Athletics Sign Chris Herrmann
5:30pm: Oakland has announced the signing.
3:56pm: The Athletics have agreed to sign catcher Chris Herrmann, according to veteran reporter Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). It’s a one-year pact, per MLB.com’s Jane Lee (via Twitter), and is worth $1MM plus incentives, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.
Herrmann’s tour of the AL West continues. He played well last year for the Mariners and spent a brief stretch on the Astros’ 40-man roster earlier this winter before being non-tendered. He had projected to earn a $1.5MM salary, which was obviously a bit north of what the Houston organization was ultimately willing to commit after it had a chance to survey the market fully.
The A’s will presumably utilize Herrmann mostly behind the dish, though he has also spent a fair bit of time in the outfield and at first base. That’s handy to have around, at least when he’s hitting enough to warrant time in those positions. At a minimum, it increases a team’s roster flexibility.
Herrmann, who just turned 31, has never been a consistent offensive producer. He has had productive stretches in two of the past three seasons, but scuffled to a .181/.273/.345 slash in 256 plate appearances in 2017 — his most extensive action in the majors. Still, it’s hard not to like some of the tools. Herrmann has some swing and miss to his game, but he knows how to draw a walk and has pop in addition to grading well on the bases.
Rangers Acquire Patrick Wisdom From Cardinals For Drew Robinson, Add Brandon McCarthy To Front Office
The Rangers have acquired third baseman Patrick Wisdom from the Cardinals for infielder/outfielder Drew Robinson, according to an announcement from Texas. Additionally, the Rangers have hired former major league right-hander Brandon McCarthy as special assistant to general manager Jon Daniels.
Wisdom, 27, was a first-round pick of the Cardinals in 2012, though he didn’t reach the majors until last season. He impressed over a small sample of work, hitting .260/.362/.520 with four home runs in 58 plate appearances. In Texas, the former well-regarded prospect may have an opportunity to receive quite a bit of work at third base, as the club lost Adrian Beltre to retirement and may trade Jurickson Profar this offseason. Playing time would have continued to be hard for Wisdom to come by in St. Louis, which boasts Matt Carpenter as its starting third baseman and has quality depth in the form of Jedd Gyorko (if he’s not dealt), Yairo Munoz and now Robinson.
The 26-year-old Robinson will give the Cardinals the lefty-hitting utility player they’d been seeking, having garnered big league experience at second, third, shortstop and all three outfield positions. Robinson hasn’t hit much, however, with a .204/.301/.366 slash and nine HRs in 246 trips to the plate. He did rake at the Triple-A level last season, though.
As for McCarthy, he’s shifting to a front office position immediately after the end of his playing career and returning to the Rangers, with whom he pitched from 2007-09. The 35-year-old spent the final season of his career with the Braves, his seventh team in a big league tenure that was productive but marred by injuries. McCarthy was someone who embraced analytics throughout his pitching career, helping make him a logical choice for a front office role in his post-playing days.
Nationals Sign Patrick Corbin
Dec. 11: Corbin’s deal includes a $2.5MM signing bonus, per Heyman, and the following yearly salaries: $12.5MM in 2019, $19MM in 2020, $24MM in 2021, $23MM in 2022, $24MM in 2023 and $35MM in 2024.
Dec. 7: The Nationals have formally announced the signing of Corbin to a six-year contract.
“As the top free agent pitcher on the market this offseason, we targeted Patrick from the onset,” said general manager Mike Rizzo in a statement within the press release. “He was one of the top pitchers in the National League in 2018 and at 29 years old, we believe the best is yet to come. We are thrilled to bring him into our organization.”
Dec. 6: Just $10MM of salary is deferred, per Jayson Stark of The Athletic (via Twitter). It’ll be due in a period from November of 2024 through January of 2026, so ultimately it’s only a small portion of the contract that won’t be kicked very far down the road.
Dec. 4: The Nationals have agreed to a deal with veteran lefty Patrick Corbin, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Corbin, a client of ISE Baseball, has landed a $140MM guarantee over a six-year term, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets.
Deferrals will reduce the true, present-day value of the deal, but it’s still a huge sum. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the deferrals will be relatively minor, though details aren’t yet known. There will not be an opt-out opportunity in the deal, Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com tweets. That’s one area in which the Nats will avoid giving further value. (As MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz has explained, those increasingly common clauses convey sometimes-significant value to players.) There’s no word yet as to whether Corbin will obtain any no-trade protection.
It turns out that Corbin will not only top the $126MM guarantee achieved last winter by Yu Darvish,but will do so handily. Entering the winter, MLBTR predicted that Corbin would beat Darvish slightly, grading him as the top arm on the market. That seemed an aggressive prediction at the time, with many other outlets suggesting Corbin would earn less, but his market took off from the outset with several large-market clubs driving the bidding.
The Nats ultimately topped the Yankees (who entered as the perceived favorite) and division-rival Phillies to get a deal done. It long seemed a match with the New York club made the most sense, due not only to need and spending power but also to Corbin’s well-known roots in New York. It turns out the Yanks were unwilling to move past a $100MM offer on a five-year term, per Billy Witz of the New York Times (via Twitter). The Phillies also were stuck on five years, per Heyman (Twitter link).
Corbin’s decision to head to D.C. represents the first major move of this winter’s free agent market. He’ll join Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg to make up an imposing trio atop the Nats’ rotation — a unit that still could be supplemented with another addition. All three will be playing on nine-figure deals, representing a remarkable overall commitment to maintaining a top-level pitching staff.
This is the most significant acquisition yet for the Nats, but hardly the first. Previously, the Nationals lined up a new catching duo (Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki) and added a pair of relievers (Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough). Clearly, the organization is fully committed to a run at a return to glory in 2019 and beyond. The same can be said of much of the rest of the division, setting the stage for a fascinating remaining winter of dealmaking (to say nothing of the season to come).
Because he declined a qualifying offer from the Diamondbacks, Corbin’s signing will trigger some draft pick implications. The Nats will cough up a second-round pick and a fifth-rounder as well, as they were one of two teams that paid the competitive balance tax in 2018. The D-Backs will add a sandwich round pick (after the conclusion of the first round).
It’s a big price for the Nats to pay, but they obviously felt it was worth it to add a 29-year-old pitcher who took major new strides in 2018. Corbin threw exactly 200 frames for the Snakes, working to a 3.15 ERA and — more importantly — looking every bit an ace in doing so. He ended the season with 11.1 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and a 48.5% ground-ball rate, leaving ERA estimators gawking (2.47 FIP, 2.61 xFIP, 2.91 SIERA). Notably, Corbin’s eye-popping 15.6% swinging-strike rate was orders of magnitude superior to his prior personal-best (11.0% in the season prior) and ranked as the second-highest of any qualified starting pitcher in the Majors. That occurred even as his average fastball dipped below 92 mph for the first time since he established himself as a full-time MLB starter.
Beyond questions of the sustainability of Corbin’s performance, many will wonder whether this contract brings too much health risk. The southpaw missed all of the 2014 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, after all. Of course, the Nats have not shied away from TJ patients in the past, and Corbin has otherwise mostly been a rather durable hurler by today’s standards. He topped two hundred frames in 2013 and slung 189 2/3 in the 2017 campaign. Plus, the still-youthful hurler has a deeper potential advantage for longevity: he did not push his arm on the youth baseball circuit and did not even join the baseball team in high school until he was a junior.
The addition of Corbin at such a lofty rate will leave many to wonder whether the Nationals have moved on from Bryce Harper. The addition of Corbin’s $23.33MM annual salary will bring the Nationals’ luxury tax ledger to a bit more than $188MM for the 2019 season — about $17.9MM south of the luxury tax line. Obviously, adding Harper to the fold would tax the Nationals well north of the $206MM luxury line, but the Nationals demonstrated last year that they were comfortable crossing that threshold.
Beyond that, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has suggested that the Nats payroll could support both an extension for Anthony Rendon and a new contract for Harper. While it’s possible that the addition of Corbin could make it difficult to ultimately sign both Rendon and Harper long-term, Rizzo’s prior comments at the very least lend credence to the notion that both Corbin and Harper could coexist on an increasingly large payroll. Furthermore, as Janes tweets, the Nats’ front office knows that in order to retain Harper, ownership will need to make an “unprecedented commitment” and looks to be building up the roster while leaving a decision on Harper in the hands of the Lerner family.
Now that the dust has cleared, Corbin has ended up topping some notable recent price points. In addition to beating the Darvish deal, he’ll receive more total money than Johnny Cueto ($130MM), though that contract included an early opt-out chance, as well as Jordan Zimmermann ($110MM). The contract will still fall comfortably shy of Jon Lester‘s somewhat front-loaded, $155MM pact with the Cubs in December of 2014.
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Blue Jays Release Troy Tulowitzki
The Blue Jays announced today that they have released veteran shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The Toronto organization will remain obligated to pay him the remaining $38MM in guaranteed money on his contract (including a buyout of a 2021 option).
Tulowitzki, 34, missed all of the 2018 season due to bone spurs in both heels. He had been sidelined for a long stretch of 2017 as well, all while enduring an offensive decline, making for quite an uncertain future for the former superstar.
Still, it’s surprising that the Jays ended up moving on in this fashion. With two more guaranteed seasons on his contract, Tulowitzki could have been given a shot to work back to health and perhaps build up some trade value. Evidently that was not seen as a workable solution by the organization, which is transitioning to what it hopes will be a new core.
Teams that wish to take a shot on a rebound can now employ Tulowitzki for the league minimum salary for the next two campaigns, with the Jays footing the remainder of the bill. He’ll surely be guided by the chance at playing time, among other considerations, though even with that appealing contract situation it remains to be seen whether any MLB clubs will consider Tulo a reasonable candidate for semi-regular time (and, if so, whether he’ll still be seen as a shortstop).
White Sox Acquire Ivan Nova
12:58am: Young hurler Yordi Rosario and $500K in international spending capacity are going to the Bucs, Heyman tweets. The deal has now been announced.
12:10pm: The Pirates will receive a “young pitcher” and an unstated amount of international bonus pool availability, per Jon Heyman of Fanced (via Twitter).
10:55am: The White Sox have struck a deal with the Pirates to acquire righty Ivan Nova, according to Ken Rosenthal and Robert Murray of The Athletic (via Twitter). The return is not yet known; the deal will not be finalized until the teams have completed a review of medicals.
At first glance, this is quite an interesting swap owing to its potential downstream ramifications. Moving Nova will clear $8.5MM of payroll for the Bucs, who could put those funds to use in pursuing other players. The White Sox, meanwhile, have continued to make good on their stated intention to bolster their MLB roster in the near term.
Nova, who’ll turn 32 early next year, has been a sturdy rotation piece since landing in Pittsburgh at the 2016 trade deadline. He re-signed with the club in the ensuing winter on a three-year deal that expires at the end of the 2019 campaign.
Over the past two campaigns, Nova carries a 4.16 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 over 348 frames. He’s not generating as many grounders as he once did, but still has drawn worm burners on over 45% of the balls put in play against him. Meanwhile, Nova has been hurt by the long ball, allowing more than 1.4 per nine since the start of 2017.
It’s not a terribly exciting profile, but it’s one with value. Nova is still working in the 93 to 94 mph range with his pair of fastballs, while his swinging-strike rate has sat above eight percent — right in line with his career average. There’s good reason to anticipate that he’ll mostly be the same pitcher in 2019.
For the Chicago organization, adding Nova will help bolster a staff that has bid adieu to veteran James Shields. The club could certainly stand to add more arms, though it’ll also continue to decade at least two or three spots to its preexisting rotation options. Previously, the South Siders added veteran reliever Alex Colome to anchor the bullpen.
Interesting as it will be to see what else the White Sox do the rest of the way, the Pirates are now a potentially intriguing wild card on the market. Having dealt for Chris Archer and Keone Kela over the summer, the Bucs certainly seem positioned to add more pieces. After today’s trade, they’ll have more free payroll space to work with than they did at the outset of the offseason, even after having already signed Jung Ho Kang and Lonnie Chisenhall. Of course, moving Nova also leaves the Pittsburgh rotation with one less reliable arm. The organization could fill the opening from within (with Nick Kingham and eventually top prospect Mitch Keller) and/or pursue cheaper depth pieces via free agency.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Marlins Outright Yadiel Rivera, Brett Graves
The Marlins have outrighted infielder Yadiel Rivera and righty Brett Graves, according to Wells Dusenbury of the Sun-Sentinel (via Twitter). That creates two 40-man roster openings in advance of the Rule 5 draft.
Rivera, 26, got his first extended look at the MLB level last year, but managed only a .173/.269/.216 batting line in 160 plate appearances. Graves, meanwhile, received his first major-league stint with the Fish in 2018. He threw 33 1/3 innings of 5.40 ERA ball with 5.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/10/18
Rounding up the latest minor league deals….
- The Mariners have signed catcher Jose Lobaton to a minor league deal, as per the Mariners Minors Twitter feed. Lobaton will earn $1MM if he makes Seattle’s big league roster, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo adds, and the catcher will invited to the team’s Major League spring camp. Lobaton amassed 57 PA over 22 games with the Mets last season, his lowest total in either category since 2011. The 34-year-old veteran will head into camp to compete with David Freitas for the backup job behind newly-acquired Omar Narvaez.
- The White Sox have signed infielder Ryan Goins to a minor league contract, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The deal contains an invitation to Chicago’s big league Spring Training camp, and Goins will earn at least $975K in guaranteed money if he reaches the majors. Goins has never hit much over six years with the Blue Jays and Royals, though he has flashed an excellent shortstop glove in the past and offers depth at short, second base, and third base.
- The Reds have re-signed outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson and catcher Juan Graterol to minor league deals, and also inked shortstop Christian Colon to a minors pact, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale reports (Twitter link). Patterson and Graterol are back with the organization after being non-tendered last week. Colon was the fourth overall pick of the 2010 draft but hasn’t turned that potential into Major League production, with just a .252/.315/.315 slash line over 386 PA with the Royals and Marlins from 2014-17, though he did earn a World Series ring for his postseason role with the 2015 Royals. He spent 2018 in the Braves and Mets organizations at the Triple-A level, and Colon does have a decent career slash line (.289/.358/.397) over 1833 career Triple-A plate appearances.
Tigers Sign Tyson Ross
6:08PM: The Tigers have officially announced the signing.
2:58PM: The Tigers have struck a deal with free agent righty Tyson Ross, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s a $5.75MM guarantee over a single season, with a readily achievable roster bonus that would add another $250K, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
Ross, 31, finally got back on track last year after a pair of injury marred campaigns. He ended up throwing 149 2/3 innings of 4.15 ERA ball, with 7.3 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 along with a 45.9% groundball rate.
Clearly, that’s not quite a vintage Ross showing. He was a 3.07 ERA hurler over a 516 2/3 inning run from 2013 to 2015. For a pitcher who once steadily worked in the mid-nineties, it’s hardly promising to see a career-low 91.7 mph average fastball. And he was far shy of his peak strikeout and groundball rates.
All that being said, it’s still rather impressive that Ross was able to turn in a full season after shoulder issues and eventual thoracic outlet procedure sidetracked his career. His prior effort, in 2017 with the Rangers, had fallen notably flat as he struggled to stay in the zone.
For Detroit, Ross will join the recently inked Matt Moore to help fill out the rotation and perhaps provide the club with a summer trade chip. That approach yielded dividends this past season with Mike Fiers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mariners Claim Kaleb Cowart
The Mariners have claimed infielder Kaleb Cowart off waivers from the Angels. Notably, the Seattle club referred to Cowart as an infielder and right-handed pitcher in its announcement. He’ll “come to Spring Training as a two-way player,” per the M’s.
Cowart has never taken the hill as a professional. But he was an accomplished high-school pitcher, a fact with which Mariners GM (and former Angels GM) Jerry Dipoto is obviously familiar.
Since he was taken with the 18th overall pick of the 2010 draft, Cowart has generally fallen shy of hopes. He’s only a .177/.241/.293 hitter through 380 plate appearances. That said, Cowart has shown somewhat more promise at the Triple-A level, where he carries a .298/.361/.469 batting line in 1,402 trips to the plate over the past four campaigns.
Rangers Claim Carlos Asuaje
The Rangers have claimed infielder Carlos Asuaje off waivers from the Padres, per a club announcement. The San Diego club had designated Asuaje for assignment recently.
It’s unclear just how Asuaje will fit into the Texas roster mix. He’s mostly a second baseman by trade, a position that ought to be filled regularly by Rougned Odor. Asuaje has also seen some time in the minors at third base, though Jurickson Profar presently profiles as the everyday piece there. All of these players hit from the left side, though Profar is also a switch-hitter, and have historically performed much better against right-handed pitching.