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Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/2/20

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With the non-tender deadline coming today at 7pm CT, expect quite a few players to agree to contracts for the 2021 season, avoiding arbitration in advance.  In many (but not all) cases, these deals — referred to as “pre-tender” deals because they fall prior to the deadline — will fall shy of expectations and projections.  Teams will sometimes present borderline non-tender candidates with a “take it or leave it” style offer which will be accepted for fear of being non-tendered and sent out into an uncertain market.  Speculatively, such deals could increase in 2020 due to the economic uncertainty sweeping through the game, although there are also widespread expectations of record non-tender numbers.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through today’s smaller-scale pre-tender deals in this post.  You can also check out Matt Swartz’s arbitration salary projections here.

Latest Agreements

Earlier Agreements

  • Twins righty Jose Berrios will earn $6.1MM with a $500K signing bonus in 2021, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. Catcher Mitch Garver will rake in $1.875MM, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Center fielder Byron Buxton ($5.125MM) and reliever Taylor Rogers (terms not released) also agreed to deals, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.
  • The Phillies have deals with starter Zach Eflin ($4.45MM) and relievers Hector Neris ($5MM), David Hale ($850K) and Seranthony Dominguez ($727,500), Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Heyman and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com relay.
  • The Marlins and first baseman Garrett Cooper have a $1.8MM agreement that could max out at $2.05MM with performance bonuses, Craig Mish of Sportsgrid tweets.
  • The Brewers are keeping catcher Manny Pina in the fold for $1.65MM, according to Heyman. They’re also retaining first baseman Daniel Vogelbach for $1.4MM, Nightengale reports.
  • The Giants and outfielder Austin Slater have a one-year, $1.15MM deal, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.The club also reached a $925K agreement with lefty Wandy Peralta and a $700K pact with righty Trevor Gott, Heyman tweets.
  • The Cubs are bringing back hurlers Dan Winkler ($900K), Colin Rea ($702,500) and Kyle Ryan ($800K), Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Ryan’s agreement is a split contract that features a $250K minor league salary.
  • The Mets are retaining lefty Steven Matz for $5.2MM, Nightengale tweets. Matz had a brutal campaign in 2020 with a 9.68 ERA/7.76 FIP over 30 2/3 innings in 2020, but the Mets will give him a chance to rebound.
  • The Padres and lefty Matt Strahm have a one-year, $2MM deal, Nightengale reports. Strahm gave the Padres a 2.61 ERA/4.93 FIP in 20 2/3 innings in 2020.
  • Outfielder Guillermo Heredia, whom the Mets claimed from Pittsburgh in August, will earn $1MM in 2021, according to Nightengale.
  • The Astros and reliever Austin Pruitt have settled for $617, 500, per Heyman. The right-hander missed the season with elbow issues.
  • The Royals and outfielder Jorge Soler have agreed to a one-year, $8.05MM deal with $250K in incentives, Nightengale reports. Soler was a 48-home run hitter in 2019, but his production went backward this past season, in which he slashed .228/.326/.443 with eight HRs in 174 trips to the plate.
  • The Red Sox have kept relievers Matt Barnes ($4.4MM) and Ryan Brasier ($1.25MM) and catcher Kevin Plawecki ($1.6MM), per tweets from Nightengale, Robert Murray of FanSided and Heyman. Barnes has been a solid reliever as a member of the Red Sox, though he yielded more than five walks per nine and upward of four runs per nine in 2020. Brasier was more successful this past season, as he tossed 25 frames of 3.96 ERA/3.15 FIP ball and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine. Plawecki had a nice year as the backup to Christian Vazquez, as he batted .341/.393/.463 in 89 PA.
  • The Giants and southpaw Jarlin Garcia have settled for $950K, according to Heyman. Garcia is coming off an 18 1/3-inning effort in which he posted a near-perfect 0.49 (with an impressive 3.14 FIP) and 6.87 K/9 against 3.44 BB/9.
  • The Marlins have agreed to a one-year, $4.3MM deal with first baseman Jesus Aguilar, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. The 30-year-old slugger put up strong numbers in his first year with the Fish, slashing .277/.352/.457 with eight long balls in 216 plate appearances.
  • The Giants and outfielder Alex Dickerson settled at a year and $2MM, tweets Nightengale. The 30-year-old slugger has a lengthy injury history but has been excellent in limited work with the Giants, including a .298/.371/.576 slash in 170 plate appearances this past season.
  • Luis Cessa will be back with the Yankees on a one-year deal, tweets Nightengale. He’ll earn $1.05MM. The righty notched a 3.32 ERA and 3.79 FIP with a 17-to-7 K/BB ratio in 21 2/3 innings this past season. Fellow righty Ben Heller will also return, the team announced, though it didn’t disclose financial details.
  • First baseman Matt Olson and the Athletics settled on a one-year deal worth $5MM, tweets Nightengale. The 26-year-old Olson’s .198/.310/.424 slash was an obvious step back from his 2019 campaign, but he’s still viewed as a vital part of the club’s future moving forward.
  • The Braves and righty Luke Jackson agreed to a one-year deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The 29-year-old was rocked for a 6.84 ERA in this year’s shortened slate of games but posted a 3.84 ERA and 3.24 FIP with better than 13 K/9 as one of the team’s steadiest relievers in 2019. The contract is valued at $1.9MM, per a team announcement.
  • The Brewers are bringing back catcher Omar Narvaez for one year and $2.5MM, Heyman tweets. Narvaez was a very good offensive catcher from 2o16-19 with the White Sox and Mariners, but he struggled last season after the M’s traded him to the Brewers. Thanks in part to a career-worst 31 percent strikeout rate, Narvaez could only muster a .176/.294/.269 line and a paltry two HRs in 126 plate appearances. Nevertheless, he’s in line to return to the Brewers for a second season.
  • The Brewers have agreed to a one-year, $2MM contract with shortstop Orlando Arcia, Nightengale relays. Arcia endured serious struggles on offense in prior years, but the 26-year-old managed a respectable .260/.317/.416 line with five home runs over 189 plate appearances this past season.
  • The Phillies and catcher Andrew Knapp have reached a one-year, $1.1MM agreement, per Nightengale. Typically a light-hitting backstop, Knapp batted a career-best .278/.404/.444 in 89 plate appearances in 2020. He’s currently the No. 1 catcher on a Phillies team that could lose J.T. Realmuto in free agency.
  • Pirates infielder Erik Gonzalez agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.225MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. It was the second year of arb eligibility for Gonzalez, whose glovework will earn him a contract despite a brutal .227/.255/.359 batting line in 193 plate appearances in 2020.
  • The Royals and Hunter Dozier agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.72MM in entirely guaranteed money, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports.  More is available to Dozier via contract incentives.  Dozier hit .228/.344/.392 over 186 PA after missing over the first two weeks of the season recovering from a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • The Red Sox agreed to an $870K deal with right-hander Austin Brice for the 2021 season, as per Nightengale.  Brice posted a 5.95 ERA, 11.4 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 over 19 2/3 innings in his first season in Boston, and was considered a potential non-tender candidate.
  • The Twins and righty Tyler Duffey agreed to a one-year, $2.2MM pact, SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson reports.  According to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, Duffey’s deal is fully guaranteed.
  • The Braves agreed to a one-year, $900K deal with southpaw Grant Dayton, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  Dayton had a 2.30 ERA over 27 1/3 innings in 2020.
  • The Braves announced an agreement with utilityman Johan Camargo on a one-year, $1.36MM deal.  Camargo was thought to be a non-tender candidate after struggling to a .222/.267/.378 slash line in 375 plate appearances over the last two seasons, but he will return for a fifth year in Atlanta.
  • The White Sox and left-hander Jace Fry agreed to a one-year deal worth $862.5K, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Fry posted a 3.66 ERA, 2.00 K/BB rate, and 11.0 K/9 over 19 2/3 innings in 2020, and he has strong overall career numbers against left-handed batters.
  • The Orioles agreed with second baseman Yolmer Sanchez on a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).  Baltimore claimed Sanchez off waivers from the White Sox at the end of October.  A Gold Glove winner in 2019, Sanchez was non-tendered by Chicago prior to last year’s deadline, though after signing a minors deal with the Giants, he returned to the White Sox on another minors deal and appeared in 11 games on the South Side.
  • The Twins agreed to a one-year deal worth roughly $700K with left-hander Caleb Thielbar, The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reports (via Twitter).  2020 marked Thielbar’s first taste of MLB action since 2015, as the southpaw worked his way back from independent ball to post a 2.25 ERA, 2.44 K/BB rate, and 9.9 K/9 over 20 innings for Minnesota.
  • The Dodgers and left-hander Scott Alexander have agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Alexander posted a 2.92 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen this season, recording an equal number of walks and strikeouts (nine).  The southpaw was thought to be a potential non-tender candidate given his relative lack of usage and his non-inclusion on the Dodgers’ playoff roster, but the team will retain Alexander for his second arb-eligible year.  ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter) adds the noteworthy detail that Alexander’s $1MM salary is fully guaranteed, as opposed to the usual contracts for arbitration-eligible players that allow their teams to release them prior to Opening Day and only pay a fraction of the agreed-upon salary.

Twins Non-Tender Eddie Rosario, Matt Wisler

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7:30pm: The Twins have non-tendered Rosario, per a team announcement. They’ve also opted not to tender a contract to right-hander Matt Wisler.

Wisler’ departure is somewhat of a surprise, given that he pitched to a 1.07 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. Wisler allowed far too many walks (14) and hit a pair of batters as well, but his departure thins out a relief corps that has already lost Trevor May, Sergio Romo and Tyler Clippard.

Dec. 2, 1:35pm: Rosario has cleared waivers, according to multiple reports (including this tweet from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale).

Dec. 1: The Twins have placed outfielder Eddie Rosario on outright waivers, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The club previously tried to find a taker for Rosario in a trade, but it wasn’t able to do so, according to Rosenthal.

Rosario has until Wednesday to join another team on waivers. If not, the Twins could non-tender Rosario or try to re-sign him for less than the $8.6MM to $12.9MM he’s projected to receive in arbitration this winter. Rosario is slated to go through arbitration for the final time in the coming months.

The 29-year-old Rosario has spent his entire career with the Twins, who chose him in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. He has typically been a productive hitter since he debuted in 2015, evidenced by his .277/.310/.478 line across 2,830 plate appearances. Rosario has even hit at least 24 home runs on three occasions, including a career-best 32 in 2019, but his somewhat above-average offensive production might not be enough to keep him in a Twins uniform. The club has touted outfield prospects Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach nearing MLB readiness, making it no surprise that it seems willing to cut the cord on Rosario.

Assuming he hits free agency next, Rosario should draw a decent amount of interest on the open market. He’d be one of the most appealing corner-capable outfielders available behind the likes of George Springer, Marcell Ozuna and Michael Brantley, who should earn much richer deals. Teams that need help in the outfield but aren’t willing to spend on any of those three could pivot to Rosario.

Reds Non-Tender Archie Bradley

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7:23pm: The Reds have already re-signed Farmer to a new one-year, Major League contract. His non-tender was likely something of a procedural move, allowing the team to bring him back on friendlier terms, but he’s back on the 40-man roster for the 2021 season already.

7:00pm: The Reds announced Wednesday that they’ve non-tendered right-hander Archie Bradley, whom they acquired from the D-backs prior to the 2020 trade deadline. He joins fellow trade acquisition Brian Goodwin as well as catcher Curt Casali, righty R.J. Alaniz and infielder/catcher Kyle Farmer among Cincinnati non-tenders.

The 28-year-old Bradley, a former first-round pick and elite pitching prospect, couldn’t have pitched much better for the Reds after being acquired. He totaled 7 2/3 innings during the regular season and allowed just a run on four hits and no walks with six punchouts. He did yield a run in his lone postseason appearance, but it’s somewhat unexpected to see the Reds cut ties with him rather than pay him a raise on 2020’s $4.1MM salary.

While it won’t be a kind free-agent market for right-handed relievers, Bradley seems positioned to do better than most of his non-tendered counterparts. Since moving to the ’pen full-time back in 2017, he’s been outstanding; in 234 2/3 innings, most of it spent as the D-backs’ closer, Bradley has a 2.95 ERA with averages of 9.9 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9. That’s all come while playing his home games in a decidedly hitter-friendly setting.

Bradley did see his fastball velocity dip to an average of 94.4 mph this year — about two miles below its peak in 2018 — which could be a red flag. But the Reds thought enough of him to trade for him as part of a playoff push at the deadline, and Bradley won’t turn 29 until next August.

Casali has been a productive part-time backstop for the Reds over the past three seasons, hitting .260/.345/.440. He was only owed a raise on a $1.4625MM salary, which seems like it should’ve been a reasonable price, but most clubs are striving to pare back payroll, and backup catcher is clearly a spot the Reds felt they could do so.

Goodwin’s non-tender was reported earlier in the day and comes as less of a surprise after his bat took a step back from his solid 2019 levels. The 29-year-old Alaniz didn’t pitch in the Majors in 2020 and wasn’t arb-eligible, so his non-tender was simply because the Reds simply wanted an extra 40-man spot.

Cubs Non-Tender Schwarber, Almora, Tepera

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7:14pm: The Cubs announced that Schwarber, Almora, right-hander Ryan Tepera and first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez have all been non-tendered.

6:46pm: The Cubs have informed outfielder Kyle Schwarber that he won’t be tendered a contract for the upcoming season, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reports (via Twitter). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported prior that “barring a change of plans,” the Cubs were intent on non-tendering both Schwarber and center fielder Albert Almora Jr. The Cubs do plan on tendering a contract to third baseman Kris Bryant, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman indicated earlier in the week. Both Schwarber and Almora will become free agents once their non-tenders are made official.

Schwarber, 27, is coming off a rough season in which he put together just a .188/.308/.393 batting line in 224 plate appearances. The former No. 4 overall draft pick walked at a characteristically strong 13.4 percent clip this past season, but his 29.5 percent strikeout rate was the highest mark he’s posted since 2017. At his best, Schwarber is an above-average power bat with passable left-field defense, but he’s also had plenty of defensive struggles throughout his career.

Schwarber earned $7MM in 2020 and was due a raise on that sum. As we saw with the Twins and Eddie Rosario, who cleared waivers today, that’s not a price point at which teams appear anxious to pay above-average hitters with some notable flaws (on-base percentage in Rosario’s case; defense and strikeouts for Schwarber).

The decision to jettison Almora is far less surprising. Though he was once rated as a high-end prospect and potential everyday center fielder, the 26-year-old hasn’t provided value at the plate over the past three seasons, batting a combined .261/.299/.373 (77 wRC+). He’s a talented defender with passable career numbers against left-handed pitching, however, so he could latch on as a fourth outfielder with another club.

Tendering a contract to Bryant, meanwhile, puts the Cubs in line to pay him a raise on this year’s $18.6MM salary. For a Cubs team looking to reduce payroll, he’s still a likely trade candidate, although finding a deal could be tricky. Bryant battled injuries and hit just .206/.293/.351 in 34 games this past season, which would give potential trade partners cause for concern (as would his salary). The ceiling here, of course, is an MVP-caliber player on a reasonable one-year deal, but teams aren’t going to value him as such in light of recent struggles. Convincing a trade partner to not only absorb Bryant’s salary but also to surrender some young talent of note could prove difficult for newly minted president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer.

Blue Jays Non-Tender Travis Shaw, A.J. Cole

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The Blue Jays have non-tendered corner infielder Travis Shaw and reliever A.J. Cole, Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star tweets.

Formerly a productive third baseman with the Brewers, Shaw endured a terrible 2019 in his final season with the club. The Blue Jays still signed him to a $4MM guarantee last offseason, and while Shaw did post much better numbers, they weren’t enough for him to remain in their plans at a similar salary for 2021. The 30-year-old ended the season as a .239/.306/.411 hitter with six home runs in 180 plate appearances.

Cole has struggled with home runs at times, though he only yielded them on 9.7 percent of fly balls in 2020, helping him to a terrific 3.09 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. But some of Cole’s other numbers, including a 4.31 FIP, 7.71 K/9 and 3.47 BB/9, were less impressive. He’d have only made around $1MM via arbitration, but the Blue Jays weren’t willing to keep him around for that.

Angels Non-Tender Hansel Robles, 4 Others

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The Angels have elected not to tender contracts to five players, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reported on Twitter and the club has since announced. Former closer Hansel Robles is the biggest name of the bunch.

Beyond Robles, the Halos dropped a bevy of other hurlers. Southpaw Hoby Milner joins righties Justin Anderson, Matt Andriese, and Keynan Middleton on their way out the door. (Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times had the first word on Middleton.)

The 30-year-old Robles had provided the Angels with a lot of good innings since arriving in the middle of the 2019 season, but things fell apart in 2020. In his 18 appearances, Robles surrendered 19 earned runs while carrying a 20:10 K/BB ratio and coughing up four long balls.

Middleton, 27, also closed out some games for the Angels earlier in his career. He once seemed like a potential bullpen stalwart, but injuries limited him quite a bit in recent seasons. In the just-completed campaign, he showed that he still has the physical capability of throwing a high-velo, high-spin heater but gave up seven earned runs in a dozen innings of work.

Both Milner and Andriese had their share of opportunities this past season, but didn’t deliver the desired results. The former has still not reached arbitration eligibility, while the latter had projected to earn a reasonably substantial salary. Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of the 2020 campaign, so this move came as little surprise.

Rockies Non-Tender David Dahl, Tony Wolters

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The Rockies announced that they’ve non-tendered outfielder David Dahl, catcher Tony Wolters and right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez. All three are now free agents.

Dahl, 26, registers as something of a surprise non-tender. The former top prospect was due only a very modest raise on last year’s $2.475MM salary, and while he struggled through an awful 2020 season, hitting .183/.222/.247, he’s only a year removed from an All-Star campaign. In 2019, Dahl slashed .302/.353/.524 with 15 big flies, 28 doubles and five triples through 413 plate appearances.

The sky once looked to be the limit for Dahl, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2012 draft. He was universally regarded as a top 100 prospect throughout his minor league career, landing within the top 25 on multiple lists in multiple offseasons. He debuted in 2016 and hit .315/.359/.500 through 236 plate appearances, looking every bit like the star that most anticipated he would become.

Unfortunately for Dahl, injuries have hindered him time and time again. He’s had his spleen removed after suffering a laceration during a violent on-field collision, and he’s since dealt with stress reactions in his rib cage, a fractured foot, a high ankle sprain, multiple back injuries and most recently a shoulder injury. With all of those health concerns, perhaps the Rockies simply didn’t expect they could count on him to remain on the field in 2021, but a salary in the $2.5-2.6MM range doesn’t seem like much of a risk given the upside he carried over his remaining three years of club control.

Wolters, 28, has been a non-tender candidate in each of the past two seasons but hung onto his roster spot despite a lack of production at the plate. Rockies brass clearly has long liked his defensive capabilities, but at this point the club wasn’t willing to give him a raise on top of last year’s $1.9MM salary. Over the past three seasons, Wolters has batted .231/.316/.307. Gonzalez, also 28, has pitched in 20 games (16 starts) for the Rox since 2019 but been roughed up for a 5.66 ERA and 5.62 FIP.

Angels Acquire Jose Iglesias

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The Angels have a new shortstop, as they’ve acquired veteran Jose Iglesias from the Orioles in exchange for minor league right-handers Garrett Stallings and Jean Pinto, per announcements from both clubs. It’s the second straight winter with a notable trade between the two teams. The Halos acquired Dylan Bundy from the O’s last winter.

It’s something of a surprising move — one that rather definitively closes the door on a reunion between the Halos and free-agent shortstop Andrelton Simmons (though most expected Simmons to land elsewhere anyhow). Baltimore general manager Mike Elias has previously spoken of Iglesias’ importance to the roster, calling him a “perfect fit for what we need right now” (link via Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun). Elias said it was an easy decision to pick up the $3.5MM club option on Iglesias for the 2021 season, although the Orioles waited until the last minute to formally make said decision.

Iglesias, 31 next month, may not be the generational defender that Simmons is, but he’s long been regarded as one of the game’s premier defenders at the position. The knock against him has typically been his offense (or lack thereof), but he flipped the narrative in 2020 by slashing .373/.400/.556 with three homers and 17 doubles. Iglesias shouldn’t be expected to repeat that production, as he benefited greatly from a .407 average on balls in play while landing in just the 12th and 36th percentiles, respectively, in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate.

That said, Iglesias still has some value at the dish. The 2020 season was actually the third of his career in which he’s batted .300 or better, and he’s been one of the more difficult hitters in the game to strike out since making his MLB debut back in 2011. He lacks any real power and doesn’t draw many walks, which often leads to a rather “empty” batting average, but those bat-to-ball skills do allow him to get on base at a respectable clip (career .319).

Iglesias’ BABIP-fueled surge was well-timed, as he wasn’t able to play much at shortstop in 2020 owing to a nagging quadriceps injury that limited his mobility. Assuming he’s healthy in 2021, he’ll give the Angels a shortstop who’s posted 18 Defensive Runs Saved and a 35.4 Ultimate Zone Rating over his past 4672 innings at the shortstop position.

It’s a cost-effective means of addressing a glaring hole on the roster — one that should allow the Angels to maintain a strong infield defense. That the Halos filled such a clear need via a trade bodes poorly for this winter’s crop of free-agent shortstops, however. With Simmons hitting the market, names like Marcus Semien and Didi Gregorius were surely eyeing the Angels as a potential fit. Iglesias’ salary is light enough that the Angels could still add another shortstop and use Iglesias in a utility role, though it seems unlikely that they’d have traded away young talent to acquire a utility man with so many other options on the market. In all likelihood, Iglesias will be tabbed as the starter, leaving Gregorius, Simmons, Semien and other shortstops looking elsewhere for homes in free agency.

In Stallings and Pinto, the Orioles will add another pair of far-off pitching prospects who could add to the organization’s depth down the road. Stallings was the Angels’ fifth-round pick out of the University of Tennessee in 2019 and now slots in 26th among Orioles farmhands over at MLB.com.

Stallings has yet to pitch in a professional game because the Angels shut him down after signing him out of the draft, citing a heavy college workload. MLB.com’s report on him credits him for having a legitimate four-pitch mix, albeit without a plus offering. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen tabs Stallings as a “low-variance, fifth starter prospect.” The 19-year-old Pinto has just 12 pro innings under his belt and didn’t rank inside the Angels’ 30 best prospects, nor does he land on Baltimore’s top 30 list.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the deal (via Twitter).

American League Non-Tenders

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With revenue losses expected to result in reduced payrolls around baseball, a larger number of players than usual are expected to be let go by their current teams by tonight’s 7pm CT non-tender deadline.  Some of these players could end up re-signing with their teams for salaries below what they were projected (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) to earn through the arbitration process, or teams could end up simply opting to explore other options…with many of those options arriving on the market through this same non-tender process.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through the list of American League players who have been let go in this post.  (The NL list is available here.)

  • In addition to Naquin, covered below, the Indians announced that they’ve non-tendered outfielder Delino DeShields Jr. and right-hander Jefry Rodriguez. Cleveland picked up DeShields in the Corey Kluber salary dump to the Rangers last winter, and he managed a tepid .252/.310/.318 slash in 137 plate appearances. Rodriguez wasn’t arb-eligible yet and didn’t pitch in the Majors this season, but the Indians obviously wanted to open the 40-man spot. He has a career 5.20 ERA and 5.29 FIP in 98 2/3 innings.
  • The Rangers non-tendered utilityman Danny Santana, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports. The 30-year-old switch-hitter had a big season with Texas in 2019, but as was the case with his rookie showing in Minnesota, the results were largely BABIP-driven. Santana underwent elbow surgery in September and may not be ready for Opening Day, so his non-tender isn’t a surprise. Outfielder Scott Heineman and righty Jimmy Herget were also non-tendered, the team announced.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the Rays have non-tendered righty Edgar Garcia, who was not yet eligible for arbitration. Tampa acquired Garcia for a PTBNL in August after the Phils designated him for assignment, but he was hit hard in a small sample of work. The Rays prefer to have an open roster spot and will make Garcia a free agent.

Earlier Non-Tenders

  • The Indians have non-tendered outfielder Tyler Naquin, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com tweets. Naquin, who would have earned around $2MM in arbitration, is coming off a poor year in Cleveland. The 29-year-old slashed .218/.248/.383 with four home runs, 40 strikeouts and five walks in 141 plate appearances. Naquin joined the Indians as the 15th overall pick in 2012, but he has only provided league-average offense since debuting in 2016.
  • The Royals also non-tendered Maikel Franco, as covered here. The White Sox, meanwhile, cut ties with Nomar Mazara and Carlos Rodon, as outlined here.

Royals Non-Tender Maikel Franco, Bubba Starling

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6:52pm: The Royals have non-tendered Franco, infielder Jeison Guzman, infielder/outfielder Erick Mejia and outfielder Bubba Starling, Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star tweets. This could end Starling’s tenure in KC. He was the fifth overall pick in 2011 but hasn’t come close to living up to his draft status.

3:22pm: The Royals are expected to non-tender third baseman Maikel Franco, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Franco to earn between $4.5MM and $8MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility, but those figures were too rich for the Royals’ blood.

Although he was a star prospect with the Phillies, Franco didn’t pan out in their uniform after an excellent rookie showing in 2015. The Phillies non-tendered him after last season as a result, and Franco then caught on with the Royals on a $2.95MM guarantee. It ended up as a decent investment for Kansas City, with which Franco slashed .278/.321/.457 (106 wRC+) and totaled eight home runs in 243 plate appearances. He also chipped in playable work at third base with zero Defensive Runs Saved and a plus-1.3 Ultimate Zone Rating in 51 games.

While Franco took a step forward this past season, the Royals obviously don’t think that production merited a sizable raise in arbitration. That means the 28-year-old Franco will head back to the open market, where he’ll join the likes of Marwin Gonzalez and Todd Frazier after top option Justin Turner.

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