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Rangers Avoid Arbitration With Mitch Moreland

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The Rangers have agreed to a deal with first baseman Mitch Moreland to avoid arbitration, as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com first reported on Twitter. He’ll earn $5.7MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility.

With a hearing looming early today, the sides were apparently able to strike a last-minute arrangement. Moreland and his reps at RMG Baseball had filed at $6MM, with the team countering at just $4.675MM.

The ultimate settlement value, then, was well above the midpoint — an unusually big win for either side, especially a player. It comes in just above the $5.6MM salary projected by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz heading into the season.

Moreland, 30, earned just $2.95MM last year after a tough 2014, but set himself up for a fruitful final pass through the arb process with a strong 2015 season. Over 515 plate appearances on the year, Moreland carried a .278/.330/.482 slash and added 23 long balls.

That’s not exactly setting the world on fire for a defensively-limited player, but it did make him a sturdy regular. With slightly above-average ratings at first base added to the equation, Moreland landed right at 2 WAR for the year.

With his final year’s contract on the books, Moreland will be playing for free agency. Barring a breakout of some kind, he has his limitations. He carries rather significant platoon splits and would be best deployed with a productive bench piece around to step in against southpaws. And Moreland’s strong power is not quite matched in the on-base department. When his BABIP fell to .255 in 2013, he was a below-average overall performer (95 wRC+) despite near-identical power output to last year’s effort (23 home runs, .206 ISO).

That’s not to say he won’t hold his share of open-market appeal, of course, as he once again showed he can be good overall contributor at the dish and does have a solid glove at first. Most importantly, he made 2014 — when his power fell precipitously and he dealt with ankle issues — seem like an outlier.

West Notes: Segura, Lee, Rangers, Angels

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FOX’s Ken Rosenthal writes that a fresh start with the D-backs might do Jean Segura some good. While it’s well known that Segura played through a devastating personal tragedy in 2014 — the unexpected death of his infant son — Rosenthal notes that other issues were also likely weighing on Segura’s mind throughout his tenure with the Brewers. Namely, Segura rejected a seven-year, $40MM contract extension with an option for an eighth season attached to it in the spring of 2014, according to Rosenthal. The decision was driven in part by the fact that Andrelton Simmons, a fellow shortstop in the same service class, had recently signed a seven-year, $58MM contract extension with the Braves. Former Brewers manager Ron Roenicke tells Rosenthal that the contract situation weighed on Segura. “We talked a little about the contract,” said Roenicke. “He told me it was bothering him. After that, (he lost) his son and the rest of the year was really rough for him.” Roenicke is a Segura backer and believes he can succeed, but at this point, it’s worth noting that Segura simply hasn’t hit since June of 2013. After a torrid two-month stretch to open his first full season in Milwaukee, Segura has batted a collective .254/.287/.337 in 1540 plate appearances. Perhaps a change of scenery will do him some good, but that level of production isn’t any better than what Nick Ahmed brings to the table, and Ahmed rated as one of baseball’s premier defenders in 2015.

Here’s more from the game’s Western divisions…

  • Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto tells Jim Bowden of ESPN (link) that new addition Dae-ho Lee, who signed a minor league deal with the team earlier today, will compete to be Adam Lind’s platoon partner at first base. (Jesus Montero and Gaby Sanchez are also in that mix.) Notably, Dipoto tells Bowden that Lee, who was listed at 6’4″ and 286 pounds last season in Japan, is down about 45 pounds. Stories of players being in good shape certainly abound this time of year, but size was a question among some pundits when writing about Lee. Bowden offers a scouting report based on conversations he’s had, writing that Lee has good hands at first but below average range. At the plate, he can draw walks and has power to right-center field, Bowden adds.
  • “We are in the range of where we’ll end up payroll-wise,” Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on Wednesday. As Grant explains, that’s a somewhat diplomatic way of stating that the team doesn’t have the financial flexibility to add a notable free agent such as Dexter Fowler or Yovani Gallardo at this point. Rather, Grant lists Tim Lincecum and Gavin Floyd as a pair of names that might make more sense for the Rangers to pursue as Spring Training approaches and the team looks for added depth. “The fact is,” according to Grant, that Daniels was given a budget and told to stick to it, so barring a late change of course among ownership, the Rangers will be relatively quiet for the remainder of the offseason.
  • By steadfastly refusing to exceed the $189MM luxury tax threshold, Angels owner Arte Moreno is effectively wasting the best years of Mike Trout’s career, opines ESPN’s David Schoenfield. Trout has been worth an average of nine wins above replacement per season in each of his four years at the Major League level, but the Halos have been to the playoffs just once in that time and have zero postseason wins to show for it. Enormous commitments to a declining Albert Pujols and a since-traded Josh Hamilton have left the club with little flexibility, and Anaheim’s paper-thin farm system doesn’t lend much hope for better days in the near future. The Angels finished 12th in the AL in runs scored in 2015, Schoenfield points out, and they’ll be without David Freese and could see an aging Pujols miss time due to offseason foot surgery.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Cardinals, Brewers, D-Backs

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The Yankees don’t appear to have any inclination to go hunting for a big league replacement for injured first baseman Greg Bird, as Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets. “[Dustin] Ackley is the backup first baseman on the big-league level and we’ll explore replacing Bird for Scranton,” said Cashman. Needless to say, that quote doesn’t appear to put New York in the running for any of the better remaining free agent options.

Here are a few more stray notes from around the game:

  • While the Cardinals have pursued outfield moves this winter, that doesn’t mean the team isn’t excited about its current group, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes. The lack of a major addition certainly opens the door to a full opportunity to younger options — Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty, in particular. “You look at his progression through the Minor Leagues, and it was a perfect trend,” said GM John Mozeliak of Piscotty. “It was always getting better. There is a level of confidence that he’s the right guy to make the bet on.”
  • The Fangraphs team has a few interesting looks at the recent five-player trade between the Brewers and Diamondbacks. Jeff Sullivan suggests that righty Chase Anderson delivers some sneaky value upside to Milwaukee. And Dave Cameron argues that Arizona might not have chosen the wisest route to upgrading its middle infield.
  • The MLB.com prospect team rates the best tools among prospects. It’s no surprise that many of the leaderboards are dominated by the game’s very best overall young talents, but there are a few (somewhat) less-prominent players that took home top honors, too. Among them: Yankees shortstop Jorge Mateo (best speed) and righty Dillon Tate of the Rangers (top slider).

AL Central Notes: Twins, Davis, Fowler, Sox, Moustakas

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Twins manager Paul Molitor sat down with Darren Wolfson of KSTP and 1500 ESPN over the weekend for a 12-minute interview (video link) and discussed a number of topics, including the decision to play Miguel Sano in right field over left field, the possibility of Byron Buxton making the Opening Day roster and the team’s expected rotation. Molitor says it’s very likely that Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes will be in the Opening Day rotation (assuming good health for each), and Tyler Duffey “has a really good chance” on the heels of a strong rookie showing, though Duffey’s inclusion is not considered a sure thing. Tommy Milone, Ricky Nolasco and Trevor May are all candidates for the fifth spot, though Molitor hinted by suggesting that May will “get a look, at least early in camp, to see how it goes, to see if that’s a better fit for him than in the bullpen,” that May’s chances might be a bit lesser. May opened last season as a starter and pitched reasonably well before turning in a very strong 2.87 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 31 1/3 reliever.

More from the AL Central…

  • Manager Terry Francona is happy to see Rajai Davis wearing an Indians uniform heading into the 2016 season, writes Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal. Cleveland’s manager tells Lewis that he joked with Davis recently that he “hated him” for the past few seasons, “because he’s been a thorn in our side.” Davis’ stolen base totals have declined in each of the past two seasons, though the fleet-footed outfielder said that part of the reason for that was hitting in front of Miguel Cabrera and not wanting to run the risk of getting caught with one of the game’s most potent bats at the plate. Francona tells Lewis that the team has similar hopes for Davis that it did following the signing of Michael Bourn. “…[I]f you can get a guy that can get on base and kind of disturb the game a little bit, that really helps a lot.”
  • The White Sox and Rangers are both looking at Dexter Fowler, tweets David Kaplan of CSN Chicago. Sox GM Rick Hahn spoke over the weekend about the value of the No. 28 overall selection, which the club would have to forfeit in order to sign Fowler, however. I’d imagine that if Fowler’s asking price dipped enough, the Sox might be comfortable enough with the immediate value they’re obtaining to part with the potential longer-term value of the draft pick. The Sox do seem like a good fit for Fowler, as Jeff Todd and I recently discussed on the MLBTR Podcast. The Rangers, too, were mentioned in that discussion, and they could certainly make some sense, pushing Josh Hamilton to more of a part-time role that could possibly keep him healthier while creating more outfield depth in Texas.
  • Whether or not a move is ultimately made, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin feels that the one of the takeaways from this weekend’s SoxFest event was that the White Sox are definitely still trying to get something done, be it a trade or free-agent signing (links to Twitter). “It was more than just general SoxFest talk,” says Merkin of the team’s desire to continue adding to the roster.
  • MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan adds some more context to his recent report that the Royals and third baseman Mike Moustakas have discussed a two-year deal to buy out his remaining arbitration years. “There’s been a couple talks about a multiyear deal, a two-year deal, also a one-year deal,” said Moustakas of talks between the Royals and his agent, Scott Boras. “We’re just trying to figure out what the best fit is for everything. They’ve been talking back and forth and trying to figure it all out. They give me the information and I go, ’Yeah, that’s all right.’ But I try to stay out of it because I love Scott and I love the Royals.” Moustakas said that a two-year deal is appealing, if possible, because he’d like to avoid “the stress of another arbitration year.” Boras and the Royals worked out a similar deal for first baseman Eric Hosmer last winter, though Hosmer will still have one more year of arbitration following the completion of that two-year deal.

West Notes: Rose, Angels, Lincecum, Mariners

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Former Rangers managing partner Edward “Rusty” Rose has passed away, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. The 74-year-old was part of the group, including former President George W. Bush, that bought the Rangers in 1989. The Ballpark In Arlington, now Globe Life Park, was constructed during Rose’s tenure. The Bush-Rose group sold the Rangers in 1998 to Tom Hicks. We at MLBTR extend our condolences to Rose’s friends and family.

Here’s more from the West:

  • The Angels farm system lacks high end talent, writes Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register. No Angels were listed among the top 100 or 101 prospects on MLB.com or Baseball Prospectus. They did enter the offseason with one player who would have drawn consideration – Sean Newcomb. He was ranked 21st by MLB.com and 32nd by Baseball Prospectus. The Halos dealt Newcomb as part of the Andrelton Simmons trade. As Fletcher writes, the Angels system probably explains why they didn’t land any top talent at the 2015 trade deadline. For example, Yoenis Cespedes returned Michael Fulmer (53rd per MLB.com) and Luis Cessa. L.A. simply lacked the fire power for a move.
  • Tim Lincecum’s tenure in San Francisco is probably over, figures Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. The former ace and free agent is auditioning for a regular major league job. The Giants have a set rotation, meaning Lincecum doesn’t have a clear path to starts. The Marlins and Padres are among the teams currently connected to Lincecum. For Giants and Lincecum fans, Baggarly contributes a nice review of The Freak’s San Fran tenure.
  • The Mariners were thought to be nearing a minor league deal with first baseman Travis Ishikawa, but it’s gone sideways, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Dutton notes that the addition of Gaby Sanchez could be to blame for the Ishikawa deal falling apart.
  • In other news, Dutton expects the club to sign 31-year-old journeyman catcher Steven Lerud to a minor league deal. He would provide depth now that Jesus Sucre is expected to miss extended action with a broken fibula. We’ll of course report on that signing if and when it becomes official.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/29/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Righty Steve Johnson has signed on to a minor league pact with the Rangers, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. He’ll get a spring invite. Johnson lost his 40-man spot with the Orioles earlier in the winter. The 28-year-old has seen limited major league time over the past several years, but has put up some intriguing numbers in the upper minors. Last year, he threw 54 2/3 Triple-A frames with a 2.30 ERA and 11.0 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
  • The Reds have agreed to terms with lefty Jonathan Sanchez, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Sanchez, 33, hasn’t seen the majors since a brief stop with the Pirates in 2013. Best known as a former starter with the Giants, Sanchez has seen only minimal action in organized ball over the last two seasons and will be looking to get back to action in the Cincinnati organization.
  • Veteran infielder Maicer Izturis has joined the Blue Jays and will head to major league camp, the team announced. The 35-year-old switch-hitter missed last year with shoulder surgery. Izturis will presumably try to battle onto the roster as a utility candidate. It’s been a while since he’s posted league-average numbers at the plate, but he is a versatile defender.

Avoiding Arbitration: Jake Diekman, Robbie Ross

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We’ll track the day’s lower-value arbitration settlements right here:

  • Lefty Jake Diekman has agreed to a $1.255MM deal with the Rangers, Heyman adds on Twitter. The 29-year-old put up stellar results in Texas, though he still ended the year with a 4.01 ERA after a tough start in the run prevention department before his mid-season trade from the Phillies. He had projected at $1MM, so he’ll beat that while falling just shy of the midpoint between his $1.55MM request and the team’s $975K filing.

Earlier Updates

  • The Red Sox have avoided arbitration with lefty Robbie Ross Jr. by agreeing on a $1.25MM salary, Jon Heyman tweets. That’s just a shade over the $1.2MM midpoint between his and the team’s filing numbers, as well as the projected $1.1MM tab. The 26-year-old reached arbitration eligibility for the first time after throwing 60 2/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball last year for Boston. He struck out 7.9 and walked 3.0 batters per nine in the bounceback campaign.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1-27-16

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Here are today’s minor league signings from around baseball…

  • The Cubs and left-handed reliever Nick Greenwood have agreed to a minor league contract, MLBTR has learned. The 28-year-old Greenwood was originally drafted by the Padres in 2009 but traded to the Cardinals in the three-team Jake Westbrook/Corey Kluber/Ryan Ludwick trade back in 2010. Greenwood made a brief appearance in the Majors last season but was more heavily relied upon in 2014, when he pitched 36 innings with a 4.75 ERA and a 17-to-5 K/BB ratio for St. Louis. The Rhode Island product has been used as both a starter and a reliever throughout his minor league career, though he’ll return to working primarily as a reliever in 2016 after starting for much of the 2015 campaign. Greenwood has a lifetime 4.99 ERA at the Triple-A level, where he’s averaged 4.9 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 313 2/3 innings of work. Greenwood’s deal doesn’t contain an invite to big league Spring Training, so he’ll hope to earn his way back to the Majors by replicating his 2014 performance from Triple-A.
  • The Astros announced yesterday that they’ve signed left-hander Edwar Cabrera and infielder Danny Worth to minor league deals. The 28-year-old Cabrera briefly saw Major League time with the Rockies in 2012 but has otherwise spent his career in the minors, where he owns a 4.21 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 77 innings at the Triple-A level and a 3.15 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 277 innings at Double-A. As for Worth, the 30-year-old has considerably more big league experience, having tallied 292 plate appearances with the Tigers from 2010-14. He’s a career .230/.293/.295 hitter in the Majors but can play all over the infield and owns a .256/.335/.374 batting line in parts of eight seasons at Triple-A. Both Worth and Cabrera were invited to Major League Spring Training.
  • The Rangers announced today that they’ve re-signed right-hander Nick Tepesch to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training. The 27-year-old missed the 2015 season and underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in August, but the press release announcing the move indicates that he’s throwing off a mound and will be ready for Spring Training. Tepesch appeared in 42 games — 39 of them starts — for the Rangers from 2013-14, logging a 4.56 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 219 innings of work. Presumably, he’ll serve as rotation depth.

Shawn Tolleson, Charlie Blackmon Avoid Arbitration

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While the majority of the 156 players that filed for salary arbitration last week have agreed to terms with their teams, either on a one-year deal for 2016 or on an extension, the cases of more than 20 players remain unresolved. You can track the status of each case using MLBTR’s 2016 Arbitration Tracker, and we’ll keep track of all of today’s smaller deals to avoid arbitration in this post (all referenced projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)…

  • Center fielder Charlie Blackmon and the Rockies have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Rockies had filed for a $2.7MM salary figure against Blackmon’s number of $3.9MM. That placed the midpoint at $3.3MM, which Blackmon cleared by $200K. The 29-year-old Blackmon is coming off a season in which he slashed .287/.347/.450 with 17 home runs and 43 stolen bases in 157 games/682 plate appearances. That served as a strong followup to a breakout 2014 campaign and cemented Blackmon as fixture in the Colorado outfield (though his name has come up in trade speculation this winter).

Earlier Updates

  • The Rangers announced that they’ve signed closer Shawn Tolleson to a one-year deal, thus avoiding arbitration. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that the right-hander will earn $3.275MM next season. Tolleson, 28, broke out as a setup man with the Rangers in 2014 and seized the keys to the ninth inning from Neftali Feliz early this season. It was a seamless transition from the seventh/eighth inning to the ninth inning for Tolleson, who worked to a strong 2.99 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 42.4 percent ground-ball rate in 72 1/3 innings. Tolleson racked up the first 35 saves of his career along the way, cementing himself at the back of the Texas bullpen. Tolleson had filed for a $3.9MM salary, while the team countered at $2.6MM. The eventual landing spot agreed upon is $25K higher than the $3.25MM midpoint between those two figures and comes in considerably north of the $2.6MM projected by Swartz’s model. With Tolleson’s case settled, the Rangers have just Jake Diekman and Mitch Moreland remaining as unresolved arbitration cases, as can be seen in the tracker linked to above.

West Notes: Darvish, Ethier, Wilson, Hamilton, Gallardo

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Major league baseball has determined Rangers’ starter Yu Darvish was not involved in the gambling ring operated by his brother, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The story broke last week, although at no point in time was Darvish directly implicated. Based on the most recent reports, Darvish remains on pace to return to the Rangers in mid-May.

Here’s more from the western divisions:

  • Dodgers’ outfielder Andre Ethier is set to earn 10-and-5 rights in April, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. The club has long been rumored to be shopping the outfielder who has two years and $38MM guaranteed on his contract. He could also earn an additional $15MM in 2018 via a vesting option (550 PA in 2017). After a shaky 2014 that saw him relegated to a bench role, Ethier rebounded in 2015 with a .294/.366/.486 line over 445 plate appearances. However, the team used him in a strict platoon. The Dodgers may find it difficult to find a suitor unless they pick up a large portion of his remaining contract. On the plus side, the platoon role almost ensures he won’t trigger his vesting option. Now that Dexter Fowler is the top free agent outfielder on the market, the Dodgers may find it easier to shop Ethier.
  • Teams have asked about Angels’ starter C.J. Wilson, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Per Heyman, clubs view Wilson as a buy-low candidate, but the Angels have yet to receive an acceptable offer. I would add that the team’s starting pitching depth is a bit of a concern. While they have eight starting pitchers on the 40-man roster, names like Matt Shoemaker, Tyler Skaggs, Nick Tropeano, and Andrew Heaney are either coming of a bad season, recovering from injury, or unestablished at the major league level. However, escaping from part of the $20MM owed to him in 2016 could help the club address another position.
  • Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton will have his playing time carefully managed in 2016 due to knee inflammation, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Hamilton received a cortisone shot on Thursday. GM Jon Daniels described the joint as structurally sound. The aftermath of two surgeries could result in occasional flare-ups like this. Texas has plenty of outfield depth, particularly on the farm where Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, Lewis Brinson, and others wait in the wings. Gallo and Mazara are on the 40-man roster.
  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich has downplayed Colorado’s interest in free agent starter Yovani Gallardo, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. In recent days, there have been several reports linking the Rockies with Gallardo as one of three finalists. While Bridich characterized talks as merely “checking in,” Saunders speculates that a signing could still come. At the very least, there appears to be some degree of mutual interest.
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