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Mariners Sign Steve Cishek

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The Mariners’ bullpen overhaul continued on Monday, as the team announced, via press release, that it has signed free-agent reliever Steve Cishek to a two-year deal. Cishek, who will serve as the club’s closer, is reportedly guaranteed $10MM over the two years — $4MM in 2016 and $6MM in 2017. He can also earn up to $3.5MM in each season for games finished.

Steve Cishek

Cishek, a client of Jet Sports Management, will reportedly earn $250K for 25 and 30 games finished, and he’ll take home $500K for reaching 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 games finished in each year of the deal. Typically, only about five relievers per season finish 60 games, so it will be a stretch for Cishek to earn the full $7MM incentive over two years. Cishek finished 62 games in 2013 and 55 games in 2014.

GM Jerry Dipoto teased the addition on 710 ESPN Seattle a night before the agreement was reported, saying he expected to make a bullpen addition before the end of the weekend. In today’s press release, Dipoto spoke highly of his new right-hander: “Steve gives us a proven bullpen presence with significant experience closing games. He’s a character guy who adds a new angle and fresh look to our pen.”

Cishek, 29, was non-tendered by the Cardinals earlier in the offseason. MLBTR projected a $7.1MM salary via the arbitration process. Of note, Cishek was arbitration eligible for two more seasons. The two-year contract will guarantee those seasons while granting the Mariners some protection if he doesn’t stick in the ninth inning.

Over parts of six seasons, the former Marlins closer has a 2.82 ERA, 9.55 K/9, 3.42 BB/9 and 95 saves in 313 innings. He experienced a shaky 2015 split between Miami and St. Louis. While with the Marlins, he lost his ninth inning duties early in the year to A.J. Ramos. In 32 innings, Cishek struggled with a 4.50 ERA, 7.88 K/9, 3.94 BB/9, and an uncharacteristically high .350 BABIP. He also posted a career low 90.6 mph fastball.

The Cardinals acquired Cishek in late July for right-handed pitcher Kyle Barraclough. While his 2.31 ERA through 23 innings was encouraging, he lost control of the strike zone (5.01 BB/9). ERA estimators like SIERA (4.43) and xFIP (4.55) suggest he experienced some good fortune in St. Louis.

With the signing, Seattle is betting that Cishek can recover the form that made him one of the best closers in the league from 2013 through 2014. Over those two seasons, Cishek was among the 10 best relievers in baseball with 3.5 WAR and a 2.35 FIP.

Dipoto has been busy this offseason. As ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick notes (tweet), Dipoto has now completed nine trades, eight signings, and five waiver claims. The bullpen in particular has undergone a dramatic restructuring. Former temporary closers Tom Wilhelmsen, Carson Smith, and Danny Farquhar were all sent packing. To replace them, Dipoto acquired Cishek, Joaquin Benoit, Evan Scribner, and Justin De Fratus.

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick first reported the agreement. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link) and FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported the financial terms (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported the incentives structure (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Brewers Scouring Market For First Basemen

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The Brewers are taking a wide-angled approach to finding a first baseman, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. Among the potential fits are Pedro Alvarez, Ike Davis, Steve Pearce, Chris Carter, and Daniel Nava. One notable name missing from the report is veteran Justin Morneau, although he may still be under consideration.

Milwaukee traded first baseman Adam Lind to the Mariners last week for three minor league pitchers. Lind, a 32-year-old left-handed platoon bat, had just one year of club control remaining. Since he didn’t fit into the club’s long term plans, he was deemed expendable. While some of the names listed above represent a definite downgrade to Lind, the Brewers may be best served by targeting a player they can trade at the deadline.

Alvarez, Carter, and Morneau strike me as the most likely to return value down the road. Miller Park is a home run friendly stadium which should benefit all three sluggers. Alvarez and Carter generally post hefty home run totals combined with a poor batting average. Morneau is a different sort of hitter with high averages and moderate power. Whereas both Alvarez and Carter are entering their age 29 seasons, Morneau will turn 35 next May and has battled serious injuries in recent years.

Nothing is preventing the club from signing two players from this list. In particular, Pearce makes sense as a platoon option for Alvarez. The former Oriole offers some defensive versatility. He has experience in the outfield and even managed to play a decent second base in a tiny sample last season. Similarly, Nava, a switch-hitter, could provide some depth in the outfield while platooning with Carter. Nava has been much better against right-handed pitching throughout his career.

Mariners, Ed Lucas Agree To Minors Deal

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The Mariners have agreed to terms with utilityman Ed Lucas on a minor league deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Lucas, 34 in May, spent the 2015 season with the Rangers Triple-A affiliate. He posted a robust .316/.389/.420 line over 442 plate appearances.

Lucas is capable of manning all four infield positions, and he even has some experience in the outfield. Rosenthal views Lucas as a possible platoon candidate with first baseman Adam Lind, although I see that as a stretch. Lucas’ best attribute is defensive versatility.

In 573 major league plate appearances, he’s just a .243/.294/.330 hitter. He does have a .330/.360/.469 line against left-handed pitching, but that’s in only 179 plate appearances. It’s also buoyed by a .374 BABIP.

Lucas joins Luis Sardinas and Chris Taylor as potential utility infielders for the Mariners. Both Sardinas and Taylor seemingly have the inside track for a major league role due to youth and a place on the 40-man roster. As such, Lucas is likely to serve as depth at the Triple-A level.

Mariners Acquire Ryne Harper To Complete Jose Ramirez Trade

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The Mariners have announced the acquisition of right-handed pitcher Ryne Harper from the Braves. He is the player to be named later in last week’s Jose Ramirez trade. Ramirez was dealt in part to make room on the 40-man and active rosters since he is out of options.

In Harper, Seattle acquires a 26-year-old reliever who has spent a large chunk of his professional career at Double-A. Over the last three seasons with the Braves’ Double-A affiliate, he’s posted a 2.17 ERA, with 10.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 165 innings. His most recent campaign included similar numbers. Scouting reports describe him as a fastball-slider reliever with a 92 mph fastball.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12-11-15

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The 2015 Winter Meetings are officially in the books. As the baseball world winds back down, here are some of the recent minor transactions from around the game…

  • The Rangers announced a pair of minor moves yesterday: the re-signing of outfielder James Jones to a minor league deal and the trade of left-hander Will Lamb to the White Sox in exchange for right-hander Myles Jaye. Texas somewhat surprisingly non-tendered Jones earlier this month not long after acquiring him as part of the Leonys Martin trade, but he’ll return to the Rangers, who freed up a 40-man roster spot with the sequence. Jones, a fleet-footed 27-year-old center fielder, saw quite a bit of action with the 2014 Mariners but just 31 plate appearances in 2015. He’s a career .238/.268/.296 hitter in 359 plate appearances, though he boasts an impressive 28 steals (in 30 tries) in that small sample of PAs. Jones is a .278/.358/.390 hitter in an even 500 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • As for the trade, the Rangers pick up a soon-to-be 24-year-old in Jaye, who started 26 games for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate in 2015 and posted a 3.29 ERA with a 104-to-47 K/BB ratio in 147 2/3 innings. He rated as Chicago’s No. 23 prospect following the 2013 season, per Baseball America, but fell shy of their Top 30 last winter. In exchange, they’ll part with a 24-year-old lefty, Lamb, that pitched to a 4.42 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in 57 innings of relief work between Double-A and Triple-A last season. Lamb held lefties to a .210/.319/.247 batting line in the minors last year.
  • MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets that the Angels have inked outfielder Nick Buss to a minor league deal. The 28-year-old Buss batted .296/.352/.408 in 322 plate appearances with the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015. Buss received a brief big league look with the A’s in 2013 but hasn’t returned to the Majors since.
  • Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reported a slew of minor moves on Twitter yesterday, including the White Sox’ signings of left-hander/former top prospect Matt Purke and shortstop Andy Parrino; the Padres’ signings of veteran right-hander Phil Humber and lefty reliever Ryan Buchter; and the re-signings of Rosell Herrera and Frank Garces by the Rockies, and Padres, respectively.

Law On Walker, Giles, Lind Trades

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Here are a few of Keith Law of ESPN’s takes on some of Wednesday’s key transactions. Law’s articles are Insider-only and contain significantly more detail that we’ll present here. We highly recommend subscribing.

  • The trade for Neil Walker was a good one for the Mets, although Law is puzzled by the team’s addition of Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera’s deal would make sense if he were a second baseman, but with Walker in the fold, Cabrera will play shortstop, a position he can no longer play well. The Walker trade reflects the Mets’ skepticism that Dilson Herrera can take over second base next season, but Walker is a consistently solid player, and the Mets only gave up Jon Niese, who didn’t figure to play an important role for them going forward. Niese will allow the Pirates to move top prospect Tyler Glasnow along slowly, although Law notes that Niese’s lack of strikeout ability makes him a back-end starter and writes that Niese will have to improve next season to justify the Bucs picking up the first of his two options.
  • In Ken Giles, the Astros got a strikeout reliever who will be a good addition to a bullpen that did register enough Ks in 2015, Law writes. They’ll also get five years of control, making Giles a valuable asset. The Phillies, however, did get plenty in return, including Vincent Velasquez, who Law thinks can stick as a starter, and Brett Oberholtzer, a back-of-the-rotation lefty who can soak up innings as the Phillies continue their rebuild.
  • Adam Lind isn’t much of a defensive first baseman, Law writes, but for the Mariners, he’s still an upgrade over the recently traded Mark Trumbo. Platooning the left-handed Lind with the right-handed Jesus Montero would be a good plan, Law suggests. The Brewers, meanwhile, got three young pitchers who are possible future relievers. None of them are outstanding talents, but Milwaukee did well to get something in return for a player they didn’t really need in 2016.

Relief Notes: Rodney, Sipp, Astros, Twins, Soriano

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Here are a few notes on teams’ searches for bullpen help.

  • The Padres are trying to lure Fernando Rodney with an incentive-based deal, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter). The Cubs and other teams are also possibilities for Rodney. The 38-year-old former closer posted a 4.74 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 overall in a tough season in 2015, although he fared well after a late-August trade from Seattle to Chicago.
  • GM Jerry Dipoto says the Mariners are likely to add at least one big-league free agent reliever, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets.
  • The Astros have already landed Ken Giles, but they aren’t done making moves to improve their bullpen, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Lefty free agent Tony Sipp, who posted a 1.99 ERA, 10.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in a terrific season for Houston in 2015, remains on the Astros’ radar.
  • The Twins are looking for a lefty reliever, but are unlikely to pursue Sipp or Antonio Bastardo, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets. That means they could turn to the trade market. Twins exec Terry Ryan says he would prefer to acquire a lefty capable of working multiple innings and is not interested in a LOOGY, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press notes (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees are among the teams that have been in touch with Rafael Soriano’s representation, Heyman tweets. The 35-year-old Soriano missed most of the 2015 season, not signing until June and then dealing with shoulder troubles, and the Cubs released him in early September. Prior to that, however, he had two relatively successful seasons as the Nationals’ closer and was terrific in ninth-inning work for the Yankees in 2012.

Mariners Designate Andy Wilkins

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The Mariners have designated first baseman Andy Wilkins for assignment, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports on Twitter. His roster spot will go to just-acquired first baseman Adam Lind.

Wilkins was recently claimed off waivers, but the left-handed hitter was not needed after the acquisition of Lind. He’s produced big numbers at Triple-A but has yet to receive any substantial playing time in the majors.

Mariners Acquire Adam Lind

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Another day, another trade for Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto. The Mariners and Brewers have announced a trade sending first baseman Adam Lind to Seattle in exchange for minor league right-handers Carlos Herrera, Freddy Peralta and Daniel Missaki.

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Following the trades of Mark Trumbo and Logan Morrison, the Mariners had a clear need for an upgrade at first base, and Lind should fill that void nicely. The 32-year-old is coming off a strong season with the Brewers in which he batted .277/.360/.460 with 20 home runs in 572 trips to the plate. Milwaukee made the easy call to exercise his $8MM club option this offseason, though the expectation has long been that the rebuilding Brewers would look to trade the final year of club control over Lind, who will be a free agent next winter.

That, of course, makes Lind a short-term upgrade for the Mariners, who will probably also look to add a platoon partner for him (although an in-house option like Jesus Montero could function well in that capacity). Lind batted just .221/.277/.298 against left-handed pitching in 2015 and was limited to 112 plate appearances against same-handed pitching, as his troubles in that regard are a known factor in his game. In parts of 10 seasons at the Major League level, Lind has batted just .213/.259/.327 against lefties. On the flip-side of that ugly split, however, is an impressive .293/.354/.509 batting line against right-handed pitching. Assuming a strict platoon deployment, Lind figures to give the Mariners a nice boost in on-base percentage at first base, and one can imagine a platoon of him and a righty with some notable pop — Mike Napoli, for instance, is a speculative fit with the Mariners — approximating or exceeding the power output that Trumbo would have delivered in a full-time capacity.

The acquisition gives new Mariners manager Scott Servais the option to run out a lineup that features Lind, Robinson Cano, Ketel Marte, Kyle Seager, Seth Smith, Leonys Martin and Nori Aoki against right-handed pitchers. Servais will have the option to deploy Montero (or a yet-unsigned platoon partner for Lind) and Franklin Gutierrez against left-handed pitching. The Mariners, of course, already have one of the game’s more potent right-handed bats in the form of Nelson Cruz.

The addition of Lind continues what has been one of the most active offseasons for any GM in recent memory, as Jerry Dipoto has wildly reshaped the Seattle roster in his first three months on the job. In addition to trading Trumbo and Morrison, Dipoto has also shipped out Brad Miller, Danny Farquhar, Tom Wilhelmsen, Carson Smith and multiple prospects in order to bring in Martin, Nate Karns, Wade Miley, Joaquin Benoit, Steve Clevenger, Anthony Bass, Luis Sardinas and Evan Scribner. Additionally, he’s re-signed Gutierrez and signed other free agents such as Aoki, Chris Iannetta and Justin De Fratus as he looks to reshape a roster that won a disappointing 76 games in 2015.

As for the Brewers, they’ll receive a trio of young arms that didn’t rank in the Mariners’ top 30 prospect on MLB.com’s end-of-season rankings, although each is exceptionally young and has a good bit of time to rise up the prospect ranks in Milwaukee.

Peralta, 19, did rank as Seattle’s No. 24 prospect in the eyes of Baseball America one winter ago. He spent his second season with the team’s Rookie-level affiliate in Arizona this season, and while he logged an uninspiring 4.11 ERA in 57 innings, he also posted an electric 67-to-8 K/BB ratio while spending most of his time (nine of 11 appearances) as a starting pitcher.

Seattle only signed Herrera, 18, in July of 2014. BA’s Ben Badler wrote at the time that Herrera’s fastball was topping out at 90 mph as a 16-year-old, but his projectable 6’3″, 170-pound frame gave reason to believe that more velocity would come as he filled out. He also noted that Herrera had a 72-74 mph curve ball in his arsenal. Herrera debuted in the Dominican Summer League this past season, pitching to a 3.26 ERA with 73 strikeouts against just 13 walks in 80 innings.

Missaki, 19, is a Brazilian-born right-hander who, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets, underwent Tommy John surgery back in May. Despite his young age, Missaki opened the season in the Class-A Midwest League and looked impressive in six starts, pitching to a 3.41 ERA with a 34-to-5 K/BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings against markedly older competition. He’ll presumably be ready to take the mound this summer and could see some more action at Class-A upon a return to health.

The three prospects acquired here demonstrate that new Brewers GM David Stearns is committed to restocking the farm and won’t be shy about moving Major League assets for players that are years away from contributing in the Majors. Each of the pitchers acquired has displayed impressive control for a young pitcher, which could be a point of emphasis in future trades as the Brewers look to return to prominence in an absolutely stacked National League Central Division.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports initially reported that the Mariners were pursuing Lind and making progress in talks. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the deal was in place (Twitter link). Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM said the Brewers would get three minor leaguers (links to Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted that all three were pitchers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mariners Close To Acquiring Adam Lind

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WEDNESDAY, 8:16am: Zunino is not in the potential deal involving Lind, Heyman tweets.

7:19am: Catcher Mike Zunino’s name also has been a part of trade discussions, although it’s unknown whether he’s involved in the deal, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Zunino’s inclusion might have broader implications for the Brewers, who also could conceivably trade catcher Jonathan Lucroy at some point. The Brewers have reportedly been listening to trade offers for Lucroy.

6:14am: The Mariners are “close” to acquiring Lind, Rosenthal tweets. Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel, meanwhile, writes that there’s speculation that 3B/1B D.J. Peterson could be part of the Brewers’ return. Peterson, the 12th overall pick in the 2013 draft, hit well in the low minors but struggled last season at Double-A Jackson, batting .223/.290/.346 in 393 plate appearances there.

12:45am: The Brewers and Mariners have made “very substantial progress” on a deal, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.

MONDAY 5:29pm: Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto acknowledged that he’s talked to the Brewers and several other teams about possible first base acquisitions, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets.

2:22pm: The Mariners, who minutes ago reportedly agreed to acquire Wade Miley from the Red Sox, are also in pursuit of Brewers first baseman Adam Lind, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Seattle has a need at first base after trading both Mark Trumbo and Logan Morrison already this offseason.

Lind, 32, batted .277/.360/.460 for the Brewers in 2015 and would give the Mariners a potent bat to deploy against right-handed pitching. He’s a lifetime .293/.354/.509 hitter against righties and batted .291/.380/.503 against them in 2015. Lind is the quintessential platoon player, having logged just 112 PAs against lefties in 2015 and owning a career .213/.259/.327 batting line against southpaws. The Mariners have a potential in-house option to handle a platoon in the form of Jesus Montero, or the team could look to bring in a free-agent platoon partner such as Mike Napoli.

The Brewers exercised a one-year, $8MM club option on Lind this offseason on the heels of his solid 2015 season. He’ll be a free agent next winter.

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