade deadline, albeit in separate transactions.
Frazier, 35 in February, batted .236/.302/.382 in 172 trips to the plate between Arlington and Queens in 2020. His one-year, $5MM deal included a $3.5MM salary in 2020 and a $1.5MM buyout on a $5.75MM option for the 2021 season. The Mets had a net $4.25MM decision on the slugger, but he’ll head out into the open market once again.
Chirinos, 36, had a $1MM buyout on a $6.5MM option for the upcoming 2021 campaign. Given this season’s dismal .162/.232/.243 performance between the two clubs (82 plate appearances), there was no way the Mets were going to pick him up at that salary.
1:40pm: The Mets are planning to decline their $10MM club option on veteran catcher Wilson Ramos, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. It’s anything but a surprise given Ramos’ lackluster tenure in Queens. He’ll be paid a $1.5MM buyout and head back to the open market in search of a new club.
Ramos, 33, was known to be an offense-first catcher when he signed with the Mets prior to the 2019 season, but his production never reached the levels the Mets likely expected of him. His 2019 campaign was solid, particularly for a catcher (105 wRC+), but Ramos’ two years as a Met resulted in a rather pedestrian .276/.339/.410 batting line through 679 trips to the plate.
Were Ramos a strong defensive backstop, that production would make him an excellent all-around catcher, but that hasn’t been the case for some time now. He registered bottom-of-the-scale framing metrics in his two years in Queens, and his -12 Defensive Runs Saved and 15.9 percent caught-stealing rate underscore the struggles he endured. That led to some drama with Noah Syndergaard, who reportedly requested that Tomas Nido catch his starts because of Ramos’ inadequacies as a receiver. The 122 stolen bases allowed by Ramos since 2019 are far and away the most in Major League Baseball; Yasmani Grandal‘s 80 are the next-highest, though he’s also logged a solid 29.2 percent caught-stealing rate in that time.
The defensive questions surrounding Ramos will complicate his market this winter, although when he’s at his best at the plate, he’s proven to be one of the more productive bats the game has to offer at the position. From 2016-19, Ramos made two All-Star teams and logged a combined .294/.346/.463 slash with 62 home runs and 72 doubles in 1687 plate appearances.
NL Notes: Mets, Giants, Joc, Nationals
A few items from the National League…
- With the Mets likely to change hands soon, current owners Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon held a Zoom call Monday “to award employees who had reached milestones for service,” Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes. Jeff Wilpon, who thanked longstanding employees during that call, plans on leaving the organization when Steve Cohen takes over as the new owner, Andy Martino of SNY tweets.
- With Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson due to reach free agency shortly, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders if he would be a good fit for the rival Giants. San Francisco’s president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, was previously in LA’s front office, so he’s familiar with Pederson. While Pederson should come at a reasonable price after a down regular season, Giants outfielders did hit well this year. With that in mind, it’s up in the air how much Zaidi & Co. will prioritize that area of the roster during the winter.
- Nationals right-handed pitching prospect Jake Irvin underwent Tommy John surgery last week, Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com tweets. He’s likely to miss the entirety of the 2021 season as a result. The 23-year-old Irvin, whom MLB.com rates as the Nationals’ 21st-best prospect, threw 128 1/3 innings of 3.79 ERA/4.13 FIP ball during his Single-A debut in 2019.
Mets Claim Robel Garcia, Designate Ryan Cordell
The Mets announced Monday that they’ve claimed infielder Robel Garcia off waivers from the Reds. Outfielder Ryan Cordell was designated for assignment to create space on the Mets’ roster.
Garcia, 27, made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2019 after after a highly unusual path to The Show. The former Indians farmhand was out of affiliated ball from 2014-18 before the Cubs caught a look at him playing for a professional team in Italy. They brought him in on a minor league pact, and Garcia showed off light-tower power at Triple-A in 2019 — 21 homers in 296 plate appearances — before being called up.
The Cubs gave Garcia 80 plate appearances in 2019, and he responded with a tepid .208 average and .275 on-base percentage, but he still slugged .500 thanks to five homers, two doubles and two triples in that short time. Garcia also punched out in 35 of those 80 plate appearances, so while the raw power he possesses is plain to see, there’s some obvious work to be done on his approach at the plate.
Defensively, Garcia saw time at all four infield positions and both outfield corners during his stint with the Cubs organization, although he was primarily a second baseman and third baseman in the minors. He didn’t appear in the Majors this past season and would seem like a long shot to open next year on the Mets’ roster, if he survives the winter on their 40-man roster. He’s only been optioned in two different seasons, though, so he should have one minor league option remaining next year.
Cordell, 28, joined the Mets as a minor league free agent last offseason and tallied just eight plate appearances in five games with them this year. He was once a well-regarded prospect but has turned in a lackluster .202/.263/.328 batting line through 295 career trips to the plate with the White Sox and Mets. He’s capable of playing all three outfield positions and has a lifetime .266/.323/.451 batting line in Triple-A.
NL Notes: Kemp, Reds, Susana, Mets, Dodgers
Matt Kemp stated last February that he was hoping to add four or five more seasons onto his career, and with the 2020 campaign and Kemp’s 15th MLB season now in the books, nothing has changed about his future plans. “That’s always been one of my goals, is to at least play until I was 40 years old,” Kemp said in an interview on the Power Alley show on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM. Kemp is still focused on capturing that elusive World Series ring, and “as long as I can continue to help a team win and do some great things in the game of baseball, I’m going to continue to do this thing until I can’t do it any more.”
The 36-year-old Kemp was an All-Star as recently as 2018, though he endured an injury-shortened 2019 season that led to minor league deals in 2020 with both the Marlins and Rockies, the latter coming in June. Kemp hit .239/.326/.419 with six homers over 132 plate appearances for Colorado, working primarily as a DH and pinch-hitter and only playing left field in one of his 43 games. It remains to be seen if the Rockies or another team will give Kemp another chance at extending his career, though his prospects at another contract would definitely get a boost if the National League fully adopts the designated hitter.
More from around the NL…
- Shortstop was a big problem area for the Reds last season, and since Jose Garcia struggled badly during over 68 PA in his rookie season, he looks to still be a season or two away from being a big league contributor. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (subscription required) looks at some of the possibilities available to the Reds on the offseason shortstop market, though it remains to be seen if Cincinnati will have the payroll flexibility to pursue top free agents like Didi Gregorius or Marcus Semien. Rosecrans also notes that the Reds have also scouted Ha-Seong Kim of the Korea Baseball Organization, who wouldn’t necessarily carry quite as large a price tag, though several teams are expected to check into Kim’s services when he is posted.
- Speaking of international talent, Dominican right-hander Jarlin Susana is an intriguing (and unattached) prospect heading into the January 15 international signing period. Baseball America’s Ben Badler has more on the 16-year-old Susana, who is 6’5″, 195 pounds, and hit 96mph during a showcase for scouts earlier this week. Susana also has “a sharp breaking ball” along with that fastball, which usually clocks in the “the low-to-mid 90s.” Many of the top prospects in the 2020-21 international class have already unofficially agreed to deals with teams, though Susana isn’t yet linked to anyone, making him an interesting option for clubs with available bonus pool space. The Mets and Dodgers were among the teams who had evaluators in attendance at Susana’s showcase.
NL East Notes: Anderson, Braves, Mets
Some notes from the National League East:
- The Braves turned to rookie right-hander Ian Anderson in tonight’s NLCS Game 2. The 22-year-old certainly earned the assignment, having turning in a 1.95 ERA/2.54 FIP in his first six major league starts. The former 3rd overall pick is now one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball, but he wasn’t seen as a lock to go in the top ten leading up to the 2016 draft. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com looks back at Atlanta’s pre-draft process, crediting area scout Greg Mohrhardt for his steadfast belief in the New York high schooler. Mayo’s piece is worth a full perusal for Braves’ fans or those interested in a look behind the curtain at the process for evaluating top draft prospects.
- Homegrown players like Anderson are the backbone of the current Braves club. Nevertheless, Atlanta has done an excellent job of supplementing the roster in free agency, points out Nick Ashbourne of Sportsnet. The Braves’ one-year, $18MM deal with Marcell Ozuna was nothing short of a coup, as the 29-year-old was one of the top hitters in the National League this year. The Braves also hit on their two-year agreement with Travis d’Arnaud, who put together an elite season at the plate and has added a few key moments this postseason. Ashbourne runs through a few other instrumental additions that GM Alex Anthopolous and the rest of the front office have made to help push Atlanta to the NLCS.
- Mets‘ fans are hoping likely incoming owner Steve Cohen will green-light a higher payroll than has become customary under the Wilpon family. Precisely where spending on the roster will land remains to be seen, but Cohen is already taking steps to improve the franchise behind the scenes. He’s expected to invest heavily in building the organization’s analytics infrastructure, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Mets’ existing analytics and player development systems are “archaic,” hears Puma, who adds that the Wilpons never provided former (and probably future) baseball operations leader Sandy Alderson with the kinds of resources he desired to keep up with rival data-driven front offices around the league.
NL Notes: Mets, Cubs, Theo
We’ve already covered a handful of National League notes today. Here’s more from the Senior Circuit.
- Like most teams, the Mets imposed pay cuts for many employees this summer in response to pandemic-driven revenue losses. However, Mets employees will receive their full salaries from November 1 onward, per Tim Healey of Newsday. Likely incoming owner Steve Cohen drove that decision. Cohen’s still awaiting formal approval from 23 of the league’s 30 owners (which he’s expected to get) before his reported $2.475 billion purchase of 95% of the franchise becomes official. He’s permitted to consult on organizational decision-making in the interim, Healey notes.
- The Mets’ forthcoming sale also figures to bring substantial changes in personnel. Cohen has already confirmed plans to hire Sandy Alderson as team president if and when he formally takes the reins. A few potential staffers Cohen and Alderson could pursue for various roles this offseason (via Andy Martino of SNY): Nationals assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler, Athletics assistant general manager Billy Owens, and Rays special assistant Bobby Heck. Roessler was on the Mets’ coaching staff from 2015-18, overlapping with Alderson’s time as the franchise’s general manager. Owens, meanwhile, has been in the Oakland front office for nearly two decades and reportedly drew some consideration last offseason for the Giants’ GM job, which eventually went to Scott Harris.
- On the heels of an early playoff exit, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein plans to meet with chairman Tom Ricketts next week to discuss the club’s long-term future, per David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago. Epstein’s contract expires after the 2021 season, and Kaplan points out the possibility he could turn over baseball operations to general manager Jed Hoyer and look for opportunities elsewhere once his deal wraps up. Per Patrick Mooney of the Athletic, though, Epstein isn’t expected to depart the organization this winter.
NL East Notes: Nationals, Doolittle, Mets, Nido, Betances
Sean Doolittle is entering a winter with more contractual uncertainty than he’s ever faced in his career. Unlike most ballplayers who’ve been in the majors as long as he has, he’s never been a free agent before, and because of an early extension he signed with the A’s, he never even went through arbitration. Still, the 33-year-old southpaw is primarily focused on returning to Washington, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. Doolittle and his wife are entrenched in the D.C. community, and she wants to stay in Washington. Of course, Doolittle knows nothing is guaranteed in free agency, especially coming off the season he just had. Inconsistency and injury kept Doolittle from ever really looking like the guy that has been the rock of the Nats’ bullpen for years. He finished the season with a 5.87 ERA over just 11 contests, but a strong final few outings provided some hope that this season might be a blip on Doolittle’s return to health – and dominance. As a two-pitch pitcher without elite velocity, there’s not a lot of room for error in Doolittle’s arsenal. But when he’s on, he’s a guy a team can lean on in a postseason run. The Nationals know that. Whether or not GM Mike Rizzo is able to re-sign Doolittle will probably come down to price point. Everything else points to Doolittle staying in the city that’s become his home over the last 3 1/2 seasons.
- Tomas Nido confirmed that complications from COVID-19 ended his season, tweets Newsday’s Tim Healey. Said Nido via instagram: “Unfortunately, my season was cut short after getting Covid and other related complications while trying to come back. Time to turn the page and prepare for a strong 2021.” Nido appeared in just 7 games for the Mets this season, his fourth straight of seeing time in the bigs. For his career, the 26-year-old backstop holds a .197/.234/.319 triple slash across 270 plate appearances. Veterans Wilson Ramos and Robinson Chirinos handled most of the catching responsibilities for the Mets this season, but both could be free agents. The Mets hold $10MM team option for the 33-year-old Ramos and $6.25MM team option for the 36-year-old Chirinos. Ramos has a $1.25M buyout, while Chirinos’ buyout is for $1MM. Nido remains under team control – and he’s out of options – so he’ll either need to be a part of the catching picture for the Mets in 2021 or risk exposure to waivers.
- Dellin Betances holds a $6MM player option for 2021 to remain with the Mets, and it’s unclear what direction he’s leaning as of now, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). As DiComo notes, the option comes with a $3MM buyout, so Betances’ decision really comes down to a $3MM question. Even after a season in which he made just 14 appearances for a 5.56 ERA/4.34 FIP across 11 1/3 innings with 7.9 K/9 to 7.1 BB/9, it’s reasonable to expect someone to bid that much for a reliever with high-end upside like Betances. Still, it’s now been two seasons since Betances was a dominant arm out of the pen, and as a New York native who’s spent his entire major-league career in New York, he may look for a way to remain with the Mets. Betances averaged 93.4 mph on his four-seamer this season, a far cry from his days as a 96-97 mph high-leverage arm with the Yankees.