Padres To Sign Drew Pomeranz
Nov. 30: Rosenthal adds that Pomeranz’s $8MM signing bonus is deferred and will be paid between November 2020 and November 2023.
Nov. 27, 4:02pm: Pomeranz received an $8MM signing bonus and will be paid annual salaries of $4MM in 2020, $6MM in 2021 and $8MM in 2022-23, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).
1:54pm: Pomeranz will be guaranteed $34MM over a four-year term, pending a physical, Murray tweets.
1:20pm: Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports that Pomeranz has been promised a rather stunning four-year guarantee (Twitter link). Robert Murray adds that it’ll pay him $8-9MM annually.
10:20am: The Padres have struck a deal with free agent lefty Drew Pomeranz, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). The signing of the CAA client adds to what is quickly becoming a barn-burner of a day for the Friars, who have already struck a four-player swap with the Brewers.
Details remain unknown, but it seems fair to guess the southpaw has done quite well for himself — likely on a multi-year pact — in a surprise return to San Diego. The 31-year-old had an excellent, but brief run with the organization back in 2016 before being flipped to the Red Sox in a trade for then-top prospect Anderson Espinoza. Pomeranz has had some ups and downs as a starting pitcher since that time, but he finished the ’19 season riding high in a return to a relief setting.
Just a few months ago, the notion of Pomeranz being considered a top-tier free agent would’ve seemed unthinkable. He’d been booted from a pedestrian Giants rotation after posting a 5.97 ERA through 18 starts, but Pomeranz morphed into one of baseball’s most dominant bullpen weapons down the stretch. In 28 relief appearances, he not only posted a 1.88 ERA but also punched out a staggering 50 of the 106 batters he faced (47.2 percent). The Brewers were clearly intrigued by Pomeranz’s early work out of the ‘pen, acquiring him and flamethrower Ray Black in a deadline swap that sent infield prospect Mauricio Dubon to San Francisco.
The addition of Pomeranz will give the Padres a dynamic back-end bullpen duo, as he’ll team with right-hander Kirby Yates, who has emerged as one of baseball’s premier relievers since joining the Padres via waiver claim early in the 2017 season. Yates figures to continue handling ninth-inning duties, with Pomeranz serving as a top setup man, although today’s signing does give the San Diego organization even greater flexibility to shop Yates around as he enters his final year of club control. That said, the Padres have made a clear shift toward more of a win-now ideology after a grueling rebuild, and the Yates/Pomeranz pairing unequivocally makes them more formidable.
Diamondbacks Sign Stephen Vogt
Nov. 29: Vogt will be paid $2.5MM in 2020 and has a $500K buyout of a $3MM option for the 2021 campaign, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. That option can trigger automatically depending on playing time, and the contract contains escalators (based on games started) that would boost Vogt’s salary in 2021.
Nov. 26: The Diamondbacks made a low-cost strike on the free-agent market, adding catcher Stephen Vogt on a one-year contract, the team announced Tuesday evening. The deal will reportedly promise Vogt a total of $3MM, and it also contains a vesting option for the 2021 season. Vogt is represented by All Bases Covered Sports Management.
Vogt, 35, feared his career could be over following a 2018 shoulder surgery with the Brewers, but he landed with the Giants on a minor league pact and proved himself with a quietly strong rebound season. In 280 plate appearances spread over the life of 99 games, the former All-Star hit .263/.314/.490 with 10 home runs.
Arizona’s need for a backstop isn’t necessarily acute, but Vogt’s left-handed bat will pair nicely with the up-and-coming Carson Kelly, who hits from the opposite side of the dish — and does so quite well (.356/.462/.667 versus lefties in 2019). Vogt will also give the 25-year-old Kelly another veteran mentor under whom to study, replacing fellow free agent Alex Avila, who remains unsigned but now appears destined to land elsewhere.
The D-backs also have veteran catcher Caleb Joseph on the 40-man roster as a third option, and given the fact that they’ve previously carried three catchers at a time even with a 25-man roster, it seems plausible that they’ll do so again now that rosters are set to expand to 26 players for the 2020 season. Alternatively, Vogt’s acquisition could also spell the end of Joseph’s time with the Arizona organization. He’s arbitration-eligible this winter and projected to receive a $1.2MM salary, which the club may feel too steep to pay a third catcher who falls behind both Kelly and Vogt on the depth chart.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link) and Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (Twitter links) added details on the financial structure.
Justin Bour To Sign With NPB’s Hanshin Tigers
Free agent first baseman Justin Bour has reached an agreement with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Tigers GM Osamu Tanimoto tells the Japan Times. Bour had been outrighted by the Angels at season’s end and elected free agency.
The 31-year-old Bour signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Halos last winter but turned in a career-worst .172/.259/.364 batting line in his short time with the organization. He continued to display above-average walk tendencies (10 percent in 2019; 11.2 percent career) and also showed above-average power (.192 ISO), but Bour’s 30.6 percent strikeout rate this past season was far and away the highest of his career. Ultimately, he played in just 52 games as an Angel and tallied 170 plate appearances.
Bour will head to Japan as a career .253/.337/.457 hitter with 92 home runs, 71 doubles and a pair of triples in 1950 Major League plate appearance — most of which came with the Marlins. He’s never handled left-handed pitching particularly well (.215/.302/.324), but he owns a stout .262/.345/.490 career batting line against right-handed pitching.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/28/19
The latest minor league moves from around baseball…
- The Twins have agreed to a minor league deal with left-hander Mitch Horacek, reporter Robert Murray tweets. A ninth-round pick for the Orioles in the 2013 draft, Horacek has a 4.21 ERA, 8.9 K/9, and 2.97 K/BB rate over 658 2/3 career minor league innings, with the last two seasons spent in Colorado’s farm system. Horacek has worked exclusively as a reliever for the last three years and he got his first taste of Triple-A ball in 2019, though he posted a disastrous 18.75 ERA over 12 frames for Albuquerque of the Pacific Coast League. The 27-year-old did deliver much better numbers at the Double-A level, however, and Minnesota could be betting that Horacek performs better in a less homer-happy environment than the PCL.
Nationals To Re-Sign Yan Gomes
The Nationals have agreed to re-sign free-agent catcher Yan Gomes to a two-year, $10MM contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports. The pact also contains award bonuses for the Jet Sports Management client, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets. He’s the latest notable catcher to come off the board in the past week, joining Yasmani Grandal (four years, $73MM to the White Sox), Travis d’Arnaud (two years, $16MM to the Braves) and Stephen Vogt (one year, $3MM to the Diamondbacks)
Gomes was one of the Nationals’ key pickups last offseason, when they acquired the 2018 All-Star in a trade with the Indians almost exactly one year ago (Nov. 30). While the Brazilian-born Gomes experienced his share of success in Cleveland, he wound up struggling somewhat during his first year in Washington. A poor first half doomed the 32-year-old to an uninspiring .223/.316/.389 batting line with 12 home runs in 358 plate appearances.
Behind the plate, Gomes did throw out 31 percent of would-be base-stealers, which ranked comfortably above the league-average mark of 26 percent, and establish himself as a favorite of star left-hander Patrick Corbin. Meanwhile, Baseball Prospectus assigned him above-average grades in the pitch-blocking department, but his framing left something to be desired.
It wasn’t a banner regular season for Gomes, nor was he an offensive hero in the playoffs, as he collected just seven hits (no home runs) in 29 at-bats. But he nonetheless received plenty of playing time behind the dish in the fall for the Nationals, who stunningly won their first-ever World Series title. Gomes and Kurt Suzuki divided reps at catcher from the beginning of the season through the end, and they figure to do the same in 2020 for a reasonable price.
The two-year, $10MM guarantee for Gomes matches the price the Nationals paid for Suzuki in free agency last season. It also represents a pay cut, at least on a per-annum basis, for Gomes. The Nats declined his $9MM option for next year shortly after their World Series triumph over the Astros.
While Washington’s catcher situation appears to be sorted out for next season, there’s plenty of other important business on the champions’ plate. The deep-pocketed franchise will presumably make a strong effort to re-sign two of the game’s premier free agents, third baseman Anthony Rendon and right-hander Stephen Strasburg. Not to be forgotten, the Nationals are also facing the departures of infielder Howie Kendrick, reliever Daniel Hudson and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, among others.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Padres Designate Pedro Avila, Announce Drew Pomeranz Signing
The Padres announced that they’ve designated right-hander Pedro Avila for assignment. His exit will make room for the signing of left-hander Drew Pomeranz, whose deal is now official.
The 22-year-old Avila made his major league debut in 2019, throwing 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in a start against the Diamondbacks in April, but that’s his only MLB appearance to date. He also combined for just 24 innings among three minor league levels this past season, and saw his year come to an early end in late August when he underwent Tommy John surgery. As a result, Avila won’t factor in much (if at all) in the majors or minors next season.
Prior to his surgery, Avila was considered a promising prospect for the Padres, as FanGraphs ranked him 28th in a loaded San Diego farm system back in May. But Avila’s pro experience has largely been limited to High-A ball, where he has put up a 4.45 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 174 innings.
Rockies Sign Jose Mujica, Designate Wes Parsons
The Rockies have signed right-hander Jose Mujica to a major league contract and designated fellow righty Wes Parsons for assignment, the team announced.
The 23-year-old Mujica is coming off a season lost to Tommy John surgery. In his most recent action, he fired 36 2/3 innings of 2.70 ERA/2.81 FIP ball with 8.35 K/9 and 2.45 BB/9 at the Triple-A level for the Rays in 2018. Mujica had never pitched in Triple-A ball before then, making his strong output all the more impressive.
Parsons is just a few months removed from joining the Rockies, who claimed him off waivers from the Braves toward the end of August. The 27-year-old wound up throwing 19 1/3 innings for the Rox this past season, but he stumbled to a 6.98 ERA with more walks (16) than strikeouts (14). Parsons showed similar control problems with the Braves earlier in the year, as he issued 13 walks and struck out 12 in 15 1/3 innings, though he did manage a 3.52 ERA. But Parsons has been far stingier with walks at the Triple-A level, where he has logged 8.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 3.41 ERA over 153 frames.
Nick Kingham Signs With KBO’s SK Wyverns
Right-hander Nick Kingham has signed with SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports. The deal comes with a $500K salary, a $200K signing bonus and a $200K option, per Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net.
The 28-year-old Kingham is best known for his tenure with the Pirates, who chose him in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. Kingham eventually became a top 100 prospect, but the 6-foot-5 hurler has fallen flat in the majors since debuting in 2018. Across 131 2/3 innings in the bigs divided between Pittsburgh and Toronto, Kingham has managed a less-than-stellar 6.08 ERA/5.58 FIP with 7.86 K/9, 3.49 BB/9 and a 39.5 percent groundball rate.
The soft-tossing Kingham, who has averaged less than 92 mph on his fastball, has been better in Triple-A ball. Kingham has posted a 4.00 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over 297 frames at that level. He’ll now try to outdo those figures and rebuild his stock in Korea.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/27/19
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Dodgers have re-signed catcher Rocky Gale to a minor league contract, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. The 31-year-old Gale, a 24th-round pick of the Padres in 2010, has barely factored into the equation in the majors thus far. Gale has totaled a meager 37 plate appearances at the game’s highest level, including 15 with the Dodgers last season. But Gale does own plenty of experience at the Triple-A level, where he has amassed 1,784 trips to the plate. He’s a .279/.316/.359 hitter in Triple-A ball.
Pirates Outright Three Pitchers
Pirates pitchers Montana DuRapau, Williams Jerez and Luis Escobar have all cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets. The three were designated for assignment a week ago. Nobody from this group has been outrighted in the past, nor do they have enough service time to opt for free agency, so they’re all slated to remain with the Pirates.
Among the trio, the 27-year-old DuRapau was the busiest at the major league level in 2019. He totaled 14 appearances and 17 1/3 innings, during which opposing hitters lit him up for 18 earned runs on 27 hits, four home runs and nine walks (against 22 strikeouts).
Jerez, also 27 and the lone left-hander of the troika, divided the season between the Pirates and Giants, with whom he combined to surrender five earned runs on 12 hits, nine walks and nine strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings. He was much more successful in 56 Triple-A frames, logging a 3.86 ERA/4.03 FIP with 9.8 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9.
Escobar, 23, got his first taste of the majors this past season, though he struggled in 5 2/3 frames, yielding five earned on 10 hits and four walks, and striking out just two hitters. Escobar fared better (albeit not great) at the minors’ highest level in 2019, as he managed a 4.09 ERA/5.06 FIP with 9.33 K/9 and 5.24 BB/9 across 55 innings.