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Tender Deadline Signings: 11/30/21

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With the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming tonight at 8pm ET — the MLBPA and MLB jointly agreed to move the deadline up a couple days due to the looming expiration of the collective bargaining agreement — we’ll likely see a slew of arbitration-eligible players signing one-year deals.

It’s commonplace for a large batch of players to sign deals in the hours leading up to the tender deadline. “Pre-tender” deals of this nature often fall shy of projections due to the fact that teams use the looming threat of a non-tender to enhance their leverage. Arbitration contracts at this juncture are often take-it-or-leave-it propositions, with the “leave it” end of that arrangement resulting in the player being cut loose. Given the widely expected lockout, there could be more incentive than usual for borderline non-tender candidates to take those offers rather than being cast out into free agency just hours before a transaction freeze is implemented.

As a reminder, arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed. In a typical year, a team can cut a player on an arb contract at any point before the halfway point in Spring Training and only be responsible for 30 days’ termination pay (about one-sixth of the contract). Releasing a player in the second half of Spring Training bumps the termination pay to 45 days of his prorated salary.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for each team’s arbitration-eligible players last month, although for many of the players listed below, this isn’t so much avoiding arbitration as it is avoiding a non-tender. Here’s a look at today’s agreements…

  • The Yankees have agreed to deals with infielder Gio Urshela and right-hander Domingo German, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). Urshela will make $6.55MM, while German has agreed to a $1.75MM deal. Urshela has two seasons of control remaining; German is controllable for three years. Urshela is coming off a .267/.301/.419 showing while playing third base and shortstop. German tossed 98 1/3 innings of 4.58 ERA ball.
  • The Twins have signed three arbitration-eligible pitchers, per reports from Feinsand and Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (on Twitter). Right-hander Jharel Cotton signed for $700K, reliever Caleb Thielbar lands $1.3MM and reliever Tyler Duffey signs for $3.8MM. Thielbar and Duffey were both productive members of the Minnesota relief corps in 2021. Cotton was recently claimed off waivers from the Rangers.
  • The Giants have agreed to terms with outfielder Austin Slater on a $1.85MM deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 28-year-old (29 next month) appeared at all three spots on the grass while hitting .241/.320/.423 over 306 plate appearances in 2021.
  • Reliever Emilio Pagan and the Padres have agreed on a $2.3MM deal, reports Rosenthal (on Twitter). The 30-year-old worked 63 1/3 innings of 4.83 ERA/3.93 SIERA ball this past season.
  • The Diamondbacks agreed to a $2MM deal with left-hander Caleb Smith, reports Zach Buchanan of the Athletic (via Twitter). The 30-year-old posted a 4.83 ERA/4.68 SIERA across 113 2/3 innings in a swing capacity in 2021.

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Giants Activate Wilmer Flores, Austin Slater

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The Giants have activated Wilmer Flores and Austin Slater from the injured list, and both players are in today’s starting lineup against the Cubs.  Right-hander John Brebbia and left-hander Caleb Baragar were optioned to Triple-A to create roster room.

Slater is back after spending a week on the concussion-related IL.  Back on September 4, the outfielder was concussed after crashing into the wall while trying to catch a Trea Turner home run.  Fortunately, Slater is back in pretty short order, and he’ll resume his part-time role on San Francisco’s depth chart.  Slater has hit .227/.313/.395 over 288 total plate appearances this season, with much of that damage coming against southpaws — Slater has a .263/.364/.480 slash line and eight home runs in 176 PA against left-handed pitching.

Flores also has a well-earned reputation as a lefty-masher, though he has a comparatively modest .273/.316/.438 slash line in 136 PA against southpaws this year.  Between that production and similar numbers against righties, Flores is batting .249/.319/.438 with 17 homers in 389 total PA in 2021.

After suffering a left hamstring strain on September 2, Flores is back after missing only the minimum 10 days, beating manager Gabe Kapler’s initial expectation that Flores would be out “a couple of weeks.”  Hamstring injuries have been a persistent issue for Flores for much of the year, and he also missed 10 days with a right hamstring strain in May.

Giants Designate Aaron Sanchez For Assignment

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The Giants have designated Aaron Sanchez for assignment, per Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. Additionally, John Brebbia was recalled, Kevin Gausman was reinstated from the paternity list and Thairo Estrada was optioned to Triple-A.

Signed to a one-year deal in the offseason, Sanchez’s season got off to a nice enough start. After six starts, he had an ERA of 3.18. But he struggled to pitch deep into games, never going longer than five innings. On May 8th, he was placed on the IL with biceps tightness and then struggled to return because of blister issues during his rehab, something that has plagued him over the course of his career. He was eventually reinstated from the IL July 29th and has made three appearances since then, but evidently not showing enough promise to hold onto a roster spot. Overall, he’s thrown 35 1/3 innings this season with an ERA of 3.06, with his typical mix of low strikeouts but lots of ground balls.

Sanchez is playing on a $4MM salary, of which about $1.2MM remains to be paid out. If some pitching-needy team were to grab him off waivers, they could do so with a modest increase to the payroll and luxury tax ledger. Though it’s also possible that teams will just wait for him to clear waivers, at which point they could pay him the prorated league minimum with the Giants on the hook for the rest of that money. The contract signed between Sanchez and the Giants also came with incentives based on games started, beginning once he reached his 16th of the season. Since he’s currently sitting at seven starts on the year, it seems unlikely any of those incentives will be reached.

Brebbia pitched very well for the Cardinals from 2017 to 2019, throwing 175 innings with an ERA of 3.14, a strikeout rate of 27.4% and walk rate of 7.5%. Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2020 season, leading to the Cardinals non-tendering him, before he signed with the Giants. In 15 innings thus far for San Fran, he has a 6.60 ERA, though advanced metrics are much more bullish.

Giants Designate Mike Tauchman For Assignment

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The Giants announced that they’ve designated outfielder Mike Tauchman for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. San Francisco has also reinstated Brandon Crawford from the 10-day injured list, reinstated Aaron Sanchez from the 60-day injured list (hence the 40-man move) and optioned righty John Brebbia to Triple-A.

Tauchman, 30, came to the Giants in an early-season swap that sent left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta to the Yankees. The former Rockies farmhand had a surprise breakout with the Yankees in 2019 but took a step back in 2020 and has yet to produce much in 2021 with either New York or San Francisco. The Giants gave Tauchman 175 plate appearances, but he managed only a .178/.286/.283 with four homers and four doubles. The Giants valued Tauchman’s glove in center field, and he made a couple of key home run robberies during his time as a Giant.

Ultimately, however, the Giants simply ran out of room for Tauchman on the big league roster — and because he’s out of minor league options, he can’t simply be sent to Triple-A. San Francisco has Mike Yastrzemski, Steven Duggar, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, Darin Ruf and LaMonte Wade Jr. as outfield alternatives on the MLB roster at the moment, and the Giants have been tied to some possible outfield upgrades on the trade market as well (e.g. the since-traded Starling Marte and the still-available Kyle Schwarber).

The Giants can trade Tauchman to another club if they can find a partner prior to tomorrow afternoon’s deadline. Otherwise he’ll be placed on outright waivers and made available for all 29 other teams to claim.

Giants Reinstate John Brebbia, Move Aaron Sanchez To 60-Day IL

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Just over a year removed from Tommy John surgery, John Brebbia is back in the majors, as the Giants announced that the right-hander has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list.  Left-hander Conner Menez was optioned to Triple-A after yesterday’s game to open a spot on San Francisco’s active roster, while righty Aaron Sanchez was moved to the 60-day IL to create room for Brebbia on the 40-man roster.

Brebbia’s TJ procedure took place on June 3, 2020, so he has returned to action quicker than expected considering the normal 13-to-15 month recovery period.  Brebbia hasn’t pitched in a big league game since he threw two-thirds of an inning for the Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2019 NLCS against the Nationals.

The Cards decided to non-tender Brebbia in December rather than pay a projected $800K in Brebbia’s first year of arbitration eligibility, and the Giants stepped in to sign the righty for a one-year deal worth $800K in guaranteed money.  Since Brebbia is arb-controlled through the 2023 season, the Giants rolled the dice on a long-term investment in a reliever who looked good over his first three MLB seasons.

Originally a 30th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2011 draft, Brebbia played in the minors and in the independent leagues before St. Louis selected him away from the Diamondbacks in the minor league version of 2015 Rule 5 Draft.  That ended up being a tremendous pick for the Cardinals, as Brebbia posted a 3.14 ERA/3.61 SIERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate over 175 relief innings from 2017-19.

Sanchez has already been on the injured list since May 8 due to biceps inflammation, but the shift to the 60-day IL is a discouraging sign considering that he was already on a minor league rehab assignment.  The other troubling aspect is that the biceps injury may no longer be Sanchez’s chief concern, as he left his most recent outing after only 50 pitches due to a blister on his throwing hand.  Blister problems in 2017 were the first of many injuries that have sidetracked Sanchez’s career over the last four-plus years, though it appeared he was putting things together after signing with the Giants in the offseason.  Sanchez had a 3.18 ERA/4.26 SIERA over 28 1/3 innings before his biceps problem surfaced.

NL West Notes: Rockies, Schmidt, Brebbia, Weathers

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“At the end of the day it’s going to come down to, what are they offering?” Rockies interim GM Bill Schmidt said of his team’s deadline plans, telling MLB.com’s Thomas Harding and other reporters that the front office isn’t under a mandate to cut payroll.  To this end, it’s possible a prime trade chip like Trevor Story isn’t moved at all, if no club makes the Rockies an acceptable offer.

Story is reportedly not planning to re-sign with Colorado when he enters free agency after the season, though if the Rox didn’t trade him at the deadline, the team wouldn’t be left completely empty-handed if Story departed.  Since Story would assuredly reject Colorado’s qualifying offer, the Rockies would be in line for a compensatory draft pick after the first round of the draft.  “I trust our ability to make a good pick,” Schmidt said, noting that Story himself (as well as Nolan Arenado and Ryan McMahon) were all selected by the Rockies within that general range of the draft order.  Of course, this could also very well be gamesmanship on Schmidt’s part, letting trade suitors know that they’ll need to top the value of a first-round sandwich pick in order to land Story at the deadline.

More from the NL West…

  • John Brebbia underwent Tommy John surgery a little over a year ago, and the right-hander is making steady progress in his recovery.  The right-hander has already made six appearances for the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, and Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group writes that Brebbia’s next step is pitching in consecutive games, which he is scheduled to do tonight and Tuesday.  After the Cardinals non-tendered Brebbia last winter, San Francisco signed Brebbia to a one-year, $800K contract, and he is still under team control via arbitration through the 2023 campaign.  That could end up being a very shrewd acquisition for the Giants, especially if Brebbia is indeed able to make a relatively quick return from TJ surgery (the normal recovery timeline is 13-15 months) and match the solid numbers he posted out of the Cards’ bullpen from 2017-19.
  • The Padres are moving Ryan Weathers to the bullpen, as the team will return to a normal five-man rotation and use Weathers to boost the heavily-worked San Diego relief corps.  Manager Jayce Tingler told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that the other starters had the benefit of a recent off-day for extra rest, but added that while the Weathers move is “going to help the team…it’s not necessarily permanent.”  After appearing in the NLDS last season, Weathers made his regular-season MLB debut this year and has posted a 2.44 ERA over 44 1/3 innings, starting eight of 13 games.  Despite that nice ERA, Weathers has a 4.49 SIERA, and has been aided by an 87.2% strand rate and a .225 BABIP.  As Tingler noted, it is quite possible Weathers will again be used as a starter should injuries or circumstances dictate, but for now, the Padres will go with Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Chris Paddack, and Dinelson Lamet as their starting five.

NL West Injury Notes: Dodgers, Rockies, Giants

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Brusdar Graterol’s placement on the 60-day injured list was either a procedural move or incorrect, depending on who you ask, but the Dodgers’ right-hander does plan on returning to the field in less than 60 days. His delayed debut this season is “related to COVID from the past,” per Jorge Castillo of the LA Times. It’s a peculiar situation surrounding the flame-throwing Venezuelan. He’s not hurt, simply behind. He didn’t begin throwing this spring until late in March, and he’s still working himself into game shape. Let’s make the rounds to see how other arms are progressing out west…

  • Kyle Freeland is working his way back from a shoulder injury suffered near the end of spring training, and there’s no timetable for his return. That said, he does appear to be making progress, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Specifics remain scarce, but the presumption seems to be that Freeland’s injury won’t threaten his season. The Rockies are able to start the season with a four man rotation, but they’ll soon need to add another arm to the mix beyond German Marquez, Antonio Senzatela, Jon Gray, and Austin Gomber. Newly-signed Jhoulys Chacin could be a candidate for bulk innings. Keep an eye on Antonio Santos in the long-term. The 24-year-old righty made his debut last season after just eight starts in Double-A. He may not be the first name called this season, but he’s likely to find his way back to the Majors at some point in 2021.
  • The Giants released a number of injury updates, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter). Jaylin Davis will be out for four to six weeks as he rehabs left knee tendinitis. John Brebbia and Tyler Beede are both throwing twice-weekly bullpens as they prepare to come back from Tommy John surgery. Dedniel Nunez underwent his own Tommy John surgery this past Tuesday, and he will begin his rehab process this week. Lastly, Alex Wood threw a sim game as he tries to return from a lower back strain. Wood was expected to play a big role in the Giants rotation picture this season, and they still hope that’s the case.

AL Central Notes: Indians, Rosario, Bradley, Brebbia, Tigers

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The Indians made a notable move in agreeing to re-sign Cesar Hernandez earlier today, and more signings could be in the offing, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Cleveland has “more irons in the free agent fire.”  That interest doesn’t seem to extend to Eddie Rosario, however, as Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Rosario is “not on the team’s radar.”  Jackie Bradley Jr. may also not be an option, as while the Tribe likes the former Gold Glove winner, Pluto believes Bradley will be too expensive for Cleveland’s liking.

More from the AL Central…

  • In his latest podcast, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson (audio link) reports that the Twins made an offer to free agent John Brebbia before the right-hander signed with the Giants in December.  Brebbia underwent Tommy John surgery last June, so it remains to be seen if he’ll pitch at all during the 2021 season, but he is controllable through the 2023 season.  Brebbia posted some strong numbers (3.14 ERA, 27.4K%, 19.9K-BB%) over 175 innings out of the Cardinals’ bullpen from 2017-19.
  • Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic) that the team might give Isaac Paredes a look as a second baseman, as “there’s no harm in trying” to see if Paredes can contribute at another position.  Paredes was used exclusively as a third baseman during his 2020 rookie season, but he has made 27 starts as a second baseman in the minors and also quite a bit of time at the keystone in the Mexican Winter League.  Paredes would seemingly be Detroit’s top choice as the regular third baseman in 2021, though there is some flexibility given that Niko Goodrum, Harold Castro, and Sergio Alcantara can all play multiple positions.
  • Also from Hinch, “in an ideal world, there’s somebody out there who can help us” at catcher, though Hinch stopped short of saying that the Tigers will definitely look to add a new face to the current catching mix.  Grayson Greiner, Jake Rogers, Eric Haase, and minor league signing Dustin Garneau comprise the Tigers’ choices behind the plate.

Giants Sign John Brebbia

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The Giants have signed right-handed reliever John Brebbia to a major league deal worth $800K for next season, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group reports. It’s fully guaranteed, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Brebbia came available when the Cardinals non-tendered him earlier this month. They would have owed him a projected $800K in arbitration had they kept Brebbia, but after he missed all of last season because of Tommy John surgery, the Cardinals decided to go in another direction. He could be a member of the Giants for the next three seasons, as he’s under arbitration control through 2023.

Because he went under the knife in late June, Brebbia will not be able to help the Giants for at least the first couple months of next season – if it starts on time or anywhere close, that is. But the Giants are nonetheless taking a low-risk chance on a pitcher who posted terrific numbers out of the Cardinals’ bullpen from 2017-19. Brebbia, now 30 years old, combined for 175 innings of 3.14 ERA/3.39 FIP ball with 10.18 K/9 and 2.79 BB/9 during that span. Despite a paltry 28 percent groundball rate, Brebbia has allowed just 0.98 home runs per nine during his career.

National League Non-Tenders

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With revenue losses expected to result in reduced payrolls around baseball, a larger number of players than usual are expected to be let go by their current teams by tonight’s 7pm CT non-tender deadline.  Some of these players could end up re-signing with their teams for salaries below what they were projected (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) to earn through the arbitration process, or teams could end up simply opting to explore other options…with many of those options arriving on the market through this same non-tender process.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through the list of National League players who have been let go in this post.

Earlier Non-Tenders

  • The Cardinals non-tendered righty John Brebbia and outfielder Rangel Ravelo, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. Brebbia had played a significant role in the St. Louis pen for his first three MLB campaigns but is still recovering from mid-2020 Tommy John surgery.
  • Right-handed reliever Clay Holmes has been non-tendered by the Pirates, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to cover on Twitter. The 27-year-old hurler made it into just one MLB contest in 2020 owing to a forearm injury.
  • The Marlins have decided not to tender a contract to righty Ryne Stanek, Craig Mish of Sports Grid first tweeted. He joins fellow right-hander Jose Urena in departing via non-tender. (Urena had already been designated for assignment.) Stanek, 29, struggled with the free pass in limited action this year but has been a quality, high-strikeout arm in the past and could be an interesting name to watch on the open market.
  • In addition to Shreve, the Mets announced the non-tenders of righties Ariel Jurado, Paul Sewald, and Nick Tropeano.
  • The Mets will not tender a contract to left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve, Robert Murray of FanSided tweets. Shreve performed reasonably well in 2020, logging a 3.96 ERA/3.99 FIP with 12.24 K/9 and 4.32 BB/9 in 25 innings, but the Mets will nonetheless move on instead of paying him around $1MM in arbitration.
  • The Padres won’t tender a contract to infielder Greg Garcia, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Garcia, 31, posted a woeful .200/.279/.250 batting line in 2020, albeit in a tiny sample of 71 plate appearances. In parts of two seasons with the Friars, he slashed .240/.351/.337, but the team opted not to give him a raise on last year’s $1.5MM salary.
  • The Reds have non-tendered outfielder Brian Goodwin, he announced on Twitter (hat tip to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Goodwin, whom the Reds acquired from the Angels over the summer, slashed .215/.299/.417 with six home runs and five stolen bases over 164 plate appearances between the teams in 2020. He was due to earn a projected $2.7MM to $3.6MM in arbitration.
  • The Cubs have told Jose Martinez he isn’t being tendered a contract, ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers reports (Twitter link).  Acquired from the Rays in a deadline deal, Martinez went hitless over 22 plate appearances with Chicago, only reaching base once on a walk.  The 32-year-old mashed for the Cardinals from 2016-18, but delivered closer to league-average production in 2019 with St. Louis and with the Rays last season prior to the trade.
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