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Brewers Place Jake Cousins On Injured List, Reinstate Victor Caratini

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The Brewers have announced that they have placed right-handed pitcher Jake Cousins on the 10-day injured list with right elbow effusion, relays Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The same news was relayed by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, who describes the injury as a buildup of fluid. Catcher Victor Caratini returns from the Covid-related injured list in a corresponding move. Players on the Covid-IL don’t count against a club’s 40-man roster, but the Brewers had an open spot in that regard, negating the need for a move there.

Cousins, 27, made his MLB debut with the Brewers last year, throwing 30 innings with a 2.70 ERA, excellent 35.2% strikeout rate but high walk rate of 15.2%. He’s largely carried over that profile this year so far, logging another eight innings with a 4.50 ERA, 13 strikeouts and 5 walks. The club hasn’t provided a timeline for the injury, but it’s always somewhat concerning when a pitcher has issues with his elbow.

Caratini went on the Covid-IL April 26 and now returns five days later. After Pedro Severino was given an 80-game suspension during Spring Training, the Brewers had to scramble and quickly traded for Caratini and Alex Jackson just a few days before Opening Day. Caratini has been great so far, in the small sample of eight games, hitting .238/.360/.429, 132 wRC+. Jackson was called up to take Caratini’s place when the latter went on the shelf, but seems to be sticking around for now. Along with Omar Narvaez, that gives the club three catchers for the time being. However, rosters are shrinking from 28 to 26 after today’s game, meaning Jackson could be optioned back to Triple-A.

COVID Notes: Pirates, Brewers, Giants

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A few players landed on the COVID-19 injured list today. It’s not clear whether anyone in this group tested positive for the virus or has been identified as a close contact or a symptomatic individual. Players on the COVID IL don’t count against a team’s 40-man roster.

The latest virus-related situations:

  • The Pirates placed outfielders Bryan Reynolds and Cole Tucker on the injured list before this evening’s game against the Brewers. Prospects Tucupita Marcano and Jack Suwinski were recalled to take their place on the active roster. Each of Reynolds and Tucker has struggled in the early going, but the former was one of the game’s best players last season and figures to turn things around whenever he’s ready to return. Marcano and Suwinski were both acquired from the Padres in last summer’s Adam Frazier deal. It’s the first MLB call for the 23-year-old Suwinski, who was selected onto the 40-man roster last offseason. The left-handed outfielder is off to a fantastic .353/.421/.686 start with Double-A Altoona this year.
  • The Brewers had their own virus-related move before tonight’s game. Catcher Víctor Caratini went on the IL this afternoon. Backstop Alex Jackson, acquired from the Marlins during Spring Training, has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move. Caratini has appeared in eight games as part of a loose early-season platoon with Omar Narváez. The latter will probably assume the lion’s share of work behind the dish so long as Caratini is sidelined. Jackson has hit .229/.300/.429 with a pair of homers in ten games with the Sounds.
  • The Giants have placed reliever Zack Littell on the IL, tweets Maria Guardado of MLB.com. Kervin Castro has been recalled to take his place on the active roster. Littell has gotten off to a nice start to the season, tossing six scoreless innings in as many appearances. He’s allowed four hits, struck out five and has yet to issue a walk. Littell pitched to a 2.92 ERA in 61 2/3 frames last year.

Brewers Acquire Victor Caratini From Padres

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The Brewers fortified their catching situation this afternoon, announcing the acquisition of Víctor Caratini and cash considerations from the Padres. San Diego picks up fellow catcher Brett Sullivan and outfield prospect Korry Howell in return. It’s a quick strike for Milwaukee to find a #2 backstop in the wake of an 80-game suspension to presumptive #2 Pedro Severino, who tested positive for the banned substance Clomiphene this week.

Caratini spent one season in San Diego after coming over from the Cubs alongside Yu Darvish last offseason. He functioned as Darvish’s personal catcher, lining up behind the dish in 29 of the righty’s 30 starts. The switch-hitting backstop also saw more action than anticipated in non-Darvish outings, as expected starter Austin Nola was limited to 56 games by injuries.

Ultimately, Caratini tallied a personal-high 356 plate appearances during his lone season in San Diego. He hit .227/.309/.323 with seven home runs, a fair bit worse than the .250/.327/.372 line he’d put up in the prior four seasons as a reserve option in Chicago. Last season’s 9.8% walk percentage and 23% strikeout rate were both in line with his respective career marks, but he managed just seven homers and nine doubles en route to a subpar .096 ISO (slugging minus batting average).

Caratini’s average exit velocity and hard contact rate were surprisingly strong, but he negated much of his extra-base potential by hitting the ball on the ground more than half the time. Even if he can’t add more offensive impact, he should offer some decent at-bats off the bench for skipper Craig Counsell. Caratini has been better from the right side of the dish over the course of his career, a trait that pairs well with lefty-hitting #1 catcher Omar Narváez.

The Caratini acquisition is clearly tied to Severino’s suspension, which had left Milwaukee without an obvious backup catcher. The Brewers are set to welcome Severino back in the second half of the year, but Caratini could have a path to securing the job with a strong start to the season. He’s making $2MM after avoiding arbitration this offseason, and he’ll be controllable once more through that process before hitting free agency after 2023.

From the Padres perspective, the trade would appear to be a vote of confidence in out-of-options backstop Jorge Alfaro. San Diego acquired Alfaro, with whom president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is quite familiar from their time in the Rangers organization, in a small trade with the Marlins before last November’s tender deadline. It was a mere cash transaction, but that the Friars affirmatively struck to add Alfaro rather than let Miami non-tender him into free agency (which it had become apparent the Fish were set to do) suggested the Friars had hopes of Alfaro breaking camp.

It would appear he’s in line to do just that after a fantastic showing in Spring Training. Alfaro had ten hits, including four homers, in 24 at-bats in Cactus League play. That’s far less meaningful than his more modest .258/.309/.399 career regular season showing, but Alfaro is a former top prospect whom many evaluators had projected as a possible regular thanks to his power at the plate and strong throwing arm. He’ll presumably make the club as Nola’s backup, with top prospect Luis Campusano also on the verge of the big leagues.

Sullivan, too, could find himself in that mix. The 28-year-old has never played in the majors, but he landed a major league deal with the Brewers this winter after qualifying for minor league free agency. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen writes that he’s a contact-oriented hitter who could be a depth option in the short-term, albeit without much power or a great arm.

The lefty-hitting Sullivan is only coming off a .223/.302/.375 line in Triple-A. The Brewers obviously preferred to go externally rather than turn the backup catching job over to him to start the season. Yet the fact that both Milwaukee and San Diego were willing to commit him a 40-man roster spot suggests he’s of appeal to multiple clubs.

Howell, meanwhile, is a former 12th-round selection out of an Iowa junior college. Baseball America slotted the right-handed hitting outfielder 29th in the Milwaukee farm system this offseason, praising his athleticism and plate discipline but noting concerns about his bat-to-ball skills. That’s borne out in his minor league numbers, as Howell punched out in 28.9% of his trips to the plate in High-A last season. That mark jumped to 39.6% upon a late-season promotion to Double-A. Even with the strikeouts, Howell was particularly productive at the former stop, though. He hit 12 homers and stole 20 bases in 69 games while walking at a strong 11.1% clip, showcasing the combination of athleticism and patience BA noted.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported the Padres were trading Caratini to the Brewers for a pair of minor leaguers. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the return of Sullivan and Howell.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Padres Open To Trading From Rotation, Catching Depth

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With a little over a week until Opening Day, the Padres still have a highly uncertain outfield mix. Michael Conforto and Brett Gardner remain available in free agency, but the Friars are an estimated $6MM shy of the $230MM base luxury tax threshold and are reportedly reluctant to exceed that figure.

If they’re not content with their internal outfield options, a trade may be the better way for the front office to go. Dennis Lin of the Athletic reports the Padres are willing to entertain offers on some of their catchers or starting pitchers. Dealing from their depth in either area wouldn’t necessarily mean the Padres bring back a big league caliber outfielder in return, but it seems the front office is at least open to exploring those possibilities.

Neither development comes as a surprise. During the lockout, MLBTR noted the potential for San Diego to entertain trades from both the catching group and rotation depth. The Padres currently have four catchers on the 40-man roster, all of whom have reasonable claims to a spot on the MLB club.

Austin Nola is the presumptive starter. Luis Campusano is a top prospect who doesn’t have much more to prove in the minors after hitting .295/.365/.541 in Triple-A. Víctor Caratini is coming off a rough season, but he’s had success in the past and works well with Yu Darvish. Jorge Alfaro would appear to be fourth on the depth chart, but San Diego acquired him from the Marlins and he can’t be optioned to the minor leagues, meaning the Padres need to keep him on the active roster or designate him for assignment. The Friars presumably won’t carry all four on the Opening Day roster, even with rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players in the early going, so it’s natural they’d be open to dealing from that group.

On the pitching side of the equation, San Diego is set to open the year with a starting group of Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Mike Clevinger and Nick Martínez. That wouldn’t leave spots for any of Chris Paddack, Reiss Knehr or former top prospects Ryan Weathers and MacKenzie Gore. All four of those pitchers have options remaining, and the Friars could certainly opt to stockpile depth after seeing a series of rotation injuries contribute to a second-half collapse last year. Lin doesn’t specify any names whom the Padres are particularly inclined to move, to be clear. Yet as with the catching surplus, there may at least be enough depth for president of baseball operations A.J. Preller to consider a move — particularly if one of those arms can bring back MLB-ready outfield help.

Trent Grisham is locked in as the center fielder, with Will Myers set to handle right field on most days. San Diego saw Tommy Pham depart in free agency, leaving Jurickson Profar and the newly-acquired Matt Beaty among the favorites for playing time in left. That’s not a great group of corner players for a hopeful contender, and the Pads have shopped both Myers and first baseman Eric Hosmer throughout the offseason. Lin writes they’re still exploring possible Hosmer deals, although moving much of the remaining four years and $59MM on his deal has proven too tough a task so far. It’d probably be easier to move Myers, but that’d just further thin the corner outfield group.

Aside from Myers, Profar, Beaty and Grisham, the Padres don’t really have outfield options on the 40-man roster. Lin writes that manager Bob Melvin has already ruled out the possibility of moving second baseman Jake Cronenworth off the position, something the organization considered but never tried last offseason. Alfaro has some experience in left field but shouldn’t be more than an emergency option there. Trayce Thompson and Nomar Mazara are in camp as non-roster invitees and could both get big league looks, but neither is necessarily an upgrade over Profar and Beaty.

More interesting than the possibility of any of those veterans getting a spot is the chance for top prospect CJ Abrams to break camp with the club. A consensus top 15 prospect, Abrams only has 42 games of Double-A experience. He impressed there last year, hitting .296/.363/.420 with a pair of home runs and 13 stolen bases, but his season was cut short when he fractured his left tibia in late June. That kept him from seeing his first Triple-A action.

Nevertheless, both Lin and Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune have written this week the organization is considering carrying the 21-year-old on the MLB roster. That’s certainly not a given, as both Lin and Acee hear that some with the Padres believe he’d benefit from more time in the minors. Not only does he have limited experience against high level pitching, Abrams has never played a professional inning outside of the middle infield.

Given his athleticism — evaluators credit him with top-of-the-scale speed — there’s a belief he could handle all three outfield spots. Melvin acknowledged this afternoon he might give Abrams some consideration behind Grisham in center field (Acee link). Keeping him in the majors would allow San Diego some cover behind Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim in the middle infield while Fernando Tatís Jr. is on the injured list. Yet there’d certainly be risk in putting Abrams into a major league outfield right out of the gate, even in a utility capacity, and there’s an argument to be made for the Friars starting him at Triple-A El Paso. It’ll be known soon enough what route Preller, Melvin and the rest of the San Diego brass choose to take with the Opening Day roster.

Padres Could Find Themselves In Position To Deal From Catching Depth After Lockout

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As the non-tender deadline approached in late November, the Padres and Marlins lined up on a minor trade. San Diego acquired catcher Jorge Alfaro for cash considerations or a player to be named later, not long after Miami had traded for Jacob Stallings to replace Alfaro as their primary backstop.

To some extent, it was a predictable acquisition. San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has shown a continued affinity for bringing in players whom the Rangers acquired during his time as a key figure in the Texas scouting department. Alfaro, whom the Rangers signed as an amateur in 2010 and who later blossomed into a top prospect, qualifies. Yet the Marlins had clearly grown dissatisfied with his up-and-down performance at the big league level, and they seemed likely to non-tender him in lieu of paying a projected $2.7MM arbitration salary if they were unable to find a taker in trade.

Yet it also marked something of a curious move for the Friars, who already had three catchers on the 40-man roster. Alfaro is out of minor league option years, meaning he’ll need to break camp with the club or be cut loose. At first glance, however, he’d seem to be fourth on the catching depth chart. Austin Nola’s first full season in San Diego was derailed by injury, but he’s an above-average backstop on both sides of the ball when healthy. Víctor Caratini didn’t have a great showing last year, but he has a strong relationship with Yu Darvish and was behind the plate for 29 of Darvish’s 30 starts last season. Top prospect Luis Campusano doesn’t have much more to prove in the minors after hitting .295/.365/.541 across 326 plate appearances as a 22-year-old in Triple-A.

With Alfaro needing to be on the big league club or cut loose, where does he fit? Perhaps just off the roster bubble. San Diego didn’t give up much to acquire Alfaro, after all. Arbitration salaries aren’t fully guaranteed until Opening Day, with players cut loose during the first half of Spring Training only entitled to thirty days’ termination pay (around one-sixth of their full season salary). In Alfaro’s case, that’s likely to be a touch under $500K. Maybe Preller and his staff saw an opportunity to get a player they like in the building, and they’re willing to move on from him before the season starts if there’s simply no room on the roster.

That said, San Diego valued Alfaro enough to acquire him before the non-tender deadline, swooping in to grab his rights before Miami cut him loose and allowed him free rein to negotiate with all 30 teams. They did so knowing he’s out of options, so they’ve certainly contemplated scenarios where he breaks camp. It seems unlikely they’d carry each of Nola, Alfaro, Caratini and Campusano on the active roster, however.

Nola and Alfaro do each have some experience at first base and in the corner outfield; Nola can play a bit of second or third base as well. That’d perhaps give manager Bob Melvin some flexibility, but both players should spend the bulk of their time at catcher. Nola’s a solid defender behind the dish, and bouncing him to less valuable positions around the diamond to accommodate Caratini or Alfaro is probably less valuable than simply deploying Nola as the primary catcher. Alfaro could see some action rotating through the corners, but he’s spent far more time behind the plate than anywhere else (2,809 2/3 MLB innings at catcher, 144 2/3 innings in the outfield, 27 1/3 frames at first base) and probably isn’t a good enough hitter to live up to the offensive burden of regularly manning a corner.

Maybe the Padres keep Nola, Caratini and Alfaro around and option Campusano back to Triple-A to start the season. So long as he continues to perform well in El Paso, there’ll be pressure to get him major league reps. Campusano, whom Baseball America recently ranked the sport’s #53 overall prospect, arguably already warrants an everyday look. One could argue the Padres aren’t in position to provide that, and San Diego should at least consider the possibility of making him available on the trade market.

San Diego isn’t going to trade a prospect of that caliber expressly because they acquired Alfaro for a song, of course. Alfaro could be let go; the same is perhaps true of Caratini (who still has a minor league option remaining), although the organization no doubt values his rapport with Darvish. Yet having a pair of veteran depth options on hand behind Nola might give Preller and his staff more comfort in contemplating a Campusano trade, which might prove a way to bring back needed outfield help.

It wouldn’t be the first time Campusano’s name were to come up in trade talks. The Padres and Nationals discussed him last summer as part of San Diego’s (ultimately unsuccessful) efforts to land Trea Turner and Max Scherzer at the deadline. Campusano was also at least mentioned in talks about the Cubs assuming some or all of Eric Hosmer’s contract.

Shedding the money due to Hosmer would certainly still be of interest to the Padres, although it seems unlikely they’d part with Campusano solely as a way to cut payroll. We’ve seen instances of teams “buying” a prospect by taking on an undesirable contract (the Giants’ Will Wilson/Zack Cozart deal, the Red Sox/Brewers Jackie Bradley Jr. and prospects for Hunter Renfroe swap are examples), but the young players involved in those moves weren’t as highly-regarded as Campusano currently is. If there’s an opportunity to move Campusano and Hosmer in a trade that also brings back MLB help — they and the Rangers reportedly kicked around frameworks of a deal that could’ve sent Hosmer and prospect Robert Hassell III to Texas for Joey Gallo last summer — San Diego could be more amenable.

However the situation resolves itself, it seems unlikely the Padres will carry all of Nola, Campusano, Caratini and Alfaro on the 40-man roster for too long after the lockout. Perhaps they’re simply stockpiling players of interest and will cut bait with one of the veteran depth options if they’re faced with a roster squeeze. But it also seems the Friars have enough short-term depth to withstand a possible Campusano trade, and we’ve repeatedly seen Preller’s willingness to act boldly if the right opportunity presents itself.

Austin Nola Fractures Finger

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Padres catcher Austin Nola has suffered a fractured left middle finger, manager Jayce Tingler announced to reporters (including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com and Dennis Lin of the Athletic). The injury occurred when Nola was struck with a foul tip during yesterday’s Spring Training contest, Tingler added. A definitive timetable will become clearer in a couple days.

With less than three weeks until Opening Day, it’s possible Nola will have to open the season on the injured list. If that’s the case, San Diego does have a capable replacement. Backup Víctor Caratini has a .250/.327/.372 line over the past four seasons and has generally rated well defensively. The 27-year-old also has a rapport with Yu Darvish, part of the reason he was acquired alongside the reigning NL Cy Young runner-up in this offseason’s blockbuster with the Cubs. Top prospect Luis Campusano is the only other catcher on the Padres’ 40-man roster. Campusano made his MLB debut last year due to the anomalous nature of the 2020 season but has only played one game above the High-A level.

While the Friars are more equipped than most teams to handle an absence to their top catcher, losing Nola for any extended period of time would be a difficult blow. Despite not making his MLB debut until his age-30 season in 2019, Nola has rather incredibly broken out as one of the sport’s most productive backstops over the past two seasons. He has a cumulative .271/.347/.461 slash between the Mariners and Padres, popping 17 home runs in 451 plate appearances while showcasing high-end glovework behind the plate.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 1/15/21

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The deadline to exchange arbitration figures is today at 1pm ET. As of this morning, there were 125 arbitration-eligible players who’d yet to agree to terms on their contract for the upcoming 2021 season. Arbitration is muddier than ever before thanks to the shortened 2020 schedule, which most believe will lead to record number of arb hearings this winter. Be that as it may, it’s still reasonable to expect dozens of contractual agreements to filter in over the next couple of hours.

We’ll highlight some of the more high-profile cases in separate posts with more in-depth breakdowns, but the majority of today’s dealings will be smaller-scale increases that don’t radically alter a team’s payroll or a player’s trade candidacy. As such, we’ll just run through most of today’s agreements in this post.

I’ve embedded MLBTR’s 2021 Arbitration Tracker in the post (those in the mobile app or viewing on mobile web will want to turn their phones sideways). Our tracker can be sorted by team, by service time and/or by Super Two status, allowing users to check the status on whichever groups of players they like. You can also check out Matt Swartz’s projected arbitration salaries for this year’s class, and we’ll do a quick sentence on each player’s agreement at the bottom of this post as well, with the most recent agreements sitting atop the list.

Today’s Agreements (chronologically, newest to oldest)

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Hoyer: Finances “Not The Focus” Of Darvish Trade

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Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer spoke with reporters on a Zoom call this morning, discussing a slew of topics in the wake of yesterday’s trade of Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini to the Padres. Notably, Hoyer claimed early in the process that the financial component of the trade was not the primary focus (Twitter link via Patrick Mooney of The Athletic):

We always have an eye on the finances of every deal. In 2020, obviously, some of those things are magnified. But that was not the focus. The focus of this deal was to try to move a player in the second half of his contract and acquire a lot of young talent.

It’s tough to sell that finances weren’t the focus of the deal, given that the Cubs cleared more than $50MM in salary (over the next three years) and didn’t receive any of the Padres’ top 10 farmhands. Three of the four minor leaguers acquired in the trade have yet to play their first professional game, thanks to the lack of a minor league season in 2020.

Nevertheless, Hoyer expressed confidence that the Cubs will have a competitive roster in 2021, although he simultaneously indicated that the organization won’t be a major player in free agency despite the money saved from the Darvish trade (Twitter links via Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports and Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune).’

Hoyer also called a report suggesting that the Cubs were shopping Willson Contreras “fictional,” though he acknowledged he has received trade interest in his catcher and would not label him untouchable. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers tweets that in spite of Hoyer’s denial, the Cubs have indeed discussed Contreras with other clubs “a lot” in the “recent past.” The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma added that the denial does not mean Contreras won’t be moved, though there haven’t been “substantive” talks in the past week or two.

The messaging throughout the call seems rather mixed. Hoyer has asserted that finances did not drive the trade, which most in the industry view as a salary dump. Free agency, meanwhile, will become a priority again only when the roster “has the bones” of a contender, which inherently implies that the current roster has something less than that (due, in no small part, to the Darvish trade itself). Yet the company line is that this team will compete in 2021, and the very notion of shopping Contreras was framed as ridiculous.

Also puzzling was Hoyer’s characterization of the Darvish return. While it’s standard to see an executive express excitement over the young talent acquired in exchange for a star player, as he did today, the newly minted Cubs president also suggested that this was the best package he could coax from the Padres (Twitter link via Rogers). Hoyer noted that San Diego counterpart A.J. Preller has steadfastly held onto MacKenzie Gore and most of his organization’s best prospects throughout a frenzy of trade activity dating back to August.

However, the very mention of taking the best return out there seems to imply that there was indeed pressure from ownership to make a deal. Taking the best deal available is only the course of action charted when taking no deal at all isn’t an option. Beyond that, if finances truly weren’t the main focus, one would assume the prospect return have been heightened by the Cubs offering to pay down more than the reported $3MM they’re sending to the Padres to cover Darvish’s remaining $62MM in guarantees.

It’s an unenviable spot for Hoyer or any executive to have to talk around a trade of this nature, but this morning’s press conference still felt more disconnected than it needed to be. At the end of the day, the Cubs’ message is that trade was not intended as a salary dump; that the team will still be competitive in 2021 without any notable free-agent additions to a roster that may not have the “bones” of a contender (and also just lost a Cy Young runner-up); and that initiating additional trades of established players (e.g. Contreras) is far-fetched.

The goal may have been to push back on the notion of a full-scale teardown, but the resulting depiction is something of a rudderless ship. Does this team view itself as a contender for 2021? If so — and if not for financial reasons — why trade its best pitcher while eschewing free-agent additions with the associated cost savings? If not, then why push back so strongly on trading Contreras?

The good news for the Cubs and their fans is that no one else in the National League Central seems to want to try to separate themselves from the pack. Given the inactivity throughout the division, the Cubs could still find themselves among the Central’s more competitive teams by default. Still, whether it happens this winter or next offseason — when each of Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Kris Bryant are slated to reach free agency — it’s clear that substantial change is on the horizon for the Cubs.

Padres Acquire Yu Darvish, Victor Caratini

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DEC. 29, 10:07pm: Both teams have announced the trade. The Cubs will pay $3MM of Darvish’s remaining money, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com and Heyman. Darvish has $62MM left on his contract – not the previously reported $59MM – because of the incentives he reached for finishing second in 2020 NL Cy Young voting, Bastian notes.

DEC. 28: The Cubs and Padres have agreed to a deal that will send right-hander Yu Darvish and catcher Victor Caratini from Chicago to San Diego, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The Cubs will receive righty Zach Davies, shortstops Reginald Preciado and Yeison Santana, and outfielders Owen Caissie and Ismael Mena in return. The trade is done pending medical records, and the sides could finalize it Tuesday, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.  Chicago will pick up “a minor portion” of Darvish’s remaining money, Bob Nightengale of USA Today adds.

This deal does not come as a surprise, as the two sides had been in deep discussions about Darvish throughout the day. It’s the latest bold strike for the Padres, who are coming off their first playoff season since 2006 and clearly plan to vie for their first-ever World Series title next year. Even before landing Darvish, they made a huge addition to their rotation Sunday by agreeing to pick up left-hander Blake Snell from the Rays. They also agreed to sign Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim on Monday, making for an epic 24-hour period of dealmaking for GM A.J. Preller.

The Cubs, meanwhile, are losing perhaps their best starter in Darvish – a 2020 National League Cy Young finalist – as well as a quality catcher in Caratini. Although the Cubs are just a couple months removed from their fifth playoff berth in six years, ownership entered the offseason unlikely to spend after a pandemic-shortened campaign. Indeed, the Cubs previously saved money by saying goodbye to Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora at the non-tender deadline, while pricey third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant has been the subject of trade speculation. It’s unclear whether the Padres will take on all of Darvish’s remaining contract, but if they do, that’ll be $59MM on their books over the next three years. Caratini’s much more affordable, as he will earn a projected $1.2MM to $1.6MM in 2021. Caratini isn’t on track for free agency until after 2023.

In heading to San Diego, Darvish will reunite with Preller, who was part of the Rangers’ front office when they signed Darvish out of Japan before the 2012 season. Darvish, now 34, has since enjoyed a terrific career divided among the Rangers, Dodgers and Cubs, and last season was likely his best yet. He ended up with 76 innings of 2.01 ERA/2.23 FIP ball, posted 11.01 K/9 against 1.66 BB/9, and averaged a personal-high 95.5 mph on his fastball. He’ll now slot in near the top of a rotation that lost Mike Clevinger to Tommy John surgery but will still feature Snell, Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack as locks for rotation jobs (barring other aggressive moves). The Padres also boast multiple high-end pitching prospects, including MacKenzie Gore.

Caratini, 27, was Darvish’s personal catcher in Chicago, but he was a reserve behind No. 1 backstop Willson Contreras. Caratini debuted with the Cubs in 2017 and has since offered passable offense relative to his position, having batted .250/.327/.372 in 677 plate appearances. Caratini was also a well-regarded defender in Chicago, including when he ranked in Statcast’s 98th percentile in the pitch-framing department last season. He’ll join Austin Nola and Luis Campusano as catchers on the Padres’ 40-man roster.

For the Cubs, this deal represents their first blockbuster trade under new president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, their former GM who earned a promotion after Theo Epstein stepped down in November. Losing Darvish and Caratini may not go over well for their fan base, but the Cubs are banking on Davies helping replace Darvish in 2021 and the young talent they received emerging as cornerstones.

Davies was somewhat quietly a top-tier starter in 2020, his only year as a Padre, as he recorded 69 1/3 frames of 2.73 ERA/3.88 FIP ball with 8.18 K/9 and 2.47 BB/9. He should look good alongside Kyle Hendricks as the Cubs’ one-two in 2021, though the 27-year-old Davies isn’t controllable beyond then. He’ll earn a projected $6.3MM to $10.6MM via arbitration next season.

The rest of the Cubs’ return doesn’t consist of any elite farmhands, but Kyle Glaser of Baseball America notes that BA was planning to rank Preciado (No. 15), Mena (17), Santana (18) and Caissie (20) among the Padres’ 20 best prospects in its upcoming Prospect Handbook.

Just 17 years old, BA rated Preciado 23rd in the Padres’ farm system midway through last season, writing that the 6-foot-4 switch hitter’s “frame provides hope he can grow into 20-plus home run power as he matures physically.”

Mena, 18, signed an expensive $2.2MM bonus with the Padres out of the Dominican Republic during the 2019-20 international signing period. BA lauded Mena’s speed, range and potential 15- to 20-home run power earlier this year.

The 20-year-old Santana put up impressive production in rookie ball from 2018-19, when he combined for a .306/.418/.425 line in 365 plate appearances. The Canadian-born Caissie, 18, was a second-round pick (No. 45) of the Padres last summer. BA wrote before the draft that Caissie possesses “exciting upside,” though there are “some significant swing-and-miss concerns” in his game.

All things considered, this looks like a trade between two NL playoff teams going in different directions. The Padres appear to be all in on playing for a championship in 2021. It’s hard to say the same for the Cubs, who seem to be a club in retooling mode.

Padres, Cubs Nearing Yu Darvish Trade

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8:32pm: Padres outfielder Ismael Mena and shortstop Yeison Santana are other names in discussion, Mayo reports.

8:20pm: Davies and “several prospects,” including 2020 second-round outfielder Owen Caissie, will be going to the Cubs, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports. Shortstop Reginald Preciado will also head to Chicago, per Acee, who adds that the trade features “two other prospects.” The Cubs won’t get any of the Padres’ top five prospects, according to Nightengale.

7:10pm: Caratini will be part of the trade once it occurs, but Campusano won’t, Nightengale tweets.

6:58pm: The clubs are close to a deal and appear as if they’ll finalize it tonight, per Nightengale.

4:32pm: The trade looks to be close, Heyman tweets. Caratini would “likely” join Darvish in San Diego, though the Cubs want “some MLB experience” as part of their return.

3:04pm: The two teams are nearing agreement “on the multiple pieces” of a Darvish trade, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Pads “have accepted the haul they will have to send to the Cubs,” Acee writes.

2:50pm: Top catching prospect Luis Campusano is among the names that has been discussed, Nightengale reports. His inclusion in the deal would give the Cubs a replacement should they send a catcher to the Padres. Campusano would join Miguel Amaya as a potential long-term option at the position with Contreras up for free agency in two years (if he’s not traded in this or another deal first).

2:03pm: There’s “growing optimism” that the two sides will complete a deal, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, adding that an agreement could come together as soon as today.

12:28pm: The Padres are focused on more than Darvish alone, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (Twitter link). Both suggest that the talks between the Cubs and Padres could be expanded to include one of Willson Contreras or Victor Caratini.

The Padres’ catching corps has turned over considerably over the past year, with Francisco Mejia now with in Tampa Bay, Austin Hedges in Cleveland and Luis Torrens in Seattle. The Friars have Austin Nola atop their catching depth chart, with touted prospect Luis Campusano behind him, but the latter is still lacking in MLB experience. Either Chicago catcher would bolster the group, and Contreras would likely push Nola into a super-utility role similar to the one in which he thrived with the Mariners.

11:56am: Despite last night’s agreement to acquire Blake Snell from the Rays, the Cubs are also “deep” in talks on a trade that would send Yu Darvish from Chicago to San Diego, according to Dennis Lin, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (Twitter link). R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports first indicated that the Padres were still in the mix for Darvish even after landing Snell. Importantly, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that San Diego is not on Darvish’s 12-team no-trade list, so the deal can be made without requiring Darvish’s approval.

If completed, the Darvish trade could be the next step in another dizzying flurry of headline-grabbing transactions from general manager A.J. Preller. In addition to Snell and the potential Darvish deal, the Padres are also reported to be the favorites to sign KBO superstar Ha-Seong Kim. If all three moves come to fruition, this sequence would hearken back to Preller’s inaugural offseason, wherein Matt Kemp dubbed him the “Rock Star” GM — and back to this summer’s frenzied series of trade deadline acquisitions. Few front offices around the game act as boldly and decisively as the Padres when a course is set, and the Snell acquisition clearly looks to have set some dominos in motion.

It’s at least possible there’s a connection between today’s pair of Friars rumors; the Cubs surely want controllable young talent, and a player like Jake Cronenworth would certainly be of interest to them in a Darvish deal. That’s speculative on my part, to be clear, but it’s not hard to see how those pieces could fit into place. Alternatively, if the Padres were to send an outfielder with a notable salary back to Chicago to help offset Darvish’s contract (e.g. Tommy Pham, Wil Myers), Cronenworth could move into the outfield if needed.

Darvish, 34, is still owed $62MM over the next three seasons as part of the six-year, $126MM he initially signed with the Cubs prior to the 2018 season. The first year of that massive contract could scarcely have gone worse, as Darvish was limited to just 40 innings due to a series of injuries that culminated in arthroscopic elbow surgery.

At that point, few would’ve imagined Darvish resurfacing as both a front-line starter and a highly sought-after trade commodity, but that’s exactly what’s happened. Darvish finished second in National League Cy Young voting in 2020, thanks to a brilliant 2.01 ERA and 93-to-13 K/BB ratio through 76 innings. However, his renaissance extends further back than that.

Dating back to Memorial Day 2019, Darvish has made 32 starts and totaled 199 2/3 innings of 2.84 ERA/3.04 FIP ball with averages of 11.5 strikeouts and 2.4 walks per nine frames. At less than $21MM a year, this version of Darvish looks like a relative bargain, though buying his age-34, age-35 and age-36 seasons obviously still carries risk. Darvish is also a favorite of Preller — a former Rangers assistant GM who played an integral part in scouting and signing Darvish during his time with Texas.

The very notion of a rotation featuring some combination of Snell, Darvish, Dinelson Lamet, Chris Paddack, Zach Davies and MacKenzie Gore is a dream scenario for Padres fans — the type of starting staff that would give the Friars a group to go toe-to-toe with the perennial division winners up in Los Angeles. Few teams in the game could boast such a deep and talented group of starting pitchers, and while Davies is a free agent next winter, the Padres will get Mike Clevinger back from Tommy John surgery for the 2022 season. A 2022 group of Snell, Darvish, Lamet, Clevinger, Paddack and Gore has the potential to be utterly overwhelming.

For the Cubs, trading away some combination of Darvish, Contreras and Caratini would be a painful first step in at least some degree of a rebuilding effort. While the Cubs probably won’t tear the roster down to the studs, there’s also some inevitable change on the horizon. Cornerstone pieces like Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez are all free agents next winter. Kyle Schwarber would’ve joined that group but has already been non-tendered. Contreras is only controlled through 2022.

Improbable as it would have seemed a few years back, Darvish now stands out as one of president Jed Hoyer’s most desirable trade targets to dangle for other teams, joining Contreras and Kyle Hendricks in that regard. Trading Darvish (and Contreras or Caratini) would give the Cubs an avenue to clear salary and acquire controllable talent for the team’s next core.

However this plays out, it seems likely that more moves will be on the horizon for the Padres and Cubs alike. The Cubs could either jump into free agency to add a Darvish replacement at a lower cost, or they could continue to shop veteran stars like Bryant and Hendricks. And for the Padres, Preller’s history suggests that more moves are likely to follow even if Darvish, Kim and one of Contreras/Caratini all land in San Diego. The Padres could still use some help in the bullpen, for instance, and they’ll likely send some MLB talent to Chicago in order to push the Darvish deal across the line. It’s going to be a busy week in San Diego.

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