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AL West Notes: Davis, Astros, Gomez

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Athletics slugger Khris Davis had his arbitration hearing yesterday, as Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first tweeted, and the results should become known later today. The 29-year-old Davis was somewhat quietly a nice addition for the A’s, hitting .247/.307/.524 with a career-best 42 home runs in 610 trips to the plate. Oakland submitted a $4.65MM figure in arbitration, while Davis’ camp was seeking $5MM (as is shown in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker). While the difference in figures seems largely trivial to most fans, there’s obviously a notable difference to Davis both this year and moving forward, as a higher 2017 mark will bode better for future arbitration raises. For those interested in the team side of the matter, I spoke to multiple GMs and assistant GMs about arbitration from the team angle a couple of years ago.

A couple more notes on the AL West…

  • Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros have set hearing dates for their remaining three arbitration cases. Collin McHugh, who filed for a $3.85MM salary and was met with a $3.35MM counter from the team, is set to go to a trial on Feb. 10. Utility infielder Marwin Gonzalez ($4.2MM vs. $3.25MM) has a hearing set for Feb. 14. Setup man Will Harris ($2.3MM vs. $1.95MM), meanwhile, is slated for a hearing on Feb. 17. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart writes that the Astros still expect to avoid a hearing with at least one of those players.
  • Rangers center fielder Carlos Gomez brought assistant hitting coach Justin Mashore to his home in the Dominican Republic for a one-week refresher on the alterations the Rangers made to his swing this past August, writes Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Mashore and Texas hitting coach Anthony Iapoce both worked with Gomez to balance out his swing in an effort to see pitches a bit longer and to cut down on some of the wild hacks he’s been prone to taking at various points in his career (especially in his time with Houston). After hitting .221/.277/.342 in parts of two seasons in Houston, Gomez came to life with a .284/.362/.543 batting line and eight homers in 33 games with the Rangers late last season. The 31-year-old Gomez re-signed with Texas on a one-year, $11.5MM contract earlier this offseason in hopes of replicating that production over the course of a full season and re-entering the market next winter with a much stronger platform.

AL West Notes: Rasmus, Gonzalez, Lambo, Choi

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Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus, who accepted a qualifying offer from Houston this November rather than test the free-agent market, tells Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle that he’d like to remain an Astro until retirement. “As I stand here right now, I’d like to see myself in Houston for the rest of my playing career,” said Rasmus. “I would really like that. I think that would be great for my family. I enjoy it here. I think there’s great people, great atmosphere that they’re trying to create — the organization as a whole wanting to win and putting good players on the field.” That may seem a lengthy goal for a player on a one-year deal, though it’s worth remembering that Rasmus has previously expressed that he may not want as lengthy a career as many players. Early in the 2015 season, Rasmus said he may only want to play through the 2018 season, voicing a desire to leave time in his life for his wife and daughters. It’s not clear if Rasmus has rethought his future following a seemingly very positive first year in Houston, but his comments will certainly be worth recalling come season’s end as he prepares to re-enter the free agent market.

Here’s more on the Astros and their division…

  • The left wrist and index finger pain that plagued Astros infielder Marwin Gonzalez over the final month of the season and into the playoffs has subsided this winter, he tells the Chronicle’s Evan Drellich. The switch-hitting Gonzalez’s swing was severely hampered when batting as a left-handed hitter, he explained, but he was able to hit for the first time this offseason yesterday and expects to be good to go when Spring Training rolls around. Gonzalez, a former Rule 5 pick, has emerged as a very solid utility option for Houston and had his best season in 2015 when he batted .279/.317/.442 with 12 homers while playing all four infield positions and left field as well. He avoided arbitration by settling on a $2MM salary last week.
  • John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group explores the parallels between Andrew Lambo’s arrival in the Athletics’ organization and the arrival of Brandon Moss several years ago. As Hickey notes, both were 28-year-old left-handed hitters that had converted from the outfield to first base and had consistent track records of power in the minor leagues. Lambo spoke to Hickey and acknowledged that he’s aware of the comparison, noting that it’s hard not to be, considering the fact that he knows Moss from the pair’s days together in the Pirates organization. Lambo tells Hickey that he feels recovered from the plantar fasciitis that plagued him in 2015. He’ll hope to earn a 25-man roster spot in Oakland, though as Hickey notes, the presence of Yonder Alonso as a left-handed-hitting first baseman and Coco Crisp in left field could cloud his chances to break camp with the club.
  • The removal of Efren Navarro from the Angels’ 40-man roster to clear space for right-hander Al Alburquerque creates a potential path to a roster spot for Rule 5 pick Ji-Man Choi, writes MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. The 24-year-old Choi lost his 40-man spot with the Mariners last spring when he suffered a fractured leg in Spring Training but remained in the organization and returned late in the season to bat .290/.388/.406 in 89 minor league plate appearances. Choi, a left-handed bat, has a lifetime .280/.379/.401 slash at Triple-A and has gaudy numbers against right-handed pitching throughout his minor league tenure. As Gonzalez notes, however, the acquisition of a left fielder — either via free agency or trade — would likely push Daniel Nava into the role for which Choi could currently vie.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday

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

Onto the agreements…

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

There are plenty more after the jump:

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