The Diamondbacks have designated righty A.J. Schugel for assignment, the club announced today. His roster spot was needed for the signing of Zack Greinke.
Schugel, 26, went to Arizona in the 2013 Mark Trumbo deal, which doesn’t look any better for the club after today’s move. He reached the majors briefly last year but spent most of the season at Triple-A, working to a 4.84 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 115 1/3 frames.
Shelby Miller is still an Atlanta Brave as of this morning, though trade winds are swirling around the right-hander. Here’s the latest…
Earlier Updates
The Mets are “pretty optimistic” of landing free agent infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. New York expects a decision today or tomorrow, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links). While the team has yet to formally offer a fourth year, says Sherman, it would work out a fourth year if Zobrist indicates he’d like to join the club.
Here are some more updates on the market for infielders:
TUESDAY: Arizona has announced the signing.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has a slew of details on the contract. (All links go to Twitter.) Greinke will receive a $18MM signing bonus and salaries of $31MM (2016-18), $31.5MM (2019), and $32MM (2020-21).
The overall valuation of the deal sits at $193,849,298, per Heyman, which accounts for the fact that $62.5MM of it is deferred. Greinke will also receive a $2MM trade bonus if he’s dealt once, though of course there is no-trade protection as well, and will donate one percent of his annual salary to the club’s charity.
SUNDAY: Greinke will receive a limited no-trade provision as part of his deal, Heyman tweets.
FRIDAY: In a shocker, the Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with free agent starter Zack Greinke, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. The contract is for six years, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman (on Twitter). The deal is pending a physical. Greinke is represented by Excel Sports Management.
Greinke will receive an amazing $206.5MM over six years, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. While that will include some deferred money (via Rosenthal), the total comes just short of David Price’s $217MM deal with the Red Sox, which was the largest ever for a pitcher. (Rosenthal tweets that $60MM or more is deferred, and the present-day value of Greinke’s deal is around $190MM. Heyman tweets that the deferred money that will be paid within five years after the deal expires.) And Greinke’s contract is for only six years, compared to Price’s seven (although Price’s contains an opt-out, and Greinke’s does not, as ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets). Greinke’s $34.42MM AAV will be baseball’s largest ever, blowing away both Price and Miguel Cabrera, who got $31MM.
Rosenthal had reported earlier Friday evening that the Diamondbacks were pursuing Greinke, and the Diamondbacks had previously been connected to a number of high-profile arms, including Johnny Cueto, Kenta Maeda and others. Still, the fact that they’re set to sign an ultra-high-end star like Greinke comes as a surprise, particularly since the top two bidders seemed to be two of Arizona’s division rivals, the Dodgers and Giants.
Still, Greinke to the Diamondbacks makes a fair amount of sense, and not just because of the team’s new ten-figure TV deal. The $206.5MM total for Greinke is three times larger than the Snakes’ biggest-ever free agent contract (last year’s $68.5MM deal for Yasmany Tomas), but Greinke, in addition to being an elite talent, should fit well with what they already have built.
As FanGraphs’ August Fagerstrom pointed out earlier this week, Arizona already qualified as a sleeper team for next season. The Diamondbacks already had a solid offense headed by two top talents in Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock, and an excellent defense headed by Pollock, Nick Ahmed and Ender Inciarte. The chief reason they only won 79 games last season was their pitching staff, which rated 27th in MLB in fWAR. Their rotation already looked likely to improve somewhat next season with a full season of Patrick Corbin, but adding Greinke provides a much bigger shot in the arm. With Greinke in the fold, the Diamondbacks obviously have a much better chance of contending — and not only because of the direct impact Greinke will have on their roster, but also because they’ll be keeping Greinke from pitching for one of their rivals.
Greinke would, clearly, be an impact addition for any team. While he isn’t likely to repeat his 1.66 ERA next season, even with an outstanding defense behind him, he’s an elite pitcher by any standard — he pitched 222 2/3 innings in 2015 and struck out 200 batters, reaching that threshold for the fifth time in his career. His 1.6 BB/9 was good for fifth in the Majors, and he also did a terrific job limiting home runs. Via FanGraphs linear weights, his changeup ranked as the best in baseball, and both his fastball and slider were among the ten best. He also hit a relatively robust .224/.232/.343 and won his second consecutive Gold Glove award.
The Diamondbacks’ surprising deal with Greinke leaves its neighbors to the west on the outside looking in. The Dodgers were uncomfortable giving Greinke a sixth year, the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin tweets. They offered him about $31MM per year over five years, Heyman reports (again via Twitter), but they were uncomfortable guaranteeing a sixth year to a pitcher who’s already 32. With Greinke off the board, the Dodgers are expected to bid for Cueto, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. Meanwhile, the Giants could turn to other starting pitchers, perhaps Jeff Samardzija.
Greinke’s decision to opt out of his contract with the Dodgers unsurprisingly turned out to be a very lucrative one. He effectively declined three years and $71MM more from Los Angeles, and now will receive three times as much over only twice as many seasons. Also, as the Bay Area News Group’s Andrew Baggarly tweets, Greinke will be taxed at a significantly lower rate in Arizona than in California.
Once the deal is complete, the Diamondbacks will forfeit the 13th overall pick in next year’s draft, since Greinke rejected the Dodgers’ qualifying offer. The Dodgers will receive a pick at the end of the first round.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
TODAY: There’s another potential wrinkle, per Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links): Chapman needs 138 days of service next year to reach the six seasons required for free agency. It’s at least hypothetically plausible that he could fall shy if he faced a lengthy suspension.
Rosenthal also details the league’s plans for the investigation, which will include an interview with Chapman, and the difficult questions that the commissioner’s office will face in assessing the matter.
Meanwhile, the prospective trade of Chapman to the Dodgers is not on hold due to any investigatory action by the league, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Los Angeles is “undecided” on how to handle the possible transaction, he adds.
YESTERDAY, 11:42pm: A team that had contact with Cincinnati was left with the impression that Chapman “might have injured a hand” in the incident in question, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Obviously, it’s hard to judge the level of concern with that information without knowing which hand and what might have occurred, but the news adds to an already-stunning turn of events.
10:32pm: The Red Sox were in talks on Chapman in November before learning about the incident through a background check, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. Boston was exploring deals for both Chapman and Craig Kimbrel at the time, says Speier, and turned its attention exclusively toward the latter after finding out about the allegations.
10:10pm: C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer has Jocketty’s full quote, on Twitter: “We’ve talked to several clubs. I notified all of them tonight that we’d step back a couple of weeks or whatever it takes.”
9:28pm: Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty says that a trade of Chapman may be delayed by several weeks, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets. That’s certainly far from the most important element of this story, of course. But a delay in completing a transaction also seems to represent only the minimum potential impact on Chapman’s marketability.
For one thing, any club would obviously want to know if a player being acquired will face disciplinary action. Notably, we’ve yet to hear anything on the situation of Reyes, whose arrest was reported about a month ago, suggesting that the process won’t be swift.
Quite apart from any suspension or fine, moreover, the disturbing report could well come with broader ramifications for Chapman’s future if the alleged facts are supported by the investigation. And that’s probably true whether or not he is ultimately charged in relation to the incident.
8:54pm: Reds closer Aroldis Chapman was allegedly involved in a serious domestic dispute in late October, Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown and Jeff Passan report. The outlet says that it obtained police records relating to the matter.
According to those reports, says Yahoo, Chapman’s girlfriend told investigating officers that he “choked” her and pushed her against a wall. Chapman is also alleged to have discharged a handgun into the garage of his home.
There were no arrests in the incident. Chapmans attorney, Jay Reisinger, said in a statement to Yahoo that he and his client “vehemently deny the allegations as stated.”
The incident is the reason that a reported trade this morning to the Dodgers has been held up, according to Yahoo. Cincinnati has been aware of the matter “for some time,” Passan adds in an interview on MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). Major league baseball will investigate the matter, Brown and Passan further report.
An investigation obviously appears to be warranted under the new domestic violence protocol put in place between the league and the player’s association. Commissioner Rob Manfred can issue any punishment deemed appropriate “in light of the severity of the conduct,” after an investigation. Notably, neither criminal conviction nor a guilty plea are required to support the imposition of discipline.
The commissioner’s office is said already to be investigating fellow high-profile players Jose Reyes and Yasiel Puig under the domestic violence policy.
TODAY: Lowe’s guarantee actually comes in at $11MM in total, Rosenthal tweets.
YESTERDAY, 12:36pm: Lowe’s contract will guarantee him a hefty $13MM — $6.5MM per year — over the life of the contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). That’s quite a raise for a player who inked a minor league pact last offseason.
8:35am: The Tigers are in agreement with right-hander Mark Lowe on a two-year contract to join the team as a setup man, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Last night, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com was the first to break that the Tigers were discussing and, in fact, nearing the completion of a two-year deal with the Frye McCann Sports client.
Lowe, 32, revived his career in 2015 with an outstanding season. While he was much stronger in Seattle, prior to being traded to the Blue Jays, the veteran reliever was solid all throughout the year. Lowe pitched to an even 1.00 ERA with a dazzling 47-to-11 K/BB ratio in 36 innings with Seattle, prompting the Blue Jays to acquire in him late July. He logged a 3.79 ERA with the AL East champs, striking out 14 against just one walk in 19 innings of regular season work. All told, Lowe posted an excellent 1.96 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 40.3 percent ground-ball rate in the regular season before yielding a pair of earned runs in 4 2/3 postseason frames.
As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted last night when Crasnick first reported news of the near-agreement, Lowe’s success was largely attributable to a revitalized fastball which averaged 95.5 mph — his highest mark since 2011. The increased life on his fastball improved the results of Lowe’s slider, as Eno Sarris explained at Fangraphs, leading to markedly better results across the board.
The Tigers will hope that Lowe’s restored velocity — and thus his overall resurgence — is sustainable. He should step into the Detroit bullpen as one of the top (if not the top) setup option for recently acquired closer Francisco Rodriguez, perhaps alongside hard-throwing Bruce Rondon and Alex Wilson, who enjoyed a breakout in 2015. Lowe will, ideally, serve as an upgrade over the talented but control-challenged Al Alburquerque, who was non-tendered by the Tigers last week. If Lowe, Rondon, Wilson and Rodriguez all pitch to their capabilities, the Tigers will have an impressive group of right-handed arms to rely upon late in games. Further bullpen additions, though, shouldn’t be ruled out. In particular, a left-handed relief option would seem to be a prudent add; Blaine Hardy, Kyle Ryan and Kyle Lobstein presently represent the most experienced left-handed relief options at the back of manager Brad Ausmus’ bullpen.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
DECEMBER 10: Maeda’s posting process will actually begin tomorrow, December 10, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
DECEMBER 8: Maeda will formally be posted today, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets.
DECEMBER 3: The Hiroshima Carp will post ace right-hander Kenta Maeda for Major League clubs to bid on this winter, according to a report from Yahoo Japan (Japanese link, h/t: Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times, on Twitter). Maeda had asked his club to post him a little more than a week ago.
Baseball America’s Ben Badler tweets that he believes the Carp will set the release fee for Maeda at the maximum $20MM, meaning interested teams will have to pay that amount in order to secure the right to bid for Maeda’s services.
If the release fee is indeed set at $20MM — and that does seem likely, given Maeda’s profile — every team in baseball will have the opportunity to bid that amount. Maeda and his agents will then be free to negotiate with each club that met the release fee, ultimately taking whatever offer is most to the pitcher’s liking. Teams that bid but fail to sign Maeda will have their fee returned, whereas the $20MM bid from the team that ultimately signs Maeda will go to the Carp as compensation for the loss.
Maeda, 28 in April, is widely considered to be one of the best pitchers in Japan. He just wrapped up a season in which he pitched to a 2.09 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 across 206 1/3 innings, marking his sixth consecutive season with an earned run average of 2.60 or better. His excellent 2015 season netted Maeda his second Sawamura Award — Japan’s equivalent to the Cy Young Award. With his relative youth, dominant track record and, of course, lack of draft pick compensation, Maeda immediately becomes one of the more intriguing arms on the free-agent market.
A recent scouting report from Badler (a subscription is required but highly recommended to read many of Badler’s scouting reports on international players), gave a refresher on much of what is already known of Maeda but also revealed that in the recent Premier 12 international tournament, Maeda displayed a vastly improved changeup that looked to be a plus pitch. Badler notes that Maeda’s fastball sits 89-93 and can hit 94 at times, with an above-average slider as his typically favored secondary offering.
As Badler notes, most scouts feel that Maeda is at least a No. 4 starter in the Majors, though the potential is obviously there for him to exceed that label. Recall that many were reluctant to label Masahiro Tanaka an ace in the making when he was posted (although, as Badler points out, Tanaka’s raw stuff is simply more overpowering than Maeda’s arsenal). Nevertheless, the addition of a plus changeup to Maeda’s arsenal would further entice clubs seeking high-end pitching, and if a team believes a fourth starter to be the floor for the right-hander, one can imagine a hefty price tag being placed upon him. Said one scout to Badler: “I didn’t think his slider was very good that day (against Mexico), but his changeup was nasty. He was throwing it to righthanders and lefthanders. To me, that was his best pitch.”
Maeda figures to attract interest from a wide number of clubs — both teams that are aiming to contend in 2016 and possibly some rebuilding/retooling clubs that are eyeing 2017 and beyond. Because he’ll pitch next season at 28, Maeda is younger than most free agent starters and therefore doesn’t necessarily carry the risk that he’ll be in decline by the time a rebuilding or transitional club flips the page to contention.
One team that is known to have strong interest in Maeda is the Diamondbacks. General manager Dave Stewart wasn’t shy whatsoever when asked about the player last winter, candidly stating: “I love Maeda. I love him. We have a lot of video and film and we have people who have seen him. We think that he’s got a chance to be very successful in Major League Baseball. We’re going to try to be in on the market when he does post, if he does post.” Maeda, of course, was not posted last season, but Stewart recently said that the D-backs have maintained their interest. That they’re said to be in search of pitching help that does not require draft pick forfeiture only strengthens the likelihood that they’ll make a push for Maeda, although, as I noted before, many teams will be in the mix. Given the fact that there’s little risk in actually posting the $20MM release fee (which, again, is refunded if a team doesn’t sign Maeda), it’d make sense for half the league (or more) to at least meet the fee just to see the asking price.
We at MLBTR ranked Maeda 14th in terms of earning power on our Top 50 free agent list and estimated a five-year, $60MM contract on top of a $20MM posting fee. While the comfort level of interested teams of course remains to be seen, it should be noted that the bulk of pitchers available on this year’s open market doesn’t seem to have hampered earning power for pitchers thus far in the offseason — even those among the second and third tiers of arms. For instance, Johnny Cueto has reportedly rejected a six-year, $120MM offer already, while Jeff Samardzija is said to have offers in the $90-100MM range. And, J.A. Happ has already landed an impressive three-year, $36MM contract. Given that expenditure and the rumored price tags on other arms, it appears (on the surface, at least) that Maeda is well-positioned to secure a substantial contract as he looks to jump to Major League Baseball.
It should also be wondered if, in addition to a sizable guarantee, he’ll be in line for an opt-out clause. Tanaka received such a clause when signing his contract with the Yankees, as did outfielder Yasmany Tomas in signing his six-year contract with the Diamondbacks. An opt-out after two or three years would allow Maeda the opportunity to establish himself in the Majors and re-enter the market with a big league track record, although an opt-out would probably come with a trade-off in terms of total guarantee (Tanaka’s enormous contract notwithstanding).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
10:30am: There are still conflicting reports on the exact amount of money changing hands. $7.5MM will be heading from San Diego to St. Louis, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, with $2.5MM going in 2018 and $5MM in 2019. Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports puts the amount at $7MM (Twitter link) and Scott Miller of Bleacher Report has it at $6.5MM (on Twitter).
9:20am: The Cardinals have officially acquired infielder Jedd Gyorko from the Padres in a deal that will see center fielder Jon Jay head to San Diego. St. Louis will also pick up an as-yet-unreported amount of cash in the trade as well.
Needless to say, that is a surprising development, as St. Louis already has Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong installed at Gyorko’s usual positions of second and third base. While Gyorko could factor as a platoon partner for the left-handed-hitting Wong, who struggled at times last year, and might conceivably also see time at first base, he’d make for a fairly costly super-utility player.
Gyorko is still owed $33MM under the extension he signed with the Pads early in the 2014 season. That covers four years of salary as well as a $1MM buyout on a $13MM club option for 2020.
While the 27-year-old has struggled at times since earning that deal with a strong rookie campaign, he did turn things around at the plate somewhat in the second half of 2015. Over his final 281 plate appearances on the season, Gyorko hit 13 home runs and slashed .259/.299/.440, a batting line that very nearly matches his 2013 output.
Jay, 30, is a left-handed hitter who is owed $6.225MM in 2016 before qualifying for free agency. He missed much of last season with wrist issues, but figures to see steady playing time for the Pads. What remains to be determined is whether he’ll slot in at a corner role or take up the larger part of a platoon with Melvin Upton in center.
While 2015 was more or less a lost season for Jay, he posted five consecutive seasons of average or better offensive production before it. All told, he carries a .287/.354/.384 career slash line in over 2,500 major league plate appearances. Defensively, Jay had a rough 2013 but has generally rated as an average or better option in center.
At his best, Jay is a 2.5 or 3-WAR player. And he fills a need for San Diego at a reasonable price. The team was obviously not only comfortable with, but somewhat interested in, moving on from Gyorko, given that cash will be involved. Presumably, Cory Spangenberg will step into the primary role at second base, though San Diego has several possibilities and may not be done tweaking its infield. Particularly with the future salaries of Gyorko and Craig Kimbrel now off the books (at least in large part) going forward, the club seems a viable threat to add Ian Desmond or another expensive option.
Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported the trade on Twitter. ESPN.com’s Keith Law reported Jay’s involvement, also on Twitter. Joel Sherman tweeted that the deal was done.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Rockies have agreed to terms with a pair of veteran relievers on two-year contracts, the club announced. Both Jason Motte and Chad Qualls are headed to Colorado.
Motte will receive a $10MM guarantee over his two years, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). That will be broken out into equal, $5MM salaries, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). And Qualls will take home a $6MM overall promise from Colorado, Rosenthal adds. He’ll receive a $1MM signing bonus and then annual payouts of $1.75MM and $3.25MM, according to a tweet from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Bringing in this veteran pen package will obviously do quite a bit to bolster the back of a bullpen that was obviously in need of reinforcement. Several of the team’s most-used late-inning options — including Adam Ottavino (Tommy John), John Axford (non-tender), and LaTroy Hawkins (trade/retirement) — won’t be opening the year in Colorado.
Motte, 33, handled 48 1/3 frames for the Cubs in 2015, working to a 3.91 ERA with 6.3 /9 against 2.0 BB/9. That was a fair cry from the more dominant numbers he posted as the Cardinals closer, but he had missed all of 2013 and a big chunk of 2014 with Tommy John surgery.
But Motte was at least able to show last year that he is still capable of handling a significant bullpen role. And he ran his average fastball up to 95 mph — not quite what it used to be, but still a big radar reading.
Qualls is a 37-year-old right-hander who has bounced around a lot over his career, as is common for relievers who last as long as he does. He posted only a 4.38 ERA in 49 1/3 innings for the Astros last year, but did run up some impressive peripherals. Qualls racked up 8.4 K/9 against just 1.6 BB/9 to go with a 59.9% groundball rate.
That solid showing wasn’t enough to entice Houston to pick up a $3.5MM option to retain him for 2015, however. Qualls did show a fairly significant velocity drop-off last year, going from the 92 to 93 mph range down to an average 91.4 mph on his sinker. But it’s worth noting, too, that he carries sub-3.00 SIERA marks for each of the last three seasons, which he maintained in spite of the reduced pop on the gun.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hiroki Kuroda will pitch another season for NPB’s Hiroshima Toyo Carp, according to a report from the Sanspo news outlet (hat tip to NPBTracker’s Patrick Newman for the translation). Kuroda spent the first 11 years of his pro career with the Carp and, last winter, decided to cap off his career by leaving Major League Baseball to return to his old club. The 40-year-old seemingly picked up right where he left off, posting a 2.55 ERA, 3.66 K/BB rate and 5.6 K/9 over 169 2/3 innings for the Carp in 2015. Here are some more starting pitching items from around baseball…
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