Minor MLB Transactions: 2/23/21
Tuesday’s minor moves from around baseball…
- The Braves have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Travis Snider, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The former Blue Jay will now reunite with Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who was the GM in Toronto during part of Snider’s tenure there. Snider was a star prospect early in his Jays tenure but hasn’t lived up to the hype in the majors. The 33-year-old owns a .244/.311/.399 line with 54 home runs in 1,971 plate appearances, and he hasn’t appeared in the bigs since he split 2015 between Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
- The Mariners announced that they have outrighted Robert Dugger to Triple-A. The team designated the right-hander for assignment last week, which came a little over two months after it claimed him off waivers from the Marlins in December. Dugger, 25, pitched to a 7.40 ERA with a similarly poor 4.2 K-BB percentage in 45 innings as a Marlin from 2019-20. He’ll remain with the M’s as depth for at least the time being.
Quick Hits: Pujols, T. Rosenthal, Gardner, Hoskins
Deirdre Pujols, wife of Angels first baseman Albert Pujols, suggested on Instagram on Monday that this will be the final season of the 41-year-old’s storied career. However, she quickly amended her post and made it clear that he won’t necessarily retire after 2021. Indeed, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report that Pujols hasn’t made a decision on his future beyond this year. But as someone who has struggled immensely over the past few seasons, it doesn’t seem likely that the future Hall of Famer will land another guaranteed contract even if he wants to play in 2022. Regardless, he’ll earn $30MM this season on the 10-year, $254MM deal he signed with the Angels entering the 2012 campaign.
- The Brewers were among the teams that tried to sign reliever Trevor Rosenthal before he inked a one-year, $11MM guarantee with the Athletics, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The Braves were also known to be in the mix, and they made the right-hander a back-loaded offer for two years, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Trevor Rosenthal ultimately chose the A’s back-loaded proposal (they’ll pay him through 2023).
- Outfielder Brett Gardner re-signed with the Yankees for a $5.15MM guarantee, but at least a few other teams considered prying him out of New York. The Braves, Angels and Blue Jays all showed interest in Gardner during his long stay in free agency, per Heyman. However, Gardner’s goal was to remain a member of the Yankees. A 2005 third-round pick who made his big league debut in 2008, Gardner is easily the Yankees’ longest-tenured player.
- Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who underwent Tommy John surgery last October, said that he has been “medically cleared” for all spring training activities, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. It’s not certain whether Hoskins will be in the Phillies’ lineup on Opening Day – that will depend on how many reps he gets this spring – but it’s not “out of the picture,” he stated. After a somewhat disappointing 2019, the 27-year-old slugger enjoyed a major rebound last season, when he slashed .245/.384/.503 (140 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 185 plate appearances.
Extension Notes: Lindor, Correa, Bieber, Bichette
New Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor revealed that there’s “mutual interest” in an extension, though he believes “it’s too early” for serious talks to start, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. Lindor said in early January, shortly after the Mets acquired him from Cleveland, that he wouldn’t want to discuss a new contract during the season. His feelings on that subject seemingly remain the same, as he notes, “It would be unfair for me and the rest of the team to have ongoing conversations on an extension, and we show up on Opening Day and our mind is somewhere else.” Considering Lindor’s stance, the Mets figure to spend the next month-plus trying to lock up the 27-year-old, who has been a premier player throughout his career and who was the biggest acquisition the club made in the offseason.
- The Astros’ Carlos Correa could join Lindor as part of a star-studded class of free-agent shortstops next winter, but he would also like to secure a new deal before the upcoming season, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes. “If the Astros want to extend me, I would like to get it done before the season starts,” Correa said. “I feel good, my body feels great and I feel I’m going to have such a great season. Once the season starts, I don’t want to be involved and distracted with those conversations.” Correa, 26, put up uncharacteristically mediocre production in 2020, but he stayed healthy for the first time in a few seasons. He avoided arbitration Feb. 6 with an $11.7MM agreement for 2021, but he and his agent haven’t heard from the Astros about a long-term deal since then, McTaggart relays.
- Indians ace Shane Bieber hasn’t discussed a long-term deal with the club, but he’d be willing to do so, Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets. The Indians don’t necessarily have to urgently sign Bieber, who won’t be eligible for arbitration until after 2021 or free agency until the end of 2024. But with the club’s low budget in mind, it could behoove it to extend the reigning AL Cy Young winner sometime soon.
- Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and other reporters that he’s open to an extension, but the team hasn’t made him an offer so far. The 22-year-old Bichette has been a revelation for the Blue Jays dating back to his 2019 debut, having slashed .307/.347/.549 with 16 home runs and eight stolen bases in 340 plate appearances. Fortunately for Toronto, it isn’t in danger of losing Bichette in the near future, which would explain the lack of urgency in inking him to an extension. Bichette still has two pre-arbitration years remaining and isn’t slated to reach free agency until after 2025.
Red Sox Notes: Bloom, Martinez, Chavis
Let’s head to Boston for the latest from Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom…
- Bloom thinks the Red Sox should be competitive this season, writes Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Designated hitter J.D. Martinez‘s return to prominence is a crux of that belief, however, as Bloom notes that they know “how important he is to our lineup and just how much he brings a lineup together when he’s doing what he can do.” Martinez is upper crust when he’s on. He went six consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2019 posting absurd weighted runs created numbers between 136 wRC+ and 170 wRC+. The 33-year-old slugger saw his numbers crater in 2020 to a .213/.291/.389 line worth -1.0 fWAR and 77 wRC+. His isolated power fell to .175 ISO, though a 9.3 percent walk rate and 24.9 percent strikeout rate fell within the range of his career norms. A .259 BABIP was well below his career averages, and while his batted ball profile wasn’t horrendous, it also wasn’t all-world for the first time in his Boston tenure. Martinez needs to be a threat for the rest of the Boston lineup to fall into place.
- Bloom maintains his long-term perspective, hoping to see the next Red Sox core establishing themselves by the end of 2021, writes the Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey. Said Bloom, “That next core that is going to be the center of a sustainable championship contender. To see that core taking shape, both with the players who have been here, who have been part of the core that won the last championship — that are going to continue to be here – and then the players who are going to join that group, whether it’s from within our system, whether it’s guys we’ve acquired, or even guys who might not be here yet. To feel that by the end of the year, we can see that core taking even more shape than we can see right now.”
- There are only so many candidates left that Bloom could be referring to when talking about members of the last Red Sox champ. Ostensibly, that’s Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers on the position player side. The former was extended through 2025, and the latter could be next in line, if indeed Bloom views him as a centerpiece offensive contributor. The Red Sox can clear a lot of payroll space after this season, and only Bogaerts and Chris Sale are on the books for 2023, so there’s plenty of runway for Devers to land a long-term extension.
- Red Sox manager Alex Cora is leaning towards entering the season with a three-man position player bench, a strategy buoyed by the recent signings of Enrique Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez. Michael Chavis is another guy who will move around the diamond a bit. Cora plans on giving Chavis time at third, first, second, and left field. But he wants to see more consistency from the young right-hander at the plate, per Rob Bradford of WEEI sports radio network. Chavis especially needs to mash versus southpaws, though he has just a .257 wOBA against lefties through 158 career plate appearances compared to a .281 wOBA versus same-handed hurlers.
Quick Hits: Braves, Rosenthal, Ohtani, Ray, Cherington
The Braves had interest in Trevor Rosenthal before the reliever signed with the A’s, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman writes (Twitter link). With Rosenthal now off the market, Atlanta is still looking for right-handed relief help, and Heyman wonders if the Braves could turn to a familiar face in Shane Greene. Apart from some consideration from the Twins earlier this month, there hasn’t been much buzz about Greene this offseason, despite his 2.39 ERA over 90 1/3 innings since the start of the 2019 season. Greene doesn’t have a big fastball and his peripherals haven’t been overly impressive, however, which could explain why he still available heading into his age-32 season. Atlanta did recently add veteran righty Nate Jones to their bullpen mix on a minor league deal.
Some more notes from around baseball…
- Most players make changes in the wake of a rough season, but Shohei Ohtani faced the increased challenge of overhauling himself as both a hitter and a pitcher after a 2020 campaign the Angels star called “pathetic.” Ohtani’s offseason endeavors included a trip to Driveline Baseball, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports, and Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo told reporters that the pitcher/DH has adopted a new training regiment, a new diet, and made changes to his swing. Ohtani’s training has been helped by the fact that he is now recovered from a flexor strain that limited him to 1 2/3 innings as a pitcher in 2020, which came after not pitching at all in 2019 due to Tommy John surgery.
- Robbie Ray‘s foray into the open market didn’t last long, as the southpaw re-signed with the Blue Jays shortly after the free agent period opened in early November. This gave Ray more time to spend with Jays coaches on trying to correct his form following a mediocre 2020 season, Ray told reporters (including The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm). Ray made changes to his arm slot prior to the 2020 season, which may have led to such disastrous results as a 6.62 ERA and 45 walks over just 51 2/3 innings with the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays.
- The Pirates are still in the early stages of a rebuild, and GM Ben Cherington gave an outline of the team’s basic plan to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other reporters. Modeled after how other clubs have undergone rebuilds, Cherington broke it down into three steps: talent accumulation, developing that talent, and then adding to that talent base through trades and free agency. The general manager also made it clear that the Bucs are still in the first step, as “whatever improvement we’ve seen in our overall organizational talent — and I think we have seen some improvements in the last year — it’s not enough. We’ve got to keep going. We’ve got to be one of the stronger organizations just in terms of overall talent to give ourselves the best chance to win.”
NL Notes: Nationals, Giants, Rockies, Marlins
Teams contacted the Nationals about third baseman Carter Kieboom this offseason, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington). Kieboom hasn’t found any success at the MLB level to date, but it’s no surprise rival clubs would have interest in the 23-year-old. Washington held onto the former top prospect, who looks like the favorite to open the season as the starter at the hot corner.
More from Washington and other Senior Circuit cities:
- Stephen Strasburg had a normal offseason, he told reporters today (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). The Nationals star right-hander was limited to five innings last season by carpal tunnel syndrome in his throwing hand. Fortunately, the procedure he underwent last summer addressed the issue. The former World Series MVP will be a key piece in the Nats’ hopes of contending in a difficult NL East.
- Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi discussed the team’s newest addition to the pitching staff this afternoon (via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic). Right-hander Shun Yamaguchi, who worked exclusively out of the bullpen last season for the Blue Jays, will come to camp as a starting pitcher. The 33-year-old can opt out of his minor-league deal at the end of spring training if he doesn’t make the team, Zaidi said. That’s a rather typical feature for non-roster arrangements.
- When Rockies outfielder Ian Desmond opted out of the 2020 season, Colorado signed Matt Kemp the following day. With Desmond announcing his intent to sit out in 2021 as well, some speculation had arisen the Rockies could again turn to Kemp, who is back in free agency. Colorado manager Bud Black cast doubt on the idea, though, telling reporters (including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post) the organization hasn’t recently discussed signing Kemp, even though Desmond had notified the team he was considering opting out a few weeks ago.
- The Marlins signed Ross Detwiler to a one-year contract in January. Detwiler has started 95 games across his 12-year MLB career (including 12 starts for the 2019 White Sox). However, Miami views the veteran southpaw as strictly a bullpen option in 2021, manager Don Mattingly told reporters (including Craig Mish of SportsGrid). Detwiler worked solely in relief for Chicago in 2020, tossing 19.2 innings of 3.20 ERA/3.90 SIERA ball.
AL East Notes: Bradley, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Honeywell
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom met with reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe) this afternoon and confirmed that the club remains in contact with the representatives for free agent center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. They will stay in touch until the situation “resolves” itself, Bloom added. Bradley is unquestionably the top position player remaining in free agency at this point. In addition to their involvement in the Bradley market, Bloom noted (via Speier) the Sox could discuss contract extensions with players already on the roster in spring training.
Elsewhere in the AL East:
- Even after agreeing to terms with Brett Gardner, the Yankees expect to hand the primary left field job to Clint Frazier, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (via Marly Rivera of ESPN). Frazier, a former top prospect, took hold of the job with a stellar .267/.394/.511 slash line with eight home runs over 160 plate appearances in 2020. The 26-year-old has still only played 162 MLB games and has had some ups and downs defensively, so a reunion with the reliable Gardner provides something of a safety net for New York.
- Rays pitching prospect Brent Honeywell has been knocked off course by a series of arm injuries, undergoing four elbow surgeries since his last minor-league action in September 2017. The 25-year-old is now back in major league camp and feeling better than he has in years. “I’m excited. I’m healthy. … Everything is good. After this last one, it was a big-time help for me, and it was a big-time relief of my elbow. Everything is so-called ‘on track,’ and we’re moving in the right direction,” Honeywell told reporters (including Adam Berry of MLB.com). There’s no specific timetable for the 25-year-old’s return to game action but there seems to be a general sense of optimism regarding Honeywell’s ability to contribute at the big league level in 2021.
NL West Notes: Casali, Vogt, D’Backs, Tatis
Curt Casali‘s offseason negotiations with the Giants were interrupted by a surgery, as Casali underwent a hamate bone procedure on his left hand in December. The catcher told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters that he suffered the injury while playing for the Reds in the postseason and initially planned to just rehab the issue before opting for surgery. There was already a verbal agreement in place between Casali and the Giants prior to his surgery, and once the Giants were satisfied about Casali’s health, the two sides officially finalized a one-year, $1.5MM deal in early January.
In a nod to Casali’s recovery, he said the contract contains a $500K bonus if he makes the Opening Day roster. He fully expects to be ready, as he has been playing catch and taking swings already in camp, though Casali has yet to get behind the plate for a bullpen session. The seven-year MLB veteran is slated to work as Buster Posey‘s chief backup this season, and San Francisco also has Chadwick Tromp and top prospect Joey Bart waiting in the minors as further catching depth.
More from the NL West…
- Stephen Vogt tested positive for COVID-19 and has yet to arrive at Diamondbacks camp, manager Torey Lovullo told The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (Twitter link) and other reporters. It isn’t known if Vogt might be available or if he is suffering any symptoms, though Lovullo did bring some lightness to the situation by mentioning that Vogt was practicing his putting stroke in his kitchen while having a FaceTime conversation with Lovullo. Vogt made 20 starts at catcher and 26 appearances overall in 2020, which was enough (in prorated fashion) for his $3MM vesting option for 2021 to become guaranteed, and unlock a further $500K in salary. Carson Kelly will serve as Arizona’s starting catcher with Vogt slated for backup duty, and star prospect Daulton Varsho and veteran Bryan Holaday are also in camp as possible options if Vogt has miss any time.
- The Diamondbacks have continued pay cuts for employees throughout the organization, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports. The cuts have impacted both the baseball operations and business departments, and while the D’Backs are reportedly waiting on their 2021 revenue situation before restoring full salaries, they “are believed to be one of the only teams in baseball still implementing pay cuts to employees.” Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that most of the salary cuts are in the range of 10 percent or less, after the organization cut remaining salaries by an average of 15 percent last year after furloughing or laying off over a quarter of its staff. The cuts operate on a sliding scale, so higher-paid employees like team president/CEO Derrick Hall and general manager Mike Hazen are thought to have taken the largest salary reductions.
- Fernando Tatis Jr.‘s 14-year, $340MM extension with the Padres represents not just a huge payday for the star shortstop, but also for Big League Advance firm, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Tatis is the most prominent of the 344 players who have signed with BLA since the company was founded by former Phillies right-hander Michael Schwimer in 2016, with BLA offering these players a $50K advance — up to a $500K maximum — in exchange for one percent of any future earnings derived from baseball contracts (not non-baseball income like endorsement deals). It isn’t known how many advances Tatis received, but even a single $50K advance would result in a $3.4MM return on investment for Schwimer’s firm, and BLA would earn $34MM if Tatis took the full $500K advance. While striking big on a future star like Tatis is obviously good news for Big League Advance, Schwimer is pleased at how his company has helped many players through the low-paying struggle faced by many minor leaguers, including Schwimer himself during his six pro seasons. “Fernando’s deal is what everyone wants to talk about, but nobody wants to think of the literal dozens of players that we’ve invested in that are no longer in baseball,” Schwimer said. “Players that without us, who knows what situation they’d be in….And now with us, in some cases, they have hundreds of thousands of dollars. They can go back to school, start their second chapter.”
NL Central Notes: Rodriguez, Carpenter, Farmer
There is plenty of opportunity for hurlers to win jobs on the rebuilding Pirates‘ pitching staff, and The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel (subscription required) breaks down the full list of arms in Pittsburgh’s Spring Training camp. This isn’t to say that the Bucs are entirely done making moves, however, as Biertempfel names Richard Rodriguez the “Pirates reliever most likely to be traded this spring.”
Since signing with Pittsburgh prior to the 2018 season, Rodriguez has posted very strong numbers — a 3.02 ERA, and an above-average 28.16K% and 7.15BB% over 158 relief innings. Home runs have been an issue (1.3 HR/9) and Rodriguez’s hard-contact numbers were among the worst in baseball last season, though he also has some elite (96th percentile) fastball spin. Rodriguez turns 31 in March, but he is controlled through the 2023 season via arbitration, and is set to earn a modest $1.7MM this season. There hasn’t been any public trade speculation about Rodriguez during the offseason to date, yet considering how the Pirates are open to discussing virtually player in the organization, it seems likely some teams have already been in touch about Rodriguez. More talks could develop as Spring Training continues and clubs get a clearer sense of their bullpen needs.
Some more items from around the NL Central…
- Matt Carpenter will not be spending time in the outfield this season, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told Jeff Jones of the Belleville News (Twitter link) and other reports. Now that Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt are entrenched at Carpenter’s usual corner infield positions, there has been some speculation that the Cardinals could look for other ways to get his bat in the lineup. Since the outfield is a non-starter for Carpenter and NL teams won’t have a designated hitter spot, this leaves either a second base platoon with Tommy Edman or bench duty for the 35-year-old Carpenter. The three-time All-Star has seen a steep decline at the plate over the past two seasons, and 2021 looms as Carpenter’s final year in St. Louis — the Cardinals have an $18.5MM club option for 2022 that seems almost sure to be bought out unless Carpenter has a major rebound.
- Kyle Farmer was keeping one eye on baseball Twitter this offseason to see if the Reds would sign a shortstop, he told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters, since Farmer was preparing to take a shot at the position himself. After playing just one game at shortstop over his first three seasons, Farmer made 15 appearances as a shortstop in 2020, and still remains in the mix for at least semi-regular work among a group that also includes Kyle Holder, Dee Strange-Gordon, and Max Schrock. (Jose Garcia is one of the few pure shortstops on the roster, though he is set to begin the season in the minors.) Farmer lost 10 pounds and overhauled his swing this offseason in his bid to prove himself worthy of regular playing time, though his multi-position versatility already makes him a strong candidate for a roster spot.
Pitching Notes: Mets, deGrom, Nationals, Ross, Twins, Happ, Cardinals, Hudson
Mets ace Jacob deGrom likes the idea of spending his entire career with the Mets, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. Said the ace, “One thing I think that is really cool is whenever somebody spends their entire career with one team. You don’t see it happen a whole lot anymore, so it’s definitely something I have thought about and I guess we just have to see when that time comes.” DeGrom has an opt out after the 2022 season, which he could attempt to leverage into long-term security in New York. Otherwise, the Mets holds a $32.5MM team option for 2024, which would be deGrom’s age-36 season. Elsewhere in the National League…
- The Nationals hope Joe Ross can unequivocally seize the fifth starter’s spot in their rotation, but manager Dave Martinez and pitching coach Jim Hickey are hesitant to declare the spot his after Ross sat out 2020, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Erick Fedde and Austin Voth could get into the starting mix if Ross isn’t quite ready to take a full workload from the jump. There’s no indication that the plans have changed much, however, as the Nats still plan on staying in-house to fill that role.
- J.A. Happ tested positive for coronavirus upon his intake with the Twins, per the Athletic’s Dan Hayes (via Twitter). Happ is asymptomatic for now. Assuming he remains that way, Happ should still be ready in time for the start of the season. The Twins signed Happ to an $8MM deal in January, and the Twins expect him to hold down a spot in the middle of their rotation.
- Dakota Hudson is at the Cardinals spring camp site in Jupiter, FL and ahead of schedule in his return from Tommy John surgery, per Zachary Silver of MLB.com (via Twitter). Hudson is scheduled to begin playing catch on March 15th. He is still more likely than not to miss the 2021 season after undergoing surgery late in September.