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Players Recently Electing Free Agency

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As the offseason gets underway, players around baseball continue to elect minor league free agency.  While the threshold for big league free agency (six-plus years of Major League service time) is well known, there are several methods of qualifying for minor league free agency.  The most common criteria: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their career, or unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.

Each of these players has recently hit the open market in the last few days, according to the official transactions pages for both Triple-A East and Triple-A West.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/17/2021

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The latest minor league moves from around the sport…

  • The Red Sox outrighted Austin Brice to Triple-A Worcester after the reliever cleared waivers.  Brice was designated for assignment yesterday to create roster room for Jarren Duran’s promotion to the big leagues.  Since this is the second time Brice has been outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster this season, he had the option of opting for free agency, but the right-hander has apparently decided to remain with the Red Sox.  Over two seasons with the Sox, Brice has a 6.21 ERA over 33 1/3 innings.
  • The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Victor Santos from the Phillies, both teams announced.  The move officially completes the January trade that saw infielder C.J. Chatham dealt to Philadelphia way back in January.  Santos will report to Boston’s Double-A affiliate, and will change organizations less than a week after celebrating his 21st birthday.  The righty has looked good over 41 combined innings at high-A and Double-A ball this season, posting a 2.20 ERA and 24.24% strikeout rate while working exclusively as a starter in four Double-A outings.

Red Sox Designate Austin Brice For Assignment

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The Red Sox announced they’ve designated reliever Austin Brice for assignment. The move clears 40-man roster space for the previously-reported promotion of top outfield prospect Jarren Duran.

It’s the second time this season the Sox have designated Brice for assignment. The righty passed through waivers in May and remained in the organization. Between his pair of big league stints, Brice has made 13 appearances and tossed 13 2/3 innings of 6.59 ERA ball with subpar strikeout and walk rates (18.8% and 10.9%, respectively). It’s the second consecutive down year for Brice, who joined Boston on the heels of a solid 2019 campaign with the Marlins.

The Red Sox will have a week to trade Brice or expose him to waivers. He accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers two months ago, but rejecting that assignment would’ve meant forfeiting the remainder of his $870K salary. Should he pass through outright waivers a second time in his career, Brice could elect free agency while still collecting all of his remaining guaranteed money.

Roster Notes: Phillies, Red Sox, Pirates

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The Phillies have placed Odubel Herrera on the 10-day injured list with left ankle tendonitis, per the team. They have selected the contract of right-hander J.D. Hammer from Triple-A to take his roster spot. Herrera’s IL placement is retroactive to yesterday, July 9th. Herrera has somewhat surprisingly emerged as the Phillies’ everyday centerfielder, slashing .241/.292/.390 in 139 plate appearances. Though that amounts to just an 85 wRC+, Herrera’s glovework has earned solid marks, making him an overall positive contibutor in center to the tune of 1.4 rWAR/0.7 fWAR.

Hammer, 26, has posted as solid 1.74 ERA in 20 2/3 innings for the Triple-A IronPigs of Lehigh Valley. He has not appeared in the Majors since 2019, when he logged 19 innings of 3.79 ERA baseball, though his peripheral numbers from that stretch suggest the baseball bounced his way more often than not. In other roster moves…

  • The Red Sox have placed Matt Andriese on the 10-day injured list with right hamstring tendinitis, selecting the contract of Austin Brice in his stead. Andriese has a 6.03 ERA as a long man this year, logging 37 1/3 innings in 26 appearances. The injury does not appear serious, but the Red Sox are taking the opportunity to make sure he’s at full strength for the second half. Brice, 29, has a 6.94 ERA in 12 appearances for the Red Sox this year.
  • The Pirates, meanwhile, have recalled Max Kranick to be the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Mets, the team announced. He will start the second game of the twin bill. The Scranton native will put his perfect record on the line. Kranick threw five perfect innings in his Major League debut against the Cardinals on June 27th. Kranick needed just 50 pitches to retire all 15 batters he faces, striking out three and getting the win.

Red Sox Outright Austin Brice

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The Red Sox announced Tuesday that right-hander Austin Brice has been outrighted to Triple-A Worcester after he went unclaimed on waivers. He was designated for assignment last week when Boston selected Danny Santana’s contract. While Brice has the requisite service time to reject the assignment and elect free agency, doing so would mean walking away from the remainder of this season’s $870K salary, so he’ll likely head to Worcester and hope to pitch his way back into the team’s big league plans.

Brice, 29 next month, has shown plenty of promise throughout his big league career but never put it together outside of a solid 2019 effort in Miami. He has, at various times, flashed not only the ability to miss bats at a high level but also shown strong ground-ball tendencies and posted solid walk rates. He’s never been able to get all three of those traits to align in a single season, however.

With the 2019 Marlins, Brice tossed 44 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball with roughly average strikeout and ground-ball tendencies, but his time in Boston hasn’t gone well. He’s been clobbered for a 6.32 ERA with the Sox, and his overall career mark now sits at 5.18. Brice has had consistent success in Triple-A whenever he’s pitched there (career 2.70 ERA), so if he can get back in track in his fourth stint at that level, it’s possible he’ll return to the big league bullpen later this year.

Red Sox Select Danny Santana, Designate Austin Brice

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The Red Sox announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Danny Santana from Triple-A Worcester. To create a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Austin Brice was designated for assignment.

It was reported yesterday that Santana, who had a Sunday opt-out clause in his minor league contract, would be joining the Red Sox at some point this weekend. We took a lengthier look at how he might fit into the mix at the time, but suffice it to say he’ll join Enrique Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez as yet another highly versatile option who can be deployed just about anywhere on the diamond by skipper Alex Cora.

The switch-hitting Santana had a pair of excellent seasons — one with the Twins, one with the Rangers — but struggled in his other five seasons at the MLB level. His 2020 season was cut short by an elbow injury that required surgery, and his 2021 campaign was delayed by a foot infection that also required surgery.

Brice, 28, had a nice 2019 season with the Marlins (3.43 ERA, 44 2/3 innings), but he’s been hit hard in each of the past two seasons with the Red Sox. He’s tallied a total of 31 1/3 frames with Boston but managed only a 6.94 ERA with far too many walks and home runs allowed. Brice, who has a 5.18 ERA in 160 Major League innings, will either be traded or placed on outright waivers within the next week. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment if he goes unclaimed, but doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of this year’s $870K salary, so he’d surely accept an assignment to Worcester.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/2/20

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With the non-tender deadline coming today at 7pm CT, expect quite a few players to agree to contracts for the 2021 season, avoiding arbitration in advance.  In many (but not all) cases, these deals — referred to as “pre-tender” deals because they fall prior to the deadline — will fall shy of expectations and projections.  Teams will sometimes present borderline non-tender candidates with a “take it or leave it” style offer which will be accepted for fear of being non-tendered and sent out into an uncertain market.  Speculatively, such deals could increase in 2020 due to the economic uncertainty sweeping through the game, although there are also widespread expectations of record non-tender numbers.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through today’s smaller-scale pre-tender deals in this post.  You can also check out Matt Swartz’s arbitration salary projections here.

Latest Agreements

Earlier Agreements

  • Twins righty Jose Berrios will earn $6.1MM with a $500K signing bonus in 2021, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. Catcher Mitch Garver will rake in $1.875MM, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Center fielder Byron Buxton ($5.125MM) and reliever Taylor Rogers (terms not released) also agreed to deals, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
  • The Phillies have deals with starter Zach Eflin ($4.45MM) and relievers Hector Neris ($5MM), David Hale ($850K) and Seranthony Dominguez ($727,500), Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Heyman and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com relay.
  • The Marlins and first baseman Garrett Cooper have a $1.8MM agreement that could max out at $2.05MM with performance bonuses, Craig Mish of Sportsgrid tweets.
  • The Brewers are keeping catcher Manny Pina in the fold for $1.65MM, according to Heyman. They’re also retaining first baseman Daniel Vogelbach for $1.4MM, Nightengale reports.
  • The Giants and outfielder Austin Slater have a one-year, $1.15MM deal, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.The club also reached a $925K agreement with lefty Wandy Peralta and a $700K pact with righty Trevor Gott, Heyman tweets.
  • The Cubs are bringing back hurlers Dan Winkler ($900K), Colin Rea ($702,500) and Kyle Ryan ($800K), Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Ryan’s agreement is a split contract that features a $250K minor league salary.
  • The Mets are retaining lefty Steven Matz for $5.2MM, Nightengale tweets. Matz had a brutal campaign in 2020 with a 9.68 ERA/7.76 FIP over 30 2/3 innings in 2020, but the Mets will give him a chance to rebound.
  • The Padres and lefty Matt Strahm have a one-year, $2MM deal, Nightengale reports. Strahm gave the Padres a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP in 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
  • Outfielder Guillermo Heredia, whom the Mets claimed from Pittsburgh in August, will earn $1MM in 2021, according to Nightengale.
  • The Astros and reliever Austin Pruitt have settled for $617, 500, per Heyman. The right-hander missed the season with elbow issues.
  • The Royals and outfielder Jorge Soler have agreed to a one-year, $8.05MM deal with $250K in incentives, Nightengale reports. Soler was a 48-home run hitter in 2019, but his production went backward this past season, in which he slashed .228/.326/.443 with eight HRs in 174 trips to the plate.
  • The Red Sox have kept relievers Matt Barnes ($4.4MM) and Ryan Brasier ($1.25MM) and catcher Kevin Plawecki ($1.6MM), per tweets from Nightengale, Robert Murray of FanSided and Heyman. Barnes has been a solid reliever as a member of the Red Sox, though he yielded more than five walks per nine and upward of four runs per nine in 2020. Brasier was more successful this past season, as he tossed 25 frames of 3.96 ERA/3.15 FIP ball and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine. Plawecki had a nice year as the backup to Christian Vazquez, as he batted .341/.393/.463 in 89 PA.
  • The Giants and southpaw Jarlin Garcia have settled for $950K, according to Heyman. Garcia is coming off an 18 1/3-inning effort in which he posted a near-perfect 0.49 (with an impressive 3.14 FIP) and 6.87 K/9 against 3.44 BB/9.
  • The Marlins have agreed to a one-year, $4.3MM deal with first baseman Jesus Aguilar, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. The 30-year-old slugger put up strong numbers in his first year with the Fish, slashing .277/.352/.457 with eight long balls in 216 plate appearances.
  • The Giants and outfielder Alex Dickerson settled at a year and $2MM, tweets Nightengale. The 30-year-old slugger has a lengthy injury history but has been excellent in limited work with the Giants, including a .298/.371/.576 slash in 170 plate appearances this past season.
  • Luis Cessa will be back with the Yankees on a one-year deal, tweets Nightengale. He’ll earn $1.05MM. The righty notched a 3.32 ERA and 3.79 FIP with a 17-to-7 K/BB ratio in 21 2/3 innings this past season. Fellow righty Ben Heller will also return, the team announced, though it didn’t disclose financial details.
  • First baseman Matt Olson and the Athletics settled on a one-year deal worth $5MM, tweets Nightengale. The 26-year-old Olson’s .198/.310/.424 slash was an obvious step back from his 2019 campaign, but he’s still viewed as a vital part of the club’s future moving forward.
  • The Braves and righty Luke Jackson agreed to a one-year deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The 29-year-old was rocked for a 6.84 ERA in this year’s shortened slate of games but posted a 3.84 ERA and 3.24 FIP with better than 13 K/9 as one of the team’s steadiest relievers in 2019. The contract is valued at $1.9MM, per a team announcement.
  • The Brewers are bringing back catcher Omar Narvaez for one year and $2.5MM, Heyman tweets. Narvaez was a very good offensive catcher from 2o16-19 with the White Sox and Mariners, but he struggled last season after the M’s traded him to the Brewers. Thanks in part to a career-worst 31 percent strikeout rate, Narvaez could only muster a .176/.294/.269 line and a paltry two HRs in 126 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he’s in line to return to the Brewers for a second season.
  • The Brewers have agreed to a one-year, $2MM contract with shortstop Orlando Arcia, Nightengale relays. Arcia endured serious struggles on offense in prior years, but the 26-year-old managed a respectable .260/.317/.416 line with five home runs over 189 plate appearances this past season.
  • The Phillies and catcher Andrew Knapp have reached a one-year, $1.1MM agreement, per Nightengale. Typically a light-hitting backstop, Knapp batted a career-best .278/.404/.444 in 89 plate appearances in 2020. He’s currently the No. 1 catcher on a Phillies team that could lose J.T. Realmuto in free agency.
  • Pirates infielder Erik Gonzalez agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.225MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. It was the second year of arb eligibility for Gonzalez, whose glovework will earn him a contract despite a brutal .227/.255/.359 batting line in 193 plate appearances in 2020.
  • The Royals and Hunter Dozier agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.72MM in entirely guaranteed money, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports.  More is available to Dozier via contract incentives.  Dozier hit .228/.344/.392 over 186 PA after missing over the first two weeks of the season recovering from a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • The Red Sox agreed to an $870K deal with right-hander Austin Brice for the 2021 season, as per Nightengale.  Brice posted a 5.95 ERA, 11.4 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 over 19 2/3 innings in his first season in Boston, and was considered a potential non-tender candidate.
  • The Twins and righty Tyler Duffey agreed to a one-year, $2.2MM pact, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports.  According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, Duffey’s deal is fully guaranteed.
  • The Braves agreed to a one-year, $900K deal with southpaw Grant Dayton, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  Dayton had a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in 2020.
  • The Braves announced an agreement with utilityman Johan Camargo on a one-year, $1.36MM deal.  Camargo was thought to be a non-tender candidate after struggling to a .222/.267/.378 slash line in 375 plate appearances over the last two seasons, but he will return for a fifth year in Atlanta.
  • The White Sox and left-hander Jace Fry agreed to a one-year deal worth $862.5K, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Fry posted a 3.66 ERA, 2.00 K/BB rate, and 11.0 K/9 over 19 2/3 innings in 2020, and he has strong overall career numbers against left-handed batters.
  • The Orioles agreed with second baseman Yolmer Sanchez on a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).  Baltimore claimed Sanchez off waivers from the White Sox at the end of October.  A Gold Glove winner in 2019, Sanchez was non-tendered by Chicago prior to last year’s deadline, though after signing a minors deal with the Giants, he returned to the White Sox on another minors deal and appeared in 11 games on the South Side.
  • The Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth roughly $700K with left-hander Caleb Thielbar, The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports (via Twitter).  2020 marked Thielbar’s first taste of MLB action since 2015, as the southpaw worked his way back from independent ball to post a 2.25 ERA, 2.44 K/BB rate, and 9.9 K/9 over 20 innings for Minnesota.
  • The Dodgers and left-hander Scott Alexander have agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Alexander posted a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen this season, recording an equal number of walks and strikeouts (nine).  The southpaw was thought to be a potential non-tender candidate given his relative lack of usage and his non-inclusion on the Dodgers’ playoff roster, but the team will retain Alexander for his second arb-eligible year.  ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter) adds the noteworthy detail that Alexander’s $1MM salary is fully guaranteed, as opposed to the usual contracts for arbitration-eligible players that allow their teams to release them prior to Opening Day and only pay a fraction of the agreed-upon salary.

Red Sox Acquire Austin Brice, Outright Marco Hernandez

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TODAY: Hernandez has been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket after clearing waivers, the Red Sox announced.

JANUARY 10: The Red Sox have acquired righty Austin Brice from the Marlins, per club announcements. Minor-league infielder Angeudis Santos is headed to Miami in return. The Boston organization designate infielder Marco Hernandez for assignment to create roster space.

Brice was recently designated by the Marlins, making him the latest Miami relief arm to be cut loose. With today’s news, he becomes the latest to land on his feet. On occasion, a rebuilding team cuts loose a pre-arb player that ends up on another 40-man roster. But it’s notable that it has happened four times this winter for the Marlins.

The 27-year-old righty did end his 2019 season with some arm woes. And he wasn’t exactly a dominant hurler by measure of his peripheral numbers. But he was able to contribute 44 2/3 frames of 3.43 ERA pitching on the year. He has multiple serviceable pitches that he has tinkered with over the years; perhaps the Red Sox feel they can extract something with a slightly different mix.

Marlins Announce Corey Dickerson Signing, Designate Austin Brice

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The Marlins announced today that they have inked outfielder Corey Dickerson to a two-year deal, as had previously been reported. Righty Austin Brice was designated for assignment to create roster space.

Dickerson is a well-established hitter who can reasonably be expected to turn in above-average work with the bat. He’s best utilized in a platoon capacity but will presumably be given more opportunities against left-handed pitching in Miami than he would’ve received elsewhere. A surprise defensive darling in 2018, Dickerson graded poorly with the glove last year. The Fish will likely be pleased if they receive palatable fielding.

This signing is the clearest indication that the Marlins want to begin moving in a positive direction in the win/loss column. There’s no real hope of a 2020 surprise, as the organization still lags in present-day MLB ability, but there’s obviously a belief that its worth making some targeted investments — and, perhaps, that Dickerson could be a part of a charge in 2021.

At the same time, the Marlins will part with yet another young pitcher. They’ve already designated Tayron Guerrero, Tyler Kinley, and Kyle Keller earlier in the offseason. Every one of those arms landed on another 40-man roster via trade or claim.

There could also be interest from other organizations in the 27-year-old Brice, who has already bounced around a bit. He’s fresh off of his most successful MLB stint yet, having provided the Marlins with 44 2/3 innings of 3.43 ERA ball in 2019. Brice reduced the usage of his sinker in favor of his curve and four-seamer, resulting in a boost in strikeouts (9.3 K/9) but also a reduction in groundball induction (42.2%). Statcast figures suggest Brice was successfully able to induce poor contact when he did allow it (.292 wOBA vs. .293 xwOBA), but fielding-independent metrics still weren’t sold on the results (4.87 FIP, 4.79 xFIP, 4.24 SIERA) due in no small part to ongoing home run issues (1.41 per nine).

Unfortunately, Brice also dealt with forearm issues that scuttled his season. His current health situation isn’t really known, but it stands to reason that the Marlins were somewhat less than optimistic about its impact on his outlook.

Marlins’ Bullpen Reportedly Earning Attention Of Scouts

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According to a report from MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, several scouts were in attendance for Saturday night’s game between the Marlins and Mets, presumably with an interest in observing several Miami relievers.

Though Frisaro did underscore that the participation of New York starter Noah Syndergaard in tonight’s affair likely had much to do with the heavy scouting presence at Marlins Park, he also proposed that a few interesting Miami arms could be of particular interest to competitive clubs.

Entering tonight’s game, the Marlins’ bullpen had posted a collective 2.25 ERA since June 1st, which was tied with the Braves and A’s for the third-best mark in the Majors in that span. It’s difficult to say which of Miami’s bullpen pieces would be most attractive to an acquiring club, but Frisaro points to Austin Brice, Jarlin Garcia and Nick Anderson as possible trade chips.

It is conceivable that an in-the-race team could buy into the 1.88 ERA of the 27-year-old Brice,  but only if they were to overlook his slightly less pristine underlying marks, which include a 4.39 xFIP. Jarlin Garcia could make for a solid LOOGY candidate for most teams, but his 6.30 career K/9 indicates that he isn’t the type of arm that typically elicits a ton of trade value.

Anderson could make for the club’s most appealing late-inning trade bait. The 6’5 righty is generating a prodigious number of strikeouts in his first big league campaign (13.85 K/9), turning to a 95-mph fastball in addition to a heavily used curveball. After giving up a decisive two-run dinger to Robinson Cano tonight, Anderson’s ERA sits at 4.46, but FIP (2.99) thinks much more highly of his 2019 work. The 29-year-old, whom Miami acquired from Minnesota this past November, is controllable for five years beyond the 2019 season.

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