Royals Sign Kendrys Morales
The Royals have officially agreed to a two-year, $17MM deal with free agent DH Kendrys Morales. Morales can earn an additional $750K per year through performance incentives. The contract includes a mutual option for a third year.
Morales will earn $6.5MM in 2015 and $9MM in 2016, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). He also has a $1.5MM buyout on a $11MM mutual option, the inclusion of which was first reported by Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (on Twitter).
Morales becomes the replacement for long-time DH Billy Butler, who went to the A’s for $30MM over three years earlier in the offseason. Morales, a switch-hitter, is 31 years of age.
After sitting out a good chunk of the season last year, having declined a qualifying offer before entering free agency, Morales ultimately signed a one-year deal with the Twins. But he struggled there and was dealt to the Mariners, where he continued to fall shy of his typical standards at the plate.
Between 2009 and 2013 — not including a 2011 campaign lost to injury — Morales owned a cumulative .286/.339/.494 line while averaging over twenty home runs per season. That was good for a 128 OPS+, plenty above average even for a bat-only player. Last year, however, he slashed just .218/.274/.338 over 401 plate appearances.
Kansas City has placed a bet on a return to form for Morales, whose ability to hit pitching of both hands (but especially righties) is also attractive. The Royals ranked dead last in baseball with 95 deep flies last year, and Morales should provide a jolt of pop if he can get back on track with a full spring.
SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reported the sides were close (Twitter links). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that the deal was done. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeted the financial terms, while Cotillo reported the option on Twitter.
Dodgers Shopping Brandon League
After designating fellow high-priced reliever Brian Wilson earlier today, and cleaning house more generally, the Dodgers are apparently looking to move on from another expensive remnant of the prior administration. Acordding to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link), the club is talking with competitors about righty Brandon League and offering to pick up “almost half” of the $7.5MM he is owed this year in a trade.
League, now 31, was signed to a three-year, $22.5MM deal just after the end of the 2012 season. Pursuant to that contract, he is owed the above-noted $7.5MM sum for 2015. The deal also includes a vesting option, though it is only triggered if he finishes 55 games in the coming season.
The contract was widely disparaged immediately upon signing, and League fell far short of expectations in its first year. But he was actually productive last season, working to a 2.57 ERA over 63 frames. Though his 5.4 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 do not inspire much confidence, he did generate an obscene 67.5% groundball rate. ERA estimators like FIP (3.40), xFIP (4.09), and SIERA (3.58) viewed him, collectively, as an essentially average relief pitcher.
Of course, there is value in being average, and some teams will perhaps be enticed by League’s groundball abilities, generally strong history before his 2013 meltdown, and his bottom-line results last year. As the Dodgers continue to clean out some of the team’s more notable players, the ability to move on from League and save some cash in the process apparently holds some appeal as well.
Dodgers GM Talks Brandon McCarthy, Brian Wilson
The Dodgers’ major overhaul continued today when they officially signed right-hander Brandon McCarthy to a four-year deal worth a reported $48MM. Few doubt McCarthy’s ability and those who put a great deal of faith in his sabermetric numbers are excited about what he can do in 2015 and beyond. However, the length of the 31-year-old’s pact gave pause to some people due to his injury history. Not only did the Dodgers take a risk with McCarthy – they doubled down by agreeing to sign Brett Anderson to a one-year, $10MM contract. Earlier today I asked Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi about the club’s willingness to roll the dice on those pitchers.
“There’s a risk-reward calculation that all teams make. Teams always have to consider these things with pitchers and [Dodgers head trainer] Stan Conte has been very involved in our process as far as histories and health risks go,” said Zaidi, who did not mention Anderson by name as his deal is not yet official. “Going forward with any pitcher now, it’s part of the cost-benefit analysis. You could have a guy who pitched 200-plus innings in the last four years that has a really bad elbow and that could go at any moment. Conversely, you could have a guy who has an injury history that you feel may be over the hump,”
“With Brandon and the other pitcher we’re evaluating, we’re trying to figure out how they’ll perform in 2015 and beyond.”
Zaidi, of course, is familiar with McCarthy and Anderson thanks to their time together with the A’s. He had nothing but praise for McCarthy, saying that there was no other pitcher in Oakland that he felt more comfortable with on the mound. Zaidi had a tremendous amount of confidence in the right-hander, he said, due to his “intelligence and attention to detail and game planning” as well as his command.
The Dodgers GM sounds equally confident in the status of McCarthy’s shoulder. Zaidi believes that those issues will be in the past thanks to a new offseason routine that calls for additional upper body work. The “proof is in the pudding” when it comes to McCarthy, who managed to add an extra 2 miles per hour to his fastball late in his career.
Midway through the conference call, reporters were informed that Brian Wilson was designated for assignment to make room for McCarthy on the roster. I asked Zaidi if Wilson was struggling this winter in his effort to get back to his old form.
“We’ve been keeping tabs on him in the offseason and this was not a move we made out of any medical concern. It was more related to performance and it’s a position where we had to make a move because we had a surplus,” Zaidi explained.
It appears that recent bullpen additions like Joel Peralta, Juan Nicasio, and Chris Hatcher have leapfrogged Wilson, leaving him without much of a role to play in Los Angeles in 2015. Their newest addition, meanwhile, will be counted on to serve as the fourth starter behind Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-jin Ryu.
Cubs Sign Jon Lester
DEC. 16: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets the breakdown of the deal: $15MM of the signing bonus is payable on April 1 of the coming year, with the other $15MM apparently being spread out over the life of the deal. Lester will then earn $15MM in 2015, $20MM in 2016-17, $22.5MM in 2018-19 and $15MM in 2020.
DEC. 13: The Cubs have announced that they’ve signed former Red Sox and Athletics ace Jon Lester, with a press conference scheduled for Monday. Lester will receive six years and $155MM. The deal also includes a $25MM option for a seventh year with a $10MM buyout, with the option vesting if Lester pitches 200 innings in 2020 or 400 total innings in 2019 and 2020. The deal includes a $30MM bonus, of which Lester will receive $20MM up front and another $10MM spread over the life of the contract. Lester will receive a full no-trade clause. The annual salary breakdown of the deal remains unreported.
The Red Sox’ final bid for the ACES client was six years and $135MM, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan (on Twitter). It emerged last week that the Giants and Dodgers were no longer contenders to sign Lester.
“It feels like we’ve definitely won the baseball lottery,” said new Cubs manager Joe Maddon upon learning of the Lester news, according to New York Daily News’ Andy Martino (via Twitter).
Lester’s free agent status seemed to be holding up a congested pitching market, but for as long as it took for Lester to agree to terms, the six years and $155MM he will receive is about what should have been expected — MLBTR’s Steve Adams predicted last month that Lester would receive a six-year, $153MM deal. The contract will make Lester one of baseball’s richest pitchers, with an AAV of $25.8MM that ranks just ahead of Justin Verlander‘s $25.7MM and behind only Clayton Kershaw‘s $30.7MM.
In Chicago, Lester will front the rotation of an emerging Cubs team that was on the lookout for top-level pitching to complement their outstanding core of young hitting. The Cubs had agreed to terms with fellow starting pitcher Jason Hammel earlier this week, and they’ve also added Maddon and catcher Miguel Montero this offseason.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, will likely continue to look for top pitching (perhaps turning to another top free agent hurler like James Shields, or to a trade target like Cole Hamels or Jordan Zimmermann) after losing out on their former ace. If they don’t, they could become a target of second-guessing after reportedly proposing a $70MM extension offer to Lester last spring.
Lester, 30, bolstered his free-agent status with an exceptional 2014 season, posting a 2.46 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 219 2/3 innings. He was strong in 21 starts for Boston and didn’t miss a beat after the Red Sox traded him and Jonny Gomes to Oakland for Yoenis Cespedes and a competitive balance pick. Since Lester was traded in-season, he could not be extended a qualifying offer and thus will not cost the Cubs a draft pick.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was the first to tweet that the two sides had agreed to terms. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported that the deal was for six years and $155MM. Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported various aspects of the terms of the contract (links to Twitter), and CSN Chicago’s David Kaplan reported that the deal contained a $15MM vesting option. Passan added detail on the terms of Lester’s bonus.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros, Jacob Nix Settle Before Grievance Proceeding
TUESDAY: Nix was awarded the full $1.5MM that he had agreed to with the Astros, Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons reports (on Twitter).
MONDAY: The Astros have agreed to an undisclosed financial settlement with former fifth-round pick Jacob Nix, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The sides had been headed toward a grievance proceeding brought by the MLBPA on Nix’s behalf.
Nix had reportedly agreed to a $1.5MM bonus to forego a commitment to UCLA. But that deal fell apart after Houston failed to reach agreement with first overall pick Brady Aiken. Without Aiken’s slot money available to cover the Nix overage, the Astros would have exceeded their bonus allotment and forfeited two future first-round draft picks had they gone through with the Nix signing.
The terms of the deal were not announced, but Houston will not have to face the possibility of an arbitrator ruling that they must sign Nix or otherwise sacrifice picks. Whether there remains any potential league action in that regard remains unreported.
As for Nix, the talented righty is said to be eyeing a one-year stint at a junior college. That would allow him to re-enter the draft next year and steer clear of the possibility of having to deal with NCAA eligibility issues relating to the public nature of his ordeal. So far as has been reported publicly, Aiken has not pursued a grievance action of his own; of course, his situation — the team was said to have been concerned with an MRI showing an abnormally small UCL — is somewhat different from that of Nix.
Royals Designate Moises Sierra For Assignment
The Royals announced today that they have designated outfielder Moises Sierra for assignment in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for new designated hitter Kendrys Morales.
Sierra was claimed by the Royals in the midst of the World Series after the White Sox placed him on waivers. In 135 plate appearances with Chicago this past season, the 26-year-old batted .276/.311/.417 with two home runs. Defensive metrics were never kind to Sierra while he was with the Blue Jays (from whom the White Sox claimed him), but he did post passable grades in both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating in a small sample of work with the Sox this past year.
The Royals have plenty of outfield depth on the Major League roster it is following the club’s reported agreement with Alex Rios, so it’s not particularly surprising to see Sierra cut loose. Kansas City still has Rios, Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson on board to soak up most of the team’s playing time in the outfield.
Indians Sign Gavin Floyd
The Indians have signed righty Gavin Floyd to a one-year deal, the team announced. Floyd gets a $4MM guarantee with $6MM of bonuses achievable based upon starts made and innings pitched, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.
Floyd threw last year for the Braves on a similarly-structured contract before suffering an arm fracture that ended his season early for the second season in a row. The 31-year-old had worked his way back from Tommy John surgery to join the Atlanta rotation, and was throwing well at the time of his injury. Over 54 1/3 frames in nine starts, Floyd was carrying a 2.65 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.
Of course, 2014 also marked his second straight season that was ruined by injury, so a multi-year deal was never likely. Floyd still possesses the upside of a mid-rotation innings eater when healthy, however, which is precisely the role he filled with his now-division-rival White Sox from 2008-12. In that span, Floyd posted a 4.12 ERA (108 ERA+) with 7.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 948 1/3 innings of work. Though he doesn’t come with the upside that many would expect from a player that once went fourth overall in the draft, Floyd had a track record of success in the American League. He should serve as a useful veteran complement to AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber and a mix of arms that includes Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, Danny Salazar, T.J. House, Josh Tomlin and Zach McAllister.
That Floyd represents a potential upgrade at a relatively modest price is particularly nice for the cash-strapped Indians. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained in his Offseason Outlook for Cleveland, the team has little financial wiggle room barring a trade of Nick Swisher and/or Michael Bourn, neither of which has come to fruition at this point. Of course, Cleveland has still taken on some significant salary by adding the likes of Brandon Moss in a trade with the Athletics.
The addition of Floyd could make the Indians more likely to move McAllister and/or Tomlin, though Tomlin’s projected arbitration salary is just $1.7MM, and McAllister has yet to qualify for that distinction. As such, there’s no financial impetus to deal either right-hander, but the team’s relative surplus of back-end rotation arms could appeal to clubs with a need for pitching depth.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dodgers Sign Brandon McCarthy
The Dodgers have officially signed a four-year contract with Brandon McCarthy, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported (Twitter link). The four-year deal will pay McCarthy $48MM, Rosenthal tweets. McCarthy receives a $6MM signing bonus, $11MM per year in 2015-16, and $10MM annually in the final two years of the deal, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
The contract also gives the Dodgers a conditional club option for 2019, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. If he has spent more than 179 days on the DL due to a specific injury, McCarthy would be subject to a $5MM club option. If he has missed between 119-179 days, it would be a $8MM club option.
A four-year guarantee would’ve seemed like a fantasy for McCarthy as recently as last summer when he had a 5.01 ERA through 18 starts with Arizona. Advanced metrics revealed that McCarthy pitched much better than his ERA indicated, however, and he ended the year on a dominant run after being traded to the Yankees. In 90 1/3 IP in New York, McCarthy posted a 2.89 ERA, 6.31 K/BB rate and 8.2 K/9.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams projected McCarthy would receive a three-year deal this winter, though a four-year deal wasn’t out of the question given the amount of interest the veteran righty was likely to generate. The wait for Jon Lester to sign likely held up McCarthy’s market, as only the Royals and Yankees had been linked to him, and New York was hesitant to give McCarthy even a three-year contract given his injury history. Needless to say, the fourth year was a nice get for McCarthy and agent Ryan Ware.
If the deal is finalized, McCarthy joins Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-jin Ryu in what should be a very strong top four in the Dodgers rotation, with lefty Brett Anderson now reportedly also on board to fill the fifth slot. Los Angeles had been linked to high-profile aces like Cole Hamels or James Shields, and though you can never say never with the Dodgers, McCarthy’s signing could mean the team is done with its rotation shopping this winter.
There is no denying the risk that the Dodgers are taking on with this deal. While any long-term pitching contract comes with it, McCarthy has a particularly spotty injury history. And while the conditional club option included in the deal offers some measure of protection, it is not as clear cut a benefit as was the John Lackey option. Then, of course, there is the fact that McCarthy greatly improved his stock with a strong second half and will need to maintain it for a full season. All of that is not to say, of course, that McCarthy is not capable of meeting and exceeding the value of the deal; the price tag obviously reflects his ceiling.
ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reported on Twitter that the deal was completed.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Angels, Rays Swap Kevin Jepsen, Matt Joyce
The Angels have sent reliever Kevin Jepsen to the Rays in exchange for outfielder Matt Joyce, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. The teams have already announced the move, making it official.
In adding Joyce, 30, the Halos have picked up a left-handed bat that has steadily delivered above-average offensive production. While Joyce’s offensive lines over the last three years (.243/.339/.410) have fallen well shy of the two that came before it (.265/.351/.478), he nevertheless is strong against righties.
It must be noted, however, that the Rays have done an excellent job of drastically limiting Joyce’s exposure to same-handed pitching, against whom he owns a lifetime .573 OPS. Joyce is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, with MLBTR and Matt Swartz projecting a $4.9MM salary. For Los Angeles, he will presumably slot in both in the outfield and at DH, perhaps sharing time with the right-handed-hitting C.J. Cron.
As for the 30-year-old Jepsen, he bolsters the back of a pen that just learned it will be without Jake McGee for at least some time to start the season, with elbow surgery shelving the player who ended last year as the team’s closer. Jepsen tossed 65 innings of 2.63 ERA ball last year with 10.4 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9, by far his most productive season as a pro. His projected arbitration salary is $2.6MM, offering Tampa some savings against the Joyce contract, and he will be controllable for an additional year.
Rockies Sign Daniel Descalso
1:17pm: Descalso will receive a $3.6MM guarantee, agent Steve Cantor tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). He will earn $1.5MM this year and $2.1MM next, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Each contract year also includes up to $500K in attainable incentives.
1:07pm: The Rockies have signed utility infielder Daniel Descalso to a two-year deal, the club announced. Descalso, 28, was non-tendered by the Cardinals earlier in the offseason; he had been projected by MLBTR/Matt Swartz to earn $1.4MM.
Though he has spent most of his time at third and second, Descalso has played over 100 games at short as well. And his left-handed bat also increases his versatility for a club like Colorado, which fields three right-handed-hitting infielders at those positions.
On the other hand, defensive metrics have never been in love with his glove, especially at short. And Descalso owns a lifetime .243/.313/.341 slash over parts of five seasons. He has never finished a campaign with an OPS+ of greater than 91 or lower than 72, and he has settled right in the middle of that range in each of the last two years.
Notably, moreover, Descalso has fairly significant reverse platoon splits over his career: a .643 OPS against righties and a .696 mark versus same-handed pitchers. If that is a reflection of his true talent, then he may be less of a fit than might be seemed at first glance.