Brewers Re-Sign Mike Moustakas
The Brewers and free-agent third baseman Mike Moustakas have officially agreed to a one-year agreement. The Boras Corporation client will reportedly earn $10MM on the deal, which includes a $7MM salary in 2019 and $3MM buyout on a $11MM mutual option for 2020.
The 30-year-old Moustakas’ deal with the Brewers means he’ll wrap up a second straight lengthy stay in free-agent limbo. He first reached the open market last offseason and ended up going without a job until early March, when the Royals re-signed him to a contract worth a guaranteed $6.5MM. Kansas City was no doubt hoping to contend at the time, but it ended up as a bottom-feeding team, leading it to send Moustakas to Milwaukee in advance of the July trade deadline. As a Brewer, Moustakas hit .256/.326/.441, right in line with the .249/.309/.468 line he posted as a Royal last year. All told, Moustakas smacked 28 home runs, logged a 105 wRC+ and registered 2.4 fWAR over 635 trips to the plate.
Since his 2011 major league debut with the Royals, Moustakas has almost exclusively played third base, where he has accounted for nine runs saved and a plus-15.1 Ultimate Zone Rating. The hot corner is also the home of slugger Travis Shaw, who bumped over to second for the first time last season on the heels of the Moustakas acquisition. Now, the plan is for Moustakas to get a run at second base this spring, with the organization continuing to rely upon defensive positioning to help shoehorn both power hitters into the same unit. With those two, Jesus Aguilar at first base and Orlando Arcia at shortstop, the Brewers look to have a strong starting infield in place after falling just one win shy of reaching the World Series in 2018.
The Moustakas re-signing is the second major move for Milwaukee since last season ended. The club previously signed catcher Yasmani Grandal to a one-year contract, and with him and Moustakas in the fold for a full year, the Brewers may be serious NL contenders once again. The club finished seventh in the majors in position player fWAR last season despite receiving subpar production at second, where Shaw should take over in the wake of the Moustakas deal, and behind the plate. Of course, it’s up in the air whether the Brewers will be able to survive a second straight year without anything resembling a front-line starter, unless one of their in-house hurlers bursts on the scene.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the signing. Bob Nightengale of USA Today had the salary, while Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and Bob Nightengale of USA Today added the mutual option details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mets Sign Adeiny Hechavarria
3:54pm: Hechavarria’s contract comes with a $3MM base salary if he makes the roster — a rather large base salary for a minor league pact — per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (Twitter link). He could also earn a $1MM bonus for spending 100 days on the active roster and another $1MM for reaching 150 days on the active roster.
Feb. 18, 12:50pm: The Mets have now announced the signing.
Feb. 17: The Mets have signed infielder Adeiny Hechavarria to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
Hechavarria will have a chance to continue in New York, where he spent the last month of the 2018 season after the Yankees acquired him from the Pirates. As a member of the Yanks, Bucs and Rays in 2018, Hechavarria hit a modest .249/.279/.336 in 321 plate appearances. The subpar offensive numbers the 29-year-old Hechavarria registered were in line with his career totals, as he has only managed a .635 OPS in 3,004 PAs since debuting with the Blue Jays in 2012.
While offense has never been Hechavarria’s calling card, he has established himself as a defensive whiz. Over nearly 7,000 innings, almost all of which have come at shortstop, Hechavarria has accounted for 22 runs saved and a plus-13.1 Ultimate Zone Rating in the majors. Hechavarria’s glovework could help him earn a backup role behind Mets starting shortstop Amed Rosario, as Healey notes he has a legitimate chance to win a bench spot with the club.
Pirates, Rookie Davis Agree To Minor League Deal
1:09pm: The Pirates announced the signing.
1:02pm: The Pirates have reached an agreement to bring right-hander Rookie Davis aboard on a minor league contract, per The Athletic’s Emily Waldon (Twitter link). He’ll be in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training.
Now 25 years old, Davis was one of four players the Yankees sent to the Reds in exchange for Aroldis Chapman in the 2015-16 offseason. (None of the four are still in Cincinnati.) He made his big league debut with the Reds in 2017 but allowed 23 earned runs with a 20-to-14 K/BB ratio in 24 innings of work. Davis had hip surgery following the 2017 campaign and was limited to just 26 1/3 minor league innings with the Reds last year. Davis posted solid numbers in the minors up through Double-A before he began to struggle in Triple-A and, eventually, the Majors. He’s not likely to factor into the Pirates’ pitching plans early in the season, but he’s a relatively youthful depth addition that could emerge later in 2019 if he’s back up to full strength.
Reds, Derek Dietrich Agree To Minor League Deal
The Reds have reached an agreement on a minor league contract with free-agent infielder Derek Dietrich, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll be in Major League camp and compete for a roster spot. The contract, according to Rosenthal, has a base salary north of $2MM if Dietrich makes the big league roster. He’s represented by SportsMeter.
It registers as a somewhat of a surprise that Dietrich, who’ll play most of the upcoming season at age 29, had to settle for a non-guaranteed pact on the heels of yet another solid season at the plate. The Marlins cut him loose rather than pay a salary projected to be worth more than $4MM, but Dietrich still seemed like a candidate to land a big league deal after hitting a combined .262/.344/.428 (114 OPS+) over the past four seasons. This past season, he logged career-highs in plate appearances (551), home runs (16) and doubles (26).
While Dietrich has proven himself to be a solid bat, he’s also proven to be a defensive liability. Second base, left field and third base have been his most frequent positions at the MLB level, and he’s drawn negative ratings at each spot from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. However, the outfield corners are the only spots where Dietrich’s glove has graded out at a particularly alarming level (-23 DRS, -16 in 1120 innings). His defense at second base and third base has been sub-par but not abysmal, and he’s been worth 4.7 wins above replacement overall through the past three seasons, per Fangraphs.
Looking around the Cincinnati roster, it doesn’t appear as though there’ll be everyday at-bats for Dietrich, barring an injury in camp. Joey Votto is entrenched at first base, while Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Suarez have second base and third base, respectively, locked down. The outfield corners don’t present an avenue for regular playing time, either, as the Reds currently have Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Jesse Winker and Scott Schebler all in that mix already. Top prospect Nick Senzel is looming in Triple-A as well, and he seems likely to get a look in center field this season (though he’s a natural infielder).
Dietrich, however, can give the Reds a quality left-handed bat off the bench — one who can handle multiple spots around the diamond. Backup catcher Curt Casali and whichever of Schebler, Kemp, Puig and Winker aren’t starting on a given day will fill additional bench spots. Once Senzel arrives on the scene, that mix will only be deepened.
If Dietrich makes the Reds’ roster and proves to be an asset they’d like to retain beyond the 2019 season, they’ll have the opportunity to do so via arbitration. Dietrich has four years, 151 days of Major League service, meaning he’ll fall shy of six years of service next winter and once again be arbitration-eligible. A lot will need to break right for Dietrich between now and then, but it’s certainly plausible to think that he could parlay today’s agreement into a multi-year run with the Reds.
Giants Sign Yangervis Solarte
TODAY: The Giants announced that Solarte has passed his physical (The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly was among those to tweet the news).
FRIDAY, 9:50am: If he makes the roster, Solarte will earn $1.75MM and can make another $250K via incentives, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. That seemingly indicates that Solarte’s deal is of the minor league variety, though it could also be a non-guaranteed MLB pact that comes with a 40-man spot. The team has yet to announce the signing.
9:17am: The Giants and free-agent infielder Yangervis Solarte have agreed to terms on a contract, reports Robert Murray of The Athletic (via Twitter). The deal is pending the completion of a physical. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reported yesterday that San Francisco had interest in the versatile veteran.
Solarte, 31, had a steady run of production between the Yankees and Padres from 2014-17 before seeing his offensive output unexpectedly crater upon a move from pitcher-friendly Petco Park in San Diego to the hitter-friendly Rogers Centre in Toronto. The switch-hitter didn’t debut in the Majors until he was 26, but he quickly acclimated himself and hit a combined .267/.327/.419 with 57 homers, 99 doubles and six triples through his first 2061 plate appearances.
Last offseason, the Padres flipped Solarte and the remainder of what looked to be a club-friendly contract — he was earning $4MM in 2018 and had a pair of club options worth a combined $13.5MM for 2019-20 — to the Blue Jays in exchange for prospects Edward Olivares and Jared Carkuff. The transition back to the AL East was a rough one for Solarte, however, and his season concluded with a disappointing .226/.277/.377 batting line in 506 plate appearances. Following that showing, the Jays declined his $5.5MM option, making him a free agent.
Though the 2018 season wasn’t a good one for Solarte, there were still some positives. He remained an exceptionally difficult player to strike out, whiffing in just 14.2 percent of his plate appearances. Solarte’s line-drive rate actually increased over his more productive 2017 season and over his career mark, as well. It’d be fair to attribute some of his poor showing to a major drop in his batting average on balls in play (.233), though it should also be pointed out that his low mark in that regard isn’t as unfortunate as it seems; Solarte’s 28 infield flies tied him for the sixth-most in baseball, and popping up at that rate will naturally reduce a players BABIP. Pop-ups have been an issue at times for Solarte in his career, but never more so than last year, when he held the dubious distinction of tying Mike Moustakas for the Major League lead in infield-fly rate (19.2 percent).
All of that said, Solarte isn’t long removed from being a reasonably productive bat, and he can help the Giants by serving as a depth option at any of the four infield positions, as he has at least 264 innings at each slot. While he’s not a premium defender at any of those positions, he doesn’t rate disastrously at any of the four, either. As a low-cost bench option for a team that has seen as many recent infield injuries as the Giants, Solarte is sensible addition. And, if he’s able to bounce back to his previous levels of production, the Giants could well find themselves with a tradeable commodity on their hands this summer.
Giants Sign Gerardo Parra To Minor League Deal
TODAY: Parra has passed his physical, as per a team announcement (The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly was among those to tweet the news).
TUESDAY: The Giants have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran outfielder Gerardo Parra, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link). The Octagon client will head to Major League Spring Training in hopes of earning a spot on San Francisco’s Opening Day roster. If he can, Parra would earn a $1.75MM salary, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link), with $250K in incentives tied to plate appearances.
Parra, 31, wrapped up a three-year, $27.5MM with the division-rival Rockies in 2018 — one that did not pay the dividends the Colorado organization had hoped when signing Parra in the 2015-16 offseason. During his three years with the Rox, Parra posted a .283/.320/.407 slash that looks solid on the surface but checked in well south of the league average when adjusting for park and league. Weighted metrics such as OPS+ (82) and wRC+ (77) felt that Parra’s bat was anywhere from 18 to 23 percent worse than that of an average-hitter over that span. And last season, Parra turned in the least-powerful campaign of his 10-year Major League career (six homers, 17 doubles, no triples, .087 ISO in 443 plate appearances).
Defensively speaking, Parra has a steady track record as a quality corner glove. Though defensive metrics weren’t kind to him in his first year with Colorado, that season now looks anomalous in nature. Parra tallied +11 Defensive Runs Saved and a 10.2 Ultimate Zone Rating from 2017-18. Statcast pegged him as a roughly scratch defender in that time (+1 outs above average).
Overall, Parra is a useful defender in the outfield corners — one who has long shown solid contact skills and managed to get on base at a respectable clip, as evidenced by a career .278/.325/.405 slash. All of that offensive output has come while playing his home games in a hitter-friendly setting (Diamondbacks, Orioles, Rockies, Brewers), but with a career strikeout rate of just 17 percent, Parra undeniably has quality bat-to-ball skills that could help him to earn a spot in a currently barren Giants outfield mix.
Young Steven Duggar is returning from shoulder surgery and will hope to lay claim to regular center field duties at the newly renamed Oracle Park, but he didn’t hit especially well in his rookie debut last season. Depending on the health of his shoulder and his early production, it’s certainly possible that he’d still need some further development. Beyond Duggar are Austin Slater, Chris Shaw and the out-of-options Mac Williamson — none of whom has solidified himself as a big league regular.
Of course, the potential for a radical shift in the Giants’ outfield mix still looms large, with the team recently reported to be in the mix for Bryce Harper. Certainly, adding Parra on a non-guaranteed deal does nothing to lessen the Giants’ chances of landing Harper, though ultimately signing Harper would obviously hinder Parra’s chances of cracking the roster in San Francisco.
Padres Sign Aaron Loup
3:32pm: Loup’s deal includes a $1.2MM guarantee in 2019 with $800K in incentives, per Heyman. The 2020 option is worth $2MM and features another $800K in incentives, or the Padres could buy him out for $200K. All told, it’s a $1.4MM pact that could max out at $4.8MM.
11:41am: The Padres have announced the signing. To make room for Loup on their 40-man roster, they moved Richards to the 60-day injured list.
10:25am: The Padres are set to sign left-handed reliever Aaron Loup, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Loup, a Beverly Hills Sports Council client, will receive a one-year, major league contract with a club option for 2020, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
The Padres will be the third franchise for the side-arming Loup, who has spent nearly all of his career with the Blue Jays organization since going in the ninth round of the 2009 draft. Loup’s run with Toronto finally came to an end last July when it dealt him to Philadelphia, where he spent upward of a month on the disabled list because of a left forearm strain. The 31-year-old returned toward the end of the season, though, and combined for two frames across five late-September appearances. In all, Loup totaled 39 2/3 innings between the two teams and recorded a 4.54 ERA/3.61 FIP with 9.98 K/9, 3.18 BB/9 and a 49.2 percent groundball rate.
While Loup was unspectacular in 2018, he has generally been a solid major league reliever, particularly earlier in his career. Loup has accrued 50-plus innings three different times – including in 2017 – and posted a 3.49 ERA with a matching 3.49 FIP in 322 2/3 lifetime frames, over which he has struck out 8.34 batters per nine, walked 2.76 and generated grounders at an excellent 54.3 percent clip. Along the way, Loup has limited left-handed hitters to a weak .226/.301/.318 line, though he hasn’t been nearly as successful versus righties (.266/.340/.428).
Loup’s just the third major league signing in recent months for the Padres, who have also added second baseman Ian Kinsler and injured starter Garrett Richards on guaranteed deals since last season ended. A far bigger move could be in the offing, but regardless, Loup will join a bullpen that was among the majors’ best in 2018. He’ll also give the Padres a second capable southpaw reliever to join Jose Castillo if fellow lefties Matt Strahm and Robbie Erlin end up in starting roles.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rangers Sign Ben Revere
The Rangers have signed outfielder Ben Revere to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. The deal comes with a $1MM salary if Revere makes the majors, per Jon Heyman of Fancred.
Revere, out of work since the Angels released him last August, is coming off a year spent solely at the Triple-A level. The 30-year-old took 166 trips to the plate with the Angels’ top affiliate and hit .277/.319/.406.
Before 2018, Revere – a first-round pick of the Twins in 2007 – saw major league action in seven straight and was successful at times. With the Twins, Phillies and Blue Jays from 2010-15, the lefty-hitting speedster posted four seasons of at least 1.5 fWAR and stole between 22 and 49 bases in five campaigns. At the same time, Revere batted a solid .295 with a .328 on-base percentage across 2,660 plate appearances, though a complete lack of power (four home runs, .054 ISO, .348 slugging percentage) tamped down his offensive impact.
After his decent early career run, Revere’s production fell below replacement level from 2016-17 with the Nationals and Angels, thus keeping him out of the majors last year. The center field-capable Revere could resurface in Texas in 2019, though the team already has six outfielders on its 40-man roster (Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara, Delino DeShields, Willie Calhoun, Carlos Tocci and the injured Scott Heineman), not to mention veteran minor league signings Hunter Pence and Danny Santana vying for spots in camp.
Orioles Sign Alcides Escobar To Minor League Deal
Per a team release, the Orioles have signed shortstop Alcides Escobar to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets that Escobar will receive $700K if he cracks the big-league roster.
Escobar, 32, finally fell out of favor in Kansas City, where from 2015-18 his .251/.284/.336 (64 wRC+) line was the worst among all qualified regulars in the majors. Still, the 2015 All-Star has been remarkably durable throughout his big-league career, appearing in at least 140 games in each of the last nine seasons, and should at least offer defensive stability to a hazy Baltimore infield picture.
Escobar arrived to much fanfare in Kansas City after the 2010 trade that sent Zack Greinke to Milwaukee. He flashed his defensive chops early, posting 10 DRS and a 9.6 UZR rating in his first full season with the Royals, though his grounder-heavy bat was a harbinger of outs to come. After a slight lift-off the next season, Escobar again cratered offensively (a cringe-worthy 49 wRC+) in 2013 before leading a late-season charge to the pennant the following year. That 3.5 fWAR campaign would prove to be the shortstop’s high-water mark: discipline issues – a 4.1% career walk rate – sent the once-leadoff man to back-of-the-order rehab, from which he’d emerge only sporadically.
His long-heralded defense, too, has been anything but, according to the advanced metrics. DRS has rated Escobar below-league-average at the position in six of the last seven seasons, pegging him at a career-low -12 in 2018. UZR finally severed its sort-of attachment in 2016, but has never considered the former top 100 prospect a top-of-the-scale defender at the position.
Still, Escobar probably holds the inside track to the Oriole shortstop job in 2019. His competitors – Richie Martin, Drew Jackson, and maybe Jonathan Villar, who seems a better fit at second – haven’t much asserted themselves in recent years, and none are a sure bet to handle the rigors of the position on the regular.
Angels, Luke Bard Agree To Minors Deal
The Angels have signed reliever Luke Bard to a minor league deal, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
Bard, 28, was a Rule V selection by Los Angeles last winter; after a lukewarm April audition, in which the righty was deployed mostly in mop-up duty, Luke was shuttled back to Minnesota, with whom he spent the rest of the season in AAA.
A Trackman dandy, Bard was coveted in the Rule-5 for his super-high spin rates – his 2770 average RPM on the four-seam ranked first among MLB hurlers with at least 100 fastballs thrown last season – and newfound ability to miss bats. In five minor league seasons before 2016, the Georgia Tech-product didn’t post a K-rate north of 8.08 per nine; since, he’s hovered around twelve, though the transition from heavy sink to top-of-the-zone heat has left him susceptible to the occasional gopher ball.
The organizational favorite would figure to be in the mix at the front end of the team’s pen, where he’ll curl neatly behind a number of similar-archetype low-budget finds.