Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Van Slyke, Hatcher
6:14pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Hatcher receives a $1.25MM salary next season (Twitter link).
4:25pm: SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Van Slyke and the Dodgers agreed to a $1.325MM salary for 2017.
4:14pm: The Dodgers announced today that they’ve signed outfielder Scott Van Slyke and right-hander Chris Hatcher to one-year deals, thus avoiding arbitration with both players. Van Slyke is represented by agent James Kuzmich, while Hatcher is a client of Turner Gary Sports.
Van Slyke, 30, was limited to 52 games this past season due to back and wrist injuries. When healthy, he batted a disappointing .225/.292/.314 in 113 plate appearances. Van Slyke, however, has a nice track record as a complementary outfielder, having slashed .261/.349/.455 with 24 homers in 651 plate appearances from 2013-15. Most of the damage he’s done in his career has come against left-handed pitching, as he holds a career .845 OPS against southpaws as compared to a .678 OPS against right-handed pitching. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected Van Slyke for a $1.3MM salary in 2017.
Hatcher, 32 in January, was limited to 40 2/3 innings by an oblique injury in 2016 but struggled to a 5.53 ERA even when healthy enough to take the field. Hatcher’s velocity remained strong, though, as his fastball averaged just under 96 mph. He also averaged 9.5 K/9 with a solid 44.3 percent ground-ball rate. His walk rate spiked from 3.0 BB/9 in 2015 to 4.6 BB/9 in 2016, however, and he was exceptionally homer-prone (1.8 HR/9, 18.2 percent HR/FB ratio). In 95 innings from 2014-15, Hatcher logged a 3.51 ERA and posted a 105-to-25 K/BB ratio. Swartz projected him at $1.4MM.
Braves Acquire Jaime Garcia
6:04pm: Both teams have announced the trade via press release.
5:20pm: The Braves have been one of the most active teams of the offseason thus far, and that continued on Thursday as the team reportedly struck a deal to acquire veteran lefty Jaime Garcia from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league infielder Luke Dykstra and young right-handers John Gant and Chris Ellis.
[Related: Updated St. Louis Cardinals Depth Chart and Atlanta Braves Depth Chart]
Garcia, 30, has long been a steady member of the Cardinals’ rotation but struggled a bit in 2016, working to a career-worst 4.67 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a very strong 56.7 percent ground-ball rate in 171 2/3 innings. He’s controllable only through the 2017 season, as the Cardinals exercised his $12MM option at season’s end. Despite the fact that St. Louis picked up that option, though, trading Garcia has long seemed like a highly plausible outcome. The Cards already have Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright, Mike Leake and Alex Reyes in the fold in addition to right-handers Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn returning from injuries.
As for the Braves, Garcia will be the third veteran arm they’ve added to their rotation already this winter. He’ll join fellow newcomers Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey in the Braves’ rotation behind right-handers Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz. Like Colon and Dickey, Garcia is a one-year commitment that can function as a reasonable stopgap to upper-level arms in the Braves system like Sean Newcomb while also give young righties Aaron Blair and Matt Wisler, who have struggled in the Majors, additional time to develop in Triple-A.
Despite Garcia’s 2016 struggles, he’ll bring to the Braves a career 3.57 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 56.5 percent ground-ball rate in 896 innings as a Major Leaguer. Shoulder injuries have limited him throughout his career, and he missed time with a groin strain as well in 2016, but he’s averaged 151 innings in 2015-16 and made a total of 50 starts in that time.
While the Braves have been connected to Chris Sale and other front-of-the-rotation names in trade chatter, the addition of Garcia lessens the chances of that hope becoming a reality for Atlanta fans, though it doesn’t eliminate the possibility. Both Mark Bowman of MLB.com and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports note (Twitter links) that the Braves still intend to pursue front-line starters. The rotation certainly looks full at the moment, but it’s possible that as a young right-hander with a fair bit of MLB experience under his belt, Foltynewicz himself could be added to a trade package to help bring in a significant upgrade (though that’s merely speculation).
Each of Ellis (No. 17), Gant (No. 21) and Dykstra (No. 29) appeared on MLB.com’s midseason list of the Braves’ Top 30 prospects. Ellis, who turned 24 in September, was acquired with Newcomb in last year’s Andrelton Simmons trade. The former third-rounder posted a strong 2.75 ERA in 78 innings at the Double-A level this year, averaging 7.0 strikeouts against 4.0 walks per nine innings before moving up to the Triple-A level. He struggled in 67 2/3 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett, though, working to a 6.52 ERA. He did register an improved 8.6 K/9 mark, though he also averaged 6.9 walks per nine innings there as well. MLB.com’s report on Ellis notes that he has the size, strength and repertoire to become a No. 4 starter with three average to above-average offerings but slightly below-average command.
Gant, also 24, was acquired from the Mets in the 2015 Kelly Johnson/Juan Uribe trade and made his MLB debut last year, totaling 50 innings with a 4.86 ERA. Gant logged 49 strikeouts against 21 walks with a 42.1 percent ground-ball rate. He also worked to a 4.18 ERA with better than a strikeout per inning in 56 Triple-A innings. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com call Gant’s fastball, changeup and curveball each an average offering but also note that he has a tremendous feel for pitching. Nonetheless, they peg his ceiling as a back-end starter, albeit one that could conceivably join the Cardinals’ staff immediately out of Spring Training if necessary.
Dykstra, the son of former Mets/Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra, is a 21-year-old middle infielder that the Braves plucked with their seventh-round pick back in 2014. He went through his second stint in the Class-A South Atlantic League in 2016, hitting .304/.332/.363 with no homers and seven stolen bases in 81 games. Callis and Mayo call him a fringe defender with an average arm and note the he hasn’t shown any power to this point in his career, but his hit tool draws strong marks — and that skill is reflected in his career .300/.335/.385 batting line through parts of three minor league seasons.
ESPN’s Mark Saxon first reported that Garcia had been traded to the Braves. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported (on Twitter) that three prospects were going to St. Louis in exchange. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Dykstra and Ellis were in the deal (Twitter link). SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reported Gant was the third piece (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nationals, Jose Lobaton Avoid Arbitration
4:43pm: Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports that Lobaton will earn $1.575MM next season (Twitter link). He’ll also earn an additional $25K if he reaches 200 plate appearances, according to Janes’ colleague, Jorge Castillo (also on Twitter).
4:23pm: The Nationals announced today that they’ve agreed to a one-year deal with catcher Jose Lobaton, thus avoiding arbitration. Terms of the agreement weren’t announced, but MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected the Athletes X client would receive a $1.6MM salary in 2017.
The 32-year-old switch-hitter served as the primary backup to Wilson Ramos in Washington this patch season, batting .232/.319/.374 with three home runs in 114 plate appearances. Those numbers are fairly in line with the production that Lobaton has posted since he established himself as a regular member of the Rays’ roster back in 2012. In 1007 plate appearances since that time, he’s batted .231/.307/.340. Lobaton halted 28 percent of attempted stolen bases last year and delivered his typically above-average framing marks along the way. This will be his final trip through the arbitration process, as he’ll be a free agent for the first time in his career next winter after reaching six years of Major League service time.
Indians Sign Michael Martinez, Erik Kratz To Minors Deals
The Indians announced on Thursday that they’ve signed re-signed infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez to a minor league deal and also added veteran backstop Erik Kratz on a minor league pact. Both players will be invited to Major League Spring Training.
Martinez, 34, appeared in 59 games with Cleveland last year and batted .242/.265/.316 with a homer and four doubles in 99 plate appearances (across two stints with the team). The longtime Phillies utility piece showed some versatility by appearing at all three outfield positions, second base, shortstop and third base this past season. For his career, he’s graded out as a roughly average infielder all around the diamond, and while he doesn’t bring much to the table from an offensive standpoint, that level of versatility can certainly be valuable to a club, even if he doesn’t excel at any one defensive position. Young Erik Gonzalez would seem to have the inside track on a utility role for Cleveland next year, but there could be room for Martinez as well depending on how the rest of the team’s offseason shakes out.
Kratz, 36, appeared in 33 games with the Astros and Pirates last season but struggled to a .094/.105/.153 batting line in his 87 trips to the plate. While he’s never been a standout offensive contributor, Kratz has certainly delivered better production than that in the past, as he entered the 2016 season as a lifetime .218/.270/.397 hitter in 560 Major League plate appearances. Cleveland figures to deploy Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez as its primary receivers in 2017, but Kratz could see some time at Triple-A or be a veteran depth option in the Majors should an injury force the need. He’s thrown out 34 percent of opposing base thieves in his career and typically receives positive framing grades both in the minors and in the Majors.
Marlins Sign Edinson Volquez
Adding rotation depth has been a known priority for the Marlins this offseason, and on Thursday they announced the signing of one of the most durable arms on the free agent market, Edinson Volquez, to a two-year deal. Volquez, a Wasserman client, will reportedly receive a $22MM guarantee — $9MM in 2017 and $13MM in 2018 — with his new team.
Volquez hit the open market when he declined his end of a $10MM mutual option with the Royals. Reports had at various times suggested that Kansas City might make him a $17.2MM qualifying offer, and alternatively that they’d pay a $3MM buyout rather than picking up their side of the option. Neither of those outcomes came to pass, however, as Volquez saw better opportunities on the open market.
[RELATED: Updated Marlins Depth Chart]
Indeed, he now seems justified in his confidence. With Jeremy Hellickson taking a QO to stay with the Phillies, especially, the market was starved for innings. That set the stage for another solid payday for Volquez, who’ll earn slightly more this time around than he did in his prior two-year pact with the Royals (in which he was promised $20MM, though he forewent the final $3MM of that.)
The 33-year-old Volquez didn’t turn in a terribly productive 2016 season, as he ended up with a 5.37 ERA after struggling through the final four months of the year. But he did rack up 189 1/3 innings and made more than thirty starts for the fifth consecutive campaign.
Durability was clearly the biggest feather in Volquez’s oft-changing hat. He has provided an average of 187 frames annually to the Padres, Dodgers, Pirates, and Royals since the start of 2012. Despite nearing his mid-thirties, the Dominican native has also continued to show good velocity, averaging better than 93 mph with his fastball last year.
While the overall platform campaign was hardly promising, Volquez did largely maintain his typical peripherals. He doesn’t strike out batters at the same pace he did earlier in his career, but with 6.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 he managed about the same results in the strikeout and walk departments as he did in the prior two seasons, when he carried a cumulative 3.30 ERA. And Volquez continues to generate groundballs at a solid rate, inducing grounders on 51.2% of the balls put in play against him in 2016.
For Miami, adding useful innings was a key pursuit this winter. Volquez certainly meets that need, though it remains to be seen whether the organization will continue to look into higher-upside arms on the trade market. Notably, Marlins pitching guru Jim Benedict was with the Pirates when Volquez put up a strong bounceback year in 2014, so perhaps Miami has reason to believe that pairing will pay dividends.
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reported the two-year deal on Twitter, with his colleague Barry Jackson providing financial details (Twitter link). SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweeted that the agreement was in place and added the annual breakdown on Twitter.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.
Braves Avoid Arbitration With Tuffy Gosewisch
TODAY: Gosewisch will earn $635K, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. His contract entitled him to either $625K or $100K over the new league-minimum rate, which has been set at $535K.
YESTERDAY: The Braves have struck a deal to avoid arbitration with catcher Tuffy Gosewisch, according to a team announcement. Terms of the deal were not announced; MLBTR projects him to command a $600K salary.
Atlanta just claimed Gosewisch off waivers from the Diamondbacks, suggesting that the team would look to hammer out a deal with him. It remains unclear just what this means for the team’s backstop mix. Tyler Flowers remains on the books and Anthony Recker is also eligible for arbitration.
Gosewisch, 33, has seen time in each of the last four major league campaigns. He has slashed just .199/.237/.286, with five home runs, but he’s obviously regarded as a trustworthy presence behind the plate. It’s fair to note, too, that Gosewisch hit a robust .342/.399/.553 in his 219 Triple-A plate appearances in 2016.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/1/2016
Here are some recent minor moves from around the league:
- The Orioles announced the signing of outfielder Logan Schafer to a minor-league deal. The six-year MLB veteran saw minimal time last year with the Twins. At Triple-A, he batted .272/.342/.382 with six homers and six stolen bases over 317 trips to the plate.
- The Athletics have added two more players on minors deals, each of which includes a spring camp invite, per MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter). Catcher Ryan Lavarnway and first baseman Chris Parmelee will join the Oakland organization. Lavarnway, a former top prospect, continues to bounce around. He hit .266/.351/.384 last year with at the highest level of the minors. The 28-year-old Parmelee has seen MLB action in each of the last six seasons, slashing .248/.313/.405. At Triple-A last year in the Yankees organization, he put up a .248/.335/.449 batting line.
- Outfielder Henry Ramos is headed to the Dodgers on a minor-league pact, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Ramos had spent his entire career in the Red Sox farm system, reaching its highest level last year. Over his 398 plate appearances in the upper minors in 2016, he slashed .263/.306/.402 with eight home runs.
- The White Sox have added catcher Roberto Pena on a minors deal, Cotillo also tweets. The 24-year-old has long been an Astros’ farmhand since being selected in the seventh round of the 2010 draft out of Puerto Rico. In the upper minors a season ago, he put up a .235/.273/.376 slash.
- Two pitchers are headed to the Pirates on minor-league contracts, per a club announcement. The Bucs will give a look to lefty Dan Runzler, who last appeared in the bigs in 2012 and put up a 5.82 ERA in 21 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year with the Twins. Also joining the Pittsburgh organization is righty Jason Stoffel, a 28-year-old who has spent plenty of time in the upper minors in recent years but hasn’t cracked the bigs. He recorded an impressive 2.44 ERA with 11.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 59 frames in 2016 in the Orioles organization, splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A.
- Though we missed it at the time, it’s worth noting that the Angels reached agreement on a minor-league contract with righty Justin Miller, as Matt Eddy of Baseball America reported. The 29-year-old has thrown 88 1/3 innings over the past three seasons, with a 4.99 ERA that doesn’t inspire much hope. But he turned in a promising 2015 campaign and still managed 9.5 K/9 in his forty appearances last year with the Rockies.
Market Notes: CBA, Astros, Encarnacion, Napoli, Cubs-Sox, Puig, A’s, Greinke, Bucs
With the CBA now in place, teams and players that were waiting for clarity can move toward new agreements. While plenty of organizations have gone right ahead with their plans, others seemingly have waited. That includes the Yankees (per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, on Twitter), Nationals (per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, on Twitter), and perhaps also the Red Sox (via Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, in a tweet). Whether we’re in for a rush of moves remains to be seen, but the stage is set.
Here’s all the latest chatter on the market:
- The Astros continue to strive to add another bat, with the team confident it will land either Edwin Encarnacion or Carlos Beltran, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Still, the Yankees, Blue Jays, and a “couple others” remain involved on Encarnacion, Heyman tweets. All three of those teams, along with the Red Sox, are in on Beltran, Nightengale adds on Twitter.
- Several former employers of first bagger Mike Napoli have interest in a reunion, per Heyman. The Red Sox, Indians, and Rangers are perhaps the three teams most heavily invested in his market. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Astros appear to be involved at the periphery at present.
- There have been some rumblings of late suggesting that the Cubs and White Sox likely won’t do business with one another this winter, at least not on any significant deals, and Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times rounds up the latest. Ultimately, it seems, there’s not much new to chew on here: both teams say they’re open working with one another, even if they acknowledge what GM Jed Hoyer suggests is an unsurprising reality that the clubs are unlikely to to match up on an impactful swap given their market competition.
- The Dodgers are still open to considering trades involving outfielder Yasiel Puig, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times recently noted on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Athletics continue to chase a center fielder after signing Matt Joyce, per GM David Forst (via MLB.com’s Jane Lee, on Twitter). It seems that Oakland is considering options via trade and free agency to fill the void up the middle.
- There’s “minimal trade interest” at present in Diamondbacks righty Zack Greinke, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. His massive contract remains an obvious impediment, though rival execs tells Rosenthal that they don’t believe Arizona can afford to carry that huge commitment. It’s certainly a notable dilemma for the team.
- The Pirates are looking into the trade market for relief help, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). It’s possible that Pittsburgh could consider moving Tony Watson, who is in his final season of team control and comes with a projected $5.9MM salary. The team does have two other solid pen lefties; while Watson currently profiles as the closer, moreover, there are a variety of potential alternatives on the open market.
Free Agent Profile: Dexter Fowler
Like a few other free agents, Dexter Fowler finds himself back on the market after failing to land the long-term pact he sought last winter. He can expect to do much better this time around.
Pros/Strengths
Fowler, 30, has never really been thought of as a premium hitter, and in truth he isn’t. But he is a somewhat under-rated, consistently above-average batsman who features a seemingly sustainable skillset at the plate. And he’s coming off of a career year.
Since the start of the 2011 season, Fowler has taken 3,331 plate appearances in the majors. His .271/.371/.428 batting line in that span works out to a 113 OPS+, and he has landed within 13 percentage points of that mark in every one of those seasons. If there was a swing, it may have occurred last year, when he posted a personal-best .276/.393/.447 slash.
That consistency is reflected all the more in Fowler’s plate discipline. He has struck out at around the league-average rate for his career (22.2%), but drawn quite a few walks (12.6%), and has never wavered much in either regard. Again, last year was arguably his best in this arena, as he walked in a career-best 14.3% of his plate appearances.
Though his power has bounced around somewhat, and his 2016 output was driven in part by a .350 BABIP (not an atypical mark in his case), Fowler’s overall track record with the bat suggests he’s an excellent bet to continue trucking along as a productive hitter. He knows how to take a free pass; his batted-ball profile is remarkably steady; and he’s coming off of a year in which he both chased pitches out of the zone and swung and missed at the lowest rates of his career.
There’s some recent good news on the defensive side, too. Long rated as a below-average performer in center, Fowler drew solidly average marks from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating in 2016. While nobody will buy into him as a difference-maker up the middle, it’s certainly possible that teams will still believe they can get a few seasons of plausible glovework in center.
Indeed, Fowler has shown no signs of a general drop in athleticism. He has typically drawn strong reviews on the bases, and that was never more true than in 2016. As usual, he wasn’t a huge stolen-base threat — he swiped 13 bags last year — but nevertheless ranked eighth among qualifying hitters in overall baserunning value, by measure of Fangraphs’ BsR.
In the aggregate, Fowler was worth between four and five wins above replacement in 2016, amply justifying his first All-Star selection.
Cons/Weaknesses
Of course, qualifying for the mid-summer classic is driven by first-half production, and Fowler’s power did fall off somewhat down the stretch, as he slugged .408 over his final 61 games. That ties into one of the largest questions facing his free agent case: is he, or is he not, a center fielder capable of delivering average-or-better power for at least a reasonable portion of a new contract?
In terms of pop, Fowler has never been much of a home run threat, and his 13 dingers from a year ago seem to represent a reasonable expectation moving forward. He delivered a .171 isolated slugging mark in 2016, and landed right at league average the prior year (.161), but posted sub-par marks in the two preceding campaigns (.122 in 2014 with the Astros and .145 in 2013 with the Rockies). Any erosion in that arena, or a drop in his lofty career .342 BABIP, could significantly reduce Fowler’s value even if he can largely maintain his healthy walk totals.
That’s all the more relevant given the questions over Fowler’s efficacy up the middle. Both DRS and UZR have largely panned his glovework over his career, excepting 2016. Though he isn’t particularly error-prone, Fowler has typically rated poorly in terms of range and throwing ability. While it’s arguable that he faced tough defensive assignments in Coors Field and Minute Maid Park, there are certainly questions as to whether and how long Fowler can passably roam the middle of the outfield.
If you take the pessimistic view, then, Fowler could be seen as a marginal power source that is limited to left field — a position he has never played in the majors. Plus, there are at least some durability questions. Fowler has never missed huge swaths of time, but has averaged only 131 games annually since breaking in as a regular in 2009. And he has only once topped 600 plate appearances (in 2015, his first year with the Cubs).
An additional factor worth considering is that the switch-hitting Fowler has typically fared better against left-handed pitching, the short side of the platoon split. He has been just fine against righties — compiling a lifetime .255/.356/.413 lifetime batting line — but any drop in overall productivity at the plate could leave him as a sub-optimal roster piece.
Personal
Fowler and his wife, Darya, have one daughter. A Georgia native, Fowler signed with the Rockies out of high school after being taken in the 14th round of the 2004 draft.
Fowler appeared in the 2008 Olympics for the U.S. national team and broke into the majors that same year. He was ultimately dealt to the Astros (in exchange for Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes) and then on to the Cubs (for Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily). Fowler reportedly nearly signed with the Orioles last winter before returning to Chicago.
Market
While he comes with draft compensation attached once again, Fowler appears to have a wide array of possible suitors. That likely won’t include the Cubs — even if they aren’t ruling it out — now that the team has added Jon Jay to the fold.
Several organizations are in need of help up the middle, including the Cardinals, Nationals, Rangers, and Indians. Any could make good fits, possibly planning to utilize him in center for part of the deal before eventually shifting him to left. The Mets, too, potentially still have a need in center, though that would be contingent upon a lot of other moving parts with Yoenis Cespedes re-signing.
There are other teams that might like the idea of installing Fowler’s high-OBP bat in the lineup while trying out his glove in left. That Fowler is capable of playing center also makes him a possible part-time option there — a scenario that might make particular sense for the Giants, Mariners, and even the Dodgers, who could spell Denard Span, Leonys Martin, and Joc Pederson (respectively) at least on occasion against left-handed pitching. A similar arrangement could make sense for the Blue Jays, who utilize light-hitting defensive stalwart Kevin Pillar up the middle, though he hits from the right side.
There are a few additional organizations that could conceivably get involved. The Athletics have a hole in center, though Fowler figures to be too expensive; likewise, the White Sox would make sense, but that is heavily dependent upon what course their offseason takes. The Orioles need another corner piece. And the Phillies might still utilize Howie Kendrick at second if they trade Cesar Hernandez.
It is important to bear in mind that there are alternatives, even with Jay somewhat surprisingly snapped up by the Cubs. Several notable players could be had via trade, and the open market still includes Ian Desmond and Carlos Gomez as center field options.
Expected Contract
While he is hardly a flawless player, that’s not necessary to strike it rich in free agency. Fowler profiles as a solid regular, and certainly seems to have a better case than did Josh Reddick — who just signed with the Astros for $52MM over four years. We’re predicting a four-year, $64MM contract for Fowler.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.