AL Notes: Yanks, Happ, Astros, Harris, White Sox, Robert
Here’s an early morning look around the American League…
- Even after losing right-hander Domingo German to an 81-game suspension for a violation of the league’s domestic violence policy, the Yankees “remain open to trading” lefty J.A. Happ, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes. The Yankees were of the belief German would serve a significant suspension all along, so the league’s decision hasn’t affected their plans regarding Happ. The big question continues to be whether they’ll be able to find a taker for Happ, who’s 37 years old, coming off a poor season and due $17MM in 2020. Happ also has a $17MM option for 2021 that will vest if he amasses 165 innings or totals 27 starts this year. He posted back-to-back 30-start seasons from 2018-19.
- The Nationals reeled in the top reliever left in free agency on Thursday, agreeing to a three-year, $24MM contract with righty Will Harris. The 35-year-old entered free agency off a long and fruitful run in Houston, but Harris explained to Mark Berman of Fox 26 that the Astros “were eliminated pretty early on in the process” because they weren’t prepared to approach his asking price. “They weren’t in that ballpark, no. They had kind of admitted to me they would’ve liked to have done more, but they weren’t able to.” Harris is now the latest key Astro to leave last season’s AL pennant-winning club, joining Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley. Robinson Chirinos could be the next to go.
- In another of Thursday’s major news items, the White Sox locked up center field prospect Luis Robert to a six-year, $50MM guarantee. The two sides began negotiations back in September, and those talks gained steam at last month’s Winter Meetings, according to general manager Rick Hahn (via Scott Merkin of MLB.com). Now that Robert’s long-term future is settled, there’s no reason for the White Sox to worry about his service time, so it appears likely he’ll crack their roster out of camp. Robert’s fully confident that will happen. “I’m 100 percent convinced I’m going to be on the Opening Day roster,” the 22-year-old said.
Domingo German Suspended 81 Games
1:45pm: The league has issued German an 81-game suspension, Hannah Keyser of Yahoo Sports reports. The suspension’s retroactive to last September, meaning German will sit the first 63 games of 2020. He will not appeal the ban, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic tweets.
1:15pm: Yankees right-hander Domingo German‘s future has hung in limbo since Major League Baseball placed him on administrative leave Sept. 19 for a violation of its domestic violence policy. Now, almost four months later, a resolution is seemingly on the way. The league’s decision isn’t far off, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who reports German is facing a “significant suspension” that should last longer than a month.
The 27-year-old German was amid a solid season in 2019 before his off-field actions brought an end to it shortly before the playoffs. As part of a Yankees rotation that faced plenty of questions throughout the season, German was a stabilizing presence, as he posted a 4.03 ERA/4.72 FIP with 9.63 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9 across 143 innings.
Looking ahead to next season, it’s unclear which role German will fill should he return to the Yankees. They’ve added Gerrit Cole in free agency, and he’ll front a rotation that also counts Luis Severino, James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka as locks. There appears to be room for German to vie for the No. 5 spot if New York welcomes him back, but J.A. Happ (if he’s not traded) and Jordan Montgomery (who missed almost all of 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery) look like the top options for that role right now.
Remaining Needs: AL East
With the new year upon us, MLBTR is going through all 30 teams’ remaining needs by division. We’ve already checked in on the NL East, AL West, AL Central, NL Central, and NL West. That leaves the American League East …
Baltimore Orioles [Offseason Outlook]
Outside of dealing away Dylan Bundy, it has been a quiet winter for sophomore GM Mike Elias. There just isn’t much pressing roster-building work to be done for a club that was badly in need of a full rebuild when Elias took the helm.
More than anything, the O’s will spend the next few weeks exploring further trade possibilities. Reliever Mychal Givens and slugger Trey Mancini are obvious candidates to be dealt. Hanser Alberto and a few others could also conceivably be of interest elsewhere.
Other than filling in for any further departures, the O’s still need to add a few pieces — both to keep some standard of MLB capabilities and to seek upside that might be turned into trade capital. The departure of Jonathan Villar leaves an opening at shortstop that hasn’t yet been filled. (Last year’s Rule 5 pick, Richie Martin, ought to get some dearly missed Triple-A seasoning.) The O’s could easily find space for a buy-low option at third base or the corner outfield as well. Adding Kohl Stewart and a pair of Rule 5 hurlers helps the pitching depth picture, but there’s still plenty of room to add arms onto the roster.
Boston Red Sox [Offseason Outlook]
Incoming chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was tasked with getting the Sox beneath the luxury line but staying competitive. He has taken several steps towards that goal by buying low on Martin Perez and Jose Peraza. Standing alone, however, those deals only add salary to the MLB roster.
It’d be a big surprise at this point if the Boston organization doesn’t swing a significant trade or two over the next several weeks. David Price and Jackie Bradley Jr. seem likeliest to be dealt, though Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, Eduardo Rodriguez, and others probably can’t be ruled out entirely.
Back-filling for any departures will be a top priority. No matter who leaves, Bloom will be hunting for value in the bullpen, eyeing up rotation depth, and exploring bench improvements. The Sox could still stand to add another piece to the first base mix (perhaps a left-handed hitter to pair with Michael Chavis) and are hurting for catching depth. Just how much flexibility Bloom will have to pursue new adds will depend upon how much salary he sheds via trade.
New York Yankees [Offseason Outlook]
The one massive priority of the offseason was achieved when Gerrit Cole went rooting around his parents’ basement to dig up the sign he brought to Yankee Stadium as a kid. (“Mom! Where’s my sign?!?!”) Retaining Brett Gardner and adding Erik Kratz for depth also checked boxes.
Any follow-ups to the Cole signing will surely feel like lesser events. But they could yet make a big impact. The Yanks don’t really need anything, but have dabbled with some elite relievers and may have a major strike up their sleeve. There’s some amount of roster pressure involving young power hitters Miguel Andujar and Clint Frazier, but they are assets the Yanks will surely put to use on the field or via trade. Moving J.A. Happ would help with payroll management.
Tampa Bay Rays [Offseason Outlook]
The Rays have not only exemplified, but driven baseball’s de-formalization of roles. Scanning their present roster really drives this fact home. The team is laden with multi-functional players and situational possibilities. This applies to both pitchers and hitters.
In theory, the Rays could add just about any player they like and make it work. Value is paramount. Those considerations explain the team’s pursuit of left-handed-hitting center fielder Shogo Akiyama despite the presence of Kevin Kiermaier, not to mention the addition of countrymate Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, who joins a roster with quite a few other quality lefty bats.
Without any glaring need, per se, the Rays can perhaps be expected to keep doing what they do. We’ve see this organization hammer out somewhat complicated trades involving under-the-radar players time and time again. But we’ve also seen targeted gambles, such as last winter’s wise inking of Charlie Morton. With the powerhouse Yankees cresting, the Rays will need to press hard — and consider going outside of their comfort zone — to add a finishing piece or two to this roster. Given the versatility on hand, just about any high-value opportunity seems plausible.
Toronto Blue Jays [Offseason Outlook]
Public pressure can’t be the sole explanation for the Jays’ big strike for Hyun-Jin Ryu, but it surely played a role. Now that Ryu, Tanner Roark, and others have been installed in a revamped rotation, the front office can breathe a bit easier.
That’s a far sight from declaring this roster a potential winner. But it does seem to have a fair bit of upside in the form of young, elite talent and post-hype bounceback candidates. The position-player unit is littered with names that populated top prospect lists. It’s an ultra high-variance mix, which seems generally appropriate for this stage of the organization’s rebuild.
It’s certainly arguable the Toronto org ought to grab an open-market option or two in favor of some of its preexisting players. The corner outfield seems particularly susceptible of improvement, though the Jays would rather not fully block some of the guys they’ve picked up in recent years. The other interesting area is the bullpen, which is loaded up with uncertainty … and which includes one of the top trade candidates on the market. It’d obviously hurt the team’s 2020 outlook to move Ken Giles, but it’s awfully tough to bypass a return — especially with what appears to be a favorable market situation — for a guy who’ll reach free agency at season’s end.
Quick Hits: Arenado, Boyd, Andujar, Giants
Nolan Arenado‘s name has frequented the rumor mill of late, but ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required) that one evaluator whose team has spoken to the Rockies about Arenado is under the impression that the club isn’t aggressively looking to offload the contract. Arenado has seven years and $234MM remaining on his contract, an opt-out clause after 2021 and a full o-trade clause, making him a difficult player to trade even if the front office was strongly motivated to do so. Colorado GM Jeff Bridich rather broadly acknowledged that “this is the time of year where we at least listen” earlier this month, but there’s been little indication that there’s anything more significant than that “listening” going on with regard to Arenado.
Some more trade talk from around the league…
- Matthew Boyd‘s second-half struggles won’t push the Tigers to back down from the high asking price they’ve set in trade talks, writes Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. General manager Al Avila has repeatedly downplayed the notion that he’s shopping Boyd while also acknowledging that he’s been willing to listen to offers when approached by another club. Fenech, though, suggests that Boyd is likely to be Spring Training with the Tigers and might have to endure another half season’s worth of trade inquiries leading up to the July 31 trade deadline in 2020. He adds that Avila and the Tigers have yet to approach Boyd regarding an extension, which isn’t a huge surprise given the team’s rebuilding status and the fact that Boyd is controlled through 2022 anyhow.
- Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone both said Friday that they expect third baseman Miguel Andujar to be ready for Spring Training, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. A shoulder injury that required surgery torpedoed Andujar’s would-be sophomore season in the Bronx. In his absence, he was both a subject of trade inquiries and at least somewhat pushed for his starting job by the surprise breakout of Gio Urshela. Andujar and Urshela seem likely to compete for at-bats this spring, though Cashman has previously called the hot corner Urshela’s position to lose. Andujar has minor league options remaining if he shows signs of rust in Florida; Urshela is out of minor league options.
- The Giants will likely continue experimenting with the roles of their pitchers in 2020, writes Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Shaun Anderson is one of several younger pitchers identified by Pavlovic for a potential hybrid starter/reliever role, and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi tells Pavlovic that the right-hander expressed a willingness to pitch in any role in a meeting between the two after the season. It’s hard to imagine veterans Johnny Cueto or Jeff Samrdzija being deployed as anything other than conventional starters, and the Giants will surely want some continuity in their starting staff beyond that. (Offseason signee Kevin Gausman has been primarily a starter in the big leagues and was compensated as such with his $9MM deal.) But, as Pavlovic explores, the Giants also have several fringe rotation candidates who could get looks in multi-inning roles as the team looks to build out its pitching staff for the foreseeable future.
Yankees Trade Chance Adams To Royals
1:20pm: The Yankees announced that they’ve acquired minor league shortstop Cristian Perez in exchange for Adams. The 21-year-old had a down season in his first year at Class-A Advanced in 2019, hitting .252/.290/.285 in 424 plate appearances.
Perez has never shown any semblance of power in the minors and doesn’t walk much. However, he’s consistently posted low strikeout rates and hit for a respectable average (career .263/.312/.319). Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs called him an “instinctive defender with some feel to hit” in their write-up of the Royals’ farm system early in the 2019 season.
1:01pm: The Yankees and Royals have agreed to a deal that will send right-hander Chance Adams from New York to Kansas City, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Once rated as one of the organization’s best prospects, Adams was designated for assignment last week in order to open a roster spot for newly signed Gerrit Cole. The two teams have yet to formally announce the deal.
Adams, 25, has struggled to an 8.18 ERA in a small sample of 33 MLB innings but isn’t long removed from being considered one of baseball’s best pitching prospects. In the 2017-18 offseason, each of Baseball America, MLB.com ad Baseball Prospectus ranked Adams within the game’s top 100 overall prospects. At that point, he’d just wrapped up a season that saw him pitch to a 2.45 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 150 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.
Things haven’t gone smoothly for Adams since, as he’s posted a 4.72 ERA in nearly 200 Triple-A innings since that time (in addition to the aforementioned MLB struggles). Adams has seen his walk rate tick upward as his strikeout percentages have dipped considerably from his time in the low minors. However, he won’t turn 26 until next August and has a minor league option remaining, so there’s little harm in a rebuilding club like the Royals taking a speculative look in hopes of striking gold.
Yankees, Erik Kratz Agree To Minor League Deal
The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent catcher Erik Kratz, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. He’s represented by the Ballplayers Agency.
Kratz, 39, will return for a yet another stint in the Yankees organization and bring a highly respected clubhouse veteran to the team’s catching depth chart. New York originally acquired Kratz in a cash deal with the Indians back in 2017, and this marks the third time the Yanks have signed him to a minor league contract since that deal. With Austin Romine departing to the Tigers on a one-year deal, Kyle Higashioka is the expected backup to Gary Sanchez, but Kratz seems likely to vie for a roster spot in Spring Training.
The veteran Kratz has spent parts of 10 seasons in the Majors, logging a collective .205/.252/.354 batting line through 921 plate appearances. He’s halted 32 percent of stolen-base attempts against him in his career and regularly puts up strong numbers in terms of both pitch framing and blocking pitches in the dirt. He’ll turn 40 next June but nevertheless enjoyed a .299/.375/.500 slash in 176 plate appearances with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton last year. Given that Kratz and his family live close to the Scranton area, he’ll have the opportunity to continue playing close to home even if he doesn’t break camp with the Yankees’ Major League club.
AL East Notes: Panik, Tsutsugo, Roark, Abad, Holmes
The Yankees have had discussions about signing second baseman Joe Panik, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets, as New York continues to look for ways to both add infield depth and add left-handed balance to a lineup that is loaded with righty swingers. Panik is a left-handed bat, though he is coming off a pair of subpar years at the plate — the veteran has only a .249/.311/.334 slash line over 883 plate appearances since the start of the 2018 season. These struggles prompted the Giants to part ways with their longtime second baseman last summer, though Panik hit better after catching on with the Mets for 39 games in 2019. The 29-year-old Panik also has the bonus of being a native New Yorker, born in Yonkers and a product of St. John’s University.
With Gleyber Torres likely to shift from second base to shortstop, the keystone could be occupied by DJ LeMahieu if the Yankees don’t prefer to use LeMahieu primarily as a first baseman. Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada are the top in-house options for the utility infield or part-time second base jobs if LeMahieu is indeed slated mostly for first base work, though the Yankees could prefer to be as flexible as possible with LeMahieu based on matchups. In this sense, Panik’s lack of defensive versatility could be a detriment to his chances at a Yankees deal; Panik has played all but one of his 682 MLB games as a second baseman, with the lone exception being one game at first base for San Francisco in 2018.
Here’s more from around the AL East…
- The Rays‘ two-year, $12MM contract with Yoshitomo Tsutsugo wasn’t the highest offer received by the outfielder, though the team’s strong courtship of the Japanese slugger eventually convinced him to come to Florida, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The Rays were the first team to contact Tsutsugo after he was posted by Yokohama, they provided him with a thorough 20-page booklet about the club and the Tampa area, and a six-person crew that included manager Kevin Cash and GM Erik Neander visited Tsutsugo in person prior to the Winter Meetings, while Tsutsugo was working out in Los Angeles. All of the wooing paid off for the Rays, who now welcome a player with 185 homers over his last six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball.
- The Blue Jays made a similar big push to land Tanner Roark, as the right-hander told reporters (including Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic) that Toronto was the first team to get in contact with his representatives as free agency opened. “They knew what they wanted, and they wanted me and it’s exciting to have someone want you like that,” Roark said. Pitching coach Pete Walker also told McGrath that he and Roark “just seemed to hit it off” during a 25-minute phone call. Roark ended up inking a two-year, $24MM deal with the Jays, and is looking forward to being a veteran leader within Toronto’s young clubhouse.
- The Orioles had several conversations with Fernando Abad before the left-hander signed with the Nationals, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports. With Abad now off the board, the O’s will continue to look for low-cost experience for their bullpen.
- Also from Kubatko, the Orioles have hired Darren Holmes as their new bullpen coach. Holmes worked in the same role with the Rockies for the previous five seasons. A veteran of 13 MLB seasons, Holmes’ playing career included a brief five-game stint as a member of the Orioles in 2000.
MLB Players Union Files Grievance On Behalf Of Jacoby Ellsbury
The MLB Players Association has filed a grievance against the Yankees in regards to the team’s plans to withhold Jacoby Ellsbury‘s salary for the 2020 season, Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reports. The matter will be heard by an arbitrator, with no timeline given as to when the hearing will take place or when a decision could be rendered.
Some type of official challenge on the union’s behalf was a given, once the Yankees’ intentions were made public last month. At the time, the MLBPA released a statement saying the union “will vigorously defend any action taken against Jacoby or his contract and is investigating potential contract violations by his employer.”
Ellsbury signed a seven-year, $153MM deal with the Yankees prior to the 2014 season that has turned out to be one of the most notable free agent busts in recent memory. Injuries have kept Ellsbury off the field entirely for the last two seasons, and he only hit .264/.330/.386 in 2171 PA over his first four seasons in New York (with injuries also limiting the outfielder in two of those four years). The Yankees finally released Ellsbury last month, with $26,142,857.15 still remaining in the last year of his deal — his guaranteed salary, and the $5MM buyout of his club option for the 2021 season.
However, the Yankees took the very unusual step of arguing that Ellsbury’s remaining earnings should be voided, alleging that Ellsbury underwent medical treatment without the team’s permission. As Blum notes, “Ellsbury contends any treatment he received without authorization was for a non-baseball-related injury or condition, which does not require the club’s consent.” The Yankees, Ellsbury, and Ellsbury’s agent Scott Boras all declined to comment on the matter.
The arbitrator’s ruling will obviously have a significant financial impact on Ellsbury, and also on the Yankees’ ability to avoid paying a maximum luxury tax penalty in 2020. The club has a projected tax bill of just under $261.6MM for the 2020 season, as per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource, well beyond the $248MM that represents the highest level of taxation threshold. The Yankees therefore face a ten-slot drop in their top position in the 2021 draft, as well as a bill of 42.5% of every dollar spent over the threshold.
Trade Rumblings: Lindor, Padres, Dodgers, Betts, Yanks, Schwarber
The Padres have at least kicked around the idea of attempting to swing a deal for Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link). However, Rosenthal cautions that the superstar probably won’t end up in San Diego, which already has an enviable left side of the infield between shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and third baseman Manny Machado. In the unlikely event the Padres do wind up with Lindor, it seems they’d try to turn Tatis into a multi-position player (primarily a center fielder), though Rosenthal notes doing so could displease the 20-year-old and would likely receive pushback from his representatives. That’s important considering San Diego’s desire to extend the phenom.
On the plus side, in addition to picking up an elite player in Lindor, the Padres would keep him away from the division-rival Dodgers, who have been connected to him this winter. But the Lindor-related talks between LA and Cleveland have only been “preliminary” to this point, per Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription). The Indians, for their part, aren’t necessarily under pressure to trade Lindor right now – he still has two years’ control left and remains the best player on a team that has been a consistent playoff contender in recent seasons. That said, the Indians don’t appear to have much of a chance to extend Lindor, so perhaps they’ll be open to parting with him this winter.
Let’s check in on a couple more of baseball’s highest-profile trade candidates…
- Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported earlier this week that the Red Sox and Dodgers have had “exploratory trade talks” in regards to Boston outfielder Mookie Betts. The Dodgers have even included shortstop Corey Seager in discussions centering on Lindor and Betts, Nightengale relays. However, even though Betts only has a year of control left (in which he should make almost $30MM via arbitration), and even though the Red Sox are working to get under the $208MM luxury tax, it doesn’t look as if there’s any hurry to part with the former AL MVP. Instead, it seems the Red Sox’s preference is to trade from their starting staff, tweets the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, who hears that they and the Dodgers “had virtually no engagement” in regards to Betts at last week’s Winter Meetings.
- More from Rosenthal, who writes that the Yankees’ years-long interest in Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber has continued. Nevertheless, there’s no momentum toward a deal as of now, Rosenthal adds. Schwarber has been a favorite of the Cubs’ front office, though trading him could be part of an offseason shakeup for a club that fell apart late in 2019. The 26-year-old slugger still has two seasons of arbitration eligibility remaining, and he’s coming off a pair of above-average campaigns, so he’d likely be difficult for the Yankees or anyone else to acquire.
Details On Luxury Tax Bills For Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees
The luxury tax bills for the Red Sox, Cubs and Yankees – the three teams that exceeded the $206MM threshold in 2019 – are now public knowledge. The Red Sox owe $13.4MM, the Cubs will pay $7.6MM and the Yankees must surrender $6.7MM, according to Ronald Blum of The Associated Press. As far as actual payrolls go, Boston checked in at $228MM, the Yankees put a $226MM roster on the field and the Cubs spent $220MM, Blum notes.
Neither the Red Sox nor the Cubs made the playoffs in 2019 despite their elite-level spending, while the Yankees lost to the Astros in the ALCS. Now, with the exception of the Yankees (who’ve already made history this offseason with the nine-year, $324MM contract they awarded right-hander Gerrit Cole), those clubs look as if they’re in salary-cutting mode. The tax limit will climb to $208MM next season, and the Yankees will blow past it in the wake of the Cole signing. Moreover, there’s a decent chance the Yankees will outspend the $208MM mark by $40MM or more, which would lead to a 42.5 percent overage tax next year and would cause their highest draft pick to drop 10 spots.
It seems the Red Sox and Cubs would like to avoid the tax, but it remains to be seen whether either will pull off that feat. As things stand, next year’s Red Sox are projected to go beyond $208MM by almost $30MM, while the Cubs will do so by about $6MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource.
It will be easier for Boston and Chicago to duck the tax 12 months from now if they sell off an expensive star or two, which seems possible. The clubs have former MVPs (outfielder Mookie Betts for the Red Sox and third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant for the Cubs) who have come up in trade rumors. Betts and Bryant aside, there are other well-compensated potential trade chips in both cases. Left-hander David Price and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. come to the fore for the Red Sox, while righty Yu Darvish and first baseman Anthony Rizzo join Bryant among high-priced Cubs who may not be untouchable.