Phillies Acquire Clay Buchholz
The Phillies have officially struck a deal to acquire righty Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag first reported (via Twitter). Second baseman Josh Tobias will be the piece going to Boston in the swap, in which Philadelphia will pick up all the remaining obligations to Buchholz, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer was first to report (via Twitter). Philadelphia designated just-acquired third baseman Richie Shaffer for assignment to clear roster space.
Buchholz, 32, has seemed like a fairly likely trade candidate ever since Boston struck its deal to acquire Chris Sale. That acquisition left the team with a somewhat over-stuffed depth chart in its rotation, with the luxury tax line also representing a possible factor. The Sox had previously picked up Buchholz’s $13.5MM option for the 2017 season, making him an expensive depth piece. He is slated to hit free agency after the upcoming campaign.
[RELATED: Updated Phillies & Red Sox Depth Charts]
For the Phils, the move represents a clear continuation of the strategy put in place this winter (and reflects much the same approach as that employed a year ago). After starter Jeremy Hellickson took his qualifying offer to remain in Philadelphia, the club went on to deal for veteran infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick and reliever Pat Neshek, each of whom had one season left on their original free-agent contracts. And the organization also added late-inning man Joaquin Benoit and infielder Andres Blanco on single-season, MLB arrangements while picking up minor-league free agents such as Daniel Nava, Sean Burnett, and Pedro Florimon. While building out the roster with solid veterans who don’t tie up the payroll beyond the 2017 campaign, Philadelphia also made a value bet on center fielder Odubel Herrera, who inked a five-year extension.
All told, the new additions add $57.7MM to the books for Philadelphia in the coming season. Given that much of the rest of the roster will earn at or near the MLB minimum, it’s hardly a massive outlay for an organization that routinely placed among the game’s biggest spenders before embarking upon a rebuilding path (and has only recently begun a lucrative new TV deal). Importantly, none of these acquisitions cost the Phillies much in the way of future value. They’ll allow the club to field a more competitive product, reduce the pressure on younger players in the system, and, potentially, cash in some of the new assets for future value — either by trade-deadline swaps or even future qualifying offers.
In Buchholz, the Phils have added an enigmatic starter who has at times been rather excellent and still comes with his share of upside. In 2015, he worked to a 3.26 ERA over 113 1/3 frames with a strong 8.5 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9, representing one of several seasons in which he looked like a quality number 2 or 3 starter. But he dealt with elbow issues in 2015 and wasn’t able to repeat in his latest campaign. Buchholz was bumped from the rotation at one point and ended 2016 with 139 1/3 frames of 4.78 ERA pitching to go with 6.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. While he has often generated grounders on about half of the balls put in play against him, he dipped to 41.2% last year.
Despite the struggles, Buchholz did carry a typical 92.1 mph average on his fastball and a 9.5% swinging-strike rate that’s right at league average for a starter. He also ended the year on a good note, posting a 2.86 ERA across the last 44 innings he’ll throw in a Red Sox uniform (barring, at least a surprise reunion at some point down the line). As Tim Britton of the Providence Journal detailed at the time and Buchholz himself discussed with David Laurila of Fangraphs, there were adjustments that may help explain the turnaround and could add some confidence to the Phillies’ hopes. Buchholz wasn’t able to work in the zone as much as he had in 2015 (though that was something of an outlier year), and also couldn’t maintain the 5.9% HR/FB rate that helped drive his success in the prior season.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams posited at the outset of the winter, pitchers such as Buchholz and then-Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia could have their options picked up before being dealt. While neither brought back major hauls in their respective trades, their respective teams were able to hold onto them as depth to enhance their flexibility entering the offseason, then pivot to a trade when it was determined that their services wouldn’t be needed.
Certainly, the Cards seem to have earned more for Garcia (who came with a $12MM salary) than the Sox got out of Buchholz’s final season. The trio of youngsters shipped from the Braves for Garcia all had placed among the Atlanta organization’s top thirty prospects (per MLB.com), while Tobias has never received that kind of recognition. The 24-year-old split last year between the Class A and High-A levels, hitting well (.304/.375/.444) for much of the year at the former and struggling (.254/.324/.357) in 146 plate appearances after his promotion.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Red Sox May Be Nearing Deal Involving Clay Buchholz
The Red Sox may soon strike a deal to move righty Clay Buchholz, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). The potential acquiring team has not yet been identified, but Heyman adds (on Twitter) that the Phillies were looking into the veteran starter. Other organizations could conceivably have interest as well, of course; the Marlins have previously been linked, though at last check the sides were not lining up on a deal.
NL East Notes: Klentak, Marlins, Swanson, Mets
Some news from around the NL East…
- Phillies GM Matt Klentak said his team is looking at adding another hitter or reliever, though neither move is a necessity, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. The hitter is likely to be a reserve outfielder, as the Phillies want to see what they have in their young outfielders as they continue their rebuilding process. “We continue to prioritize roster flexibility and payroll flexibility so players that are in position to sign shorter term contracts are going to be more appealing to us,” Klentak said.
- The Marlins have assembled their bullpen based on talent, fit and availability, without any specific regard to balance between left-handers and right-handers. As a result, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro notes, Miami could head into 2017 with an entirely right-handed relief corps. Hunter Cervenka and Elvis Araujo are the only southpaw relievers on the Marlins’ 40-man roster and either could potentially win a job in Spring Training, though both pitchers are way down depth chart at this point.
- Dansby Swanson is “as close to untouchable as any Brave right now,” David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, as John Hart and John Coppolella are both very impressed by the young shortstop’s on-field talents and off-the-field intangibles. “I don’t think you can put any playables or comparisons on him, I just know we’re better with him, and the whole is greater than the parts. This is a special guy that makes people around him better,” Coppolella said. The White Sox reportedly wanted Swanson as part of a Chris Sale trade package earlier this offseason but the Braves refused to part with the former first overall draft pick.
- The Mets are known to be shopping outfielders, though MLB.com’s Mike Petriello notes that even if New York deals one of Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson or Michael Conforto, it still creates an issue since neither Granderson or Conforto project as a good defensive center fielder. Petriello instead proposes that the Mets could move two outfielders (either the two veterans, or Conforto with one of Granderson or Bruce to garner a bigger trade return) and then acquire an actual center fielder to properly fill the job.
Phillies To Sign Bryan Holaday To Minor League Deal
The Phillies have agreed to terms with catcher Bryan Holaday on a minor league deal, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Holaday is represented by Lagardere Sports.
Holaday is expected to compete for the backup catcher job in Philadelphia, Crasnick notes. Cameron Rupp currently is slated to start. The Phillies also appear likely to have 2016 Triple-A catcher Andrew Knapp in camp, along with top prospect Jorge Alfaro, with Holaday providing the team with a more veteran option. A.J. Ellis, who finished the 2016 season as the Phillies’ backup, recently signed a one-year deal with the Marlins.
The 29-year-old Holaday began the 2016 season with the Rangers, then headed to the Red Sox on a waiver claim. The Red Sox ultimately non-tendered him rather than paying a projected $900K salary. For the year, he batted .231/.281/.359 over 129 plate appearances, roughly in line with his career .245/.282/.346 marks in parts of five big-league seasons. He caught eight of 21 batters attempting to steal.
Phillies Extend Odubel Herrera
SATURDAY: Heyman tweets that Herrera will receive a $1.75MM signing bonus, $1.25MM in 2017, $3MM in 2018, $5MM in 2019, $7MM in 2020, and $10MM in 2021.
FRIDAY: The options come with $2.5MM and $1MM buyouts, respectively, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.
THURSDAY: The Phillies have announced a five-year extension for center fielder Odubel Herrera, which comes with a $30.5MM guarantee, per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The deal includes club options for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, which are valued at $11.5MM and $12.5MM, respectively, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki (on Twitter). Herrera is represented by Victor Tranquillo.
With the move, the Phils will add control over three projected free-agent seasons over their present and future center fielder. Herrera entered the year with two full years of MLB service, meaning he would have expected to qualify for arbitration next winter and hit the open market in advance of the 2021 season.
Instead, Herrera — who’ll soon turn 25 — will be under contract through at least his age-29 season. As Gelb notes on Twitter, it appears to be the first significant contract extension the team has struck with a player of such little experience.
Taken as a Rule 5 pick from the Rangers under the former regime, led by much-maligned GM Ruben Amaro Jr., Herrera immediately blossomed into a quality regular. In his first season in the majors, Herrera slashed .297/.344/.418 and contributed eight home runs and 16 steals (though he was also gunned down on eight other attempts). With high-quality, up-the-middle glovework and strong overall baserunning contributions factored in, Herrera was a four-WAR player right out of the gates.
Though his overall offensive output remained at about 10% better than league average in 2016, it’s certainly arguable that Herrera took a big step forward at the plate. He not only trimmed his strikeouts to a 20.4% rate that falls just below league average, but nearly doubled his walk rate to a strong 9.6%. Herrera also jumped to 15 home runs, though he’s still below-average in overall power (.134 ISO), and stole 25 bags (against seven times caught stealing). While both UZR and DRS were somewhat less enamored of his glovework in the sophomore campaign, he still rated comfortably above average in the field and also on the bases.
Even if Herrera’s batting average on balls in play comes back down to earth a bit — he carried a .387 mark in his first year and .349 in his second — he seems a solid bet to deliver at least average offensive work for the foreseeable future. And there’s perhaps room to grow still in the power department after showing some strides, which was especially promising given that it occurred along with the step forward in his plate discipline.
Though Herrera was less productive in the second half — his power and K/BB numbers dipped — the total package is quite appealing. That made this a rather easy deal to make for the Phillies, an organization with massive untapped spending capacity in the future. Even in a true downside scenario, there’s little chance that Herrera’s contract (which is worth only $6.1MM on an average basis annually) will significantly harm the team’s ability to add major league talent.
While a team in the Phillies’ situation doesn’t need to strike early to lock up talent, as the organization can afford to do so later, that doesn’t mean that such a move can’t yield huge dividends. Indeed, as the pre-2015 Adam Eaton extension shows — particularly in light of his recent trade to the Nationals — it’s possible to add quite a bit of value to player control rights by buying out arb years and picking up some options. The Herrera pact is structured identically (five guaranteed years plus two options), though his guarantee handily beats the $23.5MM that Eaton received. Of course, it also fell well shy of the $50MM+ promised to 2+ players such as Matt Carpenter and Andrew McCutchen.
That’s certainly not to say that the deal isn’t a fair one from Herrera’s perspective. He was not a major bonus recipient as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela — various internet reports suggest he was inked for a modest $160K — and had only earned at (and then just over) the MLB minimum in each of the last two seasons. While his current trajectory suggests there would’ve been big earnings to come, none of that was guaranteed, and Herrera’s skillset would not have been particularly lucrative in the arbitration process.
It remains to be seen whether Philadelphia will move to negotiate with any of its other younger assets, though none are quite as established as Herrera. Third baseman Maikel Franco is the other most likely candidate, perhaps, though he may have already secured his downside protection by striking a deal with Fantex. Pitchers such as Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Vince Velasquez could conceivably draw consideration as well, though there’s no rush in any of their cases and the club may allow things to play out before reaching any decisions. Looking further down the line, top talent J.P. Crawford and others could eventually be candidates for long-term deals — even, perhaps, before or just after they reach the majors — though we’ve heard nothing to suggest that any such aggressive moves are in the works.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Phillies Re-Sign Andres Blanco, Designate David Rollins
1:46pm: Philadelphia has announced the signing, noting that lefty David Rollins was designated for assignment to clear roster space. Rollins continues to traverse the majors via the waiver wire this winter; he has already moved from the Mariners to the Cubs, then on to the Rangers, before landing in Philadelphia.
12:54pm: The Phillies have agreed to a one-year, $3MM to bring back utility infielder Andres Blanco, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter). Blanco, 32, has spent the past three seasons in the Philadelphia organization.
[RELATED: Updated Phillies Depth Chart]
The veteran utilityman has revived his career since landing with the Phils as a minor-league free agent. While he wasn’t a big part of the 2014 team, he made his way back to the majors for the first time since 2011.
Blanco ended up returning on another minors pact in the ensuing offseason, cracking the roster out of camp. Nobody foresaw the career-year that ensued. Ultimately, Blanco slashed a robust .292/.360/.502 with seven home runs over 261 plate appearances in 2015.
That surprise performance led the Phils to tender Blanco, which netted him a $1.45MM payday. While he wasn’t quite able to keep up the offensive output in 2016, he still provided a sturdy .253/.316/.405 batting line in his ninety games.
Blanco’s new contract recognizes both his useful bat and his defensive versatility. While metrics were more favorably inclined toward his glove earlier in his career, Blanco remains capable of playing anywhere in the infield and has been trusted with spot duty in the corner outfield as well.
Phillies Claim Richie Shaffer, Release Phil Klein To Pursue Asian Deal
The Phillies have claimed infielder/outfielder Richie Shaffer off waivers from the Mariners, per a club announcement. Additionally, the team announced that righty Phil Klein was released in order for him to sign a contract to play with an organization in Asia.
Philadelphia announced Shaffer as a third baseman, perhaps suggesting that’s where they see him being utilized — though, of course, that position will almost certainly be manned regularly by Maikel Franco. Shaffer can also play the corner outfield or first base.
The 25-year-old Shaffer, a former first-round pick, bounced from the Rays to the Mariners earlier this offseason. He was riding high after a big 2015 season in which he hit 30 total long balls between the upper minors and the majors (where he received his first, brief look). But he largely struggled in the campaign that just ended, posting a meager .227/.329/.367 batting line at the Triple-A level and earning only twenty games in the bigs. Those struggles made him expendable, but the Phils evidently see enough upside to take a chance with a 40-man spot — though the team could ultimately attempt to sneak him through waivers at some point.
Klein, 27, also landed in Philadelphia through a waiver claim — in his case, from the Rangers. He did not pitch particularly well in his four appearances late in 2016 for the Phils, and owns only a 5.50 ERA over his 55 2/3 total major league innings. But Klein has carried impressive strikeout numbers and posted dominant results in the upper minors, which surely lent to his appeal to ballclubs on the other side of the Pacific. It is not yet clear just where Klein is headed.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/16
Let’s catch up on the latest minor moves:
- The Padres have agreed to minors deals with non-tendered players Jose Pirela and Hector Sanchez, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports via Twitter. San Diego will also bring in outfielder Rafael Ortega and righty Andre Rienzo on minor-league deals. Of this group, Sanchez has the most major league experience and seems most likely to have a chance to reaching the bigs in San Diego. He has seen time in each of the past six major league campaigns, compiling a .241/.278/.354 batting line across 691 plate appearances. Ortega, though, saw the most time in 2016, posting a .232/.283/.292 slash in 202 plate appearances with the Angels.
- Righty Stephen Fife and first baseman Tyler Moore are the newest additions to the Marlins organization, per Eddy (on Twitter). Fife, 30, saw time in three years for the Dodgers and owns a 3.66 ERA in his 91 major league frames. After missing time for Tommy John surgery, he returned to make ten Triple-A starts in the Cubs organization in 2016, working to a 4.58 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. Moore, meanwhile, spent parts of four years in the majors with the Nationals, but struggled in limited action last year at the Braves’ top affiliate.
- The Astros agreed to terms with 26-year-old southpaw C.J. Riefenhauser, Eddy tweets. He’ll likely end up as a depth piece, as he did last year with the Cubs. Riefenhauser does have twenty major league innings under his belt — all with the Rays, and with a 6.30 ERA — but spent all of 2016 at Triple-A (with Fife), where he posted a 4.71 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 over 28 2/3 frames.
- The White Sox have added outfielder Caleb Gindl on a minors pact, Eddy further tweets. Despite showing some promise upon reaching the majors in 2013 with the Brewers, Gindl fell off badly in each of the ensuing two seasons. He ended up playing indy ball last year, but showed enough with the Lancaster Barnstormers to return to an affiliated club.
- Outfielder Lane Adams is headed to the Braves on a minors pact, also via Eddy (on Twitter). The 27-year-old has exceedingly brief major league time, but has spent the past several seasons in the upper minors. Last year, with the Yankees and Cubs organizations, Adams put up a .266/.342/.388 batting line and swiped 44 bags to go with ten home runs over 481 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A.
- The Orioles added infielder/outfielder Sean Coyle on a minor-league deal, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Now 24, Coyle was once seen as solid prospect in the Red Sox’ system. But he struggled badly last year in the upper minors, posting a cumulative .181/.269/.293 batting line over 426 plate appearances. He was claimed in mid-season by the Angels, but ended up being dropped from the team’s 40-man.
- The Phillies outrighted righty Michael Mariot, who was recently designated for assignment.
Phillies Sign Pedro Florimon, Acquire Mario Sanchez From Nationals
The Phillies announced that today that they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Mario Sanchez from the Nationals as the player to be named later in last month’s Jimmy Cordero swap. They also announced minor league deals for Pedro Florimon, Sean Burnett, Daniel Nava and Hector Gomez, each of whom will be invited to Major League Spring Training. (The signings of Nava and Burnett were reported last week by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Gelb and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo, respectively.)
Sanchez, 22, spent the 2016 season with Washington’s Class-A Advanced affiliate, where he pitched to a 3.46 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 43.1 percent ground-ball rate in 78 innings of work. The Venezuelan-born righty didn’t make any starts but made 12 relief appearances of at least three innings, including one six-inning relief performance to close out the season. He didn’t rank among the Nationals’ top 30 prospects, though given the rather low-profile nature of the trade that is sending him to the Phillies, that shouldn’t be a big surprise.
Florimon, who turned 30 two days ago, spent the 2015-16 seasons as a member of the Pirates and saw sparse time with the big league club, hitting .149/.200/.255 in just 50 plate appearances. Prior to that stretch, the entirety of Florimon’s big league time had come with the Twins, for whom he served as the primary shortstop in 2013, hitting .222/.281/.330 with nine homers and 15 steals. Florimon has never hit much in the Majors or minors, but he’s a terrific defender at shortstop and could function as a Triple-A depth option for the Phillies. He’s a career .253/.320/.368 hitter in 1222 Triple-A PAs, so his bat certainly has played a bit better at that level than in the Majors.
Gomez, 28, spent the 2016 season playing with Korea’s SK Wyverns, where he hit .283/.326/.493 with 21 homers, 31 doubles and 16 stolen bases in 484 trips to the plate. The versatile infielder spent the 2014-15 seasons with the Brewers, batting a combined .177/.209/.306 in 155 PAs. He comes with a very solid Triple-A background, having batted .298/.341/.512 in 150 games (although those numbers have likely been aided by the hitter-friendly nature of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League), and he also brings experience at shortstop, second base and third base to the Phillies organization.
Quick Hits: Otani, Red Sox, Brewers, Phillies
The new collective bargaining agreement will significantly damage Japanese superstar Shohei Otani‘s earning power if the 22-year-old immigrates to the majors before he turns 25, but that might not prevent him from coming to the big leagues prior to 2019. Hideki Kuriyama, Otani’s manager with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, said Thursday that he expects the right-handed ace/left-handed hitter to head to the majors next offseason (Twitter link via Jim Allen of Kyodo News). Otani will have to take a minor league deal if he signs with a major league team before he turns 25. That means he’d need to accrue six years of service time before becoming a major league free agent and having a real chance to cash in via the open market. As of last weekend, the Fighters were planning on posting Otani a year from now.
A couple more notes from around baseball:
- The Red Sox and Brewers set the wheels in motion for Tuesday’s Travis Shaw/Tyler Thornburg trade at the general managers meetings in early November, writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe in a highly detailed piece that’s worth a full read. Milwaukee GM David Stearns told Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski that the Brewers would want Shaw and more in return. “‘I said, ‘Well, it would be something we’d be interested in talking about,'” Dombrowski recalled. Talks went dormant as the two sides awaited a new CBA, which Major League Baseball and the players’ union reached Nov. 30. Then, less than a week later at the winter meetings, the Red Sox agreed to send Shaw and two minor leaguers – shortstop Mauricio Dubon and right-hander Josh Pennington – to the Brewers for Thornburg.
- The rebuilding Phillies might have another lean year or two ahead, but GM Matt Klentak expects their ever-growing core of young talent and the franchise’s spending ability to form a lethal mix soon. “One of the advantages that we have as a big market club is that we’ve been able to take advantage of the past couple of years to trade some key assets to get younger,” Klentak told Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice. “Another huge advantage we have is that we have a very dedicated ownership that we know will spend when the time is right.” That time might be two winters away, when free agency could feature such superstars as Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Clayton Kershaw and Josh Donaldson.