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Rangers Sign Asdrubal Cabrera

By Jeff Todd | January 24, 2019 at 11:16am CDT

TODAY: The Rangers have officially announced the signing.

TUESDAY: The Rangers have agreed to a one-year deal with veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, pending a physical, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal promises the Octagon client $3.5MM, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter).

Initial indications are that Cabrera will primarily line up at third base in Texas. With the team’s middle-infield duo already settled, that certainly makes sense. No doubt, the chance for regular duty was a large part of the draw for the long-time big leaguer.

Cabrera, 33, has spent most of his career in the middle infield, with the lion’s share of that time coming at shortstop. He has lined up at third in recent seasons, but still only has accumulated 471 2/3 frames at the hot corner — representing less than four percent of his total action in the field at the game’s highest level.

While Cabrera has at times actually drawn improved grades on his glove at short in recent years, particularly in the eyes of UZR, his range has long represented a major demerit. Since he’s otherwise a surehanded fielder, and clearly has the arm to work on the left side of the infield, suggests that third base represents a sensible position.

Of course, the calling card for Cabrera remains his bat. He has actually turned things up over the past three years, posting a cumulative .274/.334/.456 slash in that span that’s reflective of his best earlier-career campaigns. The switch-hitter hits for a high average, delivers a fair bit of pop (23 home runs in 2018), and has long succeeded against both right- and left-handed pitching (career .752 OPS vs. .759 OPS, respectively).

In many regards, this seems to be a bit of a bargain rate for a solid veteran who has delivered so much offense in recent seasons. Though he fell just off of MLBTR’s list of the top fifty free agents, receiving honorable mention consideration, Cabrera is younger than Jed Lowrie (who signed for two years and $20MM) and easily outperformed Brian Dozier (one year, $9MM) at the plate last year.

Trouble was, this year’s market (including free agents and trade candidates) was loaded with players who could handle second and/or third base. Among them, Marwin Gonzalez, Mike Moustakas, Josh Harrison, Derek Dietrich, Neil Walker, Logan Forsythe, and others remain available on the open market (in addition, of course, to superstar Manny Machado). As it turns out, Cabrera will land just shy of Ian Kinsler in total guarantee, though he’ll avoid handing over control of another season via club option.

With the move, the Rangers will fill the void created when they traded Jurickson Profar earlier in the offseason. Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor will remain entrenched at shortstop and second base, respectively, though it surely doesn’t hurt that Cabrera could step in at either position if a need arises. Slugger Joey Gallo will presumably range the outfield, though he’s also an option at third base if there’s a need.

In conjunction with some other veteran additions — veteran backstop Jeff Mathis, three starters (Lance Lynn, Drew Smyly, Shelby Miller), and reliever Jesse Chavez — the Rangers have certainly shored up their roster. Among those acquisitions, only Mathis and Lynn required multiple years, and none of the salaries represents a major outlay for an organization that has a history of significant payrolls and is readying for a new stadium boost.

All in all, there’s greater upside on hand than you might have expected, particularly if a few key young players can make strides. Still, it’s tough to see this group making a strong run in a top-heavy American League. Maintaining a reasonably competitive product won’t allow the Rangers to pocket cost-savings and draft picks to the extent they might have otherwise, but it should help boost revenue and fan interest in the near-term. It’ll be interesting to see how the roster reloading effort shakes out in Texas.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Astros Still Interested In Dallas Keuchel

By Mark Polishuk | January 24, 2019 at 10:44am CDT

It’s too early to count out a reunion between Dallas Keuchel and the Astros, as Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that Houston continues to have interest in the free agent left-hander. We haven’t heard much connecting Keuchel and the Astros this winter, though back in late December, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart speculated that the Astros could reconsider signing Keuchel if he was still on the market by late January, and if the team hadn’t made any other notable pitching signings.

This is exactly the situation both sides find themselves in, four weeks later, and it’s fair to wonder if there could be more than a “slim” chance (as McTaggart described things) of Keuchel again donning a Houston uniform in 2019. There hasn’t been much recent news on Keuchel, as it could be that his market is being held up until Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado both sign contracts. Of the teams who have been linked to Keuchel this offseason, at least three (the Phillies, Nationals, and Padres) have also had interest in one or both of Harper and Machado. Of course, Washington could be out of the running for Keuchel regardless of what happens with Harper, as the Nats have already augmented their rotation by signing Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez.

Beyond those three teams, the Reds, Rangers, Brewers, Angels, Braves, and Blue Jays have all reportedly had some level of interest in Keuchel at certain points this offseason. This group could all still be fits on paper, though Texas, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles have all preferred to add shorter-term arms to their rotations. Keuchel, meanwhile, was still looking for at least a five-year contract as of last month.

With all this in mind, there seems to be some room for the Astros to re-emerge as a potential landing spot. Keuchel is represented by Scott Boras, who has negotiated some creative contracts for his pitching clients in recent months, and thus could find some common ground if Houston is wary of making a big multi-year commitment to a 31-year-old southpaw. Since Keuchel rejected a qualifying offer, the Astros are currently in line for a compensatory draft pick if signs elsewhere, but the club could decide that foregoing that extra pick is worth it if Keuchel could be re-signed at an acceptable price.

The Astros’ pitching staff was already expected to take a hit this winter with Keuchel and Charlie Morton (now with the Rays) hitting free agency, but they lost another arm in early November when Lance McCullers underwent Tommy John surgery. While the one-two combo of Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole gives Houston plenty of quality at the front of the rotation, the back end is less certain. Collin McHugh is returning to starting after a year in the bullpen, youngsters Josh James and Framber Valdez have less than a year of MLB experience between them, and some highly-touted arms in the farm system (namely top prospect Forrest Whitley and righty J.B. Bukauskas) are entirely unproven at the big league level. Adding a seasoned, playoff-tested veteran like Keuchel would go a long way towards reinforcing the staff in a year that the Astros hope to again contend for a World Series title.

Mets Notes: McNeil, Free Agents, D’Arnaud, Davis

By Mark Polishuk | January 24, 2019 at 9:50am CDT

The latest from the Amazins….

Teams have shown trade interest in utilityman Jeff McNeil, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required), though Rosenthal is doubtful the Mets would move the 26-year-old. McNeil’s first MLB season saw him hit an eye-popping .329/.381/.471 over 248 plate appearances for New York, numbers that seemingly had him penciled in as the Mets’ second baseman in 2019. After the acquisitions of Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie, however, McNeil may spend more time in the outfield than the infield next season as the team intends to deploy him as a depth piece all over the diamond. Given his six years of team control and the lengthy injury history of several Mets veterans, it makes sense that New York isn’t looking to deal McNeil, though he would certainly be one of the club’s better trade chips if GM Brodie Van Wagenen wanted to make another bold move.
The larger focus of Rosenthal’s piece is on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, as Rosenthal opines that the Mets should be pursuing either player as a way to make a final push as a true contender. The Mets haven’t been considered as prime candidates for either superstar free agent since both players seem out of New York’s price range, though Rosenthal notes that the Mets will recoup a lot of money from insurance on David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes. Earlier today on MLBTR, Steve Adams listed the Mets as a reasonable candidate as one of the “mystery teams” who are reportedly in the hunt for Machado.
Travis d’Arnaud is another player who could be taking on a multi-position role for the Mets next season, which the catcher is eager to assume. “Wherever the team needs me or wants me to play, I’ll play,” d’Arnaud tells Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. More than anything, d’Arnaud just wants to get back on the field in general, after missing almost all of 2018 due to a partial UCL tear in his throwing elbow. This was the latest in a long list of injuries for d’Arnaud, which is why the Mets signed Wilson Ramos and relegated d’Arnaud to backup catcher, or perhaps hybrid bench duty as a catcher or corner infielder. There’s also still a chance d’Arnaud could be traded, though he seems to have a clear path to the backup job after Kevin Plawecki was dealt to Cleveland.
Speaking of roster versatility, J.D. Davis is open to helping the Mets as a pitcher, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. “It’s a set skill that I have — a good arm and a good fastball — I can go out there and compete and throw some strikes and get some outs, that’s for sure,” Davis said. The Mets don’t yet have any plans to work Davis out as a pitcher during Spring Training, DiComo reports, though he notes that Van Wagenen has twice referenced Davis’ ability on the mound since acquiring Davis from the Astros earlier this month. Davis pitched in college and owns a 92-mph fastball, which he showed off in three mop-up duty relief outings for Houston over the last two seasons. For now, however, his primary role with the Mets will be as depth at both corner infield and corner outfield spots.

Trying To Identify “Mystery Teams” For Manny Machado

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2019 at 7:19am CDT

The apparent staring contest between Manny Machado, the White Sox and the Phillies doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, and the saga will surely drag on even longer if reports of unidentified suitors prove true. With the identities of said teams (assuming for a moment that they do indeed exist) yet unknown — it’s perhaps worthwhile to at least take a high-level pass throughout the league to see just who could plausibly emerge as a surprise dark-horse in the Machado auction.

It seems safe to eliminate the league’s perennial lowest spenders. While the Rays have an atypical amount of flexibility even after signing Charlie Morton, it’s impossible to imagine a team with this payroll history sustaining even a $25MM annual salary — let alone a salary of $30MM or more. Similarly, the Athletics figure to be priced out of the Machado market, as do the Pirates and the Marlins (the latter of which, once again, is rebuilding anyway). The Reds are already projected to set a new franchise-record payroll in 2019, and adding Machado when they already have strong infield options isn’t all that plausible.

Great as Machado is, there are also some clubs who simply don’t have space in their infield for him. The Astros could afford to add Machado to their ranks, for instance, but Houston wouldn’t displace any of Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa or Jose Altuve to accommodate Machado. The Nationals have Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and newly signed Brian Dozier comprising their non-first-base infield slots. I wouldn’t characterize the group of Josh Donaldson, Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies and Johan Camargo as quite as strong an infield mix, but it’s fair to say that the Braves probably don’t have space for yet another left-side infielder, barring a trade. Machado would also take Atlanta’s payroll to record heights.

Looking further, it’s unlikely that a team in the early stages of a pure rebuild is going to sign Machado the type of contract he’s seeking. The Royals are trying to pare back payroll, and the Tigers have yet to signal that they’re ready to emerge from their own restructuring. The Orioles aren’t going to bring him back into the mix on the heels of selling off the vast majority of their appealing veteran assets last summer. If it turns out that the Mariners wanted to clear money for Machado and/or Bryce Harper all along this winter, well then kudos to Jerry Dipoto on the most entertaining offseason in MLB history. But, since we’re trying to be rational, it seems like a lock that Machado doesn’t align with Seattle’s “re-imagining” movement.

Several mid-market teams are said to be facing payroll constraints that’ll probably keep them out of the Machado market. The Indians have been trying to shed payroll for much of the winter, and the Diamondbacks are currently being weighed down by huge commitments to Zack Greinke and Yasmany Tomas, the latter of whom is no longer even on the roster. The Rockies’ projected payroll already checks in north of $150MM, making a deal tough to envision. And if they’re going to give this type of annual salary to anyone, they’d probably prefer to offer it to Nolan Arenado, anyhow.

There are also several teams who typically spend heavily but are again refraining from doing so. The Dodgers don’t really have a need on the left side of the infield, but they could conceivably move Justin Turner or perhaps even Corey Seager to second base if it meant opening the hot corner for a player of Machado’s caliber, but there have at least been some reports that L.A. is vying to stay below the luxury tax line, and they’ve not spent like a big-market club to date. The Cubs could bid farewell to Addison Russell in some capacity and install Machado at shortstop, but persistent reports out of Chicago suggest their budget isn’t even flexible enough to bolster the relief corps. The Giants seem likelier to rebuild than to add a free agent of this magnitude, and the Rangers have been zeroed in on smaller-scale additions as they embark on their own soft reset. The Blue Jays are no strangers to large payrolls ($160MM+ in each of the past two seasons) but have made only marginal additions as they face the reality of a top-heavy division and the disbanding of the core that recently carried them to the ALCS.

The Red Sox arguably don’t have a dire need for Machado, though they could likely find a way to fit him into the mix. However, they’re just a few million shy of the top luxury bracket, and some reports have implied that an unwillingness to top that threshold is preventing them from even adding a reliever to the ’pen. They’re picking an odd time to draw a line in the sand, but Machado never seemed all that likely a target anyhow. Their chief rival, the Yankees, made (and very arguably still makes) sense on paper, but it doesn’t seem like they’ll outbid the field to further muddle an already crowded infield picture.

Beyond this grouping, of course, we know that both the White Sox and Phillies are legitimate Machado suitors who needn’t be explored as we try to pin down any potential mystery clubs. All of that said, there are still six clubs that strike me as reasonable guesses when trying to pin down potential Machado mystery clubs. Here’s a look at the remaining teams, and how/why they could conceivably add Machado to the mix (listed alphabetically):

Angels: The Halos have larger priorities — namely, trying to extend Mike Trout — but it wouldn’t be that hard to fit Machado into the mix. Zack Cozart could be slotted in at second base to make room for Machado at third base. Recent comments from GM Billy Eppler have suggested that the Angels’ spending is likely near its max following the addition of Cody Allen, but they only have Trout under control for another two seasons. There’s every reason to try to maximize the chance of winning immediately, and the Albert Pujols albatross will be off the books after the 2021 season. If the Halos somehow find a way to extend Trout, they’d only be on the hook for all three mega-salaries for one season (2021).
Brewers: Milwaukee is already in record payroll territory, but Ryan Braun is a free agent after the 2020 season and they’ve watched the division-rival Cubs largely sit this offseason out. With a clear infield need, the Brewers could theoretically add Machado, slide Travis Shaw over to second base and boast an exceptionally deep lineup. Milwaukee has just $48MM in guaranteed money on the 2020 payroll and $35.5MM in 2021. There’s likely some bad blood after October’s Jesus Aguilar incident — Christian Yelich made his feelings toward Machado known after that game — but presumably the hatchet could be buried if Machado were suddenly helping the Brewers win an extra five-plus games per year for the foreseeable future.
Cardinals: President of baseball ops John Mozeliak certainly didn’t sound like someone who was planning on a big free-agent splash over the weekend, but the Cards were prioritizing corner-infield bats earlier this winter prior to acquiring Paul Goldschmidt and could still fit Machado into the fold. Doing so would likely mean sliding either Paul DeJong or Matt Carpenter to second base for a season — the latter of which is probably a particularly unpalatable defensive alignment. But the St. Louis lineup would be exceptionally deep. As mentioned above with regard to the Rockies and Arenado, perhaps the Cardinals would simply prefer to give Goldschmidt a $30MM+ annual salary on an extension if they have the resources available, but Machado is a half decade younger.
Mets: The Mets’ infield is overcrowded as is — so much so that Jeff McNeil is likely to play in the outfield next season — so they’d have to make a move in order to fit Machado into the mix. But new GM Brodie Van Wagenen has been vocal about his win-now attitude, and shipping Todd Frazier off in order to open regular time for Machado at the hot corner isn’t outlandish. What could be outlandish would be the Wilpon family green-lighting a payroll north of $160MM, but even with all the moves they’ve made, it’s not that hard to see an on-paper scenario where Machado fits into the mix.
Padres: San Diego’s hopeful core is quite young, which presents them with the potential to carry a few notable veteran long-term contracts. Last offseason’s Eric Hosmer deal already looks regrettable, but the Padres did front-load the deal, so their annual commitment to Hosmer drops to $13MM beginning in 2023. The Padres project at a payroll just south of $84MM right now and have about $64MM on the books next season. The Padres haven’t historically been big spenders in the past, but the current ownership group did authorize a $108MM Opening Day payroll back in 2015. The Padres are known to be looking for a third baseman, and Machado would give them a long-term answer.
Twins: The Twins are the only team in baseball that doesn’t have a single dollar committed to any player in 2020. With a completely blank payroll slate, they’d have little problem fitting a major salary onto the long-term books. Looking at the 2019 roster, the infield appears full at first glance, but Machado is the type of player for whom a team should be willing to shuffle the deck. Miguel Sano could slide over to first base, pushing C.J. Cron to the bench role that Tyler Austin currently occupies. A $4.8MM bench bat would be an overpay for a team like the Twins, and owner Jim Pohlad would need to approve a record payroll by as much as $10MM for the upcoming season. That, however, would be a one-year expenditure before payroll naturally regressed. Meanwhile, the Indians aren’t improving, the Tigers and Royals aren’t threats to contend, and if any club should have an interest in keeping Machado away from the ChiSox, one would imagine it’d be a division rival.

AL Notes: Davidson, O’s, Kelley, Gonzalez, Rays

By Steve Adams | January 23, 2019 at 11:01pm CDT

To no one’s surprise, the rebuilding Orioles have been extremely quiet this offseason, focusing more on front office, player development and analytics hires while also piecing together a coaching staff under new GM Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde. However, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets that Baltimore does have some interest in free-agent corner infielder/designated hitter Matt Davidson, who was non-tendered by the White Sox earlier this winter. Davidson, 28 in March, more than doubled his career walk rate last season, drawing a free pass at a 10.5 percent clip after walking in just 4.3 percent of his plate appearances in 2017. However, the increase in patience came with a bit of a dip in power, and strikeouts remained a severe issue (33.3 percent). In all, the slugger hit .228/.319/.419 with 20 big flies in 496 plate appearances. Davidson has 46 home runs in his past 939 PAs but is still a work in progress at the plate. He could potentially give Baltimore some pop off the bench, and his right-handed bat could help to shield Chris Davis from opposing lefties as the veteran attempts to rebound from a catastrophic 2018 season.

Diamondbacks, T.J. McFarland Avoid Arbitration

By Steve Adams | January 23, 2019 at 8:22pm CDT

8:22pm: MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets that McFarland will earn $1.4MM in 2019, and his 2020 option is valued at $1.85MM with a $50K buyout (thus comprising the $1.45MM guarantee).

7:59pm: The D-backs announced Wednesday night that they’ve avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland. The southpaw’s one-year contract also includes a club option for the 2020 season. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the two sides settled at a $1.45MM salary for the upcoming season.

McFarland, an Octagon client, enjoyed a career year with the Diamondbacks this past season, pitching to a flat 2.00 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.50 HR/9 and a whopping 67.9 percent ground-ball rate in 72 innings out of the bullpen. The former Orioles hurler was particularly lethal against left-handed opponents, who managed a downright pitiful .163/.182/.206 slash against McFarland in 100 plate appearances. After earning a modest $850K salary in 2018, McFarland and his reps filed for nearly double that sum in arbitration, countering Arizona’s $1.275MM figure with a $1.675MM submission.

[Related: MLBTR 2019 Arbitration Tracker]

The club option on McFarland’s deal will cover what would be his final season of arbitration, meaning the two sides have most likely avoided a hearing not only this offseason but next offseason as well. Technically speaking, the D-backs could decline the option and retain McFarland as an arb-eligible player for his final season of control. However, it’s likelier that if McFarland pitches well, they’ll simply exercise his option or, if he performs poorly, that the Diamondbacks would move on entirely.

Marlins Hire Juan Pierre As Minor League Outfield Coordinator

By Steve Adams | January 23, 2019 at 5:51pm CDT

The Marlins announced Wednesday that they’ve hired former big league outfielder Juan Pierre as their new minor league outfield coordinator. It’ll be the first professional coaching assignment for the 41-year-old Pierre, who retired as a player upon conclusion of the 2013 season.

Pierre spent more time with the Marlins than any other organization over the course of a 14-year MLB career, first playing every game from 2003-05 for the then-Florida Marlins and eventually returning to Miami for his final season in ’13. A career .295/.343/.361 hitter in 1994 games (8280 plate appearances), Pierre was best known for the blistering speed that helped him to swipe 614 bases. He never stole fewer than 23 bags in a full big league season and topped 40 steals on nine occasions (including three different seasons with 60-plus steals). As one might expect from a player with that type of speed, Pierre drew consistently strong defensive marks for his range, though his throwing arm weighed down his overall defensive ratings.

Miami also announced a slew of other hirings, including former Twins third base coach Gene Glynn, who’ll serve as a minor league infield and baserunning coordinator for the organization. Glynn was Minnesota’s third base coach for each of the past four seasons and served as the manager for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester prior to that. Miami also hired Eric Duncan away from the Yankees to serve as minor league hitting coordinator and tabbed longtime big league catcher Jamie Quirk as the organization’s new minor league catching coordinator.

Orioles Announce 2019 Coaching Staff

By Steve Adams | January 23, 2019 at 3:54pm CDT

The Orioles on Wednesday formally announced their coaching staff for the 2019 season under first-year skipper Brandon Hyde.

Don Long will serve as the team’s new hitting coach, and Howie Clark will reprise his previous role as assistant hitting coach, making him the lone holdover from last year’s big league staff. Doug Brocail, meanwhile, will join the organization as the new pitching coach and work alongside former O’s minor league pitching coordinator John Wasdin, who is being promoted to bullpen coach. Arnie Beyeler and Jose Flores will handle first and third base coaching duties, respectively. Tim Cossins has been named Major League field/catching coordinator, and Jose Hernandez will join the club as a Major League coach. It seems, then, that Hyde will operate without a bench coach in his first year on the job, as Baltimore’s release makes no mention of the position.

Several of the new hires have ties to Hyde or new Orioles GM Mike Elias. Brocail, 51, spent a combined six years as a pitching coach with the Astros and Rangers before being replaced in Texas just this offseason. His time with the ’Stros from 2011-13 overlapped with the early stages of Elias’ time in Houston. Similarly, the 48-year-old Cossins is a known commodity to Hyde, as the two spent time together in the Cubs organization, where Hyde was the Cubs’ first base coach and bench coach and Cossins was the organization’s minor league field/catching coordinator. Flores, too, comes to the Orioles with Cubs connections. The 48-year-old spent the 2013-17 seasons as Chicago’s minor league infield coordinator before being hired as the Phillies’ first base coach in 2018.

While Clark is the lone holdover from former skipper Buck Showalter’s staff, there are still a pair of O’s minor league coaches joining the MLB staff. Hernandez, 49, may be a familiar name for some O’s fans, as he’s spent the past six seasons as a coach with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk. He should have plenty of familiarity with the bevy of young players who’ll receive an extended opportunity at the MLB level in the early stages of Baltimore’s rebuild. Wasdin could be described similarly, having spent the past two years as the Orioles’ minor league pitching coordinator.

The 54-year-old Beyeler spent the past three seasons as the manager of the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate and has been involved in baseball as a manager, coach or scout for nearly three decades. Long, meanwhile, joins the Orioles on the heels of a five-year stretch as the Reds’ hitting coach. The 56-year-old has more than three decades of coaching and managerial experience, having also spent time with the Angels, Phillies, Pirates and Braves.

Giants Sign Drew Pomeranz

By Jeff Todd | January 23, 2019 at 3:01pm CDT

2:55pm: The incentive pay is quite achievable, so long as the Giants keep Pomeranz on board and keep him in the rotation. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic has the details (Twitter link).

Pomeranz gets $500K if he’s on the active roster coming out of camp and upon the season’s 150th day, in addition to a quarter million apiece for being on the roster 90 and 120 days into the 2019 campaign. He also receives $250K for reaching 25 and 50 innings, a provision which will be met early if he’s a starter and can still be triggered if he works from the pen.

The rest of the cash requires Pomeranz to open ballgames. He gets $125K apiece upon his second, fourth, sixth, and eighth start; $100K upon reaching 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 27, and 30; and a final $200K if he records a full 32-start campaign.

2:05pm: The Giants announced the move, with outfielder Mike Gerber being designated for assignment to clear roster space.

12:43pm: The Giants have agreed to terms with southpaw Drew Pomeranz, according to Larry Krueger of KNBR. Pomeranz will be guaranteed just $1.5MM, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com tweets. There are incentives that can push the total value to $5MM, though, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (Twitter link).

Pomeranz becomes the second veteran lefty to sign no in San Francisco this winter, joining Derek Holland in that regard. He’ll be looking to follow Holland in a different regard as well — namely, utilizing the opportunity to work in the spacious ballpark to help spur a career turnaround.

New Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi may have relied on the opinions of preexisting staff members in bringing back Holland, but he’s no doubt applying plenty of his own experience in securing a deal with Pomeranz. Zaidi was a key member of the Oakland front office during the lefty’s tenure with the Athletics.

At thirty years of age, Pomeranz could still author a second bounceback, having done so previously when he landed with the A’s after washing out with the Rockies. It wasn’t long ago, after all, that Pomeranz was wrapping up a four-year run in which he threw 499 1/3 innings of 3.24 ERA ball with 9.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

Unfortunately, Pomeranz’s final season with the RedSox — who gave up a top prospect to get him in a trade that ultimately came under scrutiny for the Padres’ failure to disclose medical info — did not go as well as his first full year in Boston. Making it through just 74 innings in an injury-ravaged 2018 season, Pomeranz worked to an ugly 6.08 ERA while allowing 5.4 free passes and 1.5 home runs per nine innings. Arm issues clearly nagged him all year long, with a flexor tendon strain and biceps tendinitis ultimately identified as specific maladies, as Pomeranz lost nearly two ticks on his average fastball.

All things considered, this seems like a rather easy and minimal risk for the Giants to take. It stands to reason that the club offered Pomeranz a clear path to a rotation job as part of its sales pitch, though the plans are not fully clear. If he does take a spot in the starting five, it would appear to bump fellow lefties Andrew Suarez and Ty Blach out of the prospective Opening Day rotation (at least on paper).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cubs To Sign Colin Rea

By Jeff Todd | January 23, 2019 at 2:53pm CDT

The Cubs have agreed to a minors deal with righty Colin Rea, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. Details otherwise remain unclear.

Now 28 years of age, Rea at one point seemed likely to be a steady rotation piece at the game’s highest level. In fact, the Marlins acquired him on just that premise in the middle of the 2016 season.

Things took a stunning turn when Rea exited his first start in Miami with an elbow injury, teeing up a controversy with the Padres that resulted in Rea being shipped back to San Diego. Rea ended up undergoing Tommy John surgery not long thereafter, costing him all of the 2017 season.

Though he returned to the hill last year, Rea managed only a 5.73 ERA in 75 1/3 innings in the upper minors. The San Diego club dropped him at the outset of the offseason. He’ll look to get back on track in Chicago and perhaps provide an interesting depth option for the Cubs.

Also joining the Chicago organization is outfielder Zach Borenstein, Eddy adds. The 28-year-old has yet to crack the bigs, but has posted some solid numbers at times at Triple-A. In five total seasons there, he carries a .260/.337/.476 slash, popping 65 home runs but also going down on strikes 493 times in 1,657 plate appearances.

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