East Notes: Mets, Jays, O’s, Nats
The Mets are interested in righty reliever Liam Hendriks, arguably the No. 1 bullpen arm available on the open market, per Andy Martino of SNY. He’d be the second major relief addition this offseason for the Mets, who signed Trevor May to a two-year, $15.5MM guarantee last week. Hendriks, previously with the Athletics, was perhaps the most dominant reliever in baseball during the previous two seasons. In that 108 1/3-inning stretch, the 31-year-old logged a matching 1.66 ERA/FIP, notched 13.21 K/9 against 1.83 BB/9, and recorded 39 saves in 47 opportunities. While the New York club has some level of interest in cross-town star D.J. LeMahieu, David Lennon of Newsday writes, it’s more on the “periphery” in that pursuit at the moment.
More from the eastern divisions:
- The aforementioned Hendriks and fellow free-agent reliever Brad Hand “are believed to be” on the Blue Jays’ radar, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet writes (their interest in Hand was previously reported). Either pitcher would further strengthen a Toronto bullpen that finished 24th in the majors in ERA and 28th in K/BB ratio last season. It seems the Toronto organization is still casting rather a wide net in its free agent search. Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star recently linked the team to a number of big names at a variety of positions.
- Orioles general manager Mike Elias said Tuesday that the team is unlikely to give out any multiyear contracts in free agency (Twitter links via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun). However, Elias acknowledged the Orioles are hunting for a new shortstop after trading Jose Iglesias to the Angels last week. Elsewhere, Elias said the Orioles plan to keep righty Alex Cobb, who has one year and $15MM left on his contract. Cobb had a decent year in 2020 (4.30 ERA/4.87 FIP in 52 1/3 innings), though he may be a tough sell at his current salary.
- Sticking with the Orioles, beleaguered first baseman Chris Davis revealed Wednesday (via Melo) that he has no plans to hang up his cleats at this point. “I don’t want it to end the way that things have gone the last few years for me. I think there’s more of a story to be told but as far as my contract is concerned, it is what it is,” said Davis. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not giving up. I’m not throwing in the towel. I understand the club is in a position right now to where they’re trying to cut payroll, and I’m the one big lump that they’re kind of stuck with. But they knew what they were signing up for when they took the job.” Davis’s seven-year, $161MM contract has been an unmitigated disaster for the Orioles, but he’s certainly not obligated to walk away from the remaining two seasons even if the club would prefer it. The 34-year-old is coming off a third-straight woeful season. Davis took just 55 plate appearances, failed to hit a home run and posted a brutal minus-14 wRC+.
- Moving south on 95, the Nationals have a need for just the sort of player Davis once was. The D.C. organization put in an effort to lure Carlos Santana before he latched on with the Royals, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. Missing on the veteran slugger makes it likelier that the Nats will end up putting together some kind of timeshare at first, as there isn’t a clear everyday alternative available in free agency. It also keeps the door open to a return for Nationals stalwart Ryan Zimmerman, whose intentions remain unknown.
Latest On Cardinals’ Talks With Molina, Wainwright
It feels odd even to contemplate different uniforms for longtime Cardinals Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright, but it’s far from certain either or both will remain in St. Louis. Mark Saxon of The Athletic provides an update on the state of ongoing talks between the club and these grizzled veterans.
While both players are pushing forty, each has clear appeal on the market. Molina is considered a master of his craft behind the dish and remains a palatable hitter, even if he’s unlikely to turn in any more average-or-better seasons with the bat. And Wainwright has racked up 237 1/3 innings of 3.91 ERA pitching dating back to the start of the 2019 season. Both players rank among MLBTR’s top 50 free agents.
It’s no surprise that the Cards maintain strong interest in retaining both players, neither of whom has donned the threads of another MLB franchise. But it’s equally predictable to learn that, per Saxon, the club is letting the market develop rather than rushing to re-ink Molina and Wainwright.
The Cardinals’ payroll predicament left it unlikely to jump to meet the demands of Molina, who’s said to be hoping for a multi-year deal while “seeking at least a one-year, $10 million deal with a 2022 option.” That’d eat up a big chunk of the available spending for the club, though president of baseball operations John Mozeliak did make clear that he’d pursue an alternative backstop if Yadi heads elsewhere.
In the case of Molina, Saxon writes that early talks didn’t gain much traction. Molina’s camp viewed an initial offer from the Cards as an attempt to lowball the veteran.
Wainwright doesn’t seem to have held many substantial discussions at all, with the Cardinals or other organizations. He says that he has yet to receive any firm numbers from suitors. Wainwright’s contract situation is at least more straightforward than that of Molina, as he could slot into just about any rotation and is said to be seeking only a single-season contract.
NC Dinos Post Sung-Bum Na
The NC Dinos have officially posted slugger Sung-Bum Na, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. Thus begins a thirty-day period during which big league teams can attempt to work out an agreement with the Korean star.
Na’s posting was already well-publicized, but it took a week for everything to be finalized. He is represented by super-agent Scott Boras. Any club that inks Na will also owe a transfer fee to the Dinos.
It remains to be seen just how interested MLB clubs will be in obtaining Na’s services. There’s little doubt he’s a monster in Korea’s top league, but questions remain whether he can thrive at the plate against the best pitching in the world.
Na, 31, would surely have been a more appealing target had he not suffered a catastrophic knee injury in 2019. That not only prevented him from attempting the transition one season sooner, but left him with a somewhat less compelling defensive and baserunning skill profile.
Yankees, Pirates Have Discussed Jameson Taillon, Josh Bell
The Yankees and Pirates have engaged in conversations centering on Pittsburgh right-hander Jameson Taillon and first baseman Josh Bell, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. It’s unclear how serious the two sides are about making a deal, according to Mackey.
This would be a significant deal for both teams, as Taillon and Bell are among the most recognizable players on the Pirates’ roster. However, with the Pirates unlikely to contend in the immediate future, it could behoove the team to at least listen to offers for Taillon and Bell. Taillon has two years of arbitration control left, and he’s projected to earn a very affordable $2.3MM in 2021. Bell is also down to his second-last year of arb control, though he’s slated to rake in a more expensive salary ranging from $5.1MM to $7.2MM.
The 29-year-old Taillon has been a successful starter in Pittsburgh, where he has recorded a 3.67 ERA/3.55 FIP with 8.09 K/9 and 2.26 BB/9 across 466 innings, but injuries all but wiped out his previous two seasons. After throwing 37 frames in 2019, Taillon underwent Tommy John surgery that August. At last check (this past September), Taillon was coming along well in his rehab, so it seems he’ll make his return to a major league mound soon. A healthy Taillon would give the Yankees another proven starter alongside Gerrit Cole, his ex-Pirates teammate, as well as Luis Severino (who’s on the mend from his own TJ surgery).
It’s less clear where Bell would fit in New York, as the Yankees already have reigning MLB home run champion Luke Voit at first base. They also have Mike Ford in the mix as a lefty-hitting complement to the right-handed Voit, not to mention Giancarlo Stanton as their designated hitter. Bell, 28, was an All-Star for the Pirates two years ago, but his production plummeted during the shortened 2020 campaign.
Latest On Twins, Nelson Cruz
The recent memo instructing MLB teams to prepare under the assumption that there won’t be a DH in the NL next season has not expedited talks between the Twins and Nelson Cruz, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. As the two sides continue their staredown of sorts, the Twins have also “checked in” on alternate options like Michael Brantley, Kyle Schwarber and Adam Duvall, per Hayes.
It’s worth noting that, per ESPN’s Buster Olney, despite that memo from MLB, most people around the game still expect MLB and the MLBPA to eventually work out a deal to add a universal DH next year. The league and union weren’t exactly expeditious in their last several waves of negotiations, taking months to hammer out return-to-play conditions and then agreeing to expanded playoffs mere hours before the season’s first pitch was thrown.
Cruz is reportedly seeking a two-year deal and waiting resolution on the universal DH before determining where he’ll sign for the upcoming season(s). The Twins have good reason to want him back after an outstanding .308/.394/.626 output with 57 home runs in 735 plate appearances between the 2019-20 seasons. However, if Cruz’s market is limited to American League clubs, they’d have added leverage in trying to bring him back on a one-year deal — perhaps with a club option, as was the case with his last contract. Any deal for Cruz figures to come with a raise over the $13MM annual rate at which he played out his two years with the Twins.
With regard to the other names on which the Twins have inquired, Brantley is the most accomplished hitter of the bunch and has a connection with Twins president of baseball ops Derek Falvey, who was an assistant GM in Cleveland prior to being hired by Minnesota. It’d be a bit of a surprise to see the Twins bring either Schwarber or Duvall aboard, as they were non-tendered on the same day that Minnesota cut Eddie Rosario loose.
That said, the Twins seemingly intend to give top prospect Alex Kirilloff a legitimate crack at an everyday job in 2021. Either Schwarber or Duvall could give some DH cover and provide an experienced left field alternative — perhaps at a lesser rate than Rosario would’ve commanded — should Kirilloff struggle. In-house alternatives include Jake Cave and Brent Rooker.
Free Agent Notes: McCann, Angels, Yankees, Lester, Castro
It appeared earlier Wednesday that catcher James McCann would join the Mets, though an agreement hasn’t materialized yet, and they’re not the only team chasing him at the moment. Robert Murray of FanSided tweets that the Angels are still in contention for McCann, a California native who would seemingly provide an upgrade over their current backstops, Max Stassi and Anthony Bemboom. McCann was just a backup with the White Sox last season, but he logged terrific offensive numbers then and was impressive as a starter in 2019. It could take a four-year deal to land him this winter.
Some more notes on the open market…
- The Yankees haven’t shown interest in re-signing right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, Andy Martino of SNY says (video link). The team is more focused on re-signing second baseman DJ LeMahieu, but it doesn’t seem likely to dole out any other sizable contracts, according to Martino. Tanaka has been a dependable part of the Yankees’ rotation since he emigrated from Japan in 2014, but the club may pass on bringing him back and instead decide to ride with its in-house options to begin 2021. The YES Network’s Michael Kay painted a similar picture recently on his ESPN Radio show (link via NJ.com’s Randy Miller). Kay noted that LeMahieu is the team’s top priority, adding that if a deal comes together, he “might be the last big guy they get.” Reports over the past several months have indicated that the Yankees are unlikely to be aggressive spenders this winter, with LeMahieu serving as a possible exception after two brilliant years in the Bronx.
- Red Sox fans hoping to see a reunion with lefty Jon Lester don’t seem likely to get their wish, as WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports that Boston hasn’t reached out to its former ace this offseason. Right-handers Corey Kluber and Matt Shoemaker are among the names the Red Sox have contacted as they look to stabilize the back of their rotation, per Bradford. Boston also had interest in Charlie Morton before he signed with the Braves, although remaining close to his family’s Florida home was a priority for Morton.
- The Astros and Rangers are among the teams with interest in catcher Jason Castro, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. Castro began his career as a member of the Astros, with whom he played from 2010-16, before joining the Twins in free agency. The 33-year-old has regularly combined passable offense with well-regarded defense (particularly as a pitch framer), though he is coming off a somewhat disappointing campaign at the plate between the Angels and Padres. If he goes back to Houston, the left-handed-hitting Castro could platoon with righty Martin Maldonado. In Texas, he would presumably team with Jose Trevino to comprise the Rangers’ top two backstops.
Mariners, Chris Flexen Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Mariners have agreed to a deal with right-hander Chris Flexen, reports Mike Mayer of MetsMerized (Twitter link). The New York Post’s Ken Davidoff hears the same, adding that Flexen will be guaranteed $4.75MM over two years on the pact. The pact also includes a pair of options for 2023, per Davidoff. There’s a $4MM club option and, if Flexen throws 150 innings in 2022 or 300 frames from 2021-22, an $8MM vesting option. The O’Connell Sports Management client could also make an additional $1MM in performance bonuses, and he’ll earn $250K if he’s traded. The Mariners won’t be able to send Flexen to the minors without his consent, Davidoff adds.
Flexen, 26, was an up-and-down depth piece with the Mets from 2017-19 before signing with the Korea Baseball Organization’s Doosan Bears last winter. While Flexen – a former 14th-round pick – could only muster an 8.07 ERA and a 6.92 FIP in 68 innings as a Met, the right-hander put together a dominant season in South Korea, logging a 3.01 ERA/2.74 FIP with 10.2 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 116 2/3 innings as a member of the Bears’ staff.
Flexen was exclusively a starter for the Bears, though most of his work in the majors so far (16 of 27 appearances) has come out of the bullpen. It’s unclear which role he’ll take for the Mariners, who have Marco Gonzales, Justus Sheffield and Yusei Kikuchi as locks to start next year. Justin Dunn, Nick Margevicius, Ljay Newsome and the just-acquired Robert Dugger represent other 40-man options. General manager Jerry Dipoto said at the outset of the season that he was targeting relief help, so if Flexen doesn’t win a spot in the M’s starting staff, he could be a factor out of their bullpen.
Giants Sign Dominic Leone, Several Others To Minor League Deals
The Giants announced a series of minor league contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training today, with right-handers Dominic Leone, Silvino Bracho and Rico Garcia among them. Lefty Anthony Banda, whom the Giants outrighted at season’s end, is also back on a minors pact. Others invited to camp include right-handers Melvin Adon, Daniel Alvarez, Yunior Marte, Raffi Vizcaino and Sam Wolff, as well as lefty Sam Long and infielder/outfielder Jason Krizan.
Of the group, Leone comes with far and away the most big league experience. The 29-year-old reliever has appeared in parts of seven MLB seasons, pitching to a combined 4.09 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 over the course of 253 innings out of the bullpen. Leone’s peak season came with the Blue Jays in 2017, when he racked up a career-high 70 1/3 innings and struck out a hearty 29 percent of the batters he faced (10.4 K/9).
Following that strong effort, Leone was traded to the Cardinals alongside righty Conner Greene in the deal that sent Randal Grichuk to Toronto. Things didn’t pan out in St. Louis for Leone, who limped through a pair of injury-plagued seasons and ultimately record a 5.15 ERA and 4.77 FIP in 64 2/3 frames as a Cardinal. Although he’s been inconsistent, Leone makes for a sensible enough flier by a Giants club looking high and low for bullpen depth after seeing several key relievers depart in recent years.
Others in the group with MLB experience include former Bracho, a former D-backs reliever, Garcia and Banda. Garcia tossed 10 innings with the Giants in 2019 but has generally been hit hard between his brief time between San Francisco and Colorado. Banda was at one point considered to be one of the game’s top overall pitching prospects but has since had his career derailed by injuries, including Tommy John surgery. He was with the Giants org late in the season but did not pitch in a big league game.
Bracho, 28, was up and down with Arizona from 2015-17 but looked to turn a corner in 2018 when he pitched 31 innings with a 3.19 ERA/3.26 FIP and a 34-to-12 K/BB ratio. However, he missed the entire 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery and had his 2020 return slowed this summer when he tested positive for Covid-19. Bracho did make it back to toss an inning with the D-backs, but he hasn’t had a full, healthy season since 2018. With three-plus big years of MLB service, he’s technically controllable through at least the 2023 campaign if he can crack the MLB roster and seize a spot in the San Francisco bullpen.
Giants Re-Sign Chadwick Tromp
Dec. 9: The Giants have announced the deal, which is a Major League contract for Tromp.
Dec. 8: Catcher Chadwick Tromp announced on Twitter that he has re-signed with the Giants (h/t: Maria Guardado of MLB.com). The Giants non-tendered Tromp last week.
Tromp spent his first several professional seasons with the Reds, but he signed a minor league contract with the Giants last offseason and earned a major league opportunity. The 25-year-old finished second among Giants in games played (19) and batted .213/.219/.426 in 64 plate appearances in 2020. While Tromp did hit four home runs over that small sample size, a 20:1 K:BB ratio led to a poor overall line. Defensively, though, Tromp threw out 2-of-6 would-be base stealers (which aligns with his 33 percent rate in the minors) and, according to Statcast, finished in the league’s 67th percentile as a pitch framer.
While Tromp is surely hoping to continue as a major leaguer in 2021, it could be more of an uphill battle than it was this year. After all, starting catcher Buster Posey may return after opting out of the 2020 season. The Giants also still have prized prospect Joey Bart, who led their catchers in games played this past campaign, though it’s possible they will elect to send him to the minors and give the season-opening backup role to Tromp.
Mets Nearing Deal With James McCann
12:02pm: The two sides do not yet have an agreement in place, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Martino tweets that the Mets have indicated they’re willing to go to four years, however, so the final haggling could be a matter of the exact dollar point associated with that term.
11:29am: The Mets and free-agent catcher James McCann are closing in on what is expected to be a four-year contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). SNY’s Andy Martino reported this morning that talks between the two sides had picked up steam. McCann is represented by the Ballengee Group.
A deal with McCann will obviously take the Mets out of the market for top free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto, although indications over the past week have been that McCann was the team’s primary catching target — not Realmuto. McCann has long stood out as the No. 2 catcher on this market, and the Mets’ decision to sign him has been linked to their pursuit of higher-profile free agents at other positions, namely center fielder George Springer and right-hander Trevor Bauer.
A four-year pact for McCann would cap off a remarkable turnaround for the 30-year-old backstop, who just two offseasons ago was non-tendered by the Tigers on the heels of a disastrous year at the plate. McCann quickly hooked on with the White Sox, signing a modest one-year deal to serve as a backup, but he broke out both at the plate and behind the plate as a defender during his time on Chicago’s south side — so much that he’s established himself as a clear starting option.
Over the past two seasons in Chicago, McCann has raked at a .276/.334/.474 clip with 25 home runs, 29 doubles and a triple in 587 plate appearances. The uptick in production at the plate is supported by several underlying metrics; McCann’s average exit velocity sat at 87.8 mph in 2018 but jumped to 90.2 mph with the White Sox.
McCann also boosted his hard-hit rate from 37.1 percent with the Tigers in ’18 to 44.9 percent with the South Siders thanks in large part to nearly doubling the rate at which he barrels pitches. McCann’s line-drive rate has risen with the Sox, too, as his infield fly rate has dropped. McCann’s strikeout rate has trended upward a bit with the White Sox, but the extra whiffs have been more than offset by the improvement in the quality of the contact when he does put bat to ball.
Behind the plate, McCann has long been adept at controlling the running game. Even with the Tigers, he nabbed 37 percent of those who attempted to take a base against him. One knock on McCann, however, was on his receiving ability — or lack thereof. McCann ranked well below average in terms of framing metrics for much of his time with the Tigers and even early in his White Sox tenure — a flaw that likely influenced the White Sox’ decision to sign Yasmani Grandal to a four-year pact last winter.
Recognizing that shortcoming, McCann spent the bulk of his offseason working with catching guru Jerry Narron to improve his receiving and framing. The results paid off, as Statcast ranked McCann as much-improved in that regard, particularly with pitches at the bottom of the strike zone, which was where he’d struggled most. McCann went from garnering strike calls on just 44.1 percent of pitches at or slightly below the bottom of the zone to an excellent 61.8 percent. One can suggest that there’s some small-sample smoke and mirrors at play, but McCann’s improvement was pronounced enough that it can’t be entirely dismissed as small-sample noise. It would seem that the Mets agree.
There’s certainly some risk to the deal for the Mets, particularly given the four-year term. While McCann has been excellent since Opening Day 2019, his more limited role early in 2019 and this past season’s shortened slate of games leave us with only about one full season’s worth of data supporting his offensive gains. That said, Mets catchers hit just .239/.294/.403 in 2020, so the bar to clear for overall improvement isn’t a particularly high one.
If the deal with McCann does indeed come to fruition, he’ll be the second notable veteran in as many weeks to join the Mets on a multi-year deal. Longtime Twins setup man Trevor May, one of the market’s top relievers, inked a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $15.5MM last week. The Mets have yet to finalize their search for a new general manager, but former GM Sandy Alderson has returned to the club as team president and is calling the shots in the baseball operations department under new owner Steve Cohen.