Rosenthal On Kazmir, A’s, Fernandez, Dodgers
Re-signing Alex Gordon would help the Royals hedge against other stars possible leaving in the future, but that commitment could also take away the money needed to keep them, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Five notable members of the defending World Champs – Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, and Wade Davis – can hit the open market after the 2017 season. All five can be costly for KC and that is certainly a consideration for the club as they weigh the Gordon situation.
Here’s more from Rosenthal’s column:
- The A’s one-year, $4.25MM deal with Henderson Alvarez takes them out of the mix for free agent Scott Kazmir, sources tell Rosenthal. Alvarez will now compete for a spot in Oakland’s rotation with right-handers Jesse Hahn and Jarrod Parker and left-hander Sean Manaea. On Monday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale identified the A’s as a finalist for Kazmir alongside the Royals, Orioles, Cardinals, Nationals, and Astros. Kazmir, 32 in January, recorded a 3.33 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 and a 43.4 percent ground-ball rate from 2014-15 — the duration of a two-year, $22MM contract initially signed with Oakland.
- The Dodgers are staying in touch with the Marlins on Jose Fernandez, but it’s still hard to see a deal taking place, Rosenthal writes. Unfortunately for the Dodgers and other teams after the young ace, the Marlins’ expectations for a return packing only got higher after the Shelby Miller trade, sources tell Rosenthal. Of course, that’s saying a lot since the bar has been set high all winter. high expectations from the start. Conversely, teams are concerned about how many innings Fernandez will pitch in 2016 and beyond. “Makes it hard to price it correctly for both sides,” one source with knowledge of the Dodgers/Marlins talks said. For his career, Fernandez has posted a 2.40 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 44.6 percent ground-ball rate. There’s little question that he’s one of the game’s most effective starters, with his low cost and youth making him one of the most intriguing assets in baseball.
- The Padres sent several club officials to Japan in November, but they won’t be a serious player for right-hander Kenta Maeda, sources tell Rosenthal. The Padres went to Japan in order to “introduce themselves in a market where they previously had only a minimal presence,” Rosenthal writes, but apparently they were not gunning hard for the Hiroshima Carp star.
Padres Sign Buddy Baumann To Major League Deal, Designate Josmil Pinto
The Padres have signed left-handed pitcher Buddy Baumann to a Major League contract and designated catcher Josmil Pinto for assignment, according to a team announcement. The Padres had claimed Pinto off waivers from the Twins earlier this month.
Baumann, 28, has spent his entire career to date in the Royals organization, having been Kansas City’s seventh-round pick back in the 2009 draft. The Missouri State product has never reached the Major Leagues, though he does have outstanding numbers at the Triple-A level across the past three seasons. In that time, Baumann has a 3.04 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 216 innings of work. Baumann has worked in both the rotation and the bullpen at Triple-A Omaha, though he spent the bulk of 2015 in a relief role, with just six starts and 28 relief appearances. In 2015, Baumann held opposing lefties to a comically feeble .148/.225/.222 batting line. His 2013-14 numbers against lefties weren’t quite as dominant, but he still held same-handed opponents to an OPS around .600 in that time. Baumann could compete for a spot in the Padres’ bullpen, though he can also be optioned to Triple-A if he doesn’t make the club out of Spring Training.
Pinto, 27, was once viewed as Minnesota’s possible catcher of the future due to his outstanding bat in the minors and in his first September call-up back in 2013. Pinto raked at Double-A and Triple-A in ’13, hitting a combined .309/.400/.482 with 15 homers before earning a September promotion and announcing his presence with a .342/.398/.566 performance in that month-long audition. Pinto, however, was always viewed as a poor defender behind the plate, so when his bat began to slip in 2014 and 2015, his future was called into question. He hit just .219/.315/.391 in 57 games with the Twins in 2014, and his 2015 season was marred by concussions and poor performance at the Triple-A level, where he batted just .228/.304/.354 in 68 games.
West Notes: Dodgers, Blash, Astros
The Dodgers‘ luxury tax bill for the year came to $43.6MM, Ronald Blum of the AP reports. For luxury-tax purposes, the Dodgers had a payroll of $297.9MM. As luxury-tax offenders for the third consecutive year, they were taxed at a 40% rate for the amount by which they exceeded the tax threshold of $189MM. The Yankees, meanwhile, will pay $26.1MM, while the Red Sox owe $1.8MM and the Giants $1.3MM. The $72.8MM between the four teams amounts to the record amount of luxury tax collected in a season, Blum reports. That the Dodgers’ bill was so steep comes as little surprise, of course — their 2015 payroll, headed by large expenditures for players like Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier, was the highest in MLB history. Here’s more from the West divisions.
- Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune profiles new Padres outfielder Jabari Blash, who the Athletics selected from the Mariners in this month’s Rule 5 Draft and then traded to San Diego. The 26-year-old Blash looked like one of the best potential power sources available in the Rule 5 — he batted .271/.370/.576 and hit 32 homers between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma in 2015. Interestingly, Blash grew up in the Virgin Islands, and one of the first offers of congratulations he received was from Callix Crabbe, a former infielder from the Virgin Islands who the Padres selected in the Rule 5 Draft in 2007.
- The surprising package the Astros gave up to get Ken Giles from the Phillies reflects an industry-wide trend in which relievers capable of pitching high-leverage innings are valued more highly, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. The Astros gave up Vincent Velasquez and Mark Appel in the Giles deal. They re-signed another reliever, Tony Sipp, to a hefty three-year, $18MM contract. The belief that good relievers are fundamentally less valuable than good starting pitchers or position players has long been widely held, but perhaps that’s changing, at least to a degree. “You’d have to say that as an industry, we’re valuing a team that’s in contention needs to have those guys at the back end of the bullpen,” says Astros GM Jeff Luhnow. “We’ve seen what the Royals have been able to do with a successful execution of that strategy, and the Mets with (Jeurys) Familia, and there’s good late-inning relievers on the teams that make it to and win in the playoffs.”
Bronson Arroyo Drawing Interest From Multiple Teams
Free agent hurler Bronson Arroyo is drawing interest from multiple teams this winter, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (on Twitter). So far, the Nationals, Pirates, Orioles, Padres, Braves, Reds, and Phillies have all called on Arroyo.
Arroyo, 39 in February, is now 17 months removed from Tommy John surgery. For his part, Arroyo tells Stark that he is “perfectly fine.” It’s been a while since Arroyo took the hill, as he missed about half of 2014 and all of 2015 after going under the knife. He bounced between organizations as part of the salary-swapping elements of a pair of trades, but he has said in the past that he expects to be ready to go in the spring.
The Reds’ interest in Arroyo was reported back in November, but GM Dick Williams indicated that they would only have interest if if he can first demonstrate that he’s healthy. Arroyo enjoyed a solid eight-year run with the Reds before departing for the D’Backs via free agency after the 2013 campaign. He contributed nearly 1700 innings in that stretch, carrying a 4.05 ERA with 5.9 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9.
Considering all he’s been through in the last year-and-a-half and the money he’s earned over his career, no one would fault Arroyo for considering retirement. However, now that he’s apparently healthy and has interest from at least seven teams, it sounds like the right-hander has no intentions of hanging up his spikes. For his career, Arroyo has pitched to a 4.19 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 across 15 big league seasons. He’s not hurting for cash either, as he has raked in more than $90MM in the sport.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12-18-15
Here are some notable minor league deals on a day that produced a high volume of minor transactions…
- The Nationals have signed veteran left-hander Aaron Laffey to a minor league deal and invited him to Major League Spring Training, tweets MASNsports.com’s Dan Kolko. Because he debuted at 22 years of age, it might be a surprise for some to find that the well-traveled Laffey is still just 30 years old. He spent the 2015 season in the Rockies organization but wound up pitching just 7 1/3 big league innings for Colorado, with the rest of his work coming in the minors. Laffey has spent parts of eight big league seasons in the Major Leagues and, with the exception of the 2014 season, has seen big league action each year dating back to 2007. He sports a career 4.44 ERA with 4.5 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9.
- The Twins announced that they’ve signed outfielder Ryan Sweeney to a minor league deal and invited him to Major League Spring Training. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that Sweeney would receive a $750K base salary upon making the club. Sweeney, also 30, was a significant piece of the Athletics’ roster from 2008-11 but has been limited to a part-time role since that time. Sweeney was out of baseball in 2015 but will look to get back into the Majors in 2016. That he can handle all three outfield positions and has an outstanding defensive reputation in right field would seem to help his cause. Minnesota doesn’t have a clear-cut fourth outfielder at this time.
- Lefty Ryan Buchter is headed to the Padres on a minor league deal with a big league Spring Training invite, MLB.com’s Corey Brock was the first to report (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has just one inning in the Majors — a scoreless frame with the Braves in 2014. However, he had a very strong year at Triple-A with the Cubs and Dodgers in 2015, pitching to a 1.78 ERA with 11.0 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 in 50 2/3 innings of relief. Control issues have long plagued Buchter, but his strikeout prowess has helped him overcome that trouble in the minors, resulting in a career 3.26 ERA. Lefties barely stood a chance against him at Triple-A this season, where he yielded just a .187/.237/.225 against same-handed batters. His .211/.344/.257 line against righties was strong as well, though it also exemplifies his control issues.
- Right-hander Jarrett Grube will return to the Indians on a minor league pact with a camp invite, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The 34-year-old has pitched just two-third of an inning in the Majors (2014 with the Angels), and while his overall body of work at Triple-A has resulted in a 5.07 ERA, Grube was outstanding at Triple-A in the Cleveland organization last year, firing 79 2/3 innings of 2.26 ERA ball with 7.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
- The Mariners have announced five minor league signings. In addition the previously reported signing of infielder Ed Lucas, Seattle has invited outfielder Mike Baxter, left-hander Brad Mills, right-hander Casey Coleman and right-hander Blake Parker to Major League Spring Training. Each player has some big league experience, though Baxter and Coleman have the most of the bunch. Baxter split last season with the Cubs and their Triple-A affiliate, logging 66 PAs in the Majors. Coleman saw significant work out of the Cubs’ bullpen and rotation from 2010-12, while Parker has spent a couple of seasons in the Cubs’ bullpen as well. Mills made one start for the A’s last season and has a fair bit of MLB experience but has never spent more than 21 innings in the Majors in a single season despite a strong track record at Triple-A.
- Former No. 1 overall pick Matt Bush has signed with the Rangers on a minor league deal, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Bush has spent the past three years in prison, serving out a 51-month sentence for critically injuring a motorcyclist in a DWI incident back in 2012. GM Jon Daniels explained to Grant that he was skeptical when learning that Bush was interested in getting back into baseball, but the team was impressed with the level of sincerity expressed by Bush as he explained his regret and desire to turn his life around. (In May 2014, the victim, Tony Tufano, told Gabe Kapler — then of FOX Sports — that he has forgiven Bush and even will root for him in his attempt to turn his life around.) Bush won’t receive an invite to Major League camp and will instead be hoping to make one of the Rangers’ minor league affiliates, Grant notes, adding that Bush is enrolled in a 12-step program and will have to adhere to a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol and drug use with the Rangers.
Heyman’s Latest: Royals, Kazmir, Dee Gordon, Clippard, Holliday, Padres, Astros
There are a host of interesting notes in the latest column from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Here are some of the highlights:
- While the Royals are still interested in free agent starters Yovani Gallardo and Scott Kazmir, as has previously been reported, the club may be most intrigued by Wei-Yin Chen, per Heyman. Kansas City would have to go well beyond its usual spending levels to add the southpaw, but Heyman writes that the club has newfound budget “flexibility” in the midst of its renaissance. Chen, though, is represented by Scott Boras, with whom the Royals have a strong relationship. (Kendrys Morales, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Rios and Franklin Morales are among the current or recent Royals to be Boras clients.)
- Kazmir already has multiple three-year offers with guarantees in the range of $12MM to $13MM annually, per the report, with teams like the Athletics, Orioles, and Dodgers said to be involved. It seems like the first legitimate four-year offer could land Kazmir, Heyman adds. Of course, it’s unclear if the A’s will still be in the hunt if and when their reported one-year deal with righty Henderson Alvarez is finalized.
- Meanwhile, the Royals are still pursuing Alex Gordon, but Heyman reports that the team’s initial four-year offer was not met with a very promising response from Gordon’s camp. It’s been surprisingly quiet on the Gordon front for much of the offseason, although with Jason Heyward off the board, it’s easy to imagine the market for him and fellow corner outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton picking up quickly.
- The Royals are holding extension discussions with backstop Salvador Perez, says Heyman, and there’s interest from team and player in reaching “something equitable.” But K.C. has all the leverage, of course, given its already lengthy and cheap control rights over the sturdy young catcher. Heyman adds that Perez’s representatives have raised the extensions of players like Troy Tulowitzki, Evan Longoria, and Ryan Braun in talks, with the Royals not favorably disposed to those concepts. (An observation: those deals certainly don’t seem all that relevant from where I sit. Perez is an excellent player, but hasn’t reached the heights of those stars, and his current contract is far cheaper than the ones Longoria and Braun turned into new deals. Also, as a heavily-worked, large-framed catcher, there are questions about how wise it would be to make a long-term investment in Perez.)
- The Marlins have continued their extension talks with Dee Gordon, and Heyman says that Miami has put a five-year deal on the table. But Gordon and his reps are looking for seven seasons in an extension. The talks are moving slowly, but still moving, per Heyman.
- While the Mets do have legitimate interest in Tyler Clippard, they only want him with a one-year guarantee, per Heyman. Clippard is looking for a two-year deal he adds. It certainly seems that the veteran’s market is lagging the rest of the top-end set-up men who hit free agency this year. That could be due to a combination of his heavy recent workload and sub-par peripherals last year, but Clippard should still find a significant contract given his lengthy track record and the high dollars we’ve seen given to inferior arms.
- Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday has been working out at first base, with the veteran looking to extend his career by adding defensive versatility. While that’s been done at Holliday’s initiative, Heyman wonders whether the hypothetical possibility of a move could keep St. Louis involved in the hunt for Gordon.
- The Padres seem unlikely to put together a big offer for Ian Desmond. That would certainly be bad news for the free agent, whose market has yet to develop, as San Diego seems like one of the best fits. The Pads are not getting a lot of interest in James Shields at present and have put a high price on Tyson Ross, per the report. Meanwhile, the club is considering a move for veteran reliever Fernando Rodney.
- The Astros aren’t done with their bullpen and remain in the market for relievers as well as a corner bat, Heyman writes. Houston non-tendered Chris Carter, and A.J. Reed probably won’t be ready to begin the season, so there does indeed appear to be room for someone capable of taking some at-bats at first base (although Jon Singleton could be given another look there as well).
- We’ve heard chatter that the Orioles and Rockies have had some talks regarding outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, and Heyman says that Colorado asked for young righty Kevin Gausman in a deal. That was, unsurprisingly, a non-starter for Baltimore. The O’s, meanwhile, tried to get Andre Ethier from the Dodgers last offseason, and Heyman wonders whether another such effort could take place this year as the club continues to hunt for another left-handed-hitting outfielder (per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, on Twitter).
- The Indians had talks with free agent Austin Jackson before signing Rajai Davis, per Heyman. He adds that there are legitimate concerns that Michael Brantley will be out into June “or perhaps even later” after some undisclosed new shoulder “issue” arose this winter.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Padres To Re-Sign Brandon Morrow On Minor League Deal
The Padres and right-hander Brandon Morrow are in agreement on a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock (via Twitter). The Wasserman Media Group client spent the 2015 campaign in San Diego but, as Brock notes, was limited to just five starts due to a right shoulder impingement that ultimately required surgical repair. The August operation was said to come with a recovery time of three to four months, so Morrow should be nearly back to health at this stage.
Morrow, 31, has proven to be an exceptional talent when healthy, but has unfortunately been too injury prone throughout his career to demonstrate that talent for sustained periods. In 2012, he worked to a 2.96 ERA with a 108-to-41 K/BB ratio in 124 2/3 innings, but that marked the last time that Morrow was able to reach even 55 innings in a single season. In 120 2/3 frames since that time, he has an ERA of 4.85, though he was excellent in his five appearances with San Diego last year, recording a 2.73 ERA with a 23-to-7 K/BB ratio in 33 innings.
Formerly the No. 5 overall pick in the 2006 draft, Morrow has seen time both as a high-leverage reliever and as a starting pitcher in parts of nine seasons at the Major League level. Morrow could conceivably help the Padres in either capacity, as the team could use depth in both areas, though his specific role, if healthy, remains undetermined. It’s possible that no decision will be made on that front until the club sees how his surgically repaired shoulder looks in Spring Training this year.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12-15-2015
We’ll track the day’s minor moves right here:
- The Red Sox announced that they’ve re-signed right-hander Anthony Varvaro to a minor league contract. Additionally, they announced the signings of outfielder Ryan LaMarre (as WEEI’s Rob Bradford first reported), catcher Ali Solis, infielder Chris Dominguez and right-hander William Cuevas to minor league deals. Of that group, Varvaro, LaMarre and Dominguez played in the Majors last season, with Varvaro logging 11 innings in the Boston bullpen. The 31-year-old Varvaro has seen Major League action in each season dating back to 2010, highlighted by 128 innings of 2.74 ERA ball for the Braves from 2013-14. LaMarre, 27, made his big league debut with the Reds last season and appeared in 21 games but recorded just 26 plate appearances. Dominguez, 29, also received a brief look from Cincinnati in 2015 and got a similar cup of coffee with the 2014 Giants. Boston also confirmed its previously reported signing of veteran right-hander Sean O’Sullivan on a minors pact.
Earlier Updates
- Among the Twins‘ recent minor league signees are outfielder Darin Mastroianni, shortstop Wilfredo Tovar, and righty Brandon Kintzler, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets. The 30-year-old Mastroianni failed to crack the majors last year for the first time in four seasons, and slashed just .257/.308/.345 in 484 Triple-A plate appearances. Tovar, 24, had spent his entire career in the Mets organization and put up a .283/.327/.356 batting line last year over 388 turns at bat in his first run at the highest level of the minors. Injuries have limited Kintzler, who is 31. He only threw 29 1/3 innings at all levels last year after contributing 135 1/3 major league innings of 2.93 ERA pitching over 2013-14.
- The Padres have signed backstop Erik Kratz to a minor league deal, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune recently reported on Twitter. Kratz, 35, only saw 28 MLB plate appearances last year but provides another depth piece for a San Diego club that has numerous options behind the dish.
Latest On Hyun-Soo Kim
TODAY: Kim has strong offers in his native Korea and appears likely to remain there, a source tells Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic.com (via Twitter).
But there are other MLB clubs in pursuit also, tweets Connolly. He says that the Padres may also have made an offer.
YESTERDAY: The Orioles appear to have serious interest in Korean outfielder Hyun-Soo Kim, according to report from Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Baltimore has already extended Kim a two-year offer that would likely guarantee him $3MM to $4MM per season and is continuing to negotiate with his representatives.
Kim, who’ll soon turn 28, just reached free agent eligibility after nine seasons with the KBO’s Doosan Bears. He has reportedly received offers from multiple MLB clubs, though it appears that Baltimore is the first club to be publicly tied to an actual offer.
The Orioles have long been said to be looking for one or more outfielders, and a commitment of that magnitude would suggest that Kim would slot into at least a semi-regular role. Baltimore utilized a variety of platoon options in the corner last year, but Kim would “likely” feature in left if signed, Connolly adds via Twitter.
Kim has put up a big .318/.406/.488 slash in the offensively robust KBO, and last year had his best-ever showing. Not only did he slash .326/.438/.541, but Kim also banged a career-best 28 home runs. But Kim’s real calling card is in the on-base arena. Unlike some other KBO players who have moved over to MLB (or have shown interest in doing so), Kim is a master of plate discipline. Last year, he struck out only 63 times while drawing 101 free passes.
While the money that the O’s have reportedly put on the table certainly represents a significant figure, it’s not the kind of cash that teams generally must part with to add regular or semi-regular players. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports had suggested at one point that Kim might slot in “toward the top of the next tier of corner outfielders” behind the four major free agents, but that does not appear to be the case — unless Baltimore’s offer is wholly non-competitive.
NL Links: Greinke, Cuddyer, Mets, Padres, Taillon
The Diamondbacks‘ whirlwind courtship of Zack Greinke is chronicled by FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Owner Ken Kendrick and team president Derrick Hall had lightly discussed pursuing Greinke but only gave the front office the go-ahead to start talks on the very day that Greinke was allegedly going to choose between the Giants and Dodgers. D’Backs management was emboldened by a forthcoming TV contract that allowed them to make a big initial offer (to get the attention of agent Casey Close) and also afford the deferral payments that went into the record-setting contract. All told, the entire process took 5.5 hours from Kendrick’s okay to Greinke’s final agreement.
Here’s more from around the senior circuit…
- Michael Cuddyer‘s decision to retire caught many in the game by surprise, though as the veteran outfielder explains himself in a piece for The Players’ Tribune, “after 15 years, the toll on my body has finally caught up to me.” Cuddyer recaps his career in the piece and he gives credit to the many people who helped inspire and shape how he played the game over his impressive run in the sport.
- The Mets would like to sign two relievers, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets, and Jerry Blevins could be one of them. The club met with Blevins’ agent during the Winter Meetings and were known to be interested in bringing the lefty back for another year in Queens.
- With four catchers on the 40-man roster, the Padres have a clear area of surplus that is likely to be used for a future trade, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. The newly-acquired Christian Bethancourt joins Derek Norris, Austin Hedges and Josmil Pinto on the roster.
- Though Jameson Taillon hasn’t known a professional pitch since 2013, the Pirates prospect tells Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he’s still been developing as a professional while rehabbing from injury. “It really bugged me when I heard people say I had two lost years,” Taillon said. “Because those two lost years, I was working with the best pitching coaches, away from the drawing board, getting to refine what I was weak at. I got to work out more and get on a better eating schedule. I think that ‘two lost years’ is kind of bogus, because I definitely got a lot better. I didn’t stall out by any means.” Taillon was sidelined first by Tommy John surgery and then a hernia operation but he’s aiming to be ready for his big league debut by midseason. An innings limit hasn’t yet been discussed, as GM Neal Huntington said the Bucs may need Taillon down the stretch but the club also doesn’t want to overly restrict his workload and set him back for 2017.