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Austin Hedges

16 Impending Free Agents Off To Slow Starts At The Plate

By Steve Adams | June 2, 2022 at 7:23pm CDT

The Padres cut ties with Robinson Cano this morning, just as the Mets did before them. It was a tougher decision for the Mets, given the financial obligation they have toward Cano through the 2023 season. However, his lack of production and the presence of younger, better options forced the hand of both parties.

We’re coming up on a third of the way through the 2022 season, and it’ll become increasingly difficult for teams with struggling veterans in the Cano mold to continue trotting them out there. That’s especially true of players who are impending free agents. While fans can (and do) disagree with the thinking, a player like Aaron Hicks, whom the Yankees owe $30.5MM from 2023-25, will get a longer leash than an impending free agent due to that multi-year commitment. So while there are plenty of struggling veterans on long-term deals, those with the thinnest grasp on their current roster spots are those who’ll be off the books at season’s end anyhow.

With that in mind, here’s a look at some names to watch and, when applicable, some of the names behind them who could aid in pushing them out the door (all stats entering Thursday’s play):

Carlos Santana, Royals: I’m not sure anyone other than the Royals’ front office understands the thinking behind continuing to trot Santana out to the field at this point. The 36-year-old is hitting .161/.293/.250 through 147 plate appearances, and it’s not as though that enormous slump is an entirely new development. Santana hit just .214/.319/.342 while playing in 158 of 162 games for the Royals last year and .199/.340/.350 in Cleveland during the shortened 2020 season.

Santana’s very presence on the Royals is due to the team’s effort to return to win-now mode after a rebuild focused on drafting college arms. He signed a two-year, $17.5MM contract heading into the 2021 season but hasn’t been able to bounce back to the form that long made him one of the game’s biggest on-base threats and most underrated offensive performers.

Signing Santana might’ve been a “win-now” move, but it’s hard to argue that continuing to run him out there is in the Royals’ best interest. That’s doubly true with top prospects Nick Pratto and Vinnie Pasquantino mashing in Triple-A Omaha. Both are in the same first base/designated hitter mold as Santana, and both Pratto (55) and Pasquantino (61) rank prominently in Baseball America’s updated Top 100 prospect rankings. Pratto got off to a slow start but is hitting .246/.392/.483 over his past 148 plate appearances. Pasquantino burst out of the gates and hasn’t slowed down; he’s hitting .298/.392/.667 with 15 home runs in 204 plate appearances.

The Royals owe Santana the balance of his $10.5MM salary whether he’s on the roster or not, but he’ll start racking up incentives when he reaches 300 plate appearances.

Joey Gallo, Yankees: Gallo was one of the Yankees’ biggest trade-deadline additions in recent years, but he’s never found his footing in the Bronx. His status as a three-true-outcomes player is well-documented, but he’s trended more aggressively toward the least-desirable of those outcomes since donning pinstripes. Gallo has fanned in 38% of his plate appearances as a Yankee while seeing both his power and his walk rate dip. Since the Yankees acquired him, he’s batting .167/.295/.370.

Even with the short porch in right field, Gallo has only five home runs through 141 plate appearances this season. He’s also seen his average exit velocity, launch angle and barrel rate drop in 2022. Gallo is still making loads of hard contact when he hits the ball in the air, per Statcast, and perhaps that’s helping to keep him both in the lineup and on the roster. New York isn’t getting any real offense from Hicks, Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Kyle Higashioka, however. Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson are once again on the injured list. Anthony Rizzo had a massive April but is batting just .162/.274/.303 in his past 117 plate appearances. The Yankees’ AL East lead has begun to shrink, as the Jays have rattled off eight straight wins, and they can’t realistically count on Aaron Judge to carry the offense all season long.

Gallo doesn’t have a high-end outfield prospect breathing down his neck, but if he can’t get things going at the plate, the calls for change are only going to grow louder. He’s earning $10.275MM in his final arbitration season before free agency, and another club might view him as a change-of-scenery candidate with the hopes that he’ll be the position-player equivalent of Sonny Gray and thrive following a rocky stint in the Bronx.

Adam Duvall, Braves: Like Gallo, Duvall’s skill set and offensive profile were well established when the Braves opted to retain him via arbitration. He was coming off a 38-homer campaign, so there was never much doubt he’d be tendered a contract, but Duvall’s brand of huge power/bottom-of-the-scale OBP always left him with a pretty low floor should the power ever evaporate.

That’s been the case in 2022, as Duvall still isn’t walking or hitting for average, and he’s only slugged two homers on the season. Paired with a career-worst 31.9% strikeout rate, those troubling trends have resulted in a .191/.257/.272 slash for Duvall, who has also already been tasked with playing more center field in 2022 than he had in his entire career to date.

Atlanta has already called up Michael Harris II, one of the sport’s fastest-rising outfield talents, and former top prospect Drew Waters is at least putting together respectable, if unexciting results in Triple-A. The Braves have also tinkered with catcher William Contreras in the outfield. Duvall has been MLB’s second-worst qualified hitter, by measure of wRC+, and it’s fair to wonder how long the leash will be.

Miguel Sano, Twins: Sano isn’t technically a free agent at season’s end, but barring a Herculean push to finish the season, it’s nearly impossible to fathom the Twins picking up a $14MM option on him. To Sano’s credit, he hit quite well from June through season’s end (.251/.330/.503, 21 homers, 21 doubles in 373 plate appearances), but he looked absolutely lost at the plate in 2022 before landing on the injured list due to a torn meniscus. Sano hit just .093/.231/.148 in 65 plate appearances.

When Sano does return, he’ll come back to a retooled roster that has seen versatile Luis Arraez rake while picking up regular at-bats at first base. Former No. 1 pick Royce Lewis is getting looks at third base and in left field — though Lewis is on the 10-day IL himself now — and top outfield/first base prospect Alex Kirilloff is hitting well in Triple-A following his return from a wrist injury.

The Twins can keep Sano in Triple-A for 20 days on rehab assignment when he’s ready, and they may want to do just that to give him a chance to show he can recapture some of his late 2021 form. But the clock on Sano’s three-year, $30MM deal is running out, and the first-place Twins have plenty of options to fill out the lineup. None of them have Sano’s raw power — almost no one in MLB does — but the big man’s ongoing contact issues tend to lead to protracted slumps like the one he slogged through earlier this year. If he can’t turn it around quickly upon his return, it’d be difficult to justify playing him over Arraez, Kirilloff and others.

Enrique Hernandez & Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox: Hernandez was a revelation in 2021 when he smacked 20 homers, hit .250/.337/.449, and delivered all-world defense in center field. But as good as year one of his $14MM contract was, the second and final campaign of that deal has been nightmarish. Hernandez is hitting .203/.269/.340 with a career-low hard-hit rate and exit velocity. He’s still playing great defense in center and helping shoulder the second base workload, but the offensive deficiency is glaring.

That’s also somewhat true of Bradley Jr., who returned to Boston after one ill-fated season in Milwaukee. To Bradley’s credit, he has actually picked up the pace quite a bit, hitting .291/.328/.491 since mid-May, but that surge still only brings his overall season line to .227/.284/.353. If Bradley can sustain some of this production, he’ll surely hang onto his roster spot, but it’s hard not to look at young Jarren Duran’s .309/.391/.523 output in Triple-A and start thinking of ways to insert him into the big league lineup. Duran struggled in his debut last year but is still a touted young prospect whom the Sox envision as a long-term building block.

Hernandez is earning $8MM this season. Bradley is on a $9.5MM salary and is still owed an $8MM buyout on a mutual option for the 2023 season.

Yuli Gurriel, Martin Maldonado & Jason Castro, Astros: Gurriel won a batting title and looked like one of the game’s best pure hitters in 2021, but he’s started his 2022 season with a woeful .223/.261/.361 performance through 176 plate appearances. His strikeout rate is up about four percentage points, while his walk rate has halved and his hard-contact numbers have plummeted. Gurriel is also chasing more pitches off the plate (36.4% in 2022, 29.8% in 2021) and making contact on pitches out of the zone at a far lower rate (74.5% in 2022, 81.9% in 2021).

Houston’s catchers, meanwhile, have been the least-productive in baseball. Maldonado has never been much of a hitter but is batting only .133/.208/.239 this season. Castro hasn’t even been able to match that, batting .104/.228/.146. If catching prospect Korey Lee weren’t enduring immense struggles of his own in Triple-A, a change might’ve already been made.

It seems unlikely that the Astros would cut bait on Gurriel, who’s been a prominent presence and one of the team’s most productive hitters since signing more than a half-decade ago. A reduced role is something they’ll have to consider if he can’t right the ship, however. The catchers seem far more vulnerable, and there figure to be some prominent names available on the trade market (Willson Contreras, most notably). That Houston is leading the AL West by 5.5 games despite having the least-productive catchers (29 wRC+) and 29th-ranked offensive output from its first basemen (74 wRC+) is both a testament to their pitching and indictment on the play of their divisional opponents thus far.

Gurriel is being paid $8MM in 2022, while Maldonado is earning a $5MM salary and Castro is at $3.5MM.

Andrew McCutchen, Brewers: Milwaukee added McCutchen on a one-year, $8MM contract this offseason with the idea of installing him as their primary designated hitter. McCutchen tormented the Brewers during his early years with the Pirates, which included an NL MVP win, but he’s hitting .214/.263/.312 to begin his tenure in Milwaukee. Even McCutchen’s typically outstanding production against lefties has gone up in smoke this year, as he’s managed a .196/.224/.391 slash against them.

Despite McCutchen’s ineffectiveness, the Brewers are leading the Majors in homers (70) and sit fifth in total runs scored (238). But if McCutchen, who’s hitless in six straight and has been 73% worse than average at the plate since a return from the Covid list (27 wRC+ in 57 plate appearances), can’t begin to show some signs of life, the Brewers could be on the lookout for some offensive help as the Aug. 2 trade deadline draws nearer.

Robbie Grossman & Tucker Barnhart, Tigers: Between Grossman, Austin Meadows and Victor Reyes, the Tigers have an entire outfield on the injured list. Underwhelming play from young options like Daz Cameron, Akil Baddoo and Derek Hill will probably extend Grossman’s leash, but he was hitting a career-worst .199/.311/.241 in 167 plate appearances prior to landing on the IL due to ongoing neck soreness. Grossman has a solid track record, but the Tigers will also want to get a look at top prospect Riley Greene soon, and they’re giving Kody Clemens an opportunity after a nice start down in Toledo.

Behind the plate, the Tigers are probably content with Barnhart’s glovework and leadership. There was talk of a potential extension after he was acquired, but a .229/.263/.257 start might have tempered that. Backup Eric Haase isn’t hitting enough to force a change, and the Tigers’ Triple-A catchers are journeymen Dustin Garneau and Ryan Lavarnway. They have a well-regarded prospect at Double-A in Dillon Dingler, but Barnhart shouldn’t be in imminent danger of losing his spot at this time.

Maikel Franco, Nationals: Franco is probably only in this everyday role because Carter Kieboom suffered an elbow injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery, but he hasn’t done much with his latest opportunity. The former Phillies, Royals and Orioles third baseman is hitting .258/.284/.374 (82 wRC+) through 208 plate appearances. The Nats have an ultra-thin farm system without much in the way of third base options in the upper minors, and they’re clearly not winning anything this year anyhow. That might keep Franco safe, but if an even semi-interesting option presents itself on the waiver wire, there’s little reason not to take a look.

Corey Dickerson, Cardinals: Prior to the 2022 season, Dickerson had never been worse than five percent below-average with the bat in any full year (by wRC+). That’s all but certain to change now, as the typically steady lefty has posted an uncharacteristic .183/.238/.215 slash in 101 plate appearances. For a lifetime .283/.327/.488 hitter who was coming off a solid 2021 campaign, it’s a rather astonishing swoon.

Dickerson has been in a platoon with Albert Pujols at DH for the most part, logging only 110 innings on defense in the outfield corners recently due to injuries elsewhere on the roster. He’s also only on a one-year, $5MM contract, so if he can’t find his swing in the near future, it’s easy to see the Cards giving more at-bats to Pujols’ long-shot chase for 700 home runs and to young standout Juan Yepez. Dickerson is safe for now with both Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson on the injured list, but he needs a hot streak sooner than later.

Mike Zunino, Rays: Zunino’s career-high 33 home runs from a year ago feel like a distant memory, as he’s off to a .147/.193/.294 start in 109 plate appearances in 2022. He’s still drawing excellent marks for his defensive contributions, which the Rays value heavily, but Zunino isn’t even hitting against lefties, whom he’s handled well throughout his career — particularly in recent seasons.

Backup Francisco Mejia isn’t hitting much himself, going just 6-for-42 without a walk over the past month or so. Were he producing at the plate, it’d be more tempting for Tampa Bay to significantly reduce Zunino’s playing time. The Rays do have 25-year-old Rene Pinto mashing in Triple-A, and he’s made his big league debut already this year. As with the Astros, however, the Rays are in firm win-now mode and entered the season with World Series aspirations. If the in-house options aren’t performing up to par, the trade market beckons.

Austin Hedges, Guardians: Hedges has never hit and has always been one of the game’s premier defensive players, so his 2022 season is nothing new. Still, a .155/.223/.282 output from your primary catcher is just difficult to stomach, no matter how strong the defense is. Veteran backup Luke Maile has hit well in a tiny sample of 35 plate appearances, but he’s a career .208/.264/.317 hitter himself.

Prospect Bryan Lavastida got a brief MLB cup of coffee in April and is hitting .225/.330/.360 so far in Triple-A. His performance will bear monitoring, because if the Guardians are intent on pulling into the playoff picture, Hedges’ production might be too light to overlook. And if they end up selling at the deadline, Hedges could draw interest from a team seeking a glove-first backup option — which could open a door for Lavastida.

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Atlanta Braves Boston Red Sox Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins MLBTR Originals New York Yankees St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Washington Nationals Adam Duvall Andrew McCutchen Austin Hedges Carlos Santana Corey Dickerson Enrique Hernandez Jackie Bradley Jr. Jason Castro Joey Gallo Maikel Franco Martin Maldonado Miguel Sano Mike Zunino Robbie Grossman Tucker Barnhart Yuli Gurriel

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Option Notes: Perez, Vazquez, Chafin

By Steve Adams | October 31, 2021 at 10:57pm CDT

Catcher Roberto Perez’s $7MM option for the 2022 season isn’t likely to be exercised by the Guardians, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes in his latest mailbag column. Set to turn 33 in December, Perez has long rated as one of the game’s premium defenders behind the dish and looked to have turned a corner at the plate in 2019, when he hit .239/.321/.452 with a career-high 24 home runs. However, he’s limped to a .155/.253/.277 slash with eight homers in 276 trips to the plate since. Perez has missed significant time over the past two seasons due to a pair of shoulder injuries and, earlier this year, a fractured ring finger. It’s certainly plausible that the shoulder and hand injuries contributed to his decline at the plate, but a budget-conscious Cleveland club doesn’t seem likely to bet $7MM on a rebound — particularly when the buyout is a relatively light $450K. Cleveland has a more affordable, similarly defensive-minded backstop already on the roster in arbitration-eligible Austin Hedges. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn a $3.8MM salary next season.

Some more notes on various contract options around the league…

  • The Red Sox hold a $7MM club option on catcher Christian Vazquez, but the price to retain their backstop was nearly a bit steeper. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo points out that Vazquez’s contract called for that option to rise to $8MM upon reaching 502 plate appearances, but he fell just four trips to the plate shy of that mark. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom spoke highly of Vazquez in his end-of-season press conference, telling reporters: “It’s a hard position to check all the boxes and you don’t take for granted when you have someone who has shown that he can do it.” The 31-year-old Vazquez hit .258/.308/.352 with plus defense behind the dish this season, and based on Bloom’s comments imply there’s a good chance he’ll be back in the fold next season as well.
  • Andrew Chafin’s one-year, $2.75MM deal with the Cubs was structured to include a $2.25MM salary plus a $500K buyout on a $5.25MM mutual option. The contract, however, also allowed Chafin to pick up a $125K bonus for reaching 50, 55, 60 and 65 games in 2021. Chafin was heavily used both by the Cubs and then by the Athletics following a trade, and he ultimately reached all four of those milestones while wearing an A’s jersey. As such, he’s now sitting on a $5.75MM option for next season. Chafin will have first say of whether to exercise his half of the option and could very well decline in search of a multi-year deal, which would render it a moot point. (He’d get the $500K buyout even if he declines.) If not, the fact that the option is now $500K more expensive makes it even tougher for the cost-conscious A’s pick up their end in what could be an offseason filled with tough financial decisions. Oakland also holds a $4MM club option on fellow southpaw Jake Diekman, which is effectively a net $3.25MM decision for the A’s, given its $750K buyout.
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Boston Red Sox Cleveland Guardians Notes Oakland Athletics Andrew Chafin Austin Hedges Christian Vazquez Jake Diekman Roberto Perez

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Indians Make Four Roster Moves

By Mark Polishuk | June 24, 2021 at 3:37pm CDT

The Indians announced a quartet of roster moves today, including the news that right-hander Aaron Civale has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 22) with a sprained middle finger on his throwing hand.  Also, catcher Ryan Lavarnway has been designated for assignment.  The two open roster spots will be taken by catcher Austin Hedges and right-hander Justin Garza — Hedges has been activated off the concussion-related injury list, while Garza’s contract was selected from Triple-A.

Civale is expected to be out of action for 4-to-5 weeks, in the latest blow to Cleveland’s injury-plagued rotation.  With Shane Bieber, Zach Plesac, and now Civale on the IL, the Tribe are missing their top three starters, leaving a makeshift starting five of very inexperienced pitchers tasked with keeping the team afloat in the AL Central race.

With several pitchers moving from the bullpen to fill these holes in the rotation, Garza gets the opportunity to make his MLB debut.  An eighth-round pick for the Tribe in the 2015 draft, Garza isn’t ranked by Baseball America or MLB Pipeline as a top-30 prospect in Cleveland’s farm system, but the righty has an 0.42 ERA over 21 1/3 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A this season.  This is Garza’s first season working exclusively as a reliever, and the result is an uptick in his strikeout rate (to an impressive 35.36%), though also a 15% walk rate.

Lavarnway signed a minor league deal with the Indians this past offseason, and his contract was selected from Triple-A last week when Hedges was placed on the concussion-IL.  Lavarnway played in four games, officially putting him in the books as appearing (if sparingly) in ten different Major League seasons.  The journeyman backstop has appeared in just 160 games total over those 10 seasons, suiting up for eight different teams at the big league level.

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Cleveland Guardians Transactions Aaron Civale Austin Hedges Justin Garza Ryan Lavarnway

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Indians Select Ryan Lavarnway

By Anthony Franco | June 17, 2021 at 10:47am CDT

The Indians announced they’ve placed catcher Austin Hedges on the seven-day concussion injured list. Veteran backstop Ryan Lavarnway has been selected to the roster to pair with René Rivera in Hedges’ absence. To create 40-man roster space for Lavarnway, Cleveland transferred outfielder Jordan Luplow from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Lavarnway, who’ll get the start behind the plate this afternoon against the Orioles, will be making his first MLB appearance of 2021. It’ll mark his fifth consecutive year getting big league time (and his tenth overall), each of the last five with a different club. Lavarnway has suited up for the A’s, Pirates, Reds and Marlins over the last four years, totaling fewer than twenty plate appearances at each stop. A quintessential third catcher, the 33-year-old has appeared for seven teams in total (the Indians will be his eighth) and hit .215/.272/.344 across 456 MLB plate appearances. He’s hit .258/.313/.551 in 97 trips to the dish this year with Triple-A Columbus.

Hedges missed yesterday’s game with an illness that now appears to be related to a concussion. This is the second time in his MLB career he’s gone on the concussion IL. The defensive specialist has hit just .144/.205/.240 so far this season.

Luplow has been on the injured list since May 27. His transfer rules him out for sixty days from the date of that original placement, so he’ll now be ineligible to return to the majors until late July. Before the injury, the 27-year-old had posted an odd, but fairly productive, .173/.331/.439 line (113 wRC+) with seven homers across 121 plate appearances. Luplow’s on-base and slugging percentages exceed the respective major league averages of .317 and .405 despite the low batting average.

President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti provided reporters (including Mandy Bell of MLB.com and Zack Meisel of the Athletic) updates on a few other injured players this morning. Designated hitter Franmil Reyes and catcher Roberto Pérez could begin minor league rehab assignments within the next week. Starter Zach Plesac, meanwhile, is slated to throw a bullpen session tomorrow and could embark on a rehab assignment of his own in the next couple weeks.

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Cleveland Guardians Transactions Austin Hedges Franmil Reyes Jordan Luplow Roberto Perez Zach Plesac

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Roberto Perez Undergoes Surgery To Repair Broken Finger

By Steve Adams | May 7, 2021 at 2:50pm CDT

2:50 PM: It appears the Indians will be without their starting catcher for quite some time. Manager Terry Francona told the media, including the Athletic’s Zack Meisel (Twitter links), that Cleveland expects Perez to be out for 8-10 weeks.

2:04 PM: Indians catcher Roberto Perez underwent surgery to repair the fractured ring finger on his right hand, tweets Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal. The team has yet to provide a timeline as to when Perez might be cleared to return to action, but Cleveland will now be without its top catcher for the foreseeable future.

Perez suffered the injury when he got crossed up with hard-throwing James Karinchak, and while he tried to play through the issue for awhile, he eventually was placed on the injured list earlier this week. He met with a specialist this week, Lewis notes, and clearly the surgical route wound up being the recommended course of treatment.

The injury initially occurred more than three weeks ago at a time when Perez was batting .238/.448/.524 with a pair of home runs through his first 29 plate appearances. Unsurprisingly, his bid to remain productive with a broken finger didn’t go particularly well; in 44 plate appearances since that time, Perez has just three hits and a dismal .075/.159/.175 slash.

Cleveland is temporarily losing one of the game’s best defensive catchers, although one of Perez’s primary competitors for that distinction is his own teammate, Austin Hedges. With Perez sidelined, Hedges figures to get the lion’s share of playing time. His bat isn’t likely to match that of a healthy Perez, as he’s mustered only a .118/.189/.294 output in 2021 and a .166/.243/.306 line overall dating back to 2019. Hedges’ glove, game-calling and framing should continue to work to the advantage of what is yet another high-quality Indians pitching staff, however.

That’s especially true given that he figures to share time with 37-year-old Rene Rivera, who was selected to the MLB roster to replace Perez. Rivera, a glove-first backstop himself, won’t provide much with the bat but will give Terry Francona another quality battery-mate for his pitchers.

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Cleveland Guardians Austin Hedges Rene Rivera Roberto Perez

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Players Avoiding Arbitration: 1/15/21

By Steve Adams and Connor Byrne | January 15, 2021 at 10:51am CDT

The deadline to exchange arbitration figures is today at 1pm ET. As of this morning, there were 125 arbitration-eligible players who’d yet to agree to terms on their contract for the upcoming 2021 season. Arbitration is muddier than ever before thanks to the shortened 2020 schedule, which most believe will lead to record number of arb hearings this winter. Be that as it may, it’s still reasonable to expect dozens of contractual agreements to filter in over the next couple of hours.

We’ll highlight some of the more high-profile cases in separate posts with more in-depth breakdowns, but the majority of today’s dealings will be smaller-scale increases that don’t radically alter a team’s payroll or a player’s trade candidacy. As such, we’ll just run through most of today’s agreements in this post.

I’ve embedded MLBTR’s 2021 Arbitration Tracker in the post (those in the mobile app or viewing on mobile web will want to turn their phones sideways). Our tracker can be sorted by team, by service time and/or by Super Two status, allowing users to check the status on whichever groups of players they like. You can also check out Matt Swartz’s projected arbitration salaries for this year’s class, and we’ll do a quick sentence on each player’s agreement at the bottom of this post as well, with the most recent agreements sitting atop the list.

Today’s Agreements (chronologically, newest to oldest)

  • Rockies outfielder Raimel Tapia avoided arbitration with a $1.95MM deal, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The team also reached an agreement for $805K with reliever Robert Stephenson, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • The Tigers have deals with infielder Jeimer Candelario ($2.85MM), outfielder JaCoby Jones ($2.65MM) and righty Jose Cisnero ($970K), Chris McCosky of the Detroit News relays.
  • The Yankees and reliever Chad Green settled for $2.15MM, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
  • The Marlins and lefty Richard Bleier have a deal for $1.425MM, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets.
  • The Dodgers reached a $3.6MM settlement with lefty Julio Urias, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports.
  • The Angels announced a deal with righty Dylan Bundy for $8.325MM.
  • The Tigers and southpaw Matthew Boyd have settled for $6.5MM, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News tweets.
  • The Yankees have deals with catcher Gary Sanchez ($6.35MM), first baseman Luke Voit ($4.7MM), third baseman Gio Urshela ($4.65MM), shortstop Gleyber Torres ($4MM) and outfielder Clint Frazier ($2.1MM), per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.
  • The Rays and outfielder Manuel Margot avoided arbitration with a $3.4MM agreement, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • The Padres and outfielder Tommy Pham have a deal for $8.9MM, according to Robert Murray of FanSided. Reliever Dan Altavilla settled for $850K, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets.
  • The Angels and righty Felix Pena have come to terms for $1.1MM, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.
  • The Red Sox and third baseman Rafael Devers have reached a $4.575MM agreement, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
  • The Mets and outfielder Brandon Nimmo have come to a $4.7MM agreement, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets.
  • The Reds and righty Luis Castillo have settled for $4.2MM, Robert Murray of FanSided relays.
  • The Rays reached a $2.25MM agreement with infielder Joey Wendle and a $1.175MM settlement with righty Yonny Chirinos, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
  • The Cardinals and flamethrowing reliever Jordan Hicks have an agreement for $862,500, according to Heyman.
  • The White Sox and ace Lucas Giolito avoided arbitration with a $4.15MM agreement, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
  • The Pirates and righty Joe Musgrove have reached an agreement for $4.45MM, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. They also made deals with second/baseman outfielder Adam Frazier ($4.3MM), third baseman Colin Moran ($2.8MM) righty Chad Kuhl ($2.13MM) and lefty Steven Brault ($2.05MM), per reports from Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Adam Berry of MLB.com.
  • Hard-throwing right-hander Reyes Moronta agreed to a $695K deal with the Giants after missing the 2020 season due to shoulder surgery, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Tigers agreed to a $2.1MM deal with infielder Niko Goodrum, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided. They also inked lefty Daniel Norris for a $3.475MM salary, tweets Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
  • The Pirates agreed to a $1.3MM deal with catcher Jacob Stallings and a $1.1MM deal with righty Chris Stratton, per Robert Murray of Fansided (Twitter links).
  • Athletics right-hander Lou Trivino agreed to a $912,500 salary for the 2021 season, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • Right-hander Richard Rodriguez and the Pirates agreed to a $1.7MM deal, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • Catcher Jorge Alfaro and the Marlins agreed to a $2.05MM deal, tweets Craig Mish of SportsGrid.
  • The Reds agreed to a $2.2MM deal with right-hander Tyler Mahle, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray. Cincinnati also signed lefty Amir Garrett for $1.5MM, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
  • The Indians agreed to a $2.4MM deal with newly acquired shortstop Amed Rosario and a $975K deal with righty Phil Maton, tweets Zack Meisel of The Athletic.
  • The Tigers and righty Buck Farmer settled at $1.85MM, tweets Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
  • The Marlins agreed to a $1.9MM deal with right-handed reliever Yimi Garcia, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

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  • The Mariners confirmed their deal with Crawford and announced that catcher Tom Murphy and righty Rafael Montero also agreed to one-year deals. Terms weren’t disclosed, though MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Montero will be paid $2.25MM.
  • The Phillies and first baseman Rhys Hoskins are in agreement on a $4.8MM salary for the 2021 season, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
  • The Royals got deals done with shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and right-hander Brad Keller, tweets Alec Lewis of the The Athletic. Mondesi will earn $2.525MM, while Keller gets $3.35MM.
  • The Padres agreed to a $4.2MM deal with breakout starter Dinelson Lamet, tweets Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
  • The Brewers announced that they’ve agreed to one-year deals with starter Brandon Woodruff and closer Josh Hader. Hader’s deal pays him $6.675MM, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Woodruff will earn $3.275MM, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Rockies and reliever Carlos Estevez agreed to a $1.45MM deal, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The D-backs avoided arb with all three of their eligible players, per The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (Twitter link). They have deals with catcher Carson Kelly, lefty Caleb Smith ($1.465MM) and righty Luke Weaver ($1.950MM).
  • The A’s have agreed to a $6.925MM deal with first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray. They also signed right-hander Frankie Montas at $1.8MM, Murray adds.
  • Rangers shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa agreed to a $2MM deal for the 2021 season, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
  • Righty Kyle Crick will earn $800K next season with the Pirates, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Tigers agreed to a $1.5MM deal with right-handed reliever Joe Jimenez, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • The Angels settled at $6.75MM with left-hander Andrew Heaney, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray. The Halos also inked catcher Max Stassi at $1.6MM, per Murray.
  • The Braves and lefty A.J. Minter agreed to a $1.3MM deal for 2021, tweets David O’Brien of The Athletic. Lefty Max Fried also inked a $3.5MM deal, tweets O’Brien.
  • The Phillies and newly acquired southpaw Jose Alvarado settled at $1MM, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Indians avoided arbitration with catcher Austin Hedges on a $3.28MM deal, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Athletics and third baseman Matt Chapman agreed at $6.49MM, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • Marlins third baseman Brian Anderson agreed to a $3.8MM salary, tweets SportsGrid’s Craig Mish.
  • Astros righty Lance McCullers Jr. will earn $6.5MM in 2021, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
  • The Athletics agreed to a $5.95MM deal with lefty Sean Manaea, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader agreed to a $2MM deal, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Rangers and slugger Joey Gallo settled on a $6.2MM salary, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • Athletics righty Chris Bassitt has agreed to a $4.9MM salary for the 2021 season, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Rockies and infielder Ryan McMahon settled at $2.375MM, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
  • The Orioles and Trey Mancini avoided arb by agreeing to a $4.75MM salary, tweets MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko.
  • The Rays and ace Tyler Glasnow have agreed to a $4MM salary for the 2021 season, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • Right-hander Reynaldo Lopez and the White Sox agreed to a $2.1MM salary, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • The Reds and outfielder Jesse Winker are in agreement on a $3.15MM deal for the 2021 season, tweets the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale.
  • Left-hander Kyle Freeland and the Rockies agreed to a one-year deal worth $5.025MM, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Padres and newly acquired catcher Victor Caratini settled at $1.3MM, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • The Reds and right-hander/center fielder Michael Lorenzen settled at $4.4375MM, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Blue Jays inked right-hander Ross Stripling to a $3MM deal, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • Righty Alex Reyes and the Cardinals agreed at $900K, tweets Robert Murray of Fansided.
  • The Astros agreed to a one-year, $3MM deal with utilityman Aledmys Diaz, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • Rockies right-hander Jon Gray has agreed to a $6MM contract, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Blue Jays and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez agreed to a $4.325MM salary for 2021, tweets Fansided’s Robert Murray.
  • The Padres and right-handed reliever Emilio Pagan settled at $1.57MM, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
  • Shortstop J.P. Crawford agreed to a $2.05MM contract with the Mariners, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
  • The Angels and right-hander Mike Mayers settled on a one-year, $1.2MM salary, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
  • Right-hander Vince Velasquez and the Phillies have agreed to a one-year, $4MM contract, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
  • The Mets signed righty Robert Gsellman to a one-year, $1.3MM contract to avoid arb, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • The Reds agreed to a one-year, $1.175MM deal with right-hander Noe Ramirez, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
  • The Mets and first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith are in agreement on a one-year, $2.55MM contract, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.s
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Additional Context On Padres’ Flurry Of Trades

By Steve Adams | September 3, 2020 at 10:57am CDT

The Padres were the most active buyer at the 2020 trade deadline — arguably of any trade deadline in recent history — reshaping their roster with additions of Mike Clevinger, Austin Nola, Trevor Rosenthal, Mitch Moreland and Jason Castro, among others. The dizzying sequence of additions hearkened back to the days when Matt Kemp labeled A.J. Preller a “rock star” GM during Preller’s frenetic first offseason on the job, but the biggest trades swung by the Padres over the weekend didn’t necessarily come together in straightforward fashion.

Preller, in fact, was informed Sunday evening that his Padres were “out” of the Clevinger bidding, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (via Twitter). The Indians told the Padres that they were sitting on a better offer and likely to proceed in another direction. That call prompted the club to reconvene and alter its package, ultimately adding infield prospect Owen Miller and catcher Austin Hedges early Monday morning. Those pieces put San Diego’s offer over the top, it seems, as word of Clevinger’s trade to the Friars was out several hours before the 4pm ET deadline.

Hedges and Miller, the final two pieces of the Padres’ six-player package, added quite a bit more near-term value to the arrangement. Hedges is considered one of the best defensive catchers (if not the best) in the game and is controlled through the 2022 season. The 23-year-old Miller has yet to make his big league debut, but he slashed .290/.355/.430 in a full season at the Double-A level last year while playing three infield positions. He’s in Cleveland’s player pool now and could conceivably be an option this month. If not, he’ll certainly be in consideration for a call to the big leagues come 2021. With Cesar Hernandez playing on a one-year deal, it’s possible that Miller could be in the mix for regular playing time next season.

But the Clevinger blockbuster wasn’t the only Friars swap that required some persistent iterations. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters after trading Nola, Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla to the Padres that he didn’t expect to trade Nola this summer (as opposed to Taijuan Walker, whom the M’s fully anticipated moving).

“They had called repeatedly on Austin Nola and we had repeatedly rebuffed that interest until the return just became too big for us to pass up in our minds,”  Dipoto said Monday (link via MLB.com’s Greg Johns).

The key element of the trade for the Mariners was getting both infielder Ty France and outfield prospect Taylor Trammell in the deal. Dipoto didn’t hide his affinity for either player, revealing that he’s contacted the Padres on France repeatedly over the past couple seasons and been similarly drawn to Trammell dating all the way back to the 2016 draft. “As many phone calls as A.J. made to me this last week about Austin Nola, I have made as many to him over the last couple of years regarding Ty France,” said Dipoto.

With Nola and Castro now on hand, the Padres have completely remade their catching tandem midseason, but changes could yet be coming. The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports (subscription required) that the club is contemplating a September promotion for 21-year-old Luis Campusano — a top-ranked catching prospect who was an in-demand piece himself at this year’s deadline. Per Lin, both the Indians and Rangers asked the Padres about Campusano in trade negotiations, but the Friars clearly weren’t inclined to include him in a deal. Cleveland initially sought Campusano and Luis Patino as centerpieces in the Clevinger deal, while the Rangers were interested in that pair as well as shortstop CJ Abrams when discussing Lance Lynn and Joey Gallo with the Padres.

The 21-year-old Campusano has yet to play above Class-A Advanced, but he tore through the pitcher-friendly California League last year, slashing .325/.396/.509 (148 wRC+). If the Padres do bring him up, they could rotate him, Nola and Castro through the catcher slot while maximizing Nola’s versatility with reps at any of first base, second base, third base or the outfield corners.

Suffice it to say, we could’ve seen any number of permutations of the Padres’ deluge of deals this past week. Such is the nature of a win-now team with a deep farm system. The club’s minor league system undoubtedly took a hit with this wave of trades, but San Diego also managed to hang onto the majority of its top-ranked prospects while clearly placing themselves in a better competitive position both now and into at least the 2022 season, after which Clevinger is scheduled to become a free agent.

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Cleveland Guardians San Diego Padres Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Austin Hedges Austin Nola Joey Gallo Lance Lynn Luis Campusano Luis Patino Mike Clevinger Owen Miller Taijuan Walker Taylor Trammell Ty France

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Padres Acquire Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen In Nine-Player Trade With Indians

By Steve Adams | August 31, 2020 at 11:50am CDT

Four trades in 48 hours wasn’t enough for Padres general manager A.J. Preller. The Padres announced Monday the acquisition of right-hander Mike Clevinger, outfielder Greg Allen and a player to be named later from the Indians in exchange for a six-player package of outfielder/first baseman Josh Naylor, catcher Austin Hedges, right-hander Cal Quantrill, minor league shortstop Gabriel Arias, minor league left-hands Joey Cantillo and minor league infielder Owen Miller.

Mike Clevinger | Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

When Summer Camp was booting back up, a trade sending Clevinger out of Cleveland at a time when the Indians sat atop the AL Central standings would’ve seemed far-fetched. The club had already dealt away Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber in the past 12 months, setting Clevinger up as a front-of-the-rotation workhorse.

Much has changed since that time, however. Clevinger drew ire from organizational higher-ups not only for breaking Covid-19 protocols but then taking a flight with the team rather than being forthcoming about his actions. That led to Clevinger being optioned to team’s alternate training site alongside Zach Plesac, who also violated protocols but was found to have done so before traveling with the club. Reports after the pair was optioned indicated that some teammates were so furious with the pair that they threatened to opt out of the season if Clevinger and Plesac were permitted to rejoin the club right away.

All the while, the Indians were receiving better-than-expected performances from other arms. Shane Bieber had already established himself as an above-average starter, but he’s ascended to bona fide Cy Young and MVP-caliber performance in the first month of play. Righty Aaron Civale has become the latest Cleveland pitching prospect to rise from obscurity to what looks like a high-end arm (3.72 ERA, 3.07 FIP in 46 innings). Carlos Carrasco is rounding back into form after last year’s frightening battle with leukemia. Triston McKenzie punched out 10 hitters in an electric MLB debut. And the aforementioned Plesac turned heads himself prior to being optioned (1.29 ERA, 24-to-2 K/BB ratio in 21 innings).

That hardly makes Clevinger expendable, but the Indians do seemingly have the depth to field a strong rotation even when subtracting one of the most talented pieces. And while Clevinger may have fallen out of favor a bit with the organization and/or teammates, there’s little denying that he is indeed among the game’s more talented arms. Dating back to 2017, the 29-year-old has compiled a 2.97 ERA and 3.43 FIP with averages of 10.2 strikeouts, 3.4 walks and 0.94 home runs allowed per nine innings pitched.

Beyond Clevinger’s high-end performance on the mound, his remaining club control only added to his allure among other clubs. He’s earning $4.1MM in 2020 — which prorates to about $1.48MM (with $617K yet to be paid) — and is controlled for an additional two seasons beyond the current campaign. For the Padres, that means that their rotation over the next two-plus seasons will feature a blend of Clevinger, Chris Paddack, Dinelson Lamet, MacKenzie Gore, Luis Patino and Zach Davies (though Davies is controlled only through 2021). It’s an enviable stockpile of arms — one that doesn’t even acknowledge the likes of Joey Lucchesi, Michel Baez and Adrian Morejon. Of course, some from that trio could yet be shipped out in trades to address other areas of need.

While Clevinger is the clear headliner of this deal — and perhaps of the entire 2020 trade deadline — he’s not the only piece going to San Diego. The Friars will also pick up four-plus years of control over the 27-year-old Allen. He’s out to a rough start in 2020 and has yet to really hit much in parts of four big league seasons, but Allen is a switch-hitting speedster with an above-average glove and experience at all three outfield spots.

He’s unlikely to push for a starting job, but Allen is a nice bench piece who can provide a late-inning jolt on the basepaths, a defensive upgrade or a more advantageous platoon matchup. He’ll need to improve upon a tepid .239/.295/.344 career slash if he’s to stick with the club into his arbitration years, but he won’t be arb-eligible until after the 2021 season, so he can be a solid reserve option next year at just north of the league minimum.

If Waldron is indeed the third piece headed to San Diego in the deal, he’s more of a long-term play than anything else. The 23-year-old was the Indians’ 18th-round pick in 2019 and posted a strong 2.96 ERA with a 57-to-4 K/BB ratio in 45 2/3 innings last year in his lone pro season. However, he did so as a college arm pitching at Rookie ball and Short-Season Class-A, where he was comfortably older than the majority of his competition. It’ll be much more telling to see how he performs against more advanced competition in 2021, but the early results are still of some note. Waldron wasn’t in the Indians’ pool, hence his inclusion as a PTBNL.

Turning to the Indians, they’ll get a high-volume return — but one that does not contain any of the Padres’ top-ranked prospects. It always seemed likely that for the Indians to move Clevinger, they’d need to acquire MLB-ready talent that can step right onto the roster. They’ll receive just that in Naylor, Hedges and Quantrill at the very least, and Miller probably isn’t too far behind.

Josh Naylor | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The 23-year-old Naylor was the No. 12 overall pick by the Marlins back in 2015 and was already traded once in the deal that sent Andrew Cashner from San Diego to Miami. He’s yet to cement himself as a big league regular but has fared quite well in the upper minors. The Padres haven’t exactly given Naylor an extended audition, but he’ll now presumably receive that in Cleveland. To this point in his career, Naylor is a .253/.315/.405 hitter in 317 MLB plate appearances. That’s not eye-catching production, but scouting reports have in the past credited him with plus-plus raw power and a potentially above-average hit tool. He hit .314/.389/.547 in Triple-A last year and .297/.383/.444 in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting a year prior.

Naylor’s long-term home on defense could be either left field or first base, but with Carlos Santana and Franmil Reyes currently occupying first and the DH slot, respectively, Naylor seems likely ticketed for left field. In some ways, this is reminiscent of Cleveland’s bet on first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers, but the club will hope for better results out of Naylor than they’ve received from Bauers so far. There’s certainly everyday upside present with Naylor, who can be controlled all the way through 2025, but it does seem a bit surprising that Cleveland brass didn’t focus on a more established young hitter.

Also going to Cleveland is Hedges, a 28-year-old defensive standout who has never provided much offense in the big leagues. The former top prospect has shown a bit of pop — career-high 18 homers in 2018 — but in total owns just a .199/.257/.359 slash through 1339 trips to the plate with San Diego. He’s obviously not a clear upgrade over Roberto Perez, but the Indians now possess two of the game’s very best defenders behind the dish.

Hedges, in fact, is widely regarded as MLB’s premier defensive catcher. Hedges was MLB’s best pitch framer in 2019, per Statcast, and has graded out at elite levels in that regard in each season of his career. He’s also thwarted 32 percent of stolen-base attempts against him while consistently drawing above-average marks for his pitch blocking abilities at Baseball Prospectus. Hedges is controlled through the 2022 season.

Quantrill, 25, brings another former first-round pick (eighth in 2016) and top prospect to the Indians organization. He’s shined in 17 1/3 frames as a multi-inning reliever in 2020 (five runs, 18-to-6 K/BB ratio), but he also struggled in a rotation role a year ago.

Quantrill has a low-spinning sinker (which is good for a sinker, as opposed to a four-seamer, where high spin is preferred) and has generally limited hard contact well, per Statcast. He may not have found his groove yet in the big leagues, but the Indians develop more quality arms than the vast majority of teams in the league. Getting their hands on a former top pick who was once a rather well-regarded prospect could yet yield some strong results, and Quantrill, like Naylor, is controllable through 2025.

Among the pure prospects headed to the Indians in this deal, Cantillo and Arias are regarded a bit more highly than Miller, though all three rank firmly in the middle ranks of an absolutely stacked farm system. Cantillo, 20, was a 16th-round pick in 2017 who has elevated his stock with a strong showing to this point in his pro career. He split last season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, working to a combined 2.26 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that he’s currently tracking as a back-end starter but has a projectable frame that could allow for further growth and add some extra life to his pitches.

Arias, also 20, is regarded as an elite defender at short with some questions about his abilities at the plate. Baseball America ranked him ninth in the deep Padres system, praising his surprising raw power but noting that his current inability to lay off breaking balls out of the strike zone leads to untenable strikeout numbers. Arias is young, though, and he hit .302/.339/.470 in Class-A Advanced last year, so the tools are clearly there. Depending on how the bat progresses, he has everyday upside at shortstop.

Miller, 23, plays second base, shortstop and third base, and he turned in a solid .290/.355/.430 showing in a very tough Double-A setting last year. Miller has hit at every minor league stop and struck out at just a 15.4 percent rate in Double-A last season. MLB.com tabs him as a potential regular at second base, citing an arm that doesn’t quite play as a regular shortstop, or a utility man who can play three infield spots with a quality bat. He’s yet to make his big league debut, but Miller is the closest of the three minor leaguers in this deal.

We might not see a more franchise-altering deal than this at the 2020 deadline. For the Indians, it’s the type of trade fans are used to, painful as it might be. They’ll shed a player whose arbitration salary is on the rise and replace him with a bevy of young talent — a luxury that was possible due to the team’s superlative record in terms of developing starting pitching. They’re still in the driver’s seat as far as a potential postseason berth goes, but the club is quite likely weaker for the balance of the 2020 campaign. The long-term benefits should help the club sustain its long run of contending seasons in the AL Central, but that’ll be more of a challenge in and of itself as each of the White Sox, Tigers and Royals near the end of arduous rebuilding efforts.

The addition of Clevinger to an already formidable Padres rotation mix only further solidifies them as a win-now club for the foreseeable future, and they’re now a clear-cut postseason favorite in the NL. And unlike the last time the Padres went on an aggressive win-now tear, the Padres have the young foundation necessary — fronted by superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. —  to support their recent wave of high-profile veteran acquisitions. They’ve completed a dizzying five trades since the weekend began — including a seven-player swap with Seattle last night — to remake an already strong club. The “Rock Star” GM is back, it seems, and the Padres certainly appear to be positioned better than they have been at any time in Preller’s tenure.

Ryan Spaeder reported last night that a deal sending Clevinger to Padres was in the works, though as of last evening he’d heard of some potential holdups in the deal. Robert Murray first reported that the deal was done (via Twitter). MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, ESPN’s Jeff Passan, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller all broke varying elements of the other players involved in the deal (all links to Twitter).

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Cleveland Guardians Newsstand San Diego Padres Transactions Austin Hedges Cal Quantrill Gabriel Arias Greg Allen Joey Cantillo Josh Naylor Matt Waldron Mike Clevinger Owen Miller

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Padres Acquire Jason Castro From Angels

By George Miller | August 30, 2020 at 11:06pm CDT

11:06PM: The trade has been officially announced by both teams.

5:21PM: Right-hander Gerardo Reyes is going to Los Angeles as the return for Castro, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell reports (Twitter link).  The hard-throwing Reyes has 26 MLB innings on his resume, posting a 7.62 ERA, 13.2 K/9, and 3.45 K/BB over 26 innings for San Diego in 2019.  Advanced metrics painted a much more favorable picture of Reyes’ performance, however, as he was hurt by a stunningly low 47.3% strand rate.

3:27PM: The Padres have acquired catcher Jason Castro from the Angels, confirms Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The 33-year-old veteran had been scratched from today’s game due to mounting trade interest, as first reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

The return headed to the Angels in the deal is not yet known. More than likely, it won’t be a significant haul for the Halos, given that Castro is due to hit free agency at season’s end, making him essentially a one-month rental.

Castro will head to San Diego to complement Austin Hedges in the Padres’ catching mix. The move represent more win-now aggression on San Diego’s part; they’ve been busy this trade season, already making deals for reliever Trevor Rosenthal and first baseman Mitch Moreland this weekend.

The former Astro enjoyed something of a revitalizing season with the Twins last year, with his .767 OPS representing his highest single-season mark since 2013. That was fueled by a nice power surge, as Castro slugged 13 home runs in just 275 plate appearances.

That production hasn’t quite been there this season, as Castro’s batting average has slumped below .200 and his OPS is down to .707, but we ought to be careful not to rush to conclusions given that he’s made just 62 plate appearances. He’s hitting the ball just as hard as last year while getting on base at a solid clip thanks to a 16.1% walk rate. Interestingly, he’s hitting the ball in the air more than ever, so the jury’s still out on the merits of that development.

As a result, the Angels rewarded Castro with a one-year, $6.85MM contract in the winter. Unfortunately, he only wound up playing 18 games for the Halos before being shipped out. He’ll be owed just a bit more than $1MM for the remainder of the season.

In San Diego, he’ll offer a nice alternative to the defensive-minded Hedges, who’s working with a mere .614 OPS for the year. He’s probably more capable offensively than both Hedges and incumbent backup Francisco Mejia, who’s currently on the injured list. Needless to say, there will be a bit of a defensive drop-off from Hedges to Castro, the latter of whom logged above-average framing numbers a season ago but is getting somewhat negative returns thus far in 2020.

Castro’s presence will likely squeeze the young Mejia out of some at-bats, but the Padres will be happy to bring aboard a veteran of Castro’s ilk as they gear up for a postseason run in 2020, shifting their focus away from development and towards winning.

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Los Angeles Angels Newsstand San Diego Padres Transactions Austin Hedges Gerardo Reyes Jason Castro Mitch Moreland Trevor Rosenthal

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Quick Hits: COVID-19, Red Sox, Catching, Rays, Meadows Extension Talks

By TC Zencka | March 8, 2020 at 4:30pm CDT

Commissioner Rob Manfred has a conference call planned with MLB owners on Monday to discuss the coronavirus, but all indications point to the season opening as planned, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich. MLB has been in contact with the CDC, and each team has a specified point person in charge of their specific situations. Locker room protocol across the North American sports landscape has been adjusted to help protect players from COVID-19, and fan access to players has also been limited as a precaution (though some players have prepared pre-signed autographs for fans at spring games). In Italy, all sporting events are planned to move forward without fans present, and the NBA has begun preparations for such a circumstance as well. As of right now, MLB plans to have fans present as the regular season kicks off at the end of March, but a lot can obviously change over the next three weeks.

  • In non-virus news, catchers around the league are giving umpires a better view to call balls and strikes by receiving from a knee instead of the traditional crouch, per Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Christian Vazquez employed the stance for the Red Sox some last year, and the returns were good. He finished fifth in statcast’s Runs from Extra Strikes metric, trailing only Roberto Perez, Yasmani Grandal, Tyler Flowers and Austin Hedges, the latter of whom led the field by a substantial margin. Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke notes that receiving from a knee makes it tougher to block pitches, but the premium placed on stealing strikes makes the tradeoff worth it on the whole. 
  • In contract news, the Rays and Austin Meadows have begun preliminary discussions about a potential extension, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Both sides are open to the possibility, though talks have not yet reached the exchange-of-numbers stage. After a monster 2019, Meadows won co-MVP honors for the team and proved himself a key offensive cog moving forward. Meadows slashed .291/.364/.558 with 33 home runs and 89 RBIs (142 wRC+) in 2019. Locking up the soon-to-be 25-year-old would certainly be a boon for an organization ever-mindful of its financial limitations.
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Boston Red Sox Discussion Notes Tampa Bay Rays Austin Hedges Austin Meadows Christian Vazquez Marc Topkin Rob Manfred Ron Roenicke

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