Secretive Free Agent Camp Now Open
By my count, there are currently around 40 remaining free agents who seem likely to receive Major League contracts eventually. Approximately 70 additional free agents might have been minor league deal candidates even in a normal offseason. This offseason has been decidedly abnormal in the sheer volume of quality unsigned players as spring training camps open around baseball.
As a result of MLB’s Neverending Offseason, the players’ union decided to open up a spring training camp for the many unsigned free agents. The location: IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. According to USA Today, the first workout is today. Former Astros manager Bo Porter is set to preside over the proceedings.
We knew going in that the MLBPA decided not to allow media at this camp. But I decided, “What the hell,” and sent veteran reporter Joey Johnston out to IMG this morning in an attempt to find a story. The effort was a total bust. According to Johnston, IMG is a sprawling facility, “almost Disney World-like where you can’t see anything unless you are inside.” There is a fenced-in, guarded gate. When Johnston inquired with a guard if he might wait around the perimeter, his reply was, “We were vehemently told there would be no public access. No one gets in there. No one.”
From what Johnston could tell, the players are housed on-site, so they can’t be spotted driving in or out. No other media or fans were present. Johnston concluded, “If they wanted total lockdown, they appear to have achieved that goal.” That’s also the sense that team personnel are evidently being given. As Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets, a club exec tells him that a special assistant sent to scout “was asked to leave the workout” and “escorted out” of the IMG facility. Of course, as he adds in a follow-up tweet, private workouts can be set up with individual players.
Based on Johnston’s account, the MLBPA’s free agent camp is not some kind of 31st spring training camp. In fact, the situation at IMG runs directly counter to the laid-back, relatively accessible vibes of a typical spring training facility.
Why did the MLBPA decide to conduct their camp this way? I’d have asked director of communications Greg Bouris for comment, but he resigned this week after serving in the role for 19 years. Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk recently posited a theory: “I suspect the union does not want its free agents being the subject of sad stories in which they’re cast as hopeless or pathetic or facing the end of their careers.”
I think Craig is on to something. It seems likely the camp itself would come off as a sad affair. We know the Boras Corporation’s clients are not attending, and that includes top free agents in J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer, Jake Arrieta, Mike Moustakas, and Greg Holland. I inquired with three additional major agencies with notable free agents, and have come up empty in identifying one who will be in attendance. No one seems to know which or how many players will be attending – not even Bo Porter, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
From afar, it appears that the players’ union is missing an opportunity to win over fans, whether directly by being accessible or by openly letting attending free agents talk to the media. As Meg Rowley noted for FanGraphs on Monday, the general public typically does not side with the players in a labor dispute of this nature, though one possible messaging strategy could be to hammer on the many teams that are not trying to win this year. We established our own evidence of baseball fans’ sentiments last week, when over 73% of the 23,000 respondents in an MLBTR poll said players are overpaid. As I noted in that post, there are plenty of reasons to believe otherwise, but at the moment that message does not seem to be getting through to fans.
Rays Sign Sergio Romo
FEBRUARY 13: Romo is guaranteed $2.5MM in the deal, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The deal is official.
FEBRUARY 9: The Rays have agreed to terms on a one-year, Major League deal with right-hander Sergio Romo, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). He can earn up to $2.75MM, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter link), though the amount guaranteed remains unclear. The deal is still pending a physical. Romo is a client of Meister Sports Management.
Romo, 35 next month, was cut loose by the Dodgers after struggling through 25 innings in Los Angeles last season but found new life when L.A. sent him to the Rays in a minor trade following a DFA. In 30 2/3 frames with Tampa Bay, Romo thrived, pitching to a minuscule 1.47 ERA with an excellent 28-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 38.8 percent ground-ball rate.
Though Romo’s average velocity on his four-seamer and sinker both checked in under 87 mph last season, his penchant for missing bats didn’t deteriorate whatsoever. While one wouldn’t think it when looking at the radar gun, Romo has averaged better than a strikeout per inning in all but two seasons of his career, and he averaged 9.5 K/9 on the season as a whole in 2017. That impressive mark was accompanied by a 14.9 percent swinging-strike rate that tied him with Cody Allen for 25th among 155 qualified relievers.
Romo will serve as an elder statesman in a young and rather inexperienced Tampa Bay bullpen. At present, Alex Colome projects as the team’s closer, though trade rumblings surrounding his name have persisted even as Spring Training approaches. The Rays are reportedly still under ownership directive to cut a bit more payroll, and that figures to be ever the more true after adding Romo on a one-year deal — even if it comes at a modest rate. Should Colome ultimately be moved, it stands to reason that Romo, formerly the Giants’ closer, could find himself in the mix for saves early in the season.
[Related: Updated Tampa Bay Rays depth chart]
Beyond Romo and Colome, the Rays’ bullpen, at least from the right side, looks somewhat undefined. Dan Jennings and Jose Alvarado should hold down spots as southpaws, while Matt Andriese figures to pitch from the right side in a multi-inning capacity (though Andriese could end up in the rotation depending on whether Jake Odorizzi, another trade candidate, is moved prior to Opening Day).
Other right-handers who could work in a middle relief or setup capacity include Austin Pruitt, Chaz Roe, Andrew Kittredge, Ryne Stanek, Chih-Wei Hu, Jamie Schultz and Diego Castillo — each of whom is on the 40-man roster. The Rays will also have some veterans with big league experience in camp on minor league deals, including righty Evan Scribner and lefties Vidal Nuno and Jonny Venters.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cubs Sign Yu Darvish
TUESDAY: The Cubs have announced the deal.
It breaks down as follows, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter): $25MM in 2018, $20MM in 2019, $22MM apiece in 2020 and 2021, $19MM in 2022, and $18MM in 2023. That allocation means that Darvish will face at least a four-year, $81MM decision (depending upon escalators) when his opt-out opportunity arises.
Per Nightengale, also, the full no-trade protection extends through the first four years of the contract.
SUNDAY, 4:05pm: Darvish has a full no-trade clause for part of the deal, then it switches to a 12-team list, per Jon Heyman of FanRag (Twitter link).
1:50pm: Darvish has the ability to block a trade to nearly every team, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Additionally, in any year of the contract, he could earn $2MM extra with a Cy Young Award or $1MM if he finishes second to fifth in the voting.
SATURDAY, 6:02pm: Darvish’s opt-out comes after the 2019 season, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
5:17pm: The Cubs and Yu Darvish have agreed to terms on a contract that will bring the righty to Chicago, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports on Twitter. The deal guarantees the Wasserman client $126MM over six years (though the total value can reportedly reach $150MM via escalators), and is pending a physical. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the contract also includes both an opt-out clause “earlier than three years into his contract” and no-trade protection (Twitter link).
With Darvish in the fold alongside Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Chatwood, the reigning NL Central champs will have one of the more complete (and formidable) rotations in all of baseball. Thanks in part to that group, they should enter the upcoming season as the favorites to win the division again, despite the aggressive moves the rival Brewers have made this winter.
In Darvish, who divided last year between the Rangers and Dodgers, the Cubs are getting a hurler who in 2017 ranked as the majors’ 16th-best pitcher by fWAR (3.5) and 12th-best in terms of strikeouts per nine innings (10.08). He also racked up 186 2/3 innings, his most since 2013, and pitched to a 3.86 ERA/3.83 FIP. He figures to replace Jake Arrieta near the front of the Cubs’ rotation. Because Darvish was part of a midseason trade, the Dodgers could not issue him a qualifying offer to begin the winter. Consequently, reeling him in won’t cost Chicago any draft-pick compensation or international bonus pool money.
Of course, the impact of this signing sends ripples far beyond the NL Central alone. MLBTR had ranked Darvish as the best available free agent among our top 50 (Tim Dierkes & Co. actually predicted he’d end up with the Cubs). This deal could well mean that many other free agent dominoes will begin to fall soon. In particular, many have theorized that teams may have been waiting for Darvish to sign before moving onto lesser free agents such as Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn. The Dodgers, Twins, and Brewers had all reportedly made serious offers for Darvish; they’ll now have to set their sights on other options.
The contract itself is by far the largest ever given to a free agent in February. Although the total guarantee is significantly south of the $160MM we predicted he’d receive back in November, the deal itself could perhaps ease some of the ongoing tension between the players union and MLB, which has escalated to a boiling point in recent weeks due to teams’ unwillingness to meet the asking prices of many top free agents. There has perhaps been as much focus on the glacial pace of the offseason as there has been on the free agents themselves, and the Darvish signing is certainly a step in the right direction.
On the other hand, the top four remaining free agents are now J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer, Jake Arrieta and Mike Moustakas – all of whom are clients of Scott Boras. With the super-agent firmly in control of the top of the market, there’s no guarantee that other pieces will fall into place any time soon.
[RELATED: Updated Cubs Depth Chart/Team Payroll]
Darvish’s major league career started out in spectacular fashion. After the Rangers spent over $100MM between salary guarantees and posting fees in order to sign him out of Japan prior to 2012, he rewarded them by delivering two consecutive seasons of at least 4.5 fWAR. The talented righty was on his way to another fantastic campaign in 2014, but had to be shut down in August due to elbow issues. Those issues ultimately led to a Tommy John surgery in March of the following year, meaning the ace didn’t take the mound for the Rangers for nearly two years.
When Darvish made his return on May 28, 2016, he picked up right where he left off. In 287 innings since that date, all Darvish has done is strike out 341 hitters while walking just 89. His 3.70 ERA and 3.49 xFIP during that span are among the best marks in the major leagues, and he’s posted the 14th-best soft contact rate in the major leagues during that span.
Of course, Darvish’s solid 2017 season was unfortunately covered in shadow by his dreadful World Series performance with the Dodgers. He faced 22 Astros hitters across his two starts while recording just 10 outs and allowing eight earned runs. Darvish was saddled with the loss for both of those games, one of which was the seventh and final game of the series.
However, while his bellyflop is perhaps the most prominent impression left in the minds of Dodgers fans, there are a number of important factors to consider. The first and perhaps most obvious is that 3 1/3 innings is an incredibly small sample size, particularly against a juggernaut Astros offense that also tore through pitchers like Chris Sale in the same postseason. Another is that many Astros hitters went on record saying that Darvish was tipping his pitches in Game Seven; they could tell whether he was going to throw a cutter or a breaking ball by watching whether he adjusted his grip on the ball before bringing it to his glove. Finally, the two World Series starts were Darvish’s 36th and 37th of the season, which is especially notable because he hadn’t pitched a more than 150 innings in a season since 2013.
Darvish’s pitch arsenal is one of his most unique assets. According to Brooks Baseball, he threw a four-seamer, slider, sinker, curve, cutter, change-up and splitter during the 2017 season. While the sinker and change-up were each utilized less than 2% of the time, such an expansive repertoire sets Darvish apart from other MLB aces. Fortunately for him, he’ll once again be reunited with catcher Chris Gimenez. The two played together during their years with the Rangers, where Gimenez had great success working with Darvish and his arsenal. The Cubs signed Gimenez to a minor-league deal about three weeks ago, though whether that factor had any impact at all on Davish’s decision is a guessing game at this point.
While there’s a chance Darvish will pitch to Gimenez in 2018, it seems likely most of his work will come with starting catcher Willson Contreras. The 25-year-old expressed excitement about the Darvish deal on Twitter, noting that he “can’t wait to catch” the four-time All-Star.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Giants Negotiating With Tony Watson; Phillies & Red Sox Also In Mix
11:33am: San Francisco isn’t the only team in the mix, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, who tweets that the Phillies, Red Sox, and unstated other teams are also still involved.
10:20am: The Giants are engaged in “serious contract talks” with southpaw reliever Tony Watson, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports (via Twitter). It is not clear at this time what sort of contractual terms the sides are contemplating, but Watson is clearly the best lefty pen piece still unsigned at this stage.
This is certainly an interesting bit of news, due largely to San Francisco’s closely watched effort to improve while staying shy of the competitive balance tax line. Recent tabulations have suggested the team is only $2MM or so beneath the $197MM threshold at present, leaving little room for a player of Watson’s anticipated price.
If the Giants were to accept the luxury tax for the 2018 season, it’s at least fair to wonder whether they’d plan to go further over the line to add other players. On the other hand, part of the team’s strategy could be to engineer a mid-season sell-off to get back below the line if things don’t go quite as hoped.
As things stand, the Giants’ depth chart features Steven Okert as the top southpaw on hand. Josh Osich and D.J. Snelten also represent 40-man options, with recent minor-league signee Derek Holland perhaps also factoring in the mix if he cannot earn a rotation slot. San Francisco will ultimately hope for a bounce back from Will Smith, who is looking to return from a Tommy John procedure that was performed just before the start of the 2017 season, but clearly there’s some room for improvement.
Entering the winter, Watson was tabbed as the 44th-best free agent in MLBTR’s ranking of the top 50 open-market players. We guessed the 32-year-old could command $12MM in total guaranteed money over two years. While he has plenty of general late-inning experience, our assessment was that he’d be pursued (and paid) more as a quality lefty specialist. Watson, after all, has long been much more effective against opposing lefties.
Former ACES Contractor Sues Agency; Levinson Brothers Respond
TODAY: Deadspin has obtained and published the complaint in full.
Those interested in learning all of the details of what Nunez states in his filing will want to read it in its original form. But it is worth discussing a few pertinent allegations, all of which were previously investigated (at least to some extent) by the MLBPA but which could now be subject to a different sort of test through the civil litigation process.
Nunez claims that the Levinsons directed and supervised his actions, approving of his questionable efforts. He details a purported undertaking to retain Fernando Rodney as a client during a dispute with another agency, with the Levinsons allegedly ordering Nunez to engineer an arrangement to kick back a portion of the agency’s fee when the MLBPA had ordered that there not be any contact with the reliever.
On the PED front, Nunez says that the Levinson brothers were behind his effort to connect players with performance-enhancing substances through Tony Bosch and the Biogenesis clinic. He also charges the ACES leaders with being “intimately involved” in the failed, harebrained scheme to clear Cabrera (which he details in all its elaborate absurdity). And he explains his prior admissions to the contrary by suggesting the Levinsons asked him to take the fall and promised to take care of him.
YESTERDAY:A disgraced former figure in the baseball world has filed a lawsuit that proposes to revisit one of the game’s most notable scandals. According to a report from Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, Juan Carlos Nunez — who served jail time relating to the Biogenesis PED mess — is suing the ACES agency that he once worked for as an independent contractor.
At this point, details are quite hazy even as to the allegations, as the complaint itself has yet to surface. Per Heyman, Nunez claims that ACES founders Sam and Seth Levinson guided and funded him in a scheme to attract clients and connect them with performance-enhancing drugs. He is seeking “millions” in damages under as-yet-unknown legal theories.
When reached for comment, Seth and Sam Levinson provided MLBTR the following statement:
“While we have not yet seen the complaint, Juan Nunez is a convicted felon who spent time in federal prison. He betrayed his family, the players who trusted him and the very people who gave him an opportunity at a great life and career. He was terminated almost six (6) years ago, in August of 2012, after his betrayals came to light. ACES has been thoroughly investigated, and at every turn, has fully cooperated. The MLBPA exonerated us, all of the players cleared us, and it was conclusively proven that we did absolutely nothing wrong. This is nothing more than a shakedown by a man broken by his own criminal actions. We will take the fight to Mr. Nunez for any meritless and defamatory claims, and we will seek all available remedies and damages that his criminal behavior has caused.”
Given that we don’t yet even know precisely what has been alleged, let alone what evidence might be mustered, it goes without saying that the actual merits of Nunez’s claims are anything but settled. Those general caveats are certainly all the more pressing here, given Nunez’s highly problematic track record.
Nunez is perhaps best known for setting up a fake website in a misguided plot to absolve Melky Cabrera (then an ACES client) of his 2012 PED suspension. It turned out that Nunez’s ties to illicit substances went beyond that case, as he was ultimately sentenced to jail time and house arrest after copping to functioning as an intermediary between baseball players and the Biogenesis clinic. Nunez was reportedly implicated in prior scams and came with an undesirable reputation even before Biogenesis.
The MLBPA investigated the ACES agency as part of the broad Biogenesis fallout, as the agency represented ten players that were caught up in the scandal. The Levinsons vehemently denied any knowledge of Nunez’s improprieties and were ultimately cleared by the union. ACES continues to represent a lengthy list of major leaguers, as documented in MLBTR’s Agency Database.
In large part, then, this is a heavily-trodden matter that has largely been resolved. That said, there surely were many questions legitimately asked with so many ACES clients coming under scrutiny. The agency obviously benefited from the relationship with Nunez, who helped to recruit and retain Spanish-speaking ballplayers. Some around the game raised concerns with the Levinsons, as documented at the time in reports such as this one from Bob Nightengale of USA Today, though the agency has not faced discipline and has continued to operate as usual in the ensuing years.
It remains to be seen whether this lawsuit will lead to the production of new information relating to the Biogenesis matter, let alone whether there is any chance that the commissioner’s office or MLBPA will reengage a matter they’d surely like to leave in the past. That may hinge upon whether Nunez is able to produce any actual evidence. Of course, with the potential discovery process in this suit still a ways off, it is not even known yet whether this litigation will really provide a vehicle for reliable new information, let alone whether it will meaningfully change our understanding of this unfortunate epoch of MLB history.
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MLBPA Preparing Spring Training Camp For Free Agents
10:00pm: Some Boras clients, it seems, will participate in the union’s camp, per Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links). He quotes Boras:
“A question arose as to where our clients would work out. Our clients will certainly take advantage of the union facilities as their schedule allows. Where they work out is a individual choice based upon convenience. Understandably, the camps do not allow our training staff to attend and many of our clients are comfortable continuing their [Spring Training] routines and preparation at one of Boras Corps facilities.”
Feb. 8, 1:46pm: The MLBPA camp is taking shape. Rosenthal reports (links to Twitter account) that it’ll be held at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Here are a few additional details that the union has provided in an email that Rosenthal obtained:
- Bo Porter will lead the proceedings; no personal trainers will be allowed
- the union is arranging travel, housing, per diems, and insurance
- camp will open next Wednesday and run through at least March 4th
Interestingly, some players under contract are expected to partake before reporting to their respective organizations’ camps. That’s intended as a “show of support,” says Rosenthal, but at present it does not sound as if any players intend to miss any time with their teams.
Importantly, clients of Scott Boras are not expected to participate, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The super-agent, who represents many of the top remaining free agents, says that he’ll continue to rely upon his and his clients’ own resources “to make sure our players are prepared when they reach agreements.”
Feb. 7: With more than 100 players unsigned in the week before Spring Training is set to kick off, the Major League Baseball Players Association is laying the groundwork to host training camps for free agents, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that a Spring Training for free agents “will happen.” Meanwhile, Brown’s colleague, Jeff Passan, tweets that a camp for unsigned players could kick off as soon as next Tuesday — the same day that many pitchers and catchers around the league will begin reporting to their teams’ respective Spring Training camps.
To be clear, while there are indeed more than 100 players that logged 50+ plate appearances or 20+ innings last year who remain unsigned, not all of those players would be reasonably expected to sign a Major League deal even in a more conventional offseason. MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker for the 2017-18 offseason reveals 110 players who’ve not yet agreed to a deal, though nearly half of the players on that list seem unlikely to sign a big league deal either due to poor performance, lack of track record or injury. That said, there are still as many as 50 fairly clear-cut candidates for Major League deals, plus another handful of borderline options that could go either way in most offseasons. It’s not clear exactly how many free agents would attend a voluntary camp for unsigned players.
The union, according to Brown, is eyeing locations in both Arizona and Florida, with Bradenton’s IMG Baseball Academy one potential location. The MLBPA is also trying to find coaches and other personnel to help staff the facility and create an atmosphere that resembles a traditional Spring Training setting as closely as possible.
If (or perhaps more appropriately, when) a training camp for unemployed players ultimately comes to be, it’ll mark the first time that such measures have been necessary since 1995, when unsigned players organized a similar camp during MLB’s most recent labor stoppage. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick recently took a look back at that ’95 training camp, speaking to D-backs hitting coach Dave Magadan, who was one of the free agents that participated in the camp, about the experience.
Mets Sign Todd Frazier
WEDNESDAY: The Mets have announced the deal.
TUESDAY: Frazier will earn $8MM in 2018 and $9MM in 2019, Rosenthal tweets.
MONDAY:The Mets have struck a two-year deal with third baseman Todd Frazier, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). If he passes a physical, Frazier will receive a $17MM guarantee. The deal includes a $500K assignment bonus in the event that Frazier is traded, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets. Frazier is represented by Creative Artists Agency.
MLBTR predicted this match, but expected the veteran to take home a significantly bigger contract (three years and $33MM). The market for third basemen certainly hasn’t developed as the players might have hoped. Long-time shortstop Zack Cozart moved to the hot corner upon joining the Angels on a three-year, $39MM deal. The Giants filled their own need by acquiring Evan Longoria via trade. The Yankees have an ongoing opening but little to spend if they are to stay beneath the luxury tax line.
That situation had left Frazier, Mike Moustakas, and others without as much interest as had been anticipated. Indeed, in this case, it seems that some developments had to occur before the match could come together. Mets infielder Asdrubal Cabrera had seemingly been set to move to third. But he indicated recently he’d actually prefer to move to second base, leading GM Sandy Alderson to note that the flexibility might open up some new avenues for the organization.
New York held an obvious draw for Frazier, a New Jersey native who got a taste of playing near his home town last year with the Yankees. As Jon Heyman of Fan Rag notes on Twitter, that geographic preference seemingly played a role in the agreement that has now come together. It may have helped the Mets land a solid player at a reasonable price.
[RELATED: Updated Mets Depth Chart]
On the one hand, Frazier has not shown of late the kind of well-above-average offensive output he did at his peak with the Reds. At his best, Frazier produced about twenty percent more offense than the average hitter, with significant home run output and even some value on the basepaths offsetting subpar on-base abilities.
Frazier has been unable to produce both significant power and a useful OBP over the past two seasons. In 2016, he tallied forty long balls but only a .302 on-base mark. Last season, he rode a personal-best 14.4% walk rate (and personal-low 9.3% swinging-strike rate) to a .344 OBP but managed only 27 dingers and a .428 slugging percentage. While Frazier still generated a strong .215 isolated slugging mark, his batting average (.213) and batting average on balls in play (.226) remained at the sorts of low levels he has sported in recent campaigns. (For what it’s worth, there may well be at least some poor fortune in Frazier’s lowly BABIP; he carried a .352 xwOBA that lagged his .340 wOBA in 2017.)
Even if the Mets can anticipate only slightly above-average offensive work from Frazier, the deal holds plenty of promise. He has long graded as a quality performer with the glove and turned in one of his best-ever seasons in 2017. Both DRS (+10) and UZR (+6.7) credited him with saving plenty of runs as a full-time player at third base. Frazier also has an excellent track record of durability, having suited up for an average of 154 games annually since the start of 2013.
As an above-average regular for each of the past six seasons, Frazier surely anticipated a bigger contract entering the winter. At the same time, his earning power was always limited by his age. The somewhat late-blooming slugger will turn 32 years of age in a week. With teams seemingly more hesitant than ever to lock in commitments to aging players, and the league as a whole hewing younger, Frazier always seemed unlikely to drive a massive bidding war.
Still, this contract seems likely to deliver the Mets some quality infield value, much as Cabrera did on a similar contract (two years, $18.5MM plus an option that was exercised for 2018). While Frazier could conceivably also spend time at first base, the likelihood is he’ll be the primary third baseman. In that sense, perhaps, the move all but formalizes the already evident fact that the chronically injured David Wright is unlikely to factor again at the hot corner for New York.
As he reunites with his former Cincinnati teammate Jay Bruce, Frazier will hope to be part of a resurgent Mets roster. The club has brought back most of the band despite a disappointing 2017 campaign, with a few modifications. New York has now filled its most glaring needs and certainly has the talent to compete in the coming season, though the organization still faces its fair share of uncertainty — particularly in the injury department.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ervin Santana Out 10 To 12 Weeks Following Surgery On Finger
The Twins announced today that right-hander Ervin Santana underwent a “capsular release/debridement procedure” on the middle finger of his right hand. He’s expected to be ready for a return to game activity in 10 to 12 weeks, according to the announcement.
Santana, according to the Twins, began experiencing discomfort in his right hand after ramping up bullpen work in preparation for Spring Training. The issue is something he’s dealt with in the past and had reviewed following the 2017 season, per the announcement, at which point an MRI and x-rays revealed that his tendon was intact, prompting doctors to recommend an injection. The injury is a “result of repeated cumulative stress from pitching, not one acute event, and did not present again until this past week,” the team further detailed.
Certainly, the news comes as a blow to a Twins team that has aspirations of contending for its first American League Central title since 2010. The 35-year-old Santana has been among the game’s most durable arms over the past decade and has been the Twins’ most consistent starter over the past two seasons. He’ll now be sidelined until anywhere from mid-April to early May as he recovers from this procedure. With him on the shelf to open the season, an already murky Twins rotation now figures to include Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson and Adalberto Mejia, with several other names vying for starting opportunities as well.
Of course, the Twins have been prominently linked to the top name on the free agent market, Yu Darvish, with varying ties to the other top three starters: Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn. Minnesota has reportedly been among the most aggressive teams on the Darvish front anyhow, and the loss of Santana even for only a month should only hasten their pursuit of rotation help (be it Darvish, a different free agent or a trade acquisition).
From a contractual standpoint, the injury to Santana is not without repercussions. Santana’s four-year, $55MM contract with the Twins comes with a $14MM club option for the 2019 campaign that would have automatically vested had he reached 200 innings this season. While that’s certainly still possible, especially if Santana’s return comes on the shorter end of the 10- to 12-week timeline, missing even a handful of starts at the beginning of the year makes that goal considerably tougher to achieve. Santana made 33 starts last year and totaled 211 1/3 innings — the second-highest total in MLB — but even missing two to three starts would have left him a bit shy of that mark.
Depending on how well Santana pitches, the Twins could well still exercise their end of that option, though it now seems likely to be entirely the team’s decision as opposed to a salary that Santana could lock in via the strength of his own performance.
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