Red Sox Acquire Wade Miley
The Red Sox have officially added lefty Wade Miley in a trade with the Diamondbacks, the teams announced today. Right-handers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster, along with infielder Raymel Flores, make up the return for the D’Backs.
Miley has been the source of several rumors during these Winter Meetings, with the Rangers, Marlins and Blue Jays all with varying levels of interest in the southpaw. Miley is projected to earn $4.3MM (by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz) in his first time through the arbitration process this winter, and he’ll be under team control through 2017.
Over the last three seasons, Miley has posted a 3.74 ERA, 2.66 K/BB rate and 7.1 K/9 while averaging an even 200 innings per year. He has a 48.6% ground ball rate over his career, which will serve him as well at Fenway Park as it did at Chase Field. Miley posted a 3.98 FIP, 3.50 xFIP and 3.67 SIERA in 2014, so the advanced metrics suggest that he was somewhat unlucky to produce his 4.34 ERA.
While Miley isn’t the durable lefty the Red Sox were hoping to land during the Winter Meetings, Miley is at least younger and far cheaper than Jon Lester, and he’ll slot into the Boston rotation alongside Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly. Boston is undoubtedly still looking to acquire at least one or possibly two more starters for 2015, including a Lester-level ace in free agency or the trade market.
This is the second high-profile deal that De La Rosa and Webster have both been a part of, as the two righties were part of the trade package that Boston received as part of the Adrian Gonzalez/Carl Crawford/Josh Beckett blockbuster with the Dodgers in 2012. As Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona points out, Diamondbacks senior VP De Jon Watson was in the Los Angeles front office when De La Rosa and Webster originally joined the Dodgers.
De La Rosa appeared in 30 games for the Sox (18 of them starts) in 2013-14, posting a 4.54 ERA, 2.16 K/BB and 6.4 K/9 in 113 innings. With Boston openly looking to add top-level starting pitching this offseason and a number of highly-regarded pitching prospects in the minors, it seems as if De La Rosa may have simply been squeezed out of a job with the Sox.
Webster also struggled at the Major League level (a 6.25 ERA over 89 1/3 innings over the last two seasons) but has a higher prospect pedigree than De La Rosa. Webster entered the year ranked as a top-100 prospect in the game, albeit over rather a wide range — he was ranked 46th by MLB.com, and 88th by Baseball America. The righty posted strong minor league numbers and was described by the 2014 Baseball America Prospect Handbook as having “outrageous” stuff “suggesting top-of-the-rotation potential” but there were big questions about his confidence and fastball command.
That brings us to Flores, a 20-year-old middle infielder who played at the low-A level last year in his age-19 season. Flores hit .282/.344/.354 over 233 plate appearances, adding 14 stolen bases and one long ball, but he is known primarily for his glove.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi first reported the deal (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of FOX Sports reported on Twitter that it was finalized. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (via Twitter) reported the inclusion of Flores.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Padres Among Teams With Offers Out To Brandon Morrow
The Padres have made a one-year offer to free agent righty Brandon Morrow, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). The offer includes significant incentives.
Other teams, too, have offers on the table for Morrow to weigh. Several teams are pursuing him as a reliever, while others would sign him as a starter, as is his preference.
Morrow, 30, became a free agent when the Blue Jays declined a $10MM option. Once one of the more promising young rotation pieces in the game, Morrow struggled badly with injury and performance over the last two seasons. In total, he managed only 87 2/3 frames of 5.65 ERA ball, with 7.4 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9. But he remains an intriguing talent, and there is apparently a good deal of interest in seeing if he can work past his various arm issues.
Diamondbacks Designate Eury De La Rosa
The Diamondbacks have designated lefty Eury De La Rosa, the team announced. The move clears roster space for Arizona’s addition of Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster via trade.
An undersized 24-year-old southpaw, De La Rosa (that is, the former) performed well in 36 2/3 innings of big league action last year. He carried a 2.95 ERA (backed by a 3.49 FIP, 4.16 xFIP, and 3.65 SIERA) while striking out 7.9 batters per nine and issuing 3.4 free passes per regulation game. He was similarly effective in 39 1/3 Triple-A frames,
Red Sox Acquire Zeke Spruill
The Red Sox have acquired righty Zeke Spruill from the Diamondbacks in exchange for right-hander Myles Smith, Arizona announced. This move was separate from the other trade announced tonight between these two clubs.
Spruill, 25, has thrown 34 big league frames over the past two seasons, working to a 4.24 ERA over three starts and nine relief appearances. He had been a full-time starter in the minors until last year, when he transitioned to a swingman role. He also posted a 6.14 ERA at the Triple-A level — after previously landing in the mid-3.00 level in two seasons in the upper minors — but did see his strikeout rate skyrocket to 8.2 K/9 (with 2.3 BB/9).
Smith threw last year at the low-A level at age 22. He registered a 5.82 ERA over 103 2/3 frames, splitting time as a starter and reliever, and struck out 6.3 while walking 5.4 batters per nine. WEEI.com’s Alex Speier explains (Twitter links) that Smith is athletic and has a very live arm, but struggled with control and has not been pitching for very long.
Pirates Designate Josh Lindblom
The Pirates have designated reliever Josh Lindblom for assignment, the team announced. The move was made in conjunction with the team’s announcement of the signing of Radhames Liz.
Pittsburgh claimed Lindblom off waivers from the Athletics just five days ago. Lindblom, 27, only made one appearance at the big league level last year in Oakland. Over 84 minor league frames, he posted a 5.79 ERA while striking out 6.4 and walking 2.8 batters per nine. In parts of four seasons in the bigs, Lindblom owns a 3.82 ERA.
AL Notes: Melky, Jays, Red Sox, Masterson
With the Winter Meetings in the books, be sure to check out this interesting piece from Joe Lemire for Medium.com regarding the change wrought on the process by changes in communication technology. Texting has replaced in-person dealmaking and reporting, writes Lemire, which in some ways undermines the purpose of teams gathering in one place. Of course, as we found out this week, the annual meet-up is still capable of supporting a hotbed of transactional movement.
Here’s the latest from the American League:
- The Mariners have made free agent outfielder Melky Cabrera a three-year offer, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com reports (Spanish language link). Cabrera is looking for at least one more guaranteed year, says Rojas. This news reflects a recent report from Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, who suggested that the sides were at something of a standoff along those lines.
- The Blue Jays are looking at the free agent market for a second baseman but are not interested in guaranteeing more than three years, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. “You won’t see any four or five-year deals,” said GM Alex Anthopoulos.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald (Twitter link) rejects the idea that the Red Sox made a mistake by not landing Jon Lester. That assessment, says Silverman, will depend upon whether the team finds a suitable alternative.
- Justin Masterson says that the Rangers were one of several claims to make him an offer before he signed with the Red Sox, the Herald’s Scott Lauber reports on Twitter. That offer was for $6MM in guaranteed money, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford tweets.
Rays, Pirates Complete Sean Rodriguez Trade
DEC. 12: The Rays announced that they have acquired right-hander Buddy Borden from the Pirates to complete the trade (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).
The 22-year-old Borden was Pittsburgh’s seventh-round pick out of UNLV in 2013 and spent this past season in the Class-A South Atlantic League. There, he pitched to a 3.16 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 128 innings (26 starts, 27 appearances total). At the time of the draft, Baseball America (subscription required) praised his durable, athletic build and a 90-92 mph fastball that could touch 95. However, BA also noted that his secondary pitches were below average, which could point to relief work in the long-term.
DEC. 1: The Pirates announced that they have acquired infielder Sean Rodriguez from the Rays in exchange for a player to be named later and cash considerations. First baseman Gaby Sanchez has been designated for assignment to clear roster space.
Rodriguez was designated for assignment by the Rays last week. The 29-year-old, projected to earn $2MM via arbitration by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, posted a career-high 12 home runs in 2014 with a career-best .232 isolated power mark, but the rest of his stats took a tumble. Rodriguez batted .211/.258/.443 on the whole, walking at a career-low 3.9 percent clip while striking out in nearly 26 percent of his plate appearances.
Rodriguez is able to play all four infield positions as well the outfield corners, and he generally has posted plus defensive marks as an infielder. The Pirates are set to enter the season with Josh Harrison at third base, Jordy Mercer at shortstop, Neil Walker at second and Pedro Alvarez at first, and Rodriguez can back up all four of those positions at a reasonable price.
Sanchez, who turned 31 in September, struggled through one of the worst seasons of his career at the plate this past year, batting just .229/.293/.385 with seven homers. The right-handed hitting Sanchez is best served as a platoon bat, as evidenced by the 170-point differential between his career OPS marks versus lefties and righties. He did hit a respectable .256/.318/.429 against southpaws in 2014, so he’d make a good platoon partner for someone like Adam Lind in Milwaukee. However, with a projected arb salary of $2.7MM, interested teams may first hope that he can be claimed off waivers or even clears waivers rather than giving up a minor prospect in a trade.
West Notes: Hawkins, Ellis, Gregerson, Melky
Veteran right-hander LaTroy Hawkins announced this morning on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show that the 2015 season will be the last of his lengthy career (h/t: Ken Rosenthal). The soon-to-be 42-year-old posted a 3.31 ERA with 23 saves, 5.3 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 54 1/3 innings for the Rockies last season. While he may not get the Mariano Rivera farewell tour, Hawkins has appeared in 1000 games (currently 16th all-time) dating back to 1995. Selected by the Twins in the seventh round of the 1991 draft, Hawkins could move into the top 10 of all-time in terms of career appearances with a full, healthy season.
Here are a few more notes from around the game’s Western divisions…
- The Padres asked the Dodgers about A.J. Ellis in Matt Kemp trade talks but weren’t able to get him in the deal, tweets MLB.com’s Corey Brock. As Brock notes, Clayton Kershaw may not have been pleased to see Ellis traded away, as he prefers throwing to his longtime teammate.
- An American League club with an established closer was the runner-up to the Astros in the bidding for Luke Gregerson, reports Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. The unnamed club also offered a three-year deal. Drellich spoke to Gregerson’s agent, Tom O’Connell, who said that the opportunity to close and Gregerson’s relationship with new Astros manager A.J. Hinch were crucial factors in the deal.
- Drellich’s article also provides the breakdown of Gregerson’s incentives: he will receive a $250K boost to the next year’s salary for finishing 45, 50, 55 and 57 games in 2015 and 2016. If he finishes a combined 100 games between 2015-16, his 2017 salary jumps another $500K.
- Robinson Cano has spoken briefly to his close friend, Melky Cabrera, about signing with the Mariners, Cano told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Cano also told Divish that he spoke to Nelson Cruz multiple times about coming to Seattle before Cruz inked his own deal with the Mariners.
Astros Sign Pat Neshek
Already having added Luke Gregerson, the Astros announced on Friday the signing of fellow right-handed reliever Pat Neshek. The client of Meister Sports Management receives a $12.5MM guarantee over two years, with an option for a third.
Neshek will take home $5.5MM next year and $6.5MM in 2015, with a $500K buyout of the club option. The option’s value will land between $6.5MM and $9MM, escalating based upon games finished.
The side-armer was already a great story before his 2014 campaign, but the tale only improved after he dominated the league after joining the Cardinals on a minor league deal. Neshek posted a 1.87 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against a paltry 1.2 BB/9 over 67 1/3 frames in St. Louis.
True, Neshek had logged productive campaigns in the past, at least in terms of results. But the true breakout for the now-34-year-old came in the peripherals. In addition to that sterling K/BB ratio, Neshek registered a 2.37 FIP, 3.29 xFIP, and 2.55 SIERA in 2014, suggesting that his run prevention was no fluke.
Whether he can maintain that level of performance going forward remains to be seen, of course. Most concerning, perhaps, is the fact that Neshek benefited last year from unseasonable HR/FB and BABIP numbers (both against league and his career averages). But that’s a reasonable risk to take given the dominating ceiling he has now established.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained his case for a two-year, $10MM prediction in his free agent profile of Neshek back in October. Neshek topped that by a not-insignificant margin, and will surely feel confident that he did not leave any money on the table in his best chance at a big payday.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today had the first report on Twitter. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that agreement was struck. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the financial terms on Twitter, with Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweeting that the deal includes an option. ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reported the full salary breakdown (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros Sign Luke Gregerson
The Astros have made a significant investment in their 2015 bullpen, announcing a three-year deal with reliever Luke Gregerson on Friday. Houston had been pursuing several angles to add one more more late-inning relievers and reportedly came to an agreement on the $18.5MM pact with Gregerson at this week’s Winter Meetings.
Gregerson gets $6MM in 2015 followed by $6.25MM salaries in the next two years of the deal. The deal includes incentives that could boost its value to $21MM for the Tom O’Connell client. Specifically, Gregerson’s 2016 and 2017 salaries will increase by $250K for reaching 45, 50, 55 and 57 games finished the previous season. If he finishes 100 games from 2015-16, his 2017 salary jumps an additional $500K.
The deal may be surprising at first glance, but only if you have not been paying attention to how good Gregerson has been. In a free agent profile of Gregerson, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes pegged him for $20MM over three years, noting that Gregerson’s 2.75 ERA over the last six seasons rates fourth among relievers who have thrown a minimum of 350 frames.
Gregerson, 30, has been both healthy and good for basically his entire career. He gives up few walks, generates plenty of groundballs, and consistently limits opponents to soft contact. Though his strikeout rates dipped somewhat last year, he also posted a career-low 2.12 ERA.
Gregerson has reached those numbers without relying on fastball velocity. Instead, Gregerson has managed to continue dominating with his outstanding slider even as his fastball has dipped into the high-80s.
The move represents a big upgrade for the Astros, whose relief corps combined for a league-worst 4.80 ERA last year. Houston beat out the Blue Jays, Giants, Red Sox, Rockies, Cubs, and White Sox, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. As Dave Cameron of Fangraphs writes, Gregerson could also turn into a useful trade piece for the club depending upon how things shake out. As for the rest of the relief market, Gregerson probably sets the target now with top arms David Robertson and Andrew Miller already off the board.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the agreement and terms (via Twitter). ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) and the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich provided details on the incentives.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.