Diamondbacks Sign Ian Kennedy
TODAY: The D’Backs officially announced the signing, also including the detail that Kennedy’s contract includes a mutual option for the 2023 season.
MARCH 13: The Diamondbacks are in agreement on a one-year deal with reliever Ian Kennedy, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the deal is worth $4.75MM plus $2.35MM in incentives. Kennedy, 37, returns to the place of his initial big league success, as he had a strong three-plus-year run as a member of Arizona’s rotation from 2010-13. The righty is represented by the Boras Corporation.
Kennedy signed a five-year, $70MM free agent deal with the Royals back in January of 2016. Kennedy scuffled in the second and third years of that deal, missing a large chunk of the second half of 2018 with an oblique injury. By 2019, the Royals felt they’d get more value out of Kennedy in a relief role. That proved correct, as he served as the team’s closer that year and saved 30 games with a 3.41 ERA.
Kennedy failed to get on track in the shortened 2020 season, suffering from a calf strain and generally working in the middle innings. In February of last year, Kennedy wound up with the Rangers on a minor league deal. He made the team and generally worked as the Rangers’ closer until he was traded to the Phillies along with Kyle Gibson. On the season Kennedy worked to a 3.20 ERA, 27.2 K%, 7.5 BB%, and 23.3 groundball rate in 56 1/3 innings. It was the lowest groundball rate of his 15-year career, so the resulting 12 home runs allowed were no surprise. Statcast doesn’t speak highly of Kennedy’s work in 2021.
Kennedy will not likely be asked to close by D’Backs manager Torey Lovullo, as the team inked longtime stopper Mark Melancon to a two-year, $14MM deal prior to the lockout. Though Arizona tied the Orioles for the worst record in baseball in 2021, GM Mike Hazen isn’t looking to launch a rebuild. Third base remains an area of need, though Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that the Diamondbacks were “among the teams showing the most interest in [Michael] Conforto before the lockout.”
Kennedy was one of seven relievers to reach or near an agreement on a big league deal today, along with Jesse Chavez, Matt Strahm, Jake Diekman, Adam Ottavino, Nick Wittgren, and Brad Boxberger. Click here to see which relievers are still available.
Red Sox Sign Dan Altavilla To Two-Year Minors Deal
The Red Sox have signed right-hander Dan Altavilla to a two-year minor league contract, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The length of the deal reflects Altavilla’s health status, as he underwent Tommy John surgery last June and will miss at least half of the 2022 season.
Between a season-opening calf injury and then his elbow problems, Altavilla only pitched 1 1/3 innings over two games with the Padres in 2021. The righty has appeared in each of the last six MLB seasons, though in a somewhat limited capacity (116 total innings) that reflects his inconsistency. Altavilla has a solid 26.1% strikeout rate over his career, but a 12.1% walk rate and 12.4% home run rate have limited his effectiveness out of the Seattle and San Diego bullpens.
With a fastball that averages 96.7 mph, Altavilla brings plenty of heat, and the Red Sox are betting that they can harness that potential once the right-hander is healthy. Given the usual 12-15 month rehab period time for Tommy John patients, Altavilla could potentially return for a good portion of the coming season, if his recovery process goes smoothly. The additional year on the minors contract gives both Altavilla and the Sox some extra security in giving him all the time he needs to get back into form.
A’s Claim Sheldon Neuse Off Waivers
The Athletics announced that infielder Sheldon Neuse has been claimed off waivers from the Dodgers. Neuse has been in DFA limbo since December 1, as the Dodgers designated him for assignment just before the lockout started.
It’s a reunion of sorts for Neuse and the A’s, as Neuse has spent much of his pro career in the Oakland organization. A second-round pick for the Nationals in the 2016 draft, Neuse was part of the three-player package (along with Jesus Luzardo and Blake Treinen) sent to Oakland in the July 2017 trade that brought Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson to D.C. The Athletics then dealt Neuse to Los Angeles as part of a four-player swap in February 2021.
A pretty well-regarded prospect during his time in the minors, Neuse has a .291/.349/.459 slash line over 1446 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Neuse has played mostly as a third baseman but has also seen a lot of time at both middle infield positions and a handful of games as a first baseman and corner outfielder. There is some irony that Neuse is returning to the A’s on the same day that Oakland traded Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays, as Chapman’s presence at third base was one of the reasons the Athletics experimented with Neuse at other positions.
With the A’s now shifting into at least some kind of rebuild mode, it could open the door for Neuse to get a longer look at the big league level. He hasn’t hit much in limited action, with a .207/.236/.314 slash line in 127 PA (61 with the Athletics in 2019 and 66 with the Dodgers last season).
Blue Jays Have Discussed Jose Ramirez Trade With Guardians
The Blue Jays have had discussions with the Guardians about trades involving Jose Ramirez, with the idea of using him as a second baseman, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. In a subsequent tweet, Rosenthal adds that it’s unclear if Toronto’s acquisition of Matt Chapman will alter these discussions, hypothesizing that the Jays don’t want to continue depleting their prospect stock with yet another huge deal.
The fact that the Jays are interested in Ramirez is not surprising for multiple reasons. The team’s president and general manager, Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, were both with Cleveland from the time of Ramirez’s signing through his first few MLB seasons. There’s also the fact that Ramirez is incredibly talented and affordable. Over the past six seasons, he’s hit 155 home runs, stolen 134 bases and hit .286/.364/.531, for a wRC+ of 135 and 32.7 fWAR. He’ll make $11MM this season and has a $13MM club option for next season. He’s also a switch-hitter, which would benefit a Blue Jays lineup that skews heavily right-handed. Furthermore, it has been previously reported that the Jays unsuccessfully tried to acquire Ramirez at last year’s trade deadline.
While Ramirez would certainly be an offensive upgrade over the Cavan Biggio–Santiago Espinal pairing the Jays currently have projected at second base, the plan would come with some complications. For one, Ramirez’s experience at second base is limited. He played there sporadically in the first few years of his career until 2017, when he got into 71 games at the keystone. That dropped to 16 games in 2018 and he hasn’t played there since.
There’s also the fact that the Guardians don’t really have the financial motivation to move Ramirez. They’re currently projected for an Opening Day payroll of just $52MM, per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. Even for a typically low-spending team like them, that’s incredibly low, giving them little incentive to subtract the $11MM owed to Ramirez.
Also, there’s the question of whether Cleveland would want to do this from a public relations standpoint. The fanbase already had to endure a trade of a face-of-the-franchise player one year ago when Francisco Lindor was dealt to the Mets. That was followed up by the team abandoning the nickname they had used for over a century, a move that was clearly quite unpopular with certain sections of the club’s diehards. To turn around and trade the team’s best player yet again would only do further damage to the relationship between the franchise and their customers.
Finally, there’s also the fact that Cleveland can still compete in the AL Central. Despite a litany of injuries to their starting rotation last season, the team still finished 80-82. Even with marginally better luck on the health front, they should be able to push themselves back over .500 and into a playoff race, especially with an extra playoff spot being available this year. Given their incredibly low payroll commitments, they should be able to add to their roster rather than subtract, particularly in the outfield.
Royals, Reds Swap Mike Minor For Amir Garrett
The Royals have traded left-handed starter Mike Minor and cash to the Reds in exchange for left-handed reliever Amir Garrett, per announcements from both teams.
Minor, 34, is headed into the second season of a two-year, $18MM contract originally signed with Kansas City. He’s due $10MM this season, plus a $1MM buyout on a mutual option for the 2023 season. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that the Royals are covering that $1MM buyout. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds that Kansas City is also covering $500K of Minor’s salary. That leaves the Reds on the hook for about $7.3MM in additional salary commitments, when factoring in the projected $2.2MM (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) that would’ve gone to the arbitration-eligible Garrett.
It’s frankly bizarre to see Cincinnati take on cash to acquire a struggling veteran starter, considering they commenced their offseason by placing a highly productive veteran starter, Wade Miley, on outright waivers — content to just give him away in order to save the same $10MM salary that is owed to Minor. The move to add Minor, who has an ERA north of 5.00 in each of his past two seasons, is a clear downgrade over simply keeping Miley. One can also imagine that if the goal was to add a veteran to the staff after trading Sonny Gray, there were options in free agency at a similar or even lesser price point.
Minor has been a durable source of innings over the past four years, starting at least 28 games in each full season and another 11 during the shortened 2020 campaign. However, he posted a 5.05 ERA in Kansas City through last year’s 158 1/3 innings, punching out 22.3% of his opponents against a strong 6.1% walk rate. Metrics like FIP (4.29) and SIERA (4.20) feel Minor’s strikeout and walk rates ought to have yielded a better ERA, but it’s quite a bet for him to bounce back when factoring in how the change of scenery could adversely impact Minor. As a fly-ball pitcher whose biggest Achilles heel during that time has been a susceptibility to home runs (1.43 HR/9 since 2018), the move to Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park seems like a poor fit (particularly at a time when the National League is adding the designated hitter).
Perhaps the Reds plan to explore additional trade scenarios surrounding Minor. Perhaps they believe pitching coach Derek Johnson, who coached Minor at Vanderbilt more than a decade ago, can help Minor return to form. Whatever the motivation behind the trade, it’s strange to see Cincinnati going out of its way to add salary after so aggressively finding ways to cut payroll over the past 18 months. In a vacuum, the trade for Minor is a sensible enough bet on a rebound for a prominent veteran — but in the context of the Reds’ recent string of transactions, it’s just rather puzzling.
As for the Royals, they’ll add a hard-throwing lefty with big bat-missing ability who has never quite put things together for a prolonged run of success. The 29-year-old Garrett averages 95 mph on his heater and has fanned just under 30% of his opponents dating back to 2018, but he’s also susceptible to walks (12.1%) and home runs (1.36 HR/9). Home runs have been a particular issue for Garrett over the past two seasons, although a move out of Cincinnati and into the spacious Kauffman Stadium could help him cut back on those long balls.
Garrett is controlled through the 2023 season via arbitration, so if the new environs can finally coax some consistency from him, he could be a vital piece of the Royals’ relief corps. Beyond the strikeouts and velocity, Garrett ranks 14th among all qualified relievers with a 15.7% swinging-strike rate since 2019, so the potential for a breakout is there. He’ll join a Kansas City bullpen that is increasingly deep in hard-throwing arms who can miss bats, pairing with righties like Josh Staumont and Scott Barlow as well as southpaw Jake Brentz.
Yankees, A’s Discussing Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas Trades
It has been apparent for months now that the Athletics planned on engaging in a massive fire sale this offseason, shipping out their arbitration-eligible players for younger and cheaper players with more team control. Since the lockout has ended, they’ve fulfilled the prophecy by sending Chris Bassitt to the Mets, Matt Olson to the Braves and Matt Chapman to the Blue Jays. It seems possible that Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas are going to be next in line. In recent days, the two hurlers have been connected to the White Sox and Twins, with Montas also garnering interest from the Rays. We can now add the Yankees to the list of interested parties, per Robert Murray of FanSided and Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
The Yankees have been busy since the end of the lockout, most notably landing Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt in a trade with the Twins, as well as last night’s signing of Anthony Rizzo. Despite those additions to the lineup, the pitching staff remains largely unchanged.
The rotation comes with tremendous upside but also has its share of uncertainty beyond ace Gerrit Cole. Jordan Montgomery was excellent last year, but that was after two seasons mostly lost to injury and a shortened 2020 campaign. After throwing 75 1/3 MLB innings over 2018-2020, he shot up to 157 1/3 last year. Similarly, Jameson Taillon only threw 37 1/3 innings in 2019 and then missed all of 2020 before shooting up to 144 1/3 last year and undergoing ankle surgery after the season. Luis Severino only pitched 12 innings in 2019 before being shelved by various injuries and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery. After missing all of the 2020 campaign, he was able to return and log six MLB innings last year. Domingo German is dealing with shoulder issues and likely to begin the season on the IL. The club does have other options around, such as Nestor Cortes Jr., Michael King, Clarke Schmidt, Deivi Garcia and Luis Gil, but they all come with question marks of their own due to their limited track records.
Adding in quality arms like those of Manaea and Montas would be a fairly sensible way of providing an extra degree of certainty for the staff. Manaea pitched 179 1/3 innings last year with a 3.91 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate. He’s scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the season and is projected to earn a salary of $10.2MM, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Montas, meanwhile, tossed 187 frames with a 3.37 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. He’s projected for a $5.2MM salary and comes with an extra year of control.
Yankees fans might speculate about whether Luke Voit could be involved in such a trade, now that Rizzo is in the fold. With the Athletics having just traded Olson, they could presumably slot Voit into regular first base duty in Oakland. However, Voit only has three years of club control remaining before he hits free agency, while Oakland has been using this fire sale largely to stock up on prospects or players with very limited MLB exposure. Voit and his projected $5.4MM arbitration salary have more in common with the players Oakland has been trading away than those they’ve been acquiring.
Braves Sign Alex Dickerson
The Braves announced Wednesday that they’ve signed free-agent outfielder Alex Dickerson to a non-guaranteed Major League deal that comes with a $1MM base salary. Dickerson, a client of Moye Sports Associates, will be placed on the 40-man roster for now and report to Major League Spring Training.
After playing 95 games with the Padres over 2015 and 2016, a few injuries cost him two whole seasons, with a bulging disk and a torn UCL preventing him from playing at all in 2017 or 2018. Dickerson was able to have a nice comeback season in 2019, however, splitting his time between the Padres and Giants. He got into 68 games, making 190 plate appearances, hitting .276/.332/.489, wRC+ of 112.
2020 was a tremendous breakout for the outfielder, as he hit 10 home runs in the pandemic-shortened season, finishing the campaign with a line of .298/.371/.576, wRC+ of 151. Unfortunately, injuries struck yet again in 2021, limiting him to 111 games and a line of .233/.304/.420, wRC+ of 97. The Giants designated him for assignment in November to make room on the roster for Anthony DeSclafani.
For Atlanta, this is a low-risk gamble on a player who has shown flashes of brilliance when healthy. The $1MM is barely above the league minimum salary, which is now $700K in the new CBA. It’s also not guaranteed, meaning that the club wouldn’t be on the hook if Dickerson’s past injury issues linger into this year. As it’s a non-guaranteed deal, Dickerson would earn a lesser rate if he’s in the minors instead of with the big league team. He could theoretically reject an optional assignment given that he has more than five years of MLB service time, but it seems likely he signed such a deal with an awareness that spending some time in Triple-A could be a possibility.
For the Braves, their incredible run to the World Series last year involved acquiring a number of outfielders that were set to reach free agency at the end of the year: Jorge Soler, Joc Pederson and Eddie Rosario. They have since re-signed Rosario, who will join Adam Duvall, Marcell Ozuna, Guillermo Heredia, Orlando Arcia, Travis Demeritte and Drew Waters in the outfield mix. Ronald Acuna Jr. is still rehabbing from his torn ACL and is hoping to return by May. That somewhat crowded picture could be helped by this year’s implementation of the designated hitter for National League teams. Dickerson’s never really earned favorable ratings for his defense, making him a good fit for some time in the DH slot, especially considering his injury history.
Phillies Designate Yoan Lopez For Assignment
The Phillies announced today that they have designated right-hander Yoan Lopez for assignment. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for outfielder Odubel Herrera, whose signing is now official. Another move will be required for the signing of Kyle Schwarber, once that becomes official.
After Lopez defected from Cuba in 2014, the Diamondbacks signed him and gave him a bonus of $8.27MM. The club went over their international bonus allotment to do so, which was allowed under the CBA at that time. However, the penalty for doing so was that they were then prohibited from giving a bonus larger than $300K for the next two international signing periods.
Unfortunately, Lopez never really justified that aggressiveness. After a couple of years of mediocre results as a starter in the minors, Arizona moved him to a relief role. He made it to the majors in 2018 and threw out of the club’s bullpen over the next few years, making 113 appearances in that time, logging a total of 101 2/3 innings with a 4.25 ERA, 19.1% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.
After being designated for assignment in May of last year, Lopez was claimed by the Braves and spent the rest of the year with their Triple-A club. He threw 32 2/3 innings there with a 26.7% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate, finishing with an ERA of 3.03. Despite those encouraging results, Atlanta designated him for assignment when they acquired Jay Jackson in November, with the Phillies claiming him off waivers at that time. That makes this the third DFA in less than a year for Lopez. With the promise he showed in Triple-A, it seems likely he will be claimed again. He has just over two years of MLB service time and still can be optioned to the minors, meaning a team could take a chance on the 29-year-old and improve their bullpen depth.
Dodgers, Shane Greene Agree To Minor League Deal
The Dodgers have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran reliever Shane Greene, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Greene returns to Chavez Ravine after inking a Major League contract with the Dodgers last August, and appearing in nine games with the Dodgers down the stretch.
That brief stint in L.A. saw Greene post a 4.05 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, and an ungainly 16.7% walk rate over 6 2/3 innings of work. While nothing spectacular, it was still a big step up from Greene’s previous work last season — 17 innings out of the Braves bullpen that saw the right-hander struggle to an 8.47 ERA.
It was an unusual season overall for Greene, as his trip through free agency didn’t result in a deal of any kind until Atlanta signed him to a big league deal in May. The lack of a proper Spring Training undoubtedly had some impact on Greene’s performance, and while this season’s abbreviated spring camps are also not exactly normal, Greene will at least get some type of regular prep time as he tries to win a job in the Los Angeles bullpen.
Greene has been a little inconsistent since becoming a full-time reliever in 2017, yet he has posted some very strong numbers when at his best. The right-hander enjoyed very solid seasons in 2017 and 2019 while pitching with the Tigers (serving as Detroit’s closer and reaching the All-Star Game in 2019) and delivered another good year over 27 2/3 frames with Atlanta in the shortened 2020 season. However, Greene has never been a big strikeout pitcher even in his prime, and since the advanced metrics take a dimmer view of his performance than his real-world numbers, it could explain why Greene languished for so long on the open market last offseason.
If Greene can return to his old form, the Dodgers may have found a reliable and durable bullpen arm at a relative bargain price. L.A. has assembled quite a collection of notable relievers in camp on minors deals, as Greene joins a list that includes Reyes Moronta, Carson Fulmer, Yency Almonte, Bobby Wahl, and Sam Gaviglio.
Braves Re-Sign Eddie Rosario
The Braves have re-signed free agent outfielder Eddie Rosario to a two-year, $18MM contract with a club option for the 2024 season, the team announced. Rosario will earn $9MM in each of the next two seasons. The Braves didn’t announce the value of the 2024 option, but The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that it’s also at $9MM, with no buyout. Rosario is represented by Roc Nation Sports.
Rosario, 30, landed with the Braves in a midseason salary dump after a generally unproductive start to the season in Cleveland. The longtime Twins left fielder had signed a one-year, $8MM there after being non-tendered by Minnesota but hit just .254/.296/.389 in 306 plate appearances before landing on the injured list due to an abdominal strain. The Braves acquired Rosario knowing he’d need some additional time to mend, but it’s doubtful even their most bullish projections could’ve foreseen what laid ahead.
Activated from the 10-day IL on Aug. 27, Rosario exploded with a .271/.330/.573 showing in 96 plate appearances down the stretch in Atlanta. He seven home runs, four doubles and a pair of triples during that hot streak — and that production alone would’ve made the acquisition well worth it. Rosario, however, carried that production into the postseason — at least for the National League Championship Series.
After a mostly nondescript three games in the NLDS, Rosario again stole the spotlight with a blistering 14-for-25 effort that included three home runs, a double, a triple and nine runs driven in. Following that showing, Rosario’s crowning as NLCS MVP was a foregone conclusion. His production dried up during the World Series (5-for-22), but Rosario’s overall production with the Braves and those postseason heroics resulted in a solid payday and what figures to be an everyday role in Atlanta.
The up-and-down nature of Rosario’s 2021 season wasn’t exactly anomalous in nature. He’s been prone to torrid hot streaks and pronounced cold streaks throughout his big league career, thanks in part to a hyperaggressive approach at the plate. Rosario has strong bat-to-ball skills, evidenced by a strikeout rate of just 14.7% across the past three seasons. However, he’s also walked in fewer than five percent of his big league plate appearances, and over the past three seasons he has the game’s 13th-highest swing percentage (55.8%) and 11th-highest chase percentage (43%). Rosario excels at making contact even on those pitches off the plate, but in chasing so frequently, he gives up some opportunities to capitalize on his above-average power by driving better pitches.
Defensively, Rosario is more of a mixed bag. He’s played all over the outfield but is best suited in the corners, where he has ample arm strength that led to some gaudy assist totals, particularly early in his tenure with the Twins. Defensive metrics have soured on his work in recent seasons, but there’s an immense gulf between the most bullish and most bearish measures of evaluation. Defensive Runs Saved, for instance, credits Rosario with a +2 mark in 2021 — but Statcast’s Outs Above Average grades him at -17, which is the worst mark among all Major League outfielders. Year-to-year looks at defensive metrics can offer great fluctuation, but taken in larger samples, each of DRS, UZR and OAA give him negative grades dating back to 2017.
None of that’s to say Rosario is a poor investment for the Braves, particularly at these terms. His approach at the plate has worked for him, as evidenced by a solid .275/.309/.473 batting line (105 wRC+) and 133 home runs through 3242 career plate appearances. He’s posted single-season home run totals of 27 (2017) and 32 (2019) in the past, so he has the potential to be a prominent source of power in the Braves’ lineup over the next couple seasons. His overall offensive production is curbed a bit by the frequent swings and lack of walks, but Rosario has been a generally above-average hitter who’ll pair with Adam Duvall, Marcell Ozuna and, once healthy, Ronald Acuna Jr. in what should be a productive outfield/designated hitter carousel in Atlanta.
In order to clear space on the 40-man roster, Atlanta placed starter Mike Soroka on the 60-day injured list. Soroka underwent a second Achilles surgery last June that was expected to sideline him into July, so it’s no surprise he won’t be ready for at least the first two months of the season.