Minor Transactions: 1/23/21
The latest minor moves from around the game…
- Former Nationals farmhand Drew Ward has signed a minor league deal with the Tigers, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The 26-year-old was a third round pick by the Nats back in 2013. He posted a 105 wRC+ in Triple-A and 139 wRC+ in Double-A during the 2019 season for the Nats. He consistently posted solid offensive numbers on his march through the Nats’ system, though his walk rate fell below average in 2019 as his strikeout rate shot up close to an unsightly 40 percent. The lefty bat can play both infield corners and serve as depth in that regard for the Tigers. It should be noted that while Ward’s walk rate and strikeout rate worsened in 2019, Ward’s isolated power numbers proved the best of his young career. If an approach shift resulted in selling out for power more often than not, Ward at least registered a .232 ISO across 205 plate appearances in Double-A and .270 ISO in 117 Triple-A plate appearances. Not to mention, Ward slashed a robust .335/.407/.633 with a 25.6 percent strikeout rate and 9.3 percent walk rate while playing Indy ball in 2020.
Astros Sign Jason Castro
TODAY: The contract breaks down as a $2MM signing bonus, then $2.5MM salaries in both 2021 and 2022, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link). For every 10 games played as a catcher next season, Castro will add another $250K to his 2022 salary.
JAN. 22: The Astros have announced the signing.
JAN. 21, 8:42am: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the contract will guarantee Castro a total of $7MM. Castro can earn up to an additional $2MM based on time spent behind the plate in 2021, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
8:25am: Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports that Castro’s contract is actually a two-year deal.
8:01am: The Astros have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent backstop Jason Castro, Ken Rosenthal and Jake Kaplan of The Athletic report (via Twitter). The ISE Baseball client’s contract is pending a physical.
The two sides were originally reported to be in talks late in December, but those negotiations slowed as Castro continued to survey the market. Along the way, the Cubs and the Tigers (managed by Castro’s former skipper, A.J. Hinch) emerged as potential alternatives. Now, however, a physical is all that stands in the way between Castro and a return to the organization that originally selected him with the No. 10 overall draft pick out of Stanford back in 2008.
Castro, 33, has been away from the Astros for four seasons — most of that time spent with the Twins organization. Minnesota signed Castro to a three-year, $24.5MM contract after the 2017 season due largely to his superlative pitch-framing skills and his knack for drawing walks at the plate. He had a solid 2017 season as the Twins’ primary backstop but missed nearly all of the 2018 campaign due to meniscus surgery. He returned in 2019 to have another productive year while splitting time evenly with breakout catcher Mitch Garver.
That strong showing from Garver in ’19 likely convinced the Twins they could move on, and Castro landed in Anaheim on a one-year deal with the Angels. He struggled at the plate in a tiny sample of 92 plate appearances between the Angels and the Padres, who acquired him prior to the Aug. 31 trade deadline this past summer.
All in all, Castro has batted .224/.322/.389 in 848 plate appearances since leaving the Astros — numbers that fall roughly in line with his career .230/.312/.390 batting line. He’s unlikely to ever hit for a high average due to his strikeout tendencies, but Castro has a career 10.1 percent walk rate (11.7 percent over the past four years) and has a bit of pop in his bat (.164 ISO, 26 homers, 43 doubles from 2017-20).
Defensive aptitude has been the driving factor behind Castro’s value in the market, though he’s been closer to average with the glove as he’s moved into his mid-30s and had to deal with the effects of that 2018 knee surgery. Castro has been just about average in terms of throwing out base thieves in the four years since leaving Houston, but his framing numbers have dropped off a bit, more recently, he’s struggled with regard to blocking pitches in the dirt. Of course, it’s also possible that as he further distances himself from that knee operation, he’ll regain some of his prior form.
In his return to Houston, Castro figures to pair with the right-handed-hitting Martin Maldonado behind the dish, giving manager Dusty Baker the opportunity to play matchups with a pair of solid defenders. Kaplan tweets that a straight platoon isn’t likely — Maldonado will start more often — although at least from an offensive standpoint, such an idea wouldn’t be a bad one. Castro is a career .195/.262/.291 hitter against lefties but a much-improved .242/.328/.421 hitter against righties. Maldonado, meanwhile, carries a 33-point gap in his OPS against lefties over righties (and a nine-point gap in his wRC+). He’s just a .213/.288/.353 career hitter against righties.
Houston may not generate huge offensive output from its pair of backstops. That’s true of most clubs throughout the league, however, and most pairings don’t have the sound defensive track records that both Castro and Maldonado possess. Besides — catchers, on the whole, have been about 10 to 15 percent worse than a league-average hitter over the past four years, so the ‘Stros can certainly live with the level of offense provided by Castro and Maldonado if both play defense at their typically steady levels.
Reds Acquire Cionel Perez From Astros
The Reds have acquired left-hander Cionel Perez in a trade with the Astros, as officially announced on the Reds’ Twitter feed. Houston will pick up minor league catcher Luke Berryhill in their end of the swap.
The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for the Astros, so the Michael Brantley signing could be officially announced at any moment. For the second time in two days, the Reds picked up a reliever from a team looking to clear a 40-man spot, after Cincinnati acquired Hector Perez from the Blue Jays so Toronto could accommodate George Springer (whose deal is now official) on the roster.
Perez, 24, has pitched in each of the last three seasons, amassing a 5.74 ERA, 23.1K% and 10.3K-BB% over 26 2/3 career innings as a big leaguer. Armed with a mid-90s fastball, Perez misses his fair share of bats but control has been an issue — particularly in 2020, when he issued six walks in just 6 1/3 innings of work. He was a fairly high-profile international signing out of Cuba back in December 2016, but didn’t get much of a consistent look in Houston, as the Astros frequently shuttled Perez back and forth between their active roster and Triple-A (or to the alternate training site, in 2020).
While a small sample size, Perez has been significantly better against left-handed batters (.630 OPS in 39 PA) over his MLB career than against righty swingers (.825 OPS in 78 PA). The three-batter rule will prevent the Reds from utilizing him as a true lefty specialist, but he does provide some southpaw depth for a Cincinnati team that is heavy in right-handed pitching. Amir Garrett is the only other left-handed reliever on the Reds’ 40-man roster, so opportunity exists for Perez to win a job in Spring Training.
The Reds selected Berryhill in the 13th round of the 2019 draft. A product of the University of South Carolina, Berryhill’s professional career thus far consists of only 32 Rookie League plate appearances in 2019, as the minor league shutdown last season kept Berryhill off the field.
Nationals Re-Sign Ryan Zimmerman
TODAY: The Nats officially announced Zimmerman’s return. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Zimmerman’s contract contains a full no-trade clause.
JANUARY 22: The Nationals are bringing back longtime cornerstone Ryan Zimmerman on a one-year deal worth $1MM, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link). Zimmerman opted out of the 2020 season but said last month that he hoped to play again in 2021. The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga adds that Zimmerman’s deal is still pending a physical and carries incentives to boost his that affordable base salary. Zimmerman is a client of CAA Sports.
Zimmerman, who turned 36 in September, has been a member of the Nats organization since they took him fourth overall in the 2005 draft. He was the first pick the franchise made after relocating from Montreal, and Zimmerman has certainly lived up to the selection. Zimmerman debuted in his draft year and has since put together a .279/.343/.475 line with 270 home runs in 7129 plate appearances. The former third baseman (who’s now a first baseman) also has a pair of All-Star nods on his resume and was part of the Nationals’ only World Series-winning team in 2019.
At present, there’s no path to everyday at-bats for “Mr. National,” given the team’s December acquisition of Josh Bell and the current lack of a universal designated hitter. Zimmerman, though, could certainly form a platoon with the switch-hitting Bell, who has historically been much better from the left side of the dish. Bell is a career .271/.360/.485 hitter as a lefty but just a .232/.315/.410 batter from the right side of the dish. Zimmerman, meanwhile, has clobbered lefties throughout his 15-year MLB career: .311/.390/.527.
That said, many still expect that MLB and the MLBPA will agree to keep the designated hitter in the National League between now and Opening Day, which would obviously open up more at-bats for Zimmerman, be it as a DH himself or at first base while the defensively challenged Bell slides into the DH spot.
Cubs Sign Austin Romine
TODAY: The Cubs have officially announced the signing.
JANUARY 22, 10:31am: Romine’s deal comes with a $1.5MM guarantee, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago.
10:00am: The Cubs have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent catcher Austin Romine, reports MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). The deal is still pending a physical.
Romine, 32, gives the Cubs an experienced backup option to Willson Contreras, replacing Victor Caratini, who was traded to the Padres as part of the Yu Darvish deal. Romine spent the 2020 season in Detroit — his first professional season anywhere outside the Yankees organization — but managed just a .238/.259/.323 batting line in 135 trips to the dish.
The longtime Yankees backup has never provided much in the way of offense, evidenced by a lifetime .239/.278/.361 slash through 1251 plate appearances. He did turn in a more impressive .281/.310/.439 output during his final year with the Yankees, but that production looks more like an outlier than the start of a new norm for Romine.
Defensively, Romine has generally been regarded as an above-average pitch framer, though his numbers have dipped over the past couple seasons. His career 23 percent caught-stealing rate is south of the roughly 27 percent league average, although Romine reached as high as 30 percent in that regard as recently as 2019. Baseball Prospectus typically rates him as average or better at blocking balls in the dirt.
Romine is standard-fare backup catcher who’ll give the Cubs an experienced option that allows promising youngster Miguel Amaya to open the season in the minor leagues. Should the team still move Contreras, which they’re reportedly open to doing, they’ll need to bring in another catcher, however — one with more upside and the potential to serve as a regular option.
With Romine in the fold, the Cubs’ payroll climbs, modestly, to about $145MM. They’re nowhere near the $200MM+ marks they carried over the past couple seasons (prior to prorating, of course, in 2020), but ownership’s mandate to scale back payroll has been readily apparent for quite some time now.
Braves Claim Victor Arano, Kyle Garlick
The Braves have claimed right-hander Victor Arano and outfielder Kyle Garlick off waivers, the Phillies announced. Philadelphia recently designated both players for assignment. The claims fill the final two open spots on Atlanta’s 40-man roster.
A member of the Phillies organization since August 2014, Arano has a 2.65 ERA, 26.3 K%, and 18.8 K-BB% over 74 2/3 career innings in the big leagues, all from 2017-19 (and mostly in 2018, when Arano tossed 59 1/3 frames). Unfortunately, elbow surgery sidelined Arano for much of 2019 and kept him from making any MLB appearances in 2020. If healthy, Arano could certainly be an interesting weapon for the Atlanta bullpen, as he has shown an ability to miss a lot of bats both in the majors and in the minors.
The right-handed hitting Garlick also gives the Braves another option as they figure out their outfield situation. With no sign that a reunion with Marcell Ozuna is forthcoming, the Braves have Ronald Acuna as a lock for one starting position in either center field or right field, and then a combination of Ender Inciarte, top prospects Cristian Pache and Drew Waters, and bench candidates Abraham Almonte and Johan Camargo all in the mix for outfield duty. Garlick could conceivably share platoon duty with Inciarte (a left-handed hitter) or switch-hitters Almonte and Camargo, or Atlanta could just stash him in the minors as depth.
Garlick (who turns 29 later this week) has appeared in each of the last two MLB seasons, amassing a .214/.276/.414 slash line over 76 total plate appearances with the Dodgers and Phillies. Originally a 28th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2015 draft, Garlick hit a very impressive .288/.345/.536 over 1846 PA in the Los Angeles farm system, though with the caveat that he was mostly playing against younger competition and that the Pacific Coast League is very hitter-friendly.
Astros Designate Humberto Castellanos
The Astros have designated right-hander Humberto Castellanos for assignment, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The move cleared space for just-signed catcher Jason Castro.
Castellanos joined the Astros as a July 2 signing from Mexico in 2015. He debuted in rookie ball the next year and eventually climbed up the minor league ladder to the majors. Castellanos has pitched to an impressive 2.92 ERA in 216 minor league innings, also adding 205 strikeouts against just 46 walks.
Unfortunately for Castellanos, the 22-year-old’s initial taste of MLB action last season didn’t go well. He yielded eight earned runs on 12 hits (including two homers) and five walks in 10 2/3 innings, though he did post 12 strikeouts.
Angels Sign Jose Quintana
JAN. 22: The Angels have announced the move.
JAN. 19: The Angels have an agreement with free-agent left-hander Jose Quintana, pending a physical, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. It’s a one-year, $8MM contract for the Wasserman client, per Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.
Quintana was one of the most accomplished innings eaters available in free agency, as the 31-year-old has thrown 1,495 frames of 3.73 ERA/3.99 SIERA ball between the White Sox and Cubs since his career began in 2012. Of course, a good portion of Quintana’s career has been spent with Angels manager Joe Maddon, who was the Cubs’ skipper when the southpaw pitched for the club from 2017-19. Maddon was with the Angels last season, when Quintana missed most of the year with thumb problems. He totaled just one start and 10 innings in his final season in Chicago.
Last year’s injury issues look like an anomaly for Quintana, who entered the season with seven straight campaigns of 170-plus innings. That’s the type of durability the Angels have lacked in recent years. They’ve battled a litany of injuries in their rotation en route to six straight seasons without a playoff berth, but a healthy Quintana may help turn their fortunes around in 2021.
Along with Quintana, the Angels are set to feature Dylan Bundy, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning in the top four of their rotation next season. Two-way player Shohei Ohtani and Jaime Barria also figure to collect plenty of starts for the club, though new general manager Perry Minasian might not be done addressing that part of the Angels’ roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Reds Acquire Hector Perez From Blue Jays
The Reds have acquired right-hander Hector Perez from the Blue Jays for a player to be named later or cash, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to report. This move clears a 40-man roster spot for the Blue Jays, who should formally announce outfielder George Springer‘s signing soon.
Perez, an international signing from the Dominican Republic, began his professional career as an Astro in 2015, but they traded him to Toronto three years later in a deal centering on veteran relievers Roberto Osuna and Ken Giles. Perez wound up spending most of his Blue Jays tenure in Double-A ball, where he has logged a 4.34 ERA with 167 strikeouts against 91 walks in 163 2/3 innings. He made a brief major league debut last year with a 1 2/3-inning appearance.
FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked the 24-year-old Perez 37th in the Jays’ system earlier this week, writing that he “continues to project in relief because of control issues.” Perez can hit 98 mph as a reliever, but despite his velocity and better-than-average spin rate, Longenhagen notes that he had difficulty generating swings and misses on the pitch in 2019.
Twins Sign J.A. Happ
Jan. 22: Happ’s deal has been formally announced by the Twins. Their 40-man roster is now up to 37 players.
Jan. 20, 4:22pm: Happ will earn $8MM, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
4:00pm: The Twins and free-agent left-hander J.A. Happ have reached a one-year agreement, pending a physical, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. Happ is a client of Rogers Sports Management, LLC.
Minnesota will be the seventh different organization for Happ, who spent time with the Phillies, Astros, Blue Jays, Mariners, Pirates and Yankees from 2007-20. The well-traveled 38-year-old has put together a solid career in the majors, where he owns a 3.98 ERA/4.21 SIERA and a 20.9 percent strikeout rate against an 8.4 percent walk rate through 1,741 1/3 innings.
For the most part, Happ’s numbers last year as a Yankee aligned with his career totals. He put up 49 1/3 frames of 3.47 ERA ball with a 21.4 percent strikeout rate and a 7.7 percent walk rate, also averaging about 91 mph on his fastball. He was also somewhat of a Statcast favorite, as he ranked better than average in several of its categories and recorded a .270 expected weighted on-base average against that outdid the .280 wOBA hitters logged when facing him. However, the 4.53 SIERA that Happ notched does count among the worst of his career.
Based on what he has done to this point, Happ should be a respectable back-end starter for the Twins, who have seen 2020 rotation members Jake Odorizzi and Rich Hill reach free agency since the offseason opened. The back-to-back AL Central champions now have Happ set to slot in behind Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios and Michael Pineda in their starting staff.
From a payroll vantage point, Happ puts Minnesota just north of $100MM on the books in 2021. That’s still about $30MM shy of where they would’ve been in 2020, prior to the league-wide prorating of salaries, so there’s still room for the Twins to add. The organization’s priority has been squarely focused on Nelson Cruz for much of the winter, though the 40-year-old slugger has been hoping for a two-year deal and is waiting until there’s definitive word on the universal DH before making any decisions.
The Twins could still make further moves to bolster the starting staff between now and Opening Day, but at the moment, Randy Dobnak looks like the front-runner to serve as their No. 5 starter. Lefty Devin Smeltzer is also on hand as a fifth-starter candidate, and prospects Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic aren’t far behind in the upper minors.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.