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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.

Nationals To Re-Sign Yan Gomes

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The Nationals have agreed to re-sign free-agent catcher Yan Gomes to a two-year, $10MM contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports. The pact also contains award bonuses for the Jet Sports Management client, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. He’s the latest notable catcher to come off the board in the past week, joining Yasmani Grandal (four years, $73MM to the White Sox), Travis d’Arnaud (two years, $16MM to the Braves) and Stephen Vogt (one year, $3MM to the Diamondbacks)

Gomes was one of the Nationals’ key pickups last offseason, when they acquired the 2018 All-Star in a trade with the Indians almost exactly one year ago (Nov. 30). While the Brazilian-born Gomes experienced his share of success in Cleveland, he wound up struggling somewhat during his first year in Washington. A poor first half doomed the 32-year-old to an uninspiring .223/.316/.389 batting line with 12 home runs in 358 plate appearances.

Behind the plate, Gomes did throw out 31 percent of would-be base-stealers, which ranked comfortably above the league-average mark of 26 percent, and establish himself as a favorite of star left-hander Patrick Corbin. Meanwhile, Baseball Prospectus assigned him above-average grades in the pitch-blocking department, but his framing left something to be desired.

It wasn’t a banner regular season for Gomes, nor was he an offensive hero in the playoffs, as he collected just seven hits (no home runs) in 29 at-bats. But he nonetheless received plenty of playing time behind the dish in the fall for the Nationals, who stunningly won their first-ever World Series title. Gomes and Kurt Suzuki divided reps at catcher from the beginning of the season through the end, and they figure to do the same in 2020 for a reasonable price.

The two-year, $10MM guarantee for Gomes matches the price the Nationals paid for Suzuki in free agency last season. It also represents a pay cut, at least on a per-annum basis, for Gomes. The Nats declined his $9MM option for next year shortly after their World Series triumph over the Astros.

While Washington’s catcher situation appears to be sorted out for next season, there’s plenty of other important business on the champions’ plate. The deep-pocketed franchise will presumably make a strong effort to re-sign two of the game’s premier free agents, third baseman Anthony Rendon and right-hander Stephen Strasburg. Not to be forgotten, the Nationals are also facing the departures of infielder Howie Kendrick, reliever Daniel Hudson and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, among others.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Orioles Reportedly Place Jonathan Villar On Waivers

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The Orioles have placed infielder Jonathan Villar on outright waivers after being unable to find a trade partner for the fleet-footed switch-hitter, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (via Twitter). Villar’s projected $10.4MM arbitration salary apparently served as too substantial a roadblock to overcome when marketing him to other teams.

It’s an extreme cost-cutting measure for the tanking Orioles — one that frankly looks unnecessary. Even with Villar in the fold, the Orioles’ Opening Day payroll projects to come in south of $80MM, so it’s not as if there is (or should be) any real pressure to shed salary.

Beyond that is the simple fact that Villar has been a fine player in Baltimore — arguably the organization’s best in 2019. The 28-year-old batted .274/.339/.453 with 24 home runs, 33 doubles, five triples and a whopping 40 stolen bases (in 49 attempts) this past season. Defensive metrics soured on his work at second base but gave him passable marks at shortstop — and Villar does have a track record as a useful glove at second prior to the 2019 season.

Both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com valued Villar at four wins above replacement this past season. Clearly the Orioles aren’t the only team in the league that doesn’t value Villar at his current price point — hence the lack of trade interest — but there’s virtually no way off spinning this as a move that makes Baltimore a better team in 2020.

Even if the Orioles reinvest that roughly $10MM sum, there’s little reason that with their current level of financial commitment they couldn’t simply have kept Villar and spent an additional $10MM anyhow. And it’s unlikely that Villar’s eventual replacement will give them superior on-field results. It looks to be a move designed to lose more games next season, and it’s surely a tough blow for a fanbase that has had few quality performances to cheer over the past couple of seasons.

Villar will be available for any club to claim at this point, though the new team would be on the hook for the same projected salary in arbitration. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll surely opt for free agency, at which point he’ll be able to sign with any team for any amount. Given the lack of trade interest in Villar, it’s certainly possible that he will indeed pass through waivers, but he should draw plenty of interest on Major League deals — perhaps even a two-year pact at a lower annual rate. For the Orioles, meanwhile, the optics of letting him go for no return aren’t great, and the move will be tough to sell to the fans.

Padres, Brewers Agree To Four-Player Trade

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2:00pm: The Brewers have formally announced the deal. They’ll also receive a player to be named later or cash from the Padres, per a team press release.

9:57am: The Padres and Brewers have broken open a quiet trade market with an interesting swap of young big leaguers. Outfielder Trent Grisham and righty Zach Davies are heading to San Diego, with second baseman Luis Urias and southpaw Eric Lauer going to Milwaukee in exchange.

This is a rare need-for-need, value-for-value trade. For the Friars, Grisham could pair with Manuel Margot in center field and ultimately move to a corner spot when top prospect Taylor Trammell is ready. Both he and Urias have debuted but not yet accrued a full season of MLB service. Meanwhile, Davies will represent a sturdy rotation piece. He’s projected to earn $5.0MM in his second-to-last season of team control.

On the other side, the Brewers now appear to have a double-play partner for Keston Hiura. Indications are that the club will utilize Urias at shortstop. Whether there’s still room for Orlando Arcia remains to be seen. The 24-year-old Lauer could deliver solid innings for years to come. While he’s not as established as Davies, the southpaw has shown well early in his career and remains under control through the 2024 season.

For the most part, 2019 was a bit of a dream season for Grisham. The former first-rounder finally turned the corner at the plate, raking in the upper minors (.300/.407/.603) to earn his way up to the majors.

Grisham ended up seeing significant time in the big leagues for the postseason-qualifying Brewers. He wasn’t exactly an instant star, but turned in a palatable .231/.328/.410 slash in 183 plate appearances while contributing highly graded defense. Unfortunately, the season ended on a sour note, as Grisham committed a costly error that cemented the Brewers’ Wild Card meltdown.

It feels funny to treat Davies as a secondary piece in this deal; that’s certainly not the case. Still just 26 years of age, he spun 159 2/3 innings of 3.55 ERA ball last year. True, Davies wasn’t exposed often to lineups for a third time. And there’s probably some good fortune embedded in those results. Davies will never be much of a strikeout pitcher, with a career K rate of 6.4 per nine. But he has proven over the years that he can produce good results despite his limitations, with a 3.91 ERA in 614 1/3 career innings.

In Urias, the Brewers see a compelling young hitter that just hasn’t quite found his footing in the majors. He’s just 22 years of age and carries a .305/.403/.511 slash over 887 Triple-A plate appearances. Urias has succeeded largely with his strong plate discipline (108 walks, 172 strikeouts) and excellent bat-to-ball skills. But there’s a bit of pop in the bat as well, as he has 28 long balls during his time at the highest level of the minors.

That said, there are some questions — there’s a reason that Urias has spent so much time at Triple-A while some other Padres players have breezed through and never returned. The initial MLB returns were tepid. Urias owns a .221/.318/.331 batting line in 302 plate appearances in the bigs. It seems reasonable to suppose he’ll improve upon that, but to what extent remains to be seen.

There are also some questions whether Urias can handle the shortstop position with sufficient aplomb at the game’s highest level. He spent the majority of his time in the minors at second base and has graded better there than at short in his limited MLB time at both spots. But the Brew Crew has been willing to rely upon its infield placement to help cover up any range issues.

It’d be easy to lose sight of Lauer here, but he’s a notable asset in his own right. The former first-rounder has thrown 261 2/3 MLB innings over the past two seasons, working to a cumulative 4.40 ERA. Nothing jumps off the page about him — 8.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 38.9% groundball rate, 1.20 HR/9 — but he could bring steady innings at a cheap rate. The Brewers will likely plan to utilize Lauer in a somewhat flexible role to maximize his utility, as they have other hurlers that might not quite warrant traditional starter usage.

Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link) broke the deal, with Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter) and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link) adding key details.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Pirates Hire Derek Shelton As Manager

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The Pirates have announced the hiring of Derek Shelton as their next manager, as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter) first reported. Shelton had served as the bench coach for the Twins.

Shelton’s hiring represents the first major move for the organization since its front office overhaul. He had been under consideration even before the process that resulted in Ben Cherington taking over the GM seat.

The Minnesota coaching staff has now been fully picked over. Shelton had interviewed for several other openings but had remained unclaimed until the Pittsburgh org resumed its paused managerial search.

Shelton has 15 seasons of experience as a MLB coach. He functioned as the hitting coach for the Indians and Rays before a one-year stint with the Blue Jays. After two seasons of running the Twins’ bench, he’s now ready to take command of the full dugout in Pittsburgh.

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