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Blue Jays Rumors

Blue Jays To Acquire Darrell Ceciliani

By Jeff Todd | February 2, 2016 at 1:35pm CDT

The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Darrell Ceciliani from the Mets, as Chris Cotillo of SB Nation first tweeted. Toronto will send a player to be named later in the deal, per a team announcement, though New York calls it a cash deal in its own release.

The 25-year-old had been designated for assignment to clear roster space for Yoenis Cespedes. He’ll provide another outfield option for Toronto, which sacrificed some depth when it shipped Ben Revere to the Nationals for reliever Drew Storen. A left-handed hitter, Ceciliani did reach the bigs last year for New York but accrued only minimal major league experience.

It remains to be seen what the youngster can do with a full opportunity, but he’s shown some promise. He logged an impressive .345/.398/.581 slash and contributed nine home runs and 16 steals in his 255 plate appearances at Triple-A last year, and has generally swung the bat well during his time on the farm.

Notably, too, Ceciliani drew strong ratings from defensive metrics in his short, 129-inning run in the majors last year. He can be deployed all across the outfield, too, adding to his versatility.

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AL East Notes: Ramirez, Navarro, Rays, Cashman

By Mark Polishuk | January 31, 2016 at 6:23pm CDT

Ramon Ramirez, an infield prospect in the Orioles system, died in a motorcycle accident on Saturday in the Dominican Republic.  The 23-year-old Ramirez signed with the O’s in 2014 and played second, third and shortstop in 55 games at the Rookie League and low- and high-A ball levels over the last two seasons.  “Our entire organization is deeply saddened by the sudden and tragic death of Ramon Ramirez. As a member of the Orioles organization, Ramon worked tirelessly to make the most of his opportunity to play professional baseball. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, teammates, and coaches as we mourn this unimaginable loss,” Orioles executive VP Dan Duquette said in a statement today.  We at MLB Trade Rumors join the Orioles and the baseball world in expressing our condolences to Ramirez’s loved ones.

Some news from around the AL East…

  • The Orioles’ acquisition of first baseman/outfielder Efren Navarro adds some depth and gives Baltimore some roster flexibility, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes.  With Navarro now in the mix as a first base backup behind Chris Davis, the O’s could use young first basemen Christian Walker or Trey Mancini as trade chips.  Since Navarro is a well-regarded defender at first, Kubatko also wonders if Davis could see more time in the outfield.  Davis said he’s “always open to doing whatever it takes to win,” though noted that he’s much more comfortable in right field than left.
  • Now that the Rays have traded Jake McGee, their next move could be to acquire a replacement setup man, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Alex Colome and Xavier Cedeno form a righty-lefty setup combo at the moment, though Topkin thinks the Rays could sign another veteran bullpen option (though not a big name like Tyler Clippard) or potentially trade for a reliever by dealing from their outfield surplus.  Brandon Guyer or Desmond Jennings could be trade chips in that scenario, Topkin opines, though interested teams may need to see that Jennings is healthy in Spring Training following his injury-plagued 2015 season.  The Rays still aren’t generating any trade buzz on James Loney, despite their willingness to cover part of his salary.
  • The only team yet to sign a Major League free agent this offseason has been, of all teams, the Yankees.  While GM Brian Cashman tells Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News that the club “explored all avenues” to upgrade the roster, the Bronx Bombers have been much more focused on trades rather than free agent signings over the last two offseasons.  This winter, such major names as Aroldis Chapman, Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks joined the team.  “There’s a lot of different ways to climb the mountain. This winter took us to trades. We spent money, but it was acquiring contracts through trades. We’ve traded talent from our system to do that,” Cashman said.
  • There’s little question that Blue Jays fans want Jose Bautista to sign an extension, as evidenced by a very pro-Bautista response at a recent “Pitch Talks” speaker series event in Toronto.  FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, one of the speakers at the event, used the response to illustrate the sometimes stark difference in perspective between fans and front offices.  While there are solid baseball reasons to keep Bautista (as outlined by Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling at the event), general front office logic would dictate that extending a veteran slugger past his age-35 season isn’t necessarily a wise move.  While many fans understand this reasoning, that doesn’t stop the more general sentiment amongst the fanbase that the Jays should keep a player who has been such a huge star for the franchise.  I outlined the tricky situation the Jays face with Bautista in an Extension Candidate entry last November.
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Baltimore Orioles New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays Brandon Guyer Brian Cashman Chris Davis Desmond Jennings Efren Navarro Jose Bautista

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Minor MLB Transactions: 1/29/16

By Jeff Todd | January 29, 2016 at 8:40pm CDT

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.
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Cincinnati Reds Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Jonathan Sanchez Maicer Izturis Steve Johnson

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Anthopoulos Expects Blue Jays To Be "Really Good"

By charliewilmoth | January 24, 2016 at 11:00am CDT

  • Former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos (who’s now with the Dodgers) believes his old team is going to be “really good” next season, Cafardo reports. Anthopoulos points out that, in addition to midseason additions like David Price, one key for the Jays down the stretch last year was that Troy Tulowitzki’s addition and Jose Bautista’s recovery from injury allowed them to field a better defense. That’s an improvement they should be able to at least partially retain in 2016, Anthopoulos believes.

    [SOURCE LINK]
  • Former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos (who’s now with the Dodgers) believes his old team is going to be “really good” next season, Cafardo reports. Anthopoulos points out that, in addition to midseason additions like David Price, one key for the Jays down the stretch last year was that Troy Tulowitzki’s addition and Jose Bautista’s recovery from injury allowed them to field a better defense. That’s an improvement they should be able to at least partially retain in 2016, Anthopoulos believes.
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Houston Astros Toronto Blue Jays Bobby Parnell Doug Fister Joel Hanrahan Mat Latos Troy Tulowitzki

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Latest On Antonio Bastardo

By Steve Adams | January 19, 2016 at 6:53pm CDT

The market for left-hander Antonio Bastardo — arguably the top remaining free agent reliever on the market — has begun to pick up this week, per Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray. The Dodgers, Orioles, Mets and Blue Jays are all interested in Bastardo’s services, according to the report, which also notes that the Cubs met with Bastardo’s reps from the Legacy Agency at last month’s Winter Meetings.

Bastardo has reportedly been seeking a contract similar to the one secured by fellow free-agent lefty Tony Sipp this offseason. The 32-year-old Sipp landed a three-year, $18MM contract to return to Houston back in December, but the market for Bastardo’s services hasn’t been as aggressive despite the fact that he’s two years younger. While Murray notes that the intensifying market could potentially lead to a three-year pact, it’s difficult to see either the Mets or Blue Jays doling out that type of contract. The Mets are reportedly only interested in one-year deals with the remaining free agent relievers on the market, and the Blue Jays are said to be working with budgetary restrictions as their payroll is set to exceed last year’s mark as it is. The Orioles have been aggressive of late, but the $161MM they recently spent on Chris Davis (plus the $31MM given to Darren O’Day, the $7MM allotted to Korean outfielder Hyun Soo Kim and the $16.1MM going to Matt Wieters via the qualifying offer) calls into question how much more they’ll spend. (It’s also worth noting that with Brian Matusz, T.J. McFarland and closer Zach Britton, the team already has three lefties in the ’pen.)

The Dodgers, to be sure, have virtually unlimited spending capacity, but they’ve taken a surprisingly measured approach to their bullpen shopping this winter. The Cubs, theoretically, could issue that kind of deal, though Murray notes that it’s not clear when the last contact between the two sides even was, and they, too, have three lefties in the ’pen (Travis Wood, Clayton Richard, Rex Brothers).

Bastardo, 30, has been a somewhat quietly excellent performer across the past three seasons with the Phillies and Pirates. In that time, Bastardo has logged a 3.18 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 30.8 percent ground-ball rate. He’s also been effective against both left- and right-handed batters, holding same-handed opponents to a .167/.273/.295 batting line while surrendering just a .204/.310/.314 batting line even when his opponents hold the platoon advantage. Of course, control has been a persistent problem for Bastardo, too, as he’s only averaged less than four walks per nine innings in one season of his career — his debut campaign in 2009, when he tossed just 23 2/3 innings.

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Baltimore Orioles Chicago Cubs Los Angeles Dodgers New York Mets Toronto Blue Jays Antonio Bastardo

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Minor MLB Transactions: 1/18/16

By Jeff Todd | January 18, 2016 at 2:58pm CDT

Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the latest minor moves from around the game. Among those that have not previously appeared at MLBTR:

  • Lefty Andy Oliver is headed back to the Orioles, per Eddy. The 28-year-old made some brief MLB appearances years ago, when he was a starter in the Tigers’ organization, but spent last year at Triple-A for the O’s. He posted a 3.79 ERA over 57 Triple-A innings, with 10.4 K/9 against 6.3 BB/9.
  • The Royals have once again united with outfielder Mitch Maier. Originally taken 30th overall back in 2003, Maier is now 33 years old and hasn’t seen the majors since 2012. It’s not immediately clear what his role will be, as he spent last year transitioning into a coaching role with the organization — though he acknowledged at the time that he still had a desire to play.
  • Outfielder Corey Brown is headed to the Dodgers on a minors deal, Eddy adds. The 30-year-old has seen only minimal major league time over the years, but certainly qualifies as another outfield depth piece for Los Angeles. He put up a .248/.324/.445 slash with 17 long balls over 472 Triple-A plate appearances last year in the Rays organization.
  • The Blue Jays added southpaw Daniel Schlereth on a minor league pact. It’s been a while since Schlereth, 29, cracked the bigs — 2012, with Detroit — and he was released by the Cubs last year after a brief stint in the organization. Schlereth was the 26th overall pick in the 2008 draft.
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Baltimore Orioles Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Dodgers Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Andy Oliver Corey Brown Daniel Schlereth Mitch Maier

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Quick Hits: NL DH, Moss, Adams, Blue Jays, Prospects

By Mark Polishuk | January 17, 2016 at 11:48pm CDT

There’s “more momentum” growing towards the designated hitter rule being adopted by the National League, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells reporters, including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The issue has been more heavily discussed in front offices and ownership levels within “the past year…I’m not suggesting you’re going to see a change but I definitely think the momentum (has changed),” Mozeliak said, noting that he doubts the DH would be implemented by 2017 in concert with the new collective bargaining agreement.  ESPN’s Buster Olney also explores the issue in his latest subscription-only column, noting that adding the DH to the NL could increase offense and cut down on pitcher injuries.  While there are some pros, however, Olney personally hates the idea of losing the extra layer of strategy and roster management that comes with having a pitcher in the lineup.  Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • Also from Olney’s column, he gives his take on the Chris Davis and Ian Kennedy signings.  He calls the Davis contract a “win-win” for both the slugger and the Orioles, as Davis still found a huge guarantee and the O’s got a much-needed big bat.  As for Kennedy, the signing makes sense for several reasons for K.C., including that the Royals moved to add attainable pitching now since next year’s free agent pitching crop is so thin.
  • Brandon Moss and Matt Adams both have something to prove after down years in 2015, as Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at how the two Cardinals sluggers are looking to rebound and bring some much-needed pop to the Cards’ lineup.  There was some thought that Moss could even be non-tendered given his poor season and big arbitration price tag (he and the Cards avoided arb with a one-year, $8.25MM deal) but Mozeliak tells Hummel that the team feels confident that Moss will be healthier now that he’s more recovered from hip surgery.
  • The Blue Jays have eight players who will be free agents after the 2016 season, including such major names as Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Cecil, Drew Storen and R.A. Dickey.  Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star opines that the club needs to re-sign at least some of these players (and/or Josh Donaldson) to extensions to demonstrate that ownership is committed to winning and to win back fans disappointed by the Jays’ offseason moves.  The extra revenue generated by Toronto’s playoff run hasn’t been reflected by any raise in payroll, leading Griffin to wonder if the divide between ex-GM Alex Anthopoulos and the Rogers Communications ownership group perhaps stemmed from Anthopoulos’ desire to go for it in 2016 while Rogers was “more fixated on the [U.S./Canadian dollar] exchange rate and the bottom line.”
  • In a recent appearance on the MLB Network, Baseball America’s Ben Badler (video link available) discusses the Cuban market, including the most recent high-profile signings, some big new talents like Randy Arozarena and Lazaro Armenteros and the current state of Cuban baseball.
  • Several young stars are cited by Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper as he proposes five trades that could solve needs for the involved teams and create playing time for some blocked prospects.  The two most eye-popping of Cooper’s suggestions are trades that would see the Mets deal Steven Matz and Luis Carpio to the Red Sox for Yoan Moncada, and an all-NL Central trade that would see the Pirates send outfielders Austin Meadows and Willy Garcia to the Reds for lefty Cody Reed.
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Baltimore Orioles Kansas City Royals St. Louis Cardinals Toronto Blue Jays Brandon Moss Chris Davis Ian Kennedy John Mozeliak Matt Adams

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AL Notes: Rays, A’s, Jays, O’s

By Jeff Todd | January 17, 2016 at 2:11pm CDT

The Rays won an important political battle late last week in the St. Petersburg City Council, as Charlie Frago of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Under the deal that the council approved, the ballclub will have the opportunity to explore possible stadium sites in two neighboring counties for the next three years. Team owner Stuart Sternberg suggested that there’s no plan in place for a new location. “We haven’t done it before,” he said. “I don’t know if it takes a week or six months to identify and figure out a site.” But the organization made clear that it is aiming for something more than bare function. “We want to build the first of the next generation of baseball stadiums,” said president Brian Auld.

  • In other stadium news, Athletics majority owner John Fisher is said to be more involved than usual as his club considers possibilities for a new park, as Phil Matier and Andy Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle report. While managing partner Lew Wolff has traditionally been the public face of ownership, Fisher is believed to control 80% of the shares.
  • Change continues to filter through the Blue Jays organization, which has recently announced two front office hirings. Mike Murov will come over from the Red Sox to serve as the director of baseball operations, in which role (says the team) he’ll “assist in the preparation and analysis of financial, statistical, and contractual information, coordinating contract negotiation and arbitration preparation.” And Toronto also recently added Gil Kim to their organization as well. Formerly the international scouting director for the Rangers, Kim will serve as the Jays’ director of player development.
  • The Orioles have given a promotion to the head of their analytics department, Sarah Gelles, as David Laurila of Fangraphs discusses (among other things) in his Sunday notes column. Now the organization’s Director of Analytics and Major League Contracts, Gelles discusses the development of the club’s analytical efforts, which she helped drive as an intern working for now-Phillies GM Matt Klentak.
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Blue Jays Notes: Donaldson, Arbitration, Shapiro

By charliewilmoth | January 16, 2016 at 4:42pm CDT

Here are a couple quick notes from out of Toronto:

  • The Blue Jays’ exchange of arbitration figures with MVP Josh Donaldson on Friday is a source of concern, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. Next offseason, the Jays will face the potential free agency of Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, R.A. Dickey and several other key players, and they’ll need to remake themselves around Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin. Their farm system is relatively weak in the upper levels after their midseason trades last year, too, so they’ll have to supplement that core without much initial help from their farm system. Arbitration hearings can be contentious, and the Jays already took Donaldson to arbitration once last winter. Davidi feels it therefore seems a bit worrisome that they’re apparently set to do it again, even though the difference between their filing numbers ($11.8MM versus $11.35MM) is only $450K. On the other hand, the Jays already have about $130MM committed to their big-league payroll in 2016, and need all the payroll space they can get, not only for the coming season, but for the future, when they’ll have to handle replacing or re-signing their long list of players who are eligible for free agency.
  • New Jays president Mark Shapiro is not “Darth Vader,” he tells Brendan Kennedy of the Star in a lengthy profile. Jays fans haven’t exactly warmed to Shapiro, whose arrival helped lead to the departure of GM Alex Anthopoulos, who had just helped build the Jays’ exciting 2015 team. “It’s not consistent with who I’ve been for 24 years,” Shapiro says of certain aspects of his current reputation in Toronto. “I’ve got a pretty good track record of who I am as a person and who I am as a leader. So it’s a little strange to all of a sudden go from a guy who was considered to be a nice guy to a guy who’s Darth Vader.”
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Toronto Blue Jays Josh Donaldson

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Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday

By Steve Adams | January 15, 2016 at 7:30pm CDT

The deadline for teams to exchange arbitration figures with eligible players is 1pm ET today. Dozens of arb agreements figure to flow in over the next few hours, and we’ll keep track of the smaller arb agreements in this post. All projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz and can be viewed on the full list of 156 players that filed for arbitration this year. Remember also that you can keep track of everyone that has avoided arbitration by checking out MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

Onto the agreements…

  • Shortstop Zack Cozart is in agreement with the Reds for an undisclosed sum, per a team announcement. He projected at $2.9MM in his second year of eligibility after a promising start to the 2015 season was cut short by a serious knee injury.
  • The Diamondbacks announced that they have avoided arbitration with righty Rubby De La Rosa for an undisclosed sum. He was projected at $3.2MM but, per Jack Magruder of Fanragsports.com (on Twitter), will earn only $2.35MM.
  • Reliever Fernando Rodriguez settled with the Athletics for $1.05MM — beneath his projected $1.3MM — per the Associated Press.
  • Dodgers infielder Justin Turner will earn $5.1MM next season, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. That’s just a shade under his $5.3MM projection.
  • The Braves settled with reliever Arodys Vizcaino for $897,500, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. He had a $1.1MM projection entering the fall.
  • Both Zach Putnam will earn a $975K salary next year after agreeing with the White Sox, per a club announcement. That’s $175K over the projected arb value of the Super Two.
  • The Cardinals settled with first baseman Matt Adams for $1.65MM, Heyman tweets. That’s a small bump over his $1.5MM projections. The team is also in agreement with right-hander Seth Maness, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Super Two reliever projected at $1.2MM but will receive $1.4MM, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter).
  • Righty Tom Koehler receives a $3.5MM payday from the Marlins, per Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The team gets a break on the $3.9MM that had been projected. The team also has an agreement with righties David Phelps and Carter Capps, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets. Heyman adds (via Twitter) that Phelps will earn exactly his projected amount of $2.5MM. Capps was predicted to earn $800K, but his salary is yet to be reported.
  • The Diamondbacks agreed to a $4.35MM rate with first-year-eligible starter Shelby Miller, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. He had projected at $4.9MM. Notably, Miller comes in just ahead of fellow 3+ service-class pitcher Harvey (who is covered below). Fellow Arizona hurler Patrick Corbin will earn $2.525MM next year, Passan also tweets.
  • The Nationals have agreed with infielder Danny Espinosa for $2.875MM, Jon Heyman tweets. He gets a slight bump over his $2.7MM projection in his second season of arb eligibility.
  • Nolan Arenado will receive a $5MM salary from the Rockies in his first season of eligibility, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. That’s exactly what fellow star young third baseman Manny Machado settled for as well, though Arenado was a Super Two. As Swartz explained recently, those two players’ cases may well have been tied together despite some important distinctions. He also explained why Arenado might not reach his sky-high $6.6MM projection in actuality.
  • The Orioles have agreed with starter Miguel Gonzalez for $5.1MM, Eduardo Rodriguez of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Gonzalez projected for $4.9MM.
  • Outfielder Chris Coghlan agreed at $4.8MM with the Cubs, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. That’s quite a nice increase over his projected $3.9MM. Also agreeing with Chicago was reliever Pedro Strop, who gets $4.4MM, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). He had been projected at $4.7MM.
  • Both righty Michael Pineda (for $4.3MM) and infielder/outfielder Dustin Ackley ($3.2MM), according to Passan (via Twitter) and Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Those numbers largely track the projected amounts of $4.6MM and $3.1MM, respectively.
  • Danny Duffy will play at $4.225MM next year after reaching terms with the Royals, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). Catcher Drew Butera, meanwhile, will get $1,162,500 from Kansas City. Both represented small bumps over their projected values of $4MM and $1.1MM.
  • Marlins closer A.J. Ramos will get $3.4MM in 2016, Heyman reports (Twitter links). Teammate Adeiny Hechavarria, meanwhile, will take down $2.625MM. Both first-year-eligible players went over their projections ($2.8MM and $2.3MM, respectively).
  • The Mets will pay $4.325MM to Matt Harvey and $3MM to shortstop Ruben Tejada for 2016, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports (Twitter links). Harvey approaches, but doesn’t quite reach, his $4.7MM projection. Though he’s still recovering from an unfortunate leg injury suffered during the post-season, Tejada will take home a cool half-million more than had been projected.
  • Righty Joe Kelly has agreed with the Red Sox at $2.6MM, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. He falls a fair sight shy of the $3.2MM that MLBTR projected. Though he reached ten wins on the year, Kelly scuffled to a 4.82 ERA over his 134 1/3 innings.
  • Righty Drew Hutchison agreed with the Blue Jays for $2.2MM, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. He falls short of a $2.6MM projection after a tough 2015 campaign.
  • The Tigers have reached terms with shortstop Jose Iglesias for $2.1MM, per another Heyman tweet. The deal also includes some incentives, per the report. That’s a healthy jump up over the $1.5MM projection for the slick-fielding infielder, who did have a strong 2015 season.
  • The Mariners announced that they reached agreement with lefty Charlie Furbush and righty Evan Scribner. Furbush will receive $1.7MM, while Scribner will get $807.5K, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.
  • Both shortstop Jean Segura and righty Wily Peralta are under contract with the Brewers, per a team announcement. Segura gets $2.6MM after being projected at $3.2MM, per Heyman (Twitter link). Matt Swartz’s system pegged Peralta at $2.8MM, and that’s exactly what he’ll earn, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter).

There are plenty more after the jump:

Read more

Earlier Updates

  • Marlins ace Jose Fernandez has agreed to a $2.8MM salary that can reach $3MM via his incentives, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. That deal puts Fernandez comfortably north of his $2.2MM projection. He’ll hope for a full healthy season at the front of Miami’s rotation.
  • Passan also tweets that Cubs closer Hector Rondon will land a $4.2MM salary, which clears his $3.6MM projection. Rondon racked up 30 saves with a sparkling 1.67 ERA this season and is in line to close in Chicago once again next year.
  • The Cubs have also agreed to terms with lefty Travis Wood and right-hander Justin Grimm, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter). Wood will earn a $6.175MM salary that is within $225K of his $6.4MM projection, and Grimm will take home $1.275MM, exceeding his $1MM projection. Both will play key roles for the Cubs next year, with Wood potentially occupying a swingman role but also facing lefties late in games and Grimm hoping to replicate his 1.99 ERA from 2015.
  • Sticking with the Cubs, Adam Warren will avoid arb with a $1.7MM deal in his first season with Chicago after a strong 3.29 ERA last season with the Yankees, according to Baseball America’s Josh Norris (on Twitter). That figure is a bit north of Warren’s $1.5MM projection.
  • Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (links to Twitter) that the Twins have avoided arbitration with infielders Eduardo Nunez and Eduardo Escobar. Nunez will receive $1.475MM and Escobar will take him $2.15MM, per Berardino. That puts Nunez right in line with his $1.5MM projection and Escobar $350K ahead of his $1.8MM estimate. Escobar is in line to be Minnesota’s starting shortstop. Berardino also reports that right-hander Casey Fien settled at $2.275MM — a slight bump on top of his $2.2MM projection (Twitter link). He’ll see action in middle relief next year.
  • The Blue Jays and lefty Aaron Loup have agreed to a $1.05MM salary for the 2016 season, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (on Twitter). Loup registered a 4.46 ERA but flashed excellent strikeout-to-walk numbers in 42 1/3 innings (46 strikeouts, seven walks). He was projected to earn $900K.
  • The Rays and catcher Rene Rivera settled at $1.7MM, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. That’s $100K more than his $1.6MM projection. Rivera didn’t provide any value with the bat last season but is an excellent pitch-framer and draws strong reviews for his overall defensive prowess. Topkin also tweets that Logan Morrison ($4.2MM), Erasmo Ramirez ($2.375MM) and Hank Conger ($1.5MM) have avoided arbitration. Morrison’s deal is right in line with his projection of $4.1MM, while Ramirez is a bit shy of his $2.8MM figure and the same holds true of Conger and his $1.8MM projection.
  • Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets that Marwin Gonzalez and the Astros agreed to a $2MM salary — $100K more than his $1.9MM projection. Gonzalez will fill in around the infield as needed next season after a solid all-around year in 2015, when he hit .279/.317/.442.
  •  MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian has news on the Indians’ remaining arb-eligibles: Lonnie Chisenhall gets $2.725MM, Jeff Manship gets $765K and Josh Tomlin earns $2.25MM (links to Twitter). They had been respectively projected at $3MM, $700K and $3.1MM. Tomlin falls a ways shy of his projection, though Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that his salary is fully guaranteed, which is a nice perk, as that’s not the norm for arb contracts.
  • Jon Heyman tweets that Yasmani Grandal and the Dodgers settled at $2.8MM for the 2016 season. That’s $100K more than the $2.7MM projected for Grandal after a strong first year in L.A., wherein he batted .234/.353/.403 with 16 home runs.
  • The Rangers and Tanner Scheppers agreed to a $900K salary, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The right-hander had been projected to earn $800K and will look to earn a job in the bullpen next year.
  • Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports that the Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with left-hander Brett Cecil, agreeing to a $3.8MM deal (Twitter link). Cecil’s deal tops his projection by $400K. The southpaw lost the closer’s gig in Toronto last season but rebounded to post strong overall numbers: a 2.48 ERA with 11.6 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 54 1/3 innings.
  • Nicholson-Smith also tweets that the Pirates and righty Jared Hughes have agreed to a $2.175MM salary for next season. That falls right in line with his $2.2MM projection. Hughes, 30, logged a 2.28 ERA with 4.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a huge 63.7 percent ground-ball rate in 67 innings last year.
  • Sticking with the Pirates, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter) that Francisco Cervelli will secure a $3.5MM salary for 2016 in lieu of arbitration. He also reports that lefty Tony Watson will take home $3.45MM. Cervelli’s deal clears his projection by $1MM, while Watson’s falls about the same sum shy. Cervelli had a career-year in 2015, batting .295/.370/.401 with seven home runs. He’s now one year from free agency. Watson, meanwhile, recorded a stellar 1.91 ERA in 75 1/3 innings. He has two years to go before free agency.
  • Passan also tweets that Indians closer Cody Allen has landed a hefty $4.15MM payday in his first trip through arb, with his saves totals leading him to clear his $3.5MM projection by a fairly sizable margin. Allen was again dominant in 2015, leading the AL with 58 games finished and recording a 2.99 ERA with 12.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 34 saves.
  • Passan also has the scoop on a trio of Mets (Twitter link): Addison Reed ($5.3MM) Carlos Torres ($1.05MM) and Josh Edgin ($625K). Each figures to see significant time in the ’pen next season, with Reed taking on a prime setup role. Reed will fall $400K shy of his projection, while Torres clears his $800K projection and Edgin lands just slightly north of his $600K projection. Edgin missed the year with Tommy John surgery, while Reed put up a 3.38 ERA in 56 innings and Torres worked to a 4.68 ERA in 57 2/3 frames.
  • Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets that right-hander Josh Fields will get $900K from the Astros in place of an arb hearing. That’s $100K higher than his projection. Fields had an under-the-radar season, posting a 3.55 ERA with 11.9 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 50 2/3 innings for the ’Stros.
  • The Rangers announced that they’ve avoided arb with catcher Robinson Chirinos, and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that he’ll earn $1.55MM next year. That’s nearly identical to his $1.4MM projection and represents a raise on the heels of a .232/.325/.438 season in which he blasted 10 home runs.
  • The Astros and infielder Luis Valbuena have agreed to terms on a $6.125MM salary for the upcoming season, thereby avoiding arbitration, according to Jon Heyman (Twitter link). That figure surpasses Swartz’s projection by about 5.5 percent, rewarding Valbuena for a season in which he slugged a career-best 25 home runs. Overall, Valbuena batted .224/.310/.438, splitting his time between third base and first base.
  • The Nationals announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with Anthony Rendon. He’ll earn $2.8MM, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crascnick, which is $300K greater than the sum projected by Swartz. Rendon was injured for much of the 2015 campaign and batted .264/.344/.363 when healthy. He’ll hope to get back to his .287/.351/.473 form from 2014 in the season to come.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reports that the Brewers and left-handed setup man Will Smith have avoided arb with a one-year, $1.475MM agreement (Twitter link). Smith, 26, quietly had an outstanding season in Milwaukee, pitching to a 2.70 ERA with 12.9 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 63 1/3 innings. He’ll be one of Milwaukee’s top late-inning relief arms this season and had been projected at $1.2MM and exceeded that number by $200K.
  • The Diamondbacks and right-hander Randall Delgado have agreed to a $1.275MM sum for the 2016 season, tweets Heyman. Delgado, who had been projected at $1MM, posted a 3.25 ERA in 72 innings of relief for Arizona last season. Arizona is also in agreement with right-hander Daniel Hudson, tweets Passan, putting him a strong $700K above Swartz’s projection. Hudson returned from a pair of Tommy John surgeries to establish himself as a strong setup option with the D-backs, pitching in the upper 90s with his fastball and recording a 3.86 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 67 2/3 innings.
  • Heyman also tweets that the Pirates and Jordy Mercer are in agreement on a one-year, $2.075MM deal, clearing his $1.8MM projection. Mercer had a down season in 2015 that included a six-week absence due to a knee injury, but he’ll look to rebound in regular duty at shortstop this year. He batted .244/.293/.320 in 430 PAs last season.
  • Also via Heyman (links to Twitter), the Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with right-hander Steve Delabar ($835K) and outfielder Michael Saunders ($2.9MM). Delabar, who will compete for a bullpen spot in 2016, struggled to a 5.22 ERA in 29 1/3 innings with the Jays this past season. Meanwhile, Saunders scarcely saw the field due to a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the season. Delabar cleared his $700K projection, while Saunders’ $2.9MM projection was an exact match.
  • The Dodgers and left-hander Luis Avilan have agreed to a $1.39MM salary for the 2016 season, tweets Heyman. He tops his $1.1MM projection on the heels of a 4.05 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings split between L.A. and Atlanta.
  • The White Sox and right fielder Avisail Garcia have avoided arbitration with a one-year, $2.1MM agreement, reports Crasnick (via Twitter). That sum comes up $200K short of the $2.3MM projection from Swartz. Garcia, 24, struggled in his first full season at the Major League level last year, hitting .257/.309/.365 with sub-par contributions in the outfield. He’s still young enough that the Sox can hope for him to tap into his potential, though they’ve also been linked to outfield upgrades.
  • The Royals have reached one-year agreements with outfielder Jarrod Dyson ($1.725MM), right-hander Louis Coleman ($725K) and catcher Tony Cruz ($975K), reports Heyman (all links to Twitter). Dyson’s figure is just $25K more than his $1.7MM projection, though Coleman fell a ways shy of his $1MM projection. Dyson, who batted .250/.311/.380 with 26 stolen bases in 225 plate appearances last season, could see the lion’s share of playing time in right field for Kansas City this season. Coleman, 30 in April, will compete for a bullpen spot after tossing just three big league innings last year but working to a 1.69 ERA in 64 Triple-A innings. The 29-year-old Cruz will compete for a backup job in KC after hitting .204/.235/.310 as a backup in St. Louis last season. His salary will nearly match his $1MM projection.
  • Catcher Welington Castillo and the D-backs are in agreement on a one-year deal worth $3.7MM, according to Heyman (Twitter link). After being bounced from the Cubs and Mariners with little fanfare in trades last season, Castillo had a huge finish with Arizona, batting .255/.317/.496 with 17 homers in 80 games. Overall, he batted .237/.296/.453 with 19 homers in 378 PAs. Castillo’s $3.7MM salary will clear his $3.6MM by a narrow margin of $100K.
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