Padres Fielding Trade Calls On Logan Forsythe
The Padres have been contacted by multiple clubs with interest in utilityman Logan Forsythe, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter). Forsythe, who just turned 27, has spent most of his MLB time at second, though he has also logged innings at third, short, and the corner outfield.
Last week, we learned that the Yankees had inquired with San Diego about a trade for an infielder, with Forsythe reportedly the most realistic subject of a possible deal. While other clubs with potential interest remain unknown, Forsythe's versatility makes him a reasonable target for many organizations.
Forsythe swings from the right side of the plate, and carries a lifetime .241/.310/.349 line in 762 plate appearances over three seasons. After a solid 2012 (107 OPS+), Forsythe struggled last year with a .214/.281/.332 triple-slash in 243 plate appearances. He will be eligible for arbitration for the first time next year.
From the Padres' perspective, Forsythe clearly does not have a starting spot and may be somewhat redundant with fellow utility player Alexi Amarista. With several other depth options also under contract — including Ryan Jackson, Brandon Wood, and Alberto Gonzalez — the club could try to flip Forsythe for a southpaw bullpen piece or low-level prospects.
Minor Moves: Ricardo Nanita, Travis Buck
Here are Monday's minor moves from around the league…
- The Blue Jays announced on Twitter that they've re-signed outfielder Ricardo Nanita to a minor league deal with an invite to Major League Spring Training. The 32-year-old Nanita has spent the past four seasons with the Jays' minor league affiliates, where he's batted over .300 overall. He struggled a bit in 2013, slumping to .258/.312/.376.
- The Padres have re-signed outfielder Travis Buck to another minor league deal, according to Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (Twitter link). Last season marked the first time since 2006 that Buck did not appear in a Major League game. The 30-year-old CAA client appeared in 35 games at Triple-A Tucson where he batted .256/.296/.464. Buck did not receive an invite to Major League Spring Training, Cotillo adds in a followup tweet.
- Carlos Peguero of the Mariners is the only player that is currently in DFA limbo, as can be seen in MLBTR's DFA Tracker.
NL Notes: Reds, Cardinals, Padres, Dodgers
Here's the latest out of the National League:
- Even as they continue to work out contracts with key pitchers Homer Bailey and Aroldis Chapman, the Reds are keeping an eye on the free agent market, reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. GM Walt Jocketty says he is looking for an extra outfielder and infielder, indicating that he'd like to have a player at Triple-A that can handle shortstop in the event of an injury to Zack Cozart. "We're still looking at a couple of guys," said Jocketty. "I don't think there's been any progress, especially this week. Once a lot of the agents get through the arbitration process this week, we'll have more time to pursue any last minute invites for Spring Training that create more competition."
- The Cardinals have improved in several areas without sacrificing prospects or draft picks while the rest of the division largely stood pat in terms of acquisitions, says Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but that does not mean the club has only smooth sailing ahead. While the organization dealt with injuries impressively last year, it is no sure thing to do so again, and players like Peter Bourjos and Allen Craig have some injury baggage. Whether the team can get a repeat performance from Matt Carpenter, and get production from an all-new middle infield (Jhonny Peralta, Kolten Wong, and Mark Ellis) are also all open questions.
- After signing all but one arbitration player (Andrew Cashner), the Padres' payroll looks likely to end up at around $87MM by Opening Day, writes Dennis Lin of U-T San Diego. That would constitute a delivery on owner Ron Fowler's promise of a payroll increase of over 20%, says Lin, who opines that the team could still look to extend Cashner and add a southpaw to the pen.
- As noted in an earlier post, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick says the Dodgers should prioritize an extension of Hanley Ramirez over the signing of Masahiro Tanaka. Meanwhile, reports Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com, the team has continued to talk with Michael Young about a return for the trade deadline acquisition.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday
We'll keep track of today's smaller deals to avoid arbitration in this post. Click here for background on the upcoming arbitration schedule and how MLBTR is covering it. You can also check in on our Arbitration Tracker and look at MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz's arbitration projections.
Today's noon CT deadline to exchange arb figures has passed, but negotiations to avoid an arbitration hearing can continue into February. The Braves are the only strict "file and trial" team that did not agree to terms with all of its arb-eligible players, meaning they could be headed for several hearings. The Nats and Indians have also shown a willingness to go to a trial and still have some players unsigned. On to today's contract agreements…
- After exchanging numbers, the Mets and pitcher Dillon Gee have agreed to settle at the midpoint of $3.625MM, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Swartz projected Gee to earn $3.4MM.
- The Cubs have avoided arbitration with reliever Pedro Strop, president Theo Epstein told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). He will earn $1.325MM next year, according to a tweet from Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. It is not immediately apparent whether the deal was reached before the sides exchanged terms.
- The Angels have reached agreement on a $3.8MM deal with reliever Ernesto Frieri, reports Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (on Twitter).
- Mike Minor has agreed to terms on a $3.85MM deal with the Braves to avoid arbitration, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter links). The deal came before figures were exchanged, Bowman notes.
- Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports that the D-Backs and lefty Joe Thatcher have avoided arb with a one-year, $2.375MM deal (Twitter link).
- Nicholson-Smith tweets that the Angels and Fernando Salas reached an agreement to avoid arbitration. Salas is the first Halos player to avoid arb. Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets that Salas will earn $870K, which beats out his $700K projection.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck reports (via Twitter) that the Tigers and righty Al Alburquerque have reached agreement on a deal to avoid arb. The hard-throwing righty will earn $837.5K in 2014, tweets Beck.
- Sherman tweets that the Yankees and Ivan Nova avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.3MM deal.
- The Pirates and Vin Mazzaro inked a one-year, $950K deal in lieu of an arbitration hearing, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune.
- The Royals announced that they've avoided arbitration with infielder Emilio Bonifacio. Heyman tweets that Bonifacio will earn $3.5MM in 2014.
- Sherman reports that the Rays avoided arbitration with Jeremy Hellickson and Sean Rodriguez (Twitter link). Hellickson landed a $3.625MM payday with a $25K bonus if he hits 195 innings pitched. Rodriguez will get $1.475MM with a $25K bump for hitting 300 plate appearances.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that Brian Matusz avoided arb with the Orioles. Sherman adds that he'll earn $2.4MM in 2014.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets that Jason Castro and the Astros have avoided arbitration. McTaggart adds in a second tweet that Jesus Guzman avoided arb as well. Heyman reports that Castro will be paid $2.45MM, while Sherman tweets that Guzman will make $1.3MM.
- The Indians tweeted that they've avoided arb with lefty Marc Rzepczynski, and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets that he'll earn $1.375MM in 2014. Bastian adds that Scrabble will earn an additional $25K for appearing in 55 games and another $25K for 60 games.
- The Giants avoided arbitration with Yusmeiro Petit, according to MLBTR's Steve Adams (on Twitter). He'll earn $845K, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith (via Twitter).
Padres, Chase Headley Avoid Arbitration
The Padres have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal with third baseman Chase Headley, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Excel Sports Management client will earn a $10.525MM salary in his final season prior to free agency, Sherman reports.
Consistently considered to be a trade candidate due to his looming free agency, the Padres' tight budget and the Padres' sub-.500 finishes in each of the past two seasons, the 29-year-old Headley has seen his name circulate on the rumor mill more than nearly any player in the past 18 to 24 months. However, San Diego GM Josh Byrnes told me back in November that the team was comfortable doing a one-year deal with Headley and entering 2014 with him as the third baseman, even without an extension.
The Padres reportedly wanted to offer Headley an extension that would make him the highest-paid player in franchise history early in the 2013 campaign. The news caught Headley off guard, as he'd informed the team that he did not want extension talks to spill beyond Opening Day.
Headley turned in a solid season in 2013, batting .250/.347/.400 with 13 homers, eight steals and excellent third-base defense, but that production was a far cry from his 2012 season. In 2012, Headley broke out with a .286/.376/.498 batting line, 31 homers and a career-best 17 steals to go along with his great glove-work. Headley likely didn't want to sign an extension after seeing his stock tumble, especially when a fractured thumb and a balky knee that required offseason surgery likely contributed to his 2013 decline.
Headley's $10.525MM salary is $525K higher than MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected. With Headley taken care of, San Diego has only Andrew Cashner remaining as an unsettled arb case, as shown in our Arbitration Tracker.
Padres Avoid Arbitration With Kennedy, Cabrera, Ross
10:11pm: The Padres have also avoided arbitration with Everth Cabrera, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Cabrera, also a Boras client, will receive a $2.45MM salary in 2014.
Cabrera, 27, came within nine steals of leading the National League despite playing just 95 games due to a PED-related suspension. The switch-hitter batted .283/.355/.381 in 435 plate appearances. Over the past two seasons, only Mike Trout and Rajai Davis have stolen more bases than the 81 tallied by Cabrera. He topped Swartz's projection by $250K.
In more Padres-related arb news, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Tyson Ross has avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.98MM salary (Twitter link). Ross broke out with the Padres in 2013, posting a 3.17 ERA in a career-high 125 innings. The 26-year-old saw his fastball velocity jump nearly two miles per hour, as he averaged 94.2 mph on his heater. That helped him up his K/9 rate to a career-high 8.6, and he posted career-bests in BB/9 rate (3.2) and ground-ball rate (54.9 percent) as well. Ross' agents at the Wasserman Media Group did well to secure a $1.9MM payday. Swartz had projected a $1.3MM salary.
9:53pm: The Padres and right-hander Ian Kennedy have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.1MM contract for the 2014 season, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Kennedy is a client of the Boras Corporation. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged Kennedy to earn $5.8MM.
The 29-year-old Kennedy was acquired from the Diamondbacks in a rare intra-division trade this past July. San Diego sent lefty Joe Thatcher, relief prospect Matt Stites and a 2014 competitve balance draft pick to Arizona in order to land the 2011 Cy Young candidate. Since finishing fourth in that Cy Young voting, however, Kennedy has seen his results tumble, leading to the D-Backs' decision that he was no longer vital to the organization's success.
Over the past two seasons, Kennedy has posted a 4.43 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He's also posted a fly-ball rate of just 37.7 percent, indicating that the move to the spacious Petco Park from the cozy Chase Field should be beneficial to him. That wasn't the case in 2013, as Kennedy's HR/9 rate actually increased with the Padres, but that trend doesn't seem likely to continue once the sample size is expanded beyond 57 1/3 innings.
Kennedy will join a crowded rotation mix that also figures to include Josh Johnson, Andrew Cashner, Eric Stults and Tyson Ross with rehabbing starters Cory Luebke and Joe Wieland also in the mix in addition to youngsters Robbie Erlin and Burch Smith.
With the cases of Cabrera, Ross and Kennedy now resolved, Padres GM Josh Byrnes will turn his attention to Cashner, Chase Headley and Kyle Blanks, as can be seen in MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.
Padres Avoid Arbitration With Seth Smith
The Padres have avoided arbitration with outfielder Seth Smith, the club announced on Twitter. Smith will earn $4.5MM, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected that Smith would merit a $4.3MM salary in his final trip through arbitration.
The 31-year-old hit .253/.329/.391 in 410 plate appearances last year in Oakland, including eight long balls. He had hit at least 14 home runs in each of the previous four seasons, though three of those were spent at homer-prone Coors Field. Smith has been most attractive in a platoon role throughout his career, posting a lifetime .844 OPS against righties and just a .582 OPS versus same-handed hurlers.
San Diego acquired Smith from the Athletics back in December, in exchange for reliever Luke Gregerson. As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Pads have reached agreement with three arb-eligible players (Tim Stauffer and Eric Stults, in addition to Smith) and have six more to go: Kyle Blanks, Everth Cabrera, Andrew Cashner, Chase Headley, Ian Kennedy, and Tyson Ross. Swartz projects that group to command a total of $22.7MM, on top of the $8.85MM that the club has already committed through arbitration this year.
Yankees Have Asked Padres About Trade For Infielder
The Yankees have inquired with the Padres about the possibility of trading for some of San Diego's infield depth, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The most realistic target is utilityman Logan Forsythe, according to Morosi.
Though New York would undoubtedly like to acquire a more impactful player, such as third baseman Chase Headley, Morosi explains that the Yankees farm system does not have enough talent to swing such a move. That makes a more modest acquisition more likely, though of course New York has several utility options (including Eduardo Nunez and Brendan Ryan) already under contract.
The 26-year Forsythe is a versatile fielder, and Morosi notes that his right-handed bat could make him a platoon option with Kelly Johnson at third. (It is worth noting, however, that Johnson has actually hit slightly better against southpaws over his career than he has against opposite-handed pitching.) Forsythe would also provide insurance for Brian Roberts at second, as he has spent the majority of his MLB time at the keystone.
Over 762 career plate appearances between 2011-13, Forsythe has a cumulative .241/.310/.349 line. He has also registered 17 stolen bases over that period. After a solid 2012 campaign in which he registered a .273/.343/.390 triple-slash (good for a 107 OPS+), Forsythe struggled last year with a .214/.281/.332 mark.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Headley, Yankees
The Red Sox are faced with a problem unique to big-market teams, John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes. That question is how to spend all their money. Baseball has clamped down on spending on amateur talent, and the Angels' recent example shows the problems inherent in free-agent spending sprees. The Red Sox will have plenty of money coming off the books next offseason, perhaps giving them $50MM with which to spend. The Red Sox haven't spent heavily on top free agents recently, letting Jacoby Ellsbury depart and not signing Brian McCann. But Tomase suggests they'll continue to spend to add depth and build a "strong middle class." They could also look to extend their own stars, perhaps including Jon Lester and/or David Ortiz. Here are more notes from the AL East.
- The Yankees have not made any recent attempts to trade for Padres third baseman Chase Headley, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweets. Yesterday's news confirmed that Alex Rodriguez will be out for the entire 2014 season, but the Yankees could well go with their existing options at third.
- Kelly Johnson and Eduardo Nunez could receive significant innings at third base this year, Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler tells Martino. "We’ll look left, we’ll look right, we’ll look under rocks and see if something can work itself out and makes sense," says Eppler. "But with Kelly Johnson, who we spoke to earlier in the season … before we came to an agreement with him, we talked to him about playing third base … as well as second base and there’s outfield."
West Notes: Rangers, Padres, Rockies
Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers has been told to arrive in Spring Training ready to both start and close following Derek Holland's knee injury, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports reports. "It opens the door for someone," Scheppers said of the injury, while noting that Colby Lewis and Robbie Ross should also be in the mix for a rotation spot. Andro also spoke with Elvis Andrus, whose 2013 double play partner of Ian Kinsler has been replaced by Jurickson Profar, and outfielder Michael Choice, whose chances of securing a starting job fell after the Shin-Soo Choo signing. Here's more from baseball's Western divisions:
- Holland says he was told by his surgeon that he may have injured his knee several years ago without realizing it, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports. "He said it just happened again," the pitcher related. Holland also explained that the injury happened on the stairs in his home while playing with his dog.
- The Padres will have the resources to make upgrades if they're in the mix for a playoff spot after the 2014 All-Star break, club management tells Bill Center of U-T San Diego. Center opines that San Diego's 2014 season is likely to hinge on whether key players like Carlos Quentin can stay on the field. Injury concerns surround some 40 percent of the projected Opening Day roster, according to Center.
- Earlier this evening, we heard that Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood changed agencies, switching from the Boras Corp. to Dan Lozano's MVP Sports.