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Astros Extend A.J. Hinch Through 2022

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Aug. 30: Astros owner Jim Crane and president of baseball ops Jeff Luhnow have announced Hinch’s new contract at a press conference. Hinch signed a four-year extension that is guaranteed through the 2022 season.

Aug. 29: he Astros have agreed to a contract extension with manager A.J. Hinch, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston (Twitter link). A formal announcement of the move will come tomorrow, per the report.

A.J. Hinch | Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

While the length of the new contract is not yet clear, general manager Jeff Luhnow said earlier this summer that his hope was to “have [Hinch] here as my manager for as long as I’m here” (link via The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan). Those comments were made on the day that the organization announced an extension for Luhnow that runs through the 2023 season.

Hinch, 44, is in his fourth season at the helm of the Astros — each of which has been a winning season. After winning 86 and 84 games, respectively, in his first two seasons as the Houston manager, Hinch of course guided the Astros to a 101-win season and an eventual World Series championship in 2017. The Astros just wrapped up their 82nd victory of the season and are currently two and a half games up on the Athletics in a surprisingly competitive AL West division.

Hinch was already under contract through the 2019 season via a club option that long looked like a lock to be exercised, but the new agreement will prevent him from heading into the 2019 season with any questions surrounding his long-term standing in the organization. In all, the Astros are 353-266 under Hinch.

Hinch’s managerial career got off to a rough start when, after previously serving as the D-backs’ director of player development, he was named the team’s manager at the age of 35 in 2010. The move was widely panned at the time, given his youth and inexperience, and he lasted just 212 games with Arizona in that role before being cut loose. Hinch went on to work in the Padres’ front office as the team’s vice president of professional scouting before returning to the field as the new Astros manager following the 2014 season.

Hinch’s experience in player development, the adversity he faced in his first managerial position and his familiarity with analytics and data-driven strategies made him a fit in Houston, and it now seems that the union between the two sides will continue for several years to come. While Hinch has not yet taken home a Manager of the Year Award since being named the Houston skipper, he’s finished second in the voting (2015) and third in the voting (2017) in his short career.

Tigers Place Jose Iglesias On Disabled List

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The Tigers announced that they’ve placed shortstop Jose Iglesias on the 10-day disabled list due to a lower abdominal strain and recalled infielder Dawel Lugo from Triple-A Toledo in his place.

Today’s trip to the disabled list all but definitively rules out a trade of Iglesias, who otherwise made sense as a logical addition for a contender looking to bolster its infield defense. The 28-year-old Iglesias is a free agent at season’s end, so the Tigers now stand to lose him without any form of compensation. That’s not necessarily for a lack of effort on their part, however; Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press wrote today that the Tigers have had their shortstop on the trade block “for the better part of two seasons” and simply haven’t matched up with another club.

Iglesias has never been a huge threat at the plate, but this season’s .269/.310/.389 slash line was at least an improvement over his 2016-17 results. Iglesias’ calling card has long been his glovework and baserunning, anyhow, though defensive metrics are more split on his level of excellence. Defensive Runs Saved pegs Iglesias at a quality +7 mark over the past three seasons, for instance, while Ultimate Zone Rating pegs him as an elite defender (+29.2 runs above average). Iglesias has also swiped 15 bags in 21 tries this season and has generally graded out as an above-average baserunner.

As Fenech notes in his previously mentioned piece, it’s at least possible that the Tigers will look to bring the defensive stalwart back to Detroit. The organization doesn’t have an heir apparent at shortstop with the possible exception of Dixon Machado, though the fact that he was designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this season is all the indication one needs to glean that he’s viewed at best as a possible option rather than a definitive successor.

Mariners Acquire Kristopher Negron From Diamondbacks

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The Mariners announced today that they’ve acquired infielder/outfielder Kristopher Negron from the D-backs in exchange for cash. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma for the time being.

Negron, 32, has seen MLB time in parts of five seasons, posting a combined .216/.297/.338 batting line in 304 trips to the plate. He appeared in a pair of games with Arizona earlier this season and 14 games last year as well, though he’d previously been outrighted off the 40-man roster and subsequently won’t require a 40-man spot on the Mariners’ roster (barring a September promotion).

Negron has big league experience at every position other than catcher and pitcher. He has nearly 5000 professional innings at shortstop under his belt but has also spent more than 1200 innings at second base and third base in addition to more than 1000 innings in the outfield corners and 998 innings in center field. He’s enjoyed a productive season in Triple-A Reno this year, hitting .283/.368/.477, though those numbers have come in an admittedly hitter-friendly setting. All told, Negron is a .249/.314/.392 hitter in parts of nine Triple-A campaigns.

Jerry Blevins Clears Revocable Trade Waivers

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Mets left-hander Jerry Blevins has cleared revocable trade waivers and is eligible to be dealt to any team, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). It’s unclear whether Blevins only recently passed through waivers unclaimed or it happened earlier this month, but any interested parties would need to acquire Blevins before Sept. 1 (Saturday) in order for him to be eligible for the postseason. The veteran lefty joins a growing list of players reported to have cleared revocable waivers.

Blevins, 34, has pitched to a 3.86 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 1.01 HR/9 and a career-low 21.9 percent ground-ball rate through 35 innings. He’s had a strangely ineffective season against left-handed opponents, however, as same-handed batters have clobbered Blevins to the tune of a .297/.384/.508 batting line. That’s a significant departure from the norm for the veteran Blevins, who has held lefty batters to a putrid .212/.273/.319 slash (even including this year’s struggles).

A free agent at season’s end, Blevins is playing the 2018 season on a $7MM base salary. He’s still owed about $1.23MM of that sum over the final few weeks of the season — a steep sum for a handful of appearances for a specialist bullpen piece. However, now that Blevins has gone unclaimed, the Mets are also free to include some cash in a potential deal in order to help facilitate a trade.

Rosenthal also suggests that infielder Wilmer Flores, whom Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported to have cleared waivers last week, is another potential trade piece over the next 36 hours. Flores is controlled through next season, so there’s no real urgency to move him as there would be with Blevins, but he’s a solid bat capable of fielding multiple infield positions, making him a potential fit for contenders on the hunt for a right-handed hitter.

Brewers Designate Ariel Hernandez, Select Aaron Brooks

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The Brewers announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Aaron Brooks from Triple-A Colorado Springs and designated fellow righty Ariel Hernandez for assignment to open a space on the 40-man roster. Milwaukee also recalled Jacob Barnes from Triple-A and optioned right-handers Freddy Peralta and Taylor Williams.

The series of roster moves comes on the heels of a 10-inning, 13-12 slugfest last night, during which the Brewers burned through six pitchers, including both Peralta (the game’s starter) and Williams (who has now pitched on consecutive days). Both Peralta and Williams figure to be back with the club in the very near future.

Hernandez, 26, has bounced from the Reds to the Dodgers to the Brewers so far in 2018, showing a definitive knack for missing bats but also the same alarming control problems that have prevented the flamethrowing righty from making an impact at the big league level. Hernandez averaged 98 mph on his fastball last season in a 24-inning cup of coffee with the Reds, during which he racked up 29 punchouts but also issued 22 walks.

It’s been much of the same this year in the minors, as he has a 54-to-40 K/BB ratio in 55 1/3 innings of work across three organizations and two minor league levels. He’d only landed in Milwaukee via waivers about three weeks ago and appeared in just five games with their Triple-A affiliate before being designated once again today.

As for Brooks, the 28-year-old will be returning to the big leagues for the first time since the 2015 season with today’s promotion. Back in 2015, he was traded alongside Sean Manaea as the second piece traded sent from the Royals to the A’s in exchange for Ben Zobrist. Brooks spent a season-plus with the Cubs before the Brewers picked him up, and he’s enjoyed a solid 2018 campaign despite pitching in an enormously hitter-friendly environment. Through 99 1/3 frames in Colorado Springs, he’s notched a 3.35 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.72 HR/9 and a 55.1 percent ground-ball rate.

2019-20 MLB Free Agents

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The following players are currently free agents.  Numbers in parentheses represent the age at which the player will play the 2020 season.  We generally use a cutoff of 50 plate appearances of 20 innings pitched in the Majors in 2019 for inclusion on the list.

If you see any notable errors or omissions, please contact us.

Updated 2-24-20

Catchers

Russell Martin (37)
Jesus Sucre (32)

First Basemen

Lucas Duda (34)

Second Basemen

Scooter Gennett (30)
Addison Russell (26)
Devon Travis (29)
Ben Zobrist (39)

Shortstops

Tim Beckham (30)
Addison Russell (26)

Third Basemen

Jung Ho Kang (33)

Left Fielders

Melky Cabrera (35)

Center Fielders

Jacoby Ellsbury (36)

Right Fielders

Melky Cabrera (35)
Yasiel Puig (29)
Ben Zobrist (39)

Designated Hitters

Lucas Duda (34)
Hanley Ramirez (36)
Mark Trumbo (34)

Starting Pitchers

Clay Buchholz (35)
Andrew Cashner (33)
Marco Estrada (36)
Matt Harvey (31)
Clayton Richard (36)
Danny Salazar (30)
Aaron Sanchez (27)
Jason Vargas (37)

Right-Handed Relievers

Matt Albers (37)
Victor Alcantara (27)
Andrew Cashner (33)
Sam Dyson (32)
Luke Gregerson (36)
Shawn Kelley (36)
Collin McHugh (33)
Pat Neshek (39)
Wily Peralta (31)
Addison Reed (31)
Fernando Rodney (43)
Arodys Vizcaino (29)
Steven Wright (35)

Left-Handed Relievers

Buddy Boshers (32)
Tony Cingrani (30)
Zach Duke (37)
Tony Sipp (36)
Daniel Stumpf (29)
Jonny Venters (35)
Wei-Chung Wang (28)

Rangers Move Martin Perez To Bullpen

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The Rangers have moved left-hander Martin Perez to the bullpen for the remainder of the season and have informed his camp that the team is not currently planning on picking up his $7.5MM club option for the 2019 season (Twitter links via Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan quotes Texas GM Jon Daniels on the matter (Twitter link):

“We told Martin that if the decision had to be made today, we probably wouldn’t exercise the option. It’s possible we could still work something out for him to continue his career here. We want to take this time to evaluate him in a bullpen role.”

It’s not hard to see why the Rangers are strongly leaning toward paying Perez a $750K buyout, as the lefty has been rocked for a 6.95 ERA in 68 2/3 innings this season. The 27-year-old also missed a significant portion of the season while recovering from surgery on his right (non-throwing) elbow that he underwent this past offseason.

Perez does have somewhat of a track record in Texas, having pitched to a 4.37 ERA over the life of 638 innings from 2013-17. But while Perez was a source of serviceable innings prior to the 2018 season while earning a relatively modest $16.8MM during his current contract, he’s also never lived up to the fanfare that led to him widely being considered a top 50 (and, at one point, top 20) prospect in the game.

Perez has made just six relief appearances in his career — all coming back when he was a rookie in 2012. It seems unlikely that a month of relief work, no matter how encouraging, would convince the Rangers to pay that fairly hefty sum. Perhaps, however, an encouraging performance could lead the two sides to hammer out a new contractual arrangement that would give Perez the chance to remain in the organization at a lower rate. If not, he’ll reach free agency for the first time this winter, albeit on the heels of the worst season of his seven-year career in the Majors.

Mark Trumbo To Undergo Knee Surgery

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Aug. 29: Trumbo will indeed undergo season-ending surgery, Showalter told reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun). Trumbo received opinions from the Orioles’ medical staff and Dr. James Andrews, among others, before ultimately electing to go under the knife.

Aug. 24: Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo is weighing knee surgery that would end his season. Indeed, he indicated today that he’s leaning toward undergoing a procedure, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to tweet.

While it seems increasingly likely that Trumbo will have the work done, that has still yet to be decided conclusively. He’s still planning to receive further medical opinions and manager Buck Showalter suggested there’s still some possibility that he’ll suit up this year, as Dan Connolly of The Athletic reports on Twitter.

It’s still not fully clear just what the issue is, or what kind of procedure is under consideration, but Trumbo is said to have been dealing with issues in the joint all year long. Presumably, the hope is to avoid any further damage and to give him a head start on an offseason recovery program.

The balky knee hasn’t stopped Trumbo from turning in a productive run at the plate in August. On the year, he’s carrying a solid .261/.313/.452 slash with 17 home runs, though that’s not really the level of output Trumbo needs to be a productive player given his deficiencies in other areas.

The knee troubles, perhaps, are showing up primarily in the field. The 32-year-old has never been regarded as a very good fielder, of course. But his metrics reached a new low this season. In just 152 1/3 innings in right field, Trumbo ran up -7 defensive runs saved and graded at -31.1 UZR/150. Understandably, the Orioles have preferred to utilize him as a DH.

Since signing a three-year, $37.5MM contract to return to Baltimore in the 2016-17 offseason, Trumbo has played below replacement level in the aggregate. He’s owed  hefty $13.5MM for 2019. While partial no-trade protection presents one barrier to a deal, the larger issue for the rebuilding O’s is that few other teams are likely to have much interest in taking on any significant portion of that salary. These health issues don’t help. Whether or not surgery is required, it seems all but certain that the Orioles will have to hope that Trumbo has a productive run to open the 2019 season and can be flipped at some point next summer.

NL Central Notes: Murphy, Garrett, Finnegan, Brewers

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Fans and pundits alike were surprised when Daniel Murphy fell to the Cubs on revocable waivers, and that was the reaction of the Cubs’ front office as well, GM Jed Hoyer explains to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Hoyer says the Cubs had been claiming anywhere from one to as many as “eight or nine” players per day without much to show for it and were indeed “surprised” to learn they’d been awarded the claim on Murphy. (Interestingly, Rogers notes that the Cubs also tried to claim Bryce Harper, though the Dodgers reportedly blocked other contenders from succeeding in that regard.) Hoyer delves into negotiations with the Nationals a bit and reveals that the Murphy trade came together all of two minutes before his waiver period was set to expire.

Rogers’ column gives interesting insight into the mechanics behind the waiver process from the team perspective, explaining how clubs go about placing claims and learning when they have or have not succeeded in claiming a player. Rogers also chats with Murphy himself about the waiver process and the transition from the Nationals to the Cubs. Those looking to learn more about August trade maneuverings and the nuts and bolts behind these claims will want to check out the column in full to gain some additional perspective. And, of course, we’d be remiss to not thank Murphy for his readership, as the veteran infielder tells Rogers he “frequents” MLBTR and first learned of his placement on waivers right here.

Here’s more from the division…

  • The Reds announced this afternoon that lefty setup man Amir Garrett has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a bone bruise in his foot. Righty Jackson Stephens was activated from the 10-day DL and added to the roster in his place. As Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer examines, the situation illustrates just how far Brandon Finnegan’s standing within the organization has fallen. Interim skipper Jim Riggleman suggested to reporters that the team wouldn’t bring up a lefty in the short term and, asked specifically about Finnegan, wouldn’t commit firmly to a September call-up for the 25-year-old. Finnegan was very arguably the headliner of the 2015 trade that sent Johnny Cueto to Kansas City, but he’s struggled immensely in 2018 and, since being moved to the bullpen in Triple-A, has an ERA north of 7.00 with 19 walks against 20 strikeouts.
  • Brewers fans are growing increasingly restless as they clamor for the team to make some kind of upgrade between now and month’s end, and general manager David Stearns addressed his lack of activity to this point in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM earlier today (Twitter link, with full audio). Stearns made clear that he has confidence in the Brewers’ current pitching staff and suggested that expanded September rosters will allow Milwaukee to take pressure off the rotation by shortening games, but he also plainly stated that he’s staying active in trade discussions as he seeks upgrades. “You generally know who has cleared waivers,” said Stearns. “At this point, most of the guys have gone through. We are having conversations. I think most contending clubs are having conversations.” Stearns added that the limited rental period for impending free agents acquired this time of season makes the cost of acquisition even more crucial but said the Milwaukee front office is still “out there looking to improve the team if we can find the right match.”

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