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Pirates To Sign Tom Koehler

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6:35pm: Though the contract is a minor league pact, there’s a club option for the 2020 season attached to the deal, tweets Robert Murray of The Athletic. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that the deal comes with an $850K base salary and $250K of incentives in 2019, while the 2020 option is for a guaranteed $1.25MM with another $1.25MM worth of incentives.

2:26pm: The Pirates have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty Tom Koehler, per Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (via Twitter). It will not include an invitation to MLB Spring Training.

The lack of a spring invite isn’t really an indication of Koehler’s ability level so much as it is a reflection of his health status. As Biertempfel notes, the 32-year-old is still on a lengthy rehab timeline after undergoing shoulder surgery in July. There’s no clear timetable for his return at this point.

This time last year, Koehler looked to be an intriguing addition to the Dodgers’ pitching staff. Long a useful but underwhelming starter, Koehler had a nice run upon moving to the bullpen and altering his pitch mix late in the 2017 campaign. He ultimately turned in a 17-inning stretch over which he racked up an 18:6 K/BB ratio and permitted only five earned runs, which prompted Los Angeles to add him on a big league deal. However, a spring shoulder injury prevented him from logging a single inning during the 2018 season.

If Koehler can get back to full health, he could be a worthwhile asset for the Bucs — likely in the bullpen at this juncture. For the time being, the focus will simply be on rebuilding physical strength and putting the shoulder injury behind him to the extent possible.

Twins Sign Tim Collins, Justin Nicolino To Minor League Deals

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The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve added left-handers Tim Collins and Justin Nicolino on a pair of minor league contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training. Beyond that, recently designated right-hander Chase De Jong cleared waivers and will remain in the organization. De Jong, like Collins and Nicolino, will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee.

Now 29 years old, Collins was once a key member of the bullpen for the division-rival Royals, but a pair of Tommy John surgeries kept him off the field from 2015-17. The diminutive southpaw returned to the Show this past season with the Nationals, however, totaling 22 2/3 innings with a 4.37 ERA and a 21-to-12 K/BB ratio. Collins’ 92.5 mph average fastball was only narrowly south of his pre-surgery velocity, and he posted a solid 11.6 percent swinging-strike rate to go along with a 31.7 percent chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone. Control has long been an issue for Collins, but he notched a solid 3.54 ERA with 9.4 K/9 in 211 innings prior to his injury troubles.

As for Nicolino, the former second-round pick (Blue Jays, 2010) was once viewed as a Top 100 prospect but has never lived up to that potential. He’s amassed 201 1/3 MLB innings, all with the Marlins, but turned in a pedestrian 4.65 ERA with just 3.8 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in that time. He spent the 2018 season with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, where he was knocked around for a 4.69 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 134 1/3 innings.

Presently, Taylor Rogers and Adalberto Mejia are the Twins’ top two left-handed relief options. Rogers finished out the year as one of the game’s most effective relievers after adopting a slider partway through the season and didn’t allow a run in his final 28 appearances. Mejia, meanwhile, is out of minor league options. Both seem quite likely to make it to the club’s Opening Day roster, barring injury. Meanwhile, southpaws Gabriel Moya and Andrew Vasquez are likely ticketed for Triple-A to open the season. That presents both Collins with quite a bit of competition in vying for a roster spot, and the rotation picture for Nicolino (if he’s still to be used as a starter), is all the more crowded.

Pirates Sign Nick Franklin

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The Pirates have signed utilityman Nick Franklin to a minors pact, per a club announcement. It comes with an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training, where Franklin will do battle with a number of other infield/utility candidates.

Franklin, a former first-round draft pick, has appeared all over the field at the MLB level, but the bulk of his time has come at second base. He has seen time in the corner outfield, at short, and at first as well (in addition to one frame a piece at third base and on the hill).

While he showed promise upon cracking the majors with the Mariners in 2013, and again ticked upward in 2016 with the Rays, Franklin has failed to establish himself at the game’s highest level. He has struggled in limited MLB action in the past two seasons with the Brewers and Angels. Through 923 total plate appearances in his six seasons in the majors, Franklin carries a .214/.285/.359 batting line with 24 home runs and 17 steals.

Giants Reportedly Enter Mix For Bryce Harper

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The Giants have reportedly entered the mix for star free agent Bryce Harper. Randy Miller of NJ.com tweeted the connection, with Jon Heyman of MLB Network adding on Twitter that the club has recently met with Harper.

It is not yet clear how serious the interest is on behalf of the San Francisco organization, which is already dealing with quite a few large contract entanglements and recently turned over its baseball operations to Farhan Zaidi. Still, it’s intriguing to hear the connection. Zaidi was joined by owner Larry Baer and skipper Bruce Bochy in the sit-down, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports notes in a tweet.

Harper was already known to have met recently with the NL West rival Padres. Heyman suggests that multiple new organizations have entered the picture of late, which certainly could suggest that agent Scott Boras has sought to expand the pool of possibilities. Just what that suggests about Harper’s market and asking price isn’t clear.

It had long seemed that the Giants would be a leading potential landing spot for Harper, due to the team’s obvious need for youthful stars — particularly in the outfield — and history of maintaining high payrolls. But with the organization engineering a baseball ops shake-up after a pair of disappointing seasons, the match became much less certain.

Zaidi made his name finding value for the A’s and then scaling that process up as GM of the Dodgers. Plunking down huge dollars over long terms has not been a signature tenet of his approach as an executive. And the Giants are already loaded with underperforming contracts, some worse than others, that have left the organization with relatively little wiggle room beneath the competitive balance tax threshold.

That’s not to say that the San Francisco organization doesn’t make any sense as a Harper suitor. Even if immediate contention isn’t completely reasonable, the club has plenty of high-quality veteran players. With some creativity, the luxury tax barrier could also be dealt with. Zaidi noted at the outset of his tenure that he expects the organization’s decisions on premium talent to be “driven more by baseball need and opportunity than kind of working backwards from a payroll.” He cast doubt then on pursuit of a star free agent, but did not rule out the concept entirely.

Nationals To Re-Sign Jeremy Hellickson

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The Nationals have reportedly agreed to re-sign righty Jeremy Hellickson to a one-year, MLB contract. Hellickson, a client of the Boras Corporation, will earn a $1.3MM base rate and could achieve up to $4MM in incentive pay.

The extra cash is tied to the number of starts Hellickson makes. He can take home $200K bonuses upon reaching his 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 21st, and 23rd start and another $300K apiece for numbers 25 through 30.

Hellickson commands a big league roster spot after a productive 2018 season in D.C. Otherwise, the deal is rather similar to the one he took last year, a minor-league arrangement with a $2MM MLB salary and $4MM incentive package that ultimately paid dividends for both player and team.

Hellickson ultimately threw 91 1/3 innings over 19 starts, producing a 3.45 ERA for the Nats. The club rarely allowed him to face an opposing order for a third time. And understandably so: Hellickson was tagged for a .419/.500/.721 slash by the fifty opposing hitters that stepped into the box against him after two prior looks.

Even with that judicious deployment accounted for, ERA estimators weren’t totally sold on the outcome. Odds are, the Nats also would anticipate Hellickson regressing toward the levels of productivity that the metrics support. Still, for a fifth rotation/long-man candidate, those numbers — FIP (4.22), xFIP (4.27) and SIERA (4.33) — were rather promising.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Nationals approach their roster this spring. The club invested heavily to add Patrick Corbin at the top of the staff and committed to veteran Anibal Sanchez as a number-four starter. With Hellickson back in the fold, younger hurlers Joe Ross and Erick Fedde may be on the outside looking in. Those pitchers could end up winning a rotation job in camp, checking down to a bullpen job, or starting the season on optional assignment.

Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM reported (Twitter links) that the sides were in discussions and later detailed the incentives. MLB.com’s Jamal Collier reported (Twitter link) the sides were “progressing.” Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) first reported a deal was in place and provided financial details, while Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweeted that it was a MLB contract. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Angels Sign Ty Kelly

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The Angels have added utilityman Ty Kelly on a minors deal, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports on Twitter .The agreement does not come with a spring invite, Robert Murray of The Athletic adds on Twitter.

Kelly, 30, has found his way to the majors in each of the past three seasons, though he has yet to command a lengthy shot at the game’s highest level. Through 188 total plate appearances, he carries a .203/.288/.323 slash.

While he’s capable of lining up in the corner outfield, Kelly has spent most of his time in the minors at second and third base. He has some experience at short, but hasn’t been trusted there in the majors, which significantly limits his utility.

Still, Kelly is a worthwhile depth piece to have on hand. Through parts of seven seasons at Triple-A, he’s a .272/.375/.392 hitter with nearly as many walks (281) as strikeouts (329).

Free Agent Rumors: Romo, Hellickson, Gio

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Veteran reliever Sergio Romo is zeroing in on an agreement with a yet-unreported club, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The 35-year-old was said a couple of weeks back to be drawing heightened interest, and it seems he’ll soon make a decision on his next club. Heyman notes that Romo is looking at a one-year deal, which quite likely indicates that he’ll be inking a Major League pact when all is said and done. That much could’ve been largely expected early in free agency, though with Spring Training looming, there do figure to be some surprising minor league deals agreed upon.

Romo helped to pioneer the “opener” role with the Rays last season, making five starts in that still-developing role. He had three successful outings and one ugly showing as an opener but turned in a 3.88 ERA with a 68-to-16 K/BB ratio in 62 2/3 innings as a more conventional reliever. Romo nailed down 25 saves for Tampa Bay and turned in a 13 percent swinging-strike ratio and a 33.1 percent chase rate. He’s never been a hard-thrower but never struggled to miss bats, making him a nice veteran addition on what should be a rather affordable deal.

A few more notes on some free agents who have had a fairly quiet offseason…

  • Jeremy Hellickson and the Nationals are in talks about a potential reunion, tweets Craig Mish of SiriusXM. Hellickson, 32 in April, made 19 starts for Washington last season and was generally effective. In 91 1/3 innings, he averaged 6.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 with a career-best 45.9 percent grounder rate en route to a 3.45 ERA. Metrics like FIP (4.22), xFIP (4.27) and SIERA (4.33) all felt Hellickson benefited from a bit of good fortune but was still a useful big league arm. The Nats have one of the strongest rotations in MLB, with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez comprising the top four. Joe Ross is projected as the No. 5 and will have competition from former first-rounder Erick Fedde, but both righties still have a minor league option. A big league deal for Hellickson would likely put him into the rotation.
  • The Giants and Athletics are among the teams with some level of interest in free-agent left-hander Gio Gonzalez, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. New Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi has waited out the market to find palatable one-year contracts with Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz already, so perhaps there’s a hope that the same can be accomplished with regard to the 33-year-old Gonzalez. San Francisco currently projects to have Madison Bumgarner, Dereck Rodriguez, Holland and Pomeranz in the rotation, with the fifth spot likely going to either Jeff Samardzija or Andrew Suarez, depending on Samardzija’s health after an injury-ruined 2018 season. Ty Blach, Chris Stratton and Tyler Beede are among the other rotation candidates on the 40-man roster. Meanwhile, there’s a clearer path to rotation innings in Gonzalez’s old Oakland stomping grounds. It’s not the first time the A’s have been connected to Gonzalez this winter, but the interest is nonetheless notable, as the last link between the two sides came well before the Athletics’ signing of Marco Estrada.

White Sox, Brandon Guyer Agree To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Brandon Guyer, as Stadium’s Dave Ross first tweeted. He’ll presumably head to Major League Spring Training and compete for a roster spot; the deal pays $1.6MM in the majors, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports (Twitter link).

Guyer, 33, has struggled over the past couple of seasons with the Indians, hitting at a .220/.312/.351 pace with nine homers in 413 trips to the plate. He hit .266/.356/.403 from 2014-16 with the Rays and Indians, however, and his right-handed bat has long bean a thorn in the side of left-handed pitchers. In 792 career plate appearances against lefties, Guyer has a .274/.376/.449 batting line. He’s more of an on-base threat than a power threat, in part because of the astonishing rate at which he’s hit by pitches.

The veteran Guyer could potentially give the ChiSox a platoon partner for lefty-swinging Daniel Palka in one of the outfield corners. Palka demonstrated plenty of pop last season but was overmatched by left-handed opponents, hitting them at a woeful .200/.277/.293 clip — albeit through just 83 plate appearances. The 27-year-old Palka did handle lefties well in his minor league career, though his lack of production and 34 strikeouts in those 83 Major League PAs (41 percent) certainly wasn’t encouraging.

Other outfield options who’ll be in camp with the White Sox include Nicky Delmonico, Ryan Cordell, Luis Alexander Basabe and uber-prospect Eloy Jimenez. All are already on the 40-man roster, though it’s a virtual lock that Jimenez will remain in the minors for the first few weeks of the season as the Sox look to secure an additional year of club control over him.

Orioles, Rangers, Astros Have Recently Scouted Yolbert Sanchez

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As of today, 21-year-old Cuban shortstop Yolbert Sanchez is formally cleared to sign with Major League clubs. Sanchez, who recently left Cuba and has since been living and working out in the Dominican Republic, emerged as the most touted talent on the international free-agent market in late January when it was first reported that he’d be cleared to sign on this day.

At present, the Orioles and their near-$6MM signing pool are the runaway leaders in terms of pool money available. The Dodgers’ $1.4MM remaining pool is the next largest, though teams are still allowed to trade international funds between now and the close of the current signing period on June 15.

According to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, the Orioles recently sent new general manager Mike Elias and a contingent of evaluators to the Dominican Republic to scout the newly available shortstop. The O’s aren’t the only ones who’ve seen him, however, as the report also indicates that Rangers president of baseball ops Jon Daniels and Astros president of baseball ops Jeff Luhnow were both in the Dominican Republic recently to scout Sanchez in person. Houston can’t offer Sanchez more than $300K until the next signing period begins on July 2, though Texas can trade for additional funds on top of the $850K the organization currently has in its pool.

The point regarding the next signing period is a key distinction, particularly given that Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tweeted today that Sanchez’s camp has told interested teams that one club has already put forth an offer of $2MM if he’s willing to wait until the 2019-20 signing period begins. That could be a negotiation tactic, though it’s common for teams to have verbal agreements with international free agents in place well in advance of the signing period’s commencement, and Sanchez is surely a know commodity to other clubs throughout the league.

Sanchez isn’t necessarily considered an elite prospect, but he’ll turn 22 in March and, as such, could be closer to the Majors than most amateurs available in international free agency. Longenhagen and colleague Kiley McDaniel wrote at the time they reported Sanchez’s impending availability to MLB clubs that his glove, speed and throwing arm all draw above-average to plus ratings from scouts. His offensive upside, however, is not as universally agreed upon.

Sanchez appeared in 128 appeared across parts of three seasons in the Cuban National Series before leaving the island in 2018 and batted a combined .297/.338/.345 through 435 plate appearances. Sanchez homered just once in that span, although the majority of his plate appearances came as a teenager and he struck out at just an 8.7 percent clip.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/5/19

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Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Danny Barnes has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Buffalo. He’ll be in Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Barnes, 29, was designated for assignment when the organization signed Freddy Galvis last week. Barnes pitched to a 3.55 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.3 B/9 through 66 innings of relief for the 2017 Jays but saw those numbers plummet to a 5.71 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 in 41 innings this past season. As an extreme fly-ball pitcher with a relatively modest fastball, home runs have been especially problematic for Barnes over the past couple of seasons (1.43 HR/9).
  • Left-hander Pat Dean announced on Instagram this week that he’s returning to the Twins organization on a minor league contract after spending the 2017-18 seasons pitching for the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization. Originally a third-round pick back in 2010, Dean ascended to the Majors with the Twins as a 26-year-old in 2016 but was hit hard; in 67 1/3 innings, Dean was tagged for a 6.28 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9. That represents his only MLB experience to date, though Dean does have a lifetime 3.50 ERA in 306 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. Dean had a solid first season in the hitter-friendly KBO before struggling to a 6.26 ERA there in his second season. He’ll give the Twins some left-handed depth in the upper minors — be it as a starter or reliever.

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