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Mariners Extend Marco Gonzales

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February 4: Gonzales will receive a $1MM signing bonus and be paid salaries of $5MM in 2021, $5.5MM in 2022, $6.5MM in 2023 and $12MM in 2024, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. There’s no buyout on the $15MM option for the 2025 season.

February 3: The Mariners have announced a contract extension with southpaw Marco Gonzales. He’s now guaranteed $30MM from 2021 through 2024, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. The deal includes a $15MM club option for another campaign, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).

Though it has been a fairly quiet winter for the Seattle organization, the club has now managed to strike two notable long-term deals. The other was a surprising pre-debut pact with first base prospect Evan White.

Gonzales, who was already under contract for the 2020 season, had been on track to qualify for arbitration next winter. He’d have reached the open market at the end of the 2023 campaign. Instead, the M’s have now secured his services for one would-be free agent campaign while picking up an option for another.

As he’s now closing in on his 28th birthday, Gonzales will now be under team control through his age-33 campaign. Given the costs involved, it was a pretty easy bet for the team to make. And it’s equally understandable that the CAA Sports client was interested in locking in earnings at this stage of his career.

Gonzales has been quite effective since coming over from the Cardinals in a mid-2017 trade. Over the past two seasons, he has carried a 3.99 ERA over 369 2/3 innings with 7.1 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. While there’s nothing especially about his stuff or his peripherals, Gonzales has successfully tamped down on the long ball and studiously avoided hard contact.

It’s certainly not the typical profile of an extension target. Gonzales sits in the 90 mph range with his fastballs and managed only a 7.9% swinging-strike rate last year. Neither is he a groundball monster. But he was able to keep hitters off balance by utilizing five pitches with equivalent frequency — none less than 15.9% of the time and none more than 24.1%.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rangers Sign Greg Bird To Minor League Deal

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4:10pm: Texas has announced the deal.

2:26pm: The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with free-agent first baseman Greg Bird, per George A. King III of the New York Post (Twitter link). He’ll be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Now 27 years old, Bird once looked to be a possible long-term answer for the Yankees at first base. His debut in 2015 produced a .261/.343/.529 slash and 11 homers in 178 plate appearances for the then-22-year-old, but his career has been ravaged by injuries since that time. Since that scintillating debut, Bird has suffered a torn labrum, undergone ankle surgery and missed significant time due to a tear in his plantar fascia. As a result, over the past four seasons, he’s been limited to a .194/.287/.388 slash in just 522 plate appearances.

That said, the Rangers’ own first base situation is hardly inspiring. They have a former top prospect of their own, Ronald Guzman, who has yet to deliver on his own potential. Joey Gallo has experience at the position but is being entrusted with outfield duties for the foreseeable future. Non-roster players like Sam Travis and Matt Duffy could also factor into the mix, as could infielder/outfielder Danny Santana, depending on what (if any) additional outfield moves the Rangers make between now and Opening Day.

Despite his lack of time on the field, Bird has racked up more than four years of Major League service time — much of it coming on the injured list. If he’s able to crack the Rangers’ roster and prove to be a serviceable option in 2020, he’d remain controllable through the 2021 season as an arbitration-eligible player.

Astros Have Made Offer To Hunter Pence

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The Astros have made an offer to free-agent outfielder/designated hitter Hunter Pence, FOX 26’s Mark Berman reports (via Twitter). Pence said recently that he intends to continue playing in 2020 and has spoken to multiple clubs about a deal. The Giants are another rumored suitor for the affable 36-year-old.

Pence, 37 in April, was a finalist for American League Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2019 after he posted an outstanding .297/.358/.552 batting line with 18 home runs, 17 doubles, a triple and even six steals in 316 plate appearances with his hometown Rangers. Groin and back injuries limited him to about a half season’s worth of games, but Pence was unequivocally excellent when healthy enough to step into the Texas lineup.

Latching on with the Rangers would represent a different kind of homecoming for Pence, who was Houston’s second-round pick back in 2004 and spent the first seven-plus seasons of his professional career with the ’Stros. Pence made his MLB debut with Houston back in 2007 and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki (when Houston was still an NL club). He’s gone on to appear in four All-Star Games (including 2019) and win a pair of World Series titles as a member of the Giants.

Pence would surely be utilized in a part-time role in Houston, given the stacked nature of their lineup. But his right-handed bat would pair well with lefty-swinging outfield/DH options like Josh Reddick, Kyle Tucker, Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez. He’d provide some insurance against an injury to any of the club’s outfield starters and, of course, bring one of the game’s most unique and respected personalities to the Houston clubhouse on the heels of a tumultuous offseason.

Houston already projects to be in the second bracket of luxury tax penalization, so adding Pence would mean paying a 32 percent overage fee on any money guaranteed to him. But, as a soon-to-be 37-year-old coming off an injury-plagued season and looking at a part-time role in 2020, Pence shouldn’t come with a particularly burdensome price tag in the first place.

Athletics To Sign Donnie Hart

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The Athletics have a minor-league deal with lefty Donnie Hart, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). It includes an invitation to the MLB side of camp.

Hart, 29, has bounced around the league a bit since wrapping up a three-year stint with the Orioles. He has 89 innings of 3.13 ERA ball under his belt in the majors, but clubs obviously aren’t believers in his ability to sustain that kind of productivity.

Though he has never been much of a strikeout pitcher, Hart has drawn a healthy number of groundballs (54.1%) in the big leagues and upper minors alike. The soft-tossing southpaw also has traditionally avoided too much damage at the hands of home runs, which is a nice feature in this era.

Details On Reds’ Pursuit Of Marcell Ozuna

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It’s mostly of historical interest at this point, but the Reds’ pursuit of Marcell Ozuna was perhaps more spirited than was known at the time. The Cincinnati club offered him a three-year, $50MM contract, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

Though it is somewhat unusual for a player to turn down a similar annual salary over a longer term for one on a shorter term, that’s just what Ozuna did. He picked the Braves’ offer of one year and $18MM. Whether the Reds also would’ve considered a single-season arrangement isn’t clear.

For Ozuna, this was a calculated gamble — not unlike the one he took when he spurned the Marlins’ interest in an extension way back when. He’s still just 29 years of age and has shown rather an impressive offensive ceiling (143 wRC+ in 2017).

If Ozuna can turn in another campaign along those lines, he might well earn a much larger contract. Even if not, another solid effort could allow him to take down something close to or even in excess of what the Reds would’ve paid him. At the same time, there’s always risk — especially for a corner outfielder who has endured some shoulder problems and sagging numbers of late.

This bit of information is obviously also interesting because of its impact on the rest of the market. The Reds went on to strike a multi-year pact with Nick Castellanos, promising him $64MM over four seasons in a deal that he can opt out of after either of the first two campaigns.

It’s still a bit unclear how the market interplay between these players unfolded, but it was obviously a major factor. Notably, the Castellanos deal is far more desirable from the player’s perspective than that obtained by Ozuna from the Braves. After all, the former’s contract conveys both the upside of a possible return to the open market as well as long-term security. Unless Ozuna had another reason to prefer Atlanta, it stands to reason that his offer from the Reds did not include such generous opt-out opportunities.

Signing Ozuna cost a draft pick, it’s worth noting, since he turned down a qualifying offer from the Cardinals. He’s also no longer eligible to receive one in the future. The Reds might’ve been more comfortable with the structure they gave Castellanos since he did not cost a pick up front and remains eligible to receive a QO if he opts out (thus carrying the possibility of eventual draft compensation to the team).

Camp Battles: Phillies Reserve Infielders

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Over the coming weeks, as Spring Training approaches and then gets underway, we’ll look at some of the camp battles that arise. The goal here isn’t to be exhaustive — obviously, there’s a ton of jockeying across the game for roster spots and roles — but to cover the contests that are particularly interesting and/or that carry notable hot stove implications.

First up: the brewing fight in Phillies camp for a utility infield job.

If you’re wondering whether the Phils are really done adding pieces this winter, you’re not alone. There’s a lot to like about the additions of Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius. But the roster would feel quite a bit more complete with a high-quality third baseman or center fielder plugged in. Picking up a hot corner stalwart makes particular sense, as it’d allow Scott Kingery to contribute in center and elsewhere. True, the club can allow things to play out and adjust in mid-season as needed — adding via trade or perhaps calling up top prospect Alec Bohm — but the early uncertainty could hurt in a hotly contested NL East.

Supposing the Phillies are indeed willing to roll with their existing options, their recent accumulation of veteran reserve infield candidates becomes all the more interesting. There’ll be quite a few assembled in Clearwater: Phil Gosselin, Logan Forsythe, Josh Harrison, T.J. Rivera, Ronald Torreyes, and Neil Walker. The club has certainly signaled that it has significant plans for one or more lucky former big leaguers. Drawing such players to sign non-roster deals is all about dangling opportunity; given the volume of experienced players on hand, it seems reasonable to deduce that the club has offered a chance at the prize (MLB action) that all these men seek.

Make no mistake: these guys are looking for bounce backs from a performance perspective. There’s a reason they were available for no commitment and in such volume. It’s anyone’s guess just how this group will look in camp — let alone how they’ll perform if and when given the chance in 2020 — but the Phils are obviously hoping one or more shows a spark.

More on each of the candidates:

  • Gosselin is obviously viewed as a trustworthy depth piece around the game, as six teams have given him MLB time over the past seven seasons. He’s not even close to being an average hitter over his time in the majors but did post a hefty (even in league context) .314/.405/.497 slash last year in 353 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • Forsythe has a ton of experience and turned in a solid first half in 2019. But he faltered down the stretch and ended with a .227/.325/.353 batting line. Once a sneaky offensive threat, Forsythe has now turned in three straight seasons of below-average hitting.
  • Harrison had hoped to find a return to prominence last year with the Tigers, but ended up limping through an injury-limited, ugly season. The 32-year-old’s big 2014 season is a distant memory. Then again, he was a high-quality all-around performer as recently as 2017. Even if the bat doesn’t quite come back to league-average levels, Harrison might be a worthwhile contributor on the bases and with the glove.
  • Rivera has been hampered by health issues and hasn’t appeared in the majors (or even much in the upper minors) since 2017. But he showed a productive bat with the Mets when last he was at full strength and could be an intriguing rebound candidate at 31 years of age.
  • Torreyes doesn’t excite with the bat, but he’s about as hard to strike out as they come and can play anywhere in the infield. Still just 27 years of age, he’s easily the youngest of those listed here. He’s also the only man on this list other than Gosselin that profiles as an option at shortstop.
  • Walker is the only player covered here who turned in something like league-average hitting in 2019. It wasn’t up to his prior standard, but Walker did improve from a down 2018 season by slashing .261/.344/.395 with eight home runs in 381 plate appearances. He’s also the only one of the group that hits from the left side (as a switch-hitter), perhaps increasing his utility as a part-time option not only at third base but also on the right side of the infield.

It’s an interesting mix to watch. The Phils are otherwise rather settled in the infield, with Gregorius and Kingery set to line up opposite Jean Segura and Rhys Hoskins. As presently situated, one or (quite possibly) more of the players listed above will end up claiming jobs. There’s just one other infielder on the 40-man roster: youngster Arquimedes Gamboa, who is still trying to get his bat going and has yet to appear beyond the Double-A level.

Mike Dunn Announces Retirement

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Veteran southpaw Mike Dunn announced that he is finished with his playing days, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today conveyed via Twitter. The 34-year-old says he’s ready to spend more time with his family.

Dunn just wrapped up a three-year deal with the Rockies that didn’t quite turn out as planned. The typically hard-throwing lefty lost velocity out of the gates in Colorado and never really found his footing. He struggled with injuries over the final two seasons of the pact and wasn’t effective when he was on the mound. All told, Dunn managed only 85 innings of 5.93 ERA ball with the Rox.

There were plenty of good seasons before that, of course. Dunn was long a valuable performer for the Marlins during a six-year stint. He worked to a 3.59 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 328 frames in Miami.

Add it all up, including Dunn’s early-career stints with the Yankees and Braves, and he threw 436 total innings in the bigs. He allowed an even 4.00 ERA for his career. As you might expect, Dunn was generally quite a bit more effective against opposing lefties, holding them to a .232/.315/.353 cumulative batting line.

MLBTR extends its congratulations and best wishes to Dunn and his family.

Red Sox Still Pondering Mookie Betts Trade Scenarios

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The waiting game continues, despite expectations to the contrary. As of this morning, with just one week until pitchers and catchers report, Mookie Betts remains a member of the Red Sox.

All day yesterday it seemed a trade could drop at any moment. Reports the evening prior had indicated as much. Padres beat writer Kevin Acee tweeted midday that “multiple people close to situation believe resolution on Mookie Betts trade is imminent.”

It seems the Friars expected to find out whether they or the division-overlord Dodgers would land a new superstar. They’re still waiting right along with the rest of us.

The Red Sox are still engaged with both west coast organizations, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. And the Boston club is still not even settled on particular trade scenarios with each prospective trade partner. Speier says that concepts both including and excluding high-priced lefty David Price remain on the table.

So, is today the day? Perhaps. But new Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom seems determined to take his time making his first major call. While it has appeared that talks were building to a crescendo, Speier explains that the club still isn’t feeling timing or logistical pressure.

Presumably, there’s a point in the near future at which the constraints of the calendar will force a move (or lack thereof). The Padres and Dodgers need to make alternative plans if they can’t nab Betts. And the Boston club no doubt prefers not to open camp with such massive uncertainty hanging over the organization. Even if it can’t be said that a resolution is now truly imminent, it seems quite likely to come within the week.

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