White Sox, Jeanmar Gomez Agree To Minor League Deal
The White Sox are in agreement with right-hander Jeanmar Gomez on a minor league contract, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The Magnus Sports client will vie for a bullpen role with the South Siders in Spring Training.
Gomez, 30 in February, got off to a strong start with the Phillies in 2016 and emerged as their closer, saving 37 games for the Phils over the course of that season. However, his ERA and save total never matched up with his secondary numbers, and he was tattooed for 17 runs in eight innings that September.
The Phils held onto Gomez despite pedestrian peripheral marks, but his struggles took a turn for the worse in 2017. Gomez was torched for a 7.25 ERA in 22 1/3 innings with the Phillies this past season and ultimately cut loose in late June. He latched on with the Mariners and Brewers on minor league contracts and threw well with their Triple-A affiliates, though he never resurfaced in the Majors.
Chicago GM Rick Hahn has been active in bringing in experienced bullpen options this offseason, hoping to create depth and perhaps to catch lightning in a bottle — as he did with minor league signee Anthony Swarzak last offseason. The Sox took on Joakim Soria (and cash) and Luis Avilan in a three-team trade with the Royals and Dodgers, and they’ve added several veterans on minor league deals as well. In addition to Gomez, the Pale Hose will have Xavier Cedeno, Rob Scahill, T.J. House and Chris Volstad in camp this spring, among others. Beyond that, they swung a trade with the Mariners to acquire hard-throwing young righty Thyago Vieira, giving them yet another arm to compete for relief innings in 2018.
Diamondbacks Designate Rey Fuentes For Assignment
The D-backs announced that outfielder Rey Fuentes has been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Alex Avila, whose previously reported two-year contract with Arizona is now official.
Fuentes, 27 next month, logged a career-high 145 plate appearances with Arizona last season and batted .235/.278/.338 with three homers and four stolen bases while spending time at all three outfield spots. The former first-rounder has, at times, been considered among the best prospects in both the Red Sox and Padres organizations and was one of four players sent from Boston to San Diego in the 2010 Adrian Gonzalez blockbuster.
Through 225 plate appearances in the Majors, Fuentes has just a .595 OPS, but hit at a .300/.361/.397 clip in 1154 plate appearances in parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level.
Diamondbacks Sign Alex Avila
5:25pm: The D-backs have now announced the signing.
3:45pm: Rosenthal tweets that Avila has already passed his physical, making the deal official. The D-backs have yet to announce the signing, though, which will require a corresponding 40-man roster move.
Jan. 31, 1:19pm: Avila will receive a two-year contract worth $8.25MM, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter). Another $250K per season will be available to Avila in incentives, according to Heyman.
Jan. 30, 6:44pm: The two sides have a deal, pending a physical, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets.
6:36pm: The Diamondbacks are nearing an agreement with free agent catcher Alex Avila, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. Terms are unknown, but MLBTR predicted a two-year, $16MM contract for Avila at the outset of free agency.
The 31-year-old Avila will add an offensively capable backstop to an Arizona club whose catchers batted a paltry .219/.306/.404 last season. That was with a very good performance from Chris Iannetta, who joined the NL West rival Rockies in free agency, leaving the Diamondbacks with Jeff Mathis and Chris Herrmann as their top options. Mathis, the team’s likely starter prior to the Avila agreement, is known for his defensive prowess. However, his bat has never come close to keeping up with his work behind the plate.
[RELATED: Updated D-backs Depth Chart]
Unlike Mathis, defense is not Avila’s calling card – in fact, he was among the game’s worst pitch framers in 2017, according to both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner. But the lefty-swinger did his best to make up for it at the plate, where he slashed an outstanding .264/.387/.447 with 14 home runs and a .183 ISO in 376 plate appearances divided between the Tigers and Cubs. Avila’s numbers dropped off after the Cubs acquired him prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline (.274/.394/.475 versus .239/.369/.380), though he still offered the North Siders above-average offensive production relative to his position.
While Avila managed a hard-to-sustain .382 batting average on balls in play last season and struck out in 31.9 percent of PAs, he helped his cause significantly with scorching contact. Among those with at least 300 PAs, Avila ranked second in the majors in hard-hit rate (48.7 percent, compared to a career mark of 36.6). And out of 387 hitters who put at least 100 balls in play, he finished tied for 18th in average exit velocity (90.4 mph) and tied for 21st in barrels per PA (7.4). Consequently, he posted a tremendous xwOBA (.395) that easily outpaced his still-high wOBA (.368).
Last year’s offensive outburst was Avila’s most impressive showing since 2011, when the then-Tiger earned his lone All-Star nod, but success with the bat isn’t anything new for the lifetime .243/.351/.401 hitter. He comes with notable platoon splits, though, having held his own against right-handed pitching (.250/.362/.426) while failing to present a threat versus southpaws (.212/.306/.305) since debuting in 2009. He also brings durability concerns, having gone on the disabled list several times in his career, including twice during a 57-game season with the White Sox in 2016.
After his lone campaign with the ChiSox, Avila returned to the Tigers last winter for a $2MM guarantee. Avila’s sure to do better this time around, but it’ll be interesting to see how much the Diamondbacks will guarantee him. With an estimated $122MM-plus in commitments at the moment, the D-backs are known to have limited payroll flexibility, which is seemingly standing in the way of a reunion with free agent slugger J.D. Martinez – Avila’s former teammate in Detroit – and may lead to cost-cutting trades (they could deal $7.5MM left-hander Patrick Corbin, for instance). The club has only opened a season beyond the $100MM mark twice, including when it spent a franchise-record $112MM-plus in 2014.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/31/18
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Yankees have signed right-hander David Hale to a minor league contract, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link). Hale posted a 3.30 ERA over 87 1/3 IP for the Braves as a reliever and occasional starter in 2014, but his performance suffered after a trade to Colorado that offseason. The ground-ball specialist struggled to a 6.09 ERA over 78 1/3 IP (mostly as a starter) that year and then tossed only two MLB innings in 2016. Hale has since pitched in the Orioles’ and Dodgers’ farm systems.
Pirates Acquire Josh Smoker
The Pirates have acquired southpaw Josh Smoker from the Mets in exchange for left-hander Daniel Zamora and cash, the two teams announced. Smoker was designated for assignment by the Mets earlier this week to clear roster space for the re-signed Jose Reyes.
The hard-throwing Smoker has a 5.02 ERA, 11.7 K/9, and 2.58 K/BB rate over 71 2/3 relief innings in the big leagues, all with New York in 2016-17. Despite that big strikeout total, Smoker had issues keeping the ball in the park, with 14 homers allowed in his brief career. He also posted a 5.1 BB/9 rate last season and struggled with control at times over his nine minor league seasons. Smoker isn’t exactly a young hurler (he turned 29 in November) but he still clearly has some upside in his arm given his big strikeout potential.
He’ll have an opportunity to continue in the big leagues given the lack of left-handed options in the Pirates’ bullpen. Closer Felipe Rivero, starter Steven Brault, and Jack Leathersich are the only other southpaws on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, though Brault could end up in the pen if he doesn’t make the starting rotation.
Zamora was a 40th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2015 draft. He has posted impressive numbers (2.96 ERA, 10.3 K/9, and 3.50 K/BB rate) over his first 115 2/3 pro innings, all as a reliever. He briefly cracked the Double-A level last season, tossing three innings for Altoona.
Mookie Betts Wins Arbitration Case Over Red Sox
Mookie Betts has won his arbitration case over the Red Sox and will earn $10.5MM in 2018, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The Sox had countered Betts’ figure with an offer of $7.5MM in Betts’ first year of arbitration eligibility. The hearing between the two sides took place yesterday, as reported by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Betts is represented by the Legacy Agency.
Betts’ $10.5MM is the second-highest salary ever given to a player in his first year of arbitration eligibility, behind the $10.85MM deal the Cubs reached with Kris Bryant earlier this month to avoid the arb process altogether. The number considerably surpassed the $8.2MM that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Betts would earn this winter. In an Arbitration Breakdown piece, Swartz actually felt that his projection model placed Betts too high, with the caveat that Betts’ blend of power and speed made him a rather difficult player to judge overall.
Needless to say, the arbitration panel’s decision is a huge victory for Betts and a win for players in general given its potential as a long-term precedent. Ryan Howard‘s $10MM stood for years as the record for a first-year arb-eligible player, and now both Bryant and Betts have surpassed that number in a matter of weeks — future superstar-level players could now go into their arbitration years with a solid argument for earning an eight-figure salary.
Betts has been nothing short of outstanding since debuting in 2014, hitting .292/.351/.488 over his 2309 career plate appearances. With 78 homers, 80 steals (out of 96 chances), and an outstanding right field glove, Betts is one of the game’s best all-around talents. After finishing second in MVP voting in 2016, Betts’ performance took a minor step back last year (.264/.344/.459) due in part to a thumb injury that bothered him for much of the season.
The $10.5MM now puts Betts in line to receive even more in his remaining two seasons of arbitration eligibility before hitting the free agent market after the 2020 season. There hasn’t been much talk of an extension between Betts and the Red Sox, with Betts interestingly noting last winter that he would prefer to take a year-to-year approach. Betts is already making good money from endorsement deals and now has this $10.5MM payday guaranteed, so his stance on a long-term contract might not change, though of course that would depend on what the Sox would be willing to bring to the table to lock up the young star.
As per the MLB Trade Rumors ArbTracker, 24 players still have unsettled contracts that could go to arbitration hearings unless an agreement is reached beforehand. It seems likely that this offseason will surpass last winter’s total of 15 arbitration hearings, especially given how many teams have adopted a “file-or-trial” policy that precludes any further negotiation after the filing deadline.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/30/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Brewers have announced the signing of infielder Shane Opitz to a minor league pact. Milwaukee is the second organization for the 26-year-old Opitz, who had been with the Blue Jays since they used an 11th-round pick on him in 2010. Opitz hasn’t yet reached the majors and is coming off his first season at the Triple-A level, where he fared poorly across 274 plate appearances (.252/.306/.333). The .639 OPS he posted last year happens to match the lifetime figure he has recorded in 1,972 minor league PAs. While Opitz hasn’t been a threat the plate, he has offered defensive versatility in the minors, having lined up at first, second, shortstop, third and all three outfield positions. The majority of his action, including in 2017, has come at short.
- The Rays have signed catcher Xorge Carrillo to a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB camp, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Carrillo, 28, had been with the Mets dating back to the 2011 draft, in which they selected him in the 14th round. He hit .259/.327/.367 over 1,473 minor league trips to the plate with the Mets, with a .276/.326/.340 line across 308 PAs at Triple-A Las Vegas – a hitter-friendly environment.
Giants Sign Andres Blanco To Minor League Contract
The Giants have signed infielder Andres Blanco to a minor league contract, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets. Blanco’s deal includes an invitation to big league camp. He’ll receive a $1.1MM salary and $400K-plus in incentives if he makes the Giants’ roster. Otherwise, the contract will allow Blanco to pursue opportunities in Asia should they arise.
This is the second straight day in which the Giants have added a Blanco, as they reunited with outfielder Gregor Blanco on a minors pact Monday. While Andres Blanco has also played some outfield in the majors, nearly all of his work has come in the infield since he debuted with the Royals in 2004. The soon-to-be 34-year-old brings at least 95 games’ experience at second base, shortstop and third. The hot corner was Blanco’s primary spot with his previous team, the Phillies, from 2014-17, though he hasn’t graded out particularly well there during his career (minus-10 DRS, minus-6.1 UZR).
Offensively, the switch-hitting Blanco has been a below-average producer across 1,321 plate appearances (.256/.310/.378), and he’s coming off a miserable year in which he hit .192/.257/.292 in 144 PAs. He wasn’t able to find a major league deal as a result, but it was a different story a year ago. Then fresh off parts of three consecutive solid seasons at the plate (.274/.337/.457 in 523 PAs), Blanco tested free agency before ultimately re-signing with the Phillies for $3MM.
As he did in Philly, Blanco will attempt to fill a utility role in San Francisco, which has established starters across the infield in first baseman Brandon Belt, second baseman Joe Panik, shortstop Brandon Crawford and third baseman Evan Longoria. Pablo Sandoval and Kelby Tomlinson are the current backup infielders on the Giants’ projected 25-man roster.
Rangers Sign Jon Niese To Minor League Deal
4:04pm: Niese’s deal comes with a $1MM major league salary and up to $450K in incentives, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. There’s a June 1 opt-out date, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.
3:08pm: The Rangers have signed left-hander Jon Niese to a minor league contract, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports (via Twitter). The deal comes with an invitation to big league camp.
Since debuting in the majors in 2008, the 31-year-old Niese has mostly served as a capable starter. However, he’s essentially joining the Rangers off back-to-back lost seasons. As a starter and reliever in 2016, Niese combined for 121 innings of 5.50 ERA ball with the Mets and Pirates before undergoing season-ending knee surgery that August. He hasn’t been able to find a guaranteed contract since, as he inked a minor league deal with the Yankees last February and then another with the club shortly after it released him in March. Niese ended up going all of last season without pitching competitively for either the Yankees or any other organization.
With his new club, Niese will reunite with assistant pitching coach Dan Warthen, who was the Mets’ pitching coach during Niese’s two tenures with the team, as Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram notes on Twitter. The soft-tossing Niese generally fared well under Warthen’s tutelage in New York, where he logged a 3.99 ERA/3.88 FIP with 7.0 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 across 188 appearances, 179 starts and 1,079 1/3 innings.
Given the uncertainty in Texas’ rotation beyond the unspectacular-looking quintet of Cole Hamels, Matt Moore, Mike Minor, Doug Fister and Martin Perez, who’s recovering from surgery to his non-throwing elbow, Niese could find himself back on a major league mound sometime in 2018. First, though, he’ll have to stick with the organization through the spring.
Dodgers Sign Mark Lowe To Minors Pact
The Dodgers have invited 22 non-roster players to spring training, including veteran reliever Mark Lowe, whom they signed to a minor league deal (names here via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group, on Twitter). Left-hander Manny Banuelos, who was in serious talks with the Dodgers back in November, is also among those on the list.
The right-handed Lowe failed to crack the majors a year ago, instead dividing the season between the Triple-A affiliates of the Mariners and White Sox. The 34-year-old struggled across 48 2/3 innings at the minors’ highest level, with a 6.66 ERA and 8.0 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. It was the second straight rough year for Lowe, whom the Tigers released last March after a 2016 campaign in which his velocity dropped and he recorded a 7.11 ERA, 8.94 K/9, 3.83 BB/9 and a 36.6 percent groundball rate over 49 1/3 frames. Even though they cut Lowe, the Tigers still had to pay his $5.5MM salary to close out the two-year, $11MM pact they awarded him in December 2015.
Lowe was excellent as recently as ’15 with Seattle and Toronto, which led to his sizable payday during the ensuing offseason, as he combined for career bests in ERA (1.96) and K/9 (9.98) across 55 innings. Lowe hasn’t been particularly consistent since debuting in the majors in 2006, however, as he has posted subpar production in several campaigns. All told, though, Lowe’s output has been passable – despite a below-average grounder rate (39.8 percent), he has registered a 4.22 ERA, 8.21 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 385 2/3 innings with six MLB teams.