Brewers Avoid Arbitration With Brandon Kintzler
The Brewers have agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration with righty Brandon Kintzler, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports on Twitter. Kintzler was projected to earn $900K by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz, but will take home a $1.075MM guarantee, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link).
Kintzler, 30, has been a durable option for Milwaukee over each of the last two seasons, tossing a combined 135 1/3 frames of 2.93 ERA ball with 5.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. But his numbers were better in 2013 than in the season that just wrapped up. Kintzler’s fastball velocity ticked down a bit, and his good fortune on flyballs reversed (4.9% HR/FB in 2013 vs. 17.4% in 2014).
Braves Met Yesterday With Nick Markakis
9:00pm: Assistant GM John Coppolella was also on the trip, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. The presence of Hart’s top lieutenant certainly lends even more credence to the idea that the pursuit is serious.
7:15pm: The Braves sent a group, led by manager Fredi Gonzalez, to meet with outfielder Nick Markakis yesterday in Maryland, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. While the meeting was more of an introductory opportunity than a negotiating session, it does seem to indicate that Atlanta is serious about pursuing Markakis.
Reports have been flying on Markakis since Connolly wrote yesterday that the long-time Oriole was set to explore the market more fully after talks had stalled with his former employer. Today, we learned that the Braves were joined (not necessarily exclusively) by the Blue Jays, Giants, and incumbent O’s in pursuit of Markakis.
Atlanta has an obvious need for a corner outfielder, and Markakis’s Georgia roots make him a natural target. Of course, it remains unclear whether the Braves’ new head baseball executive, John Hart, will really make a competitive run at an older player after dealing away Jason Heyward and seemingly marketing Justin Upton. While those two players are younger, of course, they are also pending free agents who always looked to be tough extension targets. On the other hand, Atlanta appears to have a good bit of work to do before it can again be considered a true contender, and the 31-year-old Markakis may make better sense for a team with more present-day production in its lineup.
Angels Non-Tender Gordon Beckham, Wade LeBlanc, Yoslan Herrera
The Angels have non-tendered a trio of players led by infielder Gordon Beckham, the club announced via Twitter. With lefty Wade LeBlanc and righty Yoslan Herrera also being shown the door, Los Angeles now has three open 40-man spots.
All said, the moves clear a solid bit of salary capacity for a Halos club that has looked to get creative in adding talent with an already-hefty payroll. Beckham was projected by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz to earn $5MM, making up most of the savings. But LeBlanc projected to earn $800K, which may be a few hundred thousand more than the club would like to pay him. Both moves were widely expected, while
Herrera, 33, put together a nice run for the Angels last year, working 16 2/3 frames of 2.70 ERA ball from the pen. But that represented his first MLB action since way back in 2008, and it appears that Los Angeles was not interested in holding a roster spot for him at this point.
Yankees, Esmil Rogers Avoid Arbitration
6:48pm: The deal does indeed come in under the projection, as Rogers will receive a $750K guarantee and will play at the rate of $1.48MM if he makes the club out of camp, per a tweet from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Of course, that result certainly seems preferable to a non-tender.
6:12pm: The Yankees have avoided arbitration with righty Esmil Rogers, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. The move comes as something of a surprise, as Rogers had seemed a reasonably likely non-tender candidate.
Rogers, 29, was claimed off waivers by the Yankees from the Blue Jays last summer. He tossed 25 innings of 4.68 ERA ball in New York, after struggling with Toronto earlier in the year. He does offer some added value given his swingman potential.
MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz projected a $1.9MM payday for Rogers, though his early signing could indicate a lower price point. At this point, Rogers is best known for being the short end of the deal that sent Yan Gomes and Mike Aviles from the Jays to the Indians.
Mariners Extend Kyle Seager
DECEMBER 2: MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has the breakdown (links to Twitter). Seager will earn $4MM next year before taking home $7.5MM (2016), $10.5MM (2017), $18.5MM (2018), $19MM (2019 and 2020), and $18MM (2021). A $3.5MM bonus brings the total guarantee to $100MM.
As for the option year, both the contract price and the buyout fluctuate based on performance. The former can land between $15MM and $20MM while the latter may fall between zero and $3MM. Notably, the option becomes a player option if Seager is dealt, Dierkes adds via Twitter.
In sum, then, the deal can max out at $120MM over eight years.
NOVEMBER 24: The Mariners and third baseman Kyle Seager have officially completed a seven-year, $100MM extension,. The deal was first reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. The contract contains an option for an eighth season which could be worth as much as $20MM, depending on performance escalators, Passan adds. Seager’s deal is pending a physical. He is represented by Jet Sports Management’s Andrew Lowenthal.
Seager’s payday is well-deserved, as the 27-year-old has emerged as one of baseball’s best third basemen over the past three seasons. Seager has established himself as a durable source of power in an increasingly pitcher-friendly environment, and he’s a solid defender at third base as well. This past season, he batted .268/.334/.454 with a career-high 25 homers and excellent defensive marks (+10 DRS, +9.2 UZR/150) at third. His offense has increased incrementally with each full season in the Majors, and he’s never been placed on the disabled list.
Originally selected in the third round of the 2009 draft out of UNC, Seager has spent his entire career with the Mariners organization and now looks poised to spend the majority of his days as a Major Leaguer calling Safeco Field his home. The new contract will run through Seager’s age-33 season, with the option year covering his age-34 campaign. Seager had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $5MM this offseason as a first-time arbitration eligible player.
If we take a guess at his second- and third-time arbitration figures — and this is a highly rudimentary estimate — he may have earned something in the range of $27-30MM over his arbitration seasons. That means the four free agent seasons purchased in this contract are valued somewhere between $17.5MM and $18.25MM. Seager becomes just the fourth player in his service class to secure a $100MM payday. As Passan tweets, only Mike Trout, Buster Posey and Freddie Freeman had reached that feat prior to this deal.
MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently looked at each team’s future payroll obligations, where the Mariners were among the leaders in future commitment due to their contracts with Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano. While this will further boost their long-term commitments and potentially limit their ability to add a large contract via trade or free agency, team president Kevin Mather recently said payroll will continue to increase following the $107MM spent in 2014. And, the contracts don’t overlap entirely; Hernandez is only controlled through 2019, which will be just the second free agent season on Seager’s deal. The team could potentially backload the contract, to some extent, to create sustained financial flexibility until Hernandez’s deal is off the books.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Athletics Avoid Arbitration With Ike Davis, Fernando Rodriguez
The Athletics have announced one-year deals to avoid arbitration with Ike Davis and Fernando Rodriguez, via Twitter.
Davis will earn $3.8MM, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link), which falls shy of the $4.4MM he was projected to take home by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz. Of course, that may go some way in explaining the deal, as Oakland may not have been interested in tendering him if it was unable to lock in its price.
Rodriguez’s deal is for $635K, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old righty saw a good bit of action with the Astros over 2011-12, but only resurfaced at the MLB level last year after missing a year due to Tommy John surgery. He was dominant in 45 2/3 Triple-A frames, and put up good results in limited MLB action as well.
Braves Non-Tender Medlen, Beachy, Schlosser
The Braves have non-tendered righties Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy, and Gus Schlosser, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link). The team has tendered contracts to its remaining eligible players: lefties Mike Minor and James Russell and righty David Carpenter.
The move is somewhat jolting, though perhaps not entirely unexpected; indeed, I noted in my offseason outlook for Atlanta that the move had to at least be considered, particularly if an incentive-based arrangement could not be worked out. Both Medlen and Beachy have been outstanding when healthy, but the pair missed all of 2015 after each undergoing a second Tommy John procedure.
With Medlen projected by MLBTR/Matt Swartz to earn $5.8MM, the club was said to be looking for a way to avoid that kind of guarantee in crafting a new deal. Likewise, Beachy’s $1.5MM projected tab was probably steep given his expected timeline and likelihood of returning to form.
Despite the move, the Braves will still try to work out a contract with the now-free agent hurlers, Bowman reports on Twitter. But the team could well run into some competition, as both righties have demonstrated rather high ceilings.
Atlanta tried to entice Medlen with a deal that would have promised him $5.8MM for the coming season, matching his earnings last year, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. But the club was looking for a good rate on an option for 2016, which apparently was the sticking point in negotiations.
Cardinals To Sign Matt Belisle
The Cardinals have struck a one-year deal with free agent righty Matt Belisle, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com tweets. Belisle receives a $3.5MM guarantee, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
The deal has a bonus structure that maxes out at $4MM, Rosenthal further tweets. Belisle can take home $150K for making fifty appearances, another $150K for his next ten turns, and then $200K if he reaches seventy.
Belisle, a 34-year-old righty, had been a stalwart in the Rockies’ pen for the last five seasons since emerging with a strong 2010 campaign. Over the first three years of that run, Belisle worked to a 3.28 ERA over 244 innings with 8.0 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9, all while throwing half the time at Coors Field.
An uptick in his ERA in 2013 was offset by a still-solid FIP, but things took a more pronounced downturn in 2014. Belisle’s ERA shot up to 4.87 as he posted strikeout (6.0 per nine) and walk (2.6 per nine) rates that were his worst since moving to the pen full-time.
The Cards will hope for a return to form for the veteran, who will presumably fill some of the innings that are leaving with Pat Neshek and, to a lesser extent, Jason Motte. With Shelby Miller already dealt away, the St. Louis pen is likely to lose a late-inning arm such as Carlos Martinez. Of course, that swap also brought back a reliable veteran righty in Jordan Walden.
Non-Tender Candidates
More than 200 players are arbitration eligible and unsigned for 2015. About 30 of those can be considered non-tender candidates. Players who are not tendered contracts become free agents. The deadline for teams to decide is December 2nd at 11pm central time. Below is my subjective list of non-tender candidates. Please note that not all of them will actually be non-tendered — many are simply bubble players who at least merit consideration for a non-tender and could also find themselves traded. Click here for MLBTR’s projected salaries for these players, if they are tendered contracts. Also, check out our handy non-tender tracker, which will chronicle Tuesday’s action and can be filtered by team.
Position Players
Yonder Alonso
John Baker
Gordon Beckham
Drew Butera
Everth Cabrera
Ike Davis
Alejandro De Aza
Daniel Descalso
A.J. Ellis
Chris Heisey
Travis Ishikawa
Mitch Moreland
Eduardo Nunez
Justin Smoak
Ruben Tejada
Danny Valencia
Dayan Viciedo
Eric Young Jr.
Pitchers
Jhoulys Chacin
Tim Collins
Brian Duensing
David Hernandez
David Huff
Wade LeBlanc
Kris Medlen
Alexi Ogando
Logan Ondrusek
Fernando Rodriguez
Esmil Rogers
Travis Wood
Braves, Blue Jays, Giants, O’s In On Markakis
11:55am: Orioles executive VP/GM Dan Duquette tells MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli that Baltimore is still very much in the mix for Markakis (Twitter link). “Rumors of our demise are largely exaggerated,” he tells Ghiroli.
10:56am: On the heels of last night’s report that Nick Markakis is no longer likely to re-sign with the Orioles, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Braves, Blue Jays and Giants are among the teams that have shown interest in signing Markakis. Heyman notes that the Orioles, of course, will continue to try to re-sign their long-time right fielder.
As Heyman notes, Markakis is a Georgia native that grew up in the Atlanta area, attended college just two hours or so from Atlanta and has a home in that area. With the Braves trading Jason Heyward and listening on Justin Upton, it does seem like Atlanta could eventually have a fit in its outfield. The Blue Jays, Heyman writes, have been “lurking” for awhile and will look to add at least one outfielder, while the Giants’ interest may hinge on the outcome of their pursuit of Jon Lester.
Markakis hit .276/.342/.386 with 14 homers last season and was said at one point to be nearing a four-year deal with Baltimore. However, last night’s report from the Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly indicated that the O’s may not be comfortable with the four-year term of that potential contract. I profiled Markakis back in mid-October and pegged him for a four-year, $48MM pact, and it seems that his camp will now field offers from other clubs as it seeks to lock in that fourth guaranteed year. From a speculative standpoint, I’d think that the Tigers, Royals, Mariners, White Sox and Reds are also fits (though not all can necessarily afford to meet Markakis’ asking price).