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Orioles Re-Sign Wade LeBlanc To Minor League Contract

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The Orioles have re-signed left-hander Wade LeBlanc to a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB camp, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. LeBlanc will earn a $700K salary if he makes it to the majors this year.

The Orioles signed LeBlanc to a minors pact last offseason, and while he did ultimately earn a roster spot, he didn’t perform especially well or stay healthy. The journeyman ended up posting an 8.06 ERA/5.77 SIERA in 22 1/3 innings and six starts. LeBlanc’s season concluded near the end of August because of a stress fracture in his pitching elbow.

Although the soft-tossing LeBlanc wasn’t effective in 2020, Baltimore is still willing to take a low-risk chance on him again. The 36-year-old swingman does own a useful 4.55 ERA in 882 1/3 innings since he debuted in 2008, and the Orioles could use a veteran option – particularly if their potential Alex Cobb trade with the Angels goes through.

Yankees, Kyle Barraclough Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have agreed to a minor league deal with free-agent right-hander Kyle Barraclough, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. The contract includes an invitation to major league spring training.

In Barraclough, the Yankees are adding a hard-throwing 30-year-old who overcame control problems to prevent runs at a strong clip as part of the Marlins’ bullpen earlier in his career. Barraclough amassed 163 innings of 2.87 ERA ball from 2015-17, during which he logged a 31.7 percent strikeout rate against a 14.5 percent walk rate and averaged upward of 95 mph on his fastball.

Barraclough’s production declined during the next two seasons after his successful stretch, especially in a 2019 divided between the Nationals and Giants. He could only muster a 5.61 ERA in 33 2/3 innings that year, when his average heater dropped to 93.5 mph and his strikeout percentage hit a career-low 24.4. After the Giants cut ties with him, Barraclough signed a minors deal with the Padres last winter, but he elected free agency before the season started and didn’t catch on elsewhere.

Rangers Sign Spencer Patton To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers have signed right-hander Spencer Patton to a minor league contract, the team announced. The deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.

This will be the second Rangers stint for Patton, who pitched with the organization from 2014-15. Patton was most recently in the majors in 2016 as a member of the Cubs. In all, he has pitched to a 6.26 ERA/3.89 SIERA with a 23.7 percent strikeout rate and an 11.4 percent walk rate in 54 2/3 innings at the sport’s highest level.

After struggling in the bigs, Patton went to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he spent the previous four seasons with the Yokohama BayStars. The 32-year-old put up a 3.68 ERA across 205 2/3 innings in Japan, and though he managed a much less impressive 4.92 mark in 2020, he did lead his league with 57 appearances. Patton then garnered interest from various MLB and NPB teams before choosing to return to the Rangers.

Red Sox Sign Enrique Hernandez

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TODAY: The Red Sox officially announced the two-year contract. Hernandez has a $6MM salary in 2021 and an $8MM salary in 2022, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, although the contract carries some heavy deferrals despite its affordable nature. Heyman indicates that $1.5MM of that 2021 salary will be paid in $250K installments from 2027-32, while $1MM of the 2022 salary will be paid in $250K installments from 2033-36.

JANUARY 22, 9:43pm: The contract includes deferrals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

7:24pm: It’s a two-year, $14MM pact for Hernandez, Feinsand reports. As Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com points out, this is the biggest free-agent deal chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has given out since he took over Boston’s front office last offseason.

7:00pm: Boston has agreed to a multiyear deal with Hernandez, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Hernandez is a Wasserman client.

3:5opm: The Red Sox and free-agent utilityman Enrique Hernandez have made progress toward a contract and could have an agreement by the end of the weekend, according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com.

A Boston-Hernandez agreement wouldn’t come as any surprise, as the two sides have been linked in rumors for at least the past few weeks. Plus, as Morosi notes, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was Team Puerto Rico’s GM in the 2017 World Baseball Classic when Hernandez was part of the club.

The 29-year-old Hernandez was a sixth-round pick of the Astros in 2009, but he has since been part of trades that have sent him to the Marlins and Dodgers. He found a home in Los Angeles from 2014-20, where he proved to be a useful cog as someone capable of playing all over the diamond (primarily second baseman and the outfield). He also recorded roughly league-average offensive production as a member of the Dodgers, with whom he batted .240/.312/.425 (98 wRC+) with 68 home runs 1,874 plate appearances. However, Hernandez’s numbers tailed off from 2019-20, so he shouldn’t come at an especially high price this offseason.

If he does join the Red Sox, Hernandez would be an obvious candidate to get significant reps at second base, where the club finished 25th in fWAR (minus-0.2) last season. Michael Chavis and Christian Arroyo are the only healthy second basemen on Boston’s 40-man roster at the moment. Of course, they also some have questions with Jackie Bradley Jr. a free agent and Andrew Benintendi a trade candidate, so Hernandez could also be a factor in the grass.

Phillies Sign Hector Rondon, David Paulino To Minors Deals

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12:25PM: Rondon will earn $1.5MM if he makes Philadelphia’s Major League roster, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  The righty can also earn up to $1MM in additional bonus incentives.

11:25AM: The Phillies announced that right-handers Hector Rondon and David Paulino have been signed to minor league contracts.  Both pitchers will receive invites to the team’s big league Spring Training camp.

Rondon hit the open market in October when the Diamondbacks bought out his $4MM 2021 club option for $500K.  It wasn’t an unexpected decision considering how Rondon struggled in his only season with Arizona, posting a 7.65 ERA over 20 innings with below-average 23.7% strikeout percentage and 12.4K-BB%.  Rondon also allowed six homers over his 20 frames of work.  This performance was a stark departure from the solid work Rondon delivered over his previous six seasons with the Cubs and Astros, so Philadelphia is surely hoping it has added some much-needed bullpen help at the lowered cost of a minor league contract.

Rondon posted a 3.06 ERA over 361 1/3 innings from 2014-19 with a 25.3K%, 18.7K-BB%, and 48.8% grounder rate, formerly serving as the Cubs’ closer and contributing to Chicago’s 2016 world championship team.  A consistent hard thrower over his career, Rondon’s fastball velocity dipped slightly to a 95.6mph average in 2020, though like all his stats, that could be attributed to the odd nature of the most recent season rather than a potential sign of decline heading into his age-33 season.

Paulino last appeared in the majors in 2018, pitching with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A club in 2019 after posting a 5.48 ERA over 42 2/3 career MLB innings with Houston and Toronto from 2016-18.  Once a top-100 prospect, Paulino has battled injuries and was issued an 80-game PED suspension in 2017.  Only a few days shy of his 27th birthday, Paulino could still be something of a late bloomer, so there’s no risk for the Phillies in bringing him to camp and seeing if some further potential can be unclocked.

Cardinals Acquire Nolan Arenado

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After a few days of waiting for their complicated trade to be finalized, the Cardinals and Rockies have completed their deal centering on third baseman Nolan Arenado, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. The league and the union have signed off on the swap. The Rockies will receive left-hander Austin Gomber, third baseman Mateo Gil, infielder Elehuris Montero and right-handers Tony Locey and Jake Sommers in exchange for Arenado, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch previously reported Gomber’s spot in the deal, while Ken Rosenthal and Nick Groke of The Athletic tweeted that Gil would be in it.

Nolan Arenado | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The two teams agreed to this trade in principle last Friday, but it was held up over the weekend as they worked out finances and which players would be involved. St. Louis is now getting one of the game’s premier infielders, and the team will reportedly add another year and $15MM to Arenado’s contract. As such, he’ll be signed through 2027 at $214MM. The Rockies will absorb $51MM, including some in deferrals, according to Feinsand. The Rockies will pay all of Arenado’s $35MM salary in 2021, Jon Morosi of MLB.com relays.

Along with the added value to his deal, Arenado will be able to opt out of his pact after either of the next two seasons (the Cardinals added the second opt-out as part of the trade; most of the money the Rox owe will be after the opt-outs, Feinsand adds).

Considering the concessions the Cardinals are making, it’s no surprise Arenado waived his no-trade clause to become part of the club. Of course, it helps that the Cardinals look much better equipped to compete for a playoff spot than the Rockies, who saw their relationship with Arenado deteriorate over the past year-plus. The Rockies, whom Arenado played for from 2013-20, earned playoff berths in 2017 and ’18, but they’ve since fallen apart. Arenado, dissatisfied with the team’s inactivity in free agency, was part of trade rumors last offseason and even accused general manager Jeff Bridich of treating him with disrespect.

The Bridich-led Rockies are now wiping most of Arenado’s contract off the books, but they’re also losing a face-of-the-franchise type who won eight straight Gold Gloves and picked up five All-Star nods in their uniform. The 29-year-old Arenado annually blended well-above-average offense with superb defense as a Rockie, though his production at the plate did fall off during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Across 201 plate appearances, Arenado batted a career-worst .253/.303/.434 – down from a lifetime .293/.343/.541. Arenado did walk (15) nearly as much as he struck out (20), and a .241 batting average on balls in play hurt his cause, yet his Statcast numbers also plummeted.

The Cardinals no doubt regard Arenado’s 2020 decline as a small sample blip. He’ll now take over at the hot corner for the club in place of Matt Carpenter and Tommy Edman, the Cardinals’ main third base choices last year. Both Carpenter and Edman also have second base experience, so they could divvy up the keystone next season if Kolten Wong exits in free agency. However, it’s possible the Cardinals would rather find a way to jettison Carpenter, a former standout whose output was weak from 2019-20. That may not be doable, though, considering the 35-year-old’s sudden drop-off, the $20.5MM he’s due through 2021 (including a $2MM buyout for ’22) and his no-trade protection.

In order to bolster their situation at third, the Cardinals are parting with a few of their top 30 farmhands, though it doesn’t appear the Rockies are getting any blue-chip talent back. Baseball America ranked Montero 14th, Locey 26th and Gil 28th in the Cardinals’ system prior to the trade.

Montero, who topped out as BA’s 81st-ranked prospect in the sport in 2019, made his pro debut in 2015 and reached the Double-A level in 2019. While he struggled there, the 22-year-old has typically produced above-average numbers in the minors, BA wrote last season that Montero is “a physical, strong hitter with excellent hand-eye coordination, bat speed and plus raw power.” Defensively, Montero’s future could be at first base.

Locey, a third-round pick in 2019, divided his draft year between the rookie and Single-A levels. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Locey 16th in the Cardinals’ system a year ago and wrote that he could be a reliever, as his velocity mixes well with short stints.

Gil, son of former major leaguer Benji Gil, has mostly played rookie ball going back to his first taste of pro action in 2018. Longenhagen wrote in 2020 that the 20-year-old has “low-end regular upside.”

Sommers, 23, is the only prospect the Rox are getting back who was not in BA’s top 30 for the Cardinals at the time of the deal. He’s a 10th-round pick from 2019 who threw 51 2/3 innings of 4.18 ERA ball and struck out more than a batter per inning at the rookie level during his draft year.

The 27-year-old Gomber is the lone player with big league experience on his way to Colorado in this trade. Gomber, a fourth-rounder in 2014, reached the majors for the first time in 2018 and has since been effective over 104 innings for the Cardinals. He sports a lifetime 3.72 ERA, though he was even better than that last year with 29 frames of 1.86 ERA ball (mostly in relief). While Gomber did end the season with below-average figures in strikeout percentage (22.7), walk percentage (12.6) and SIERA (4.82), he should earn a role as part of Colorado’s pitching staff in 2021. He’s not on track to become eligible for arbitration until after 2022 and isn’t scheduled for free agency until the conclusion of the 2025 season.

All said, when considering Arenado’s superstar status and his massive contract, this is one of the most notable trades in recent baseball history. It’s also indicative of two teams going in opposite directions. The Cardinals, who went to the playoffs for the second straight year in 2020, are clearly going for it in a wide-open National League Central. On the other side, the Rockies seem to realize they have little chance to compete in the near term as part of an NL West led by serious contenders in the reigning World Series champion Dodgers and the up-and-coming Padres.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

White Sox Designate Emilio Vargas

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The White Sox have designated right-hander Emilio Vargas for assignment, James Fegan of The Athletic tweets. His 40-man roster spot will go to lefty Carlos Rodon, who has officially re-signed.

It wasn’t a long stay on Chicago’s 40-man for Vargas, whom the White Sox claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks in the second half of November. Vargas joined the White Sox as someone without any major league experience or a high-end prospect pedigree. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote before 2020 that “Vargas is a Triple-A depth arm with a 40 fastball based on velo and a 45 fastball based on how it plays at the top of the zone.”

Vargas, who turned 24 in August, has so far topped out at Double-A ball in the minors. He has done a decent job keeping runs off the board there with 121 1/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball and 100 strikeouts against 31 walks.

Orioles Outright Chris Shaw

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The Orioles have outrighted first baseman/outfielder Chris Shaw to Triple-A Norfolk, per a team announcement. The club designated Shaw for assignment last week, but he cleared waivers.

Shaw has only been with the Baltimore organization for a little over two months, as it claimed him off waivers from San Francisco toward the end of November. The 27-year-old was a prospect of note in his younger days, going 31st overall to the Giants in the 2015 draft and subsequently ranking among their best farmhands on multiple occasions. However, Shaw hasn’t found any real success in the majors to this point, though the sample of work hasn’t been extensive. He collected 82 plate appearances as a Giant from 2018-19 and batted .153/.244/.222 with a 37.8 percent strikeout rate and one home run.

To Shaw’s credit, he has been a pretty successful hitter in the minors, having slashed .279/.340/.520 with 109 homers over 2,189 plate appearances. During his most recent minor league action in 2019, he posted a strong .298/.355/.592 line with 21 HRs across 310 trips to the plate in Triple-A.

Rangers Sign Delino DeShields Jr.

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Delino DeShields Jr. is back with the Rangers. Texas announced Monday that they’ve signed DeShields to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. The Rangers also confirmed their signing of righty Sam Gaviglio to a minor league deal, which we reported over the weekend.

Still just 28 years old, DeShields was with the Rangers from 2015-19 before being flipped to Cleveland as part of the Corey Kluber trade last winter. He spent just one year there and posted a tepid .252/.310/.318 batting line in 120 homerless plate appearances. Normally a nuisance on the basepaths, DeShields went just 3-for-5 in stolen base attempts through 37 games with Cleveland, who non-tendered him this winter rather than pay him a raise on last year’s $1.875MM salary (prior to prorating). DeShields missed time early in the season after being diagnosed with Covid-19 and didn’t make his 2020 debut until Aug. 6.

Now back with the Rangers, DeShields will vie for playing time in an outfield mix that is tentatively set to feature David Dahl in left field, Leody Taveras in center and slugger Joey Gallo in right. Both Dahl and Gallo are left-handed hitters, while Taveras is a switch-hitter who has typically fared better from the left side of the plate than from the right. As such, the righty-swinging DeShields could well factor in as a complementary right-handed  bat who could see action as a pinch-runner or defensive upgrade late in games.

Mets Acquire Jordan Yamamoto

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The Marlins have traded right-hander Jordan Yamamoto to the Mets in exchange for minor league infielder Federico Polanco, the Mets announced Monday. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, the Mets have designated infielder Robel Garcia for assignment. Yamamoto was designated for assignment last week when Miami inked reliever Anthony Bass to a two-year contract.

The 24-year-old Yamamoto joined the Marlins as one of four players acquired in the lopsided deal that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee. Yamamoto showed promise in a 15-start debut in 2019, notching a 4.46 ERA through his first 78 2/3 MLB frames while striking out a quarter of the hitters he faced. While that strikeout rate sat above the league average, he also walked a greater-than-average 11 percent of the hitters he faced.

Despite that promising debut, Yamamoto’s 2020 season was an utter disaster. In 11 1/3 innings, he was clobbered for 23 earned runs on 27 hits — including an astonishing eight home runs — and seven walks. Clearly, giving up nearly a homer per inning isn’t conducive to success, but it’s worth noting that there may well have been some physical reasons for his struggles. Yamamoto’s 2019 season ended with an IL placement due to a forearm strain, and his 89.8 mph average fastball in 2020 was down nearly two full miles per hour.

Yamamoto may not factor into the Mets’ immediate rotation plans, but he’ll be a nice piece of optionable depth behind top starters Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson. At present, Yamamoto and fellow trade acquisition Joey Lucchesi might be the favorites for the fifth spot in the rotation now with Steven Matz now a Blue Jay, but the Mets could yet add another veteran starting pitcher to their Opening Day group.

In exchange for Yamamoto, the Marlins will get the 19-year-old Polanco — a versatile, left-handed-hitting infielder who has yet to advance beyond the Dominican Summer League. (He’d likely have done so in 2020 were it not for the absence of a minor league season.) Polanco signed as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 and most recently appeared with the Mets’ DSL affiliate in 2019, hitting .299/.383/.418 in 231 plate appearances. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked him outside the Mets’ Top 30 prospects earlier this year, noting that he lacked power projection and has a contact-oriented offensive profile.

Garcia, 27, made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2019 after after a highly unusual path to The Show. The former Indians farmhand was out of affiliated ball from 2014-18 before the Cubs caught a look at him playing for a professional team in Italy. They brought him in on a minor league pact, and Garcia showed off light-tower power at Triple-A in 2019 — 21 homers in 296 plate appearances — before being called up.

The Cubs gave Garcia 80 plate appearances in 2019, and he responded with a tepid .208 average and .275 on-base percentage, but he still slugged .500 thanks to five homers, two doubles and two triples in that short time. Garcia also punched out in 35 of those 80 plate appearances, so while the raw power he possesses is plain to see, there’s some obvious work to be done on his approach at the plate. He still has a minor league option remaining, so a team in need of some right-handed-hitting infield depth could roll the dice on his considerable raw power. The Mets have a week to trade him, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him.

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