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.
Heyman’s Latest: Royals, Kazmir, Dee Gordon, Clippard, Holliday, Padres, Astros
There are a host of interesting notes in the latest column from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Here are some of the highlights:
- While the Royals are still interested in free agent starters Yovani Gallardo and Scott Kazmir, as has previously been reported, the club may be most intrigued by Wei-Yin Chen, per Heyman. Kansas City would have to go well beyond its usual spending levels to add the southpaw, but Heyman writes that the club has newfound budget “flexibility” in the midst of its renaissance. Chen, though, is represented by Scott Boras, with whom the Royals have a strong relationship. (Kendrys Morales, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Rios and Franklin Morales are among the current or recent Royals to be Boras clients.)
- Kazmir already has multiple three-year offers with guarantees in the range of $12MM to $13MM annually, per the report, with teams like the Athletics, Orioles, and Dodgers said to be involved. It seems like the first legitimate four-year offer could land Kazmir, Heyman adds. Of course, it’s unclear if the A’s will still be in the hunt if and when their reported one-year deal with righty Henderson Alvarez is finalized.
- Meanwhile, the Royals are still pursuing Alex Gordon, but Heyman reports that the team’s initial four-year offer was not met with a very promising response from Gordon’s camp. It’s been surprisingly quiet on the Gordon front for much of the offseason, although with Jason Heyward off the board, it’s easy to imagine the market for him and fellow corner outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton picking up quickly.
- The Royals are holding extension discussions with backstop Salvador Perez, says Heyman, and there’s interest from team and player in reaching “something equitable.” But K.C. has all the leverage, of course, given its already lengthy and cheap control rights over the sturdy young catcher. Heyman adds that Perez’s representatives have raised the extensions of players like Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, and Ryan Braun in talks, with the Royals not favorably disposed to those concepts. (An observation: those deals certainly don’t seem all that relevant from where I sit. Perez is an excellent player, but hasn’t reached the heights of those stars, and his current contract is far cheaper than the ones Longoria and Braun turned into new deals. Also, as a heavily-worked, large-framed catcher, there are questions about how wise it would be to make a long-term investment in Perez.)
- The Marlins have continued their extension talks with Dee Gordon, and Heyman says that Miami has put a five-year deal on the table. But Gordon and his reps are looking for seven seasons in an extension. The talks are moving slowly, but still moving, per Heyman.
- While the Mets do have legitimate interest in Tyler Clippard, they only want him with a one-year guarantee, per Heyman. Clippard is looking for a two-year deal he adds. It certainly seems that the veteran’s market is lagging the rest of the top-end set-up men who hit free agency this year. That could be due to a combination of his heavy recent workload and sub-par peripherals last year, but Clippard should still find a significant contract given his lengthy track record and the high dollars we’ve seen given to inferior arms.
- Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has been working out at first base, with the veteran looking to extend his career by adding defensive versatility. While that’s been done at Holliday’s initiative, Heyman wonders whether the hypothetical possibility of a move could keep St. Louis involved in the hunt for Gordon.
- The Padres seem unlikely to put together a big offer for Ian Desmond. That would certainly be bad news for the free agent, whose market has yet to develop, as San Diego seems like one of the best fits. The Pads are not getting a lot of interest in James Shields at present and have put a high price on Tyson Ross, per the report. Meanwhile, the club is considering a move for veteran reliever Fernando Rodney.
- The Astros aren’t done with their bullpen and remain in the market for relievers as well as a corner bat, Heyman writes. Houston non-tendered Chris Carter, and A.J. Reed probably won’t be ready to begin the season, so there does indeed appear to be room for someone capable of taking some at-bats at first base (although Jon Singleton could be given another look there as well).
- We’ve heard chatter that the Orioles and Rockies have had some talks regarding outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, and Heyman says that Colorado asked for young righty Kevin Gausman in a deal. That was, unsurprisingly, a non-starter for Baltimore. The O’s, meanwhile, tried to get Andre Ethier from the Dodgers last offseason, and Heyman wonders whether another such effort could take place this year as the club continues to hunt for another left-handed-hitting outfielder (per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, on Twitter).
- The Indians had talks with free agent Austin Jackson before signing Rajai Davis, per Heyman. He adds that there are legitimate concerns that Michael Brantley will be out into June “or perhaps even later” after some undisclosed new shoulder “issue” arose this winter.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Pirates Sign Ryan Vogelsong
4:39pm: Vogelsong receives a $2MM guarantee and can earn up to $3MM worth of incentives, according to MLB.com’s Adam Berry (Twitter link).
3:00pm: The Pirates have announced a one-year deal with free agent righty Ryan Vogelsong. Contract terms have not yet been reported, though a source tells MLBTR that it’s an incentive-laden deal that can max out at $5MM.
Vogelsong, 38, had seemed to wrap up his MLB career after a stint with the Bucs in the early and mid-2000s. But he returned with new vigor after a stint in Japan, and has played with the Giants for the past five seasons.
Last year was not the best season for the veteran. He logged a rough 4.67 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. And ERA estimators saw that earned run mark as a more-or-less accurate reflection of his actual contribution on the hill.
But there are still some positives. Vogelsong threw 135 innings over 22 starts and 11 relief appearances, and has a good track record of reliability. His velocity actually trended up slightly, with an average fastball of 91 mph.
For a Pirates organization that entered the offseason looking for rotation options with limited resources, it’s easy to see the appeal in the steady veteran. Pittsburgh recently dealt away Charlie Morton after acquiring Jon Niese, so the need is still there, and further staff additions still seem likely.
Details On Jonathan Papelbon’s Current No-Trade List
DECEMBER 18: That list was apparently the one in effect for 2015, as Crasnick now provides a list that, he says, will be in effect for the year to come. It is the same as the prior iteration except for four changes.
On this new list, the Braves, Reds, Royals, and Mariners have moved into the group of teams to which Papelbon can reject a trade. Meanwhile, the Giants, Phillies, Tigers, and Yankees are now among the clubs to which Papelbon may freely be dealt, without his authorization.
DECEMBER 15: Nationals reliever Jonathan Papelbon has the right to name 17 clubs to which he cannot be traded without his consent, and ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on this year’s list.
Papelbon can block deals to the following clubs: the Athletics, Blue Jays, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Rangers, Rockies, Tigers, Twins, White Sox and Yankees. The league’s remaining teams can acquire the controversial veteran without his approval.
No-trade lists tend to reflect both personal preferences and strategic considerations. It’s hard to know the precise motivations here, but it’s worth remembering that Papelbon has previously made good use of his no-trade rights in exerting leverage. In approving the trade that sent him to D.C. last year, Papelbon received assurances he’d be used as the closer and picked up a guarantee of his 2016 option (though that would have vested anyway and he took a discount to facilitate the move).
While an exceedingly public spat with star Bryce Harper has led to wide speculation that Papelbon will be dealt, Nats GM Mike Rizzo has maintained that the team won’t simply cut him loose for whatever it can get. Papelbon is neither cheap ($11MM) nor young (35), but he’s continued to produce quality results and represents a fair value from a pure baseball perspective.
Athletics Nearing Deal With Henderson Alvarez
2:35pm: Alvarez can earn up to $5.85MM if all available incentives are achieved, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. That includes a $4.25MM guarantee and $1.6MM in possible incentive pay.
2:23pm: The prospective deal is for one year, with $4MM in guaranteed money and “big incentives,” tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
2:18pm: The Athletics are nearing agreement on a contract with free agent righty Henderson Alvarez, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Alvarez, 25, was non-tendered recently by the Marlins, who set him loose rather than committing to pay a projected $4MM through arbitration.
The major question with Alvarez, of course, is the health of his shoulder. He underwent surgery in late July and had apparently not progressed to the point that Miami felt confident in a tender. Alvarez is said to be likely to miss the first month of the regular season in the best case scenario.
Of course, there’s some real upside to be captured for the A’s if things work out. Alvarez posted a 2.98 ERA in the 289 2/3 innings he threw over the 2013-14 seasons. He’s not a big strikeout pitcher, but has managed to generate those excellent results with strong control and groundball production.
Then, there’s the contractual upside to be found. Because he entered the offseason with just over four years of service on his clock, Alvarez can be tendered a contract in 2017. That would effectively provide an option to Oakland, with the cost to exercise it dependent upon Alvarez’s performance (upon which his prospective arbitration earnings would depend).
Mariners Re-Sign Hisashi Iwakuma
TODAY, 1:50pm: Iwakuma ended up taking quite a hit on his guaranteed money, it appears. Per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links), the veteran will receive only a $12MM guarantee. That includes a $1MM signing bonus, $10MM salary for 2016, and a $1MM buyout on the vesting/club options that follow.
The options are priced at $10MM apiece, but they can vest at higher levels. If Iwakuma reaches 162 innings, his 2017 option would be guaranteed at $14MM. If he can tally 162 frames in the following season, or 324 total over 2016-17, then he’d earn $15MM.
There are some other important benefits in the contract. Iwakuma gets a full no-trade clause, Heyman adds (Twitter links). And he can earn up to $2.5MM annually via incentives for innings pitched ($500K at 150 innings and every ten frames thereafter, with 190 innings to maximize the clause).
1:13pm: The guarantee is likely near to the value of the qualifying offer ($15.8MM), Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). Iwakuma can earn nearly all of the $45MM he would have been promised by the Dodgers through the vesting clauses, Rosenthal adds.
YESTERDAY: The Mariners have re-signed right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma to a one-year contract with vesting options for the 2017 and 2018 seasons, according to a club announcement. General manager Jerry Dipoto initially broke the news to the rest of his staff at the front office holiday party (video link, on Twitter), but the club kept the news under wraps until a formal announcement could be drafted.
Clearly, this is a drastic shift in Iwakuma’s market. The 34-year-old (35 in April) Wasserman Media Group client was said to have agreed to a three-year, $45MM pact with the Dodgers, but reported concerns over the veteran’s physical caused the Dodgers to attempt to re-work the contract. J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group tweeted recently that the Dodgers’ offer of a guaranteed third year is what pushed the Dodgers to the front of the line in the Iwakuma sweepstakes, so it would seem that with that third season no longer on the table, Iwakuma’s preference was to return to Seattle on a contract that will allow him to reach that third year if he is able to remain healthy over the course of the next two seasons (although exactly what type of innings-pitched or starts-made marks will trigger the additional years on the contract remains an unknown).
“Obviously, the developments from the last few days allowed us to get back in the game,” said Dipoto in the press release announcing the move. “It’s a credit to our ownership; to Howard Lincoln, to Kevin Mather, to our entire ownership group that we were able to get aggressive and find a way to bring Kuma back to the Mariners. We’re all thrilled. This is a big move for us. We feel like this really puts a finishing touch on what we think has been a very productive off-season.”
Iwakuma will slot into the rotation behind ace Felix Hernandez. His return gives the Mariners a surplus in the rotation, as the club still has newcomers Wade Miley and Nate Karns in addition to returning high-upside youngsters Taijuan Walker and James Paxton. While there are plenty of health-related question marks among that group — Walker and Paxton both have notable injury histories at a young age — it’s an imposing group, on paper, and should make for a formidable rotation when healthy, regardless of which arms round out the mix. (I’d imagine that Miley is a given for the rotation, leaving Karns, Walker and Paxton to compete for the final two spots.)
A lat injury cost Iwakuma more than two months of his 2015 campaign and limited him to 129 2/3 innings. A torn tendon in his right middle finger limited him to 179 innings a year prior. The nature of the concerns that derailed his contract with the Dodgers aren’t known, but the Mariners were comfortable enough to guarantee him a 2016 contract, and the Dodgers themselves were said to be attempting to re-work the deal, which should suggest that there’s no dire injury at play.
Over the course of 653 2/3 Major League innings, the Japanese righty has posted a 3.17 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and a 50.1 percent ground-ball rate. Considering the fact that the additions of Leonys Martin and Nori Aoki should only enhance the Mariners’ outfield defense, there’s reason to believe that Iwakuma could improve upon his 2014-15 performance, so long as his health permits him to do so.
On the Dodgers’ end of the equation, the loss of Iwakuma marks a disappointing outcome for a club that has seen Zack Greinke sign with the division-rival Diamondbacks and also had a trade for Aroldis Chapman fall through due to previously unreported domestic violence allegations. While there’s still plenty of time for president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his staff to plot new courses of action, one has to assume that this is nonetheless a discouraging outcome. As it stands right now, the Dodgers have little certainty in their rotation beyond Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood, as Brett Anderson has a significant injury history of his own while Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu missed most and all of the 2015 season due to injuries, respectively.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Royals Join Astros, O’s In Pursuit Of Yovani Gallardo
DECEMBER 18: It does not sound as if there has been much movement on Gallardo’s market over the last few days. The Astros and Orioles are still the “most aggressive” pursuers, per Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links), but Baltimore, at least, doesn’t even have an offer out to the righty at present.
DECEMBER 14: The Royals have joined the Astros and Orioles with interest in free agent righty Yovani Gallardo, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports on Twitter. The report suggests that Gallardo could choose from among that trio of clubs before long.
Entering his age-30 campaign, Gallardo no longer looks like a top-of-the-rotation hurler but has been solid and durable. His arm has been injury-free in the majors and he has not dropped below 184 innings in any of the last seven seasons. Gallardo has also averaged a sub-3.50 ERA over the past two seasons, with strong groundball tendencies making up somewhat for declining strikeouts, though ERA estimators have not supported those results.
The veteran right-hander seems to fit the mold of starter that Kansas City has pursued in recent offseasons. Though he’ll probably be more expensive (and is arguably a better pitcher) than recent signees like Edinson Volquez, Jason Vargas, and Jeremy Guthrie, all of those players had also delivered fairly consistent innings heading into their open-market year.
Kansas City has already re-signed Chris Young and is said to be bringing in Dillon Gee as another option, so there isn’t quite as much urgency to add to the staff as there was when the winter started. But some of the current rotation options, such as Kris Medlen and Danny Duffy, spent time in the pen last year and probably haven’t locked down jobs for 2016. And building out depth never hurts, as was made evident last year when Young filled in admirably as Yordano Ventura struggled and Vargas went down to Tommy John surgery.
White Sox Extend Nate Jones
11:05am: The team has announced the deal and its precise terms. Jones does indeed get $8MM over three years, with salaries of $900K, $1.9MM, and $3.95MM. Then, there are two club options ($4.65MM & $5.15MM) with a $1.25MM buyout that applies to either, followed by a mutual option at $6MM.
Those values would change, though, if Jones needs another UCL replacement before the end of the 2018 season, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). If that occurs, the mutual option would turn into a club option and the three club options would be for a total of just $8.5MM.
10:46am: The White Sox have agreed to an extension with righty Nate Jones, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. The deal will promise Jones $8MM over the next three years and includes multiple option years beyond its guaranteed term.
Jones was entering his second-to-last season of arbitration eligibility, with MLBTR projecting him to earn $900K. Soon to turn 30, Jones missed almost all of 2014 with Tommy John surgery, but made it back for 19 appearances last year. In his 19 frames of work in 2015, he racked up 27 strikeouts against just a dozen hits and six walks, allowing seven earned runs.
Those numbers weren’t as important as the fact that Jones showed he could still bring the high-90s fastball and big slider that made him an exciting pen arm for Chicago. Jones compiled 149 2/3 innings of 3.31 ERA pitching over 2012-13, with his strikeout and walk numbers improving as he went, and seemed prime to emerge as a dominant late-inning arm before he went under the knife.
It’s easy to see how the sides were able to come together on this agreement. Jones will sacrifice the possibility of a big free agent contract in two years’ time, but will be covered in the event that he deals with future elbow issues and will lock in some real money despite a lowered earning capacity due to his ill-timed, pre-arb TJ procedure.
For the club, promising the final year of arbitration and one season of free agent earnings will deliver some upside. Given the price of pen arms on the open market, it’s a relatively meager guarantee. And the opportunity to continue going year-to-year on salaries of around $5MM could be a real bargain if Jones continues to produce.
Rangers To Re-Sign Colby Lewis
The Rangers have a deal in place with righty Colby Lewis that will bring him back to Texas for one year and $6MM, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
A return had long been rumored to be in the works. The physical and official announcement may not occur until the new year, Wilson adds.
Lewis, 36, has recently dealt with a torn meniscus in his knee. But he expects to be ready for the start of Spring Training.
Presumably, Texas will slot Lewis right back into its rotation. He ended the 2015 campaign with a 4.66 ERA, which is hardly exciting. But Lewis logged over two hundred innings and ended with 6.2 K/9 versus 1.8 BB/9.
The total contribution was valued at 2.6 fWAR, based on his more promising 4.17 FIP. On the other hand, he only accrued 1.0 rWAR and both xFIP (4.62) and SIERA (4.43) were less enthused about his efforts.
As Wilson notes, though, both sides were clearly interested in a return. Lewis is a well-known commodity and has shown the ability to rack up solid innings tallies. With the team unsure of what to expect from a struggling Derek Holland, the rehabbing Yu Darvish, and youngsters like Chi Chi Gonzalez and Nick Martinez, it certainly makes sense to re-unite with the steady veteran.
Giants Sign Johnny Cueto
DEC. 17: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that Cueto doesn’t receive a no-trade clause but will pick up a $500K bonus if he’s moved to another team (links to Twitter). Baggarly adds that the seventh-year option is for $22MM and comes with a $5MM buyout. Additionally, he notes, Cueto still gets the $5MM buyout if he opts out of the deal after the 2017 season.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has the contract’s entire breakdown (Twitter link). Cueto receives a $5MM signing bonus and a $15MM salary in 2016. He’ll then be paid $21MM annually from 2017-21. Heyman also notes that the option buyout will be given to Cueto in the form of a bonus, should he opt out of his deal, thereby giving him a guarantee of $46MM over the first two years of the deal and, effectively, a four-year, $84MM player option.
DEC. 16: The Giants have officially announced the deal.
DEC. 14:, 3:37pm: The Giants have made their second significant rotation splash of the offseason, announcing on Monday that they’ve agreed to a six-year contract with right-hander Johnny Cueto, pending a physical. The Bryce Dixon client will reportedly receive a $130MM guarantee and an opt-out clause after two seasons. The contract is said to pay Cueto $46MM prior to the opt-out and also contains a club option for a seventh season, should Cueto elect not to opt out.
With this new contract, Cueto will have the ability to hit the free-agent market again in advance of his age-32 season. As we saw with Zack Greinke this winter, that timing can be highly beneficial to a pitcher. Cueto would have to forfeit a guaranteed $84MM over a four-year term in order to exercise that out clause. While that’s a notable sum, it’s certainly not difficult to see him having a case for more if he pitches up to his previous standards across the first two seasons of the deal.
Cueto, who turns 30 in February, split the 2015 season between the Reds (with whom he had spent his entire career) and Royals, working to a 3.44 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 42.5 percent ground-ball rate. Those numbers are down, by his standards — the result of some late struggles with the Royals that saw Cueto log a 6.49 ERA over his final 51 1/3 regular-season innings in Kansas City. While health wasn’t said to be an issue for Cueto, he did miss a start with a minor elbow issue earlier in the summer, though the Royals still felt comfortable trading three prospects — left-handers Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed — for him, and Cueto was brilliant for his first three starts in Royal Blue.
It’s not certain what the cause for Cueto’s troubles in Kansas City were, though some issues with the placement of catcher Salvador Perez‘s target and the adjustment to the American League were oft-cited suggestions for his diminished results. Cueto was inconsistent in the playoffs but hurled a pair of utterly dominant gems (in addition to a pair of shakier outings), capping off his 2015 season and his brief Royals career with a one-run, complete-game masterpiece against the Mets in Game Two of the World Series. The pair of excellent postseason outings likely quelled some of the concerns over Cueto’s health, and this contract, plus his reported $120MM offer from Arizona, indicate that some clubs haven’t been overly scared by his elbow.
Cueto will join fellow offseason signee Jeff Samardzija in slotting behind ace Madison Bumgarner atop a new-look Giants rotation. They’ll be joined by right-handers Jake Peavy and Matt Cain, with 2015 rookie Chris Heston presumably serving as a valuable swingman — taking over the role formerly held by the non-tendered Yusmeiro Petit.
The $130MM guarantee and $21.7MM annual value are a steep price, to be sure, but a healthy Cueto has proven to be worthy of that type of commitment when at his best. From 2011-15, Cueto worked to a 2.71 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 despite pitching his home games at one of MLB’s most hitter-friendly environments: Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. In that time, the lone pitcher to throw at least 800 MLB innings and post a better ERA than Cueto’s mark of 2.71 was Dodgers ace and new division rival Clayton Kershaw. One can imagine, then, that moving from GABP to the extremely pitcher-friendly AT&T Park in San Francisco, would stand to benefit Cueto’s already impressive numbers. (Of course, one could’ve made the same argument about the spacious Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, although Cueto moved to a new league in that scenario.)
From a payroll perspective, the Giants already have about $130MM committed to 12 players, plus a sizable raise coming for first baseman Brandon Belt, who MLBTR projects to earn $6.2MM next season. As such, Cueto’s new deal will push the club’s payroll commitment to around $153MM before factoring in Belt’s new contract. That’s a sizable sum and is within striking distance of last year’s $173MM Opening Day mark. However, San Francisco will see Peavy, Angel Pagan, Gregor Blanco, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez all come off the books following the 2016 campaign, so there’s plenty of long-term flexibility to accommodate a sizable yearly salary for Cueto.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Giants were making a big push for Cueto. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the two sides had reached an agreement (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the term (Twitter link). ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reported the guarantee (Twitter link). Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the club had confirmed the deal, adding details on the opt-out and club option (links to Twitter). Heyman tweeted that Cueto would get $46MM prior to the opt-out.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.