Moustakas, Grandal Decline Mutual Options; Brewers Outright Austin, Spangenberg
The Brewers have announced some early-offseason roster moves. As anticipated, Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal have each declined their side of mutual options and will become free agents. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee organization opened two additional 40-man spots by outrighting first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin and utilityman Cory Spangenberg.
Those mutual options were never expected to be entertained seriously; they were included in the respective contracts as a mechanism of deferring salary. Moustakas receives $3MM on his way out the door and will forego an $11MM salary. He seems quite likely to surpass that $8MM gulf in free agent earnings, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll finally get a longer pact.
Grandal, meanwhile, will take a $2.25MM payout and another bite at the free agent apple rather than settling for a $16MM salary. He wagered heavily on his ability to turn in another high-quality campaign when he went to Milwaukee. That looks to have paid off both for Grandal and the Brewers, as he’s now in line to secure a large and lengthy pact in his return to the open market.
As for the other players involved in today’s moves, they’ll each have the right to elect free agency. Austin had only a brief stint in Milwaukee after a rough showing with the Giants. He’s a .219/.292/.451 hitter in 583 career plate appearances. The 28-year-old Spangenberg struggled badly in his brief MLB time this season but did hit .309/.378/.498 in 476 plate appearances at Triple-A.
Nationals Decline Mutual Option On Matt Adams
The Nationals announced today that they have declined their side of a $4MM mutual option on first baseman Matt Adams. He’ll instead receive a $1MM buyout and head back onto the open market.
While it’s still possible Adams could return again to D.C., perhaps it’s likelier he’ll move along elsewhere after a disappointing campaign. While he put in a solid early showing this year, Adams faded to a .217/.277/.406 line with sixty strikeouts over his final 155 plate appearances on the year.
At his best, Adams is a well-above-average hitter against right-handed pitching. But the 31-year-old has never enjoyed sustained productivity when facing southpaws and is likely only a candidate for platoon/pinch-hitting duties.
It remains to be seen what direction the Nats will take at first base following their epic finish to the 2019 campaign. Ryan Zimmerman could return on a lesser deal once his option is formally declined, with Adams or another lefty bat joining the roster to share time. Or Zimmerman could hang up his spikes after the thrill of finally raising a trophy, in which case the D.C. organization could go in any number of different directions.
Mariners Claim Phillips Valdez
The Mariners announced today that they have claimed righty Phillips Valdez off waivers from the Rangers. He becomes the latest player to be pared from the Texas 40-man roster.
Valdez, who’ll soon turn 28, cracked the majors briefly last year for 16 innings of relief. His fastball-change combination wasn’t exceedingly effective in his first taste at the game’s highest level, as he generated only an 8.9% swinging-strike rate, but Valdez showed that he can induce grounders against the world’s best hitters (53.3%).
Though he debuted in a relief capacity, Valdez has spent much of his time in the upper minors as a starter. It remains to be seen how the M’s will use him — or even whether they’ll keep him on their 40-man roster all offseason long — but he will help pad the Seattle organization’s pitching depth.
Phillies Release Jose Pirela To Play In Japan
The Phillies have announced the release of utilityman Jose Pirela. He intends to pursue an opportunity in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.
Pirela landed with the Phils in the middle of the 2019 campaign after being designated by the Padres. He appeared briefly down the stretch but obviously did not make enough of an impression to make himself a significant part of the team’s plans in 2020.
While he had quite a productive showing in the big leagues in 2017, Pirela fell flat in a longer look the following season. He did post big numbers at Triple-A this year, with a .327/.376/.596 batting line in 372 plate appearances.
Royals Decline Mutual Option On Alex Gordon
The Royals announced today that they have declined their side of a mutual option over outfielder Alex Gordon. He exercised his end of the option, meaning he’ll receive a $4MM buyout.
There was never any question of this outcome. The mutual option was valued at a hefty $23MM, far outstripping Gordon’s present-day on-field abilities.
It remains unknown whether Gordon will return to play in 2020. All indications are that he’ll only suit up for Kansas City if he does wish to continue his career. The organization has indicated interest in a return, but it’d surely come at a much lower price point.
Gordon, 35, is still a qualify defender and surely represents a valuable clubhouse presence, but there’s no reason to think his bat will perk back up. He showed a bit of a spark at times in 2019 but still finished with only a .266/.345/.396 batting line. That’s the fourth consecutive campaign of below-average offensive output for Gordon, who hasn’t topped a .400 slugging percentage since the season preceding his just-concluded contract.
Reds Exercise Club Option On Freddy Galvis
Nov. 1: The Reds have formally announced that Galvis’ option has indeed been picked up.
Oct. 31: The Reds will exercise their $5.5MM club option on Freddy Galvis for the 2020 season, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The Reds had a $4.5MM decision to make on the veteran shortstop, as Galvis’ contract contained a $1MM buyout.
Galvis hit .260/.296/.438 with a career-best 23 homers over 589 plate appearances last season, coming over to Cincinnati in a midseason trade from the Blue Jays. He was one of many players to benefit from inflated power numbers in the homer-happy 2019 season, as his batting average, OBP, and even his slugging percentage weren’t too far removed from career norms. Playing mostly at shortstop in Toronto and then mostly as a second baseman with the Reds, Galvis posted decent defensive statistics at both positions, making him a flexible bench piece for next season as Cincinnati decides on its next step in the middle infield.
Jose Peraza and Derek Dietrich are also on hand as potential infield candidates, and Nick Senzel could also potentially factor back into the second base mix if the Reds opt to acquire an everyday center fielder rather than continue to deploying Senzel on the grass. Galvis’ $5.5MM is more than either Peraza ($3.6MM) or Dietrich ($3.1MM) are projected to earn in arbitration, making one or both players expendable as non-tender candidates. With the Reds firmly intent on a postseason berth next year, they could be aggressive in looking for an everyday shortstop AND center fielder, thus making Senzel the new second baseman and keeping Galvis in a utility infield role.
Brewers To Exercise Manny Pina’s Option
The Brewers are set to exercise catcher Manny Pina‘s $1.85MM club option for 2020, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The club could have bought him out for a meager $150K.
At least for now, Pina’s in line for his fifth season as a Brewer. The 32-year-old is coming off a season in which he batted .228/.313/.411 with seven home runs in 179 plate appearances as a backup to the excellent Yasmani Grandal. Along with providing decent offense (relative to his position), Pina gave the playoff-bound Brewers high-end defense in 2019. Just 13 catchers, including Grandal, outranked Pina in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric. Pina also threw out 25 percent of would-be base stealers, placing him right in line with the league-average mark (26 percent).
Now, with Grandal on the verge of becoming one of baseball’s most coveted free agents, Pina stands as the Brewers’ de facto starting catcher. The club also has fellow backstops David Freitas and Jacob Nottingham on its 40-man roster, though those two don’t have much major league experience on their resumes. So, whether the Brewers re-sign Grandal or acquire a different No. 1-caliber catcher, the position does figure to be a priority for the team this offseason. At the very least, though, Milwaukee seems to have a capable backup in Pina.
Braves To Decline Option On Billy Hamilton
The Braves will decline their end of the $7.5MM mutual option on outfielder Billy Hamilton‘s services for 2020, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Hamilton will instead receive a $1MM buyout.
Hamilton was a late-season pickup by the Braves, claimed off waivers from the Royals in mid-August when Atlanta was suffering from a spate of outfield injuries. Hamilton ended up appearing in 26 regular season games (with a .692 OPS over 48 PA) for the Braves and two postseason games, coming off the bench twice in the NLDS. Since Hamilton was acquired purely out of necessity and $7.5MM is a hefty price for a player of Hamilton’s limited hitting ability, there was never any doubt that Atlanta would decline the mutual option, though the Braves are in the market for some outfield help this winter.
Over 353 total plate appearances for the Royals and Braves, Hamilton batted only .218/.289/.275, with a 50 OPS+ and 50 wRC+. After seven years in the big leagues, Hamilton is little more than a speed-and-defense specialist at this point, though to his credit he is still one of the sport’s very best baserunners and defensive outfielders. The 29-year-old’s skillset is sure to land him a bench job somewhere, though his days of being an everyday player are likely at an end barring a late-career turn-around at the plate.
Indians Exercise Kluber’s Option, Decline Options On Kipnis, Otero
TODAY: The moves are now official, as per the Associated Press. Kluber’s option was exercised, while the Indians bought out Kipnis and Otero.
OCTOBER 2: Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti announced at the beginning of today’s meeting with the media that the team intends to exercise its $17.5MM club option on right-hander Corey Kluber (Twitter link via Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal). The Indians are planning to decline their $16.5MM option on second baseman Jason Kipnis in favor of a $2.5MM buyout, however, and they’ll also decline righty Dan Otero‘s $1.5MM option in favor of a $100K buyout.
Although the 2019 season was a disaster for Kluber, it was never plausible that the Indians would move on from the two-time AL Cy Young winner. Kluber’s 2019 season was truncated by a forearm fracture suffered when a comeback line-drive struck him back in May. He missed nearly three months of the season and, when he was nearing a return, sustained an oblique injury that ultimately ended his year.
Even when healthy, Kluber turned in an alarming 5.80 ERA in 35 2/3 innings. However, he was plagued by a lofty .370 average on balls in play and a low 63.8 percent strand rate (career 74.7 percent), both of which seemed due for regression. His average fastball velocity was down a bit from his 2018 totals, but a look at Kluber’s readings through the beginning of May in 2018 reveals a 91.7 mph average fastball that aligns with his 91.6 mph average in 2019. Put another way: there was minimal evidence to suggest that Kluber is suddenly on a decline of this magnitude just one year after his fourth Top 3 Cy Young finish in five seasons.
Perhaps if he’d been due to become a free agent after the 2020 season, the organization would’ve given slightly more consideration to moving on (doubtful), but Kluber’s contract contains an $18MM option for the 2021 season. The Indians have been working to pare back their payroll since the beginning of last offseason, but there’s no realistic scenario in which they shy away from a $16.5MM decision on Kluber — he’d have been owed a $1MM buyout regardless — that comes with a similarly priced option for an additional season.
In the case of Kipnis, the decision was similarly straightforward. Although he briefly ranked among the game’s best second baseman, the now-32-year-old Kipnis (33 on April 3) hasn’t had an above-average season at the plate since 2016. Over his past 1485 plate appearances, he’s managed just a .236/.305/.403 batting line (86 OPS+). Add in the fact that his season ended with a fractured hamate bone that required surgical repair, and Kipnis surely saw the writing on the wall.
Lewis tweets that the team is still open to a reunion with Kipnis at a lower price, but that will depend on the level of interest expressed by other teams. Given the number of second base alternatives both in free agency and on the trade market, it’s quite possible that Kipnis will eventually have to settle for a one-year deal, so perhaps a reunion shouldn’t be ruled out. Kipnis does have a bit of experience in the outfield, which could enhance his appeal to new clubs, but he’s graded out poorly in his limited work away from second base.
It’s similarly unsurprising to see the team move on from Otero, despite the affordable nature of his option. He’ll turn 35 this February and has seen a sharp decline of his own since a brilliant run in 2016-17. Otero gave the Indians 130 2/3 innings of 2.14 ERA ball with a 95-to-19 K/BB ratio and only eight homers allowed in that ’16-’17 peak, but he’s been rocked for a 5.09 ERA with 18 home runs in 88 1/3 innings since that time. Otero still possesses superlative control, as he’s averaged less than one walk per nine innings pitched over the past two seasons, but he’s also seen his sinker dip to an average if 89.5 mph.
As far as the coaching staff is concerned, manager Terry Francona announced that the team has dismissed bullpen coach Scott Atchison but will retain the rest of his staff for the 2020 season (Twitter link via Zack Meisel of The Athletic).
Dodgers Select Victor Gonzalez’s Contract
The Dodgers have selected the contract of left-hander Victor Gonzalez from Triple-A Oklahoma City, the team announced. The move puts Gonzalez on the 40-man roster and protects him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.
The 23-year-old Gonzalez isn’t ranked within MLB.com’s ranking of the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects, and he only just cracked the Triple-A level this year, tossing 14 innings for Oklahoma City. Nevertheless, the L.A. front office felt he was worth keeping given Gonzalez’s impressive numbers across three minor league levels in 2019.
Beginning the year in high-A ball and ending in Triple-A, Gonzalez posted a cumulative 2.31 ERA, 9.3 K/9, and 2.91 K/BB rate over 89 2/3 innings. Though Gonzalez started 13 of his 38 total appearances this season, he worked exclusively as a reliever in 15 Triple-A outings, and bullpen work is probably Gonzalez’s likeliest path to a possible big league debut in 2020.
With Gonzalez added, the Dodgers now have 38 players on their 40-man roster. Teams have until November 20 to finalize their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 draft, which takes place on December 12.