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Health Notes: Kershaw, Lewis, Barnes

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Clayton Kershaw threw a 30-35 pitch bullpen session this afternoon, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). It marked the star southpaw’s second bullpen work of the week, as he also tossed 35 pitches on Memorial Day. The team will monitor how Kershaw feels over the coming days, but it’s possible he heads out on a minor league rehab assignment as soon as this weekend.

Kershaw has been on the injured list since May 13 after experiencing some inflammation in the SI joint of his right hip area. The team initially expressed hope he’d be back after a minimal 15-day stint, although that proved untenable once the three-time Cy Young award winner experienced continued soreness. Now that he’s back on a mound and potentially nearing a rehab assignment, however, it seems as if he could be back at Dodger Stadium by the middle of the month. Before the injury, Kershaw had been characteristically excellent, posting a 1.80 ERA through five starts.

Some more health situations of note:

  • The Mariners placed outfielder Kyle Lewis on the seven-day concussion injured list, retroactive to May 29, before tonight’s game against the Orioles. There’s no indication the 26-year-old is in for a long-term absence, but it’s another health setback for a player who has dealt with more than his fair share of injuries. Lewis’ previous issues have typically been related to his right knee, and he only made his season debut on May 24 after he missed the final few months of last season due to a meniscus tear and a bone bruise in the joint. To take Lewis’ spot on the active roster, infielder Abraham Toro is back from the 10-day IL. The switch-hitting Toro is off to a disappointing .179/.237/.366 start through 135 plate appearances. He missed the minimal amount of time on the shelf recovering from a left shoulder sprain.
  • The Red Sox placed reliever Matt Barnes on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 31, before this evening’s contest with the Reds. He’s dealing with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. It’ll be a reset opportunity for Barnes, whose struggles down the stretch last season have carried over into this year. Through 20 games, the right-hander has a 7.94 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. That’s on the heels of a 6.48 ERA in the second half of 2021, an out-of-the-blue downturn for a pitcher who earned a deserved All-Star nod during a dominant first-half performance. Barnes signed a two-year, $18.75MM extension last July — a deal that looked team-friendly at the time but has gone immediately haywire. To take Barnes’ spot on the roster, fellow reliever Matt Strahm has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list following a two-day absence.

Red Sox To Sign Matt Strahm

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The Boston Red Sox are in agreement with reliever Matt Strahm on a one-year deal, per Robert Murray of FanSided (via Twitter).  The deal is pending a physical. The contract is worth $3MM, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter).

Strahm spent the past four seasons with the Padres after two years with the Royals, the team that drafted him out of Neosho County Community College in Kansas. The 30-year-old southpaw has mostly pitched out of the bullpen, but he does boast swingman potential, having made 25 starts over his six-year career.

Last season, however, was a bit of a lost year for Strahm. He logged just 6 1/3 innings over six appearances for the Padres, with another three appearances in Triple-A. Strahm missed most of the year after surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his knee. He returned in August, only to land back on the injured list later in the month with knee inflammation.

The contract total, while not at all exorbitant, does reflect an expectation for Strahm to hold down a place in Boston’s bullpen. Before the knee injury cut short his 2020 season, Strahm had posted a 3.66 ERA/4.14 FIP in 196 2/3 innings from 2018 to 2020, so there’s certainly reason to assume the lefty can make an impact in Boston. Strahm joins Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Austin Davis as potential southpaws available to manager Alex Cora out of the bullpen.

National League Non-Tenders: 11/30/21

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We’ve now passed the deadline for teams to tender contracts to pre-arb and arbitration-eligible players. We’ll keep track of the more minor players non-tendered in the National League here. The American League non-tenders are available at this link.

As a reminder, you can view MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s projected salaries for arbitration-eligible players here:

  • The Cardinals announced they’ve non-tendered utilityman José Rondon. The right-handed hitting infielder tallied 90 plate appearances this past season while suiting up at a handful of position.
  • The Giants announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Luis González, right-hander Sam Delaplane and southpaw Joe Palumbo. None of that trio was arbitration-eligible, and all three were recently acquired via minor transactions. It wouldn’t be a surprise if San Francisco attempts to work out minor league pacts with one or more of that group now that they’ve been removed from the 40-man roster.
  • The Phillies have non-tendered southpaw Kyle Dohy and re-signed him to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. He’ll remain in the organization but no longer occupies a spot on the 40-man roster. Dohy made on major league appearance in 2021.
  • The Padres announced they’ve non-tendered relievers José Castillo, Trey Wingenter, and Matt Strahm. Castillo and Wingenter haven’t pitched since 2019 because of arm injuries that necessitated Tommy John surgeries. Strahm was limited to just 6 2/3 frames in 2021 by health issues himself.
  • The Cubs are non-tendering reliever Jason Adam, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The southpaw missed much of the season after suffering a gruesome ankle fracture in Triple-A in May, but he made a triumphant late-season return to the big leagues. Adam ultimately tossed 10 2/3 innings over 12 outings. Chicago also announced they’ve non-tendered outfielder Michael Hermosillo, who made a late-season appearance on the big league roster.
  • The Mets have non-tendered outfielder Mark Payton, per a club announcement. The left-handed hitter was acquired from the Reds midseason but never suited up for New York at the major league level.
  • The Reds have non-tendered righty Brandon Bailey, per a team announcement. The 27-year-old made five appearances with the Astros in 2020. He missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery, the second such procedure of his career. Bailey is re-signing on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation but will no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster, reports C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic.
  • The Nationals announced three non-tenders: relievers Wander Suero and Ryne Harper and first baseman Mike Ford. Suero is the most notable of the group, having been an effective set-up option at times during his four-season run in D.C. He struggled to a 6.33 ERA across 42 2/3 innings in 2021, though.
  • The Mets have non-tendered reliever Stephen Nogosek, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (on Twitter). The right-hander made just one three-inning appearance at the big league level in 2021. He worked 35 innings of 5.14 ERA ball with Triple-A Syracuse.
  • The Diamondbacks are non-tendering reliever Taylor Clarke, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). The 28-year-old has pitched with the D-Backs in each of the past three seasons. The left-hander worked to a 4.98 ERA over 43 1/3 innings this past season, showing solid control but posting a 20.1% strikeout rate that was about four percentage points below the league average mark for bullpen arms.
  • The Dodgers have non-tendered southpaw Andrew Vasquez, tweets Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic. Vasquez wasn’t eligible for arbitration, but Los Angeles decided to bump him off the 40-man roster without placing him on waivers. Acquired in a minor trade with the Twins, Vasquez made two appearances for the Dodgers in early September. The 28-year-old struck out a massive 37.4% of batters faced in Triple-A in 2021.
  • The Pirates have non-tendered right-hander Chad Kuhl, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). A productive back-of-the-rotation arm at times, Kuhl has developed escalating control problems over the past couple seasons. The 29-year-old throws in the mid-90s and has posted decent strikeout numbers, but he’s coming off a 4.82 ERA/4.89 SIERA over 28 appearances (including 14 starts)
  • The Mets have non-tendered reliever Robert Gsellman, reports Tim Healey of Newsday (on Twitter). The right-hander has appeared with New York in each of the past six seasons, moving to the bullpen full-time in 2018. While Gsellman showed quite a bit of promise over seven starts as a rookie, he’s yet to find much consistent success in the years since. The 28-year-old did manage a solid 3.77 ERA with a 49.5% ground-ball rate over 28 2/3 innings in 2021, but he also missed a couple months because of a lat strain and only punched out 14.3% of batters faced.

Every Team’s Initial September Callups

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The limit on active roster players expanded from 26 to 28 today, as the calendar flipped to September. Every team announced at least two additions to the big league club (some teams made three or more due to injured list placements). Here’s a recap of today’s spate of transactions:

Padres Designate Jorge Mateo For Assignment

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The Padres announced this afternoon they’ve designated outfielder Jorge Mateo for assignment. The move clears active roster space for left-hander Matt Strahm, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

San Diego acquired Mateo from the A’s last June. The former top prospect was out of minor league options, so the Padres had to keep him on the big league club (or injured list) in order to retain his long-term rights. The Friars have kept Mateo on the active roster over the past two seasons, although they’ve never seemed especially eager to give him regular playing time. The 26-year-old has tallied just 121 plate appearances over 79 games, serving mostly as a late-game pinch hitter, pinch runner or defensive replacement.

Mateo’s lack of roster flexibility made him something of an odd fit on a win-now Padres club. He hasn’t shown enough in his limited playing time to force his way into a more regular role, hitting .195/.235/.310 with terrible strikeout and walk rates (31.4% and 2.5%, respectively). That said, the Padres’ front office clearly remained intrigued by his physical gifts and one-time prospect status.

It’s certainly not inconceivable another club will give Mateo a look. He’ll be placed on waivers, and it’s possible a less immediate contender could place a claim and give him more consistent reps than San Diego could offer. Of course, any claiming team would also have to keep Mateo on the big league club or again expose him to waivers.

Strahm hasn’t pitched all season. The 29-year-old has missed the entire campaign recovering from right knee surgery. Last year, he worked 20 2/3 innings of 2.61 ERA/4.24 SIERA ball over nineteen appearances. Strahm will join Drew Pomeranz and Tim Hill as left-handed bullpen options for manager Jayce Tingler.

Padres Place Dan Altavilla On 10-Day IL, Select Nick Ramirez

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The Padres have placed right-hander Dan Altavilla on the 10-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation, the team announced.  In corresponding moves, southpaw Nick Ramirez’s contract was selected to the big league roster, while left-hander Matt Strahm was shifted to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Ramirez.

It’s an unfortunate quick return to the sidelines for Altavilla, who was only just activated from a 10-day IL stint on Wednesday.  A calf injury was the cause of Altavilla’s previous absence, and the righty appeared in two games for the Padres before hitting the IL once more.  Altavilla allowed a solo homer to the Dodgers’ Luke Raley in Friday’s game and thus far has a 6.75 ERA over 1 1/3 innings pitched in 2021.

Acquired as part of the big seven-player deal with the Mariners last August, Altavilla has shown some flashes of quality but also a lot of inconsistency over 116 MLB innings since the start of the 2016 season.  Altavilla has a 4.03 ERA and an above-average 26.1% strikeout rate over his career, but both walks (12.1BB%) and home runs have been issues for the righty.

Ramirez inked a minor league contract with San Diego in December, and is now set to appear in his third MLB season.  The southpaw posted a 4.28 ERA over 90 1/3 innings with the Tigers, with 79 2/3 of those frames coming in his 2019 rookie season, but he pitched only 10 2/3 innings over five games in 2020.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/2/20

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With the non-tender deadline coming today at 7pm CT, expect quite a few players to agree to contracts for the 2021 season, avoiding arbitration in advance.  In many (but not all) cases, these deals — referred to as “pre-tender” deals because they fall prior to the deadline — will fall shy of expectations and projections.  Teams will sometimes present borderline non-tender candidates with a “take it or leave it” style offer which will be accepted for fear of being non-tendered and sent out into an uncertain market.  Speculatively, such deals could increase in 2020 due to the economic uncertainty sweeping through the game, although there are also widespread expectations of record non-tender numbers.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through today’s smaller-scale pre-tender deals in this post.  You can also check out Matt Swartz’s arbitration salary projections here.

Latest Agreements

Earlier Agreements

  • Twins righty Jose Berrios will earn $6.1MM with a $500K signing bonus in 2021, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. Catcher Mitch Garver will rake in $1.875MM, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Center fielder Byron Buxton ($5.125MM) and reliever Taylor Rogers (terms not released) also agreed to deals, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
  • The Phillies have deals with starter Zach Eflin ($4.45MM) and relievers Hector Neris ($5MM), David Hale ($850K) and Seranthony Dominguez ($727,500), Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Heyman and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com relay.
  • The Marlins and first baseman Garrett Cooper have a $1.8MM agreement that could max out at $2.05MM with performance bonuses, Craig Mish of Sportsgrid tweets.
  • The Brewers are keeping catcher Manny Pina in the fold for $1.65MM, according to Heyman. They’re also retaining first baseman Daniel Vogelbach for $1.4MM, Nightengale reports.
  • The Giants and outfielder Austin Slater have a one-year, $1.15MM deal, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.The club also reached a $925K agreement with lefty Wandy Peralta and a $700K pact with righty Trevor Gott, Heyman tweets.
  • The Cubs are bringing back hurlers Dan Winkler ($900K), Colin Rea ($702,500) and Kyle Ryan ($800K), Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Ryan’s agreement is a split contract that features a $250K minor league salary.
  • The Mets are retaining lefty Steven Matz for $5.2MM, Nightengale tweets. Matz had a brutal campaign in 2020 with a 9.68 ERA/7.76 FIP over 30 2/3 innings in 2020, but the Mets will give him a chance to rebound.
  • The Padres and lefty Matt Strahm have a one-year, $2MM deal, Nightengale reports. Strahm gave the Padres a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP in 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
  • Outfielder Guillermo Heredia, whom the Mets claimed from Pittsburgh in August, will earn $1MM in 2021, according to Nightengale.
  • The Astros and reliever Austin Pruitt have settled for $617, 500, per Heyman. The right-hander missed the season with elbow issues.
  • The Royals and outfielder Jorge Soler have agreed to a one-year, $8.05MM deal with $250K in incentives, Nightengale reports. Soler was a 48-home run hitter in 2019, but his production went backward this past season, in which he slashed .228/.326/.443 with eight HRs in 174 trips to the plate.
  • The Red Sox have kept relievers Matt Barnes ($4.4MM) and Ryan Brasier ($1.25MM) and catcher Kevin Plawecki ($1.6MM), per tweets from Nightengale, Robert Murray of FanSided and Heyman. Barnes has been a solid reliever as a member of the Red Sox, though he yielded more than five walks per nine and upward of four runs per nine in 2020. Brasier was more successful this past season, as he tossed 25 frames of 3.96 ERA/3.15 FIP ball and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine. Plawecki had a nice year as the backup to Christian Vazquez, as he batted .341/.393/.463 in 89 PA.
  • The Giants and southpaw Jarlin Garcia have settled for $950K, according to Heyman. Garcia is coming off an 18 1/3-inning effort in which he posted a near-perfect 0.49 (with an impressive 3.14 FIP) and 6.87 K/9 against 3.44 BB/9.
  • The Marlins have agreed to a one-year, $4.3MM deal with first baseman Jesus Aguilar, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. The 30-year-old slugger put up strong numbers in his first year with the Fish, slashing .277/.352/.457 with eight long balls in 216 plate appearances.
  • The Giants and outfielder Alex Dickerson settled at a year and $2MM, tweets Nightengale. The 30-year-old slugger has a lengthy injury history but has been excellent in limited work with the Giants, including a .298/.371/.576 slash in 170 plate appearances this past season.
  • Luis Cessa will be back with the Yankees on a one-year deal, tweets Nightengale. He’ll earn $1.05MM. The righty notched a 3.32 ERA and 3.79 FIP with a 17-to-7 K/BB ratio in 21 2/3 innings this past season. Fellow righty Ben Heller will also return, the team announced, though it didn’t disclose financial details.
  • First baseman Matt Olson and the Athletics settled on a one-year deal worth $5MM, tweets Nightengale. The 26-year-old Olson’s .198/.310/.424 slash was an obvious step back from his 2019 campaign, but he’s still viewed as a vital part of the club’s future moving forward.
  • The Braves and righty Luke Jackson agreed to a one-year deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The 29-year-old was rocked for a 6.84 ERA in this year’s shortened slate of games but posted a 3.84 ERA and 3.24 FIP with better than 13 K/9 as one of the team’s steadiest relievers in 2019. The contract is valued at $1.9MM, per a team announcement.
  • The Brewers are bringing back catcher Omar Narvaez for one year and $2.5MM, Heyman tweets. Narvaez was a very good offensive catcher from 2o16-19 with the White Sox and Mariners, but he struggled last season after the M’s traded him to the Brewers. Thanks in part to a career-worst 31 percent strikeout rate, Narvaez could only muster a .176/.294/.269 line and a paltry two HRs in 126 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he’s in line to return to the Brewers for a second season.
  • The Brewers have agreed to a one-year, $2MM contract with shortstop Orlando Arcia, Nightengale relays. Arcia endured serious struggles on offense in prior years, but the 26-year-old managed a respectable .260/.317/.416 line with five home runs over 189 plate appearances this past season.
  • The Phillies and catcher Andrew Knapp have reached a one-year, $1.1MM agreement, per Nightengale. Typically a light-hitting backstop, Knapp batted a career-best .278/.404/.444 in 89 plate appearances in 2020. He’s currently the No. 1 catcher on a Phillies team that could lose J.T. Realmuto in free agency.
  • Pirates infielder Erik Gonzalez agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.225MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. It was the second year of arb eligibility for Gonzalez, whose glovework will earn him a contract despite a brutal .227/.255/.359 batting line in 193 plate appearances in 2020.
  • The Royals and Hunter Dozier agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.72MM in entirely guaranteed money, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports.  More is available to Dozier via contract incentives.  Dozier hit .228/.344/.392 over 186 PA after missing over the first two weeks of the season recovering from a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • The Red Sox agreed to an $870K deal with right-hander Austin Brice for the 2021 season, as per Nightengale.  Brice posted a 5.95 ERA, 11.4 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 over 19 2/3 innings in his first season in Boston, and was considered a potential non-tender candidate.
  • The Twins and righty Tyler Duffey agreed to a one-year, $2.2MM pact, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports.  According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, Duffey’s deal is fully guaranteed.
  • The Braves agreed to a one-year, $900K deal with southpaw Grant Dayton, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  Dayton had a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in 2020.
  • The Braves announced an agreement with utilityman Johan Camargo on a one-year, $1.36MM deal.  Camargo was thought to be a non-tender candidate after struggling to a .222/.267/.378 slash line in 375 plate appearances over the last two seasons, but he will return for a fifth year in Atlanta.
  • The White Sox and left-hander Jace Fry agreed to a one-year deal worth $862.5K, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Fry posted a 3.66 ERA, 2.00 K/BB rate, and 11.0 K/9 over 19 2/3 innings in 2020, and he has strong overall career numbers against left-handed batters.
  • The Orioles agreed with second baseman Yolmer Sanchez on a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).  Baltimore claimed Sanchez off waivers from the White Sox at the end of October.  A Gold Glove winner in 2019, Sanchez was non-tendered by Chicago prior to last year’s deadline, though after signing a minors deal with the Giants, he returned to the White Sox on another minors deal and appeared in 11 games on the South Side.
  • The Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth roughly $700K with left-hander Caleb Thielbar, The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports (via Twitter).  2020 marked Thielbar’s first taste of MLB action since 2015, as the southpaw worked his way back from independent ball to post a 2.25 ERA, 2.44 K/BB rate, and 9.9 K/9 over 20 innings for Minnesota.
  • The Dodgers and left-hander Scott Alexander have agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Alexander posted a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen this season, recording an equal number of walks and strikeouts (nine).  The southpaw was thought to be a potential non-tender candidate given his relative lack of usage and his non-inclusion on the Dodgers’ playoff roster, but the team will retain Alexander for his second arb-eligible year.  ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter) adds the noteworthy detail that Alexander’s $1MM salary is fully guaranteed, as opposed to the usual contracts for arbitration-eligible players that allow their teams to release them prior to Opening Day and only pay a fraction of the agreed-upon salary.

Quick Hits: Mets, Lindor, Angels, Hill, Padres, Pirates

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The Mets could go after Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor in a trade during the offseason, but the return might prove prohibitive for New York. As David Lennon of Newsday tweets, the Indians could ask for an Andres Gimenez–Jeff McNeil tandem in trade talks. That would be a lot for the Mets, who saw Gimenez perform well as a rookie in 2020 and who have gotten tremendous production from the versatile McNeil dating back to his 2018 debut. McNeil has batted an outstanding .319/.383/.501 in 1,024 major league plate appearances, so it seems highly unlikely the Mets will part with him and Gimenez for one year of control over Lindor.

  • Former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, whom they parted with in late October, continues to look like a serious candidate for the Angels’ general manager job. Hill will have an in-person meeting soon with Angels owner Arte Moreno, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
  • Padres left-hander Matt Strahm recently underwent successful surgery on his partially torn right patellar tendon, Robert Murray of Fansided reports. The 28-year-old Strahm logged a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP with a career-worst 6.53 K/9 against 1.74 BB/9 over 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
  • John Baker looks like the front-runner to take over as the Pirates’ farm director, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reports. The former major league catcher has been working in the Cubs’ front office since 2015.

Padres Notes: Strahm, Coaches, Front Office

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Reliever Matt Strahm will undergo surgery on his right knee next week, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter link), and the southpaw is expected to be recovered for by Spring Training.  Strahm is looking to fix his right patellar tendon, three years after undergoing a procedure on his left patellar tendon.  The right knee issues bothered Strahm throughout the season, Acee said, and led to an injured list stint in September.

Despite the injury, Strahm still had some effective bottom-line stats over 20 2/3 relief innings, posting a 2.61 ERA and 3.75 K/BB rate.  With the caveat of a small sample size, the left-hander also posted a career-low (6.5 K/9) strikeout rate, and the lack of missed bats led to some unimpressive ERA predictors (4.93 FIP, 5.01 xFIP, 4.24 SIERA).  It’s possible that between these numbers and any uncertainty over his knee situation, the Padres could look to non-tender Strahm, who is projected to earn between $1.6MM-$1.9MM in his second trip through the arbitration process.  On the other hand, the Padres might prefer to retain a member of their bullpen considering Trevor Rosenthal and Kirby Yates could depart in free agency, and Luis Perdomo will miss 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

The latest from San Diego…

  • In another tweet from Acee, the Padres aren’t planning to make any changes to their coaching staff.  One potential exception could be Skip Schumaker, if Schumaker receives any consideration for any of the managerial openings around baseball.  Schumaker worked in San Diego’s front office for two seasons before becoming a first base coach in 2018-19 and then serving under skipper Jayce Tingler in an “associate manager” position.  Schumaker was a candidate for the Mets’ managerial job last winter prior to New York’s (short-lived) hiring of Carlos Beltran.
  • The Padres won’t be renewing the contracts of 25 employees in the baseball operations department, the club announced today.  Most of the 25 employees were offered severance packages.  According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (Twitter link), many of the employees let go were in player development roles related to the Padres’ farm system, indicating “continued uncertainty about the minor leagues.”  It isn’t yet known if there will be any sort of normal minor league season in 2021, and even if there is, several minor league franchises are expected to be contracted as part of a more uniform, MLB-operated farm system.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

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Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.

We’ll track the majority of the National League’s settlements in this post and are maintaining a separate one for American League settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

  • The Rockies have an agreement in place with righty Jon Gray, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post (via Twitter). It’s a $5.6MM deal, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
  • Outfielder Tommy Pham has struck a $7.9MM pact with the Padres, who acquired him at the outset of the offseason, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Other Friars striking deals, per an update from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, include Zach Davies ($5.25MM) and Matt Strahm ($1.4MM).
  • The Nationals announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with Trea Turner. It’s a $7.45MM agreement, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter), right in range of the $7.5MM projection.
  • The Mets are in agreement with a laundry list of players. Right-handers Marcus Stroman ($12MM) and Noah Syndergaard ($9.7MM) were the top earners, per reports from MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). Both come in close to their projected values of $11.8M and $9.9MM, respectively. The Mets also have a $5.1MM deal with reliever Edwin Diaz, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). He entered the offseason projected at the $7.0MM level but will fall well shy of that. Despite an outstanding overall track record, Diaz’s platform season was a dud and obviously created some risk in a hearing for his side. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo will play for $2.175MM in his first season of arb eligibility, landing well over the $1.7MM that the model projected. Southpaw Steven Matz, meanwhile, lands a $5MM deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). That’s $300K shy of his projected amount. Relievers Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo will earn $1.225MM and $2MM, respectively, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). Slugger Michael Conforto will earn $8.0MM, per SNY.tv’s Andy Martino (via Twitter), which is notably south of the $9.2MM that we projected. And fellow outfielder Jake Marisnick checks in a just over 10% north of his projection at $3,312,500, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
  • Star reliever Kirby Yates receiveds a $7,062,500 salary from the Padres, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He tops the $6.5MM that MLBTR projected by a solid margin, reflecting just how exceptional he was in 2019.
  • The Marlins will pay recently acquired infielder Jonathan Villar a $8.2MM salary, per MLB.com’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). That’s a far sight shy of the $10.4MM that the MLBTR system projected, perhaps reflecting a more difficult path to the bigger number through recent comparables. The club also had some added leverage here since Villar would likely not fare terribly well on the open market if cut loose at this stage or later. (Unless this is a guaranteed deal, Villar could still be jettisoned, with the club paying just a fraction of the settled amount.) The Fish also have also agreed to terms with lefty Adam Conley (for $1.525MM, per MLB Network Radio’s Craig Mish, via Twitter) and righty Jose Urena (for $3.75MM, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, on Twitter).
  • Righty Vince Velasquez will pitch for $3.6MM this year with the Phillies, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly (via Twitter). Fellow hurler Jose Alvarez will earn $2.95MM, per Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
  • The Rockies have an agreement with lefty Kyle Freeland, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). He’ll earn $2.875MM. Outfielder David Dahl takes home $2.475MM, Heyman adds on Twitter. The former had projected at $2.4MM and the latter at $3.0MM.
  • Pirates hurler Joe Musgrove will receive $2.8MM, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter links). Fellow righty Keone Kela will earn a reported $3.725MM. Both players had projected at $3.4MM, but land well to either side of that number. Infielder Adam Frazier also has a deal at $2.8MM, per Mackey (via Twitter).
  • Righty Anthony DeSclafani will earn $5.9MM from the Reds, according to Robert Murray (via Twitter). He had projected at $5.2MM. Backstop Curt Casali will earn $1.4625MM, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). And reliever Matt Bowman takes down $865K, Murray adds on Twitter.
  • The Dodgers have worked out a non-typical deal with righty Ross Stripling, Heyman tweets. He’ll get an up-front signing bonus of $1.5MM, which he’ll receive in the next week, and then earn $600K for the campaign to come. Stripling had projected to earn $2.3MM on the year.
  • Cardinals righty John Gant will earn $1.3MM after settling with the club. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first tweeted that a deal was in place, while Murray had the number on Twitter. That comes in just under his $1.4MM projection.

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