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2015-16 American League Non-Tenders

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Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2016 season. Remember that you can track all of the action using MLBTR’s Non-Tender tracker, and we offer a full list of non-tender candidates (in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes). Also important for reference is the set of arbitration salary projections from MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz.

We’ll run down the list of American League non-tenders here, and update it as reports come in.

  • According to a club announcement this morning, the Yankees non-tendered righty Domingo German last night. By parting with the pre-arb-eligible hurler, New York cleared one open spot on its 40-man.
  • The Rangers announced that they won’t tender contracts to righty Nick Tepesch or outfielder James Jones. Neither player was arbitration eligible, but the decisions clear two 40-man roster spots. Tepesch missed the 2015 season battling shoulder injuries. Jones was recently acquired in a trade with the Mariners, though the main component of that deal for the Rangers was probably right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen. Texas hopes to retain both on minor league contracts, tweets the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson.
  • The Blue Jays have non-tendered backup catcher Josh Thole and tendered the rest of their players, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Thole has served primarily as R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher due to his familiarity with the knuckleball for much of his time with the Blue Jays.
  • Outfielder David Lough has also been non-tendered by the Orioles, the club announced. Lough hit just .201/.241/.313 with the Orioles in 144 plate appearances this season but has a reputation as a good defensive outfielder in the corners and traditionally hit righties well prior to this season.
  • The White Sox have non-tendered Tyler Flowers and Jacob Turner. More on that decision here.
  • The Orioles will non-tender infielder Paul Janish, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The defensively gifted journeyman was projected to earn a modest $600K in arbitration next season.

Earlier Updates

  • Righty Al Alburquerque will be non-tendered by the Tigers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. The 29-year-old was projected to earn only $2.1MM, and Detroit could use pen depth, but it appears that the club decided to move on after watching the veteran contribute 62 innings of 4.21 ERA ball with 8.4 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 last year.
  • The Athletics have announced that first baseman Ike Davis will not be tendered a contract, meaning he’ll become a free agent. The veteran was entering his final year of control at a $3.8MM projected salary. His non-tender was widely expected after a tough 2015 season, but became assured when the club swung a deal earlier today for his replacement.

Free Agent Notes: Navarro, Madson, Leake, Soria, Flowers

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Switch-hitting catcher Dioner Navarro is a “name to keep an eye on” in connection to the White Sox, says Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (links to Twitter). The sense among competitors for Navarro’s services is that something could come together quickly between Navarro and the ChiSox now that Tyler Flowers has been non-tendered, according to Passan, who calls Navarro the “top” offensive catcher on the market. I’d posit that Wilin Rosario certainly gives Navarro a run for his money in that regard, though Navarro probably comes with the better defensive reputation of the two. Regardless, a match between the Sox and Navarro certainly seems plausible.

A few more notes on some various free agents for those who are joining me in the realm of insomnia…

  • MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports that the Athletics are interested in right-hander Ryan Madson, with one source telling her that the A’s are a “legitimate suitor” for Madson’s services. Oakland is “square in the mix” for Madson, says Lee’s source. She notes that the former Phillies closer, who enjoyed a brilliant bounceback campaign in Kansas City this past season, is looking for a multi-year deal. While Oakland has already picked up reliever Liam Hendriks from Toronto, Lee writes that the team isn’t shying away from the concept of adding another relief arm. She adds that GM David Forst has stated that payroll won’t be a deterrent in the team’s pursuit of an additional setup arm.
  • The Giants still haven’t engaged in talks with right-hander Mike Leake, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. While San Francisco is widely believed to be interested in retaining the right-hander it acquired in late July, Schulman says the belief is that the team’s pursuit of ace Zack Greinke needs to be resolved before a serious effort to re-sign Leake is made. Greinke is reportedly deciding between the Giants and his former club (and San Francisco division rival), the Dodgers.
  • The Blue Jays and Royals are among the clubs monitoring the market for right-hander Joakim Soria, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The Tigers are out of the mix for Soria after acquiring Francisco Rodriguez, he adds. Both Toronto and K.C. are known to be interested in relief help, though a recent report from Crasnick indicated that the Blue Jays aren’t inclined to pay top dollar for any bullpen arms right now, and Soria is reportedly seeking a $27MM total over a three-year span, which seems to make the two an unlikely match.
  • CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes tweets that the White Sox’ decision to non-tender Flowers might have been a blessing in disguise for the catcher. One scout texted Hayes shortly after the news of Flowers’ non-tender broke, telling Hayes that Flowers “should thank” the White Sox for cutting him loose, because his belief is that Flowers will get more than his projected $3.5MM arbitration salary in this market. That seems potentially steep to me, considering the fact that Alex Avila and Geovany Soto have both signed for under $3MM, but Flowers did post standout framing numbers last year and does have some pop, so clubs are sure to be interested. If nothing else, he could probably surpass that number by way of incentives in a one-year deal with a new club.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12-2-2015

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We’ll use this post to keep tabs on arbitration deals struck today in advance of the non-tender deadline. Here’s the latest, with all projections via MLB Trade Rumors:

  • The Padres and Brett Wallace have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2016 season, according to a team announcement. Wallace will earn $1MM next season, tweets MLB.com’s Corey Brock, placing him just shy of his $1.1MM projection.
  • Backstop Chris Gimenez has agreed to a deal to avoid arbitration with the Rangers, per a team announcement. Gimenez will earn $975K while in the majors, but the deal is a split contract, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve agreed to terms with outfielder Nolan Reimold on a one-year deal, thus avoiding arbitration. Rich Dubroff of CSNMidAtlantic.com reports that Reimold will land a $1.3MM salary (Twitter link). He cleared MLBTR’s projection by $400K.
  • The Indians have avoided arbitration with newly acquired outfielder Collin Cowgill by agreeing to a $1MM salary for the upcoming 2016 season, tweets MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. That’s an exact match with his projected salary.
  • The Athletics announced that they’ve avoided arb with second baseman Eric Sogard, outfielder Sam Fuld, and newly acquired southpaw Marc Rzepczynski (Twitter link). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported Sogard’s contract (via Twitter), adding that he receives a $1.5MM salary, which is a bit shy of his $1.7MM projection.
  • The Cubs announced that they’ve avoided arbitration with lefty Clayton Richard, who, as MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat reports (on Twitter), will take home a $2MM salary next season. That’s a sizable increase over the $1.1MM at which he was projected.

Earlier Updates

  • The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with first baseman Justin Smoak, per Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link). He’ll earn $3.9MM next season with the Jays. That number drastically outpaces the $2MM projected by MLBTR.
  • Jose Lobaton and the Nationals have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.3875MM, reports James Wagner of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Lobaton’s deal comes in just shy of the $1.5MM he was projected to earn.
  • The Phillies announced deals with infielder Andres Blanco and just-claimed outfielder Peter Bourjos. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that Bourjos will receive a $2MM salary and Blanco will be paid $1.45MM in 2016. MLBTR had projected Blanco at $1MM while Bourjos came with a projected tag of $1.8MM.
  • Jordan Lyles has a $2.975MM deal with the Rockies, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. The righty will earn a minor bump over his $2.8MM projection.
  • The Athletics announced that the team has agreed to a deal with lefty Felix Doubront on a contract for 2016. The value is not known at this time, but he was projected at $2.5MM.
  • Backstop A.J. Ellis will receive $4.5MM next year with the Dodgers after striking a deal, Heyman tweets. That’s an exact match for the rate projected by MLBTR and Matt Swartz. The 34-year-old, who had a nice bounce-back campaign in 2015, will hit the open market after the coming season.
  • Righty Vance Worley has signed on with the Orioles for $2.6MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. That falls just $100K shy of his projected value as a first-year-eligible player. Baltimore added Worley earlier in the winter from the Pirates and figures to utilize him in a swingman capacity.
  • The Cubs have agreed to a $1.42MM deal with just-added lefty Rex Brothers, Heyman tweets. Brothers was projected at $1.5MM and will land just south of that figure. Brothers was recently designated by the Rockies and then shipped to Chicago in a minor trade.
  • And the Nationals will pay $900K to outfielder/first baseman Tyler Moore for the 2016 season, also per Heyman (via Twitter). He’ll land a bit shy of his $1MM projection, but the more relevant matter here is the fact that Moore will keep his roster spot. That has at times seemed at doubt, particularly with Ryan Zimmerman now entrenched at first base.

Free Agent Notes: Fowler, Zobrist, Leake, Venable, Relievers

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The Mets have some level of interest in Dexter Fowler as a center field option, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). However, Ben Zobrist remains the team’s top priority in free agency. Recent reports have indicated that the Mets won’t go to four years on Zobrist, and that will probably need to change in order to sign him, as Yahoo’s Jeff Passan said last night the price tag is currently believed to be around $60MM over four years. Should the Mets lose out on Zobrist, they could look to upgrade in center field, where Juan Lagares had a down season in 2015 — the first of a four-year contract extension. Lagares’ contract is affordable enough that he could be moved to a reserve role without it being an overpay.

A few more notes from around the free-agent market…

  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick delivers a slew of news pertaining to Zobrist (Twitter links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Per Crasnick, the Nationals, Giants and Dodgers are all in the mix for Zobrist as well. The Cubs and Cardinals like Zobrist but don’t have as many at-bats to offer as the other clubs. The Royals are probably priced out on Zobrist, and while the Angels inquired earlier this offseason, there’s been no recent discussion between the two sides. Additionally, Zobrist’s preference is to play for a contender, making the Braves a tough fit even though they do have some level of interest. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press hears (Twitter link) that about 11 clubs are in the mix for Zobrist, to some extent, but the Twins aren’t among them (which is no surprise given their glut of outfielders and Brian Dozier’s presence at second base).
  • Crasnick hears the same that Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has recently suggested — that having fallen short on David Price, the Cardinals could turn their attention to Mike Leake on the free agent market. Leake won’t cost near the same amount that the Cardinals were willing to go on Price, but he’d be a strong option to replace the injured Lance Lynn in their rotation in 2016 and would provide value for another four years or so beyond that point.
  • Also from Crasnick, both the Indians and Orioles have expressed interest in free-agent outfielder Will Venable. While the 32-year-old Venable is coming off a down season split between San Diego and Texas, he has historically been a productive bat for the Friars and has posted solid numbers away from the spacious Petco Park over the life of his career. Venable is also capable of playing all three outfield positions.
  • A pair of notes on relievers: Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald hears that the Red Sox are no longer in the market for right-hander Joakim Soria (Twitter link). Having spent an enormous amount in terms of dollars and prospects to acquire Price and Craig Kimbrel, it’s perhaps logical that the Sox wouldn’t spend so heavily. Additionally, Crasnick spoke to an agent who said that the Blue Jays are looking for an impact (Twitter link), power arm for their bullpen but are trying to land such a piece for “dollar store prices,” suggesting that the team isn’t keen on shelling out a significant multi-year deal.

Matt Hague Signs With Hanshin Tigers

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NOVEMBER 30: The deal is official, Hague himself announced on Twitter.

NOVEMBER 25: The Blue Jays have reached an agreement with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball that will send Triple-A International League MVP Matt Hague to Hanshin in exchange for $300K, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The deal isn’t yet complete, according to Nicholson-Smith, but Hague has been removed from Toronto’s 40-man roster.

In situations such as this, the money exchanged will typically serve as compensation for the team’s agreement to release the player, who is then free to sign a new, more lucrative contract with the overseas club. It’s not clear what type of contract Hague will receive in Japan, but he’ll certainly earn more than he would have with another up-and-down season with a Major League organization and could very well secure $1MM or more.

Hague, 30, had the best all-around Triple-A season of his career in 2015, batting .338/.416/.468 with 11 home runs in 596 plate appearances. While the home runs were shy of his previous career-highs, he’s never hit for the type of average or gotten on base at that lofty a rate previously. Hague split his time evenly between first base and third base this past season but has a good deal more experience playing first base in his career as a whole.

The Blue Jays claimed Hague off waivers from the Pirates in 2014 based on the strength of his Triple-A numbers, but while he continued his excellent minor league production with Toronto, he received just 15 plate appearances on a Major League club rife with potent corner options (most notably Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion but also Chris Colabello, Justin Smoak and, earlier in the season, Danny Valencia as well). Hague is a career .226/.286/.262 hitter in a small sample of 91 Major League plate appearances but has a far more robust triple-slash of .302/.377/.433 across parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level.

AL East Notes: Hanley, Madson, Happ, Rays

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Hanley Ramirez “is going to be our first baseman,” a high-ranking Red Sox source tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.  The club is committed to using Ramirez at first in 2016 and the Sox have mapped out a rough 140-game schedule for Ramirez at the position.  The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported earlier today that the Red Sox were shopping Ramirez.  While this statement from Bradford’s source won’t end that speculation, it only makes sense that the club is preparing as if Ramirez will be on the roster rather than assuming a trade partner will be found.  President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski also said the Sox were intent on using Ramirez at first during his season-end media conference, for what it’s worth.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • The Red Sox will likely need to make a decision about whether to keep or trade Ramirez before the Winter Meetings if they want a shot at signing Chris Davis, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes.  Davis could well agree to a deal at the Meetings, leaving Boston looking for lower-tier first basemen as platoon options to share time with Travis Shaw and utilityman Brock Holt.  Signing Davis before trading Ramirez, of course, isn’t feasible since it would leave the Sox with zero negotiating position in trade talks.
  • The Blue Jays are looking at relievers with closing experience, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter link), and Ryan Madson is one of the names under consideration.  Madson had a tremendous year as the Phillies’ closer in 2011 but then missed the next three seasons with injuries before reviving his career in the Royals’ bullpen in 2015.  In looking for former closers, it stands to reason that the Jays are still considering stretching out current ninth-inning man Roberto Osuna as a starter.  The Tigers and Dodgers have also been rumored to be interested in Madson this offseason.
  • J.A. Happ discussed signing with the Blue Jays in an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link), saying that multiple teams showed interest but “Toronto was really aggressive” in making a deal happen.  Happ was also swayed by his past stint in Toronto, his good relationships with John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker, and the fact that the Jays look to be contenders again next year.  The southpaw said the Pirates, his former club, were one of the clubs with interest but talks “never quite got there” (hat tip to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).
  • The Rays seem to overhaul their bullpen every winter but their 2016 relief corps appears to be mostly set, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Brad Boxberger, Jake McGee, Steve Geltz and three out-of-options arms in Enny Romero, Xavier Cedeno and Alex Colome seem to be the top six, with Andrew Bellatti and newcomer Danny Farquhar also on hand and probably a couple of veterans on minor league deals to eventually be signed for additional depth.  Of course, Topkin notes that this stable bullpen plan could be greatly shuffled if the strong interest in Boxberger and McGee actually induces the Rays to part with one in a trade.
  • In other AL East notes from earlier today, the Blue Jays’ GM search is down to two known finalists, the Orioles have some interest in Denard Span and MLBTR’s Zach Links compiled another set of division notes.

Ross Atkins, Tony LaCava Are Finalists For Blue Jays’ GM Position

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Indians VP of player personnel Ross Atkins and Blue Jays interim general manager Tony LaCava are finalists for Toronto’s GM vacancy, sources familiar with the situation tell Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  There could potentially be one or more unknown candidates also in the finalist stage of the Jays’ search, though Heyman’s sources would “be surprised if anyone besides Atkins or LaCava” gets the job.  Team president/CEO Mark Shapiro reportedly hopes to have someone hired prior to next week’s Winter Meetings.

Both Atkins and LaCava have ties to Shapiro from his long stint in Cleveland.  Atkins has spent the last 15 years working for the Tribe’s front office while LaCava briefly worked as a cross-checker for the Indians in 2002 before moving on to the Blue Jays.  As Heyman notes, it has been assumed that Shapiro will have the final say on baseball operations matters.

LaCava’s long tenure with Toronto (including a role as assistant GM since 2007) made him the logical choice to slide into the interim role after Alex Anthopoulos surprisingly declined to re-sign with the team.  He’s already been busy in his short stint, as the Jays have re-signed Marco Estrada, signed J.A. Happ and traded for Jesse Chavez in an effort to bolster their starting rotation.  Whether LaCava gets the full-time job or not, he’ll be remaining with the team in some capacity as he signed a long-term extension a few weeks ago.

Both LaCava and Atkins would be first-time general managers, though each has been linked to GM openings in the past — in fact, both interviewed for the Angels job this winter before Billy Eppler was hired for the job.  Atkins also interviewed with the Phillies about their GM position in mid-October.  LaCava interviewed with the Pirates and Orioles prior to those club’s respective hirings of Neal Huntington and Dan Duquette, and LaCava reportedly turned down Baltimore’s offer to remain in Toronto.

MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Blue Jays Notes: Rotation, Bullpen, Price

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The Blue Jays have committed about $130MM to their 2016 roster, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. The club has signed three mid-rotation starters to go with three already signed options. GM Tony LaCava will continue to search for pitching, both starters and relievers. Per LaCava, “we do think the offence is one of the best in the game, so we’re not really interested in looking too much at improving that.” Toronto led baseball with 891 runs scored – 127 more runs than the second place Yankees. And the lineup as currently constructed is arguably stronger than before.

Here’s more from north of the border:

Quick Hits: Free Agents, Blue Jays, Hendriks

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This year’s offseason has moved much more slowly than last year’s did, possibly suggesting that teams are becoming more cautious in free agency, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman suggests. There are other possible explanations, he notes, including that the strong free agent market has teams concerned about jumping to sign one free agent only to find a similar player willing to sign for less at a later date. Another possibility is that many teams’ new presidents of baseball operations are pulling back on the reins a bit. But there’s also the fact that many deals that were consummated by this point last year — including big contracts for Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, Victor Martinez, Michael Cuddyer and Adam LaRoche — now look like potential busts. Here are more quick notes from around the game.

  • After their signing of J.A. Happ (as well as their re-signing of Marco Estrada and trade for Jesse Chavez), the Blue Jays will continue pursuing starting pitching, interim GM Tony LaCava says, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter links). LaCava declined to comment on free agent starter David Price.
  • Former Blue Jay Liam Hendriks, who headed to the Athletics for Chavez, says he anticipates a bigger role in Oakland, Jeff Simmons of Sportsnet notes. “I think it’ll be a good stepping stone to become a set-up, closer type and as a reliever that’s where you want to be,” Hendriks said last week on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “With (Roberto) Osuna, (Aaron) Sanchez and (Brett) Cecil it would’ve been tough to get there with Toronto because they got three guys that can do both of those roles.” Hendriks, incidentally, says better health was one reason he improved in Toronto, blossoming from the struggling starter he was in Minnesota to a top-notch reliever. (He also credits Jays catchers Russell Martin and Dioner Navarro.)  “I was never unhealthy per se. But I ate a bit cleaner and stopped drinking,” he says. “I never drank too much to begin with but I stopped completely… I did a lot my lower-body and shoulders work in the gym. Everything played a part.”

AL East Notes: Price, Happ, Davis, Maeda

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The Blue Jays’ signing of lefty J.A. Happ strongly suggests that David Price won’t be returning to Toronto next year, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports writes. Price’s acquisition was emblematic of the go-for-broke approach former GM Alex Anthopoulos took, and it isn’t like new team president Mark Shapiro to make similarly dramatic, risky moves. Instead, Shapiro and interim GM Tony LaCava have addressed the Jays’ rotation needs more quietly, with the signing of Happ, the re-signing of Marco Estrada and their trade for Jesse Chavez. “We obviously had multiple holes to fill in our pitching staff, and our front-office team felt diversifying the risk among multiple pitchers who could start was important, both due to our need at the (big-league) level and our lack of Triple-A depth starting pitchers,” Shapiro says. Here’s more from the AL East.

  • Happ wasn’t the same pitcher he was in Pittsburgh as he had been previously, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca writes. He allowed fewer walks, his velocity increased, and he leaned harder on his fastball, leading to a brilliant 1.85 ERA in 11 starts. The Blue Jays, then, will have to see if the adjustments Happ made in Pittsburgh can continue to help him.
  • No one involved with sports negotiations likes the phrase “hometown discount,” but if Chris Davis is to return to the Orioles, he’ll have to give them that discount, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun writes. The Orioles believe they can make Davis a competitive offer, just not one quite as large as he might be able to get elsewhere. They can hope that such a competitive offer might be enough to lure Davis, a beloved player in Baltimore and a good fit at Camden Yards, to return. Davis’ agent Scott Boras might have something to say about that, of course, but as Connolly notes, the choice will ultimately be Davis’.
  • Japanese righty Kenta Maeda could be one possibility for the Red Sox this offseason, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. Maeda recently asked his NPB team, the Hiroshima Carp, to post him. With the Tigers, new Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wasn’t usually a top bidder for the best talents from abroad. The Sox, however, have signed top foreign players like Yoan Moncada, Rusney Castillo and Daisuke Matsuzaka, so perhaps they’ll be contenders for Maeda as well. Maeda could represent a lower-priced alternative to top free agents like Price and Zack Greinke.
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