Angels Non-Tender Kevan Smith
The Angels will not tender a contract to backstop Kevan Smith, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz projected him to earn $1.3MM through the arbitration process.
Smith is said to be the only remaining arb-eligible Halos player who won’t receive a contract tender tonight. That suggests the club will retain backstop Max Stassi, who’ll presumably serve as the backup to an as-yet-unknown primary catcher once he has recovered from hip surgery.
Last year, after coming over from the White Sox in a waiver claim, Smith turned in a .251/.318/.393 batting line in 211 plate appearances. He has a history of decent offensive production, but hasn’t graded well as a framer and evidently didn’t impress enough overall with the glove to keep his spot in Anaheim.
Diamondbacks Non-Tender Taijuan Walker, Steven Souza, Caleb Joseph
6:26pm: Righty Matt Andriese, another seeming NT candidate, will be tendered by the club, according to Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (via Twitter). He projects to earn $1.4MM via arbitration.
6:05pm: In a stunning twist, the Snakes are not dropping Jake Lamb but are parting ways with Taijuan Walker, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter) and John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM (via Twitter). Walker had seemed to be a prime bounceback candidate, albeit also a clear injury risk at a $5.025MM projected price tag.
The Arizona org has more information than the rest of us regarding the status of Walker’s right arm. He was stricken of late by a torn ulnar collateral ligament and then a shoulder injury. Though the talented hurler made it back to the majors — if only barely — the Diamondbacks front office obviously saw reason to doubt whether Walker could return to anything approaching his former performance level.
Meanwhile, Lamb receives quite a vote of confidence (and a nice payday, unless he’s cut loose at a later time). He’s projected to earn $5.0MM after two lost seasons. Injuries played a role in his downturn after several productive campaigns, but Lamb seemed a likely non-tender candidate after turning in a cumulative .208/.315/.350 slash since the start of 2018.
5:27pm: The Diamondbacks have non-tendered outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and catcher Caleb Joseph, according to reports from Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (Twitter link) and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). MLBTR had projected the former to earn $4.125MM and the latter to take home $1.2MM in arbitration.
When the Snakes acquired Souza on the heels of a productive 2017 effort, the hope was that he’d be a high-quality corner outfield piece. But things just never shook out in Arizona. He scuffled through a forgettable 72-game stint in 2018 and never even made it on to the field in 2019.
Souza’s major knee injury last spring not only wrecked his ’19 campaign but put his future in doubt. Fortunately, there are some signs of optimism in the health department. He’ll represent an interesting buy-low target for the right organization, while the D-Backs will look to invest their payroll elsewhere.
As for Joseph, he’ll be a candidate to compete for a reserve role or take up a depth spot at Triple-A. While he’s trusted behind the dish, Joseph has a meager .223/.270/.350 career batting line in the majors.
Rays Non-Tender Guillermo Heredia
The Rays have non-tendered outfielder Guillermo Heredia, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He’ll head onto a market that’s hurting for center field capable players.
Heredia had projected to earn a relatively modest $1.1MM salary. But the Rays decided against paying it and obviously weren’t able to find another team that was interested in doing so instead.
Heredia lasts just one season in Tampa after coming over alongside Mike Zunino in a trade with the Mariners. In 231 plate appearances as a Ray, Heredia slashed just .225/.306/.363 (82 wRC+), right in line with his career body of work.
While defensive metrics have never loved Heredia in center field, he’s typically rated quite well in the corners and continues to garner some time up the middle. Prior to last season, he’d shown strong bat-to-ball skills, and he’s always been a patient hitter. Teams presumably won’t view Heredia as an everyday option, but it’s not hard to imagine him generating interest from teams in search of outfield depth. If Heredia gets on track elsewhere, he’ll be arbitration-eligible twice more.
Cubs Non-Tender Addison Russell, Danny Hultzen
The Cubs have non-tendered infielder Addison Russell, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). Lefty Danny Hultzen was also not tendered a contract, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian adds on Twitter.
This ends a scandalous Cubs tenure for Russell, who came to the team as a possible shortstop of the future in a blockbuster trade with the Athletics in 2014. Russell was an elite prospect at the time, but his production as a Cub never reached that level (even during their World Series-winning campaign in 2016), and a 40-game suspension for domestic violence in 2018-19 marred the tail end of his time in Chicago.
The Cubs stuck with Russell in 2019, when he hit .237/.308/.391 with nine home runs in 241 plate appearances, but with Javier Baez and Nico Hoerner among their top middle infield choices, they’ve decided to go in another direction instead of paying the 25-year-old a projected $5.1MM in his second-last season of arbitration. However, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein offered a positive assessment of Russell upon letting him go, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (via Twitter).
“Since we decided to tender Addison a contract last November, he has lived up to his promise to put in the important self-improvement work necessary off the field and has shown growth as a person, as a partner, as a parent and as a citizen,” said Epstein.
Like Russell, Hultzen’s a former stud prospect whose time in the majors hasn’t gone according to plan. Injuries have been ruinous to the 30-year-old Hultzen, a former first-round pick of the Mariners who didn’t debut in the bigs until this past season. Hultzen totaled just 3 1/3 innings as a member of the Cubs, with whom he didn’t allow a run and put up five strikeouts against two walks. But that wasn’t enough to convince the Cubs, who have moved on from Hultzen.
Twins Non-Tender C.J. Cron, Trevor Hildenberger
The Twins have non-tendered first baseman C.J. Cron, according to Dan Hayes of The Athletic (via Twitter). Righty Trevor Hildenberger was also not tendered a contract, the club announced.
MLBTR had projected Cron to earn a $7.7MM salary in his final season of arbitration eligibility. Hildenberger was not yet eligible for arbitration.
That already seemed like a fairly hefty rate of pay. Any uncertainty in the decision may have been resolved when Cron underwent surgery on his thumb at the tail end of the season, introducing some health questions.
Cron has for the most part been a quality big-league hitter. He was humming along nicely last year before the thumb issue arose. After a rough stretch, he finished his season with a .253/.311/.469 slash and 25 homers in 499 plate appearances.
As for Hildenberger, who’s closing in on his 29th birthday, the past two seasons just didn’t go as hoped. He burned through the upper levels of the farm and looked strong in his 2017 debut. But he was knocked around a bit in 2018 and never caught his breath in a truncated 2019 showing at the MLB level. There’s hope yet that Hildenberger will establish himself as a quality reliever, but he may have to do it elsewhere.
Marlins Claim Jesus Aguilar
The Marlins have claimed first baseman Jesus Aguilar off waivers, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). He had been cut loose recently by the Rays.
Aguilar projects to earn $2.5MM via arbitration. That was too rich for the Rays, who have other options on hand and weren’t going to roll that much on a bounceback from a player who struggled after landing in Tampa Bay.
The Fish will hope that a move down the Florida coast cures what ails for Aguilar, who never clicked in 2019 after a breakout 2018 showing. If he can prove himself worthy of a significant role — Garrett Cooper may have something to say about that in camp — then Aguilar could be a nice bounceback candidate who could provide some offensive pop for the Marlins.
Mariners Non-Tender Domingo Santana, Tim Beckham
The Mariners have non-tendered outfielder Domingo Santana and infielder Tim Beckham, per a club announcement. Both players are now free agents.
These moves open a pair of roster spots for the M’s to work with. It’ll also save a bit of salary space. The former projected to earn $4.4MM in his second-to-last season of team control, while the latter might have commanded $3.0MM in what would have been a walk year.
It rates as something of a surprise to see Santana cut loose. He has had his ups and downs over the years but generally turns in solid offensive output. The situation with Beckham is more one of disappointment. He had been playing well in Seattle before a performance-enhancing drug suspension cut short his 2019 campaign.
Santana could potentially be a candidate to be claimed, though obviously the M’s were unable to achieve a trade return. He was off to a big start with the bat in 2019 before running into elbow problems that drove his numbers down and ended up costing him a big chunk of time.
Still just 27 years of age, Santana owns a .259/.343/.453 career batting line. He was right at that level last year as well. Unfortunately, Santana has never quite found his footing in the field. He graded terribly last year.
Beckham isn’t ever going to be the kind of player that was hoped when he went first overall in the 2008 draft. But he has settled in as a generally useful middle infielder with a league-average bat. He might well have been worth the projected arb value but for the PED suspension.
Players Avoiding Arbitration Prior To 2019 Non-Tender Deadline
With tonight’s 8pm ET deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming, there’ll be several players who agree to one-year contracts for the 2020 season today. It’s common for the day of the non-tender deadline to be a big one for arbitration agreements, though it’s also worth noting that many of the players who agree to terms today will do so at a rate that’s lower than the salary figures projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Broadly speaking, players who agree to terms on a salary this far in advance tend to be those who were at risk of being non-tendered, and their teams are able to use tonight’s deadline as leverage in bringing about a deal that saves them a bit of cash. A look at some of the early instances of players agreeing to terms reveals this to be true already; Mike Zunino ($4.5MM salary vs. $4.9MM projection), Wilmer Difo ($1MM salary vs. $1.2MM projection) and Scott Alexander ($875K salary vs. $1MM projection) have all agreed to lesser terms rather than risk being cast out into the free-agent market.
We’ll keep track of today’s players who avoid arbitration in this post and update throughout the day…
- The Padres have a deal for $1.5MM with infielder Greg Garcia, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. That’s a shade under his $1.7MM projection for the 30-year-old.
- Infielder Orlando Arcia has avoided arbitration with the Brewers, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Though he’s set to lose some playing time, it seems Arcia will be expected to retain a notable role. He’s considered a talented defender at short and was long expected to come around with the bat, but it hasn’t happened yet.
- Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes is in agreement on a $1.1MM deal, per Robert Murray (Twitter link). It’s a guaranteed deal, which isn’t standard for arbitration pacts. Barnes had projected at $1.3MM on the heels of a disappointing season. It seems he’ll be asked to function as the club’s second backstop in 2020.
Earlier Moves
- The Rangers have a deal in place with right-hander Nick Goody, the club announced. He’ll earn $915K, according to MLB.com’s TR Sullivan (via Twitter). Goody projected to earn $1.1MM, so he’s taking a discount on that mark with his new club.
- Just-acquired righty Jharel Cotton has agreed to a $640K deal with the Cubs, Rosenthal tweets. Cotton had projected at $800K but he’s surely focused first and foremost on getting a significant MLB opportunity. He didn’t quite make it back to the majors in 2019 after a long injury layoff but figures to represent a swingman option for the Chicago club in 2020.
- Outfielder Alex Dickerson and lefty Wandy Peralta are in agreement with the Giants, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). Dickerson settled for $925K, which is well under his $1.2MM projected earning power. The 29-year-old has had trouble staying healthy but usually hits when he is on the field. He rewarded the San Francisco organization for taking a shot on him last year by turning in a .290/.351/.529 batting line in 171 plate appearances. As for Peralta, he lands right at his projected value with a $805K salary. The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers late in the 2019 season.
- The White Sox and James McCann avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $5.4MM, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. McCann’s deal checks in a half million dollars north of his $4.9MM projection. Chicago’s addition of Yasmani Grandal has likely relegated McCann to backup duties, so he’ll be a rather expensive second catcher for the South Siders. A free agent next winter, McCann hit .273/.328/.460 with a career-high 18 home runs, but his bat went dormant in the season’s final few months and his .359 BABIP seems particularly ripe for regression.
- The Athletics avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.8MM, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. That salary effectively puts McFarland in line for the same salary he’d have received had he had his $1.85MM club option exercised by the Diamondbacks. Arizona, however, bought him out for $50K and then ran him through waivers, at which point the A’s claimed him. The 30-year-old posted a 4.82 ERA with a middling 5.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings this past season, but he’s a ground-ball behemoth (61.1 percent). He’ll be a free agent next winter and had been projected at $2.1MM.
- Infielder Ehire Adrianza and the Twins agreed on a $1.6MM salary for the upcoming season, Nightengale tweets. The versatile utilityman hit .272/.349/.416 in 236 plate appearances while appearing at all four infield spots and both outfield corners. Adrianza, a free agent next winter, was projected at $1.9MM.
- Outfielder Travis Jankowski agreed to a rare arbitration pay cut with the Reds, Bobby Nightengale Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. After earning $1.165MM in 2019, he’ll be owed $1.05MM in 2020 if he makes the club. A fractured wrist cost him much of the season in 2019, and he was just 4-for-22 when healthy and in the Majors. Jankowski did have a nice season in Triple-A, though (.393 OBP in 39 games), and the Reds gave up some international funds to acquire him, which seemingly indicated that they planned to tender him a contract. He was projected to earn $1.2MM.
White Sox Non-Tender Ryan Burr, Caleb Frare; Release Thyago Vieira
The White Sox have completed some 40-man cleanup in advance of today’s non-tender deadline. The club has decided not to tender contracts to righty Ryan Burr and southpaw Caleb Frare.
Unsurprisingly, recently outrighted infielder Yolmer Sanchez was also non-tendered. Right-hander Thyago Vieira also departed the 40-man. He was released so that he can sign with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets.
This run of moves opens multiple 40-man spots and trims some marginal relief depth from the Chicago roster. For a club that has made clear its designs on improving in the standings in 2020, there’s good reason to hope those slots can be put to more productive use.
Astros To Non-Tender Aaron Sanchez
The Astros will not tender a contract to right-hander Aaron Sanchez, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). MLBTR had projected him to earn $5.6MM in arbitration.
It’s wholly unsurprising to learn of this decision. While Sanchez again showed off his talent at times in 2019, it was another uneven effort. And he ended up requiring shoulder surgery that will keep him out for the start of the 2020 campaign.
That’s not to say that Sanchez won’t draw plenty of interest in free agency. The live-armed but oft-injured hurler hasn’t been productive over a lengthy run since his excellent 2016 campaign, but he’s still just 27 years of age. Though his rehab outlook isn’t yet known, plenty of teams will surely have designs on pursuing some upside if he’s able to get back to full health.