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Mariners Non-Tender Domingo Santana, Tim Beckham

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The Mariners have non-tendered outfielder Domingo Santana and infielder Tim Beckham, per a club announcement. Both players are now free agents.

These moves open a pair of roster spots for the M’s to work with. It’ll also save a bit of salary space. The former projected to earn $4.4MM in his second-to-last season of team control, while the latter might have commanded $3.0MM in what would have been a walk year.

It rates as something of a surprise to see Santana cut loose. He has had his ups and downs over the years but generally turns in solid offensive output. The situation with Beckham is more one of disappointment. He had been playing well in Seattle before a performance-enhancing drug suspension cut short his 2019 campaign.

Santana could potentially be a candidate to be claimed, though obviously the M’s were unable to achieve a trade return. He was off to a big start with the bat in 2019 before running into elbow problems that drove his numbers down and ended up costing him a big chunk of time.

Still just 27 years of age, Santana owns a .259/.343/.453 career batting line. He was right at that level last year as well. Unfortunately, Santana has never quite found his footing in the field. He graded terribly last year.

Beckham isn’t ever going to be the kind of player that was hoped when he went first overall in the 2008 draft. But he has settled in as a generally useful middle infielder with a league-average bat. He might well have been worth the projected arb value but for the PED suspension.

Mariners Rumors: Gordon, Mallex, Santana, Pitching

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The Mariners were among the majors’ most active teams last offseason as general manager Jerry Dipoto began executing a plan to “re-imagine” his roster. With the club now on the heels of a 68-win season, Dipoto has indicated it’s in for a much more modest winter this time around. However, that doesn’t mean the trade-happy Dipoto won’t consider parting with a couple of veterans still on the roster, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times writes.

Last winter was absolutely packed with trades for Dipoto, who shipped out Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, James Paxton, Jean Segura and Mike Zunino, among others. He has since parted with other established veterans in Edwin Encarnacion and Jay Bruce, who each joined the Mariners amid their blockbuster-filled offseason a year ago.

All of Dipoto’s wheeling and dealing has left the Mariners with just three players (second baseman Dee Gordon, third baseman Kyle Seager and left-hander Yusei Kikuchi) on guaranteed contracts. But Gordon is the only member of the trio who looks like a real trade candidate, Divish observes. Seager did enjoy a bounce-back campaign after a rough 2018, though he’s also a soon-to-be 32-year-old who’s owed $37MM over the next two seasons. Worse, his contract includes a clause that could make a trade an impossibility. As Divish covered last December, Seager’s $15MM club option for 2022 will become a player option if the Mariners deal him. In all likelihood, he’d exercise that option.

Like Seager, Kikuchi’s not going anywhere, having joined the M’s as their prized, big-money free-agent signing just last winter. Kikuchi went through a rough rookie season in 2019, but Seattle continues to regard him as a key long-term piece.

Gordon, meanwhile, looks superfluous to the club’s cause. Moving him would open up everyday second base duty for Shed Long, who was a bright spot for the Mariners in his first taste of the majors this year. The problem is that Gordon is still owed a guaranteed $14.5MM (including a $1MM buyout for 2021), which is an unpalatable amount when considering the 31-year-old’s recent output. The light-hitting Gordon has been a replacement-level player in each of the past two seasons, according to WAR. So, it’s probable that finding a taker for Gordon would require the Mariners to eat a portion of his contract. They’d “likely” pay half of his remaining money, per Divish, though it’s unclear whether that would be enough on their end. After all, there are several similarly or more productive veteran second basemen slated to reach free agency next month, and none of them should require sizable commitments.

Along with Gordon, outfielders Domingo Santana and Mallex Smith represent other potential trade candidates for Seattle, according to Divish. Dipoto acquired those two last winter, hoping they’d emerge as long-term building blocks, but both players disappointed this year. Thanks in part to elbow problems, Santana’s offensive production fell off a cliff as the season progressed. He also ranked as one of the majors’ worst outfielders, finishing with minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-16.1 Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-16.1). Smith looked like a breakout center fielder for the Rays in 2018, but despite his 46 stolen bases this year, he only rated as a replacement-level producer.

The Mariners would be selling low on Santana’s last two years of arbitration eligibility and Smith’s three, but it’s possible they already have replacements on hand. Mitch Haniger and Kyle Lewis figure to be their main corner outfielders for next season. Smith could still occupy center if he’s still on the team, though Braden Bishop, Jake Fraley and an outside pickup may all be in the mix for that spot, Divish relays. They’ll line up behind an infield consisting of Seager at third, J.P. Crawford at short, Gordon or Long at second and Austin Nola at first. The 29-year-old Nola didn’t make his major league debut until mid-June, but it appears he’ll stick around after hitting .269/.342/.454 with 10 home runs 1.5 fWAR in his first 267 trips to the plate in the bigs. He could hold down first until the promotion of prospect Evan White, which Divish suggests is sure to happen by midseason at the latest. Elsewhere on offense, Daniel Vogelbach is in line to reprise his DH role, Dylan Moore is the front-runner for a utility job and the productive Omar Narvaez and Tom Murphy are due to return behind the plate.

As for areas the Mariners actually could look to add to this winter, Dipoto cited pitching – both starters and relievers – as a need. It’s unclear just how much the Mariners will be willing to spend on a starter(s) to slot in with Kikuchi, Marco Gonzalez, Justus Sheffield and possibly Justin Dunn, though it seems doubtful they’ll be spending near the top of the market. In the case of the bullpen, Dipoto said the Mariners will be seeking “opportunity buys.” Dipoto took the same route last offseason when he signed Hunter Strickland, Cory Gearrin, Zac Rosscup and R.J. Alaniz to cheap contracts.

Odds are the Mariners won’t do anything this offseason that could realistically vault them into contention by 2020. With that in mind, chances are high they’ll increase their playoff drought to 19 years next season. However, thanks to the young talent the Mariners have collected (much of which joined the organization last winter), Dipoto believes they’re on the right track.

Mariners Activate Domingo Santana

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The Mariners announced that they have activated outfielder Domingo Santana from the 10-day injured list. He has missed about a month owing to an elbow injury.

While the M’s are obviously out of contention, they’ll be glad to allow Santana a chance to see some more MLB pitching before the season wraps up. The club surely hoped he’d be joined by Mitch Haniger, but that’s not to be.

Both outfielders had promising campaigns hijacked by injuries. In Santana’s case, he posted a strong .286/.354/.496 batting line over his first 399 trips to the plate this year. But he was bothered by elbow soreness out of the All-Star break and slashed just .131/.240/.250 thereafter before going on the shelf.

The Mariners will bring Santana along slowly upon his return. The hope seems to be that he’ll carry some positive momentum headed into the offseason. Santana will be due a raise on his $1.95MM arbitration salary, with one more arb-eligible campaign still to come in 2021. It’s possible the M’s will discuss Santana in trade talks, though he may hold greater value to the Seattle organization as an affordable part of the outfield rotation and potential 2020 deadline trade piece.

AL West Notes: Luzardo, Sanchez, Gallo, Santana

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Jesus Luzardo’s second Major League appearance resulted in his first career save, as the star Athletics rookie allowed a run on two hits and two walks over three innings of work in Oakland’s 6-1 win over the Rangers today.  Luzardo has tossed three innings in each of his two MLB games, both times coming directly after a starter (Brett Anderson on Wednesday after five innings, and Sean Manaea after six innings today).  Should the A’s reach the postseason, there’s certainly a case that Luzardo could serve as either a multi-inning reliever or even as a proper starter.  “That gives us a little pause for thought about how we potentially might do things down the road,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told reporters, including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.  “Obviously, we have to get there, a lot of work between then and now. But you definitely think of some options, especially with Luzardo coming out of the pen doing what he’s doing.”

More from around the AL West…

  • Aaron Sanchez was scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery last Friday, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said during his team’s pregame radio show today (hat tip to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).  Somewhat curiously, Luhnow had yet to be informed about any specifics on the procedure, or when Sanchez could potentially be back on the mound.  It was already known that Sanchez wouldn’t pitch again in 2019, though the lack of information regarding the severity of his shoulder issues tends to create some doubt that the right-hander will be ready for the start of the 2020 season.
  • Joey Gallo is aiming to return to the Rangers’ lineup on September 20, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes.  Gallo will spend his last few remaining days on the injured list playing in simulated games and instructional league action, and will be activated prior to the Rangers’ game against the A’s on Friday if all goes well.  Gallo hit .276/.421/.653 with 17 homers over his first 214 plate appearances before a variety of injuries waylaid his dream season.  He missed over three weeks with an oblique problem, and then struggled with wrist issues for the better part of a month before undergoing hamate bone surgery on July 25.
  • Another early-season star will also return to the field before the end of the season, as Domingo Santana is expected to be activated off the IL on Tuesday, MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes.  The Mariners outfielder was (retroactively) placed on the IL due to right elbow inflammation on August 19, after struggling with elbow problems for roughly a month beforehand.  Santana’s injury problems almost perfectly coincide with the All-Star break, as he hit .286/.354/.496 in 399 first-half plate appearances, but then only .131/.240/.250 in 97 PA in the second half.  That July slump was one of the reasons Santana wasn’t dealt at the trade deadline, despite interest from multiple teams.

Mariners Place Domingo Santana On IL, Select Outfielder Jake Fraley

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The Mariners have a fresh face joining their outfield mix. Jake Fraley has been selected from Triple-A and will be available for today’s game. Domingo Santana has been placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation, the team announced. Santana’s IL stint is retroactive to yesterday on August 19th, though the elbow discomfort is something he has been dealing with for close to a month now. With the addition of Fraley, Seattle’s 40-man roster still has two spots remaining – with one seat presumably saved for Felix Hernandez should his rehab assignments go smoothly.

Santana has quietly become one of the more potent bats in the Seattle lineup this season. It was at least a little surprising that Trader Jerry didn’t field further trade calls for him at the deadline, but with two more years of arbitration eligibility and plenty of near-term financial flexibility, the Mariners felt no pressure to move him. For his part, Santana is better suited for regular at-bats on a non-contender like Seattle until he can add some dimensionality to his game.

The hulking 6’5″ outfielder has DH’ed on occasion, but mostly splits his time evenly between left and right field. Defensive metrics are slightly more enamored with his work in right, but it’s a negligible difference in the grand scheme of things (-8 DRS to -7 DRA, -23.7 UZR/150 to -17.8 UZR/150). Regardless of where they stick him, Santana has not provided any additional value with the glove.

With the bat, Santana looks the part of middle-of-the-order slugger. Towering presence is a check, home run output is a check (21 on the year), and his overall batting line of .256/.332/.449 sticks the landing with an above-average 110 wRC+ – right in range of his career average (112 wRC+). When he connects, Santana does damage (above-average 42.5% hard-hit percentage), but getting bat-to-ball remains a struggle. Santana, 27, tops the league with 159 strikeouts, striking out in 32.1% of his at-bats – the highest percentage in the majors.

Fraley, 24, will prepare for his major league debut. A native of Frederick, MD about 45 miles north of Washington DC, Fraley is a former 2nd round selection of by Tampa Bay and the current #8 ranked prospect in Seattle’s system per MLB.com. Speed and defense are his calling cards, but after injuries slowed his progress in 2017, power has begun populating in-game for Fraley. His isolated power has increased with each new rung of the minor league ladder, from .200 ISO in High-A to .226 ISO in Double-A to .276 ISO across 168 plate appearances for Triple-A Tacoma this season. Fraley joined the Mariners this past winter as part of the Mike Zunino deal.

Fun fact for your trivia guides from MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter), Fraley will be the 17th Mariner to debut in the major leagues this season.

Quick Hits: Domingo S., Rays, Molina, Red Sox, Jays

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Although Mariners outfielder Domingo Santana has come up as a potential target for the Rays, it doesn’t look as if the two teams will reach a deal for the slugger. Tampa Bay has “cooled on” Santana, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports. Divish cites the elbow problems that have bothered Santana over the past few weeks as a potential reason the Rays have backed off their pursuit. The 26-year-old has endured his worst month of the season, perhaps on account of his elbow, having batted .246/.310/.354 with 25 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances. July has marred Santana’s offensive numbers to an extent, though he has still slashed a solid .273/.342/.475 with 20 home runs in 446 plate appearances.

More from around the majors…

  • The hope was Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina would return at the beginning of August when he landed on the injured list July 11 with a right thumb tendon strain. We now know that won’t happen. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced Monday that Molina was just cleared for “light baseball activities,” which still puts him around two weeks from rejoining the Cardinals, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Molina’s thumb has hampered him since May, which could at least partially explain his uncharacteristic .261/.286/.368 line in 276 plate appearances. Backup Matt Wieters has offered far better offensive production than Molina this season.
  • Red Sox catcher Sandy Leon has hired The MAS+ Agency for representation, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Leon, who’s earning $2.475MM this season, is slated to go through arbitration for the fourth and final time during the winter. Although Leon was the Red Sox’s best option behind the plate in 2016 – he slashed .310/.369/.476 with 2.3 fWAR in 283 plate appearances – he hasn’t come close to replicating that production since then. Dating back to 2017, Leon has hit .202/.263/.318 with 1.4 fWAR across 722 trips to the plate. The 30-year-old has largely done well behind the plate, including at framing pitches and throwing runners out, but his offensive decline has helped opened the door for Christian Vazquez to take over as Boston’s primary catcher over the past couple years.
  • Shortstop Freddy Galvis was a late scratch from the Blue Jays’ lineup Monday, which led to speculation they were on the verge of trading the 29-year-old. That didn’t prove to be the case, though, as Galvis sat on account of lower back tightness (via Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star). Fortunately for Toronto, it doesn’t appear this issue will prove severe enough to kill Galvis’ trade value – which could be happening with Blue Jays closer Ken Giles and his balky elbow. Manager Charlie Montoyo said that Galvis should return Tuesday, per Scott Mitchell of TSN. Any kind of injury is a rare occurrence for Galvis, who came into the season with back-to-back 162-game campaigns under his belt. Galvis has missed more time than usual this year, but he has still appeared in 102 games and hit a career-best .265/.299/.435 with 15 homers in 421 PA.

Rays, Indians Interested In Domingo Santana

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Domingo Santana has been drawing some attention as the trade deadline approaches, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link) reports that the Rays and Indians are two of the teams showing some interest in the Mariners outfielder.

Santana has rebounded from a down year in 2018 to hit .273/.342/.475 over 446 plate appearances for the Mariners, and he recorded his 20th homer of the season in today’s 3-2 win over the Tigers.  Despite the impressive 120 wRC+, however, Santana has also struck out a league-high 135 times, and is a significant defensive liability as a corner outfielder.

The lack of glovework is particularly ill-suited to a Tampa Bay team that prioritizes defensive versatility, particularly since Tommy Pham and Austin Meadows have been so productive as the regular corner outfielders.  That said, the Rays may simply be willing to overlook Santana’s defensive shortcomings in the name of getting some extra pop in their lineup, which is middle-of-the-pack is most offensive categories leaguewide.  Santana and Meadows could more or less split the right field and DH duties, with prospect Nate Lowe perhaps returning to the minors until rosters expand in September.  It isn’t a perfect fit, on paper, though Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto and Rays GM Erik Neander have been such frequent trading partners that it isn’t a shock to see Tampa linked to any potentially-available Seattle player.

The Indians also aren’t strangers to trading with the Mariners, as they joined with the Rays for last December’s three-team that saw Carlos Santana go to Cleveland and Edwin Encarnacion to Seattle.  As with the Rays, Santana would give the Tribe’s offense a shot in the arm, especially since Cleveland is still looking for some consistent production from its outfield.  Rookie Oscar Mercado has solidified center field, and Tyler Naquin and Jordan Luplow have both hit well in limited action, though adding Santana as an outfielder/DH would certainly help matters.  Of particular note, Santana’s right-handed bat would greatly help a lineup that hasn’t done much damage against lefty pitching this season.

Santana’s struggles with the Brewers last year led to his modest $1.95MM 2019 salary in his first year of arbitration, so even though he’ll undoubtedly get a big raise this winter, he won’t earn enough to break the bank for the low-payroll Rays or Indians.  Since Santana has two-plus remaining years of control, of course, Seattle will be looking for a quality return in any trade.

Mariners Receiving Trade Interest In Santana, Elias

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The Mariners, as one would expect with GM Jerry Dipoto at the helm, continue to be active in trade discussions and are receiving the most interest in outfielder Domingo Santana and lefty Roenis Elias, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required). Interest in Santana is strong enough that Seattle “will at least consider trading him,” Rosenthal writes.

Santana, 27 in early August, is in his first season with the Mariners after coming over from the Brewers in an offseason swap that sent Ben Gamel to Milwaukee. The slugger has been every bit as productive as Seattle could have reasonably hoped upon acquiring him, hitting at a .280/.346/.489 pace with 19 home runs, 19 doubles, a triple and six steals. Santana, though, has also fanned at a 29.5 percent clip and racked up more total strikeouts (122) than any player in Major League Baseball.

More concerning than Santana’s strikeouts, however, is his glovework in the outfield. Santana’s -14.4 Ultimate Zone Rating and -12 Outs Above Average are the worst marks of any outfielder in baseball. Only Colorado’s Ian Desmond (-16) has fared worse than Santana (-13) in the estimation of Defensive Runs Saved. It’s not fully clear what has prompted the downturn in Santana’s defensive ratings. A year ago in Milwaukee, he drew above-average marks from all three of those metrics. And while those positive ratings look to be an outlier relative to the rest of his career, Santana has also never struggled anywhere close to this extent in seasons past.

Surely, some teams — particularly those in the NL — will be wary of Santana’s defense. But a club that could give Santana some time at designated hitter (or, speculatively, first base) and/or one that believes it has a solution to this season’s pronounced decline could hardly help but be intrigued by his bat. Santana has been an above-average hitter in every season he’s received regular playing time, and he’s controlled through the 2021 season at an affordable rate. This year’s home run and RBI totals will undoubtedly boost his salary in arbitration, but he’s earning just $1.95MM in 2019, so his forthcoming raise won’t make his salary burdensome. Santana has been good against right-handed pitching (.277/.338/.449) while obliterating lefties (.287/.374/.621), so he’d be of particular interest to a team that has been overmatched by opposing southpaws (e.g. Indians, Rockies).

As for Elias, MLBTR explored the left-hander’s likely trade candidacy at greater length last week, noting that while he’s not an elite reliever, he’s a solid arm whose modest $910K salary and remaining club control (also through 2021) should generate plenty of interest. Elias can miss bats, throws rather hard for a lefty and gets good spin on both his heater and curveball, all of which makes him an appealing asset. With so many teams around the league eyeing bullpen help and Dipoto never afraid to move a piece as he rebuilds the Seattle roster and farm system, it’d be more surprising to see the Mariners retain Elias than it would be to see him traded.

AL West Notes: Astros, Bailey, Santana, Rangers

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Pitching is on the Astros’ mind as the AL West leaders approach the trade deadline, and both starters or relievers could be on the menu, GM Jeff Luhnow told The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan (subscription required).  “It all depends on whether or not we’re able to acquire a starter and what that means for the rest of the rotation and maybe when [Brad] Peacock’s going to come back and be healthy and all of that,” Luhnow said.  “So, there are a lot of variables.  But we’ve never ruled out looking at relievers.  In fact, several of the pitchers that we have on our wish list are relievers.”

As Luhnow mentioned, Peacock’s injury status adds another question mark to a rotation that was already in need of at least one more starter.  While Houston has been linked to any number of big-name starters on the rumor mill, acquiring a reliever would add pen depth, and also perhaps allow the Astros to experiment with using an opener and bulk pitcher for one of the rotation spots, rather than a full-time starter.  For the short term, Luhnow figured his team will have to get though something of a pitching crunch over the next few days, though “we talked to a couple clubs about some players who might fit in.”

More from around the division…

  • The trade that brought Homer Bailey from the Royals to the Athletics “came together kind of quickly this morning,” Oakland GM David Forst told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos and other media, as Forst initially contacted the Royals about Bailey only “a few days ago.”  Bailey was actually scheduled to start today for Kansas City, and was only told of the deal while he was doing his pregame warmup pitches in the bullpen.  Bailey adds at least one veteran arm to Oakland’s pitching mix, and while the A’s hope to get some of their injured younger hurlers back soon, the club hasn’t closed the door on more trades.  “We’ll keep an eye on starters, but we have a lot of conversations going on for relievers right now,” Forst said.
  • Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times answered several Mariners-related questions as part of a reader mailbag, and in regards to a question about Domingo Santana, Divish opines that the M’s should be open to trade offers at the deadline or in the offseason.  After a rough 2018, Santana has regained his 2017 hitting form in Seattle, and he is also controlled through 2021 via arbitration.  With this in mind, Divish feels the Mariners should explore selling high on Santana, since he may not fit into the club’s long-term rebuild plans and doesn’t offer any defensive help.
  • Rangers prospect Anderson Tejeda will miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury, according to The Athletic’s Levi Weaver (Twitter link).  Tejeda was ranked as the 93rd-best minor league in the sport by Baseball Prospectus prior to the season, though Tejeda’s year at high-A ball was halted on May 29 after he hurt his shoulder while sliding into a base.  An international signing in 2014, the Dominican middle infielder has a .265/.332/.452 slash line and 45 home runs over 1672 professional plate appearances.  MLB.com ranks Tejeda as the third-best prospect in the Rangers’ system, citing his good glovework at shortstop and a “plus-plus” throwing arm.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Thursday

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The deadline for teams and players to exchange arbitration figures is tomorrow afternoon at 1pm ET. With the vast majority of teams now adopting a “file-and-trial” approach to arbitration — that is, halting negotiations on one-year contracts once figures have been exchanged and simply going to a hearing at that point — there will be a deluge of arbitration agreements in the next 24 hours. It’s a minor deadline day in terms of newsworthiness — outside of the largest cases, at least — as few arbitration cases will have a significant impact on their team’s overall payroll picture. From a broader perspective, though, the exchange of arb figures is perhaps more notable. With most or all of their arbitration cases out of the way, teams can focus more heavily on the trade and free-agent markets.

As always, it’s interesting to refer back to MLBTR’s annual arbitration projections. Here are the day’s deals:

  • The Tigers will pay Shane Greene $4MM for the coming campaign, Murray tweets. Entering his second year of eligibility, the 30-year-old had projected at $4.8MM, owing largely to his strong tally of 32 saves. Despite appealing K/BB numbers, though, Greene finished the season with an unsightly 5.12 ERA.
  • Righty Nick Tropeano settled with the Angels at $1.075MM. (That’s also via Murray, on Twitter.) That falls well shy of his $1.6MM projection. The first-year arb-eligible hurler was not terribly effective in his 14 starts last year and has just over two hundred career frames in the big leagues, due in no small part to a long rehab owing to Tommy John surgery.

Earlier Updates

  • Newly acquired outfielder Domingo Santana will earn $1.95MM in his first season with the Mariners, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. That’s just a touch below the $2.0MM that MLBTR & Matt Swartz had projected. The 26-year-old Santana swatted thirty long balls and had a productive overall 2017 season, but only received 235 plate appearances in the ensuing campaign — over which he hit five home runs and carried a .265/.328/.412 slash — before being dealt to Seattle.
  • The Angels are on the hook for $1,901,000 to rehabbing righty J.C. Ramirez, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets. Ramirez will receive a nominal raise on his 2018 salary after requiring Tommy John surgery after just two starts.
  • Phillies righty Hector Neris has settled at $1.8MM, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter links). He had projected at $2.0MM but will settle for a bit less in his first season of arb eligibility. Right-handed starter Jerad Eickhoff, meanwhile, is slated to receive $975K. His projected first-year salary was much higher, at $1.7MM, but Eickhoff presented a tough case since he missed virtually all of his platform season with arm troubles.
  • Southpaw Ryan Buchter has agreed with the Athletics on a $1.4MM deal, Nightengale of reports on Twitter. That lands just a smidge over his $1.3MM projection. Soon to turn 32, Buchter worked to a sub-3.00 for the third-straight season in 2018, but only threw 39 1/3 innings while working as a lefty specialist.
  • Red Sox reliever Heath Hembree will receive a $1,312,500 salary next year, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link). Starter Steven Wright checks in just a shade higher, at $1.375MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Both players had projected in this range, with Swartz pegging $1.2MM for the former and $1.4MM for the latter. It’s Hembree’s first time through the process and Wright’s second.
  • First-time arb-eligible righty Scott Oberg settled with the Rockies for $1.3MM, according to Nightengale (via Twitter). It’s $100K over the projected rate for the 28-year-old hurler, who turned in far and away his most productive MLB season in 2018.
  • The Yankees have a $1.2MM deal in place with first baseman Greg Bird, Nightengale was first to tweet. Though he had projected a bit higher, at $1.5MM, Bird’s relatively robust number of home runs (31 total in 659 career plate appearances) were threatened to be overshadowed in a hypothetical hearing by his rough overall stats over the past two seasons. He’ll need to earn his way back into a larger share of playing time in 2019.
  • Infielder Travis Jankowski will earn $1.165MM with the Padres, per Murray (via Twitter). He projected at a heftier $1.4MM, but the Super Two qualifier will still earn a nice raise after his best season in the big leagues. Jankowski will be looking to crack 400 plate appearances for the first time in the season to come.
  • The Nationals have agreed to a $1MM contract with righty Joe Ross, Murray also tweets. Though Ross projected at $1.5MM for his first season of eligibility, that was based largely upon the innings he accumulated over the prior three seasons. Ross made it back from Tommy John surgery in time for only three outings in 2018.
  • A pair of backstops have also put pen to paper on new salaries. Curt Casali will earn $950K with the Reds, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). John Ryan Murphy has a $900K agreement with the Diamondbacks, the elder Nightengale tweets. Casali, a Super Two, had projected for a $1.3MM salary, while Murphy projected at $1.1MM in his first arb year.
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