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Giants Close To Maxing Out Payroll

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It appears that closer Mark Melancon will be the only major pickup the Giants make this offseason. The club has all but reached its payroll limit as a result of adding Melancon on a four-year, $62MM deal Monday, and it’s unlikely to make any significant dollar-for-dollar trades, general manager Bobby Evans told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.  “I don’t think there’s anything more to ask of ownership,” Evans said. “It’s more what I can do with what we have.” The Giants logged opening-day payrolls upward of $172MM in the previous two seasons, and Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource estimates they’ll start 2017 at $183MM-plus.

More free agency-related news:

  • The Dodgers made an attempt to sign closer Aroldis Chapman, but they didn’t come particularly close to succeeding, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. It doesn’t seem as if Chapman was actually receptive to playing in Los Angeles, as the agreement he reached with the Yankees late Wednesday includes the ability to block trades to all West Coast teams.
  • Free agent catcher Matt Wieters might not sign until late in the offseason, in part because the market is slow for catchers, agent Scott Boras informed Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun on Wednesday. As he’s known to do, Boras talked up his client, saying, “Look, he threw out over 35 percent of his runners. When Matt Wieters is behind the plate, the Orioles are in the playoffs. He’s won Gold Gloves … and his ERA of the pitching staff is one run lower than when other catchers catch. I think Baltimore has a real commodity there. He’s performed at high levels there.” Wieters – who’s coming off a poor year from both offensive and pitch–framing standpoints – remains a possibility for the catcher-needy Orioles, according to both Boras and O’s general manager Dan Duquette. The 30-year-old Wieters has been a member of the Baltimore organization since it drafted him fifth overall in 2007.
  • Corner infielder/designated hitter Pedro Alvarez, another Baltimore free agent and Boras client, has drawn interest from “a number of teams,” the agent told Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Interestingly, in an effort to improve his earning power, Alvarez could try to market himself as a part-time outfielder. “Pedro is actually going to start playing the outfield, as well,” Boras said. “He’s obviously working at first base and we’re going to try and get his defensive acumen more in the field as his career goes forward.” The big-bodied Alvarez has struggled at first and third during his career (and played DH almost exclusively in 2016), so it’s difficult to imagine him faring well in the grass.

Giants Trade Chris Heston To Mariners

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The Giants have traded righty Chris Heston to the Mariners, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweets. The Giants will receive a player to be named in return, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Morosi had previously tweeted that the two teams were discussing a deal involving Heston.

The Giants were hoping to trade Heston by tonight, Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News wrote (Twitter links). They had planned to designate Heston for assignment to open a roster spot for incoming closer Mark Melancon when Melancon’s deal became official later today. By trading Heston, they will at least receive a prospect in return. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweeted earlier today that the Giants were shopping Heston.

The 28-year-old Heston had an effective season in the Giants rotation in 2015, posting a 3.95 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a robust 53.0 GB% over 177 2/3 innings. He began the 2016 season in the bullpen, however, and was eventually optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, where he posted a somewhat disappointing 4.54 ERA, 5.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 81 1/3 innings while also dealing with an oblique injury. He has less than two years of service time and has an option remaining, so he figures to provide the Mariners with a controllable starter.

Giants Unlikely To Deal For J.D. Martinez

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  • The Giants do not seem likely to trade for J.D. Martinez, the San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea tweets. They would likely only make a deal for someone in Martinez’s position if they were to also able to trade a player making a similar salary. Martinez will make $11.75MM next season as part of the two-year deal he signed with the Tigers in March.

Giants To Sign Bryan Morris To Minors Contract

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The Giants are “finalizing” a minor league contract with right-hander Bryan Morris, GM Bobby Evans told reporters (including Janie McCauley of the Associated Press).  Amusingly, the news was officially broken by Mark Melancon, as the new Giants closer off-handedly mentioned Morris being part of the club during a conference call with the media on Tuesday.  Morris’ contract contains an invitation to the Giants’ big league spring camp, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports that Morris will earn $1.25MM if he reaches the majors, plus up to $750K in further incentives.

Morris, who turns 30 in March, had a 3.06 ERA over his first 17 2/3 innings of the 2016 campaign before undergoing season-ending back surgery in June.  The Marlins outrighted Morris off their 40-man roster in late September and he chose to become a free agent.

Over five seasons and 215 career relief innings with the Marlins and Pirates, Morris has posted a 2.80 ERA and a whopping 58.6% ground ball rate that has helped outweigh his rather pedestrian strikeout (6.4 K/9) and walk (3.77 BB/9) totals.  ERA predictors haven’t been so high on Morris, though he shown a knack for inducing soft-to-medium contact on all those balls put into play.  If he regains his old form in the wake of his back surgery, Morris could be a nice bargain signing for the Giants, particularly since their outstanding defense is a particularly good fit for Morris’ grounder-heavy game.

Giants Close To Signing Tim Federowicz

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  • The Giants are “set to sign” catcher Tim Federowicz, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports (Twitter link).  The deal is presumably of the minor league variety, though Federowicz could provide some veteran competition for Trevor Brown for the backup role behind Buster Posey.  Federowicz spent 2016 with the Cubs, getting outrighted off their 40-man roster twice, appearing in 17 big league games, and hitting .293/.352/.450 in 253 Triple-A plate appearances.

Giants Notes: Bumgarner, Left Field

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  • The Giants aren’t in ongoing negotiations with Madison Bumgarner about a contract extension, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.  In October, Giants CEO Larry Baer cited a desire to keep Bumgarner in the fold well past 2019 (the star lefty’s last year of control under his current contract), though the lack of talks shouldn’t necessarily indicate a change in the team’s thinking, as most teams often wait until offseason business is concluded before focusing on extensions.
  • In another tweet from Schulman, he reports that the Giants are exploring possible trades for left field help, with free agency a less likely avenue.  San Francisco’s “plan A” for left field, however, is a platoon of youngsters Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker.

Giants Asked About Andrew McCutchen

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  • Giants GM Bobby Evans tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he checked in with the Pirates on Andrew McCutchen, but Evans didn’t imply that there was anything more than due diligence behind the call. “When you invest heavily in your rotation and you invest heavily in your bullpen and you invest heavily in your first baseman, your shortstop, your catcher, your right fielder, your center fielder, at some point, you need your farm system to raise up,” Evans tells Shea. “…Ultimately, you can’t lose sight of the fact your farm system is there for a reason. Successful organizations give their farm systems a chance to produce, and some of that production doesn’t get realized until it’s at the big-league level.” The Pirates’ reported asking price for McCutchen has been lofty, and based on Evans’ comments, it doesn’t seem that San Francisco would be interested in gutting its minor league ranks to insert McCutchen into its lineup.

Rosenthal: Giants Could Sign Tyson Ross

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  • Free agent right-hander Tyson Ross, who has been recovering from thoracic outlet surgery since October, is likely to sign with a team that’s adept at “handling and rehabilitating pitchers,” Rosenthal writes. One such club is the Padres, who non-tendered Ross last week in lieu of paying him an estimated $9.6MM in 2017. San Diego and Ross have mutual interest in a reunion, though, and Rosenthal notes that Ross’ affinity for Friars pitching coach Darren Balsley could help their cause. Other possibilities for Ross include the Cubs – who have tried to acquire Ross in the past – as well as the Indians, Pirates, Mariners and Giants, per Rosenthal.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Giants Have Had Contact With J.P. Howell

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  • The Giants are one of the teams who have asked about veteran lefty J.P. Howell, Olney tweets.  Howell is reportedly only looking for a one-year contract.  San Francisco has an open LOOGY role with Javier Lopez hitting the open market.  Howell posted a mediocre 4.09 ERA last year, and though his peripherals were in line with his prior years’ work, Howell was uncharacteristically vulnerable to lefty hitters (.302/.343/.417) in 2016.

Giants Sign Mark Melancon

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4:54pm: Melancon will earn $4MM in 2017, $10MM in 2018, and then $14MM in both 2019 and 2020, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links).  Melancon will receive a $20MM signing bonus, $12MM of which will be paid up front and the other $8MM deferred until after the contract is up.  The deal contains a full no-trade clause, as per Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com.  Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the contract is that Melancon can opt out of the deal after the first two seasons, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

2:52pm: The Giants have announced the signing of Melancon, pending a physical, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.

12:48pm: Melancon’s deal is for exactly $62MM over four years, tweets Rosenthal.

11:57am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter) that it’s a four-year deal in the $62MM range for Melancon. That contract shatters the previous record by $12MM, though it of course isn’t likely to stand all that long given the other names available in free agency this winter.

11:42am: Melancon has agreed to terms with the Giants, and the deal will be finalized once he passes a physical, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (on Twitter).

10:45am: The Giants are close to a deal with free agent closer Mark Melancon, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweeted recently that there was a belief in the organization had a strong belief that a deal would get done, and Les Shapiro of Mile High Radio first tweeted that Melancon was wrapping up negotiations with San Francisco. Melancon is represented by ISE Baseball.

[Related: Mark Melancon Free Agent Profile]

San Francisco made a run at Melancon prior to the non-waiver trade deadline this summer but came up short to the Nationals, who acquired him for lefties Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn. Bullpen struggles wound up being a defining characteristic for the Giants down the stretch, as Santiago Casilla in particular struggled late in the year and lost his hold on closer’s duties. Giants general manager Bobby Evans has implied publicly in the past that perhaps he should’ve made a stronger play to get Melancon into the organization, and it appears now that the Giants made the strongest push of any team to land the highly coveted Melancon in free agency. There are no numbers attached to reports on him just yet, but Melancon reportedly has received four-year offers worth more than $60MM, which would eclipse Jonathan Papelbon’s four-year, $50MM mark and set a new record for a relief pitcher.

The 31-year-old Melancon (32 in March) has been an All Star in three of the past four seasons and has worked to a cumulative ERA of 1.80 across 290 innings in that time (plus 10 innings in the postseason). He doesn’t flash the extreme velocity and/or strikeout rates as free agent counterparts Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen, but Melancon misses bats at a slightly above-average rate and also boasts tremendous control and ground-ball tendencies. In that four-year run of dominance, he’s averaged 8.3 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 to go along with a 57.4 percent ground-ball rate. Those immaculate ratios have led to 147 saves for Melancon since 2013, including an NL-best 51 in 2015. He also finished a league-high 67 games between the Pirates and Nats last season.

Turnover in the bullpen has long looked possible for the Giants, who saw stalwarts Casilla, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez all hit the open market this winter. Melancon, of course, would immediately move to the top of the food chain in the San Francisco bullpen, where he’s likely to be joined by Hunter Strickland, Derek Law, Will Smith, George Kontos and Cory Gearrin. Steven Okert and Josh Osich are both present as left-handed options to fill out the ’pen, while Chris Heston could try to crack the relief corps after a tough go of things in 2016.

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