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Mets Sign Matt Adams

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The Mets have inked first baseman Matt Adams to a minor-league deal, per a club announcement. He’ll receive an invitation to participate on the MLB side of Spring Training.

Adams, 31, just wrapped up a stint with the division-rival Nationals. While he had a strong showing for the team in 2018, he stumbled to a .226/.276/.465 batting line last year. There’s obviously still loads of power in Adams’s bat, and he has been a quality overall hitter in the not-so-distant past. However, the Nats elected to move on and signed fellow lefty slugger Eric Thames.

There isn’t really an opening to make the Mets’ roster for the veteran first baseman, but that could change if the team ends up trading (or optioning) fellow left-handed-hitting first baseman Dominic Smith. There hasn’t been much chatter to that effect, but the former top prospect is in an awkward spot with Pete Alonso slated to handle almost all of the action at first base. Adams could conceivably fit as a bench bat if Smith isn’t on the roster, but he otherwise looks like upper-minors depth or perhaps a player who’ll use his spring stint with the Mets as an audition for other clubs, as is common for veterans on minor league pacts that time of year.

Giants To Sign Nick Vincent

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The Giants have agreed to terms with veteran reliever Nick Vincent, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). It’s a minors deal with a spring invite.

Vincent opened the 2019 season in San Francisco but struggled before being cut loose. He ended up turning in 14 good innings down the stretch with the Phillies, though, running up a 17:4 K/BB ratio and allowing just three earned runs.

Now an eight-year MLB veteran, the 33-year-old has compiled quite an impressive track record. Through 376 2/3 career innings, the soft-tossing Vincent carries a 3.32 ERA. While teams haven’t been willing to stake much on a continuation of that performance level, he’s certainly a nice player to have on hand for this level of commitment.

Pirates Sign Derek Holland

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The Pirates have a minor-league deal with southpaw Derek Holland, per Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (via Twitter). Holland had hinted at the signing on social media.

Financial details aren’t known. But Holland will compete in camp for a spot on the MLB roster and gets a chance to opt out if he isn’t added for the start of the season.

The division-rival Cubs had declined an option over Holland at season’s end. It was a rough overall campaign — whether working from the rotation or in relief, and both before and after the Giants traded him to Chicago. Holland ended the year with 84 1/3 innings of 6.08 ERA ball. That’s now the second time in three campaigns that Holland has allowed more than six earned per nine.

For both Holland and the Bucs, the idea will be to help him rediscover the form he showed in a successful 2018 season. He worked to a 3.87 ERA in 171 1/3 frames that year, carrying 8.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.

It remains to be seen what sort of role Holland will occupy. Even if he’s given a chance to compete for a rotation spot in camp, he may end up being tasked with entering from the pen. Notably, Holland posted extreme platoon splits last year (.997 OPS for right-handed hitters vs. .528 OPS for left-handed hitters).

First and foremost, Holland will need to nail down an approach. He continued the ramped-up slider usage he utilized in 2018, then made a drastic mid-season fastball swap (from his four-seamer to his sinker). That did coincide with improved results for most of Holland’s time with the Cubs, but his numbers were irreparably marred when he coughed up seven earned in just two frames in his last appearance of the season.

Curtis Granderson Announces Retirement

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Long-time big-league slugger Curtis Granderson announced today in an Instagram post that he is wrapping up his playing career. The 38-year-old appeared in 16 MLB campaigns.

Granderson had hoped to keep playing, but wasn’t finding interest on the open market. He had struggled in what turned out to be his final season in the majors, slashing just .183/.281/.356 last year with the Marlins.

Plenty of great careers have come to a conclusion in similar fashion. What’s more remarkable is that Granderson was still quite a productive hitter in the season prior. He turned in 403 plate appearances of .242/.351/.431 hitting with 13 home runs in 2018 with the Blue Jays and Brewers.

Granderson turned in plenty of strong campaigns along the way. But more than that, he became one of the game’s most respected players, both inside and outside of the clubhouse. (See, for instance, here and here.)

On the field, the gregarious former third-round pick was an evolving but ever-present threat. It’s easy to forget just how good he was at his best. With the Tigers in 2007, his second full season in the bigs, Granderson launched 23 long balls, swiped 26 bags, and turned in other-worldly glovework and overall baserunning to post a 7.9 fWAR campaign.

Granderson was no longer as capable with the glove by the time he landed with the Yankees in a three-team stunner, but he still turned in a 6.9 fWAR effort in 2011. That year, Granderson hit more than forty homers for the first of two consecutive seasons, turned in a personal-best 146 wRC+, and continued to provide big value with his legs (including 25 steals).

When Granderson signed with the Mets in 2014, he was coming off of an injury-marred season. At 33 years of age, his four-year, $60MM contract came with some obvious risks. But Granderson turned in four rather productive seasons under the deal, including a star-level 2015 effort (131 wRC+, 5.3 fWAR), and easily justified the financial outlay.

Granderson enjoyed three fairly lengthy stints to begin his career, authoring productive, 500+ game runs with the Tigers, Yankees, Mets. An August 2017 trade to the Dodgers launched a journeyman stage that eventually took him through Toronto, Milwaukee, and Miami.

Add it all up, and Granderson tallied more than two thousand big-league games with seven organizations. Half of his 16 campaigns ended in postseason runs. Granderson slashed only .224/.317/.424 in 244 playoff plate appearances, but was at his best in the 2015 World Series (3 home runs, 1.060 OPS in 25 plate appearances). He is a lifetime .249/.337/.465 hitter with 344 home runs; he appeared in three All-Star games and accumulated 47.6 fWAR and 47.3 rWAR.

Quite an impressive run, all things considered — all the more when his charitable efforts are added to the equation. It’s not clear precisely what’s next for Granderson, but it seems sure we haven’t seen the last of him. As he notes in his announcement:

“As I close out this wonderful chapter in my life and step away from my days on the field, I know that my role in this game is only just getting started. I look forward to continuing my work helping to diversify the sport, paving the way for young kids to learn and grow.”

MLBTR offers its congratulations and best wishes to Grandy and his family.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/30/20

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The latest minor transactions from around the majors…

  • The Athletics announced the signing of right-hander Shohei Tomioka to a minor league pact earlier this week. The agreement doesn’t include an invitation to major league spring training, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The 23-year-old Tomioka is coming over from Japan, where he pitched with an independent-level team – not in the country’s top league, Nippon Professional Baseball. He owns a four-pitch repertoire and can hit 92-95 mph with his fastball, according to Shea.
  • The Padres have signed left-hander Hector Hernandez to a minor league contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. He’ll be at minors camp for the Padres. The 28-year-old Hernandez is a veteran of three MLB organizations (the Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Indians) who debuted in the pro ranks back in 2009 but still hasn’t reached the bigs. To this point, Hernandez has maxed out at the Triple-A level, though he has only thrown 9 1/3 innings there. Hernandez spent the majority of last year as a member of the Indians’ High-A affiliate, with which he amassed 44 2/3 frames of 2.22 ERA pitching and posted 10.07 K/9 against 3.02 BB/9.

Tigers Re-Sign Jordy Mercer

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4:33PM: The Tigers have officially announced the signing.

2:35PM: The Tigers have brought back veteran shortstop Jordy Mercer on a new contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  The deal is a minor league pact with an invitation to Detroit’s big league Spring Training camp, as per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).

After signing a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the Tigers last winter, Mercer hit .270/.310/.438 over 271 plate appearances, despite missing much of the first half of the season with quad injuries.  That roughly matches the .256/.316/.383 slash line Mercer posted over the first 2996 PA of his career from 2012-18 as a member of the Pirates, and he’ll now head back to the Motor City as a depth option.

Niko Goodrum is currently Detroit’s top choice at shortstop, though given Goodrum’s multi-positional versatility and the presence of both younger Willi Castro and now Mercer, the Tigers are arming themselves with some extra depth should they decide to again move Goodrum around the diamond.  The 33-year-old Mercer gives the Tigers more veteran experience in that regard, as Castro has only 30 MLB games under his belt.  Beyond just shortstop, Mercer could also back up elsewhere around the infield, as he has some experience as a first, second, and third baseman over his career.

Rangers Sign Derek Law To Minors Contract

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The Rangers have signed right-hander Derek Law to a minor league deal, as per a team press release.  Law will receive an invitation to the team’s Major League Spring Training camp.

The Blue Jays non-tendered Law in December rather than go through the arbitration process with the 29-year-old.  MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected Law to receive a $1.3MM arbitration salary in 2020, coming on a heels of a 2019 campaign that saw Law post a 4.90 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and 1.68 K/BB rate over 60 2/3 innings for Toronto.  It marked Law’s heaviest workload since his 2016 rookie season, though he has been an inconsistent performer since that breakout campaign, with a 5.25 ERA and 1.2 HR/9 over 111 1/3 innings since the start of the 2017 season.

On the plus side for Law is a solid 94.7mph fastball and his 50% grounder rate last season, his highest since that 2016 rookie year.  There isn’t much risk for Texas in seeing what Law can do in camp as the Rangers continue to amass more bullpen depth.  Law joins Luis Garcia, Nick Goody, Juan Nicasio, Joely Rodriguez, Brian Flynn, and Jimmy Herget as experienced relief options who will be battling for jobs on the Opening Day roster.

Brewers Designate Deolis Guerra For Assignment

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The Brewers have designated right-hander Deolis Guerra for assignment, as per a team press release.  The move creates a roster spot for David Phelps, whose one-year deal with Milwaukee is now official.

Guerra re-signed with the Brewers on a Major League contract earlier this winter, after being outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster during the season.  Guerra pitched in only one game and 2/3 of an inning for the Brewers in 2019, allowing four runs in that brief cameo.  That ugly outing was countered by some outstanding numbers at the Triple-A level, as Guerra posted a 1.89 ERA, 5.50 K/BB rate, and 11.9 K/9 over 66 2/3 relief innings.

While the 30-year-old Guerra had an age and experience advantage over much younger Triple-A batters, his performance was particularly impressive given that 2019 was by far the biggest-hitting season in the history of Triple-A baseball.  Another team could be intrigued enough by those minor league stats to pluck Guerra off the DFA wire, or he could remain in Milwaukee’s farm system once again as a depth option.

Over 95 2/3 career Major League frames with the Brewers, Angels, and Pirates, Guerra has a 4.52 ERA, 3.41 K/BB rate, and 7.1 K/9.

Mariners To Sign Wei-Yin Chen

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The Mariners have agreed to a deal with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  Seattle will owe Chen a Major League minimum salary ($563.5K) if he makes their big league roster, and that minimum salary will be subtracted from the $22MM the Marlins owe Chen for the 2020 season, the final guaranteed year of the southpaw’s original five-year, $80MM contract with Miami.

That deal ended up being a significant misfire for the Marlins, as Chen battled injuries and struggled over the length of his time in South Florida.  Chen posted a 5.10 ERA over 358 innings as a Marlin, including a 6.59 ERA over 68 1/3 frames in 2019, working exclusively as a reliever.

Seattle is likely to see what Chen can do as either a starter or a reliever in camp, while gauging if the 34-year-old still has anything left in the tank following his rough stint in Miami.  Chen will at least get opportunity on a Mariners club that is open to all contributions at both the back of the rotation or in the bullpen.  Seattle is particularly thin on left-handed relief options, so that stands out as perhaps Chen’s best shot at making the Opening Day roster.

GM Jerry Dipoto said last week that the M’s were close to adding some new arms, and Seattle has since brought Nick Margevicius, Yoshihisa Hirano, and now Chen into the fold.  Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, and Justus Sheffield project as the top three starters in the Mariners’ rotation, though the last two spots are still up in the air, with Margevicius, Chen, Kendall Graveman, Nestor Cortes, Phillips Valdez, and top prospect Justin Dunn all in the mix as potential rotation members.

Mariners Sign Yoshihisa Hirano

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Yoshihisa Hirano has been signed to a one-year, Major League contract.  Hirano is represented by John Boggs & Associates.  Left-hander Ricardo Sanchez has been designated for assignment to create roster space.

Hirano will earn $1.6MM in guaranteed money, as per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (all Twitter links), plus incentive bonuses based on numbers of games pitched and finished.  Hirano can begin to unlock these bonuses if he makes at least 30 appearances, or finishes at least 20 games.  There is also a $250K transaction payment due to Hirano whenever he is traded.

After coming to Major League Baseball on a two-year, $6MM deal with the Diamondbacks in the 2017-18 offseason, Hirano finished sixth in NL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2018 after posting a 2.44 ERA, 2.57 K/BB rate, 50.3% grounder rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 66 1/3 innings out of Arizona’s pen.  Despite a higher strikeout rate (10.4 K/9) and K/BB rate (2.77) in 2019, Hirano’s ERA ballooned to 4.75 over 53 frames, and he also spent a few weeks on the injured list due to elbow inflammation.

Despite the wide gap in ERA over the two seasons, Hirano’s advanced metrics indicate a pretty similar level of performance in both 2018 (3.69 FIP, 4.01 xFIP, 3.76 SIERA, .311 xwOBA) and 2019 (4.04 FIP, 4.24 xFIP, 3.95 SIERA, .296 xwOBA).  Hirano finished in the 94th percentile of all pitchers in terms of limiting hard contact last season, so the Mariners are hoping the righty can translate that soft contact into better on-field results.

Though Hirano (who turns 36 in March) only has four career saves, the number of finish-saved incentives in his contract indicate that the Mariners see him as a potential answer to their unsettled ninth-inning situation.  Matt Magill is ostensibly the top in-house choice after saving five games for the M’s down the stretch last season, though those were the only five saves of Magill’s big league career.  While Hirano rarely got the call in save situations for the D’Backs, he has a long and successful history of saving games in Japan, racking up 143 saves for the Orix Buffaloes between 2013-17.

Sanchez posted a 4.44 ERA, 3.55 K/BB rate, and 8.3 K/9 over 146 innings for Double-A Arkansas last season, starting all 27 of his games.  The 22-year-old southpaw already has six years of professional experience, beginning in the Angels’ system before pitching with the Braves from 2015-18.

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