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Rangers To Sign Jeanmar Gomez

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The Rangers have reached a minor-league deal with right-hander Jeanmar Gomez, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The signing includes an invitation to MLB spring camp.

Also joining the Texas organization on minors deals are a trio of other hurlers. Ariel Hernandez, Phillips Valdez, and Miguel Del Pozo are all slated to join Gomez on the big league side in Surprise, Arizona.

Gomez, 30, is still looking to fully reestablish himself after three tough seasons. He averaged 9.7 K/9 in 25 innings last year with the White Sox, but struggled to a 4.68 ERA in that span. He has now coughed up 5.28 earned per nine since the start of the 2016 season.

Unsurprisingly, the Rangers seem to be bringing in quite a few arms for spring trials. The club has mostly filled out its rotation, at least barring ensuing trades, but has quite a lot of bullpen positions up for grabs.

Of the other hurlers, only Hernandez has reached the big leagues. The high-powered, control-challenged pitcher struggled in a brief 2017 stint with the Reds. He bounced around last year, ultimately throwing 55 1/3 innings of 2.93 ERA ball in the upper minors but recording 8.8 K/9 against 6.5 BB/9 in the proceess.

Astros Sign Michael Brantley

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DECEMBER 19: The deal is now official.

Brantley will receive a $2MM signing bonus and $15MM salaries in each year of the deal, per Rosenthal (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 17, 6:01pm: The terms have been agreed to, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, who tweets that the deal will not come with any options.

5:48pm: The Astros are “closing in” on a deal with veteran outfielder Michael Brantley, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s expected to promise Brantley something in the range of two years and $32MM if completed, per the report.

Entering the offseason, MLBTR graded Brantley the tenth-best free agent on the market. We predicted both he and Andrew McCutchen would secure three-year deals at $15MM average annual values. If today’s rumored pact goes through, though, McCutchen will have topped Brantley handily with his own three-year, $50MM agreement with the Phillies.

For the ’Stros, this signing would deliver another veteran, left-handed-hitting corner outfield to a mix that already includes Josh Reddick. Both Brantley and Reddick are best with the platoon advantage, as is younger lefty-swinging outfielder Tony Kemp, which will make it interesting to see how the remainder of the roster is structured.

Brantley is certainly a polished offensive piece. The 31-year-old slashed .309/.364/.468 last year and is among the game’s best pure hitters, as reflected in his lifetime .295 batting average. He’s good for fifteen to twenty long balls annually, which is useful but hardly elite for a corner outfielder, but makes up for any shortcomings in that regard by rarely striking out (10.7% career K rate).

It certainly doesn’t hurt, either, that Brantley contributes in the running game. He swiped a dozen bags last year and has typically graded out as an above-average to excellent overall baserunner. In the field, Brantley has mostly drawn average marks for his work in left field.

The largest demerit, clearly, involves health. Brantley was limited significantly in 2016 and 2017 owing to a string of injuries and related surgeries. That, perhaps, is the most significant point of distinction between Brantley and McCutchen.

Even if the Houston club has its qualms about Brantley’s health outlook, it’ll have more flexibility than its peers to keep him rested and make the most of his skillset.  Brantley can spend time at DH and perhaps even at first base, with the right-handed-hitting Yuli Gurriel potentially operating in a similar fashion but as a right-handed hitter.

The broader slate of Houston stars definitely hues right-handed, so it’s not as if there’s an over-abundance of lefty bats generally. Still, as hinted above, this acquisition poses some interesting questions regarding the outfield mix, in particular. Brantley, Reddick, and Kemp aren’t the only pieces to consider, after all. In terms of righty bats, George Springer will continue to get regular time while Jake Marisnick could work as a platoon piece.

That works well enough on its own, particularly if we assume Brantley will see action in other areas, but leaves two players (both left-handed hitters) unaccounted for. 25-year-old Derek Fisher struggled badly last year in the majors, but is still an intriguing talent. And Kyle Tucker is widely viewed as one of the better all-around prospects in baseball. The 21-year-old had a forgettable first attempt at the big leagues, but laid waste to Triple-A pitching in 2018 and could well be a major factor next season.

It’s tough to know exactly how this’ll all shake out. For now, suffice to say, the Astros still have plenty of options. It’s not hard to imagine another significant bat fitting on the roster. And it’s also not difficult to picture a trade — whether a blockbuster or one of lesser significance — that’d make use of the backlog of lefty outfield bats.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nick Martinez Re-Signs With Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

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Former MLB hurler Nick Martinez has re-upped with Japan’s Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the club announced (via the Japan Times). He’ll be guaranteed a reported $2.2MM.

Martinez, 28, landed with the Fighters last year after spending parts of four seasons in the majors with the Rangers. He obviously impressed his new club in his first attempt at Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Indeed, Martinez racked up an abundance of quality innings in 2018. He tallied 161 2/3 frames over 25 starts, an average of nearly 6.5 innings per outing, while working to a 3.51 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.

Those K/BB figures aren’t terribly exciting, but whiffs have never been a feature of Martinez’s game. In his 415 1/3 total MLB innings, he owns a 4.77 ERA with 5.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.

Twins To Sign Mike Morin

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The Twins have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty Mike Morin, per Brandon Warne of Zone Coverage (via Twitter). It includes an invitation to participate in MLB camp next spring, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN adds on Twitter.

Morin, 27, has compiled 174 total inning at the game’s highest level over the past four seasons, working to a cumulative 4.66 ERA. His underlying numbers suggest he has been better than the results, however.

In addition to maintaining a solid combination of 8.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9, with a strong 12.8% swinging-strike rate, Morin has allowed only 0.78 home runs per nine innings and has a history of drawing soft contact. ERA estimators are rather bullish, crediting Morin with a lifetime 3.32 FIP, 3.89 xFIP, and 3.42 SIERA.

Nevertheless, Morin’s MLB opportunities have dwindled over the past two seasons. He spent the bulk of 2018 working at Triple-A for the Mariners organization. In 53 2/3 frames for Tacoma, he posted a 3.86 ERA with a familiar combination of 8.7 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 0.5 HR/9.

Darin Ruf Re-Signs With KBO’s Samsung Lions

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Former MLB slugger Darin Ruf has decided to return to the Korea Baseball Organization’s Samsung Lions, per a club announcement. Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net passed along the news, which arrived via Naver Sports (Korean language link).

Ruf, who’s now 32 years of age, will receive $1.4MM in guaranteed money and can also pick up $300K in potential incentives. Evidently, he was unable to find more appealing opportunities with a MLB outfit. That’s hardly surprising given then tough market facing most lumbering power hitters of Ruf’s ilk.

It’s a nice consolation prize for the five-year MLB veteran, who has thrived in the hitter-friendly KBO since heading there in advance of the 2017 season. Last year, he delivered a healthy .330/.424/.605 slash with 33 long balls. He placed third in the league in OPS, lagging only Park Byung-ho and Kim Jae-hwan. It’s always interesting to peruse the KBO leaderboards to see the eye-popping numbers some familiar names are posting in Korea’s top league.

Troy Tulowitzki Hosts Workout For MLB Clubs

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At least 11 teams were on hand to watch Troy Tulowitzki work out earlier today, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. The Giants, Angels, Red Sox, Cubs, Padres, White Sox, Orioles, Yankees, Phillies, Tigers and Pirates were all represented at the showcase, Brown reports (as were other, unnamed teams), with some clubs even sending their top executives to get a first-hand look at the former Rockies star. Angels GM Billy Eppler was in attendance, per Brown, as were new Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi and manager Bruce Bochy.

Since being released by the Blue Jays last week — with two years and $38MM remaining on his contract — Tulowitzki has been separately connected to a handful of teams including the Pirates, the Yankees, the Cubs and the Giants. His agent, Paul Cohen, recently told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that Tulowitzki is open to playing second base or third base with a new team. Brown, notably, writes that the biggest appeal for Tulowitzki will be the promise of regular at-bats at one positions (as opposed to moving between those three spots in a utility role).

It doesn’t seem as though there’s any early favorite to add Tulowitzki, who’ll cost his new team only the Major League minimum of $555K next season. (Toronto is on the hook for the remainder of his salary.) At that price, it’s justifiable for virtually any team to take a look at Tulowitzki and see if he can rediscover some of the form that once made him one of the game’s premier players. While few would expect him to return to his 2013-14 levels of output, that type of performance is hardly necessary from someone whose new team will pay him the league minimum. Tulowitzki’s bat was at least league-average in both 2015 and 2016, so if he’s healthy there’s plenty of reason to believe he can at least be fairly productive at the dish. How he adjusts defensively after undergoing surgery on both heels last year could be a more pressing question — particularly if he’s also adjusting to a new position after spending his entire pro career at shortstop.

Mets Notes: Moustakas, d’Arnaud, Plawecki, Pollock

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Never afraid to be candid in his brief time as a Major League general manager, Brodie Van Wagenen spoke with SNY’s Steve Gelbs today and stated, “…[I]nternally, we would argue that we’re the favorites in the division right now” (Twitter link, with video). Van Wagenen expressed pleasure in being able to add a pair of back-end relievers (Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia) as well as a pair of middle-of-the-order bats (Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos). That said, the rookie GM also made clear that the Mets aren’t done adding this offseason and indicated that they “still have some real money to spend.” Unsurprisingly, Van Wagenen didn’t dive into specifics about who else might be a target, but it seems that there’s still work to be done as the Mets look to reemerge as contenders in an increasingly competitive division.

A few notes on what could yet be in store in Queens…

  • The Mets at least discussed the possibility of making a run at Mike Moustakas last week, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. However, as Puma notes, it’s not clear whether the addition of Ramos has lessened their desire to add another free-agent bat. The 30-year-old Moustakas hit .251/.315/.459 with 28 homers between the Royals and Brewers in 2018 — his fourth consecutive season of above-average production at the plate (by measure of park-adjusted metrics OPS+ and wRC+). The Mets already have Todd Frazier, a former client of Van Wagenen from his days as an agent with CAA, lined up to play third base next season. Frazier, 33 in February, struggled to a .213/.303/.390 slash line in 472 PAs with the Mets last season, though he still turned in above-average defense in 954 innings at the hot corner.
  • Van Wagenen also told reporters today that teams have been calling about catchers Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki for the past month (Twitter links via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Interest in both catchers has increased, per the GM, since the club agreed to terms with Ramos. Either d’Arnaud or Plawecki could be a logical trade candidate, especially given that both are out of minor league options. DiComo, though, notes that Van Wagenen has repeatedly talked up d’Arnaud’s versatility and indicated that d’Arnaud could be utilized in either left field or at first base in addition to his work at catcher. While the GM has suggested that the Mets could carry three catchers, it’d be a less clumsy roster structure if the Mets were to find a trade partner for either Plawecki or d’Arnaud and dedicate that would-be third catcher spot to a more traditional utility option.
  • Also via DiComo (Twitter link), Van Wagenen implied that the A.J. Pollock may no longer fit into the Mets’ plans, suggesting instead that Ramos gives the Mets the right-handed, middle-of-the-order bat the team sought. Whether there’s some degree of posturing there remains to be seen, but Pollock was always at least somewhat of a stretch as a fit on a roster that already includes Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes and Juan Lagares. While Cespedes will miss significant time in 2019 as he recovers from surgery on both heels, a long-term deal for Pollock would’ve eventually presented some degree of a logjam. On the other hand, that’d only be the case if all those options were healthy, and the majority of them have had some notable injury issues in recent seasons.

Phillies Agree To Minor League Deal With Phil Gosselin

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The Phillies have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Phil Gosselin, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Presumably, he’ll head to Spring Training on a non-roster invitation and compete for a bench spot with his new organization.

Gosselin, 30, made 28 plate appearances with the Reds in 2018 and another 50 between the Pirates and Rangers the year prior. His most significant big league action came with the Braves and D-backs from 2014-16, taking a combined 494 plate appearances in that time. In all, he’s a career .263/.314/.361 hitter with seven home runs 27 doubles and and a pair of triples in 579 Major League plate appearances.

The bulk of Gosselin’s time in the Majors has come as a second baseman (550 innings), though he also has experience at third base (189 innings), shortstop (55 innings), first base 46 innings and in the corner outfield (41 innings). The Phillies already have a crowded infield with Rhys Hoskins, Cesar Hernandez, Jean Segura, Maikel Franco and Scott Kingery all currently penciled onto the 25-man roster. Of course, there’s been no shortage of trade rumblings surrounding Franco, and Hernandez, too, has been mentioned as a possible candidate to move at times. At the very least, it seems safe to expect that the infield mix will change between now and March, when Gosselin will be vying for a job.

Angels To Sign Matt Harvey

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7:16pm: It’s a one-year deal for Harvey, Feinsand tweets. Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweets that the deal will guarantee Harvey $11MM, and Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that Harvey can earn an additional $3MM worth of incentives. Per Heyman (Twitter link), those incentives are based on games started and kick in at 15 starts before maxing out at 26 starts. Harvey’s deal is still pending a physical.

7:07pm: The Angels have agreed to a deal with free-agent right-hander Matt Harvey, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (via Twitter). Harvey is represented by agent Scott Boras.

Matt Harvey | Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Harvey, 29, will be the first rotation addition for an Angels club that entered the winter in significant need of innings. The 2018 Angels were decimated by injuries, as Garrett Richards, Shohei Ohtani and J.C. Ramirez each underwent Tommy John surgery, while others such as Matt Shoemaker and Nick Tropeano missed substantial time on the disabled list.

Harvey will join lefties Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs as locks to start games for the Halos, but the rest of the rotation is still somewhat unsettled. Tropeano, Jaime Barria, Felix Pena and Dillon Peters are among the other candidates to start for newly hired manager Brad Ausmus, though the names to which the Angels were connected prior to the Harvey agreement perhaps underscore the remaining work that GM Billy Eppler and his staff have ahead.

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register recently reported that the Angels made a two-year, $28MM offer to J.A. Happ before he returned to the Yankees, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Halos also made a “strong” offer to Patrick Corbin before he signed a whopping $140MM contract with the Nationals. Given those targets and the still-palpable uncertainty in the Angels’ mix of starters, it’s reasonable to expect that they’ll continue pursuing upgrades to the top portion of their starting staff.

The $11MM guarantee for Harvey suggests that the Angels are not only buying Harvey’s turnaround with the Reds in 2018 but anticipating that he can take another step forward. Harvey’s Mets career was torpedoed by Tommy John surgery and the even more ominous thoracic outlet surgery — the lingering effects of which caused the Mets to ultimately cut the cord and flip the right-hander to Cincinnati in exchange for catcher Devin Mesoraco. Harvey gave the Reds 128 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with more encouraging secondary metrics: 7.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 42.6 percent ground-ball rate. ERA alternatives like FIP, xFIP and SIERA all pegged Harvey in the low 4.00s.

With the Reds, Harvey saw his average fastball velocity trend up from 92.6 mph in New York to 94.4 mph, and his swinging-strike rate improved from 8.2 percent to 9.9 percent. Neither of those marks are close to Harvey’s peak levels from his “Dark Knight” days, but the positive trends were encouraging enough for the Angels to bet a fairly notable sum that the beleaguered right-hander can hold up over the course of a full season. If that proves to be the case, Harvey could eventually emerge as a candidate to receive a qualifying offer, creating a bit of additional upside for the Halos.

By adding Harvey on an $11MM salary, the Angels push their projected Opening Day payroll up to about $156.2MM — a sum that falls roughly $10MM shy of the $165.8MM Opening Day payroll the team has averaged over the past three seasons. MLBTR contributor Rob Huff recently took a deep dive into the Halos’ payroll, estimating that the team could have as much as $36MM to spend this winter, assuming ownership approval of a slight uptick in payroll. With only Harvey and Justin Bour (one year, $2.5MM) as new additions to the books thus far, there’s certainly room for at least one more notable rotation addition — be it via the free-agent market or via trade.

The pairing of Harvey and the Angels, in some respects, has been more than a decade in the making. The Halos selected Harvey in the third round of the 2007 draft but were unable to sign him despite offering a bonus widely reported to be greater than $1MM in total. That decision, of course, proved to be a good one for Harvey, who was selected seventh overall out of UNC in 2010 and received a considerably heftier $2.5MM bonus from the Mets. Much has changed in the decade-plus since that offer was made, but Harvey is in many ways an upside play, just as he was as a draft prospect in 2007 — albeit a far more expensive one this time around.

For Harvey, the one-year term gives him a further opportunity to distance himself from his disastrous 2016-17 results and re-enter the open market after spending a year in a relatively pitcher-friendly environment. Though he’s moving from the National League to the American League, he’ll also move from one of the game’s most homer-friendly parks to the much more spacious Angel Stadium, which could help him pare back the 1.48 HR/9 he averaged following his trade to Cincinnati. Harvey’s ultimate contract aligns with the annual value we at MLBTR predicted in our Top 50 free agents list, though our rankings projected a two-year term for the former Mets ace. Meanwhile, Harvey’s landing with the Angels won’t do favors to many who participated in MLBTR’s free-agent prediction contest; only 2.9 percent of respondents correctly pegged Harvey to the Halos.

Red Sox, Zach Putnam Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Zach Putnam, tweets MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. The right-hander missed the 2018 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Putnam, 31, was a regular in the White Sox’ bullpen from 2014-17 before going down with an arm injury that ultimately led to Tommy John surgery. Prior to that procedure, though, Putnam turned in 139 1/3 innings with a 2.71 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 47.6 percent ground-ball rate. Putnam never lit up the radar gun, sitting at 90.4 mph with his fastball over that four-year stretch on the South Side, but he nonetheless posted a gaudy 16.1 percent swinging-strike rate in that time as well. Beyond that, Putnam excelled in terms of limiting hard contact, as evidenced by a 27.2 percent opponents’ hard-hit rate that ranked well below the league average.

Putnam joins the Red Sox organization with four-plus years of service time and will surpass the five-year mark if he logs any meaningful big league time in 2019. That means that if he’s able to return to the Majors and find success, the Red Sox will be able to control him through the 2020 season via the arbitration process.

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