Yankees Sign Billy McKinney To Minors Contract
The Yankees have signed outfielder Billy McKinney to a minor league deal, according to MiLB.com’s official transactions page. McKinney has been assigned to the team’s Triple-A affiliate.
This is McKinney’s second stint in the organization, as he was initially acquired as part of the four-play package sent by the Cubs to the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman prior to the 2016 trade deadline. New York then moved McKinney as part of another deadline deal almost exactly two years later, as McKinney and Brandon Drury were traded to the Blue Jays in 2018 for J.A. Happ.
These moves have been only two entries in what has become a journeyman career for McKinney, though the former 24th-overall pick is still only 28 years old. McKinney has played in each of the last five Major League seasons, suiting up at the MLB level for 263 games with six different teams. Only two of those games were in the Yankee pinstripes, which also marked the very first two games of McKinney’s big league career.
Once seen as a top-100 prospect and a possible future center fielder, McKinney has mostly settled into a role as a corner outfielder and even a part-time first baseman. He has a career .206/.277/.387 slash line and 28 homers over 768 career plate appearances in the majors, with that home run total at least hinting at the power potential McKinney showed earlier in his career and in the minors. While the constant shutting between teams and going up and down from the minors surely hasn’t helped McKinney find any rhythm at the plate, he has hit only .177/.261/.328 in 357 PA since the start of the 2021 season. That includes a dismal .331 OPS over 57 PA with the Athletics last season.
However, McKinney also has a .271/.348/.511 slash line and 42 homers over 992 career PA at the Triple-A level, hinting at why teams are continually willing to see if any of that pop could eventually translate to the majors. Obviously, McKinney has an age and experience advantage over Triple-A pitching, and a lot of his biggest numbers came in the homer-happy 2019 minor league season and in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in 2021. Still, the Yankees can use Spring Training to see whether or not McKinney might have any late-bloomer potential, and could help add some outfield depth if he breaks camp with the team (McKinney is out of minor league options).
Cubs, Orioles Interested In Eric Hosmer
TODAY: It “looks promising” that Hosmer and the Cubs might work out an agreement, Heyman tweets.
DECEMBER 30: Free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer is “on the radar” of the Cubs and Orioles, per a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Hosmer is a free agent after being released by the Red Sox earlier this off-season.
2022 was a challenging year for Hosmer. He was hitting .272/.336/.391 for the Padres at the deadline when they made their move to acquire Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Nationals. Hosmer was originally part of the return going to Washington, but he exercised his limited no-trade clause to veto that deal. The Padres pushed ahead and ultimately sent Luke Voit to the Nationals instead, and flipped Hosmer (and his remaining salary bar the league minimum) to Boston with prospects Corey Rosier and Max Ferguson in exchange for Jay Groome.
Things didn’t pan out in Boston, as Hosmer hit .244/.320/.311 over 50 plate appearances before landing on the injured list with lower back inflammation and missing the remainder of the season. Given San Diego were paying almost all of his salary, there seemed a chance that Hosmer would remain with Boston in some capacity moving forward. However, the team DFA’d him earlier this month, opening up first base for rookie Triston Casas. There were reports that the Red Sox were trying to trade him prior to the DFA, but they evidently found little interest and Hosmer ultimately found his way back onto the open market.
While it’s been a slightly rocky road for Hosmer lately, and his eight-year, $144MM deal with the Padres has not panned out as planned, he can still be a productive player for a lot of teams. That’s particularly true when considering the fact that the Padres are still on the hook for his $13MM salaries over the next three seasons, and any new team would only have to pay him the league minimum rate for any time spent on the active roster.
Since 2020, Hosmer has slashed .271/.335/.407 with 29 home runs, good for a wRC+ 107. That’s a bit of a drop off from his best years but still represents an above-average player. He’s sacrificed a bit of power in that time, but has lowered his strikeout rate a bit from previous seasons.
The Orioles do make a fair bit of sense as a landing spot for Hosmer. As things stand, the right-handed Ryan Mountcastle is slated to handle the bulk of the reps at first base, with no clear option at DH. Hosmer, a left-handed hitter, could give them another first base/DH option to deepen their lineup, and provide manager Brandon Hyde with another option to tweak the lineup depending on matchups. With a young roster looking to take the next step towards contention, adding a World Series-winning veteran like Hosmer certainly wouldn’t hurt in the clubhouse either.
The Cubs also make sense as an option for Hosmer. They’ve already been linked with free agent first base options Trey Mancini and Dominic Smith this winter, so it comes as no surprise that Hosmer would be on their radar as well. The Cubs have been busy this winter, but Matt Mervis and Patrick Wisdom stand as the likeliest in-house candidates to man first base/DH in 2023, so adding a bona fide first baseman like Hosmer makes plenty of sense.
While both the Cubs and Orioles do make sense for Hosmer, it’s worth noting that there’s a fair few teams that would make some sense on paper, particularly at the minimal cost. The Cubs and Orioles do, however, present as two teams that have a clear path to regular playing time for Hosmer and are aiming to compete in 2023.
Yankees Sign Willie Calhoun To Minor League Contract
The Yankees have signed outfielder Willie Calhoun to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). The contract includes an invitation to New York’s big league Spring Training camp.
Formerly a top-100 prospect, Calhoun looked to be paying off that potential when he hit .269/.323/.524 with 21 homers over 337 plate appearances with the Rangers in 2019. However, Calhoun suffered a frightening injury in Spring Training 2020 when his jaw was broken by an errant Julio Urias fastball, and while the COVID-19 shutdown allowed time for Calhoun to recover in time for the delayed Opening Day, he also missed time that season with a hamstring injury.
Hopes for a fresh start in 2021 were fruitless, as Calhoun spent over three months on the injured list after his forearm was fractured by another pitch. After a slow start in 2022, the Rangers optioned Calhoun to Triple-A, which led to Calhoun openly asking for a trade and criticizing the Texas coaching staff. The Rangers did end up moving Calhoun to the Giants last June in a swap for Steven Duggar, though Calhoun spent much of his time at the Triple-A level with the San Francisco organization. Calhoun appeared in only four MLB games with the Giants before being designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster in September.
Calhoun elected to become a free agent after the season, giving him the freedom to pursue a fresh start to his career. Only entering his age-28 season, Calhoun is still arbitration-controlled through the 2024 campaign, which adds an extra bonus for the Yankees should the slugger rediscover his form.
For a left-handed hitting power bat, the short porch at Yankee Stadium would seem like a prime spot for Calhoun to get on track, even if he is a self-described “line-drive, doubles guy.” For the cost of a minor league deal, there isn’t any risk for the Yankees in seeing if they can fix Calhoun, even if his .221/.286/.335 slash line over his last 454 Major League PA doesn’t offer much promise.
Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Cabrera are New York’s top candidates for left field at the moment, with former top prospect Estevan Florial still looking for an extended audition in the majors, and Giancarlo Stanton able to occasionally chip in as an outfielder when he isn’t a designated hitter. The Yankees have been known to be exploring the market for left field help this offseason, but with options running thin, the team could opt to see if Hicks can rebound or if Cabrera can continue to play well into his sophomore season. Calhoun’s minor league deal naturally doesn’t mean the Yankees can’t still add a notable starting outfielder via free agency or the trade market, but it could hint that the Bronx Bombers may let things play out in Spring Training before deciding how hard they should push for a left field upgrade.
Braves Sign Joshua Fuentes To Minor League Deal
The Braves have added infielder Joshua Fuentes on a minor league deal, according to the MLB.com transactions log.
Fuentes, 30 in February, was signed by the Rockies as an amateur free agent back in 2014. He had a slow rise through the minor leagues, but showed a fair bit of promise in Triple-A, slashing .327/.354/.517 with 14 home runs. He was rewarded with a first big league call up the following year, hitting .218/.232/.400 across 56 plate appearances in 2019.
Over the next few seasons Fuentes would get a fair bit of exposure in the big leagues, putting together a combined .243/.269/.377 line with 12 home runs over 443 plate appearances between 2019-21. Fuentes would log most of his time at first and third base, but did see a little bit of time in the corner outfield spots as well. In a combined 472 1/3 innings at third he was worth 10 Defensive Runs Saved, while in 417 1/3 innings at first he was worth 9 DRS.
Fuentes elected free agency after the Rockies outrighted him at the end of the 2021 season. He latched on with the Blue Jays on a minor league deal for 2022, but after hitting just .165/.205/.200 in 112 plate appearances at Triple-A he was released. He signed on to play with Yucatan in Mexico for the rest of the year, and hit .299/.364/.576 with ten home runs in 162 plate appearances.
Fuentes will provide the Braves with a bit of corner infield depth in 2023. He has one minor league option remaining.
MLBTR’s Most Read Articles Of 2022
2022 was a busy year for baseball. It all started in the middle of a lockout which threatened the season. Then we had a flurry of transactions when business opened up as teams frantically prepared for the upcoming season. The season itself provided plenty of entertainment, whether it was on the field as Aaron Judge chased 62 home runs, or off the field where Juan Soto was traded in one of the biggest deadline deals in history. The season culminated with the Astros beating the Phillies in the World Series. Since then, we’ve seen a flurry of free agent action with most of the top players signing before Christmas.
MLBTR has enjoyed being there throughout, so as we call time on 2022 we thought we’d share our most read articles of the year. A big thank you to you, our readers, for contributing and we look forward to seeing what excitement baseball has in store for us in 2023!
1. March 19: Trevor Story Reportedly Choosing Among Four Teams
Much like this winter, the 2021-22 free agent shortstop class was packed with talent, and it all came to a head over a few days in late March. Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Javier Baez had all come off the board pre-lockout, so when baseball reopened for business in mid-March there were two clear top options remaining – Carlos Correa and Trevor Story. The first report surfaced early in the afternoon on the 18th, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Story was choosing between four teams, including the Giants and Red Sox. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirmed the Red Sox were in on Story later that afternoon. Yet the twist came that night when the Twins shocked the baseball world and agreed a deal to sign Correa, leaving Story as the clear top free agent left on the market. Sure enough, with Correa suddenly off the board, Heyman reported the next morning that Story had “multiple new suitors”. Adding further intrigue was the uncertainty over what sort of deal Story would take, with reports suggesting he’d be open to short or long term contracts, as well as shifting positions. A day later, Story had a new home, inking a six-year, $140MM contract with the Red Sox.
2. August 2: Report: Padres On The Verge Of Acquiring Juan Soto
It’s hardly surprising to see one of the biggest deadline deals in recent memory make it high up this list. When it was reported in mid-July that Soto had turned down the Nationals’ $440MM extension offer and were willing to listen to trade offers, there was no doubt that the young superstar would dominate the trade deadline headlines. Over the next few weeks, information slowly came out that the Nationals would not offer more than their $440MM mark, and they wanted a monstrous trade haul for Soto. There wasn’t really a precedent for a deal of this magnitude, which made it tricky to predict possible trade packages. Yet on August 2 the Padres satisfied Washington’s huge ask, sending a haul of premium young talent including CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood, Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana to get Soto, and rental first-baseman Josh Bell. There would be another wrinkle, as San Diego had planned to send Eric Hosmer to the Nationals as part of the deal, but he exercised his limited no-trade clause to block the deal. The two teams would find a solution though, substituting Luke Voit in for Hosmer to complete one of the biggest trades in MLB history. While the Padres acquired one of the best players on the planet, and the Nationals jumpstarted their rebuild with a haul of young talent, it’ll be fascinating to revisit this trade in five or more years to assess how it panned out in the long run.
3. December 24: Mets Have “Raised Concerns” Over Carlos Correa’s Physical, Deal Still “Likely”
After signing a short-term contract with the Twins the previous winter, Correa looked like he’d cashed in on December 13 after it was reported that the Giants had agreed to a 13-year, $350MM deal with the shortstop. Yet that was just the beginning of a tumultuous few weeks that looks set to continue into 2023. On December 20, the Giants reportedly postponed Correa’s introduction press conference due to a concern over something in his physical. Then, in the early hours of the next morning, Heyman dropped a bombshell by reporting that Correa had instead agreed to a 12-year, $315MM deal with the Mets. While there was no official confirmation of the deal, Mets owner Steve Cohen had this to say to Heyman: “we needed one more hitter. This puts us over the top”. Such a comment from the owner before the signing is official seemed to suggest there was little concern that the concerns San Francisco saw would be an issue for the Mets. Yet on Christmas Eve, a report emerged that the Mets had “raised concerns” over Correa’s physical, particularly his surgically repaired right lower leg. Unlike with the Giants, there would be no quick pivot to a new team, and as things stand the two parties are still trying to work out how to proceed.
4. August 2: Red Sox Acquire Eric Hosmer
The background to this deal has been touched on earlier, and stemmed from the Juan Soto trade. When Hosmer exercised his limited no-trade clause to block being dealt to the Nationals as part of that deal, they quickly sent Luke Voit there instead. That didn’t mean Hosmer was staying in San Diego though, and the Padres quickly found a new trade partner, one that Hosmer could not block a deal to. Boston acquired Hosmer as part of a curious deadline strategy that saw them both buy and sell players. The Padres ate the remaining salary bar the league minimum, which was approximately two months of his $21MM 2022 salary, and a further three years and $39MM. Boston also got prospects Max Ferguson and Corey Rosier, while San Diego received Jay Groome in return. Hosmer’s time in Boston wasn’t particularly successful, he made just 14 appearances before back inflammation ended his season, then the Red Sox DFA’d then released him earlier this month.
5. November 14: 2022-23 Top 50 Free Agents With Predictions
MLBTR’s Steve Adams took the lead on this annual piece, with valuable contributions from Tim Dierkes, Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald. This year’s Top 50 was, unsurprisingly, topped by the reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge. He’s since signed a nine-year, $360MM deal with the Yankees, which topped the eight-year, $332MM prediction made. Kodai Senga, Nathan Eovaldi, Clayton Kershaw, Joc Pederson, Martin Perez all had their contracts correctly predicted, while a further 14 player’s contracts fell within $5MM of the prediction.
6. December 12: Braves Acquire Sean Murphy, Brewers Acquire William Contreras In Three-Team Trade
Coming into the off-season, Oakland catcher Sean Murphy was arguably the most obvious trade candidate in the game. Murphy’s elite play combined with a lack of top catching options on the free agent market outside of Willson Contreras and Christian Vazquez made him an obvious candidate for a number of team. As many as nine teams had reported interest at some stage in Murphy, and that number could well have been higher. Ultimately, it was the Braves who acquired him, giving up a haul of prospects and sending their own promising catcher in Contreras to Milwaukee to seal the deal. In typical Atlanta fashion, they’d move quickly to lock up their new catcher, signing him to a six-year, $73MM extension just two weeks after acquiring him.
7. December 7: Yankees Sign Aaron Judge To Nine-Year Deal
The Yankees flexed their financial muscle to get this deal done, locking up the reigning AL MVP on a nine-year, $360MM deal and promptly announcing him as the team’s new captain. While Judge is almost certain to end his career in pinstripes now, it didn’t always look that way. After a monster platform year in which he belted an AL-record 62 home runs, Judge went to the open market making no promises of a return to the Bronx. The Giants put in a strong bid to bring Judge back to his northern California roots, and the Padres made a surprising late play to bring him to San Diego. With Judge’s free agency seemingly holding up the markets on a number of other top free agents, it all came to a head at the winter meetings. Judge would turn down opportunities to play elsewhere, instead securing a record free agent contract and a record AAV for a position player to end his career in New York.
8. March 13: Nelson Cruz Deal Moving Along Quickly
Just three days after the lockout ended, veteran slugger Nelson Cruz was moving quickly towards a deal with the Washington Nationals. Coming off yet another strong season at the plate, and with the DH now available to all 30 teams in the new CBA, it’s not surprising Cruz had a robust market once business opened up. The then-41-year-old inked a one-year deal worth $15MM with the Nats. Unfortunately for Cruz, he’d hit just .234/.313/.337 for a wRC+ of 85, the first time it’s been under the league-average 100 mark since 2007.
9. December 6: Aaron Judge “Appears Headed” To Giants
With the Judge sweepstakes heating up, reports from the winter meetings suggested there was momentum towards Aaron Judge heading to San Francisco. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he saw the reports and immediately called general manager Brian Cashman for an update, only to find there was nothing to report. The Giants, too, said Judge had not yet made his decision. Still, it was a sign that Judge’s free agency was coming to a conclusion and by the next day, it was confirmed that he’d agreed to a deal to return to the Yankees.
10. July 27: Yankees To Acquire Andrew Benintendi
Wrapping up our top ten is a move the Yankees made in advance of the deadline this summer. Devoid of left-handed contact hitters, and with regular left fielder Joey Gallo out of favor, Cashman jumped on the chance to acquire Benintendi, who’d put together a .321/.389/.399 line for Kansas City. Gallo would wind up traded to LA a few days later, and Benintendi would be the everyday left fielder. After slumping immediately after arriving in the Bronx, Benintendi recovered slightly to post a .254/.331/.404 over 33 games. He underwent surgery in September to repair a fracture hamate bone, missing the remainder of the regular season and the Yankees’ playoff run.
11. March 16: Dodgers, Freddie Freeman Reportedly Making Progress On Deal
12. July 29: Mariners Finalizing Acquisition Of Luis Castillo From Reds
13. March 20: Red Sox To Sign Trevor Story
14. August 1: Astros To Acquire Trey Mancini
15. March 14: Astros Step Up Efforts To Re-Sign Carlos Correa
16. August 1: Brewers Trade Josh Hader To Padres
17. March 14: Freddie Freeman Rumors: Monday
18. December 17: Cubs Finalizing Contract With Dansby Swanson
19: July 23: Latest On Juan Soto Trade Talks
20: December 21: Mets To Sign Carlos Correa
Red Sox Add Kyle Hudson To Coaching Staff
The Red Sox have hired Kyle Hudson to be their first base coach and outfield instructor, rounding out their major league coaching hires for 2023, according to Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal.
Hudson, 36, joins Boston having spent the past three seasons with the Guardians, where he worked as an outfield instructor and staff assistant. Prior to that, he’d served as a bench coach at Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate in Columbus in 2019.
Hudson, a left fielder, got a brief taste of the big leagues as a player in 2014, tallying 29 plate appearances and picking up four hits across a 14 game stint for the Orioles. At the highest level of the minor leagues, Hudson owned a combined .276/.353/.304 line. While he never hit a home run across eight minor league seasons, he was known for his speed, and picked up 191 stolen bases.
He’ll take the spot on Alex Cora‘s staff vacated by Will Venable, who has gone to the Rangers. Venable worked as Boston’s bench coach, but his departure saw previous first base coach Ramon Vazquez promoted to the role for 2023.
A History Of New Year’s Eve Transactions
The winter holiday period has generally been a quiet period on the hot stove, perhaps particularly so this year given so many free agent deals occurred prior to Christmas. New Year’s Eve has generally been quiet, but there have been a few big moves that took place on the final day of the calendar in recent years.
Here’s a look at major transactions that took place on December 31 since the start of the 21st century:
- 2018: The Mariners agree to a deal with Japanese hurler Yusei Kikuchi.
After eight seasons dominating in Japan, the Seibu Lions posted Kikuchi ahead of the 2019 campaign. The Mariners had long been seen as a strong fit for the left-hander, and on the final day of 2018 word broke that the Mariners had got their man. Kikuchi had agreed to an initial three-year, $43MM deal with Seattle that came with a $13MM player option, as well as a four-year club option that promised Kikuchi an additional $66MM. Kikuchi would have a challenging start to life in the big leagues, working to a 5.39 ERA over 41 starts across the 2019-20 seasons. He did find some form in 2021 though, working to a 4.41 ERA over 157 innings. That was enough for Kikuchi to decline his player option but not enough for Seattle to exercise their four-year club option, so Kikuchi hit the open market and found a new home in Toronto ahead of the 2022 season.
- 2014: The Reds acquire outfield Marlon Byrd from the Phillies in exchange for pitcher Ben Lively.
After back-to-back playoff appearances the Reds took a step back in 2014, finishing 76-86. With a solid core still under contract GM Walt Jocketty made a move to bolster their offense, acquiring the veteran Byrd from the rebuilding Phillies. Byrd was owed $8MM in 2015, and the Phillies chipped in for half of that. In exchange, they got Lively, a promising young pitcher in the Reds system. He’d go on to make 20 starts for Philadelphia between 2017-18 but would be claimed off waivers by the Royals in 2018, and last pitched in the big leagues in 2019. The 37-year-old Byrd would hit .237/.286/.448 with 19 home runs across 96 games, but the Reds would fall well out of contention and wound up flipping him to the Giants in August of that year.
- 2013: The Astros sign veteran reliever Jesse Crain to a one-year, $3.25MM deal.
The 2013 Astros lost 111 games, and were deep in the midst of their rebuild. 2014 saw the emergence of some of the core players that become building blocks over the next decade or so in Houston, and the team clearly felt some veteran leadership wouldn’t hurt in the young clubhouse. The then-31-year-old Crain had been a solid reliever for a number of years in Minnesota, but had blossomed into an elite relief arm over the previous three seasons for the White Sox. Between 2011-13, he’d throw 150 innings of 2.10 ERA relief for Chicago. Unfortunately for Houston, Crain would land on the injured list in spring training as he recovered from off-season surgery and he wouldn’t throw a single pitch for the Astros, or any other team in the big leagues after that 2013 season.
- 2012: The Royals sign 38-year-old veteran Miguel Tejada to a minor league deal
Tejada had been a force for a number of years for the Orioles and Athletics, winning the AL MVP award in 2002. Yet by the time the Royals agreed to a minor league deal with the veteran shortstop, his star had well and truly waned. Tejada’s last MLB season came in 2011 when he hit .239/.270/.326 for the Giants, and he’d spent the 2012 season playing at Triple-A. Yet he made it onto the Royals’ big league roster in 2013, appearing in 53 games and hitting .288/.317/.378. He’d suffer a calf injury that looked set to end his season, but a 105-game ban following two positive drug tests ended his season, and he wouldn’t play in the big leagues again.
- 2011: The Padres acquire outfielder Carlos Quentin from the White Sox for minor leaguers Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez.
The 2011 White Sox finished a disappointing 79-83, and felt comfortable sending their All Star outfielder, and California native, Quentin out west. The 29-year-old had been worth 2.5 fWAR the previous season, and netted the White Sox a pair of young pitchers. Unfortunately for Chicago, Castro would throw just 6 2/3 innings of relief for them, while Hernandez would be torched for eight earned runs in four innings in a solitary start for the team. For the Padres, Quentin would be productive when he could stay on the field, slashing .268/.368/.498 over 168 games in his first two seasons. His knee would continue to cause problems, and a disappointing 2014 would be his last appearances in the big leagues.
- 2010: The Orioles sign veteran Derrek Lee to a one-year contract.
In his prime, Lee had been a hugely productive hitter for the Cubs and Marlins, finishing third in MVP voting in 2005. Those numbers were dwindling, but Lee was still putting up solid enough numbers in 2010 that the Orioles felt comfortable giving him a $7.25MM salary for the 2011 season. He struggled to a .246/.302/.404 line with 12 home runs over 85 games with the Orioles that year. With Baltimore in the midst of a losing season, they sent him to Pittsburgh at the deadline, and Lee would hit .337/.398/.584 over 28 games down the stretch for the Bucs, before retiring at the end of the year.
- 2009: The Cubs sign Marlon Byrd to a three-year deal and the Phillies sign Danys Baez to a two-year pact.
The first of Byrd’s two NYE transactions would come at the end of 2009, as the Cubs added him on deal that’d pay him $15MM over the next three years. Byrd would go to the All Star game in his first season in Chicago, slashing .293/.346/.429 with 12 home runs over 630 plate appearances as the Cubs finished 75-87. A wretched start to the 2012 season (3-for-43) would see him traded to the Red Sox in April of that year, the final year of his three-year contract. Baez had shifted around the big leagues a fair bit prior to landing in Philadelphia, appearing for five teams over eight years and working to a combined 4.04 ERA. The Phillies signed him to a two-year, $5.25MM deal, but Baez struggled significantly, working to a 5.48 ERA in his first year and a 6.25 ERA in his second. The Phillies released him in August, 2011, and he wouldn’t pitch in the big leagues again.
- 2004: The Yankees bring back veteran Tino Martinez on a one-year, $3MM deal.
Martinez played 1,054 games for the Yankees between 1996 and 2001, winning four World Series rings in that time before they replaced the first baseman with Jason Giambi. He’d played the previous year for the Devil Rays, but after they declined his $8MM option, the Yankees swooped in to add him as cover for the player that replaced him. The 37-year-old Martinez wound up playing in 131 games that year for the Yankees, and while he wasn’t the same offensive threat as a few years prior, he still posted a respectable .241/.328/.439 line with 17 home runs as the Yankees went 95-67 in 2005. The Yankees declined their $3MM option for 2006, and Martinez retired.
Diamondbacks To Sign Evan Longoria To One-Year Deal
The Diamondbacks and third baseman Evan Longoria are in agreement on a one-year deal that will guaranteed him $4MM with another $1MM available in incentives. Longoria is a client of TWC Sports.
Longoria, 37, will be joining just the third organization of his long career, having only previously suited up for the Rays and Giants. He broke in with Tampa in 2008 and had his best seasons from there through 2013. In that six-year stretch, he hit 162 home runs and produced a batting line of .275/.357/.512. That production was 35% better than league average, as evidenced by his 135 wRC+, one of the 25 best such marks across the majors for that period. When combined with his quality defensive work, he tallied 34.2 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, the fourth-best mark among all position players with only Miguel Cabrera, Brian McCann and Yadier Molina ahead of him.
It was within that time that the Rays twice gave him a lengthy contract extension. The first came in his 2008 rookie season, a $17.5MM guarantee over six years, plus three club options. After the 2012 season, the second extension triggered the three club options and added another six years and $100MM. That deal ran through the 2022 season with a club option for 2023.
Longoria’s offensive production declined over the 2014-2016 period but was still above average. He hit .265/.322/.454 in that stretch for a wRC+ of 112, 12% better than par but a noticeable drop-off from his previous heights. He took an even bigger dip in 2017, hitting .261/.313/.424 for a wRC+ of 97. At the end of that season, Longoria had accrued nine years and 170 days of service time, just two days shy of the 10-year mark. That was a significant gap since getting to ten years would have given him 10-and-5 rights, as all players with 10 years of service time and who have been with their current team for at least five years earn the right to veto any trade. The ever budget-conscious Rays decided they had to move Longoria before he gained those rights and flipped him to the Giants going into 2018.
Since moving to California, it’s been a rocky time for Longoria. In his first three seasons as a Giant, he hit .250/.302/.425 for a wRC+ of 93. He bounced back to being an above-average hitter over the last two seasons but injuries limited his overall contributions. He slashed .253/.333/.466 over 2021 and 2022 for a wRC+ of 118, but in just 170 games. A left shoulder sprain and right hand contusion sent him to the injured list in 2021. Finger surgery put him on the shelf for the beginning of the 2022 season and he was later sidelined by a left oblique strain, a right hamstring strain and a thumb fracture.
The Giants had an $8MM decision to make on Longoria, choosing between a $13MM option or a $5MM buyout. Picking up that option and adding the $8MM onto their ledger would have been a defensible decision based on his resurgence at the plate, but there were also reasons for concern. Beyond the injuries, Longoria’s previously excellent defensive grades have slipped, a fairly expected development for a player moving into his late 30s. Also, his metrics like exit velocity and hard hit rate have been trending downward, not shocking for a player his age but something that had to be taken into consideration. In the end, the Giants decided to move on and went for the buyout, sending Longoria into free agency for the first time in his career.
Longoria expressed a preference for either returning to one of his two previous clubs or signing with the Diamondbacks, since he has a home in Arizona. In the end, he will indeed join the team near his home, with the club making for a fairly sensible fit for him. A young up-and-coming team, the D-Backs could surely benefit from having a veteran presence like Longoria in the clubhouse and in the dugout.
In terms of the fit on the roster, third base wasn’t completely secured prior to this deal. Josh Rojas has been serving in a utility capacity over the past few years, spending some time in the outfield corners as well as the three infield positions to the left of first base. In 2022, he spent most of his time at third, getting into 89 games there. While he was above-average offensively, the advanced defensive metrics all considered his glovework to be below average. It’s possible that he could still take a step forward in that department since he didn’t play much third base in the minors and is surely still learning the position, but bringing Longoria’s experience aboard should only help there.
There will also be platoon possibilities since Rojas hits from the left side and Longoria the right. Rojas has fairly even splits for his career but was better against righties in 2022, posting a 114 wRC+ with the advantage and a 92 otherwise. Longoria, meanwhile, has a 132 wRC+ against southpaws in his career with a 113 against righties. That would seem to make them a good pairing, though injuries elsewhere on the roster could potentially require Rojas to move elsewhere on the diamond. The club also doesn’t really have an obvious designated hitter at the moment, which could allow both players to be pencilled into the lineup together with regularity, unless Arizona’s many young outfielders eventually push start crowding into the DH mix. But if Longoria were to act as the DH with some frequency, it could give him an edge in overcoming his recent injury track record.
This deal brings the club’s payroll up to $109MM, according to the calculations of Roster Resource. That’s a big jump from last year’s $91MM figure, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but the club has been as high as $132MM in the past.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post. first reported the two sides were in agreement on a one-year deal. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first reported the financial figures.
Image courtesy USA Today Sports.
Which Remaining Free Agent Hitters Were Shifted The Most In 2022?
It was announced back in September that Major League Baseball would be implementing some new rules for the 2023 season. One such change will be the limiting of defensive shifts, with teams required to have two infielders on each side of second base and all four on the near side of the outfield grass at the time the pitch is released.
The exact ramifications of these changes will be discovered as the 2023 season progresses, but the hope is that some routine grounders turn into hits instead. Those players who have been shifted the most could stand to reap the most benefit from the new environment. The prototypical example of the hitter that is the most harmed by the shifts has been a plodding and pull-happy left-hander who can be neutralized by having an infielder in deep right field. However, each player is unique and will have been attacked in different ways, so let’s look at the data, with a minimum of 100 plate appearances required to be considered here. Which free agents were shifted the most in 2022? (Quick note that Stephen Vogt has been excluded since he previously announced 2022 would be his last season.)
1. Rougned Odor – 93.8%
2. Kole Calhoun – 93.4%
3. Zack Collins – 88.9%
4. Brett Phillips – 88%
5. Brandon Belt – 85.2%
6. Mike Ford – 84.6%
7. Jed Lowrie (as a lefty) – 83.5%
8. Robbie Grossman (as a lefty) – 82.6%
9. Michael Perez – 81.8%
10. Mike Moustakas* – 81%
11. Tommy La Stella* – 80.5%
12. Josh VanMeter – 79.7%
13. Luke Voit – 76.9%
14. Colin Moran – 75%
15. Adam Duvall – 71.7%
16. Gary Sánchez – 70.5%
17. Dominic Smith – 70.4%
18. Jackie Bradley Jr. – 64%
19. Jurickson Profar (as a lefty) – 63.8%
20. Didi Gregorius – 60.3%
(* – Moustakas and La Stella technically aren’t free agents right now. However, they were both recently designated for assignment and are likely to be released given their onerous contracts.)
Odor has been quite awful at the plate recently, with his batting average finishing at .207 or below in each of the past four years. However, his batting average on balls in play has been at .244 or below in each of those seasons, well below his earlier career marks and the .290 league average in 2022. Perhaps the shift bans could get him closer to his earlier career number when he hit between .259 and .271.
Belt hit .285/.393/.595 over 2020 and 2021, good enough for a wRC+ of 162 which trailed only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper among all MLB hitters in that time. He was actually shifted more in those two seasons than he was in 2022. Injuries limited him to just 78 games and tepid production this year, but perhaps better health and some more open space on the field could help him return to being one of the best hitters in the league.
As for the rest, some of these guys are role players or aging veterans, but a few of them could be sneaky value pickups in the latter half of the offseason. Like Belt, many of them are coming off disappointing and/or injury-marred years and will be looking to bounce back in 2023. Grossman posted a 118 wRC+ over 2020 and 2021 but just an 82 this year. Voit had a 153 wRC+ in the shortened 2020 season but dipped to 112 and 102 in the past two campaigns. Duvall had a 108 wRC+ over 2019-2021 but an 87 here in 2022. Sánchez recorded a 143 wRC+ in his first two seasons but just a 96 in the following five years, including an 89 in the most recent campaign. Smith posted a huge 150 wRC+ over 2019 and 2020 but has slid to just 82 since. Profar is coming off a decent campaign and is arguably the best free agent still unsigned.
Steve Cishek To Retire
Relief pitcher Steve Cishek is retiring. “It’s time,” Cishek tells Rich Maclone of The Bourne Enterprise. “It’s gotten harder for me to bounce back game-to-game. The ball wasn’t coming out as crisp as before, and it felt like I had to pitch differently. I know I’ll get the bug and want to get back out there, but I don’t think I’m pulling a Tom Brady.”
Cishek was drafted by the Marlins in 2007 and eventually made his major league debut with them in 2010. He only got to pitch 4 1/3 innings that year but got a more substantial showing in the following season. He made 45 appearances in 2008, tossing 54 2/3 frames with a 2.63 ERA, 24% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 56.8% ground ball rate.
Cishek worked his way up to high-leverage spots, recording three saves and a couple of holds in that 2008 campaign. He followed that up with 15 saves in 2009 and then got 34 and 39 in the two following years. Giving hitters fits with his sidearm delivery, Cishek was able to both get strikeouts and ground ball at above-average rates, a difficult combination to pull off.
In 2015, he was traded from the Marlins to the Cardinals after spending parts of six seasons in Miami. He would go into journeyman mode from there, spending time with the Mariners, Rays, Cubs, White Sox, Angels and Nationals. He pitched in 13 MLB seasons from 2010 to 2022.
In Cishek’s career, he got into 737 games, tossing 710 2/3 innings with a 2.98 ERA. He struck out 24.8% of the batters he faced and got grounders on 48.3% of balls in play. He recorded 133 saves, 109 holds and 33 wins. MLBTR congratulates him on a fine career and wishes him the best in his future endeavors.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.