How They Were Acquired: Colorado Rockies Wild Card Roster
Entering the 2016-17 offseason, the Rockies were viewed by many as an organization that could position itself for contention with the right moves. While the club’s biggest splash (the signing of Ian Desmond) hasn’t really panned out thus far, the addition of closer Greg Holland surely did, helping lead the club to an 87-win regular season.
Of course, the bulk of the talent on hand in Colorado wasn’t just added last winter. The team’s two best players — Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado — are homegrown stars. Most of the other regulars have been around for some time and the rotation has largely come through the farm system. More recently, the Rox took advantage of the summer trade market to add two important pieces in catcher Jonathan Lucroy and reliever Pat Neshek. Here’s how the Rockies’ Wild Card roster was compiled by the front office, which is currently led by GM Jeff Bridich …
[Related: Colorado Rockies Depth Chart and Payroll Outlook]
- HOMEGROWN (11)
- Charlie Blackmon, CF: Drafted 2nd Rd ’08
- Nolan Arenado, 3B: Drafted 2nd Rd ’09
- Raimel Tapia, OF: International Free Agent (D.R.) November ’10
- Tyler Anderson, SP: Drafted 1st Rd (20) ’11
- Trevor Story, SS: Drafted 1st Rd (45) ’11
- Antonio Senzatela, SP/RP: International Free Agent (Venezuela) July ’11
- Carlos Estevez, RP: International Free Agent (D.R.) May ’11
- Scott Oberg, RP: Drafted 15th Rd ’12
- Jon Gray, SP: Drafted 1st Rd (3) ’13
- Pat Valaika, INF/OF: Drafted 9th Rd ’13
- Mike Tauchman, OF: Drafted 10th Rd ’13
- ACQUIRED VIA FREE AGENCY (7)
- Mark Reynolds, 1B: December ’15 (STL) — Signed to a one-year, $2.6MM contract. Re-signed to MiLB contract in February ’17.
- Gerardo Parra, OF: January ’16 (BAL) — Signed to a three-year, $27.5MM contract (includes $12MM club option in 2019).
- Ian Desmond, INF/OF: December ’16 (TEX) — Signed to a five-year, $70MM contract (includes $15MM club option in 2022).
- Alexi Amarista, INF/OF: December ’16 (SD) — Signed to a one-year, $1.25MM contract (includes $2.5MM club option in 2018).
- Mike Dunn, RP: December ’16 (MIA) — Signed to a three-year, $19MM contract (includes $6MM club option in 2020).
- Greg Holland, RP: January ’17 (KC) — Signed to a one-year, $7MM contract (includes $15MM player option in 2018).
- Ryan Hanigan, C: March ’17 (PHI) — Signed to MiLB contract.
- ACQUIRED VIA TRADE (5)
- Carlos Gonzalez, OF: November ’08 (OAK) — Acquired in the trade that sent Matt Holliday to the Athletics.
- DJ LeMahieu, 2B: December ’11 (CHC) — Acquired in the trade that sent Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers to the Cubs.
- Jake McGee, RP: January ’16 (TB) — Acquired in the trade that sent Corey Dickerson to the Rays.
- Jonathan Lucroy, C: July ’17 (TEX) — Acquired in the trade that sent Pedro Gonzalez to the Rangers.
- Pat Neshek, RP: July ’17 (PHI) — Acquired in the trade that sent Jose Gomez, Alejandro Requena and J.D. Hammer to the Phillies.
- ACQUIRED VIA WAIVERS (2)
- Chris Rusin, RP: September ’14 (CHC)
- Tony Wolters, C: February ’16 (CLE)
The Rox will say goodbye to CarGo at the end of the year, along with Mark Reynolds, with Holland likely to decline his option and reenter the open market as well. But the team still has another year in which it can pair Blackmon and Arenado, retains most of its other key players, and can anticipate further strides from its youthful rotation. Plus, there are several intriguing prospects who may be ready to make full contributions at the game’s highest level as soon as 2018.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: Otani, Padres Offseason, Stanton
Click here to view the transcript for MLBTR Live Chat With Jason Martinez: October 4, 2017
Henderson Alvarez, Kevin Siegrist To Elect Free Agency
The Phillies announced today that right-hander Henderson Alvarez, left-hander Kevin Siegrist and infielder/outfielder Ty Kelly have cleared outright waivers and intend to elect free agency. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer first reported that Kelly would elect free agency after clearing waivers.
It’s not terribly surprising to see the trio return to the open market after helping to round out the roster for a rebuilding Phillies organization in 2017. All three could have been kept — the former two via arbitration — but the Phils decided to keep the 40-man roster spots (and funds) open for other opportunities.
Though Alvarez made only three appearances in the majors, they were his first since early in 2015. He held opposing hitters to seven earned runs in 14 2/3 frames, but allowed 11 walks while recording just six strikeouts. Alvarez also worked only in the 91 to 92 mph range with his fastball, well off his peak, though he’s sure to get a look with some organization in Spring Training. Once a productive starter with the Marlins, Alvarez is still just 27 years of age.
Siegrist, 28, was claimed by the Phillies after being cut loose by the Cardinals and seemingly was a candidate to be tendered a contract. Upon landing in Philadelphia, he threw five frames, recording seven strikeouts against two walks while allowing two earned runs. Siegrist likely would not have commanded much more than his $1.6MM salary from 2017, and would have come with another year of arbitration control, but evidently he didn’t show enough to convince the Phillies’ front office.
As for Kelly, he still hasn’t shown much indication that he’ll do enough damage offensively to be more than a utility player in the majors. The 29-year-old now carries a .211/.297/.340 slash through 176 MLB plate appearances. He has been fairly productive over six seasons at Triple-A, earning a .382 on-base percentage by walking nearly as often as he strikes out (233 of the former and 237 of the latter through 1,612 plate appearances), though his power has lagged (.385 slugging percentage) at the highest level of the minors.
Joba Chamberlain: No Plans For Comeback Attempt
Veteran right-hander Joba Chamberlain tells George A. King III of the New York Post that he won’t pursue further opportunities to continue his playing career. Chamberlain, who tells King it’s “time to be a dad,” will walk away from the game after parts of 10 big league seasons to spend time with his young family.
The 32-year-old Chamberlain was one of the game’s top regarded prospects after the Yankees selected him with the 41st overall pick in the 2006 draft. The Nebraska product spent barely a year in the minor leagues before debuting with one of the more memorable stretches of dominance for any rookie pitcher in recent memory.
Chamberlain debuted with the Yankees on Aug. 7, 2007 and went on to reel off 16 brilliant innings with a 0.00 ERA to open his career. He was eventually scored upon with one unearned run and a lone earned run, but his rookie season ended with a comically dominant 0.38 ERA and a 34-to-6 K/BB ratio in 24 innings of work.
Between that short sample and a strong overall rookie campaign in 2008 (2.60 earned run average, 10.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 in 100 1/3 innings between 30 relief appearances and 12 starts), Chamberlain appeared poised for greatness. However, a full-time move to the starting rotation in 2009 yielded middling results, and Chamberlain lacked his typical relief dominance when moved back to the bullpen in 2010.
Yankees fans can undoubtedly recall a divide within the organization as to which role best suited Chamberlain, and the dreaded “Joba Rules” that the organization put in place to protect the prized young righty’s arm ultimately failed to achieve their goal. A torn ulnar collateral ligament and Tommy John surgery in 2011 limited him to 48 2/3 innings over a two-year period. Chamberlain’s final season in Yankee pinstripes came in 2013 and resulted in an ERA just south of 5.00 with diminished strikeout and walk rates.
Over the next three seasons, Chamberlain bounced around the American League Central, spending time as a member of the Tigers, Royals and Indians while finding varying levels of success. He turned in a solid 2014 season with the Tigers and quietly gave the Indians 20 very strong innings of relief as recently as 2016. But the dominance that Chamberlain showed during his impressive minor league stint and his first 124 big league innings never really resurfaced following his surgery. He was in minor league camp with the Brewers this year but never signed another contract after failing to make the team out of Spring Training.
All said, Chamberlain’s career will come to a close with a 25-21 record, seven saves and a 3.81 ERA over the life of 555 1/3 innings between the Yankees, Tigers, Indians and Royals. Though he never reached the heights that many projected early in his career, Chamberlain still appeared in four different postseasons, taking home a World Series ring with the 2009 Yankees. Between his signing bonus out of the draft and his salaries over parts of 10 big league seasons, he took home roughly $12MM as a player. Best wishes to Joba and his family as he embarks on his post-playing days.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
How They Were Acquired: Arizona Diamondbacks Wild Card Roster
Fresh off a 93-loss season, the Diamondbacks weren’t a popular pick to make a postseason run in 2017. However, a bounceback from the biggest free-agent signing in franchise history (Zack Greinke), better health from star center fielder A.J. Pollock and breakouts from Robbie Ray, Zack Godley and Jake Lamb (among others) helped propel the team to a 93-win season in 2017.
First-year Diamondbacks execs Mike Hazen (general manager), Amiel Sawdaye (assistant GM) and Jared Porter (assistant GM) as well as the rest of the D-backs’ front office made some changes to the roster’s composition in the offseason, most notably shipping Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger to the Mariners in the swap that netted them Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte. They were again active at the non-waiver deadline, adding arguably the most impactful trade pickup of the summer in J.D. Martinez. But by and large this is a team that looks fairly similar to the unit that underachieved in 2016. Here’s how they all came together…
[Related: Arizona Diamondbacks Depth Chart and Payroll Outlook]
- HOMEGROWN (6)
- A.J. Pollock, CF: Drafted 1st Rd (17) ’09
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B: Drafted 8th Rd ’09
- Archie Bradley, RP: Drafted 1st Rd (7) ’11
- Andrew Chafin, RP: Drafted 1st Rd (43) ’11
- Jake Lamb, 3B: Drafted 6th Rd ’12
- Jimmie Sherfy, RP: Drafted 10th Rd ’13
- ACQUIRED VIA FREE AGENCY (10)
- David Peralta, OF: July ’13 (Independent League) — Signed to minor league contract.
- Zack Greinke, SP: December ’15 (LAD) — Signed to a six-year, $206.5MM contract.
- Kristopher Negron, INF/OF: November ’16 (CHC) — Signed t0 minor league contract.
- Jeff Mathis, C: December ’16 (MIA) – Signed to a two-year, $4MM contract.
- Rey Fuentes, OF: December ’16 (KC) – Signed to minor league contract.
- Fernando Rodney, RP: December ’16 (MIA) – Signed to a one-year, $2.75MM contract.
- Chris Iannetta, C: January ’17 (SEA) – Signed to a one-year, $1.5MM contract.
- Gregor Blanco, OF: January ’17 (SF) – Signed to minor league contract.
- Daniel Descalso, INF/OF: February ’17 (COL): Signed to a one-year, $1.5MM contract (includes $2MM club option in 2018).
- Jorge De La Rosa, RP: February ’17 (COL): Signed to minor league contract.
- ACQUIRED VIA TRADE (9)
- Patrick Corbin, SP: July ’10 (LAA) — Acquired in the trade that sent Dan Haren to the Angels.
- Brandon Drury, INF: January ’13 (ATL) — Acquired in the trade that sent Justin Upton to the Braves.
- Robbie Ray, SP: December ’14 (DET) — Acquired in the three-team trade that sent Didi Gregorius to the Yankees and Shane Greene to the Tigers.
- Zack Godley, SP: December ’14 (CHC) — Acquired in the trade that sent Miguel Montero to the Cubs.
- Chris Herrmann, C/OF: November ’15 (MIN) — Acquired in the trade that sent Daniel Palka to the Twins.
- Ketel Marte, SS: November ’16 (SEA) — Acquired in the trade that sent Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger and Zac Curtis to the Mariners.
- Adam Rosales, INF/OF: July ’17 (OAK) — Acquired in the trade that sent Jeferson Mejia to the Athletics.
- J.D. Martinez, OF: July ’17 (DET) — Acquired in the trade that sent Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcantara and Jose King to the Tigers.
- David Hernandez, RP: July ’17 (LAA) — Acquired in the trade that sent Luis Madero to the Angels.
The Diamondbacks likely feel more of a sense of urgency than some other clubs with younger cores. Martinez is set to hit free agency this winter, while Pollock will hit the open market next offseason. Greinke rebounded brilliantly in 2017 but still figures to decline over the final four years of his massive six-year deal, and Goldschmidt is presently controlled only through 2019.
That’s not to say that the D-backs don’t have a nice core of young talent, however. Lamb, Ray, Godley, Drury, Peralta and Bradley are among the quality young players that Arizona can control for a minimum of three more seasons, and the team’s payroll could have room to grow, as the massive television contract the D-backs signed in 2015 kicked in last season and will gradually provide increasingly larger revenues over its 15- to 20-year term.
White Sox Outright Five Players
The White Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve outrighted catcher Rob Brantly, outfielder Rymer Liriano, left-hander David Holmberg and righties Chris Volstad and Brad Goldberg off the 40-man roster, dropping their 40-man count to 33 in the process. Brantly, Liriano, Holmberg and Volstad will all become free agents, while Goldberg (who lacks the service time of the other players) will stick with the ChiSox as a non-roster player.
Both Brantly and Holmberg were in their second stints with the White Sox organization. Brantly appeared in 14 games with the Pale Hose in both 2015 and 2017. spending a year as a member of the Reds organization in the interim. He’s a career .230/.294/.333 hitter in parts of four big league seasons.
Holmberg, meanwhile, was a second-round pick by the ChiSox back in 2009 but was traded to the D-backs along with Daniel Hudson in exchange for Edwin Jackson before ever appearing in Chicago. He tossed 57 2/3 innings for them this year after returning on a minor league deal, though, working to a 4.67 ERA. That was the most significant experience the 25-year-old has had in the Majors to date. Holmberg has struggled in 119 2/3 big league innings, pitching to a 5.49 ERA with more walks (69) than strikeouts (66).
Liriano, once a top prospect in the Padres organization, came to the Sox via waivers but put up uninspiring numbers between both Triple-A and the Majors. Even with a paltry .740 OPS in 500 Triple-A plate appearances this season, the 26-year-old is a lifetime .286/.365/.453 hitter in parts of three Triple-A campaigns.
Volstad’s return to the Majors was somewhat remarkable, as the 31-year-old entered the year with just 10 1/3 MLB innings under his belt dating back to the 2012 season. He didn’t perform especially well in either Triple-A Charlotte or in 19 1/3 innings with the Sox, but he could aim for a similar minor league opportunity this winter.
Goldberg, 27, was the White Sox’ 10th-round pick back in 2013 and debuted in the Majors this year with unsightly results. In 12 innings he was shelled for 11 runs on 14 hits and 14 walks with just three strikeouts. He did post a 3.35 ERA with a much more palatable 47-to-22 K/BB ratio in 40 1/3 Triple-A frames, however.
Reds Outright Asher Wojciechowski, Alejandro Chacin, Nick Travieso
The Reds announced that they’ve outrighted right-handers Asher Wojciechowski, Alejandro Chacin and Nick Travieso off the 40-man roster after each of the three cleared waivers. Cincinnati also announced that righty Luke Farrell failed to clear waivers and was claimed by the division-rival Cubs. The cuts drop Cincinnati’s 40-man roster to a total of 36 players.
Wojciechowski, 28, logged the most time with the Reds this season, soaking up 62 1/3 innings for an injury-marred Reds staff that was one of the worst collective units in all of baseball. In his 25 appearances (eight of them starts), Wojciechowski was hit hard, logging a 6.50 earned run average. While his 9.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 marks were solid, Wojciechowski was one of the more extreme fly-ball pitchers in baseball, inducing grounders at just a 29.1 percent clip as compared to a 51.1 percent fly-ball rate. While the 15.1 percent of Wojciechowski’s fly-balls that turned into homers is certainly an above-average rate, it’s not exorbitant by 2017 standards (league average was 13.7 percent). However, the sheer volume of fly-balls surrendered by Wojciechowski led to far too many long balls.
Chacin, 24, only pitched six innings for the Reds after having his contract selected in late August. The 24-year-old did post a 2.60 ERA through 69 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball this year, though, averaging 8.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with a 42.1 percent ground-ball clip in Louisville. That solid but not dominant performance apparently wasn’t enough to get him a look on another club’s 40-man roster, though, and he’ll now be able to explore other opportunities in minor league free agency.
The outright of Travieso is an unfortunate outcome for a player whom the Reds selected with the 14th overall pick of the 2012 draft. Travieso entered the year as a candidate to make his MLB debut at some point in 2017, but as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported back in June, he required shoulder surgery that will sideline him for nine months. Travieso didn’t throw a pitch in the minors this year, though he did log a 3.84 ERA in 117 1/3 innings in Double-A as a 22-year-old last season.
Cubs Claim Luke Farrell From Reds, Designate Felix Pena
The Cubs announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Luke Farrell off waivers from the Reds and designated righty Felix Pena for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Farrell, whose father manages the Boston Red Sox, made his big league debut with the Royals in 2017 but has bounced from Kansas City to the Dodgers to the Reds to the Cubs in minor trades and waiver claims over the past several months. His lone outing in Kansas City produced nightmarish results (five runs on seven hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings), but he enjoyed better success in a larger sample with Cincinnati. In 10 1/3 innings as a Red, he allowed three runs on just five hits, though he also walked seven in that time. Overall, Farrell’s first taste of the big leagues resulted in a 5.54 ERA and a 9-to-10 K/BB ratio in 13 innings.
Farrell has, however, produced solid Triple-A results in 2016-17, working to a combined 3.83 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and roughly a 36 percent ground-ball rate in 199 2/3 innings. He has a pair of minor league options remaining beyond this season, so if the Cubs choose to keep him on the roster this winter, they could option him to Triple-A Iowa next spring without first exposing him to waivers. Alternatively, the Cubs could try to pass Farrell through waivers themselves in hopes of retaining his arm as a depth piece without the need of committing a 40-man roster spot.
The 27-year-old Pena, meanwhile, averaged 93.4 mph on his heater in 34 1/3 innings with the Cubs this year. He also averaged a hearty 9.7 K/9 against a more troublesome 4.7 BB/9 and a sub-par 34.7 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 5.24 earned run average.
Rangers Pick Up Jeff Banister’s 2019 Option
The Rangers announced that they have exercised their club option over manager Jeff Banister for the 2019 season. He was already under contract for next season.
Banister originally signed in advance of the 2015 season. He had agreed to a deal last winter in which the club picked up an original 2018 option and added a new option for the following season. This time around, it seems, no new option year was tacked on at the end. Nonetheless, he’ll head into the 2018 campaign with more job security as he looks to get the Rangers back to the postseason after coming up short in a 78-84 season in 2017 — the first losing season in his three-year tenure in Arlington.
Overall, Banister’s Rangers have performed well since he took the helm three years ago. The 53-year-old Banister helped Texas to an 88-74 record in his first season as a Major League manager, winning 2015 American League Manager of the Year honors in the process. The 2016 Rangers took another step forward with a 95-67 mark, capturing their second AL West crown in as many years under Banister. All told, Texas is 261-225 under his watch.
While the majority of Banister’s coaching staff will remain intact, the Rangers did shuffle up the staff a bit; bullpen coach Brad Holman will not have his 2018 club option exercised and won’t return to the organization next season. He’ll be replaced by Rangers first base coach Hector Ortiz, who will serve as both bullpen coach and catching instructor next season. Texas, it seems, will be on the lookout for a new first base coach to join Banister’s staff in the coming weeks, as no replacement for Ortiz was announced. The Rangers did announce that pitching coach Doug Brocail, third base coach Tony Beasley, bench coach Steve Buechele, hitting coach Anthony Iapoce and assistant hitting coach Justin Mashore will all return to the team in 2018.
Cardinals Interested In Japanese Closer Yoshihisa Hirano
Intent on fortifying their bullpen for the 2018 season, the Cardinals have interest in Japanese closer Yoshihisa Hirano, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Set to turn 34 years of age next March, Hirano has long been a dominant closer in Japan, amassing 143 saves with a 2.62 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 through 271 1/3 innings from 2013-17. Hirano started his career in the Buffaloes’ rotation, and like many starters who struggle early in their career eventually found new life as a member of the Orix bullpen. Since shifting to a relief role full time in 2010, he owns a 2.32 ERA and a 564-to-123 K/BB ratio in 515 1/3 innings, although this season’s 7.5 K/9 mark was his lowest since becoming a full-time reliever.
Hirano easily exceeds the age and experience limitations to qualify as a professional under Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, meaning he won’t be subject to international bonus pools. He’s also spent 11 seasons pitching professionally in Japan (all with the Buffaloes), giving him the requisite service time in Nippon Professional Baseball to qualify as a free agent that is exempt from the posting system. In other words, Hirano is free to sign with any professional club on the planet for any amount this offseason.
The Cardinals are no stranger to dipping into the international market to bolster their relief corps, having done so two offseasons ago when signing right-hander Seung-hwan Oh. Certainly, their level of interest figures to be preliminary at this stage. The NPB season is still in progress over in Japan, and the Cardinals have no way of knowing exactly what type of contract Hirano will be seeking, nor do they know how he’ll fit in alongside the asking prices of the upcoming winter’s crop of free-agent relievers. Given his success in the Orix bullpen over the past several seasons, however, Hirano will be a name worth remembering as the offseason wears on and teams explore all possible avenues to deepen their pitching staffs.
Other teams figure to at least kick the tires on Hirano this offseason, as they’ve had no shortage of opportunities to scout the righty over his lengthy NPB career. C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer doesn’t explicitly state that the Reds have interest in Hirano, though he does note (Twitter link) that GM Dick Williams’ most recent trip to Japan was likely for the purposes of scouting more than just Shohei Otani, specifically listing Hirano as an example of another player that Williams could have been evaluating.