Newsstand

Dodgers Sign Tyler Anderson

By Anthony Franco | March 18, 2022 at 6:00pm CDT

The Dodgers continue to add to their roster, announcing this evening they’ve agreed to terms with Tyler Anderson on a one-year deal. It’s reportedly an $8MM guarantee that also contains an additional $500K in incentives if he exceeds 100 innings next season.

Anderson was one of the better remaining options in a free agent rotation market that has been mostly picked through. The southpaw is coming off a decent season split between the Pirates and Mariners, in which he combined for a 4.53 ERA over 167 innings. Anderson only averaged a bit more than five innings per start, but he took the ball 31 times and was generally successful with regards to keeping his team in games. He allowed three or fewer earned runs in all but five of his outings.

Signed by Pittsburgh to a $2.5MM guarantee last offseason, he settled in as perhaps the most reliable member of the Bucs’ starting staff. Over 18 outings, Anderson worked 103 1/3 frames with a 4.35 ERA. He was an obvious trade candidate as an impending free agent on a rebuilding team. After a reported agreement with the Phillies fell through due to concerns about the medical evaluation of one of the prospects involved, the Pirates pivoted and flipped him to Seattle for prospects Carter Bins and Joaquin Tejada at the deadline. Anderson spent the final couple months with the M’s, performing alright until a nine-run blow-up against the Angels tanked his overall numbers.

Anderson isn’t the most overpowering arm on the market. His fastball averaged 90.6 MPH last season, and he struck out a below-average 19.1% of opposing hitters. Yet he was adept at getting opponents to chase pitches outside the strike zone, and his mediocre strikeout percentage belied a solid 11.5% swinging strike rate. That’s partially because batters swung so often against him — among pitchers with 100+ innings, only Michael Wacha had a higher opponents’ swing rate — but Anderson nevertheless generated more whiffs per swing inside the strike zone than the average starter.

In addition to getting opponents to frequently chase, Anderson threw pitches in the zone at a higher-than-average rate. Those contributed to keep his walks down, as he doled out free passes at just a 5.4% clip. He’s been a low-walk arm throughout his career, and he’s posted an ERA between 4.37 and 4.55 in each of his last three seasons (excluding a 2019 campaign in which he was limited to five starts by left knee issues). A fly-ball pitcher, Anderson has been prone to the home run ball throughout his career. He also generates his fair share of pop-ups, though, and he’s typically adept at avoiding hard contact.

Anderson has started all but four of his 117 MLB appearances. He’ll presumably join the back-of-the-rotation mix in Los Angeles, joining offseason signee Andrew Heaney, David Price and Tony Gonsolin among the options for Dave Roberts. Walker Buehler, Julio Urías and Clayton Kershaw will be the top three options from the outset of the season. Trevor Bauer remains on the roster, but his paid administrative leave was recently extended through April 16.

The $8MM guarantee only adds to an ever-mounting payroll in Los Angeles. The Dodgers now have an estimated $282MM in actual payroll, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Their luxury tax ledger is up to $284MM, just $6MM shy of the highest tier of penalization.

Because they exceeded the CBT last season, the Dodgers will be subject to escalating fees as a second-time payor. They’ll be taxed at a 30% rate for every dollar spent between $230MM and $250MM, a 42% clip on overages between $250MM and $270MM, a 75% rate on overages between $270MM and $290MM and a 90% tax on all expenditures north of $290MM.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Dodgers and Anderson had agreed to a deal. Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic reported it was a one-year pact. Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the $8MM guarantee, while Jon Heyman of the MLB Network was first with the incentives.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Cubs Sign Seiya Suzuki

By Tim Dierkes | March 18, 2022 at 12:10pm CDT

The Cubs continue to show that their current retooling efforts won’t at all resemble the aggressive teardown of a decade ago, announcing on Friday that they’ve signed star NPB outfielder Seiya Suzuki to a five-year contract. Suzuki, a Wasserman client, will reportedly be guaranteed a hearty $85MM on the contract.

Under the NPB/MLB posting system, that means the Cubs will also owe Suzuki’s former team, the Hiroshima Carp, a posting fee of $14.625MM. That brings the total investment in Suzuki to $99.625MM — although only Suzuki’s actual contract (more specifically, its $17MM annual value) will count against the luxury tax. Suzuki will reportedly receive a $5MM signing bonus and be paid annual salaries of $7MM, $17MM, $20MM, $18MM and $18MM on the deal, which contains a full no-trade clause.

Suzuki hit .317/.433/.639 with 38 home runs in 533 plate appearances for the Hiroshima Carp this year. He’s been one of the best hitters in NPB dating back to 2016, with a career line of .309/.402/.541. He’s hit at least 25 home runs in each of the last six seasons and is a five-time NPB All-Star.

According to MLBTR’s Steve Adams, “The most bullish opinions we’ve gotten peg Suzuki as an everyday Major League right fielder — a solid defensive player with a strong arm and enough power to hit in the middle of a big league lineup.” In August, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times spoke to a Major League scout who compared Suzuki to AJ Pollock, back when Pollock was playing for the Diamondbacks.

Though Suzuki has nine seasons under his belt, he’s still just 27 years old, which is rare for a posted player out of Japan. Suzuki explained to Hernandez, “I think everyone feels they want to play at the highest stage if they can get the chance.” Suzuki was only one year short of international free agency, so the Carp were motivated to be compensated for his departure.

In late November, the Carp posted Suzuki for MLB teams, beginning a 30-day window that was interrupted by the sport’s 99-day lockout. Suzuki was left with 20 days post-lockout to negotiate a deal with an MLB team. On top of his contract, the Cubs will owe the Carp a posting fee equal to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. Only Suzuki’s $17MM average annual value will count toward the competitive balance tax, but the Cubs are a good $78MM short of the $230MM base tax threshold including Suzuki.

Suzuki is a strong-armed prototypical right fielder and a five-time NPB Gold Glove winner. The Cubs still have Jason Heyward under contract for another two years and $44MM, but given Heyward’s struggles at the plate, there’s a good chance Suzuki is taking over his position. Suzuki may spend most of his five-year tenure playing alongside center fielder Brennen Davis, Baseball America’s 16th-ranked prospect.

The news of the Suzuki signing comes on the heels of Anthony Rizzo’s two-year, $32MM deal with the Yankees. It’s a fitting contrast and representation of the Cubs’ reboot, as Suzuki is five years younger than Rizzo and the Cubs reportedly once offered Rizzo the same contract before trading him and other stalwarts in July last year. Cubs fans will be watching many former stars in different uniforms this year, with Javy Baez having signed in Detroit, the Phillies reaching an agreement with Kyle Schwarber, and Kris Bryant signing with the Rockies. The Cubs’ other big splash came before the lockout, the signing of starting pitcher Marcus Stroman to a three-year, $71MM deal.

Interest was widespread in Suzuki. The Padres, Red Sox, Rangers, Giants, Mariners, Yankees, Blue Jays, Marlins, and Dodgers are among the other teams that were linked to the slugging right fielder.

Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka holds the record for a Japanese player signing in MLB, having landed a seven-year, $155MM deal with the Yankees in January 2014. On the position player side, Suzuki eclipses the four-year, $48MM deal outfielder Kosuke Fukudome signed with the Cubs in December 2007. The only position players to have sustained success in MLB out of Japan have been Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, and of course, pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.

Sankei Sports first reported the agreement. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the terms and the no-trade clause, while MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand provided the annual breakdown.

Rockies Sign Kris Bryant

By Anthony Franco | March 18, 2022 at 11:35am CDT

The Rockies have made the free agent splash they’d been seeking, announcing on Friday that they’ve signed Kris Bryant to a seven-year contract. Bryant, a client of the Boras Corporation, is guaranteed $182MM on the contract and receives a full no-trade clause as part of the deal. He’ll reportedly receive a $7MM signing bonus and will be paid a $17MM salary this coming season. He’ll then earn $27MM in 2023-24 before earning at a $26MM annual rate from 2025-28.

Bryant will step in as the new face of a franchise that has traded away Nolan Arenado and seen Trevor Story hit free agency over the past two offseasons. It’s the largest free agent investment in franchise history, one that’ll tie the four-time All-Star to Denver through his age-36 season.

Coming into the offseason, few would’ve expected Colorado to make this kind of major splash. The Rockies have finished fourth in the NL West in each of the past three seasons, and they’re coming off a 74-87 showing. Some outsiders have called for Colorado to tear things down and commit to a full rebuild, but ownership and the front office have maintained they don’t view the team as being all that far from contention.

From the outset of the offseason, Colorado has reportedly been targeting a major offensive upgrade to their outfield mix. The Rockies reportedly checked in with players like Kyle Schwarber and Michael Conforto as well, but it became clear in recent days that Bryant was their desired target. Whether they’d spend at the level it took to land him was in question, but owner Dick Monfort has signed off on a seven-year deal with a $26MM average annual value to bring in one of the game’s most recognizable stars.

Bryant, of course, earned that acclaim during his days with the Cubs. The second overall pick in the 2013 draft, he immediately entered pro ball as one of the top prospects in the game. Bryant lived up to those expectations, tearing through the minors for a season and a half. The Cubs delayed his big league debut a few weeks into the 2015 season to push back his path to free agency, but he debuted in mid-April and hit the ground running as a star.

The University of San Diego product hit .275/.369/.488 with 26 homers in his first season, claiming the National League’s Rookie of the Year award. Bryant did strike out at a slightly alarming clip that year, but he significantly improved his contact rate during his second season. The star third baseman hit .292/.385/.554 in 2016, winning the NL MVP and helping the Cubs to a 103-win season and their first World Series title in 108 years.

Chicago never became the multi-year dynasty some fans had expected, but Bryant continued to excel on generally good teams for the next few seasons. He combined for a .284/.390/.511 mark between 2017-19, ranking 17th among position players in FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement over that stretch. Bryant seemed on the path towards a free agent megadeal, but his production plummeted in 2020. During that year’s shortened season, he posted a lowly .206/.293/.351 line over 34 games. What kind of production the Cubs could expect from him — as well as how his free agent market might ultimately shake out — seemed very much up in the air going into 2021.

Bryant didn’t regain his MVP form last season, but he did bounce back from his 2020 downturn. He hit .267/.358/.503 over 374 plate appearances on the North Side. That wasn’t enough to keep the Cubs from a June-July skid that took them out of postseason contention, and it became clear they were likely to move the impending free agent by July 30. Minutes before the trade deadline, the Cubs shipped Bryant to the Giants for prospects Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian. That deal made Bryant ineligible to be tagged with a qualifying offer, so the Rockies won’t forfeit a draft pick to add him.

His production dipped a little bit in the Bay Area. Bryant hit .262/.344/.444 in 212 plate appearances in black and orange. Nevertheless, he hit the market coming off a productive .265/.353/.481 season line. Heading into his age-30 campaign with an MVP pedigree, he looked to have reemerged as one of the top prizes of this year’s class. MLBTR ranked Bryant as the winter’s #4 free agent in November, projecting him to receive a six-year, $160MM guarantee.

Bryant’s actual deal comes in above that mark, as he lands a seventh year and $22MM more, as well as the no-trade protection. Only Corey Seager, who got $325MM over ten years, has received a larger guarantee among free agents this winter. (Carlos Correa and Freddie Freeman still have an opportunity to surpass that mark). The loftiness of the investment perhaps suggests the Rox had to pay a premium to convince Bryant to join a club that’s not a clear immediate contender. For all of ownership’s and the front office’s confidence, Colorado still looks to have a weaker roster than those of the Dodgers, Giants and Padres in a loaded NL West.

There’s also the fact that Colorado’s last two position player superstars haven’t departed the organization on the best of terms. Arenado and the Rockies had a messy fall-out before they traded him to the Cardinals, with Arenado famously saying he’d felt “disrespected” by then-general manager Jeff Bridich. Story, meanwhile, said he was perplexed by the organization’s decision not to trade him at last summer’s deadline; there’s been no indication he’s considered re-signing since hitting the open market.

Bryant and the Rockies no doubt hope their long-term relationship will end more happily. It’s the biggest move yet made by first-year GM Bill Schmidt, who took over baseball operations when Bridich stepped down last April. There’s obviously plenty of risk in any kind of investment of this magnitude, and Bryant’s profile isn’t without some areas for concern.

As mentioned, his 2021 campaign — while a marked improvement over his 2020 numbers — wasn’t a return to peak level. Bryant’s 123 wRC+ was a personal low in any of his six career non-truncated seasons. By definition, that’s still strong work (23 percentage points above the league average offensive output) but it’s not the kind of production that’ll garner MVP support. And Bryant has never had the eye-popping batted ball metrics one might expect from a player who has had so much success.

His 88.2 MPH average exit velocity last season was right in line with the league mark. His average exit speed on balls hit in the air (91.4 MPH) was only a hair above average (90.9 MPH). Bryant fares better in metrics like hard contact rate (40% vs. 35.4% league mark) and barrel percentage (10.3% against a 6.6% league average), but both marks are more good than elite. He’s always drawn a fair share of walks and hasn’t been especially prone to strikeouts since his rookie year, but his peripherals have more closely aligned with a player who ranked 44th in wRC+ last season (out of 135 hitters with 500+ plate appearances) than with a superstar performer.

There’s no question manager Bud Black will pencil Bryant into the lineup on an everyday basis, although precisely where on the diamond remains to be seen. He has primarily played third base in his career, but Colorado has a Gold Glove caliber defender at the hot corner in Ryan McMahon. It seems likely that Bryant will spend the bulk of his time in the corner outfield, at least next season. He has generally rated as a competent defender in the corners, although he didn’t seem comfortable manning Oracle Park’s tricky right field during his couple months in San Francisco. Bryant has a little bit of experience in center field, but he’s never been a regular option there and would be miscast at that position in spacious Coors Field.

However the Rox plan to use him, they’ve made a hefty financial commitment to add some star power to the lineup. The specific financial breakdown has yet to be reported, but Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates that adding a $26MM salary to the books in 2022 would bring the Rox’s player commitments to around $141MM. That’s only a touch below 2019’s franchise-record $145MM Opening Day mark, leaving little room for further additions unless Monfort signs off on an uncharacteristic level of spending.

There’s enough uncertainty on the roster the Rockies would be ill-advised to rest on their laurels now. They’re clearly aiming to return to legitimate postseason contention, and areas like center field and the bullpen remain question marks. Colorado will have to continue to push forward — by expanding payroll beyond Monfort’s previous comfort level and/or dealing from a thin farm system for immediate help — if they’re to seriously make a run at hanging tough in the division. At the very least, though, the Rockies have signaled definitively as ever they view themselves as capable of taking on that kind of challenge — pulling off an agreement few would’ve seen coming sixth months ago.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network first reported Bryant was signing with the Rockies and the financial terms. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the no-trade protection. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported the contract breakdown (Twitter link).

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Yankees Trade Luke Voit To Padres

By Steve Adams | March 18, 2022 at 11:10am CDT

After months of speculation, Luke Voit’s time with the Yankees organization drew to a close Friday. The Yankees and Padres agreed to a trade sending the slugging first baseman to San Diego in exchange for minor league right-hander Justin Lange, according to announcements from both clubs. The Padres moved right-hander Michel Baez to the 60-day injured list in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster Voit.

The writing for Voit has been on the wall at least since New York re-signed Anthony Rizzo — and quite arguably longer than that. The Yanks acquired Rizzo last summer while Voit was on the injured list for the third time that year alone, and since the 2021 season ended they’ve been connected to Rizzo, Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson as they made no secret about pursuing alternative options to the incumbent Voit.

Voit’s trade marks the culmination of a swift shift in the organization’s stance on him. Just one year ago, Voit was heading into Spring Training as the clear everyday first baseman, having just led the Majors with 22 home runs during the truncated 2020 season. However, a knee injury in camp led to meniscus surgery that kept Voit out of action for the season’s first six weeks. Voit returned in early May, but just two weeks later he headed back to the 10-day IL due to an oblique strain. That issue kept Voit out another three-plus weeks, and he lasted only a month before going back on the IL in mid-July due to lingering inflammation in his surgically repaired left knee.

All told, Voit was limited to just 68 games and 211 plate appearances in 2021. When he was on the field, Voit remained somewhat productive, slashing .239/.328/.427 (111 wRC+), but his offensive output was nowhere near its peak levels. Looking beyond leading the Majors in long balls during the brief 2020 season, Voit had raked from the moment the Yankees acquired him from the Cardinals in exchange for relievers Chasen Shreve and Giovanny Gallegos.

Largely blocked from regular playing time in St. Louis, Voit immediately proved to be a hidden gem unearthed by the Yankees. He belted 14 home runs in less than two months down the stretch in 2018, and in 892 trips to the plate as a Yankee from ’18-’20, he batted .279/.372/.543 with 57 home runs, 31 doubles, a triple and an 11.5% walk rate against a 26.3% strikeout rate. Even adding in his “down” year this past season, Voit’s time with the Yankees will draw to a close with a stout .271/.363/.520 batting line in 1133 plate appearances.

That type of production would be a boost to any lineup, and the Padres in particular could use some thump of that nature at first base and/or designated hitter. San Diego first basemen, led by Eric Hosmer, hit a combined .275/.337/.412. That’s not terrible production by any means, but the resulting 106 wRC+ ranked 20th in the Majors. Of more concern was that the Padres, as a team, hit just .241/.324/.380 against left-handed pitching (94 wRC+, 24th in MLB). Voit, a career .264/.344/.516 hitter against left-handed pitching, ought to be particularly helpful with regard to that deficiency — though it’s important to note that he shouldn’t be regarded as a platoon player. To the contrary, Voit actually has slightly better career numbers against right-handed pitching.

Productive as he’s been at the plate throughout his Yankees tenure, Voit is a below-average defender at first base. The Yankees have made improving the defense a clear priority of late, evidenced not only by bringing Rizzo back but also moving Gleyber Torres to second base, acquiring Isiah Kiner-Falefa to take the reins at shortstop and moving Gary Sanchez to the Twins in favor of what currently projects to be a glove-first pairing of Kyle Higashioka and Ben Rortvedt (acquired in that deal with the Twins).

Voit now heads to the Padres not only for the 2022 season but perhaps all the way through 2024. He’s still arbitration eligible, projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $5.4MM in 2022 before earning a pair of raises on top of that sum. It’s an eminently reasonable price to pay for a hitter of Voit’s caliber, particularly if he can boost his production away from his 2021 output and closer to its 2018-20 levels.

As for the Yankees’ return, they’ll acquire a 20-year-old righty who can reach triple digits with his fastball but has drawn questions from scouts about his command. The 6’4″, 220-pound Lange was the No. 34 overall pick in the 2020 draft and made his pro debut with the Padres’ Rookie-ball club in 2021. There, he pitched 22 innings with a 6.95 ERA, a 28.4% strikeout rate and a bloated 14.7% walk rate. When ranking Lange 13th among San Diego farmhands, The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote that the righty has “huge stuff and a workhorse build” but questionable command in addition to a recent knee issue.

Lange adds a power arm to the lower levels of the Yankees’ system, albeit a high-risk one who’ll be a bit of a project for their development staff. Trading Voit drops the Yankees’ projected 2022 payroll a bit south of $240MM, although in terms of luxury-tax obligations, they’re still a bit over $253MM, which places them squarely in the new new CBA’s second tier of penalization.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the Padres’ interest in Voit. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported that Voit had been traded to the Padres (Twitter link). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the return (Twitter link).

Rangers Sign Brad Miller To Two-Year Deal

By Sean Bavazzano | March 17, 2022 at 12:41pm CDT

March 17: Miller has been signed to a two-year contract, the Rangers announced Thursday. It’s a $10MM guarantee for Miller that’ll pay him $6MM in 2022 and $4MM in 2023, tweets Chris Halicke of Sports Illustrated.

March 15: The Rangers have reached an agreement with free agent infielder Brad Miller tweets MLB Drops. The financial terms of this deal have not yet been reported.

The 32-year-old Miller is coming off a decent season with the Phillies, as he batted .227/.321/.453 (107 OPS+) with 20 home runs in 337 plate appearances in 2021. Additionally, Miller lined up at both outfield corners and every infield position besides shortstop last season. Defensive metrics have been bearish on his performance at most of those positions, though there’s little denying the utility of a bat-first player who can play five positions in a pinch.

While Miller is coming off his third straight above average offensive campaign, his limitations are reflected in that modest plate appearances total. After seeing fuller playing time earlier in his career, the left-handed Miller has been platooned with greater frequency in recent years. The results bear that decision out, as the former-Phillie has a lifetime .610 OPS against left-handed pitchers but a solid .780 OPS when holding the platoon advantage. Last year’s splits were even more drastic, as those OPS numbers dipped and climbed to .538 and .842, respectively.

The signing makes ample sense for a Texas squad that has playing time up for grabs at third base and in the outfield. After losing top third base prospect Josh Jung for most of the season to shoulder surgery and parting with Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the deal that netted them Mitch Garver, the Rangers very quickly found themselves without a slam dunk starter at third base. That may well continue to be the case after this signing, as Miller has just 49 big league games at the position to his name.

Texas now seems primed to platoon Miller with some combination of its incumbent third base options, Andy Ibanez and Nick Solak, who have each shown demonstrably better against left-handed pitchers in their brief careers. Because of all three players’ ability to bounce around the field, manager Chris Woodward should have no trouble finding at-bats for the trio, barring future additions.

The addition of Brad Miller to a Rangers team coming off a 60-win season is the continuation of a busy winter for the front office braintrust of Jon Daniels and Chris Young. After a season in which the Rangers did very little competing, the young talent from last season’s team will now have to vie against their new veteran teammates for maximum reps. Given the pace of their offseason so far and the amount of players jockeying for a large role on an improved 2022 team, the Rangers’ truncated spring training camp figures to be one of the league’s most hotly contested sites in the coming weeks.

Cardinals To Sign Corey Dickerson

By Steve Adams | March 17, 2022 at 11:20am CDT

11:20am: Dickerson is guaranteed $5MM on the contract and can boost that salary via incentives, tweets Feinsand.

10:52am: The Cardinals have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent outfielder Corey Dickerson, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The deal is pending a physical. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported that the two sides were close to a deal (via Twitter). Dickerson, a client of Excel Sports Management, would give the Cards a nice left-handed complement to a heavily right-handed lineup.

Dickerson, 32, spent the bulk of the past two seasons in Miami after signing a two-year, $17MM deal with the Marlins in the 2019-20 offseason. The Blue Jays acquired him last summer while he was on the injured list due to a foot injury. Dickerson returned in August and hit quite well in 140 plate appearances with the Jays down the stretch, offsetting a less-productive start to his season in Miami.

Since signing that two-year deal with the Fish, Dickerson carries a .266/.321/.406 batting line with 13 home runs, 23 doubles, six triples and seven stolen bases (in 13 tries). Dickerson’s power has dipped since his peak with the Rays, which included a 27-homer effort during an All-Star 2017 season, but he remains a relatively tough strikeout who can handle right-handed pitching pretty well. In 312 plate appearances against righties last season, Dickerson slashed .277/.330/.419 (104 wRC+).

From a defensive standpoint, Dickerson has been a pure left fielder for the bulk of his career, though the Jays did trot him out for 62 innings this past season. Sometimes regarded as a defensive liability early in his career, Dickerson worked to radically improved his glovework in the middle of his career, culminating in a 2018 season that saw him post 15 Defensive Runs Saved and take home an NL Gold Glove while playing with the Pirates. His ratings have fallen off since then — as one might expect from a player entering his mid-30s and dealing with multiple foot and hamstring injuries. Still, defensive metrics felt he was a roughly average defender in 2021.

A roughly average hitter with average glovework in the outfield might not bring about tons of excitement among the fanbase, but for a Cardinals club whose only pure left-handed hitter is young Lars Nootbaar, he’ll give the lineup some needed balance. Both Dylan Carlson and Tommy Edman are switch-hitters, so it’s not as though St. Louis was entirely right-handed, but the Cardinals hit just .240/.310/.396 against right-handed pitching as a team last year with primarily the same lineup they were slated to carry prior to this agreement.

Dickerson can rotate into the mix across the outfield, either spelling right-handed-hitting Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader entirely or perhaps giving O’Neill the occasional breather at the newly created National League DH position. Dickerson himself could also see his share of at-bats as the DH against righties. His signing might cut into some playing time for Nootbaar and 24-year-old corner infielder Juan Yepez, but playing time tends to open up over for such players over the course of a season, particularly as injuries mount. Dickerson will provide the Cards with some veteran depth and allow them to ease some of their young hitters into the mix.

Giants To Sign Joc Pederson

By Darragh McDonald and Tim Dierkes | March 16, 2022 at 6:20pm CDT

The Giants are in agreement on a contract with outfielder Joc Pederson, reports MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Pederson will receive $6MM on a one-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Pederson is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Pederson, 30 in April, posted a 94 wRC+ in 481 plate appearances for the Cubs and Braves last year, joining Atlanta in one of Chicago’s many July trades. Pederson has picked up World Series rings in each of the last two seasons for the Dodgers and Braves. He was particularly effective in the NLDS against the Brewers last year, bashing a pair of home runs and inspiring Braves fans to sport pearl necklaces. Pederson will spend his 2022 season less than an hour away from where he played attended high school in Palo Alto, California.

A left-handed hitter, Pederson has long struggled against southpaws, and signed a one-year, $7MM deal with the Cubs in January 2021 in part because he sought to avoid a platoon situation. Oddly enough, since 2020 Pederson has a 99 wRC+ in 122 plate appearances against lefties, but just a 91 mark against righties. From 2015-19 as a Dodger, Pederson torched righties to the tune of a 132 wRC+, a mark which ranked 21st in the game during that time. Assuming Pederson can regain some of that success, he’d pair well with the right-handed-hitting Austin Slater.

Though Pederson has played a significant amount of center field in his career, at this stage he fits better in a corner spot. The Giants have LaMonte Wade Jr., Steven Duggar, Mike Yastrzemski, Darin Ruf, and Slater as outfield incumbents, but they’ve also got a regular DH job for the first time in their history.

Two members of the club’s 2021 outfield found new homes today, with Alex Dickerson signing a one-year deal with Atlanta and Kris Bryant signing a seven-year, $182MM deal with the division-rival Rockies. The Giants’ interest in retaining Bryant seemed minimal. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has avoided large free agent contracts in his four-year tenure, with his recent two-year, $44MM contract for Carlos Rodon marking his largest expenditure. The Giants also let Kevin Gausman leave for greener pastures this winter, instead electing to spread the wealth among veteran free agents on shorter-term deals. Zaidi served as Dodgers GM prior to joining the Giants, so he became quite familiar with Pederson while both were employed by Los Angeles.

Pederson’s signing comes as part of a wave of free agent outfielder deals today, as the Phillies signed Kyle Schwarber, the Braves brought Eddie Rosario back, and the Rockies inked Bryant to a megadeal. Several quality bats remain free agents, including Nick Castellanos, Michael Conforto, Tommy Pham, and Jorge Soler.

Brewers Sign Andrew McCutchen

By Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald | March 16, 2022 at 5:18pm CDT

MARCH 16: It’s a one-year, $8.5MM pact, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

MARCH 14: Outfielder Andrew McCutchen is in agreement on a deal with the Brewers, reports Daniel Álvarez Montes of El ExtraBase (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic had reported this afternoon the sides were in discussions.

McCutchen, 35, has 13 MLB seasons under his belt at this point, having broken into the league as a Pirate in 2009. From that season to 2019, he posted a wRC+ of at least 120 in each season except for a slight dip to 105 in 2016. In 2013, he hit 21 home runs, stole 27 bases and put up an incredible line of .317/404/.508, wRC+ of 156. Combined with his excellent center field defense, he was worth an incredible 8.1 fWAR on the year, winning National League MVP and helping the Pirates make the postseason for the first time since 1992.

In 2018, he had one year remaining on the extension he signed with the Pirates back in 2012. The Bucs sent him to the Giants in exchange for Bryan Reynolds, Kyle Crick and international bonus money. The Giants, in turn, sent McCutchen to the Yankees at the August waiver deadline. Reaching free agency for the first time, he signed a three-year, $50MM deal with the Phillies prior to the 2019 season.

His production has naturally declined somewhat over the years, with his elite center field defense gradually becoming subpar left field defense. He hasn’t reached double-digit steals since 2018. However, he’s still plenty useful with the bat, particularly against left-handed pitching. Over the past two seasons, he’s hit 37 home runs and slashed .232/.331/.441, wRC+ of 106. But when he has the platoon advantage, his line jumps up to .290/.402/.603, wRC+ of 164.

For the Brewers, they went 95-67 last year and won the NL Central, despite a fairly tepid offense. The batting line for the entire team was .233/.317/.396, adding up to a wRC+ of just 91, ranking them 23rd out of the 30 teams in the league. Their moves this offseason have largely been about trying to complement their superb pitching with some increased firepower in the lineup. To that end, they traded for Hunter Renfroe and Mike Brosseau before the lockout, and have now added McCutchen into the mix as well.

McCutchen will join Renfroe in an outfield group that also includes Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain and Tyrone Taylor. That’s a bit of a crowded mix, but with the recent implementation of the designated hitter in the National League, they should be able to spread at-bats around to whichever part of this group needs a day off their feet. McCutchen and Cain are both 35 years old, with Cain turning 36 in less than a month, making them particularly good fits for some time in the DH slot, in order to keep them healthy and in the lineup throughout the season.

However manager Craig Counsell decides to construct the lineup, it seems like it will be capable of more firepower than last year’s version, as they attempt to defend their division title and make the postseason for a fifth consecutive season.

Royals Sign Zack Greinke

By Steve Adams | March 16, 2022 at 4:42pm CDT

5:44pm: To make room for Greinke on the 40-man roster, the club has placed Tyler Zuber on the 60-day IL, per various reports, including Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Zuber has right shoulder impingement syndrome and will miss the start of the season.

4:42pm: The Royals have formally announced the signing.

2:48pm: Zack Greinke is going back to his roots. The free-agent righty has agreed to a one-year deal with the Royals, pending the completion of a physical, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Greinke, a client of Excel Sports Management, will be guaranteed $13MM and can earn another $2MM via innings-based incentives, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

The 38-year-old Greinke isn’t the fireballing ace that he was toward the end of his first run with the Royals, but he remains an effective innings eater. He’ll return to his old stomping ground as the elder statesman on what figures to be an extremely young staff who’ll no doubt want to soak up as much pitching knowledge as possible from the 18-yeasr big league veteran.

Greinke spent the past two-plus seasons with the Astros after being traded from Arizona to Houston in a buzzer-beating deal at the 2019 trade deadline. Greinke’s once blazing fastball averaged just 89 mph in 2021 and his strikeout rate dipped, but he’s maintained pristine command of the strike zone (5.2% walk rate). Since 2020, Greinke has a 4.12 ERA in 238 innings for Houston, although his 2021 season would’ve looked considerably better were it not for a late September swoon.

Through his first 26 starts in 2021, Greinke pitched to a strong 3.41 ERA. Fielding-independent metrics were still a bit down on him because of the lack of punchouts (17.5% in that stretch), but Greinke yielded a paltry 87.7 mph average exit velocity in that time and had a 33% opponents’ hard-hit rate. Greinke tested positive for Covid-19 at the end of August and went back on the IL in late September due to neck soreness. It’s not clear that either had a direct impact on his results, although it’s certainly possible that he wasn’t pitching at 100% down the stretch. The results seem to suggest as much, as Greinke was tattooed for 21 runs in his final 15 1/3 innings of work.

Even if Greinke should be projected for more of a low-4.00s ERA than the mid-3.00 range he sat for much of the 2021 season, he’ll still be a valuable and reliable source of innings for the Royals. He’s made at least 28 appearances in 11 of the past 14 seasons, with the exceptions being the shortened 2020 season (when he made all 12 of his starts) and the 2016 season (when he missed a month with an oblique injury but still started 26 games).

For a Royals club that expects to give the bulk of its innings to young and/or unproven starters — Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar, Kris Bubic, Carlos Hernandez, Jonathan Heasley — the ability to confidently pencil Greinke in for around 30 starts and 170-plus frames is especially important. Brad Keller is currently the only starter on the staff with more than two years of Major League service time, but he’s in search of a rebound from a career-worst performance this past season.

The deal for Greinke ostensibly came together in fairly quick fashion. Kansas City traded Mike Minor to the Royals just this afternoon, and reports immediately following the deal suggested that they were in the hunt for rotation upgrades. Although they’re said to have checked in with the A’s about a potential Frankie Montas deal, it’ll be Greinke who joins the staff to help stabilize the group and, ideally, help guide the Royals back to a winning record

Subtracting Minor and adding Greinke’s larger salary brings the Royals up to a projected payroll of a bit more than $93MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That’s nowhere near the franchise record $143MM from 2017, but that payroll was buoyed by a pair of consecutive World Series appearances achieved by the Royals’ former core. The fact that they felt compelled to move Minor and save some money on his salary before adding Greinke suggests that new owner John Sherman, who purchased the team in 2019, isn’t comfortable pushing payroll back to those 2017 levels at this time.

It’s possible that further additions will follow for the Royals. They’ve reportedly sought ways to trade Carlos Santana, both as a means of clearing playing time for top prospect Nick Pratto and also in order to shed the veteran’s $10.5MM salary. If president of baseball operations Dayton Moore manages to find a Santana deal similar to this afternoon’s Minor trade, additional veteran reinforcements could be on the way to help supplement a young Royals team that’ll see the debuts of Pratto and top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. early in the 2022 season.

GM: Reds Do Not Expect To Trade Luis Castillo, Tyler Mahle

By Steve Adams | March 16, 2022 at 2:57pm CDT

Although the Reds’ offseason has consisted primarily of cutting payroll, general manager Nick Krall suggested to reporters this afternoon that his focus will now shift to adding to the roster rather than subtracting (Twitter link via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Specifically regarding sought-after right-handers Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle, Krall stated: “I don’t see us moving any of those two players.”

Cincinnati’s offseason kicked off with Krall ominously stating that the organization needed to “align our payroll to our resources.” Those comments came in conjunction with the decision to waive Wade Miley and his $10MM salary following a strong season and to trade former Gold Glove-winning catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Tigers.

Following the lockout, the Reds traded veteran right-hander Sonny Gray to the Twins and attached third baseman Eugenio Suarez (still owed $35MM) to All-Star left fielder Jesse Winker in order to get the Mariners to take on the remaining salary. Cincinnati acquired prospects in both those post-lockout deals — pitchers Brandon Williamson and Chase Petty most notably — but the broader takeaway was that those trades trimmed nearly $50MM in payroll off the books.

There has indeed been something of a shift in philosophy today, as the Reds took on more than $7MM in salary when they flipped Amir Garrett to the Royals in exchange for veteran starter Mike Minor. They’ve also agreed to a $4.5MM deal with veteran infielder Donovan Solano. The moves certainly don’t make up for the losses of Miley, Gray and Winker, at least in terms of competitive expectations, but they do at least push back against the teardown narrative that had formed.

While some will wonder whether this is mere posturing, it’s rare for an executive to make public comments of this nature only to later walk them back. It’s possible that a team could simply overwhelm the Reds and force them to part with either Castillo or Mahle, both of whom are controlled via arbitration through the 2023 season, but it now seems likelier that they’ll open the year in the rotation alongside the newly acquired Minor.

If Castillo and Mahle are indeed off that market, that’s music to the ears of the Athletics, who surely won’t be making any such public declarations regarding lefty Sean Manaea and right-hander Frankie Montas. The A’s have already traded Matt Olson, Matt Chapman and Chris Bassitt as they look to trim payroll and stock back up on young talent, and it stands to reason that with heavy interest in both Manaea and Montas, further trades will follow suit. Subtracting Castillo and Mahle from the market only reduces the supply of available starters on the market and enhances Oakland’s bargaining power.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Newsstand

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect