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Kris Bryant, Carlos Correa Win Rookie Of The Year Awards

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Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and Astros shortstop Carlos Correa have been named Rookie of the Year in their respective leagues by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Bryant won the award in unanimous fashion, beating out second-place finisher Matt Duffy of the Giants. Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang, Noah Syndergaard of the Mets and Justin Bour of the Marlins finished third through fifth, with each player garnering multiple points in the voting. The Dodgers’ Joc Pederson and Cardinals’ Stephen Piscotty each received a third-place vote, earning each one point.

Bryant, 23, entered the year with considerable hype after decimating Triple-A pitching in 2014. There was some outrage when it was announced that he’d begin the season in the minor leaguers, but he was quickly promoted to the Majors (uncoincidentally as soon as his free agency had been delayed by one year) and quickly established himself as one of the premier third basemen in the game. Bryant batted .275/.369/.488 with 26 home runs and 13 stolen bases this season while also delivering strong defense at third base and even contributing in the outfield.

The race in the American League was much closer, with Correa narrowly edging out fellow shortstop Francisco Lindor. Correa received 17 first-place votes and 13 second-place votes, whereas Lindor received 13 first-place votes and 14 second-place votes. Trailing the two were young Twins slugger Miguel Sano, Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna, A’s center fielder Billy Burns, Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario and Rangers center fielder Delino DeShields Jr.

Correa batted an impressive .279/.345/.512 with 22 homers and 14 steals. Wins above replacement measures liked Lindor better for the award due to his superior glove and on-base percentage, but Correa slugged 10 more homers and knocked in more runs, likely widening the gap in the eyes of many voters. Most pundits agreed that either would be a fine choice for the award given the exceptional seasons enjoyed by each.

Mariners Acquire Leonys Martin From Rangers For Tom Wilhelmsen

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The Mariners have officially struck a deal to acquire outfielder Leonys Martin and righty Anthony Bass from the Rangers in exchange for right-handed reliever Tom Wilhelmsen, outfielder James Jones, and a player to be named later.

May 29, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder <a rel=

Martin had fallen out of favor in Texas after a rough 2015 season. The 27-year-old is an outstanding defender and major threat on the bases, but he slashed just .219/.264/.313 over 310 plate appearances. In the meantime, the Rangers found a Rule 5 gem in Delino DeShields Jr. While he and Martin made for a natural platoon pairing, there seemed to be some discord between Martin and the club after he was left off of the playoff roster and then refused to participate in Instructional League as a way to stay ready in case he was needed.

New Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto said that he sees Martin as a victim of bad luck — citing his .270 BABIP last year, which fell well below his .313 career mark — who ought to turn things around. (Via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, on Twitter.) It appears that Martin will go right to the top of the depth chart in Seattle, though Dipoto also told reporters tonight that another outfield addition could still be in the offing. It’s a good bet, though, that the team won’t now chase top free agents such as Dexter Fowler or Denard Span.

In addition to adding three years of control over Martin, Seattle will pick up three arb seasons of Bass. He represents a useful arm who will help maintain the Mariners’ bullpen depth. The 28-year-old comes with three years of arb control. He contributed only a 4.50 ERA last year, with 6.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9, but tossed 64 innings and drew more positive reviews from advanced metrics. While Wilhelmsen had represented a late-inning option, Dipoto had already gone out and added veteran set-up man Joaquin Benoit. But the club’s pen struggled last year, and adding Bass in this trade helps to guard against any scrambling for innings.

Texas, meanwhile, will add two seasons of Wilhelmsen, a 31-year-old righty who possesses a mid-90s heater. The veteran has thrown over 300 frames in the majors, working to a 2.97 overall ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9. He was right in that range in 2015, but continued a trend of posting earned run results that are much better than ERA estimators would expect. (For his career, Wilhelmsen has a 3.39 FIP, 3.94 xFIP, and 3.67 SIERA.)

Wilhelmsen figures to bolster a Rangers’ late-inning relief corps that has its share of questions. While pitchers like Shawn Tolleson, Keone Kela, Jake Diekman, and Sam Dyson all turned in quality seasons, there are enough question marks with that group that another good arm made sense.

And Jones is more than a throw-in, as he could ultimately be a cheaper and more controllable version of Martin. The left-handed hitter has not shown much of anything in his 400+ major league plate appearances, but has generally been rather productive at the plate in the high minors. Notably, last year, he not only put up a solid .294/.373/.423 batting line at Triple-A, but struck out only 68 times (against 53 walks) in his 501 trips to the plate — representing a huge improvement over prior seasons. While he may not possess an elite glove, Jones has swiped 28 bags in his limited MLB action. He could make for a useful pairing with DeShields up the middle.

While this deal shifts the assets between the clubs, it’s worth noting that it won’t have much impact on their respective payroll situations. MLBTR projects Martin to earn $3.75MM next year, matching his salary from 2015 — he would have only been projected at $1.6MM without that starting point — while Bass lands at $1.1MM. Meanwhile, the arb model pegs Wilhelmsen at an even $3MM.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported the deal on Twitter. T.R. Sullivan first reported (on Twitter) the inclusion of Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Check Out Our MLB Free Agent Tracker

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With the offseason underway, make sure to bookmark our 2015-16 MLB free agent tracker.  This feature provides everything you need to follow along with the excitement of MLB free agency.  Our tracker allows you to filter by signing team, signing status, position, contract, qualifying offer status, and handedness.  We’ve also added tracking for the different contract option types.

The tracker has endless uses.  For example, here’s a list filtered to show all unsigned starting pitchers who did not receive a qualifying offer.  Here’s a look at everyone who has signed or retired so far.  And here are all the unsigned right-handed-hitting right fielders.

Check out the constantly-updated 2015-16 MLB Free Agent Tracker today!

Aubrey Huff Preparing For Comeback Attempt

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It’s been three years since Aubrey Huff retired from the game of baseball, but Huff (who recently enlisted the Ballengee Group as his new agency) is now seeking a return to the Major Leagues, as Jordan Zirm of Stack Velocity Sports Performance details.

Huff, now 38, candidly opens up about the social anxiety and depression issues that drove him from the game following a 2012 season in which he abruptly left the team due to his battle with anxiety. “I went on the disabled list right then and there, and I was never the same again,” Huff said. “I lost my starting job. I was quiet in the clubhouse, in the corner the entire second half of the season. I was a ghost. It was in the papers. People knew I was dealing with anxiety. I was on Xanax, the whole nine yards.” While people frequently comment to him that it must’ve been nice to walk away from the game as a champion — Huff’s Giants won the World Series in 2010 and again in his final season, 2012 — Huff now admits to being “miserable” that season, as he felt that baseball was at the root of his depression problems.

In the interview with Zirm, Huff sounds every bit the part of a man with a new lease on life that would relish in the opportunity to go out on his own terms. He’s worked extensively to get himself back into shape and to rehabilitate a chronic hip ailment. As Zirm writes, after walking with a limp for more than two years, Huff’s rehab has caused the injury to “completely dissipate.” Huff’s trainer, Jason Huntley, told him at the beginning of the rehab process that the goal was to get him feeling better than he ever has, both physically and mentally. “I just wanted somebody else to say it where it didn’t sound crazy to me,” Huff recalled. “It triggered something in me, and I said, let’s do it.”

Huff’s resurgent 2010 campaign after a poor showing in 2009 was one of the keys to the Giants’ World Series victory that year, as he rebounded with a .290/.385/.506 batting line and 26 homers in his first year with San Francisco. That led to a new two-year contract that saw diminished results and eventually led to Huff’s departure from the game.

When at his best, Huff was a feared slugger — four times topping 25 homers and averaging 23 long balls per 162 games over the course of his 13 years in the Majors despite poor results in 2009 and in his final two Major League seasons. All told, he currently sports a very strong .278/.342/.464 batting line and 242 homers between the Rays, Orioles, Giants, Astros and Tigers. Huff’s goal is to get back to the Majors and work his way into an everyday role, even though he recognizes that teams won’t be lining up to sign a 38-year-old on the heels of a three-year absence from the Majors.

Still, Huff wants to prove to himself that he’s capable and also give inspiration to others. “The biggest thing for me is to inspire people,” said Huff in a YouTube video chronicling his comeback efforts. “Because millions and millions of people live with anxiety and depression throughout their life. If they can see a guy that’s went through it publicly go out there in front of 40,000 people a night and know that it can be beat, it’s going to give them a lot of hope.”

Reds Seek MLB-Ready Talent In Packages For Frazier, Chapman

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The Reds are known to be entertaining offers on all of their players, and ESPN’s Jayson Stark spoke to an exec with a rival club that is convinced third baseman Todd Frazier is “legitimately out there” as a trade piece, albeit only for a significant return (links to Twitter). According to Stark, the Reds are prioritizing young talent that is Major-League-ready in trades for either Frazier or closer Aroldis Chapman. ESPN’s Buster Olney wrote yesterday (Insider subscription required) that he spoke to an NL evaluator and was told that the Reds “aren’t pushing Frazier at all,” so it doesn’t sound like the Reds feel any urgency to move him (not that one would expect an aggressive push to move a player of Frazier’s caliber at this point in the year with multiple seasons of club control remaining).

Stark doesn’t list a preference between position players or hitters — perhaps because Cincinnati doesn’t truly have one; talent is talent — but most of the Reds’ top prospects are on the pitching side of the equation. Outside of top organizational prospect Jesse Winker, the team’s best hitting prospects are mostly in the lower levels of the minor leagues. For a team that is open to dealing its third baseman, second baseman (Brandon Phillips) and right fielder (Jay Bruce), that leaves plenty of openings around the diamond — especially considering Billy Hamilton’s underwhelming bat to this point in his career. (That’s not to suggest that Cincinnati has given up on Hamilton, but rather that he’ll need to hit more than he has at some point.)

The price to acquire Frazier will — and should — be steep. The reigning Home Run Derby champ is set to turn 30 years old in February and is coming off a pair of seasons in which he has combined to bat .262/.322/.479 with 64 homers and well-above-average defense at third base. Frazier is also affordable, as his 2016 salary is locked in at $7.5MM by virtue of a two-year deal signed prior to the 2015 season. He’ll be arbitration eligible once again next offseason and is a free agent after the 2017 season.

The primary red flags with Frazier will be his woeful 2015 second half and his production (or lack thereof) away from the hitter-friendly confines of Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. Frazier was hitting .284/.337/.585 with 25 homers prior to the 2015 All-Star Game, but he batted just .224/.270/.390 with 10 homers in 72 second-half games. Checking out his home/road splits, Frazier has batted .281/.341/.537 at home over the past two seasons compared to .247/.304/.421 on the road. Many players tend to hit better at home regardless of park factor, but the notable discrepancy between Frazier’s home and road production figures to at least be some cause for concern for teams that play in pitcher-friendly environments.

Regardless of home/road splits, Frazier is capable, at worst, of producing league-average offense (he has a wRC+ of 99 on the road) with an above-average bat at third base. Two years of that skill set alone would have some value, but considering that’s more or less the floor on Frazier, while the ceiling is that of a legitimate superstar, multiple big-league-ready assets will probably need to be in play for Cincinnati to seriously consider parting with him.

Chapman is projected to earn $12.9MM in 2016 by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. That will be Chapman’s final year of club control before free agency, so with one year of control at top-of-the-market money, he comes with less trade value than Frazier. Nevertheless, it’s easy enough to envision a team being willing to part with an MLB-ready asset and another lower-level piece or two in order to secure a season of Chapman’s 100mph+ dominance.

Teams that could conceivably look for help at third base include the White Sox, Angels, Astros, Padres and possibly the Tigers, to name a few. There’s always a wide swath of teams seeking bullpen help — particularly when the reliever in question ranks among the game’s two or three best arms — and Chapman has recently been connected to the Yankees, Astros, Diamondbacks, Tigers and Red Sox (though Boston’s trade for Craig Kimbrel would certainly seem to take them out of the Chapman market).

AL East Notes: Boxberger, McGee, Yankees, O’s, Blue Jays

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Rays relievers Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger are two of the more coveted relief arms on the trade market, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Nationals are among the interested teams (Twitter link). The Astros and Tigers have also been listed as possible suitors for Tampa Bay’s excellent eighth/ninth-inning duo. The left-handed McGee, 29, is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4.7MM this offseason. The right-handed Boxberger, 27, is not yet arbitration eligible. Both have seen significant time in the ninth inning over the past two seasons, as McGee collected 25 saves from 2014-15, and Boxberger led the AL with 41 saves in 2015. McGee seems like the more obvious trade candidate, on paper, due to his projected 2016 salary, but Boxberger’s first-year arbitration price could be huge if he serves as manager Kevin Cash’s primary closer in 2016 and racks up 35 to 40 more saves. The Rays could simply elect to hold the pair as well; spending a combined $5.2MM or so for the pair certainly isn’t exorbitant, though it’s hard to envision both relievers in the mix beyond 2016, as they’ll probably be too expensive a pairing after next winter’s arb raises.

A few more notes from the AL East…

  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes that Yankees GM Brian Cashman should be worrying about regression from players like Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez when constructing the roster this winter. Cashman said last week at the GM Meetings that his goal is to “upgrade our roster and not worry about regression on certain guys,” but Davidoff notes that it would be exceptionally risky to bank on Teixeira and A-Rod repeating both the health and the production they displayed in 2015, reminding how greatly they outperformed their preseason projections.
  • Filling all of the holes on the Orioles’ roster is a near-impossible task for GM Dan Duquette without a significant payroll hike, writes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Melewski points out that after Matt Wieters surprisingly accepted a qualifying offer last Friday, the team now has $57.6MM committed to four players — Wieters, J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Ubaldo Jimenez — plus $34.9MM worth of arbitration salaries (based on MLBTR’s projections). That places the Orioles at $92.5MM without even factoring in league-minimum players to round out the roster. Melewski uses Chris Davis and Alex Gordon as highly theoretical examples of players that could be brought in as major offseason signings (or, in Davis’ case, a re-signing), noting that that pair alone could cause Baltimore’s payroll to soar over $135MM while still leaving holes in the rotation and bullpen. Duquette has hinted that a payroll increase is certainly possible; over the weekend he discussed having the resources to not only re-sign Davis but also to bring in a No. 2 or No. 3 starter. The O’s opened the 2015 season with a $119MM payroll.
  • The Blue Jays’ entire coaching staff will return in 2016 after agreeing to new contracts, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Davidi notes that the news isn’t necessarily a surprise, as Shapiro said during his recent introductory press conference that the entire staff had been invited back, but the finalization of the contracts is nonetheless noteworthy.

Submit Your Questions For The MLBTR Mailbag

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We’ll roll out another edition of the MLBTR Mailbag this evening. The most recent edition saw Jeff Todd field questions on Jurickson Profar, the Phillies, Mitch Moreland’s trade value, Jonathan Papelbon’s future and Boston’s search for a front-line starter.

If you have question you’ve been mulling over and would like MLBTR’s take, let us know: mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com. Sheer volume will prevent us from getting to every question, of course, though readers can also send questions our way on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in the weekly live chats hosted by myself and Jeff Todd, respectively.

Three Former Major Leaguers Sign In KBO

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Former Major Leaguers Michael Bowden and Hector Gomez have signed with teams in the Korea Baseball Organization, according to a report from Yonhap News’ Jee-ho Yoo. Additionally, Naver Sports’ Ji-hyun Kim reports that former Braves right-hander Sugar Ray Marimon has signed with the KT Wiz of the KBO.

Bowden, 29 hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013 with the Cubs. He has a lifetime 4.51 ERA in 133 2/3 innings in the Major Leagues but enjoyed a very strong season split between the Triple-A affiliates for the Twins and Orioles, logging a combined 2.63 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 123 innings of work. The Twins had interest in retaining the former Top 100 prospect, tweets 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson, but instead he’ll head to the Doosan Bears for a guaranteed $650K, per an announcement from the Bears. Bowden is a client of Turner Gary Sports.

Gomez, 27, will also receive a one-year, $650K deal to play in the KBO, joining the SK Wyverns, per another team announcement. Gomez picked up 134 plate appearances for the Brewers this season but batted .181/.212/.323 in that time with a homer and 11 doubles. Gomez played second base, third base, shortstop and left field with Milwaukee this season and is a career .298/.341/.512 hitter at the Triple-A level.

The 27-year-old Marimon made his Major League debut with the Braves this season, pitching to a 7.36 ERA in 25 1/3 innings. The Colombian right-hander has experienced far greater success in Triple-A, where he owns a 3.44 ERA with 6.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 164 2/3 innings. Per the Naver report above, he’ll receive $600K guaranteed with the Wiz, who were an expansion team in 2015. Marimon is represented by Chris Fanta of Pro Talent Sports Group.

KBO clubs can roster three foreign players, one of whom must be a position player, per league rules. The Wiz were granted four foreign players for the 2015 and 2016 seasons due to their status as an expansion club. Yoo notes that the Wyverns retained American left-hander Chris Seddon ($500K) and right-hander Merrill Kelly ($750K) to round out their international allotment but did not re-sign outfielder Andrew Brown despite a nice first season in 2015. Seddon struggled to a 4.99 ERA in 74 innings with the Wyverns this season but has previously excelled there, logging a 2.98 mark in 187 1/3 innings in 2013. Kelly posted a 4.13 ERA in 181 innings for the Wyverns in 2015 — the first KBO season for the former Rays farmhand. Brown hit .261/.360/.496 with 28 homers in 539 plate appearances with the Wyverns — numbers that are slightly down from his lifetime production at Triple-A.

Quick Hits: Cuba, Zobrist, Dodgers, Gallardo, Tribe

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For a rundown of some of the top Cuban talents who could soon be on their way to Major League Baseball, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez lists several Cuban players who are full free agents and some who are subject to the July 2 international signing limits.  Some of the free agents have yet to be officially declared as such due to paperwork, including righty Yaisel Sierra, who is considered to be the top Cuban player available on the open market this offseason.  Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • The Mets are one of many teams to contact Ben Zobrist’s agent but the Yankees don’t appear to be in the running, according to Ken Davidoff and Dan Martin of the New York Post.  The Yankees aren’t willing to pay what is likely to be a pretty significant price tag for Zobrist considering the number of teams interested in his services, and are more apt to upgrade their roster through trades rather than major free agent signings.  The Mets, meanwhile, would use Zobrist to replace Daniel Murphy at second, and also give him some time in the outfield.
  • Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly says his team’s payroll will drop from its $300MM threshold in 2015 to much closer to the $200MM level, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.  The vast Dodger payrolls of the first few years under the Guggenheim group’s ownership were meant to ensure the team could stay competitive while rebuilding the farm system, and once this young talent starts to emerge, the spending will drop.  Boehly thinks “sustainable is more like the league average [payroll], plus some, or plus a lot.”  As Shaikin notes, this still leaves the Dodgers with the flexibility to maintain a payroll at or near the luxury tax level every year.
  • Bobby Witt, Yovani Gallardo’s agent, discussed his client’s free agency with Jim Memolo and Brad Lidge of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter links).  Gallardo is looking for a long-term deal, Witt said, which is why he rejected the Rangers’ one-year qualifying offer.  Witt said that a market for his client has yet to really develop and it may take time until the pitchers at the top of the market (i.e. David Price and Zack Greinke) pick their next teams.
  • In their end-of-season discussions, the Indians briefly considered using Jason Kipnis in the outfield next season with Jose Ramirez taking over at second, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes.  The team abandoned the idea, however, since Kipnis is just too valuable at the keystone.  Cleveland is in dire need of outfield help and may need to make a big trade to fill the void, Pluto argues.
  • More Indians outfield possibilities are discussed by Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer as part of a reader mailbag, though Hoynes doubts the Tribe is quite ready to trade one of its highly-touted starters for an everyday outfielder.  Michael Brantley’s status will be a big factor, as if it looks like his injury rehab will keep him out longer than expected, Cleveland may have no choice but to trade a pitcher or sign a notable free agent.
  • The Phillies should trade Ken Giles while his value is at its highest, Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines.  Giles isn’t even eligible for arbitration until 2018, so he carries much more cost-effective and long-term value than other notable closers on the trade market like Aroldis Chapman, Jonathan Papelbon or Mark Melancon.  A rebuilding team like the Phillies, Kaplan argues, has little need for a top closer.

2015-16 Offseason Outlook Series

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The MLBTR staff has been hard at work on our annual Offseason Outlook series.  This post will be updated to include links to all the completed articles, and will be available under MLBTR Features on the right-hand sidebar on the desktop version of the site.

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

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