Mariners Sign Yoshihisa Hirano
The Mariners announced that right-hander Yoshihisa Hirano has been signed to a one-year, Major League contract. Hirano is represented by John Boggs & Associates. Left-hander Ricardo Sanchez has been designated for assignment to create roster space.
Hirano will earn $1.6MM in guaranteed money, as per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (all Twitter links), plus incentive bonuses based on numbers of games pitched and finished. Hirano can begin to unlock these bonuses if he makes at least 30 appearances, or finishes at least 20 games. There is also a $250K transaction payment due to Hirano whenever he is traded.
After coming to Major League Baseball on a two-year, $6MM deal with the Diamondbacks in the 2017-18 offseason, Hirano finished sixth in NL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2018 after posting a 2.44 ERA, 2.57 K/BB rate, 50.3% grounder rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 66 1/3 innings out of Arizona’s pen. Despite a higher strikeout rate (10.4 K/9) and K/BB rate (2.77) in 2019, Hirano’s ERA ballooned to 4.75 over 53 frames, and he also spent a few weeks on the injured list due to elbow inflammation.
Despite the wide gap in ERA over the two seasons, Hirano’s advanced metrics indicate a pretty similar level of performance in both 2018 (3.69 FIP, 4.01 xFIP, 3.76 SIERA, .311 xwOBA) and 2019 (4.04 FIP, 4.24 xFIP, 3.95 SIERA, .296 xwOBA). Hirano finished in the 94th percentile of all pitchers in terms of limiting hard contact last season, so the Mariners are hoping the righty can translate that soft contact into better on-field results.
Though Hirano (who turns 36 in March) only has four career saves, the number of finish-saved incentives in his contract indicate that the Mariners see him as a potential answer to their unsettled ninth-inning situation. Matt Magill is ostensibly the top in-house choice after saving five games for the M’s down the stretch last season, though those were the only five saves of Magill’s big league career. While Hirano rarely got the call in save situations for the D’Backs, he has a long and successful history of saving games in Japan, racking up 143 saves for the Orix Buffaloes between 2013-17.
Sanchez posted a 4.44 ERA, 3.55 K/BB rate, and 8.3 K/9 over 146 innings for Double-A Arkansas last season, starting all 27 of his games. The 22-year-old southpaw already has six years of professional experience, beginning in the Angels’ system before pitching with the Braves from 2015-18.
Mariners Acquire Ricardo Sanchez
The Mariners have acquired left-hander Ricardo Sanchez from the Braves, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. They’ll send cash to Atlanta in exchange for the 21-year-old southpaw, who was designated for assignment two days ago.
Sanchez ascended to the Double-A level for the first time in 2018, though he managed just a 4.06 ERA a 44-to-24 K/BB ratio in 57 1/3 innings in his first action at that level. In parts of five minor league seasons, Sanchez has a 4.48 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9. Sanchez rated 26th among Braves farmhands, per Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com. Their free report on Sanchez praised the lefty’s fastball, curveball and changeup — all of which have a chance to be average or better offerings. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen has previously called him a potential No. 4 starter but noted that his command needs to take a notable step forward to realize that upside.
Braves Designate Ricardo Sanchez For Assignment
The Braves announced Monday that they’ve designated left-hander Ricardo Sanchez for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for Brian McCann, whose return to Atlanta is now official.
Atlanta originally acquired Sanchez, now 21, back in the 2015 deal that sent third baseman Kyle Kubitza to the Angels. While the lefty ascended to the Double-A level for the first time this past season, he managed just a 4.06 ERA a 44-to-24 K/BB ratio in 57 1/3 innings at that level in 2018. In parts of five minor league seasons, Sanchez has a 4.48 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in the minors.