Giants Notes: Posey, Hundley, Left Field, Hwang
Following the Giants’ signing of veteran catcher Nick Hundley to a one-year deal earlier today, San Francisco GM Bobby Evans suggested that Buster Posey‘s playing time behind the plate won’t decrease with Hundley on board (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle). Evans called 120 games behind the plate a “fair target” for Posey, whose time at first base in 2017 figures to be fairly minimal, as was the case in 2016 when he appeared there on 15 occasions. “The more we can keep Buster behind the plate and healthy, the stronger our team is,” said Evans. “The ideal is to keep him back there as much as possible.” Though he’ll turn 30 in March and has long carried a heavy workload, Posey remains one of the most productive offensive catchers and best defensive catchers in all of Major League Baseball. Of Hundley, Evans spoke highly of the experience that the 33-year-old veteran will bring to the Giants in 2017.
A bit more on the Giants…
- Evans also said this afternoon that the Giants’ hope in left field is that either Mac Williamson or Jarrett Parker will separate himself from those in competition for the spot and win the job this spring, as Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News writes. “In a perfect world, one guy would win the job,” said the GM. “You’re not necessarily looking for a platoon. Then out of our non-roster invitees, someone would emerge as a fifth outfielder who could be a bat off the bench.” As Baggarly notes, the Giants’ list of non-roster invitees includes former Giants left fielder Mike Morse and veteran Justin Ruggiano — either of whom would satisfy the team’s desire for some right-handed pop off the bench. Evans’ comments are especially interesting given the fact that the 28-year-old Parker is out of minor league options. If Williamson has the clearly superior Spring Training and wins the job, Parker would have to be exposed to waivers before the Giants could send him back to the minors. Williamson, on the other hand, has two minor league options remaining. (You can see the option count for each player, and others, on the Giants’ depth chart at Roster Resource).
- KBO star Jae-gyun Hwang met with the Korean media to discuss his minor league agreement with the Giants earlier today, and Jee-ho Yoo of Korea’s Yonhap News Agency was on hand to get the 29-year-old’s thoughts. Hwang told reporters that he’s been studying English for more than a year now in order to make the transition process between cultures a bit smoother, and he said he’s also made some mechanical tweaks to his swing to better prepare himself for the harder fastballs he’ll be seeing in American ball. He also added that he decided to eliminate bat flips following his home runs in 2016 (and Hwang had a penchant for unleashing some epic flips) to avoid controversy with opposing clubs. While the Giants haven’t made a formal announcement of the move yet, Evans acknowledged (via Baggarly in the above-linked column) that Hwang’s market “was one that he could have taken a number of different deals.” Evans added that the Giants feel fortunate that Hwang accepted their offer and cited the infielder’s improved strikeout and walk rates as factors that intrigued Giants scouts. Hwang hit .335/.394/.570 with 27 home runs and 25 stolen bases in the KBO last year.
Giants Designate Ehire Adrianza
The Giants have designated infielder Ehire Adrianza for assignment, the team announced (h/t Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area, via Twitter). His roster spot will go to just-signed catcher Nick Hundley.
With San Francisco also reaching agreement recently with another infield option, Jae-gyun Hwang, there was a less pressing need for the 27-year-old Adrianza. Of course, it’s certainly possible that he’ll be retained if he clears waivers. He had agreed to a $600K deal to avoid arbitration after qualifying as a Super Two, though the deal came with a split affording him half as much for time spent in the minors.
Adrianza has played an occasional utility role in each of the last four years. He has accumulated 331 total plate appearances, with a .220/.292/.313 batting line to go with three home runs and four steals. The switch hitter has spent most of his MLB time in the middle infield, functioning as a reserve behind stalwarts Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik.
Giants Sign Nick Hundley
The Giants have officially struck a one-year deal with catcher Nick Hundley, as Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group first reported (via Twitter). The contract is believed to include a $2MM guarantee. per Baggarly.
Hundley, 33, certainly seems destined to function as the backup to star catcher Buster Posey. San Francisco would otherwise have likely held a spring competition for that role, with incumbent Trevor Brown joined by minor-league signees Tim Federowicz and Josmil Pinto in the mix. Instead, the organization will take a rather well-stocked group of receivers into the spring’s activities.
[Related: Updated Giants Depth Chart]
The veteran Hundley has at times shown an approximately league-average bat, but he wasn’t quite to that standard last year by measure of park-adjusted metrics like OPS+ (88) and wRC+ (82). Over the past two seasons, which he spent with the Rockies, he slashed a combined .282/.330/.455 while adding 18 home runs over 615 plate appearances. Though Coors Field obviously inflated those figures, Hundley certainly produced at a solid rate for his position.
Teams weighing a bigger commitment to Hundley were, perhaps, less enthused of his defense. Accurately valuing the tools of ignorance remains a difficult task — particularly in areas such as game preparation, pitcher motivation, and pitch-calling — but he hasn’t rated well in the more measurable areas. Hundley threw out just nine of the 66 baserunners who attempted to steal against him last year (14 percent) and drew poor reviews for his framing (see Baseball Prospectus; Stat Corner), though BP also has typically credited him as doing a solid job of handling balls in the dirt. It’s worth noting that he did prevent out 34 percent of stolen-base attempts against him in an all-around superior 2015 season and does have a solid 27 percent mark in for his career in that regard.
All told, the signing seems to work out well for San Francisco, which can rely on the established veteran at a fairly meager commitment. Brown, meanwhile, can continue to work on his hitting in the upper minors, with the bat-first Pinto perhaps seeking to refine his work behind the dish and Federowicz providing additional depth.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dae-ho Lee To Sign With KBO’s Lotte Giants
Slugger Dae-ho Lee has decided to return to his native Korea, according to Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency (Twitter links). Lee, who is represented by MVP Sports Group, will receive a $12.9MM guarantee over four years from his original professional team, the Lotte Giants. That represents a record contract for the Korea Baseball Organization.
Lee, 34, came to the majors last year after joining the Mariners on a minor-league deal. He made the roster and ultimately provided the organization with 14 long balls and a .253/.312/.428 batting line over 317 plate appearances.
While that represented a solid effort for a player transitioning to the majors at this late stage of his career, there are obviously some limitations. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the right-handed hitter showed better when facing lefties. And though Lee drew roughly average ratings for his work in the field, he’s limited to first base or a DH hole.
Though the Mariners had some interest in a reunion at one time, it never seemed that he’d be in line for more than part-time duty there or elsewhere in the majors. And the chance to play regularly was a significant factor, Lee said earlier in the offseason.
Before making his way to Seattle, Lee played in both Korea and Japan for 15 seasons. He starred with Lotte for most of that stretch, seemingly capping his tenure there with a pair of stellar, 1.000+ OPS campaigns in 2010 and 2011. From there, Lee went on to a productive four-year stint in the NPB, where he combined power and plate discipline.
While there was no doubt some interest from MLB organizations and NPB clubs, Lee will instead return to the place where he first made his name. It helps, no doubt, that he’ll land such a significant contract; per Yoo, it’s over $4MM higher than any prior KBO deal.
Giants To Sign Jae-Gyun Hwang
7:45pm: The deal is complete, per Shea (via Twitter).
3:43pm: The Giants are closing in on a minor league contract with Korean third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. The contract, first reported by Naver Sports in Korea, will guarantee Hwang $1.5MM if he makes the big league roster in Spring Training, according to Baggarly. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that there are additional incentives beyond that guarantee, with Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap adding (via Twitter) that they could tack on another $1.6MM. Hwang is represented by GSI and ACES.
Hwang, 29, hit .335/.394/.570 with 27 home runs and 25 stolen bases last season, demonstrating an ability to sustain the power increase he showed during the 2015 season. Hwang also boosted his walk rate while more than halving his strikeout rate, which likely further piqued the Giants’ interest in his services.
Unlike last winter, Hwang was an unrestricted free agent this offseason (having accrued the requisite nine years of service time in the Korea Baseball Organization) and thus did not need to be posted by his former club, the Lotte Giants. He reportedly turned down a “sizable” offer from his former team and was also pursued by the KBO’s KT Wiz, but he’s been said to be willing to accept less money for the opportunity to pursue a Major League career. While the exact nature of that offer isn’t known, Hwang’s deal with San Francisco is presumably less lucrative in the short-term but obviously creates the opportunity for considerably better financial compensation down the line.
The Giants don’t have a clear-cut need at third base — Eduardo Nunez and Conor Gillaspie are both on hand as options, with Nunez likely to see the bulk of the playing time — but Hwang has significant experience at shortstop in Korea as well. Certainly, he won’t be displacing Brandon Crawford, but Hwang could earn a look as a utility option that can bounce all over the infield (and possibly the corner outfield).
Alternatively, if his bat proves capable of handling big league pitching, he could push Nunez into that role and assume regular third base duties. San Francisco does have an uncertain setup in left field at the moment, and Nunez has experience there, though his glove hasn’t been rated well in the outfield. Either Hwang or Nunez could conceivably handle the previously mentioned super-utility role (as Nunez did for multiple years in Minnesota), so Hwang’s spring and early-season performance will be worth keeping an eye on.
Photo courtesy of Ilgan Sports.
NL East Notes: Volquez, Bruce, Braves, Nola
We at MLBTR would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to Marlins right-hander Edinson Volquez, whose 25-year-old brother, Brandy, was stabbed and killed earlier today in Volquez’s native Dominican Republic, per a report from Emmanuel Rosario of QuisqueyanoSports.com and this one from ESPN. A suspect is reportedly in custody. It’s been a rough couple of years for Volquez and his family, as Volquez’s father passed away just prior to his son’s start for the Royals in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series.
As we keep Volquez and his family in our thoughts, here are a few more notes from the NL East…
- Recent agreements by the Blue Jays (Jose Bautista) and Phillies (Michael Saunders) have caused the Mets‘ potential trade options for right fielder Jay Bruce to dwindle, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. (I’d also note the Orioles’ acquisition of Seth Smith in that list of deterrents to a Bruce swap.) The Giants and Rangers could be the only two remaining plausible landing spots for Bruce, Puma continues, noting that each team has had previous interest in Bruce. However, according to Puma, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has not yet shown a willingness to absorb any of Bruce’s $13MM salary in a trade, which only further exacerbates the difficulty of trading him in a market flooded with cheaper corner options. Puma speculates that the Mets may be forced to open the season with Bruce on the roster and look to move him early in the regular season, as they did with Ike Davis back in 2014.
- Braves general manager John Coppolella spoke to David Laurila of Fangraphs about his slew of trades this offseason, discussing topics such as longstanding interest in the prospects acquired by Atlanta, moving Alex Jackson back to catcher, and negotiating trades with Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto. Coppolella says that the Braves had a folder on left-hander Thomas Burrows, acquired in last week’s Mallex Smith trade, on their table on draft day before he was selected by the Mariners in the fourth round. “…[W]e literally had our pockets picked by Seattle,” Coppolella said. He also acknowledged interest in lefty Luiz Gohara dating back to his amateur days in 2012 before Gohara agreed to sign in Seattle. Of Dipoto, Coppolella offered high praise. “It’s worth noting that Jerry is extremely professional about returning calls and texts, open to ideas, and not afraid to make moves, particularly in terms of trading prospects,” he said. “It’s amazing how many conversations get shot down almost immediately, but Jerry will listen and engage.” I’d highly recommend a full read-through not just for Braves and Mariners fans but for any fans that want a bit of a behind-the-scenes look on the player movement.
- Right-hander Aaron Nola tells MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that he’s healthy and ready to go for Spring Training. The Phillies aren’t placing any restrictions on the former No. 7 overall pick, Zolecki adds, which is certainly good news for Phils fans after Nola’s season ended prematurely due to a “low grade” UCL and flexor strain. Nola, 23, was in the midst of an excellent year before his performance rapidly declined in early June. Through June 5, Nola had turned in a 2.65 ERA with 9.8 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent ground-ball rate in 78 innings (12 starts). Over his next (and final) eight starts, though, Nola logged a ghastly 9.82 ERA in just 33 innings. His walk rate more than doubled over those eight starts (3.8 BB/9), and Nola also hit five batters in that short time frame as well. If healthy in 2017, he figures to be a critical component to a Phillies rotation that’ll also feature Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, the returning Jeremy Hellickson and the newly acquired Clay Buchholz.
Latest On Jae-gyun Hwang
TODAY: Hwang turned down an offer from the KBO’s Lotte Giants, Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency reports (hat tip to MyKBO.net’s Dan Kurtz). Yoon-won Lee, the Giants’ general manager, said his club extended “a sizeable offer” to Hwang, but the infielder seems intent on testing himself in North America, even if it means earning less money. To this end, Hwang is reportedly open to signing a split contract rather than a straight big league deal.
TUESDAY: The market continues to develop for Korean third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (links to Twitter). He’s most interested at this point in securing an opportunity that comes with a 40-man roster spot, per the report.
Hwang, a 29-year-old free agent, was said recently to have drawn some attention from the Giants. The Brewers and Tigers are also among the team’s with some level of interest, according to Berardino. While the Twins have “checked in” on him, it seems there’s no present fit.
It could be, of course, that Hwang may still need to wait for other moves to shake out before he’s presented with a clear shot at the majors. A return to Korea can’t be ruled out, of course; indeed, a KBO club has made a four-year offer. While that will surely hold appeal, it seems Hwang is still hoping for a chance to play at the game’s highest level.
For San Francisco, the possibility of adding another corner outfielder or third baseman may make the team hesitant to commit. The Brewers already plugged in Travis Shaw at the hot corner, though presumably the right-handed-hitting Hwang could provide a complement (with both perhaps also factoring in at first base). As for the A.L. Central rivals in Detroit and Minnesota, third base appears to be set in both cases. But perhaps there’s some window for Hwang if he’s deemed capable of spending some time at second and one of those teams deal their incumbent options. Alternatively, perhaps, he could factor in the corner outfield.
It has been a tough market for third basemen, with Luis Valbuena and Trevor Plouffe among the players still looking for a job. There’s also a variety of veteran utility types with experience on the left side of the infield — including Aaron Hill, Kelly Johnson, and Stephen Drew — who have yet to sign.
Beyond the enticement of the unknown, Hwang has some possible advantages over some of those options. He won’t turn 30 until July and is coming off of a career year in the KBO. Finally combining both power and contact in a single season, Hwang popped 27 long balls with just 64 strikeouts over 522 plate appearances. He also swiped 24 bags, though he was cut down on ten other attempts.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League
Quite frankly, there were too many arbitration agreements today to reasonably stuff into one post. So here’s a rundown of the National League players that have avoided arbitration on smaller deals (American League deals here). You can see all of the arbitration “action” thus far in a sortable, filterable format by checking out MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker. All projections referenced in this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:
- Wily Peralta and Carlos Torres have agreed to one-year deals, according to the team’s Twitter account. Peralta will earn $4.275MM (compared to $4.4MM projection), per Heyman. Torres was projected to make $2MM, but will get slightly more at $2.175MM, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter).
- Reliever George Kontos gets $1.75MM from the Giants, Heyman tweets. He had projected at $1.7MM.
- The Diamondbacks also reached agreement with lefty Patrick Corbin, righty Randall Delgado, and catcher Chris Herrmann, per Jack Magruder of Fan Rag (links to Twitter). Delgado gets $1.775MM and Herrmann receives $937,500. As for Corbin, he’ll take home $3.95MM, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter), which falls a bit shy of his $4.2MM projection.
- Infielder Eduardo Nunez will receive $4.2MM from the Giants, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). San Francisco has also reached agreement with lefty Will Smith, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). He’ll receive $2.5MM, just over his $2.3MM projection, Heyman tweets.
- The Phillies settled at $4.2MM with righty Jeanmar Gomez, per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). He falls just a big shy of his $4.6MM projection.
- The Cardinals have announced arb deals with Trevor Rosenthal and Kevin Siegrist. Rosenthal receives $6.4MM, per Heyman (via Twitter), which is just $100K over his projection. Siegrist projected at $1.9MM, but his salary has yet to be reported.
- Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom have each avoided arbitration with the Mets. Harvey gets $5.125MM in his second arb year, per James Wagner of the New York Times (via Twitter). Meanwhile, deGrom will receive $4.05MM in his first trip through the arb process, per ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin (via Twitter). New York has also agreed with lefty Josh Edgin, Rubin tweets, though terms remain unreported.
Earlier Updates
Giants, Conor Gillaspie Avoid Arbitration
The Giants and third baseman Conor Gillaspie have agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). San Francisco’s latest postseason hero will make $1.4MM with the team in 2017, per Heyman. That figure checks in quite a bit north of his $900K projection.
Gillaspie, 29, returned to the Giants, the team that originally drafted him, on a minor league deal last February. He’d spent the bulk of the past three seasons with the White Sox, logging significant playing time as the team’s primary third baseman. He sputtered in 2015, however, and was ultimately designated for assignment before being traded to the Angels in exchange for cash. The Halos cut Gillaspie loose following that 2015 season, in which he posted a disheartening .228/.269/.359 batting line.
Gillaspie had a brief stint with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016 but quickly made his way to the big league roster, seeing his contract selected in late April. He’d go on to appear in 101 games for the Giants, primarily in a bench role, hitting .262/.307/.440 in 205 trips to the plate. Gillaspie went on to cement himself in Giants lore by crushing a three-run homer against Mets closer Jeurys Familia, which broke a scoreless tie in what had been a masterful pitching duel between Madison Bumgarner and Noah Syndergaard for much of the night. He turned in a valiant 4-for-4 effort in the roller-coaster game that proved to be the Giants’ final contest of the season — a 6-5 loss to the Cubs in Game 4 of the NLDS.
The Giants will be able to control Gillaspie through the 2018 season if they wish, as the Hendricks Sports client enters the 2017 campaign with just over four full seasons of big league service time under his belt. Gillaspie figures to enter the season in a reserve role, with Eduardo Nunez lined up to be the team’s primary third baseman.
NL West Notes: Turner, Rockies, Melancon, Jenkins
How intent was Justin Turner on re-signing with the Dodgers? According to ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required), Turner didn’t clean out his locker at the end of the season and continued to go through his winter workouts at Dodger Stadium. There was very little buzz on the rumor mill linking Turner to any club besides Los Angeles, and sure enough, the two sides continued their relationship when Turner inked a four-year, $64MM deal. Here’s more from around the National League West…
- The Rockies could still add a reliever this winter but their big transactions could already be over, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding opines (Twitter link). Since the Ian Desmond signing, Colorado has been rumored to be exploring such moves as signing Mark Trumbo and trading an outfielder, though Harding doesn’t see either scenario happening.
- The specifics of Mark Melancon‘s $20MM signing bonus with the Giants were broken down by FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link) earlier this week. The closer received $6MM on December 30 and will get another $6MM payment on January 15. The remaining $8MM will be deferred until after Melancon’s four-year deal is up; he will be paid $1MM every January 15 from 2021 through 2028.
- Thanks to a trade and two waiver claims, right-hander Tyrell Jenkins has been a member of four different organizations within the last month, a tumultuous stretch for any player, let alone a 24-year-old entering his second MLB season. Jenkins spoke to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about his busy winter, including how he was already feeling some hometown pressure during his brief stint with the Rangers (Jenkins hails from Henderson, Texas) and how his latest move (being claimed by the Padres) caught Jenkins by surprise, though he’s looking forward to getting an opportunity in San Diego.