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Braves Re-Sign Charlie Culberson

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The Braves announced that they have re-signed utilityman Charlie Culberson. It’s a minor league deal with a non-roster invitation for Spring Training. Culberson can earn at a $1MM rate in the majors, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

Culberson, 30, played a big role for the Atlanta organization in its two consecutive NL East title years, though his 2019 season was limited by injury. He was non-tendered at the outset of the offseason. Culberson had projected to earn a $1.8MM salary.

The Braves enjoyed big output from Culberson in 2018, when he emerged as a fan favorite even as statistics-based skepticism abounded. In 2019, Culberson actually managed to repeat his hefty batting average on balls in play and maintain much of the power growth he showed in the prior campaign. But his plate discipline issues caught up to him, as his 30.6% strikeout and 4.2% walk rates resulted in a .294 OBP through 144 plate appearances.

Culberson will face an uphill path to making the big club out of camp, but he’s a trusted hand for the organization and represents desirable depth. The arrangement works for the local product as well; as David O’Brien of The Athletic points out, Culberson lives in the Atlanta area and no doubt likes the idea of playing his home games in Gwinnett in the event he isn’t doing so in Cobb County.

Cubs To Re-Sign Brandon Morrow

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The Cubs have struck a deal to bring back veteran reliever Brandon Morrow, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league pact.

If Morrow can finally recover from longstanding arm issues, he’ll still need to earn his way onto the MLB roster. Should that come to pass, he’ll be paid at a $1MM rate with $1.25MM in potential incentive pay.

The sides have been working out a deal ever since the club paid him a $3MM buyout rather than exercising a $12MM option for the 2020 campaign. Morrow gave the Cubs 30 2/3 lights-out innings in 2018 before cascading injuries doomed the remainder of the two-year deal he signed to join the team in the prior offseason.

Now, there’s a chance at some redemption for both player and team. Both sides worked hard to get Morrow back to the mound to no avail. But the Cubs obviously still see some hope for the 35-year-old hurler.

Brewers Sign Brett Anderson

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The Brewers have announced a one-year deal with lefty Brett Anderson. The GSE Worldwide client will be guaranteed $5MM with up to $2MM in potential incentives, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter).

Anderson, who his closing in on his 32nd birthday, becomes the latest addition to the Milwaukee pitching staff. The club recently agreed to terms with Josh Lindblom.

This probably isn’t the high-impact rotation move some would like to see the Brewers make. But that has simply not been the way GM David Stearns has operated.

Anderson did put in a strong effort in 2019, throwing 176 innings of 3.89 ERA ball over 31 starts with the Athletics. He averaged just 4.6 strikeouts per nine, but was quite stingy with the free passes (2.5 BB/9) and delivered a typically strong 54.5% groundball rate.

It remains to be seen just what role Anderson will occupy. With the Brewers’ flexible approach to deploying pitchers, it’s possible that he will start but perhaps not be asked to go deep into games. In 2019, opposing hitters ramped up against Anderson as the game went on, with >100 OPS point jumps each time through the order (.631, .735, .841).

The Brewers will presumably still be seeking additional arms. While they’ve added Eric Lauer along with Lindblom and now Anderson, the team has also seen the departures of Zach Davies, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra, Jimmy Nelson, Jordan Lyles, and Gio Gonzalez.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Red Sox Sign Jose Peraza

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DECEMBER 13: The Sox have announced the signing.

DECEMBER 12: The Red Sox are in agreement with free-agent infielder Jose Peraza on a contract for the 2020 season, Robert Murray reports (via Twitter). The ISE Baseball client will take home a one-year deal worth close to $3MM, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. He can boost his salary via incentives.

Peraza, still just 25, was once considered to be among the game’s premier prospects but struggled considerably in two of his three full Major League seasons before being non-tendered by the Reds earlier this month. That includes a 2019 season in which he managed only a bleak .239/.285/.346 batting line through 376 trips to the plate while seeing time at second base, shortstop, third base, left field and center field.

While the 2019 and 2017 seasons weren’t kind to Peraza, he posted solid seasons with the bat in a half-season effort in 2016 (.324/.352/.411) and a full season in 2018 (.288/.326/.416). He’s an above-average runner although perhaps not to the extent some may expect from his prospect days; Peraza posted a 28.8 ft/sec average sprint speed each year from 2016-18, per Statcast, but saw that mark drop to 28.0 this past season. And while that might not sound like a notable drop, it’s enough to drop him from the 92nd percentile to the 75th percentile in the game. Peraza’s stolen-base efficiency, perhaps correspondingly, took a hit. He was caught six times in 13 attempts last year after going 70-for-94 in seasons prior.

In Peraza, the Red Sox now have a potential replacement for free agent Swiss army knife Brock Holt, who remains unsigned to this point in the offseason. Peraza can play virtually any position on the diamond outside of pitcher or catcher, and at roughly $3MM and 25 years of age, he’s both a younger and more affordable alternative — if he can round back into form, that is.

Regardless of the outcome, it’s a fairly sensible low-cost flier for Boston — one that could pay dividends across multiple years. Peraza has three years, 141 days of Major League service time, meaning if he does indeed bounce back, he’ll be controllable via arbitration all the way through the 2022 season

Mets Announce Wacha Signing, Designate Chris Mazza

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The Mets announced today that they have signed righty Michael Wacha, as previously reported. To create 40-man space, the club designated fellow right-hander Chris Mazza for assignment.

Mazza made his MLB debut last year, throwing 16 1/3 innings of 5.51 ERA ball over nine outings. He was better in the upper minors, working in the mid-three ERA range in stints at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Mazza has a penchant for drawing groundballs on the farm, though he’ll need to prove he can do so consistently in the bigs if he’s able to earn his way back up.

Wacha tells reporters that he expects to function as a starter in New York. Indeed, that was a key factor in his decision, he suggested. (Via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, on Twitter.) With Rick Porcello also set to join the staff on the same premise, it seems the Mets will at some point strike a trade involving another starter (or have some explaining to do).

Royals Re-Sign Jesse Hahn

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The Royals have announced a deal with righty Jesse Hahn to bring him back, as Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com first reported (Twitter link). Hahn is slated to receive a $600K salary with $200K in available incentives.

Hahn had been non-tendered by the Kansas City organization. He was projected to earn $900K via arbitration. Evidently, the sides just needed a while longer to sort out a price tag.

It has been quite some time since Hahn, now 30, was last effective in the majors, His career got off to a stellar start in 2014-15, but he has struggled with health and performance lapses ever since.

Hahn worked his way back from a second Tommy John surgery last year with the Kansas City organization, making it back up to the majors late in the year. While it’s hard to gauge much of anything from the limited action, it seems quite promising that Hahn sat at 95 mph with his fastball.

Phillies To Sign Matt Szczur

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The Phillies have a minor-league deal in place with outfielder Matt Szczur, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly. It includes an invitation to participate in MLB Spring Training.

Szczur, 30, failed to crack the majors last year for the first time since he broke in with the Cubs in 2014. The New Jersey native stayed put at Triple-A with the Diamondbacks in 2019, due in no small part to leg issues that limited him to 44 games of action.

When he was available for the Snakes’ top affiliate, Szczur turned in a strong .322/.309/.577 batting line over 172 plate appearances. That output dwarfs his lifetime .231/.312/.355 slash in 667 trips to the plate in the majors.

It’s possible that Szczur could earn an active roster spot with a big showing in camp. He’s capable of spending some time in center and has traditionally performed better against southpaws, making him a possible match to complement presumptive Phillies center fielder Adam Haseley.

Tigers Sign Austin Romine

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The Tigers signed their first free agent of the winter Friday, announcing a one-year pact with catcher Austin Romine. The Moye Sports Associate client will reportedly be guaranteed $4.1MM and looks to be in line to see an increased workload with the Tigers — the same club that employed his brother, Andrew Romine, from 2014-17.

Austin Romine

“Signing an experienced catcher was high on our list of offseason priorities, and we believe Austin will have an impact both on the field and in the clubhouse,” GM Al Avila said in a press release. “He’s a proven leader and game caller who has earned respect around the league for the tenacious and passionate manner in which he plays the game.”

Romine, 31, has been a steady contributor to the Yankees for some time now. While he was the clear number two in New York, he got a good bit of action in recent years when Gary Sanchez was sidelined. Though he carried a dismal track record with the bat until recently, Romine has trended up in the past two seasons, slashing .262/.302/.428 with 18 long balls in 505 plate appearances since the start of the 2018 season.

Romine has graded as a below-average framer but obviously impressed the Yanks with his overall abilities on the defensive side of the equation. He’s thwarted 28 percent of stolen-base attempts against him over the past two seasons while posting above-average numbers in terms of blocking pitches in the dirt, per Baseball Prospectus. Romine will surely be called upon to handle a big chunk of the time behind the dish in Detroit while helping younger backstops Grayson Greiner and Jake Rogers learn the ropes.

George A. King III of the New York Post first reported the deal (via Twitter). MLB.com’s Jason Beck and MLive.com’s Evan Woodberry added financial details (Twitter links).

Phillies Sign Didi Gregorius

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Didi Gregorius and Joe Girardi have officially been reunited. The Phillies announced Friday that they’ve signed Gregorius, the longtime Yankees shortstop, to a one-year contract that will reportedly pay him $14MM before he returns to free agency next winter. Gregorius is represented by Excel Sports Management.

This is the latest noteworthy free-agent strike for general manager Matt Klentak and the Phillies, who signed right-hander Zack Wheeler to a five-year, $118MM contract earlier this offseason. They spent an incredible amount of money on free agents Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson just a year ago, but those moves didn’t lead to the club’s first playoff berth since 2011. The Phillies instead limped to an 81-81 record, which cost manager Gabe Kapler his job. The team has since replaced Kapler with Girardi, who happened to manage Gregorius with the Yankees from 2015-17.

Gregorius, who missed the first few months of the 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in Oct. 2018, will look to rebuild some free agent stock after a lackluster return effort from that procedure. Upon returning to the Yankees in June, the 29-year-old slashed just .238/.276/.441 with 16 home runs in 344 plate appearances, which prevented the Yankees from issuing him a qualifying offer worth $17.8MM.

However, as hands down the most promising shortstop in this winter’s class of free agents, MLBTR predicted Gregorius would receive a three-year, $42MM contract. While Gregorius did draw interest from at least a few teams, he opted to pursue a short-term deal in hopes of cashing in on a lengthier deal next winter. If his gamble pays off, it’s not hard to envision Gregorius commanding a four-year pact on the 2020-21 open market, although he may have a qualifying offer hanging over his head next time around.

For the Phillies, adding Gregorius should mean pushing 2019 starter Jean Segura to second base to replace the non-tendered Cesar Hernandez. With Gregorius, Segura, first baseman Rhys Hoskins and presumably Scott Kingery at third, the Phillies look to be in good shape in the infield. They’ve shown interest in the two best free-agent third basemen available in Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson, but Rendon is now off the board after agreeing to a seven-year, $245MM deal with the Angels. And between the Gregorius and Wheeler pickups, they’re closing in on the first level of the luxury tax of $208MM, which could make a Donaldson pursuit too pricey (although Kingery could shift to center field if owner John Middleton authorizes the front office to pursue Donaldson and exceed the luxury tax barrier). Before the Gregorius agreement, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource and FanGraphs had the Phillies at just over $186MM in luxury-tax payroll.

As for the Yankees, they’re saying goodbye to an accomplished player who had been a key part of their roster since they acquired him from the Diamondbacks before the 2015 season. But the Yankees do look well-equipped to move on from Gregorius, as they could move star second baseman Gleyber Torres to shortstop and use DJ LeMahieu as their primary second baseman in 2020.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported the agreement. Sweeny Murti of WFAN added the length of the contract, and Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported the financial terms.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/12/19

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Let’s check in on Thursday’s minor moves…

  • The Mets have signed right-hander Pedro Payano to a minor league contract, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. As a member of the Texas organization, the 25-year-old Payano struggled to prevent runs in the minors and the majors over the past couple seasons. He made a 22-inning big league debut in 2019 and logged a 5.73 ERA with almost as many walks (15) as strikeouts (17). Walks were also an issue in Triple-A ball last season for Payano, who issued 6.1 free passes per nine (against 9.58 strikeouts) en route to a 5.44 ERA across 41 1/3 frames. The Rangers designated Payano for assignment and then outrighted him in September.
  • The Cardinals have reunited with left-hander Rob Kaminsky on a minors pact, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. Kaminsky was the 28th overall pick of the Cardinals in the 2013 draft, but they traded him to the Indians two years later for slugger Brandon Moss. Now 25 years old, Kaminsky still hasn’t reached the majors, nor has he garnered much Triple-A experience.  In his debut at the minors’ highest level last season, Kaminsky posted a 5.11 ERA with 11.31 K/9, 5.11 BB/9 and a 59.1 percent groundball rate in 24 2/3 relief innings.
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