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Marlins Acquire Severino Gonzalez

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The Marlins have acquired righty Severino Gonzalez from the Phillies, per a team announcement. Philadelphia will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations in the deal.

Gonzalez had been designated for assignment recently to clear roster space for the signing of Michael Saunders. Now, he’ll head to the Phils’ N.L. East rivals in Miami, who have already accumulated quite a few other pitchers over the winter. Gonzalez is still optionable, which increases his appeal.

The 24-year-old Gonzalez has shown intriguing K/BB numbers in his 66 MLB frames (8.5 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9), but he owns an ugly 6.68 ERA. He has always shown excellent control in the minors, and did boast 35 strikeouts and a 3.13 ERA over his 36 innings last year at Triple-A after shifting to a full-time relief role.

Rosenthal On Dodgers’ Search For Second Baseman

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The Dodgers have expanded their search for a second baseman, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Los Angeles remains engaged on longstanding targets Brian Dozier, Ian Kinsler, and Logan Forsythe, but appears to be looking elsewhere in the event that those players can’t be had at a palatable rate.

Among the players that could potentially be fits, per Rosenthal, are switch-hitters Jurickson Profar of the Rangers, Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies, and Wilmer Difo of the Nationals, though he notes that of that trio, Profar is the only one on whom the Dodgers have definitively inquired. All are young and controllable somewhat controllable — Profar through 2019, Hernandez through 2020 and Difo all the way through 2022. Only Hernandez, though, has put up a full and productive major league season.

Beyond those possibilities, Rosenthal says that there’s still some potential for a reunion with Chase Utley. Still, the club would rather find a hitter who swings from the right side. That would also appear to leave little room for interest in the other top remaining second-base-capable free agents.

Dave Cameron of Fangraphs recently suggested that the best fit on paper might be Javier Baez, with young pitching going to the Cubs in exchange. But that doesn’t seem particularly likely, as Cameron notes and Rosenthal also echoes.

All things considered, Rosenthal explains, Dozier might still be the likeliest target for the Dodgers. Though the club seemingly broke off its talks with the Twins recently, Rosenthal says that the door remains open to a deal. It’s imaginable that Los Angeles could line up with the Rays on Forsythe, but the biggest issue there seems to be that Tampa Bay doesn’t have a ready replacement.

Phillies Designate Severino Gonzalez For Assignment

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The Phillies announced on Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Severino Gonzalez for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster for outfielder Michael Saunders, whose one-year deal with the team is now official.

Gonzalez, 24, has spent parts of the past two seasons in Philadelphia but has been unable to replicate his minor league results at the Major League level. The Panamanian hurler has pitched to a 6.68 ERA in 66 big league innings, though his 8.5 K/9 rate and 1.9 BB/9 rate are both impressive. Gonzalez has never missed that many bats over a much larger sample of work in the minors, though, and as an extreme fly-ball pitcher spending half his games in the cozy confines of Citizens Bank Park, he’s been particularly susceptible to the long ball (career 1.9 HR/9).

In the minors, excellent control has long been Gonzalez’s calling card. He’s averaged just 1.5 walks per nine innings pitched since being signed as an amateur back in 2011, and he turned in a very nice year between Double-A and Triple-A in 2016. Across those two levels last year, Gonzalez posted a 3.13 ERA with a 35-to-8 K/BB ratio in 36 innings, with all but one of his appearances coming out of the bullpen. That marked a change for Gonzalez, who worked exclusively as a starting pitcher in both 2014 and 2015.

Gonzalez does have a minor league option remaining, so if he lands on another club — be it by trade or by waiver claim — that team can stash him in the minor leagues without having to first expose him to outright waivers.

Phillies Sign Michael Saunders

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The Phillies deepened their lineup and added a veteran bat to the outfield mix on Thursday, announcing the signing of free agent Michael Saunders to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2018 season. Saunders will reportedly be guaranteed $9MM in the form of an $8MM salary and a $1MM buyout on an $11MM option for 2018. His contract is also said to contain escalators that can push the option’s value to $14MM.

Michael Saunders

The 30-year-old Saunders, a client of Meister Sports Management, has been linked to the Phillies on multiple occasions over the past several weeks. Philadelphia has had its eye on a number of outfield bats and reportedly has a preference to add a left-handed bat to its lineup. Saunders checks both of those boxes and will deepen a Philadelphia lineup that scored the fewest runs in all of Major League Baseball last year.

[Related: Updated Philadelphia Phillies Depth Chart]

Saunders turned in his first full, healthy season since 2013 last season, playing in a career-high 140 games and tallying a career-high 558 plate appearances. The overall results — a .253/.338/.478 batting line with 24 homers, 32 doubles and a pair of triples — look very strong on paper, although Saunders’ season was fairly dichotomous in nature. The first half of the 2016 season saw Saunders break out and perform at a superstar level. In 344 first-half plate appearances, Saunders hit a ridiculous .298/.372/.551 with 16 home runs — all of which was impressive enough to merit his first All-Star selection.

However, Saunders’ production fell off a cliff early in the second half. Over the final two and a half months of the season, he batted a woeful .178/.252/.357 with eight homers in 214 plate appearances. Certainly, there was some poor luck at play, as Saunders watched his BABIP plummet. While his first-half mark of .377 was never sustainable, his second-half mark of .221 seems equally fluky. The poor second half can’t be solely attributed to luck, though; Saunders’ strikeout rate spiked from 26 percent to more than 30 percent, and his infield-fly rate more than doubled as well (3.8 percent first half to 7.2 percent second half). He also saw his hard-contact rate drop by about six percent while his weak-contact rate rose accordingly.

Saunders once rated as a plus defender in the outfield corners, but his work in both left field and right field checked in below-average last season (per Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating). Saunders will enter the 2017 campaign one more year removed from surgery on his left knee, however, and he won’t have to play half of his games on artificial turf next season. As such, it’s possible that his glovework could experience a rebound. It should also be noted that Saunders has had shoulder troubles in the past as well, so durability has to be at least somewhat of a concern.

While there are a number of red flags with Saunders, the bottom line is that he’s been a decidedly above-average bat when healthy enough to take the field. Dating back to the 2012 season, Saunders owns a .249/.325/.435 batting line, which is more impressive than it first appears when considering the fact that the majority of those games have come in Seattle’s cavernous Safeco Field. Park-adjust metrics like wRC+ and OPS+ grade Saunders’ overall offensive output at 10 percent and 11 percent better than the league-average bat, respectively, in that span.

Saunders averaged 21 homers per 162 games in that time, and as he demonstrated last year when hitting 24 home runs, there’s the potential for a greater total in a more hitter-friendly setting than Seattle. He’s also hit quite a bit better against left-handed pitching in recent years than he did early in his career (.277/.364/.486), although that improved production has come across just 200 plate appearances, so it’s perhaps worth taking with a grain of salt. If he struggles against southpaws like he did earlier in his career, Saunders could potentially platoon with the right-handed-hitting Aaron Altherr.

Assuming Saunders’ deal is pushed across the finish line, he’ll slot into right field alongside trade acquisition Howie Kendrick in left field and recently extended Odubel Herrera in center field. The Phils do have a number of young options to whom they could’ve entrusted the right field job, but none comes with any degree of certainty. Fleet-footed Roman Quinn, for instance, looked respectable in a brief September cameo last year but hasn’t even played at the Triple-A level. Altherr showed very poorly in his return from a wrist injury, hitting .197/.300/.288 in 227 plate appearances. Top prospect Nick Williams, meanwhile, had a dismal year in Triple-A, while slugger Dylan Cozens, like Quinn, has yet to play in Triple-A.

MLB Network’s Jon Paul Morosi first reported that an agreement was close (Twitter link). Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweeted that medical reviews were underway. FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweeted that there’s an agreement in place. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the terms (Twitter links). ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick gave a timeline for Saunders’ physical and added some details on the incentives (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL East Notes: Volquez, Bruce, Braves, Nola

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We at MLBTR would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to Marlins right-hander Edinson Volquez, whose 25-year-old brother, Brandy, was stabbed and killed earlier today in Volquez’s native Dominican Republic, per a report from Emmanuel Rosario of QuisqueyanoSports.com and this one from ESPN. A suspect is reportedly in custody. It’s been a rough couple of years for Volquez and his family, as Volquez’s father passed away just prior to his son’s start for the Royals in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series.

As we keep Volquez and his family in our thoughts, here are a few more notes from the NL East…

  • Recent agreements by the Blue Jays (Jose Bautista) and Phillies (Michael Saunders) have caused the Mets’ potential trade options for right fielder Jay Bruce to dwindle, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. (I’d also note the Orioles’ acquisition of Seth Smith in that list of deterrents to a Bruce swap.) The Giants and Rangers could be the only two remaining plausible landing spots for Bruce, Puma continues, noting that each team has had previous interest in Bruce. However, according to Puma, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has not yet shown a willingness to absorb any of Bruce’s $13MM salary in a trade, which only further exacerbates the difficulty of trading him in a market flooded with cheaper corner options. Puma speculates that the Mets may be forced to open the season with Bruce on the roster and look to move him early in the regular season, as they did with Ike Davis back in 2014.
  • Braves general manager John Coppolella spoke to David Laurila of Fangraphs about his slew of trades this offseason, discussing topics such as longstanding interest in the prospects acquired by Atlanta, moving Alex Jackson back to catcher, and negotiating trades with Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto. Coppolella says that the Braves had a folder on left-hander Thomas Burrows, acquired in last week’s Mallex Smith trade, on their table on draft day before he was selected by the Mariners in the fourth round. “…[W]e literally had our pockets picked by Seattle,” Coppolella said. He also acknowledged interest in lefty Luiz Gohara dating back to his amateur days in 2012 before Gohara agreed to sign in Seattle. Of Dipoto, Coppolella offered high praise. “It’s worth noting that Jerry is extremely professional about returning calls and texts, open to ideas, and not afraid to make moves, particularly in terms of trading prospects,” he said. “It’s amazing how many conversations get shot down almost immediately, but Jerry will listen and engage.” I’d highly recommend a full read-through not just for Braves and Mariners fans but for any fans that want a bit of a behind-the-scenes look on the player movement.
  • Right-hander Aaron Nola tells MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that he’s healthy and ready to go for Spring Training. The Phillies aren’t placing any restrictions on the former No. 7 overall pick, Zolecki adds, which is certainly good news for Phils fans after Nola’s season ended prematurely due to a “low grade” UCL and flexor strain. Nola, 23, was in the midst of an excellent year before his performance rapidly declined in early June. Through June 5, Nola had turned in a 2.65 ERA with 9.8 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent ground-ball rate in 78 innings (12 starts). Over his next (and final) eight starts, though, Nola logged a ghastly 9.82 ERA in just 33 innings. His walk rate more than doubled over those eight starts (3.8 BB/9), and Nola also hit five batters in that short time frame as well. If healthy in 2017, he figures to be a critical component to a Phillies rotation that’ll also feature Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, the returning Jeremy Hellickson and the newly acquired Clay Buchholz.

Trade/Free Agent Rumblings: Bruce, Mets, Braun, Breslow, De La Rosa

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The Mets are reportedly asking for two prospects in exchange for Jay Bruce, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reports.  The Phillies have shown interest in Bruce in the past, though Salisbury points out that the rebuilding Phils could simply sign left-handed hitting free agents like Brandon Moss or Michael Saunders rather than part with minor league talent for Bruce.  Of course, New York would hardly be demanding premium prospects for Bruce at this point, given how the outfielder hasn’t drummed up much trade interest this winter.

Here’s more player movement buzz from around baseball…

  • There hasn’t been much interest in Ryan Braun this winter, which Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com attributes in part to some lingering hard feelings over how Braun’s representatives conducted themselves when he was trying to avoid a PED suspension in 2013.  Perhaps a larger factor, of course, is the crowded outfield market.  As one GM noted to Gammons, a team looking to add corner outfield power could prefer to sign the likes of Jose Bautista or Mark Trumbo rather than pay a hefty price in both prospects and contract by acquiring Braun from the Brewers.
  • Also from Gammons, he reports that the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox will be among the 12-20 teams watching Craig Breslow’s showcase on January 23.  Breslow has adopted new pitch-tracking technology in order to reinvent his throwing habits, with input from training partner Rich Hill (who revived his career in spectacular fashion).
  • The Rockies aren’t interested in a reunion with Jorge de la Rosa, the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders reports as part of a reader mailbag column.  A longtime fixture of the Colorado rotation, de la Rosa has told teams he is willing to pitch as a starter, long reliever or swingman in order to increase his market.  This flexibility doesn’t appear to appeal to the Rockies, though Saunders notes elsewhere in the mailbag that the team could use some rotation depth and more bullpen help.

Phillies Avoid Arbitration With Freddy Galvis

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The Phillies have avoided arbitration with infielder Freddy Galvis, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki (via Twitter). He’ll earn $4.35MM, per Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link).

MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz had projected a $4.4MM payday for Galvis, who’s eligible for the second time. In his age-26 season, the versatile fielder hit .241/.274/.399. That represented typically below-average production, albeit in a different way than usual for the diminutive ballplayer.

Galvis hit twenty home runs on the year — matching the cumulative tally over his prior four MLB seasons — and also contributed 17 stolen bases. The dingers, in particular, helped boost his arb value. But it is the glove that largely drives Galvis’s real-world value; he drew strong ratings in the field in his second season as Philadelphia’s regular shortstop.

NL Notes: CarGo, Phillies, Stearns, Brewers, Ross

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The Rockies still want to extend Carlos Gonzalez’s contract, GM Jeff Bridich tells ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden.  The two sides “are still far apart on a deal but they’re working on it,” Bowden writes, and Gonzalez is also believed to have interest in staying in Colorado.  This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumblings about an extension between Gonzalez and the Rockies this winter, though as of last month, the club hadn’t yet extended a formal offer.  Here’s more from around the National League…

  • In an interview with Bowden and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link), Phillies president Andy MacPhail said his team’s next move is to try and add a left-handed hitter.  The Phils are known to be looking for another bat, with such lefty swingers as Brandon Moss, Michael Saunders and Jay Bruce mentioned as potential candidates.
  • The Brewers are still looking for relief pitching, GM David Stearns tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, exploring trade opportunities and both major league or minor league signings.  When asked if Milwaukee was favoring trades over signings (or vice versa), Stearns said “I don’t know that we have a firm preference. We have to explore all avenues.”  Stearns also noted that the Brewers are “active on a number of fronts” in regards to adding position players, though he also felt generally comfortable with the team’s pre-existing mix of everyday players and relievers.
  • Recent reports have cited the Nationals as one of the teams in pursuit of Tyson Ross, and they may have a recruiter on hand in Joe Ross, Tyson’s younger brother.  “I’ve been trying to get him over here,” Joe tells Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, joking that Tyson “can come here as long as he doesn’t take my job.”  As Castillo notes, the younger Ross doesn’t appear to be in any danger of losing his rotation job following two solid seasons in the bigs, and Ross said he is feeling healthy after missing time last year due to shoulder soreness.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/7/17

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Baseball America’s Matt Eddy has released a long list of minor transactions from over the holidays. Here are a few of the bigger moves from that list not already noted elsewhere on MLBTR (we’ll also keep track of additional minor moves from Saturday as they happen):

  • The Brewers have signed first baseman Cody Decker to a minor league deal, tweets Tommy Stokke of FanRag. The pact doesn’t include an invitation to big league camp, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter link). Decker announced (via Twitter) that he’ll move to catcher, where he has seen action in 23 games during parts of eight minor league seasons. The 29-year-old has slashed an impressive .255/.333/.501 in 1,498 Triple-A plate appearances, though he has only logged eight PAs in the majors (with San Diego in 2015).
  • The Cubs have signed catcher Carlos Corporan and re-signed infielder Munenori Kawasaki to minor league contracts. Corporan spent several years as a backup in Houston and last appeared in the Majors in 2015 with Texas; he hit .197/.246/.333 at two Triple-A stops in 2016. The 35-year-old Kawasaki played briefly for the Cubs last season and spent most of the year playing shortstop with Triple-A Iowa, where he batted .255/.352/.312. The popular former Blue Jays infielder has now appeared in parts of five seasons in the big leagues, as well as 11 in Japan.
  • The Red Sox have signed outfielder Brian Bogusevic to a minor league deal. The 32-year-old had a tough season with Orix in Japan in 2016, batting just .187/.320/.322 over 193 plate appearances. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Phillies in 2015.
  • The White Sox have released hard-throwing righty Jorge Rondon so that he can sign with Chunichi in Japan. They had previously signed him to a minor league deal after he posted a 2.67 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 pitching in the bullpen of the Pirates’ Triple-A Indianapolis bullpen in 2016.
  • The Angels have re-signed lefty reliever Cody Ege to a minor league deal. They had previously non-tendered him even though he had far less than three years of service time and was very effective in 8 2/3 innings for them last season, although he struggled in three innings with the Marlins and posted a modest 4.50 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 44 innings at Triple-A.
  • The Phillies have signed righty reliever Pedro Beato to a minor league deal. The 30-year-old Beato was very effective for Triple-A Norfolk in 2016, with a 2.65 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 68 innings (although he allowed nine unearned runs). He’s pitched in the big leagues for three teams, but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014 and hasn’t logged significant time since he was a Met in 2011.
  • The Nationals have signed reliever lefty Josh Outman to a minor league deal. The 32-year-old last pitched in the big leagues in 2014, when he appeared with the Indians and Yankees. He posted a 4.95 ERA, albeit with 6.8 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9, in 20 innings with Indianapolis in 2016 before being released.
  • The Tigers have signed first baseman Efren Navarro to a minor league deal. The 30-year-old batted .275/.337/.368 at two Triple-A stops in 2016. He’s appeared in parts of four big-league seasons, all with Anaheim.

Phillies, Cesar Ramos Agree To Minors Deal

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The Phillies have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with left-hander Cesar Ramos, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). The Wasserman client will add a southpaw with considerable Major League experience to Philadelphia’s depth chart.

Ramos, 32, opened the 2016 season with the Rangers and made four starts plus a dozen relief appearances before being released in late July. The 6.04 ERA, 11.3 H/9 and 2.3 HR/9 yielded by Ramos in his brief 47 2/3 inning stint with Texas weren’t pretty, but prior to that he’d enjoyed a nice run as a bullpen lefty with the Rays and Angels. From 2011-15, Ramos tossed 276 innings of 3.49 ERA ball, averaging 7.2 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings pitched. His ground-ball rate has fluctuated a bit over the years, but his career average is a solid 45.5 percent. Ramos has also held lefties in check reasonably well, limiting same-handed opponents to a .250/.314/.339 batting line.

The Phillies don’t have much certainty among left-handed relievers. Hard-throwing Joely Rodriguez is currently the only lefty projected in their big league bullpen, though starter Adam Morgan could also get a look due to the fact that the rotation looks to be full without him. The Phils have also added southpaw Sean Burnett as a non-roster invite this offseason, so he’ll be among the arms with which Ramos is competing for a roster spot this spring.

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