Pedro Alvarez Wins Arbitration Hearing Versus Pirates
Pedro Alvarez has won an arbitration hearing against the Pirates and will be awarded with the $5.75MM salary for which he filed as opposed to the team’s $5.25MM offer, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports (via Twitter). The Scott Boras client and former No. 2 overall pick had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $5.5MM in this, his second trip through the arbitration process.
The 28-year-old Alvarez wins his hearing in spite of a down season in 2014 that saw his homer total from the previous year halved — from 36 to 18. Alvarez also saw his already questionable defense at third base decline, making an astounding 24 throwing errors in 823 innings at the hot corner. That led to him losing the reins on the everyday job at third base to breakout infielder Josh Harrison. Alvarez will be tasked with shifting to first base on a full-time basis beginning in 2015.
Overall, Alvarez will be receiving a modest $1.5MM raise from last season’s $4.25MM salary. Restored power would go a long ways toward earning him one more significant pay increase in arbitration next offseason as he heads into a contract year; Alvarez will be free-agent eligible following the 2016 campaign.
For the Pirates — a noted “file and trial” arbitration team — this was the third arb hearing they’ve had this winter, as can be seen in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker. The team won a hearing against Neil Walker (who had filed at $9MM against Pittsburgh’s $8MM) and also lost a hearing to Vance Worley ($2.45MM versus $2MM).
Royals To Sign Eric Hosmer To Two-Year Deal
The Royals have agreed to a two-year, $13.9MM deal to avoid arbitration with first baseman Eric Hosmer, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). The Boras Corporation client, 25, will still have one more year of arb eligibility remaining before qualifying for free agency in 2018.
Hosmer will earn $5.65MM for 2015 and will take home a $8.25MM salary next season, per another Flanagan tweet. A Super Two last year, Hosmer had filed at $6.7MM while Kansas City countered at $4.6MM. That created a $5.65MM midpoint — an exact match for his upcoming salary — that fell above Hosmer’s $5.2MM projection from MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz.
Though he is entrenched with the Royals, Hosmer still has yet to put together back-to-back productive seasons. In 2013, he slashed .302/.353/.448 with 17 home runs and 11 steals over 680 plate appearances, good for a 3+ win campaign. But he barely cracked the replacement barrier in his 547 trips to the dish in 2014. He rebounded well from a mid-season hand fracture, and was generally much better in the second half, but still ended the year with a .270.318/.398 mark with nine long balls and four stolen bags.
Obviously, the budget-conscious Royals remain believers. While a two-year pact offers some cost certainty and, potentially, some savings, it also takes away the possibility of a non-tender. And the team will be left exposed to the value of Hosmer’s raise if an injury occurs that would have limited his earning power.
Rockies Defeat Wilin Rosario In Arbitration
The Rockies have defeated catcher Wilin Rosario in the sides’ recent arbitration hearing, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Rosario will, accordingly, take home $2.8MM rather than his filing figure of $3.3MM.
Colorado may have been able to sway the panel by pointing out Rosario’s defensive shortcomings and relatively poor 2014, because it drove the price down a fair sight shy of the $3.6MM that MLBTR/Matt Swartz had projected. Rosario has consistently received rather poor defensive marks (see, e.g., Baseball Prospectus, Fangraphs), and pitch framing metrics have not been kind (Baseball Prospectus; Stat Corner). That put an even less promising spin on Rosario’s below-average .267/.305/.435 slash, which was good only for a park-adjusted 86 wRC+.
Of course that kind of offensive production is still not bad at all for a catcher. And Rosario, who battled injuries last year, has shown the ability to do much more. Still just 25, Rosario slashed .282/.314/.507 and hit 49 total home runs over just 892 plate appearances from 2012-13.
In addition to saving half a million dollars against the alternative scenario in the binary arbitration decision, Colorado gets the added benefit of holding down Rosario’s earnings for the following two years of eligibility. The slugger will need to earn his playing time this year, though he may be afforded additional turns at bat by slotting in at first base or even the corner outfield.
Indians To Sign Bruce Chen To Minors Deal
WEDNESDAY: Chen has an opt-out in his deal that can be triggered at the end of the spring, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
It is worth noting that, because he did not finish the 2014 season on a 40-man roster, Chen does not qualify as an Article XX(B) free agent. The negotiated opt-out clause, then, replaces the protections he would otherwise have received.
MONDAY: The Indians have agreed to a minor league pact with veteran southpaw Bruce Chen, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Chen can earn a $1MM salary if he makes the club, and can also achieve up to $1MM in incentives.
Chen, 37, has worked to a 4.58 lifetime ERA over parts of sixteen MLB seasons. The swingman earned a $3.25MM free agent guarantee with the Royals after putting up good results in 2013, but was released in September after posting a rough 7.45 ERA in his 48 1/3 frames last year.
Cleveland marks the 11th MLB club that Chen has suited up for. The Indians rotation looks to be a tough nut to crack, and the team does have a variety of left-handed pen options in tow already, but Chen’s salary possibilities suggest that he likely drew interest elsewhere and picked Cleveland for a reason.
As with fellow veteran lefty Barry Zito, who also struck a deal tonight, Chen has experienced a significant decrease in fastball velocity in recent years despite an already-low starting point. In 2014, his average heater dipped under 86 mph for the first time in his career, though Chen still managed to set down 6.7 batters per nine by strikeout.
Minor Moves: Aaron Northcraft, Henry Rodriguez
We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves here:
- Padres right-hander Aaron Northcraft cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A El Paso, tweets Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Northcraft, acquired along with Justin Upton from the Braves this offseason, was designated for assignment when San Diego made the James Shields signing official. He posted a 4.30 ERA in 130 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in the Braves organization last year.
- Among yesterday’s minor league signings announced by the Red Sox, some of which were previously reported, was infielder Henry Rodriguez (via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe; Twitter links). Not to be confused with the pitcher of the same name, the 25-year-old utility infielder has just 26 MLB plate appearances to his credit. A native of Venezuela, Rodriguez has struggled to sub-.700 OPS campaigns in 2012-13 at Triple-A. Released by the Reds last spring, Rodriguez did not appear in any affiliated or independent league action in 2014.
Angels Sign Matt Lindstrom To Minor League Deal
7:40pm: Lindstrom will receive a $1MM base salary if he makes the Major League roster, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
4:19pm: The Angels announced today that they have signed right-handed reliever Matt Lindstrom to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The 35-year-old Lindstrom is represented by Greg Genske of the Legacy Agency.
Lindstrom opened the 2014 season as the White Sox closer and recorded six saves with a 3.32 ERA through his first 19 appearances, but he suffered a subluxed tendon in his ankle while fielding a grounder, causing him to spend nearly three full months on the disabled list. Upon returning, he struggled to a 7.20 ERA in 16 appearances, yielding 12 runs in 15 innings of work.
From 2011-13, Lindstrom enjoyed a quite productive run with the Rockies, Orioles, D-Backs and White Sox, pitching to a combined 2.95 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 51.4 percent ground-ball rate. Lindstrom’s ground-ball tendencies have trended upward over his career, and as he’s gotten older, he’s relied increasingly on a power sinker to maintain his effectiveness. Lindstrom averages roughly 95 mph on the pitch, though his velocity last season was more in the 93 mph range.
Orioles, Jayson Nix Agree To Minor League Deal
The Orioles and infielder Jayson Nix have agreed to a minor league contract that will pay the 32-year-old Turner Gary Sports client $750K in the Majors with another $50K worth of incentives, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Nix will be invited to Major League Spring Training, per MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (on Twitter). 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson tweeted last night that Nix was on the cusp of signing.
Nix spent time with three different clubs in 2014 but struggled across the board, batting .120/.169/.157 in 91 plate appearances between the Phillies, Pirates and Royals. Earlier in his career, the former No. 44 overall pick (Rockies, 2001) showed 15-homer/15-steal potential, but he’s never been able to consistently produce at the Major League level.
Nix, who has experience at all four infield positions, will provide depth to an Orioles infield that projects to use Manny Machado at third base, J.J. Hardy at shortstop, Jonathan Schoop at second base and a combination of Chris Davis and Steve Pearce at first base. Ryan Flaherty is currently slated to be the backup infielder, and the club also has Jimmy Paredes on the 40-man roster, so Nix seems likely to end up at Triple-A to serve as depth at this juncture. He’s a career .280/.344/.443 hitter at that level.
Marlins Re-Sign Reed Johnson
3:45pm: Johnson will earn $1.25MM in the Majors and can opt out of his contract on March 29 if he’s not added to the roster, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
3:05pm: The Marlins have agreed to a minor league deal with outfielder Reed Johnson, the club announced. The contract includes an invitation to major league camp.
Now 38, Johnson struggled last year with the Fish, putting up a career-worst .614 OPS (on the back of a .235/.266/.348 slash) over 201 plate appearances. Limited mostly to the corner outfield, that left Johnson as a well-below-replacement-level player.
It looks to be an uphill climb for Johnson this year, as Miami features a trio of talented young options in the outfield and already inked Ichiro Suzuki for the fourth outfielder role. But Johnson will certainly provide a nice veteran presence and depth in camp, if nothing more, and was an average or better hitter as recently as 2011-12.
Athletics To Sign Barry Zito To Minors Deal
The Athletics have agreed to a minor league pact with lefty Barry Zito, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. The deal includes a big league camp invite, per the report. Zito would earn $1MM (with an additional $175K in possible incentives) if he cracks the MLB roster, per a tweet from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
Now 36, Zito established himself with Oakland beginning in 2000. He would never again regain the effectiveness of his first four campaigns there (768 innings of 3.12 ERA ball), though the southpaw would go on to toss another 662 1/3 frames with a cumulative 4.05 ERA over the following three seasons with the A’s.
Of course, Zito famously jumped across the bay to the Giants thereafter, signing a seven-year, $126MM free agent deal. After generally outpacing his peripherals in Oakland, they caught up to him in San Francisco. He threw plenty of innings with the Giants, racking up 1,139 1/3 over seven campaigns, but allowed 4.62 earned runs per nine over the life of that ill-fated deal — a near-perfect match for his 4.61 FIP.
Zito sat out last season after a rough final contract year. Always a soft-tosser, Zito saw his fastball velocity dip to its lowest-ever point (about 83 mph) in 2013. Presumably, the A’s saw enough to give him a fair shot at earning a roster spot out of camp, though obviously he has plenty to prove before that comes to fruition.
Jason Giambi Retires
Former American League MVP Jason Giambi has decided to formally retire from playing baseball, he told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Giambi offered a lengthy statement thanking his family, agents, equipment providers, coaches, teammates and media for their role in his career. While the statement is too long for the purposes of this post, fans of Giambi can read it in its entirety in the linked article above.
The Giambino was sure to also thank fans that supported him throughout the ups and downs of his career (he reportedly admitted to a grand jury in 2003 that he did use performance enhancing drugs): “I want to thank the fans for being a part of this incredible journey. I especially want to thank the fans that gave me a second chance to let me show you the human being you see today.”
Giambi’s legacy will be somewhat tainted by that admission, but the numbers he put up over parts of 20 Major League seasons are impressive no matter how you slice them. In 8,908 career plate appearances, Giambi batted .277/.399/.516 with 440 home runs and 1,441 RBIs. Prior to today’s announcement, Giambi was also the active Major League leader in career walks, with 1,366, and he was worth about 50 wins above replacement per both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. He appeared on five All-Star teams, won two Silver Sluggers and had a pair of Top 5 MVP finishes — including a second-place finish in 2001 — in addition to his 2000 MVP honors.
Giambi was able to play through his age-43 season due in large part to not only accepting, but rather embracing a reduced role with the Rockies and Indians. The slugger was used primarily as a pinch-hitter in Denver and in Cleveland, but he relished the opportunity to mentor younger players and share his wisdom with the game’s next generation. That attitude and the manner in which he was accepted by his younger teammates has led many to believe that Giambi may one day be a big league manager. In fact, he was at one point in consideration to manage the Rockies prior to signing with Cleveland in the 2012-13 offseason, and Terry Francona has referred to Giambi as a “manager-in-waiting.”
We at MLBTR wish Giambi and his family happiness and the best of luck in his post-playing days.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.