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Reds Non-Tender Kevin Gausman

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The Reds have non-tendered Kevin Gausman, reports Mark Sheldon of MLB.com (via Twtter). The righty’s $10.6MM arbitration projection apparently proved too lofty.

Cincinnati grabbed Gausman off waivers from Atlanta in August and let him work out of the bullpen down the stretch. While he did some solid work for the Reds, he never seemed especially likely to return at that price. Gausman struggled mightily to keep runs off the board as a starter with the Braves over the season’s first four months.

That said, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the veteran draw strong interest as a free agent. He’ll presumably attract teams in need of starting and relief depth. He is coming off a career-best strikeout rate (25.3%), although some of that was a reflection of his quality work in shorter stints.

With five-plus years of service, Gausman would’ve been ticketed for free agency at the end of next season. He’ll hit the open market a year earlier than expected, entering his age-29 season.

Phillies Non-Tender Cesar Hernandez, Maikel Franco

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The Phillies have non-tendered second baseman Cesar Hernandez and third baseman Maikel Franco, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia was among those to report.

Neither outcome is surprising, but the non-tenders will nonetheless bring about the end of an era for the Phillies’ infield. Both Hernandez and Franco had been mainstays for the Phillies over the past few seasons. The switch-hitting, high-on base Hernandez was the more valuable of the two, as he was a 2.0- to 4.0-fWAR player in each season from 2016-18. Hernandez’s numbers took a step back this year, a 1.7-fWAR season in which he hit .279/.333/.408 with 14 home runs across 667 plate appearances. He’d been slated to receive a $11.8MM in arbitration thereafter, but that was too rich for the Phillies. They’ll now look for another solution at the keystone.

Philly’s also now on the lookout for a new third baseman after cutting Franco, whom the team once viewed as its long-term answer there. But Franco, despite his prodigious power, seldom lived up to the billing after an impressive rookie campaign with the Phillies in 2015. The 27-year-old’s now coming off a season in which he batted a miserable .234/.297/.409 with 17 dingers and minus-0.5 fWAR over 428 PA. He looked like an obvious non-tender candidate thanks to those numbers, and with a projected $6.7MM coming his way in 2020, the Phillies went the expected route and cut him loose.

Giants Non-Tender Kevin Pillar

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The Giants have non-tendered center fielder Kevin Pillar, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). He’ll head onto the open market.

Set to reach his 31st birthday in January, Pillar was slated to earn a projected $9.7MM in his final trip through the arbitration process. That proved too rich for the San Francisco organization, which played Pillar regularly after picking him up early in the 2019 season from the Blue Jays.

Frankly, it’s not surprising to see the Giants pass at that price. Pillar is a gritty performer who still makes his share of highlight-reel plays and has good pop for an up-the-middle player. But advanced analysis suggests he has lost a step in the field and he continues to turn in cringeworthy on-base numbers.

Last season, Pillar slashed just .259/.287/.432 (85 wRC+). That marked his fourth consecutive season of offensive performance more than ten percent below league average. When Pillar was an elite defender in center, that perhaps would have sufficed, even at a relatively lofty price point. However, he’s rated as a mere average center fielder the past two season, combining for -7 defensive runs saved and +2 runs per Ultimate Zone Rating. Statcast, meanwhile, pegged him as a 51st percentile outfielder in 2019. Combined with his lackluster bat, that defensive downturn proved too much for the Giants.

A’s Non-Tender Treinen, Phegley, Buchter

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The A’s have non-tendered reliever Blake Treinen, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). He’d been projected for a $7.8MM salary, which the low-payroll A’s evidently found too steep. Additionally, the club is parting ways with reliever Ryan Buchter and catcher Josh Phegley, Slusser adds (via Twitter). Phegley had been projected for $2.2MM, while Buchter was in line for around $1.8MM.

Today’s news perhaps isn’t too surprising; MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and Steve Adams identified Treinen as a non-tender candidate last week. Oakland doesn’t figure to have much wiggle room in the budget this offseason, no doubt contributing to their efforts to find a taker for Treinen, Jurickson Profar ($5.8MM projection), and Phegley before tonight’s non-tender deadline. Profar ultimately landed in San Diego, while Treinen and Phegley were let go. Despite some late interest from the Yankees, though, the A’s were unable to match up on a Treinen deal.

Such an outcome would have been unthinkable a year ago. Treinen finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting in 2018, reflecting his otherworldly season. That year, he tossed 80.1 innings with a 0.78 ERA and sparkling peripherals. His 31.8% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate were easily the best numbers he’d put up since moving to the bullpen for good in 2015. Toss in Treinen’s typically strong ground ball ability (51.9% ground ball rate) and he was quite arguably baseball’s best reliever just a season ago.

Unfortunately, everything went backwards in 2019. Treinen’s ERA jumped more than four runs per nine to an unsightly 4.91. His strikeout rate regressed to a pedestrian 22.2%, while his walk rate more than doubled to a career-worst 13.9%. On top of all that, Treinen’s ground ball rate- his calling card dating back to his time as a National- fell nearly ten points. All that said, Treinen still boasts a high-90’s fastball and is one year removed from utter dominance, so he’ll surely attract interest. New York could be expected to touch base with his camp now that he’s a free agent, but almost any team in baseball could seek to add his upside to their bullpen.

Phegley, like Treinen, evidently failed to drum up significant trade interest. The 31-year-old slashed .239/.282/.411 (82 wRC+) in 342 plate appearances this season. While that’s actually solid for a catcher, he rated extremely poorly as a pitch framer, per Baseball Prospectus, which placed him 107th out of 113 backstops leaguewide. With the A’s acquiring Austin Allen to back up Sean Murphy in today’s Profar trade, the writing was on the wall for Phegley.

Buchter, meanwhile, pitched to a 2.98 ERA, making today’s news a bit surprising at first glance. However, that was the product of an unsustainable 91.4% strand rate, as Buchter’s 4.96 FIP suggests. His walk rate spiked to an alarming 11.6%, and Buchter’s always been a fly-ball pitcher. The home run finally caught up to him in 2019. Nevertheless, he comes with an additional season of arbitration control beyond 2020 and has sported an above-average strikeout rate in four consecutive seasons, so teams looking for left-handed bullpen help could certainly take an interest in him in free agency.

 

Diamondbacks Non-Tender Taijuan Walker, Steven Souza, Caleb Joseph

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6:26pm: Righty Matt Andriese, another seeming NT candidate, will be tendered by the club, according to Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (via Twitter). He projects to earn $1.4MM via arbitration.

6:05pm: In a stunning twist, the Snakes are not dropping Jake Lamb but are parting ways with Taijuan Walker, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter) and John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM (via Twitter). Walker had seemed to be a prime bounceback candidate, albeit also a clear injury risk at a $5.025MM projected price tag.

The Arizona org has more information than the rest of us regarding the status of Walker’s right arm. He was stricken of late by a torn ulnar collateral ligament and then a shoulder injury. Though the talented hurler made it back to the majors — if only barely — the Diamondbacks front office obviously saw reason to doubt whether Walker could return to anything approaching his former performance level.

Meanwhile, Lamb receives quite a vote of confidence (and a nice payday, unless he’s cut loose at a later time). He’s projected to earn $5.0MM after two lost seasons. Injuries played a role in his downturn after several productive campaigns, but Lamb seemed a likely non-tender candidate after turning in a cumulative .208/.315/.350 slash since the start of 2018.

5:27pm: The Diamondbacks have non-tendered outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and catcher Caleb Joseph, according to reports from Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (Twitter link) and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). MLBTR had projected the former to earn $4.125MM and the latter to take home $1.2MM in arbitration.

When the Snakes acquired Souza on the heels of a productive 2017 effort, the hope was that he’d be a high-quality corner outfield piece. But things just never shook out in Arizona. He scuffled through a forgettable 72-game stint in 2018 and never even made it on to the field in 2019.

Souza’s major knee injury last spring not only wrecked his ’19 campaign but put his future in doubt. Fortunately, there are some signs of optimism in the health department. He’ll represent an interesting buy-low target for the right organization, while the D-Backs will look to invest their payroll elsewhere.

As for Joseph, he’ll be a candidate to compete for a reserve role or take up a depth spot at Triple-A. While he’s trusted behind the dish, Joseph has a meager .223/.270/.350 career batting line in the majors.

Cubs Non-Tender Addison Russell, Danny Hultzen

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The Cubs have non-tendered infielder Addison Russell, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). Lefty Danny Hultzen was also not tendered a contract, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian adds on Twitter.

This ends a scandalous Cubs tenure for Russell, who came to the team as a possible shortstop of the future in a blockbuster trade with the Athletics in 2014. Russell was an elite prospect at the time, but his production as a Cub never reached that level (even during their World Series-winning campaign in 2016), and a 40-game suspension for domestic violence in 2018-19 marred the tail end of his time in Chicago.

The Cubs stuck with Russell in 2019, when he hit .237/.308/.391 with nine home runs in 241 plate appearances, but with Javier Baez and Nico Hoerner among their top middle infield choices, they’ve decided to go in another direction instead of paying the 25-year-old a projected $5.1MM in his second-last season of arbitration. However, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein offered a positive assessment of Russell upon letting him go, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (via Twitter).

“Since we decided to tender Addison a contract last November, he has lived up to his promise to put in the important self-improvement work necessary off the field and has shown growth as a person, as a partner, as a parent and as a citizen,” said Epstein.

Like Russell, Hultzen’s a former stud prospect whose time in the majors hasn’t gone according to plan. Injuries have been ruinous to the 30-year-old Hultzen, a former first-round pick of the Mariners who didn’t debut in the bigs until this past season. Hultzen totaled just 3 1/3 innings as a member of the Cubs, with whom he didn’t allow a run and put up five strikeouts against two walks. But that wasn’t enough to convince the Cubs, who have moved on from Hultzen.

Mariners Non-Tender Domingo Santana, Tim Beckham

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The Mariners have non-tendered outfielder Domingo Santana and infielder Tim Beckham, per a club announcement. Both players are now free agents.

These moves open a pair of roster spots for the M’s to work with. It’ll also save a bit of salary space. The former projected to earn $4.4MM in his second-to-last season of team control, while the latter might have commanded $3.0MM in what would have been a walk year.

It rates as something of a surprise to see Santana cut loose. He has had his ups and downs over the years but generally turns in solid offensive output. The situation with Beckham is more one of disappointment. He had been playing well in Seattle before a performance-enhancing drug suspension cut short his 2019 campaign.

Santana could potentially be a candidate to be claimed, though obviously the M’s were unable to achieve a trade return. He was off to a big start with the bat in 2019 before running into elbow problems that drove his numbers down and ended up costing him a big chunk of time.

Still just 27 years of age, Santana owns a .259/.343/.453 career batting line. He was right at that level last year as well. Unfortunately, Santana has never quite found his footing in the field. He graded terribly last year.

Beckham isn’t ever going to be the kind of player that was hoped when he went first overall in the 2008 draft. But he has settled in as a generally useful middle infielder with a league-average bat. He might well have been worth the projected arb value but for the PED suspension.

Reds To Non-Tender Jose Peraza

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The Reds have elected not to tender a contract to infielder Jose Peraza, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). MLBTR had projected him to earn $3.6MM in his first season of arbitration eligibility.

This is a tough pill for the Reds to swallow, as it had seemed entering the 2019 season that Peraza could turn into a steady regular. But he fell far shy of expectations in the just-completed campaign.

There’s no questioning the depth of Peraza’s struggles. He stumbled to a .239/.285/.346 batting line in 403 plate appearances. He didn’t even grade as a positive overall baserunner despite his obvious talent in that regard. Though Peraza continued to show well with the glove, it wasn’t enough to convince the Reds to keep the faith entering a must-win season.

In spite of the difficulties, it’s still a bit of a surprise to see Peraza cut loose at 25 years of age and with three seasons of arbitration control remaining. He may not quite have turned into the player they hoped he would when they acquired him back in 2015, but Peraza was a 2.6 fWAR performer in 2018 and has at times shown an ability to produce at a league-average rate with the bat despite a minimal walk rate.

With Peraza out of the mix at shortstop, the Reds depth chart is presently topped by Freddy Galvis. The club picked up his option at $5.5MM. Whether he’ll end up serving as a utility piece or semi-regular at short remains to be seen.

Koda Glover Announces Retirement

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In a surprising and saddening development, Nationals reliever Koda Glover has announced that he’s retiring as a player at just 26 years of age. Injuries have ravaged the former eighth-round pick’s promising career and limited him to just 55 1/3 innings since making his Major League debut as a 23-year-old back in 2016.

Glover had Tommy John surgery before he was even drafted by the Nationals and has also battled a torn labrum in his hip, repeated back and shoulder troubles and, in 2019, a forearm strain that generated concerns about yet another elbow surgery.

“I write to you all today with great despair, that I will be announcing my retirement from professional baseball,” Glover writes. “I have experienced a number of injuries the past three years and I believe it is time to step away from my playing career. I have loved this game from the moment I took my first steps and I will continue to love it for the rest of my life.” His statement goes on to thank the Nationals organizations, its fans, and the coaches and teammates who’ve impacted him throughout his brief career.

Glover was heralded by managerial legend Dusty Baker as the Nationals’ potential closer of the future, and given his possession of a fastball that averaged better than 96 mph and a wipeout slider, it’s easy to see why Baker wasn’t alone in thinking that. Glover did save eight games for the Nationals in 2017, but injuries never allowed him to reach even 20 innings in a big league season — and they surely contributed to some of his struggles on the mound as well. Glover revealed after the 2016 season that he’d been pitching through a torn labrum in his hip, and he pitched through rotator cuff issues the following year.

Overall, he’ll be forced to step away from the game after pitching 55 1/3 innings with nine saves, a 4.55 ERA and a 42-to-21 K/BB ratio. His retirement will open a spot on the Nationals’ 40-man roster — it’s now at 31 players — and will only further underscore the team’s need for bullpen help. Best wishes to Glover in whatever path he chooses to pursue in his post-playing days.

Padres To Sign Drew Pomeranz

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Nov. 30: Rosenthal adds that Pomeranz’s $8MM signing bonus is deferred and will be paid between November 2020 and November 2023.

Nov. 27, 4:02pm: Pomeranz received an $8MM signing bonus and will be paid annual salaries of $4MM in 2020, $6MM in 2021 and $8MM in 2022-23, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).

1:54pm: Pomeranz will be guaranteed $34MM over a four-year term, pending a physical, Murray tweets.

1:20pm: Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports that Pomeranz has been promised a rather stunning four-year guarantee (Twitter link). Robert Murray adds that it’ll pay him $8-9MM annually.

10:20am: The Padres have struck a deal with free agent lefty Drew Pomeranz, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The signing of the CAA client adds to what is quickly becoming a barn-burner of a day for the Friars, who have already struck a four-player swap with the Brewers.

Drew Pomeranz | Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

Details remain unknown, but it seems fair to guess the southpaw has done quite well for himself — likely on a multi-year pact — in a surprise return to San Diego. The 31-year-old had an excellent, but brief run with the organization back in 2016 before being flipped to the Red Sox in a trade for then-top prospect Anderson Espinoza. Pomeranz has had some ups and downs as a starting pitcher since that time, but he finished the ’19 season riding high in a return to a relief setting.

Just a few months ago, the notion of Pomeranz being considered a top-tier free agent would’ve seemed unthinkable. He’d been booted from a pedestrian Giants rotation after posting a 5.97 ERA through 18 starts, but Pomeranz morphed into one of baseball’s most dominant bullpen weapons down the stretch. In 28 relief appearances, he not only posted a 1.88 ERA but also punched out a staggering 50 of the 106 batters he faced (47.2 percent). The Brewers were clearly intrigued by Pomeranz’s early work out of the ’pen, acquiring him and flamethrower Ray Black in a deadline swap that sent infield prospect Mauricio Dubon to San Francisco.

The addition of Pomeranz will give the Padres a dynamic back-end bullpen duo, as he’ll team with right-hander Kirby Yates, who has emerged as one of baseball’s premier relievers since joining the Padres via waiver claim early in the 2017 season. Yates figures to continue handling ninth-inning duties, with Pomeranz serving as a top setup man, although today’s signing does give the San Diego organization even greater flexibility to shop Yates around as he enters his final year of club control. That said, the Padres have made a clear shift toward more of a win-now ideology after a grueling rebuild, and the Yates/Pomeranz pairing unequivocally makes them more formidable.

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