Red Sox Extend John Farrell
The Red Sox have announced that they’ve extended manager John Farrell through the 2017 season with an option for 2018. The deal adds one year plus an option to Farrell’s current deal, which continues through 2015 with a team option for 2016.
Farrell replaced Bobby Valentine following the 2012 season and led the Red Sox to a World Series win the following season, winning the Sporting News AL Manager of the Year award and finishing second in BBWAA AL Manager of the Year voting. Last season, the Red Sox fell to last place, and Farrell now owns a 168-156 record in two years with the team. Farrell also led the Blue Jays to a 154-170 record as their manager during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
Orioles Defeat Alejandro De Aza In Arbitration
The Orioles have won their arbitration case against outfielder Alejandro De Aza, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets. De Aza, who had filed for $5.65MM, will make $5MM next season in his last year before free agency eligibility.
De Aza made $4.25MM last season, so his $5MM 2015 salary will represent only a relatively modest raise. He had been in the midst of a disappointing season with the White Sox before arriving in Baltimore after an August trade. A strong stretch run with the Orioles helped save his season, but he still experienced overall declines (some of them admittedly slight) in most offensive categories, hitting .252/.314/.386 with just eight home runs for the season.
Via MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker, the Orioles have now either settled or completed the arbitration process with all 11 of their arb-eligible players. They will pay a total of about $57.5MM to those players, including Chris Davis at $12MM, Bud Norris at $8.8MM and Matt Wieters at $8.3MM.
Nationals Exercise Matt Williams’ 2016 Option
The Nationals have announced that they’ve exercised their 2016 option on manager Matt Williams. The team holds another option on Williams for 2017.
“We are happy to pick up Matt’s option for the 2016 season,” says Nats General Manager Mike Rizzo. “It shows the great confidence we have in Matt to continue to lead this team on the field.”
Williams replaced Davey Johnson for the 2014 season, and in his first year as manager, he led the team to a 96-66 record as the Nats easily won the NL East. In the process, Williams won the BBWAA NL Manager of the Year award and the Sporting News NL Manager of the Year award.
Minor Moves: Donnie Murphy, Casper Wells, Jiwan James
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Brewers have added infielder Donnie Murphy on a minor league deal, the team announced through the Twitter account of its player development group. Murphy, soon to turn 32, has seen action in nine MLB seasons, compiling a .212/.279/.395 line over 931 plate appearances. He experienced his most sustained success in 2013 with the Cubs, but struggled last year in a prolonged stint with the Rangers. Murphy, who has spent most of his time at third and second, could compete with some younger players for a utility role with Milwaukee.
- Casper Wells has joined the Tigers on a minor league deal according to multiple reports, the first of which was made by Baseball Prospectus’ Mark Anderson (Twitter link). Chris Iott of MLive.com reports (also via Twitter) that Wells will head right to minor league camp on March 15. The 30-year-old Wells, a former Tiger, is a career .230/.299/.395 hitter that is capable of handling all three spots in the outfield. The right-handed hitter has solid numbers against left-handed pitching in his career: a .248/.329/.450 batting line.
- The independent Atlantic League’s Bridgeport Bluefish announced that they’ve signed former Phillies top prospect Jiwan James. The 25-year-old James ranked among Philadelphia’s top 30 prospects on multiple occasions, per Baseball America, who also ranked him as the organization’s best athlete, fastest runner and best outfield defender multiple times. However, his bat has yet to line up with those standout defensive tools, as he’s hit .265/.317/.364 in his minor league career. James dealt with a knee injury in 2013 and had offseason surgery due to Crohn’s disease last winter, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com wrote, so perhaps with a display of better health in the Atlantic League he can jump back into affiliated ball.
Pirates, Orioles Complete Travis Snider Trade
The Pirates have acquired lefty Steven Brault from the Orioles, the Pirates announced. He will serve as the player to be named later from this January’s Travis Snider deal, joining another young lefty — Stephen Tarpley — to make up the final package for Pittsburgh.
Brault, 22, was floated as a possible name to change hands at the time of the deal, and will indeed be on the move. The southpaw has worked primarily as a starter, reaching the High-A level at the tail end of 2014. He spent most of the year in the Sally League, compiling a 3.05 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9.
Prospect watchers generally saw Brault as something like the twentieth-best prospect in the O’s system. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs explains that the southpaw will need to find consistent arm speed to reach the bigs as a back-of-the-rotation starter
Yankees Sign Jared Burton To Minor League Deal
FEB. 20: Burton’s contract contains four opt-out dates, and his incentives, which are based on appearances, kick in when the right-hander pitches in his 20th game, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (All Twitter links). Burton will receive $30K bonus for appearing in his 20th game, and he’ll earn an additional bonus that increases by $10K for every five games from that point forward. His final bonus will be worth $120K and come at 65 games. Burton can opt out on March 31, June 1, Aug. 1 and Aug. 31.
FEB. 17: Burton will earn $2MM if he is in the big leagues, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. The deal also comes with $750K in available incentives.
FEB. 16: The Yankees announced that they have signed right-hander Jared Burton to a minor league contract and invited the former Twins/Reds setup man to Major League Spring Training. Burton is a client of Pro Agents, Inc.’s Dave Pepe.
Burton, who turns 34 in June, latched on with the Twins on a minor league deal following a shoulder injury that cut his Reds career short. (The presence of former Reds GM Wayne Krvisky in the Twins’ front office likely played a role in that move.) With Minnesota, Burton revived his career, working to an excellent 2.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 48.5 percent ground-ball rate in 62 innings in 2012. That strong performance netted him a two-year, $5.5MM extension with the Twins.
Minnesota paid a $200K buyout on Burton’s $3.6MM option for the 2015 season after Burton took a notable step backward this past season. Burton’s K/9 rate dipped to 6.5, and his BB/9 rate ticked up to 3.5 all while his ground-ball rate (38.5 percent) and fastball velocity deteriorated (92.9 mph in 2012; 91.5 in 2014). However, Burton still possesses an effective split-finger changeup (which he’s termed a “splangeup” in the past) that has been his best pitch in recent years. If he can rediscover some of his fastball effectiveness and/or some of his control, he could re-emerge as a useful bullpen arm for the second time in his career.
Burton’s been a durable arm for Minnesota since returning from injury, averaging 64 innings and 68 total appearances over his three-year stint there. Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, David Carpenter and Justin Wilson are all locks for the New York ‘pen, and they’ll likely be joined by Esmil Rogers and Adam Warren. Burton will compete with pitchers such as Chasen Shreve, Andrew Bailey and Jose De Paula for a slot in manager Joe Girardi’s relief corps.
Mariners, Joe Saunders Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mariners and Joe Saunders have agreed to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns.
Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reported yesterday that the Mariners were interested in a minor league deal with the Legacy Agency client and viewed him as a potential left-handed relief option. As I noted at the time, Saunders has been quietly excellent against lefties over the past two seasons, even if his overall numbers are undeniably troublesome. Though Saunders pitched to a 5.26 ERA over 183 innings with the 2013 Mariners and a 6.70 ERA in 43 innings for the Rangers and Orioles last year, he’s held opposing left-handed hitters to a paltry .230/.270/.308 batting line in that time.
The Mariners have a definite hole in the bullpen with the departure of Joe Beimel, who worked to a 2.20 ERA in 45 innings (56 appearances) as a lefty specialist last year. GM Jack Zduriencik recently told reporters that he spoke to Beimel’s camp and the two sides simply weren’t able to come to an agreement. That’s hardly surprising, given the fact that Dutton tweeted last night that Beimel is looking for a multi-year deal coming off his solid season.
In his 10-year big league career, Saunders has worked almost exclusively as a starter. However, he’s also held lefties to a .241/.288/.329 batting line. If he does make the Mariners’ bullpen and enjoy a solid season as a left-handed relief option, he could enjoy a career renaissance similar to that of Oliver Perez, who, interestingly enough, also established himself as a reliever in Seattle.
As Johns notes, Saunders could be competing with Lucas Luetge, Mike Kickham, Rule 5 pick David Rollins and non-roster invitee Rafael Perez for a spot as a second lefty in the bullpen. Charlie Furbush will be the team’s top left-handed option once again in 2015.
Mike Minor Wins Arbitration Case Versus Braves
Mike Minor has won his arbitration hearing versus the Braves, reports MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes (on Twitter). Minor will earn $5.6MM as opposed to the $5.1MM figure submitted by the team, as shown in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker. Minor, a Jet Sports Management client, had been projected to earn $5.1MM by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Minor, who turned 27 this past December, was plagued by shoulder issues in an injury-shortened 2014 campaign. The left-hander worked to a 4.77 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 40.6 percent ground-ball rate in 145 1/3 innings with Atlanta last year. Those numbers were a far cry from the very strong 3.21 ERA he posted in 204 1/3 innings in a much healthier 2013 campaign.
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was among the reporters to discuss the arbitration hearing with Minor today (video link). Minor said the hearing process took roughly four hours, and he holds no hard feelings toward the Braves organization, understanding that the process was merely business. In fact, he spoke with Braves officials who were representing the team upon completion of the hearing. “They all say ‘good luck — hope you have a great year,’ so it’s nothing personal,” Minor said. The lefty added that his shoulder feels 100 percent and he’s slated for a bullpen session the second day. Minor discussed feeling behind and feeling weak as he entered Spring Training last season, noting how strong he feels in comparison this year.
Minor will receive a nice $1.75MM bump from his $3.85MM salary in his second trip through the arbitration process. A Super Two player, Minor will be eligible for arbitration twice more before hitting the open market upon completion of the 2017 campaign. That timeline has him slated to hit free agency heading into his age-30 season, which should set him up for a nice payday if he can rediscover his 2013 form now that his shoulder woes appear to be in the past.
Royals Sign Franklin Morales
FEB.20: Morales’ deal pays him $1.85MM with an additional $850K available via incentives, if he is on the Major League roster, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
FEB. 19: The Royals have signed left-hander Franklin Morales to a minor league contract, the team announced on its official Twitter site. Morales is represented by the Boras Corporation.
Morales posted a 5.37 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 1.54 K/BB rate over 142 1/3 innings with the Rockies last season. Ostensibly the team’s emergency starter, Morales ended up making 22 starts (out of 37 overall appearances) thanks to all of the injuries in Colorado’s rotation. This unexpected amount of action was surely a big reason for Morales’ inflated numbers, especially the additional exposure to right-handed hitters — righty bats had a .923 OPS against Morales last season, while left-handed hitters managed only a .699 OPS.
Given his large career splits (.624 OPS vs LHB, .844 OPS vs. RHB), Morales could be a valuable bullpen weapon if he’s limited to facing mostly lefty bats. If he makes the Royals’ roster, pitching at Kauffman Stadium could also be a boon for Morales after spending his entire career at hitter-friendly Coors Field and Fenway Park. Morales has only a 40% ground ball rate over his career and his HR/FB rate ballooned to a career-high 15.9% last season.
While the Royals’ bullpen is arguably the best in the game overall, their relief corps is short on left-handed options other than Tim Collins. Top prospect Brandon Finnegan worked out of the bullpen during Kansas City’s playoff run last year, though the club would obviously prefer to keep him as a starter for the sake of his long-term development. Of the other southpaw relievers in camp (including Brian Flynn and Joe Paterson), Morales has the most experience and he could even take the odd start if the Royals were in a pinch. K.C. had also recently shown interest in veteran relievers Phil Coke and Alfredo Aceves.
Mark Trumbo Wins Arbitration Hearing Versus D-Backs
Outfielder Mark Trumbo has won his arbitration hearing against the Diamondbacks, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Trumbo will earn a $6.9MM salary, which is significantly higher than the $5.3MM figure submitted by the club coming off an injury-shortened campaign. Trumbo’s agents at Wasserman Media Group did well to handily top the projection of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, who had pegged him for a $5.7MM salary.
Trumbo, 29, will receive a sizable $2.1MM raise despite missing roughly half the 2014 season. (Conversely, the team’s $5.3MM figure called for a raise of just $500K.) Though his first season with the D-Backs was shortened, he did post solid power numbers, hitting 14 homers and driving in 61 runs in just 88 games (362 plate appearances). While he rated as a sub-replacement-level player due to a .293 OBP and some particularly unsightly grades from defensive metrics, arbitration places greater emphasis on baseball card numbers like homers and RBIs than more modern statistics.
This marks Trumbo’s second trip through the arbitration process, and he’ll look to stay on the field for the entirety of the 2015 season and continue to post strong power numbers in hopes of an even more substantial raise next winter. He’s arbitration eligible one more time before becoming a free agent following the 2016 season. Arizona originally acquired Trumbo in a three-team trade that sent left-hander Tyler Skaggs to the Angels and center fielder Adam Eaton to the White Sox.