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NL Central Notes: Engel, Cervelli, Rodriguez, Bruce

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Former Blue Jays scouting director Bob Engel is heading to the Reds organization as the new international cross-checker, according to reports from Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (via Twitter) and Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Cincinnati has made some notable international signings in recent years with Raisel Iglesias and Aroldis Chapman.

Here are a few more notes from the NL Central:

  • Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli is coming off of a breakout campaign in which he contributed in all facets and stayed on the field, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry writes. Cervelli says he’d love to stay with Pittsburgh for the long term, though he added that he has not been contacted by the front office regarding extension talks and would let his agent handle any such matters. Certainly, it would be interesting to see how negotiations would progress if they do occur, as Cervelli could be a highly sought-after free agent if he can repeat his 2015 campaign. But there’s also plenty of downside, as that was the first time he put it all together over a full season.
  • Young outfielder Yorman Rodriguez could find a chance with the Reds this spring, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. The out-of-options 23-year-old will likely compete with other inexperienced players like Scott Schebler and Adam Duvall. Rodriguez put up a .269/.308/.429 slash last year over 326 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • All of those outfielders would benefit, of course, if the Reds end up trading Jay Bruce, of course, although it would stand to reason that the organization will bring in some low-cost veterans once the market shakes out. As for Bruce, Sheldon reports that the Indians have replaced the Blue Jays on his limited no-trade list — likely a reflection of the fact that Cleveland has been pursuing outfield help this winter. The other clubs to which Bruce can block a deal are the Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics, Rays, Marlins, Twins, and Diamondbacks. Sheldon breaks down the possible suitors for the left-handed hitting veteran.

Cafardo On Free Agency, Miller, Melancon, Parra

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Here are a few highlights from the latest column by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

  • Cafardo begins with a discussion of why many of the top available hitters on the free agent market haven’t signed yet (a question we also discussed a bit today). Cafardo quotes Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette, who argues that part of the problem might be a reluctance to spend big given the spotty history of “mega-deals” for hitters. Cafardo notes, however, that there are a number of teams with holes, and that the likes of Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes Chris Davis and Alex Gordon are ultimately likely to get their “mega-deals” from someone.
  • The Yankees have been asking for a top young starter in return for Andrew Miller. Teams haven’t been willing to meet that price, so it seems likely the Yankees will keep him. (Yankees exec Brian Cashman has already said he intends to keep Miller.)
  • Another top reliever who might be staying put is Mark Melancon, Cafardo writes. The Pirates have made Melancon (who will be paid handsomely in his last year before free agency eligibility) available, but thus far he’s still with the Bucs.
  • From a statistical perspective, Gerardo Parra’s defense has taken enormous steps backward in the past two years — UZR, for example, had him at +31.1 runs in 2013 and -18.1 runs last season, while Defensive Runs Saved had him dropping from 41 runs to -10 over that period. But scouts aren’t convinced those numbers represent a real change in his abilities, Cafardo writes. “He’s still one of the best defensive outfielders in the game,” says an AL scout. “He takes very good routes to balls, and as a pitcher or manager, you feel comfortable with him out there.” The Rockies and Royals seem like possibilities for Parra.

Central Notes: Moore, Jaso, White Sox

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We took a look in at Kansas City’s potential pitching needs earlier today, and there are a few more notes from the game’s central divisions to share on a quiet New Year’s Day:

  • There’s a case to be made that Royals GM Dayton Moore qualifies as MLB’s most notable figure in 2015, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes. While the publication gave that title to Bryce Harper, but the successful culmination of Moore’s efforts in Kansas City certain made for a notable story — particularly from a hot stove perspective.
  • New Pirates first baseman John Jaso said yesterday on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link) that he chose his new team in part due to the opportunity to play in the field. Most of the interest he saw was from American League clubs that would have utilized him as a DH, but he says he’s drawn by the challenge of being a quality defender at a new position.
  • While the White Sox have had “dialogue” with the top three free agent outfielders — that’d be Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, and Alex Gordon — there’s nothing close at present, Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently tweeted. That’s not particularly surprising to hear, in part because Chicago seems to be set up rather nicely to be an opportunistic buyer rather than focusing on getting a particular player at all costs.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Relievers, Pirates

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The acquisitions of Craig Kimbrel and Carson Smith should improve the Red Sox in high-leverage situations, helping them win one-run games, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. Three of the four teams that had the best results in high-leverage situations last season were nine or more games above .500 in one-run games. The Red Sox already had two good late-inning relievers in Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa, and there was perhaps some danger of there just not being enough high-leverage opportunities for Uehara, Tazawa, Kimbrel and Smith. But with Uehara vulnerable to aging and Tazawa vulnerable to injury, Kimbrel and Smith should provide the Red Sox with needed reinforcements. Here are more quick notes from around the league.

  • This offseason has been notable for the large contracts pitchers like Zack Greinke and David Price have received. Meanwhile, wages for relievers have remained flat, MacPherson writes. Greinke and Price’s deals are now the highest and second-highest ever in average annual value among contracts for pitchers, while the largest deal for relievers this offseason has been Darren O’Day’s four-year, $31MM deal. Admittedly, this offseason’s market hasn’t been heavy on top-flight closers, and new contracts for Ryan Madson (three years, $22MM) and Tony Sipp (three years, $18MM) do perhaps suggest some wage growth for talented middle relievers. Overall, though, as MacPherson points out, the market for elite relievers does not appear to have grown much in the many years since Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Cordero and B.J. Ryan signed long-term contracts in the $46MM-$50MM range.
  • The Pirates took a slight gamble with their signing of C/DH John Jaso, in that they signed him to play first base, Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs writes. The Pirates themselves have seen the downside of gambling that a player can make an easy transition to first base — Pedro Alvarez’s defense there in 2015 was disastrous. As Sullivan points out, though, catchers from Buster Posey to Carlos Santana to Joe Mauer to Jason Phillips have generally done well in transitioning to first base. (I’d add Pickin’ Machine Scott Hatteberg to the mix as well.) Offensively, Sullivan writes, Jaso needs to be platooned, but he can be very effective against righties.

Int’l Notes: Navarro, Kim, Orioles

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The Padres and other clubs had their eye on Japanese standout Nobuhiro Matsuda, but earlier this week the veteran third baseman decided to stay put.  Even though Matsuda had the opportunity to ink a major league deal, he couldn’t turn down a massive four-year deal worth $20-25MM from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.  There was talk that the 32-year-old might have been able to net a multi-year guarantee from an MLB club, but it’s hard to imagine that any team would have given him a deal of that size.

Matsuda is staying overseas, but we have some news on other international talent that will be coming stateside.  Here’s the latest:

  • Contract talks have broken off between second baseman Yamaico Navarro and Korea’s Samsung Lions, a league source tells Yonhap News.  “It’s highly unlikely we will retain Navarro,” the official said. “Unless there’s a dramatic turn of events, we will go our separate ways.”  Navarro hit 31 homers, stole 25 bases, and posted a slash line of .308/.417/.552 in 2014.  This past season, Navarro belted 48 home runs  (good for second in the KBO), notched 22 steals, and posted a .287/.393/.596 line.   It’s not immediately clear if Navarro will set his sights on an MLB return, but if he does, one has to imagine that he will garner some interest.  For what it’s worth, the Lions have concerns about the 28-year-old’s work ethic, according to the report.
  • New Orioles outfielder Hyun-soo Kim thanked Pirates infielder Jung-ho Kang for blazing a trail for him to come stateside.  “I am proud of having signed a major league deal as a Korean player,” Kim said, according to Yonhap News. “I will try not to ruin the groundwork that Jung-ho has laid. I feel some pressure in that regard.”  Kim has put up a big .318/.406/.488 slash in the offensively robust KBO, and last year had his best-ever showing.  Not only did he slash .326/.438/.541, but Kim also banged a career-best 28 home runs.  And, unlike some other KBO players who have moved over to MLB, Kim has displayed tremendous plate discipline.  Last year, he struck out only 63 times while drawing 101 walks.
  • On Friday morning, we learned that Cuban sensation Lazaro Armenteros will be holding a showcase for MLB clubs on January 8th.

Pirates Notes: McCutchen, Melancon, Watson

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Here’s the latest from PNC Park…

  • Andrew McCutchen is under contract for two more seasons and the Pirates have a $14.5MM club option on him for 2018 that is right now a lock to be exercised.  Even with up to three years of control remaining, however, ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) believes the Bucs should open negotiations with McCutchen’s agents this spring in order to give both sides some idea if an extension is even possible.  The Pirates would have to offer a deal well beyond their usual comfort zone just to have a chance at locking McCutchen up past his age-31 season, and McCutchen would have to be willing to accept something below market value.  If there’s no common ground, Olney suggests Pittsburgh should start seeing what they could get for McCutchen in a trade, perhaps even as early as this summer.
  • Mark Melancon’s $10MM projected arbitration salary has made him a trade candidate this offseason, though Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wonders if the Pirates have saved enough money in other transactions to be able to afford keeping the closer in 2016.  With the Bucs already suffering notable losses in the rotation and infield, Sawchik argues that the club could retrench around its excellent bullpen rather than trading from an area of strength.
  • How good, in fact, has Pittsbugh’s bullpen been?  Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan notes that Melancon and Tony Watson were the two best relievers in baseball from 2013-15 as per the Win Probability Added (WPA) metric.  The 2015 Pirates bullpen had a collective 11.8 WPA, the second-highest single-year total in history dating back to 1974.  Watson is also arbitration-eligible this winter, and MLBTR projects him to earn $4.6MM in his second time through the arb process.

Central Notes: Gallardo, Tigers, Pirates

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Here’s a look at the AL and NL Central:

  • The Royals and Yovani Gallardo were in touch as recently as Wednesday, sources tell Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  The Royals are on the hunt for pitching and they have been linked to Gallardo several times throughout the winter.  Gallardo, 30 in February, is coming off a solid season with the Rangers in which he totaled 184 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball for his hometown club, averaging 5.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 to go along with a 49.3 percent ground-ball rate. However, he’s seen his strikeout rate dip considerably over the past three seasons, and his 90.4 mph average fastball in 2015 was more than two miles per hour slower than his 92.7 mph peak.  Gallardo took the No. 20 spot on the top fifty free agent list of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes, who predicts that he can achieve a $52MM guarantee on the open market.
  • In this week’s mailbag, a reader asked Jason Beck of MLB.com if the Tigers have become overly conservative when it comes to the idea of trading prospects.  Of course, former Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski was never shy about trading young talent in an effort to contend in the present.  Beck does believe that Detroit is weary about giving up talented prospects, not just for future seasons, but because of depth in the here-and-now.  Injuries have caught up with the Tigers over the last couple of years and Beck believes that they are looking to hang on to their best youngsters as possible fill-ins.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington is aware that he is gambling somewhat by placing newly-acquired John Jaso at first base.  “We recognize there is risk,” Huntington said, according to Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We recognize we just experienced a tough defensive season at first base. At the same time, we also recognize that for us to be successful, there are going to have to be calculated risks. In our minds, this is a good one to take. “We feel like the offensive upside is worth the calculated gamble that he’s going to be able to play first base.”

Outrighted: Rondon, Monell, Cunniff, Robertson

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In addition  to the large number of minor signings and waiver claims today, there have been quite a few outrights from around the league. Righty A.J. Achter has already been outrighted by the Angels, but here are the rest of the day’s outright assignments…

  • The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A Indianapolis. While Rondon hadn’t been previously designated for assignment, the Buccos needed to clear a roster spot to make way for John Jaso and his new two-year contract, and Rondon was the 40-man casualty. Rondon carried a 2.23 ERA over 60 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year, with 7.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. He was once rated among the top thirty prospects of the Cardinals, and has a track record of solid, if unspectacular, numbers in the minors.
  • The Mets have outrighted catcher Johnny Monell to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin (Twitter link). Monell was designated for assignment last week when the team needed a roster spot for the recently re-signed Bartolo Colon. Monell, 30 next March, received his second taste of Major League action last season, collecting a career-high 52 plate appearances with New York. Prior to that, his lone experience in the big leagues was a brief eight-game stint with the 2013 Giants (nine plate appearances). In the Majors, Monell is a .161/230/.196 hitter across his small sample of 61 PAs, but he has a sound track record in the minors, where he’s put together a .279/.356/.455 batting line with 31 homers across 1012 PAs in Triple-A.
  • Right-hander Brandon Cunniff has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves after clearing waivers, according to a tweet from the team. A former 27th-round draft pick by the Marlins, Cunniff spent three seasons in the independent Frontier League following his brief minor league career with the Marlins. The Braves plucked him from the indy circuit in June of 2013, and he rather quickly rose through their ranks over the past two years. Cunniff posted a brilliant 2.02 ERA in Double-A and jumped directly to the Majors, where he posted a 4.63 ERA with a 37-to-22 K/BB ratio in 35 innings.
  • MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that outfielder Daniel Robertson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners after being designated for assignment last week. Robertson lost his roster spot to the re-signed Hisashi Iwakuma but is clearly a player valued by GM Jerry Dipoto, who acquired him from Texas while serving as GM of the Angels and again picked him up from the Halos this winter after taking over the Mariners’ GM job. In 277 career plate appearances, Robertson is a .274/.324/.325 hitter. He also boasts a solid minor league track record and is capable of playing all three outfield positions, making him a valuable depth option for a big league team.

Pirates Sign John Jaso

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4:03pm: FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reports that Jaso will be guaranteed a total of $8MM over the life of the deal (Twitter link). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Jaso will earn $4MM in each season of the contract.

3:54pm: The Pirates announced that they have signed catcher/first baseman/outfielder John Jaso to a two-year contract. The ACES client will serve as the club’s left-handed half of a first-base platoon, pairing with Mike Morse and/or Jason Rogers to handle those duties.

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“John Jaso is a proven Major League hitter who is a great complement to our existing lineup,” said GM Neal Huntington in the club’s press release. “John is enthusiastic about playing in Pittsburgh and developing as a first baseman. We feel he has the ability to play the position at the major league level, while adding significantly to our offensive production.”

Jaso is inexperienced at first base, to be sure, having logged just five innings there at the Major League level and a mere 15 more in the minor leagues. He’ll be learning on the fly, but he won’t have to develop into a plus defender at first base to serve as an upgrade over Pedro Alvarez’s defense. Last season, Alvarez rated 14 runs below average according to both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved, despite the fact that he logged just 906 innings at the position. Alvarez was charged with 23 errors in those 906 innings — the third-most of any player at any position in baseball. So, while Jaso will probably experience some growing pains as he learns the intricacies of a new position, the bar for improved defensive production, from the team’s standpoint, is a relatively low one to clear.

Clearly, Jaso wasn’t signed for his glove; he’ll bring to the Pirates a highly productive and exceptionally patient platoon bat to plug into their lineup. The 32-year-old batted .286/.380/.459 in 216 plate appearances in what was an injury-shortened 2015 campaign, with nearly all of his plate appearances coming against right-handed pitching. The Rays permitted Jaso to face a left-handed pitcher just 19 times in 2015, and he’s faced same-handed pitching just 75 times across the past three seasons combined. A platoon partner is a must for Jaso, who is just a .178/.309/.232 hitter against lefties. On the flip side, he boasts an excellent .274/.368/.429 batting line against righties and has been even better in recent seasons, slashing .285/.383/.458 against righties dating back to 2012.

That trait is particularly appealing to the Pirates because, as Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review points out (Twitter link), the Pirates led the Majors in plate appearances against right-handed pitching last season. While some of that is happenstance, looking around the projected rotations of their division rivals, the only lefties that figure to be in Opening Day rotations are Jon Lester, Jaime Garcia and possibly John Lamb/Brandon Finnegan in Cincinnati.

In addition to working at first base, Jaso could also see some time in the corner outfield, tweets MLB.com’s Adam Berry. Jaso has also told the club he’s willing to serve as their emergency catcher, per Berry, though first base and the outfield will be his two primary positions. That’s probably best for Jaso, who has been plagued by concussion issues in recent years, thus necessitating the move to outfield and designated hitter in recent seasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pirates Claim Yoervis Medina From Cubs

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The Pirates have claimed righty Yoervis Medina from the Cubs, Pittsburgh announced. Medina was recently designated for assignment by Chicago.

The 27-year-old had two nice years with the Mariners over 2013 to 2014, working to a 2.81 ERA and posting 9.4 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 along with a 53.5 percent ground-ball rate. He worked at an average 94.8 mph velocity with his fastball in that stretch.

But that all turned around last year, as Medina posted an ugly 4.71 ERA with just 16 strikeouts against 11 walks over 21 frames. He lost two full ticks off of his fastball and saw his groundball induction rate plummet.

before taking a significant step backwards in 2015. This season, Medina logged a 4.71 ERA with an unsightly 16-to-11 K/BB ratio in 21 innings for the Mariners and Cubs. Notably, his fastball velocity, which had averaged 94.8 mph in 2014, sat a full two miles per hour lower at 92.8 in 2015, and his ground-ball rate dipped to 36.8 percent. And the rough outcomes also held in the upper minors.

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