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Nomar Mazara

Padres, White Sox Interested In Nomar Mazara

By Mark Polishuk | July 25, 2019 at 8:48pm CDT

Reports yesterday from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News indicated that Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara was drawing interest from rival teams.  Grant mentioned that Mazara was getting looks from teams who weren’t necessarily contenders this season but were looking to contend in 2020, and today Grant specified that the Padres and White Sox were two of the clubs scouting Mazara.

San Diego is something of an odd fit for Mazara on paper, as the Padres already have multiple corner outfield options on hand.  Franmil Reyes and Hunter Renfroe have both performed very well this season, the struggling Wil Myers isn’t likely to be going anywhere due to his contract, Travis Jankowski and Josh Naylor are the two primary options in the minor leagues, and Franchy Cordero could also rejoin the mix if he gets healthy.

Then again, Padres GM A.J. Preller was the Rangers’ director of international scouting when Mazara was first signed to a then-record $5MM bonus by the Rangers back in 2011.  It wouldn’t at all be surprising if Preller feels a move to a new environment could help Mazara become a consistently productive big league player.  It’s also possible the Padres could create some space in the outfield with some trades for pitching over the next week, as the club has been linked to a long list of starting arms over the last several months.

Chicago has Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert ticketed as their respective left and center fielders of the future, though while Leury Garcia has been a useful player, the White Sox could prefer to land a player with more upside like Mazara.  Garcia has been one of several Sox players who have generated some trade interest as we approach the deadline, though Chicago isn’t considered to be too interested in moving players, as the club has their eye on contending for the AL Central in 2020.  Between Jimenez’s debut, breakout performances from Lucas Giolito and Yoan Moncada, and other young talents who are on the verge of the big leagues, the Pale Hose seem to be on the verge of properly ending their rebuild.  (Of course, they almost did so last winter in their push to sign Manny Machado, before losing him to the Padres.)

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Chicago White Sox San Diego Padres Texas Rangers Nomar Mazara

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Interest In Nomar Mazara Reportedly “Picking Up”

By Connor Byrne | July 24, 2019 at 9:11pm CDT

There was considerable hype surrounding outfielder Nomar Mazara when the Rangers promoted him to the majors in 2016. Mazara was one of baseball’s elite prospects at the time, but three-plus years later, he hasn’t lived up to the billing. While Mazara is now seemingly falling out of favor with the Texas organization, he remains intriguing to other franchises. With the July 31 trade deadline just a week away, interest in Mazara “is picking up,” specifically from teams that could be contenders in 2020, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes.

Although Mazara’s well into his major league career, he’s still just 24 years old. He’s also making a fair $3.3MM salary now and under control through 2021 via arbitration. That’s the good. The bad: Mazara’s more a big name than a big producer at this point.

Mazara smacked 20 home runs in each of the previous three seasons and has totaled 12 this year, but his overall numbers are lackluster. Mazara entered the year a .258/.320/.425 hitter with a subpar 92 wRC+ and just 1.5 fWAR across 1,720 plate appearances. His output this season has been even worse. Through 381 trips to the plate, Mazara has slashed .255/.307/.438 (86 wRC+) and accounted for a replacement-level fWAR (0.0). Southpaws flummoxed the left-handed Mazara during the prior three seasons, which has again been the case in 2019. They’ve held him to a horrific .200/.231/.345 line with 30 strikeouts against four walks thus far.

Not only has Mazara come up short in the batter’s box, but he has left something to be desired as a defender. In almost 4,000 innings of work as an outfielder, Mazara has totaled minus-20 Defensive Runs Saved, though his minus-2.3 Ultimate Zone Rating hasn’t been nearly as woeful. He’s at minus-5 and minus-1.9 in those categories this season, adding a more respectable minus-1 in Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric.

Statcast is also more bullish on Mazara as a hitter. For one, Mazara’s .340 expected weighted on-base average far outpaces his .314 real wOBA. He also ranks either a bit or well above average in hard-hit percentage, expected batting average and expected slugging percentage. But that may not be of much consolation to the Rangers, who have time and again seen Mazara fail to meet expectations over the years. And now that the slumping Rangers are falling out of playoff contention, they could deem Mazara expendable in the coming days.

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Texas Rangers Nomar Mazara

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West Notes: Leake, Young, Clarke, Mazara

By Dylan A. Chase | July 20, 2019 at 11:23pm CDT

On the heels of a Seattle Times report that hinted the Mariners and starter Mike Leake were “ready to be done with” each other, the veteran righty gave some insight on his professional priorities vis-a-vis the trade deadline in an appearance on today’s broadcast of MLB Network Radio’s “Home Plate” radio show (link).

“I want to win,” said Leake, before adding, “I’m not at liberty to sit around and wait on a non-winning team.” True to that earlier Times report, which characterized league-wide interest in the pitcher as “minimal,” Leake admitted that he hasn’t to this point been presented with any trade proposals from the Mariners front office. Leake, who possesses a no-trade clause as part of the five-year, $80MM deal he signed with the Cardinals prior to the 2016 campaign, would need to approve any move to an acquiring club, but it remains to be seen whether anyone wants a stake in the well-compensated righty. Leake is still owed approximately $25.5MM before his contract terminates at the conclusion of the 2020 season, with the Cardinals still responsible for nearly $6.5MM of that total. He has a 4.27 ERA across 2o starts on the year (4.80 FIP).

More doings from around the West…

  • In a piece for AZCentral.com, Nick Piecoro paints a picture of two young Diamondbacks hurlers heading in opposite directions (link). While rookie Alex Young has begun to earn the trust of manager Torey Lovullo in a starting role, fellow big league neophyte Taylor Clarke has begun to produce some organizational hand-wringing after a string of shoddy appearances. After being called up in late June to fill the club’s “fifth starter” role, Young has responded by throwing 18.2 nearly untarnished innings (0.96 ERA). Though never a widely lauded prospect, the 25-year-old is turning heads with this introductory performance. “I think every year there’s going to be certain surprises and Alex Young has definitely fit in that criteria right now,” Lovullo said. Clarke, meanwhile, owns an 8.20 ERA over his last eight starts, and Lovullo conceded to Piecoro that his performance is an “obvious concern” for the club.
  • In other news concerning a concerned manager, the Rangers are troubled by the recent slump of Nomar Mazara–and skipper Chris Woodward has been cutting his playing time, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News points out (link). Though Woodward largely maintained that Mazara will still be a starter for the team moving forward, Saturday marked Mazara’s third time on the bench in eight post-break Texas games. Never an elite defender, Mazara holds a career-worst 83 wRC+ on the year and is walking at a 6.0% rate that also represents a personal low point. With just eight hits in his last 57 at-bats, it is unclear how Woodward will continue to divide outfield playing time between Mazara and a rejuvenated Danny Santana. Of Mazara’s performance, Woodward allowed only that, “We want to see the results be a little bit higher.”
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Arizona Diamondbacks Notes Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Alex Young Mike Leake Nomar Mazara

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Rangers Considered Optioning Nomar Mazara, Ronald Guzman

By Connor Byrne | July 17, 2019 at 1:33am CDT

The Rangers welcomed back All-Star slugger Hunter Pence from the injured list Tuesday. Pence’s return forced the Rangers to option someone else from their 25-man roster to Triple-A Nashville. They chose outfielder Willie Calhoun, which left him “speechless.” Demoting Calhoun was not a slam-dunk decision on Texas’ part, though. The club also considered optioning two regulars – right fielder Nomar Mazara and first baseman Ronald Guzman – Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Mazara was billed as a potential superstar coming up through the minors with the Rangers, so sending him back would have been especially notable on their part. To this point, however, Mazara hasn’t matched the hype since his initial promotion to the majors in 2016. The Rangers realize it.

“We want him to be better,” manager Chris Woodward told Wilson of Mazara. General manager Jon Daniels believes Mazara has “been a solid contributor,” but “he’s got another step he can get to.”

Daniels may be right – Mazara’s just 24 years old, after all. Still, it’s difficult to regard Mazara’s career .259/.319/.428 line (91 wRC+) and 1.7 fWAR across 2,077 plate appearances as anything but a disappointment. Likewise, his 2019 has been a letdown. As has typically been the case during his time in the majors, southpaw pitchers have handled the lefty-swinging Mazara. He hasn’t been great against righties either, though. In all, Mazara has hit a personal-worst .258/.310/.433 (86 wRC+) with 12 home runs and a replacement-level fWAR (0.1) over 361 trips to the plate. While Mazara’s on pace for his fourth straight 20-home run season, the HR-heavy nature of today’s game means that accomplishment doesn’t carry as much weight as it once did.

As for Guzman, it seems his position helped spare him of a demotion. Sending him down would’ve left the club with too many outfielders, Wilson notes. Also 24, Guzman has been a decidedly below-average offensive player (83 wRC+) since his 2018 debut. So far this season, Guzman has hit a punchless .201/.286/.413 (73 wRC+) with eight HRs and minus-0.4 fWAR in 217 PA. Like Mazara, lefties have stymied Guzman this year – he has batted .111/.203/.296 against them – which has led the Rangers to use righties Danny Santana and Logan Forsythe against them.

Barring in-season turnarounds from Mazara and Guzman, one wonders how much longer the Rangers will rely on them as key parts of their lineup. Mazara’s team control is running out – next year will be his penultimate season of arbitration eligibility – meaning he’s not guaranteed to stick in Texas for much longer as it is. Guzman won’t be eligible for arbitration until after 2020, so he could be with the organization for a while longer. However, a team with designs on contending can’t keep turning to an offensive albatross at a bat-first position.

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Texas Rangers Nomar Mazara Ronald Guzman

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Hunter Pence, Nomar Mazara To Receive MRIs On Monday

By Mark Polishuk | June 17, 2019 at 12:01am CDT

Two Rangers outfielders will be receiving MRIs on Monday for leg ailments.  Hunter Pence left today’s game in the fifth inning after suffering right groin tightness while chasing a fly ball.  Pence was in right field in place of Nomar Mazara, who received a day off after coming out of Saturday’s game early due to right knee soreness.  Mazara told MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan (article links) and other reporters that he has been dealing with the issue for a couple of weeks, though curiously, the injury “doesn’t hurt during games, more when I am just standing around,” the outfielder said.

Of the two injuries, Rangers manager Chris Woodward said “If I was a betting man, I would assume Hunter” would be the one heading to the injured list, if the team was forced to make a roster move.  Mazara’s MRI sounds more precautionary in nature, and Woodward noted that the younger outfielder was already feeling better on Sunday.

If only one player hits the IL, Texas has a replacement ready to go in Willie Calhoun, who is finishing off a rehab stint from his own injured list stint from a left quad strain that has sidelined him since May 22.  If both Mazara and Pence have to miss time, the Rangers’ outfield wouldn’t be shorthanded for long, as Joey Gallo is roughly a week away from recovering his rehab from an oblique strain, though the team is expected to be cautious with Gallo.  These twin IL returns were lining up as a potential roster crunch situation for the Rangers in the outfield/DH mix, though this problem could be put off for a while longer if Pence and/or Mazara end up injured themselves.

An IL visit would interrupt the feel-good story that is Pence’s comeback season, as the popular veteran is hitting .294/.353/.608 with 15 homers over 215 PA.  It seemed as if Pence’s career was winding down following subpar years with the Giants in 2017 and 2018, but after overhauling his swing in the offseason, Pence signed with Texas on a minor league contract and has suddenly delivered one of his very best seasons.  Some regression is inevitable, as Pence’s .396 wOBA far exceeds his .368 xwOBA, though even the latter figure is more than respectable.

While Pence is overachieving at age 36, the 24-year-old Mazara has still yet to break out in his fourth Major League season.  Considered one of baseball’s top prospects heading into the 2016 season, Mazara is hitting .265/.316/.435 this season, which is just about in line with his overall career numbers over 1995 PA in the big leagues.  Between this lackluster offensive production and subpar defensive metrics, Mazara has only a 1.5 fWAR to show for 486 career games.  One bright spot from this year’s numbers is a 45.2% hard-hit ball rate, easily the best of Mazara’s short career, though is also walking less and has a career-high swinging strike rate.

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Texas Rangers Hunter Pence Nomar Mazara

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Rangers Notes: Ragans, Odor, Mazara, Miller

By Steve Adams | May 14, 2019 at 9:31pm CDT

The Rangers received yet even more terrible news on the prospect front Tuesday, as 2016 first-rounder Cole Ragans will undergo the second Tommy John surgery of his young career, per a team announcement. Ragans underwent Tommy John surgery last March but re-tore the ligament in his right elbow and will now miss a second season of development. The Rangers have already lost 2018 second-round pick Owen White and 2018 fourth-rounder Mason Englert to Tommy John surgery this season, thus wiping out the 2019 campaigns for three intriguing young prospects within the team’s minor league ranks. Ragans ranked as the team’s No. 10 overall prospect, per MLB.com, while White checked in at No. 12 and Englert sat at No. 23.

Some more news and notes out of Arlington…

  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News examines the struggles of both Rougned Odor and Nomar Mazara thus far in 2019. It’s been a catastrophic season for Odor, who entered play today with an almost unfathomable .137/.212/.253 batting line through 105 plate appearances. Mazara, meanwhile, is in a substantial funk that has dropped his overall line to .227/.287/.417 through yesterday’s game. Odor’s struggles have gotten to the point where an optional assignment almost has to be considered as a means of getting him back on track. He’s signed through the 2022 season but has yet to consistently produce at the big league level. He had a similar run of poor results in 2018 before snapping out of his slump and catching fire for much of the summer, and some work in the minors could help to clear his head and point him in that direction. Mazara likely has a longer leash given his more consistent track record and the need to evaluate him heading into his next arbitration raise. Even if the organization decides it best to shop Mazara this winter, demoting him would tank his trade value, so it seems best to allow him to continue trying to sort things out at the MLB level. It’s worth noting, of course, that as of this writing both Mazara and Odor have a pair of hits in tonight’s game.
  • Shelby Miller’s hold on a spot in the rotation would appear to be tenuous, at best. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote yesterday that the organization’s plan was to keep Miller in the rotation but cap him at 70 pitches per start, but he wasn’t even able to last that long in tonight’s outing against the Royals. Kansas City jumped all over Miller on Tuesday, clobbering him for eight runs on seven hits and two walks with one strikeout in just 1 2/3 innings. Grant tweeted shortly thereafter that Miller seemed likely to be moved to the bullpen in favor of the younger Ariel Jurado, who has a 3.57 ERA through 22 2/3 innings in Triple-A and has fired off 9 2/3 scoreless innings out of the big league bullpen. Texas signed the 28-year-old Miller to a one-year deal this offseason in hopes that he could rebuild some stock and perhaps turn himself into a trade chip, but he’s allowed 31 earned runs in 29 1/3 innings with more walks allowed (23) than strikeouts recorded (20).
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Notes Texas Rangers Ariel Jurado Cole Ragans Nomar Mazara Rougned Odor Shelby Miller

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West Notes: Verlander, Kershaw, Rangers

By Jeff Todd | March 7, 2019 at 7:58pm CDT

Astros righty Justin Verlander chatted yesterday about his pending free agency with Jon Heyman of MLB Network (all links to Twitter). While he’s keeping an open door to remaining in Houston, it doesn’t sound as if there’s any expectation of reaching a deal this spring. Verlander, who’s still at the top of his game at 36 years of age, reiterated his previously stated intention to pitch well into his forties. That expectation won’t lead him to chase the longest-possible guarantee in free agency, though. Having already secured career earnings in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Verlander says he’ll prioritize annual salary and other considerations while remaining “cognizant” of how his contract fits in the larger market picture. Further to that point, the veteran notes that big deals for this winter’s very best free agents have tended to mask the down-market struggles and number of teams that are not seeking to compete.

More from the western divisions …

  • Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw threw to a catcher today from flat ground, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports in a series of tweets. That still counts as notable progress for the vaunted hurler, who also long-tossed and does not seem to have reported any issues. Shoulder issues have slowed Kershaw thus far in camp, but he has seemed to be on the upswing of late. Filling in for him early on shouldn’t be a problem for a Dodgers club that has a deep staff to call upon, but the early health issues are of greater concern given the recent history. Kershaw, who’ll soon turn 31, has now missed starts in each of the past three seasons and is under contract for three seasons and $93MM.
  • While the Rangers recently worked out a new deal with reliever Jose Leclerc, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that it’s far from clear they’ll land any other extensions this spring. Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara appear to be hypothetical candidates, but both say they’re not presently engaged with the club. That could still change; Gallo and Mazara each say they are willing to listen and are interested in remaining in Texas. Otherwise, it’s tough to identify any reasonable candidates on the roster.
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Houston Astros Los Angeles Dodgers Texas Rangers Clayton Kershaw Joey Gallo Justin Verlander Nomar Mazara

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Rangers Notes: Mazara, Pitching, Burke

By Mark Polishuk | March 3, 2019 at 6:10pm CDT

The Rangers swung a trade with the Twins earlier today, and here’s some more out of Arlington…

  • 2018 was the best of Nomar Mazara’s three big league seasons, though that is something of faint praise, as the outfielder hit only .258/.317/.436 (96 wRC+) with 20 homers over 536 plate appearances.  Between that below-average production, subpar baserunning, and middling defense, Mazara generated 1.0 fWAR last season, giving him just 1.4 fWAR for his career.  Mazara also battled a thumb injury, and there were suggestions of tension between the outfielder and former Rangers manager Jeff Banister.  While it’s worth noting that Mazara still doesn’t even turn 24 years old until April, “there are no more excuses,” he told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.  “I know can play a lot better than what I am. And I know that expectations are going to be high. I know what I can do.”
  • The Rangers face an interesting long-relief challenge as they weigh how to handle Shelby Miller, Edinson Volquez, and Drew Smyly in their projected rotation, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes.  All three hurlers are in various stages of recovery from Tommy John surgeries — Miller has tossed just 38 MLB innings over the last two seasons, while Volquez didn’t pitch at all in 2018, while Smyly hasn’t thrown a Major League pitch since 2016.  Zach McAllister and Jesse Chavez are two relievers with multi-inning experience, though Jason Hammel could also fit into a long man role if he doesn’t end up in the rotation himself.  “I’m just here trying to make the team.  I’m not expecting anything. I’m not opposed to any job,” Hammel said.  After struggling in the Royals’ rotation for the last two seasons, Hammel was relegated to the bullpen last year, his first extended dose of relief work since 2008.  Hammel is in the Rangers’ camp on a minor league deal.
  • December’s three-team trade with the Rays and A’s saw the Rangers part ways with former top prospect Jurickson Profar and minor league right-hander Rollie Lacy, though Texas came away from the deal with $750K in international bonus money and a package of four prospects.  One of those youngsters was 22-year-old left-hander Brock Burke, who Rangers GM Jon Daniels discussed with Fangraphs’ David Laurila.  “This winter, after a number of talks, we defined what we were looking for [in a Profar trade],” Daniels said.  “Our priority was to get a young starter who was at the upper levels, and [Burke’s] had a lot of things we liked. His trajectory is really interesting — from Colorado, not a ton of development at a young age. Sometimes guys from those cold-weather states need a little time to lay a foundation.”  A third-round pick for the Rays in the 2014 draft, Burke has a 3.41 ERA, 2.83 K/BB rate, and 8.7 K/9 over 387 2/3 pro innings, including a 1.99 ERA over 55 1/3 frames at Double-A in 2018.  MLB.com ranks Burke as the ninth-best prospect in the Rangers’ farm system, citing his improved slider, changeup, and a fastball that averages “90-94 mph with a peak of 96 and some running life.”  This latter pitch was specifically mentioned by Daniels, who described Burke’s fastball as “unique…both from a scouting perspective and from the data.”
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Texas Rangers Brock Burke Drew Smyly Edinson Volquez Jason Hammel Jurickson Profar Nomar Mazara Shelby Miller

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AL Notes: Angels, Rangers, Lindor, Sano

By Jeff Todd | February 18, 2019 at 11:28pm CDT

Angels owner Arte Moreno discussed a few topics of interest today, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register covered. Moreno spoke positively of his interactions with the city of Anaheim regarding the club’s ballpark, seemingly representing an improvement in relations. He also gave a vote of confidence to the Billy Eppler-led front office. Most interestingly, though, Moreno explained the organization’s approach to spending on player contracts. It’s not about staying beneath the luxury tax line, he said; rather, the organization budgets to “allocate about 50 percent of [its] revenue towards payroll.” Moreno also added that he “bust[s] through that every year,” so it seems there’s some flexibility. Generally, though, the position helps explain some of the team’s spending patterns — including its approach this winter. Moreno says there’s still cash available for mid-season additions. Meanwhile, it’s still tough to gauge whether there’s a realistic possibility of a new deal with the incomparable Mike Trout. As MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes, Trout declined to comment on the possibility of a new deal at all, while Moreno would do little more than reiterate that there is interest on the team’s behalf.

More from the American League:

  • The Rangers are considering the possibility of pursuing extensions with several young players, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. At this point, though, it’s not clear that the team has engaged any agents. Neither is it evident which players might be approached. Sullivan tabs Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, and Jose Leclerc as the likeliest candidates. That would indeed seem to be a plausible trio. All have reasonable cases for significant money. Mazara is already into his arbitration years. Gallo and Leclerc have one more campaign to go, but each promises to accumulate the kinds of counting stats (home runs and saves, respectively) that pay well in arbitration.
  • There’s little doubt that the Indians would love to find a way to extend star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who has reportedly spurned record-setting offers in the past. He says he’s still happy for the time being to go year to year, as Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets. Lindor says he “love[s] everything about Cleveland,” but right now is “focused on arbitration” (so far as contractual matters go). That’s working out just fine, as he took down a big $10.55MM first-year arb payday. Ultimately, Lindor says, he may consider a long-term deal, though he certainly did not sound as if that’s something he’s particularly keen to pursue. Per Lindor: “If the Indians come up with the right numbers and at some point it happens — which, I’m not even thinking about — we’ll see.”
  • True, reports on conditioning entering camp are a tired trope. But given all the heartache over the years surrounding the physical form of Twins slugger Miguel Sano, it seems relevant that he’s said to be in the best shape of his life — or, at least, the best shape of his MLB career. As Dan Hayes of The Athletic writes (subscription link), Sano embarked upon a robust workout program this winter and seems to be in top form. Whether that extends to his productivity on the field remains to be seen, but it’s a positive start.
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Cleveland Guardians Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins Texas Rangers Francisco Lindor Joey Gallo Jose Leclerc Miguel Sano Mike Trout Nomar Mazara

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Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

By Steve Adams,George Miller,Jeff Todd,TC Zencka and Ty Bradley | January 12, 2019 at 2:19pm CDT

The deadline for players and teams to exchange arbitration figures passed at 1pm ET yesterday, meaning over the next few hours, there will be a landslide of settlements on one-year deals to avoid an arbitration hearing. We’ll track today’s minor settlements from the American League in this post. Once all of the day’s settlements have filtered in, I’ll organize them by division to make them a bit easier to parse.

It’s worth mentioning that the vast majority of teams have adopted a “file and trial” approach to arbitration, meaning that once arbitration figures are exchanged with a player, negotiations on a one-year deal will cease. The two parties may still discuss a multi-year deal after that point, but the majority of players who exchange figures with their team today will head to an arbitration hearing.

As always, all salary projections referenced within this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, and we’ll also be updating our 2019 Arbitration Tracker throughout the day…

Today’s Updates

  • Yankees 1B Greg Bird will make $1.2 MM next season, per Bob Nightengale on Twitter.
  • The controversial Roberto Osuna will make $6.5MM next season, per Feinsand. Teammate Jake Marisnick, who again scuffled in ’18 after a promising 2017, will make $2.2125MM.
  • Per Mark Feinsand on Twitter, A’s lefty Sean Manaea $3.15MM in what’s sure to be an injury-marred 2019.
  • Hard-throwing reliever Mychal Givens will make $2.15MM, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter), with additional incentives for making the All-Star team or placing in the Top-3 for the Rivera/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards, added MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).
  • The Mariners agreed on a $1.95MM deal with outfielder Domingo Santana, per MLB.com’s Greg Johns (via Twitter). Santana is the second and last of the Mariners’ arbitration-eligible players.
  • The Angels agreed to contracts with a pair of players yesterday, per Maria Torres of the LA Times (via Twitter). Reliever Hansel Robles signed for $1.4MM. Robles threw 36 1/3 innings of 2.97 ERA baseball after the Angels claimed him off waivers from the Mets in June. Luis Garcia, acquired via trade from the Phillies this winter, signed for $1.675MM.
  • The Tigers and reliever Shane Greene settled on $4MM, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter).
  • The Yankees reached an agreement with Sonny Gray for $7.5MM, per Nightengale. Gray, of course, has been involved trade rumors most of the winter, but for the time being, he stands to play a role in the Yankee pen while providing insurance for the rotation.
  • Didi Gregorius has also come to an agreement with the Yankees on a one-year, $11.75MM deal in his final season before free agency, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter links).
  • New Yankee James Paxton signed for $8.575, per Nightengale (via Twitter). Paxton is under contract for the 2020 season as well.
  • The Houston Astros came to an agreement with Collin McHugh for $5.8MM, per Nightengale (via Twitter). McHugh could be moving back into the rotation after a stellar season in the pen, either way this will be his final season of arb eligibility before hitting the open market.
  • Jonathan Villar comes away with $4.825MM for what will be his first full season in Baltimore, per Nightengale (via Twitter).

Earlier Updates

Read more

  • Among other deals, the White Sox have struck deals to pay Carlos Rodon $4.2MM and Yolmer Sanchez $4.625MM, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin (via Twitter).
  • In his second season of eligibility, outfielder Randal Grichuk has a $5MM deal with the Blue Jays, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. Righty Aaron Sanchez receives $3.9MM and outfielder Kevin Pillar gets $5.8MM, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith adds (Twitter links).
  • Angels righty Cam Bedrosian is slated to earn $1.75MM, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter).
  • The Rangers have deals with outfielders Nomar Mazara ($3.3MM) and Delino DeShields ($1.4MM), Levi Weaver of The Athletic tweets.
  • Power righty Dellin Betances is in agreement on a $7.125MM deal with the Yankees in his final season of arb eligibility, Sweeny Murti of WFAN tweets.
  • The Tigers have avoided arbitration with outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). It’s a $9.95MM deal. Castellanos had projected for $11.3MM.
  • The Twins will pay starter Kyle Gibson $8.125MM, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). Outfielder Eddie Rosario gets $4.19MM, per LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune (via Twitter), while lefty Taylor Rogers takes home $1.525MM as a Super Two, Murray tweets.
  • The Athletics have agreed with shortstop Marcus Semien a $5.9MM deal, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Fellow infielder Jurickson Profar will receive $3.6MM, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets.
  • Newly acquired righty Alex Colome will earn $7.325MM with the White Sox, Nightengale also tweets.
  • Righty Brad Peacock gets $3.11MM from the Astros, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Fellow right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. will earn $4.1MM, Mark Berman of FOX 26 tweets, though he’ll miss all of the 2019 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. A third Houston righty, Will Harris, settled at $4.225MM, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (Twitter link).
  • The Red Sox have agreed to a $2.475MM salary with catcher Sandy Leon, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (links to Twitter). Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, meanwhile, is slated to earn $4.3MM while infielder Brock Holt takes down $3.575MM.
  • The Tigers have deals in place with a series of pitchers. Lefty Matthew Boyd will play on a $2.6MM salary in 2019, Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets. Lefty Daniel Norris gets $1.275MM, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Fellow southpaw Blaine Hardy also has a deal, Fenech tweets, with MLB.com’s Jason Beck putting the price at $1.3MM (Twitter link).
  • Backstop Mike Zunino receives $4,412,500 from the Rays, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets. Infielder Matt Duffy has agreed to a $2.675MM payday, Murray tweets.
  • The Blue Jays will pay righty Marcus Stroman $7.4MM for the upcoming season, per Nightengale (via Twitter).
  • While the Orioles have now reached deals with all of their eligible players, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link), we don’t yet have salary terms. Dylan Bundy, Mychal Givens, and Jonathan Villar make up the arb class. Bundy takes down $2.8MM, per another Kubatko tweet.
  • The Angels have a $3.7MM deal for the 2019 season with lefty Tyler Skaggs, tweets Nightengale. He comes in $100K north of his $3.6MM projected salary and can be controlled for another two seasons before reaching free agency.
  • Miguel Sano and the Twins agreed to a $2.65MM salary with another $50K of plate appearance incentives, tweets Nightengale. Sano’s deal is $450K shy of his $3.1MM projection, and he can be controlled through the 2021 season.
  • The Rays and righty Chaz Roe settled on a one-year pact worth $1.275MM, tweets Murray. Roe, who’d been projected at $1.4MM, is arb-eligible for the first time and controlled through 2021.
  • Brandon Workman and the Red Sox settled at $1.15MM, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. The second-time-eligible righty is controlled through the 2020 campaign and had been projected at $1.4MM.
  • The Yankees and outfielder Aaron Hicks have agreed to a $6.0MM salary, tweets Nightengale. The deal comes in just short of his $6.2MM projection. The 29-year-old is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility before reaching free agency.
  • Blue Jays infielders Brandon Drury and Devon Travis have agreed to one-year deals worth $1.3MM and $1.925MM, respectively, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jamie Campbell of Sportsnet (Twitter links). Each of the pair falls short of their respective $1.4MM and $2.4MM projections. Drury, a Super Two player, will be arbitration-eligible three more times and is controllable through 2022. Travis, meanwhile, has three-plus years of MLB service and is under team control through 2021.
  • The Twins and right-hander Jake Odorizzi have settled on a one-year deal worth $9.5MM, tweets Nightengale. Odorizzi, who is in his final year of arbitration eligibility before reaching free agency, receives slightly more than his $9.4MM projection.
  • Max Kepler and the Twins have reached an agreement on a $3.125MM salary, tweets Murray. A Super Two player, this is Kepler’s first season of arbitration eligibility. Coming in just under his $3.2MM projection, Kepler will remain under team control through 2022.
  • Mariners left-hander Roenis Elias has agreed to a one-year deal, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. Financial terms are not yet known. Elias, controllable through 2021, had been projected to earn $1.0MM.
  • The Astros and righty Ryan Pressly have settled on a $2.9MM salary, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle–slightly less than the projected $3.1MM figure. Pressly enters his last year of arbitration eligibility and can reach free agency as early as next winter.
  • Twins right-hander Trevor May has agreed to a one-year deal worth $900K, tweets Murray. This marks May’s second year of arbitration eligibility; he will remain under team control through 2020.
  • Closer Ken Giles and the Blue Jays have settled on a one-year, $6.3MM contract, tweets Nicholson-Smith. Projected to earn $6.6MM, Giles is in his second year of arbitration eligibility and is controllable through 2020.
  • Outfielder Byron Buxton and the Twins have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.75MM, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN first tweeted. Buxton, a Super Two player entering arbitration for the first time, had been projected to earn $1.2MM and will remain under team control through 2022.
  • Angels starters Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano have settled on one-year deals worth $3.4MM and $1.075MM, respectively, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Heaney’s 180 innings in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery helped him to top his $2.8MM projection handily. Tropeano had been projected at $1.5MM. Both pitchers have three-plus years of MLB service time and are controlled through 2021.
  • Yankees catcher Austin Romine agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.8MM, tweets Nightengale. The 30-year-old, who had been projected to earn $2MM, is entering his final season of club control before reaching free agency.
  • The Red Sox and Blake Swihart settled on a one-year deal worth $910K, tweets Murray. That checks in south of his $1.1MM projection. As a Super Two player who’s arbitration-eligible for the first time, Swihart will be arb-eligible three more times and is controlled through 2022.
  • The Blue Jays and Joe Biagini settled at $900K, tweets Murray, which lands just shy of his $1MM projection. Biagini barely qualified as a Super Two player this offseason and will be arb-eligible three more times. He’s controlled through 2022.
  • The Athletics and Mark Canha agreed on a one-year deal worth $2.05MM, tweets Robert Murray of The Athletic, landing just shy of his projected $2.1MM figure. With three-plus years of MLB service, Canha is in his first season of arbitration eligibility and is controllable through 2021.
  • Angels infielder Tommy La Stella settled with his new team at $1.35MM, tweets Murray. Projected to receive $1.2MM, La Stella is entering his penultimate season of team control before hitting free agency.
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