Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/17/23
Tonight marks the deadline for teams to tender contracts to players who are eligible for arbitration. This evening should also see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.
These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.
Under the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.
All salary projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the night as deals are reported.
Latest Moves
- The Orioles agreed to deals with outfielders Sam Hilliard and Ryan McKenna, reliever Keegan Akin and shortstop Jorge Mateo, as announced by the team. Mateo will make $2.7MM, as first reported by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X link). Jon Heyman of the New York Post has terms (on X) for Akin and Hilliard: $825K for the former, $800K for the latter.
- Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski has a deal for $7.9MM, Heyman reports. That’s a little above his $7.3MM projection. Yastrzemski has one additional arbitration year remaining.
- Reliever Yency Almonte and the Dodgers have agreed to a $1.9MM salary, per Heyman. That matches his projection.
- Lefty reliever Ryan Borucki agreed to a contract with the Pirates, the team announced. Feinsand reports it as a $1.6MM deal. He was projected at $1.3MM.
- The Rockies have a deal with lefty reliever Jalen Beeks, Heyman reports. He’ll make $1.675MM. Recently claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay, Beeks was projected at $1.8MM.
- The Cubs announced a deal with third baseman Patrick Wisdom. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports that the power-hitting infielder will make $2.725MM. That’s narrowly above a $2.6MM projection.
- Outfielder DJ Stewart agreed to a deal with the Mets, per a club announcement. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports it’ll be for $1.38MM. Stewart had been projected at $1.5MM as an early qualifier via Super Two.
- The Phillies announced deals with right-hander Dylan Covey, catcher Garrett Stubbs and outfielder Jake Cave. Terms were not disclosed.
- The White Sox announced agreement with reliever Matt Foster on a deal for $750K, narrowly above the league minimum. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in April.
Earlier Tonight
- The Royals announced agreement with lefty reliever Josh Taylor. He’ll make $1.1MM, tweets Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Acquired from the Red Sox last winter, Taylor allowed an 8.15 ERA over 17 2/3 innings before undergoing season-ending back surgery. He was projected for a $1.3MM salary.
- The Athletics announced today that they have agreed to one-year deals with infielders Miguel Andujar and Abraham Toro. The club claimed Andujar off waivers from Pittsburgh earlier this month and swung a deal to acquire Toro from the Brewers earlier this week. Andujar hit .250/.300/.476 in 90 trips to the plate in the majors this year while Toro appeared in just nine games at the big league level but slashed .444/.524/.778 in that extremely limited action. Andujar will make $1.7MM (Heyman link); Toro is set for a $1.275MM salary.
- The Giants have a deal with outfielder Austin Slater for $4MM, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (X link). That’s a little north of his $3.6MM projected salary. Slater has over five years of service time and will be a free agent next offseason. The right-handed hitter is coming off a .270/.348/.400 showing over 89 games. He’s a career .285/.374/.463 batter against left-handed pitching but owns a .227/.314/.333 mark versus righties.
Athletics Claim Miguel Andujar From Pirates
The Athletics announced that they have claimed infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar off waivers from the Pirates and selected outfielder Lazaro Armenteros. The A’s also outrighted left-handers Anthony Kay and Easton Lucas, as well as right-handers Tayler Scott and Chad Smith to Triple-A Las Vegas. The move on Armenteros was reported last week.
Andujar, 29 in March, had a tremendous season with the Yankees in 2018, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting to Shohei Ohtani. But since then, he hasn’t been given an extended stretch of playing time in the big leagues. Shoulder surgery put him out of action for much of 2019 and Gio Urshela stole the third base job in the Bronx while he was gone. Since then, he has generally crushed in the minors but struggled when given brief looks in the majors.
2023 continued that pattern, with Andujar in the Pirates organization. He was up in the majors for a couple of weeks from late April to mid-May but hit just .161/.212/.387. But his Triple-A season was far stronger, as he hit .338/.404/.536 at that level. He got back to the big leagues as a September call-up and was able to post an excellent line .302/.351/.528 in the final month of the season.
Given that encouraging finish, the Bucs could have held onto Andujar but he was projected for an arbitration salary of $2.2MM and is out of options. He was also limited to playing first base and the outfield corners in 2023, both in the majors and in the minors. The Pirates decided to move on but the A’s have come in to claim him.
The latter club has traded away their most established big leaguers in recent years, which perhaps makes Oakland the ideal landing spot for Andujar. He will be competing for playing time in the first base/corner outfield/designated hitter mix with Ryan Noda, Seth Brown, Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday and others. If he is finally able to click in the majors again, he can be retained for another season via arbitration, though the A’s would likely trade him in that scenario.
Kay, 28, was just claimed off waivers a couple of weeks ago. He has a 5.59 ERA in 85 1/3 career innings at the major league level. He tossed 40 2/3 innings in the minors this year, between the Mets and Cubs, with a 3.76 ERA in that time.
Lucas, 26, just came of the A’s in the deadline deal that sent Shintaro Fujinami to the O’s. He was added to the roster in early September and made his major league debut, allowing six earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. He tossed 46 2/3 frames in the minors for the year across different levels and organizations, with a 3.86 ERA across those clubs.
Scott, 31, was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in July. He had a 5.60 ERA in the majors in 2023, splitting time between three different clubs. Between three different Triple-A clubs, he logged 38 1/3 innings with a 1.64 ERA.
Smith, 28, was acquired from the Rockies in the last offseason. He went on to throw 13 2/3 innings for the A’s in 2023 with a 6.59 ERA. His 34 2/3 innings in Triple-A didn’t go any better, with a 7.53 ERA in that time.
Pirates Place Miguel Andujar, Angel Perdomo On Waivers
The Pirates have placed outfielder Miguel Andújar and reliever Angel Perdomo on outright waivers, reports Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports. They join righty Yerry De Los Santos as Pittsburgh players known to be on the waiver wire. Both Andújar and Perdomo will become free agents if they aren’t claimed.
Pittsburgh ran Andújar through waivers twice this past season. The former Rookie of the Year runner-up got into 30 big league contests, hitting .250/.300/.476 with four home runs across 90 plate appearances. He had a very strong offensive showing at Triple-A Indianapolis, running a .338/.404/.536 line while connecting on 16 home runs in 103 games. Andújar walked at a strong 10.1% clip and struck out only 11.8% of the time.
The 28-year-old hasn’t found much major league success since his excellent 2018 debut with the Yankees, however. Paired with questions about his defensive profile, he has fallen into a depth role. With a projected $2.2MM arbitration salary, he looked a very likely non-tender.
Perdomo, a 6’8″ southpaw, made 30 appearances for the Bucs this year. He posted a 3.72 ERA with a massive 37.6% strikeout rate across 29 innings. Perdomo looked as if he’d stake a claim to a spot in the Pittsburgh bullpen before landing on the injured list with season-ending elbow discomfort in August.
Pirates Designate Calvin Mitchell, Yohan Ramirez For Assignment
The Pirates announced some roster moves today, including the previously-reported selection of Miguel Andujar. They also reinstated righty Carmen Mlodzinski from the 15-day injured list to take the second extra spot on today’s expanded roster. Additionally, right-hander Max Kranick was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. To open spots on the 40-man for Andujar and Kranick, right-hander Yohan Ramirez and outfielder Calvin Mitchell were designated for assignment.
Mitchell, 24, was selected to the Pirates’ roster last year after a strong performance in Triple-A. He hit just .226/.286/.349 in his first 69 major league games and got optioned back down to the minors, but finished 2022 with a Triple-A batting line of .339/.391/.547. He’s only played two major league games this year, spending the majority of his season at Triple-A, where he’s had an unfortunate step back. He is hitting .264/.338/.426 for a wRC+ of 90 while striking out in 29.3% of his plate appearances, more than double the 14.6% rate he had in Triple-A last year.
Ramirez, 28, was acquired from the Guardians in a cash deal last summer. He had a tidy 1.25 earned run average through June 6 of this year but allowed 11 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings since then. In 22 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year, he has a 4.43 ERA. Control has generally been an issue for him, walking 12.5% of hitters in his major league career. He kept that to 9% in the majors this year but it’s been 12.4% in Triple-A.
The Bucs will place both players on waivers in the coming days. Mitchell is a former second-round pick who had a strong campaign last year. He still has another option year remaining after this one and less than a year of service time. Ramirez has been able to pair strikeouts with ground balls for much of his career but has struggled with the free passes. He can be optioned for the rest of this year but will be out of options next year. He can be retained for four seasons beyond this one but will have less roster maneuverability going forward.
Pirates To Select Miguel Andujar
The Pirates are going to select infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar today, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He will take one of the spots on the expanded active roster but will need to be added to the 40-man.
Andujar, 28, got a brief stint with the Pirates earlier this year but hit just .161/.212/.387 in 13 games. He was designated for assignment in May and accepted an outright assignment. But both before and after that time in the majors, he has been crushing in Triple-A. In 102 games for Indianapolis this year, he’s hit 16 home runs and is slashing .341/.408/.541 for a wRC+ of 136. He has walked in 10.2% of his plate appearances while striking out at just an 11.7% rate.
He has had quite a few opportunities in the big leagues but hasn’t been able to capitalize on most of them. As a rookie third baseman with the Yankees in 2018, he hit .297/.328/.527 and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to Shohei Ohtani. But shoulder surgery put him out of action for much of 2019, allowing Gio Urshela to have a breakout and take over the hot corner.
The Yanks then moved him around to first base and the outfield corners, but the past few years have been defined by tremendous Triple-A output and major league struggles. From 2020 to the present, he’s hit .318/.377/.525 on the farm but .237/.268/.354 in the big leagues.
For the Bucs, there’s little harm in giving him another chance to bring that excellent Triple-A production up a level. They are 61-73 and well out of contention. They traded away both Carlos Santana and Ji Man Choi prior to the deadline, leaving their first base spot somewhat open. Connor Joe is having a nice season at the plate but is a 31-year-old journeyman. Alfonso Rivas is also in the mix but is hitting just .197/.301/.394. In right field, Joshua Palacios is getting regular playing time but has a line of .210/.258/.370 this year.
The Pirates can surely find some at-bats for Andujar in there. If he finally has the major league breakout that has been hoped for in recent years, the club could benefit beyond this season. Andujar will finish this year between four and five years of service time, meaning he can be retained via arbitration for two more seasons.
Miguel Andujar Accepts Outright Assignment From Pirates
May 23: As expected, Andujar has once again accepted his outright assignment, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
May 22: The Pirates have outrighted outfielder Miguel Andujar to Triple-A Indianapolis, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That suggests he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.
It’s hardly a shock that Andujar, 28, didn’t get scooped up by one of the 29 other clubs off waivers. He hit just .161/.212/.387 in his 33 plate appearances since having his contract selected at the end of April. He had already passed through waivers in January and that mediocre performance didn’t do much to increase his stock around the league, though he did hit a much stronger .284/.364/.500 in Triple-A prior to getting called up.
The peak of his career so far came with the Yankees back in 2018 when he hit 27 home runs and slashed .297/.328/.527, leading to a second-place finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Shohei Ohtani. But shoulder surgery wiped out much of his 2019 and he found his third base position staffed by players like DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela when he returned, pushing him to a depth role and a move to the outfield. Since then, he continually mashes in the minors but struggles when given another chance in the majors. Going back to the start of 2020, he’s hit .291/.346/.508 on the farm but just .237/.268/.354 in the show.
Andujar technically has the right to reject this outright assignment and elect free agency, both because he has more than three years of service time and a previous outright. However, he lacks the five years of service required to reject it while retaining his salary. He’s making $1.525MM for the season, which likely led to him going unclaimed both times he was on waivers and him accepting the outright assignment the first time. It seems likely he will accept the outright a second time and stick with in the Pirates’ organization, trying to work his way back to the majors yet again.
Pirates Designate Miguel Andujar For Assignment
The Pirates announced that they have activated left-hander Rob Zastryzny from the injured list, with outfielder Miguel Andujar designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Andujar, 28, was selected to the club’s roster three weeks ago but has hit just .161/.212/.387 in his 33 plate appearances since then. He had earned that call-up with a .284/.364/.500 showing in Triple-A but wasn’t able to bring any of that production up to the big leagues with him.
It’s yet another unfortunate development in Andujar’s career, one that seemed so promising a few years ago. He hit .297/.328/.527 for the Yankees in 2018, finishing second to Shohei Ohtani in Rookie of the Year voting. Unfortunately, he required season-ending shoulder surgery after just 12 games in 2019 and hasn’t seemed the same since. Once he returned to health in 2020, the Yankees had filled his third base position with players like DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela, which squeezed him out of regular playing time. Over the past few years, he’s continued to hit well in Triple-A but struggled whenever given another shot at the majors. Going back to the start of 2020, he’s hit .291/.346/.508 in the minors but just .237/.268/.354 in the big leagues.
The Bucs will now have a week to either trade Andujar or pass him through waivers. He’s making a salary of $1.525MM this year, which could factor into how this plays out. While some teams might be intrigued by his past success and Triple-A numbers, they would have to be willing to take on that money. Andujar was passed through waivers in January without anyone putting in a claim. He would have had the right to reject an outright assignment at that time but would have had to forfeit that money and ultimately accepted, which could be the same script that is followed in the coming days.
Pirates Recall Miguel Andujar
The Pirates have recalled Miguel Andujar to the team, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports. The Pirates had outrighted him off the roster in January, but he’ll return after a month in Triple-A. Wil Crowe has been transferred to the 60-day IL while Drew Maggi has been optioned to the minors, but will stay with the team as the 27th man for today’s double header in Washington.
Andujar has made a solid start to the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, slashing .284/.364/.500 through his first 99 plate appearances. The former AL Rookie of the Year runner up is earning $1.53MM this year as an arbitration-eligible player. He came over to the Pirates from the Yankees last season, but hit just .250/.275/.389 in 40 plate appearances down the stretch. Andujar will likely provide cover off the bench as an option to play first and third base as well as corner outfield. He’s in the lineup for today’s game, batting sixth and starting in right.
Maggi, 34 next month, was one of the feel good stories of the season after getting his first big league callup following 13 seasons in the minor leagues. Drafted in the 15th round of the 2010 draft, Maggi had toiled away in the Pirates system ever since but was finally rewarded with a big league call. He only tallied four plate appearances across two games, failing to notch a big league hit and striking out once. He may well get one more chance at that, with Maggi sticking around to serve as the team’s 27th man for the double header against the Nationals today.
As for Crowe, he landed on the IL with shoulder discomfort during the week but the fact that the team has quickly transferred him to the 60-day indicates that the issue may well be more serious than first thought. Crowe had worked to a 4.66 ERA across 9 2/3 innings out of the Bucs’ bullpen this season.
Pirates Outright Miguel Andujar
The Pirates have sent corner infielder/outfielder Miguel Andújar outright to Triple-A Indianapolis after he went unclaimed on waivers, tweets Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He’ll be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, which suggests he’s accepted the assignment.
Andújar is a more high-profile player than usually hits the waiver wire. The right-handed hitter posted big numbers in the Yankees’ farm system and reached the majors at the tail end of the 2017 season. A top 60 overall prospect headed into the following year at both Baseball America and FanGraphs, Andújar looked like a potential core piece in the Bronx after an excellent rookie season. He hit 27 home runs and 47 doubles with a .297/.328/.527 line over 606 plate appearances as New York’s primary third baseman in 2018.
That earned Andújar a runner-up behind Shohei Ohtani in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. While he seemed like the third baseman of the future for the Yankees, he’s yet to again reach those early-career heights. His sophomore season was cut short after just 12 games by a labrum tear in his right shoulder that required surgery. By the time he returned in 2020, Gio Urshela had broken out and claimed the third base job. That left Andújar in a depth role, cycling between the Bronx and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre without much consistent MLB playing time.
Tough as that situation must’ve been for Andújar, he never forced the Yankees’ hand by earning significant reps. New York gave him 327 scattered plate appearances between 2020-22. He hit just .244/.272/.346 with eight homers and a meager 4% walk rate. Paired with a corner-only defensive profile, his production was a little below replacement level. The Yankees eventually cut him loose at the end of last season, waiving him in September. The Pirates grabbed the 27-year-old off the wire and plugged him into nine games down the stretch. Andújar got 40 plate appearances with Pittsburgh, hitting .250/.275/.389 to close out the year.
After the season, he and the Bucs agreed to a $1.525MM salary to buy out his second season of arbitration eligibility. While that may have kept him from being non-tendered in November, he was still squeezed off the 40-man roster last week once the Bucs brought back Andrew McCutchen. Any team that claimed Andújar off waivers would’ve had to take on his salary. It’s certainly not an exorbitant sum but is roughly double the league minimum and might’ve played a role in him going unclaimed.
Andújar has a bit more than four years of major league service time. Players with over three years of service have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of minor league free agency, though anyone with fewer than five years of service would forfeit the remaining guaranteed money on their contract to do so. Andújar certainly wouldn’t have landed a better deal in free agency after going unclaimed on waivers, so it’s no surprise he’s elected to take the minor league assignment to hang onto that salary.
He’ll report to camp and try to reestablish himself on the 40-man roster as a right-handed bench bat. If he doesn’t break camp, he’ll open the season as a depth option in Indianapolis. Andújar has a .303/.351/.507 line in a little over 600 career Triple-A plate appearances. Performing at that level in the minors could certainly get him back on the radar for a midseason promotion. Andújar is out of minor league option years, though, meaning he’d have to stick on the MLB roster or again be DFA if he earns a call-up at any point.
Pirates Designate Miguel Andujar For Assignment
The Pirates have designated infielder/outfielder Miguel Andujar for assignment in order to make space on the roster for Andrew McCutchen, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Andujar, 27, came to the Pirates late in the 2022 season after being designated for assignment by the Yankees and turned in a .250/.279/.389 batting line in 40 plate appearances down the stretch. It wasn’t a particularly robust showing from the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year runner-up, but it was enough for Pittsburgh to tender a contract to the arbitration-eligible Andujar and eventually agree to a $1.525MM salary for the upcoming season.
As the offseason has progressed, however, the Bucs have continued to add players who’ll cut into Andujar’s would-be playing time. First came the acquisition of first baseman Ji-Man Choi in a trade with the Rays — a move that was quickly followed by the signing of Carlos Santana. That pair of pickups pushed Andujar out of the first base/designated hitter mix and, with Ke’Bryan Hayes locked in at third base, left Andujar as either an outfielder or a bench option. Both those roles were further muddied by this week’s reunion with McCutchen, however.
It’s been a long road for Andujar, who hit .297/.328/.527 and blasted 27 home runs when he finished second to Shohei Ohtani in that previously mentioned Rookie of the Year voting. Since that time, he’s undergone shoulder surgery, seen his role with the Yankees filled by free-agent and trade acquisitions, and bounced to the Pirates when the Yankees finally ran out of chances for him.
Andujar has managed only a .230/.257/.324 batting line in 416 big league plate appearances since that brilliant debut campaign, due in part to both injuries and infrequent playing time. He’s remained a productive hitter in Triple-A, however, evidenced by a career .303/.351/.507 batting line at that level — including a .285/.330/.487 output this past season in Scranton. He’s also become a more versatile player in an effort to get back to the big leagues, adding first base and left field to his defensive skill set.
That said, Andujar will soon turn 28, is out of minor league options, and now comes with that $1.525MM salary for any team that wishes to claim him. All of that gives the Pirates a decent chance of passing him through waivers. Andujar has enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he does indeed clear, but doing so would mean forfeiting that $1.525MM guarantee, which seems unlikely. There’s a good chance the Buccos will be able to retain him in Triple-A Indianapolis and bring him back to the Majors whenever injuries necessitate such a move. For now, however, they’ll have several days to survey the trade market before deciding whether to place him on waivers. We’ll know a resolution to his DFA status within a week’s time.