2015-16 American League Non-Tenders
Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2016 season. Remember that you can track all of the action using MLBTR’s Non-Tender tracker, and we offer a full list of non-tender candidates (in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes). Also important for reference is the set of arbitration salary projections from MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz.
We’ll run down the list of American League non-tenders here, and update it as reports come in.
- According to a club announcement this morning, the Yankees non-tendered righty Domingo German last night. By parting with the pre-arb-eligible hurler, New York cleared one open spot on its 40-man.
- The Rangers announced that they won’t tender contracts to righty Nick Tepesch or outfielder James Jones. Neither player was arbitration eligible, but the decisions clear two 40-man roster spots. Tepesch missed the 2015 season battling shoulder injuries. Jones was recently acquired in a trade with the Mariners, though the main component of that deal for the Rangers was probably right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen. Texas hopes to retain both on minor league contracts, tweets the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson.
- The Blue Jays have non-tendered backup catcher Josh Thole and tendered the rest of their players, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Thole has served primarily as R.A. Dickey‘s personal catcher due to his familiarity with the knuckleball for much of his time with the Blue Jays.
- Outfielder David Lough has also been non-tendered by the Orioles, the club announced. Lough hit just .201/.241/.313 with the Orioles in 144 plate appearances this season but has a reputation as a good defensive outfielder in the corners and traditionally hit righties well prior to this season.
- The White Sox have non-tendered Tyler Flowers and Jacob Turner. More on that decision here.
- The Orioles will non-tender infielder Paul Janish, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The defensively gifted journeyman was projected to earn a modest $600K in arbitration next season.
Earlier Updates
- Righty Al Alburquerque will be non-tendered by the Tigers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. The 29-year-old was projected to earn only $2.1MM, and Detroit could use pen depth, but it appears that the club decided to move on after watching the veteran contribute 62 innings of 4.21 ERA ball with 8.4 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 last year.
- The Athletics have announced that first baseman Ike Davis will not be tendered a contract, meaning he’ll become a free agent. The veteran was entering his final year of control at a $3.8MM projected salary. His non-tender was widely expected after a tough 2015 season, but became assured when the club swung a deal earlier today for his replacement.
2015-16 National League Non-Tenders
Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2016 season. Remember that you can track all of the action using MLBTR’s Non-Tender tracker, and we offer a full list of non-tender candidates (in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes). Also important for reference is the set of arbitration salary projections from MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz.
We’ll run down the list of National League non-tenders here, and update it as reports come in.
- Pre-arb outfielder Eury Perez was non-tendered last night by the Braves, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports on Twitter. The 25-year-old could, in theory, have served as Michael Bourn‘s backup in center, but it appears that Atlanta will look for an alternative.
- The Rockies won’t tender contracts to left-handers Yohan Flande or Jason Gurka for the 2016 season, per a club announcement. The team also announced that outfielder Rosell Herrera will be non-tendered. Flande, 29, is the most experienced arm of the bunch, having soaked up 127 1/3 innings for Colorado over the past two seasons, albeit with a 4.95 ERA.
- The Dodgers announced that they’ve non-tendered righties Juan Nicasio and Lisalverto Bonilla. Nicasio is a mild surprise considering the fact that he logged a 3.86 ERA with a robust 10.0 K/9 rate and a 2.83 FIP in 2015. However, he also averaged 4.9 walks per nine innings and had what was almost certainly unsustainable luck in terms of home runs, yielding just one big fly in 58 1/3 innings. The hard-throwing righty should garner some interest on the free-agent market.
- The Marlins announced that they’ve non-tendered Aaron Crow, who missed the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery. The team also formally announced its previously reported decision to non-tender Henderson Alvarez (more on that controversial decision here).
- The Nationals will not tender right-hander Craig Stammen a contract for the 2016 season, per a club announcement. He missed nearly the entire season due to a pair of torn tendons in his right forearm that required surgery.
Earlier Updates
- The Cubs announced that right-hander Ryan Cook has been non-tendered. An offseason waiver claim, Cook never suited up for Chicago. The former All-Star setup man yielded an astounding 18 earned runs in just 8 2/3 innings this season between Oakland and Boston.
- The Giants have also non-tendered backup catcher Hector Sanchez, per a club announcement, which additionally confirmed Petit’s non-tender.
- The Giants will non-tender right-hander Yusmeiro Petit, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports (Twitter link). The right-hander has recorded a solid 3.66 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 across 245 2/3 innings for the Giants over the past four seasons while spending time in both the rotation and the bullpen. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that Petit was offered to at least one other club in a trade, but clearly nothing materialized, as he’ll now hit the open market in search of new club.
- The Brewers announced that they’ve non-tendered utilityman Elian Herrera. The 30-year-old was not yet arbitration eligible, but Milwaukee clearly preferred to keep the rosters spot open. Herrera hit .242/.290/.395 last season in a career-high 277 PAs, and GM David Stearns has interest in retaining him on a new minor league deal, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- The Reds will not tender contracts to righty Ryan Mattheus, outfielder Ryan LaMarre, or righty Pedro Villarreal, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter and the club has since announced. Of those players, only Mattheus was eligible for arbitration. The 32-year-old, who threw 55 innings and posted a 4.09 ERA last year, projected for a $1.3MM salary. LaMarre, 27, just cracked the MLB roster last year but spent most of the year at Triple-A. Villareal, also 27, notched a solid 3.42 ERA in his fifty frames in 2015, but his strikeout rates fell and ERA estimators did not smile upon the quality of his contribution.
Free Agent Notes: Navarro, Madson, Leake, Soria, Flowers
Switch-hitting catcher Dioner Navarro is a “name to keep an eye on” in connection to the White Sox, says Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (links to Twitter). The sense among competitors for Navarro’s services is that something could come together quickly between Navarro and the ChiSox now that Tyler Flowers has been non-tendered, according to Passan, who calls Navarro the “top” offensive catcher on the market. I’d posit that Wilin Rosario certainly gives Navarro a run for his money in that regard, though Navarro probably comes with the better defensive reputation of the two. Regardless, a match between the Sox and Navarro certainly seems plausible.
A few more notes on some various free agents for those who are joining me in the realm of insomnia…
- MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports that the Athletics are interested in right-hander Ryan Madson, with one source telling her that the A’s are a “legitimate suitor” for Madson’s services. Oakland is “square in the mix” for Madson, says Lee’s source. She notes that the former Phillies closer, who enjoyed a brilliant bounceback campaign in Kansas City this past season, is looking for a multi-year deal. While Oakland has already picked up reliever Liam Hendriks from Toronto, Lee writes that the team isn’t shying away from the concept of adding another relief arm. She adds that GM David Forst has stated that payroll won’t be a deterrent in the team’s pursuit of an additional setup arm.
- The Giants still haven’t engaged in talks with right-hander Mike Leake, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. While San Francisco is widely believed to be interested in retaining the right-hander it acquired in late July, Schulman says the belief is that the team’s pursuit of ace Zack Greinke needs to be resolved before a serious effort to re-sign Leake is made. Greinke is reportedly deciding between the Giants and his former club (and San Francisco division rival), the Dodgers.
- The Blue Jays and Royals are among the clubs monitoring the market for right-hander Joakim Soria, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The Tigers are out of the mix for Soria after acquiring Francisco Rodriguez, he adds. Both Toronto and K.C. are known to be interested in relief help, though a recent report from Crasnick indicated that the Blue Jays aren’t inclined to pay top dollar for any bullpen arms right now, and Soria is reportedly seeking a $27MM total over a three-year span, which seems to make the two an unlikely match.
- CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes tweets that the White Sox‘ decision to non-tender Flowers might have been a blessing in disguise for the catcher. One scout texted Hayes shortly after the news of Flowers’ non-tender broke, telling Hayes that Flowers “should thank” the White Sox for cutting him loose, because his belief is that Flowers will get more than his projected $3.5MM arbitration salary in this market. That seems potentially steep to me, considering the fact that Alex Avila and Geovany Soto have both signed for under $3MM, but Flowers did post standout framing numbers last year and does have some pop, so clubs are sure to be interested. If nothing else, he could probably surpass that number by way of incentives in a one-year deal with a new club.
Rays Acquire Hank Conger
The Rays have acquired catcher Hank Conger from the Astros in exchange for cash considerations, the club announced. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first tweeted the move, adding that all of the team’s arbitration eligible players have been tendered contracts. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported earlier tonight that Conger had been offered to at least one club in a trade (Twitter link).
The 27-year-old Conger is a switch-hitter that is coming off a season in which he batted .229/.311/.448 with 11 home runs while backing up starting catcher Jason Castro. Conger did nearly all of his damage from the left side of the plate, hitting right-handed pitching at an outstanding .279/.353/.538 clip but slumping to a .175/.250/.351 batting line upon stepping into the right-handed batters’ box.
From a defensive standpoint, Conger is a puzzling story. He’s consistently graded out as an excellent pitch-framer — one of the primary reasons that drove the Astros (and, presumably, the Rays) to acquire him — but he developed a bizarre inability to throw out runners in 2015. While Conger has never caught attempted base-stealers at an elite rate, he prevented a staggeringly low one of 43 attempted thefts in 2015. He caught around one out of every four to five baserunners who attempted to run on him in previous seasons.
Clearly, the Astros had concerns over Conger’s throwing issues, as evidenced by the fact that he was moved for cash considerations despite a reasonably productive season at the plate, solid framing numbers and a projected $1.8MM salary. The Rays will hope that they can turn those woes around and utilize Conger behind the dish, perhaps in a platoon capacity, with Curt Casali or Rene Rivera. If they’re able to do so, the Rays can control Conger through the 2017 season. He currently has four years, 51 days of Major League service time.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Padres Non-Tender Will Middlebrooks
The Padres announced tonight that they’ve non-tendered third baseman Will Middlebrooks, making him a free agent. San Diego also elected not to tender contracts to catcher Rocky Gale and left-handed reliever Frank Garces, dropping the club’s 40-man roster to a total of 36 players.
Middlebrooks, 27, was acquired in a trade with the Red Sox that sent catcher Ryan Hanigan to Boston last year. The former top prospect was San Diego’s Opening Day third baseman, but he faded after a hot start and ultimately endured similar struggles to the ones that led the Boston front office to deem him expendable. Middlebrooks hit just .212/.241/.361 with nine homers and eventually lost his grip on the starting job at third base. He saw eight innings at first base and, surprisingly, also logged 39 innings as the Padres’ shortstop in 2015.
Middlebrooks was also demoted to Triple-A midway through the season but struggled even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League where he batted a meek .255/.287/379. He’s young enough that his pedigree and early success will earn him some looks this offseason, but he’s now three full seasons removed from an impressive rookie campaign in 2012 that saw him bat .288/.325/.509 with 15 homers in 286 plate appearances. Still, it’s conceivable that clubs such as the Braves, White Sox and Indians (among others) which lack a concrete option at third base will consider Middlebrooks something of an upside play and hope he can recapture some of the promise he showed earlier in his career.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12-2-2015
We’ll use this post to keep tabs on arbitration deals struck today in advance of the non-tender deadline. Here’s the latest, with all projections via MLB Trade Rumors:
- The Padres and Brett Wallace have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2016 season, according to a team announcement. Wallace will earn $1MM next season, tweets MLB.com’s Corey Brock, placing him just shy of his $1.1MM projection.
- Backstop Chris Gimenez has agreed to a deal to avoid arbitration with the Rangers, per a team announcement. Gimenez will earn $975K while in the majors, but the deal is a split contract, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.
- The Orioles announced that they’ve agreed to terms with outfielder Nolan Reimold on a one-year deal, thus avoiding arbitration. Rich Dubroff of CSNMidAtlantic.com reports that Reimold will land a $1.3MM salary (Twitter link). He cleared MLBTR’s projection by $400K.
- The Indians have avoided arbitration with newly acquired outfielder Collin Cowgill by agreeing to a $1MM salary for the upcoming 2016 season, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. That’s an exact match with his projected salary.
- The Athletics announced that they’ve avoided arb with second baseman Eric Sogard, outfielder Sam Fuld, and newly acquired southpaw Marc Rzepczynski (Twitter link). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported Sogard’s contract (via Twitter), adding that he receives a $1.5MM salary, which is a bit shy of his $1.7MM projection.
- The Cubs announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with lefty Clayton Richard, who, as MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat reports (on Twitter), will take home a $2MM salary next season. That’s a sizable increase over the $1.1MM at which he was projected.
Earlier Updates
- The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with first baseman Justin Smoak, per Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). He’ll earn $3.9MM next season with the Jays. That number drastically outpaces the $2MM projected by MLBTR.
- Jose Lobaton and the Nationals have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.3875MM, reports James Wagner of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Lobaton’s deal comes in just shy of the $1.5MM he was projected to earn.
- The Phillies announced deals with infielder Andres Blanco and just-claimed outfielder Peter Bourjos. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that Bourjos will receive a $2MM salary and Blanco will be paid $1.45MM in 2016. MLBTR had projected Blanco at $1MM while Bourjos came with a projected tag of $1.8MM.
- Jordan Lyles has a $2.975MM deal with the Rockies, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. The righty will earn a minor bump over his $2.8MM projection.
- The Athletics announced that the team has agreed to a deal with lefty Felix Doubront on a contract for 2016. The value is not known at this time, but he was projected at $2.5MM.
- Backstop A.J. Ellis will receive $4.5MM next year with the Dodgers after striking a deal, Heyman tweets. That’s an exact match for the rate projected by MLBTR and Matt Swartz. The 34-year-old, who had a nice bounce-back campaign in 2015, will hit the open market after the coming season.
- Righty Vance Worley has signed on with the Orioles for $2.6MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. That falls just $100K shy of his projected value as a first-year-eligible player. Baltimore added Worley earlier in the winter from the Pirates and figures to utilize him in a swingman capacity.
- The Cubs have agreed to a $1.42MM deal with just-added lefty Rex Brothers, Heyman tweets. Brothers was projected at $1.5MM and will land just south of that figure. Brothers was recently designated by the Rockies and then shipped to Chicago in a minor trade.
- And the Nationals will pay $900K to outfielder/first baseman Tyler Moore for the 2016 season, also per Heyman (via Twitter). He’ll land a bit shy of his $1MM projection, but the more relevant matter here is the fact that Moore will keep his roster spot. That has at times seemed at doubt, particularly with Ryan Zimmerman now entrenched at first base.
Astros To Non-Tender Chris Carter
The Astros will non-tender first baseman/DH Chris Carter, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. Carter, who was a Super Two last year, was projected by MLBTR to earn $5.6MM.
We had heard yesterday that Houston would only tender Carter a contract if it felt he could be traded, and that obviously did not prove to be the case. The Astros will presumably rely upon Evan Gattis as its primary DH, with players like Jon Singleton and prospect A.J. Reed potentially factoring in at first, though some kind of outside addition can’t be ruled out.
Carter, 28, is a huge source of power, with 90 home runs over the last three years. He’s put up a productive .218/.312/.459 slash over that span, indicating that this immense pop makes up for an equally monumental strikeout rate.
But that still leaves unaddressed the matter of defense, and that’s just not an area where Carter shines. He is more or less unplayable in the outfield, and also hasn’t drawn very good reviews at first, either. As a bat-only player, the overall production record just wasn’t quite good enough — it seems — to support his projected earning capacity.
Pirates Non-Tender Pedro Alvarez
The Pirates announced that they have elected not to tender contracts to first baseman Pedro Alvarez and outfielder Jaff Decker for the 2016 season. The rest of the team’s arbitration eligible players, aside from Alvarez, have been tendered contracts. Alvarez had been projected to receive an $8.1MM salary next season, per MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Alvarez, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, adds an intriguing name to the free-agent market for teams in search of power. He’s crushed 111 homers over the past four seasons (11th in all of Major League Baseball) while hitting .238/.310/.456. That, on the surface, would seem to make Alvarez a worthy tender, but Alvarez comes with a number of less appealing factors as well.
Alvarez broke into the league as a third baseman, but the Pirates moved the 6’3″, 250-pounder across the diamond to first base in 2014 due to defensive issues. While Alvarez readily accepted his new role, he proved to be a liability at first base as well. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating pegged Alvarez at -14 runs in 906 innings this season, and his 23 errors tied him for third in all of baseball at any position despite the fact that he had the fewest defensive innings played of any player in the top 30 of that dubious list.
Additionally, Alvarez has long struggled against left-handed pitching. He hit .258/.292/.419 against lefties in 2015, though he was limited to 65 plate appearances versus same-handed pitchers. Those limitations were placed on Alvarez with good reason; he’s a lifetime .203/.270/.332 batter against fellow lefties. On the flip side of the equation, Alvarez has proven to be a formidable force against right-handed pitchers. He’s a .246./320/.473 hitter against righties in his career with 114 of his 131 homers coming while holding the platoon advantage.
The Pirates certainly made an effort to trade Alvarez, tweets Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but were simply unable to find a willing taker. Considering the fact that the still-28-year-old Alvarez (29 in February) averages a home run every 19 plate appearances versus right-handed pitching, he should draw considerable interest from American League clubs looking for a first baseman/designated hitter that can be platooned with a potent right-handed bat. Clubs like the Orioles and Indians stand out as possible fits, while the Rays and White Sox could make some sense depending on their ability to move James Loney and Adam LaRoche, respectively.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Second Baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez Leaves Cuba, Seeks MLB Deal
One of the top players in Cuba, second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez, has left the island and will seek a Major League contract, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America. Badler ranked Fernandez, 27, as the No. 3 player in Cuba back in April.
Because of his age and professional experience in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, Fernandez will be exempt from international bonus pools and free to sign a Major League contract for any amount of years and dollars. An exact timeframe is impossible to peg, as other Cuban free agents have demonstrated in the past. Fernandez first needs to establish residency in a different country and then be cleared by Major League Baseball before he’s eligible to sign. Badler expresses doubt that all of those steps will happen before Opening Day 2016.
Badler calls the 5’10”, 185-pound Fernandez MLB-ready, praising his short, quick left-handed stroke and excellent plate discipline. However, it’s been roughly a year since Fernandez saw in-game action, as he was suspended by the league for previously trying and (clearly) failing to defect early in the 2014-15 campaign. Last winter, Kiley McDaniel said on a Fangraphs podcast that Fernandez was being heavily guarded by police in Cuba after his failed attempt to defect.
Fernandez’s contact skills and keen eye are his best tools, as Badler notes that he has below-average power, isn’t particularly fleet of foot and is adequate, but not exceptional at second base from a defensive standpoint. He’s played third base in the past but doesn’t quite have the arm strength to profile at that position, Badler adds. On the flip side, Fernandez’s knack for making contact is astounding; he’s struck out just 113 times in 2,580 career plate appearances in Serie Nacional — a rate of just 4.3 percent. That number is even more impressive when juxtaposed with his 10.1 percent walk rate (263 walks in those 2,580 PAs). All told, Fernandez is a .319/.403/.423 hitter in his Cuban career, not including international tournaments like the 2013 World Baseball Classic, where he batted .524/.545/.667 in 21 at-bat without striking out, per Badler.
While Fernandez may not have the power or speed required to give him superstar upside, he’s a prime-aged, Major League ready second base option that seems capable of posting a strong OBP and hitting for a solid average in the Majors. That’s an appealing player even if he’s not an All-Star in the making, and clubs with deficiencies at second base — or, perhaps, teams that lose a second baseman to injury in Spring Training — figure to show interest in Fernandez if and when he is declared a free agent by the league.
Photo courtesy of Alyson Boyer Rode.
Angels Non-Tender Cesar Ramos
The Angels announced tonight that they have non-tendered left-handed reliever Cesar Ramos. The move comes as something of a surprise, considering Ramos’ reasonable $1.7MM projected salary and strong results out of the Halos’ bullpen in 2015. Ramos will join a class of free-agent left-handed relievers that is fronted by Tony Sipp and Antonio Bastardo.
Ramos, 31, logged a 2.75 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate in 52 1/3 innings with the Angels in 2015. That translated to a sound 3.02 FIP, although SIERA (3.56) and xFIP (3.79) were a bit less bullish on Ramos due to a lack of strikeouts and a perhaps unsustainable 4.4 percent homer-to-flyball rate. MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez wrote recently that Ramos was viewed as a non-tender candidate because he also typically worked in low-leverage situations — often in mop-up duty.
Ramos didn’t dominate lefties, but same-handed batters weren’t able to show any semblance of power against him, batting .274/.346/.316 in 109 plate appearances. He held his own against right-handed pitching as well, yielding a .284/.324/.382 batting line in 112 PAs. Certainly, Ramos wasn’t an overpowering bullpen arm, but he has a track record of solid performance, having worked to a 3.49 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 across the past five seasons/276 innings.
With just over five years of service time, Ramos has only one year of club control remaining, so any team that signs him won’t receive the benefit of multiple years of control. Neverthelss, he’s a seemingly useful bullpen piece that should find his way into a big league bullpen in 2016.