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2016 Arbitration Filing Numbers

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MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker is the place to go to see the arbitration contracts agreed upon thus far, as well as the figures exchanged between teams and players that were not able to reach agreement before today’s noon deadline to swap salary positions. Matt Swartz’s arbitration projections are available here.

As MLBTR has previously explained, 156 players officially filed for arbitration (after some eligible and tendered players had already reached agreement). Of those, 34 players have yet to reach reported agreements with their clubs. Of course, those players can still reach agreements before their hearings (which will take place between February 1st and 21st). If the case goes to a hearing, the arbitrator must choose one side’s figures, rather than settling on a midpoint.

We’ve gathered the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining — those where the player files for at least $4.5MM — in this post, but you can find them all in the tracker (with two as-yet-unreported exceptions).

Diamondbacks To Acquire Cody Hall

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal to acquire righty Cody Hall from the Giants, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Hall was designated for assignment recently.

Hall, 28, reached the majors last year with San Francisco, though he only worked 8 1/3 innings. He entered the year as a top-twenty organization prospect, per Baseball America, after averaging double-digit strikeout rates in his minor league career. Hall spent most of 2015 at Triple-A — his first attempt at that level — and posted a 3.46 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.

Arizona could allow Hall an opportunity to compete for one of its final pen slots, though perhaps the likelier scenario is that he ends up back in the minors as a depth piece. Hall was only added to the 40-man last winter, so he has options remaining.

Monte Irvin Passes Away At 96

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Hall of Famer Monte Irvin has passed away at 96 years of age, according to a remembrance posted on the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s website. MLBTR joins those around the league in celebrating Irvin’s long and prosperous life, and offering its condolences to his loved ones.

Irvin was an iconic ballplayer who excelled in both the Negro Legaues and the major leagues. The World War II veteran later worked as a scout, spent time in the commissioner’s office, and grew to become a beloved ambassador of the game for many decades after his playing career ended.

A standout performer with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League, Irvin drew consideration to become the player to break the color barrier and at one point seemed lined up to do just that. While that honor went to Jackie Robinson, it was Irvin (among others) who carried the legacy forward after Robinson’s untimely death.

Irvin ultimately joined the New York Giants as an outfielder before his age-30 season. He played for eight years in the majors, compiling a .293/.383/.475 batting line and swatting 99 home runs. As good as those statistics were, of course, they only hinted at what Irvin might have done had he spent his youth and prime at the big league level.

Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson offered some compelling words on Irvin:

“Monte Irvin’s affable demeanor, strong constitution and coolness under pressure helped guide baseball through desegregation and set a standard for American culture. His abilities on the field as the consummate teammate are undeniable, as evidenced by World Series titles he contributed to in both the Negro and Major leagues, and a richly-deserved plaque in Cooperstown. He was on the original committee that elected Negro Leagues stars to the Hall of Fame, something for which the Museum will always be grateful.”

If you’re interested in getting a sense of Irvin’s personality and reading up on some of his stories from the wondrous period in which he played, be sure to give a read to this piece from MLB.com’s Richard Justice. Be sure also to click on the video link at the Hall of Fame page linked above, which features a nice interview with Irvin. (It includes some interesting thoughts on the modern game that are, perhaps, even more interesting when you realize the interview was conducted nearly twenty years ago.)

Giants Designate Cody Hall For Assignment

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The Giants have designated right-hander Cody Hall for assignment, per MLB.com’s Chris Haft (Twitter link).  The move creates a roster spot for the newly-signed Denard Span.

Hall, who just turned 28 earlier this week, made his Major League debut in 2015, posting a 6.48 ERA over 8 1/3 relief innings for San Francisco.  Hall was a 19th-round draft pick for the Giants in 2011, and he’s pitched exclusively as a reliever over the course of his pro career.  In 254 1/3 minor league frames, Hall has a 2.62 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 3.26 K/BB rate.  Baseball America ranked Hall as the Giants’ 19th-best prospect prior to the 2015 season, although this past year wasn’t his best.  Hall worked to a 3.46 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level.  He also made his big league debut, tossing 8 1/3 innings for the Giants but yielding six runs on 10 hits and four walks for a 6.48 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in that brief sample.

Hall joins five other players in DFA limbo according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker.

Brisbee On Giants' Offseason Additions

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Olney On Piazza, Upton, Davis, Bastardo, Giants

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Mike Piazza’s induction into the Hall of Fame could help the cases for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, writes Buster Olney of ESPN (Insider Only). With Piazza increasing from 57.8 percent to 83 percent of the vote in just four years, Olney figures that writers will need to consider the hypocrisy of their voting behavior. While Piazza (and fellow candidate Jeff Bagwell) are suspected by some writers of having used PEDs, Clemens and Bonds are known users. In my opinion, that will supply all the rationalization needed by intransigent writers.

On to current baseball news:

  • The Orioles are the beneficiaries of the Denard Span signing. As one of the few teams with money and a pressing need in the outfield, they have leverage in talks with players like Justin Upton. Olney is not the first to wonder if Upton would sign a pillow contract to play with the Orioles. The Rangers are another team interested in Upton on a one-year contract.
  • While Baltimore may eventually sign Chris Davis, some in the organization would like to reduce their seven-year, $150MM offer or simply move on to other players. To me, it seems as though Davis is playing a dangerous game of chicken. However, agent Scott Boras has successful navigated similar scenarios. One notable example is the Cardinals’ signing of Matt Holliday to a seven-year, $120MM deal prior to the 2010 season.
  • In further Baltimore-related news, the club has “a lot of interest” in southpaw reliever Antonio Bastardo. He’s coming off a successful campaign with the Pirates. He posted a 2.98 ERA, 10.05 K/9 and 4.08 BB/9 in 57 innings – numbers similar to his career marks. As a fly ball pitcher, Bastardo may not be the best fit for the mostly small ball parks of the AL East. However, Bastardo did have success preventing home runs in Citizen’s Bank Park for most of his career. If the O’s inked Bastardo, they would probably trade fellow lefty Brian Matusz.
  • The Giants would benefit from more roster depth, but they won’t use the free agent market to build it. Olney figures the club will explore trades for additional personnel.

Market Notes: Davis, Parra, Angels, Span

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Scott Boras is “pushing to create options” for his power-hitting client, Chris Davis, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). Per Olney, Boras has been “selling” teams on Davis’s ability to be an everyday corner outfielder as well as a first baseman. We’ve heard that suggestion previously, of course — including from Boras himself — but it’s certainly interesting to hear that the super-agent is still pressing the concept this late in the offseason.

Here’s more on the free agent market:

  • We’ve heard that the Rockies have continued interest in Gerardo Parra, with Jon Heyman saying yesterday that the team is pushing to add him. Indeed, says Chris Cotillo of SB Nation, Colorado is aggressively pursuing the veteran outfielder. (Twitter links.) The Nationals and Angels are among the other teams that are at least dabbling in Parra’s market, he adds. Obviously, a signing by Colorado would be doubly interesting, as it could suggest that the team is lining up a deal involving one of its incumbents.
  • Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, on the other hand, hears that the Angels are “still not really involved” in the top of the free agent outfield market. (Twitter link.) That includes Parra as well as players like Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, and Dexter Fowler. Fletcher adds that he sees a trade for a lower-cost option, such as Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies, to be a more realistic outcome.
  • Denard Span said in his introductory press conference today that he feels good and is well on track to be at full speed this spring, as CSN Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic reports. He chose San Francisco, per Boras (who is also his agent), because the team met his three-year ask and were “a priority because of the fit for them and the fit for Denard.” Club CEO Larry Baer, meanwhile, said that “Denard has been on our radar for a long time.“
  • Span drew real interest from the Orioles, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, but Baltimore was never going to guarantee more than a single season. Unsurprisingly, the O’s weren’t alone in that regard, as Boras says that fully eleven teams had interest in Span on a one-year arrangement, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reports.

Giants Sign Denard Span

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The Giants have announced the signing of free agent outfielder Denard Span to a three-year contract. He’ll reportedly receive a $31MM guarantee in the deal, which includes a fourth-year mutual option at $12MM with a $4MM buyout. After taking home a $6MM signing bonus and a $3MM salary for 2016, Span will earn two consecutive $9MM annual payouts.

Span, who turns 32 in February, can also earn incentives of up to $5MM. He can tack $1MM onto his salary in 2016, and up to $2MM apiece in the following two years, by hitting plate appearance thresholds that culminate at 525 turns at bat annually. Span is a client of the Boras Corporation.

Jun 30, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder <a rel=

With the move, San Francisco is set to add yet another significant free agent after previously inking Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. The first two signings upgraded the rotation, of course, while the move to bring on Span will bolster an outfield corps that had looked in need of an addition. While the club previously chased Ben Zobrist, who might have provided some infield depth as well as a regular option in left, it seems plausible to think that Span’s signing will wrap up the club’s major offseason business.

It’s unclear at present what precise role Span will play. He’s spent the bulk of his time in center, but could also be an option in left. Angel Pagan has been the team’s regular option up the middle in recent years, but he (like Span) has dealt with quite a few injuries. And Gregor Blanco is also capable of playing there.

All three of those players ought to cover things in center and left, with Hunter Pence likely getting the bulk of the action in right. But he, too, could also be spelled at times against right-handed pitching. While Pagan is a switch-hitter, he’s performed better from the left side over his career. (The same holds true, unsurprisingly, for the left-handed-hitting Span and Blanco, though none have dramatic platoon splits.)

The overall mix has its share of upside but also comes with some risk. All three of the returning players missed time last year, and Span has battled through core muscle and hip surgeries in the last year. It’s notable, too, that Span is the youngest of the bunch. But the presence of a high-quality fourth outfielder in Blanco, as well as some younger options in the system, certainly helps.

In Span, the Giants will get one of the best contact hitters in all of baseball. Over the last three years, Span ranks second — behind Michael Brantley and in front of just-departed Giants left fielder Nori Aoki — in overall contact rate.

And that approach has translated into results. While he doesn’t leave the yard very often, Span delivers plenty of extra-base hits with his line-drive and ground-ball heavy stroke. Since joining the Nationals via trade before the 2013 season, he has posted a sturdy .292/.345/.404 batting line, good for a 109 wRC+. And those numbers trended up over his time in D.C.

Of course, the fleet-footed Span also contributes quite a bit on the bases. He’s a significant stolen base threat — his 62 steals dating to the start of 2013 rank 22nd in baseball — but the value goes beyond that as well. Span has received positive marks from Fangraphs’ BsR metric in every season of his career, making him one of the game’s thirty best overall runners in that time frame.

Defensively, Span is a tough player to value. Metrics once valued him as a well-above-average center fielder. But the more recent results suggest that his range has declined. Last year, UZR hit Span with his worst-ever rating and DRS charged him with a rather remarkable -10 defensive runs saved over just 523 innings in the field.

The contract falls somewhat shy of the three-year, $39MM pact predicted by MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes at the outset of the winter, but Span’s market was always tough to call given that he ended the season on the DL. If nothing else, the fact that he reached a third guaranteed year shows that there’s still plenty of demand on the market.

Jon Heyman first reported that a deal was close, via Twitter, and added details on the incentives clause (on Twitter), as did Bob Nightengale of USA Today (in a tweet). Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweeted the guarantee. Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News first noted that there were incentives (Twitter link). Baggarly (on Twitter) and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (in a tweet) had details of the mutual option. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports had the full breakdown of the deal on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NL West Notes: Span, Giants, Maeda, Parra, Rea

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The Giants expect to install Denard Span in center field and at the top of the lineup, pushing Angel Pagan to left, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes, Having added Span, moreover, San Francisco appears not to be involved in the rest of the outfield market, according to Baggarly (via Twitter). Indeed, it’s not even clear that the team was looking elsewhere recently. Though Jon Morosi of FOX Sports had tweeted yesterday that the club was interested in Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes, Bob Nightengale of USA Today said after the Span signing (via Twitter) that the organization “never considered” a long-term arrangement with either player before locking up Span.

Here’s more from the NL West:

  • While all involved acknowledged that the MRI results led to Kenta Maeda signing a lighter-than-expected deal with the Dodgers, club president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says that the righty is “totally asymptomatic,” as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). The concerning results were not discovered during a team physical after a deal, Shaikin adds, but were apparent from the medicals submitted by Maeda to all MLB teams — which may explain why his market was so quiet.
  • The Rockies are “making a push” for free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter, though they aren’t alone. He previously noted Colorado’s interest, which would seem to make the most sense if the club is prepared to ship out one of its current starting outfielders.
  • Padres righty Colin Rea moved quickly to reach the majors last year, and MLB.com’s Corey Brock writes that he’s looking forward to competing for a rotation spot this spring. Rea, 25, did end up being shutdown with elbow/forearm soreness, though he says that was precautionary.

Quick Hits: Buehrle, Rodney, Nationals, Rangers, White Sox, Uggla

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Free agent left-hander Mark Buehrle is not planning on playing in 2016 at this time, though the veteran isn’t yet prepared to announce his retirement from baseball, either, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). The soon-to-be 37-year-old’s future has been a debated topic in the past, as some reports indicated that he was planning to retire before Buehrle himself told ESPN Chicago’s Doug Padilla back in October that he’d yet to make a decision on the matter. Another report indicated that if Buehrle were to pitch in 2016, it’d most likely happen if St. Louis showed interest in the Missouri native. Buehrle’s 2015 season wasn’t as strong as his 2014 season, but he nonetheless recorded a solid 3.81 ERA across 198 2/3 innings. That final innings tally left him just four outs shy of recording his remarkable 15th consecutive season of 200+ innings.

A few more notes from around the league…

  • Cotillo also tweets that right-hander Fernando Rodney is in “active talks” with multiple clubs, noting that the Padres, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Cubs are all in the mix at this time. San Diego, Chicago and Toronto have previously been linked to Rodney, though Arizona would seem to represent a fairly new entrant into his market. Rodney had a dreadful season with the Mariners in 2015 but turned it around following a trade to the Cubs, yielding just one earned run in 12 innings with a 15-to-4 K/BB ratio down the stretch (Rodney did, however, also plunk three batters in his brief Cubs tenure).
  • We’ve heard about the Nationals’ interest in Gerardo Parra before, and James Wagner of the Washington Post writes that it’s still alive. GM Mike Rizzo was Arizona’s scouting director when the club signed Parra, and the Nats also tried to acquire him from the Brewers this summer, Wagner reminds. Wagner notes that Parra’s so-so OBP and declining defensive ratings make him a questionable fit in Washington, but the team’s goal remains adding some outfield depth to protect against injuries to Jayson Werth and uncertainty surrounding the talented but raw Michael A. Taylor. Wagner opines that from a purely speculative standpoint, Shane Victorino makes some sense for the Nationals as a player who can cover the outfield corners and play center in a pinch if need be.
  • Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that Rangers fans shouldn’t expect to see Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes or Yovani Gallardo in a Rangers uniform next season, as the team doesn’t have the payroll capacity to add any of the three. A trade for Marcell Ozuna is also unlikely, per Wilson, though the Rangers do still hope to add some rotation depth before the offseason is up. GM Jon Daniels tells Wilson that there are still some affordable names on the open market that have piqued the Rangers’ interest. Wilson also notes that Colby Lewis’ physical — the final step before his reported one-year, $6MM contract becomes official — is slated for next Monday.
  • The White Sox aren’t in a rush to add a big-ticket outfielder to the mix, writes MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. The Sox “seem content to wait and ensure that any free-agent deal would fit their need and parameters,” he continues, writing that it’s likely that Upton and Cespedes will eventually be offered more years and dollars than the ChiSox care to place on the table.
  • Dan Uggla has spoken to three or four teams that are eyeing infield depth, Cotillo tweets. Uggla is set to turn 36 this March and is coming off a season in which he batted just .183/.298/.300 in 141 plate appearances with the Nationals, so any contract to which he agrees figures to be of the minor league variety.
  • Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic spoke to executives and scouts from each league to ask which NL West division rival has the better pitching staff heading into the 2016 season: the D-backs or the Giants. While the officials to whom Buchanan spoke seemed to agree that, in a vacuum, the D-backs made more impactful acquisitions this offseason (referring to Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller in comparison to Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija), when factoring in the cost of said acquisitions, there’s an argument to be made for the Giants’ side of the equation. Buchanan also polled officials on which club’s top three starters were more impressive, adding lefties Patrick Corbin and Madison Bumgarner to the mix, which generated mixed responses.
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