AL Central Notes: Fuenmayor, Victorino, Zimmermann, Park
Royals first base prospect Balbino Fuenmayor — one of the more intriguing candidates to be selected in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft — is progressing very well in his recovery from a torn ACL this past summer, as recently noted by his agents at True Gravity Sports. Fuenmayor underwent surgery to repair the ligament on Aug. 3 but is running multiple times per week at present and is on track to begin baseball activities in early January. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper recently listed Fuenmayor as one of the most plausible Rule 5 targets. The slugger, who was out of affiliated baseball at the age of 23 after receiving a huge bonus from the Blue Jays as a 16-year-old, reestablished himself on the independent circuit and returned to minor league ball in dominant fashion this past season, hitting .358/.384/.589 with 17 homers in 89 games before suffering his injury.
A few more items pertaining to the AL Central…
- The Indians are currently showing the most interest in outfielder Shane Victorino, sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (Twitter link). Cleveland was known to be on the hunt for outfielders even before Michael Brantley underwent shoulder surgery that will sideline him into next season, but that injury likely increased the team’s urgency to add some outfield help. Cleveland, as Bradford points out, had interest in Victorino before he signed in Boston and even offered him a four-year contract. Victorino, though, took three years to head to the Red Sox instead.
- The trades to acquire Francisco Rodriguez and Cameron Maybin earlier this month allowed the Tigers to sign Jordan Zimmermann, writes MLive.com’s James Schmehl. Filling a pair of holes without making lavish financial commitments allowed the Tigers to spend a more considerable sum than most had anticipated on a free-agent starter. Zimmermann said at today’s press conference that he was the second or third choice for a number of teams to whom he and agent Mark Pieper of Relativity Sports spoke, but the Tigers had him atop their list and wanted to sign quickly, which appealed to him (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, on Twitter).
- Byung-ho Park arrived in Minneapolis today, reports Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and his agent, Alan Nero of Octagon, is expected to arrive in the next day or so to finalize a contract with the Twins. Park said he’s spoken to countrymen Shin-Soo Choo and Hyun-jin Ryu as well as close friend Jung Ho Kang about the transition to Major League Baseball, with each encouraging him that he will adapt to the new league well. Park told Miller, via interpreter, that his goal is to remain in Major League Baseball for the rest of his career. Miller notes that Park does speak some English and is working on learning more as he prepares for the next phase of his career.
A’s Outright Craig Gentry, Fernando Abad
NOV. 30: Both Gentry and Abad cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A, the A’s announced (via Twitter). Each player has enough service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
NOV. 20: The Athletics announced today that they have designated center fielder Craig Gentry and left-handed reliever Fernando Abad for assignment. The moves clear space for the addition of second baseman Joey Wendle and left-hander Jose Torres to the 40-man roster.
Gentry, 32 next week, is a plus defender in center field but batted just .120/.196/.200 in 56 trips to the plate this season with Oakland. He brings good speed to the table and has a history of production versus left-handed pitching (.274/.354/.366), so he could draw interest as a trade or waiver-claim candidate. Some clubs may not want him at his MLBTR-projected $1.6MM salary, however. If he clears waivers, Gentry has enough big league service time to refuse the outright assignment and hit the open market.
Abad, 30 next month, was unable to replicate his outstanding 2014 results in 2015. After logging a 1.57 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 57 1/3 innings, he regressed to a 4.15 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 in 47 2/3 innings this season. Abad’s 5.50 FIP was even gloomier than his ERA, and he was hit exceptionally hard by left-handers, yielding a .277/.315/.545 batting line to same-handed hitters in 2015. MLBTR projected Abad to earn $1.5MM.
Cardinals Sign Brayan Pena To Two-Year Deal
3:37pm: Pena’s $5MM guarantee will be spread out evenly, paying him $2.5MM in each season of the contract, MLBTR has learned.
3:35pm: Pena’s contract guarantees him a total of $5MM, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
3:11pm: The Cardinals announced that they have signed catcher Brayan Pena to a two-year contract. Tom Ackerman of KMOX in St. Louis first reported the news shortly before the announcement (Twitter link).
Pena spent the past two seasons with the division-rival Reds, where he batted a combined .263/.313/.339 with five homers in 739 plate appearances. The soon-to-be 34-year-old walked at a 6.6 percent clip and struck out in just 10.2 percent of his plate appearances during his time with the Reds. Pena is a switch-hitter but is markedly better from the left side of the dish.
From a defensive standpoint, Pena has typically thrown out a respectable number of baserunners, though this past season’s uncharacteristic 18 percent caught-stealing rate was the lowest of his career. That dragged his career mark down a bit, to 28 percent, though it should be noted that the pendulum swung the other way in 2014, when Pena prevented an excellent 43 percent of attempted thefts. Framing metrics tell a similar story, as Pena graded out as one of the worst pitch-framers in the league this past season but had previously rated anywhere from average to slightly above-average in his limited time behind the dish. The Cardinals will hope that the 2015 season was an aberration in terms of Pena’s defense, and he’s instead able to replicate the solid, if unspectacular defensive skills he showed prior to the most recent campaign.
This signing figures to supplant the arbitration eligible Tony Cruz as Yadier Molina‘s primary backup for the next two seasons. That makes it likely that Cruz, who is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1MM next season, will be either traded or non-tendered before this Wednesday’s deadline, as the club probably won’t have interest in carrying three catchers on the roster.
Shelby Miller Drawing Significant Trade Interest
Braves right-hander Shelby Miller is one of the hottest names on the trade market, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, with as many as 20 teams having checked in on the young right-hander. There’s no indication that anything is close at this time, Heyman notes, and the Braves are said to be asking a huge haul in return for Miller, who has three years of affordable club control remaining.
The Dodgers, Yankees, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Giants have all shown interest in Miller to this point. According to Heyman, the Braves asked the Yankees for right-hander Luis Severino in exchange for Miller, and the Marlins were asked to part with outfielder Marcell Ozuna and other pieces in order to pry Miller away from Atlanta. Those steep asking prices line up with previous reports pertaining to the Braves’ talks with the Diamondbacks, when they reportedly asked that Arizona part with star center fielder A.J. Pollock. (Those talks didn’t gain traction.)
Miller, acquired alongside minor league righty Tyrell Jenkins in exchange for Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden, is coming off a strong debut season with the Braves. The former first-rounder logged a 3.02 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a career-best 47.7 percent ground-ball rate in 205 1/3 innings (the innings total was also a career high). Miller won only six games due to Atlanta’s bullpen struggles and a lack of run support, but that actually enhances is value in a way. Teams won’t be deterred by a poor win-loss record when evaluating Miller, but the lack of wins will suppress his arbitration earnings, as the arb process still factors in pitcher wins/losses rather heavily. Miller’s strong body of work as a whole to this point in his career still makes for a $4.9MM projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, but the number assuredly would’ve been greater had his record aligned more accordingly with his ERA.
One factor that clubs may consider, though, is that Miller’s overall numbers are propped up by what was an unsustainable run of sub-2.00 ERA production through the season’s first two months. From June 1 through season’s end, Miller posted a quality (but less impressive) 3.77 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 across 138 1/3 innings. Miller’s strikeout rates and control numbers have fluctuated somewhat throughout his career, but low BABIP totals and seemingly good fortune in terms of homer-to-flyball rate have led to a large discrepancy between his 3.22 ERA and metrics such as xFIP (4.08) and SIERA (4.10). Miller’s BABIP has always been below the league average, though, as has his HR/FB, suggesting that some of the perceived fortune could be more skill-based in his case.
Ultimately, the value placed upon him in a potential trade (if he is moved at all) will be dependent on whether the club places more emphasis on his ERA or on his secondary stats. Even if Miller is more of a mid- or upper-3.00 ERA type of pitcher, three seasons of control over him would still come with significant value, so it’s logical to see Atlanta placing a sizable asking price on Miller when listening to offers from interested parties.
KBO’s Lotte Giants Post Third Baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang
NOV. 30: Hwang has now officially been posted. Clubs will have until 5:00pm ET on Friday to submit bids for the third baseman.
NOV. 25: Hwang will actually be posted on the 30th, Han Lee of Global Sporting Integration tweets. Lotte is pushing back the date to accommodate the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
NOV. 24: The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization will post third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang tomorrow, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Major League teams will have one week to submit blind bids on Hwang, and Lotte will then have the right to accept the highest bid or retain Hwang for the 2016 season. Should the team accept a bid, Hwang’s representatives at ACES would have 30 days to negotiate a contract with the winning MLB club.
Hwang, 28, is coming off a breakout year in KBO that saw the right-handed hitter bat .290/.350/.521 with a career-best 26 home runs (plus a solid effort in the Premier 12 Tournament). While some of the uptick in homers is attributable to a recent increase in the number of games in the KBO’s regular season, Hwang’s per-plate-appearance rate still markedly outpaces his previous best. That he won this year’s KBO home run derby is another potential point in favor of his increased power.
Though KBO is a notoriously hitter-friendly environment, Hwang’s output does look to be solid on paper at least. Another factor he has working in his favor is that he’s played in every game dating back to the 2011 season, so his agents will attempt to market him as a durable player in the midst of his physical prime at a time when the domestic free-agent market for third basemen is thin. David Freese represents perhaps the lone option to serve as a regular third baseman, although the trade market bears potential candidates such as Trevor Plouffe, Luis Valbuena, Jed Lowrie and Jedd Gyorko, among others. Hwang is a converted shortstop, but he profiles strictly as a third base option at this point (Those interested in seeing some video footage of Hwang can refer to a pair of recent highlight reels compiled by the folks at Global Sporting Integration).
Hwang will be a true free agent next offseason, which would allow him to pursue a Major League opportunity without the restrictions of the posting system. That figures to add a bit of pressure to the Giants to accept a bid — assuming a reasonable one is submitted — as they’ll be left with no compensation if he enjoys another solid year and jumps to either Major League Baseball or Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball next offseason.
Lotte recently posted outfielder Ah-seop Son, but the 27-year-old didn’t draw a bid from MLB clubs, thereby allowing the team to post Hwang. (KBO only permits teams to post one player at a time and accept a bid on one player per offseason.) The Giants will again have the option of posting him next offseason should it see fit, as Son is not a free agent until after the 2017 campaign.
Passan recently noted that some execs prefer Hwang’s ceiling to Son’s more consistent track record, adding that Hwang bulked up to about 210 pounds from his previously listed weight of 195 pounds last winter, perhaps explaining some of the increase in power. It remains to be seen if that preference will lead to a notable bid on Hwang, though he’s at a much more scarce position than his teammate, Son, who was up against a reasonably well-stocked outfield market. The Braves, Indians, Angels, White Sox and Brewers are among the clubs that could be seeking some long-term help at the hot corner.
Photo courtesy of Ilgan Sports.
Zack Greinke Market Beginning To Heat Up
The market for free-agent ace Zack Greinke is “quietly heating up,” tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Both the Dodgers and Giants are looking for some clarity in regards to their pursuit of the right-hander, according to Crasnick, who hears that the Excel Sports client is seeking $30MM annually.
As Crasnick notes, that annual target is a challenge for teams interested in Greinke not only due to its own enormity but also due to the fact that Greinke is older than the typical free-agent starter, set to embark on his age-32 campaign in 2016. Most recent multi-year deals of the magnitude Greinke is expected to command conclude in the pitcher’s age-36 season (at least in terms of guaranteed money), but that would cap Greinke at five years. Considering the historically excellent season he just delivered in 2015, however, it’s easy to envision Greinke’s camp seeking six or more years on a free-agent deal.
After all, Greinke’s 1.66 ERA was the lowest single-season mark by a qualified starting pitcher in the past two decades. He logged 222 2/3 innings in the regular season, averaging 8.1 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 and went on to toss 13 2/3 very solid innings in the playoffs as well. Greinke has been nothing short of brilliant in his three years with the Dodgers, compiling a 2.30 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 602 2/3 regular-season innings, plus a strikingly similar 2.27 ERA in 35 2/3 postseason innings.
Greinke’s age and the fact that he rejected a qualifying offer are both knocks against him when compared to his primary competitors — David Price and Johnny Cueto — but Greinke is also coming off the best season of the three. Beyond that, the general consensus among scouts seems to be that Greinke will age better than many of his elite peers, somewhat lessening the sting of committing a contract of significant length. In addition to the Dodgers and Giants, Greinke has also been linked to the Red Sox and Cubs, though other large-market, high-payroll teams figure to have privately expressed some interest as well.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/30/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- Infielder Grant Green has signed a minor league deal with the Giants, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (on Twitter). Green, 28, is a former first-round pick of the Athletics that hasn’t panned out as hoped. Traded to the Angels back in 2013, Green has amassed a .249/.283/.335 batting line in 300 Major League plate appearances, spending most of his time at second base. He’ll give the Giants some depth at second and in left field.
- Eddy also tweets that the Reds have signed former big leaguer Brandon Allen to a minor league deal. The powerful first baseman hasn’t seen the Majors since 2012 and is a career .203/.290/.375 hitters in 389 PAs in the Majors. He’s crushed Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .276/.372/.502 batting line, however, making him a useful bat to stash at the team’s top minor league level.
- The Indians announced that outfielder Michael Choice has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Columbus. The former top 100 prospect will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee come Spring Training. Choice, 26, was designated for assignment when the Indians claimed Kirby Yates off waivers from the Rays. He’s a career .188/.253/.320 hitter in 300 big league plate appearances but has a more palatable line of .271/.356/.426 in Triple-A.
- The Red Sox have outrighted infielder Josh Rutledge to Triple-A Pawtucket, the team announced today. Rutledge, 26, was acquired from the Angels in exchange for Shane Victorino this past summer. He batted .284/.333/.338 in 85 PAs for the BoSox and is a career .261/.310/.398 hitter in the Majors, though some of that success is attributable to spending the early portion of his career playing his home games at Coors Field.
Phillies Claim Michael Mariot From Royals
The Phillies announced that they have claimed right-hander Michael Mariot off waivers from the Royals. Mariot was designated for assignment 10 days ago when the Royals set their 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.
The 27-year-old Mariot logged just three innings with the Royals in 2015 but filled in for 25 innings in 2014 with less-than-stellar results. He has a 6.11 ERA with a 22-to-14 K/BB ratio in 28 total big league innings but has a considerably better minor league track record.
Mariot spent this past season at the Triple-A level, where he worked to an outstanding 2.32 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 62 innings of relief work. He hasn’t always enjoyed such success in Triple-A, but he’s shown an increased ability to miss bats at that level when compared to his results at lower levels. Mariot has averaged 9.9 K/9 in 150 2/3 innings of Triple-A relief after averaging six to seven strikeouts per nine innings when spending time in the rotation in the lower levels of the minors. He’s averaged 91.7 mph on his fastball in his brief big league time (92.6 mph in his very limited 2015 work) and also features a slider and changeup.
Mariot will join fellow Phillies waiver claims Dan Otero and A.J. Achter in competing for a bullpen job in Spring Training. The Phillies now have 38 players on their 40-man roster, so they could add one more player in the next 10 days and still have room to make the top selection in the Rule 5 Draft.
Submit Your Questions For The MLBTR Mailbag
Last week’s edition of the MLBTR Mailbag included questions regarding Trevor Plouffe‘s trade candidacy, a theoretical Brandon Belt extension, whether Darren O’Day should’ve received a qualifying offer, the Angels’ first-round pick and J.A. Happ‘s potential price tag (that, obviously, came before his deal with the Blue Jays).
We’ll run another edition of the mailbag later tonight. If you have a question you’ve been kicking around and would like to hear our take, let us know via email: mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com. While volume prevents our ability to come close to responding to all of the questions, remember that you can also always join our Tuesday and Thursday afternoon chats, hosted by myself and Jeff Todd, respectively.
Marc Anthony Launches Agency, Will Represent Aroldis Chapman
Singer/actor Marc Anthony announced in a press release today that his entertainment company, Magnus Media, has launched a sports division and has signed Reds closer Aroldis Chapman as a new client. Anthony’s group announced the launch as a joint venture with veteran agents Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro, who will team with Magnus Media CEO Michel Vega to oversee the operations of the newly formed Magnus Sports.
Praver/Shapiro has a long history of representing Hispanic players, which is one element which attracted Anthony to partnering with the duo. “Baseball, like music, is an ingrained cultural passion for many Latinos throughout the world and there’s no shortage of amazing stars of Hispanic origin,” said Anthony in the press release. “Despite that, until now there hasn’t been an enterprise specifically designed to meet their needs. With MAGNUS Sports, we are changing the existing dynamics and building a new kind of Management Company that understands the culture and knows how to build big media. Beyond the cultural connection, social media is also bringing fans closer to their heroes than ever before. That means that athletes, like other entertainers, need management that can help them with both, managing their career and building their brand.”
Pairing with Praver/Shapiro will bring a lengthy list of Major League clients onto the newly formed Magnus Sports’ client roster. Praver and Shapiro represent players such as Jorge Soler, Adeiny Hechavarria, Raisel Iglesias, Eduardo Escobar, Tommy Milone, Juan Uribe and Alejandro De Aza, to name a few. Their joint venture with Anthony and Magnus Media has been updated within the MLBTR Agency Database.
The addition of Chapman to that already sizable list is well-timed, as the 27-year-old (28 in February) will be a free agent next offseason. Assuming another characteristically dominant season, Chapman seems well-positioned to secure what will be a record-breaking contract for a relief pitcher on next year’s market. Five-year pacts for relief pitchers are more or less unheard of — B.J. Ryan’s five-year, $47MM pact was notoriously ill-fated — but heading into his age-29 season in 2017, Chapman will have a case for such a deal at a premium annual rate that should allow him to surpass Jonathan Papelbon‘s four-year, $50MM contract.