Royals Sign Scott Barlow To MLB Deal
The Royals announced today that they have signed righty Scott Barlow to a MLB contract. It’s a split deal that would pay Barlow $650K in the majors and $225K in the minors, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets.
Barlow, who’ll soon turn 25, has yet to reach the majors. He became a minor-league free agent at the end of the season, wrapping up a six-year run in the Dodgers organization that began when he was taken in the sixth round of the 2011 draft.
It seems the Royals are optimistic that Barlow can contribute at the game’s highest level. He has functioned mostly as a starter in the minors, with mixed results as he has climbed the latter. In 107 1/3 Double-A frames in 2017, Barlow ran up a 2.10 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. But he was not nearly as good in his 32 1/3 Triple-A innings, coughing up 7.24 earned per nine with 10.0 K/9 and an ugly 6.4 BB/9.
Mariners Acquire Dee Gordon
The Mariners have officially struck a deal with the Marlins to acquire second baseman Dee Gordon. Seattle will also pick up $1MM in international spending capacity. Righty Nick Neidert is going back to Miami along with fellow prospects Christopher Torres and Robert Dugger.
It’s a rather stunning move that was not at all anticipated for a Seattle organization that has highly-paid star Robinson Cano at Gordon’s accustomed position of second base. But the M’s have a plan, it seems: Gordon will move to center field, according to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link) and as Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto confirms (via Divish, on Twitter).
The Marlins have been working hard to pare salary this winter, and that meant finding a taker for the 29-year-old Gordon’s contract. He’s promised another $38MM through the 2020 season, including a buyout on a $14MM option for 2021, all of which will be assumed by the Mariners. Other players are sure to follow Gordon out of Miami.
As for the Mariners, adding Gordon will account for the loss of Jarrod Dyson to free agency. Gordon certainly has the speed for the outfield, though it remains to be seen how his glove will translate after a ten professional seasons spent exclusively in the middle infield. Range surely won’t be a problem, as Gordon has led the National League in stolen bases in three of the past four seasons.
Wheels, of course, are also Gordon’s calling card on offense, where he’s among the game’s most valuable baserunners. So long as he can maintain something like his 2017 slash line — .308/.341/.375 — Gordon ought to be a solid enough performer with the bat to be a net positive in terms of creating runs. That’s shy of the .333/.359/.418 output Gordon posted in his breakout 2015 season, but approximately league-average hitting with a bit more upside is plenty given Gordon’s other attributes.
[RELATED: Updated Mariners & Marlins Depth Charts]
Gordon has been a quality regular for three of the past four years. But that other season — an unfortunate 2016 campaign — is cause for some concern. Gordon’s tepid offensive work (.268/.305/.335 in 346 plate appearances) is worth noting, but his 80-game PED suspension is yet more troubling. It’s at least promising that he was able to bounce back on the field in the ensuing year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the M’s are gaining an additional $1MM in international bonus capacity. That, no doubt, will go to the team’s efforts to land Japanese star Shohei Ohtani. Seattle now has just over $3.5MM in pool space — and just slightly more than any other Ohtani pursuer.
For the Marlins, clearing the salary was the top priority. But they won’t come away empty handed. A second-round pick in 2015, Neidert dominated in 19 High-A starts last year, posting a 2.76 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 over 104 1/3 innings. But he fell flat upon a promotion to Double-A, surrendering 17 earned runs on 33 hits and recording just 13 strikeouts against five walks in his 23 1/3 innings there. And Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that scouts have not been all that high on Neidert’s future prospects in the majors.
Neidert rated among the best prospects in a generally lightly regarded Seattle farm, while Torres also cracks the top ten on MLB.com’s most recent list. He’s a speedy, young, switch-hitting shortstop who has quite a lot of development but also real promise. The 22-year-old Duggar, meanwhile, is a recent collegiate product who carried a 2.00 ERA in 72 Class A frames split between the rotation and the pen in 2017. Though his results weren’t as impressive after a mid-season promotion, he managed 9.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 along with a 3.94 ERA in his 45 2/3 frames at High-A.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the deal (Twitter link). Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio tweeted Neidert’s inclusion, while Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted the other prospects. Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel reported that the Mariners would assume Gordon’s full contract, while Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweeted the inclusion of the bonus pool money.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wilin Rosario To Sign With NPB’s Hanshin Tigers
1:37pm: Rosario is set to sign with the Hanshin Tigers, Crasnick now tweets, confirming several reports out of Japan.
10:39am: Former big league catcher Wilin Rosario, who has starred in the Korea Baseball Organization for the past two seasons and drew some interest from MLB clubs in free agency this offseason, is nearing a deal with a yet-unidentified team in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter).
The near deal with an NPB club seems to close the book on a potential MLB return for Rosario at present. It’s not clear which teams were interested in him, or to what extent he was pursued, but it’s not uncommon for former big leaguers to land lucrative deals in Japan.
Rosario’s glovework as a catcher was widely panned during his MLB tenure, leading to increased time at first base in near the end of his run in the Majors. He’s played first base in Korea as well and had plenty of success at the plate there, batting a combined .330/.390/.625 with 70 home runs in 1042 plate appearances with the Hanwha Eagles from 2016-17. Rosario batted .282/.314/.507 with 49 homers with the Rockies from 2012-13 but saw that production dip to a more pedestrian .268/.301/.427 in 2014-15 — his final two seasons playing with the Rox.
Mariners, Casey Lawrence Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mariners have agreed to bring back right-hander Casey Lawrence on a minor league contract, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. He’d previously been outrighted off the 40-man roster and become a free agent. Presumably, he’ll be in Major League camp this coming spring.
The 30-year-old Lawrence proved to be an oft-used depth piece for an injury-plagued Mariners staff in 2017. After being claimed off outright waivers (out of the Blue Jays’ system) in early May, Lawrence was recalled to the Majors on four separate occasions by the Mariners through season’s end.
All told, Lawrence tossed 42 innings for the M’s, and while his 5.57 ERA wasn’t pretty, he did average 9.6 K/9 against a respectable 3.0 BB/9 mark in his 23 appearances. Home runs proved to be a significant problem for the rookie, though, as he also averaged 1.93 big flies per nine innings pitched in Seattle. Metrics like xFIP (3.87) and SIERA (3.68) reviewed Lawrence’s work far more favorably than his ERA (due largely to those K/BB numbers), but he’ll need to rein in the home runs if he’s to have any sort of chance at success in the Majors.
Royals Agree To Deals With Two Former Braves Prospects
Dec. 6: The Royals have also agreed to a deal with former Braves prospect Juan Carlos Negret, Sanchez reports (via Twitter). The Cuban-born 18-year-old hit .264/.401/.391 with a pair of homers and 23 steals (in 32 attempts) across 217 plate appearances and 50 games in the Dominican Summer League this past season.
Dec. 5: The Royals have agreed to sign right-hander Yefri Del Rosario for a $650K signing bonus, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). The 18-year-old Rosario had originally signed for a $1MM bonus with Atlanta but was one of the dozen prospects whom commissioner Rob Manfred declared a free agent following the league’s investigation into the Braves’ misdealings on the international prospect front.
Del Rosario made his professional debut in 2017 when he tossed a combined 37 1/3 innings between the Braves’ Rookie-level affiliates in the Dominican Summer League and the Gulf Coast League. In that time, he posted a 3.62 ERA with a 36-to-14 K/BB ratio. Prior to DelRosario’s signing, Baseball America’s Ben Badler noted that he had already run his fastball up to 94 mph and featured a breaking pitch that at times looked like a plus offering while also noting that there were some concerns that Del Rosario’s mechanics and smaller stature would eventually lead to a future as a reliever. More recently, ESPN’s Keith Law called Del Rosario the “most intriguing” pitcher the Braves lost in the scandal, praising his athleticism and arm speed.
The Royals are still in the “penalty box” for vastly exceeding their international pool in the 2015-16 signing period, meaning they’re barred from signing any player on the 2017-18 class for more than $300K. However, as pertains to the Braves prospects that were recently dubbed free agents by Manfred, teams can reportedly dip into next year’s signing pool in order to ink them. That, it seems, is the route the Royals are taking here. Notably, today marks the first day that those former Atlanta prospects can officially sign with new organizations. They’re eligible to sign for a new bonus with any team other than the Braves between now and Jan. 15, after which they’ll still be eligible to sign but ineligible to receive an additional bonus.
Twins Acquire Jacob Pearson From Angels In Exchange For International Bonus Money
8:35pm: The Twins announced the trade and confirmed that they’re sending $1MM in international allocations.
8:22pm: Rosenthal tweets that the Angels, like the Mariners, are adding $1MM in their deal with the Twins. That pushes their pool up to $2.315MM.
8:18pm: After trading away $1MM of their international bonus pool to the Mariners, the Twins are set to trade away another portion of their pool to the Angels in exchange for outfield prospect Jacob Pearson, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (on Twitter). Minnesota has $2.245MM available to send to Anaheim in the deal. Pearson, Rosenthal notes, was the Angels’ third-round pick in the 2017 draft and received a $1MM signing bonus.
The Angels still trail the Rangers ($3.535MM) and Mariners ($2.5575MM) in overall international bonus money, but they’re nevertheless positioned to put forth one of the best financial offers to Shohei Ohtani. All four of the NL clubs reported to be among the finalists — the Cubs, Padres, Giants and Dodgers — are capped at a $300K offer as penalization for prior overages in international free agency.
The Twins will pick up a recent third-rounder who was considered to be the fifth-best prospect in the Angels’ farm, per Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, and now slots in 22nd among Twins farmhands per those same rankings.
Pearson, 19, batted just .226/.304/.284 in 40 games this past summer in his pro debut with Anaheim’s Rookie-level Arizona League affiliate. However, Callis and Mayo laud his bat speed in their free scouting report and tout him as a plus runner who will eventually have 20-homer, 20-steal potential. Arm strength is an issue following a torn labrum in high school, Callis and Mayo note, though it’s certainly possible that he improves in that regard as he distances himself from surgery. Pearson played 60 innings in center during his debut campaign and another 278 in left field.
Twins Acquire David Banuelos From Mariners In Exchange For International Bonus Money
The Mariners announced that they’ve traded catching prospect David Banuelos to the Twins in exchange for international bonus money. Minnesota has also announced the deal, revealing that they’re sending $1MM of their $3.245MM pool to Seattle in the deal.
For the Mariners, the money added in tonight’s deal will allow them to pad their offer to Shohei Ohtani. Seattle’s international pool now sits at $2.5575MM, which still leaves them shy of the Rangers’ leading pool of $3.535MM but nonetheless allows them to sweeten their offer. Money, of course, isn’t thought to be the deciding factor when it comes to choosing a landing spot for Ohtani, but those of the seven finalists that are allowed to offer him more than $300K unsurprisingly appear to be putting forth their best effort to maximize their spending capacity. The Angels, for instance, are also set to reel in $1MM in bonus money from the Twins in a trade of their own.
The Twins will pick up a prospect that ranked 10th in a weak Mariners farm system, per MLB.com’s organizational rankings. Banuelos, 21, will give the Twins an intriguing prospect at what had been a relatively thin position in the organization. Seattle selected him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft out of Cal State Long Beach, and he went on to bat .236/.331/.394 with four homers and eight doubles in in short-season Class-A this summer. Banuelos, who threw out 38 percent of would-be base thieves, draws praise from MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo for his plus arm behind the plate and strong plate discipline/on-base skills.
Red Sox Place Henry Owens On Outright Waivers
The Red Sox have placed former top prospect Henry Owens on outright waivers, removing him from the 40-man roster and clearing a space for a possible acquisition, reports Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston. Drellich notes that it is not immediately clear that a corresponding acquisition is on the cusp of completion.
Owens, 25, once ranked among the game’s top 50 overall prospects in the eyes of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com, but his stock has fallen since last landing on one of those lists, prior to the 2015 campaign. The left-hander has seen time in a pair of big league seasons, tossing 85 innings for the BoSox from 2015-16 but struggling to the tune of a 5.19 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9.
Early in his pro career, Owens posted enormous strikeout rates, but that trait has diminished as he’s reached the upper minors and the Major Leagues. Moreover, his longstanding issue with walks has become increasingly magnified against more advanced hitters. That’s never been truer than it was in 2017, as Owens split the year between Double-A Portand and Triple-A Pawtucket and walked a staggering 115 batters in 126 innings (8.2 BB/9). Owens also hit 17 batters and uncorked 17 wild pitches in those 126 innings — further exemplifying his struggles to locate the ball.
Owens does have a minor league option remaining, so any club that claims him would have the opportunity to stash him in Triple-A rather than being forced to carry him on the roster out of Spring Training. Outright waiver priority is not league-specific, so he’ll be available to all rival clubs in the reverse order of the 2017 regular season standings.
Diamondbacks Re-Sign T.J. McFarland
The Diamondbacks announced today that they have re-signed left-hander T.J. McFarland to a one-year deal. Arizona had non-tendered him last week, but he’ll return for a second season with the Snakes on an $850K base salary, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports (via Twitter). McFarland, an Octagon client, can also earn another $350K worth of incentives. He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1MM in arbitration, so the D-backs potentially saved a bit of cash with the move.
The 28-year-old McFarland logged an unsightly 5.33 ERA with just 4.8 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 54 innings last season. But, he also racked up an impressive 67 percent ground-ball rate and held opposing lefties to a putrid .211/.256/.292 batting line in 80 plate appearances. Deployed in a more specialized role, there’s certainly the possibility that McFarland could deliver considerably better numbers in 2018.
McFarland will also be eligible for arbitration in each of the next two offseasons, so the D-backs can control him all the way through the 2020 campaign if he can turn in improved results.
Rangers Sign Mike Minor
1:59pm: Minor will receive a $1MM signing bonus with salaries of $8MM (2018) and $9.5MM (2019 & 2020), per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).
11:10am: The Rangers have announced the signing of lefty Mike Minor to a three-year pact. The Jet Sports Management client will receive a $28MM guarantee and also picks up ten-team no-trade rights, per reports. He’s expected to pitch out of the rotation in Texas.
MLBTR had predicted Minor would land $28MM on the open market, but over a four-year term. This contract becomes the biggest agreed to thus far in what has been a remarkably slow-to-develop offseason. As the first significant player to sign, perhaps it’s not surprising that Minor ended up beating expectations.
Minor, who’ll soon turn 30, once thrived out of the Braves’ rotation before shoulder problems got in the way. Surgery ensued after a messy 2014 season and he did not appear in the majors for the next two campaigns.
After being non-tendered by the Braves, Minor hooked on with the Royals, who promised him $7.25MM over two years in hopes he’d bounce back. Minor was not able to recover in time to reach the bigs in 2016, but finally re-emerged in the 2017 campaign — this time, as a reliever.
Over his 77 2/3 innings in the just-finished season, Minor ran a 2.55 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. He averaged nearly 95 mph on his fastball, over three ticks better than he had ever sustained for a season as a starter. Minor relied on his slider quite a bit more than usual, but otherwise largely sustained the same multi-pitch mix that allowed him to succeed as a southpaw starter. It’s worth noting, too, that twenty of his relief appearances went past a single inning.
It’s not hard to see why Minor was among the most hotly pursued pitchers out of the gates. He’s capable of functioning as a lockdown late-inning southpaw, giving multiple innings out of the pen, or — most enticingly — returning to the rotation. Minor’s health history makes that last possibility feel a bit risky, though it’s entirely arguable that the upside merits a chance.
Indeed, given that he chose to sign with a team that intends to use him as a starter, Minor obviously is on board with that move. If that is the direction both he and the team desire, then Minor will certainly bring plenty of potential to a staff that badly needs it.
[RELATED: Updated Rangers Depth Chart]
While the Rangers already added Doug Fister to their rotation, and still hopes to bring Shohei Ohtani aboard, the team certainly can afford to continue adding. Indeed, it seems there’s even some thought of the possibility of moving to a six-man rotation, as Grant suggests. And it is plenty arguable that this team is wise to take a shot on Minor as a starter — even with his health history — rather than settling for another back-end arm. The fact that Minor could also slide back to the bullpen, which also is in need of high-quality pitchers, only adds to the flexibility the team can achieve with this move.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the deal (Twitter link) as well as its guarantee (via Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggested Minor would work as a starter and reported the contract length (Twitter links). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports had the no-trade clause (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.