Cuban Pitcher Yaisel Sierra Declared A Free Agent
Cuban right-hander Yaisel Sierra has been granted free agency, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports on Twitter. The 24-year-old is now free to sign with any team without restriction, as he is not subject to the international spending limitations.
It’s not clear what kind of signing timeline to expect, but Sierra has already shown his full arsenal on several occasions to major league scouts. Most recently, he faced live batters in a Florida showcase, reportedly drawing rave reviews for his mid-nineties heater and promising slider. Baseball America’s Hudson Belinksky came away impressed, writing:
The righthanded Sierra looked extremely polished on the mound. He repeated his moderate stride very well, consistently landing online and hitting his spots down in the strike zone. Sierra has a clean arm action, with a smooth wrap in the back and ease through release.
As BA’s Ben Badler explains, Sierra possesses “the best pure stuff” of any Cuban pitcher. But he’s never been dominant in Serie Nacionale; at times, in fact, he’s struggled. And Sierra has generally shown “poor command and pitchability,” according to Badler, with his relatively advanced age also limiting his appeal.
It’s certainly possible that Sierra’s recent showcases have upped the price tag, of course. And he is believed to be near big league readiness, which means any investment has some hope of paying off sooner rather than later.
Sanchez has previously suggested that Sierra could receive offers of around $30MM in total value. While it obviously remains to be seen what kind of cash he will be able to pull down, a commitment of that level would likely only be available if teams think he has some possibility of sticking in a rotation.
Documentary Links Ryan Howard, Ryan Zimmerman, Taylor Teagarden To PED Claims
3:00pm: The Nationals issued a statement with regards to Zimmerman’s involvement in the documentary:
“Ryan Zimmerman has been an integral member of the Washington Nationals family for the past 11 years. During that time, he has been the model for all that we ask our players to be – contributing to his team, to his community, and to the game of baseball.
We do not find Al Jazeera’s report – which has already been recanted by their source – to be credible.
Ryan has unequivocally stated that these allegations are false. The Lerner family and our organization fully support him. We are confident Major League’s Baseball’s investigation will show that the allegations levied in the report are unfounded.
We fully cooperate with MLB, and refer all questions to them at this time.”
Major League Baseball also issued a statement (via Twitter links from Jon Morosi of FOX Sports)
“[MLB] was not made aware of the allegations until yesterday and was provided no information other than what has been reported,” the statement read, adding that the league intends to “conduct a thorough investigation.”
10:30am: Ryan Howard, Ryan Zimmerman and Taylor Teagarden are among the athletes named as allegedly having received banned PEDs in an undercover news documentary from Al Jazeera television (YouTube link).
Al Jazeera conducted a month long investigative report on PEDs in global sports, sending British hurdler Liam Collins undercover. The PED claims come from Collins’ undercover conversations with a former pharmacy intern named Charlie Sly, who says that he previously worked at an Indiana-based anti-aging clinic called the Guyer Institute. Sly told Collins that he sold Howard and Zimmerman a hormone supplement known as Delta-2, which is both specifically designated to evade drug tests and included on Major League Baseball’s list of banned substances. Teagarden, meanwhile, is shown in an undercover video discussing how he took PEDs in the previous season.
MLBTR has a statement from William Burck of Quinn Emanuel, the attorney for both Howard and Zimmerman:
“It’s inexcusable and irresponsible that Al Jazeera would provide a platform and broadcast outright lies about Mr. Howard and Mr. Zimmerman. The extraordinarily reckless claims made against our clients in this report are completely false and rely on a source who has already recanted his claims. We will go to court to hold Al Jazeera and other responsible parties accountable for smearing our clients’ good names.”
In one of his conversations with Al Jazeera’s undercover athlete, Sly went into some detail about the drug regimen that he has laid out for Howard. Sly specifically claims that Howard has taken Delta-2 (“D2”) and says that Howard felt that he had “more explosiveness” as a result.
“He is somebody that you cannot overwhelm with stuff,” Sly told Collins. “You just make sure you have like everything in bags. He knows to take stuff twice a day. Usually I just have him like teach it back to me.”
Sly also opened up about his working relationship with Zimmerman, a player whom Sly claims to have known for “probably six years.” “I worked with him in the offseason. That’s how I get him to change some stuff,” Sly said. Sly went on to answer in the affirmative when asked if Zimmerman has used D2 and also indicated that he has noticed an increase in power as a result.
Teagarden, meanwhile, actually crosses paths with Collins while the two are waiting in the lobby of Sly’s apartment building. When the three men are in Sly’s apartment, Teagarden gets rather specific about his use of Delta-2.
“I used it last year, I was very..I was scared to be honest with you,” Teagarden said. “I took it for like two weeks and I had a test four weeks after my last administration of it. Nothing happened…And I was also taking peptides too but they were all urine tests, no blood tests…Once a year, maybe twice at most.”
Howard and Zimmerman denied using the drug when asked to comment by Al-Jazeera, and several NFL players named in the report (including such notables as Peyton Manning, James Harrison and Mike Neal) also denied using PEDs, as highlighted by our sister NFL site, Pro Football Rumors. Sly himself told Al-Jazeera that his prior statements (or, at least, the characterization of them) were “absolutely false and incorrect.” Sly added that the recordings were made “without [his] knowledge or consent.” In comments made to ESPN, Sly says he was a student intern at the Guyer Institute in 2013, rather than 2011 as alleged by Al Jazeera. Sly told ESPN he was “trying to pull one over on Collins to see if he had any idea of what he was talking about,” dropping names of athletes who were not actually clients.
None of the three baseball players have ever been suspended for PED use or failed any known drug tests. It is yet unknown how MLB or the NFL may respond to this documentary, if at all, though if the allegations are proven, Howard, Zimmerman and Teagarden would presumably be subject to the 80-game suspension given to the first-time offenders of MLB’s drug policy.
Tim Dierkes and Zach Links contributed to this post. Travis Waldron and Ryan Grim of the Huffington Post first detailed some of the documentary’s major news points after watching an advance copy. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cardinals Sign Mike Leake
After spending much of the offseason searching for a rotation upgrade, the Cardinals on Tuesday added a much-needed arm to the equation, announcing the signing of right-hander Mike Leake to a five-year deal. Leake, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will reportedly take home a guarantee of $80MM. His contract also includes a mutual option that can escalate the deal to $93MM and a full no-trade clause. Via CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman (on Twitter), Leake’s contract has a somewhat unusual sloped structure — he will receive $12MM in 2016, $15MM in 2017, $17MM in 2018, $16MM in 2019, $15MM in 2020, then an $18MM option or a $5MM buyout in 2021.
Having lost right-hander John Lackey to free agency — specifically, to the division-rival Cubs — and right-hander Lance Lynn to Tommy John surgery, St. Louis’ need for starting pitching was clear. The Cardinals began their search with a high-profile pursuit of David Price and even made the second-best offer to ace left-hander. But, while their seven-year offer edged out the rival Cubs, it was still worth $30MM less than that of the Red Sox.
Over the last few weeks, the Cardinals have continued to scan the market, though they were known to be averse to signing any player who had rejected the qualifying offer. Quality pitchers like Yovani Gallardo, Ian Kennedy, and Wei-Yin Chen are still available as of this writing, but the Cardinals were not terribly interested in sacrificing a draft pick in order to sign any of them. The Cardinals were also keeping an eye on Scott Kazmir, but he almost certainly will not be signing in St. Louis now.
In 2015, for the second consecutive year, Leake posted a 3.70 ERA, marking three straight seasons with a sub-3.75 ERA and at least 190 innings. All but two months of those three years came while pitching his home games at an extremely hitter-friendly home venue: Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. Leake was able to thrive in large part due to his excellent control (2.3 BB/9 for his career) and his strong ground-ball rate. Leake’s 50.2 percent career mark in that regard is impressive, and it’s ticked upwards over the past two seasons, now siting closer to 53 percent. And, though he has just one season of 200-plus innings, Leake has been virtually injury free throughout his career.
However, in an age where velocity and strikeouts are being emphasized more than ever, Leake doesn’t bring either to the table. His career-best K/9 rate is 2014’s 6.9, and he averaged just 5.6 K/9 in 2015. Leake has added some life to his fastball each year, but this season’s 90.9 mph average still rated below the 91.7 mph league average for starting pitchers.
Leake has owned right-handed hitters over the past two seasons, but he’s had less success against lefties, and that’s been a trend throughout his career. He’s yielded a .274/.324/.444 batting line to lefties throughout his big league tenure. Some of that should be taken with a grain of salt, as those numbers aren’t park-adjusted, but that’s still the rough equivalent of Evan Longoria’s 2015 batting line — hardly an ideal result.
Nevertheless, Leake’s addition to the rotation will give the Cardinals stability that they previously lacked. While young arms such as Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Marco Gonzales each possess undeniable upside — Martinez and Wacha have displayed much of that potential in the Majors already — each comes with some injury concerns. Another highly talented arm, Jaime Garcia, has proven to be injury prone. While the Cardinals exercised his $11.5MM club option for the 2016 season earlier this winter, the team still can’t rely on him for 200-plus innings. In Leake, the Cardinals will solidify one of the middle spots in their rotation by adding a pitcher that has proven to be a consistent source of 30-plus starts and 190-plus innings each season.
As an added means of value, Leake was a noted two-way player in college, and his experience as an infielder makes him a solid defender on the mound and an above-average bat, relative to his mound peers. In 411 career plate appearances, Leake is a .212/.235/.310 hitter. Those numbers are unsightly when compared to the rest of the league but dwarf the 2015 league-average batting line for pitchers: .131/.158/.168. Because Leake was traded from the Reds to the Giants midway through the 2015 season, he won’t cost the Cardinals a draft pick. St. Louis will preserve its first-rounder and, in fact, have three picks in the top 40 or so selections next year thanks to the picks acquired as compensation for losing Lackey and Jason Heyward to the Cubs.
Depending on the yearly breakdown, Leake’s contract — which is an exact match with MLBTR’s predictions on our Top 50 free agent list and Leake’s free agent profile — should bring the Cardinals’ Opening Day payroll to about $122MM, which would match last year’s Opening Day mark. The Cardinals are well-positioned to add a long-term commitment to the ledger, as the team has just three players — Adam Wainwright, Matt Carpenter and Jedd Gyorko — under guaranteed contracts beyond the 2017 season.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement and the financial details (links to Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nationals To Sign Daniel Murphy
6:54pm: The contract is a three-year deal worth $37.5MM, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).
4:25pm: The Nationals have agreed to a three-year deal with second baseman Daniel Murphy, ESPN’s Jim Bowden reports (via Twitter). The deal will become official once Murphy passes a physical, as per FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Murphy is represented by the ACES agency.
Washington’s interest in Murphy was first reported by MLB.com’s Bill Ladson last week. The Nats have been looking for infield help for much of the winter, as they were finalists for Ben Zobrist‘s services, had talks with Howie Kendrick and were on the verge of acquiring Brandon Phillips from the Reds before Phillips declined to waive his no-trade clause without a contract extension.
Murphy, who turns 31 on April 1, hit .281/.322/.449 with a career-best 14 homers over 538 plate appearances in 2015. A 13th-round pick for the Mets in the 2006 draft, Murphy developed into a very solid big leaguer who has posted 12.2 fWAR/9.6 bWAR over the last five years. Mets fans will forever remember Murphy’s contributions in the 2015 postseason, as he posted a whopping 1.462 OPS and seven home runs over 39 PA in the NLDS and NLCS, a performance that earned him the NLCS MVP Award. Murphy became the first player in baseball history to homer in six consecutive postseason games.
In Murphy, the Nationals add a player who provides good pop for a middle infielder and also a versatile defender who play third, first and (on a limited basis) left as well as the keystone. In fact, according to metrics like UZR/150 and Defensive Runs Saved, second base is actually Murphy’s worst defensive position. Since Anthony Rendon can also play both second and third, it’s possible the Nats could use Murphy at the hot corner.
Regardless of who plays second, the signing ensures that Danny Espinosa will take over at shortstop until top prospect Trea Turner is ready for the big leagues. Murphy could also spell Ryan Zimmerman at first base against the occasional right-handed starter. In any case, Murphy’s multi-positional ability gives manager Dusty Baker a lot of flexibility in arranging lineups and late-game situations. Perhaps most importantly, Murphy also adds a much-needed left-handed bat to Washington’s lineup — Murphy and Bryce Harper are currently the only left-handed hitters projected to play everyday roles for the Nationals.
There wasn’t too much public buzz about Murphy’s free agent market before the Nats emerged, as the Rockies, Dodgers and Mets all had some interest but in somewhat limited fashion. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ranked Murphy 17th on his list of the winter’s top 50 free agents and predicted he’d land a four-year/$56MM contract. It could be that Murphy’s market was impacted by the number of notable infielders being dealt this offseason. The three teams noted in Dierkes’ list (the Angels, White Sox and Yankees), for example, all addressed infield needs in trades for the likes of Andrelton Simmons, Yunel Escobar, Brett Lawrie, Todd Frazier and Starlin Castro.
Since Murphy rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets, New York will receive a compensation pick between the first and second rounds of the 2016 draft. The Nationals, in turn, will have to surrender their first-round pick (17th overall) the draft but they may end up taking only a minor slide down the draft board since they have two QO free agents of their own. Washington already received a compensation round pick when Jordan Zimmermann signed with the Tigers and they could receive another if Ian Desmond signs elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Wierzbicki/USA Today Sports Images
Pirates Sign John Jaso
4:03pm: FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reports that Jaso will be guaranteed a total of $8MM over the life of the deal (Twitter link). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Jaso will earn $4MM in each season of the contract.
3:54pm: The Pirates announced that they have signed catcher/first baseman/outfielder John Jaso to a two-year contract. The ACES client will serve as the club’s left-handed half of a first-base platoon, pairing with Mike Morse and/or Jason Rogers to handle those duties.
“John Jaso is a proven Major League hitter who is a great complement to our existing lineup,” said GM Neal Huntington in the club’s press release. “John is enthusiastic about playing in Pittsburgh and developing as a first baseman. We feel he has the ability to play the position at the major league level, while adding significantly to our offensive production.”
Jaso is inexperienced at first base, to be sure, having logged just five innings there at the Major League level and a mere 15 more in the minor leagues. He’ll be learning on the fly, but he won’t have to develop into a plus defender at first base to serve as an upgrade over Pedro Alvarez‘s defense. Last season, Alvarez rated 14 runs below average according to both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, despite the fact that he logged just 906 innings at the position. Alvarez was charged with 23 errors in those 906 innings — the third-most of any player at any position in baseball. So, while Jaso will probably experience some growing pains as he learns the intricacies of a new position, the bar for improved defensive production, from the team’s standpoint, is a relatively low one to clear.
Clearly, Jaso wasn’t signed for his glove; he’ll bring to the Pirates a highly productive and exceptionally patient platoon bat to plug into their lineup. The 32-year-old batted .286/.380/.459 in 216 plate appearances in what was an injury-shortened 2015 campaign, with nearly all of his plate appearances coming against right-handed pitching. The Rays permitted Jaso to face a left-handed pitcher just 19 times in 2015, and he’s faced same-handed pitching just 75 times across the past three seasons combined. A platoon partner is a must for Jaso, who is just a .178/.309/.232 hitter against lefties. On the flip side, he boasts an excellent .274/.368/.429 batting line against righties and has been even better in recent seasons, slashing .285/.383/.458 against righties dating back to 2012.
That trait is particularly appealing to the Pirates because, as Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review points out (Twitter link), the Pirates led the Majors in plate appearances against right-handed pitching last season. While some of that is happenstance, looking around the projected rotations of their division rivals, the only lefties that figure to be in Opening Day rotations are Jon Lester, Jaime Garcia and possibly John Lamb/Brandon Finnegan in Cincinnati.
In addition to working at first base, Jaso could also see some time in the corner outfield, tweets MLB.com’s Adam Berry. Jaso has also told the club he’s willing to serve as their emergency catcher, per Berry, though first base and the outfield will be his two primary positions. That’s probably best for Jaso, who has been plagued by concussion issues in recent years, thus necessitating the move to outfield and designated hitter in recent seasons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cardinals, Mike Leake Nearing Agreement
TUESDAY, 9:23am: It’s possible that a deal could be reached by the end of today, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com tweets. The deal with the Cardinals is expected to be in the five-year, $75MM range and could include an option, a source tells Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (on Twitter).
The Cardinals gave Leake a strong offer last week and have been waiting for a resolution, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. Multiple sources also tell him that a deal is getting close.
8:50am: The Cardinals and Leake are close to agreement on a deal, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.
MONDAY, 10:45pm: Leake is aiming for a five-year deal, per Cotillo (Twitter link).
10:10pm: There’s a “growing belief” that free agent Mike Leake will be signing somewhere very soon, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The Cardinals, he adds, appear to be a strong contender for his services.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams profiled Leake recently, explaining that his market appeal lies in a combination of age, health, the lack of a qualifying offer, and solid production. Both Adams and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes have predicted five-year, $80MM contract for Leake, placing him among the 15 or so free agents with the greatest expected earning power.
Recently, the Dodgers were mentioned as a possibility for Leake after their agreement with Hisashi Iwakuma was 86’d. It’s not clear if the Astros have had substantive talks with Leake’s reps, but they do appear to be a fit for a veteran starter like Leake. Leake reportedly was ready to give a hometown discount to the D’Backs, but Tony La Russa recently called that match “probably unlikely” to happen. The Cardinals have been a logical landing spot for Leake all winter long, but some speculated that his asking price could be too rich for their blood.
In 2015, for the second consecutive year, Leake posted a 3.70 ERA. That marks three straight seasons with a sub-3.75 ERA and at least 190 innings. All but two months of those three years came while pitching his home games at an extremely hitter-friendly home venue: Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. Leake was able to thrive in large part due to his excellent control (2.3 BB/9 for his career) and his strong ground-ball rate. Leake’s 50.2 percent career mark in that regard is impressive, and it’s ticked upwards over the past two seasons, now siting closer to 53 percent.
Though he has just one season of 200-plus innings, Leake has been virtually injury free throughout his career. He landed on the DL late in the 2010 season with right shoulder fatigue but avoided the DL for the next five years, until a hamstring injury sidelined him for about two weeks in August. He dealt with some forearm tightness at season’s end, but it wasn’t serious and didn’t lead to major concern.
However, in an age where velocity and strikeouts are being emphasized more than ever, Leake doesn’t bring either to the table. His career-best K/9 rate is 2014’s 6.9, and he averaged just 5.6 K/9 in 2015. Leake has added some life to his fastball each year, but this season’s 90.9 mph average still rated below the 91.7 mph league average for starting pitchers.
Leake has owned right-handed hitters over the past two seasons, but he’s had less success against lefties, and that’s been a trend throughout his career. He’s yielded a .274/.324/.444 batting line to lefties throughout his big league tenure. Some of that should be taken with a grain of salt, as those numbers aren’t park-adjusted, but that’s still the rough equivalent of Evan Longoria’s 2015 batting line — hardly an ideal result.
Rockies Extend Adam Ottavino
DEC. 21: The Rockies have officially announced the deal (Twitter link).
DEC. 19, 1:55pm: The deal was actually completed earlier this week, Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets.
12:44pm: The Rockies have agreed to terms with reliever Adam Ottavino to a three-year, $10.4MM extension, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). The deal includes yearly salaries of $1.3MM, $2.1MM and $7MM and contains no options. Ottavino is a client of All Bases Covered.
The 30-year-old Ottavino had Tommy John surgery in May and missed most of the 2015 season. We was projected to make just $1.6MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, and he would have been eligible for free agency following 2017. The extension, then, provides him with a considerable guaranteed payday in exchange for delaying his free agency eligibility by a year.
Before his injury, Ottavino was a valuable cog in the Rockies’ bullpen, most recently posting a 3.60 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 65 innings in a fine 2014 campaign. He was off to an even better start in 2015 before his injury, striking out 13 batters in 10 1/3 innings, posting an excellent 63.2% ground ball rate in a small sample, and increasing his average fastball velocity to over 95 MPH.
Needless to say, it might be awhile longer before he’s able to contribute at a top level again, which is perhaps one reason why the Rockies felt an extension made sense from their perspective — as it stood, Ottavino’s recovery period would have consumed a meaningful chunk of the remainder of the Rockies’ team control over him. Again via Heyman (on Twitter), Ottavino says he’s recovering well and will return at some point near the middle of the summer. Assuming he’s eventually able to return to something resembling his prior form, though, his $10.4MM deal doesn’t seem exorbitant given the rising costs of good setup men on the free agent market.
It’s possible that the terms of Ottavino’s extension were partially inspired by the White Sox’ recent deal with Nate Jones, which is similar in many respects. It’s the differences between the two hard-throwing righties’ deals, however, that are most striking. Like Ottavino, Jones had a recent Tommy John surgery (although Jones actually returned to action last season and pitched well, while Ottavino’s recovery is ongoing) and was in his second-to-last year of arbitration eligibility.
Jones, however, was projected to make less next season, which perhaps explains why Ottavino got a more significant guarantee ($10.4MM vs. $8MM) over three years. Jones’ contract also contains two team options, plus the possibility of a third if he continues to have UCL trouble; Ottavino’s deal does not include any such options. There are doubtless many differences between the two pitchers’ situations (perhaps including differences in medical reports to which we aren’t privy). But probably the most crucial one is that Jones’ injury troubles occurred before he entered his arbitration seasons, while Ottavino’s occurred after he entered his. The divergence between the two contracts, then, illustrates what a difference timing can make.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Indians To Sign Mike Napoli
SATURDAY, 6:17pm: Napoli has passed his physical, according to Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. His deal should be officially announced sometime this week.
WEDNESDAY, 12:35pm: The Indians and first baseman Mike Napoli are in agreement on a one-year contract, pending a physical, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Napoli will earn $7MM in 2016 and has an additional $3MM worth of incentives built into his contract.
The 34-year-old Napoli will serve as Cleveland’s everyday first baseman in 2016, tweets Rosenthal, indicating that Carlos Santana will shift to the DH slot (though I’d imagine Santana will still see some action at first). That should provide the Indians with a defensive upgrade at first base, though it remains to be seen if Napoli can remain productive in an everyday role having developed such a notable platoon split late in his career.
Napoli batted .224/.324/.410 overall between the Red Sox and Rangers last season, improving greatly upon being traded to Texas (where he was deployed primarily against lefties). Napoli’s 12 percent walk rate and .187 isolated power mark made him a decent overall offensive contributor, but he batted just .191/.283/.320 in 290 plate appearances against right-handed pitching. That’s a stark contrast to his brilliant .278/.391/.563 line against lefties, and the Indians will likely be hoping for more balance in 2016 if he’s to remain in an everyday role. Napoli did show good patience against righties (10.3 percent walk rate) and actually struck out less often versus them than he did versus lefties. A .239 BABIP when facing same-handed pitching dragged down his overall production, so the Indians will hope for a correction in that regard and better overall output from the still-powerful Napoli.
Nationals “Moving On” From Brandon Phillips
DEC. 19, 2:31pm: Phillips wanted an extension as a condition of his approval of the trade, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. As Heyman notes, it’s not surprising the Nationals balked — Phillips is already owed $27MM over the next two seasons, already a significant amount given his age and his somewhat uneven recent offensive performances. Phillips is arguably close to being worth the money he’s due, but asking to be extended even further than his age-35 season was asking a lot.
12:35pm: The Nationals are “moving on” from Phillips and will pursue other options, perhaps Howie Kendrick or a trade, Rosenthal reports (Twitter links). Daniel Murphy is perhaps another possibility, although a lower-priority one. In any case, while Rosenthal notes the possibility that talks between the Nationals and Reds could resurface at some point, a trade between the two clubs does not seem likely right now.
DEC. 18, 4:11pm: The Reds are expected to give Phillips some form of incentives to waive his no-trade rights, but there’s been no progress made on those talks to this point, according to James Wagner of the Washington Post (links to Twitter).
1:43pm: Sources tell MLB.com’s Bill Ladson that it’s very likely at this point that Phillips will waive his no-trade protection and allow a deal to be finalized.
9:59am: The Nationals are waiting to hear whether the Reds will be able to work out an arrangement with Phillips to get him to waive his no-trade clause, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. There are still “lots of hurdles” remaining, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets.
DEC. 17: The Nationals and Reds “apparently” have an agreement on a trade that would send second baseman Brandon Phillips from Cincinnati to D.C., according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (links to Twitter). However, Phillips has yet to waive the full no-trade protection that comes with his 10-and-5 rights (that is, 10 years of Major League service, the past five of which have come with one team). Talks with Phillips himself are in progress, per Rosenthal, who notes that Phillips accepted deferrals in his contract with the Reds under the assumption that he would remain in Cincinnati for the duration of the deal. Some kind of financial compensation might be necessary in order to get Phillips to OK the deal, Rosenthal adds.
Phillips, 34, would give the Nationals the second base upgrade they’ve reportedly been seeking. His addition would allow the Nats to open the season with Danny Espinosa at shortstop, thereby giving top prospect Trea Turner some additional minor league development time. While acquiring Phillips wouldn’t add the balance Washington has been pursuing — he’d be yet another right-handed mix added to a group that includes Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael A. Taylor — he would provide a steady defensive presence that enjoyed an offensive rebound in many ways in 2015.
The 2014 season was perhaps Phillips’ worst since establishing himself as a regular in the Major Leagues, as he batted just .266/.306/.372. His eight homers that season were the fewest he’d ever posted in a full big league campaign. The 2015 season looked more like the Phillips to which we’ve become accustomed over the life of his Cincinnati tenure, however, as his bat bounced back with a .294/.328/.395 batting line, 12 homers and 23 steals — a significant improvement from the uncharacteristic two stolen bases he recorded in 2014. His 10.9 percent strikeout rate was also the lowest of his career. Perennially regarded as a strong defender — Phillips does have four Gold Glove Awards — he recorded positive marks in both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating for the ninth consecutive season in 2015.
On the negative side of things, Phillips will turn 35 next June and has indeed seen those defensive ratings begin to deteriorate, to some extent. Never known as a patient hitter, Phillips’ 4.3 percent walk rate in 2015 was the worst of his career, and if his batting average dips back toward its career mark of .273 this season, Phillips could struggle to muster a .300 OBP. And, while his contract certainly isn’t outlandish — he’s owed a reasonable enough $13MM in 2016 and $14MM in 2017 — he also wouldn’t come cheaply to a Nationals club that has just under $100MM committed to 10 players for the 2016 season, plus a projected $31.2MM owed to another six.
That figure, of course, is before considering any type of financial compensation that may need to go his way. For example, the Nats agreed to exercise Jonathan Papelbon‘s club option three months in advance in order to get the closer to waive his own no-trade rights. While Phillips doesn’t have an option in his contract that can be exercised in similar fashion, the Nats could restructure his contract in some fashion in order to more amply compensate him over the two seasons he’d spend with the team in the event of a trade.
Mets Re-Sign Bartolo Colon
DEC. 18: The Mets have announced the one-year deal (Twitter link).
DEC. 16: The Mets and Bartolo Colon have reached agreement on a one-year, $7.25MM deal, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Sources tell Rosenthal (link) that Colon had better offers from other teams, but he wanted to remain with the Mets. Colon’s affinity for the Mets’ fans, his teammates, and the organization led him to re-up in Queens.
All in all, there’s plenty of reason to believe that the 42-year-old can continue functioning as a useful MLB pitcher. Colon signed a two-year, $20MM deal to join the Mets after putting up two stellar seasons with the A’s. He hasn’t quite matched the results he had in Oakland, but has contributed a remarkable 397 innings of 4.13 ERA pitching with 6.5 K/9 and a sterling 1.2 BB/9.
Now, it remains to be seen how Colon will factor into the Mets’ plans for the 2016 season. Colon probably wouldn’t hold down a rotation spot all season in Queens barring an injury to one of the Mets’ excellent young starters, he could be a valuable stopgap early in the year as Zack Wheeler progresses in his Tommy John rehab.
New York figures to roll out a rotation fronted by Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, and Noah Syndergaard and also likely including highly-rated prospect Steven Matz. Still, will Jonathon Niese out of the picture and Wheeler still working his way back, Colon will help to ease uncertainty in the Mets’ rotation. Beyond Colon, the Mets could also turn to players like Rafael Montero and Logan Verrett if they need additional support in the starting five.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.