Marlins To Sign Junichi Tazawa
The Marlins have agreed to a two-year deal with free-agent righty Junichi Tazawa, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). He’ll earn $12MM in the contract, per Rosenthal, with $5MM in the first year and $7MM coming in the second, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter).
[RELATED: Updated Marlins Depth Chart]
Tazawa, 30, has long carried strong strikeout-and-walk numbers, with a lifetime 8.9 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9, though he induces grounders on less than two of every five balls put in play against him. From 2012 through 2014, that steady backdrop allowed Tazawa to carry an excellent 2.62 ERA over 175 1/3 innings.
While the K/BB figures remained about the same over the ensuing two seasons, however, Tazawa has fallen off in the results department. Since the start of 2015, he has allowed 4.15 earned runs per nine. The main culprit in 2015, perhaps, was an elevated .349 batting average on balls in play against him. While that fell back to earth (.292) in 2016, Tazawa showed a new susceptibility to the long ball, allowing 1.63 homers per nine.
The Marlins could have a relative bargain on their hands if Tazawa’s earned-run dip is more fluke than fact. He was mostly dinged up last year in a six-appearance stretch in August, but finished strong and otherwise was much the same pitcher as usual. His average fastball velocity in 2016 (92.8 mph) was down slightly against prior years, but not drastically so (he had ranged between 92.2 and 93.9 over the prior four seasons). And Tazawa’s 13.0% swinging-strike rate was the second-best mark of his career.
Having missed on top-dollar closer Kenley Jansen, Miami will instead plug Tazawa — and, potentially, another as-yet-undetermined new acquisition — into the set-up corps. A solid unit is taking shape in front of presumptive closer A.J. Ramos, with Tazawa joining returning righties David Phelps and Kyle Barraclough, each of whom was excellent in 2016.
Of course, that’s not quite the potential super-pen that has been hypothesized as the Fish seemingly moved off of the idea of dealing for a high-quality starter, but there may be more yet to come from president of baseball operations Michael Hill and his staff. Having watched as former southpaw reliever Mike Dunn landed with the Rockies earlier today, it’s possible to imagine the Marlins turning their sights to the remaining market for lefty relievers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yankees Designate Nick Goody, Announce Aroldis Chapman Signing
The Yankees have designated righty Nick Goody for assignment, per a team announcement. The move creates 40-man space for the addition of Aroldis Chapman, whose signing is now official.
Goody, 25, threw 29 frames in 2016 for the Yankees. Though he ended up with a marginal 4.66 ERA, he did managed 10.6 K/9 to go with 3.7 BB/9. The biggest problem, it seems, was that Goody coughed up seven long balls in his limited action.
It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see a trade or claim on Goody, who has been dominant in the upper minors. Over the last two seasons, he has racked up 119 strikeouts in 85 2/3 frames at Double-A and Triple-A, while issuing just 25 walks. And he has allowed a total of 16 earned runs on a paltry 55 base hits in that span.
While he’s not a hard thrower, averaging around 91 mph with his fastball, Goody generated swings and misses at a robust 15.0% rate in the majors in 2016. That’s thanks to a filthy slider that he utilizes in nearly half of his deliveries to the plate. The elevated dinger rates — which have also cropped up at times in the minors — seemingly suggest that his pitch mix requires Goody to walk a fine line.
Rockies Sign Mike Dunn
At this week’s press conference to introduce Ian Desmond, Rockies GM Jeff Bridich stated that improving the bullpen was his next goal, and the Rockies made their first effort to do so on Wednesday, agreeing to a three-year deal with free-agent left-hander Mike Dunn. The contract, announced today by the Rockies, reportedly guarantees Dunn a hefty $19MM and is also said to come with a fourth-year club/vesting option worth $6MM. Dunn is a client O’Connell Sports Management.
Dunn will earn $4MM in 2017 and $7MM in both 2018 and 2019. The contract’s option comes with a $1MM buyout and will reportedly vest if he appears in 130 games from 2018-19 or pitches in 60 games in 2019 alone. Reports also indicate that he can earn up to $1MM of options each year if he becomes the team’s closer and finishes 55 games, and he’ll also receive a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded. The incentives afford Dunn $100K each year for 30 and 35 games finished, $150K for reaching 40 and 45 games finished, $200K for finishing 50 games and $300K for finishing 55 games. While the Rockies haven’t said they plan on utilizing Dunn as their closer, the incentives represent the clear acknowledgment that it’s at least possible that Dunn surfaces in that role at some point over the next three years.
[Related: Updated Colorado Rockies Depth Chart]
Dunn, 32 next May, has been a mostly steady bullpen piece for the Marlins over the past six seasons, pitching to a 3.59 ERA with 9.8 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 35.7 percent ground-ball rate in 328 innings of relief. He missed the first two months of the 2016 season with a forearm strain but had never been on the Major League DL prior to that stint and pitched effectively upon returning, as he logged a 3.40 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings of work. That durability bodes somewhat well for his chances of reaching the aforementioned incentives, but Dunn will also be 34 in the final guaranteed year of the deal and relief pitchers are notoriously volatile.
The longtime Marlin has held opposing left-handers to a .226/.306/.336 batting line since cementing himself in the Miami bullpen back in 2011. Right-handed opponents fare better than lefties, though Dunn has improved in that regard in recent years, as he’s held righties to a .229/.322/.386 slash in the past four seasons.
Dunn will join a Rockies bullpen that ranked last in the Majors in ERA in 2016 (5.13), 24th in FIP (4.35) and 23rd in xFIP (4.27). He’ll join Jake McGee and Chris Rusin as left-handed options for first-year skipper Bud Black, who will also have right-handers Qualls, Motte, Adam Ottavino and Jordan Lyles at his disposal. Hard-throwing righties like Carlos Estevez and Miguel Castro, too, will be waiting in the wings, while Jairo Diaz could make his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2017 as well.
Bridich and his staff will hope that the Dunn signing plays out with better results than either of last year’s free-agent bullpen expenditures, as both Jason Motte and Chad Qualls performed poorly in their debut campaigns with the Rockies. Dunn has a lengthier and more consistent track record than that pair in recent years, but he’s also a fly-ball pitcher with some platoon issues that’ll be leaving the cavernous Marlins Park for the homer-happy confines of Coors Field. More troubling is the fact that Dunn’s fly-ball tendencies reached extreme levels in 2016; the southpaw turned in a career-low 27.9 percent ground-ball rate which was accompanied by a 42.6 percent fly-ball rate (21st among relievers with at least 40 innings pitched) and a 29.5 percent line-drive rate (highest in the Majors, same criteria).
The Rockies are clearly confident that Dunn can continue to be stingy in terms of the home-run ball, but he’s been a bit more susceptible to homers in the past two seasons and won’t be provided any favors by his new home setting. Nonetheless, it’s been an extremely favorable market to relief pitching this winter — especially those in the second and third tiers of free agency. While there were fairly widespread expectations that Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and (to a lesser extent) Mark Melancon would set new records for relief pitchers, the market has now seen Brett Cecil land four years ($30.25MM), Dunn secure a three-year pact and Marc Rzepczynski sign for two guaranteed years ($11MM).
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports first reported that the two sides were nearing a deal (on Twitter). FanRag’s Jon Heyman was the first to say there was an agreement in place (Twitter link). ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted Dunn’s guarantee, while Nightengale chimed in with the remaining financial details (all Twitter links). Ken Davidoff of the New York Post tweeted word of the assignment bonus. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reported the year-to-year salaries and incentives breakdown (all Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brewers Sign Eric Sogard, Andy Oliver, Hiram Burgos To Minors Deals
The Brewers announced on Thursday that they’ve signed infielder Eric Sogard, left-hander Andy Oliver and right-hander Hiram Burgos to minor league contracts with invites to Major League Spring Training.
[Related: Updated Milwaukee Brewers Depth Chart]
Sogard, 30, comes with the most big league experience of the bunch. The longtime Athletics infielder missed the 2016 season due to knee surgery but was a staple in the Oakland infield from 2013-15, during which time he batted .247/.305/.315. Suffice it to say, Sogard isn’t known for his bat, but he’s an excellent defensive second baseman that is also capable of playing both shortstop and third base. Sogard also brings some speed to the table, as he swiped 27 bases over those three years despite a limited role. Fangraphs rated his baserunning in both 2014 and 2015 to be especially valuable. The Brewers figure to have an infield consisting of Eric Thames (first base), Jonathan Villar (second base), Orlando Arcia (shortstop) and Travis Shaw (third base) on most days, but Sogard offers more defensive versatility than Scooter Gennett, who currently projects as a reserve in Milwaukee, so perhaps he could push Gennett for a roster spot this spring.
Oliver, 29, was once one of the top-regarded arms in the Tigers’ farm system, but it’s been five full seasons since he pitched at the Major League level. He turned in a very solid season with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016, however, pitching to a 3.43 ERA with 84 strikeouts against 36 walks in 86 2/3 innings of work between the Norfolk rotation and bullpen. The 14 starts he logged in 2016 were the most he’s made since 2013 (as a member of the Pirates organization), and the bullpen seemingly provides a better path back to the Majors in Milwaukee than the rotation, where the Brewers have seven rotation options on the 40-man roster (Junior Guerra, Matt Garza, Chase Anderson, Zach Davies, Wily Peralta, Jimmy Nelson and the newly signed Tommy Milone).
Burgos, also 29, is actually a re-signing, as he’s spent his entire professional career with the Brewers since they made him their sixth-round pick back in 2009. The Puerto Rican right-hander was dominant in the minors in 2012 and made his MLB debut with the Brewers a season later in 2013, but shoulder troubles have derailed his once fairly promising career. He’s topped 140 innings in each of the past two Triple-A campaigns, though, pitching to an even 4.00 ERA with respectable strikeout and walk rates. He could be a depth option for Milwaukee this year in the event that injuries and/or trade create some vacancies on the pitching staff.
Brewers Sign Tommy Milone
DEC. 15: Milone will receive a $1.25MM base salary plus incentives, on his non-guaranteed deal, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. He can earn up to $2MM if he maxes out the incentives package, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.
DEC. 14: The Brewers announced on Wednesday that they’ve signed left-hander Tommy Milone to a one-year, Major League contract. His addition gives the team a full 40-man roster, though Milone did not receive a fully guaranteed contract, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
[Related: Updated Milwaukee Brewers Depth Chart]
Milone, 30 in February, was arbitration eligible this offseason but was outrighted by the Twins back in mid-October, thus sending him to the free-agent market earlier than had been forecast. He had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to take home $4.9MM in arbitration — a slight raise on last year’s $4.5MM salary.
A soft-tossing lefty (~87.5 mph average fastball), Milone posted solid numbers with the Nats, A’s and Twins through the first four-plus seasons of his career, delivering a 3.97 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 619 innings (106 starts, four relief appearances). However, he limped to a 5.71 ERA in 69 1/3 innings with Minnesota last year. Milone’s strikeout and walk rates remained similar to his previous marks, and he actually posted a career-best 45.7 percent ground-ball rate last year, but he also became enormously homer-prone. More than 21 percent of the balls put in the air against Milone turned into home runs, and his hard-contact rate skyrocketed while his infield-fly rate dipped from 15 percent to five percent.
Milone joins an already crowded Brewers rotation picture that currently features Junior Guerra, Matt Garza, Wily Peralta, Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Jimmy Nelson. It’s possible, of course, that one of those names is ultimately moved this offseason — Guerra has drawn trade interest, and the Brewers would undoubtedly love to shed some of Garza’s remaining contract — though the addition of Milone at what figures to be a low-cost rate doesn’t exactly guarantee that such a move is forthcoming.
Milone did spend time in both the bullpen and the rotation with the Twins last season, so perhaps the Brewers simply envision him occupying a swingman role and functioning as somewhat of a safety net if the team either incurs an injury or does find a taker for one of its current rotation options. He also gives the team a left-handed option in the rotation that wasn’t otherwise present, as each of the six aforementioned starters throws right-handed. Brewers general manager David Stearns told reporters, including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (Twitter link), that Milone will compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training.
With four years and 113 days of Major League service time under his belt, Milone also gives the Brewers an arm that can be controlled beyond the 2017 campaign. In the event of a rebound, Milone would still fall a good bit shy of reaching six total years of service time, meaning the Brewers can control him through the 2018 season by way of arbitration should he prove worthy of such a commitment with a bounceback campaign next year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/15/16
Here are some minor moves to start the day:
- The Tigers added southpaw Anthony Vasquez on a minors pact, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network (via Twitter). Vasquez, 30, made seven rough starts for the Mariners back in 2011 but hasn’t returned to the majors since. He was rather effective in the upper minors last year in the Phillies organization, throwing 172 1/3 innings of 3.08 ERA ball with 6.2 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
- Righty Matt Carasiti and outfielder Stephen Cardullo will each return to the Rockies on minor-league deals that include Spring Training invites, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets. Both were non-tendered recently (though neither was eligible for arbitration) to clear 40-man spots. The 25-year-old Carasiti had an outstanding year at Triple-A, allowing just ten earned runs on thirty hits over 46 innings and carrying a sparkling 48:9 K/BB ratio, but was knocked around in his 19-game MLB debut. As for the 29-year-old Cardullo, who the Rox plucked from indy ball last year, a big showing at Triple-A (.308/.367/.522) earned him a surprise call to the majors. But he struggled in his 59 trips to the plate, logging a .214/.254/.411 slash with two homers.
- The Athletics have sold the contract of righty Ryan Brasier to the NPB’s Hiroshima Carp, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Now 29, Brasier reached the majors briefly back in 2013 — and also showed nice peripherals at Triple-A that year — but ended up going under the knife for a Tommy John procedure. Last year, he worked at the highest level of the Oakland farm, throwing 60 2/3 innings of 3.56 ERA ball and posting an impressive 10.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9.
Cubs Sign Koji Uehara
After announcing the acquisition of Wade Davis from the Royals last week, the Cubs have struck again to further bolster their bullpen, announcing on Tuesday the signing of right-hander Koji Uehara to a one-year deal. Uehara, a client of ISE Baseball, will reportedly be guaranteed a total of $6MM with his new team. The Cubs had open space on their 40-man roster, which now stands at 37 players, so no corresponding 40-man move is necessary to finalize the latest addition.
Uehara will join the Cubs after a strong four-year run at the back of Boston’s bullpen. At last check, the Red Sox looked likely to move on from Uehara — Alex Speier of WEEI.com tweeted last week that the Red Sox had made an offer, but Uehara wasn’t ready to respond, so the team acquired Tyler Thornburg instead — and Uehara now indeed lands with his fourth big league organization. The Cubs have been known to be looking for bullpen help even after their trade for Davis, and Uehara will deepen their relief corps and bring a highly experienced arm to manager Joe Maddon’s staff.
With Davis in tow, Uehara almost certainly won’t close for the Cubs, as he did for Boston in 2012-2014. But his presence provides some added peace of mind for the defending World Series champs, particularly since Davis dealt with forearm issues in 2016. Chicago now features a rather robust assortment of experienced, high-leverage righties in the pen. Both Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop — who spent much of 2016 as the team’s closer and top set-up option, respectively — remain on hand.
[Related: Updated Chicago Cubs Depth Chart]
As for Uehara, there’s a reason a pitcher of his repute was available on a modest contract. Most importantly, he’ll turn 42 near the start of the season. His fastball velocity also continued to dip in 2016, falling to an average of 86.7 MPH, generally dangerous territory for a righty. He also became incredibly fly-ball-prone, with a minuscule 21.4 GB%, and coughed up 1.53 homers per nine innings. Also, Uehara missed time in 2016 due to a pectoral injury, interrupting what had been a strong run of durability.
Still, Uehara remained very effective last season, posting a 3.45 ERA, 12.1 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 over 47 innings. If the contract does turn out to be for $4.5MM, the Cubs’ risk is minimal, particularly for a pitcher who hasn’t yet had a bad season in eight years since arriving from Japan. For his U.S. career, Uehara has a terrific 2.53 ERA, 10.7 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 over 437 2/3 innings.
Notably, too, Uehara has long dominated opposing hitters on both sides of the plate. While lefty hitters have been ever so slightly better in terms of strikeouts and walks when facing Uehara, they have produced less offensive than have righties. Since the ace reliever landed in the majors, 863 southpaw swingers have combined to hit an anemic .181/.220/.335 against him.
Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald first tweeted the connection between Uehara and the Red Sox. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweeted that a deal was done. ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers reported the salary details (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jays Sign T.J. House To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays announced on Wednesday that they’ve signed former Indians left-hander T.J. House to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training.
[Related: Updated Toronto Blue Jays Depth Chart]
Back in 2014, House looked to have emerged as a viable back-of-the-rotation option in Cleveland after tossing 102 innings of 3.35 ERA ball and averaging 7.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 to go along with a hefty 60.9 percent ground-ball rate as a 25-year-old rookie. However, House spent a pair of stints on the disabled list with shoulder problems in 2015, the latter of which sidelined him for the final four months of the season. In the two years since that promising debut, he’s pitched just 15 2/3 innings in the Majors and allowed 20 runs on 27 hits and 12 walks with nine strikeouts. Now 27 years of age, House did manage a 3.98 ERA in 72 1/3 innings with Triple-A Columbus last season, but his 6.2 K/9 rate and 5.4 BB/9 rate were hardly encouraging.
For the Blue Jays, left-handed depth is an area of clear need on their pitching staff, though. Toronto lost Brett Cecil to a four-year deal with the Cardinals earlier this offseason and has yet to bring in a proven southpaw to take his place. The Jays’ top left-handed options in the ‘pen are Aaron Loup, Chad Girodo, Matt Dermody and Ryan Borucki, plus non-roster invitee Brett Oberholtzer.
Diamondbacks Sign Jeff Mathis
DEC. 14: Mathis will earn $2MM in both 2017 and 2018, tweets Jack Magruder of FanRag Sports.
DEC. 2, 6:44pm: It’s a two-year, $4MM deal, according to reports from SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter) and Piecoro (Twitter link).
6:35pm: The Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal with free agent catcher Jeff Mathis, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports on Twitter. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic had just tweeted the connection between player and team.
Mathis will step into the fold as Welington Castillo departs, with the Diamondbacks electing to go with a less-costly, more defensively proficient option behind the dish. He’ll presumably share time in some manner with Chris Herrmann, who posted a big offensive season (albeit in a short sample) in 2016. Oscar Hernandez also remains an option on the 40-man.
Unlike Castillo, who is a shaky framer, Mathis has long been viewed as a strong gloveman. Both StatCorner and Baseball Prospectus rate him as one of the game’s better receivers at winning borderline strike calls for his pitchers.
Of course, Mathis also brings little to the table offensively. He’s a lifetime .197/.254/.308 hitter over his dozen seasons in the majors. Though his 63 OPS+ last year was his best mark since 2012, Arizona won’t expect much at the plate.
White Sox Sign Derek Holland
The White Sox have officially agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent starter Derek Holland that pays him a reported $6MM. The 30-year-old southpaw, a client of Martini Sports Management, can also earn $2MM in incentives, $1MM apiece upon reaching 150 and 200 innings pitched.
Holland hit the open market when the Rangers declined an $11MM club option, preferring instead to pay a $1.5MM buyout when trade talks did not result in a taker. Now, he’ll head to Chicago to function as a near-term rotation piece to step into the opening created when the team dealt ace Chris Sale to the Red Sox.
Certainly, Holland won’t be expected to produce anything like the output of Sale, one of the game’s best starters, but he offers a bit of upside in his own right. He’ll ultimately land the exact guarantee predicted by MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes, who listed Holland 50th in his pre-offseason ranking of free agents in terms of earning power.
It has been a tough and injury-riddled three-year run for Holland, who has managed to provide only 203 innings since the start of 2014. He hasn’t exactly been dominant when healthy, either, posting a 4.30 ERA with 5.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in that span.
That was certainly not what he or the Rangers hoped for when the sides came together on a five-year, $28.5MM deal in the spring of 2012. After a tough first campaign under the new pact, Holland came through in 2013 with a 213-inning, 3.42 ERA gem of a year in which he compiled 8.0 strikeouts against 2.7 free passes per nine innings pitched.
Things began to turn south in the following season, however, as knee and shoulder issues intervened. While Chicago can certainly hope for a bounceback, it will most likely be expecting some solid frames from the veteran hurler. In 2016, he sat nearly three full ticks below his peak average velocity (93.4 mph, in 2013), with a 7.8% swinging-strike rate that fell well below the ~10% mark he carried when at his best.
Given the limited commitment, and Holland’s positive clubhouse reputation, it seems to be a sensible acquisition for a White Sox organization that is hoping to remain somewhat competitive even as it deals away some of its best assets for upper-level prospects. If Holland can stay healthy and restore some of his prior luster on the hill, it’s conceivable that he could turn into a deadline trade piece or even a qualifying-offer candidate next fall.
MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reported that the deal was nearing finalization. MLB.com’s TR Sullivan reported that the deal was done (via Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News had the terms (links via Twitter), with Jon Heyman of Fan Rag adding the incentives breakdown on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.