Nationals Announce Stephen Drew Signing, Designate Taylor Hill
The Nationals have announced the signing of infielder Stephen Drew — an agreement that was originally reported recently by Jon Heyman. To clear a roster spot, the club designated righty Taylor Hill for assignment.
Drew joins Daniel Murphy in a re-worked Nats infield. That pair will help make up for the trade of Yunel Escobar and the all-but-assured free-agent departure of Ian Desmond.
Washington will reportedly guarantee Drew $3MM in the deal, which also allows him to earn up to $1.25MM via incentives which can be maximized at 130 games played. That falls to the high side of the going rate for utility infielders. (In addition to the prior examples cited in the original post on the signing, Kelly Johnson agreed earlier today to a $2MM guarantee.)
Soon to turn 33, Drew will hope to improve his offensive production in 2016. He hit 17 home runs in only 428 trips to bat last year, but put up only a .201/.271/.381 overall batting line. While he suffered from a .201 BABIP, and did show an improved 16.6% strikeout rate, Drew has failed to match the line-drive and hard-hit rates that he carried earlier in his career.
With the glove, Drew rates as a solid shortstop and passable second baseman. Washington presumably will feel comfortable deploying him all around the infield, though he’d seem likely to spend much of his time sharing reps at shortstop with Danny Espinosa.
Hill, 26, has provided 21 MLB innings to the Nats over the past two years, allowing 14 earned runs on a 14:7 K:BB ratio. He’s spent most of his time recently working as a starter at Triple-A. After a strong 2014, he managed only a 5.23 ERA in his 118 2/3 innings at Syracuse last season.
Nationals Announce Daniel Murphy Signing, Designate Erik Davis For Assignment
The Nationals on Wednesday formally announced the signing of Daniel Murphy to a three-year contract and designated right-hander Erik Davis for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Murphy, who is represented by ACES, had reportedly agreed to a three-year, $37.5MM pact back on Dec. 24, and he’ll be introduced tomorrow at a press conference, according to the club. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan was the first to report that Murphy had passed his physical (Twitter link). Jon Heyman tweeted the exact breakdown of Murphy’s contract earlier today, reporting that Murphy’s contract is significantly backloaded. Murphy will take home $8MM in 2016, $12MM in 2017 and $17.5MM in 2018, although $3MM of that final season’s salary is deferred, per Heyman.
Murphy, who turns 31 on April 1, hit .281/.322/.449 with a career-best 14 homers over 538 plate appearances in 2015. A 13th-round pick for the Mets in the 2006 draft, Murphy developed into a very solid big leaguer who has posted 12.2 fWAR/9.6 bWAR over the last five years. Mets fans will forever remember Murphy’s contributions in the 2015 postseason, as he posted a whopping 1.462 OPS and seven home runs over 39 PA in the NLDS and NLCS, a performance that earned him the NLCS MVP Award. Murphy became the first player in baseball history to homer in six consecutive postseason games.
In Murphy, the Nationals add a player who provides good pop for a middle infielder and also a versatile defender who play third, first and (on a limited basis) left as well as the keystone. In fact, according to metrics like UZR/150 and Defensive Runs Saved, second base is actually Murphy’s worst defensive position. Since Anthony Rendon can also play both second and third, it’s possible the Nats could use Murphy at the hot corner.
Regardless of who plays second, the signing seems to ensure that Danny Espinosa and fellow newcomer Stephen Drew will handle shortstop duties until top prospect Trea Turner is ready for the big leagues. Murphy could also spell Ryan Zimmerman at first base against the occasional right-handed starter. In any case, Murphy’s multi-positional ability gives manager Dusty Baker a lot of flexibility in arranging lineups and late-game situations. Perhaps most importantly, Murphy also adds a much-needed left-handed bat to Washington’s lineup — Murphy and Bryce Harper are currently the only left-handed hitters projected to play everyday roles for the Nationals (though Drew will get his share of at-bats and Espinosa is a switch-hitter — albeit one who struggles as a lefty).
There wasn’t too much public buzz about Murphy’s free agent market before the Nats emerged, as the Rockies, Dodgers and Mets all had some interest but in somewhat limited fashion. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ranked Murphy 17th on his list of the winter’s top 50 free agents and predicted he’d land a four-year/$56MM contract. It could be that Murphy’s market was impacted by the number of notable infielders being dealt this offseason. The three teams noted in Dierkes’ list (the Angels, White Sox and Yankees), for example, all addressed infield needs in trades for the likes of Andrelton Simmons, Yunel Escobar, Brett Lawrie, Todd Frazier and Starlin Castro. Beyond that, Murphy reportedly spent much of the early portion of the offseason waiting for the Mets to circle back with an offer. Only after New York acquired Neil Walker in exchange for Jon Niese did Murphy begin to explore other opportunities, per the New York Post.
Since Murphy rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets, New York will receive a compensation pick between the first and second rounds of the 2016 draft. The Nationals, in turn, will have to surrender their first-round pick (17th overall) in the draft but they may end up taking only a minor slide down the draft board since they have two QO free agents of their own. Washington already received a compensation round pick when Jordan Zimmermann signed with the Tigers and could receive another if Ian Desmond signs elsewhere.
As for the 29-year-old Davis, he’ll now endure a waiting period of up to 10 days as the Nationals gauge trade interest in him and mull when or whether to place him on outright waivers. The former 13th-round pick (Padres, 2008) hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013 — his lone taste of Major League Baseball to this point in his career. Davis split the 2015 season across three minor league levels as he made his way back from 2014 Tommy John surgery. Between Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A, Davis logged a 3.88 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9 in 48 2/3 innings. It should be noted that a good bit of those control struggles may have been the aftereffects of the aforementioned surgery, as Davis had displayed mostly solid control in 2012-13 before his injury.
ESPN’s Jim Bowden first reported the agreement (via Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the financial terms (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Royals Have “Strong Interest” In Ian Kennedy
The Royals are among the teams with “strong interest” in free agent starter Ian Kennedy, according to Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Kansas City is expected to try to “make [a] push” to land the righty now that Alex Gordon is under contract to return, per the report.
Of course, it’s not immediately clear whether Kennedy sits atop K.C.’s wish list. The club is also looking at Wei-Yin Chen and Yovani Gallardo, Heyman adds.
All of those pitchers declined qualifying offers at the outset of the offseason. Signing any one of them, then, would require the Royals to part with the club’s first overall selection after already giving up the chance to add an extra pick by bringing back Gordon. Of course, fresh off a World Series victory, the choice will not end up being near the top of the first round.
The Royals may also spend some time exploring the possibility of a re-worked deal with backstop Salvador Perez, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports adds on Twitter. We’ve heard chatter before that this could be considered, but the enormously team-friendly deal that he’s bound by also doesn’t leave much motivation for a deal. The large-framed, heavily-used backstop can already be controlled through 2019 (his age-29 season) via a series of options. That makes it seem unlikely, at least from an outside perspective, that he’ll be able to achieve much more than a few guaranteed years — likely at the price of surrendering yet more options at the back end.
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Dodgers Re-Sign Brandon Beachy
The Dodgers have officially struck a deal with free agent righty Brandon Beachy, as first reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The ICON Sports Management client will receive a $1.5MM guarantee, per the report, and can reach $4.25MM through incentives.
Beachy, 29, reached the majors only briefly last year with Los Angeles as he worked back from consecutive Tommy John surgeries. In his 48 2/3 Triple-A frames, which included ten starts, Beachy worked to a 3.51 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9.
Before that, of course, Beachy had looked like a solid young rotation piece with the Braves. Over the 2010 through 2013 campaigns, he worked to a 3.23 ERA with 9.2 K.9 against 2.9 BB/9 across 267 2/3 innings in that span.
While the Dodgers did not receive a significant major league contribution from Beachy last year, the club obviously saw enough to motivate a return. And given that he was able to achieve a major league deal despite a less-than-complete comeback, it appears that some other clubs also saw some room to expect bigger things in 2016.
Jon Heyman (Twitter links) and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link) provided details of the incentives clause.
Pirates To Sign Neftali Feliz
The Pirates have agreed to terms with free agent righty Neftali Feliz, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. The BTI Sports client will receive a $3.9MM guarantee, per Passan, and the contract also includes incentives that could push it to around $4.5MM in total value.
Feliz spent last year with the Rangers and Tigers, who added him after he was designated by Texas. Detroit elected not to tender him a contract last fall, preferring not to commit a projected $5.2MM.
There wasn’t much to like about the 27-year-old’s results last year, as he put up a combined 6.38 ERA over 48 forgettable frames. Metrics valued his actual contributions more in the low-4.00 range, though that is hardly an inspiring output either.
But Pittsburgh has taken a gamble on plenty of high-upside arms in the past, and the still-youthful Feliz looks like another worthwhile project. He’s posted dominant results earlier in his career — though ERA estimators always predicted regression — and still delivers a mid-90s fastball.
Jon Heyman (via Twitter) and Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link) added details on the incentives. Cotillo also tweeted that Feliz had changed agents.
Braves, Kelly Johnson Agree To One-Year Deal
11:15am: Johnson receives a $2MM guarantee for a one-year term, with the ability to earn $1.25MM in incentives, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
10:39am: The Braves and veteran infielder/outfielder Kelly Johnson are in agreement on a one-year contract, pending a physical, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link). Johnson, a client of Relativity Sports, will be signing on for his third stint with the Braves — the same organization that originally selected him with the 38th pick of the 2000 draft.
Financial terms have yet to be reported. It seems likely that the Braves were able to woo Johnson back with the chance to earn significant playing time, though he’ll have to compete with fellow veteran free agent signee Emilio Bonifacio.
His most recent run with the club, of course, ended when he was shipped to the Mets — along with Juan Uribe — in a deadline deal last summer. Clearly, there were no hard feelings, as Atlanta added a pair of young arms and Johnson got a chance to play in the World Series.
All told, Johnson ended the 2015 campaign with a solid .265/.314/.435 slash, with 14 home runs, in 335 plate appearances. He was limited almost entirely to facing right-handed pitching last year, though it’s fair to note that he has actually been slightly better against southpaws over his career.
With roughly league-average batting results over his career, Johnson has plenty of appeal as a utility piece. He’s never been viewed as a supremely talented defender, but he’s generally received roughly average ratings from defensive metrics at a variety of spots.
Johnson saw time at six positions last year between the two organizations, and could conceivably be an option at third, second, or the corner outfield this time around. If nothing else, he and Bonifacio give the club options in the event that it decides to cash in the just-acquired Ender Inciarte or finds a taker for some of the remaining money owed to Michael Bourn or Nick Swisher.
West Notes: Reyes, Maeda, Kazmir, Fowler
An MLB source tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that there is still no timeline regarding possible disciplinary action against Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes. (Twitter link.) That appears to be due, at least in part, to the fact that the criminal proceedings have not been wrapped up. While the league’s domestic violence policy does not require criminal action for the commissioner to impose punishment, there is arguably less cause to move swiftly given that the allegations arose during the offseason.
- The Astros made a play for Japanese hurler Kenta Maeda before he reached agreement with the Dodgers, according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Houston remains an interesting potential factor in the free agent market. While the team probably does not need to make a splash, it is not difficult to imagine the team emerging as a dark horse for several players.
- Houston was also said to have had interest in retaining Scott Kazmir before he decided to join the Dodgers, and it appears they were far from alone in that regard. The veteran lefty said that a dozen clubs had at least some communication with his camp this winter, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group tweets.
- The fact that free agent outfielder Dexter Fowler appeared at a Golden State Warriors game recently should not be interpreted as a sign he’s about to sign with the Giants, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News tweets. He hears that “nothing is cooking” between Fowler and the club at this time. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Chris Haft looks at the fit of some of San Francisco’s possible outfield targets.
Latest On Alex Gordon, Royals
While it seemed not long ago that the Royals’ pursuit of Alex Gordon would not be fruitful, Gordon himself suggested there was still hope of a reunion. And it appears now there could be renewed vitality in talks between the sides. Here’s the latest:
- Among other clubs around the league, there is an “increasingly strong sentiment” that Gordon could be heading back to K.C., Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. In fact, something could come together soon, Passan suggests. There had reportedly been a wide gulf between the sides in terms of years and dollars. If a deal is indeed struck, it will obviously be fascinating to see whether one side budged from its position or whether common ground was struck.
- The Royals “still would love” to bring back their homegrown star, Jon Heyman tweeted last night. But Kansas City is still keeping its options open, of course. That includes a variety of other free agents, including Gerardo Parra, Denard Span, Dexter Fowler, and David Murphy, according to the report.
Nationals Have Explored Trade Market For Catchers
The Nationals have explored the trade market for help behind the plate, according to Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Per Heyman, the Nats are “involved on a number of fronts.”
Wilson Ramos and Jose Lobaton are slated to comprise the Nationals’ backstop contingent in 2015, but neither player performed anywhere near his previous peak level. Ramos, in particular, had a difficult season. Though the 28-year-old logged a career-best 504 plate appearances, his offensive output was far and away the worst it has been in any of his six big league campaigns. His 15 home runs notwithstanding, Ramos batted a mere .229/.258/.358 in those 504 PAs. While he’s never been known for his plate discipline, Ramos’ 4.2 percent walk rate was the lowest of his career, and his 20 percent strikeout rate was the highest he’s ever recorded. From a defensive standpoint, his ability to control the running game remained strong — he caught an outstanding 44 percent of attempted base-stealers — and he rated slightly below average (though far from disastrous) in terms of pitch-framing.
Lobaton’s season was worse than that of Ramos, but the 31-year-old also entered the season with lower expectations than those placed upon his teammate and countryman. Lobaton batted .199/.279/.294 in 144 plate appearances and caught a respectable eight of 31 base-stealers while grading out quite well in terms of framing. (Prior to 2015, he’d been roughly average, so it could be that the strong marks are merely a small-sample fluctuation behind the plate as opposed to a definitive sign of improvement.) Elsewhere on the 40-man roster, the Nats have young Pedro Severino (who made a brief big league cameo in 2015) and Spencer Kieboom. Both players need more time in the minors, however, as Severino’s bat comes with question marks (though his defensive tools are said to be advanced) and Kieboom spent the 2015 season at Class-A Advanced.
Another factor to consider when thinking about the Nationals’ catching situation is that Ramos is slated to hit the open market next winter and may not be in the team’s long-term plans. If the expectation is that Ramos signs elsewhere as a free agent — either because the Nationals are outbid by a rival team or because the team simply isn’t interested in re-signing him — then it perhaps makes some sense to proactively seek upgrades behind the plate this season. Ramos has historically done most of his damage against left-handed pitching, and the Nationals are known to be seeking lineup balance, so perhaps they’d be interested in finding a left-handed bat to pair with Ramos behind the plate. That, of course, is nothing more than speculation on my own part, and it’s worth pointing out that the reported-but-not-yet-finalized additions of Daniel Murphy (link) and Stephen Drew (link) will at least given the club some more left-handed options around the diamond once completed.
In spite of Ramos’ struggles getting on base last season, it should be noted that president of baseball operations/GM Mike Rizzo spoke very highly of Ramos back in early November in the midst of rumors connecting the Nationals to Matt Wieters (prior to Wieters’ acceptance of a qualifying offer from Baltimore). Rizzo conceded that Ramos had some struggles at the plate but showed good power and ranked No. 1 in the National League in terms of throwing out base-stealers, adding: “We like Ramos. He’s a guy that it would be difficult to find a replacement for.”