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James Loney Retires

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Veteran first baseman James Loney, who’d launched a comeback bid when he signed with the Atlantic League’s Sugar Land Skeeters, announced his retirement from baseball Friday.

It’s been three years since Loney, now 35, appeared in a big league game. His last Major League work came in 2016 when he batted .265/.307/.397 through 366 plate appearances with the Mets. Loney had a brief stint with the Korea Baseball Organization’s LG Twins, did not play in 2018 and appeared in just 11 games with the Skeeters this season before today’s announcement.

Although it’s been a bit since Loney was prominent in Major League Baseball, he’s still a well-known name to most fans thanks to a solid 11-year run at the MLB level. Selected by the Dodgers with the 19th overall pick in the 2002 draft, Loney debuted as a 21-year-old less than four years later and quickly solidified himself as a viable long-term piece in Los Angeles. He hit .284/.342/.559 in 111 plate appearances during that rookie effort and followed it up with a brilliant .331/.381/.538 showing in 375 plate appearances during the 2007 season.

That cemented Loney’s place in the L.A. lineup, and while his bat never matched that lofty standard again, he was a solid offensive presence for the Dodgers over the next four years, consistently hitting for average with quality on-base skills and one of the game’s lowest strikeout rates. In parts of seven seasons with his original organization, Loney hit .284/.341/.423 all while providing the Dodgers with above-average defense at first base.

Loney struggled in a brief run with the Red Sox after being included in 2012’s epic Adrian Gonzalez/Carl Crawford/Josh Beckett blockbuster and settled for a one-year deal with the Rays in hopes of rebuilding his stock. He did just that. Loney turned in a .299/.348/.430 performance with his characteristically strong glovework in his first season with Tampa Bay, and he parlayed that success into a three-year, $21MM deal to remain with the Rays. He’d give Tampa Bay a second season of above-average output before struggling in year two of that pact and eventually being released prior to the final season of the deal. It was at that point that Loney latched on for what now proved to be his final season — the aforementioned Mets run.

All told, Loney logged 1443 games in the Majors and hit .284/.336/.410 with 108 home runs, 267 doubles, 21 triples, 38 stolen bases, 528 runs scored and another 669 knocked in. Beyond that, Loney was a monster in the postseason, hitting .350/.429/.525 through 91 plate appearances across parts of eight different series (mostly with the Dodgers). Between his first-round bonus and his 11 seasons in the Majors, Loney racked up more than $38MM in career earnings.

Nationals Sign Gerardo Parra

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TODAY: The Nationals have officially announced the signing, adding Parra on a one-year contract.

YESTERDAY: The Nationals are moving fast on newly minted free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra. After hitting the open market just yesterday, he’s now reportedly due to join the Nats on their current road trip.

Parra, 32, had been designated for assignment by the Giants as they cleared the deck for younger options. He is slashing just .198/.278/.267 through 97 plate appearances on the season.

For the Nats, the veteran left-handed hitter may help plug one of the team’s many leaks. Andrew Stevenson suffered a back injury after being called up to bolster the outfield unit while Juan Soto works back to health. With lefty slugger Matt Adams also sidelined, the club is short of southpaw swingers.

Parra is known more for his glovework in the outfield than his bat, though he has at times been an above-average hitter. Through nearly five thousand MLB plate appearances over eleven seasons, he owns an 88 wRC+ — though he’s closer to league-average (96 wRC+) when hitting with the platoon advantage, as he likely will for the most part in D.C.

It is not yet known how the Nationals will clear the necessary roster space for this move. Placing Stevenson on the injured list could open an active roster spot, but that wouldn’t account for the 40-man.

Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News first made the connection on Twitter. ESPN’s Jose Rivera first tweeted that a deal was agreed to. Also reporting the match were Sam Fortier of the Washington Post (Twitter link) and Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter).

Carlos Rodon Set For Second Opinion After TJS Recommendation

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White Sox lefty Carlos Rodon has received an initial recommendation that he undergo Tommy John surgery, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports on Twitter. He’s headed in for a second opinion before a final course is set.

It was already known that a full ulnar collateral ligament replacement was possible for the 26-year-old southpaw. But that scarcely draws the sting for the Chicago organization, which already lost another of its other top young arms when Michael Kopech underwent the dreaded (but often career-saving) procedure last season.

If Rodon does indeed require TJS, he’ll be down for the entire remainder of the 2019 season. His rehab would surely stretch into the 2020 campaign as well. The best-case scenario, presuming steady progress on a fairly conservative timetable, would likely be a return next summer.

Perhaps there’s still hope that Rodon can avoid the procedure. Other hurlers have rehabbed through UCL injuries and there are some alternatives that don’t require quite as long a layoff. The possibilities and odds aren’t really clear at this point.

Regardless, it’s clear that Rodon will be sidelined for a lengthy stretch. That’s too bad, as the former third overall pick had in some ways been in his finest form as a big leaguer thus far in 2019.

While his 5.19 ERA on the season isn’t much to look at, Rodon was punching out opposing hitters at a 11.9 K/9 rate on a 12.1% swinging-strike rate while maintaining a 18.3% K%-BB%. Those are all career-best figures. Rodon is also surrendering more hard contact to go with the unsightly ERA, so clearly there were some kinks still to be worked out in his newly four-seam heavy approach.

Fortunately, even if Rodon does need a new ligament, he’ll have ample hope of returning to full health and rejoining the pursuit of his not-insignificant ceiling. He’s playing on a $4.2MM salary this year and has two more arb years remaining. In the event of season-ending surgery, the White Sox will have to stake something around that amount (perhaps adding a small raise) in order to maintain control over Rodon for his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility.

Dodgers To Sign Travis d’Arnaud

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The Dodgers have agreed to a one-year deal with catcher Travis d’Arnaud, tweets Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times. Castillo adds via Twitter that infielder Matt Beaty has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for the former Mets backstop, who was released Friday after he was designated for assignment. Because he was released, his former club is on the hook for all of the $3.515MM contract he signed in the offseason, while the Dodgers will pay him at the league-minimum rate.

For the time being, the Dodgers will move forward with a trio of catchers on the active roster, with d’Arnaud joining Austin Barnes and Russell Martin in Los Angeles. That combination has provided the Dodgers with solid production, so don’t expect d’Arnaud to supplant either incumbent behind the plate. Interestingly, though, manager Dave Roberts said that he plans to deploy d’Arnaud not only as a catcher, but also in the infield and outfield. In his 7-year Major League career, d’Arnaud has never played the outfield and has appeared in just one game at both second and third base. Of course, both Martin and Barnes have experience playing the infield, so perhaps they are more viable candidates to move into a utility role.

With outfielder A.J. Pollock undergoing elbow surgery after he was placed on the 10-day IL, manager Dave Roberts and company found themselves in need of an additional right-handed bat. Without Pollock, the Dodgers’ starting outfield consists of Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, and Alex Verdugo, all lefties. Chris Taylor is the only other bench bat capable of playing the outfield, so the addition of d’Arnaud could afford Roberts additional flexibility to rest his lefty bats against southpaws: Taylor and Enrique Hernandez could slide to the outfield, with one of Barnes, Martin, and d’Arnaud filling an infield spot. This would allow for righty-dominant lineups with a host of left-handed batters available off the bench.

His new club will look for d’Arnaud to return to the form he showed in the 2015 season, when he hit 12 home runs in just 67 games to go along with a career-best .825 OPS. Notably, d’Arnaud has played more than 100 games in a season just twice in his career. Injuries have represented a repeated source of frustration for the veteran, including last year, when a partial UCL tear cost him all but 4 games of his age-29 campaign. Perhaps the Dodgers hope that reducing the number of innings d’Arnaud spends behind the plate will reduce his risk of injury and allow him to contribute throughout the year.

Regardless, it’s a low-risk transaction for the Dodgers, who have to spend virtually nothing to get a player who could pay dividends if he proves capable of playing several positions while hitting capably. If A.J. Pollock returns from injury in a timely fashion or d’Arnaud doesn’t pan out, the Dodgers aren’t obligated to keep him around, with Barnes and Martin holding down the fort behind the plate.

Jake Peavy Retires

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Right-hander Jake Peavy last pitched professionally in 2016, and though he was angling to return to the majors last summer, that attempt has come to an end. Recent reports from Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe and Scott Miller of Bleacher Report indicate the 37-year-old Peavy has decided to hang up his cleats.

Peavy spent his final two-plus seasons in San Francisco, but his peak came as the ace of NL West rival San Diego’s staff.  In a move that ranks among the wisest in franchise history, the Padres used a 15th-round pick in 1999 on Peavy, who debuted in 2002. Just two years later, he emerged as one of the majors’ premier pitchers.

During a 1,050-inning run in San Diego from 2004-09, Peavy pitched to a 3.02 ERA/3.16 FIP with 9.44 K/9 against 2.74 BB/9 and helped the Padres to their two most recent playoff berths (2005-06). He also earned a pair of All-Star nods and twice led the National League in both ERA and strikeouts in that period, during which he accumulated the majors’ fifth-highest fWAR among starters (26.4). Only luminaries Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay outdid Peavy in that category.

In the crowning personal achievement of his career, Peavy beat out Oswalt and others for the NL Cy Young Award in 2007, when he fired 223 1/3 innings of 2.54 ERA/2.84 FIP ball, amassed 240 strikeouts and led all big league pitchers in fWAR (6.7). It was the third straight season of at least 200 innings for Peavy, who exceeded that mark twice more later in his career.

Peavy was unquestionably the Padres’ most valuable player during his seven-plus years in their uniform. However, his reign in San Diego came to an end in August 2009 when the non-contenders traded him to the White Sox for Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.

Save for Richard, who had a long but unspectacular run in San Diego, no one from that group panned out for the Padres. Meanwhile, despite Peavy’s presence, the White Sox never secured a playoff berth during his stint with the franchise. It didn’t help that Peavy often battled injuries throughout his tenure as a member of the White Sox, with whom his numbers declined. Still, he did log a respectable 4.00 ERA/3.70 FIP in 537 2/3 frames with the Pale Hose and pick up his third and final All-Star appearance with the club in 2012.

In July 2013, a year after his last truly great season, Peavy changed Sox when Chicago dealt him to Boston in a three-team, seven-player trade that also included Detroit. Peavy wasn’t any kind of rotation savior by then, but he was still a solid starter whose acquisition paid dividends for the Red Sox during their run to a World Series championship that season. However, Boston couldn’t defend its title in 2014, a season in which it nosedived in the standings and ended up dealing Peavy to the Giants for pitchers Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree.

For the second straight season, Peavy was a midsummer acquisition for a franchise that went on to a championship. Peavy gave the 2014 Giants the vintage version of himself in terms of run prevention over 78 2/3 regular-season innings (2.17 ERA), and he helped the club to NLDS and NLCS victories. Although Peavy struggled in both of his World Series starts, a pair of losses to the Royals, the Giants nonetheless triumphed in a seven-game classic. They then brought back Peavy on a two-year, $24MM contract, which will go down as the last deal of his career. While Peavy pitched well in the first of those seasons, injuries held him to 110 2/3 innings. He was only able to manage another 118 2/3 frames in 2016, a career-worst campaign that included a demotion to the Giants’ bullpen.

Although Peavy’s time in the majors didn’t end on a high note, he enjoyed a prolific career that most pitchers would sign up for without a second thought. Along with his personal and team awards, Peavy registered a 152-126 record, 2,207 strikeouts and a 3.63 ERA/3.65 FIP in 2,377 innings en route to 44.1 fWAR/37.5 rWAR and upward of $127MM in earnings. MLBTR congratulates Peavy on an outstanding career and wishes him the best in his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Corey Kluber Placed On Injured List With Fractured Forearm

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May 3: The Indians announced today that Kluber has been placed on the 10-day injured list. Right-hander Jon Edwards is up from Triple-A Columbus in his place.

At the moment, it’s not believed that Kluber’s arm will require surgical repair. While that’s surely a sigh of relief for Cleveland fans, Kluber still looks to be facing a sizable absence. He’ll be reevaluated after three to four weeks without throwing (Twitter link via Tom Withers of the Associated Press). There’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to resume throwing at that point, though, and even if that were the case, he’d surely require a rehab assignment to build arm strength.

May 1: The Indians have suffered another injury in the rotation, as two-time AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his right ulna tonight, per a team announcement. The injury occurred when Kluber was struck on the right arm by a 102 mph comeback line-drive off the bat of the Marlins’ Brian Anderson. Kluber will be reevaluated Thursday when the team returns to Cleveland, at which point a timetable for his return will become clear.

Kluber, 33, was off to one of the worst starts of his excellent career in 2019, having posted a dismal 5.80 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate in 35 2/3 innings of work (including tonight’s truncated outing). Those struggles notwithstanding, the injury is a devastating blow to an Indians rotation that is already without Mike Clevinger for what figures to be more than two months due to a rather significant teres major strain. Kluber had been haunted by a .380 average on balls in play and an abnormally low 64.5 percent strand rate so far in 2019, and fielding-independent metrics pegged him as a rebound candidate moving forward.

Now that Kluber is sidelined, the once-formidable Indians rotation suddenly looks quite top-heavy. Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco remain premium rotation horses (despite one disastrous outing from the latter earlier this year), and young righty Shane Bieber carries plenty of promise. But the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation will likely be entrusted to inexperienced righties Jefry Rodriguez and Adam Plutko — neither of whom has enjoyed sustained success at the MLB level to this point in his career.

Cleveland already trails the Twins by two games in the American League Central (2.5 games if the Minnesota bullpen can hold its current 5-0 lead over Houston for one more inning). While there’s certainly plenty of season left, the pitching staff — and the rotation, in particular — was supposed to be the lifeblood of a roster that currently ranks 25th in the Majors in runs scored and 28th in wRC+.

Reds Promote Nick Senzel

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The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of Nick Senzel, making the promotion of one of baseball’s premier prospects official. Senzel will join the active roster in place of right-hander Matthew Bowman, who has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Cincinnati transferred Scooter Gennett from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Senzel is in today’s lineup, batting second.

Nick Senzel | Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

There’s been a sense that this move was coming since earlier in the week when MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported the possibility, which has built a steady sense of anticipation among Reds fans in recent days. Senzel, the No. 2 overall pick in 2016, entered the season ranked as one of the top 10 overall prospects in baseball and has sufficiently recovered from the late-March ankle injury that sidelined him. He’s not off to a blistering start in Triple-A by any means, hitting .257/.316/.371, but he’s generally been viewed as an MLB-ready bat despite that tiny eight-game sample.

Drafted as an infielder, he’s moved to the outfield in order to fast-track his arrival on the MLB roster, and he should step directly into the Reds’ everyday center field role, hopefully jump-starting what has been a stagnant offensive unit of outfielders. Scouting reports on Senzel laud his potential for above-average tool across the board, including a 65- or even 70-grade hit tool. He’s walked at a solid clip throughout his minor league career and has never had a major issue with strikeouts over a large sample, suggesting that he has the discipline to complement that hit tool and serve as a middle-of-the-order bat for years to come.

A career .312/.388/.508 hitter with 28 homers and 40 steals in 239 minor league games, Senzel should provide an upgrade over Scott Schebler in center, as the 28-year-old Schebler has slumped to a woeful .127/.258/.228 slash to open the season. There will be some growing pains on the defensive side of things, as Senzel only began playing the outfield in game settings this spring and has been sidelined for a bit this year. He was originally slated to get his feet wet in center field during the Arizona Fall League last year, but he instead required surgery to remove a pair of bone spurs from his left (non-throwing) elbow. That capped off a frustrating, injury-filled year for Senzel, who also missed time due to vertigo symptoms and a fractured finger.

The Reds has already reassigned Senzel to minor league camp when he incurred the aforementioned ankle injury, meaning he was destined for Triple-A to start the year. However, the ankle issue sidelined him long enough that there was never any question about whether he’d accrue enough service time in 2019 to reach free agency as quickly as possible. Senzel can’t earn more than 151 days of MLB service in 2019, meaning the Reds effectively control him for seven years rather than six. Assuming he’s in the big leagues for good, Senzel will be arbitration-eligible as a Super Two player following the 2021 season and won’t be a free agent until the 2025-26 offseason.

It remains to be seen just how the Senzel promotion will impact playing time for the rest of the Reds’ outfielders. Jesse Winker is the only one of the incumbent bunch who has been at all productive to this point in the season (.224/.315/.490), while each of Schebler, Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig has struggled. Puig still figures to see the lion’s share of at-bats in right field, given his age and track record, which could largely relegate Kemp and Schebler to pinch-hitting and occasional starts based on platoon matchups.

A.J. Pollock To Undergo Elbow Surgery

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Dodgers outfielder A.J. Pollock will undergo surgery to remove the metal hardware that was inserted in his the growth plate of his right elbow back in a 2016 procedure, manager Dave Roberts announced Wednesday (Twitter links via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and Pedro Moura of The Athletic).

Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets that the Dodgers feel the fact that the metal can be removed entirely, rather than replaced is “relatively” good news, as it means Pollock’s growth plate has healed sufficiently, though obviously the loss is a blow to the club. There’s no timeline on a return, though Roberts noted that Pollock is expected back this season.

The Dodgers were well aware of the injury risks associated with Pollock when signing him to a four-year contract this offseason. The 31-year-old is an undeniably talented all-around player, but he’s topped 500 plate appearances just once in his big league career. Pollock averaged just 101 games played and 402 plate appearances per season dating back to 2014.

Most notably, Pollock was limited to only a dozen games back in 2016 after suffering a fractured elbow while sliding headfirst on a play at the plate — the injury that necessitated the surgery that ultimately led to this new procedure. It’s been a slow start to the season for Pollock, likely in part due to this infection, as he’s hit just .223/.287/.330 through 115 PAs — including just three hits in his past 29 trips to the plate.

With Pollock sidelined indefinitely, it stands to reason that Alex Verdugo will see an increased role in the outfield. Chris Taylor, too, could see an increase in playing time. Beyond that pair of center-field options, the Dodgers have Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson as options, and versatile Enrique Hernandez is plenty experienced there. The team could get another option to add back into the mix eventually as well; Roberts also indicated that Andrew Toles has reported to the team’s Spring Training facility in Arizona and is beginning to work toward a return to the club (Twitter link via DiGiovanna).

Note: An earlier version of this post inaccurately indicated that the hardware in Pollock’s elbow had been dislodged. That is not the case. My apologies on the error.

2019-20 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

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Since we last checked in on the 2019-20 free agent class, seven more potential free agents came off the board: Chris Sale, Paul Goldschmidt, Xander Bogaerts, Justin Verlander, Matt Carpenter, Khris Davis, and Ryan Pressly.  This came after Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Aaron Hicks, and Nolan Arenado had already decided to eschew free agency.  Meanwhile, pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are still without teams, serving as a warning for those thinking of testing the market.

In theory, the open market should always generate the best offers, even if the potential loss of a draft pick enters the equation.  Still, for many players it isn’t worth enduring a potentially brutal free agency process in an attempt to squeeze out that last $20MM at the risk of a Keuchel/Kimbrel debacle, when you’re signing for generational money regardless.  That’s why this list keeps getting less and less impressive each time we do it.  As always, these players are ranked by my estimate of their 2019-20 open market earning power.  To view the entire list of 2019-20 MLB free agents, click here.

1.  Gerrit Cole.  Cole jumps to the top of this list simply by virtue of the Red Sox locking down Sale and Bogaerts.  Cole, 28, has been homer-prone in his first six starts, but it’s really just one rough outing in Texas that has thrown off his ERA.  Sale is a comparable worth considering.  Sale’s new contract takes him through the age of 35, one year short of David Price, Max Scherzer, and Jon Lester and two years short of Zack Greinke.  Cole’s argument is that he, too, should require a commitment through age 35, which would necessitate a seven-year deal.  For all that went wrong for free agents in the 2018-19 offseason, Patrick Corbin still got a strong six-year contract with a shorter track record than Cole.  In the end, Cole needs a good old-fashioned bidding war to develop, and teams have become increasingly reluctant to enter into those.  Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote on March 22nd that the Astros were discussing extensions with both Cole and rotation-mate Justin Verlander, and shortly after that they inked Verlander to a two-year, $66MM extension.  I’d say that decreases the chances of the Astros extending Cole.

2.  Anthony Rendon.  Rendon, 28, got off to a blazing start this year for the Nationals before a Jose Urena fastball struck his elbow on April 20th and ended a 17-game hitting streak.  He’s played in one game since that HBP but seems to have avoided significant injury.  Jose Altuve’s five-year, $151MM extension with the Astros, signed about a year ago, lines up well with Rendon.  Nolan Arenado’s deal further cemented the idea that teams are mostly willing to pay through age 34 rather than 35.  The x-factor might be Paul Goldschmidt, a player perhaps inferior to Rendon who was extended through age 36 by the Cardinals.  So look for Rendon to try for a six-year deal, though he could end with five.  The last we heard on extension talks with the Nationals was from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman on April 18th, who tweeted that “there’s believed to be a decent-sized gap remaining” between the two sides.

3.  Marcell Ozuna.  Ozuna, 28, fell short of expectations last year after the Cardinals acquired him from the Marlins.  It’s possible shoulder soreness was to blame, with Ozuna undergoing surgery to address the issue after the season.  The shoulder doesn’t seem to be affecting his hitting early on in 2019, as Ozuna has 10 home runs in his last 79 plate appearances.  With a season more like Ozuna’s 2017 campaign, he should have a good chance at a five-year deal.  It’s worth noting that the three potential free agents currently topping this list are all clients of the Boras Corporation.

4.  Madison Bumgarner.  Despite a 4.30 ERA across six starts, Bumgarner’s early results for the Giants have been promising.  After last year’s career-worst walk rate, he’s issuing free passes to a career-best 3.3% of batters in the small 37 2/3 inning sample.  A vintage 200 inning campaign from Bumgarner should set him up nicely for a strong four-year deal in free agency.  He’ll also be one of the best trade chips on the market in July, and a trade would remove the qualifying offer issue that has partially plagued Keuchel.

5.  Zack Wheeler.  Wheeler, 29 in May, has come on strong in his last three starts after a seven-walk outing on April 7th.  The hard-throwing righty is now four years removed from Tommy John surgery, though he did go two and a half years between MLB starts as he recovered.  The goal has to be a five-year deal through age 34, but he may have to settle for four.  It’s all about staying healthy for these next 25 starts.  The Mikolas/Nathan Eovaldi deals, at four years and $68MM, could be a marker for Wheeler.  Unlike Eovaldi, Wheeler may be dealing with a qualifying offer.

6.  Didi Gregorius.  Gregorius is currently recovering from October Tommy John surgery.  His recovery is going smoothly, though there’s no public timetable on his return.  In the meantime, it’s mostly been Gleyber Torres holding down the fort at shortstop for the Yankees after Troy Tulowitzki strained his calf on April 3rd.  With Bogaerts off the board, Gregorius will be the best available shortstop if the Yankees don’t lock him up prior to free agency.  A four-year deal seems plausible if he comes back strong, though Gregorius will likely receive a qualifying offer.

7.  J.D. Martinez.  Martinez has been one of the game’s best hitters over the last two years.  He’s off to a strong start this year, though he’s missed a few games of late due to back spasms.  Martinez is, of course, limited in that he primarily serves as a designated hitter.  The players union continues to advocate for the National League to get the DH, so we’ll see whether the owners agree in the near future and vastly open up Martinez’s market.  Later this year, Martinez will be 32 when he’ll be faced with deciding whether to opt out of the remaining three years and $62.5MM remaining on his contract.  The safe move is to just stick with his current deal, especially since the Red Sox could saddle Martinez with a qualifying offer if he opts out.

8.  Josh Donaldson.  After an injury-marred 2018 season, Donaldson signed a hefty one-year, $23MM deal with the Braves.  A 30 home run, 80 walk type season in the middle of the Braves’ lineup would likely result in some solid multiyear offers for the former MVP.  However, Donaldson will turn 34 in December, so the offers may top out at two years with a strong AAV.  Another complication is that Donaldson could receive a qualifying offer from the Braves.

9.  Yasmani Grandal.  Like Donaldson, Grandal inked a significant one-year deal in free agency this past winter.  However, Grandal turned down multiyear offers from the Mets, White Sox, Twins, and Angels, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic.  The catcher explained in January at his Brewers press conference, “I had a lot of good deals.  One of my responsibilities as a player is also to respect the guys going through this process before me like Brian McCann, Russell Martin, Yadier Molina, to mention a few of them.”  Grandal reportedly turned down a four-year offer from the Mets in excess of $50MM before ultimately landing his one-year, $18.25MM deal with Milwaukee.  If Grandal’s strong start to the season continues, his gambit just might pay off, as even something like three years and $42MM would get him past $60MM for 2019-22.  This time around, he won’t be saddled with a qualifying offer.

10.  Yasiel Puig.  In the first month of his Reds career, Puig has lived up to his Wild Horse nickname by, as Deadspin described it, attempting to “fight all of Pittsburgh.”  He’s here on this list because of his abilities as a hitter, which have decidedly not manifested themselves through 96 plate appearances.  His strikeout and walk rates are career worsts in the early going, but he has five months to turn it around and earn a multiyear contract in free agency.

Honorable mentions: Nicholas Castellanos, Rick Porcello, Kyle Gibson, Michael Pineda, Cole Hamels

 

Ervin Santana Elects Free Agency

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April 29: Santana has elected free agency, per an announcement from the White Sox. Daryl Van Schouwen tweets that the decision relievers the ChiSox from any further financial obligations regarding Santana, which seems to suggest that the veteran righty agreed to a 45-day advance consent clause as part of his contract.

Players with more than five years of service time earn the right to retain their salary even after being released or rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The 45-day advance consent clause, however, gives teams the option of cutting loose a veteran with six-plus years at any point within the season’s first 45 days (barring an injury) without being on the hook for the remainder of his salary. (Trade Rumors’ Zach Links examined 45-day advance consent clauses in depth a few years ago.)

April 26: The White Sox announced this morning that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Ervin Santana for assignment. His spot on the active roster will go to Eloy Jimenez, who has been reinstated from the bereavement list.

Santana’s stay with the Sox proved to be brief, as he made only three starts before the team shifted course today. The 36-year-old righty pitched just 13 1/3 innings for the Pale Hose, allowing 14 runs on 19 hits and six walks with only five strikeouts.

Chicago inked Santana to a minor league contract with a rather hefty $4.3MM guarantee at the MLB level in hopes that he could bounce back from an injury-ruined 2018 season. Santana underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his pitching hand in February of 2018, and lingering effects from that procedure limited him to just 24 2/3 ineffective innings with the Twins. Following that injury shortened campaign, Minnesota declined a $14MM option on the righty.

Prior to that injury, however, Santana was not only durable for the Twins but quietly one of the league’s more effective starters. Santana turned in 392 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 for the Twins from 2016-17. The 2017 campaign saw Santana toss five complete games — a rare feat in this era of baseball — including three shutouts. From 2010-17, Santana avoided any absences due to injury and averaged 30 starts and 192 innings per season (despite an 80-game PED suspension at the onset of the 2015 season).

It’s now uncertain whether Santana can reestablish himself as a viable rotation piece at the big league level, although given his track record and the sheer number of teams that could use rotation reinforcements, one would imagine that he’ll get the opportunity to do so. He’ll first have to clear release waivers — it’s unlikely that the Sox find a trade partner for the righty — but once he does, he can sign with any club on either a minor league contract or an MLB deal worth the prorated league minimum.

As for the Sox, they’ll look to internal options to help right the ship in what has been an awful rotation to begin the year. While Carlos Rodon has performed well through the season’s first month, each of Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Ivan Nova and Santana have pitched poorly. Dylan Covey, Jordan Stephens and top prospect Dylan Cease are all looming in Triple-A as potential options, or the team could simply plug Manny Banuelos into the fifth spot in the rotation moving forward. Some type of spot starter will likely need to be recalled in the coming days, however, as Giolito is on the shelf with a hamstring injury at the moment.

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