Rockies Decline Option On Brett Anderson
The Rockies have declined their option on lefty starter Brett Anderson, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Colorado will pay a $1.5MM buyout rather than exercising its $12MM option.
Anderson will be 27 in February and pitched very well in 43 1/3 innings in 2014, but the Rockies’ decision is understandable given his struggles to stay healthy. Anderson has not pitched more than 113 innings in a season since 2009, and he missed most of 2014 with finger and back injuries, having back surgery in August. Still, he might be an interesting buy-low free agent target for a team seeking a ground-ball pitcher — he has an excellent 55.4% career ground ball rate. Anderson is expected to be ready for spring training.
Marlins Exercise Option On Jeff Mathis
The Marlins have announced that they’ve exercised their $1.5MM team option on catcher Jeff Mathis. The 31-year-old has never hit well — his .200/.263/.274 line in 195 plate appearances last year is roughly in line with his .196/.256/.307 numbers in parts of ten big-league seasons.
His option costs very little, however, and well evaluations of his defense have varied over the years, he graded fairly well behind the plate last year, catching 16 of 49 would-be base stealers and posting decent blocking and framing numbers. He’ll serve as Jarrod Saltalamacchia‘s backup again next season.
Blue Jays Exercise Thole Option, Decline Three Others
The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve exercised their option on catcher Josh Thole and declined their options on first baseman Justin Smoak and righties Brandon Morrow and Dustin McGowan. Smoak is still eligible for arbitration and will remain in the organization. Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca was the first to report on Smoak’s status (via Twitter), while Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish was first on McGowan.
Thole will make $1.75MM next season after hitting .248/.320/.278 in 150 plate appearances last season. He’ll continue to serve as the Jays’ catcher when knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is pitching.
The Jays will pay the newly acquired Smoak a $150K buyout rather than picking up his $3.65MM option. They’ll gamble that he’ll make less in arbitration. With Adam Lind headed to Milwaukee, the lefty now has a clearer path to a role with the Jays in 2015.
Morrow will receive a $1MM buyout on his $10MM option after missing much of the season due to a finger injury. He still throws hard, however, and his intriguing track record (including an excellent 9.4 K/9 in a career mostly spent as a starter) will make him a free agent to watch. McGowan, who posted a 4.17 ERA in 82 innings split between the rotation and the bullpen last year, will receive a $500K buyout rather than a $4MM option.
Blue Jays, Brewers Swap Adam Lind, Marco Estrada
The Brewers have acquired 1B/OF Adam Lind from the Blue Jays, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets. SportsNet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith initially reported the two sides were close to a deal. The Jays will receive righty Marco Estrada in return, Andrew Walker of Sports590.ca tweets.
The Blue Jays exercised Lind’s $7.5MM option on Lind earlier today, and Lind’s contract also includes a 2016 option for $8MM or a $500K buyout. Even though the Jays picked up the option, there were rumors they might trade Lind. Lind hit .321/.381/.479 in 290 plate appearances this season, but the Jays’ acquisition of another lefty first baseman, Justin Smoak, last week was a possible indication that they were planning for Lind’s departure.
The Brewers had a need at first base, and Lind will presumably take most of the at-bats there. He’s below average defensively at any position, but he should be able to make up for that with his hitting. At age 31, there isn’t much reason to expect a steep decline from his .273/.336/.450 career numbers, although a repeat of his 2014 offensive performance is perhaps unlikely.
Lind is a career .212/.257/.331 hitter against lefties, so the Brewers will surely use him in a platoon, possibly with someone like Jason Rogers or with another outside addition. As Brewers GM Doug Melvin points out (via Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel on Twitter), though, the NL Central is heavy on right-handed starting pitching. The main Brewers 2014 first basemen, lefty Lyle Overbay and righty Mark Reynolds, are both set to become free agents.
Estrada posted a 4.36 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 for the Brewers in 2014. He’s entering his last season of arbitration eligibility (in which he’s projected to make $4.7MM) before he can become a free agent. He lost his job in the Brewers’ rotation in July, then pitched significantly better down the stretch as a reliever. He’s a fly ball pitcher and he isn’t a hard thrower, which led to 29 home runs allowed last season. Still, his other peripherals are solid, particularly if he can revert to his 2013 numbers, when he posted 8.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. The Blue Jays currently appear mostly set in their rotation, particularly after picking up J.A. Happ‘s option last night, so Estrada could be ticketed for the bullpen.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Cubs Exercise Option On Jacob Turner
The Cubs have exercised their option on starting pitcher Jacob Turner, Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald tweets. Turner’s option is worth $1MM, or $500K if he’s in the minors. The Cubs can control Turner for three years thereafter via arbitration.
The Marlins surprisingly made Turner available in August when they designated him for assignment, and the Cubs pounced, completing a trade to acquire him. The early returns weren’t great (Turner posted a 6.49 ERA and struck out just 17 batters in 34 2/3 innings in Chicago), but Turner is still just 23, and he’s a former first-round pick and top prospect. The Cubs will likely continue to take chances with him, given Turner’s upside and the number of opportunities available in the Cubs’ rotation.
Royals Decline Billy Butler’s Option
The Royals have announced that they’ve declined their option on 1B/DH Billy Butler. They will pay Butler a $1MM buyout, and he is now a free agent. Butler, a 2004 first round pick who has spent his entire career with the organization, would like to work out a deal to stay with the Royals, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets. McCullough also notes that the Royals are interested in bringing Butler back, but at a lesser salary.
The Royals’ decision was expected. Butler’s option was for $12.5MM, a big expenditure for a small-payroll team, particularly given that his .271/.323/.379 line in 603 plate appearances this season represented his worst offensive season since 2008.
Blue Jays Exercise Option On Adam Lind
The Blue Jays have exercised their option on 1B/OF Adam Lind, Shi Davidi of SportsNet.ca tweets. The Jays will pay Lind $7.5MM for next season rather than a $1MM buyout. They’ll also have an option on his services for 2016 for $8MM or a $500K buyout.
Lind hit .321/.381/.479 in 318 plate appearances for the Jays last season, so picking up his option was probably an easy decision even though he’s a liability on defense and rarely hits against lefties. The move does not preclude a trade, however — Toronto recently claimed lefty first baseman Justin Smoak, potentially giving them another option at first and DH if they deal Lind. The Jays have reportedly already taken a number of calls on Lind this offseason.
Blue Jays Decline Option On Sergio Santos
The Blue Jays have declined their 2015 option on reliever Sergio Santos, Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca reports. Rather than paying Santos $6MM next season, the Jays will pay a $750K buyout.
The move comes as no surprise, since the Jays outrighted Santos twice last season. Santos had a strong year as the White Sox’ closer in 2011, leading to a three-year extension following the season, and then a trade to Toronto months later. The extension went sour almost immediately, as Santos struggled through shoulder troubles in 2012. He pitched well in 2013 but missed time that year, too, with a triceps injury. He then had forearm troubles in 2014 and battled control issues throughout the year.
Blue Jays To Exercise J.A. Happ’s Option
The Blue Jays will exercise their team option on lefty starter J.A. Happ, paying $6.7MM rather than a $200K buyout, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Prior to the 2013 season, the Jays signed Happ to a one-year, $5.4MM extension for 2014 that included the option they’re exercising now. He can become a free agent after the coming season.
Happ pitched 158 innings for the Jays in 2014, with a 4.22 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and a 2.9 BB/9 that marked a significant improvement over his 2013 mark of 4.4. Happ also increased his average fastball velocity from 91.1 MPH to a career-high 92.7, perhaps an indication that he can continue to be helpful. He looks likely to be in the Jays’ rotation again in 2015.
Dodgers Decline Option On Chad Billingsley
The Dodgers have declined their option on starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Given the cost of the option ($14MM minus a $3MM buyout) and Billingsley’s struggles to stay healthy, the move comes as no surprise. Billingsley was once among baseball’s more promising young arms, but he’s pitched only 12 big league innings since September 2012 after a series of elbow injuries and setbacks. He had Tommy John surgery in April 2013, then another elbow surgery in June of this year.
For his career, Billingsley has a 3.65 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in parts of eight seasons in the Majors, but he’s now very far removed from his last productive stretch. The Dodgers took Billingsley in the first round in 2003, and he’s spent his entire career with Los Angeles, but now, at age 30, he’s a free agent.