Diamondbacks Select Jose Herrera
The D-Backs announced this afternoon they’ve selected catcher Jose Herrera to the 40-man roster. The move keeps him from qualifying for minor league free agency. Arizona’s 40-man is now full.
Herrera, 24, has been in the Diamondback organization for his entire career. The Snakes signed him as an amateur out of Venezuela during the 2013-14 international period, and he’s slowly progressed up the minor league ladder. Herrera reached the high minors for the first time in 2021, splitting the campaign between Double-A Amarillo and Triple-A Reno. Over 360 cumulative plate appearances, the switch-hitting backstop posted a .258/.364/.422 line with eleven homers, drawing walks at a robust 14.2% clip.
That solid showing impressed the D-Backs front office enough they decided not to risk losing Herrera in free agency. He joins Carson Kelly and Daulton Varsho as catchers on the Arizona roster.
Cardinals Re-Sign T.J. McFarland
3:49 pm: McFarland’s deal guarantees him $2.5MM, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link). The deal contains an additional $500K in incentives, per Heyman, meaning the veteran southpaw could max out at $3MM.
10:30 am: The Cardinals have announced that they have re-signed left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland to a one-year contract, the financials of which are not yet known.
McFarland’s stay in free agency this year is much shorter than last year, when he signed a minor league deal with the Nationals in mid-February. He never got into a game with the Nats, however, being released in June to sign a minor league deal with the Cards and selected to their big league club a few weeks later. McFarland proved to be very effective down the stretch for St. Louis, logging 38 2/3 innings with an ERA of 2.56. His strikeout rate of 14.6% was well below average, but he’s always gotten his outs on the ground, as evidence by his 63.7% grounder rate, which is right around where he’s been throughout his career.
The Cardinals were evidently quite pleased with his performance, as they have quickly pounced and brought him back, less than 24 hours into free agency. With McFarland, Andrew Miller, Kwang Hyun Kim, Jon Lester, Wade LeBlanc and J.A. Happ all becoming free agents this week, that left Genesis Cabrera and Brandon Waddell as the only left-handed pitchers on the club’s 40-man roster. But the team didn’t hesitate to address a clear area of need and have brought McFarland back to shore up the southpaw side of their bullpen.
Over nine different seasons, the 32-year-old McFarland has thrown 439 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.95, 13.7% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 62.9% groundball rate.
Orioles Claim Bryan Baker From Blue Jays
The Orioles announced they’ve claimed reliever Bryan Baker off waivers from the Blue Jays. The 26-year-old made his big league debut in September, tossing a scoreless inning during a win over the A’s.
Baker’s big league outing was the briefest cup of coffee, but he showed a live arm, averaging just shy of 95 MPH on his fastball. Even more appealing is his Triple-A track record, as he earned that late-season look with a stellar year for the Jays’ top affiliate. The righty tossed 41 1/3 innings across 39 appearances with the Bisons, pitching to a 1.31 ERA while striking out a strong 28.9% of batters faced.
The knock on Baker throughout his time in the minors has been spotty control. His 10.2% walk percentage in Triple-A this past season wasn’t much higher than the major league average for relievers, but Baker’s walk totals from 2018-19 were significantly more alarming. The O’s will take a no-cost flier to see if he can sustain this year’s control improvements and settle in as a useful option in a wide open bullpen.
Baker still has a pair of minor league option years remaining, so the front office can freely move him between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk for the next couple seasons so long as he sticks on the 40-man roster. The claim brings the Orioles’ 40-man tally up to 32, while the Jays’ roster now sits at 33.
Robert Murray of FanSided reported the move shortly before the team announcement.
John Gant Elects Free Agency
Right-hander John Gant has opted to become a free agent after clearing outright waivers, according to MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (Twitter link). Because Gant has over three years of MLB service time, he had the right to choose free agency rather than accept the outright assignment off the Twins’ 40-man roster.
The outright essentially serves as an early non-tender for the Twins, as Gant was projected to earn $3.7MM in his third and final trip through the arbitration process. While not a huge sum for a useful swingman, the Twins didn’t see a role (at least at that price point) for Gant on their 2022 squad, despite Minnesota’s needs in the rotation and bullpen.
Acquired from the Cardinals as part of the J.A. Happ deadline trade, Gant posted a 5.61 ERA over his 33 2/3 innings in Minnesota, starting seven of his 14 appearances. Compared to his 76 1/3 frames with St. Louis earlier in the season, Gant improved his strikeout and walk rates while with the Twins, but his homer rate and strand rate both shot upward.
The result was a 4.09 ERA over 110 total innings in 2021 and a pretty dismal set of Statcast metrics for the 29-year-old Gant. Walks continued to be a major problem for the righty, and the increase in missed bats he exhibited over 15 innings in 2020 didn’t carry over to more consistent work last season.
It should be noted that the Cardinals used Gant exclusively as a reliever in 2019-20, and the results were impressive. Gant’s control didn’t get much better, though his strikeout numbers improved and his fastball gained some velocity (up to a 95.9mph average) with the more limited usage, as Gant posted a 3.43 ERA over his 81 1/3 relief innings. While other teams might still take advantage of Gant’s durability by using him as a swingman, he might ultimately be best served working out of a bullpen.
Reds Outright Alex Blandino
Nov. 8: Blandino is now a free agent, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Nov. 4: The Reds announced Thursday that infielder Alex Blandino went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Louisville. He’s no longer on the 40-man roster. Cincinnati also reinstated infielder/outfielder Nick Senzel and righties Tejay Antone and Brandon Bailey from the 60-day injured list. Their 40-man roster is now at 36 players.
Blandino, 28, was Cincinnati’s first-round pick back in 2014 but has yet to produce in 279 trips to the plate as a big leaguer (.226/.339/.291). He missed a sizable chunk of the 2021 campaign with a broken hand, which surely couldn’t have helped his production in Triple-A Louisville, where he batted just .102/.289/.153 in 18 games this season. That said, Blandino did turn in a much heartier .247/.386/.379 slash in 70 Triple-A contests back in 2019.
Senzel, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2016 and one of the top all-around prospects in the game prior to his debut, has yet to find much consistency in the big leagues. Arthroscopic knee surgery performed back in May didn’t help matters in 2021, as Senzel was limited to just 124 plate appearances and batted only .252/.323/.315 when healthy (72 wRC+). He didn’t play in a big league game after May 17 on account of a left knee injury, and the 26-year-old has just 616 cumulative plate appearances over parts of three MLB seasons.
Bailey missed the entire season recovering from February Tommy John surgery. Since Tommy John rehab processes often around fourteen months, it seems likely he’ll start next season on the IL as well. Antone underwent the same procedure in August. He’s likely to miss all of 2022 recovering.
14 Players Receive Qualifying Offers
Today was the last day for teams to issue qualifying offers to eligible free agents, as teams had to make their decisions by 4pm CT. With the deadline now behind us, here are the players who were issued the one-year, $18.4MM offers…
- Brandon Belt, Giants (link)
- Nick Castellanos, Reds (link)
- Michael Conforto, Mets (link)
- Carlos Correa, Astros (link)
- Freddie Freeman, Braves (link)
- Raisel Iglesias, Angels (link)
- Robbie Ray, Blue Jays (link)
- Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox (link)
- Corey Seager, Dodgers (link)
- Marcus Semien, Blue Jays (link)
- Trevor Story, Rockies (link)
- Noah Syndergaard, Mets (link)
- Chris Taylor, Dodgers (link)
- Justin Verlander, Astros (link)
This is the highest number of qualifying offers issued since the 2015-16 offseason, when a record 20 players received the QOs. Only six players received qualifying offers last winter, which was the lowest ever issued in an offseason, yet not really surprising given the pandemic’s impact on the 2020 season and league revenues.
These 14 players now have until November 17 to decide whether or not to accept the offer. If they accept, they’ll receive $18.4MM next season, and can’t be traded until June 15, 2022. They also won’t be eligible to receive a qualifying offer in any future trips to free agency (players are also ineligible for the qualifying offer if they haven’t spent at least one full season with their current team). Since the qualifying offer system was introduced in the 2012-13 offseason, 10 of the 96 players to receive a QO have taken the deal.
If a player rejects the qualifying offer, draft pick compensation is now attached to their market, unless they re-sign with their former team. Teams who sign a QO free agent will have to surrender at least one draft pick, and potentially some international bonus pool money depending on their status as revenue-sharing recipients or whether or not they exceeded the luxury tax threshold. (Here is the list of what every team would have to give up to sign a QO free agent.)
If a QO free agent signs elsewhere, that player’s former team receives a compensatory draft pick based on this criteria….
- A draft pick after Competitive Balance Round B will be awarded if the team losing the free agent did not receive revenue sharing or if the free agent in question signed a contract worth less than $50MM in guaranteed money.
- A draft pick after Round 1 will be awarded if the team losing the free agent received revenue sharing and the free agent in question signed for more than $50MM.
- A draft pick after Round 4 will be awarded if the team losing the free agent paid luxury tax penalties in the preceding season.
As always, several factors are weighed by both teams and players about whether or not to issue or accept qualifying offers. This winter provides yet another wrinkle — this could be the final year of the current qualifying offer system due to the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement on December 1. It is widely expected that the owners could lock out the players if a new deal isn’t reached by that date. In the event of a lockout, MLB would institute a roster freeze on all transactional business involving Major League players, thus bringing the free agent market to a halt.
With this deadline looming, it is possible we could see some QO recipients (those less certain of landing big multi-year contracts) choose to accept the one-year deal in order to guarantee themselves some financial and contractual security prior to a possible lockout. By that same token, this could make teams warier about extending the qualifying offer to certain players due to a larger suspicion that they would accept…or perhaps a player’s willingness to accept could make a team more inclined to issue a QO to a so-called borderline case.
Rex Brothers Elects Free Agency
Cubs left-hander Rex Brothers elected free agency after he was outrighted off Chicago’s 40-man roster earlier this week, The Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro reports (Twitter link). Since Brothers has been outrighted multiple times in his career, he had the right to become a free agent rather than accept the Cubs’ assignment — in fact, Brothers also opted for free agency almost exactly a year ago, after another outright off the Cubs’ 40-man.
Brothers has inked minor league deals with the Cubs in each of the last two offseasons. After tossing only 3 1/3 innings in 2020, he received a much longer look this season, with 53 innings out of Chicago’s bullpen. The first 27 1/3 of those innings were stellar, as the southpaw posted a 2.63 through June 27, but things then started to decline for the veteran. His final 25 2/3 innings resulted in an 8.06 ERA, giving Brothers an overall 5.26 ERA for the season.
Home runs (nine), hard contact, and especially walks were the biggest problems for Brothers, as his 14.8% walk rate was one of the highest of any pitcher in the league. These issues outweighed some very impressive strikeout numbers, as Brothers’ 31.8 K% and whiff rate both fell in the 92nd percentile of all pitchers. While the home runs have been a more recent problem for Brothers, he has long struggled with his control, even dating back to his 2011 rookie season with the Rockies.
Brothers posted some very solid numbers with Colorado from 2011-13, but the team cut ties with him following the 2015 season, dealing him to the Cubs for Brothers’ first stint in Wrigleyville. The Cubs released Brothers that spring, however, and he didn’t play anywhere in 2016 before catching on with the Braves organization for two more seasons.
Brothers turns 34 in December, so time may be running out for the left-hander to show that he can finally harness his control and take full advantage of his ability to miss bats. It seems likely that another team (maybe even the Cubs again) will give Brothers another look on a minor league contract.
Padres Select Adrian Martinez’s Contract
The Padres announced that the contract of right-hander Adrian Martinez has been selected to the club’s 40-man roster. The early move ensures that Martinez won’t be selected in the Rule 5 Draft, as teams have until November 19 to finalize their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 (which takes place in the second week of December).
Martinez’s early career was slowed by a Tommy John surgery, but he returned to action in 2017 and slowly built up innings before his progress was against stalled by the canceled 2020 minor league season. Making his Double-A debut in 2021, Martinez looked excellent in posting a 2.34 ERA, 25.4% strikeout rate, and 7.3% walk rate over 80 2/3 innings in San Antonio. The righty didn’t look as good in 44 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball (5.28 ERA), though most of that damage came in Martinez’s first two starts at the higher level. After those initial two rough outings, Martinez settled down and delivered a 3.47 ERA over his final seven starts.
The breakout campaign got Martinez on the radar of prospect evaluators, as Baseball America ranks him 26th in the Padres’ farm system and MLB Pipeline slots him in the 29th spot on their listing. More importantly, Martinez now looks like a candidate to make his Major League debut sometime in 2022. He’ll get more seasoning at Triple-A to begin the season, and might then emerge as a relief candidate or perhaps as a rotation fill-in or spot starter in the event of an injury to one of San Diego’s regular starters.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Sign Renato Nunez
The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters have signed free agent infielder Renato Nunez, according to multiple reports out of Japan (including Yahoo Japan). Nunez’s one-year contract will pay him 180 million yen plus incentives, which works out to roughly $1.6MM in U.S. dollars.
Nunez heads to Nippon Professional Baseball after six years in the majors, highlighted by a 31-homer season with the Orioles in 2019. Nunez has shown some power but not much in the way of average or OBP, and below-average corner infield glovework. As a result, the Orioles non-tendered him last winter, and Nunez could find only a minor league deal with the Tigers.
There wasn’t much playing time to be found in Detroit, as Nunez received only 55 MLB plate appearances last season and hit .189/.218/.472. After being released by the Tigers in August, Nunez caught on with the Brewers on another minor league deal but didn’t see any action in the big leagues. While Nunez didn’t hit much for the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate, he did put up some big numbers at Triple-A Toledo, hitting .291/.383/.585 with 20 homers over 311 PA for the Tigers’ top farm team.
Nunez had the ability to elect free agency after the season, and he took that option to return to the open market and subsequently land a deal with the Fighters. Nunez still doesn’t turn 28 years old until April, and he’d be far from the first hitter to rediscover their stroke after a stint in Japan. If Nunez can translate his power into more consistent production at the plate, he could carve out a nice niche for himself with the Fighters, or perhaps return to MLB down the road.
Red Sox Exercise Club Option On Christian Vazquez
The Red Sox have picked up their club option on catcher Christian Vazquez for the 2022 season. Under the terms of Vazquez’s original three-year, $13.55MM extension with the Sox, he will receive $7MM next year, and 2022 is now his last year under team control. The club option included a $250K buyout, making it a $6.75MM decision for the Red Sox.
There wasn’t much doubt that the veteran would be back for his eighth year in Boston, as the Red Sox highly value Vazquez’s veteran leadership, his ability to work with pitchers and his overall glovework. Vazquez’s bat has been much more inconsistent, as while he has had some strong seasons (most notably his 2019-20 campaigns), he has also been a below-average hitter on multiple occasions. After batting .278/.327/.472 with 30 homers over 710 plate appearances in 2019-20, for example, Vazquez’s offense fell off sharply this season, as he hit only .258/.308/.352 with six homers in 498 PA.
Given how the catcher has rebounded from subpar performances in the past, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Vazquez rebound in 2022. Even if he hits only a little better next year, Boston probably wouldn’t mind as long as Vazquez continues his good work behind the plate. Vazquez’s extension (signed in March 2018) has proven to be a very nice investment for the Red Sox, and at the cost of $7MM, Vazquez is still a very solid value for one season. Kevin Plawecki hit decently well in backup duty last year, and he will also return to potentially add a little more pop at the catching position in 2022.
It wouldn’t even be a surprise to see the Red Sox discuss another extension with Vazquez come Spring Training, though the team does have some future options in the pipeline. Connor Wong made his MLB debut this past season and Ronaldo Hernandez is expected to debut in 2022, so the Red Sox could wish to give either of those younger backstops a longer look next year. Or, if the Sox did look to extend Vazquez, one of these catching prospects (or 2021 fifth-rounder Nathan Hickey) could be plausible trade chips.