Orioles Sign Dale Thayer To Minors Deal
The Orioles have added veteran righty Dale Thayer on a minor league contract, his representatives at O’Connell Sports Management announced on Twitter. He’ll receive an invitation to major league camp in the deal.
Thayer, 35, ran up excellent results in his first three years with the Padres after receiving only minimal prior MLB opportunities. Over 2011-14, he worked to a 3.02 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 across 188 frames.
But the righty couldn’t maintain that trajectory after finally earning his first arbitration payday last year. He managed only 37 2/3 frames before being designated and outrighted. Thayer’s 4.06 ERA was hardly a disaster, but there was obvious cause for concern as he fell off to 6.0 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine.
Baltimore will presumably slot the veteran into a competition for a middle relief role. He’ll look to earn a spot in a pen that could draw from an interesting pool of names this spring, including players like the rehabbing Dylan Bundy, emergent Mychal Givens, resurgent Brad Brach, and swingman Vance Worley.
Phillies Acquire Taylor Featherston
The Phillies have acquired infielder Taylor Featherston from the Angels in exchange for cash or a player to be named later, Philadelphia has announced. He was recently designated for assignment by Los Angeles to clear roster space for the claim of lefty Christian Friedrich.
New Philly GM Matt Klentak was with the Halos when the organization acquired Featherston’s Rule 5 rights and carried him on the active roster for all of 2015 to obtain control. For the Phillies, Featherston could provide a near-term MLB option. After all, Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez, and Andres Blanco hardly constitute the most inspiring up-the-middle unit. More likely, though, he’ll go back for his first crack at Triple-A after skipping the level in the Rule 5 process.
Featherston is viewed as a high-quality defender, and advanced fielding metrics backed that up in his limited action last year. But he’s still got some work to do at the plate. Over his first 169 MLB plate appearances, Featherston carried a lowly .162/.212/.247 triple slash. He has shown some pop and speed previously in the minors, however, and the Phils’ new-look front office obviously feels there’s some upside to take a crack at developing.
Blue Jays, Josh Donaldson Reach Two-Year Extension
The Blue Jays have announced a two-year, $28.65MM deal with star third baseman Josh Donaldson. He’ll earn $11.65MM in 2016 and $17MM for the following year.
The sides had been set for arbitration, with Donaldson filing at $11.8MM and the team countering at $11.35MM. While the gulf between those numbers is obviously a pittance compared to the overall value involved, the Jays employ a “trial and file” strategy that made a hearing inevitable after numbers were swapped — barring a multi-year deal. The sides could have worked out a deal to buy out all of Donaldson’s remaining arb years — he was a Super Two last year and is under control through 2018 via arbitration — if not a yet longer pact to lock up some free agent seasons, but chose the more straightforward option.
Fresh off of an American League MVP award, Donaldson had enormous earning power at the arb table. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz broke down his case in January, noting that the projected $12MM salary would have represented a record $7.7MM raise. Obviously, both team and player agreed that was a bit more than was warranted, though even the Jays were willing to pay the same bump that the prior record holder received (Chris Davis, with a $7.05MM raise).
The new deal not only rewards Donaldson for his monster 2015 season with a nice salary in the coming season, but also promises him a second huge payday. It’s less than he might have earned with another strong season — and much less than a repeat MVP effort would have brought — but significantly reduces his risk in exchange for some potential cost savings and certainty to the club.
Donaldson, who came over from the A’s last winter, went to a hearing with his new club before he ever suited up. The club won, with Donaldson settling for $4.3MM — a fair sight shy of the $5.75MM that he sought. Of course, he’s now more than made up for it with this new deal.
There certainly weren’t any lingering effects from that adversarial proceeding on Donaldson, who exceeded already-high expectations last year. The MVP tab was well deserved, as the 30-year-old delivered a .297/.371/.568 slash and 41 home runs, helping to lead Toronto to an AL East pennant. With typically stellar defense mixed in, Donaldson tallied 8.8 rWAR and 8.7 fWAR.
Something of a late-bloomer, Donaldson represents a tough decision as a long-term extension candidate. There’s little chance he’d take a significant discount to give away free agent years, but he’s already under control through his age-32 season and has every right to demand a premium payday.
Toronto is, of course, already examining the possibility of buying up seasons of sluggers in their mid-30s, as pending free agents Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are on the docket for extension talks this spring. Having Donaldson’s salary for 2017 already on the books certainly removes a variable, though balancing the long-term checkbook still seems a matter that will require some care.
Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reported the agreement and approximate value. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the precise guarantee (via the Washington Post).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rangers Avoid Arbitration With Mitch Moreland
The Rangers have agreed to a deal with first baseman Mitch Moreland to avoid arbitration, as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com first reported on Twitter. He’ll earn $5.7MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility.
With a hearing looming early today, the sides were apparently able to strike a last-minute arrangement. Moreland and his reps at RMG Baseball had filed at $6MM, with the team countering at just $4.675MM.
The ultimate settlement value, then, was well above the midpoint — an unusually big win for either side, especially a player. It comes in just above the $5.6MM salary projected by MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz heading into the season.
Moreland, 30, earned just $2.95MM last year after a tough 2014, but set himself up for a fruitful final pass through the arb process with a strong 2015 season. Over 515 plate appearances on the year, Moreland carried a .278/.330/.482 slash and added 23 long balls.
That’s not exactly setting the world on fire for a defensively-limited player, but it did make him a sturdy regular. With slightly above-average ratings at first base added to the equation, Moreland landed right at 2 WAR for the year.
With his final year’s contract on the books, Moreland will be playing for free agency. Barring a breakout of some kind, he has his limitations. He carries rather significant platoon splits and would be best deployed with a productive bench piece around to step in against southpaws. And Moreland’s strong power is not quite matched in the on-base department. When his BABIP fell to .255 in 2013, he was a below-average overall performer (95 wRC+) despite near-identical power output to last year’s effort (23 home runs, .206 ISO).
That’s not to say he won’t hold his share of open-market appeal, of course, as he once again showed he can be good overall contributor at the dish and does have a solid glove at first. Most importantly, he made 2014 — when his power fell precipitously and he dealt with ankle issues — seem like an outlier.
White Sox, Travis Ishikawa Agree To Minor League Deal
4:22pm: SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Ishikawa’s deal comes with a $900K base salary in the Majors — the same figure he’d received on the Mariners deal that ultimately fell apart.
3:54pm: The White Sox and first baseman Travis Ishikawa have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin tweets. Ishikawa had previously agreed to a minor league deal with the Mariners earlier this offseason, but that deal fell through last month. This will mark Ishikawa’s second stint with the Sox, as he signed there in July 2013 and finished out that season with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte.
The 32-year-old Ishikawa, a Jim McDowell client, split the 2015 campaign between the Pirates and Giants, batting a combined .206/.306/.302 in 72 Major League plate appearances and a combined .267/.337/.420 in the minors with the two organizations. Though he hasn’t occupied a semi-regular role since his 2009 season with the Giants, Ishikawa has averaged 112 big league plate appearances per year across the past six seasons, and he’s a career .255/.321/.391 hitter in the Majors.
The White Sox don’t appear, on the surface, to have much in the way of at-bats for another first baseman, though Ishikawa does have a bit of corner outfield experience. He’ll serve as a depth option for the Sox, who have Jose Abreu and Adam LaRoche penciled in as their primary first base and DH options, with right-handed sluggers Mike Olt and Jerry Sands serving as potential corner/DH alternatives on the 40-man roster.
White Sox Sign Mat Latos
The White Sox have officially added free agent righty Mat Latos on a one-year, $3MM pact. It’s a straight guaranteed deal with no incentives or options.
Latos has long appeared to be one of the better bounceback options on this year’s market, as he’s only just turned 28 and has established a rather lofty ceiling in the majors. The Bledsoe Agency client does come with some health concerns after dealing with elbow issues and tallying just 218 2/3 innings over the past two seasons, but he was largely healthy after an early DL stint in 2015.
Clubs are often willing to give more significant guarantees to such players — Justin Masterson, for instance, got $9.5MM from the Red Sox and Doug Fister just secured $7MM from the Astros. Low-base, high-incentive deals are another popular option; to take but one recent example, Bronson Arroyo received $6MM worth of upside in his deal with the Nationals (if he cracks the major league roster).
In the case of Latos, though, it seems there may have been some hesitation about adding a player who has developed a questionable reputation in prior clubhouses. It doesn’t help that he scuffled badly down the stretch with both the Dodgers and Angels, of course, but it remains notable that Latos fell so far shy of expectations — $12MM on a one-year deal, in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes — in a market that paid out so much for pitching. It was just last winter that the Marlins gave up a solid young pitching prospect for the rights to employ Latos at what turned out to be a $9.4MM salary.
By taking on some risk, but making only a limited commitment, the White Sox seem to have made a worthy gamble to bolster their rotation. The staff’s top three looks quite strong, but as August Fagerstrom of Fangraphs notes, John Danks and Erik Johnson are an underwhelming duo behind that group and there isn’t much depth to speak of. Fagerstrom was explaining why a move for Yovani Gallardo might make sense, but that would seem rather unlikely after today’s move.
Of course, the addition of Latos represents quite a different proposition than that of a player such as Gallardo, whose main claim to free agent earnings comes from durability and solid innings. But gambling on the still-youthful righty is arguably a better allocation of resources for a club that’s already committed to exceed its 2015 Opening Day payroll and still has other areas to improve.
Latos has every incentive to get himself back on track, and the upside is significant. Other than his struggles as a rookie and his troubles last year, the big righty has been a major contributor. In over 900 innings between 2010 and 2014, he logged a 3.27 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
Looking more closely at his efforts last year, it’s easy to see cause to look past an unsightly 4.95 ERA. All major ERA estimators valued him as a sub-4.00 pitcher, and he not only recovered velocity from 2014, but improved over his early-season results as the year wore on. Latos posed a swinging strike rate (9.9%) that lines up with his earlier years’ work. Of course, the finish left much to be desired, but on the whole there’s plenty to roll the dice on.
ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick first reported the signing on Twitter. Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago had the value via Twitter. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo noted (on Twitter) that no incentives or options were included.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros Win Arbitration Hearing Against Jason Castro
The Astros have defeated catcher Jason Castro in their arbitration hearing, Jon Heyman reports on Twitter. He’ll earn $5MM for the coming season after filing at $5.25MM.
This dispute seemed to be one of principle, as practicalities would have suggested a compromise with just $250K at issue. Castro had been projected by MLBTR to earn only $4.6MM in his final season of arb eligibility, and Houston seemingly felt it had already gone high enough in its negotiations. Indeed, the team reportedly took a “file and trial” stance with respect to his case.
Castro earned $4MM last year but turned in a disappointing overall campaign. Despite carrying a rare left-handed bat for a backstop, and receiving near-regular playing time in the prior two seasons, he only took 375 plate appearances. Already coming off of a down 2014, Castro did not post the hoped-for turnaround. All told, since his breakout 2013 campaign, he owns a .217/.284/.365 slash with 25 home runs.
There’s cause to think there could be more in the tank, of course. Castro has shown an average to above-average bat in prior campaigns, and did manage a useful .219/.299/.408 batting line against right-handed pitching last year. His strikeout rate remains a concern, but he’s succeeded with big K numbers before, and might be in line for some positive regression after posting a .280 BABIP.
Castro has also turned himself into a highly-regarded defender — see here for one recent evaluation from a statistical perspective, and read this on his framing. As a defensively-proficient, lefty-swinging receiver, he doesn’t need to do much with the bat to justify a prominent role, and the glove gives him a nice floor. Castro should still more than justify his salary, and his good power (.154 ISO in 2015) leaves some room for upside.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/8/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Mets announced the signing of outfielder Roger Bernadina to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to major league camp. He’ll earn $750K if he makes it to the MLB roster, Jon Heyman tweets, and receives a June 15 opt-out. Bernadina, 31, has accumulated nearly 1,500 MLB plate appearances, with the bulk of that action coming between 2010-13 with the Nationals. He’s also spent time with the Phillies, Reds, and Dodgers. Last year was his first without any action in the majors since he broke in with the Nats in 2008. Bernadina put up a .276/.383/.466 slash with 15 home runs and 20 steals in 447 plate appearances for the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015.
- Infielder Danny Worth has caught on with the Astros, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 30-year-old owns a .230/.293/.295 slash in 292 big league plate appearances, all of which came with the Tigers between 2010-14. He played at Triple-A last year in the Diamondbacks organization, slashing a rather robust .314/.394/.469 in 399 trips to the plate.
- The Dodgers brought back right-hander Chin-hui Tsao on a minor league pact, according to Eddy. Now 34, the Taiwanese reliever (and former top prospect) has seen 95 1/3 MLB innings spread between 2003 and 2015. He spent most of last year with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, working to a 2.77 ERA in 39 frames with 9.7 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9.
- Backstop Steven Lerud recently inked with the Mariners, per a club announcement. The 31-year-old has minimal MLB experience, but has been in the upper minors since 2008. Most recently, in 2015, he posted a .238/.320/.301 slash over 231 plate appearances at Triple-A Syracuse in the Nationals organization.
Diamondbacks, A.J. Pollock Agree To Two-Year Extension
TODAY: Pollock will receive annual salaries of $3.5MM and $6.75MM, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
YESTERDAY: The Diamondbacks have struck a two-year deal to avoid arbitration with outfielder A.J. Pollock, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports on Twitter. He’ll receive $10.25MM in the contract, Buster Olney of ESPN adds (Twitter link).
Pollock filed at $3.9MM, with the team countering at $3.65MM — both of which fell below his $4.3MM projection — so there wasn’t much room for movement on his 2016 salary. But Arizona may have saved a bit of cash on next year’s bill in order to help ease a settlement on this season’s payday.
And for Pollock, he won’t have to worry about injury or a performance decline sapping his earning power for 2017. Certainly, the new deal builds in a substantial raise for the burgeoning star. He’ll be promised a $3.25MM bump for the added season covered in the pact.
As a 3+ service-time player, Pollock will still have one year of arb eligibility remaining after his new deal is up. A longer-term arrangement still seems plausible for the 28-year-old, who cemented himself as the D-Backs’ center fielder with an excellent 2015 campaign. If nothing else, the major raise baked into the deal suggests that the team doesn’t expect him to fall off in the coming year.
Pollock’s signing puts a cap on a banner evening for two-year, arb-only extensions for prominent players. Josh Donaldson reportedly struck his own such arrangement with the Blue Jays, while J.D. Martinez did the same with the Tigers. In some cases, that can suggest that the sides were unable to work out something larger and settled for agreeing to terms on salaries on years already controlled. Of course, Pollock is younger than Donaldson and further from free agency than Martinez, so he remains a fairly plausible candidate to sell some free agent seasons to his current club.
Pollock turned heads in an injury-shortened 2014 in which he emerged as a premium player both at the plate and in the field. But many were waiting to see if he could repeat in a full season of action, and he delivered.
All told, Pollock contributed a .315/.367/.498 slash with 20 home runs and 39 steals over his 673 plate appearances in 2015. And he rated as one of the game’s most productive center fielders, too, significantly adding to his value. By any measure, he was one of the game’s best all-around players, and his 7.4 rWAR and 6.6 fWAR attest.
The move continues a busy offseason for Arizona, which recently added reliever Tyler Clippard to a pitching staff that was already set to gain starters Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller. While this latest contract won’t impact the organization’s roster for the coming season, or any future campaigns, it does represent another significant commitment.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Padres To Sign Skip Schumaker To Minors Deal
The Padres have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran utilityman Skip Schumaker, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Contract details have yet to be reported.
Schumaker hit the market when his option was declined by the Reds earlier in the offseason. That did not come as much of a surprise after two tough years in Cincinnati, in which he accumulated a .238/.297/.322 slash in 539 plate appearances.
There were more prosperous years before that, of course, as Schumaker enjoyed a nice run with the Cardinals and brief stop with the Dodgers before joining the Reds. In just under 3,000 MLB turns at bat over the 2007-13 campaigns, he carried a .288/.346/.375 batting line.
It isn’t hard to see the match-up here, as the Padres still have a fair bit of flexibility in settling upon a bench mix. Schumaker will presumably compete for a utility role in camp. He’s spent most of his career splitting time between second base and the outfield.
As he qualified as an Article XX(B) free agent, Schumaker will automatically receive the protections afforded such players — though he could also have negotiated other terms. Five days before the season begins, San Diego will have to decide whether to add him to its major league roster, pay him a $100K retention bonus, or cut him loose. If the bonus is paid, Schumaker would also pick up a June 1 opt-out date.