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Marlins Sign Wei-Yin Chen

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The Marlins have officially agreed to a deal with free agent lefty Wei-Yin Chen. He’ll reportedly receive a five-year, $80MM guarantee — just as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted before the offseason — but the deal negotiated between the Miami front office and the Boras Corporation is much more complicated than that.

First and foremost, while Chen won’t gain no-trade protection, the contract comes with an opt-out opportunity for the 30-year-old Chen after 2017. And he’ll receive just $28MM of the guaranteed money in the first two years of the deal ($8MM signing bonus, $6MM salary in 2016, and $14MM for 2017). That would mean the team could get two prime years of the southpaw at a very appealing rate if he opts out, though the backside of the deal could turn ugly if Chen falters. (It’s worth noting, too, that the club could pick up a draft pick via a qualifying offer in an opt-out scenario.)

In the event that Chen remains in Miami, he could pick up a vesting/player option for a sixth season by logging 180 innings in the prior campaign or 360 frames over the two preceding years. That’s a somewhat unusual provision. Presumably, Chen would gain the right to choose between a one-year guarantee or free agency if he hits the innings tally. That option could bring the deal’s total value to $96MM.

As Dierkes explained at length in the above-linked post, Chen earned that contract by posting a 3.44 ERA over 377 innings in the last two seasons. He rarely issues free passes, dominates lefties, and brings a strong low-to-mid-nineties fastball. It’s important to note, too, that Chen has missed only minimal time and has not had any reported arm issues.

Of course, there’s more to it than that, and there are some indications that the lefty may have benefited from some good fortune (including playing in front of a stellar defensive unit in Baltimore). He’s only carried a 3.91 SIERA since the start of 2014, isn’t a major strikeout or groundball pitcher, and has been susceptible to the long ball. And Chen hasn’t exactly chewed up innings; despite being ready almost every fifth day, he doesn’t tend to go deep into games.

With the move, Miami has significantly upgraded a rotation that long seemed in need of a quality arm. The team lost Henderson Alvarez to free agency after non-tendering him, and that left the club with some uncertainty behind ace Jose Fernandez. Chen will join Jarred Cosart and Tom Koehler as near-locks for the staff, with Edwin Jackson now joining in-house options such as Adam Conley, Brad Hand, David Phelps, Justin Nicolino, Jose Urena, and Kendry Flores. (Some of those names, of course, could well end up in the pen.)

As Chen turned down a qualifying offer at the start of the offseason, he’ll cost the Marlins their top non-protected pick, which will come in the second round. The club’s first selection, at seventh overall, is protected. The Orioles, meanwhile, will stand to pick up a compensation pick for losing Chen.

It’s easy to forget that the Marlins were viewed by many as a legitimate contender heading into the 2015 season. A lot has changed since then, certainly, but the team’s young core still features a lot of talent. And while Chen himself has faced his share of questions, there’s no denying that he upgrades the Miami staff.

Jon Heyman reported a deal was close on Twitter. Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweeted that a deal was in place. Miami’s ongoing negotiations were reported on Twitter by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the guaranteed money on Twitter. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter links), Heyman (links to Twitter), and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (links to Twitter) had other key contract provisions.

Royals Sign Lorenzo Cain To Two-Year Deal

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The Royals announced on Monday that they have reached a two-year contract with All-Star center fielder Lorenzo Cain that will buy out his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility for a $17.5MM guarantee. Cain, a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management, will is set to earn $6.5MM for the coming season and $11MM in 2017, per reports.

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Cain had projected to earn $6.1MM. On Friday, he filed at $7.85MM with the team countering at $5MM, per Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The resulting $6.42MM midpoint would represent nearly a $4MM raise over Cain’s 2.725MM salary last year.

As Yahoo’s Jeff Passan noted on Twitter, the potential for another significant arbitration raise — perhaps by referencing free agent comparables after another big season — might explain why Kansas City was willing to lock in at such a high rate. Certainly, we’ve seen this deal format before; the Nationals, for instance, bought out the last two years of both Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann prior to the 2014 season.

Cain put up a stellar campaign last year, his age-29 season, to follow up on and exceed a solid 2014 effort. Put together, he’s racked up a .304/.351/.447 slash line with 21 home runs and 56 stolen bases over 1,106 plate appearances dating back to 2014, and his outstanding production in 2015 led to a third-place finish in the American League MVP voting. With top-quality defense and overall baserunning contributions factored in, it’s hard not to label Cain one of the game’s most productive position players.

Of course, as Passan notes in another tweet, Kansas City wasn’t willing to reach the kind of long-term deal that would have kept Cain around beyond 2017. Given his relatively advanced age, and the signing of Alex Gordon, the six-year pact that Cain reportedly sought probably entailed too much risk. It’s hardly preordained that Cain will be gone after the conclusion of this contract, but — much as in the cases of Desmond and Zimmermann — there’s a sense that the most realistic window for a deal has already closed.

Passan first reported a deal was close (via Twitter) and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported that there was an agreement in place (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins Extend Dee Gordon

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The Marlins have officially announced the extension of second baseman Dee Gordon, meaning he’ll join the organization’s stable of talented, young players under team control for the foreseeable future. The reigning National League batting champion, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will receive five guaranteed years in a deal that comes with a sixth-year vesting option, per the announcement.

Gordon will take home a $50MM guarantee for his age 28 through 32 seasons, according to reports. That includes a $1.5MM signing bonus and yearly salaries of $3MM (2016), $7.5MM (2017), $10.5MM (2018), $13MM (2019) and $13.5MM (2020). Also, the sixth-year option contains a $1MM buyout. If it is triggered — by Gordon reaching 600 plate appearances in the prior season or 1,200 total over the preceding two years — then he’d stand to earn $14MM in 2021 to bring the total value of the contract to $63MM. The contract doesn’t contain a no-trade clause, although the Marlins generally don’t include such provisions as a general club policy.

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A former fourth-round pick of the Dodgers, Gordon rated as one of the game’s brightest prospects from 2010-11 but didn’t establish himself early on and soon dropped off of those same prospect rankings. After struggling greatly at the Major League level in both 2012 and 2013, Gordon cemented himself as a regular in 2014 at the age of 26, batting .289/.326/.378 and leading the National League in both triples (12) and stolen bases (64).

That breakout was enough to pique the Marlins’ trade interest, and Miami parted with highly touted left-handed pitching prospect Andrew Heaney as well as versatile utility man Enrique Hernandez, right-hander Chris Hatcher and catching prospect Austin Barnes to land Gordon, fellow infielder Miguel Rojas and Dan Haren from Los Angeles in a 2014 Winter Meetings blockbuster.

Gordon’s first season with Miami went better than perhaps anyone could have expected, as he captured the National League batting crown and posted an outstanding .333/.359/.418 batting line with four homers, 58 stolen bases and markedly improved defensive contributions according to metrics such as Defensive Runs Saved (+13) and Ultimate Zone Rating (+6.4). Gordon made his second consecutive All-Star team  in 2015 and also earned his first Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards in recognition of his brilliant season. Fangraphs rated his overall contributions at 4.6 wins above replacement and Baseball-Reference rated him at 4.9 WAR.

With this extension, the Marlins will buy out Gordon’s three remaining arbitration seasons as well as two free-agent years, with a vesting option that can extend the deal into what would have been his third free-agent year. That, perhaps, served as a compromise between the two sides, as the Marlins had reportedly been interested in a five-year term, whereas Gordon’s camp was said to be eyeing a seven-year deal. If the option is ultimately triggered, this contract will cover Gordon’s age-27 through age-32 seasons, allowing him to once again hit the open market at the age of 33.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged Gordon for a $5.9MM salary in 2016 — one year after he had earned $2.5MM as a Super Two player. Gordon would’ve been eligible for arbitration two more times after this season, so it’s probably reasonable to expect that his remaining three arbitration seasons could have been worth anywhere from $25-27MM. That would suggest a value somewhere in the range of about $12MM or so on each of his two free-agent seasons, with the third coming at a slightly higher price, dependent on Gordon’s own performance. While Gordon would certainly receive a larger annual sum were he on the open market this winter, concessions are always necessary on the player side of the equation in order to receive guarantees of this nature so far in advance.

The Marlins were well-positioned to add another long-term commitment to their ledgers. Giancarlo Stanton’s behemoth $325MM contract is, of course, the largest obligation on the books, but beyond that, Christian Yelich and the just-signed Wei-Yin Chen possess the only guaranteed contracts extending beyond the 2016 season.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the signing (Twitter link). Jon Heyman reported important financial details in a series of tweets: 1; 2; 3; 4.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Market For Yoenis Cespedes “Intensifying”

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10:57pm: The Tigers are among the teams still at least considering Cespedes, Jon Heyman reports (all Twitter links).  While GM Al Avila said during the Winter Meetings that his team was “out” on Cespedes, that was six weeks ago and things could have changed with the outfielder still on the market in mid-January.  Indeed, later reports suggested that Detroit was still monitoring Cespedes if his price dropped.  Heyman notes that the Tigers may be thinking about adding a big bat since they seriously thought about signing Davis; some front office members even wanted to make the move, though “future luxury-tax concerns” scuttled the signing.

12:36pm: With plenty of interest in and activity on Cespedes, there’s “no chance” he will be forced to take a “very short deal,” Jon Heyman tweets.

10:58am: The market for free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is “intensifying,” according to ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden (Twitter link). It seems possible that a deal could come together within “the next few days,” he adds.

With yesterday’s reported agreement between Chris Davis and the Orioles, it seems plausible to expect greater clarity in Cespedes’s own market. Baltimore had emerged as one of the most widely-reported suitors for the Cuban veteran, but the addition of Davis likely takes them out of the market for further major power bats.

Cespedes is said to be seeking something nearing or even exceeding the overall value that Davis received from the O’s. But it remains unclear as yet where that level of cash will come from. Baltimore was reportedly interested at around $90MM over five years.

While we have only heard about clear interest from a few teams to date, Bowden says that as many as ten organizations are still in “active contact” with Cespedes’s reps. While at least some are surely offering a soft landing rather than pursuing a bidding war, that’s still encouraging at this stage of the winter.

From public reports to date, the Mets and White Sox are apparently not willing to go past three years. The Braves reportedly have interest, too, but it’s hard to imagine that Atlanta would go anywhere near the Davis contract. Other teams that make good hypothetical fits, such as the Tigers and Angels, have not been tied strongly to Cespedes.

In considering the possibilities, though, it’s worth noting that virtually all of the league’s teams could stand to improve by adding Cespedes. While that’s hardly the end of the analysis, there should be ample motivation to explore the possibilities. Young players can be held in the upper minors; trades can be made; and position changes can be implemented. It’s true, too, that there are some trade candidates still out there that effect things as well, but there’s no getting around the fact that Cespedes had a monster season last year, is a great athlete with all-around abilities, and isn’t even all that old.

Jose Reyes Set For April Trial On Domestic Violence Charges

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Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes is currently scheduled to stand trial in April after pleading not guilty to charges of domestic abuse stemming from an incident in Hawaii on Halloween day last year, Christian Red of the New York Daily News reports. That’s the same date that Colorado is scheduled to open the 2016 season in Arizona.

The local prosecutor, Kerry Glen, said he would not rule out a plea deal between now and the start of the trial, though he gave no indication of the likelihood of such a scenario. “If I find that acceptable, we would enter into that agreement,” said Glen. “There is always potential for additional negotiation between now and then.”

Needless to say, the charges themselves appear appropriately serious given the accusations against Reyes. It certainly seems that he faces a realistic prospect of jail time if convicted, though the precise counts being pursued are not immediately clear from the article.

But there are quite significant additional considerations at play beyond the immediate criminal matter. According to the Daily News, it is not known whether Reyes — a native of the Dominican Republic — ever completed a reported effort to gain U.S. citizenship.

If he is not presently an American citizen, there certainly could be serious immigration repercussions in the event that he pleads guilty or is convicted. There are a wide variety of considerations that would go into just what could occur on the immigration side of things, but that does indeed appear to be a serious matter.

Senior MLBTR readers will no doubt recall that there have been several recent instances where players’ careers and personal lives were heavily impacted by immigration difficulties. Without intending any direct comparisons, the cases of Roberto Hernandez and Juan Carlos Oviedo (both of which involved the use of false identifies) involved contract disruptions and lengthy holds on their playing careers, though both were ultimately able to return. (To get a sense of how things played out in those cases, you can review the old tags for their assumed identities: Fausto Carmona and Leo Nunez.)

To be sure, the least important matters at issue here are the impact on the baseball season that lies ahead and Reyes’s contract status with the Rockies. But there are obviously real implications here from that perspective for both team and player. If nothing else, the trial date presents a self-evident conflict, as would any hypothetical prison time. And recent reports have been somewhat unclear as to the league’s timeline for deciding upon its own disciplinary action (if any), with suggestions that the commissioner will act before the season (if not Spring Training, too) but also that there’s an apparent preference to first allow the legal process to conclude.

Cespedes Has Been Seeking Six-Year Deal Worth Roughly $22MM Annually

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Free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and his representatives at Roc Nation Sports have been seeking a six-year contract that will pay the slugger as much as $22MM annually this offseason, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter).

At present, the Orioles are said to have an offer on the table to Cespedes that is worth in the range of $90MM over five seasons, with a sixth-year option possibly included in that offer. While it’s a sizable sum in a vacuum, that figure is a departure from the expectations that many carried for Cespedes heading into the offseason on the heels of a monstrous .291/.328/.542 season that featured 35 homers and excellent left field defense. The asking price highlights the unlikelihood that Cespedes will alter his course and instead seek a short-term deal, as many teams have seemingly hoped. The Mets are said to have interest on a deal of one to three years in length, and the White Sox were also reported to have interest in a three-year deal for their former division-rival.

If Cespedes is to ultimately decide his best course of action is to enter the open market again next offseason — which I personally find difficult to imagine — one creative alternative would be to pursue a relatively short-term deal with an opt out after the first year of the contract. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and I discussed that scenario for not only Cespedes but also Justin Upton on yesterday’s MLBTR Podcast. A high-annual-value deal of perhaps three years in length with a first-year opt out could prove to be a compromise between Cespedes and interested parties, although I’ll stress again that said scenario is only my own speculation.

Orioles Have Made Offer To Cespedes; Mets Still Interested In Short-Term Deal

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12:47pm: The Mets have not extended a formal offer to Cespedes, tweets Heyman, but do remain interested in pacts of one to three years if he comes off his demands for a longer-term deal.

12:30pm: MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets that Cespedes is believed to be considering both a five-year, $90MM offer (plus a possible option) with the Orioles against a one-year deal with the Mets which would allow him to hit free agency again next winter.

JAN. 15, 11:40am: Jon Heyman tweets that the offer is believed to be for about $90MM over five years and may contain an option for a sixth season. Ghiroli also hears (Twitter link) that there’s a possible option attached to the deal, adding that Camden Yards is appealing to Cespedes. Kubatko adds (Twitter link) that there won’t be an opt-out clause from the Orioles.

JAN. 14, 9:36pm: Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles have increased their interest in Cespedes and are considering an offer worth around $18MM per year.  That would seem to indicate that the Orioles are on the higher end of the range previously listed by Crasnick, although from my vantage point that still seems to be too light to land a player of Cespedes’ caliber. Whether that’s a launching point into deeper negotiations or an offer near the top of Baltimore’s comfort zone remains to be seen, but the team does not appear, at this time, to simply be willing to reallocate the ~$150MM offered to Davis to a pursuit of Cespedes.

6:16pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that “it’s believed” that the Orioles are willing to go in the range of five years and $75-90MM for Cespedes at this time. While that’s a sizable sum, it’s also considerably south of the general expectations most had for Cespedes entering the season. Crasnick also tweets that the Orioles are becoming increasingly frustrated with Davis and might even be on the brink of walking away from negotiations entirely.

4:57pm: The Orioles have made an offer to outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, an industry source tells MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (Twitter link), who adds that Baltimore prefers Cespedes to Justin Upton at this time. Per Kubatko, there are no new developments in the seemingly stagnant talks between the Orioles and Chris Davis. MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli tweets that Baltimore’s interest in Cespedes “is high.”

The nature of the offer remains a mystery at this juncture, although given Baltimore’s reported seven-year, $150-154MM offer to Davis, the team clearly has some money to spend this offseason. While many have speculated that Cespedes could eventually change course and seek a short-term deal, that speculation seems largely unfounded; reports yesterday indicated that Cespedes’ camp has no interest in seeking a short-term deal, and as Jeff Todd and I broke down on today’s podcast, players on the level of Cespedes, Upton and Davis typically end up getting paid, even if they linger on the market into late January. For instance, one year ago today, a common narrative was that Max Scherzer didn’t have a market and wouldn’t be able to secure the mammoth contract he sought; on Jan. 22, he signed a $210MM contract with the Nationals. While the outfield market has been slow to develop, the Orioles could potentially be one of the keys to expediting the signing process for the remaining top bats. Representatives of each of the top remaining bats know that Baltimore has money to spend and a need for offense, with at least one corner-outfield hole to fill.

As the two top corner outfield bats remaining on the market, Cespedes and Upton figure to remain linked until one of the duo signs. The pair offers relatively similar skill-sets, though Cespedes offers considerably more defensive upside whereas Upton’s keener eye at the plate leads to an edge in on-base percentage for him. Additionally, Upton is two years younger, but he also comes with draft-pick compensation attached to his name after rejecting a qualifying offer. The same cannot be said for Cespedes, who was of course ineligible to receive a QO after being traded from the Tigers to the Mets this past season.

Padres Closing In On Deal With Fernando Rodney

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The Padres and right-hander Fernando Rodney are closing in on a contract, according to Jon Heyman (links to Twitter). Rodney, who turns 39 this spring, is expected to enter camp as the favorite to close games in San Diego, per Heyman. Recently, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Padres were still in the mix for Rodney and could offer ninth-inning time as a means of enticing him. Rodney is represented by Octagon.

Rodney spent most of the past two seasons in Seattle, although his second season as the Mariners’ closer didn’t go nearly as well as the first. After recording a 2.85 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 48.6 percent ground-ball rate in 2014, the “Fernando Rodney Experience” turned sour in Seattle when he struggled to a 5.68 ERA and lost the grip on the closer’s role in 2015. Rodney would go on to rebound following a DFA and a trade to the Cubs, however, as he surrendered just one earned run with a 15-to-4 K/BB ratio in 12 innings with the Cubs and made the team’s postseason roster.

While Rodney’s career has been somewhat of a roller coaster, the veteran has posted a cumulative 2.80 ERA over the past four seasons and still averaged a very healthy 94.7 mph on his fastball between time with Seattle and Chicago last season. If a deal is finalized and Rodney does indeed land ninth-inning duties for the Friars. he’ll be supported by a cast of setup men including Kevin Quackenbush, Drew Pomeranz and Nick Vincent, as right-hander Brandon Maurer is slated to re-enter the rotation in Spring Training.

Rays, Logan Forsythe Agree To Two-Year Deal

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The Rays and second baseman Logan Forsythe are in agreement on a two-year contract that contains a club option for a third season, reports Jon Heyman (links to Twitter). Forsythe will receive a $2.5MM signing bonus and earn just $1MM in 2016 before earning $5.75MM in 2017. The 2018 club option is for $8.5MM and comes with a $1MM buyout, he adds, also tweeting that Forsythe’s option can escalate in $500K increments, up to $2.5MM based on plate appearances. That would bring the maximum value of the deal to $20.25MM over three years.

Logan Forsythe

Forsythe, a client of PSI Sports Management, was first said to be nearing a two-year deal with the Rays by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times last night. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo added word of the club option and the $10.25MM guarantee. Forsythe was arbitration eligible this winter and had beenprojected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $3.3MM in 2016. In other words, this new contract will buy out his remaining two seasons of arbitration, and the club option will extend Tampa Bay’s control of Forsythe by one season. He’s now on track to hit free agency entering either his age-31 or age-32 season, depending on the outcome of the option.

Forsythe, who turned 29 years old yesterday, emerged as one of the Rays’ best overall players with a breakout 2015 season that saw him bat .281/.359/.444 with 17 home runs, nine stolen bases and solid defensive contributions at second base. While Forsythe had been a utility player for much of his career prior to last season, primarily providing value against left-handed pitching, he took a major step forward against right-handers in 2015, slashing .273/.353/.375 even without the benefit of the platoon advantage. If he’s able to sustain that type of production against righties in the future, it’ll pair quite well with his lifetime .280/.349/.478 slash against left-handed pitchers and allow Forsythe to serve as a quite valuable piece at second base for Tampa Bay.

The Rays initially picked up Forsythe in a seven-player trade that also netted the team Brad Boxberger, Matt Andriese, Maxx Tissenbaum and Matt Lollis in exchange for right-hander Jesse Hahn and left-hander Alex Torres.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dodgers Sign Kenta Maeda

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JAN. 13: Maeda will earn a base of $3MM in each of the eight seasons of his contract and can earn an additional $8.15MM per year beyond that sum, reports Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (links to Twitter). Maeda’s yearly bonuses kick in at 90 innings pitched, per Passan. From that point forth, he’ll earn $250K for every 10 innings up until 200 innings, according to the report. Maeda will also earn $1MM upon making his 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th and 32nd starts each season. Passan’s report leaves $150K of bonuses each year unaccounted for, so there are a few final missing details to Maeda’s exact contract structure. Ultimately, the contract can max out at a total of $90.2MM over eight seasons.

JAN. 7: The Dodgers have added another significant pitcher, officially signing star Japanese righty Kenta Maeda. It’s quite an unusual contract for the Wasserman Media Group client, whose physical reportedly revealed some issues that could cause health problems down the line.

Maeda, 28, will reportedly receive only a $25MM guarantee over a lengthy eight-year term. Los Angeles will also pay a $20MM posting fee to Maeda’s former NPB club, the Hiroshima Carp. Maeda can also earn up to $10MM annually through incentives tied to the number and length of his starts, maxing out the annual potential at around thirty games started and 200 innings pitched. In the event that all the incentives are triggered, then, the deal’s total value could top $100MM.

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Notably, Maeda won’t have the ability to capture upside through other means. Per reports, he can’t opt into arbitration when he reaches sufficient service time and won’t have any opt-out opportunities that would put him onto the open market.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes tabbed Maeda with the 14th-highest earning power coming into the winter in his list of the top fifty free agents. Dierkes predicted Maeda would earn about $60MM (plus the release fee) over five years, matching the overall estimated commitments for Jeff Samardzija and Mike Leake. (Both have indeed agreed to five-year deals, with Samardzija getting $90MM and Leake landing at the predicted value.)

Los Angeles has moved to add arms after losing Zack Greinke to the division-rival Diamondbacks and then blowing up a deal with Hisashi Iwakuma after a physical. The club already inked Scott Kazmir yesterday, though that created a rare imbalance, with southpaws Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, and Alex Wood set to be joined by fellow lefty Hyun-jin Ryu when he returns from injury.

Adding Maeda would figure to bump one of those left-handers to the pen — if it doesn’t create some impetus toward a trade. Brandon McCarthy is also set to return from Tommy John surgery at some point during the year, and the organization has depth options in Mike Bolsinger, Carlos Frias, and others. Wood looks like the most likely trade piece, and he could conceivably be packaged with a variety of L.A.’s other interesting assets.

There’s no disputing the quality of Maeda’s work in Japan. Last year’s 2.09 ERA was more or less typical for the veteran righty, as he’s yet to allow over 2.60 earned in any of the last six seasons. While he doesn’t quite have the peripherals or the scouting hype that Masahiro Tanaka did when he came over, Maeda has long been viewed as a MLB-caliber arm.

Certainly, the successful transition of top NPB arms like Tanaka and Yu Darvish — among others before them — reduces the uncertainty regarding Maeda. He’s often been referred to as something of an injury risk, given his small stature, but Maeda has only missed a few starts and has averaged right around two hundred frames annually since becoming a full-time starter.

Maeda is also said to be showing new life with his secondary offerings, as Baseball America’s Ben Badler recently wrote. Per Badler, the righty has shown a new-look changeup that may have surpassed his slider as his best offspeed pitch. While he’s not overpowering in terms of velocity, Maeda has excellent control (1.9 BB/9 in his career) and would obviously hold even more appeal with two swing-and-miss offerings.

Christopher Meola reported the signing on Twitter, as well as its essential contract terms (links to Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the precise guarantee (in a tweet), the annual incentive value, and the “red flags” that drove the deal’s unusual structure (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick first noted the issues in the physical (via Twitter).Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (here and here) and J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group (in a tweet) had additional contract details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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