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Walker Lockett Agrees To Deal With KBO’s Doosan Bears

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Dec.  22: Lockett and the Bears are in agreement on a one-year contract, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports. The agreement is still pending completion of a physical.

Dec. 20: Right-hander Walker Lockett is close to signing a deal with the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization, according to multiple Korean media outlets (hat tip to Daniel Kim of ESPN and DKTV).  The Blue Jays hold Lockett’s MLB rights, as Kim notes, so there will likely be some money changing hands between the Bears and Jays to complete the transaction.  Lockett is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.

The move to Seoul will send Lockett to his fourth different organization in as many months, as the Mariners claimed the righty away from the Mets in September, and Toronto claimed him from Seattle two weeks ago.  Lockett is coming off a season that saw him post a 4.96 ERA, 2.75 K/BB, and 6.1 K/9 over 16 1/3 combined innings with the Mets and Mariners.

Modest as those numbers are, they represented a big improvement over the 8.84 ERA Lockett delivered in his first 37 2/3 innings in the Show (with the Padres and Mets in 2018-19).  After allowing home runs at a 2.4 HR/9 pace in those first two seasons, Lockett had a somewhat more palatable 1.1 HR/9 in 2020, and he also allowed much less hard contact than in 2018-19.  Lockett made the cutter into a much more prominent part of his arsenal in 2020, throwing the pitch over 20 percent of the time.

Lockett started eight of his 20 career MLB games and was a regular starter in the minors (97 of 114 games), so it seems probable that the Bears will give him another look out of their rotation.  A fourth-round pick for the Padres back in the 2012 draft, Lockett is still only 26, and has posted decent numbers over nine minor league seasons, relying on lots of grounders rather than big strikeout totals.

Latest On DJ LeMahieu

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The Yankees haven’t made it any secret that their top offseason priority is to re-sign second baseman DJ LeMahieu. However, they’re facing serious competition from American League rival Toronto. The Blue Jays may be the top threat to the Yankees for LeMahieu, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports.

At last check, the Yankees and LeMahieu – a 2020 AL MVP  contender and the league’s batting champion – were far apart in contract negotiations. The 32-year-old LeMahieu is reportedly seeking a five-year, $100MM contract, while the Yankees seem to be in the $75MM to $80MM range over four seasons. The two sides want to stay together, but unless they’re able to close the gap, it could open the door even more for the Blue Jays. MLBTR predicted at the outset of the offseason that the Jays would end up with LeMahieu, who would form an excellent double-play tandem with shortstop Bo Bichette. Cavan Biggio would presumably move from second to third on a Toronto team with LeMahieu, giving the club one of the league’s top infields.

Bichette would like to see LeMahieu move north, as he told teammate Ross Stripling (via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News): “I think DJ LeMahieu is the best hitter in baseball, and I don’t even really think it’s close, from what I’ve seen. He’s probably the No. 1 player I’d want to play with in the league. If that would happen, that would be awesome for us, but either way, man, our team’s pretty good already.”

Having gone 32-28 in 2020, the Blue Jays do look like a top contender in the AL. They finished a game behind the Yankees, though, and if they’re going to to overtake New York, it would help to steal one of its best players. The Jays are making a real effort to do just that.

Blue Jays, Mets Seen As Strongest Suitors For George Springer

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It’s been a slow-moving market for all of the game’s top free agents, but ESPN’s Jeff Passan shines some light on where things stand with George Springer, reporting that the Blue Jays and Mets are generally viewed as the two strongest possibilities for the longtime Astros slugger.

Newly hired Mets general manager Jared Porter plainly acknowledged in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM last week that Springer is “going to be part of the process” as they evaluate options on the high end of both the free-agent and trade markets (Twitter link, with audio). As one would expect, Porter didn’t tip his hand as to anything more specific, but MLB.com’s Jon Morosi did write recently that the Mets are “focused” on Springer at the moment.

In some ways, it’s not particularly surprising to see. The Mets and Jays are widely seen as the two teams most willing to spend this winter, and both could use an impact center fielder. Other teams who are seen as potentially active clubs have reason not to aggressively pursue Springer.

Giants president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi has suggested his team will focus on pitching and look at more “complementary” hitters. The Yankees are focused on DJ LeMahieu, and their outfield is crowded as is. The Red Sox’ most pressing need is in the rotation, given the uncertainty around the health of their veteran starters. The Twins are focused on Nelson Cruz and their pitching staff. The Braves have eschewed this type of long-term deal under GM Alex Anthopoulos and may be more apt to retain Marcell Ozuna if they do make an uncharacteristic outfield splash. The White Sox have already signed Adam Eaton. Houston is an obvious fit, but an extension between the two sides never came together and the price surely hasn’t come down now that Springer has the benefit of open-market bidding for his services.

Free agency is an ever-fluid situation, as various factors can rapidly change a player’s market. A team could trade a current outfielder or lose someone to injury. An owner not expected to spend lavishly could have a change of heart or be swayed by a direct meeting with Springer’s representatives. However, Passan writes that as things stand right now, executives from other clubs view the  Springer market as a two-horse race between the Jays and Mets.

The Mets have already been aggressive early, signing James McCann (four years, $40.6MM) and Trevor May (two years, $15.5MM) to early deals that bolster the club while still leaving Porter and president Sandy Alderson ample payroll space. The Mets currently owe just shy of $95MM to a combined 10 players, though they have just as many yet-unsigned arbitration-eligible players to whom they tendered contracts. Michael Conforto, Noah Syndergaard and Edwin Diaz headline that group, but most of the group is in line for relatively small-scale salaries. It’s be a surprise if, after their arb work was completed, the current iteration of the Mets roster exceeded a $150MM payroll by much.

The financial outlook in Toronto is even cleaner. Toronto owes about $57.5MM to seven players in addition to forthcoming arbitration raises for two players: Ross Stripling and Teoscar Hernandez. They only have $35MM in guaranteed salaries on the 2022 books, with Tanner Roark, Robbie Ray, Shun Yamaguchi and Rafael Dolis set to come off the books. Signing Springer would likely necessitate a move sending Randal Grichuk elsewhere, and while his remaining three years and $28MM is an overpay, it’s not so glaring that the Jays couldn’t reasonably expect to find a creative solution.

Blue Jays Sign Richard Urena To Minor League Deal

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Infielder Richard Urena is returning to the Blue Jays on a minor league contract, per a club announcement. He’ll be invited to Major League Spring Training. Toronto also confirmed its previously reported minor league pacts with outfielder Forrest Wall and corner infielder Tyler White. They’ll both be in camp this spring as well.

Urena, 24, spent parts of the 2017-19 seasons with the Blue Jays, appearing in a total of 91 games and hitting .253/.300/.336 through 263 trips to the plate. A versatile defender with a solid defensive reputation as a prospect and a strong throwing arm, Urena logged time at shortstop (394 innings), second base (173 innings) and third base (53 innings) as a member of the Blue Jays over that three-year span. Metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating weren’t particularly bullish on his work at shortstop in that time, but it’s a relatively small sample from which to draw conclusions.

Toronto tried to pass Urena through waivers back in January, but he ended up being claimed by the Orioles, who successfully passed him through waivers not long thereafter. Urena didn’t make the cut for the Orioles’ 60-man player pool in the shortened 2020 season, however, and he’ll now return to the Jays organization as a depth piece who could give them some cover at multiple positions in 2021.

In 670 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Urena has posted a .250/.289/.373 batting line with 11 homers, 29 doubles, seven triples and five stolen bases (in 10 tries).

Free Agent Notes: Realmuto, Cruz, Kim, Pillar, Avila, Stanek

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The Nationals and the representative for free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto “have had early discussions,” Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic writes. Despite that, Ghiroli casts doubt on the Nationals signing Realmuto because of general manager Mike Rizzo’s suggestion earlier this week that the club doesn’t have the catcher position atop its list of priorities. Rizzo indicated first base and the outfield are bigger needs for the Nationals, who have Yan Gomes coming off a bounce-back season (over just 30 games) as their starting backstop. Even if the Nats want to count on Gomes as their starter in 2021, they could at least re-sign Kurt Suzuki or add a backup to replace him. Tres Barrera, who has totaled two plate appearances in the majors, is the only catcher on their 40-man roster after Gomes.

Here’s more from the open market:

  • The Twins have not re-signed designated hitter Nelson Cruz yet, but president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told MLB Network Radio that the two sides are still “in contact.” Falvey went on to call Cruz “a special member of the Twins,” which was certainly true from 2019-20. The ageless Cruz, who will soon turn 41 next July, had arguably the two best seasons of his career in Minnesota. He slashed .308/.394/.626 during that time and ranked second in the majors in wRC+ (163) and fifth in home runs (57).
  • The Blue Jays and free-agent infielder Ha-Seong Kim “have been in touch,” Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The 25-year-old Kim hasn’t played in the majors yet, but he starred with the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2014-20 and currently ranks as one of the top free agents on the market. It’s unclear where he would play in Toronto because the club has Bo Bichette occupying short, but Kim may be a fit at either second or third base.
  • The Rockies have “had discussions” about a reunion with outfielder Kevin Pillar, according to manager Bud Black (via Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). Black isn’t sure how far those talks have gone, though. The 31-year-old Pillar, whom the Rockies acquired from the Red Sox over the summer, posted a career-high .288/.338/.462 line with six home runs and five stolen bases in 223 plate appearances last season.
  • Tigers general manager Al Avila told MLB Network that his son, catcher Alex Avila, is on their list of potential free-agent pickups, Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets. However, Al Avila added that the Tigers aren’t prioritizing the catcher position at the moment. There is room for improvement at the spot, though, as the backstops on their 40-man roster – Grayson Greiner, Eric Haase and Jake Rogers – have all failed to record passable offensive numbers during their careers. That isn’t the case for the 33-year-old Alex Avila, owner of a .235/.348/.394 line in 3,527 plate appearances. He played with the Tigers from 2009-15 before moving on to a few other teams, most recently Minnesota.
  • The Dodgers are the latest team to show interest in reliever Ryne Stanek, who’s on the world champions’ radar, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times relays. Stanek had a woeful 2020 with the Marlins, but he’s a known entity to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. As the Rays’ GM in 2013, Friedman used the 29th overall pick on Stanek.

Blue Jays Sign Tyler White, Forrest Wall To Minors Contracts

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The Blue Jays have signed first baseman Tyler White and outfielder Forrest Wall to minor league contracts, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link).  Both players have been invited to Toronto’s big league Spring Training camp.

White returns to North American baseball after a brief stint with the KBO League’s SK Wyverns last season, as he appeared in only nine games and posted a .685 OPS over 30 plate appearances.  A well-regarded hitting prospect when coming up in the Astros’ farm system, White has a career .305/.404/.509 slash line over 2249 PA in the minors and certainly seemed on the verge of breaking through at the MLB level when he hit .277/.349/.531 for over 304 PA with Houston during the 2017-18 seasons.  However, after struggling badly in 2019 and being caught in something of a position crunch, White was dealt to the Dodgers in July 2019.

There isn’t much risk for the Jays in seeing if White can unlock any hitting potential at age 30.  Playing time may be hard to come by with Toronto since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Rowdy Tellez are slated for first base/DH duties, but White could find some at-bats spelling Tellez against southpaws (though Tellez has a higher career OPS against left-handed pitching than White).

Wall is back with the Jays after electing free agency following the season.  Picked 35th overall by the Rockies in the 2014 draft, Wall has yet to crack the big leagues, though he has hit a respectable .274/.353/.413 over 2329 PA in the Colorado and Toronto farm systems.  A strong Spring Training could give Wall a shot at unseating Jonathan Davis or Derek Fisher as the Blue Jays’ top backup outfield options.

Free Agent Notes: Sugano, Teheran, Semien

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The Blue Jays and Rangers are among the teams interested in Tomoyuki Sugano, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. They join the previously-reported Padres and Red Sox as known suitors for the 31-year-old. Sugano has spent the past eight seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, where he’s generally been brilliant. He sports a career ERA of 2.32 at Japan’s highest level. Sugano was excellent as ever in 2020, tossing 137.1 innings of 1.97 ball, backed up by a strong combination of 8.6 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9. The NPB team formally posted Sugano last week, giving major league teams until January 7 to work out an agreement with the right-hander.

Some more notes on the open market:

  • Right-hander Julio Teheran is planning a showcase for interested teams in mid-January, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The 29-year-old is coming off a dismal season with the Angels where he allowed 35 runs (including 12 homers) with a 20:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 31.1 innings. Heyman notes that shoulder discomfort may have played a role in those struggles, but Teheran’s peripherals and velocity had been trending in the wrong direction for a few seasons even before the wheels fell off completely in 2020.
  • The free agent market for Marcus Semien is progressing and could reach a resolution in the coming days, Passan further reports. The 30-year-old is one of the market’s more interesting evaluations. After a stellar 2019 effort that earned him a third place finish in AL MVP voting, Semien had something of a disappointing follow-up this past season. His .223/.305/.374 line matched the worst offensive output of his career. That comes with obvious shortened season caveats, though, as well as a career-low .260 BABIP that looks primed for a bit of positive regression. The Reds and Phillies are the most obvious shortstop-needy contenders, but plenty of teams could move other players (or even Semien himself) around the infield to accommodate his addition to the roster.

Dodgers, Astros Interested In Liam Hendriks

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In a class of his own atop the free agent reliever market, Liam Hendriks is unsurprisingly drawing widespread interest. The White Sox, Mets and Blue Jays have been tied to Hendriks within the past week, and Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that the Dodgers and Astros have joined them among those pursuing the right-hander. Hendriks is looking for a four-year deal, Passan adds.

Over the past two seasons, Hendriks has arguably been the best reliever in baseball. He’s pitched to a 1.79 ERA across 110.1 relief innings since the start of 2019. In that time, Hendriks struck out 38% of opposing hitters against a 5.7% walk rate and held batters to a .192/.240/.289 slash line. No reliever (minimum 50 innings) has a better park-adjusted ERA, and only Josh Hader, Nick Anderson and Kirby Yates have a higher strikeout minus walk percentage.

Quite obviously, every team in the league would benefit from the addition of Hendriks to the back of the bullpen. The Dodgers’ bullpen was quite good in 2020; nevertheless, that’s the area of the roster that has given the team a bit of trouble in prior seasons and is the easiest spot to add depth as they look to mount another World Series run.

The Astros’ interest in Hendriks also isn’t surprising. Houston’s bullpen was decimated by injuries this past season and looks in need of some outside help. The Astros are facing the potential free agent departures of George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick, though, with few obvious in-house replacements beyond Kyle Tucker. It remains to be seen if there’ll be requisite payroll space for the Houston front office to add top-of-the-market relief help while also sufficiently addressing the outfield.

Widespread interest notwithstanding, Hendriks finding a four-year deal at a strong average annual value might prove to be a tough task. He turns 32 in February, which figures to give some teams pause. The early stages of the offseason also haven’t been particularly kind to relievers. Every team in the league passed on Brad Hand’s $10MM option at the start of the offseason. Trevor May settled for a two-year, $15.5MM deal with the Mets; similarly productive relievers (Jeurys Familia and Joe Kelly, for instance) found three-year pacts in past winters. It’s possible Hendriks’ recent brilliance causes teams to view him as an exception, but the general trend seems to be that of a depressed bullpen market. One factor in his favor: the A’s did not issue him a qualifying offer, so the team that signs him will not have to forfeit draft pick compensation.

East Notes: Cobb, Mets, Mayza, Nationals

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As the recent trade of Jose Iglesias to the Angels indicates, the Orioles are open to moving any veteran on their roster, particularly those making a significant salary.  Alex Cobb (owed $15MM in 2021) certainly qualifies as a trade candidate, though GM Mike Elias suggested to MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski and other reporters that the Orioles could keep the 33-year-old righty at least into the start of the season.  “I have no doubt if he pitches like Alex Cobb, he’s going to draw interest and we’re going to ultimately see where we’re at and see what the situation is….I think it would be beneficial for us to go into the season with Alex if that’s the way that it shakes out and having that front end spot in the rotation fortified with his ability and veteran presence,” Elias said.

Cobb signed a four-year, $57MM deal just prior to the start of the 2018 season, and after struggling in 2018 and missing almost all of 2019 due to injury, Cobb had solid bottom-line numbers over 10 starts this past season.  The right-hander posted a 4.30 ERA, 2.11 K/BB rate, 54.5% grounder rate, and 6.5 K/9 over 52 1/3 innings, though Statcast was thoroughly unimpressed by his performance.  Those metrics and Cobb’s hefty salary certainly limit his trade value at the moment, so it makes sense that the O’s would see if he can perform better in the early stages of the 2021 campaign in order to possibly leverage him as a trade chip at the deadline.  If Cobb can’t be moved but is able to duplicate his 2020 results, Baltimore would at least benefit (as Elias noted) from a dependable arm on the mound.

Here are some other items from both the AL and NL East…

  • The Mets have been linked to just about every big name free agent this winter, though The New York Post’s Joel Sherman wonders if the team might take a more measured approach to its winter shopping.  Rather than splurge on any of the “big four” free agents (Trevor Bauer, George Springer, J.T. Realmuto, and DJ LeMahieu), Sherman opines that New York could direct its resources towards “dominating the second tier” of the market.  Such roster upgrades would still make the team better “while potentially saving money and prospects for the July trade market — and beyond.”  Signing James McCann rather than Realmuto could be a hint that the team is deploying such a tactic, though the other school of thought suggests that McCann was signed so the Mets could save some money for a bigger push to land Bauer or Springer.
  • After undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2019, Blue Jays left-hander Tim Mayza is looking forward to returning to action in Spring Training, The Toronto Star’s Laura Armstrong writes.  Mayza’s rehab was more complicated the normal TJ recovery process, as Mayza had to also recover from a torn flexor tendon (suffered at the same time as his UCL tear) and spend much of his time working out at home rather than at team facilities due to the COVID-19 lockdown.  If that wasn’t enough, Mayza tested positive for the coronavirus this fall, though he was thankfully asymptomatic during his two weeks of quarantine.  “Although it’s been different, my rehab was not stalled at all through all this,” Mayza said.  “I’ve continued to stay on track and the end goal of being 100 per cent by spring training is very much a realistic goal.”  Mayza has a 4.67 ERA, 2.71 K/BB rate, 48.6% grounder rate, and 10.6 K/9 over 104 innings with Toronto from 2017-19, and he has held left-handed batters to a .217/.288/.349 slash line over 208 plate appearances.  With a lack of southpaw relief options on the Jays’ 40-man roster, there is certainly opportunity for Mayza to win a job if he looks good in camp.
  • The Mets’ signing of McCann took the catching market’s second-best option off the board, further limiting the free agent choices for teams in need of help behind the plate.  The Nationals are one of those clubs, and as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes, “they’re either going to have to spend well north of $100MM on Realmuto or hope one of the remaining lesser options is good enough” if the Nats turn to free agency for catching help.  Realmuto might be out of the picture given the indications that the Nationals aren’t planning on any big spending this offseason, though since Washington still has Yan Gomes, the team might decide that a platoon partner is all that is required at catcher.

Blue Jays Among Teams Interested In Justin Turner

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The Blue Jays are among those clubs showing interest in Justin Turner, according to MLB Insider Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The Blue Jays are kicking the tires on just about every top free agent available in an effort to supercharge their rebuild and turn their playoff team from 2020 into a legitimate contender the American League East.

As of now, the Jays have been linked to Brad Hand, Liam Hendriks, Ha-Seong Kim, Mike Fiers, Marcell Ozuna, DJ LeMahieu, Kolten Wong, George Springer, Garrett Richards, J.T. Realmuto, Michael Brantley, J.A. Happ,and Kevin Gausman before he accepted his qualifying offer. They’ve also been linked to Francisco Lindor, Steven Matz, and Jean Segura via trade. I’m sure there are there are others I’ve missed. Point being, Toronto is active in free agency.

Turner brings a little more intrigue because of the fit at a wide open third base position in Toronto. The Blue Jays recently non-tendered incumbent Travis Shaw, and while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has expressed an interest to claim the position for himself, it makes as much sense to find a replacement outside the organization for the hot corner if there’s a viable solution. Turner would certainly qualify. Of course, Heyman notes that there are multiple teams expressing interest in Turner at the present.

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