Quick Hits: Cardinals, Urena, Orioles, Brignac
There hasn’t been many rumblings linking Nicholas Castellanos to the Cardinals this offseason, though one rival executive suggests to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) that Castellanos would be a better answer to the Cards’ outfield needs than Marcell Ozuna. We’ve addressed the Castellanos/Ozuna debate ourselves in a recent Free Agent Faceoff, though from the executive’s standpoint, Castellanos is preferable for St. Louis since he isn’t attached to any draft pick compensation. If the Cards were to re-sign Ozuna, they’d miss out on the compensatory draft pick they are slated to receive if he signed elsewhere, since Ozuna rejected the qualifying offer. Signing Castellanos, however, would both upgrade the St. Louis outfield and still leave the Cardinals in line for the extra pick.
On the flip side, the Cards’ apparent lack of interest in Castellanos may signal that they simply prefer Ozuna, who is both a comparable talent and is a more known quantity to the Cardinals’ staff and front office. Recent reports suggest that the Cards, Reds, and Rangers are all still in the mix for Ozuna, while Texas also has some interest in Castellanos, but perhaps only as a first baseman. Along with Josh Donaldson, Castellanos and Ozuna are the headliners of a rapidly-depleted free agent crop as we approach the middle of January, and it will be interesting to see which clubs (perhaps a known suitor or a mystery team) wind up with these big bats.
Some more from around baseball…
- Richard Urena was recently acquired by the Orioles on a waiver claim, though the infielder could have theoretically ended up in the black and orange five years ago, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes. When the Blue Jays considered the possibility of trading prospects to Baltimore as compensation for hiring Dan Duquette out of his contract as the O’s executive VP of baseball operations, Kubatko notes that Urena was one of the names the Jays offered. Talks never went anywhere, however, and Toronto instead hired Mark Shapiro as its new president and CEO in mid-2015. As for Urena, he stands a good chance at winning a bench job in Baltimore, as the Orioles were in need of a backup shortstop option behind Jose Iglesias.
- Another Orioles move could also be on the way, as Kubatko reports that the team is close to adding an experienced catcher. It’s probably safe to assume that this will be a minor league signing, as the Orioles already have a fair amount of catching depth with Chance Sisco, Pedro Severino, and Austin Wynns lined up behind the plate.
- The Mets announced earlier this week that former infielder Reid Brignac will manage the single-A Columbia Fireflies in 2020. This will mark the first managerial or coaching gig for Brignac, who retired in mid-2018 following a 15-year playing career. Brignac appeared in 369 Major League games over parts of nine seasons, suiting up for six different teams but seeing most of his action (256 games) with the Rays from 2008-12. Brignac will have a couple of other familiar names joining him on Columbia’s staff, as Jerome Williams was named the new pitching coach and Mariano Duncan will be the Fireflies’ new hitting coach.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League
Entering the day, there were more than 150 players on the clock to exchange arbitration figures with their respective teams prior to a noon ET deadline. As one would expect, there’ll be an utter landslide of arbitration agreements in advance of that deadline. We already ran through some key facts and reminders on the arbitration process earlier this morning for those who are unfamiliar or simply need a refresher on one of MLB’s most complex idiosyncrasies, which will hopefully clear up many questions readers might have.
We’ll track the majority of the American League’s settlements in this post and split off a separate one for NL settlements as well. Note that all projections referenced come courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:
- Newly acquired Angels righty Dylan Bundy receives a $5MM salary, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter links). He had projected at a $5.7MM price tag. Teammate Hansel Robles gets $3.85MM, per Heyman, just shy of his $4MM projection.
- The Yankees have worked out deals with all of their eligible players. The team has a hefty $8.5MM pact with Aaron Judge, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Backstop Gary Sanchez settled for $5MM, per Feinsand (via Twitter). The New York org will pay righty Luis Cessa $895K and Jonathan Holder $750K, Murray reports (Twitter links). Fellow reliever Tommy Kahnle will earn $2.65MM, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). And star lefty James Paxton has settled at $12.5MM, Heyman adds via Twitter. Chad Green and Jordan Montgomery have also agreed to terms, the former at $1.275MM and the latter at $805K, per Heyman (Twitter links).
- The Twins announced that they struck deals with Trevor May, Taylor Rogers, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton. Jon Heyman of MLB Network followed up with salary terms (all links to Twitter). May earns $2,205,000; Rogers takes home $4.45MM; Rosario lands at $7.75MM; and Buxton receives $3.075MM. While the first and last of those land rather close to the projected amount, Rogers got $550K more and Rosario got $1.15MM less than the calculators predicted.
- Shortstop Carlos Correa settled with the Astros for $8MM, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart (via Twitter). Righty Brad Peacock lands at a $3.9MM salary, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The former went for more than his $7.4MM projection, while the latter ended up shy of the $4.6MM mark produced by the computers. The ‘Stros also have agreed with closer Roberto Osuna as well, per an announcement. It’s a $10MM deal, slotting in just $200K shy of his projection, per Rome (via Twitter).
- The Orioles have a deal with outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. It’s for $4.75MM, per Dan Connolly of The Athletic (via Twitter), well south of the $5.7MM projection.
- Outfielder Jorge Soler has agreed to a $7.3MM deal with the Royals, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. That’s well off of the $11.2MM that MLBTR’s model projected, though it is likely that the cause of the gulf lies in the interpretation of the correct baseline to start from in building Soler’s salary. He’s in the 4+ service class but had been playing on the original deal he signed out of Cuba.
- The Tigers have a deal in place with southpaw Matthew Boyd, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). It’ll pay him $5.3MM, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). That falls comfortably below the $6.4MM, suggesting that Boyd’s camp was concerned with the way his suboptimal ERA would play in the arb process. Fellow lefty starter Daniel Norris will earn $2.96MM, McCosky tweets.
Earlier Settlements
Orioles Claim Richard Urena, Designate Pat Valaika
The Orioles have claimed infielder Richard Urena off waivers from the Blue Jays, per a club announcement. Fellow infielder Pat Valaika was designated for assignment to create roster space.
Urena becomes the latest young infielder to earn a look in Baltimore. Of course, the same would’ve been said of Valaika, who was claimed earlier in the offseason but now ends up back in DFA limbo. He could still get a shot in camp if he clears waivers and remains with the Baltimore organization.
The O’s will hope that there’s still some development left for Urena, who hasn’t quite grown into the promise he has shown at times. He’s still over a month shy of his 24th birthday and hasn’t received consistent opportunities in the majors, though he has struggled about as much at the plate in the upper minors as he has at the MLB level.
Urena has turned in a .367 OBP through 159 plate appearances in the Dominican Winter League. But that’s driven by a lofty batting average (.292) and hasn’t come with much power (2 home runs, .365 slugging percentage). Perhaps he can squeak onto the roster as a utility player even if he doesn’t show an uptick with the bat. Otherwise, the out-of-options Urena could end up being exposed to waivers once again.
Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Ken Giles
The Blue Jays have struck a deal with closer Ken Giles for his 2020 arbitration salary, per Scott Mitchell of TSN (via Twitter). It’ll pay him $9.6MM, a $3.3MM on last year’s salary.
Giles is coming off of an excellent season in which he was one of the game’s most effective relief pitchers. While he missed a bit of action with elbow troubles — at an inopportune moment, in the run-up to the trade deadline — he bounced back to finish strong. All said, Giles finished with 53 innings of 1.87 ERA pitching and a healthy compilation of 83 strikeouts and 23 saves.
MLBTR had projected a $8.4MM salary for Giles, but the team obviously felt it had to pay more. The threat of a hearing may have helped move the needle. Uncertainty would be especially unwelcome if the Toronto organization views Giles as a trade candidate.
Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Brandon Drury
The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury, agreeing to a one-year, $2.05MM deal for the 2020 season, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets.
MLBTR projected Drury for a $2.5MM arb figure, so he’ll get a significantly smaller raise than expected over his $1.3MM salary from the 2019 season. Then again, Drury did little to enhance his value after a sub-replacement level (-0.6 fWAR, -0.2 bWAR) 2019 campaign that saw him hit only .218/.262/.380 with 15 home runs over 447 plate appearances. This makes it consecutive negative-WAR seasons for Drury, following an abbreviated 26-game year with the Jays and Yankees in 2018.
Drury will now be fighting to keep a superutility role next year, hoping that his versatility can keep him on the roster long enough to revive his bat. Drury spent most of his time at third base prior to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s promotion, and also saw action at second base, first base, both corner outfield slots, and five games at shortstop.
Ken Giles and Matt Shoemaker are Toronto’s two remaining arbitration-eligible players, as per MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker. Teams have until 11am tomorrow to exchange figures with their arb-eligibles. Giles is projected for an $8.4MM deal, and Shoemaker for a $3.8MM salary.
Remaining Needs: AL East
With the new year upon us, MLBTR is going through all 30 teams’ remaining needs by division. We’ve already checked in on the NL East, AL West, AL Central, NL Central, and NL West. That leaves the American League East …
Baltimore Orioles [Offseason Outlook]
Outside of dealing away Dylan Bundy, it has been a quiet winter for sophomore GM Mike Elias. There just isn’t much pressing roster-building work to be done for a club that was badly in need of a full rebuild when Elias took the helm.
More than anything, the O’s will spend the next few weeks exploring further trade possibilities. Reliever Mychal Givens and slugger Trey Mancini are obvious candidates to be dealt. Hanser Alberto and a few others could also conceivably be of interest elsewhere.
Other than filling in for any further departures, the O’s still need to add a few pieces — both to keep some standard of MLB capabilities and to seek upside that might be turned into trade capital. The departure of Jonathan Villar leaves an opening at shortstop that hasn’t yet been filled. (Last year’s Rule 5 pick, Richie Martin, ought to get some dearly missed Triple-A seasoning.) The O’s could easily find space for a buy-low option at third base or the corner outfield as well. Adding Kohl Stewart and a pair of Rule 5 hurlers helps the pitching depth picture, but there’s still plenty of room to add arms onto the roster.
Boston Red Sox [Offseason Outlook]
Incoming chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was tasked with getting the Sox beneath the luxury line but staying competitive. He has taken several steps towards that goal by buying low on Martin Perez and Jose Peraza. Standing alone, however, those deals only add salary to the MLB roster.
It’d be a big surprise at this point if the Boston organization doesn’t swing a significant trade or two over the next several weeks. David Price and Jackie Bradley Jr. seem likeliest to be dealt, though Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, Eduardo Rodriguez, and others probably can’t be ruled out entirely.
Back-filling for any departures will be a top priority. No matter who leaves, Bloom will be hunting for value in the bullpen, eyeing up rotation depth, and exploring bench improvements. The Sox could still stand to add another piece to the first base mix (perhaps a left-handed hitter to pair with Michael Chavis) and are hurting for catching depth. Just how much flexibility Bloom will have to pursue new adds will depend upon how much salary he sheds via trade.
New York Yankees [Offseason Outlook]
The one massive priority of the offseason was achieved when Gerrit Cole went rooting around his parents’ basement to dig up the sign he brought to Yankee Stadium as a kid. (“Mom! Where’s my sign?!?!”) Retaining Brett Gardner and adding Erik Kratz for depth also checked boxes.
Any follow-ups to the Cole signing will surely feel like lesser events. But they could yet make a big impact. The Yanks don’t really need anything, but have dabbled with some elite relievers and may have a major strike up their sleeve. There’s some amount of roster pressure involving young power hitters Miguel Andujar and Clint Frazier, but they are assets the Yanks will surely put to use on the field or via trade. Moving J.A. Happ would help with payroll management.
Tampa Bay Rays [Offseason Outlook]
The Rays have not only exemplified, but driven baseball’s de-formalization of roles. Scanning their present roster really drives this fact home. The team is laden with multi-functional players and situational possibilities. This applies to both pitchers and hitters.
In theory, the Rays could add just about any player they like and make it work. Value is paramount. Those considerations explain the team’s pursuit of left-handed-hitting center fielder Shogo Akiyama despite the presence of Kevin Kiermaier, not to mention the addition of countrymate Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, who joins a roster with quite a few other quality lefty bats.
Without any glaring need, per se, the Rays can perhaps be expected to keep doing what they do. We’ve see this organization hammer out somewhat complicated trades involving under-the-radar players time and time again. But we’ve also seen targeted gambles, such as last winter’s wise inking of Charlie Morton. With the powerhouse Yankees cresting, the Rays will need to press hard — and consider going outside of their comfort zone — to add a finishing piece or two to this roster. Given the versatility on hand, just about any high-value opportunity seems plausible.
Toronto Blue Jays [Offseason Outlook]
Public pressure can’t be the sole explanation for the Jays’ big strike for Hyun-Jin Ryu, but it surely played a role. Now that Ryu, Tanner Roark, and others have been installed in a revamped rotation, the front office can breathe a bit easier.
That’s a far sight from declaring this roster a potential winner. But it does seem to have a fair bit of upside in the form of young, elite talent and post-hype bounceback candidates. The position-player unit is littered with names that populated top prospect lists. It’s an ultra high-variance mix, which seems generally appropriate for this stage of the organization’s rebuild.
It’s certainly arguable the Toronto org ought to grab an open-market option or two in favor of some of its preexisting players. The corner outfield seems particularly susceptible of improvement, though the Jays would rather not fully block some of the guys they’ve picked up in recent years. The other interesting area is the bullpen, which is loaded up with uncertainty … and which includes one of the top trade candidates on the market. It’d obviously hurt the team’s 2020 outlook to move Ken Giles, but it’s awfully tough to bypass a return — especially with what appears to be a favorable market situation — for a guy who’ll reach free agency at season’s end.
Blue Jays Sign Travis Shaw
The Blue Jays continued what has become an increasingly busy offseason Monday, announcing a one-year deal with free-agent infielder Travis Shaw. The Pro Star Management client will reportedly secure a $4MM guarantee and earn $175K upon tallying 350 plate appearances, with another $125K for every 50 plate appearances accrued thereafter. The deal maxes out at a potential $4.675MM salary if Shaw exceeds 550 plate appearances.
The Brewers non-tendered Shaw earlier this month. It was an eventful couple of weeks on the market for the 29-year-old, who drew some interest from almost half the league. It’s not hard to see the appeal, since Shaw recently looked like a long-term building block in Milwaukee. From 2017-18, Shaw combined for a .258/.347/.497 line (119 wRC+) while playing nearly every day at the hot corner. He hit 30+ home runs in each season while drawing a fair number of walks with a manageable strikeout rate. Over his first two seasons as a Brewer, he was worth 7.1 fWAR.
Of course, the wheels fell of completely in 2019. Shaw stumbled to a ghastly .157/.281/.270 line (47 wRC+) over 270 plate appearances last season. Among those with at least 250 plate appearances, only Mike Zunino was worse at the dish. Shaw continued to draw his share of walks, but his contact rate fell precipitously. Consequently, his strikeout rate almost doubled from 18.4% to 33.0%. The contending Brewers couldn’t afford to let Shaw sink or swim, and they demoted him to Triple-A San Antonio in June.
To his credit, Shaw tore the cover off the ball following his demotion. His .286/.437/.586 slash was eye-opening, even in the hitters’ haven Pacific Coast League. Most importantly, Shaw seemed to get his strikeout troubles under control back in the minors.
Nevertheless, the Brewers elected not to bring Shaw back at his projected $4.7MM arbitration salary in light of his MLB struggles. Milwaukee did offer him a contract of some sort before non-tendering him (presumably for less than his arbitration projection), tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network, but Shaw decided to seek a change of scenery.
While Shaw falls a bit shy of that $4.7MM projection on his guarantee from the Jays, he has a strong chance at approaching the mark via his incentives. Shaw exceeded 550 plate appearances in each of 2017 and 2018, and he’s in line to start nearly every day at first base next season, tweets Scott Mitchell of TSN. That’ll leave the hot corner to Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. north of the border. Shaw replaces Justin Smoak, who coincidentally signed a very similar one-year, $5MM deal with the Brewers earlier in December.
Whether or not future additions to the lineup are forthcoming, the Jays are betting on a Shaw return to form. Shaw’s plate discipline remains intact and last season’s 88.7 MPH average exit velocity, per Statcast, is right in line with his career marks. Shaw will certainly need to rebound in the contact department. His track record and age, though, give reason for cautious optimism. If Shaw does rediscover his form at the plate, he could return to Toronto in 2021. He has accrued 4.053 years of MLB service, meaning he’ll be arbitration-eligible again next offseason. He’ll certainly hope to enter that process on the heels of a better showing than he put forth in 2019.
Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com first reported the agreement (Twitter links). MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand added the salary terms and incentive structure.
Blue Jays Designate Richard Urena For Assignment
The Blue Jays announced Monday that they’ve designated infielder Richard Urena for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to corner infielder Travis Shaw, whose previously reported one-year contract is now official, per the team.
Urena, 24 in February, can play all over the infield, but to this point in his career hasn’t hit much in either the Majors (.253/.300/.336 in 263 plate appearances) or Triple-A (.250/.289/.373 in 671 plate appearances). He hasn’t posted particularly strong defensive metrics during his limited time in the big leagues but was praised as a potential plus defender with average or better speed as he rose through the Blue Jays’ farm system.
Urena is also out of minor league options, so he’d have had to either break camp with the big league club this spring or else be traded or exposed to waivers via a DFA in a few months anyhow. That lack of options will likely limit his appeal to other clubs as well, although a team with a particularly thin infield mix and some 40-man flexibility could take a flier on a waiver claim. The Blue Jays will have a week to either trade Urena or try to pass him through outright waivers.
Blue Jays Sign Shun Yamaguchi
TODAY: The Blue Jays’ deal with Yamaguchi is official. They’ve signed the right-hander to a two-year, $6.35MM deal, per Scott Mitchell of TSN Sports (via Twitter).
3:35pm: There’s a deal in place, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter).
2:59pm: The Blue Jays appear to be pressing hard to add Japanese hurler Shun Yamaguchi. According to Sanspo.com (Japanese language link), the sides are closing in on a two-year deal that would pay him around $3MM annually if it’s finalized.
If the sides wrap things up, the Toronto organization will owe the Yomiuri Giants twenty percent of the total guarantee as a transfer fee. Japan’s marquee organization formally posted Yamaguchi on December 3rd.
Yamaguchi, a 32-year-old forkballer, has had plenty of success in Japan’s top league as both a starter and reliever. Once a star closer for the Yokohama BayStars, Yamaguchi has more recently taken the ball to open games for Yomiuri. Last year, working from the rotation, he delivered 170 frames of 2.91 ERA ball with 10.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.
It stands to reason that the starter-needy Blue Jays will at least give Yamaguchi a shot at winning a rotation job out of camp. But the club could also certainly be in the market for relief help, so its intentions aren’t yet clear. Odds are the Jays are drawn in no small part to Yamaguchi’s versatility. He has plenty of experience locking up saves in NPB so could even ultimately be called upon in a high-leverage role if the circumstances warrant.
Blue Jays Notes: Ryu, Boras, Shapiro
The Blue Jays have remade their pitching staff this winter with the additions of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark, Chase Anderson and Shun Yamaguchi. Along with the return on Matt Shoemaker and the development of Anthony Kay, Trent Thornton, Ryan Borucki and Nate Pearson, the Blue Jays have plenty of options for their 2020 rotation. It doesn’t come together, however, without Ryu at the top. With that in mind, let’s check in on some of the factors that brought the Korean southpaw to Toronto…
- To remember the last time one of Scott Boras’ clients signed with the Blue Jays, he had to go all the way back to the mid-eighties. Bill Caudill signed a two-year, $2.37MM deal to play the 1985 and 1986 seasons in Toronto. Caudill is now one of a couple ex-clients to work for Boras. But until Hyun-Jin Ryu‘s four-year, $80MM deal, the Blue Jays were one of Boras’ favorite teams to pick on, per the Athletic’s John Lott. It wasn’t personal, of course, Boras simply believes Toronto’s market should make them a top-10 team capable of signing top free agents while retaining their own homegrown stars – a trend he’s starting to see with the current Toronto regime. And of course, it behooves Boras to push potential large market teams to open their wallets.
- As for Ryu’s choice to join the Blue Jays, the decision largely came down to where he wanted to raise his young family. That said, Toronto’s early and persistent interest also helped bring Ryu north of the border, per the Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath. Long-term security wasn’t necessarily a driving factor for Ryu, though securing a four-year deal for the 32-year-old certainly counts as a win for Boras. Team President Mark Shapiro spoke on Ryu’s importance to the community, saying: “It was more recognizing what an incredibly international city Toronto is, very aware of the Korean population here, both in students and business and what a tightknit community it is. And so feeling like it would be a great place for Ryu and his family to be and feeling like it would be a great synergy with Toronto and Canada, in general. That was a consideration — not a driving factor, but certainly something that we thought would make for a great alignment in the relationship moving forward.”