Tigers Sign Jose Urena, Designate Eric Haase
6:54pm: The Tigers have announced the signing. They designated catcher Eric Haase for assignment in a corresponding move. Haase, whom Detroit acquired from division-rival Cleveland last winter, collected 19 plate appearances for the Tigers in 2020. The 28-year-old owns a .122/.170/.184 line in 53 major league PA.
5:08pm: The Tigers have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent right-hander Jose Urena, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. It’s a $3.25MM pact, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. The contract comes with up to $250K in incentives based on games started, according to Heyman. Urena is a client of Kelly Kinzer.
Detroit will be the second major league organization for Urena, a 29-year-old who pitched in the bigs with the Marlins from 2015-20. Urena enjoyed a couple of respectable seasons in Miami from 2017-18, during which he recorded a 3.90 ERA/4.68 FIP with 6.36 K/9, 3.01 BB/9 and a 46.3 percent groundball rate across 343 2/3 innings.
At his best, Urena looked like a potential building block for the Marlins’ rotation, but the team soured on him after he was unable to offer much positive production during the previous two seasons. Urena threw 108 frames from 2019-20, including 23 1/3 last season, and combined for a subpar 5.25 ERA/5.02 FIP. Despite a fastball that clocked in at 95.5 mph, Urena notched one of his lowest strikeout rates of his career last season with 5.79 per nine and registered by far his highest BB/9 (5.01). The Marlins then non-tendered Urena in lieu of paying him a projected $3.8MM to $4.2MM via arbitration.
Urena will now look to get back on track in Detroit, which has Matthew Boyd, Spencer Turnbull, Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris and Tyler Alexander as veterans with at least some degree of starting experience. Meanwhile, prospects Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Tarik Skubal don’t seem far away from vying for full-time roles. Urena figures to be a stopgap for the Tigers, then, but they clearly regard him as an interesting reclamation project.
Astros, Jason Castro In Serious Contract Talks
The Astros and free-agent catcher Jason Castro are discussing a contract, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. They’re “in serious talks and could be headed for a deal soon,” per Feinsand.
Signing with the Astros would be a homecoming of sorts for Castro, who began his career with the franchise after it used the 10th overall pick on him in 2008. He made his major league debut two years and later and became a regular for the Astros, with whom he batted .232/.309/.390 with 62 home runs in 2,266 plate appearances through 2016. That doesn’t look like a great stat line on paper, but with a 94 wRC+, Castro was an effective offensive player relative to his position. Castro combined that with well-regarded work behind the plate, where he has consistently earned praise for his pitch-framing skills.
Since his initial Astros tenure concluded, the 33-year-old Castro has played with the Twins, Angels and Padres. He inked a three-year, $24.5MM contract with Minnesota before 2017, and aside from an injury-shortened campaign in 2018, Castro gave the team solid production. Castro moved on last offseason on a one-year, $6.85MM guarantee with the Angels, who wound up sending him to the Padres before the August trade deadline. All told, Castro hit .188/.293/.375 with two home runs in 92 plate appearances between the two teams.
If he goes back to Houston, the left-handed Castro would team with righty-hitting Martin Maldonado to form a platoon at catcher. Garrett Stubbs, who has totaled a mere 49 PA in the bigs, is the only other catcher on the Astros’ 40-man roster.
Astros Sign Jose Siri To Minor League Contract
The Astros have signed outfielder Jose Siri to a minor league contract, Robert Murray of FanSided tweets. Siri’s deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.
Before joining the Astros, the 25-year-old Siri had already been with three organizations – the Reds, Mariners and Giants. Siri was a well-regarded prospect in his younger days, but he hasn’t appeared in the majors yet. In his most recent minor league action, Siri batted .237/.300/.357 with 11 home runs and 26 stolen bases over 517 plate appearances between the Reds’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2019. The Reds then lost Siri on waivers to the Mariners, who lost him to the Giants last March. The Giants outrighted Siri in July.
Although he has no MLB track record to speak of, Siri could push for a roster spot in Houston, whose outfield will inevitably deal with major changes this offseason. George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick are free agents, leaving the Astros with Kyle Tucker as their lone regular outfielder who’s a lock to return in 2021.
Mets Hire Zack Scott As Assistant General Manager
The Mets have hired Zack Scott as their senior vice president/assistant general manager, Jon Heyman of MLB Network was among those to report. Scott was previously Boston’s assistant GM.
Scott spent the past 17 years in various roles with the Red Sox, which put him on the map for the Mets as they sought a new GM. They ultimately gave that job to Jared Porter, who worked with Scott in Boston’s front office for several years. Scott reportedly was the runner-up to Porter for the position.
“I’ve known Zack for over 15 years, and worked with him daily for 10 of those years,” Porter said of Scott (via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). “He’s a strong leader who is a very creative and dynamic thinker. Zack is well rounded in all areas of baseball operations.”
Scott’s addition is the latest high-profile move for a Mets front office that has undergone significant changes since new owner Steve Cohen took over in November. Before hiring Porter and Scott, New York parted with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and brought back former GM Sandy Alderson as team president.
Red Sox Sign Matt Andriese
2:07pm: Andriese is guaranteed $1.85MM in 2021 plus at least a $250K buyout on a $3.5MM option for the 2022 season, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. He can earn up to $500K worth of incentives each season if he tops 150 innings, and his 2022 salary would rise by $1MM if he hits that mark in 2021.
1:04pm: The Red Sox have agreed to terms on a contract with right-hander Matt Andriese, per a club announcement. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client will receive a one-year, Major League deal with a club option for the 2022 season. He’s guaranteed $2.1MM on the contract and could earn up to $7.35MM if the 2022 option is exercised, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter links).
The signing reunites the 31-year-old righty with Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who played a hand in the Rays’ 2014 acquisition of Andriese in a trade with the Padres. Andriese would go on to make his MLB debut as a Ray in 2015, and in parts of four seasons in Tampa Bay he worked to a 4.30 ERA and 4.13 FIP with 7.8 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.27 HR/9 and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate.
Traded from Tampa Bay to Arizona prior to the 2018 deadline, Andriese has struggled to regain his footing, however. He’d been a swingman with the Rays, working both as a traditional starter and multi-inning reliever, but the D-backs moved him into a full-time relief role with lackluster results. It was a similar story this past season in Anaheim after the Diamondbacks traded Andriese to the Angels.
In 121 2/3 innings since being traded by the Rays, Andriese owns a 5.53 ERA, albeit with a much better 3.95 xFIP. He’s seen his strikeout rate (9.6 K/9) improve considerably in that time, and Andriese still possesses above-average spin on both his four-seamer and his curveball, which may have been appealing for the Red Sox.
Andriese is capable of working out of the ‘pen or in the rotation, which figures to be key for the Sox with so many question marks surrounding the health of their starters. Chris Sale is on the mend from Tommy John surgery, while Nathan Eovaldi has a lengthy injury history and Eduardo Rodriguez missed all of 2020 following a bout with Covid-19 and a subsequent myocarditis diagnosis.
Oscar Colas Declared Free Agent By Major League Baseball
1:47pm: Colas will work out for teams early in 2021, reports ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (Twitter links), but there’s a “real shot” he’ll wait a year to sign in order to get the largest deal possible. Upwards of a third of the league has some interest in Colas, McDaniel adds, with the White Sox and Astros among the interested parties.
8:50am: Major League Baseball has declared outfielder/pitcher Oscar Colas a free agent, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). The 22-year-old was recently declared a free agent by Japan’s SoftBank Hawks after an ugly dispute between player and team. Colas and his family publicly alleged that he was deceived when signing his original contract — a deal he believed to be three years in length but one that held several club option years. Jim Allen outlined the saga in a thorough piece for the Kyodo News earlier this summer, and fans unfamiliar with Colas and his story will want to read Allen’s story for full context on the situation.
Turning to the future for Colas, he’ll now be eligible to sign with a team beginning on Jan. 15, 2021. That’s the official kickoff date for the 2020-21 international signing period — a date that was pushed back from its typical July 2 commencement as teams placed their focus and resources elsewhere while seeking to ramp up for shortened 2020 season.
Given his age and lack of professional experience, Colas is restricted to signing a minor league contract and is subject to international bonus pools. A team cannot exceed its league-allotted bonus pool in order to sign Colas, and teams aren’t allowed to trade international pool space for the 2020-21 period (another concept agreed to as the league sorted out return-to-play conditions prior to the season).
That, as Baseball America’s Ben Badler explained yesterday, leads to a tricky situation for Colas. Using the White Sox as an example, Badler writes that between outfielder Yoelki Cespedes, who recently agreed to sign with the Sox once the signing period officially begins, and prior agreements with righty Norge Vera and others, most of the ChiSox’ pool is already used up. Most teams throughout the league are in a similar spot, per Badler.
That’s not uncommon, as most deals for international amateurs are agreed to months or even years in advance. But it’s also not a good thing for Colas, who is only now becoming a free agent at a time when most teams have committed the bulk of their signing pools to other players. Badler suggests that Colas could consider waiting all the way until the 2021-22 signing period to agree to terms with a deal, although it’s likely that some clubs will try to sway him to sign sooner than that.
There’s a good bit of hype surrounding Colas, some of which stems from the dubious “Cuban Ohtani” moniker associated with him. That seems an unfair and frankly misleading nickname to place on a player who, despite reportedly possessing a fastball that can touch 95 mph, has pitched just 3 1/3 professional innings, all of which came as a 19-year-old during the 2018-19 Cuban National Series. Colas didn’t pitch during his time with the Hawks. Ohtani, meanwhile, had 543 innings of 2.52 ERA ball with 624 strikeouts in NPB by the time he jumped to the Majors as a 23-year-old.
Colas spent the bulk of his time in Japan with the Hawks’ minor league club in the Japan Western League, which is certainly sensible given that he was just 18 upon reporting to the Hawks for his first season. He struggled in his first Western League campaign but raked at a .302/.350/.516 clip in 2019, earning a promotion to the Hawks’ big league roster as a 20-year-old. Colas homered in his first plate appearance after the promotion and went 5-for-18 with that homer, a walk and six strikeouts in 21 trips to the plate. During his first two years with the Hawks, he’d also suit up during the winter for his pro team in Cuba. Overall, in parts of three seasons in Cuba’s top league, Colas is a .305/.381/.487 hitter.
FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen doesn’t have Colas near the top of his international prospect rankings, writing that he’s a “more stable prospect as a lefty first base/designated hitter/right field type” than as a pitcher. That’s not to say that a team won’t try to develop him on the mound, but comparisons to Ohtani simply don’t seem appropriate.
For all the intrigue surrounding the 22-year-old Colas, there’s also considerable uncertainty, both as to when he might actually sign and whether clubs will view him as a legitimate two-way option or prefer to focus on developing his abilities as a hitter and outfielder.
Reds Claim Deivy Grullon
The Reds have claimed catcher Deivy Grullon off outright waivers from the Red Sox, per announcements from both teams. Boston’s 40-man roster is full (following this afternoon’s signing of right-hander Matt Andriese), while Cincinnati’s 40-man roster is now at 33 players.
Grullon, 24, has made extremely brief appearances in the Majors with both the Phillies (2019) and Red Sox (2020) over the past two seasons. In 13 plate appearances, he’s collected two hits, including a double, with a walk and three punchouts. There’s little to glean from such a small sample, but Grullon carries a .283/.354/.496 slash in 457 Triple-A plate appearances and a .264/.302/.494 line in a similar body of work in Double-A.
Baseball America ranked Grullon among the best prospects in the Phillies’ system each year from 2014-20, right up until the Phils designated him for assignment in September and lost him on waivers to the Red Sox. While he never cracked the organization’s top 10 and was generally considered to be in the back half of the club’s top farmhands. Above-average power to his pull side and a strong throwing arm are regarded as his best tools.
Grullon still has minor league options remaining, so he can give the Reds an additional depth option behind veteran Tucker Barnhart (assuming he isn’t traded as part of the team’s efforts to pare back payroll), young Tyler Stephenson and utilityman Kyle Farmer. Cincinnati non-tendered Curt Casali earlier this month.
Cubs, Matt Dermody Agree To Minor League Deal
The Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with left-hander Matt Dermody, MLBTR has learned. The 30-year-old southpaw will be invited to Major League Spring Training to compete for a bullpen job.
Dermody opened the 2020 season pitching on the independent circuit but caught the Cubs’ attention with a strong showing, leading to a minor league deal in August. The Cubs called him up to the big league roster later in the summer, and he pitched one scoreless inning before being taken off the roster. That marked Dermody’s first MLB experience since a 22 1/3-inning stint with the Blue Jays in 2017, when he posted a 4.43 ERA with 15 strikeouts and five walks.
Dermody has a rather limited track record at the MLB level, having pitched just 26 1/3 innings overall, but he’s appeared in parts of four Triple-A seasons and pitched to a 4.12 ERA in 87 1/3 frames. Overall, in seven minor league seasons, the former 28th-rounder has a 3.68 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. At the moment, the Cubs’ only left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster are Kyle Ryan and Brad Wieck, so it’s not a surprise to see them adding some left-handed depth to bring to camp.
Tigers Sign Dustin Garneau
The Tigers announced that they’ve signed catcher Dustin Garneau to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. Garneau, a client of agent Marc Kligman, will compete for a spot alongside Jake Rogers, Grayson Greiner and Eric Haase. The deal includes multiple opt outs, but Garneau will earn a $1MM salary if he earns a spot with the Tigers, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
Garneau, 33, had a solid season between the Angels and A’s in 2019 but struggled with his third AL West club, the Astros, in 2020. This past season, Garneau served as the backup to Martin Maldonado and limped to a .158/.273/.279 batting line in an admittedly minuscule sample of 46 plate appearances.
Defensively, he’s caught 37 percent of would-be base thieves in the minors and 33 percent in the Majors. And after a poor start to his career in terms of pitch framing, Garneau has rated a bit above average in each of his past few MLB efforts.
Garneau has never received a particularly long look in the Majors, as his career-high in plate appearances came back in 2017 when he tallied 126 trips to the dish between Colorado and Oakland. He’s a career .202/.288/.338 hitter in 427 Major League plate appearances but a .260/.335/.500 hitter in parts of six Triple-A seasons.
Free Agent Prediction Contest Leaderboard Now Available
Our new Free Agent Prediction Contest leaderboard is now available! Over 4,000 MLBTR readers participated in our November prediction contest. At this point eight of the top 50 free agents from our contest have signed. Impressively, one person has correctly predicted the signing teams for five of them. I’ll be updating this leaderboard as additional signings occur throughout the offseason.