Red Sox Notes: Free Agency, Bogaerts, Payroll
The Red Sox have signed five free agent pitchers — Michael Wacha, James Paxton, Rich Hill, Matt Strahm and Jake Diekman — so far this winter. Their only meaningful change on the position player front, though, was arguably a downgrade in 2022. An hour before the lockout, Boston traded Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers in a deal that brought Jackie Bradley Jr. back to Fenway Park.
While the Sox have yet to pull off a meaningful upgrade to their position player mix, they’ve been at least loosely tied to a few of free agency’s top names. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network suggested this morning they could be in the mix for Freddie Freeman. They’re reportedly among the teams in the running for star NPB outfielder Seiya Suzuki. Before the lockout, reports tied them to each of Carlos Correa and Trevor Story.
There are myriad possibilities the Boston front office could pursue, a fact chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom acknowledged when speaking with reporters yesterday (via Jen McCaffrey of the Athletic). “We talked about this before the lockout … that we do still want to add position players to the group,” Bloom said. “The (Renfroe) trade we made on December 1 kind of flipped our lineup balance a little bit to where we have an opening for a right-handed bat. That said, in this period, especially with so much going on and so many conversations, we want to be nimble enough to take advantage of all opportunities.”
Bloom declined to specify an area of positional target, pointing to the flexibility Enrique Hernández affords the club with his ability to capably man both center field and second base. That’s been reinforced by the wide array of players they’ve reportedly inquired about, but their ties to the top two free agent shortstops are made more difficult by the presence of their All-Star in-house option there.
Speaking with reporters (including Christopher Smith of MassLive) this afternoon, Xander Bogaerts didn’t sound enamored with the possibility of changing positions to accommodate an external addition. “I’m a shortstop, man. That’s where I’ve played my whole career and obviously a position I take a lot of pride in,” the 29-year-old said. “I love being there.” Bogaerts said he and the team haven’t broached the possibility of a position change.
If Bogaerts remains steadfastly against moving off shortstop, that’d complicate any efforts by the Red Sox to make a legitimate push for Correa or Story. Correa is one of the game’s preeminent defenders at the position, coming off a Gold Glove winning campaign. Story is reportedly intent on signing with a team that’ll keep him at shortstop. It seems unlikely at this point that either will sign with a team that’s unwilling to make space for them at the infield’s most demanding position.
Unlike Correa or Story, Bogaerts doesn’t have the freedom to choose a team for 2022. Yet he will have the option of testing the open market next offseason, as he can opt out of the final three years and $60MM on his deal at the end of this season. Given how well he’s played in recent seasons, he’s certainly on a path towards triggering the opt-out, leaving Bloom and his staff to determine whether they want earmark some future funds away for a potential extension. (Star third baseman Rafael Devers is down to his final two years of arbitration control as well).
The Red Sox should have plenty of long-term flexibility, however. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource projects their luxury tax payroll for the 2022 season at $213MM, a fair bit shy of the $230MM base tax threshold. Looking ahead to 2023, a wide swath of post-2022 free agents and a potential Bogaerts opt-out could see that number plummet to just $60MM, leaving plenty of spots to be filled on the team’s active roster and a huge amount of funds with which to fill them. Bloom acknowledged as much, teasing that future financial flexibility “opens more options for us, maybe (more) than we’ve been working with the last couple years.”
Pirates Re-Sign Chase De Jong To Minor League Deal
The Pirates appear to have resigned right-handed pitcher Chase De Jong to a minor league pact per Jason Mackey of the Post Gazette. De Jong was spotted in Pittsburgh’s Major League camp today, signaling his status as a likely non-roster invitee.
The 28-year-old De Jong returns to Pittsburgh after spending the duration of the 2021 season at the Triple-A and Major League levels for the team. While the well-traveled De Jong flashed tantalizing strikeout potential in his limited Triple-A action last season, that skillset didn’t quite translate to the big leagues after he was called up in late May of last year. An errant line drive struck De Jong in the knee in July, ultimately ending his season and leading to knee surgery. He was subsequently outrighted off Pittsburgh’s roster and elected minor league free agency in November.
All told, De Jong soaked up over 43 innings across 9 starts before his knee injury, sporting a 5.77 ERA with uninspiring peripherals. Despite the lack of results, the right-hander may serve as a source of innings for an unproven Pittsburgh pitching staff that largely remains in “let’s see what happens” mode.
A former second round pick, De Jong has yet to find much success at the Major League level but continues to get looks. Now in his sixth organization, the journeyman pitcher has pitched at least one inning at the game’s highest level in five straight seasons. He’s likely to keep that streak going if his knee proves fully recovered in the weeks to follow.
Lance McCullers Jr. To Miss Start Of 2022 Season
Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is set to start the 2022 season on the IL, he told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart). The right-handed pitcher continues to rehab the flexor tendon in his pitching arm that was injured during last year’s playoffs. Surgery does not appear to be in the cards at this time, and McCullers stressed he’s not dealing with a UCL issue (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).
While it’s still uncertain when McCullers will be able to return atop Houston’s rotation— currently he’s not even cleared to throw— Astros brass and fans should be encouraged by the news that their pitcher has not been recommended to head down the surgical route. The 28-year-old was already known to be behind in his recovery, with MLB’s lockout disrupting that recovery process, but there was still some ambiguity about the status of the player’s health.
Fortunately, several doctors have confirmed that the 2018 Tommy John recipient has not re-injured his UCL and instead have advised non-surgical PRP injections and stem cell therapy to treat the ailing tendon. This course of action is certainly preferable to a season-derailing surgery, though it still serves as an inauspicious beginning to the $85MM extension agreed upon by player and team early last year. Even with continued rehab progress and no further setbacks, McTaggart writes that McCullers figures to be out of commission “well into April,” owing to a need to build up the starter’s pitch count.
Houston will be hard-pressed to fill the shoes of their #2 pitcher behind veteran ace Justin Verlander, as the righty posted a stout 3.16 ERA and 27.1 K% across 162 plus innings last year. Difficult as that production may be to replace however, the Astros have a stable of arms who showed ample promise in the big leagues last year. Assuming good health, each of José Urquidy, Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier and veteran Jake Odorizzi should do an adequate job holding down the fort until the homegrown McCullers is ready to take the hill again.
Should Houston’s top decision-makers go the way of other teams in recent days and add to their rotation depth, they will likely have the means to do so. Thanks to the new CBA, the Astros have more than $33MM to spend before hitting the first luxury tax threshold in the eyes of RosterResource, and none of the remaining pitchers on the free agent market figure to be too cost prohibitive. It remains to be seen if a deal with more Major League pitching is even on Houston’s radar, particularly if rumblings of a Carlos Correa reunion add another large salary to the books, but the Astros appear capable of weathering McCullers’ absence regardless of how the next few weeks unfold.
Showalter: McNeil In Line To Start For Mets At Second Base
The Mets have signed each of Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha to multi-year contracts this offseason. They’re also set to welcome Robinson Canó back from a performance-enhancing drug suspension that cost him his entire 2021 campaign. The influx of players who weren’t available to the Mets last year reshuffled the offensive group and led to plenty of speculation about the future of some in-house options.
Specifically, Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis have been oft-mentioned trade candidates. It’s still theoretically possible any of that trio finds themselves on the move, but first-year manager Buck Showalter told reporters this afternoon that he envisioned McNeil as the club’s primary second baseman this season.
Regarding whether he planned to divide second base duties between McNeil and Canó, Showalter said he viewed it as the former’s job. “I don’t think it will be split. Mac will get the majority [of playing time] there,” he said (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Asked about Canó’s role, Showalter replied “I think Robbie knows he’s not going to play second base for us as much as he wants to. But we hope he’s not a pure DH either. There’s the potential for him to play some first base if needed. I wouldn’t put him in the outfield.”
Obviously, the presence of Canó and Escobar would give the Mets options at second base were they to entertain trading McNeil over the coming weeks. Yet Showalter’s comments suggest it’s likelier he’ll remain in Queens and pick up the bulk of the playing time at the keystone. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for just a $2.8MM salary this season and controllable through 2024 via arbitration, the 29-year-old McNeil could remain in Flushing for a while if the Mets elect to keep him around.
McNeil didn’t debut in the majors until his age-26 season, but he hit the ground running. His excellent bat-to-ball skills translated to the game’s highest level, and he posted a .319/.383/.501 mark in a bit more than 1000 plate appearances over his first three MLB seasons. Yet while McNeil continued to make plenty of contact last season, his results on batted balls went backwards. The lefty hitter has never been a huge power threat, but last year’s .109 ISO (slugging minus batting average) was easily a career worst. His batting average on balls in play — which had been north of .330 in each of his first three seasons — fell to .280. As a result, McNeil posted below-average offensive numbers (.251/.319/.360 with seven homers in 426 plate appearances) for the first time in his career.
Trading McNeil this winter might’ve been a sell-low move. It’d certainly behoove the win-now Mets if they held onto him and he regained his 2018-20 form. Escobar, who’s coming off a .253/.314/.472 showing between the Diamondbacks and Brewers, seems like he’ll primarily factor in at third base. That’d leave Canó bouncing between second base, first base and designated hitter, although he’s unlikely to be the top option at any of those positions.
Pete Alonso will obviously hold down first. If McNeil takes second with Escobar at third most days, that’d push both Davis and Smith into the corner outfield/DH mix. With a presumptive primary outfield of Canha, Marte and Brandon Nimmo, each of Davis, Smith and Canó could find themselves jostling for playing time if they’re all on the roster.
Davis and Smith would figure to have a decent amount of trade appeal, but it’s hard to envision New York finding a taker for Canó. He’s still due $48MM through 2023 ($24MM in each season). Releasing him wouldn’t save the Mets any money, though, so there’s little reason not to gauge the 39-year-old’s form if he’s willing to take on a bat-first role off the bench. It’s difficult to know whether he has anything left in the tank at his age and coming off a 162-game PED ban, but Canó didn’t show any signs of slowing down when last permitted to take the field. The eight-time All-Star hit .316/.352/.544 in 182 trips to the plate during the shortened 2020 season.
Jose Martinez Signs With Mexican League’s Acereros De Monclova
Jose Martinez has joined the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League, according to a team announcement.
Martinez broke into the big leagues in 2016 and built a reputation as a bat-first player. Though his defense at first base and in the outfield corners was clearly lacking, he could certainly hit. Spending 2016 to 2019 with the Cardinals, he played 398 games and got 1,288 plate appearances, hitting .298/.363/.458, wRC+ of 122.
Prior to the 2020 season, the Cardinals traded Martinez, Randy Arozarena and a draft pick to the Rays for Matthew Liberatore, Edgardo Rodriguez and a draft pick. His production slipped a bit in the pandemic-shortened season, as he hit .239/.329/.388 for the Rays, before being dealt to the Cubs and not hitting at all in ten games there, finishing the season with a line of .182/.265/.295.
After the Cubs non-tendered him, he was signed by the Mets for the 2021 campaign. Unfortunately, he collided with an umpire in a Spring Training game, suffered a torn meniscus in his knee and never made it back to the big leagues. The club outrighted him at the end of the year.
This is the latest in a string of former big leaguers who have joined up with the Acereros. The club has also signed Josh Reddick, Pablo Sandoval and Keon Broxton in recent weeks.
Braves Sign Collin McHugh
The Braves have announced that they’ve signed right-hander Collin McHugh to a two-year deal with a $10MM guarantee. The 34-year-old will make $4MM this year and $5MM next year. There’s also a $6MM club option for 2024 with a $1MM buyout.
McHugh struggled in his first taste of MLB action with the Mets and Rockies, but then established himself as a quality starter with the Astros. From 2014 to 2017, he made 102 starts, throwing 606 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.70, 22.3% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate. In that last year, he missed the first half of the season with arm injuries, but returned in July to make 12 starts and appear in two playoff games out of the bullpen, as the Astros went on to win the 2017 World Series.
From there, McHugh transitioned into a bullpen role and found immediate success, frequently pitching more than one inning. In 2018, he got into 58 games and threw 72 1/3 innings with an ERA of 1.99, 33.2% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. In 2019, he tried returning to the rotation, making eight starts at the beginning of the season. That experiment didn’t go well, as he had an ERA of 6.37 in that time. But after transitioning back to the ‘pen, he got things back on track, throwing 33 2/3 innings over the remainder of the season with a 2.67 ERA.
However, despite those positive results, 2019 finished with yet another arm injury as his last appearance was in August. In 2020, he signed on with the Red Sox but the elbow issues lingered and he ended up opting out of the entire season. The Rays signed him to a $1.8MM deal for 2021, which turned into a tremendous bounceback season for McHugh. Despite multiple trips to the IL, he got into 37 games and logged 64 innings with a 1.55 ERA, 30% strikeout rate and 4.9% walk rate.
For the defending World Series champion Braves, their bullpen took a hit at the end of the season, as Richard Rodriguez, Josh Tomlin, Jesse Chavez and Chris Martin hit free agency, with Chavez and Martin both signing with the Cubs in recent days. McHugh will try to compensate for those losses, slotting into the bullpen next to other high-leverage options such as Will Smith, Tyler Matzek, Luke Jackson and A.J. Minter. The club will also be hoping for Kirby Yates, who missed last year due to Tommy John surgery, to join this group at some point.
Rays Re-Sign Cody Reed To Minor League Deal
The Rays announced this evening they’ve re-signed reliever Cody Reed to a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB Spring Training. Tampa Bay had outrighted him off their 40-man roster in November, at which point he elected free agency.
Reed has to pitch his way back onto the Rays’ big league club, but he’s appeared in the majors in each of the past six seasons. Originally a Royals draftee, Reed was traded to the Reds as part of the 2015 Johnny Cueto deal. He blossomed into one of the game’s top pitching prospects during his days with Cincinnati, but he never found consistent success in their rotation.
The left-hander debuted with ten starts for the Reds in 2016, but he was hit hard to the tune of a 7.36 ERA. He bounced on and off the roster over the next couple seasons, generally performing alright with Triple-A Louisville but never carrying that over into MLB success. The Reds moved him to the bullpen full-time in 2019, but he couldn’t carve out a permanent big league role there either. Cincinnati designated him for assignment in 2020, and Tampa Bay acquired him for pitching prospect Riley O’Brien.
Reed made 12 appearances with the Rays last season, allowing five runs in 9 2/3 innings. He struck out seven batters against six walks while dealing with a velocity drop, as his average fastball fell from the 94-95 MPH range to just north of 92 MPH. That may have been attributable to poor health, as Reed was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and underwent surgery in early June. That ended his season, but it was reported at the time of his surgery that he should be a full-go for Spring Training.
All told, Reed owns a 5.22 ERA in 136 1/3 career innings at the big league level. That’s inflated by his rough numbers as a starter, as he has a 2.77 mark in 47 relief appearances. Even when isolating to his performance out of the bullpen, Reed’s strikeout and walk numbers (21.5% and 13.7%, respectively) aren’t good. Yet he’s induced ground-balls at a huge 54.7% clip and held left-handed hitters to a .237/.329/.321 line as a reliever. He could again emerge as a situational option for skipper Kevin Cash if he’s now recovered from the thoracic outlet procedure.
White Sox Discussing Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas Trades With A’s
It’s been long suspected that the Athletics were going to undergo a roster teardown after the lockout. Those predictions have been coming true in recent days, as the club has already traded Chris Bassitt to the Mets and Matt Olson to the Braves. Among their most likely trade candidates, they still have third baseman Matt Chapman, along with starting pitchers Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. When it comes to those pitchers, the White Sox are among the teams interested, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
The Pale Hose already have an excellent front three in their rotation with Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito and Dylan Cease. However, there are some question marks in the backend. For one, Dallas Keuchel had a rough season last year, throwing 162 innings with an ERA of 5.28. As for Michael Kopech, he missed most of 2018 and all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and then opted out of the 2020 pandemic season. Last year was mostly about getting him re-acclimated to pitching and building up his arm strength. While he fared well, putting up an ERA of 3.50, he only amassed 69 1/3 innings. While he may be able to handle a starter’s workload this year, it’s certainly not a sure thing.
In terms of depth, the club has Jonathan Stiever and Jimmy Lambert on the 40-man. Both are optionable and likely to be in Triple-A until an injury creates a need for their services. Vince Velasquez was also just signed to bolster the depth, perhaps serving as a long man out of the bullpen to start the year.
Adding Manaea or Montas to this group and bumping everyone down a peg would surely bolster the staff as a whole. 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.
One obstacle the White Sox might face is their farm system, or lack thereof. On Baseball America’s most recent Organization Talent Rankings, the club’s system came dead last. In order to pull off a major trade, they would have to further deplete what it already arguably the weakest system in the league.
However, the club will surely want to take advantage of what is a very strong MLB team that just made the postseason in back-t0-back seasons for the first time in their 120-year history. With the Twins and Guardians still aiming to compete and the Tigers making strong moves to emerge from a rebuild, the South Siders may be willing to take that hit to strike while their competitive window is wide open.
Mariners, Mike Ford Agree To Minor League Contract
The Mariners are in agreement on a minor league deal with first baseman Mike Ford, as was first reported by MLB Transactions Daily (on Twitter). Ford has since confirmed the agreement on Instagram.
It’ll technically be Ford’s second stint with Seattle, as the M’s selected him out of the Yankees organization in the Rule 5 draft over the 2017-18 offseason. He partook in Spring Training with the Mariners but ultimately failed to crack the roster. Seattle returned him to New York a few days before Opening Day, and he spent that year with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Ford would eventually get a big league look, though, as he was selected to New York’s MLB roster in April 2019. The left-handed hitter played in 50 games as a rookie and had an excellent showing. He popped 12 home runs in 163 plate appearances, posting a cumulative .259/.350/.559 slash line. He hasn’t managed to follow up on that strong start to his big league career, though. Over the past two years, he’s combined for just a .134/.250/.276 mark in 156 trips to the plate.
Amidst those recent struggles, the Yankees designated Ford for assignment last June. He was traded to the Rays but didn’t appear in the majors before Tampa Bay designated him themselves two months later. The Nationals claimed him off waivers and stashed him in Triple-A for the rest of the season. He struggled to a .202/.284/.337 line with their top affiliate, though, and never earned a big league call in the nation’s capital. Washington non-tendered the Princeton product at the end of the season.
Ford now needs to try and play his way back onto a 40-man roster. He’ll get a look in Seattle, which is set to open the year with Ty France at first base. Former top prospect Evan White remains on the 40-man but seems likely to start the season in Triple-A, where he’ll need to right the ship offensively. The 29-year-old Ford, owner of a .258/.350/.488 line in parts of four years at the minors’ highest level, adds some experienced depth to that first base/designated hitter group in camp.
Outfield Market Rumors: Laureano, Castellanos, Soler, Pederson
While he isn’t drawing as many headlines as some of his teammates, Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano is among the team’s more popular trade targets, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Interest in Laureano is only natural, given Oakland’s willingness to listen on virtually any player and the dearth of center-field options remaining in free agency. That said, Laureano’s trade candidacy is a bit muddier than that of teammates like Matt Chapman, Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea and Lou Trivino.
The 27-year-old Laureano is currently in the midst of an 80-game PED ban that still has 27 games left to serve. Prior to the suspension, Laureano was on pace to reach free agency following the 2024 season, but the service time he’ll miss due to this suspension now makes it appear likely that his path to free agency will be pushed back until after the 2025 campaign. With a potential four seasons of control over Laureano as opposed to three, the A’s may be less inclined to part ways with him — or at least to ask a higher price in return.
Since coming over from the Astros as a generally unheralded prospect in the 2017-18 offseason, Laureano has given the A’s 313 games and 1257 plate appearances of .263/.335/.465 production while playing strong defense around the outfield. He’s swatted 49 home runs and swiped 34 bases in that time as well.
Some more notes on the outfield market as a whole…
- In the hours after Derek Jeter left the Marlins, reports indicated that part of the rift that had grown between Jeter and principal owner Bruce Sherman stemmed from a shift in Sherman’s payroll expectations. Nick Castellanos, in particular, was a rumored target of Jeter, with MLB Network’s Jon Heyman suggesting that Jeter had been willing to green-light a five-year offer for the front office to put forward. While Sherman himself pushed back on those reports just this week and emphasized that the Marlins plan to spend money post-lockout, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets that the Marlins’ pursuit of Castellanos has indeed cooled off considerably. Ownership, according to Jackson, is no longer comfortable making that type of commitment to Castellanos. That said, Jackson emphasizes that the Castellanos shift is “not the main reason Jeter is gone” but rather one of many issues that contributed to the divide between Jeter and Sherman. Jackson writes that they’ve checked in with the reps for free agent corner outfielder Jorge Soler, who turned things around upon a midseason trade from the Royals to the Braves last season.
- The Guardians are among the teams with interest in free-agent outfielder Joc Pederson, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Beyond center fielder Myles Straw, there’s little to no certainty in the Cleveland outfield. Highly-regarded prospect Steven Kwan appears ready for a look after a huge showing between Double-A and Triple-A last year, but he’s yet to actually make his MLB debut. Meanwhile, Bradley Zimmer and Oscar Mercado both turned in below-average performances at the plate. The Guardians seem all but certain to bring in some outfield help, and Pederson would make sense as a potential platoon pairing with Mercado, who batted .294/.381/.435 against lefties even in a down year overall.
- Thomas Harding of MLB.com tweets that the Rockies have also shown some interest in Joc Pederson. Colorado has been linked to bigger-ticket outfielders in their search for offensive help, although it seems Pederson’s at least on the radar as a possible fallback option. The past two seasons have been fairly disappointing for Pederson, who looked like a middle-of-the-order caliber bat (at least against right-handed pitching) during his early days with the Dodgers. Since the start of 2020, he’s a .227/.304/.416 hitter over 619 plate appearances.