Hyun-Jin Ryu To Accept Dodgers’ Qualifying Offer
3:04pm: Ryu will indeed accept the qualifying offer, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.
12:01pm: Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu is “most likely” going to accept the one-year, $17.9MM qualifying offer issued to him by the Dodgers, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link) hears from a source, though nothing has been finalized as of yet. The seven free agents who have qualifying offers pending have until 4pm CT today to accept or decline the one-year contracts.
Of those seven names, Ryu was the only one who seemed like a realistic candidate to accept the QO, given his significant injury history. Separate surgeries on Ryu’s shoulder and elbow cost him all of the 2015 season and limited him to just a single game in 2016, and a torn groin sidelined Ryu for almost three months of the 2018 campaign. The southpaw also had DL stints for more minor hip and foot issues in 2017.
These health concerns surely would’ve impacted Ryu’s stock on the free agent market, plus rejecting the qualifying offer would’ve meant that Ryu’s next team would’ve had to surrender draft picks and potentially international signing pool funds in order to sign him. The QO, Ryu’s health history, and his age (he turns 32 in March) all factored into a relatively modest placement for the left-hander on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list — Ryu was ranked 20th, with a projected three-year, $33MM contract (from the Dodgers).
If he does end up accepting the qualifying offer, Ryu would lock in a big payday for 2019 that is worth more than half of that $33MM projection. The $17.9MM salary, in fact, would represent just under half of Ryu’s entire Major League earnings to this point, as he originally signed a six-year, $36MM contract with Los Angeles for over the 2013-18 seasons. He’ll get another opportunity to prove that he can remain healthy over a full season, while doing so in a familiar environment of Dodger Stadium and playing for a contending team. Ryu is also ineligible to ever receive another qualifying offer in any future trips into the free agent market, and thus wouldn’t have any further draft pick/international money compensation attached to his services.
From the Dodgers’ perspective, committing $17.9MM to an oft-injured starter is something of a risk, considering that the team already has several rotation options in Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Rich Hill, Ross Stripling, Kenta Maeda, and Alex Wood (not to mention youngsters like Brock Stewart or Caleb Ferguson). Starting pitching depth has been a centerpiece of the Dodgers’ success, however, as the team has dealt with injuries to virtually all of its starters over the last few years. Even in the unlikely event that all of these arms stay healthy, the Dodgers could still deploy the excess pitchers in the bullpen — Wood, Stripling, and Maeda all spent time as relievers down the stretch last season.
Furthermore, Ryu pitched so well in 2018 that the Dodgers felt a one-year, $17.9MM investment was worth seeing if the lefty could stay healthy and duplicate his performance. Ryu posted a 1.97 ERA, 5.93 K/BB rate, and 9.7 K/9 over 82 1/3 innings last season, with a 90.2 mph average fastball that was in line with his pre-surgery velocity. There also wasn’t much batted-ball luck baked into Ryu’s numbers, as his wOBA and xwOBA were a perfect match (.268).
Ryu would become the sixth free agent to ever accept a qualifying offer, of the 80 who have been issued the one-year deals since the QO system was introduced for the 2012-13 offseason. Ryu’s situation bears a lot of similarities to that of Brett Anderson, whose own lengthy injury history also factored into his decision to accept a qualifying offer from the Dodgers following the 2015 season rather than test free agency.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/12/18
The latest minor league transactions from around baseball…
- The Brewers announced (Twitter link) the signing of left-hander Angel Perdomo to a minor league deal with an invitation to their big league Spring Training camp. Baseball America ranked Perdomo as the 18th-best prospect in the Blue Jays’ minor league system prior to the 2017 season, though the southpaw hit something of a wall in high-A ball, spending the last two seasons at the level and posting a modest 3.67 ERA, 2.12 K/BB rate, and 9.6 K/9 over 154 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old Perdomo did miss time to injuries in each of the last two years, however, so better health and a fresh start in Milwaukee’s organization could get his career back on track.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/11/18
Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rockies have agreed to a minor league contract with catcher Brett Nicholas, per Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The 30-year-old Nicholas spent all of last season at the Triple-A level with the Padres, who acquired him from the Rangers in April, and slashed .291/.353/.485 with 16 home runs in 456 plate appearances. Prior to last year, Nicholas had been with Texas his entire pro career, which began when the organization selected him in the sixth round of the 2010 draft. He ultimately amassed 110 major league PAs as a member of the Rangers (45 in 2016, 65 in ’17), with whom he hit a respectable .252/.300/.456.
Joe Mauer Announces Retirement
Joe Mauer will officially retire from Major League Baseball, as La Velle E. Neal III and Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune report. Mauer’s future was in doubt throughout the 2018 season, but he has ultimately chosen to call it a career after 15 major league seasons, all of them spent with the Twins.
Born in Minnesota and attending high school in St. Paul, Mauer seemed destined to be chosen first overall by the Twins in the 2001 draft, and endeared himself to fans in Minnesota and beyond throughout his career. After honoring the final year of an eight-year, $184MM contract signed with the club, it seems fitting that Mauer retires with the team that drafted him, playing out the entirety of his career with one organization. Mauer has taken out a full-page newspaper ad to share a heartfelt letter with Twins fans announcing his decision.
Though it was unknown at the time whether he would return for another season, Mauer’s final game at Target Field was a magical one. Starting the game at first base, Mauer took the field alone as he was greeted by his two daughters. In what would turn out to be his final at-bat, Mauer hit a double–sliced into left-center field–that seemed emblematic of his signature hitting style. Then, one final time, Mauer put on his catcher’s gear for the first time in more than five years and received one pitch from Matt Belisle before exiting the game to a rousing ovation from the Minnesota faithful.
Spending the first 10 years of his career behind the plate, Mauer was forced to move to first base after battling concussions. In those seasons, though, Mauer distinguished himself as one the most prolific offensive catchers in recent memory. In 2006, Mauer became the first full-time catcher to win an American League batting title, and his three career batting titles are the most all-time among catchers. Named the American League MVP in 2009, Mauer joined the likes of Thurman Munson, Johnny Bench, and Ivan Rodriguez as one of a few backstops to earn that distinction.
In his career, Mauer appeared in 1,858 games, tallying 2,123 hits and 143 home runs, and posting a slash line of .306/.388/.439, his 55.1 WAR good for third-most in Twins franchise history. Mauer walks away from the game as an interesting case for the Hall of Fame. In his time as a catcher, Mauer posted dominant numbers, especially over a five-year span between 2006 and 2010. His peak alone places him in the company of the game’s all-time great catchers; his career WAR ranks seventh-most among catchers. And while Mauer has generally posted above-average numbers as a first baseman, the injury-prompted transition certainly hurts his case.
Regardless of the outcome of his Hall of Fame candidacy, Mauer’s career is one to look back on fondly. He was universally well-regarded by fans, teammates, coaches, and the media, garnering a reputation as a consummate professional. As expressed in his letter, Mauer plans to use his departure from baseball to spend more time with his family. We at MLBTR congratulate him on a marvelous career and wish him well in his future endeavors.
Mariners To Sign Dylan Moore
The Mariners have reached agreement on a deal with free agent infielder Dylan Moore, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). It’s a big-league contract for the 26-year-old, a client of Rep 1, though the financial component is not yet known.
Moore will receive a 40-man spot after reaching minor-league free agency. That’s a relatively unusual, but hardly unprecedented outcome. The former seventh-round pick landed with the Brewers organization last season after the Braves let him go. He had originally landed in Atlanta as part of the 2016 Jeff Francoeur swap.
Though he has yet to receive a chance at the majors, Moore has at times turned in intriguing numbers in the minors. He thrived in particular at the upper reaches of the Milwaukee farm in 2018, turning in a composite .299/.363/.522 slash with 14 home runs through 454 plate appearances (most of which came at Triple-A).
Moore has experience all over the field, including plenty of time at shortstop, so he could offer quite a bit of defensive versatility. Of course, he’ll first need to impress the Seattle brass and earn an opportunity, but he’ll now be firmly in the mix since he’s already on the 40-man roster.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/9/18
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league — all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…
- The Yankees re-signed infielder Gio Urshela to a minor league contract. The 27-year-old was traded from the Jays to the Yankees in early August and never appeared with New York in the Majors. Urshela is regarded as a quality defender at third base but has yet to deliver much in the way of offense at the big league level. In parts of three seasons with Toronto and Cleveland, he’s a .225/.274/.315 hitter (499 plate appearances). He’s a lifetime .274/.315/.411 hitter in Triple-A, however, and will give the Yanks some defensive-minded depth at the hot corner.
- Former No. 2 overall pick Danny Hultzen has re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league pact. The left-hander spent the 2018 season in the Cubs organization but threw fewer than 10 innings in the minors as he worked back from major shoulder injuries that have utterly derailed what once looked to be a promising career. Hultzen will turn 29 later this month and has never thrown a pitch in a Major League game but will continue his latest comeback attempt and aim to break that barrier in the 2019 campaign. Those interested in learning more about the former Virginia standout are recommended to check out Hultzen’s interview with the Washington Post’s Dillon Mullan from Aug. 2017.
- Right-handed reliever Evan Marshall has latched on with the White Sox on a minors deal. The 28-year-old has worked his way back from a near-fatal blow to the head from a comebacker line drive while pitching for the D-backs’ Triple-A club several years ago and has had brief MLB stints with the Mariners and Indians in each of the past two seasons. Marshall is still trying to rediscover the form he showed as a 24-year-old rookie in 2014, when he pitched to a 2.74 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 through 49 1/3 innings in Arizona. He did post a ridiculous 1.08 ERA with a 23-to-3 K/BB ratio in 24 minor league frames with the Indians last year, but he was tagged for six runs in seven MLB innings.
- The Mariners re-signed righty Ryan Garton to a minor league contract. The 28-year-old racked up 61 1/3 big league innings between the Rays and Mariners in 2016-17 but didn’t crack the big leagues with Seattle in 2018. He turned in a 3.16 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings for Triple-A Tacoma but also issued a hefty 24 walks (5.1 BB/9) in that time as well.
Tigers Re-Sign Pete Kozma, Harold Castro
The Tigers announced that they’ve signed 12 players to minor league contracts (full list here), including veteran shortstop Pete Kozma and infielder Harold Castro — each of whom was outrighted off the 40-man roster and became a free agent two weeks ago. That pair will be invited to Major League Spring Training, as will former Astros right-hander Jose Cisnero.
Kozma, a former Cardinals shortstop, had two stints with the Tigers this season but hit just .217/.236/.348 in 73 trips to the plate. His Triple-A stats weren’t an improvement (.203/.260/.295), though the defensive specialist has always been primarily known for his glovework. He’s still just 30 years of age and won’t turn 31 until after Opening Day next April.
Castro will turn 25 at the end of the month and made a very brief MLB debut this past season, going 3-for-10 in limited action as a September call-up. He once ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects, per Baseball America, but that was back in 2014, and he’s done little at the plate in recent seasons. He split the 2018 season between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .265/.283/.319 in 367 plate appearances.
Cisnero is exactly one year younger than Kozma and hasn’t appeared in the Majors since the 2014 season with Houston. He broke into the Majors as a 24-year-old in 2013 and showed a bit of promise, pitching to a 4.12 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and 1.03 HR/9 in 43 2/3 innings as a rookie. Elbow issues torched his 2014 season, though, and he’s only pitched 5 1/3 innings of affiliated ball since that season ended. He’s pitched exclusively in the Mexican League and in Winter Ball since that time — also all in limited fashion. He’s off to a strong start in the 2018-19 Dominican Winter League, having yielded three earned runs on four hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts through 10 1/3 innings of relief.
Yankees To Sign Ryan Lavarnway
The Yankees have agreed to a minors pact with backstop Ryan Lavarnway, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter). Further details are not yet known.
Lavarnway, 31, has seen action in seven MLB campaigns — including four with the division-rival Red Sox. Since his tenure in Boston wrapped up in disappointing fashion, the one-time top prospect has functioned as a journeyman depth piece.
That may not have been what was once hoped for, but Lavarnway has remained in demand from organizations that want a steady presence on hand in the upper minors. He only saw brief MLB action last year with the Pirates, but turned in a strong offensive season (.288/.375/.485 in 303 plate appearances) for their top affiliate.
Rays, Mariners Swap Mallex Smith, Mike Zunino In Five-Player Trade
The Mariners and Rays both crossed off an item on their offseason checklist Thursday, officially announcing a five-player trade that will send catcher Mike Zunino, outfielder Guillermo Heredia and minor league lefty Michael Plassmeyer from Seattle to Tampa in exchange for center fielder Mallex Smith and minor league outfielder Jake Fraley.
[Related: Seattle Mariners depth chart and payroll outlook | Tampa Bay Rays depth chart and payroll outlook]
“Bringing Mallex back home to Seattle is exciting for us all,” said GM Jerry Dipoto in a tongue-in-cheek statement — a nod to having briefly acquired Smith in a previous trade. “His combination of speed, base running impact, defense and on-base abilities are unique in today’s game. We believe his breakout 2018 performance reflects the many ways his skills will positively impact the Mariners for years to come. Jake Fraley exhibits a similarly exciting set of athletic and baseball skills. His offensive game blossomed in 2018 and creates an exciting profile when coupled with his exceptional defense and overall instincts. Both players fit our desire to build a younger, more athletic and exciting roster.”
Unsurprisingly, the first significant swap of the 2018-19 offseason involves the ever-active Dipoto. As recently as Tuesday, the Seattle GM spoke of a desire to “re-imagine” the Mariners’ roster while striving to remain competitive. Specifically, he indicated to MLB.com’s Greg Johns that adding a center fielder would be a priority. Adding Smith not only achieves that goal early in the offseason but simultaneously lowers the club’s lofty payroll a bit; Zunino is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4.2MM through arbitration this winter, while Smith is not yet arbitration-eligible after narrowly missing Super Two status and is controlled through the 2022 campaign.
This marks the second time in the past two years that Dipoto has acquired Smith, although the speedster’s original Mariners tenure was measured in minutes. Dipoto acquired Smith from the Braves in a deal that sent Luiz Gohara to Atlanta and promptly flipped Smith to Tampa Bay in order to acquire two years of Drew Smyly‘s services. Unfortunately, Smyly injured his arm that Spring and ultimately required Tommy John surgery before ever throwing a regular-season pitch for the Mariners.
This time around, Smith’s acquisition seems to carry more permanence. He’s fresh off a season in which he hit .296/.367/.406 with a pair of homers, 27 doubles, an AL-leading 10 triples and a hefty 40 stolen bases. The 25-year-old Smith saw action at all three outfield positions with the Rays and delivered above-average ratings, but he’ll almost certainly slot in as the primary center fielder for manager Scott Servais in Seattle. He’ll give the Mariners a significant defensive upgrade over Dee Gordon, who admirably attempted to try his hand at a new position last season but graded out as one of the most ineffective defensive center fielders in the game. Gordon now appears likely to return to second base, if he isn’t traded himself, with Robinson Cano perhaps shifting to designated hitter and rotating between second base, first base and third base.
For the Rays, the addition of Zunino gives them a catcher with light-tower power and premium defensive skills. However, Zunino pairs those highly desirable traits with enormous strikeout tendencies and questionable on-base skills. He’s coming off a season in which he hit just .201/.251/.406 with 20 homers, but he’s also only a season removed from a vastly superior .251/.339/.509 output and a career-high 25 homers. Over the past three seasons, Zunino is a .223/.300/.462 hitter with with 57 home runs in 1032 plate appearances. The average and OBP might not jump out, but when adjusting for the Mariners’ pitcher-friendly home park, that level of production rates at about seven percent better than the league-average hitter and nearly 20 percent better than that of a league-average catcher (by measure of OPS and wRC+).
Defensively, Zunino threw out a career-best 35 percent of would-be base thieves in 2018, and he perennially ranks among the league’s best in terms of pitch framing. He’s received well above-average marks in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average for catchers in each of his Major League seasons, and he’s controllable for the next two seasons. If the Rays feel they can curb Zunino’s alarming 34.2 percent career strikeout rate, perhaps they believe there’s some yet-untapped upside in the 27-year-old. If not, he’ll nonetheless give them a strong throwing/framing backstop with more power than just about any catcher in the game.
Acquiring Zunino pushes Michael Perez, acquired in this summer’s Matt Andriese trade with the Diamondbacks, from a starting role to a backup job. The 26-year-old Perez impressed in his brief big league promotion in ’18, hitting .284/304/.392 with a homer and five doubles while halting five of 17 stolen-base attempts against him (29 percent). Perez has received quality defensive ratings of his own throughout his minor league tenure, so this pairing gives Tampa Bay a couple of solid to plus defenders behind the plate — a likely point of emphasis for lead baseball ops duo Erik Neander and Chaim Bloom as they engage in experimental tactics with their pitching staff.
As for Heredia, he’s not entirely dissimilar from Smith in that he’s a fleet-footed outfielder with minimal power who is capable of handling all three outfield positions. He’s not likely to crack a crowded Rays mix that could feature Tommy Pham, Kevin Kiermaier and Austin Meadows as starters in the outfield. However, he could also give the Tampa Bay organization a nice bench option or upper-minors depth piece, as he does have multiple minor league options remaining.
Heredia, 28 in January, hit .236/.318/.342 with the Mariners in 337 plate appearances last season — numbers that fall right in line with his career .244/.321/.336 output in 870 PAs. Unlike Smith, he’s garnered poor defensive ratings in center field, though he grades out above-average in the outfield corners.
Plassmeyer, 22, was the Mariners’ fourth-round pick just five months ago in the 2018 draft, which aligns with Dipoto’s willingness to deal from his most recent draft classes. He traded catcher David Banuelos, his 2017 fifth-rounder, to the Twins last December and also flipped 2017 fourth-rounder Seth Elledge to the Cardinals this past summer. Plassmeyer, Mizzou product, posted a ridiculous 44-to-4 K/BB ratio through 24 innings in Short-Season Class-A ball this summer.
Fraley, 23, was Tampa Bay’s second-round pick in 2016 and is coming off a monstrous .347/.415/.547 showing in 2018, but those gaudy numbers came in 260 PAs against younger competition at Class-A Advanced.
While the addition of Smith fills one vacancy for the Mariners, it also creates another. Light-hitting journeyman David Freitas now sits atop the team’s depth chart behind the plate, so adding some catching options either via free agency or (more likely given Dipoto’s tendencies) via the trade market now figures to become an imperative in the months to come. As for the Rays, they’re dealing from a position of strength and also adding some additional depth by picking up Heredia, so this trade merely checks one item off a length to-do list early in the winter, thus freeing the Tampa Bay front offices to turn its focus to other areas of need (namely, the pitching staff).
Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported that the two sides were close to a deal involving Zunino, Smith and Heredia. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweeted that an agreement was in place, while Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Greg Johns of MLB.com added some context on the return (Twitter links) before the inclusion of Plassmeyer and Fraley was also reported by Divish.
Pirates Re-Sign Jung Ho Kang
10:33am: Kang will earn a $3MM guarantee on the contract and can take home another $2.5MM via performance bonuses, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
8:21am: The Pirates announced that they’ve signed third baseman Jung Ho Kang to a one-year, Major League contract for the 2019 season. Kang, who is now repped by Wasserman, returned to the Pirates organization in 2018 after missing the 2017 campaign and much of the 2018 campaign due to visa issues stemming from his third DUI arrest in his native South Korea. The Pirates paid a $250K buyout on Kang’s $5.5MM club option after the season, but he’ll now return to the club at what should be a reduced rate.
Kang, 32 in April, largely delivered on the hype that followed him to the United States in his first two seasons in Pittsburgh. The former Nexen Heroes superstar posted a .273/.355/.483 with 36 homers, 43 doubles and two triples through 229 games in his first two seasons with the Pittsburgh organization, giving the Buccos plenty of production in return for a relatively modest $16MM investment ($5MM posting fee and a four-year, $11MM contract).
However, Kang played in only three MLB games this past season and was released by his Dominican Winter League after significant struggles in the preceding offseason, so it’s not clear just how well he’ll be able to re-acclimate to big league pitching. He may have gotten a lengthier look had he not required wrist surgery in August, but that health issue only adds to the question marks surrounding him.
Kang will give the Pirates a potential platoon partner for Colin Moran at third base, though he also has MLB experience at shortstop, which is a bit unsettled in Pittsburgh at the moment. Prospect Kevin Newman got his feet wet in the season’s second half and is the top internal option now that Jordy Mercer has become a free agent. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Bill Brink tweets, though, GM Neal Huntington indicated at the end of the season that Kang may be strictly viewed as a third base option at this point (Twitter link): “He’s more of a third baseman than even a once-a-week shortstop, and his comfort is definitely third base now, that he’s shared with us.”
Kang’s DUI conviction wasn’t his only legal trouble; he was also the subject of a sexual assault investigation in 2016, though criminal charges were never filed by the alleged victim, who ultimately would not cooperate with police on the matter. Since his DUI arrest in the 2016-17 offseason, he’s gone through a substance abuse treatment program in his home country.
“We appreciate Jung Ho’s hard work to get back to being a productive Major League player, while continuing to handle himself appropriately off the field,” said Huntington in a press release announcing the move. “We feel that bringing Jung Ho back in 2019 will make us better as he will have the ability to make a positive impact on our lineup. Competition and options are important to any organization and this signing provides us with both.”