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Burke Badenhop

Reds Sign Burke Badenhop, Designate Ismael Guillon

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1:03pm: Badenhop will earn $50K for reaching 45 appearances, $100K for 50 appearances and another $100K for 55 appearances, reports WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. He’s made 63 or more appearances in each of the past three seasons, making those bonuses seem highly attainable.

12:02pm: MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon adds (via Twitter) that Badenhop can earn up to $250K via performance bonuses.

11:45pm: Grantland’s Jonah Keri reports that Badenhop is guaranteed $2.5MM, as he’ll earn $1MM in 2015 and has a $1.5MM buyout on a $4MM mutual option for the 2016 season (Twitter links).

11:33pm: The Reds announced today that they have signed right-hander Burke Badenhop to a one-year contract with a mutual option for the 2016 season. Lefty Ismael Guillon has been designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

The contract should serve as a fine birthday present for Badenhop, who turns 32 years old tomorrow. The ground-ball specialist has been quietly excellent over the past three seasons despite being traded twice in that time, posting a combined 2.90 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a 55.3 percent ground-ball rate. Badenhop, a client of ACES, has totaled 195 1/3 innings over that three-year stretch, spending one season each with the Rays, Brewers and Red Sox.

Badenhop was one of the top remaining arms on a relief market that still features right-handers Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Soriano and Joba Chamberlain. He’ll slot into a bullpen that features lights-out closer Aroldis Chapman, setup man Sam LeCure and lefties Sean Marshall and Manny Parra. Reds fans looking to get to know their newest reliever can check out the MLBTR Podcast from Oct. 30, in which Badenhop himself was a guest and chatted with host Jeff Todd. Badenhop was an excellent interview, sharing insightful answers about his strengths and weaknesses as well as his knowledge of advanced metrics and experiences from pitching in multiple roles out of the bullpen.

As for Guillon, the soon-to-be 23-year-old has struggled over the past two seasons at two Class-A levels, pitching to a combined 4.82 ERA with 248 strikeouts against 150 walks in 244 2/3 innings of work. He ranked among Baseball America’s Top 30 Reds prospects following the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons, topping out at No. 9. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel recently pegged him 21st among Reds farmhands, noting that his changeup is a 60-65 on the 20-80 scale, but his curve is below average, and his upside comes with maddening inconsistency. One Reds source described Guillon as a “pull your hair out kind of guy” to McDaniel, who noted that Guillon would be an intriguing waiver pickup should Cincinnati part ways with him.

Latest On Blue Jays’ Search For Relief Pitching

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The Blue Jays are “in contact” with the representatives of multiple top free agent relievers, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. Among them are righties Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Soriano, and Burke Badenhop.

With former Jays closer Casey Janssen now headed to the Nationals, Toronto officially must look elsewhere to build out its pen. The three names listed above are arguably the top three arms remaining, though several other options remain as well.

GM Alex Anthopoulos said earlier today that he is looking for many different ways to add talent to the relief corps, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports. As things stand, Brett Cecil and Aaron Sanchez are perhaps the top two candidates to hold down the ninth inning, and Toronto is not sending signals that it feels an established closer is a necessity.

Payroll may be the driving factor at this point, writes Nicholson-Smith. With perhaps $5MM to $6MM in 2015 spending capacity remaining, that makes trade candidate Jonathan Papelbon a questionable fit. “When you see us linked to a player for days and days and back and forth, I’d say 9.9 times out of 10 there probably isn’t anything to it,” Anthopoulos said. “I can say we’re not going to be in the market for relievers making $10-plus million or more.”

Otherwise, Anthopoulos indicated that the team was in an opportunistic mode after getting a lot of work done earlier in the winter. “Most times the later you get in to the winter there’s potential for the prices to change on some of these guys,” he noted. One internal wild card, catcher Dioner Navarro, remains available in trade but seems destined to remain with the Jays unless a suitable offer comes in.

Blue Jays, Nationals In Contact With Burke Badenhop

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The Blue Jays and Nationals are among the teams that have been in touch with the representatives for free agent righty Burke Badenhop, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Badenhop’s most recent employer, the Red Sox, were said to have interest earlier in the offseason and are apparently still in the market for relievers.

Badenhop, 31, has been one of the game’s more consistently productive middle relievers over the past several seasons. Since the start of the 2012 season, he has logged 195 1/3 innings of 2.90 ERA ball with a 3.40 FIP to support it. The 6’5 sinkerballer has long been a groundball machine, and last year reached a personal high with a 61% GB%.

With several useful righties still floating around, that market is one of the more intriguing remaining story lines in this free agent cycle. As Badenhop himself recently explained to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, that group of pen arms is waiting for a domino to fall. “[T]here are teams that want me to be on their team,” said Badenhop. “But there’s just no incentive for Team No. 1 to fire the first shot because they know if Team No. 5 fires the first shot we’ll eventually get a hold of Team No. 1.”

Quick Hits: Nationals, Axford, Badenhop

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Here’s the latest from around the league as the evening winds down.

  • With Ben Zobrist headed west to the Athletics, the Nationals are still trying to solve second base, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Currently, there are five internal options. The most obvious are Danny Espinosa and Anthony Rendon. Espinosa has disappointed over the last two seasons while Rendon is expected to start at third base. Prospect Wilmer Difo has yet to play above A-ball, but he’s on the 40-man roster and possesses exciting tools. Other options include veterans Kevin Frandsen and Dan Uggla.
  • Free agent John Axford would like to compete for a closer gig, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. As it happens, the Blue Jays have yet to acquire a closer. Left-hander Brett Cecil is penciled into the role. At this point, no offers have been made to Axford, but several teams have shown interest including the Jays. After three consecutive rough seasons, Axford would likely have to earn any high leverage role.
  • The market for mid-tier, high leverage relievers has been slow to materialize, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Bradford interviews righty reliever Burke Badenhop who is coming off a career season with a 2.29 ERA in over 70 innings. As Badenhop points out, teams don’t feel any pressure to make the first offer to free agents of his caliber. While five teams may be showing interest, they each know that any firm offer will get passed around to the others for bidding. Relievers like Badenhop, Francisco Rodriguez, and Rafael Soriano have to exercise patience as prospective buyers first gauge the trade market.

Quick Hits: Leake, Craig, Liriano, Masterson

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Reds pitcher and regular MLBTR reader Mike Leake keeps track of offseason trade whispers but tries not to worry about them, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes.  “I’m curious. I check MLB Trade Rumors every day just to see what’s new,” says Leake, a potential trade candidate this winter. “There’s nothing you can do about it. You sit and wait and see if your name is thrown in a trade.” Leake notes that he would be happy to remain with the Reds, but would be understanding if they traded him.

  • If the Red Sox decide to deal Allen Craig, there will be interest despite his poor 2014 season, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  The Marlins and Brewers have had interest in the past, and one evaluator expresses confidence that Craig’s performance last season was derailed by injuries and not by a steep decline in ability.
  • Also from Cafardo, Francisco Liriano would be a good fit in either the NL or AL, but teams are concerned about giving him more than a three-year deal since he’s never been an innings-eater.  The Pirates remain interested in retaining him but not on a four-year contract.  Some executives feel the “tipping point” of Liriano’s market will be if at least one team is willing to give that fourth year, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets.
  • Liriano is one of the Pirates’ top targets, sources tell Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  • Justin Masterson has received a lot of interest but no actual offers yet, Fangraphs’ David Laurila reports.  Laurila suggested in a recent column that Masterson could be a good candidate to be converted to relief pitching, though no teams have approached him with that idea and Masterson wouldn’t be interested if they did.
  • Also from Laurila’s piece, he talks to Burke Badenhop and the righty reliever said he felt he improved his free agent stock by posting strong numbers against left-handed batters in 2014.
  • Ichiro Suzuki’s market is “not hot,” agent John Boggs tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).  Boggs is trying to push his client’s ability to play all three outfield spots and a bat that delivered a .284 average in 2014, hoping that teams won’t shy away because Ichiro is entering his age-41 season.
  • It would be surprising if the Rockies pulled off a blockbuster deal involving Troy Tulowitzki or Carlos Gonzalez during the Winter Meetings, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes.  “If I was a betting man, I sure wouldn’t put down money on a trade,” a Major League executive tells Saunders.  The likeliest scenario is that neither player is traded (if at all) until they’ve proven they’re healthy.

AL East Notes: Robertson, Headley, Happ, Tomas

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In a text message to George A. King III of the New York Post, David Robertson says things are “quiet on the front” in terms of a multiyear contract with the Yankees or receiving a qualifying offer from the team.  The Yankees are expected to extend the QO to Robertson and the closer is very likely to reject it given the interest in his services.  At least six clubs are interested in Robertson this winter, a league source tells Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • The Yankees have begun talks with Chase Headley, CBSSports.com’ Jon Heyman reports.  New York has exclusive negotiating rights with Headley until 11pm CT tonight, though it would be quite surprising to see a deal reached before Headley has had a chance to test the thin free agent market.
  • Blue Jays southpaw J.A. Happ is “generating lots of interest” in trades, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports.  Happ enjoyed a solid 2014 season and had his $6.7MM option for 2015 exercised by the Jays on Friday.  With the newly-acquired Marco Estrada now in the rotation mix, Happ could be expendable.
  • Earlier today, Sportsnet.ca’s Jeff Blair reported that the Blue Jays have had internal discussions about Russell Martin.  In that same item, Blair notes that Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos might look to act quickly this offseason rather than wait for deals to develop.  The latter strategy left the Jays largely empty-handed last winter.  Toronto has already dealt Adam Lind to Milwaukee, a trade that Blair feels doesn’t make much sense for the Jays unless a follow-up move is forthcoming.
  • The Orioles don’t seem to have interest in trading or non-tendering Chris Davis, MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski reports, though the first baseman will have much to atone for in Baltimore following his disappointing 2014 season.
  • Though the Orioles currently have six legitimate rotation candidates on the roster, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko expects the club to add pitching depth by signing at least one veteran to a minor league deal.
  • Jay Alou, Yasmany Tomas’ agent, tweeted that his client worked out at the Red Sox academy in the Dominican Republic over the weekend.  While the Sox have had some interest in Tomas in the past, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford hears that the workout was arranged “partly out of convenience, with Tomas needing a place in the area to continue his preparation.”  It would be a surprise to see Boston sign Tomas given that the Sox already have an outfield surplus.
  • The Red Sox are in need of a top left-hander for the bullpen, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes.  Bringing back Andrew Miller would be the best option, though he’ll be heavily courted by several teams and the Sox may not be able to win a bidding war.
  • Silverman thinks the Red Sox and Burke Badenhop could quickly come to terms on a new contract.  The righty reliever posted a 2.29 ERA in 70 2/3 IP with Boston in 2014.

East Notes: Blue Jays, Badenhop, Marlins

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The Blue Jays’ offseason agenda could include re-signing Melky Cabrera, acquiring a second or third baseman (for whichever position Brett Lawrie doesn’t play) and pursuing relief help, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star writes. The Jays are likely to extend Cabrera a qualifying offer and be proactive in trying to sign him. They’ll also need to patch up a bullpen that struggled this year and is likely to lose Casey Janssen to free agency. Pursuing starting pitching probably will not be a top priority, Kennedy suggests. Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • Red Sox manager John Farrell says he would like his team to re-sign reliever Burke Badenhop, WEEI.com’s Alex Speier tweets. Badenhop posted a stellar 2.33 ERA in his first season with the Sox, albeit with less inspiring peripheral numbers (5.0 K/9, 2.5 BB/9). He pitched reasonably well in the Marlins, Rays and Brewers bullpens before joining the Red Sox via trade last November.
  • The Marlins have shown interest in Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas and second baseman Hector Olivera but are unlikely to seriously pursue either, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes. Tomas will be expensive, and the Marlins already have a strong trio of outfield starters. Olivera is older and doesn’t have Tomas’ star power, so the Marlins could simply depend on Donovan Solano and Enrique Hernandez at second base instead.

Red Sox Notes: Betts, Badenhop, Middlebrooks, Staff

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The Red Sox have accumulated a large number of outfielders and will be on the hunt for starting pitching this offseason, meaning the club could deal from its surplus to address its weak pitching. However, in a piece for FOX Sports, Dave Cameron writes that the Sox shouldn’t consider parting with Mookie Betts (who will frequently be asked for in trade scenarios), even if it means acquiring a front-line starter. Betts’ elite contact rate and low chase rate illustrate that he’s a player who knows his limitations (i.e. he won’t for huge power in the Majors), Cameron explains. He likens Betts to a number of players who fall into that same mold and ultimately concludes that Betts has the makings of a young Ben Zobrist — a strong all-around player with enough defensive versatility that he could be a regular without ever having a set position. Given the frequency with which pitchers are breaking down, betting on Betts’ athleticism and versatility might make more sense than trading him for an arm, in Cameron’s mind.

Here are some more Red Sox items…

  • WEEI.com’s Alex Speier spoke with right-hander Burke Badenhop about his unlikely journey to free agency. Badenhop recalls at one point, shortly before he was drafted, weighing a job offer that would have paid him $45,000 a year against the possibility of pursuing his Major League dream. (He notes that he was never interested in pursuing a career as a minor leaguer — “I wanted to play Major League Baseball.”) Badenhop took a $1,000 bonus with the Tigers after a poor pre-draft workout and carved out a role in the Marlins’ bullpen after being sent to Miami in the Miguel Cabrera trade. Badenhop is realistic about his offseason value, noting that some teams may prefer to go with a minor leaguer in his middle-inning role, but he feels some find value in the certainty he could bring. “If you’re signing me to be the best reliever in your ’pen, you’re probably maybe a little misguided,” he told Speier. “But you shouldn’t sign me to be the worst guy in your ’pen, either. Somewhere in the middle. That’s where I want to be.”
  • Manager John Farrell feels that Will Middlebrooks’ struggles aren’t solely due to a nagging hand injury, writes Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. “I don’t think he’s been limited any (more) than other players that deal with nagging ailments over the course of a full season,” said Farrell. McAdam writes that the Sox are frustrated with Middlebrooks’ unwillingness to commit to playing winter ball, and his spot on next year’s roster appears in jeopardy. In Thursday’s edition of his ESPN Insider-only blog, Buster Olney writes that it makes little sense for Middlebrooks to decline, as without a strong winter ball showing, he’d likely need a monster Spring Training to force his way onto the roster. Otherwise, he could be ticketed for a large portion of time with Triple-A Pawtucket next season.
  • GM Ben Cherington spoke with Jen McCaffery of MassLive.com and noted that the Sox have received inquiries from multiple clubs about having their front office personnel and members of their coaching staff interview with other clubs. Cherington wouldn’t comment on specifics “out of respect for other teams,” but noted that he supported VP of player personnel Allard Baird as a candidate for the D’Backs GM opening: “They asked permission to talk to him and they talked to him. I would certainly support that because he’s an exceptional baseball executive and I’m sure they’ll have good choices but he would certainly be a good choice.”

Red Sox Rumors: Bogaerts, Cespedes, Cherington

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Red Sox GM Ben Cherington chatted with reporters just minutes ago and it’s no surprise to hear his admission that the club was not expecting Xander Bogaerts to struggle to this extent in 2014 (via Tim Britton of The Providence Journal on Twitter).    Still just 21, Bogaerts has slashed .226/.293/.339 in 472 plate appearances this season.  Earlier this week, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote that the struggles of Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. have left many around the game wondering how good each player truly is.    Here’s more out of Boston..

Stark’s Latest: Lester, Miller, Byrd, Kemp, Danks, Rios

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With roughly three days until the non-waiver trade deadline, here are some highlights from the latest Rumblings & Grumblings column by ESPN’s Jayson Stark…

  • The Red Sox have contacted every contending team in each league and told them that Jon Lester is available for a two- to three-prospect package fronted by at least one upper-echelon prospect. One executive, however, tells Stark that the Sox simply can’t get as much as the Rays would get if they moved David Price, which isn’t surprising, given Lester’s impending free agency and the remaining year of control that Price has.
  • Lester isn’t the only player being shopped — Boston has firmly planted a “for sale” sign in the ground, and they’re willing to move any impending free agents with the exception of Koji Uehara, whom they hope to re-sign. They’re peddling Andrew Miller, Burke Badenhop, Stephen Drew, Jonny Gomes and Craig Breslow. The price for Miller is also exorbitant at this time, however, as officials from two interested clubs tell Stark that Boston has asked for one of the top prospects plus a lesser prospect.
  • The Giants have asked the Phillies about Marlon Byrd, but their main priority is second base. The Reds are reassessing their stance after losing eight of nine games, and the Royals have backed off of Byrd. The Mariners appears to be the most logical option, but Byrd still wants his $8MM 2016 vesting option guaranteed to approve a trade there.
  • Byrd tells Stark that he’d have to think long and hard if GM Ruben Amaro Jr. came to him and asked him to approve a trade to a team on his no-trade clause. While his hope was to retire a Phillie, he  appreciates how aggressive Amaro was in signing him. “[Ruben] made it easy for me this offseason,” he said. Still, given the odds that he’d want some form of perk to approve a trade, it’s no longer certain that he gets dealt.
  • While the Red Sox and Mariners have been connected to Matt Kemp, officials from other clubs tell Stark they feel an offseason trade is much more likely than an in-season deal.
  • The White Sox have had scouts watching the Yankees’ surplus of minor league catchers in recent weeks, fueling speculation that the Yanks would like to acquire John Danks.
  • Some officials believe the Yankees would like to find a right-handed hitting platoon partner to pair with Ichiro in Suzuki in right field. New York wants an option that doesn’t have commitments beyond 2014, making names like Justin Ruggiano of the Cubs and Chris Denorfia of the Padres as possible targets. Earlier today it was reported that Denorfia could be moved soon.
  • The Royals have decided that Alex Rios isn’t a good fit for their right field need. Because the team is unable to take on much additional salary (if any), they could wait until August to add a bat.
  • While Troy Tulowitzki’s name has had a lot of buzz around it, club officials from interested teams tell Stark there’s no indication he is available. Rather, the Rockies are open to moving bullpen arms Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers, LaTroy Hawkins and Matt Belisle. However, the team would only move Hawkins if they’re overwhelmed. That seems a bit odd, given his age, but Hawkins does have a cheap club option and has drawn praise in Denver for his mentoring of younger talent.
  • The D’Backs are telling clubs that they’d move Addison Reed, but they don’t want to move Brad Ziegler. Arizona is also willing to move Aaron Hill and Oliver Perez. They’ll listen on Martin Prado and Josh Collmenter, although they’re more hesitant to deal them.
  • The chances of Cliff Lee being traded before August are almost nonexistent. Scouts who have seen him don’t think he looks close to healthy, and the money he’s owed is of course problematic.
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