AL Notes: Yanks, Tulo, Voit, Bird, Mariners, Rays
When the offseason began in late October, the Yankees were a popular pick to become Manny Machado‘s next team as he sought a record contract in free agency. As it turns out, though, the Yankees didn’t pursue Machado as aggressively as many expected them to, and he’s now a member of the Padres after signing a 10-year, $300MM guarantee with them this week.
On Friday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke about their decision to back off Machado, claiming the team’s league-minimum signing of oft-injured infielder Troy Tulowitzki in early January played a key part, per John Harper of SNY.tv. Tulowitzki was once an elite player, as Machado currently is, but he’s now a 34-year-old coming off a season lost to heel issues. Nevertheless, the Yankees are “ according to Cashman, who signed Tulowitzki after the Blue Jays released him and ate nearly all of the $38MM left on his contract. Tulowitzki was one of several offseason acquisitions for the Yankees, though the big-spending franchise didn’t break the bank on any of its pickups – something it often did under late owner George Steinbrenner, who passed away in 2010.
“Those days are gone,” Cashman said of his former boss’ reign, owing to the “” system the league operates under now compared to then. Cashman, who answers to Steinbrenner’s son Hal these days, contends that “t” As Harper points out, Cashman was likely alluding to the luxury tax, revenue sharing and the league’s capped spending on draft picks and international signings as detriments to the Yankees and other clubs of their ilk.
More from New York and a couple other AL cities…
- Luke Voit and Greg Bird are competing to be the Yankees’ Opening Day first baseman, and it appears to be an all-or-nothing battle. It’s doubtful the loser will crack the team’s season-opening roster, George A. King III of the New York Post relays, which seems to rule out a platoon between the righty-hitting Voit and the lefty-swinging Bird. It looks as if free-agent signing DJ LeMahieu, a second baseman by trade, could serve as the team’s backup at first, as manager Aaron Boone said Saturday, “I see [DJ] LeMahieu getting some reps there.’’ Boone also declared that Bird is a superior defender to Voit, Coley Harvey of ESPN reports. Still, given that Voit far outdid Bird at the plate in 2018, it would be surprising if the latter wins back his old job coming out of camp. Both players have minor league options remaining, though, so the Yankees wouldn’t have any difficulty demoting the runner-up to Triple-A.
- The Mariners have promoted Joe Bohringer to assistant general manager, per a team announcement. A special assistant to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto since 2015, Bohringer will take over for Jeff Kingston, who left the M’s to become the Dodgers’ VP/AGM in December. Bohringer’s duties will include overseeing the Mariners’ analytics departments and acting as the primary liaison between their front office and medical staff, the club announced. Bohringer’s in his second run with Seattle, having previously worked as an area scouting supervisor with the franchise from 2002-06. Along with his Mariners stints, he has served in scouting capacities with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Cubs at the major league level.
- Longtime FanGraphs writer Jeff Sullivan announced Friday that he has taken a job with the Rays. His departure from FanGraphs is a blow to the many who enjoyed reading his excellent pieces, but it should be a boon for Tampa Bay. While it’s unknown which role Sullivan has taken with the Rays, he’s an intriguing addition to a front office that’s known for its use of analytics and willingness to innovate.
Padres Rumors: Bryce Harper, Dallas Keuchel
The Padres stole headlines this week when they signed one of the game’s elite players, third baseman/shortstop Manny Machado, to a 10-year, $300MM guarantee. But it appears the Machado pickup will be the Padres’ lone massive splash in free agency this year.
While San Diego has at least considered pursuing free-agent superstar Bryce Harper, the team’s talks with agent Scott Boras have focused more on still-unemployed left-hander Dallas Keuchel than Harper, Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic report. Keuchel would be a noteworthy addition in his own right, but the chances of the pitcher-needy Padres signing him aren’t great, according to Rosenthal and Lin, who note it’s a “longshot.” That jibes with a report from Jon Heyman of MLB Network, who tweeted Saturday that the Padres “don’t see a fit” for Keuchel.
If the Padres aren’t going to seriously pursue Harper, who may join Machado in collecting a $300MM-plus guarantee, it seems to make it all the more likely he’ll head to Philadelphia. The Phillies – who just had at least their second in-person meeting with Harper – have been seen as the favorites to sign him throughout the offseason, for one. Moreover, it doesn’t appear there are other teams champing at the bit to meet the six-time All-Star’s asking price.
The Nationals, Harper’s only team to date, may have “moved on”; the White Sox, despite their clear weaknesses in the outfield, reportedly aren’t going to bid on Harper; and the Giants, despite their own outfield issues, don’t seem willing to give the former NL MVP a long-term contract. Barring a change of heart from one of those clubs or the emergence of an aggressive mystery team(s), then, Harper to the Phillies still appears to be the most probable conclusion to this protracted derby.
Unlike Harper, the 31-year-old Keuchel has hardly dominated headlines since last season ended. Even though Keuchel’s a onetime AL Cy Young winner with an excellent track record, there is nothing to suggest anyone has pursued him with much gusto in recent months. Of course, he and Boras may not have helped the hurler’s cause with an exorbitant early winter asking price – reportedly six to seven years and between $25MM and $30MM. Since the offseason began, Keuchel’s next contract has always seemed a solid bet to fall well short of that price in terms of both length and dollars.
In the end, it’s possible Keuchel will head back to Houston, where he has spent his entire professional career since it selected him in the seventh round of the 2009 draft. Not only could the Astros use another proven starter, but owner Jim Crane suggested this week that the team hasn’t closed the door on re-signing Keuchel.
Yankees Have Discussed Extensions With Aaron Hicks, Dellin Betances
Center fielder Aaron Hicks and reliever Dellin Betances represent a pair of the Yankees’ best soon-to-be free agents, but it’s possible the team will prevent them from reaching the open market next winter. The club has “broached” contract extensions with Hicks and Betances, James Wagner of the New York Times reports. It’s unclear whether the Yankees have made headway in talks with either player, however.
After joining the Yankees in a November 2015 trade with the Twins, Hicks endured a 2016 to forget in his first season in the Bronx. He has since blossomed into one of the majors’ most valuable center fielders, though, as he combined for 8.2 fWAR and in 225 games and 942 plate appearances from 2017-18. Hicks derived most of his value last season from his bat, with which he produced a potent .248/.366/.467 line. Along the way, the switch-hitting Hicks managed career highs in home runs (27), wRC+ (127) and isolated power (.219), also posting an excellent walk rate (15.5 percent, compared to an above-average strikeout percentage of 19.1), stealing 11 bases on 13 tries and earning elite overall baserunning marks from FanGraphs. Defensive Runs Saved (minus-3) and Ultimate Zone Rating (0.7) weren’t enamored of Hicks’ work in center, especially compared to his output in 2017 (15 DRS, 7.0 UZR), but he was still worth a lofty 4.9 fWAR on the season.
Now, as he enters his age-29 season, Hicks is open to an extension to remain in New York.
“It’s an amazing place with a great future and of course it’s something I’d like to be a part of,” Hicks told Wagner, and he suggested earlier in the week (via Randy Miller of NJ.com) that the contract A.J. Pollock signed with the Dodgers in free agency this offseason could be a starting point in negotiations.
“Of course,” Hicks said of Pollock’s four-year, $60MM guarantee. “When center fielders get contracts, of course I’m going to get excited about that. He’s a good player and he’s going to a good team.”
Hicks was the better, more durable player than Pollock over the previous two seasons, and the former’s also two years younger than the latter. Hicks’ reps at CAA Sports are sure to emphasize those points in their discussions with the Yankees, and as we noted earlier in the offseason, they could perhaps try to push their client closer to the $80MM-plus guarantees center fielders Dexter Fowler and Lorenzo Cain signed during the 2016 and ’17 offseasons, respectively. For now, Hicks is slated to make a more-than-reasonable $6MM salary in 2019 after avoiding arbitration with the Yankees last month.
Betances, like Hicks, avoided arbitration in January, agreeing to a $7.125MM sum. It’s the second straight year in which the two sides found common ground and forewent arbitration, which is notable given the battle between Betances and the Yankees in February 2017. Back then, the sides engaged in a contentious arbitration hearing which culminated in a win for the Yankees and a public spat between Betances’ camp and team president Randy Levine. Betances hinted then that he was looking forward to free agency, but it’s unknown whether the New York City native has changed his stance since then.
What is clear is that Betances has been a world-class setup man dating back to his 2014 debut. Over his first half-decade in the majors, the towering right-hander led all relievers in fWAR (11.6) and innings pitched (373 1/3), and he also ranked toward the top of the sport in ERA (2.22), FIP (2.26) and K/9 (14.63, compared to 3.91 BB/9). Betances is now coming off a year in which he continued to pump high-90s heat while logging a strong 2.70 ERA/2.47 FIP across 66 2/3 frames, over which he registered a ridiculous 15.53 strikeouts per nine (trailing only teammate Aroldis Chapman and the Brewers’ Josh Hader in that regard) against a manageable 3.51 BB/9.
All of Betances’ numbers suggest the Excel Sports Management client is on track to land a sizable deal sometime before the 2020 season, whether from the Yankees or another team. While youth isn’t necessarily on Betances’ side – he’ll turn 31 next month – similarly aged, arguably less desirable relievers such as teammate Zack Britton (three years, $39MM) and the Rockies’ Wade Davis (three years, $52MM) have scored big deals in free agency dating back to December 2017. Betances could also be keeping an eye on free agent Craig Kimbrel, who’s had a difficult time on the market over the past few months but still figures to rake in a lucrative contract before the upcoming campaign.
While the Yankees are clearly interested in keeping Hicks and Betances in the fold for the foreseeable future, they aren’t the championship hopefuls’ only notable pending free agents. Injured shortstop Didi Gregorius, outfielder Brett Gardner and backup catcher Austin Romine are also scheduled to reach the market after the season. It’s unknown if the Yankees have discussed new contracts with any of them, however.
Latest On Craig Kimbrel
4:38 PM: Per Kimbrel’s agent David Meter, via The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the report that Kimbrel would consider sitting out the 2019 season is false: “The report is wholly inaccurate and Craig looks forward to signing a new contract in the near future. Any report pertaining to his not playing this season is utterly false.”
2:27 PM: Jim Bowden of The Athletic cites “multiple GMs” in a report stating that reliever Craig Kimbrel‘s asking price has not dropped from its lofty mid-offseason perch. In the same tweet, Bowden notes that “sources close” to the 30-year-old believe he would “consider” sitting out the 2019 season if the offers continue to fall well short of his ask.
The seven-time all-star, who’s fanned at least 13.5 men per nine in each of his nine MLB seasons, entered the offseason primed to set a new record for both length and total value of a relief-pitching contract. His initial ask, as reported by The Athletic’s Jayson Stark and ESPN’s Buster Olney, was a 6-year deal for at least $100MM, a figure that, in this market, had little chance to be met. By Christmas, the price was hovering near Aroldis Chapman‘s record-setting 5-year, $86MM deal, though it doesn’t appear to have fallen further in the weeks to come.
Though the demands seem reasonable, especially for Kimbrel’s former club, the deep-pocketed, reliever-starved Red Sox, a competitive market has thus far not emerged around the flame-thrower. Some of the tepid interest can surely be owed to the righty’s age (31 in May) and his declining peripherals (a career-worst 28.2% ground-ball rate, 1.01 HR/9, and 3.13 FIP/xFIP), but Kimbrel has bucked the volatile-reliever archetype as well as any in the history of the game, and his average fastball velocity, long a marker for imminent decline, still sits at a sizzling 97.5 MPH.
The rest, it seems, is centered in the avant-garde approach to player evaluation, where short-term, high-average-annual-value deals are all the rage, and even the richest clubs snub their noses at name-brands and track records. Certain suitors, like the free-spending Phils, are holding firmly to their internal valuations – as they did, recently, with Manny Machado – while others, like the division-rival Braves, are playing poor. Boston, of course, would be on the hook for nearly $30MM in 2019 if it were to sign him to a deal approaching his reputed ask, and can be reasonably excused for its reluctance.
The rest of the league, though – especially would-be contenders with back-end needs, like the Indians, Twins, Angels, and Cubs – seems to have little defense.
Angels Claim Kaleb Cowart
The Angels have claimed RHP/IF/OF Kaleb Cowart from the Tigers, per a team release. The 26-year-old Cowart has spent his entire playing career with Los Angeles, but was claimed by both the Mariners and the Tigers earlier this offseason. Right-hander J.C. Ramirez has been placed on the 60-day DL to make room for Cowart on the 40-man roster.
The former first-rounder has worked all over the diamond in his four big-league stints with Los Angeles, appearing at 3B, 2B, SS, 1B, and LF in 2018 alone. Now, like Seattle and Detroit before it, the club has plans to try him as a two-way player.
Though Cowart’s yet to make a single mound appearance to this point in his professional career, he appeared to have a bright future there as an amateur. Per Baseball America’s pre-draft scouting report in 2010, Cowart worked in the 91-93 range with his fastball, which had “good sinking life” and was graded as a consensus plus pitch by most scouts at the time. He also featured a hard slider, which he reportedly paired with an average splitter.
At the plate, Cowart has never quite figured it out. In 380 lifetime plate appearances, the Georgia native has slashed a hideous .147/.241/.293 (47 wRC+), and recent returns haven’t been much better. 2018 was Cowart’s worst in a major-league box, and the switch-hitter also struggled to a .287/.333/.457 (just a 105 wRC+ in the high-elevation parks of the PCL) line for AAA-Salt Lake.
Cowart is out of options, so he’ll need to crack the Angels’ 25-man out of Spring or again be sent through the waiver process. A faceless pen, stocked mostly with bargain pickups and journeyman types, should help his cause.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/23/19
Rounding up the latest in minor moves…
- The Nationals have reportedly signed OF Collin Cowgill and 1B/OF O’Koyea Dickson to minor league deals. Cowgill, 32, has appeared in the majors for five organizations since his professional career began in 2008, slashing a decent .234/.297/.329 (79 wRC+) over 759 lifetime PA. He spent most of 2018 with Philadelphia’s AAA-Lehigh Valley affiliate, where he turned in a barely-above-average line in 93 games. Dickson had his Japanese sojourn cut short last season; the 29-year-old appeared in just 22 games for Rakuten in the Pacific League, slashing a meager .175/.217/.228. Dickson was thrust from obscurity after a .328/.398/.596 line for AAA-Oklahoma City in 2016; he appeared in seven late-season games for the Dodgers the next season, largely in a pinch-hitting role.
Quick Hits: Reds, Gray, Rangers, Red Sox, Porcello
The Reds rotation upgrades are the story of their winter, though impending free agency for Alex Wood and Tanner Roark means there’s not much time for this unit to gel. Their third big addition, Sonny Gray, is the most significant of the three if only because he immediately signed a three year, $30.5MM extension. Unfortunately, Reds fans will have to wait for Gray’s debut, as he was scratched from his start today with right elbow stiffness, per the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay. Gray came to camp sore a couple days after throwing a bullpen session, but the hope is a little extra rest will get Gray right again. The team did not perform an MRI, and there’s no reason to suspect anything serious at this time. Time to check in on another couple of stories from around the league…
- Each January, the Rangers invite a select group of top pitching prospects for a week-long mini-camp with the major league staff in advance of Spring Training, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. This season, however, they sent an even smaller group of about ten pitchers to a “secret secondary-pitch intensive.” The camp takes place at Driveline Baseball, an increasingly ballyhooed research and development consultant founded by Kyle Boddy. Trevor Bauer is one noted client, as is a couple of potential feel-good stories of 2019, Kyle Zimmer of the Royals and the Cubs 37-year-old rookie Luke Hagerty. Among the Rangers sent to Driveline were bullpen hopefuls like C.D. Pelham, Brett Martin, Michael Matuella, Jason Bahr, Nick Snyder and Brady Feigl. The exact purpose of the camp remains unclear, and Jon Daniels and the Rangers have been none too keen to speak on the subject. Still, the Driveline story is one to track throughout the year, as we may be hearing more from the innovative research group.
- Rick Porcello is open to furthering his time with the Red Sox, but they have yet to approach him about an extension, per Rob Bradford of WEEI Sports Radio Network. Porcello excelled in 2016 when he was able to limit walks and home runs en route to winning 22 games and the AL Cy Young, despite a FIP of only 3.40. Now in the final year of the four year, $82.5MM deal signed before that season, Porcello’s market value is tricky to pinpoint. The Cy Young raises his profile, though he remains closer to a mid-rotation workhorse than a top-of-the-rotation ace. He has a career 4.02 FIP, but he’s also on a remarkable run of durability that makes him an outlier in this era – he has started between 27 and 33 games each season for ten years running. Porcello, 30, is likely not as high on the Red Sox priority list as Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, and Xander Bogaerts.
Tigers Sign Josh Harrison
Feb. 23, 12:10pm: The Tigers have announced the deal via a press release. Harrison is officially a member of the Detroit Tigers.
8:33pm: Harrison will be guaranteed $2MM and can earn an additional $1MM worth of incentives, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network.
Feb. 20, 2:40pm: The Tigers have struck a one-year deal with infielder Josh Harrison, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Harrison will step in as the regular at second base for Detroit, per the report, though he’ll need to pass a physical for the deal to be finalized.
Harrison, 31, is a versatile defender and quality baserunner whose bat has seen its ups and downs in recent years. Defensive metrics have favorably reviewed his work at both second base and third base, and he also has ample experience in the outfield corners. He hit the open market when the Pirates declined a $10.5MM option at the end of the 2018 season in which he managed just a .250/.293/.363 batting line in 374 plate appearances.
While he has had one big season at the plate, back in 2014, Harrison hasn’t come close to replicating it. Since, he has alternated between league-average and lesser seasons, with a cumulative .274/.319/.396 slash line in the four subsequent seasons. That sort of slightly below-average offensive output seems a reasonable expectation moving forward. Statcast hasn’t seen cause to expect better results in Harrison’s batted-ball profile; last year, for instance, he was graded at a meager .275 xwOBA that lagged his .285 wOBA.
Harrison will follow former Pittsburgh teammate and double-play partner Jordy Mercer to Detroit. They’ll bring plenty of experience and familiarity with one another to the Tigers’ middle infield mix. That doesn’t leave a ton of room for young players to emerge, but there really aren’t any who seem ready to force their way up at those positions, as the bulk of the high-end talent acquired in the Detroit rebuild to this point has been of the pitching variety.
The short-term nature of the contract makes it likely that Harrison will emerge as a trade chip alongside Mercer, Nicholas Castellanos and other appealing short-term Tigers assets this summer as Detroit continues stockpiling youthful pieces with an eye toward a return to contention in the American League Central.
Reds Add Jose Iglesias On Minor League Deal
11:45am: It is indeed a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training for Iglesias, who will earn $2.5MM if he makes the team out of camp, with the opportunity for $1MM more based on games played, tweets Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
9:00am: MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Reds have a deal in place for Iglesias. No details have been given, though it figures to be a minor league deal.
Feb 23, 8:44am: The Reds still have not officially announced a deal for Iglesias, but he has a locker and a jersey, per the Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans (via Twitter).
Feb 22: The Reds and shortstop Jose Iglesias have been discussing a minor league contract, Ken Rosenthal and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic report (via Twitter). If the deal comes to fruition, he’d join Derek Dietrich in MLB camp as a quality veteran with a strong chance at securing a bench role come Opening Day. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Reds are indeed interested, but the veteran Iglesias could wait a bit longer to see if an injury elsewhere in the game opens a clearer path to regular at-bats.
Iglesias, 29, is one of the game’s premier defenders at shortstop and actually had an improved year at the plate in 2018, hitting .269/.310/.389 in 464 plate appearances — good for both a 90 OPS+ and wRC+ (essentially indicating that his bat was about 10 percent worse than that of a league-average hitter after adjusting for his home park and league). For a player with his defensive prowess, that level of offense is more than acceptable, which is why both Fangraphs (2.5) and Baseball-Reference (2.2) both felt that Iglesias was worth more than two wins above replacement last season.
That said, Iglesias’ bat was considerably less productive in 2016-17, when he posted a timid .255/.297/.353 batting line over the life of 1002 plate appearances. It’s now been three full seasons since Iglesias enjoyed a quality season at the plate, when he hit .300/.347/.370 (99 OPS+) back in 2015.
The Reds already have some infield depth beyond starting shortstop Jose Peraza. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez has the ability to slide over to shortstop in a pinch, and Cincinnati also has one of baseball’s premier prospects, Nick Senzel, looming in Triple-A (although Senzel is currently working in the outfield as he vies for a job in center field). Iglesias, though, would give them a clear backup at shortstop while also providing the ability to handle second base and third base when needed.
Iglesias’ situation appears somewhat similar to that of veteran catcher Martin Maldonado, who is reportedly drawing interest from the Mariners but having difficulty securing a Major League deal. Both are light hitters who are among the game’s best defenders at their respective positions but have seemingly been unable to find a team willing to sign them to the big league roster.
White Sox Sign Preston Tucker To Minor League Deal
The Chicago White Sox announced (via Twitter) a minor league deal for outfielder Preston Tucker. He has been invited to Spring Training, where he will wear number thirty-two.
Tucker has bounced around a bit the last few years, going from the Braves to the Reds and back to the Braves in 2018 after coming up in the Astros’ system. For his career, he has yet to find his stroke, hitting only .222/.281/.403, though he was close to league average with Atlanta before they traded him away the first time. Tucker, 28, was hitting .256/.307/.444 through 62 games when the Braves sent him to Cincinnati as part of the Adam Duvall trade. Atlanta bought him back from the Reds in early September, though he didn’t see much action the rest of the way.
Tucker represents a nice buy-low gambit for the White Sox, who have some at-bats to give in the outfield with Daniel Palka, Jon Jay and Adam Engel atop the depth chart for now. Veterans Brandon Guyer and Leury Garcia have also been brought in to camp to compete for a backup role. Tucker consistently put up monster power numbers in the minor leagues, and he has suffered from perennially low BABIP numbers at the big league level. There’s definitely some late-blooming potential here for Tucker, who finds a nice landing spot in Chicago where, if he makes the team out of camp, he could receive a real opportunity to establish himself early in the season.