Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Tommy Pham Wins Arbitration Case Against Rays
Outfilder Tommy Pham won his arbitration case against the Rays, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The GSE client will earn $4.1MM rather than the $3.5MM figure that the team had submitted.
This victory may not make for a particularly massive increase in Pham’s 2019 earnings, but it’s a substantial sum that will also be reflected in both of his two ensuing arb paydays. Arbitration salaries are critical to any player, but are perhaps of particular importance to Pham, given that he’ll reach his 31st birthday before the start of the 2019 season.
The Tampa Bay organization happily took a chance on the late-blooming Pham over the summer and will still enjoy his services at an appealing rate of pay. Pham raked upon joining the Rays, slashing .343/.448/.623 down the stretch. All told, he’s now a .279/.375/.482 hitter through 1,458 MLB plate appearances.
This decision is now reflected in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.
Carlos Correa Wins Arbitration Case Against Astros
Shortstop Carlos Correa won his arbitration case against the Astros, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The GSE client will earn $5MM rather than the $4.25MM figure that the team had submitted.
One of the game’s brightest young stars, Correa picked a poor time for his first misstep in the majors. After turning in monster offensive numbers in an injury-limited 2017 season, the former Rookie of the Year again missed time in 2018 and wasn’t quite himself at the plate. He ended up posting a .239/.323/.405 slash over 468 plate appearances.
So long as Correa can put his back issues behind him, his outlook remains quite bright. He’ll still open his arb earning period with a strong $5MM base rate, though that’s about half of what he might have taken home with a platform season that better matched his prior offensive output. (Fellow youthful star shortstop Francisco Lindor earned $10.55MM after posting his best offensive season in his final pre-arb year.)
This decision is now reflected in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.
Giants Acquire Jake Barrett, Designate John Andreoli
The Giants announced another move on the fringes of the team’s 40-man roster, acquiring righty Jake Barrett from the Diamondbacks after he was recently designated for assignment by the Arizona organization. Just-claimed outfielder John Andreoli was in turn designated to create space.
This is hardly the first time the San Francisco organization has undertaken such fast-paced roster churn this winter. Whether the club is mostly seeking to stash players off of the 40-man, or simply keeps finding new players it prefers to the others it has claimed, the result has been a fair bit of movement.
In this case, the 27-year-old Barrett will come aboard after his once-promising MLB career fizzled in Arizona. He has shown an ability to get strikeouts at the game’s highest level and could compete for a pen job in camp.
Andreoli may yet be an outfield option for the Giants, if he clears waivers, but will need to earn his way back onto the 40-man roster in that case. This is now the third time this winter that Andreoli has been designated for assignment.
10 Low-Cost Free Agent Power Options
With just two weeks to go until camp, even the ongoing lack of action at the top of the free agent market probably won’t stem the tide of smaller signings. Curtis Granderson just went off the board on a minor-league deal, taking one veteran power bat out of the picture. But there are other slugger types that remain available and who figure to command one-year or minor-league deals.
For purposes of this list, we’ll be ignoring those players who MLBTR predicted to secure multi-year deals entering the winter. We will be looking primarily at players who have shown double-digit home run power in recent seasons — even if their most recent campaigns featured less-than-fearsome power displays. That characterization also applies to a few who aren’t listed below, but these ten stood out.
Left-Handed Hitters
Carlos Gonzalez, OF: While he has produced only thirty long balls over the past two seasons, Gonzalez has turned in one 40-bomb campaign (in 2015) and still is at least an average overall offensive producer. It remains to be seen what kind of shot he’ll get on his next deal, but the former star could still make for an intriguing risk.
Derek Dietrich, INF/OF: It may sound odd to say it, but Dietrich has arguably been the most consistently productive offensive performer on this list over the past four seasons. He’s a .262/.344/.428 hitter (114 OPS+) in that stretch and popped a career-best 16 homers in 2018. Plus, he can at least fake it at second and third, in addition to the corner outfield and first base.
Lucas Duda, 1B: Things really haven’t gone well for Duda since he was dealt to the Ray sin the middle of the 2017 campaign, but he was quite an accomplished power bat before that. The first bagger did also manage to put up 14 home runs in 367 plate appearances last year, so the power is still there.
Logan Morrison, 1B: After a monster 2017 season in which he launched a career-high 38 home runs, LoMo suffered through an injury-addled 2018 campaign. He did swat another 15 balls out of the yard in 359 plate appearances, though, so the power is still there. Teams willing to take on some health risk could be rewarded.
Matt Joyce, OF: It has been a bit of a roller coaster in recent seasons for Joyce, but he’s still an interesting potential platoon outfielder. Last year was a wash, but he hit 25 bombs in 2017. Joyce owns a .240/.339/.431 lifetime batting line.
Right-Handed Hitters
Adam Jones, OF: The 33-year-old has pretty much been a perennial 20-plus homer center fielder ever since establishing himself in the majors. He dropped back to 15 last year, but seems a reasonable rebound candidate in the power department. Of course, Jones has never been much of an on-base threat and now seems slated to move into a corner outfield role, so those factors will limit his appeal even to teams that like his pop.
Evan Gattis, DH: Gattis popped 25 long balls last year, though his on-base numbers took a nosedive. It’s a similar story for Gattis’s six-year career, over which he carries a .476 slugging percentage but only a .300 OBP. Still, an American League team that wants righty power will have to take a close look at the 32-year-old.
Matt Holliday, OF: True, he’s already 39 years of age and sat out for almost all of the 2018 season. But Holliday did make a late-season return with the Rockies and showed that he can still get things done at the MLB level, with a .283/.415/.434 slash in 65 plate appearances. Holliday was such a good hitter and consistent power source over most of his prior 14 seasons that he could still be seen as an intriguing option.
Hanley Ramirez, 1B: Though Ramirez’s offensive struggles are well-documented, he was still consistently knocking the ball out of the park before being cut loose by the Red Sox. Ramirez was on pace to top twenty dingers for the third-straight season when the Boston organization let him go. Last we heard, HanRam intends to play in 2019. He has hit well in winter ball, though there haven’t been any rumors of specific interest.
Jose Bautista, OF: The homer tallies are down. The batting average is hovering just over the Mendoza line. And if there’s a notable skill remaining, it’s Bautista’s still-otherworldly ability to draw walks (16.8% in 2018). That being said, it takes more than a keen eye to post that kind of walk rate. Pitchers also have to respect a hitter. Bautista posted a .175 isolated power mark and still put the ball over the fence 13 times in 399 plate appearances last year, and reeled off eight-straight 20+ homer campaigns before that.
James Loney Signs With Sugar Land Skeeters
Former big league first baseman James Loney is looking to resurrect his career by joining on with the indy ball Sugar Land Skeeters, Baseball America’s JJ Cooper tweets. Loney is slated to line up in the field and on the mound for his new club, in addition to serving as a player-coach.
As Cooper notes, Loney was seen as a two-way prospect as an amateur. Taken with the 19th overall pick in the 2002 draft, Loney ultimately pursued a career with the bat. He had his ups and downs over the years, but carved out an eleven-year career as a low-power first baseman, ultimately turning in 5,487 plate appearances of .284/.336/.410 hitting with 108 home runs.
Loney last appeared on the transactional map in 2017, when he signed on for a brief run with Korea’s LG Twins. The club was not pleased with what it received from him in a 23-game stint — a very Loney-esque .278/.366/.456 slash with three home runs and 11 walks against just 14 strikeouts over 93 plate appearances — and he elected to leave the KBO rather than accept a demotion.
Whether Loney can craft a return to the majors as a two-way player will obviously remain to be seen, though the odds seem long. Given that he’s taking on a coaching role as part of the signing, that may not even be the goal. He’ll reach his 35th birthday in three months and has not dedicated himself to the craft of pitching since high school. That said, it will surely be interesting to see whether Loney can find a spark upon re-taking the mound.
Marlins Sign Curtis Granderson
The Marlins have announced a minor-league deal with outfielder Curtis Granderson. It includes an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training. He’ll earn $1.75MM in the majors with $250K in possible incentives, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter).
Granderson turns 38 in March but can still get the job done at the plate. He ended the 2018 campaign with 403 plate appearances of .242/.351/.431 hitting, good for a 116 wRC+. That’s right at his career mark for overall productivity (117 wRC+), though the most recent iteration of Granderson relied a bit more on on-base percentage than the power that has traditionally driven his value.
There are certainly some major caveats here from an on-field perspective. Granderson was not trusted to face lefties last year, reflecting his longstanding struggles against same-handed pitching. And metrics have increasingly soured on his glovework in the outfield.
Still, it seems like a nice addition for the Marlins, who likely gave Granderson assurances that he’d have an inside track to a roster spot and semi-regular playing time. The team is likely headed for another rough season in the standings, but needs to maintain some fan interest and provide veteran leadership. Granderson, a widely respected clubhouse presence, is more a contemporary of Marlins CEO Derek Jeter (his former Yankees teammate) than of the many young players on the Miami roster. He’ll join recent signee Neil Walker in providing some affordable gravitas before potentially transforming into a mid-season trade chip.
Phillies Sign Drew Butera
The Phillies have announced a deal with veteran catcher Drew Butera, as Jon Heyman of MLB Network first reported (Twitter link). It’s a minor-league arrangement that provides for a $1.3MM salary in the event that Butera is able to crack the MLB roster. He receives a spring invite.
Butera, 35, also picks up a $200K incentives package and notably early opt-out date of March 21st, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). That means he’ll have a shot to bolt to another organization late in camp if it seems there’s a better opportunity elsewhere.
A nine-year MLB veteran, Butera has never only once topped two hundred plate appearances in a single season — back in 2011, his sophomore campaign with the Twins. At the same time, he has reached triple-digit PAs in eight of those years.
Butera has carved out a robust career in spite of a lack of ability with the bat. He carries a meager .201/.258/.299 lifetime slash line, with just five home runs in 1,345 total trips to the plate. Butera doesn’t stand out in the pitch framing department either — actually, he has been a negative in recent years — but is otherwise sturdy behind the dish and has obviously carved out a reputation for handling a pitching staff.
For the Phillies, the signing gives the team another option to go with the youthful duo of Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp. Odds are, presuming no further additions are made, Butera will do battle with Knapp in camp for the right to open the year in the majors alongside Alfaro.
Rangers To Re-Sign Ricardo Rodriguez
The Rangers have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty Ricardo Rodriguez, according to Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Whether he’ll receive a MLB spring invite isn’t yet known.
Rodriguez was dropped from the 40-man roster last fall after an injury-limited campaign. Arm troubles aren’t a new phenomenon for the 26-year-old, who sat out the 2016 campaign owing to Tommy John surgery and has only once completed a campaign with more than 47 total innings.
Despite boasting a mid-nineties heater to work off of, Rodriguez has failed to generate many swings and misses over his twenty MLB appearances. He carries an anemic 6.8% swinging-strike rate in that stretch. Perhaps there’s more in the tank in that regard, as Rodriguez has compiled 287 strikeouts in 292 1/3 career minor-league innings. His most notable skill as a prospect, though, has been the ability to limit the long ball. Rodriguez has allowed just a dozen dingers in his seven years in the minors.
Latest On Market For Bryce Harper
The slow drip of news regarding Bryce Harper (and fellow free agent star Manny Machado) has formed a tower of uncertainty that looms over the hot stove market — indeed, the game as a whole. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess when, where, and for how much Harper will sign. As curious as the still-ongoing free agency of these players is the dearth of developments hitting the news wire and the evident lack of widespread interest.
Under these circumstances, it’s reasonably notable to learn that “at least 8 teams are still checking in on Harper,” according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). While Heyman suggests that some of those clubs do not have much interest in a long-term arrangement, it stands to reason that Harper and agent Scott Boras would welcome any bidders to help boost their bargaining power.
Despite a limited cast of publicly known suitors, it has always seemed logical that additional teams would look into a Harper deal. With at least one mystery team chasing Machado, we’ve already seen that concept introduced, but it hasn’t been as evident in Harper’s case.
So, what teams might be in the picture that weren’t previously known? That’s hard to say. The Padres have entered the mix, joining the Phillies, White Sox, and Nationals as known suitors. Beyond that, though, there’s no real indication. Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets, in fact, that he has had no success at identifying dark horse participants in the Harper derby.
You’re free to speculate in the comments, of course, but the fact is that any number of organizations could at least be kicking around the edges of Harper’s market. With as many as four mystery clubs evidently involved to some degree, it’s all but impossible to assess the lay of the land — let alone to foresee just how Harper’s time on the open market will ultimately draw to a close.
