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Giants Have “Talked About” Pursuing Jacoby Ellsbury Trade

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The Giants have at least “talked about” swinging a deal with the Yankees involving outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Details of any negotiations remain unknown, as is the seriousness of the Giants’ interest.

Given Ellsbury’s cost, and the fact that he missed all of the 2018 season, the concept would only conceivably make sense if it involved a big, bad contract going back east. The Giants certainly do have some underperforming deals on the books, including Johnny Cueto ($68MM over three years, including buyout on 2022 option), Jeff Samardzija ($36MM over two years), Brandon Belt ($48MM over three years), Mark Melancon ($28MM over two years), and Evan Longoria ($61.5MM over four years, including buyout on 2023 option and excluding portion owed by the Rays).

Olney speculates that Cueto might make sense as a return piece, so long as the sides could even up the anticipated money somehow. Ellsbury is still owed just over $47MM over the next two seasons, including a buyout in a 2021 option. In theory, Ellsbury would step into the Giants’ barren outfield mix, assuming he’s able to get healthy, while the Yanks would collect insurance proceeds on Cueto until he’s ready to return from Tommy John surgery. (Ellsbury’s contract is also insured to some extent; the Yanks reportedly collected on it last year.)

It’s worth adding that the competitive balance tax hits for both players are quite similar, as both check in just under $22MM. That’s a key consideration for both of these teams, each of which is seemingly attempting to stay beneath the luxury line.

While there’s arguably some outward appeal to the concept — which, to reiterate, was presented only as a hypothetical — it seems like a questionable idea from the Giants’ perspective. Ellsbury was fading hard even before he missed all of 2018. While he was still a useful player, he likely profiles at best as a heavily utilized platoon man at this stage. At 35 years of age, Ellsbury comes with limited upside. Cueto had certainly not been at his best even before going under the knife, but he threw 219 2/3 innings of 2.79 ERA ball in 2016 and is still a few days away from his 33rd birthday. While the Giants might well like to take a shot on Ellsbury as a veteran piece, it seems much likelier that Cueto will end up returning something close to the value of his remaining earnings. With three pending free agents in the current rotation, the Giants will surely have a use for him, too. Perhaps it’s fair to think, then, that the Yanks would have to sweeten such a deal with young talent.

It’s interesting to wonder whether other permutations could instead be pursued. Samardzija might give the Yankees some desired rotation depth and could be an interesting candidate to work in a long relief role. He comes with a lesser tax hit of $18MM, but perhaps the deal could include a veteran reliever and deliver more young talent back to the Giants. There are certainly plenty of ways to sketch out tax-neutral scenarios, though at the end of the day it all depends just how interested the Giants really are in having Ellsbury on their roster — and how motivated the Yankees are to send him out. And the veteran outfielder will also have a say himself, as he enjoys full no-trade protection.

Giants Sign Brandon Beachy To Minors Deal

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Per Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Giants have signed righty Brandon Beachy to a minor league pact. Beachy had been out of affiliated ball since 2015, when he made two late-season starts for the Dodgers.

The 32-year-old Beachy was an early-decade stalwart for the Braves; after a circuitous route to the majors, which saw the Indiana-born product go undrafted following a decorated career at little-known Indiana Wesleyan University, the then 23-year-old broke in with Atlanta during the club’s Wild Card run in 2010.  In four injury-marred seasons with the club, Beachy posted a stellar 9.2 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 46 games (all starts) on the way to an excellent 3.23 ERA/3.34 FIP.

Beachy’s career was derailed after a 2012 Tommy John surgery and numerous setbacks in the subsequent rehab. Since returning to the big-league hill for five cameo appearances in 2013, and a second Tommy John that wiped out his 2014, Beachy has appeared in just 14 professional games, most of which came with the AAA-Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2015, the first in the four-year GM tenure of current Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi. After signing a one-year, $1.5MM pact with Los Angeles prior to the 2016 season, the 6’3 righty’s campaign was derailed by a recurring bout with elbow tendinitis; after the injury failed to progress in the way he’d hoped, Beachy left the team (and organized baseball) for the remainder of that season and the next.

He did attempt a 2018 comeback with the unaffiliated New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League, striking out a dozen men in just twelve appearances, though attendant scouting reports are predictably scarce. The Giants, though, whose upper-minors starting-pitching depth has been scraped clean of anything resembling a big-league track record, are perhaps a better spot than any for a longshot reclamation project, and should give the aging righty ample opportunity to prove his tank isn’t set permanently on empty.

NL Notes: Giants, Mets, Reds

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Speaking alongside President and CEO Larry Baer, Farhan Zaidi rationalizes the Giants’ winter action thus far, saying “Our goal this offseason has been to surround our core of players, which we still believe is a championship core of players, with the right complementary players.” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle provides the clip (via Twitter), wherein Zaidi charms a crowd with good-natured humor, referring to his title as “the guy who reports to [Baer],” while also holding firm to an offseason strategy that has preached patience above all else. To hear him refer to the roster as having a “championship core” feels a tad hopeful, though to his credit, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt, did quite literally form the core of two World Series winners – three for Posey, Bumgarner and Pablo Sandoval, who were all on the 2010 squad. So while Zaidi’s not wrong, one might also point out they also have the core of an 84-win team, an 87-win team, a 64-win team, and a 73-win team. Let’s check in on the goings-on from a couple other NL clubs…

  • While the Mets continue to keep tabs on lefty Gio Gonzalez, their interest has not reached the “multiyear level,” per sny.tv’s Andy Martino (via Twitter). The Mets are emboldened by a strong second half from Jason Vargas, who combines with Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler to form the presumptive starting five for the Amazins. Given the injury history of that group, starting depth is an important consideration for GM Brodie Van Wagenen, but Gonzalez should land a clearer path to a guaranteed rotation role elsewhere. If Gio’s market never does materialize, the Mets could circle back, but for the time being they appear content with the likes of Walker Lockett, Corey Oswalt and Hector Santiago providing the rotation depth. Martino notes that Seth Lugo, who started 31 games for the Mets across the past three seasons, will not be considered for the rotation, as they plan on deploying him solely as a reliever in 2019. Lugo, 29, impressed in a swing role last year as his strikeout rate saw a year-over-year increase from 7.5 K/9 to 9.1 K/9.
  • The Reds have been active on the trade market all winter, especially in hunting starting pitching. They were one of the teams with early noted interest in Corey Kluber before swinging separate deals for Alex Wood, Tanner Roark, and Sonny Gray. They have also kept tabs on J.T. Realmuto, still one of the teams in the running for the Marlins’ star backstop. One name that both the Indians and Marlins have asked about is Jonathan India, the Reds top draft choice from a year ago. Per Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel (via Twitter), top prospects Nick Senzel, Hunter Greene, and Taylor Trammell are viewed as tough gets, leading teams to ask for India instead, but Cincinnati has as of yet refrained from including India in any kind of deal. It certainly makes sense for the Reds to hold onto India in the event that Scooter Gennett departs in free agency after 2019, but they’ll have a tough time getting a talent of Kluber’s or Realmuto’s caliber without surrendering any of the four aforementioned youngsters.

Free Agent Notes: Phillies, Yanks, Giants, Gonzalez

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While we already know this through observation, Phillies GM Matt Klentak made clear again that his organization intends to remain patient in its blockbuster free agent pursuits, as Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia recently reported. Klentak says he won’t be rushed into a decision by the onset of camp, saying that there’s no “deadline” to get a deal done before Spring Training. Generally, he said, “The fans are well aware that we’re pursuing the top end of free agency. When that’s going to resolve itself, we don’t really know.”

As we wait for some movement at the top of the market — particularly, regarding reputed Phillies targets Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — let’s check in on a few other situations further down the priority list, all courtesy of MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (links to Twitter) …

  • The Yankees still want to boost their rotation depth, Heyman says, though it’s a bit unclear as of yet how they’ll go about doing so. He lists Gio Gonzalez and Ervin Santana as at-least-hypothetical targets, but it stands to reason that both will want to sign somewhere that they’ll be promised a rotation spot. Gonzalez is one of the best remaining starters and should have little trouble finding at least a clear rotation placement, if not a multi-year deal. Santana does seem to be an interesting bounceback candidate, but he’ll surely be seeking a chance to take the ball every fifth day, which the Yanks can’t promise.
  • Unsurprisingly, the Giants appear to be hunting for value on the market in their search for a new slate of outfielders. That seemed reasonable to suspect when last we checked in on the situation, as the San Francisco organization seemingly wants to remain competitive while also embarking upon an effort to get younger and enhance payroll efficiency. There could be some interesting free agent opportunities, though perhaps the most intriguing possibility would be for the Giants to pick up some pieces that become available after late-breaking signings.
  • The Rockies have some level of interest in yet again bringing back outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, Heyman adds. This particular item is frankly difficult to understand, as the Rox are working with a limited budget and still need to improve behind the dish, in the bullpen, and perhaps on the bench. Meanwhile, the team has a nice assortment of left-handed-hitting outfielders already on hand, making the veteran former star a tough fit on paper. In any event, other teams are also said to be interested in CarGo.

Giants Claim John Andreoli, Designate Derek Law

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The Giants announced Friday that they have claimed outfielder John Andreoli off waivers from the Rangers. Texas designated him for assignment earlier this week after signing Shawn Kelley to a one-year contract. In order to make room on the 40-man roster for Andreoli, the Giants designated right-hander Derek Law for assignment.

Andreoli split the 2018 season between the Orioles and the Mariners, posting a combined .230/.284/.262 slash in a tiny sample of 67 plate appearances. He has a strong track record of getting on base in the upper minors, as evidenced by his .264/.371/.408 batting line in nearly 2000 Triple-A plate appearances, and he’s knocked 34 homers, 83 doubles and 26 triples in that time while also collecting 121 steals. He’ll give the Giants a much needed outfield option, although with San Francisco reportedly on the hunt for additional veteran outfielders, it’s far from a guarantee that Andreoli will factor prominently into the organization’s 2019 plans.

As for Law, the 28-year-old burst onto the scene with a dominant rookie campaign in 2016 but has failed to approximate that year’s success in two subsequent efforts. Law was dominant as a rookie, recording a 2.13 ERA with a 50-to-9 K/BB ratio and a 50.3 percent ground-ball rate in 55 innings out of Bruce Bochy’s bullpen. Fielding-independent metrics largely supported that emphatic announcement of his arrival in the Majors, with FIP (2.53), xFIP (3.12) and SIERA (3.00) all concurring on his excellence.

Since that time, however, Law has been torched for a 5.68 ERA in 50 2/3 MLB frames. While his strikeout rate has remained constant, his 3.9 BB/9 mark over the past two seasons is two and a half times higher than his 1.5 mark as a rookie. His ground-ball rate, meanwhile, plummeted by more than 10 percent, with his home-run rate experiencing a corresponding spike. Law’s fastball velocity hasn’t depreciated, so perhaps another club will look at him as an intriguing bullpen reclamation project. He’s out of minor league options, so any club that picks him up (be it via trade or waivers) will need to carry him onto the Opening Day roster or else expose him to waivers.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/30/19

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We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves …

  • Joining the Pirates on a minor-league contract is right-hander Vicente Campos, according to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects. The contract includes an invitation to MLB camp. Once a rather well-regarded pitching prospect, Campos ran into injury and performance issues just as he was reaching MLB readiness. As things stand, he has just one appearance at the game’s highest level and has thrown only 46 total frames over the past two seasons. Dreker writes, though, that Campos has been clocked in the mid-nineties and found some success this winter in his native Venezuela.
  • The Dodgers added outfielder Ezequiel Carrera on a minors deal, per reports. Now 31 years of age, Carrera has seen action in seven MLB seasons and was a frequently-utilized reserve with the Blue Jays from 2016-17. Last year, though, he struggled quite a bit at the Triple-A level with the Braves and Mets organizations and failed to get a look at the majors.
  • Outfielder Mike Gerber was outrighted after clearing waivers, per the Giants. He’ll remain under control of the San Francisco organization after being claimed and then designated for assignment earlier in the offseason. The 26-year-old Gerber is only a .224/.286/.428 hitter in 334 Triple-A plate appearances but had posted strong numbers at every other level in the Tigers’ farm system.

Giants Still Looking For Veteran Outfielders

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The Giants are still looking for two or even three new outfield additions to their roster, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). At the same time, indications are that the organization isn’t going to be driving the market, in part due to the club’s anticipated position in relation to the luxury tax line.

As things stand, the San Francisco roster is largely devoid of established MLB outfielders. Among the assets on hand, youngster Steven Duggar seems primed for a full chance, Mac Williamson could still get another shot, and Chris Shaw is a potentially interesting prospect, but it’d be tough to enter the season planning to rely on existing options.

With veterans still populating most of the rest of the roster, there’s an argument to be made that the Giants ought to go ahead and spend some coin. The outlook may not be all that promising, but the club already paid for two starters (Derek Holland and Drew Pomeranz) and figures to be stuck in a middle ground of sorts regardless — unless, that is, it starts swinging trades over the next few weeks.

Veterans such as Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson, Mark Melancon, and especially Will Smith would all be of varying levels of interest to other teams. Of course, if the plan was to strip down the roster, the process likely would have been kick-started earlier in the still-fresh tenure of president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

Even if a trade or two ends up going down, it seems to make sense for the Giants at least to fill out the outfield unit with some plausible names. Just what kind of players they’ll target, and how much they’ll spend, really isn’t clear. If Holland and Pomeranz are a guide, then perhaps they’ll target some blend of stability and upside, with a willingness to spend a bit to put a solid product on the field. Olney suggests, though, that the club may not have much financial room to work with if it hopes to remain beneath the collective bargaining tax line of $206MM. It seems the organization is still well shy of that line, even after accounting for some of the factors noted yesterday by Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter), though it could be that the public assessments are missing something.

Regardless of the math, it appears that the club is mostly inclined to wait out the market for appealing value propositions. Fortunately for Zaidi and company, there’s still an extensive slate of players available via free agency. And while the outfield segment of the trade market has never appeared to be particularly robust, it’s not hard to envision some reasonably interesting younger players becoming available as teams scurry to make their final roster arrangements in advance of camp and then the regular season.

NL Notes: Giants, Magowan, Brewers, Pirates, Kang

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Former Giants owner Peter Magowan passed away at the age of 76 on Sunday after a battle with cancer. Magowan, a New York City native whose fandom of the Giants stretched back to their days in NYC, was part of an investment team that bought the franchise for $100MM in 1992. Magowan & Co. saved the Giants from leaving San Francisco for Tampa Bay, which looked likely at the time, and also brought in outfielder Barry Bonds on a then-record six-year, $43.75MM free-agent contract in advance of the 1993 season.

Bonds stayed with the Giants for the rest of his illustrious playing career, which ended after 2007, and was the face of the organization as it moved from Candlestick Park to Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in 2000. Oracle Park, a stadium the Magowan-led Giants built largely without public funding, has been regarded as one of the game’s elite venues since its inception. Both the Giants’ signing of Bonds and their privately financed ballpark angered Magowan’s fellow owners, he told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle in 2016.

In addition to his run atop the Giants through 2008, Magowan was known for his charitable endeavors, especially with HIV/AIDS awareness and youth baseball. Since Magowan’s passing, there has been an outpouring of sympathy, including from commissioner Rob Manfred, Giants CEO Larry Baer, Bonds and fellow franchise icons Willie Mays and Buster Posey. MLBTR joins the baseball community in sending condolences to Magowan’s family and the San Francisco organization.

Here’s more from Magowan’s longtime league, the NL:

  • The Brewers entered the winter with a need at second base, which is arguably still the case now even after they signed Cory Spangenberg to a modest contract. But while the free-agent market was rife with established second basemen at the beginning of the offseason, options are dwindling as spring training nears. The Brewers could still pick up a veteran free agent who’s remaining on the market, but they’re unlikely to offer anyone more than a one-year deal, in part because of hard-charging prospect Keston Hiura’s presence, Todd Rosiak and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report. As things stand, it appears they’ll divide playing time among Spangenberg, Hernan Perez and Tyler Saladino at the outset of 2019, as Rosiak and Haudricourt observe, with 2018 second base option Travis Shaw heading back to third. Regarding the Brewers’ outlook at second, manager Craig Counsell admitted Sunday, “As I look at it right now, it’s definitely a job that will be shared,” though he did express confidence in the choices they have on hand.
  • Although the Pirates bought out infielder Jung Ho Kang’s 2019 option after last season, he re-signed with the team on a cheaper deal eight days later. Manager Clint Hurdle suggested Sunday that Kang drew interest from elsewhere during his short stint on the market, per Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, but was determined to “make good” with the Pirates. The 31-year-old Kang is “thankful” to the organization, according to his interpreter, as it has stuck by him amid off-field tribulations. Kang, of course, sat out nearly all of the previous two seasons after a DUI arrest in his native South Korea rendered him unable to secure a U.S. visa. There was also a sexual assault claim against Kang in 2016, though charges were never filed.

NL West Notes: Joc, Dodgers, D-Backs, Rockies, Giants

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Joc Pederson’s name has been raised in recent trade rumblings, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that Los Angeles isn’t close to any deals involving the 26-year-old outfielder. The Dodgers may have lost a suitor for Pederson recently when the Braves re-signed Nick Markakis to a one-year contract with a club option, and for the time being, Pederson looks like he’ll be a key part of L.A.’s attack against right-handed pitching. As Rosenthal notes, the Dodgers’ signing of A.J. Pollock was fueled partly by an internal belief that the team would struggle against left-handed pitching. Pollock figures to line up as the team’s primary center fielder, with Cody Bellinger seeing some time there, in the outfield corners and at first base. Pederson, too, gives the Dodgers a potent weapon against righties, though he’s dreadful historically against lefties — which wouldn’t be as much of a concern (if he is retained) with Pollock in the fold.

Here’s more from the division…

  • The Diamondbacks are still looking to add to the bullpen this offseason, general manager Mike Hazen tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. It has been a rather quiet winter in Phoenix outside of the franchise-altering trade sending face of the franchise Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis. As the D-backs have worked to pare back payroll and embark on something of a soft reset, they’ve made some small-scale moves such as the signing of Wilmer Flores and Merrill Kelly (on top of the MLB-level talent added for Goldy). Plus, of course, the club kicked things off by re-upping Eduardo Escobar just before he hit the open market. Plenty of chatter has focused on the team’s remaining potential trade candidates, particularly in the pitching staff, but it’s not clear whether much possibility of tht remains. Regardless, it seems prudent for the organization to pursue some relief arms, given the course it has taken to this point. Presumably, any ’pen additions would be of the measured variety, as the Snakes gear up for what looks likely to be a still-competitive but mostly transitional year.
  • Meanwhile, Nick Groke of The Athletic takes a look at a sleepy Rockies offseason, which has mostly involved the replacement of the departing DJ LeMahieu with Daniel Murphy. In the subscription piece, Groke describes the Rox’ participation in the market thus far this winter as “an empty freezer more than a hot stove.” The diagnosis, it seems, is a fairly simple one: the club simply doesn’t have the payroll space to pursue more aggressively further upgrades to its lineup. It really is a tricky spot, as the club as presently constituted seems a clear second to the Dodgers in the division. At the same time, there’s a clear opportunity to press ahead due to the vulnerability of the remaining NL West pack and the fact that this is the final season of control over star third baseman Nolan Arenado. It’s largely unclear whether GM Jeff Bridich will find a way to further boost the club’s sagging offense this winter, though it seems fair to presume he’s still looking for the right angle — be it a trade or (hopefully) high-value, low-cost free agent acquisition. Boosting the mix behind the plate and in the outfield would make sense on paper; whether it’ll prove feasible remains to be seen.
  • The Giants have far greater uncertainty in their own outfield, though the club is also in quite a different overall stance. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports, new president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi expressed confidence that the organization would have a suitable slate of outfielders when the time comes. In a statement that helps explain the Giants’ position as well as the overall trajectory of the free agent process, Zaidi explains: “As long as we feel there are good options out there by trade or free agency, the actual pulling of the trigger becomes a little bit less relevant as long as you feel you have some good leads, which I think we do. You don’t want to get in a situation of urgency or even panic.” With the San Francisco organization likely to eschew major, multi-year pacts this winter, it’s certainly understandable that they intend to exercise more patience. It’ll be interesting to see what opportunities might present themselves.

Giants Sign Drew Pomeranz

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2:55pm: The incentive pay is quite achievable, so long as the Giants keep Pomeranz on board and keep him in the rotation. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic has the details (Twitter link).

Pomeranz gets $500K if he’s on the active roster coming out of camp and upon the season’s 150th day, in addition to a quarter million apiece for being on the roster 90 and 120 days into the 2019 campaign. He also receives $250K for reaching 25 and 50 innings, a provision which will be met early if he’s a starter and can still be triggered if he works from the pen.

The rest of the cash requires Pomeranz to open ballgames. He gets $125K apiece upon his second, fourth, sixth, and eighth start; $100K upon reaching 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 27, and 30; and a final $200K if he records a full 32-start campaign.

2:05pm: The Giants announced the move, with outfielder Mike Gerber being designated for assignment to clear roster space.

12:43pm: The Giants have agreed to terms with southpaw Drew Pomeranz, according to Larry Krueger of KNBR. Pomeranz will be guaranteed just $1.5MM, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com tweets. There are incentives that can push the total value to $5MM, though, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (Twitter link).

Pomeranz becomes the second veteran lefty to sign no in San Francisco this winter, joining Derek Holland in that regard. He’ll be looking to follow Holland in a different regard as well — namely, utilizing the opportunity to work in the spacious ballpark to help spur a career turnaround.

New Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi may have relied on the opinions of preexisting staff members in bringing back Holland, but he’s no doubt applying plenty of his own experience in securing a deal with Pomeranz. Zaidi was a key member of the Oakland front office during the lefty’s tenure with the Athletics.

At thirty years of age, Pomeranz could still author a second bounceback, having done so previously when he landed with the A’s after washing out with the Rockies. It wasn’t long ago, after all, that Pomeranz was wrapping up a four-year run in which he threw 499 1/3 innings of 3.24 ERA ball with 9.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

Unfortunately, Pomeranz’s final season with the RedSox — who gave up a top prospect to get him in a trade that ultimately came under scrutiny for the Padres’ failure to disclose medical info — did not go as well as his first full year in Boston. Making it through just 74 innings in an injury-ravaged 2018 season, Pomeranz worked to an ugly 6.08 ERA while allowing 5.4 free passes and 1.5 home runs per nine innings. Arm issues clearly nagged him all year long, with a flexor tendon strain and biceps tendinitis ultimately identified as specific maladies, as Pomeranz lost nearly two ticks on his average fastball.

All things considered, this seems like a rather easy and minimal risk for the Giants to take. It stands to reason that the club offered Pomeranz a clear path to a rotation job as part of its sales pitch, though the plans are not fully clear. If he does take a spot in the starting five, it would appear to bump fellow lefties Andrew Suarez and Ty Blach out of the prospective Opening Day rotation (at least on paper).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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