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Quick Hits: Greinke, Cron, Hughes, Allen, Miller

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“It’s possible this is the Diamondbacks’ last, best chance to get real value for [Zack] Greinke,” Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes in a piece detailing the team’s difficult position this winter.  With Greinke still owed $138.5MM through 2021 and taking up an inordinately large piece of Arizona’s payroll, the D’Backs are hard-pressed to to augment a roster that made a surprise run to the NLDS last year.  Dealing Greinke may be the better long-term move, though it would hurt the team’s chances of capitalizing on its sudden contender status.  Greinke had a down year in 2016 and just turned 34 in October, so it isn’t quite clear if his big 2017 season represented a return to form or perhaps a last hurrah before he begins to decline.  The Yankees, Rangers, and Phillies have all checked in on Greinke this winter, so there’s certainly interest if Greinke was made available, though GM Mike Hazen will have a tough needle to thread in finding an acceptable trade match in both salary coverage and MLB-ready talent coming back to Arizona.

Here’s more from around baseball…

  • C.J. Cron has been the subject of trade speculation, though if the Angels do try to deal the first baseman, MLB.com’s Maria Guardado doesn’t expect it to happen prior to Spring Training.  Los Angeles will want to see if Albert Pujols is a viable option to regularly play first base, as the plan is for Pujols to spend time in the field so Shohei Ohtani can get some DH at-bats.  Pujols’ history of foot problems, however, means that Cron (and Luis Valbuena) could be necessary depth pieces for the Halos.
  • While the Reds were looking for one-year deals for relievers, they were comfortable enough with Jared Hughes’ track record to sign the righty to a two-year deal, general manager Dick Williams tells Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Williams feels Hughes adds some needed veteran experience to a Reds bullpen that struggled badly in 2017, and the GM didn’t close the door on his team acquiring another veteran reliever before the winter is over.
  • The Indians will face a tall order in trying to extend Cody Allen or Andrew Miller before either reliever hits free agency next winter, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes as part of a reader mailbag.  Allen is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, while Miller is finishing up the four-year, $36MM deal he originally signed with the Yankees in December 2014.  Given the large contracts that relievers have been landing this offseason, a smaller-payroll team like Cleveland doesn’t seem like a candidate to re-sign either pitcher, nor to spend the big money it would take to get Allen or Miller to forego the open market and ink an extension.

Indians Avoid Arbitration With Cody Allen

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The Indians and closer Cody Allen have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $7.35MM, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Allen is a client of Meister Sports.

Allen, 28, is coming off an outstanding year in which he pitched to a 2.51 ERA with 32 saves, 11.5 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 68 innings of work out of manager Terry Francona’s bullpen. He takes home a significant raise on top of last year’s $4.15MM salary and comes in just shy of the $7.7MM projection of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. The Indians will control Allen for at least two more seasons, and he’ll be eligible for arbitration one final time next winter.

As can be seen in MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker, the Indians have now avoided arb with four of their eight eligible players. In addition to their deal with Allen, the Indians have agreed to one-year pacts with Dan Otero ($1.055MM), Zach McAllister ($1.825MM) and Trevor Bauer ($3.55MM).

Deadline Notes: ChiSox, Rays, Orioles, Padres, Tribe

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Although the White Sox suspended ace Chris Sale after scratching him Saturday for cutting up their throwback uniforms before their game against Detroit, they’re not necessarily any likelier to deal the rumored trade candidate than they were before, writes FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. That doesn’t mean he’ll stay put, though, and given the lack of high-quality starters scheduled to hit the upcoming free agent market, numerous executives have told Rosenthal that the White Sox might be better off waiting to move Sale until the offseason. In their view, shopping Sale in the winter would enable Chicago to involve more teams in the sweepstakes. While Rosenthal regards Saturday’s incident as a hit to Sale’s reputation, he notes that it won’t turn interested teams off from wanting to acquire him. As for Sale, whether he remains a member of the White Sox or goes elsewhere, he’s “fine either way,” per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

Other notes pertaining to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline:

  • The last-place Rays are discussing their starting pitchers with at least 10 teams and will likely wait until right before the deadline to make any decisions, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Matt Moore have been particularly popular in the rumor mill lately. Other Rays who could switch homes include hot-hitting infielder Steve Pearce and right-handed swingman Erasmo Ramirez, per Topkin.
  • The chances of the Orioles acquiring outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. from the Padres are as high as 45 percent, a high-ranking O’s source told Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun. Still, a deal remains somewhat unlikely, cautions Schmuck, who notes that money could complicate the rumored trade involving Upton and Orioles righty Ubaldo Jimenez. Upton has $22MM coming his way through 2017, while Jimenez will rake in another $18MM over the same period, and Schmuck doesn’t expect a swap to occur without the Orioles eating some of Jimenez’s contract. In the meantime, Upton is out of the Padres’ lineup Sunday, relays Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune, though a move isn’t imminent. Manager Andy Green wanted to give the 31-year-old Upton a day off with “everything swirling around him” (Twitter links)
  • Given that Jimenez went on the paternity list Saturday, the Orioles aren’t allowed to trade him for three days, tweets Heyman. Moreover, there remains work to be done between the O’s and Padres on a possible deal, according to Heyman (Twitter links).
  • Indians closer Cody Allen would be open to a role change if the team were to acquire another ninth-inning option by the deadline, he told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter link). Cleveland is reportedly one of the clubs in on the Yankees’ Aroldis Chapman, who would likely supplant Allen as the Tribe’s go-to arm in the ninth. Allen has been among the game’s best closers in his own right since taking the helm in 2014. The hard-throwing 27-year-old has converted 19 of 21 save chances this season while posting a 2.59 ERA, 11.02 K/9, 3.89 BB/9 and 46.3 ground-ball rate over 41 2/3 innings.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday

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The deadline for teams to exchange arbitration figures with eligible players is 1pm ET today. Dozens of arb agreements figure to flow in over the next few hours, and we’ll keep track of the smaller arb agreements in this post. All projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz and can be viewed on the full list of 156 players that filed for arbitration this year. Remember also that you can keep track of everyone that has avoided arbitration by checking out MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

Onto the agreements…

  • Shortstop Zack Cozart is in agreement with the Reds for an undisclosed sum, per a team announcement. He projected at $2.9MM in his second year of eligibility after a promising start to the 2015 season was cut short by a serious knee injury.
  • The Diamondbacks announced that they have avoided arbitration with righty Rubby De La Rosa for an undisclosed sum. He was projected at $3.2MM but, per Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com (on Twitter), will earn only $2.35MM.
  • Reliever Fernando Rodriguez settled with the Athletics for $1.05MM — beneath his projected $1.3MM — per the Associated Press.
  • Dodgers infielder Justin Turner will earn $5.1MM next season, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. That’s just a shade under his $5.3MM projection.
  • The Braves settled with reliever Arodys Vizcaino for $897,500, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. He had a $1.1MM projection entering the fall.
  • Both Zach Putnam will earn a $975K salary next year after agreeing with the White Sox, per a club announcement. That’s $175K over the projected arb value of the Super Two.
  • The Cardinals settled with first baseman Matt Adams for $1.65MM, Heyman tweets. That’s a small bump over his $1.5MM projections. The team is also in agreement with right-hander Seth Maness, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Super Two reliever projected at $1.2MM but will receive $1.4MM, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter).
  • Righty Tom Koehler receives a $3.5MM payday from the Marlins, per Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The team gets a break on the $3.9MM that had been projected. The team also has an agreement with righties David Phelps and Carter Capps, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. Heyman adds (via Twitter) that Phelps will earn exactly his projected amount of $2.5MM. Capps was predicted to earn $800K, but his salary is yet to be reported.
  • The Diamondbacks agreed to a $4.35MM rate with first-year-eligible starter Shelby Miller, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. He had projected at $4.9MM. Notably, Miller comes in just ahead of fellow 3+ service-class pitcher Harvey (who is covered below). Fellow Arizona hurler Patrick Corbin will earn $2.525MM next year, Passan also tweets.
  • The Nationals have agreed with infielder Danny Espinosa for $2.875MM, Jon Heyman tweets. He gets a slight bump over his $2.7MM projection in his second season of arb eligibility.
  • Nolan Arenado will receive a $5MM salary from the Rockies in his first season of eligibility, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. That’s exactly what fellow star young third baseman Manny Machado settled for as well, though Arenado was a Super Two. As Swartz explained recently, those two players’ cases may well have been tied together despite some important distinctions. He also explained why Arenado might not reach his sky-high $6.6MM projection in actuality.
  • The Orioles have agreed with starter Miguel Gonzalez for $5.1MM, Eduardo Rodriguez of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Gonzalez projected for $4.9MM.
  • Outfielder Chris Coghlan agreed at $4.8MM with the Cubs, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. That’s quite a nice increase over his projected $3.9MM. Also agreeing with Chicago was reliever Pedro Strop, who gets $4.4MM, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). He had been projected at $4.7MM.
  • Both righty Michael Pineda (for $4.3MM) and infielder/outfielder Dustin Ackley ($3.2MM), according to Passan (via Twitter) and Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Those numbers largely track the projected amounts of $4.6MM and $3.1MM, respectively.
  • Danny Duffy will play at $4.225MM next year after reaching terms with the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). Catcher Drew Butera, meanwhile, will get $1,162,500 from Kansas City. Both represented small bumps over their projected values of $4MM and $1.1MM.
  • Marlins closer A.J. Ramos will get $3.4MM in 2016, Heyman reports (Twitter links). Teammate Adeiny Hechavarria, meanwhile, will take down $2.625MM. Both first-year-eligible players went over their projections ($2.8MM and $2.3MM, respectively).
  • The Mets will pay $4.325MM to Matt Harvey and $3MM to shortstop Ruben Tejada for 2016, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports (Twitter links). Harvey approaches, but doesn’t quite reach, his $4.7MM projection. Though he’s still recovering from an unfortunate leg injury suffered during the post-season, Tejada will take home a cool half-million more than had been projected.
  • Righty Joe Kelly has agreed with the Red Sox at $2.6MM, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. He falls a fair sight shy of the $3.2MM that MLBTR projected. Though he reached ten wins on the year, Kelly scuffled to a 4.82 ERA over his 134 1/3 innings.
  • Righty Drew Hutchison agreed with the Blue Jays for $2.2MM, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. He falls short of a $2.6MM projection after a tough 2015 campaign.
  • The Tigers have reached terms with shortstop Jose Iglesias for $2.1MM, per another Heyman tweet. The deal also includes some incentives, per the report. That’s a healthy jump up over the $1.5MM projection for the slick-fielding infielder, who did have a strong 2015 season.
  • The Mariners announced that they reached agreement with lefty Charlie Furbush and righty Evan Scribner. Furbush will receive $1.7MM, while Scribner will get $807.5K, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.
  • Both shortstop Jean Segura and righty Wily Peralta are under contract with the Brewers, per a team announcement. Segura gets $2.6MM after being projected at $3.2MM, per Heyman (Twitter link). Matt Swartz’s system pegged Peralta at $2.8MM, and that’s exactly what he’ll earn, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter).

There are plenty more after the jump:

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AL Central Notes: Frazier, Salazar, Allen, White Sox, Twins

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The Reds spent “at least a month” trying to pry Danny Salazar from the Indians for Todd Frazier with no luck, and were also unsuccessful with their next demand of Cody Allen and prospects for Frazier, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports in his chronicle of the negotiations between the two Ohio clubs.  Cleveland wanted to keep Salazar and Allen in order to contend in 2016 so the Indians were more open to talking about Jose Ramirez and second-tier prospects (Justus Sheffield, Michael Clevinger, Bobby Bradley) with the Reds.  Cincinnati, however, wanted two of those prospects plus one of Clint Frazier or Bradley Zimmer, and the Tribe was unwilling to give up either of its top two minor leaguers.  The Indians attempted to construct a three-way deal to land Frazier from Cincinnati but the Reds instead ended up swinging a three-team trade of their own with the White Sox and Dodgers that sent the third baseman to Chicago.

Here’s more from around the AL Central…

  • Also from Pluto’s piece, he hears the acquisitions of Rajai Davis and Mike Napoli may be the Indians’ last notable moves of the winter.  The club may still make a minor transaction or two but their heavy lifting could be over.
  • The White Sox are monitoring the free agent outfield market and giving up a draft pick to sign a qualifying offer free agent “won’t necessarily be a deal-breaker,” ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required).  Chicago’s first-rounder is protected by virtue of being a top-10 pick, so if they were to sign someone like Justin Upton or Dexter Fowler, the Sox would only sacrifice the extra compensation round pick they recently obtained when Jeff Samardzija left to sign with San Francisco.  As Olney notes, the White Sox are intent on being contenders while cornerstone pieces like Chris Sale and Jose Abreu are on such reasonable contracts.
  • The Twins are looking for a veteran backup outfielder, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes.  This player would essentially replace Shane Robinson on Minnesota’s roster, serving as an experienced bench piece behind the Twins’ young outfield corps.
  • It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for the World Series champions thus far, though Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star feels the Royals front office has earned the benefit of the doubt given its recent success.  Expecting the Royals to suddenly splurge above their usual payroll limits was unrealistic, Mellinger notes, as the club needs “efficient spending” to remain competitive in both the short- and long-term.  It’s worth noting that the Royals signed Joakim Soria and Chris Young to multi-year contracts and they’ve been at least connected to several major free agents and trade targets (such as Alex Gordon, Yovani Gallardo, Scott Kazmir, Gerardo Parra, Carlos Gonzalez and Frazier), so K.C. could simply be waiting to strike with another notable move.

AL Central Notes: Royals, Albers, Sox, Allen, Indians

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On to some notes from the AL Central …

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore discussed his team-building philosophies with MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. He cited a focus on defense and “usable speed” among position players. When asked about his remarkable hit rate on last year’s crop of free agents, Moore credited the organization’s culture: “I think it goes back to the type of the culture our coaches and our players are able to present to make it possible to be successful. It’s Ned [Yost] and his staff and the other players have created a culture in the clubhouse that makes it comfortable for new players to come in and play well and do well in. That allows them to do what they can do. Those players all have had success in the past, but will blossom, so to speak, in the right environment.” There’s plenty more of interest if you follow the link to the interview.
  • White Sox righty Matt Albers did about everything he could to set up his free agent case down the stretch, as MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes. The 32-year-old put up 22 1/3 scoreless frames over his last twenty appearances despite failing to crack 90 mph in average fastball velocity. He credits a new offspeed offering for the success: “I started throwing a different kind of changeup last year, and I think it has just been able to help me with left-handed hitters and being more consistent with my slider and the location of my fastball,” Albers said. “As long as I’m keeping it down and have them hitting it in the ground, hopefully guys make the plays behind you. It’s pretty much a simple approach, but I’m able to execute that.”
  • There are plenty of questions facing the White Sox this winter, but ESPNChicago.com’s Doug Padilla says none is more important than shortstop. The club has to decide on its $10MM option over Alexei Ramirez, which could still make sense despite his poor season and advancing age. Otherwise, the club could look to use Tyler Saladino as a bridge to prospect Tim Anderson or it could enter a free agent market featuring Ian Desmond and several less promising options.
  • Indians closer Cody Allen says he’s very open to an extension after a big year, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports. “I would absolutely love to,” he said in regards to talking over a multi-year deal. “I think anybody in this clubhouse would love to. We have a great staff here, a great group of guys, and the city of Cleveland has treated me very well. I would love to play here for a very, very long time. If that opportunity presents itself, I’d definitely be open to it.” Allen’s 2.99 ERA is not quite indicative of the quality season he put up, which featured 12.9 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 and sterling marks from many ERA estimators. MLBTR’s arbitration projections, courtesy of Matt Swartz, project Allen to reach a $3.5MM salary in his first year of eligibility — based largely, of course, on his save tallies.
  • The Indians have many sure things but also many moving pieces on their future roster, as Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer explores. It’s likely that the club will part with Ryan Raburn (rather than exercising his $3MM option and keeping him) despite his strong batting line, with plans to utilize Chris Johnson (whose salary is largely unmovable) as a right-handed-hitting corner man. He could share time with Lonnie Chisenhall in right field, says Pluto. Likewise, it’s unlikely that Mike Aviles will be re-signed, as Jose Ramirez can fill his up-the-middle infield utility role.

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