Braves Select Josh Tomlin, Matt Joyce; Designate Raffy Lopez
The Braves have announced their final Opening Day roster moves. As expected, righty Josh Tomlin and outfielder Matt Joyce were selected. To clear a 40-man roster spot, catcher Raffy Lopez was designated for assignment.
The Atlanta organization’s late-breaking addition of Tomlin came after a barrage of pitching injuries that the club hopes will prove to be minor. Starters Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman have officially been placed on the 10-day injured list along with relievers A.J. Minter and Darren O’Day.
The veteran Joyce will make the roster at the expense of Adam Duvall, who remains with the organization but has been optioned to Triple-A. A career .250/.351/.451 hitter against right-handed pitching in nearly 3400 plate appearances, Joyce will give the Braves the left-handed-hitting fourth outfielder they’d reportedly been seeking. He’s not an option in center field at this stage in his career, though on days that Ender Inciarte needs a breather, Atlanta can shift Ronald Acuna Jr. into center field while deploying Joyce in a corner.
Tomlin will serve as a long man out of the bullpen, providing depth for a Braves rotation that has been hit by injuries this spring. In addition to Foltynewicz and Gausman landing on the IL, right-hander Mike Soroka was out for much of Spring Training due to shoulder troubles and was optioned to Triple-A to build up strength. Tomlin had a brutal season with the Indians in 2018 but gave Cleveland nearly 500 innings of 4.44 ERA ball from 2013-17. The 34-year-old righty doesn’t miss many bats and has one of the game’s slowest fastballs but also has uncanny precision; over his past 557 MLB innings, he’s averaged just 1.1 BB/9.
Lopez, 31, hit .176/.265/.284 in 117 plate appearances with the Padres last season. The Braves acquired him from San Diego in exchange for cash back in early November, but he didn’t have a place on the active roster behind Tyler Flowers and Brian McCann.
Reds Select Derek Dietrich, Jose Iglesias; Designate Matt Wisler
The Reds announced a series of transactions today, selecting the contracts of veteran infielder/outfielder Derek Dietrich and shortstop Jose Iglesias to join the Opening Day roster. Righty Matt Wisler was designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space.
Several players were also shifted to the 10-day injured list, with no surprises in the bunch. Lefty Alex Wood joins infielders Scooter Gennett and Alex Blandino on ice to open the season.
Bringing Dietrich and Iglesias aboard further strengthens a position-player unit that is full of talent. Both are limited players: the former is a quality left-handed hitter who doesn’t field well and the latter is a magician with the glove who doesn’t bring much with the bat. Iglesias’ defensive wizardry will be all the more important early in the season, as he’ll likely see significant time at shortstop with Jose Peraza sliding to second base in place of the injured Scooter Gennett.
As for Wisler, the Reds will now have a week to either trade the former top prospect or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. The 26-year-old was a key part of the trade that sent Craig Kimbrel from the Braves to the Padres several years ago, but he’s never pieced things together at the MLB level. Wisler owns a 5.14 ERA with 6.4 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 338 frames in the Majors to this point, though he’s consistently posted solid numbers in the minor leagues. He’s also out of options, though, so any club who acquires Wisler would need to carry him on its 25-man roster.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/27/19
Some minor moves from around the game on the eve of Opening Day (for most of the league)…
- The Cardinals announced this afternoon that lefty Chasen Shreve has cleared waivers following this week’s DFA. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis. While Shreve does have enough service time to reject the assignment, electing free agency would mean forfeiting the $900K salary to which he’d agreed earlier this winter. The 28-year-old Shreve came to the Cards as part of the now-lopsided deal that sent Luke Voit to the Yankees last summer. Over the past four seasons, Shreve has posted a solid 3.85 ERA and missed bats (10.3 K/9), but he’s also been far too prone to walks (4.7 BB/9) and home runs (1.8 HR/9) for either the Yankees or Cardinals to deem him a reliable bullpen option. Furthermore, he’s not a candidate for a more specialized role, as left-handed opponents have been even more successful against Shreve (.248/.335/.444) than right-handed opponents have been (.222/.316/.430).
- The Blue Jays reportedly agreed to acquire minor league outfielder Jordan Patterson from the Reds — a move that was prompted by injuries to Dalton Pompey and Jonathan Davis, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet explains. The 27-year-old Patterson received a bit of MLB experience with the Rockies back in 2016 but has spent the bulk of the past three seasons with Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate. The Reds inked him to a minor league pact back in December, but he never stood much of a chance of cracking the roster by the time Spring Training rolled around. Patterson hit .271/.367/.525 in Triple-A last year and owns a lifetime .282/.363/.516 slash in 1517 plate appearances at that level, making him a solid fill-in option to help round out the Jays’ Triple-A roster. Presumably, for a transaction of small magnitude, the Jays are merely sending cash to Cincinnati in return.
Twins Select Ryne Harper
The Twins announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Ryne Harper. He’ll make their Opening Day bullpen, and his first appearance in a game will mark his MLB debut. Minnesota also placed third baseman Miguel Sano (heel laceration) and relievers Matt Magill (shoulder tendinitis), Addison Reed (thumb sprain) and Gabriel Moya (shoulder tendinitis) on the 10-day injured list and optioned infielder Ronald Torreyes to Triple-A Rochester.
Harper’s promotion comes as a 30th birthday present for the journeyman right-hander, who has spent parts of eight seasons in the minors since being selected by the Braves in the 37th round of the 2011 draft. Harper has technically been on a Major League roster before, as the Mariners selected his contract in 2017 but optioned him back to the minors before he ever appeared in a big league game.
Harper spent the 2018 season in the Twins’ system and posted a terrific 86-to-10 K/BB ratio in 65 innings of relief. Harper’s Spring Training was outstanding, as he fired 11 innings with 14 strikeouts no walks and no earned runs allowed.
Nationals Select Jake Noll
The Nationals announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Jake Noll, who will occupy a bench spot and make his MLB debut when he first gets into a game. Washington also announced that righty Koda Glover (forearm strain), Howie Kendrick (left hamstring strain) and Michael A. Taylor (left knee/hip sprain) have all been placed on the 10-day injured list.
Noll, 25, was Washington’s seventh-round pick back in 2016 and impressed the organization with a strong spring effort: .320/.393/.520 with a pair of homers and four doubles in 56 plate appearances. A right-handed hitter, Noll split the 2018 campaign between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, slashing a combined .291/.341/.412 in 549 plate appearances. Defensively, he’s spent time at first base, second base and third base, so he’ll be a candidate to back up several spots around the diamond and give manager Dave Martinez a bit of versatility. Noll will join a Nationals bench that also includes first baseman/left fielder Matt Adams, infielder Wilmer Difo, catcher Kurt Suzuki and outfielder Andrew Stevenson.
As for the trio of Nats now officially on the injured list, there’s no clear timeline as to when any of the bunch will return. Kendrick is staying down in extended Spring Training after appearing in only five Grapefruit League contests. Glover was originally shut down due to said forearm strain in late February after tossing just a third of an inning in his lone spring appearance. Taylor is expected to miss a “significant” amount of time with his injury.
Mets Sign Rene Rivera To Minor League Deal
March 27: The Mets have announced the signing.
March 25: The Mets have reportedly reached a minor-league agreement with free-agent catcher Rene Rivera, who recently opted out of a deal with the Giants. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the Mets’ interest over the weekend (Twitter link), with Jon Heyman of MLB Network reporting today that the sides were in talks (via Twitter). Andy Martino of SNY reported that there was an agreement (Twitter links), with Joel Sherman of the New York Post noting it was a minor-league deal (via Twitter).
This’ll be the second stint with the Mets for Rivera, who also spent time with the club from 2016-17. The reunion comes as something of a surprise; this time last week, indications were that Devin Mesoraco had a strong chance of making the Mets’ roster behind Wilson Ramos. At one point, Mets skipper Mickey Callaway suggested that the Mets could even carry Ramos, Mesoraco and Travis d’Arnaud to open the season.
However, d’Arnaud is now slated to begin the season on the injured list, and Mesoraco’s status is up in the air; as Newsday’s Tim Healey reported this weekend, Mesoraco has decided not to report to Triple-A after being reassigned to minor league camp by the Mets. He’s still under contract, so they’ll need to either grant him his release or place him on the restricted list. With both Mesoraco and d’Arnaud abruptly out of the mix for an Opening Day roster spot, Rivera could leapfrog defensive-minded 24-year-old Tomas Nido as the favorite to serve as a backup to Ramos early in the season.
Rivera, 35, split the 2018 season between the Angels and Braves, hitting a combined .233/.275/.419 in 91 trips to the plate. Rivera routinely posts elite caught-stealing rates and is a perennially solid framer as well, which would make him a quality backup option for the Mets at least until d’Arnaud mends. Over the past five seasons, Rivera is a .225/.280/.372 hitter in 1183 plate appearances.
Padres Claim Socrates Brito
5:02pm: San Diego has now announced the waiver claim. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, they’ve transferred Jankowski to the 60-day injured list.
12:42pm: The Padres have claimed outfielder Socrates Brito off waivers from the Diamondbacks, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Brito will join an already crowed outfield mix with the San Diego organization.
It’s possible that the Friars see Brito as a fill-in for Travis Jankowski, who’s sidelined for an extended stretch to open the year. Brito is a left-handed hitter who’s capable of playing center and runs the bases well, not unlike Jankowski. But other options abound in the San Diego outfield. The club may even open the year with six outfielders on its active roster, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell tweets, though that would assuredly not last long into the season.
Instead, as Piecoro notes, the San Diego club may have other intentions. The Padres may simply put the out-of-options 26-year-old back on waivers in hopes he’ll clear in the midst of the pre-season roster turmoil, or they could flip him on to another organization with a lower waiver priority. Any number of other roster machinations could conceivably be related, though claiming Brito hardly shows the club’s hand.
Angels Claim Brian Goodwin Off Release Waivers
The Angels have claimed outfielder Brian Goodwin off release waivers from the Royals, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports (on Twitter). It’s not especially common for players to be claimed off release waivers, and Goodwin will technically have the option to reject the claim (as is a player’s right when claimed off release waivers), though there’s little reason for him to do so; because Goodwin is out of minor league options, the claim means he’ll likely join the Angels’ big league roster as at least a short-term option to help fill in for the injured Justin Upton. The Angels already have a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move to accommodate Goodwin.
Goodwin, 28, went from the Nationals to the Royals in a trade last July and hit .266/.317/.415 output in 101 plate appearances with Kansas City through season’s end. Spring was a disaster for him, however, as he slashed .166/.188/.256 with 13 strikeouts against four walks through 49 plate appearances before being placed on release waivers Monday. He’ll now join Peter Bourjos, Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun in the Angels’ mix of outfielders while Upton mends a toe injury.
Once the No. 34 overall pick in the draft, Goodwin is a career .250/.315/.454 hitter with 19 home runs and 10 steals in 502 trips to the plate. He’s a left-handed hitter who can handle all three outfield positions, and he could potentially be deployed in a platoon capacity with Bourjos in his new organization.
Angels To Sign Sam Freeman
The Angels have agreed to a contract with lefty Sam Freeman, according to reports. It’s a minors deal, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Freeman, 31, was just cut loose by the Braves. He had been tendered a $1.375MM contract by the Atlanta organization and received 45 days of that as severance pay.
Last year, Freeman worked to a 4.29 ERA over 50 1/3 innings. He carried a 52.1% groundball rate and 10.4 K/9, but also dished out 5.7 free passes per nine innings.
The Halos had a need for veteran lefties after the recent decision to drop Dan Jennings. It doesn’t seem that Freeman will head onto the MLB roster to open the year, but he’ll be a prime candidate to ascend at some point. The club’s current MLB depth chart doesn’t include any southpaws in the pen.
Mets Extend Jacob deGrom
TODAY: The deal includes $52.5MM in deferred money, all without interest, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). $12MM in 2020, $13.5MM in 2021, $15MM in 2022, and $12MM in 2023 will all be pushed to the future. There’ll also be a $15MM deferral on the 2024 option, if it’s picked up.
The deferred money will be pushed back 15 years, per Ron Blum of the AP, which sets up a series of payouts beginning in 2035. Amusingly, and surely not coincidentally, deGrom’s payments will seamlessly take over the slot long occupied by annual payouts to former player Bobby Bonilla, Mike Mayer of Metsmerized notes on Twitter.
Those extensive deferrals clearly reduce the true value of the contract, though the precise amount depends upon what discount rate is utilized. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that the $137.5MM owed to deGrom in the future has been assigned a present-day valuation of $108.9MM, though it’s unclear what basis was used to reach that number.
YESTERDAY, 4:52pm: The Mets have formally announced deGrom’s extension.
“This is a tremendous day for Jacob, his family, our fans and the entire Mets organization,” Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said in the press release announcing the contract. “Last year, Jacob had one of the most remarkable seasons in baseball history and we are excited to be able to reward him. Mets fans can celebrate knowing their ace will remain in Flushing.”
7:36am: The Mets have agreed to terms on an extension with star right-hander Jacob deGrom, according to Andy Martino of SNY.tv (Twitter links). deGrom, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, is undergoing a physical today. The contract includes four years and $120.5MM in new money, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (Twitter links), with some of it deferred.
Earlier this year, deGrom agreed to a $17MM arbitration contract for the 2019 season. That effectively remains in place, though it is now restructured as a $10MM signing bonus and $7MM salary, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. What would have been deGrom’s final arbitration season, 2020, will be locked in at $23MM. He’ll then earn $33.5MM in each of the next two seasons and $30.5MM in 2023 — if he does not first opt out. The option-year value is $32.5MM, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan tweets.
If indeed a deal is finalized, it’d bring an end to a long-running and rather fascinating saga regarding deGrom’s future. It was just last summer that deGrom’s then-agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, was advocating that the team either work out an extension or trade the ace right-hander. In a cinematic twist, Van Wagenen became the Mets’ general manager last fall, recusing himself from direct extension talks with deGrom while the pitcher chose to remain with the same agency (CAA Baseball). (That recusal concept was evidently of rather limited scope, or has since been modified or waived, as Sherman tweets that Van Wagenen was personally on hand for the final negotiations.)
The sides held preliminary talks at the Winter Meetings, but then a lengthy silent period ensued. After agreeing to a 2019 arbitration salary, which included a record-setting $9.6MM raise, the deGrom camp put an Opening Day deadline on talks, so the clock was ticking. It seemed hopeful as camp opened that a deal would materialize, but the more recent vibe was much less promising. But Andy Martino of SNY.tv tweeted yesterday that talks were still ongoing, with Michael Mayer of MetsMerizedOnline adding on Twitter that there was some forward progress toward a deal.
As it turns out, the sides lined up on a contract that understandably includes some concessions in both directions. deGrom will turn 31 this June and was not set to reach the open market until the conclusion of the 2020 campaign. Compare that to Chris Sale, whose recent extension came just before his 30th birthday and entering his final season of contractual control. (Of course, the lefty was also coming off of an injury-limited second half to the 2018 season.) Sale’s contract provided five seasons and $145MM in new earnings; he’ll pitch the entire final season of that deal at 35 years of age. deGrom receives a slightly higher AAV, even though the first new contract year covers an arb-eligible season, and will celebrate his 35th birthday in the middle of his final guaranteed season (if he hasn’t already opted out).
Both of those outstanding hurlers might have found greater riches in free agency. Sale would’ve been the top arm available this coming winter, while deGrom surely would’ve been among the most desirable free agents of the 2020-21 offseason. Zack Greinke had already turned 32 when he secured a six-year, $206.5MM deal with the Diamondbacks. But that deal seemed an outlier when it was signed and the market has since shifted. Clayton Kershaw hadn’t yet turned 31 and had produced nothing but excellent results when he re-upped with the Dodgers last fall, but settled for a three-year pact after experiencing back issues and peripheral declines.
There’s also ample risk in pitching a full MLB season, so extensions have generally lagged free agency in value to a greater extent than is the case for position players. A few still-youthful hurlers nearing free agency have secured bigger money — Kershaw didn’t quite reach $200MM in his first long-term contract if you deduct his anticipated arbitration salary from that season; Stephen Strasburg secured $175MM over seven new seasons part-way through his final year of team control. But otherwise, the largest pitching extensions have gone to Sale ($145MM), Cole Hamels ($144.5MM), and Justin Verlander ($140MM).
[RELATED: MLBTR Extension Tracker]
For their money, the Mets will secure the services of one of the game’s very best hurlers for most or all of his remaining productive campaigns. Never overly hyped as a prospect, deGrom’s early development was slowed by Tommy John surgery. But he emerged in 2014, earning a call-up to the majors and succeeding beyond any reasonable expectations. While he was never much of a strikeout pitcher in the minors, deGrom steadily maintained about a K per inning in his early seasons. He began ramping that up further in 2017, which was also his first 200-plus-inning campaign, but didn’t really take the next step until last year.
Entering the 2018 campaign, deGrom carried a 2.98 ERA with 9.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 through 680 2/3 career innings. There had been a few health wobbles along the way but he was, by and large, a durable and thoroughly excellent pitcher. It seemed there wasn’t much more ceiling to reach, but he unquestionably found it.
Ramping up his velocity (96.7 mph average fastball) and increasingly shelving his sinker in favor of his two offspeed offerings (change and slider; combined usage of 40%) helped deGrom boost his swinging-strike rate to a career-high 15.1%. He drove his strikeout rate up to a personal-best 11.2 K/9 while maintaining a typically sparkling 1.9 BB/9 walk rate, cut back on the home run issues that had cropped up a bit in 2017, and induced nearly as much soft contact (25.2%) as he allowed hard contact (26.6%).
The results followed those impressive underlying numbers. deGrom finished the 2018 campaign with 217 innings of 1.70 ERA ball. Unsurprisingly, given the off-the-charts earned run outcomes, ERA estimators felt there was a bit of good fortune mixed in — but not enough to detract from deGrom’s excellence. He was credited with 1.99 FIP, 2.60 xFIP, and 2.78 SIERA.
Nothing is assured in this world, least of all when it comes to future pitching performance. But deGrom seems about as good a bet as any veteran hurler to keep producing into his mid-thirties. His ability to maintain top physical form will perhaps dictate the extent to which he can approach his newly established personal heights, but his multi-pitch arsenal and impeccable command seem to provide about as much of a floor as any starter.
The upside in the contract is plainly limited by deGrom’s age, but that doesn’t mean the Mets can’t hope to achieve good value. The organization will still retain a fair bit of payroll flexibility after the 2020 season, the final year of obligations to Yoenis Cespedes and a few other pricey veterans. deGrom knocks Cespedes off of the organization’s financial Mt. Rushmore, joining David Wright, Johan Santana, Carlos Beltran to make up the four largest contracts in Mets history.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.