Diamondbacks To Extend David Peralta
The Diamondbacks and outfielder David Peralta are in agreement on a three-year extension that’ll guarantee the ACES client a total of $22MM, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links). He can earn another $1.25MM annually via incentives. The contract will pay Peralta $7MM in 2020 and $7.5MM in each of the two subsequent seasons, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Peralta was arbitration-eligible for the final time and was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.8MM. Instead, he’ll sign away a pair of free-agent years on a contract that spans his age-32 through age-34 seasons.
The deal looks to be a sound one for the D-backs, who owed Peralta a raise on last season’s $7MM salary. While the exact number he’d have secured can’t be known, even if he’d fallen shy of his $8.8MM projection, it still looks as though Peralta is signing away two free-agent years at a total of no more than $14MM. That falls a bit shy of what Corey Dickerson just received from the Marlins ($17.5MM), though it’s worth noting that Peralta is a bit older. All the same, Arizona looks to have carved out a nice value with the move.
Peralta, 32, hit .275/.343/.461 (107 wRC+) with a dozen homers, 29 doubles and three triples in 99 games/423 plate appearances with the Snakes in 2019. He endured three separate stints on the injured list due to an issue with the AC joint in his right shoulder, which limited his time on the field and likely helped to sap his production. A year prior, in 2018, Peralta put together then finest season of his career when he slashed .293/.352/.516 with 30 long balls.
Both Baseball-Reference (8.4) and FanGraphs (7.7) agree that Peralta has been worth in the vicinity of eight wins above replacement over the past three years. He’s consistently been an above-average bat and at least an average defender in the outfield corners, and his 2019 season rated particularly well according to most defensive metrics, as he took home a Gold Glove Award. While there’s always some risk of decline as he enters his mid-30s — particularly coming off a shoulder issue — it’s easy to see why the Diamondbacks preferred to keep him in the fold beyond his preexisting level of club control.
From a payroll standpoint, the deal actually helps to lower Arizona’s bottom line in 2020. Peralta’s salary for the coming season is the same as his 2019 salary and $1.8MM shy of where he’d been projected in arbitration, leaving the club with a roughly $114MM payroll (per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez). The D-backs had less than $60MM on the books in 2021 and less than $40MM in 2022 prior to brokering this multi-year arrangement, so fitting him onto the ledger for an additional two seasons was rather easy.
NL Notes: Mets, Cano, Braves, McCann, D-backs
Mets second baseman Robinson Cano will begin a rehab assignment at the Single-A level on Saturday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports. Cano suffered a torn left hamstring on Aug. 5, which looked like a potential season-ending injury at the time. But Cano has progressed far quicker than expected and now appears likely to return before the original six- to 12-week timeline. If so, he’ll attempt to close the year out in solid fashion after struggling for most of it. The eight-time All-Star has batted a career-worst .252/.295/.415 with 10 home runs in 346 plate appearances during his first season with the Mets.
More on New York and a pair of other NL franchises:
- The Mets have given special assistant to the general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. permission to look for a job elsewhere, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. They are willing to keep Amaro, per Puma, though Andy Martino of SNY relays that he will indeed leave when his contract expires. The executive’s not in for an “immediate” exit, though, and his departure will be “amicable,” Martino writes. Amaro has been with the Mets for two seasons – he worked as their first base coach and outfield/baserunning coach a year ago – but he’s best known for his run as the Phillies’ GM from 2009-15.
- The Braves will activate catcher Brian McCann from the IL on Sunday, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. It’ll be a quick return for McCann, who went to the shelf Aug. 21 because of a left knee sprain. The 35-year-old has gone on the IL twice this season (he previously missed time with a hamstring issue), but the Braves icon has still managed respectable production in his return to Atlanta. McCann has hit .264/.336/.423 with 10 HRs across 274 trips to the plate, and has earned positive reviews as a defender from Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.
- The season-ending right shoulder surgery Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta had this week went according to plan, general manager Mike Hazen announced (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Hazen revealed it was a fairly minor “cleanup” procedure of Peralta’s AC joint, and it shouldn’t prevent him from participating in a normal spring training. Peralta’s shoulder troubles forced him to the IL three times this season and limited him to 99 games, in which he batted .275/.343/.461 and hit 12 homers in 423 PA.
David Peralta To Undergo Shoulder Surgery
Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta will undergo shoulder surgery and miss the remainder of the 2019 season, manager Torey Lovullo announced in an appearance on 98.7 FM Arizona Sports today (Twitter link via 98.7’s John Gambadoro). Specifics on the procedure, including a timeline, have yet to come to light.
Peralta, 32, has thrice been placed on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right AC joint this season — the most recent placement coming on Saturday. The ongoing discomfort, it seems, has reached a point where continued rest and rehab won’t suffice.
Shoulder troubles limited Peralta to just 99 games this season and may have contributed to the downturn in offensive performance he experienced this year. While he still turned in an above-average .275/.343/.461 batting line (104 OPS+), that output falls shy of 2018’s robust .293/.353/.516 performance (127 OPS+).
Peralta’s name came up a bit prior to the July 31 trade deadline, but it was never clear that the team was all that focused on moving Peralta, who is controlled through the 2020 season via arbitration. Peralta earned $7MM this year on the heels of that solid showing, and he’ll be eligible for one more raise this winter before qualifying for free agency in the 2020-21 offseason. Any trade involving Peralta this winter would obviously constitute selling low, and the D-backs’ outfield situation is teeming with uncertainty. Jarrod Dyson and Adam Jones will be free agents at season’s end, while Steven Souza is recovering from a catastrophic knee injury (torn ACL, torn LCL, partially torn PCL, torn capsule).
Diamondbacks “Focused Intently” On Selling
The Diamondbacks, who blew a late lead in Miami last night to drop back even at 52-52, are reportedly “focused intently” on selling, per Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi, who lists Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, David Peralta, Archie Bradley, Andrew Chafin, Greg Holland, and Jarrod Dyson as names on the proverbial table.
It’s a bit of surprise revelation for the in-the-thick-of-it Snakes, whose +63 run differential is second only to the Cubs among legitimate NL Wild Card contenders. Arizona would need to jump four teams to find itself in the second Wild Card slot – including the 53-51 Giants, who’ve all but announced their intention to make the buyer’s plunge in the coming days – but one could easily envision the club slithering in with a late-season surge.
Still, it may be high time to cash in on the team’s best assets: righty Zack Greinke, who’s still owed over $90MM (including signing-bonus deferrals) on his record-setting deal, is on pace to match or eclipse all but his lights-out 2009 campaign. The 35-year-old’s microscopic 1.15 walk rate is the lowest of his career, and he hasn’t yet been sliced of his once-sharp cheddar, with an average fastball velocity that still hovers barely above the 90 MPH plateau. The club would need to pay down a significant portion of the contract, but high-upside returns may be dangled if the team finds itself amenable.
Lefty Robbie Ray, who hits arbitration for the final time next season at what’ll surely be a below-market rate, is still conducting his high-walk, high-homer, massively-high-strikeout train in ’19, and would be a good fit for any number of contenders – Yankees, A’s, Giants – with strong bullpens and weak rotations.
David Peralta’s value has perhaps been overstated in some circles – he’s an aging corner bat who’s nearly unplayable against lefties, but should net a decent return from a team in need of mid-order lefty thump. Fellow outfielder Jarrod Dyson may be coveted for his late-inning skills – top-scale defense, pinch-runner extraordinaire – but likely won’t return a high-upside piece.
The rest of the pieces won’t be coveted league-wide, but the Snakes could trim an estimated $26-30MM off next season’s payroll by trading all but Greinke from the group. Add Zack, of course, and the team could position themselves at the fore of the offseason free agent market.
Cubs Among Teams Interested In David Peralta
If the Diamondbacks decide to move some of their veteran talent at the deadline, the Cubs are one of multiple teams who would have interest in outfielder David Peralta, Ken Rosenthal reports in his latest video link for FOX Sports.
Peralta went on the injured list on Friday due to right shoulder inflammation, though Arizona expects he’ll be back in action in relatively short order (and, most importantly, before the July 31st trade deadline). Peralta’s health is still something of a red flag, however, as this is the second time this season that a bothersome right AC joint has sent him to the injured list. That first IL stint sidelined the outfielder for only 10 days, but any type of recurring injury has to be concerning to any interested trade partners, particularly since Peralta batted only .252/.342/.388 over 117 plate appearances in between his two trips to the injured list.
Those 117 PA make up a significant chunk of Peralta’s season, and could explain why his overall .289/.352/.476 slash line and 112 OPS+ and wRC+ over 324 PA are all down from his production in 2018 (.293/.352/.516 with 30 homers, 128 OPS+, 130 wRC+). Peralta may also be somewhat fortunate to be hitting as well as he has this season, as his .350 wOBA far outpaces a very modest .301 xwOBA.
It could be that a healthy Peralta, fully recovered from his shoulder woes, can regain his 2018 form once he returns from the IL. He’d have to prove this over a relatively small amount of time before the trade deadline, as otherwise suitors would either lose interest or only present the D’Backs with lowball offers. That could mean Arizona holds off on dealing Peralta altogether, as the Snakes don’t have a ton of urgency to move a player who has one year remaining of arbitration eligibility at an affordable price — Peralta is earning $7MM this season, and thus is likely on pace to get a raise to something in the $9MM range for 2020.
This assumes, of course, that the Diamondbacks are sellers at all, as the team heads into the All-Star break 1.5 games out of the final NL wild card position. Arizona isn’t far behind Chicago’s own 47-43 record, though the Cubs are hanging onto first place in the crowded NL Central, whereas the D’Backs are way behind the Dodgers in the NL West, so the wild card is the Snakes’ only realistic road to the postseason.
Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen has tried to walk the fine line between keeping his team competitive while also keeping payroll in check, as the D’Backs are somewhat bogged down by the large salaries owed to Zack Greinke (who at least delivers ace-level performance) and the albatross that is Yasmany Tomas‘ contract. To this end, Arizona parted ways with Patrick Corbin and A.J. Pollock as free agents last offseason and also dealt Paul Goldschmidt to the Cardinals, though despite missing these star names, the D’Backs have indeed still remained in the wild card hunt.
Barring a big string of losses after the break, it doesn’t seem like Hazen would turn firmly towards deadline selling since Peralta still has quite a bit of value to the 2020 club. On the other hand, that same extra year of control could also entice teams to offer enough young talent for Arizona to consider moving Peralta.
The Cubs represent an interesting suitor for Peralta, particularly since Chicago already has a left-handed hitting left fielder in Kyle Schwarber. Peralta has played almost exclusively in left field over the last two seasons, though he has a lot of experience in right field, so the Cubbies could deploy him in right while Jason Heyward (another lefty swinger) became more or less a full-time center fielder.
While everyday center fielders are harder to find than corner outfielders (especially at the trade deadline), one would think the more easier solution to the Cubs’ issues would be to simply find an actual center fielder, rather than add Peralta into the mix. Heyward has graded as a good center fielder, though since he is arguably the game’s best defensive right fielder, moving him to center and Peralta to right doesn’t do much to help the Cubs’ overall defense.
If Peralta was acquired, maybe the more intriguing counter-move would be for Chicago to then flip Schwarber — perhaps the Diamondbacks would have interest. This is just speculation on my part, though on the face of it, adding Peralta alongside Heyward and Schwarber for an all-left handed starting outfield doesn’t seem like a great fit for the Cubs. Then again, the right-handed hitter Kris Bryant would still continue to see his share of at-bats in the corner outfield positions when he isn’t playing third base.
Diamondbacks Place David Peralta On Injured List
The Diamondbacks placed left fielder David Peralta on the 10-day injured list and recalled infielder Domingo Leyba from Triple-A Reno on Friday, manager Torey Lovullo announced.
Peralta is dealing with right AC joint inflammation, an issue that has dogged him for over a month. The 31-year-old went to the IL with the same injury on May 24, and even though Peralta spent the minimum time on the shelf, his shoulder hasn’t healed since then. Lovullo did express hope Friday that Peralta would once again return after a short IL stay, though.
Peralta boasted a .309/.357/.524 line in 217 plate appearances when he initially went down, but that slash has dropped to .289/.352/.476 (112 wRC+) in 107 PA since his return. While that’s still quality production overall, it falls well short of Peralta’s numbers in comparison to last year, when he recorded a 130 wRC+ with 30 home runs. He has mustered just nine HRs this season while seeing his ISO drop from .223 to .187.
Arizona, which is three games out of the NL wild-card race, has often turned to the righty-hitting Tim Locastro in left when Peralta hasn’t been available. However, with right-hander Antonio Senzatela on the mound for the Rockies on Friday, the Diamondbacks started the lefty-swinging Jarrod Dyson.
Injury Notes: Lowrie, Manaea, D-backs, Scooter, Tigers
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Mets infielder Jed Lowrie still isn’t close to making his 2019 debut, manager Mickey Callaway told Tim Healey of Newsday and other reporters Wednesday. Lower body injuries have kept Lowrie from playing this season after he joined the Mets on a two-year, $20MM contract over the winter. With the season now at the halfway point, Callaway doesn’t even seem willing to commit to Lowrie taking the field at all in 2019. Asked if he expects to see Lowrie this year, Callaway said: “That’s hard to say. There’s so much of the season left. We’ll just have to play that by ear.”
Health Notes: Eovaldi, Peralta, Jay, Franchy, Bradford
Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi could return from the injured list as early as June 15, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe suggests. As Abraham notes, that would mark 52 days since Eovaldi underwent right elbow surgery April 22, at which point he was reportedly supposed to miss four to six weeks. Eovaldi’s absence has deprived Boston of a second-half hero from 2018, someone whose late-season excellence convinced the reigning world champions to bring him back on a four-year, $68MM contract in free agency. The hard-throwing Eovaldi, 29, then came out of the gates slowly prior to his surgery, logging a 6.00 ERA/7.05 FIP with 6.86 K/9 and 4.71 BB/9 over 21 frames and four starts. Still, considering the Red Sox are fighting for a playoff spot and haven’t gotten enough from their rotation in general, Eovaldi’s return should be a welcome one for the club.
- The Diamondbacks activated outfielder David Peralta from the 10-day IL on Monday and optioned right-hander Stefan Crichton to Triple-A Reno, the team announced. Peralta had been out since May 22 with right AC joint inflammation. He got off to a terrific start before then, following up last year’s 30-home run effort with a .309/.357/.524 line (126 wRC+) and seven HRs in 207 trips to the plate.
- White Sox outfielder Jon Jay began a rehab assignment with Double-A Birmingham on Monday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com tweets. Perhaps in an attempt to lure his friend Manny Machado to the South Side of Chicago, the White Sox signed Jay to a $4MM guarantee in the offseason. Machado wound up in San Diego, however, and the 34-year-old Jay still hasn’t played under his new deal because of a hip issue. Long a competent if unspectacular offensive player, Jay has batted .285/.352/.378 (103 wRC+) in 4,061 attempts at the major league level.
- Outfielder Franchy Cordero could rejoin the Padres as early as Wednesday, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. The 24-year-old has been shelved since April 9 because of a right elbow sprain. Cordero underwent surgery on the same joint in early July of last year, ending his season.
- The Mariners placed Chasen Bradford on the 10-day IL and recalled fellow righty reliever Matt Festa from Triple-A Tacoma, per a team announcement. Bradford’s dealing with a right forearm strain, which is an ominous-sounding injury for a pitcher. This also marks Bradford’s second IL stint of the season, as he previously missed time with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. The 29-year-old still ranks fifth among 2019 Mariners relievers in innings (16 2/3), and has only walked 2.16 hitters per nine while generating ground balls at a 51.9 percent clip. However, a lack of strikeouts (5.94 K/9) and a bloated home run rate (3.24 HR/9) have contributed to an uninspiring 4.86 ERA/7.23 FIP for Bradford.
Injury Updates: Sabathia, Gregorius, Peralta, Smith
The latest on some injured list situations from around baseball…
- C.C. Sabathia is lined up to start for the Yankees on Sunday, manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link) and other reporters. Sabathia was placed on the IL on May 23 due to right knee inflammation, and it ended up being both a short absence, and a fairly standard one for a veteran player with a long history of knee surgeries. Boone noted that Sabathia threw a bullpen session today, so all systems seem to be a go for the left-hander’s 547th career start. Sabathia has a 3.48 ERA, 7.4 K/9, and 2.00 K/BB rate over 41 1/3 innings for New York this season.
- Boone also gave Hoch and other media members an update on Didi Gregorius, saying that the shortstop could return during the Yankees‘ upcoming road trip to Toronto and Cleveland from June 4th-9th. Gregorius has yet to play a full nine innings at shortstop in consecutive games, which Boone noted is an important step in his Tommy John rehab process.
- Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta hit the IL on May 24 with shoulder inflammation, and manager Torey Lovullo implied to reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) that Peralta is likely to miss more than the minimum 10 days. While an early return isn’t totally out of the question, Lovullo said Peralta has yet to begin baseball activities. The struggling D’Backs are certainly hoping Peralta is able to get back to action as soon as possible, given his .309/.357/.524 slash line through 207 PA this season.
- Kevan Smith is also looking at a lengthier stay on the injured list, as the Angels catcher had some concussion symptoms return this week, Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets. Smith was placed on the seven-day concussion IL on May 22 and had begun to take part in baseball activities, though he had been shut down for the last few days. DiGiovanna notes that Smith will be sidelined at least until June 4, when the Angels begin an eight-game homestand, though that timeline is far from certain given the unpredictable nature of concussions.
Diamondbacks Place David Peralta On 10-Day IL
The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. He’s said to be dealing with inflammation in his right AC joint.
Coming onto the MLB roster to fill in is outfielder Tim Locastro. He’ll join Kevin Cron, whose previously reported promotion is now official. To create an additional roster spot, the club optioned righty Jimmie Sherfy.
The 31-year-old Peralta has followed up on his strong 2018 showing with an excellent .309/.357/.524 slash in 2017 plate appearances this year. He has also been dealing with some shoulder problems of late. Evidently, the issue progressed to the point that it was decided he needed to take at least a brief respite.