Cubs, Red Sox Complete Felix Doubront Trade
The Cubs and Red Sox have completed last summer’s Felix Doubront trade, the clubs announced. Boston will add infielder Marco Hernandez as the player to be named later.
Hernandez, 22, played last year at the High-A level, slashing .270/.315/.351 over 486 plate appearances with 22 stolen bases (against eight times being caught on the basepaths). He has been with the Cubs organization since signing as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic as a teenager.
The 27-year-old Doubront ultimately made four solid starts for the Cubs after heading over in the mid-season swap. He is expected to work from the pen next year while providing rotation depth.
Braves Designate Anthony Varvaro
The Braves have designated reliever Anthony Varvaro for assignment, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweeted earlier that the move was expected.
Varvaro’s roster spot will go to infielder Alberto Callaspo, whose deal was finalized today. The righty could be dealt out of DFA limbo, Bowman tweets.
Last season was the second solid campaign in a row for the 30-year-old, as he pitched to a 2.63 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 and a 49.7% groundball rate over 54 2/3 frames. Varvaro also earned good marks from ERA estimators, with FIP (3.21), xFIP (3.15), and SIERA (2.86) all liking his work.
Yankees Sign Chase Headley
4:58pm: Headley will not obtain direct no-trade protection, but he earns a $1MM bonus if he is dealt, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
12:52pm: The Yankees have locked up one of their top free agent targets, as they announced on Monday the signing of third baseman Chase Headley to a four-year deal. Headley will reportedly receive $52MM over the life of the contract, and MLBTR has learned that he can earn up to $1MM each season for reaching 550 plate appearances, meaning his contract can max out at $56MM over four years. The 30-year-old Headley is a client of Excel Sports Management’s Jim Murray.
Headley joined the Yankees in a midseason trade that sent infielder Yangervis Solarte and right-hander Rafael De Paula to the Padres. After struggling to a .229/.296/.355 batting line in 77 games with the Padres, Headley improved to a .262/.371/.398 line in 58 games with the Yankees. Of course, those numbers are a far cry from his MVP-caliber 2012 — a season in which he batted .286/.376/.498 with 31 homers.
Even if Headley’s 2012 was the offensive peak of his career — and his numbers since that time suggest that it was — the switch-hitter can still bring plenty of value as an average to above-average bat capable of playing elite defense at third base. Headley posted a 119 OPS+ with the Yankees, suggesting that his bat was 19 percent above the league average, and he posted a 112 mark in 2013 with the Padres. Scouts and defensive metrics are both in agreement that Headley is a strong defender at third base. While he’s unlikely to repeat 2014’s single-season marks of +13 defensive runs saved and +28 UZR/150, DRS feels he’s saved 29 runs over 6300 innings at third in his career, and UZR/150 has him as a lifetime +10.8 defender. All of those factors led MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes to project a four-year, $48MM contract more than two months ago, which proved to be very accurate.
Perhaps the largest concern with Headley is that of his health. Headley fractured the tip of his thumb in Spring Training 2013, and some believe he may have rushed back quickly from the injury, dampening his production. He also dealt with a knee injury that ultimately ended up requiring surgery in the 2013-14 offseason. This past year, Headley spent two weeks on the disabled list with a calf strain and also battled a herniated disc in his back that required an epidural injection in early July.
By adding Headley, the Yankees can now deploy Martin Prado at second base, Didi Gregorius at shortstop and Mark Teixeira at first base, with Alex Rodriguez shifting to a bench/DH role. The Headley signing creates a clear road block to regular playing time for prospects Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela, either of whom could have battled for time at second base had Headley signed elsewhere and Prado manned third base.
With much of their lineup now secured, the Yankees figure to turn to the pitching staff. They’ve already added Andrew Miller in place of David Robertson (who signed with the White Sox) but still lack certainty in their rotation. CC Sabathia has struggled in recent seasons and underwent season-ending knee surgery last year after just 46 innings. Masahiro Tanaka‘s elbow is a question mark after he rehabbed a minor tear in his UCL. Ivan Nova underwent Tommy John surgery last April, Shane Greene has been traded to the Tigers and Michael Pineda‘s injury history is extensive. Brandon McCarthy was thought to be GM Brian Cashman’s top target following an excellent 91-inning stint with the Yankees in 2014, but he’s returned to the NL West on a four-year deal with the Dodgers.
WFAN’s Sweeny Murti was the first to report that Headley would make a decision today. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that Headley and the Yankees were nearing a four-year deal (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the agreement and base salary (Twitter links). MLBTR was the first to report the specifics of Headley’s incentives.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Royals Sign Yohan Pino To Major League Deal
The Royals announced that they’ve signed former Twins right-hander Yohan Pino to a Major League contract and designated right-hander Casey Coleman for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster.
Pino, 31 in two weeks, made his Major League debut with the Twins this past season and wound up spending a fairly significant amount of time in the rotation despite less-than-stellar results. Pino made 11 starts and posted a 5.07 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 28.6 percent ground-ball rate. Pino’s 88.3 mph fastball and extreme fly-ball tendencies make it a bit surprising that he landed a big league deal, but the Royals are a team that is well equipped to handle those deficiencies, given their excellent outfield defense. Of course, that assumes that Pino will make the club, which is far from a given at this time, despite the MLB contract he signed.
Coleman, 27, posted a 5.25 ERA in 12 innings for the Royals this past season and owns a lifetime 5.72 mark in 177 2/3 big league innings. He’s averaged 6.2 strikeouts and 4.5 walks per nine innings pitched to go along with a 46.5 percent ground-ball rate. Coleman was always a bit of a soft-tosser, but his average fastball spiked from about 90 mph to 94 mph this season.
Astros Sign Jed Lowrie To Three-Year Deal
The Astros announced that they have signed infielder Jed Lowrie to a three-year contract that runs through the 2018 season. Lowrie’s contract reportedly guarantee him $23MM: $8MM in 2015, $7.5MM in 2016 and $6.5MM in 2017 with a $6MM club option ($1MM buyout) for 2018. The team will announce a corresponding roster move on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Lowrie, a client of CAA Sports, will serve as Houston’s shortstop in the early stages of the contract — presumably until top prospect Carlos Correa is ready to take over the position. At that point, Lowrie could see time at third base (though the Astros also have prospects Colin Moran and Rio Ruiz rising through the system), serve as a super utility player, or potentially have appeal to other clubs in a trade.
In the meantime, the addition of Lowrie isn’t particularly good news for incumbent shortstops Jonathan Villar and Marwin Gonzalez. Villar opened the season as the team’s starting shortstop, and while he possesses game-changing speed, he didn’t hit or get on base enough to take full advantage of that excellent tool. Gonzalez is the better defender of the two internal options, so he is seemingly the more likely of the two to fill a reserve capacity for Houston now that Lowrie is on board.
With this contract, Lowrie will return to the organization with which he enjoyed a solid but injury-shortened 2012 season. After years of promise in the Red Sox organization, Houston acquired Lowrie (along with Kyle Weiland) in exchange for Mark Melancon three years ago (almost to the day). Lowrie’s original stint with the Astros lasted for just one season, as he and Fernando Rodriguez were flipped to the A’s for Chris Carter, Brad Peacock and Max Stassi the following offseason.
Lowrie enjoyed an excellent 2013 season with the A’s in which he batted .290/.344/.446 with 15 homers and a career-best 45 doubles. His bat slipped in 2014, however, as he batted just .249/.321/.355. While defensive metrics suggested that he improved at shortstop in 2014, defense has never been Lowrie’s calling card, and many clubs expressed trepidation over deploying him at short. He drew interest from clubs as a second baseman and a third baseman, but one would imagine that Houston’s promise to give him some time at shortstop, along with the fact that Lowrie resides in Houston in the offseason, gave the Astros a leg up over their competition.
With Lowrie now off the free agent market, Asdrubal Cabrera is likely the best remaining infielder available to teams with a free agent need. However, while clubs had their doubts about Lowrie’s defense, those doubts seem to be even more pronounced in Cabrera’s case.
As for the Astros, this marks the third significant free agent signing for the club in the past week, as they’ve also inked right-handed relievers Pat Neshek and Luke Gregerson, the latter of whom seems likely to be a closer for new manager A.J. Hinch. Houston could still address its starting rotation on the open market, and while they haven’t given up a draft pick with any of these signings, they showed a willingness to do so with a pursuit of David Robertson.
Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle first reported the terms of the agreement (All Twitter links). SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted further details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Braves To Sign Cuban Outfielder Dian Toscano
DEC. 30: Toscano’s contract is for $6MM over four years and contains a fifth-year club option worth $1.5MM, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (on Twitter).
DEC. 10: The Braves have completed the financial specifics on Toscano’s deal and the pact is now pending a physical, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter).
DEC. 8: The Braves are pursuing Cuban outfielder Dian Toscano, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. It was reported earlier that an agreement had been reached, but Bowman asserts the two sides have yet to reach the finish line. The 25-year-old played five seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, so he’s exempt from international bonus pool rules.
Not much is known about Toscano since he did not play for the Cuban National team. He played left field for the Villa Clara club and hit .356/.400/.452 in 86 plate appearances during the 2012 campaign – his last with the team. Badler adds that Toscano possess the necessary speed for center field, but he typically plays left field due to suspect arm strength. A left-handed hitter, he features good bat control and strike zone awareness.
Ben Badler of Baseball America was the first to report the Braves interest.
Mets Sign John Mayberry Jr.
DEC. 15: The Mets have officially announced the signing. Marc Carig of Newsday reports (via Twitter)that Mayberry’s deal calls for an additional $500K of incentives based on plate appearances and awards bonuses.
DEC. 11: The Mets have agreed to a major league contract with outfielder John Mayberry Jr., Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Mayberry gets a $1.45MM deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
Mayberry, who turns 31 later this month, was non-tendered by the Blue Jays on December 2nd. The former No. 19 overall pick in the 2005 draft slashed .212/.310/.425 in 2014 with the Phillies and Blue Jays which is more or less in line with his career work.
Mets Designate Gonzalez Germen For Assignment
The Mets have designated right-hander Gonzalez Germen for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for outfielder John Mayberry Jr., tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN New York.
Germen, who turned 27 in September, has made a combined 54 appearances out of the Mets’ bullpen over the past two seasons, pitching to a 4.31 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and a 36.8 percent ground-ball rate. He’s averaged 92.9 mph on his fastball in that time while notching a swinging-strike rate of 14.2 percent, but Germen was also exceptionally homer prone and had enough command problems that the Mets deemed him expendable.
Pirates Re-Sign Francisco Liriano
MONDAY: Liriano will receive a $2MM signing bonus, $11MM in 2015 and $13MM in 2016-17, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). His contract also calls for award bonuses, including as much as $325K per season based on Cy Young voting.
FRIDAY: The Pirates may have lost Russell Martin to free agency, but they were able to retain their other top free agent, as they announced on Friday the signing of Francisco Liriano to a three-year contract. Liriano, a client of the Legacy Agency’s Greg Genske, reportedly receives a $39MM guarantee.
As Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes on Twitter, this deal would become the largest free agent contract in club history. For an organization that has seen its fortunes change over the last two years, the investment in a major free agent represents both a continuation and departure.
That contract lands just $1MM shy of the prediction of MLBTR’s Steve Adams before the offseason. As Steve wrote, there is a lot to like about Liriano, starting with the 323 1/3 frames of 3.20 ERA ball over the last two seasons. He achieved those results with numbers to support them: 9.4 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, and a 52.4% groundball rate. Liriano’s fastball velocity has achieved new life in Pittsburgh, and the club will look for that to continue.
Of course, there are downsides to any player, and Liriano is no exception. For one, he has never been one to rack up huge innings totals, though perhaps there is a bit of a silver lining there. Then there’s his less-than-inspiring history of injuries and inconsistency.
On the whole, however, three and $39MM seems quite a reasonable price for a pitcher with Liriano’s ability to dominate. Pittsburgh will give up the ability to add draft pick compensation, which it was in line to receive if Liriano had found a new home after declining a qualifying offer.
Robert Murray was first to report the agreement and the terms (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rangers To Sign Kyle Blanks
12:25pm: Blanks will earn $1MM if he makes the big league roster, with an additional $600K of incentives based on plate appearances, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
11:46am: The Rangers are set to sign first baseman/outfielder Kyle Blanks, reports Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter links). Blanks, a client of Sosnick/Cobbe Sports, will receive a split contract, meaning his deal calls for separate Major League and Minor League salaries, dependent on whether or not he makes the team.
Blanks, 28, was acquired by the Athletics from the Padres early in the 2014 season. He performed quite well in a limited sample of 56 plate appearances before a torn calf muscle cost him the remainder of the season. With the A’s, Blanks hit .333/.446/.489 with a pair of home runs.
Blanks looked to be a breakout candidate in 2009 as a 22-year-old. The towering slugger ranked 50th among prospects prior to that season, per Baseball America, and proceeded to hit .250/.355/.514 with 10 homers in 172 plate appearances that season. Blanks looked like a potential building block for San Diego at that point, but in four subsequent seasons, he batted just .223/.300/.375 in 624 PA.
A career .244/.342/.409 hitter against left-handed pitching, Blanks will present the Rangers with at worst a candidate to platoon at DH, first base and an outfield corner. The Rangers currently project to have Mitch Moreland handle most of the time at DH next season, and Moreland’s struggles against left-handed pitching have been well-documented.