Rangers Will Not Sign Seung-Hwan Oh
3:32pm: A “physical issue” led the Rangers to abandon the Oh signing, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The Rangers became concerned after looking at the MRI results on Oh’s arm, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes.
Feb. 17, 1:41pm: The Rangers have moved on from Oh, Wilson was among those to report (on Twitter).
Feb. 15: Rangers GM Jon Daniels told reporters today that there’s nothing imminent with Oh (Twitter link via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that it’s not clear yet if there was some sort of hangup with the contract.
It’s worth noting that the Giants reportedly made an offer to Oh as well before his reported agreement with Texas, so if talks between Oh and the Rangers have broken down, it’s possible that San Francisco could jump back into the mix.
Feb. 6: The Rangers have struck a deal with free agent reliever Seung-hwan Oh, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). If Oh passes his physical, he’ll stand to receive a $2.75MM guarantee, per Devan Fink of Beyond the Box Score (via Twitter). The deal also includes a $4.5MM option ($250K buyout) and $1MM in available incentives for the Rosenhaus Sports Representation client.
This makes for an interesting match given the open questions at the back of the Texas pen. Oh, a veteran Korean hurler, took over the closer’s role for the Cardinals during his debut MLB season of 2016. He opened the ensuing campaign with the same job after spinning 79 2/3 frames of 1.92 ERA ball, with 11.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9, but was not able to repeat his dominance.
In 2017, Oh wound up posting a 4.10 ERA in 59 1/3 innings. The fall-off was not only evident in the results; Oh’s peripherals suffered across the board. In particular, his swinging strike rate dropped from an outstanding 18.0% to a still-strong 12.9%, taking his strikeout rate down to 8.2 K/9. His home run rate nearly tripled to 1.52 per nine; his groundball rate plummeted to 28.7%; and he surrendered a batting average on balls in play (.319) nearly fifty points north of his 2016 level.
That said, there are some reasons to believe that Oh may have suffered some poor fortune. That BABIP jump came even as he induced more soft contact (15.3% in 2016 vs. 22.4% in 2017) at the expense of hard contact (34.2% vs. 28.1%). Statcast figures reflect that evident discord, with Oh’s .298 xwOBA coming in well shy of the .338 wOBA he actually surrendered. Interestingly, while hitters obviously had less trouble making contact, Oh got batters to chase outside the zone just as often in each of his two MLB seasons and his Brooks Baseball charts mostly show consistent movement on his pitches.
It’s tough to say what to expect. Regardless, given Oh’s background, it’s certainly fair to wonder whether the 35-year-old is slated to close for the Rangers. The team still employs several pitchers who have featured prominently in the late-inning mix in recent seasons, including righties Matt Bush and Keone Kela as well as lefties Alex Claudio and Jake Diekman. But Oh has fairly earned his memorable nickname, Final Boss, by closing down 396 total contests over his 13 seasons of action in the KBO, NPB, and MLB. He’ll likely at least have a shot at earning the closer’s nod in camp.
For the Rangers, this is the latest of many additions to the team’s pitching staff. As MLBTR’s 2017-18 Free Agent Tracker shows, the organization has steadily picked up arms throughout the winter. In addition to a variety of free agents, the club dealt for lefty Matt Moore. The Rangers’ updated depth chart lists six hurlers acquired this winter who currently project to make the Opening Day roster, with others (especially Bartolo Colon) potentially challenging for jobs in camp.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AL Notes: Machado, Yanks, Tribe, Salazar, C. Santana, Rangers, Cashner
Orioles infielder Manny Machado “wants to be a Yankee and the feeling is mutual,” Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes. The Yankees were among the teams that tried to trade for Machado over the winter, so it’s no surprise that they’re continuing to eye him a year before he hits free agency. Regarding offseason trade rumors, Machado said, “Thank God nothing went down and I was able to come back, and see my guys that I’ve been with for seven years.” Although the 25-year-old is content to be an Oriole for now, it seems highly unlikely he’ll remain with them past this year, considering the massive contract he’d land on the open market. And while the longtime third baseman plans to spend the rest of his career at shortstop, where New York has a quality starter in Didi Gregorius, the Yankees would find spots for both of them, Nightengale suggests.
More from the American League…
- The Indians announced Friday that right-hander Danny Salazar “experienced an onset of right shoulder rotator cuff inflammation” last month during his offseason throwing program. The 28-year-old is “a couple weeks” behind the rest of the pitchers in Indians camp, per the announcement, though he has at least resumed throwing. It certainly doesn’t appear as if Salazar is presently dealing with a major injury, but the shoulder trouble isn’t entirely insignificant. Salazar missed roughly six weeks of the 2017 season due to shoulder troubles, and he has a history of right elbow issues as well. He’s also seen his name pop up in occasional trade speculation, most frequently being linked to the Brewers, though one would imagine that ongoing shoulder issues would temper some of the interest that other clubs may have in Salazar.There’s not yet any indication that Opening Day would be in jeopardy for Salazar, whom the Indians have penciled into a rotation spot alongside Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer. Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger are both on hand as options for the fifth spot. Injuries limited Salazar to just 103 innings last season, during which time he posted a 4.28 ERA with a gaudy 12.7 K/9 mark against 3.8 BB/9.
- Before he joined the Phillies on a three-year, $60MM contract in November, longtime Indians first baseman Carlos Santana proposed a five-year, $75MM deal to Cleveland, the player told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. However, “the Tribe was never seriously engaged with him at all this winter,” Castrovince tweets. Shortly after Santana left the Indians, they added replacement Yonder Alonso on a much cheaper pact (two years, $16MM).
- Texas had interest in re-signing Andrew Cashner before he accepted Baltimore’s two-year, $16MM guarantee Thursday, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels confirmed to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. However, not only did the Orioles make Cashner a better offer, but it seems he wouldn’t have been a lock to remain a starter with the Rangers. “We talked to him and gave him a range of what we were thinking,” Daniels said. “He got a better deal. We even asked him if he would pitch in the bullpen, but he got a commitment to start, a multi-year deal, a good deal from Baltimore.” In 2017, his only year with the Rangers, Cashner paced their starters in ERA (3.40) and finished second in innings (166 2/3), though his success came in spite of a league-worst K/BB ratio (1.34).
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Phillies Sign Fernando Abad
1:35pm: Abad’s deal comes with a $2.5MM salary if he makes the Phillies, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). Cotillo confirms that Abad could earn up to $3.1MM, as Heyman reported earlier.
8:10am: Abad has until March 22 to earn a spot on the Phillies’ roster, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports. The deal includes a mutual option for 2019, Sanchez adds (Twitter link), which Heyman tweets is also for a potential $2.5MM.
7:48am: The Phillies have reached an agreement with left-handed reliever Fernando Abad, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag. Abad will receive a non-roster invitation to spring training, as Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio first reported, and will have a chance to earn $3.1MM if he makes the Phillies, per Heyman (Twitter links).
The 32-year-old Abad will join a Phillies relief mix which is light on lefty options, evidenced by the fact that Adam Morgan is the sole southpaw in the club’s projected season-opening bullpen. Abad may stand a solid chance to make the team, then, and if he does, he’ll bring a respectable track record to Philadelphia. The former Astro, National, Athletic, Red Sox and Twin has pitched to a 3.65 ERA with 7.68 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 40.7 percent groundball rate across 317 2/3 major league innings. Abad has limited same-handed hitters to a subpar .234/.287/.383 line along the way.
Abad was effective in 2017, his only full season in Boston, where he logged a 3.30 ERA with 7.63 K/9, 2.89 BB/9 and a personal-high 45 percent grounder rate over 43 2/3 frames. He was also tough on both righties (.250/.312/.384) and lefties (.224/.288/.348), though the majority of his work (34 innings) came in low-leverage situations.
West Notes: Lincecum, Giants, Rangers, Rox, Reynolds
Both the Giants and Rangers came away impressed after watching free agent right-hander Tim Lincecum‘s showcase on Thursday, per reports from Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Unsurprisingly, Giants brass has a fondness for Lincecum stemming from his mostly incredible run with the franchise from 2007-15. On whether they’ll try to reunite with Lincecum, general manager Bobby Evans said: “It’s up to the competition of what clubs are bidding on him, and I can’t speak to that yet. It’s early. We obviously are all rooting for Timmy. Selfishly, anything he does, we would love for it to be in a Giants uniform, but sometimes opportunities on the business side dictate otherwise. But we’re always rooting for him.” The Rangers, meanwhile, are likely to continue pursuing the 33-year-old, according to Grant.
- The Rockies have shown some interest in re-signing first baseman Mark Reynolds since last season ended, yet the 34-year-old remains on the open market. Reynolds told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he doesn’t know why he’s still unsigned, but he’s continuing to hope for a return to the Rockies after playing with them from 2016-17. “It would be my first choice. It was a great situation. I was good there the last two years,” said Reynolds, who combined to hit .274/.354/.471 during those seasons. “It’s something that I felt was a great fit. But I can’t control what they are thinking. I played there to prove that I’m very capable of playing at that level. … But the Rockies are a good fit, and they are a playoff team and that’s something I’m factoring in my decision as well.” The Reynolds-less Rockies do have in-house first base options on hand in prospect Ryan McMahon and utilityman Ian Desmond.
- Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar hasn’t developed as hoped since his days as a top prospect, and now that he’s out of minor league options, he could be in another uniform soon. Profar hopes that’s not the case. “I know this team loves me a lot, and I love them,” the 24-year-old said (via Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). “I’m ready to help them win. I just want to play and help the team win. I know I can do it.” Profar was a non-factor last season in Texas, where he hit .172/.294/.207 over a small sample of 70 plate appearances. Left field was Profar’s main position with the Rangers in 2017, but they’re only planning to use him in the infield this spring, per Wilson. He’ll have difficulty carving out a regular role, though, with Joey Gallo (first base), Rougned Odor (second), Elvis Andrus (short) and Adrian Beltre (third) entrenched as starters.
- Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra underwent surgery on the broken hamate bone in his right hand last Friday and could miss four to six weeks, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. While Parra is “going to be fine,” according to manager Bud Black, Saunders notes that his injury could open the door for David Dahl to steal a starting spot in right field. Dahl came on the scene in impressive fashion as a rookie in 2016, but a rib cage injury kept him from the majors last season and limited him to 82 minor league PAs. Parra, on the other hand, hit a Coors Field-inflated .309/.341/.452 in 425 trips to the plate.
Dodgers Re-Sign Chase Utley
SATURDAY: The Dodgers have announced the signing.
TUESDAY, 7:45pm: Utley’s deal will be for two years and $2MM when it becomes official, tweets Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times.
3:43pm: Utley has agreed to a two-year contract to return to the Dodgers, Heyman now tweets. Certainly, the multi-year deal comes as a bit of a surprise, given his age, though it seems likely to come at a relatively modest annual rate.
10:22am: There’s a deal in place, per Heyman (via Twitter).
10:14am: The Dodgers appear to be closing in on a deal to bring back infielder Chase Utley for another run with the organization. Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reported last night that the sides were engaged in serious talks, while MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets that Utley appears to have a locker set up at the team’s spring facility, lacking only a nameplate.
All indications of late have been that the 39-year-old would repeat his turn as a platoon piece. At this point, it seems only a matter of time before things are formalized.
If the sides do indeed wrap up a deal, Utley will presumably spend most of his time spelling the right-handed-hitting Logan Forsythe at second base. Long a high-end everyday player, Utley’s productivity had understandably waned with age. He was effective in a surprisingly robust 2016 season, over which he took 565 plate appearances, but slid into a part-time role last year.
Los Angeles skipper Dave Roberts was exceedingly careful both to limit the wear and tear and to deploy Utley against right-handed pitching last year. Utley saw time in 127 games but tallied only 353 plate appearances, as the Dodgers sought to utilize him in advantageous situations. He batted .236/.324/.405 with eight homers on the season as a whole, though he strode to the plate against lefties on just 28 occasions.
In each of the past two years, Utley has delivered just-below-average overall offensive output, with successive 96 wRC+ efforts. He still grades as a quality baserunner and average defender even as he closes in on his fortieth birthday. Clearly, part of the math here for the Dodgers is Utley’s oft-lauded, hard-nosed veteran presence.
Scooter Gennett Defeats Reds In Arbitration
Infielder Scooter Gennett has won his arbitration case over the Reds, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets. The ISE Baseball client will earn $5.7MM in 2018, as opposed to the $5.1MM the Reds proposed. Gennett’s arbitration case was the last of the offseason across Major League Baseball. The players came out on top in 12 of 22 decisions.
The victory for Gennett comes in the wake of a career year, his first with the Reds. Cincinnati claimed Gennett off waivers from the NL Central Brewers in late March, and the move paid off handsomely for the Reds. Playing his age-27 season, the lefty-hitting Gennett, a Cincinnati native, slashed a terrific .295/.342/.531 with 27 home runs and a .236 ISO across 497 plate appearances. Four of those homers (and 10 of his 97 runs batted in) came on a historic June 6 for Gennett, who enjoyed the game of his life in a 13-1 romp over the Cardinals.
Thanks in part to that performance against St. Louis, Gennett will make substantially more this year than the $2.525MM he earned last season. Gennett’s controllable through 2019, so he could be a Red for at least two more seasons, though it’s conceivable he’ll emerge as a trade chip for the rebuilding club. For the time being, Gennett’s likely to continue occupying second on a regular basis for the Reds, who have younger options behind him in Dilson Herrera and touted prospect Nick Senzel.
NL East Notes: Phillies, Neshek, Marlins, Garcia, Straily
The Phillies remain interested in adding to their rotation before the season starts, though they’re not going to make any lengthy commitments, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com writes. Both general manager Matt Klentak and president Andy MacPhail (via Matt Breen of Philly.com) have indicated this week that the Phillies aren’t going to splurge on a long-term starter, in large part because they aren’t quite ready to push for a playoff spot, Zolecki notes. The team would be willing to pay more on a shorter contract, Zolecki relays, and Klentak revealed that doing so “is something we talk about frequently.” But if the Phillies aren’t able to land another starter in the coming weeks, Klentak insists they’ll be content to turn to in-house options.
- Reliever Pat Neshek returned to the Phillies in free agency over the winter, agreeing to a two-year, $16.25MM pact. It turns out that the 37-year-old could have made more money elsewhere. “We didn’t really wait for other teams,” Neshek said this week (via Zolecki). “I probably left a little bit more on the table from other teams. Well, I know I did because a team called me after I agreed [with the Phillies]. Their first offer was better, but it was a comfort thing. I was really happy with the offer. I didn’t want to wait and see anything else.” Neshek was only in Philadelphia for a few months last year before the team traded him to the Rockies in July, but it’s clear both he and the Phillies enjoyed their first go-round.
- Although left-hander Jarlin Garcia led Marlins relievers with 68 appearances as a rookie in 2017, the club plans to deploy him as a starter this season, manager Don Mattingly told Joe Frisaro of MLB.com and other reporters. “Jarlin will be a starter this year,” said Mattingly, who believes that moving the 25-year-old to the rotation is “probably the best for his development.” Assuming Miami sticks to that plan, Garcia will be part of a rotation that currently features just two locks (Dan Straily and Jose Urena).
- Straily is one of the best players left on a rebuilding Miami team that has jettisoned several household names (Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon) since last season and could still deal catcher J.T. Realmuto. But unlike Realmuto, who’d prefer to play elsewhere, Straily’s fine with the franchise’s direction. Straily said this week that he’s “glad” certain players who didn’t want to continue as Marlins are gone, likely referring to Stanton and Yelich, per Frisaro. Regarding the Marlins’ high-profile trades, Straily added: “I really, I guess, kind of agree with what happened. All the moves they’ve made. I really feel the pieces they’ve brought in, this might flip around a little quicker.”
Diamondbacks, Jorge De La Rosa Agree To Minor League Deal
SATURDAY: De La Rosa will earn $2.25MM if he makes the Diamondbacks’ roster, Piecoro reports. He’ll also have a chance at up to $600K in bonuses.
FRIDAY: Left-hander Jorge De La Rosa appeared in the Diamondbacks clubhouse this morning, per multiple reporters at their spring facility in Arizona, indicating that the two sides had likely agreed to a reunion. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets that the D-backs have indeed worked out a minor league pact with De La Rosa to bring him back to the organization. He’s represented by TWC Sports.
De La Rosa, 37 in April, spent his first full season as a reliever with the D-backs in 2017, working to a 4.21 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.23 HR/9 and a 45.2 percent ground-ball rate in 51 1/3 innings. While it may not be especially predictive, De La Rosa thrived when coming into tight situations, allowing just one of the 33 runners he inherited to cross home plate. He also held left-handed opponents to a putrid .192/.253/.292 slash in 79 plate appearances, thought righties posted a hefty .262/.362/.458 line against him over a larger sample.
Prior to his work as a reliever, De La Rosa was arguably the most consistent starter in Rockies history, tossing 1141 1/3 innings with a 4.35 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 from 2008-16. He seems likely to work out of the ‘pen again in Arizona, given a full starting rotation consisting of Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Patrick Corbin, Zack Godley and Taijuan Walker. But, De La Rosa could conceivably provide some depth this spring should an injury pop up.
At present, Andrew Chafin is the clear top lefty in the D-backs’ bullpen. De La Rosa will vie for a role as a second or third southpaw option for second-year manager Torey Lovullo, competing alongside 40-man options T.J. McFarland and Jared Miller as well as fellow non-roster veteran Antonio Bastardo.
Orioles Notes: Machado, Schoop, Liriano
Orioles standout Manny Machado showed up to camp Saturday and told reporters (including Bob Nightengale of USA Today, via Twitter) that he and the team have not discussed a long-term extension. Interestingly, the soon-to-be free agent added that he’d like to line up at shortstop for the rest of his career. Machado, 25, has played the majority of his career at third base since debuting in 2012, but the O’s decided to move him back to shortstop – his original position – last month. “This is where my heart has always been,” Machado said of short (Twitter link via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com). Barring an unlikely extension before next offseason, Machado will easily be the premier shortstop option available in a star-studded free agent class. In the meantime, if he thrives at short this year, Machado will have a chance to earn a bit more than his $16MM salary. He’d make an extra $100K by winning a Gold Glove Award and $250K by taking home Platinum Glove honors, Nightengale tweets.
A couple more notes on Baltimore…
- Like Machado, second baseman Jonathan Schoop may not be long for Baltimore (he’s in his penultimate year of team control). However, Schoop “would be open to an extension,” Ghiroli tweets. And while there was reportedly some frustration between him and the Orioles during the arbitration process, Schoop indicated there’s no bitterness on either end. To this point, there haven’t been any extension talks, but Schopp said he’s “not disappointed” in that (Twitter link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). He’ll make $8.5MM this season after posting a career year in 2017.
- Kubatko has the latest on the Orioles’ search for starters, writing that they’re monitoring free agent left-hander Francisco Liriano. On the other hand, the Orioles have “cooled on” free agent right-hander Trevor Cahill, whom they were interested in earlier in the offseason, per Kubatko. Fellow righties R.A. Dickey and Scott Feldman (an ex-Oriole) are options for Baltimore, Kubatko suggests, though he notes that the former may end up retiring instead of pitching in 2018.
AL East Notes: Tillman, Jays, Stroman, Betts
Free-agent righty Chris Tillman is weighing offers and preparing to make a decision in short order, according to Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles are joined by the Twins and two other organizations in the picture for Tillman’s services, per the report, which also suggests that Tillman is willing to take an incentive-laden contract as he looks to return to form after a miserable 2017 season. With the Minnesota organization also said to be involved on some other hurlers, its ongoing involvement is especially interesting to note — though it’s also fair to wonder whether the team’s reported agreement with another bounceback candidate (Anibal Sanchez) will dampen its interest. We’ve seen real movement on the starting pitching market of late; with Tillman also seemingly nearing a deal, it’ll be interesting to see whether the same holds for some other free agents.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- The Blue Jays are still in the market for pitching after signing Jaime Garcia, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports (Twitter links). With the rotation set, though, the club is now looking at the bullpen, with GM Ross Atkins saying there are still some funds available to work with. Interestingly, per Atkins, the team does not seemingly intend to use Joe Biagini in a relief role. Instead, the provisional plan seems to be for him to work as a starter through camp and remain stretched out when the season opens, even if that means working at Triple-A.
- Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman may not have enjoyed his arbitration experience, but that doesn’t mean he’s unhappy with the organization. As Nicholson-Smith writes, Stroman expressed today a keen interest in pursuing a long-term deal. Saying he loves everything about playing for Canada’s team, Stroman indicated that he’s “hoping to have talks soon” with the front office. It’s not immediately clear how likely it is that the 26-year-old will find common ground with the organization, but clearly he’s open to the idea. As a 3+ service-class pitcher who turned in a top-quality 2017 effort, Stroman could conceivably look to last winter’s Carlos Martinez contract as a comp.
- The feeling is a bit different for Red Sox star Mookie Betts. Per Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, via Twitter, Betts says he does not intend to discuss a contract between now and the end of the season. There’s no lingering discord over his own arbitration hearing, in which he came away with $3MM more than the team wanted to pay him. Still, Betts says he won’t consider a lengthier deal until 2018 is in the books — though indications are he might be willing to talk at that time. Of course, a big season could leave the 25-year-old with ample leverage. He’s already slated to earn $10.5MM for the coming season, setting him up for massive potential total arbitration earnings.