Fernando Salas

Twins Notes: Salas, Park, Rodriguez

By Mark Polishuk | February 4, 2017 at 4:56pm CDT

Here’s the latest baseball news from the Land Of 10,000 Lakes…

The Twins made Fernando Salas an offer before the right-hander re-signed with the Mets, 1500ESPN’s Darren Wolfson reports (Twitter link). Minnesota’s offer was reportedly a one-year deal, like Salas’ deal with the Mets, and Wolfson notes that Salas’ familiarity with New York was a factor in the righty choosing between the two similar contracts. The Twins made another move to add a right-handed reliever to their bullpen earlier this week when they signed Matt Belisle.
The Twins designated Byung Ho Park for assignment in order to create roster space for Belisle, and Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron feels Park has enough “cheap upside” for several other teams to show interest. Cameron sees the White Sox, Rangers and Athletics as potential fits for Park, who is owed $9.75MM over the next three seasons. While Minnesota didn’t have much playing time available for Park with Joe Mauer and Kennys Vargas at first base and DH, Cameron makes the argument that keeping Park to gain more return on their initial investment might’ve made more sense for the Twins than signing Belisle.
MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez profiles Dereck Rodriguez, a right-handed pitching prospect in the Twins’ system and the son of newly-inducted Hall-of-Famer Ivan Rodriguez. The younger Rodriguez is entering his fourth season on the mound after converting from his original outfield position, and the 24-year-old is looking to land on the Double-A roster in 2017.

Mets To Re-Sign Fernando Salas

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | February 3, 2017 at 1:34pm CDT

2:18pm: Salas will earn $3MM and can tack on an additional $350K in incentives, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports on Twitter.

1:34pm: The Mets have reached an agreement to re-sign right-hander Fernando Salas, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Salas, a client of Paragon Sports, will receive a one-year deal, Rosenthal adds. The contract is pending a physical.

[Related: Updated New York Mets Depth Chart]

The 31-year-old Salas opened the 2016 season with the Angels and posted fairly uninspiring results through 56 1/3 innings there, logging a 4.47 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in what was his third season with the Halos. However, Salas was dominant following an August trade to the Mets, allowing just four runs in 17 1/3 innings (2.08 ERA) with 19 strikeouts and zero walks. He’ll now return to the Mets for a second season, joining Addison Reed as a right-handed bridge to closer Jeurys Familia.

Of course, Salas also will play a larger role with the Mets early in the season, as Familia figures to be suspended under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. With Familia on the restricted list, Reed seems likely to close, which could make Salas the primary setup man for manager Terry Collins for a portion of the season.

Much of the chatter surrounding the Mets and their desire to add a relief pitcher have centered around lefties — specifically former Met Jerry Blevins. New York has been said to be working with some financial constraints as their payroll approaches $150MM, but Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that the team is not yet out on Blevins (Twitter link).

Salas, for what it’s worth, has held opposing lefties to a .239/.294/.383 batting line in his career and limited lefties to a .237/.270/.412 slash in 2016. So, while not utterly dominant against opposite-handed batters, he does limit lefties more effectively than a number of right-handed middle relievers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Relief Market Notes: Holland, Dodgers, Salas, Maness, Breslow

By Jeff Todd | January 24, 2017 at 8:10am CDT

There are at least three teams still pursuing veteran reliever Greg Holland, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). He lists the Nationals and Rockies as the two known entities, with a third mystery entrant also involved. With Spring Training just about three weeks off, Holland’s market seems to be “heating up,” Heyman says, though it’s still not clear what kind of timeline to expect.

At the moment, of course, Holland is occupied with more important matters, as he is among the players attending the funeral of stricken former teammate Yordano Ventura. Certainly, our thoughts are with Ventura’s family and friends as they lay him to rest today. Those interested in finding coverage from the perspective of the Royals’ contingent may wish to follow the reporting of Kansas City Star columnist Vahe Gregorian.

Here are some more notes relating to the relief market:

Having addressed their need at second base, the Dodgers will now focus on adding another arm to their bullpen mix, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Joe Blanton could still return, per the report, while southpaw Jerry Blevins is also a target. But the club is looking to make only a one-year investment, Rosenthal notes, and could pivot to another arm if the value is there. Whether or not the team could still chase Holland isn’t clear at this moment.
Righty Fernando Salas, meanwhile, remains one of the better available relievers. He’s still drawing interest from six unnamed teams, sources tell Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter link). While Salas has struggled a bit with limiting the long ball and hasn’t posted terribly exciting earned run averages over the past two years, he has run up some compelling K/BB numbers at times. Plus, Salas finished the 2016 season with a flourish, permitting just four earned runs on 11 hits over 17 1/3 frames while racking up 19 strikeouts without issuing a single walk.
Another right-handed reliever, Seth Maness, is set for a showcase on February 6th, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). The 28-year-old is looking to prove to organizations that he’s ready for camp after undergoing a new “primary repair” procedure — which Goold detailed here — in lieu of Tommy John surgery. Having already demonstrated a big groundball rate (59.4% for his career) and outstanding control (1.7 BB/9), there’ll be no shortage of interest if Maness looks anything like his usual self.
About half of the teams in the league came to watch lefty Craig Breslow throw recently, per Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com (via Twitter). The veteran is attempting to follow the Rich Hill model for a late-career renaissance, with buttressed strength work and a new arm angle. Breslow’s new motion can be seen in this video, provided by Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (courtesy of Twins scout Bill Mele, who was on hand). The 36-year-old has pitched in 11 major league seasons for seven different clubs, most recently appearing in 15 games for the Marlins in 2016.

Bullpen Notes: Nationals, Miller, Marlins

By Mark Polishuk | December 11, 2016 at 7:06pm CDT

Some items on the always-busy relief pitching market…

The Nationals explored acquiring Andrew Miller at last July’s trade deadline, though balked at the idea of moving Lucas Giolito and other prospects for the ace reliever, ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian recently noted (as cited by ESPN.com’s Buster Olney in his latest subscriber-only column). Trading for Miller would’ve solved Washington’s search for a long-term closer, and the Nats ended up moving Giolito anyway at the Winter Meetings to obtain Adam Eaton “in a market saturated with outfield options.” This decision presents an interesting what-if for Nats fans, though the answer could simply come down to the fact that the Nationals no longer valued Giolito as highly. “Their view of Giolito obviously changed completely. Whatever it was, they were working to move him,” an evaluator tells Olney.
Speaking of Miller, this offseason’s skyrocketing relief prices have made the Indians lefty a bargain for the team, Zack Meisel of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Miller is owed $9MM in each of the next two seasons, a fraction of what he would earn if he was on the open market this winter.
Brad Ziegler and Neftali Feliz have been mentioned as potential Marlins backup plans if they can’t sign Kenley Jansen, and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro also adds Fernando Salas and Junichi Tazawa to the team’s list of possible candidates. Overall, the Fish would be looking to add relievers with closing experience, though A.J. Ramos would likely remain Miami’s closer.

Free Agent Rumors: Red Sox, Orioles, Mets, Cahill, Drew

By Steve Adams | November 30, 2016 at 11:24am CDT

ESPN’s Scott Lauber joins other reporters in downplaying the possibility of Edwin Encarnacion signing with the Red Sox, noting that Boston is reluctant to give that type of long-term commitment to a DH and also isn’t keen on parting with a draft pick to sign him. Boston has been linked to Carlos Beltran extensively, and a source recently told Lauber that the Red Sox still “want him badly.” Boston has also reached out to Mike Napoli, according to Lauber, although if Napoli is truly seeking a three-year commitment (as was rumored yesterday), then the Sox may not want to wait around for his asking price to drop to a more reasonable level.

A few more notes on the free-agent market…

Angel Pagan is “definitely” on the Orioles’ radar as they look for help in the corner outfield and atop their lineup, reports Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. Though he’s battled injuries in recent years, the 35-year-old somewhat quietly batted .277/.331/.418 with 12 homers and 15 steals in 543 plate appearances for the Giants last year, and Connolly notes that he’d fit the Orioles’ from an offensive, defensive and financial standpoint. Per Connolly, the Orioles aren’t likely to spend heavily to address their leadoff/right field need. In a separate column, he also writes about the possibility of a reunion between Pedro Alvarez and the O’s, noting that some in the organization feel Alvarez is the likeliest of the team’s free agents to return (over Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters). Connolly also writes that many of Alvarez’s teammates spoke highly of him as both a teammate and a person.
The Mets still have no intention of pursuing one of the top three closers on the market, reports MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter links). DiComo checked in recently on Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon and was informed that there’s “little to no interest” from the Mets on that front. Rather, the team is looking at mid-tier free agents, and DiComo lists Fernando Salas as one example. Salas finished out the year in the Mets’ bullpen and performed brilliantly, firing 17 1/3 innings of 2.08 ERA ball with 19 strikeouts and no walks.
After enjoying a renaissance in the Cubs’ bullpen, Trevor Cahill is marketing himself as a starting pitcher this winter and has already received three offers, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Still just 28 years old (29 in March), Cahill turned in a 2.74 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 and a robust 56.6 percent ground-ball rate in 65 2/3 innings with the Cubs. While the walks are a concern, Cahill’s relative youth and the dearth of quality arms on the market make him a fairly intriguing roll of the dice in a rotation role.
The Angels have had some preliminary talks with free agent second baseman Stephen Drew, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (on Twitter). They haven’t had any sort of advanced talks with Drew’s camp though, and Fletcher characterizes him as one of several possibilities that is under consideration while noting that the Halos aren’t close to anything with any second base option. Drew logged a pair of brutal seasons at the plate in 2014-15 but hit well with the Nationals in 2016 when he batted .266/.339/.524 with eight homers in a very limited role. Drew picked up just 17 plate appearances against lefties last year and received only 165 PAs on the season as a whole.

Mets Acquire Fernando Salas

By Steve Adams | August 31, 2016 at 9:38pm CDT

The Mets announced that they have acquired right-handed reliever Fernando Salas from the Angels in exchange for minor league right-hander Erik Manoah. Justin Ruggiano has been moved to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Salas on the 40-man roster.

Salas, 31, has pitched to a 4.47 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 41.6 percent ground-ball rate in 56 1/3 innings of relief for the Angels this season. A free agent at season’s end, he represents a pure rental for the Mets, but a fairly affordable one, as he’s earning $2.4MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility. Salas has $419K of that sum remaining on his salary through season’s end. While his numbers certainly aren’t eye-catching, it’s worth noting that Salas has largely righted the ship after a dreadful month of June and has pitched quite well since early July. While the endpoint here is highly arbitrary in nature, Salas has a 2.60 ERA with an 18-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 48 percent ground-ball rate in his past 17 1/3 innings out of manager Mike Scisoscia’s bullpen.

With the Mets, Salas figures to work primarily in the seventh inning, as the eighth inning is typically the property of resurgent setup man Addison Reed, while the Mets boast one of baseball’s best closers in the form of right-hander Jeurys Familia. By acquiring Salas tonight, the Mets have ensured that he can be a part of the club’s roster in the event that they make it to the postseason. The deadline for newly acquired players to receive postseason eligibility is midnight EST.

Manoah, 20, was the Mets’ 13th-round pick in the 2014 draft. The Miami-area prep product hasn’t performed particularly well in his pro career to date, pitching to an ERA north of 5.00 in both 2015 and 2016. However, he has shown a penchant for missing bats, racking up 63 strikeouts in 62 innings out of the rotation for the Mets’ short-season Class-A affiliate this year, and he also keeps the ball on the ground quite well, as evidenced by a 50 percent ground-ball rate.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Thursday

By Jeff Todd | January 14, 2016 at 11:08pm CDT

Here are the day’s lower-value arbitration deals, with all projections coming via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

The Padres and southpaw Drew Pomeranz have avoided arb by agreeing to a one-year, $1.35MM deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That’s a near-match with Swartz’s projection of $1.3MM. Acquired in an offseason trade with the A’s, Pomeranz will slot into the San Diego ’pen this season and look to build on last season’s 86 innings of 3.66 ERA, during which he averaged 8.6 K.9 and 3.2 BB/9 to complement a 42.2 percent ground-ball rate.
Fernando Salas and the Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $2.4MM deal, thereby avoiding a hearing, per Rosenthal. The 30-year-old Salas, who will be a free agent next winter, posted a 4.24 ERA in 63 2/3 innings this past season but had more encouraging peripherals; Salas averaged 10.5 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 with a 35.1 percent ground-ball rate, prompting FIP (3.15) xFIP (3.23) and SIERA (2.65) to forecast markedly better results.
Right-hander Jeanmar Gomez and the Phillies have avoided arb with a one-year, $1.4MM agreement, Rosenthal tweets. The soon-to-be 28-year-old posted a strong 3.01 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 and also recorded a sound 48.8 percent ground-ball rate in 74 1/3 innings of relief across 65 appearances. He’ll again provide some valuable innings for the rebuilding Phillies.

Earlier Updates

Second baseman Brett Lawrie and the White Sox have avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a $4.125MM salary for the 2016 season, tweets Jon Heyman. Lawrie came over from Oakland in a trade this offseason and will look to follow up a .260/.299/.407 batting line with improved results in one of the American League’s most hitter-friendly venues. He cleared MLBTR’s $3.9MM projection by a bit more than five percent.
Twins left-hander Tommy Milone has agreed to terms at $4.5MM for the upcoming season, tweets Heyman. Another former member of the Green & Gold, Milone will look to lock down a spot Minnesota’s rotation after a solid campaign in which he delivered a 3.92 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 128 2/3 innings across 23 starts. Milone’s $4.5MM salary is an exact match with MLBTR’s projection.
Heyman also tweets that the Rays and outfielder Desmond Jennings are in agreement on a $3.3MM salary, meaning he cleared Swartz’s $3.1MM projection by a little more than six percent. Jennings had been projected to earn the same salary in 2016 after only totaling 108 plate appearances last year due to knee injuries, so he did well to secure a raise of some sort. He’ll hope for a full, healthy season in 2016 as he gears up for his final trip through arbitration next winter.
Derek Norris and the Padres are in agreement on a $2.925MM salary for the 2016 campaign, Heyman reports (Twitter link). He’ll fall shy of his $3.4MM projection on the heels of a .250/.305/.404 batting line and a career-best 14 home runs in his first season with the Padres. Norris will be arb-eligible twice more before free agency following the 2018 season.
The Marlins and right-hander Bryan Morris will avoid arbitration with a $1.35MM salary for the 2016 campaign, per Heyman. Morris will top MLBTR’s $1.35MM projection by a fair margin (percentage-wise). He wrapped up a solid 2015 season with a 3.14 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 63 innings of relief.
Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports that Danny Valencia has avoided arbitration with the Athletics by settling on a one-year, $3.15MM salary (Twitter link). He’ll fall a bit shy of his $3.4MM projection but still earn a sizable raise over the $1.675MM that he was awarded when topping Toronto in an arbitration hearing last winter (Oakland acquired him via waivers this past summer). Valencia’s raise comes on the strength of an outstanding .290/.345/.519 batting line and a career-high 18 homers between the two teams.
Mariners center fielder Leonys Martin has avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $4.15MM, tweets Heyman. Swartz’s model pegged him to repeat his $3.75MM salary on the heels of a poor 2015 campaign, though Martin’s playing time netted him a slight bump with his new team.
Rosenthal tweets that the Indians and Bryan Shaw have settled on a one-year, $2.75MM deal to avoid arbitration. Shaw, 28, has been one of Cleveland’s top setup men over the past two seasons, and he posted a 2.95 ERA with 7.6 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 64 innings this past season. He’ll take home just a bit less than MLBTR’s projection of $2.8MM.
The Orioles and right-hander Brad Brach are in agreement on a one-year, $1.25MM deal, also according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). That comes in slightly above MLBTR’s projection of $1.1MM for the right-hander, who logged a 2.72 ERA in 79 1/3 innings for Baltimore this past season.
Pirates left-hander Jeff Locke has settled at $3.025MM for the 2016 season, tweets Rosenthal. Locke tied a career-high with 30 starts in 2015, though the 4.49 ERA he recorded in last years’ 168 1/3 innings was a notable step down from the 3.69 mark he posted from 2013-14. He’ll come in about $400K shy of his $3.5MM projection.
The Tigers and Andrew Romine have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $900K, reports Heyman (on Twitter). That figure clears Swartz’s projection by $200K. Romine, who can earn more via playing time incentives (per MLB.com’s Jason Beck, on Twitter), will split utility infield duties with free-agent pickup Mike Aviles this season. The 30-year-old batted .255/.307/.315 in 203 plate appearances last year.
MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (via Twitter) that the Braves have avoided arb with righty Chris Withrow by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $610K — clearing Swartz’s projection by $10K. With two years, 132 days of service time, Withrow narrowly qualified as a Super Two player, meaning he’ll be eligible for arbitration four times. The former first-rounder missed the 2015 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery and found himself traded from L.A. to Atlanta over the course of the year as well.
Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar will receive a $605K salary for his Super Two season, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. Though he only projected at league minimum, after last appearing in the majors in 2013, the former top overall prospect in baseball got a nice bump after working hard through serious shoulder injuries. It remains to be seen how he’ll do upon moving back into the field, though Profar was able to make a productive return at the plate towards the end of 2015.
Outfielder Scott Van Slyke has settled at a $1.225MM figure with the Dodgers, Heyman reports on Twitter. That’s just a shade above his $1.2MM projection. The 29-year-old has emerged as a quality fourth outfielder, though he took a step back offensively last season while dealing with some injuries. All said, he owns a .253/.337/.442 batting line in 708 career plate appearances.
The White Sox have agreed to a $810K deal with lefty Dan Jennings, Heyman also tweets. He had projected at $700K in his Super Two season. Jennings, 28, has compiled a 2.99 ERA in 156 1/3 innings over parts of the last four seasons between the Marlins and White Sox. He’s struck out 7.5 and walked 3.9 batters per nine in that span.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday

By Steve Adams | January 16, 2015 at 5:55pm CDT

With the deadline to exchange arbitration figures set for noon CT, there figure to be a large number of agreements to avoid arb today, as there were yesterday. All arbitration agreements can be followed using MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker, and we’ll keep track of today’s smaller agreements in this post, with all projections coming courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…

Righty Henderson Alvarez agreed to a $4MM deal with the Marlins, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported earlier today on Twitter. Alvarez had been projected to earn $4.5MM after putting up a huge 187-inning, 2.65 ERA campaign entering his first season of arb eligibility.
The Athletics have agreed to a $1.4MM deal with righty Ryan Cook that includes, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports on Twitter. Cook gets a slight increase over the $1.3MM he had been projected to earn. Oakland has also inked outfielder Sam Fuld to a $1.75MM deal, per Mike Perchik of WAPT (via Twitter). He too lands just above his projection, which was for $1.6MM.
Outfielder Collin Cowgill avoided arbitration with the Angels for $995K, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. He was projected to earn $900K.
Righties David Carpenter and Nathan Eovaldi both have deals with the Yankees, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. Carpenter will earn about $1.3MM while Eovaldi will take home $3.3MM
The Rockies have a deal in place with lefty Rex Brothers, tweets MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. Brothers was projected to earn $1.3MM but will take home $1.4MM, Harding adds via Twitter.
ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers reports that the Cubs have settled with both Travis Wood and Luis Valbuena (Twitter links). Wood will receive $5.686MM — a bit north of his $5.5MM projection, while Valbuena will earn $4.2MM, per Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald (on Twitter). Valbuena was projected to earn $3.1MM.
Mike Perchick of WAPT in New Jersey has a wave of arbitration agreements, starting with the Astros and Hank Conger settling on a $1.075MM, which is just $25K behind Swartz’s projection (Twitter link).
Also via Perchick, the Athletics and Brett Lawrie settled on a $1.925MM contract (Twitter links). Lawrie, who had been projected at $1.8MM, was acquired by Oakland in the Josh Donaldson blockbuster.
Rockies backstop Michael McKenry will earn $1.0876MM in 2015, via Perchick. McKenry was projected by Swartz to earn $1.5MM.
Michael Pineda and the Yankees settled on a $2.1MM salary for the upcoming season, Perchick tweets, which is a direct match with Swartz’s projection.
Domonic Brown and the Phillies settled on a one-year pact worth $2.6MM, via Perchick, which represents a difference of just $100K between Swartz’s projection and the actual figure. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets that Ben Revere has avoided arbitration as well, and the club now announces that he’ll earn $4.1MM — $100K north of his $4MM projection.
Red Sox setup man Junichi Tazawa agreed to a $2.25MM payday, according to Perchick. Swartz had pegged him for a $2MM contract.

Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports (on Twitter) that Royals hurlers Tim Collins and Louis Coleman have settled for $1.475MM and $725K, respectively. Collins was projected at $1.5MM and Coleman at $700K.
The Rays have avoided arb with all of their eligible players. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that John Jaso will earn $3.175MM in 2015 after being projected at $3.3MM. Topkin also tweets that Logan Forsythe ($1.2MM projection) will earn $1.1MM. Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports (via Twitter) that Alex Cobb will receive $4MM (was projected at $4.5MM), Jake McGee will earn $3.55MM (projected $3.8MM) and Rene Rivera will earn $1.2MM (projected $1.3MM). Lastly, Drew Smyly will earn $2.65MM in 2015 with $50K of bonuses available based on games started, tweets Topkin. He was projected to earn $3MM.
Jason Castro will receive $4MM from the Astros for the 2015 season, tweets MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. He’d been projected at $3.9MM. Meanwhile, southpaw Tony Sipp settled on a $2.4MM deal with Houston, per the Chronicle’s Even Drellich (on Twitter). That figure is significantly higher than his $1.5MM projection.
The Twins and Casey Fien settled on a $1.375MM salary for 2015, tweets 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson, which is a bit north of his $1.1MM projection.
Marco Estrada will receive $3.9MM from the Blue Jays in 2015, tweets Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, which comes in lighter than his $4.7MM projection.
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times reports (on Twitter) that the Angels and Fernando Salas have settled on a one-year, $1.37MM deal for the 2015 season that comes in just shy of his $1.4MM projection.
Hernandez also tweets that the Dodgers will pay Justin Turner $2.5MM in 2015 — which is $300K north of his $2.2MM projection.
The Cubs and Jake Arrieta settled at $3.63MM for 2015, tweets Heyman, which is south of Swartz’s $4.1MM estimate.
The Pirates and Francisco Cervelli settled at $987.5K, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports — a figure that is $112K below MLBTR’s projection.
Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that Jared Hughes and the Pirates have settled at $1.075MM, or $25K less than his projected $1.1MM payday.
The Athletics and Josh Reddick agreed to a $4.1MM salary, per Heyman, which is $400K higher than his projected salary of $3.7MM.
Trevor Plouffe and Eduardo Nunez have settled on $4.8MM and $1.025MM salaries, respectively, with the Twins, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The duo projected to earn respective salaries of $4.3MM and $1.2MM.
Shawn Kelley’s agent, Mike McCann, tweets that his client agreed to a $2.835MM salary with the Padres, which is $335K higher than his $2.5MM projection.
ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports that Dillon Gee ($5.3MM) and Ruben Tejada ($1.88MM) have both settled on 2015 salaries with the Mets (Twitter links). Their respective projections called for salaries of $5.1MM and $1.7MM.
The Padres and Andrew Cashner have settled on a one-year, $4.05MM deal to avoid arb, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The figure is a bit south of the talented but oft-injured righty’s $4.3MM projection.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (on Twitter) that Kevin Jepsen and the Rays have settled on a one-year, $3.025MM pact to avoid arbitration. That figure is a ways north of his $2.6MM projection.
Heyman tweets that Michael Saunders and the Blue Jays have avoided arb with a $2.875MM, one-year deal. Saunders was acquired from the Mariners in a swap for J.A. Happ this season and will serve as Toronto’s everyday left fielder. He had projected to earn $2.9MM.
Heyman also tweets that Juan Nicasio and the Dodgers have avoided arb with a one-year, $2.3MM deal. Nicasio was picked up from the Rockies after being designated for assignment earlier this offseason. That’s just a bit less than his $2.4MM projection.
Justin Ruggiano and the Mariners are in agreement on a one-year, $2.505MM deal to avoid arbitration, tweets Heyman. That figure represents just a $5K difference from his $2.5MM projection. Ruggiano should pair with Seth Smith to form a very solid platoon in right field for the Mariners.
Heyman adds that Antonio Bastardo has avoided arb and will earn $3.1MM in 2015. The Pirates acquired Bastardo from the Phillies this offseason, and he had been projected to earn $2.8MM in his final year of team control.
Agent Tom O’Connell tweets that the Padres and Dale Thayer have avoided arb by agreeing to a one-year, $1.375MM contract. The 34-year-old Thayer has been an excellent find for the Padres after signing a minor league deal prior to the 2012 season. In three years with San Diego, the Mets and Rays farmhand has notched a 3.02 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He’s also picked up eight saves along the way, filling in at various points when Huston Street was injured or unavailable.
The Rangers announced that they’ve agreed to a one-year deal with lefty Ross Detwiler, who was acquired this offseason in a trade with the Nationals. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that Detwiler will earn $3.45MM — a bit north of his $3MM projection. Detwiler has had success as a starter and reliever in his big league career. He shifted back to the bullpen in 2014 but should compete for a rotation spot in 2015 with his new team.
Zack Cozart and the Reds have avoided arb by settling on a one-year, $2.35MM pact, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Cozart, who was projected to earn $2.3MM, is one of the game’s best defensive shortstops but batted a meek .221/.268/.300 in 2014. He’s controllable through the 2016 season.
Twins lefty Tommy Milone has agreed to a $2.775MM salary for the 2015 season, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Acquired for Sam Fuld at the trade deadline, Milone struggled in 2014, posting a 7.06 ERA in five starts for the Twins, but a 3.91 career ERA at the time of the trade suggests that he can deliver improved results in 2015. Milone was projected to earn $2.8MM in 2015.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports (via Twitter) that the Cubs and Welington Castillo have avoided arb by agreeing to a one-year, $2.1MM contract, matching Swartz’s projection exactly. The 27-year-old Castillo has batted .255/.323/.393 in 845 plate appearances as the Cubs’ primary catcher over the past two seasons, though he figures to have a reduced role in 2015 following the acquisition of Miguel Montero. As such, his name has frequently surfaced in trade rumors this offseason.
The Pirates and catcher Chris Stewart have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.225MM to avoid arb, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The defensively gifted backstop hit .294/.362/.331 in 154 plate appearances with the Pirates last year and may see more time at the plate now that he’ll be splitting catching duties with Francisco Cervelli rather than Russell Martin. He falls just shy of his $1.3MM projection.
Marlins right-hander Aaron Crow has avoided arb by agreeing to a $1.975MM salary that is just $25K shy of his $2MM projection, tweets Heyman. Crow posted a career-worst 4.12 ERA with a career-low 5.2 K/9 in 59 frames for the Royals last season, but Miami clearly sees him as a rebound candidate, given the fact that they sent lefty Brian Flynn to the Royals in December to acquire Crow’s final two years of arbitration eligibility.
MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets that the Cubs have avoided arb with Chris Coghlan by agreeing to a one-year, $2.505MM deal. The 2009 NL Rookie of the Year enjoyed a resurgent season in his first year with Chicago, hitting a healthy .283/.352/.452 with nine homers in 432 plate appearances. He figures to platoon with offseason signee Chris Denorfia in left field. Coghlan significantly overshot his $1.4MM projection.
Yusmeiro Petit and the Giants have avoided arb by agreeing to a one-year, $2.1MM deal, tweets Heyman. The 30-year-old Petit had a brilliant season in 2014, setting a new Major League record for consecutive batters retired (46) and working to a 3.69 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 117 innings between the bullpen and the rotation. Metrics like FIP (2.78) and SIERA (2.84) feel he pitched much better than his ERA would indicate. Petit did well, topping his $1.6MM projection.
The Rays and Desmond Jennings have avoided arb by agreeing to a $3.1MM salary for 2015, according to Heyman (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had somewhat of a down season at the dish in 2014, batting .244/.319/.378 with 10 homers and 15 steals, and a knee injury late in the season limited him to 123 games. Jennings’ contract falls in line with his $3.2MM projection. He will receive an additional $25K for reaching 550 PA, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
The D-Backs and Jeremy Hellickson have avoided arb by settling on a one-year, $4.275MM pact, tweets Heyman. Hellickson, acquired this offseason from the Rays, posted a 4.52 ERA in 63 2/3 innings with 7.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in an injury-shortened season. The former Rookie of the Year was projected to earn $3.9MM.

NL West Rumors: Morse, Rosario, Rockies, Padres

By Zachary Links | December 10, 2014 at 12:36pm CDT

The latest from the NL West..

The Giants are looking for left field help but they’re not focused on Michael Morse, according to Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News (via Twitter). SF loved what Morse did for them, but defense is a big concern for the club at the moment. Both the Orioles and Marlins are known to have interest in the 32-year-old (33 by Opening Day).
A number of teams, mostly AL clubs, have inquired on Wilin Rosario and the Rangers appear to be the frontrunners, writes Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. Texas has relievers that interest the Rockies, including right-handers Roman Mendez, Jon Edwards, Shawn Tolleson, Phil Kleinand Spencer Patton, as well as lefty Robbie Ross Jr.
If the Rockies and Angels get serious about a Josh Rutledge deal, Saunders writes that Colorado could target right-handers Vinnie Pestano and Fernando Salas. As of last night, the two teams were only talking and had yet to exchange proposals.
The Padres are now among the teams that are kicking the tires on Mets pitchers Dillon Gee and/or Jonathon Niese, a source told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
The Dodgers were said to be among the finalists for Andrew Miller but it turns out they never even made an offer, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).

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