Diamondbacks Decline Options On Flores, McFarland; Outright Almonte, Scott
The Diamondbacks announced that they won’t be exercising their club options on either infielder Wilmer Flores or left-hander T.J. McFarland. Flores’ $6MM option will be bought out for $500K, while McFarland will receive a $50K buyout rather than a $1.85MM salary for the 2020 season. In addition to these moves, the D’Backs also announced that outfielder Abraham Almonte and lefty Robby Scott have been outrighted to Triple-A.
Though a right foot contusion cost him almost two months of the season, Flores’ first year in Arizona was a successful one when he was able to take the field. The 28-year-old hit .317/.361/.387 over 285 PA, and while a particular power surge against left-handed pitching led to some significant splits (.337/.367/.615 against lefties, .304/.358/.404 against righties), Flores was still plenty dangerous against all types of pitching.
Flores was primarily used at second base last year, handling the keystone whenever Ketel Marte wasn’t in center field. Given that the D’Backs will again look to move Marte around the diamond next year, retaining Flores for the extra $5.5MM wouldn’t have seemed like an exorbitant choice. Then again, the team might not have expected Flores to duplicate his 2019 performance, given that Flores’ .362 wOBA far outpaced his .329 xwOBA, and he also had some notable batted-ball luck in the form of a .332 BABIP.
It isn’t out of the question that the Diamondbacks could look to re-sign Flores at a lesser price, though one would imagine he’ll get interest from multiple teams looking for a versatile infielder (Flores also saw a lot of action at third base during his time with the Mets) who can crush southpaws.
After posting a 2.00 ERA over 72 frames for Arizona in 2018, McFarland’s bottom-line numbers (4.82 ERA) came back down to earth last year, even though a lot of his peripheral statistics weren’t too dissimilar. The grounder specialist ran into trouble when he did let the ball get into the air last year, as McFarland’s 17.1% home run rate was a career high.
Rays Outright Hoby Milner
The Rays have outrighted Hoby Milner off of their 40-man roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (via Twitter). The left-hander will reject his outright assignment to the minors and instead become a free agent.
Milner, 28, posted a 3.06 ERA, 6.85 K/9, and 13.0 K/9 over 61 2/3 bullpen innings for Triple-A Durham in 2019. Despite this impressive performance, Milner only tossed 3 2/3 Major League innings, with injuries perhaps keeping him from getting more of a look once the minor league season was over. Milner was placed on the 60-day injured list in September due to a cervical neck injury.
Assuming good health, one would assume Milner’s impressive Triple-A track record would net him a new contract with another team. Originally a seventh-round pick for the Phillies in the 2012 draft, Milner has a 3.40 ERA over 42 1/3 career innings in the big leagues.
Red Sox Claim Josh Osich
The Red Sox have claimed left-hander Josh Osich off waivers from the White Sox, as per a team announcement.
Originally claimed off waivers from the Orioles last March, Osich posted a 4.66 ERA, 4.07 K/9 rate, and 8.1 K/9 over 67 2/3 relief innings for the White Sox last season. Osich’s effectiveness was limited to same-sided batters, as he held left-handed hitters to only a .551 OPS (115 plate appearances) while right-handed hitters mashed him to the tune of a .903 OPS (157 PA).
These numbers largely match Osich’s rather lopsided splits for his career, making him one of many specialist relievers (particularly lefties) whose careers could be altered by the three-batter minimum rule coming into effect in 2020. From Boston team in need of bullpen reinforcements, however, clearly the team sees value in exploring Osich’s potential. The 31-year-old does possess a mid-90’s fastball, and he has a solid 48.5% grounder rate over his 188 career MLB innings.
The waiver claim will shave a little bit of money off Chicago’s book, as Osich was projected to earn $1MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility.
Phillies To Decline 2020 Option On Pat Neshek
The Phillies will decline their $7MM club option on right-hander Pat Neshek, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The veteran sidearmer will instead be paid a $750K buyout and return to the free-agent market.
Neshek, 39, missed nearly a month with a shoulder strain before a hamstring tear in late June put an end to his 2019 campaign (and ultimately required surgery). That pair of injuries limited Neshek to just 18 innings of 5.00 ERA ball and capped off an injury-plagued Phillies tenure, though it’s worth noting that he was excellent when healthy in 2018. Shoulder trouble hampered him again that season, but Neshek pitched to a strong 2.59 earned run average in 24 1/3 innings when he was able to take the ball.
Broadly speaking, Neshek enjoyed a seven-year run as an outstanding setup piece and occasional closer from 2012-18. Over that span, he logged 315 1/3 innings with a 2.51 ERA (3.26 FIP), 8.3 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and 0.91 HR/9. Along the way he tallied 13 saves and 106 holds while making a pair of All-Star teams and pitching in high-leverage spots for the A’s, Cardinals, Astros, Rockies and Phillies. The 2002 sixth-rounder boasts a sub-3.00 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning in 488 Major League innings.
Padres To Decline Option Over Adam Warren
The Padres will decline their club option over right-hander Adam Warren, according to Emily Waldon of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll receive a $500K buyout rather than a $2MM salary.
Surprisingly, Waldon further reports, Warren underwent Tommy John surgery in September. That fact had not been publicly known. It’s likely he’ll be sidelined for the entirety of the 2020 campaign.
Warren was headed back to the open market regardless of his elbow health, but the procedure shut the door. He had struggled to a 5.34 ERA in 28 2/3 innings with the Friars. Warren turned in a 25:12 K/BB ratio and allowed nine home runs in his lone season in San Diego.
Yankees Decline 2020 Option On Edwin Encarnacion
The Yankees announced Thursday that they’ve declined their $20MM option on first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion. He’ll instead be paid a hefty $5MM buyout and enter the free-agent market.
This has long been viewed as the likeliest outcome; while the size of the buyout at least created a plausible scenario where the Yankees could deem a net $15MM decision worthwhile, doing so would’ve meant tacking on a $20MM luxury tax hit from day one of the offseason. The Yankees would’ve also been paying Encarnacion at an extremely premium rate, as that $20MM salary and net $15MM decision both would’ve topped the $14.3MM guarantee that Nelson Cruz secured in free agency a year ago.
Encarnacion, 37 in January, showed minimal signs of slowing down at the plate in 2019. While he did miss time owing to a wrist fracture and an oblique issue, he turned in a strong .244/.344/.531 batting line with 34 home runs and 18 doubles in just 486 plate appearances. The veteran slugger also slightly pared back his strikeout rate (22.8 percent in 2018, 21.2 percent in 2019) while enjoying a modest uptick in walk rate (10.9 percent in ’18, 11.9 percent in ’19). Pedestrian batting average aside, Encarnacion’s knack for getting on base and his enormous power made his 2019 offensive contributions about 30 percent better than that of a league-average hitter by measure of OPS+ (132) and wRC+ (129).
Even as he’s progressed into his late 30s, Encarnacion has been a consistent middle-of-the-order force. However, the lack of win-now teams with a clear DH opening around the league do somewhat cloud his market. The Astros (Yordan Alvarez), Angels (Shohei Ohtani/Albert Pujols), Athletics (Khris Davis), Twins (Nelson Cruz) and Red Sox (J.D. Martinez) all have their DH spots largely set. Encarnacion could technically fit with the Indians, but they’re unlikely to spend at a high level — particularly not on a DH when they already acquired Franmil Reyes back in July.
The White Sox and Rays stand out as a pair of hopeful contenders who could find DH work for Encarnacion, and a lower-cost deal with the Yankees shouldn’t be expressly ruled out. If Encarnacion is open to signing with a rebuilding team, perhaps a Blue Jays reunion would make some sense. Alternatively, if a team views him as a viable option at first base over the course of a full season, some NL clubs and perhaps an AL club or two (e.g. Twins) would factor into his market.
Even with Encarnacion off the books in the Bronx, the Yankees still have a hefty $204MM committed to next year’s payroll (including projected arbitration salaries and that $5MM buyout). As currently constructed, the Yankees are already projected to be over the luxury tax line. With Encarnacion back on the market, they’ll now likely look to a combination of Luke Voit, Greg Bird and Mike Ford at first base, with the others joining Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in a rotation through the DH spot,
Phillies Claim Robert Stock
The Phillies have claimed righty Robert Stock off waivers from the Padres. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported the move (Twitter link), which was first aired on Twitter by Tyler Poitras.
Stock, who is closing in on his 30th birthday, finished the season on the 60-day injured list due to a biceps injury. The San Diego club faces tough decisions on several players with a rather tight 40-man roster squeeze.
Though Stock failed to follow up on his strong 2018 debut in a tepid 2019 effort, he showed the same upper-nineties heat that made him so intriguing. He also managed to rack up forty strikeouts in 28 1/3 Triple-A innings. While he has struggled throughout his professional career to stay in the zone, Stock obviously has big-time stuff.
Padres Outright Brett Kennedy
The Padres have outrighted righty Brett Kennedy, per the Pacific Coast League transactions page. That’ll clear another 40-man spot for the Friars to utilize in the coming months.
Now 25, Kennedy debuted in 2018 after a promising run through the San Diego farm system. He struggled in his initial MLB showing but seemingly had a good shot at a second chance and a useful big-league career.
That all may still come to pass, but Kennedy will first need to get back to health. He was sidelined early with lat/shoulder issues and ended up on the 60-day injured list. Kennedy attempted a rehab stint but made just one appearance.
Rather than adding Kennedy back to the 40-man, the Pads elected to run him through waivers. The club will still control the rights to the Fordham product.
Blue Jays Outright Brock Stewart, Buddy Boshers
The Blue Jays have outrighted relief pitchers Brock Stewart and Buddy Boshers, per the International League transactions page. Fellow reliever Ryan Dull was also outrighted; he had been designated for assignment recently.
Stewart, 28, had spent his entire career with the Dodgers until he moved via waiver claim at the trade deadline. Utilized in a multi-inning capacity in Toronto, Stewart was tuned up for twenty earned runs (and nine homers) in 21 2/3 frames over ten appearances.
The 31-year-old Boshers took part in his fourth MLB campaign, with quite a different usage pattern. He threw twenty innings in 28 appearances, sporting a 26:10 K/BB ratio and 4.05 ERA but allowing a .257/.366/.486 batting line to opposing left-handed hitters.
As for what’s next, all three hurlers will be looking to bounce back and open a new opportunity at the game’s highest level. But where that’ll take place remains to be seen. Dull likely accrued just enough service time this year to pass three full seasons of MLB time, which would give him the right to reject the assignment, though that has not yet been officially tabulated. Boshers has the right to take to the open market since he has previously been outrighted. Stewart is in a different situation, as he cannot reject the assignment upon either of the above grounds. Neither will he qualify as a minor-league free agent. It seems, then, that he will remain in the Toronto organization unless the club decides to cut him loose.
Giants Designate Kyle Barraclough
The Giants have designated righty reliever Kyle Barraclough for assignment, according to Kerry Crowley of Bay Area News Group (link). Barraclough’s DFA comes as the corresponding move to the club’s Wednesday waiver claim of pitcher Tyler Anderson from the Rockies.
This likely represented a tough decision for the San Francisco front office, as Barraclough is only a few seasons removed from seeming like a potential bullpen stalwart. Between 2015 and 2018, the now-29-year-old righty logged a 3.21 ERA with an 11.5 K/9 across 218.1 innings out of the Miami pen. The Nationals acquired Barraclough from the Marlins in exchange for $1MM of international bonus availability in October of ’18, but, like most Washington relievers in the first few months of the 2019 season, Barraclough struggled mightily in late-game situations. Barraclough pitched to a 6.66 ERA (6.57 FIP) in 25.2 D.C. innings before the Nationals exposed him to waivers in August.
Following a claim by San Francisco, Barraclough looked to get back into something approaching vintage form in a small performance sample with the Giants. Though he began his time in the organization with Triple-A Sacramento, Barraclough came up to the big club in September to log a 2.25 ERA in 8.0 IP–although it’s worth noting that his historical troubles with control continued to undermine his bottom-line results (10/9 K/BB ratio).