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Reaction & Analysis: The Wilson Ramos Signing

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The Mets’ busy offseason continued today with the news that the team has agreed with free agent catcher Wilson Ramos on a two-year, $19MM contract that contains a club option for the 2021 season.  Here is some of the early reaction to the deal, and its ripple effect on the rest of the catching market…

  • After speaking with Ramos and his camp during the Winter Meetings, the Mets came away “extremely impressed” by the catcher, according to SNY.tv’s Andy Martino (Twitter links).  It also didn’t hurt that Ramos was seeking a lesser contract than Yasmani Grandal, who is looking for a four-year deal.  Kevin Plawecki may now be the odd man out of New York’s catching mix, as Martino hears that the Mets are currently planning to use Travis d’Arnaud for the backup job behind Ramos, and Plawecki could now be a trade chip.
  • The Mets were heavily involved in trade talks for J.T. Realmuto, though ultimately didn’t want to surrender “significant talent off the Major League roster” in a deal, Martino tweets.  Names like Amed Rosario, Brandon Nimmo, and Michael Conforto had all been mentioned as possible targets for the Marlins, though Miami’s desire to land more than one of these players seems to have ultimately been the Mets’ breaking point in talks.  Martino also mentions that the Mets, Marlins, and Padres had some talks about a three-team deal that would’ve involved both Realmuto and Noah Syndergaard, with those negotiations lasting “up until the end of winter meetings and perhaps beyond.”
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post likes the Ramos signing, calling it “the right move” for the Mets rather than trade young players for someone like Realmuto.  The Mets can now keep Nimmo and company as potential trade chips for midseason additions, if such move are necessary.  If the Mets don’t end up contending, Sherman points out that Ramos himself could potentially be dealt at the deadline, as his contract doesn’t represent a long-term hit for either the Mets or any possible trade suitor.
  • According to Heyman, the Mets were Ramos’ first choice this winter.  The Dodgers also had interest, though only on a one-year contract, Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times tweets.  The Rays and Phillies, Ramos’ most recent teams, didn’t strongly pursue a reunion, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reports.  Philadelphia has youngster Jorge Alfaro, of course, while Tampa Bay made another addition behind the plate in acquiring Mike Zunino from the Mariners.
  • Zunino’s presence hasn’t kept the Rays from being involved in the Realmuto market, however, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes (Twitter link) that Tampa and the Dodgers are two of the teams still in the hunt for Miami’s All-Star catcher.  The Marlins continue to feel, however, that “they don’t have to do anything” in regards to a Realmuto trade, and could still end up keeping the catcher.  “This week will be telling if a trade is made or not,” Frisaro writes.

Red Sox, Nationals Only Two Teams To Exceed 2018 Luxury Tax Threshold

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TODAY: The final totals are in, as The Associated Press reports that the Red Sox will owe $11,951,091 in luxury tax payments, while the Nationals owe $2,386,097.  Boston will also lose ten spots in draft position, dropping from its original 33rd overall spot in the first round.

NOVEMBER 4: As was widely expected, the Red Sox and Nationals were the only two clubs who exceeded the $197MM luxury tax threshold this season, as MLB.com’s Jon Morosi confirmed (Twitter link) earlier this week.  The exact figures aren’t known, though as per the luxury tax calculations on Cot’s Baseball Contracts, Boston surpassed the threshold by slightly beyond $40.85MM, while Washington was just under $6.3MM beyond the tax line.  As a reminder, a team’s normal payroll is just pure dollars spent on player salaries in a season, whereas the payroll as calculated for Competitive Balance Tax purposes consists of the average annual value of player contracts, bonuses, and other expenses.

This is the second straight year that the Nats passed the luxury tax threshold, so their tax bill will consist of 30 percent of every dollar spent in overage (so around $1.89MM).  After exceeding the threshold in 2015 and 2016, the Red Sox ducked under the CBT line in the 2017-18 offseason to “reset their clock,” so they’ll be taxed at the first-timer rate of 20 percent of every dollar spent in overage.  By Cot’s numbers, however, the Red Sox surpassed the threshold by more than $40MM, so they’ll face a 62.5 percent surcharge on the overage.

This would work out to roughly $25.53MM in luxury tax payments and, perhaps more importantly, Boston’s top pick in next year’s amateur draft (currently the 33rd overall selection) would drop by 10 spots.  Since the Sox are so close to that $40MM figure, it’s possible there could be some other calculation or unknown payroll factor that got the club under the $237MM mark — we won’t know for certain about the draft pick or the final Competitive Balance Tax bill until the league makes an official announcement.  Had Boston stayed within the $20MM-$40MM range for payroll overage, they would have faced only a 12 percent extra in tax on top of their 20 percent first-timer percentage, putting them on the hook for approximately $12.672MM in luxury tax payments.

The Giants were right up against the $197MM line seemingly all season long, though by Cot’s calculations, they squeaked under the threshold by less than $1.6MM, thus avoiding their fourth straight year of tax payments.  San Francisco was very careful in trying to stay under the $197MM payroll line after a busy offseason, as the team made a pure salary dump of a trade with the Rangers in July to unload Austin Jackson and Cory Gearrin’s contracts, and also traded Andrew McCutchen to the Yankees on August 31 once they were fully out of contention.

The Competitive Balance Tax was a major subplot of the 2017-18 offseason, as one of the reasons behind the unprecedented lack of free agent activity was the fact that big spenders like the Giants, Yankees, and Dodgers all kept their spending in check (at least by their standards) in an effort to stay under the threshold.  For New York, this marks the first time since the luxury tax system was instituted in 2003 that the team will avoid making payments — the Yankees paid a whopping $319.6MM in total luxury tax payments from 2003-17.  The Dodgers have exceeded the threshold every season since 2013, as the Guggenheim Baseball Management ownership group made an initial big spending splash to bring the club back into relevance, though the Dodgers always stressed that they would eventually take a more measured approach to payroll.

The expectation was that, once these teams reset their spending clocks, it would open the floodgates for increased spending in a 2018-19 free agent market that has two players (Bryce Harper, Manny Machado) in line for record-setting contracts.  Those two superstars plus many other available big names like Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, Yasmani Grandal, Craig Kimbrel, Josh Donaldson, Nathan Eovaldi, and many others makes this winter a particularly important time to have as much salary flexibility as possible.

Any team who exceeds the luxury tax threshold in three or more consecutive years must pay a 50 percent tax on the overage, so getting under the line carries some noteworthy savings.  Plus, as per the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that came into play for the 2017 season, a team that surpasses the $40MM overage figure (as it appears Boston has done) faces as much as a 90 percent tax on the overage, plus that 10-slot drop for their top pick in the amateur draft.

Those stiffer penalties surely also contributed to the Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants’ decisions, though it should be noted that the actual dollars paid in tax penalties aren’t overly pricey for such wealthy franchises.  While big spending is certainly no guarantee of success on the field, it usually does provide some level of competitive advantage — for instance, nobody in Boston’s organization is sweating that tax payment in the wake of a World Series championship, no matter if the final bill ends up at $12.672MM or $25.53MM.  (Even dropping from the 33rd to the 43rd overall pick is a pretty light penalty.)  As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has written in the past, some “large market teams are treating the CBT thresholds as lines they absolutely cannot cross,” perhaps as an overall excuse to curb spending.  Only eight teams total have ever made tax payments, with two of those clubs — the 2004 Angels and 2016 Cubs — doing so only once.  Teams will have even more room to spend in 2019, as the luxury tax threshold is jumping up to $206MM.

In paying the tax in 2018, the Red Sox and Nationals will each face added penalties for pursuing free agents who were issued qualifying offers, and will receive limited compensation if their own QO free agent (Kimbrel for the Sox, Harper for the Nats) leaves.  If Boston or Washington signs a player who rejected the QO from his former team, the Sox/Nats would have to give up $1MM in international signing bonus pool money as well as their second-highest and fifth-highest picks in next year’s draft.  Should Kimbrel and Harper reject their qualifying offers and sign elsewhere, the Sox and Nationals would only receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round of the draft.

AL East Notes: Rays, Diaz, Bauers, Tribe, Elias, Jays

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Some items from around the AL East…

  • Thursday’s three-team deal between the Rays, Indians, and Mariners was a very notable swap for all sides, and while payroll concerns were a big factor for Seattle and Cleveland, the Rays’ role was apparently more baseball-centric, and all the more interesting given the team’s long-standing admiration for first baseman Jake Bauers.  As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, Bauers had long been seen as the Rays’ projected first baseman of the future, and the 23-year-old only just made his big league debut in 2018.  New acquisition Yandy Diaz, however, adds a bit more positional flexibility as well as a right-handed bat to Tampa’s roster.  “Jake’s pretty special to us and our high opinion of him doesn’t change….We like him a lot,” Rays senior VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said.  “This was one (deal) where there was no high-fiving, just something we thought really made sense for us going forward. The Indians are getting a hell of a player. It’s going to be fun to watch his career progress.”
  • In more details on the trade, Topkin reiterated that Edwin Encarnacion isn’t likely to be flipped from the Mariners to the Rays, even though Seattle could very well trade Encarnacion elsewhere before Opening Day.  That fits with a report from Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who said that Encarnacion wasn’t originally a part of any talks between the Rays and Indians, who were initially planning to just swap Bauers for Diaz in a regular two-team deal.  Hoynes also “would not be surprised” if the Tribe acquires a veteran bat for pinch-hitting or part-time DH duty, to get some playing time when Carlos Santana is at first base and Bauers is deployed as a corner outfielder.
  • Mike Elias’ contract with the Orioles may be a five-year deal, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com has heard, though Kubatko noted that this hasn’t been confirmed by the organization.  It isn’t unusual, of course, for teams to not publicly release details on executive contracts.  Five years isn’t an uncommon contract length even for a first-time GM like Elias, especially given the large amount of work he faces in overseeing what should be a very extensive rebuild.
  • The Blue Jays are known to be looking for some veteran rotation help, though they apparently weren’t “serious bidders” for the recently-signed Charlie Morton or Lance Lynn, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes.  Morton signed a two-year, $30MM deal with the Rays that includes an option year, while Lynn reportedly got a three-year, $30MM commitment from the Rangers.  It would be somewhat surprising if Toronto signed an experienced starter to such a contract, either in price or perhaps anything longer than two years, given how the Jays are in a rebuilding phase.  The Blue Jays reportedly at least checked in on Lynn, though it isn’t surprising that they balked at giving him a three-year deal.  Toronto’s lack of moves on the pitching front makes them a team to watch as various hurlers continue to come off the board, particularly if the team is also weighing offers for Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez.

Baseball Blogs Weigh in: Kluber, Brewers, Shifts, Braves, M’s, NY

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This week in baseball blogs…

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com

NL Notes: Reds, Giants, Marlins, J. Kelly

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On the heels of their fifth straight sub-.500 campaign, the Reds entered the offseason planning to post a higher payroll in 2019 than in years past. That remains the case, according to president Dick Williams, who said (via John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that “payroll will be up to levels we haven’t had before. We still have money to spend.” Williams’ comments imply the Reds will outdo their franchise-record Opening Day payroll from 2015, when they ran up a $115MM-plus tab, and Fay suggests they could ultimately climb toward the $130MM range. Moreover, even after acquiring righty Tanner Roark from the Nationals this week, the Reds remain “very engaged with multiple clubs” and are “talking trades with multiple clubs,” Williams added. Regardless of whether further upgrades come via trades, free agency or both, Cincinnati should still have enough money left to pick up an outfielder and find another starter to join Roark & Co. in its rotation, Fay posits.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • The Giants have been speculative suitors for outfielder Bryce Harper, arguably the preeminent player on the open market, but they aren’t “currently involved in discussions with most high-profile free agents,” Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group writes. Rather, in an effort to maintain payroll flexibility in 2020 and beyond, the Giants seem to be focusing on free agents who are likely to collect short-term contracts.
  • Trading catcher J.T. Realmuto would leave a gaping hole behind the plate for the Marlins, who wouldn’t be able to adequately replace him this offseason. But if the Marlins do go the expected route and part with Realmuto, they may add a veteran backstop to work with their young pitching staff, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com relays. President Michael Hill acknowledged the team’s desire for an experienced catcher, saying “a person who is going to take care of your pitchers as you continue to build” could help those hurlers “turn into the championship pieces you think they can be.” Miami could acquire Realmuto’s replacement in its forthcoming trade for him, though that’s not a must, Frisaro notes. Aside from Realmuto, the only other catcher on the Marlins’ 40-man roster is Chad Wallach, who has all of 21 MLB games under his belt. The lone somewhat battle-tested backup in the organization is Bryan Holaday, a recent minor league signee who has achieved minimal success across 606 trips to the plate in the majors.
  • Before he agreed to a three-year, $25MM contract with the Dodgers this week, hard-throwing reliever Joe Kelly drew interest from half the league (15 teams), according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Kelly revealed that the Dodgers were the first club to extend him a three-year offer.

AL Notes: Manny, Yanks, Rangers, Rays, ChiSox, Eloy

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A date has been set for the previously reported Manny Machado-Yankees summit. He’ll head to New York to meet with the team on Wednesday, George A. King III of the New York Post relays. It’s reportedly one of four visits the superstar infielder will make around the league in the coming days. He’ll also sit down with the White Sox, Phillies and a mystery team.  [UPDATE: Machado will meet with the Phils on Thursday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.  The White Sox meeting is likely to take place “early in the week,” as per Fancred’s Jon Heyman, which would seemingly place it on Monday or Tuesday ahead of Machado’s trip to New York.]  Machado’s meeting with the Yankees may give him an opportunity to clear the air with owner Hal Steinbrenner, who said last month it would be “essential” for the 26-year-old to explain his well-documented “Johnny Hustle” comments to GM Brian Cashman.

Here’s more on a few other American League clubs:

  • In the event the Rangers trade left-hander Mike Minor, who has drawn interest from at least one team, they’d “likely have to add another veteran” starter in response, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The Rangers don’t want to overexpose their young pitchers at the major league level in 2019, per Grant, and losing their 2018 innings leader in Minor without replacing him would make that task more difficult. Texas did sign Lance Lynn this week, but he’d be the only strong bet to eat innings on a Minor-less staff. While Drew Smyly and Edinson Volquez have done it in the past, the former hasn’t taken a major league mound since 2016, and the latter last pitched in MLB in July 2017 – a month before he underwent Tommy John surgery.
  • Likewise, the Rangers plan to acquire bullpen help prior to spring training, according to general manager Jon Daniels (via Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram). The unit just lost its innings king from last season, Alex Claudio, whom the Rangers traded to the Brewers earlier in the week. Prior to that, the Rangers did reunite with Jesse Chavez via the open market, but they also saw Tony Barnette and the non-tendered Matt Bush become free agents.
  • An experienced closer is on the Rays’ wish list, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The Rays’ saves leaders from last season – Sergio Romo and Alex Colome – are no longer on the roster, with the former currently a free agent. Romo’s one of several established closers on the market, where Craig Kimbrel, Zach Britton, David Robertson, Andrew Miller, Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria, Cody Allen and Bud Norris are also among those seeking deals.
  • White Sox uber-prospect Eloy Jimenez has been playing in the Dominican Winter League, but Chicago will probably shut the outfielder down until spring training because of a quad injury, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. Jimenez would have been done with winter ball in another week anyway, Levine notes, so this doesn’t seem like a particularly serious issue. As such, the 22-year-old Jimenez remains on track to make his much-anticipated big league debut sometime in 2019.

Trade Candidate Faceoff: Yasiel Puig Vs. Nicholas Castellanos

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For at least the past year, a pair of right fielders – the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig and the Tigers’ Nicholas Castellanos – have been among the majors’ biggest potential trade chips. Neither player has gone anywhere to this point, but it now looks like only a matter of time before both Puig and Castellanos don new uniforms.

During this week’s Winter Meetings, reports surfaced indicating the Dodgers are “actively” attempting to trade Puig and the Tigers are “determined” to ship out Castellanos. As of now, Puig and Castellanos haven’t been connected to the same teams in the rumor mill, but it stands to reason they’d have similar suitors. Los Angeles may even replace Puig with Castellanos, who would likely offer analogous on-field value and perhaps cause fewer behind-the-scenes headaches.

A native of Cuba, Puig signed with the Dodgers to great fanfare in 2012 and made a dazzling debut the next season, when he was as captivating as he was productive. The early version of Puig – the one who often inspired awe at the plate, in the field and on the bases – was not only a perfect fit for Hollywood, but he was also among the majors’ elite players. From 2013-14, Puig’s first two seasons, only Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen and Paul Goldschmidt finished ahead of him in wRC+ (153). Meanwhile, just those four and 10 other position players outdid Puig in fWAR (9.5), despite the fact that he accrued fewer plate appearances than everyone near the top of the leaderboard.

Had Puig continued to produce at anything resembling the blistering pace of his first two seasons, it’s possible the Dodgers may have worked to extend him by now. Instead, the 28-year-old’s numbers nosedived after his second season, and his relationship with the Dodgers has soured along the way. Thanks in part to those factors, Puig’s entering his last year of team control, and it seems like a strong possibility that he has taken his final at-bat with the championship-contending Dodgers.

There haven’t been any reports of problems between Castellanos and the Tigers, on the other hand. Nevertheless, as a team in a rebuild, Detroit’s positioned to bid goodbye to Castellanos – whom it chose in the first round of the 2010 draft. Like Puig, the soon-to-be 27-year-old Castellanos is entering his final season of control, and the two players are projected to earn matching $11.3MM salaries in 2019. The similarities continue in the form of their respective outputs dating back to 2016, Castellanos’ breakout season.

Since Castellanos finally began living up to the billing he had as a prospect, he has accumulated 1,790 PAs and 7.0 fWAR on the strength of a .285/.336/.495 batting line – good for a healthy 121 wRC+. During the same period, Puig totaled far fewer PAs (1,382) but still managed 5.8 fWAR, thanks largely to a .264/.334/.470 slash and a 115 wRC+. Puig also swiped 35 bases, easily trumping Castellanos’ seven, and destroyed his fellow trade candidate in the field. From 2016-18, only nine outfielders piled up more Defensive Runs Saved than Puig’s 29. Meanwhile, Castellanos has struggled to find a position – he was a butcher at third base from 2016-17 and also fared poorly in the outfield last season. Consequently, Castellanos’ future may be at first base or designated hitter.

Aside from their dissimilarities in the field and on the bases, the two right-handed hitters have also provided their offensive production in different ways. Castellanos tortured left-handers from 2017-18 – a 308-PA sample in which he slashed .338/.386/.585 (159 wRC+) – whereas Puig was borderline unplayable versus southpaws in the same span. Although Puig was a formidable presence against lefties earlier in his career, they held him to a feeble .197/.292/.320 line and a horrid 66 wRC+ over the previous two seasons and 259 PAs. As a result, the Dodgers limited his playing time when a righty wasn’t on the hill last season, reportedly leading to discontentment from Puig and an open-minded attitude toward a trade.

Both Puig and Castellanos may well have new homes come 2019, potentially joining the top free-agent corner outfielders – Bryce Harper, Michael Brantley and McCutchen – in that regard. McCutchen’s already off the board, and for teams that aren’t in position to ink Harper to a record contract or hand Brantley a lucrative multiyear payday, Puig and Castellanos could represent appealing alternatives. The question is: Which player would you rather have?

(poll link for app users)

Which trade candidate do you prefer?
Nicholas Castellanos 58.65% (7,492 votes)
Yasiel Puig 41.35% (5,282 votes)
Total Votes: 12,774

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cardinals Notes: Fowler, Yadi, Roberts, Reyes

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Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler admitted to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this week that he felt “depressed” in 2018, the worst season of an otherwise solid career. Only three position players finished behind Fowler in fWAR (minus-1.2), whose offensive production fell off a cliff in the second season of a five-year, $82.5MM contract. Despite a nightmarish campaign which ended in early August on account of a fractured left foot, the soon-to-be 33-year-old Fowler still “truly loves” baseball and is gearing up for a rebound next season. It helps that Fowler still has the confidence of Cardinals president John Mozeliak and manager Mike Shildt, and he has grown particularly close to the former, Goold explains. On the other hand, Fowler suggested he lost the belief of former manager Mike Matheny, whom Shildt replaced in July. In an effort to bounce back to his previous levels, Fowler has enlisted the help of the legendary Barry Bonds this offseason for both workout and hitting advice, Goold details. On Bonds, Fowler said: “My whole mindset is if I’m going to learn from the best, I’m going to do everything that he says to do, and if I fail at it then I can always look back and say I did it. I did everything. I did everything and it’s not in the cards.” Goold’s full piece is worth checking out for more from Fowler.

Here’s more on the Redbirds, courtesy of Goold:

  • Cardinals stalwart Yadier Molina underwent surgery Thursday to remove a bone spur from his left knee, Goold relays. After a two-week recovery, Molina should be ready to resume his typical offseason workouts, general manager Michael Girsch informed Goold. A healthy version of the franchise catcher is all the more important to St. Louis after it parted with young backstop Carson Kelly to acquire first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
  • The commissioner’s office has suspended Cardinals pitching prospect Griffin Roberts 50 games after a second positive test for a drug of abuse, Goold reports. The 22-year-old Roberts, whom the Cardinals chose 43rd overall in last June’s draft, will serve his suspension at the start of next season. Now the Cardinals’ 10th-ranked prospect at MLB.com, the right-hander combined for 9 2/3 innings at the rookie and Double-A levels last season after the team drafted him.
  • The Cardinals aren’t yet sure whether they’ll deploy righty Alex Reyes as a starter or a reliever in 2019, per Goold. Reyes, one of the most promising young pitchers in the sport, saw injuries derail his previous two seasons. The 24-year-old missed all of 2017 because of Tommy John surgery, and after returning to throw just four major league innings last season, he suffered a torn tendon in his right lat and had to go back under the knife. Fortunately, St. Louis expects Reyes to be “close to full speed” when spring training rolls around, Goold writes. Then, based on how Reyes looks in camp (and how the club constructs its rotation and bullpen), the Cardinals will decide on his role and whether he’ll begin the year in the majors.

Heyman’s Latest: Braves, Ender, Swanson, Angels, Phils, Moose

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The latest from Jon Heyman of Fancred…

  • Along with the previously reported Mike Foltynewicz, the Braves don’t plan to trade center fielder Ender Inciarte or shortstop Dansby Swanson this winter, Heyman hears. Both Inciarte and Swanson have come up in trade rumors this offseason. Moving Inciarte would free up center field for Ronald Acuna Jr., but it would also take a capable starting outfielder away from a team which already needs help in that area as it is. The Braves are better situated in the middle infield, where a Swanson-less version of the club could deploy a combination of Ozzie Albies and Johan Camargo as its starters. Still, there’s reportedly hesitation on the Braves’ part to move Swanson. While Swanson hasn’t lived up to the hype that came with going No. 1 overall in the 2015 draft, he’s still young (24), just one full season into his career and controllable through 2022.
  • The Angels were reportedly in the mix for free-agent starters Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi before they signed elsewhere, and the team hasn’t done anything since then to bolster its rotation. The need for high-end starters remains obvious, then, though the Angels are shopping in the second tier of the market – not at the top – per Heyman. As of now, the Angels are neither willing to go big on a free-agent starter (the priciest one remaining figures to be Dallas Keuchel) nor take a significant chunk out of their farm system to improve their rotation, according to Heyman. General manager Billy Eppler noted the importance of building a strong system earlier in the week, and it doesn’t seem he’s willing to take any steps backward in that department.
  • The belief is that the Phillies have “considered” free-agent third baseman Mike Moustakas as a fallback if they’re unable to sign Manny Machado, Heyman writes. Needless to say, Moustakas is a far less exciting option than Machado. It’s also debatable whether Moustakas would serve as a substantial offensive upgrade over incumbent starting third baseman Maikel Franco, judging by the similar production the two posted in 2018. Of course, Moustakas certainly carries the more impressive track record of the two at the plate; further, unlike Franco, Moustakas hasn’t been a defensive liability over the course of his career.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/15/18

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A look at the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced that they have acquired outfielder Wang Po-jung from the Lamigo Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, per the Japan Times. The Fighters reached a three-year agreement worth around $3.54MM with Wang, who looked like a possibility to immigrate to the majors via the posting process after last season. Instead, the Taiwan native will remain in Asia, where he has toyed with opposing pitchers. The 25-year-old Wang logged a 1.110 OPS over 1,484 at-bats in his previous league. If the bat-flipping Wang’s brilliance transfers to Japan, it stands to reason he’ll draw major league interest in the future.

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