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Nippon-Ham Fighters Re-Sign Drew VerHagen

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The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters have re-signed right-hander Drew VerHagen to a new contract, the team announced earlier this week.  The 30-year-old will return to Japan for a second season after a successful 2020 campaign.

A veteran of six MLB seasons, VerHagen posted a 5.11 ERA, 2.08 K/BB rate, 53.9% grounder rate, and 7.1 K/9 over 199 innings with the Tigers from 2014-19.  As you might expect for a groundball specialist, VerHagen’s performance tended to ebb and flow based on his BABIP, with his three highest single-season ERAs (in 2016, 2017, and 2019) coinciding with his three largest BABIP totals.

With his Major League career not making much progress, VerHagen signed with the Fighters last winter, saying that he was “excited” by the chance to work as a starting pitcher.  (He started only eight of his 127 games with Detroit.)  VerHagen took advantage of his new opportunity in 2020, posting a 3.22 ERA, 3.97 K/BB rate, and 9.3 K/9 over 111 2/3 innings for the Fighters.

Hiroshima Carp Acquire Kevin Cron, Dovydas Neverauskas

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Catching up on some signings from earlier this week, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball agreed to one-year deals with first baseman Kevin Cron and right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas.  According to Sports Hochi (hat tip to Patrick Newman of NPBTracker), Cron will earn $1.1MM in the form of an $800K salary and a $300K bonus, while Neverauskas will earn $625K in salary and a $250K bonus.

Cron and Neverauskas were released by the Diamondbacks and Pirates, respectively, within the last month.  It was known at the time that the two players were heading to a team overseas, though specifics weren’t known until the Carp’s announcement.

Since the Diamondbacks have several first base options on the roster, GM Mike Hazen told the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro that “we just felt like if we couldn’t carve out legit opportunity for [Cron,] we should keep in mind there is a window by which he has an opportunity to make money.”  The D’Backs received $500K from the Carp in exchange for Cron’s rights.

After hitting 151 homers over 2765 plate appearances in the Diamondbacks’ minor league system, Cron showed some of that power in his 2019 rookie season, swatting six homers in 79 PA at the MLB level.  Cron couldn’t build on this start, however, and went hitless in 20 plate appearances in 2020, appearing in only eight games for Arizona.

Cron told Piecoro that the move to Japan is “bittersweet” since he enjoyed his time with the D’Backs, but as he heads into his age-28 season, “I might not get this chance again.  It’s a chance to go over there and learn as much as I can and maybe further my game even more and see what happens.”

The only Lithuanian-born player in MLB history, Neverauskas got his big league career off to a solid start in 2017, posting a 3.91 ERA over 25 1/3 relief innings for Pittsburgh.  After that debut year, however, the righty simply couldn’t get on track, as Neverauskas struggled to keep the ball in the yard.  Over 80 2/3 innings with the Bucs from 2017-20, Neverauskas posted a 6.81 ERA, 2.20 K/BB rate, 8.6 K/9, and a whopping 2.2 HR/9.

Looking for silver linings from that performance, Neverauskas did increase his strikeout totals every year, and he has solid velocity on a fastball that averaged 94.8mph (though his velo has steadily dropped after a 97mph average in 2017).  ERA predictors also indicate at least a slightly more favorable perspective on Neverauskas’ results than his 6.81 ERA does, as he has a 5.94 FIP, 4.72 xFIP, and 4.33 SIERA over his Pirates career.

Transaction Retrospection: White Sox’s Yasmani Grandal Signing

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On this date a year ago, the White Sox signed All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal to a four-year, $73MM free agent contract. That proved to be the biggest splash of an eventful 2019-20 offseason for the South Siders, who also extended face of the franchise (and future MVP) José Abreu and brought in Dallas Keuchel and Edwin Encarnación.

Chicago’s active offseason clearly signaled they believed their rebuild was through. The hope was that Grandal’s two-way prowess would help solidify the pitching staff and add some offense to a lineup that had been below-average in 2019. In the first year of the deal, the 32-year-old delivered.

Grandal posted a .230/.351/.422 slash line with eight home runs over 194 plate appearances. A spike in strikeouts contributed to that meager .230 batting average, but Grandal more than offset that by drawing plenty of walks and hitting for power. His 117 wRC+ indicates he was seventeen points better than the league average hitter this past season. That’s right in line with his career production and not too far off the pace of his prior two years.

Single-season defensive metrics are quite fluky; that’s all the more true in a season prorated to sixty games. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting Grandal also rated as a top five pitch framer in the sport in 2020, per Statcast. That’s par for the course, as the former first-rounder perennially rates as one of the league’s best at stealing strikes. He also cut down six of thirteen attempted base stealers. There’s no question Grandal was a key piece of Chicago’s 35-25 record, which was enough to qualify for the expanded postseason format.

Grandal’s continued presence on the roster is a big reason the Sox aren’t expected to re-sign James McCann, who profiles as the second-best catcher on the market this offseason on the heels of a monster 2020 effort. Wherever McCann ends up, the White Sox should still have one of the league’s best catching situations. GM Rick Hahn and the rest of the front office have to be pleased with the initial return on their biggest investment last winter.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Happ, Osuna, Yankees, Chapman

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Some notes from around the league:

  • The Rangers have expressed interest in free agent left-hander J.A. Happ, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link). Texas is expected to work younger players into the fold after posting the worst record in the American League in 2020. Nevertheless, the Rangers figure to explore the market for plenty of lower-cost starting pitchers this winter, particularly if they trade Lance Lynn before his final year under contract. The 38-year-old Happ put up a 4.57 ERA across 210.2 innings with the Yankees from 2019-20. He’s also known to have drawn some attention from the Angels, likely among plenty of others.
  • The Pirates designated José Osuna for assignment yesterday, suggesting they were prepared to non-tender him rather than pay his projected $1.1MM arbitration salary. The organization expects Osuna to pursue an opportunity in Asia, general manager Ben Cherington told reporters (including Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic). It isn’t yet clear if that job is in Japan’s NPB or in South Korea’s KBO. The 27-year-old (28 in December) hit .241/.280/.430 over 705 plate appearances for Pittsburgh over the past four seasons.
  • Aroldis Chapman will now serve a two-game suspension to start the 2021 season, relays Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The Yankees reliever was originally suspended three games for (intentionally, in MLB’s determination) throwing a pitch near the head of Rays infielder Mike Brosseau. Chapman managed to shave a game off on appeal. Brosseau, of course, went on to hit a series-winning home run off Chapman a month later during Tampa Bay’s run to the American League pennant.

Cubs Sign Five Players To Minor-League Deals

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The Cubs signed five players to minor-league contracts earlier this week. Outfielder Rafael Ortega, right-hander Jake Jewell, catcher Taylor Gushue and left-hander Jerry Vasto are all joining the organization, relays Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. (Marc Delucchi had previously reported Vasto’s signing). Additionally, outfielder Ian Miller has re-signed with Chicago, as noted by MLB.com’s transactions tracker.

The pair of outfielders are probably the most notable players involved. Miller was once a decently-regarded speed/defense prospect in the Mariners’ system. The 28-year-old has logged 18 MLB plate appearances between the Twins and Cubs over the past two seasons. Ortega has seen big league time in four seasons, picking up 447 plate appearances between the Rockies, Angels, Marlins and Braves. The 29-year-old has a career .229/.287/.290 slash line.

Jewell tossed 28.1 relief innings for the 2018-19 Angels. He got knocked around for a 6.99 ERA/6.67 FIP despite mid-90’s velocity. The 27-year-old made it into the Giants’ 60-man player pool in 2020 but didn’t see any MLB action. Similarly, Gushue got to the Nationals’ alternate training site this summer but never made the majors. The former fourth-rounder has a career .240/.309/.396 line in six minor-league seasons. Vasto, 28, pitched in six MLB games with the Rockies and Royals in 2018. He hasn’t seen any game action since, having spent all of 2019 on the minor-league injured list.

Red Sox Finalize Coaching Staff

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The Red Sox finalized their 2021 coaching staff on Friday (relayed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive). As expected, Will Venable comes over from the Cubs to be Alex Cora’s bench coach. Also joining the staff is former Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, who will step into the newly-created game planning coordinator role. Varitek has worked in various positions in the Boston organization since wrapping up his playing career in 2011. His new job will make him a full-time member of the coaching staff for the first time, Cotillo notes.

Otherwise, most of the 2020 staff is set to return. Hitting coach Tim Hyers, assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse, base coaches Tom Goodwin and Carlos Febles, and pitching coach Dave Bush are all back to reprise their previous roles. Kevin Walker has been promoted from assistant pitching coach to bullpen coach (replacing Craig Bjornson), while Ramón Vázquez has been moved up to quality control coach.

The most notable addition to the Boston staff is obviously Cora, who was again hired as manager after serving a one-year suspension for his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. The 45-year-old skipper is plenty familiar with most of the holdovers, having managed the Red Sox from 2018-19.

Mets’ Amed Rosario “Likely” To Play Multiple Positions In 2021

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A Mets official tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Amed Rosario becoming a multi-positional player is “likely in the cards” for 2021.  Rosario has almost exclusively played shortstop during his eight pro seasons, apart from seven games as a third baseman in the minors and one game in left field at the MLB level.

This isn’t the first time a position change has been weighed for Rosario, as the Mets considered him as a center field candidate back in June 2019.  Nothing came of the idea, however, and perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that around that same time, Rosario went on the hottest hitting stretch of his young career.  After batting .322/.353/.453 over his final 372 plate appearances of the 2019 season, Rosario seemed to solidify his claim as New York’s shortstop of the future, but he struggled in 2020.  This opened the door for Andres Gimenez to claim an increasingly large share of the shortstop playing time down the stretch.

It should be noted that the Mets have apparently not run the idea of a position change past Rosario or his agent Ulises Cabrera, who tells Sherman that “as far as we are concerned, Amed Rosario is the starting shortstop of the New York Mets, and he’s working out and preparing as such.”  As such, Rosario isn’t planning to start working out at other positions either in his personal offseason work or in a more organized environment like winter ball.

Rosario’s glovework at shortstop has long been a question mark, though he did make some progress on that front in the eyes of some metrics.  Over 322 1/3 innings at the position last season, Rosario had a +2 Outs Above Average and a +3.5 UZR/150.  (The Defensive Runs Saved metric remains unimpressed with Rosario’s work, as he posted -3 DRS.)  While it is understandable that Rosario would want to remain the regular shortstop, becoming a more versatile defensive player would theoretically add to his overall value.  Or, perhaps Rosario would reveal himself as a plus defender at second base, third base, or in the outfield.

The rumors of a Francisco Lindor trade continue to loom over the Mets’ shortstop plans, though Sherman feels the Mets might have enough depth at the position to forego a pursuit of Lindor for the time being.  Sherman opines that the Mets could keep Gimenez at shortstop in 2021 to explore what they have in him, which also allows more time for top prospect Ronny Mauricio to get more seasoning in the minors or in another alternate training-site scenario depending on what happens with next year’s minor league season.  If the Mets aren’t satisfied with what they see from Rosario, Gimenez, or Mauricio, they could explore a trade for a shortstop in-season (perhaps with one of the current trio going the other way in a deal), or maybe just wait to sign one of the many outstanding shortstops who are scheduled to hit free agency next winter.

NL East Notes: Kingston, Phillies, Marlins, Kintzler, deGrom

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The Phillies are considering Dodgers assistant GM Jeff Kingston for their general manager position, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (Twitter link).  Kingston joins a rather short list of names linked to the Phils’ front office search thus far, as former Marlins GM Michael Hill is also expected to interview for the president of baseball operations position and the Phillies will also make something of a longer-shot appeal to gauge Theo Epstein’s interest in the PoBO role.

Kingston has been the Dodgers’ AGM for the last two seasons and worked in the same role with the Mariners from 2016-18, also briefly serving as Seattle’s interim general manager before Jerry Dipoto was hired.  Most recently, Kingston was a finalist for the Angels’ GM opening before Perry Minasian was hired.  It would be somewhat unusual if the Phillies hired Kingston or anyone else as general manager before hiring a president of baseball ops, though it remains to be seen if Philadelphia is necessarily embarking on a full-fledged search, since it remains possible that current PoBO Andy MacPhail and interim GM Ned Rice could remain in their current roles through the 2021 season.

More from around the NL East…

  • As of Wednesday, the Marlins hadn’t made Brandon Kintzler a new contract offer, The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson reports.  The Marlins declined their 2021 club option on Kintzler (worth $4MM) last month and had expressed interest in bringing him back, though no progress has yet been made on that front.  Kintzler posted a 2.22 ERA over 24 1/3 innings in his first season in Miami, with the caveat that advanced metrics and ERA predictors were much less impressed with the groundball specialist’s work.
  • Jackson also provides an update on negotiations between the Marlins and Sinclair Broadcast Group about a new TV contract, as the team’s old deal expired at the end of the season.  The Marlins are looking to more than triple the $18MM-$20MM they received annually under the terms of their old contract, though “one problem is that there’s no legitimate TV competitor to challenge Sinclair for Marlins rights.”  The club could explore such alternative broadcast options as Amazon or YouTube (which Jackson describes as “a long shot”), though barring such a development, talks with Sinclair might stretch into January or February.
  • Less than two years after signing Jacob deGrom to a contract extension, should the Mets explore another deal with their ace?  The New York Post’s Joel Sherman makes the case, noting that deGrom can opt out of his current contract following the 2022 season, if he chose to move on from the $30.5MM owed to him for 2023 and a potential $32.5MM for 2024 via a club option.  DeGrom would entering the 2022-23 free agent market as a 34-year-old, though if he kept pitching close to his current form, he would surely land more than one guaranteed year on the open market.  If deGrom has another Cy Young-caliber season in 2021, it will give him more leverage in extension talks, which is why it could behoove the Mets to discuss an extension now.  On the other hand, with deGrom’s decision still two years away, the Mets could decide to stand pat rather than commit more big money to a pitcher approaching his mid-30’s.

Angels Sign Scott Schebler

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The Angels have signed outfielder Scott Schebler to a minor league contract, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Schebler will earn $900K in guaranteed money if he reaches the team’s big-league roster.

Schebler is best known for his days as a regular for the Reds from 2016-18, as he hit .248/.323/.457 with 56 homers in 1243 plate appearances over that three-season stretch (including a 30-homer campaign in 2017).  Shoulder problems and struggles at the plate limited Schebler to just 30 games in 2019, however, and Cincinnati cut ties after trading him to the Braves last July.  Schebler’s 2020 season consisted of just one game and one plate appearance in an Atlanta uniform before he was outrighted off the 40-man roster and sent to the Braves’ alternate training site.

While Schebler has spent much of his time as a right fielder, he has experience at all three outfield positions and displayed some decent glovework.  That could give him an advantage in breaking camp with Los Angeles next spring, as the Halos are thin on outfield depth behind their projected starting trio of Jo Adell, Mike Trout, and Justin Upton.

Given Adell’s inexperience and Upton’s very rough 2020 season, having a veteran like Schebler on hand could be of particular help — ideally, Schebler could somewhat replace Brian Goodwin, who the Angels dealt to the Reds last August.  It’s probably safe to assume that the Angels will bring at least a couple more veterans on minors contracts into camp (if not a more prominent acquisition) to battle for outfield jobs, and top prospect Brandon Marsh will also be in the mix.

The signing marks the first notable move for newly-hired Angels GM Perry Minasian, and it perhaps isn’t surprising that Minasian turned to a known quantity.  As Nightengale points out, Minasian worked as Atlanta’s assistant GM when the Braves picked up Schebler last summer.

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