Braves To Designate Tyler Pastornicky For Assignment
The Braves will designate infielder Tyler Pastornicky for assignment tomorrow in order to clear 40-man roster space for the three signings they announced earlier today, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (on Twitter).
The 25-year-old Pastornicky struggled in 47 plate appearances with the Braves in 2014 and has never hit much at the Major League level, as evidenced by his .243/.295/.314 batting line in 268 plate appearances. However, he only just turned 25 last month and has a much stronger track record in the minors, where he’s a .290/.348/.386 batter in 793 Triple-A plate appearances.
By releasing Dan Uggla midseason, trading Tommy La Stella earlier this winter and now designating Pastornicky, the Braves have jettisoned the three players that saw the bulk of the playing time at second base in Atlanta last season. The Braves inked Alberto Callaspo to a one-year deal to hold down the fort at second this year, presumably while top prospect Jose Peraza continues his development in the minors. Additionally, the club acquired Jace Peterson from the Padres in the Justin Upton deal — another infielder capable of handling second base.
Braves Sign Josh Outman
3:13pm: Outman’s deal guarantees him $925K and allows him to earn an additional $475K via performance bonuses, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo.
2:34pm: The Braves announced today that they have signed left-hander Josh Outman to a one-year, Major League deal. The team also officially announced A.J. Pierzynski‘s one-year deal and Jason Grilli‘s two-year pact, both of which had been previously reported. Outman is a client of Turner Gary Sports.
The 30-year-old Outman posted a 2.86 ERA with 8.3 K/9 but a more troubling 5.1 BB/9 in 28 1/3 innings between the Indians and Yankees last season. Those control problems were a bit uncharacteristic for Outman, however, as he entered the season with a lifetime 3.6 BB/9 rate in 246 innings of work.
Outman registered a 53.9 percent ground-ball rate in 2014 — the highest mark of his career. If he can repeat that feat while rediscovering his previous command, his peripheral stats — he had just a 4.83 FIP and 4.18 xFIP in 2014 — should rebound, and a strong ERA is a definite possibility. Outman gives Atlanta skipper Fredi Gonzalez a particularly potent weapon against left-handed hitters, as he’s held same-handed opponents to a minuscule .186/.254/.283 batting line in 413 career plate appearances. And, as a bonus to Atlanta, he has just four years, 155 days of Major League service time. In other words, if Outman performs well, he can be controlled through the 2016 season via arbitration.
Outman will join James Russell and Luis Avilan as a third left-handed option to bridge the gap from the rotation to lights-out closer Craig Kimbrel. He and Grilli will join reclamation project Jim Johnson as newcomers to an Atlanta bullpen that also features Shae Simmons and possibly Arodys Vizcaino. By and large, it should be a new-look group in the Atlanta bullpen, as the team has parted with excellent setup men Jordan Walden and David Carpenter in separate trades this winter.
Twins Sign Blaine Boyer To Minor League Deal
1:42pm: Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press has some further detail on Boyer’s deal (Twitter links). Boyer will earn $750K if he makes the big league roster, with an additional $100K available via performance bonuses. His contract also contains a March 30 opt-out clause that can be exercised if he has not been added to the 40-man roster.
10:28am: The Twins have signed right-hander Blaine Boyer to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, team director of communications Dustin Morse announced (on Twitter).
The 33-year-old Boyer returned to the Majors for the first time since 2011 last season, firing 40 1/3 solid innings out of the Padres’ bullpen. Though he averaged just 6.5 K/9, Boyer showed strong control, averaging just 1.8 walks per nine. His fastball lost very little of its heat despite the two-year gap between big league stints, as he averaged a healthy 93.1 mph on the pitch. Despite his solid season, however, Boyer was outrighted by the Padres following the year. He had projected to earn $1MM in arbitration, via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
The Twins’ bullpen currently features All-Star closer Glen Perkins and several solid, albeit unspectacular setup men. Casey Fien and recent signee Tim Stauffer (another former Padre) will serve as right-handed options for new skipper Paul Molitor, while Brian Duensing and perhaps Caleb Thielbar will join Perkins as southpaws. Others in the mix include righties Ryan Pressly, Michael Tonkin and Lester Oliveros in addition to southpaws Logan Darnell and Aaron Thompson.
John McDonald Retires
Veteran middle infielder John McDonald has officially retired, according to the Twitter accounts of the Angels, Blue Jays, D-Backs and Indians, each of whom McDonald played for over the life of a 16-year Major League career.
McDonald, 40, said in September that he recognized the 2014 season could be his last, telling reporters that he got more out of his career than he ever thought possible. “I didn’t think I’d get a day in the big leagues, let alone parts of 16 years,” McDonald told MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez at the time.
Though he never brought much to the plate from an offensive standpoint, McDonald rode his excellent glovework to a lengthy career at the Major League level. Ultimate Zone Rating graded McDonald at 15.9 and 6.3 runs above average per 150 games at second base and shortstop, respectively, over the course of his career. Defensive Runs Saved credited him with 15 runs saved in 1376 innings at second base and a hefty 51 runs saved in 4082 innings at shortstop.
McDonald’s career will come to a close with a .233/.273/.323 batting line, 28 homers and 34 steals in 2651 Major League plate appearances split between the Indians, Blue Jays, D-Backs, Pirates, Phillies, Red Sox, Angels and Tigers. On an anecdotal note, he also holds the rare distinction of being traded for himself. In July of 2005, Toronto sent him to the Detroit in exchange for a player to be named later, only to complete the deal by re-acquiring him from the Tigers in exchange for cash considerations four months later.
All told, McDonald earned more than $13MM over the course of his time in the Majors. MLBTR extends its best wishes to McDonald and his family as he embarks on his post-playing days.
Diamondbacks To Sign Nick Punto
12:10pm: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that it’s a minor league contract with an invite to big league camp (Twitter link).
11:49am: The Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with veteran utilityman Nick Punto, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). He is represented by agent Jeff Caulfield.
Punto, who turned 37 in November, hit just .207/.296/.293 in 224 plate appearances for the Athletics last season after signing a one-year, $2.75MM contract. Nonetheless, Punto received enough playing time in Oakland and stayed healthy enough that he had a $2.75MM option vest for the 2015 season. However, Oakland ultimately elected to release Punto in December when they needed to clear a 40-man roster spot. He’ll still be paid the $2.75MM from the A’s, but it’s unclear at this time if his contract is a Major League or minor legaue deal.
Though Punto has never hit much outside of a solid 2006 season with Minnesota and a small sample of 166 plate appearances with the 2011 Cardinals, he’s historically been a very capable defender at second base, third base and shortstop. His defense has slipped a bit as he’s aged, but the switch-hitter is likely still capable of backing up the D-Backs at three infield spots. Of course, the same could be said about the much younger Cliff Pennington. It’s possible that the D-Backs will look to flip Pennington and his $3.275MM salary to a team with an infield need, but Punto could also merely be a depth piece that will come to camp and compete for a job.
Mets Avoid Arbitration With Bobby Parnell
10:06am: Parnell did indeed settle for the same $3.7MM salary that he earned in 2014, reports ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin.
9:59am: The Mets announced today that they have avoided arbitration with right-hander Bobby Parnell by agreeing to a one-year contract for the 2015 season.
Parnell, 30, missed nearly the entire 2014 season — he threw just one inning — with Tommy John surgery just one year after establishing himself as the Mets’ closer. In 2013, the ACES client posted a brilliant 2.16 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 55 innings for the Mets, racking up 22 saves along the way after inheriting the ninth-inning gig midseason. Parnell earned $3.7MM in 2014, and his 2015 salary figures to be something similar, although the Mets can technically cut his salary by as much as 20 percent, which would mean a $2.96MM payday.
Seven different Mets were credited with saves this season in Parnell’s stead, but while Jeurys Familia (five), Kyle Farnsworth (three), Carlos Torres (two), Jose Valverde (two) Daisuke Matsuzaka (one) and Dana Eveland (one) all had small tastes of closer duty, it was Jenrry Mejia who stepped up and shouldered the brunt of the load, registering 28 saves in 56 relief appearances (he also made seven starts, totaling 93 2/3 innings).
Parnell may very well open the season on the disabled list, which would give Mejia the inside track on closing to begin the season. However, Parnell will likely earn ninth-inning consideration as well once he is healthy. Any saves that he receives would not only boost his free agent stock but also limit the number of saves which Mejia can accumulate, thereby lowering his future arbitration price tag.
Yankees To Sign Stephen Drew
JAN. 7: Drew will receive $500K for reaching each of 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link).
JAN. 6, 10:02pm: David Lennon of Newsday tweets that Drew’s base salary is exactly $5MM. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds (via Twitter) that Drew’s contract contains up to $1.5MM worth of incentives, meaning he can max out at a total of $6.5MM on his one-year deal. The deal is still pending a physical.
8:42pm: The Yankees and Stephen Drew are on the verge of completing a one-year agreement that will pay Drew roughly $5MM, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Drew, a client of Scott Boras, will be able to boost the value of the deal to about $6-7MM via performance incentives, according to Heyman.
The team has already acquired the slick-fielding Didi Gregorius to handle shortstop in the long-term, so Drew’s role will be to play second base, at least against right-handed pitchers, tweets the New York Post’s Joel Sherman. Drew can also provide the Yankees with some insurance in the event that Gregorius is not yet ready to handle shortstop for the long haul.
The addition of Drew likely means that prospects Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela will no longer be competing for the second base job in Spring Training, as many had assumed would be the case. However, since both are right-handed hitters, either could conceivably end up as part of a second base platoon with Drew. Refsnyder, in particular, crushed left-handed pitching last season, batting .385/.447/.587 in 161 plate appearances. Of course, Pirela’s .319/.382/.493 line versus southpaws from 2014 is also highly impressive.
Drew will fill the role that many expected Martin Prado to fill prior to his trade to the Marlins. That swap netted the Yankees hard-throwing righty Nathan Eovaldi. They’ll now be relying on the same starting outfield alignment that they sent out in 2014, but with Chase Headley, Gregorius and Drew joining Mark Teixeira in the infield and a returning Alex Rodriguez seeing quite a bit of time at DH.
Drew is coming off a dreadful season at the plate in which he batted just .162/.237/.299 with seven homers in 300 plate appearances between the Red Sox and Yankees. Of course, Drew also sat out for the first two months of the season and jumped into the fray with just a week or so worth of Triple-A at-bats under his belt. Drew and Boras struggled to find a multi-year deal to their liking last winter, a fact that they at least partially chalked up to a qualifying offer limiting Drew’s market (a lofty asking price likely didn’t help matters).
Rather than take a diminished deal or even a one-year pact that would allow him to report to camp and hit the open market again this offseason, Drew waited until the Red Sox offered him the pro-rated version of the qualifying offer (roughly $10MM at that point) in late May before agreeing to a deal. As Drew’s production and near-agreement reflects, that move did not pan out as Drew’s camp had hoped.
Nonetheless, Drew is a capable defensive infielder that is just one season removed from a .253/.333/.443 batting line in 501 plate appearances with the Red Sox. His left-handed stroke does seem to be a good match with the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium, although that wasn’t the case in 2014 when he batted just .149/.208/.253 in the Bronx. This move figures to be widely panned based on last season’s struggles, but Drew doesn’t need to do much to live up to a $5MM base, and his upside is far greater than the reported $7MM at which his contract can max out. If he does fail to regain his form, his salary isn’t a significant hit to the Yankees’ deep pockets.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Angels Sign Cuban Infielder Roberto Baldoquin For $8MM Bonus
JANUARY 6: The Angels tonight officially announced the signing of Baldoquin.
DECEMBER 20: Baldoquin has passed his physical. The deal is done, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (also Twitter) adds that there is still some paperwork to be filed before the deal is official.
DECEMBER 9: Baldoquin has arrived in the United States, Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times). The team hopes to have Baldoquin’s physical completed and the signing finalized by next week.
NOVEMBER 4: The Angels have reached an agreement with 20-year-old Cuban infielder Roberto Baldoquin on a record-setting $8MM bonus, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The agreement is pending a physical and the $8MM bonus is the most ever for an amateur player under the current international signing rules.
Baldoquin called his agreement a “dream come true” in speaking to Sanchez, going on to state, “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point. I’m ready for the next part of my journey.”
Baldoquin has three seasons of professional experience playing with Las Tunas in Serie Nacional, Sanchez writes, and he also appeared on the Cuban National 16-and-under team when he was eligible. Baldoquin left Cuba in February and has been training in the Dominican Republic. He can play both third base and the outfield, Sanchez adds.
Because Baldoquin was subject to the international signing bonus, the Angels have now clearly shattered their international bonus pool. By adding Baldoquin, the Halos are subjecting themselves to a 100 percent luxury tax on any dollars spent over their $2.383MM bonus pool, and they will also be ineligible to sign any player for more than $300K in either of the next two international signing periods. They can, however, spend as aggressively as they wish for the remainder of this signing period, which runs through mid-June. At this point, because they’ll already have been hit with the max penalties, the only further penalties they will incur will be the 100 percent on any further dollars that are spent on international free agents.
Information on Baldoquin is sparse, but Sanchez lists him at 5’10”, and interested fans can take a look at this 10-minute video compilation from YouTube that shows the right-handed hitter taking batting practice, fielding grounders, throwing across the diamond from third base and turning double plays as a shortstop with the help of a few workout partners.
At just 20 years of age and with only three seasons of experience in Serie Nacional, Baldoquin seems like a clear candidate to begin his Angels career in the minor leagues, even though the team has traded Howie Kendrick this offseason. Grant Green and Josh Rutledge are likely to man second base in Anaheim barring a further trade, though neither has a track record of much success in the Majors. Should one of them establish himself as an everyday option at second, another spot for Baldoquin could open in the near future anyway; David Freese are controlled only through the following season, while Erick Aybar is controlled through 2016.
Tigers Sign Tom Gorzelanny, Designate Luke Putkonen
2:14pm: Gorzelanny’s deal is for approximately $1MM in guaranteed money, Beck tweets.
10:10am: The Tigers have signed lefty swingman Tom Gorzelanny to a one-year deal, the team announced. To create roster space, right-hander Luke Putkonen was designated for assignment, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets.
Gorzelanny threw well last year for the Brewers in limited action. After returning from shoulder surgery, the 32-year-old put up a stellar 0.86 ERA in 21 innings of work. Interestingly, of the 23 games in which he appeared, Milwaukee went on to win only two. That, along with his limited workload, demonstrates that his former club was handling him quite delicately.
Detroit will hope that Gorzelanny can return to being a workhorse long man and spot starter, as he had been previously. Over parts of ten MLB seasons, Gorzelanny owns a 4.27 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. As one would expect, he has been much stingier against lefties, holding them to a .661 OPS (versus a .780 lifetime mark for opposing right-handed hitters). Likewise, the southpaw has been much better when working out of the pen, where he owns a 2.88 ERA in 171 2/3 career frames.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Putkonen missed most of last season after suffering a bone spur in his right elbow, which ultimately require surgery. He had thrown 29 2/3 promising innings at the major league level the year prior, working to a 3.03 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. Putkonen had been on an upward trajectory after transitioning from a starting role, and his mid-90s heater (when healthy) should draw plenty of interest around the league.
Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio Elected To Hall Of Fame
Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio have been elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association Of America. All were inducted in their first year of eligibility except for Biggio, who was on the ballot for the third year.
Perhaps the best left-handed pitcher of all time, Johnson recorded 4875 career strikeouts over his career (second only to Nolan Ryan) and his 10.61 K/9 rate is the highest in baseball history. “The Big Unit” was a fearsome figure on the mound, standing at 6’10” and throwing a 100-mph fastball that helped him win 303 games and five Cy Young Awards over his 22-year career. Johnson played for six teams in his career but is mostly remembered as a Mariner (10 seasons) and as a Diamondback (eight seasons). His time in Arizona was punctuated by a perfect game in 2004 and sharing World Series MVP honors with Curt Schilling when the D’Backs won it all in 2001. Johnson accumulated 111.7 fWAR (fifth all-time amongst pitchers) and 104.3 rWAR (ninth) over his career.
Martinez won three Cy Young Awards over his 18 MLB seasons and is a revered figure in Boston for helping the Red Sox break their World Series jinx in 2004. Martinez collected 219 wins, 3154 strikeouts over his career and he posted the best ERA+ (154) of any starter in history. Martinez’s 1999 and 2000 seasons are arguably the two greatest pitching seasons in baseball history — despite home games in hitter-friendly Fenway Park in the midst of the steroid era, Martinez posted a 1.90 ERA, 12.5 K/9 and 8.65 K/BB rate over 430 1/3 IP over those two seasons, plus an uncanny 215 ERA+. While he threw “only” 2827 1/3 innings over his career, much less than many other all-time greats, Martinez still finished with 87.1 fWAR (16th all-time) and 86 rWAR (17th).
Smoltz spent 20 of his 21 seasons with the Braves, teaming with fellow HOFers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine as the cornerstones of the Atlanta rotation throughout the 1990’s. Smoltz’s career resume includes the 1996 NL Cy Young Award, 3084 strikeouts, 213 wins and a World Series ring in 1995. After missing the entire 2000 season due to Tommy John surgery, Smoltz pitched primarily as a reliever from 2001-04 and dominated to the tune of 154 saves in 167 chances. Smoltz amassed 78.7 fWAR (22nd all-time) and 66.5 rWAR (39th).
After falling just two votes shy of induction to the Hall last winter, Biggio is finally on his way to Cooperstown. Biggio spent all 20 of his seasons with the Astros, forming “the Killer B’s” with Jeff Bagwell and other notable B-named teammates like Derek Bell and Lance Berkman in the Houston lineup. Biggio’s 3060 career hits rank him 21st all-time in baseball history and he posted a career slash line of .283/.363/.433 with 291 homers, 1844 runs and 414 steals. He finished with 65.1 WAR for his career according to both Fangraphs (which places him 84th among position players) and Baseball-Reference (92nd).
Stepping into Biggio’s shoes this year was catcher Mike Piazza, who just missed election but could be set up for a successful run next time around. He played in 16 big league seasons, racking up a lifetime .308/.377/.545 slash and 427 home runs while spending the vast majority of his time behind the dish. He tallied 59.4 rWAR and 63.5 fWAR when his defense and baserunning were accounted for, easily placing him within the ten most productive backstops of all time. Piazza certainly has a claim as the best-hitting catcher in MLB history, as his lifetime 140 wRC+ trails only the still-active (and still in-prime) Buster Posey.