Astros Claim Nori Aoki From Mariners
The Astros announced today that they’ve claimed outfielder Nori Aoki off waivers from the Mariners. As MLB.com’s Greg Johns pointed out earlier today (on Twitter), there’s been a public misconception that Aoki is eligible for free agency because his option didn’t vest and because his previous contracts allowed him to hit free agency upon their completion. That doesn’t appear to have been the case with the one-year deal he inked in Seattle last offseason, and he’ll now be controllable by the Astros via arbitration for the 2017 season.
[Related: Updated Houston Astros depth chart]
Aoki, 35 in January, will give Houston an option to take some at-bats in left field next season in the wake of Colby Rasmus‘ impending departure. He’ll bring a contact-oriented approach to the Astros that represents something of a departure from the strikeout-prone bats with which Houston has been comfortable in recent years. Aoki hit .283/.349/.388 in 467 plate appearances and struck out at just a 9.6 percent clip with Seattle last year after signing a one-year deal in the offseason.
That contract guaranteed Aoki $5.5MM and came with a vesting option for the 2017 season, but Aoki fell 13 PAs shy of triggering that guaranteed 2017 payday. It would appear that the Mariners sought to outright Aoki, thereby allowing him to re-enter the free agent market, but he’ll now head to Houston as an arbitration eligible player. Presumably, he’s the front-runner for everyday at-bats in left field right now, where he’ll bring a career .286/.353/.387 slash and minuscule eight percent strikeout rate to the table. That’ll position the Astros to deploy an outfield with Aoki in left in budding star George Springer in right field. As it currently stands, defensive standout Jake Marisnick will get the bulk of the at-bats in center field, although the Astros have a number of versatile pieces that could allow them to pursue a variety of avenues this offseason.
Springer, for instance, could shift over to center field — especially now that Tal’s Hill has been removed from Minute Maid Park — and allow the Astros to pursue a big-time corner outfield bat. Alternatively, Houston could give Alex Bregman and/or Yulieski Gurriel some time in left field with Aoki covering right field and Springer taking some turns in center, thus freeing up more room for a corner infield/designated hitter addition.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mariners Exercise Seth Smith’s Option, Decline Option On Chris Iannetta
The Mariners announced today that they’ve exercised their $7MM option on outfielder Seth Smith and declined a $4.25MM option on catcher Chris Iannetta. FanRag’s Jon Heyman first tweeted that Smith’s option would be picked up, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweeted that Iannetta’s would be declined.
Smith, who turned 34 at the end of September, proved to be a useful platoon bat for the Mariners, hitting .249/.342/.415 with 16 home runs and a healthy 11 percent walk rate on the season. To say that he was heavily shielded from facing left-handed pitching would be something of an understatement, as Smith received just 33 plate appearances against southpaws compared to 405 against righties. The reasoning behind the move isn’t hard to determine however; Smith has mashed at a .272/.355/.472 clip throughout his career when he holds the platoon advantage but has looked lost against left-handers, as evidenced by a career .202/.282/.312 slash against same-handed pitchers.
On the defensive side of the coin, Smith’s contributions to the team didn’t draw favorable reviews. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating pegged him as a poor left fielder and a roughly average right fielder. Smith has never been known for his glove, but this year’s poor marks in left field came in a fairly small sample, and he’s been largely adequate there over the bulk of his career per those same metrics.
As for Iannetta, the 33-year-old got off to a hot start with the Mariners in 2016 and looked to be working his way toward triggering a vesting option for the 2017 season based on his strong play through the season’s first two and a half months. As of June 16, Iannetta was batting a very respectable .247/.348/.412 through 198 trips to the plate. However, his production thereafter cratered, and as a result his playing time diminished. Iannetta received just 140 plate appearances from that point forth, in part due to the return of Mike Zunino but also due to the .160/.237/.216 slash line to which the veteran limped.
Iannetta was a well-above-average bat for the Rockies and Angels from 2008-14, but he’s now coming off a pair of dismal seasons at the plate that saw him bat a combined .199/.298/.332 in 655 plate appearances. Iannetta still possesses good discipline at the plate and a bit of pop from the right side of the dish, but he’ll probably have to entertain offers to be a backup catcher this winter after this 2015-16 run.
Outrighted: Red Sox, Angels, ChiSox, Braves, Pirates, Giants
The seventh game of the World Series rightly dominated the baseball landscape Wednesday, but there were also several outrights from around the majors. Here are those assignments:
- The Red Sox announced that they’ve activated Josh Rutledge from the disabled list and outrighted him off the 40-man roster. The 27-year-old hit .265/.345/.388 in 56 plate appearances with the Sox this season and is a lifetime .262/.312/.397 hitter in 1088 Major League PAs. Capable of playing second base, third base and shortstop, Rutledge should find opportunities to make a club as a bench piece next spring when he inevitably elects free agency following his outright assignment.
Earlier Updates
- The Angels have outrighted left-hander Brett Oberholtzer to Triple-A Salt Lake. The club previously designated Oberholtzer for assignment Oct. 28, which came after he logged a career-worst 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 70 innings between the Phillies and Angels this year. Overall, Oberholtzer has posted a 4.36 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate in 324 major league innings.
- The White Sox have outrighted outfielder J.B. Shuck to Triple-A Charlotte. Shuck has over 1,000 major league plate appearances to his name, and 406 of those have come with the White Sox since last season. In 241 PAs this year, Shuck batted a woeful .205/.248/.299.
- The Braves have outrighted right-handers Casey Kelly and Brandon Cunniff to Triple-A Gwinnett. Kelly placed anywhere from 24th to 76th in Baseball America’s prospect rankings from 2009-12, but injury- and performance-related issues have beset the former Red Sox and Padres farmhand. Notably, Kelly went from Boston to San Diego in 2010 in a deal involving then-Padres prospect and current Cubs superstar Anthony Rizzo. That trade brought first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox. The Padres then sent Kelly to the Braves last offseason for catcher/pitcher/outfielder Christian Bethancourt. The 27-year-old Kelly subsequently amassed 21 2/3 frames of 5.82 ERA pitching with matching strikeout and walk rates (2.91 over nine innings) this season. Cunniff has logged 52 big league innings – all with the Braves since last season – and recorded a 4.50 ERA, 9.17 K/9 and 5.37 BB/9.
- The Pirates have outrighted infielder Pedro Florimon, catcher Jacob Stallings and southpaw Zach Phillips to Triple-A Indianapolis. The most notable member of the group is Florimon, a defensive specialist who has collected a combined 752 major league plate appearances with the Orioles, Twins and Pirates. Only 50 of those PAs have come with Pittsburgh since he joined the organization via waivers prior to the 2015 season. Stallings, whom the Pirates chose in the seventh round of the 2012 draft, took his first 15 major league trips to the plate this year. Phillips also got some work with the Bucs this season, impressing over 6 2/3 innings (two earned runs, six strikeouts, one walk). The 30-year-old previously racked up 15 2/3 total frames with the Orioles and Marlins.
- The Giants have outrighted catcher Tony Sanchez to Triple-A Sacramento. Sanchez has accumulated just 155 major league PAs since Pittsburgh drafted him fourth overall in 2009. He divided 2016 between the Triple-A affiliates of the Blue Jays and Giants and combined for an ugly .201/.298/.317 line across 228 PAs.
White Sox Decline 2017 Option On Matt Albers, Release Daniel Webb
2:51pm: The White Sox formally announced that Albers’ option has been declined and also announced that right-hander Daniel Webb has been released. The 27-year-old Webb pitched just one inning for Chicago this season before hitting the disabled list with an arm injury that ultimately proved to be a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Webb had Tommy John surgery this past June.
The hard-throwing Webb had a nice season with the ChiSox in 2014, posting a 3.99 ERA in 67 2/3 innings out of the ‘pen. However, his 7.7 K/9 rate was lower than one would expect of someone that averaged better than 95 mph on his heater, and Webb also averaged 5.6 BB/9 that year. He labored through an unsuccessful 2015 season (it’s not known how much, if at all, the arm troubles impacted that year) prior to his abbreviated 2016 season.
While he’ll miss at least the first half of next season, Webb could be an interesting option as a depth piece/reclamation project for a team seeking bullpen help. He’s controllable through at least the 2020 season via arbitration as it stands and could almost certainly be had on a minor league pact this winter.
12:37pm: The White Sox will decline their $3MM club option on right-hander Matt Albers, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Albers will instead earn a $250K buyout and once again enter the free-agent market in search of a new club.
Albers, 34 in January, pitched 51 1/3 innings out of the Chicago bullpen this season but struggled through the worst results of his career, logging a 6.31 ERA along the way. Typically a ground-ball specialist, Albers saw his ground-ball rate dip from 58.6 percent in 2015 to 48.6 percent in 2016, and his K/9 rate (6.8 to 5.3) and BB/9 rate (2.2 to 3.3) each trended in the wrong direction as well. On the plus side for Albers, he did recover the velocity he lost in a 2015 campaign that was shortened by a broken finger. After averaging 89.7 mph on his heater in 2015, he was back up to 92 mph in 2016 — not far off from his career average of 92.6 mph.
While the 2016 campaign was nightmarish for Albers, it’s worth pointing out that he’s long been a quality bullpen piece prior to this year. From 2012-15, Albers logged a stellar 2.32 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a ground-ball rate near 60 percent in 170 2/3 innings of work with the Astros, D-backs, Indians, Red Sox and White Sox.
Red Sox Exercise Clay Buchholz’s Option, Decline Option On Ryan Hanigan
8:09pm: The Red Sox have also announced that they’ve picked up their 2017 option on David Ortiz. The move is a formality, since Ortiz is expected to retire.
2:30pm: Drellich also writes that the Red Sox plan to pick up Clay Buchholz‘s $13.5MM club option, and Heyman tweeted that the team will indeed do so. Buchholz had a $500K buyout on the option, so the decision boiled down to a $13MM call for Boston. (The team has announced both option decisions.)
Buchholz, who turned 32 in August, struggled with the Red Sox for much of the season and at one point lost his spot in the starting rotation. However, despite a brief demotion to the bullpen, Buchholz finished the year quite strongly, logging a 3.14 ERA in 28 2/3 innings in September and a 2.86 ERA over his final 44 innings. He’s also a season removed from 113 1/3 innings of 3.26 ERA ball that came with outstanding peripherals. Given the lack of quality options on the free-agent market and the fact that Buchholz generated summer trade interest even before his strong finish to the year, there was an argument to exercise Buchholz’s option even if he’s traded elsewhere this offseason, as MLBTR detailed a couple of weeks ago.
1:56pm: The Red Sox have declined catcher Ryan Hanigan‘s $3.75MM option for 2017 in favor of an $800K buyout, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reported earlier Thursday that the Red Sox were likely to let Hanigan go.
Hanigan joined the Red Sox in December 2014 in a trade that sent third baseman Will Middlebrooks to the Padres, with whom Hanigan never actually played a game. The Red Sox didn’t lose much in dealing Middlebrooks, but Hanigan was still a disappointment in Boston. After establishing himself as a defensively capable backstop with solid offensive skills in Cincinnati and Tampa Bay, Hanigan batted just .219/.298/.294 in two years and 319 plate appearances with the Red Sox. He finished third among Boston’s catchers this year in PAs (113), trailing Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez, and posted an unusable .171/.230/.238 line. That was poor enough for Boston to wave goodbye to Hanigan, who will try to hook on elsewhere in free agency.
In addition to Leon and Vazquez, the Red Sox also have Blake Swihart as a potential catcher option for next season. The outfield/backstop missed most of this year with an ankle injury. Alternatively, Boston could look to free agency for help, especially if it doesn’t trust Leon’s unexpected breakout.
Royals To Pick up 2017 Options For Wade Davis, Alcides Escobar
The Royals will exercise their 2017 club options for right-handed closer Wade Davis and shortstop Alcides Escobar, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Davis will earn $10MM next season and Escobar will rake in $6.5MM.
Davis helped pitch the Royals to back-to-back World Series appearances from 2014-15 and a championship last season, but he was a tad less dominant this year. He still thrived, though, recording a 1.87 ERA, 9.76 K/9, 3.32 BB/9 and 48.6 percent ground-ball rate in 43 1/3 innings. Davis threw 65-plus innings in each of the previous two years, but he missed significant time this season with a forearm strain. Landing on the disabled list in late July – right before the trade deadline – helped put the kibosh on a potential deal involving Davis, who had drawn interest across the league. Calls have continued to come in since for Davis, who would surely net a quality return as an affordable and elite reliever, but Kansas City reportedly won’t move him unless it receives young pitching in return.
Along with Davis, first baseman Eric Hosmer, left-hander Danny Duffy, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and third baseman Mike Moustakas are set to become free agents after next season, meaning general manager Dayton Moore might elect to give the club’s championship-winning core one more shot after injuries helped limit the Royals to 81 wins this year.
Escobar is also entering his final season under Kansas City’s control, and although he’s defensively gifted and speedy, the 29-year-old’s limitations at the plate weigh down his value. Dating back to last season, Escobar leads the Royals in plate appearances (1,344), but that’s not a positive for a player who has hit a meek .259/.293/.335. Nevertheless, with no clear upgrades available in free agency and the 21-year-old Raul Mondesi fresh off a less-than-stellar rookie season, retaining Escobar likely wasn’t a difficult choice for the Royals.
Giants To Exercise 2017 Option On Matt Moore
The Giants will exercise their $7MM club option on left-hander Matt Moore, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The decision, if it can even be called that, amounted to little more than a formality, as Moore’s affordable salary and the two club options remaining on his deal beyond the 2017 season make him a bargain for San Francisco.
San Francisco acquired the 27-year-old Moore from the Rays just prior to the trade deadline in a deal that sent infielder Matt Duffy and prospects Lucius Fox and Michael Santos back to Tampa Bay. Moore long rated as one of the top prospect in all of baseball and looked to have established himself as a burgeoning front-line starter with an All-Star 2013 season, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2014 and missed the bulk of the next two seasons.
While he struggled in his return from Tommy John last year, Moore logged a career-high 198 1/3 innings this season (plus eight more brilliant frames in the NLDS). The former eighth-rounder notched a 4.08 ERA in 130 innings with the Rays and posted an identical mark in 68 1/3 regular-season innings with the Giants, averaging 8.1 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 over the course of the entire season. He’ll join Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija in San Francisco’s rotation next season, and the Giants can retain him in 2018 and 2019 via club options that are respectively valued at $9MM and $10MM.
Rangers To Exercise Jonathan Lucroy’s Option
In the ultimate no-brainer decision, the Rangers will exercise star catcher Jonathan Lucroy‘s $5.25MM club option for 2017.
Lucroy, whom the Rangers acquired from the Brewers prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, will continue as one of the game’s most reasonably priced standouts for another season. Between Texas and Milwaukee, he batted a stellar .292/.355/.500 with 24 home runs in 544 plate appearances. That came after Lucroy battled injuries in 2015 and hit a disappointing .264/.326/.391 with seven homers in 415 PAs. Aside from that season, the 30-year-old has been among the game’s premier all-around catchers since 2012. As has typically been the case, Lucroy graded out quite well as a pitch framer this year, per both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.
The 2017 campaign will be Lucroy’s last under the five-year, $11MM extension he inked with the Brewers in 2012. Whether via an extension with the Rangers or a deal with another team in free agency a year from now, Lucroy should become one of the sport’s highest-paid catchers sometime within the next 12-plus months.
Indians To Exercise Carlos Santana’s Option
The Indians will pick up their $12MM club option on designated hitter/first baseman Carlos Santana, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The decision was a foregone conclusion, as Santana not only remained productive in his age-30 campaign but had one of the best years of his career in 2016.
Santana, 31 next April, appeared in a career-high 158 games and notched a career-best 688 plate appearances in 2016. The switch-hitting slugger also notched career-best marks in homers (34), runs scored (89) and RBIs (87) while posting a strong .259/.366/.498 batting line that checked in well above the league average. Santana spent most of his time as Cleveland’s DH this season, starting 92 games there, though he did also make 64 appearances as a first baseman. It’s yet to be determined exactly how that playing time will be divided up in 2017, as the team currently stands to lose its primary first baseman, Mike Napoli, to free agency. However, GM Mike Chernoff said prior to the conclusion of the World Series that Cleveland had a desire to keep Napoli in the fold, so the possibility exists that Santana and Napoli can once again provide the bulk of the power in manager Terry Francona’s lineup next season.
We’re also nearing the point at which Santana’s future with the Indians becomes a question mark. Originally acquired in a wildly lopsided trade that sent Casey Blake to the Dodgers, Santana has taken every at-bat of his Major League career whilst wearing an Indians uniform. Cleveland signed him to a five-year, $21MM pact prior to the 2012 season, and the 2016 campaign marked the final guaranteed year of that deal. His club option for 2017 was a no-brainer, but Santana will be eligible to test the open market for the first time next offseason if the Indians don’t broker a longer-term pact with him in the next 12 months.
Mets To Exercise Options For Jay Bruce, Jose Reyes; Decline Jon Niese’s
The Mets will exercise their 2017 club options for outfielder Jay Bruce and infielder Jose Reyes, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, who adds that the team will decline left-hander Jon Niese‘s option (link via Adam Rubin of ESPN.com). Bruce will make $13MM next season, Reyes will earn the league minimum and Niese will collect a $500K buyout in lieu of the $10MM he’d have gotten had the Mets picked up his option.
With a .219/.294/.391 line in 187 plate appearances, Bruce performed poorly after the Mets acquired him from the Reds at the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. Nevertheless, it’s unsurprising that the team is willing to retain him for next season, especially with fellow corner outfield option Yoenis Cespedes headed for free agency. If the Mets re-sign Cespedes or add other high-profile outfield help to go with Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto, it’s possible they’d shop Bruce, whose .265/.316/.559 line in 402 PAs with the Reds this season was enough for New York to send well-regarded infield prospect Dilson Herrera to Cincinnati for him. All told, Bruce slashed an above-average .250/.309/.506 with 33 home runs, thereby bouncing back from two straight miserable offensive seasons, though that’s not great production from a corner outfielder whose defense is questionable at best.
The controversial Reyes, meanwhile, rejoined the Mets on a minor league contract in July after serving a 51-game domestic violence suspension and receiving his release from the Rockies. From a baseball standpoint, the signing benefited the Mets this year, as he hit .267/.326/.443 with eight homers and nine steals across 445 PAs. Reyes, who previously thrived as a shortstop with the Mets from 2003-11, primarily played third base while filling in for the injured David Wright. He could continue to factor in at the hot corner in 2017, and it’s possible he’ll also see time as a second baseman and outfielder.
This year was also Niese’s second go-around with the Mets, whom they traded to the Pirates last offseason for second baseman Neil Walker. Niese was a steady option out of the Mets’ rotation from 2010-15, but he struggled mightily in Pittsburgh. That led the Pirates to trade Niese back to the Mets for reliever Antonio Bastardo at the deadline. In six appearances down the stretch, including four from the bullpen, Niese yielded 14 earned runs on 13 hits and nine walks in 11 innings. Between Pittsburgh and New York, he pitched to a 5.50 ERA in 121 frames and posted the worst home run-to-fly ball ratio of his career (22.1 percent). Otherwise, Niese’s strikeout and walk rates (6.55 and 3.5) were fairly normal, as was his ground-ball percentage (51.1). He’ll now join a free agent market overflowing with fellow back-end starters.