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CPBL’s Fubon Guardians Sign Hector Noesi

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Right-hander Hector Noesi has signed with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, the team announced.  (Hat tip to the CPBL Stats page.)  Apple Daily was the first to break news of the agreement, and media outlet EToday reported that Noesi will earn roughly $500K for the 2021 season.

Noesi is a veteran of six MLB seasons, tossing 395 1/3 innings with four different teams (mostly the White Sox and Mariners) from 2011-15 before resurfacing with the Marlins in 2019.  Noesi posted an 8.46 ERA over 27 2/3 innings with Miami, bringing his career Major League resume to a 5.51 ERA, 1.89 K/BB rate, and 6.4 K/9 over 423 total frames.  Noesi signed a minor league deal with the Pirates last winter but chose to opt out of the 2020 season.

In between being let go by the White Sox and returning to the Marlins, Noesi spent three seasons in the KBO League, so he already has some significant experience pitching outside of North American baseball.  Noesi had 3.79 ERA, 3.22 K/BB rate, and 6.6 K/9 over 582 1/3 innings (all as a starting pitching) for the Kia Tigers, so this could provide some idea of what Noesi can bring to the Guardians heading into his age-34 season.

KBO’s Kia Tigers Sign Daniel Mengden

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Right-hander Daniel Mengden has signed with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization, the team announced (hat tip to MyKBO.net’s Dan Kurtz).  The one-year contract will pay Mengden $425K in salary, a $300K signing bonus, and up to $275K in incentives.

The 27-year-old elected to become a free agent after he was outrighted off the Athletics’ 40-man roster following the season.  Mengden only threw 12 1/3 innings in 2020 after recovering from elbow surgery in February, two offseason surgeries to address an intestinal problem, and then a positive COVID-19 diagnosis in early September.

Originally a fourth-round pick for the Astros in the 2014 draft, Mengden was dealt to the A’s as part of the Scott Kazmir trade in July 2015 and he has gone on to spend his entire MLB career in an Oakland uniform.  After a pretty rough 2016 rookie season, Mengden has a 4.06 ERA, 2.22 K/BB rate, and 6.0 K/9 over 230 2/3 innings for the A’s since the start of the 2017 campaign, starting 34 of 46 games.  Neither a big strikeout pitcher or a grounder specialist, Mengden relies on a lot of soft contact, which has led to decent bottom-line results even if advanced metrics aren’t fond of his work.

Mengden becomes the latest experienced big leaguer to head to the KBO League for a better guarantee of both money and playing time, rather than test a very uncertain North American market.  He’ll join former A’s teammate Aaron Brooks on the Tigers roster, as Brooks recently re-signed for a second season with the Gwangju-based team.

Pirates Trade Josh Bell To Nationals

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The Nationals have a new first baseman. In an out-of-the-blue Christmas Eve swap, Washington has acquired Josh Bell from the Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean, according to announcements from both clubs.

Josh Bell

Bell, 28, fills the Nationals’ void at first base and gives the club a switch-hitting power bat to pair with Juan Soto in the heart of the order. Like most of the Pirates’ lineup, Bell struggled in 2020, hitting just .226/.305/.364 with a career-high 26.5 percent strikeout rate. However, outside of last year’s shortened season, Bell has been a productive big league hitter throughout his career.

The Pirates selected Bell with the 61st overall pick in 2011 and paid him a then-record $5MM signing bonus, shattering the recommended slot value to convince Bell to forgo his college commitment. The 6’4″ slugger rated as one of the game’s top prospects throughout his minor league tenure and was a productive hitter each season from 2016-18, posting a combined .260/.348/.436 batting line — good for a 110 wRC+ (put another way: overall production that was 10 percent better than a league-average hitter).

In 2019, Bell erupted with a breakout, 37-homer campaign that led to his first All-Star nod. Tapping into the raw power for which he’d long been touted, Bell raked at a .277/.367/.569 clip, adding in 37 doubles and three triples while plating 116 runs in just 143 games played. It’s worth noting that he tailed off in the second half, and those struggles carried over into the aforementioned down year in 2020. The Nats are buying in the belief that Bell can be much closer to that 2019 All-Star who looked to be emerging as one of the league’s premier power bats.

Bell is eligible for arbitration for the second time this winter and has yet to settle on a salary for the 2021 campaign. He’s owed a raise on last year’s $4.8MM salary and is now under Nationals control through the 2022 season

The Bell acquisition gives the Nats an everyday option at first base, which could complicate any potential reunion with Ryan Zimmerman, although the two could certainly form a quality pairing at the position. Although Bell is a switch-hitter, he’s vastly better from the left side of the dish, so if the Nats want to bring Zimmerman back for a 16th season, “Mr. National” could move into a bench role and spell Bell against tougher lefties. Of course, if the National League brings back the designated hitter for the 2021 season, Bell could fill that role full-time for the Nats. That could be a best-case scenario for Washington, as Bell is regarded as a well below-average defender at his position.

In return for two years of Bell, the Pirates will net an immediate rotation piece in the 26-year-old Crowe — a former second-round pick himself (2017). The 6’2″, 228-pound Crowe made his big league debut in 2020, starting three games for the Nats but being tagged for 11 runs in 8 1/3 innings. That’s a minuscule sample on which to judge Crowe, however. The right-hander has been considered one of the Nats’ best prospects since the day he was drafted. While he’s had knee and elbow injuries in the past — including Tommy John surgery while pitching at the University of South Carolina —  he set career-highs in starts (26) and innings (149 1/3) during his last full season in 2019.

Baseball America recently ranked Crowe 10th among Nationals farmhands, and was the team’s No. 3 prospect at MLB.com on their midseason rankings and No. 4 at FanGraphs. Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel wrote in that FanGraphs report that Crowe has three above-average pitches and a promising changeup but “imprecise control” of his arsenal and some durability concerns because of that injury track record. Crowe was hammered for a 6.17 ERA in his lone Triple-A experience, although that came while pitching in an outrageously hitter-friendly setting in 2019 — both due to the juiced ball in Triple-A and the conditions of Fresno’s park in the Pacific Coast League.

It remains to be seen whether the Pirates will plug Crowe directly into the rotation or give him some additional time in Triple-A in 2021, but it’d be a surprise if he weren’t called to the big leagues at some point next season. Pittsburgh currently projects to have Joe Musgrove, Mitch Keller, Steven Brault, Chad Kuhl and a returning Jameson Taillon in its rotation, though Musgrove, Brault and Kuhl have all been discussed in trade talks as well. Further transactions between now and Opening Day could very well to alter that composition to some extent.

The 19-year-old Yean is a much longer-term play for the Pirates, although it’s arguable that he’s the more appealing piece of the deal. Baseball America’s updated ranking of the Nationals’ farm has Yean two spots higher than Crowe, touting an “explosive” fastball that reaches 97 mph and could climb higher as he continues to grow. Yean throws both a four-seamer and two-seamer in addition to a slider and a changeup. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, Yean has the type of velocity, breaking ball and projectable frame typical of first- and second-round high school draftees, Longenhagen wrote for his Nats rankings at FanGraphs.

The Bell trade could be the first of several for the rebuilding Pirates this winter. Musgrove remains one of the more appealing arms who could change hands this offseason, and any of Brault, Kuhl, reliever Richard Rodriguez, catcher Jacob Stallings and second baseman Adam Frazier stand out as viable trade pieces. No one in the NL Central is making an aggressive push to seize the division crown, but the Pirates are the only one of the quintet who are in the midst of a full-scale rebuild. Further change is surely on the horizon under second-year general manager Ben Cherington.

The Nats, meanwhile, still have work to do. Adding a corner outfielder, at least one back-of-the-rotation starter — particularly now that they’ve subtracted Crowe from the mix — and perhaps an upgrade at catcher could all be on the horizon for GM Mike Rizzo and his staff as the Nats look to get back to their winning ways in 2021.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported that the two teams were closing in on a trade. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that an agreement of Bell for two young pitchers had been reached. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman added the names of the two pitchers going to Pittsburgh.

Reds Sign Edgar Garcia To Major League Contract

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The Reds have signed right-hander Edgar Garcia, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. It’s a major league deal, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Garcia could earn a $600K salary if he makes the Reds’ roster, according to Nightengale.

The Rays non-tendered the 24-year-old Garcia earlier this month, which came not long after they acquired him from the Phillies in August. But Garcia failed to keep runs off the board in a small sample of work as a member of the Rays, with whom he yielded four ER on three hits (including two homers) and four walks in 3 1/3 innings.

Garcia saw much more action in 2019 with the Phillies, throwing 39 innings, but the results also weren’t great then. He ended the year with a 5.77 ERA/6.57 FIP and 10.38 K/9 against 6.0 BB/9.

Tigers Sign Jose Urena, Designate Eric Haase

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6:54pm: The Tigers have announced the signing. They designated catcher Eric Haase for assignment in a corresponding move. Haase, whom Detroit acquired from division-rival Cleveland last winter, collected 19 plate appearances for the Tigers in 2020. The 28-year-old owns a .122/.170/.184 line in 53 major league PA.

5:08pm: The Tigers have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent right-hander Jose Urena, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. It’s a $3.25MM pact, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. The contract comes with up to $250K in incentives based on games started, according to Heyman. Urena is a client of Kelly Kinzer.

Detroit will be the second major league organization for Urena, a 29-year-old who pitched in the bigs with the Marlins from 2015-20. Urena enjoyed a couple of respectable seasons in Miami from 2017-18, during which he recorded a 3.90 ERA/4.68 FIP with 6.36 K/9, 3.01 BB/9 and a 46.3 percent groundball rate across 343 2/3 innings.

At his best, Urena looked like a potential building block for the Marlins’ rotation, but the team soured on him after he was unable to offer much positive production during the previous two seasons. Urena threw 108 frames from 2019-20, including 23 1/3 last season, and combined for a subpar 5.25 ERA/5.02 FIP. Despite a fastball that clocked in at 95.5 mph, Urena notched one of his lowest strikeout rates of his career last season with 5.79 per nine and registered by far his highest BB/9 (5.01). The Marlins then non-tendered Urena in lieu of paying him a projected $3.8MM to $4.2MM via arbitration.

Urena will now look to get back on track in Detroit, which has Matthew Boyd, Spencer Turnbull, Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris and Tyler Alexander as veterans with at least some degree of starting experience. Meanwhile, prospects Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Tarik Skubal don’t seem far away from vying for full-time roles. Urena figures to be a stopgap for the Tigers, then, but they clearly regard him as an interesting reclamation project.

Astros Sign Jose Siri To Minor League Contract

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The Astros have signed outfielder Jose Siri to a minor league contract, Robert Murray of FanSided tweets. Siri’s deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.

Before joining the Astros, the 25-year-old Siri had already been with three organizations – the Reds, Mariners and Giants. Siri was a well-regarded prospect in his younger days, but he hasn’t appeared in the majors yet. In his most recent minor league action, Siri batted .237/.300/.357 with 11 home runs and 26 stolen bases over 517 plate appearances between the Reds’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2019. The Reds then lost Siri on waivers to the Mariners, who lost him to the Giants last March. The Giants outrighted Siri in July.

Although he has no MLB track record to speak of, Siri could push for a roster spot in Houston, whose outfield will inevitably deal with major changes this offseason. George Springer, Michael Brantley and Josh Reddick are free agents, leaving the Astros with Kyle Tucker as their lone regular outfielder who’s a lock to return in 2021.

Red Sox Sign Matt Andriese

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2:07pm: Andriese is guaranteed $1.85MM in 2021 plus at least a $250K buyout on a $3.5MM option for the 2022 season, tweets Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. He can earn up to $500K worth of incentives each season if he tops 150 innings, and his 2022 salary would rise by $1MM if he hits that mark in 2021.

1:04pm: The Red Sox have agreed to terms on a contract with right-hander Matt Andriese, per  a club announcement. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client will receive a one-year, Major League deal with a club option for the 2022 season. He’s guaranteed $2.1MM on the contract and could earn up to $7.35MM if the 2022 option is exercised, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter links).

Matt Andriese | Angels Baseball/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Network

The signing reunites the 31-year-old righty with Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who played a hand in the Rays’ 2014 acquisition of Andriese in a trade with the Padres. Andriese would go on to make his MLB debut as a Ray in 2015, and in parts of four seasons in Tampa Bay he worked to a 4.30 ERA and 4.13 FIP with 7.8 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.27 HR/9 and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Traded from Tampa Bay to Arizona prior to the 2018 deadline, Andriese has struggled to regain his footing, however. He’d been a swingman with the Rays, working both as a traditional starter and multi-inning reliever, but the D-backs moved him into a full-time relief role with lackluster results. It was a similar story this past season in Anaheim after the Diamondbacks traded Andriese to the Angels.

In 121 2/3 innings since being traded by the Rays, Andriese owns a 5.53 ERA, albeit with a much better 3.95 xFIP. He’s seen his strikeout rate (9.6 K/9) improve considerably in that time, and Andriese still possesses above-average spin on both his four-seamer and his curveball, which may have been appealing for the Red Sox.

Andriese is capable of working out of the ’pen or in the rotation, which figures to be key for the Sox with so many question marks surrounding the health of their starters. Chris Sale is on the mend from Tommy John surgery, while Nathan Eovaldi has a lengthy injury history and Eduardo Rodriguez missed all of 2020 following a bout with Covid-19 and a subsequent myocarditis diagnosis.

Reds Claim Deivy Grullon

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The Reds have claimed catcher Deivy Grullon off outright waivers from the Red Sox, per announcements from both teams. Boston’s 40-man roster is full (following this afternoon’s signing of right-hander Matt Andriese), while Cincinnati’s 40-man roster is now at 33 players.

Grullon, 24, has made extremely brief appearances in the Majors with both the Phillies (2019) and Red Sox (2020) over the past two seasons. In 13 plate appearances, he’s collected two hits, including a double, with a walk and three punchouts. There’s little to glean from such a small sample, but Grullon carries a .283/.354/.496 slash in 457 Triple-A plate appearances and a .264/.302/.494 line in a similar body of work in Double-A.

Baseball America ranked Grullon among the best prospects in the Phillies’ system each year from 2014-20, right up until the Phils designated him for assignment in September and lost him on waivers to the Red Sox. While he never cracked the organization’s top 10 and was generally considered to be in the back half of the club’s top farmhands. Above-average power to his pull side and a strong throwing arm are regarded as his best tools.

Grullon still has minor league options remaining, so he can give the Reds an additional depth option behind veteran Tucker Barnhart (assuming he isn’t traded as part of the team’s efforts to pare back payroll), young Tyler Stephenson and utilityman Kyle Farmer. Cincinnati non-tendered Curt Casali earlier this month.

Cubs, Matt Dermody Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract with left-hander Matt Dermody, MLBTR has learned. The 30-year-old southpaw will be invited to Major League Spring Training to compete for a bullpen job.

Dermody opened the 2020 season pitching on the independent circuit but caught the Cubs’ attention with a strong showing, leading to a minor league deal in August. The Cubs called him up to the big league roster later in the summer, and he pitched one scoreless inning before being taken off the roster. That marked Dermody’s first MLB experience since a 22 1/3-inning stint with the Blue Jays in 2017, when he posted a 4.43 ERA with 15 strikeouts and five walks.

Dermody has a rather limited track record at the MLB level, having pitched just 26 1/3 innings overall, but he’s appeared in parts of four Triple-A seasons and pitched to a 4.12 ERA in 87 1/3 frames. Overall, in seven minor league seasons, the former 28th-rounder has a 3.68 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. At the moment, the Cubs’ only left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster are Kyle Ryan and Brad Wieck, so it’s not a surprise to see them adding some left-handed depth to bring to camp.

Tigers Sign Dustin Garneau

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The Tigers announced that they’ve signed catcher Dustin Garneau to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. Garneau, a client of agent Marc Kligman, will compete for a spot alongside Jake Rogers, Grayson Greiner and Eric Haase. The deal includes multiple opt outs, but Garneau will earn a $1MM salary if he earns a spot with the Tigers, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

Garneau, 33, had a solid season between the Angels and A’s in 2019 but struggled with his third AL West club, the Astros, in 2020. This past season, Garneau served as the backup to Martin Maldonado and limped to a .158/.273/.279 batting line in an admittedly minuscule sample of 46 plate appearances.

Defensively, he’s caught 37 percent of would-be base thieves in the minors and 33 percent in the Majors. And after a poor start to his career in terms of pitch framing, Garneau has rated a bit above average in each of his past few MLB efforts.

Garneau has never received a particularly long look in the Majors, as his career-high in plate appearances came back in 2017 when he tallied 126 trips to the dish between Colorado and Oakland. He’s a career .202/.288/.338 hitter in 427 Major League plate appearances but a .260/.335/.500 hitter in parts of six Triple-A seasons.

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