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Quick Hits: Nats, Bell, Zimmerman, A’s, Giants, Codify, White Sox, Vaughn

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The Nationals accomplished a big part of their winter to-do list when they acquired Josh Bell from the Pirates on Christmas Eve. “He exemplifies everything we’re trying to do here in Washington,” GM Mike Rizzo told NBCSports’ Todd Dybas and others during a Zoom call this afternoon (via Twitter). Bell fits the clubhouse ethos the Nats work hard to maintain while being a near-perfect on-field fit to join Juan Soto in the middle of the lineup. Ryan Zimmerman could still return to the Nats, per the Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli (via Twitter), as Rizzo notes that a right-handed bench bat remains an area of need  [UPDATE: A new contract between Zimmerman and the Nationals “seems inevitable,” Ghiroli hears from sources.]

  • Michael Fisher is helping pitchers take a proactive approach to retiring hitters through his data-analytics firm called Codify, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Rather than telling pitchers what they’re doing wrong, he creates heat maps to help pitchers find the right areas to target. He focuses on where they should throw the ball instead of where they shouldn’t. Fisher’s approach works for a number of Oakland A’s pitchers like Jake Diekman, Jesus Luzardo, and Sean Manaea, Giants’ hurlers Tyler Beede and Logan Webb, as well as free agent closer Liam Hendriks.
  • Despite the additions already made this offseason, the White Sox could use some more rotation depth, a closer, and a designated hitter, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Andrew Vaughn could be called upon to fill that designated hitter role or to spell MVP Jose Abreu at first base. Vaughn figured to be a fast-riser when the White Sox made him the No. 3 overall selection of the 2019 draft, and he made it to High-A in his first professional season. Had there been a minor league season in 2020, Vaughn might be ready for the Show, but under the circumstances, the Sox could look for a stopgap solution to give Vaughn some seasoning time and further build their offensive depth.

Reactions To The Josh Bell Trade

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The Pirates and Nationals lined up on a deal yesterday that sent first baseman Josh Bell to Washington for a pair of right-handed pitching prospects, Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean. Some reporting in the aftermath of the deal:

  • The Pirates have made no secret about their desire to move players off the big league roster for future value this offseason. Trading Bell certainly doesn’t figure to be Pittsburgh’s final move of this ilk, as general manager Ben Cherington acknowledged. “Likely won’t be the last one. There will probably be more,” Cherington told reporters (including Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). “I’m not saying that to predict anything, that’s the realization, that’s where we are.” Joe Musgrove and Adam Frazier are the Pirates’ most prominent potential trade candidates, but any of Richard Rodríguez, Steven Brault, Chad Kuhl, Chris Stratton and Jacob Stallings could plausibly hold appeal to other teams.
  • Crowe will compete for a spot in the Pittsburgh rotation in 2021, Cherington confirmed (via Gorman). That’s hardly a surprise; the 26-year-old spent most of 2018-19 in the high minors and made his MLB debut this past season. Crowe was shelled in his three big league starts, but that’s nowhere near enough of a sample to rule him out as a near-term rotation option. Musgrove, Mitch Keller, Jameson Taillon, Kuhl, Brault and J.T. Brubaker all might be ahead of Crowe on the depth chart at the moment. It seems likely one or more of those players will themselves wind up traded before Opening Day.
  • Of the two prospects acquired by the Pirates, Crowe is the more familiar name thanks to his big league experience. Yean, though, was the more appealing get for the Pittsburgh front office, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. That sentiment was shared by the Nationals, it seems. Washington “(doesn’t) believe they gave up a lot to fill a glaring hole” on the roster, writes Dougherty, largely because they were “lukewarm” about Crowe’s future. On the other hand, ESPN’s Buster Olney points out (via Twitter) that Bell’s profile (slugger at the bottom of the defensive spectrum) is the kind that teams have devalued in recent years. For what it’s worth, the MLBTR readership seemed to favor the Nationals’ end of the trade.

Pirates Trade Josh Bell To Nationals

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The Nationals have a new first baseman. In an out-of-the-blue Christmas Eve swap, Washington has acquired Josh Bell from the Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean, according to announcements from both clubs.

Josh Bell

Bell, 28, fills the Nationals’ void at first base and gives the club a switch-hitting power bat to pair with Juan Soto in the heart of the order. Like most of the Pirates’ lineup, Bell struggled in 2020, hitting just .226/.305/.364 with a career-high 26.5 percent strikeout rate. However, outside of last year’s shortened season, Bell has been a productive big league hitter throughout his career.

The Pirates selected Bell with the 61st overall pick in 2011 and paid him a then-record $5MM signing bonus, shattering the recommended slot value to convince Bell to forgo his college commitment. The 6’4″ slugger rated as one of the game’s top prospects throughout his minor league tenure and was a productive hitter each season from 2016-18, posting a combined .260/.348/.436 batting line — good for a 110 wRC+ (put another way: overall production that was 10 percent better than a league-average hitter).

In 2019, Bell erupted with a breakout, 37-homer campaign that led to his first All-Star nod. Tapping into the raw power for which he’d long been touted, Bell raked at a .277/.367/.569 clip, adding in 37 doubles and three triples while plating 116 runs in just 143 games played. It’s worth noting that he tailed off in the second half, and those struggles carried over into the aforementioned down year in 2020. The Nats are buying in the belief that Bell can be much closer to that 2019 All-Star who looked to be emerging as one of the league’s premier power bats.

Bell is eligible for arbitration for the second time this winter and has yet to settle on a salary for the 2021 campaign. He’s owed a raise on last year’s $4.8MM salary and is now under Nationals control through the 2022 season

The Bell acquisition gives the Nats an everyday option at first base, which could complicate any potential reunion with Ryan Zimmerman, although the two could certainly form a quality pairing at the position. Although Bell is a switch-hitter, he’s vastly better from the left side of the dish, so if the Nats want to bring Zimmerman back for a 16th season, “Mr. National” could move into a bench role and spell Bell against tougher lefties. Of course, if the National League brings back the designated hitter for the 2021 season, Bell could fill that role full-time for the Nats. That could be a best-case scenario for Washington, as Bell is regarded as a well below-average defender at his position.

In return for two years of Bell, the Pirates will net an immediate rotation piece in the 26-year-old Crowe — a former second-round pick himself (2017). The 6’2″, 228-pound Crowe made his big league debut in 2020, starting three games for the Nats but being tagged for 11 runs in 8 1/3 innings. That’s a minuscule sample on which to judge Crowe, however. The right-hander has been considered one of the Nats’ best prospects since the day he was drafted. While he’s had knee and elbow injuries in the past — including Tommy John surgery while pitching at the University of South Carolina —  he set career-highs in starts (26) and innings (149 1/3) during his last full season in 2019.

Baseball America recently ranked Crowe 10th among Nationals farmhands, and was the team’s No. 3 prospect at MLB.com on their midseason rankings and No. 4 at FanGraphs. Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel wrote in that FanGraphs report that Crowe has three above-average pitches and a promising changeup but “imprecise control” of his arsenal and some durability concerns because of that injury track record. Crowe was hammered for a 6.17 ERA in his lone Triple-A experience, although that came while pitching in an outrageously hitter-friendly setting in 2019 — both due to the juiced ball in Triple-A and the conditions of Fresno’s park in the Pacific Coast League.

It remains to be seen whether the Pirates will plug Crowe directly into the rotation or give him some additional time in Triple-A in 2021, but it’d be a surprise if he weren’t called to the big leagues at some point next season. Pittsburgh currently projects to have Joe Musgrove, Mitch Keller, Steven Brault, Chad Kuhl and a returning Jameson Taillon in its rotation, though Musgrove, Brault and Kuhl have all been discussed in trade talks as well. Further transactions between now and Opening Day could very well to alter that composition to some extent.

The 19-year-old Yean is a much longer-term play for the Pirates, although it’s arguable that he’s the more appealing piece of the deal. Baseball America’s updated ranking of the Nationals’ farm has Yean two spots higher than Crowe, touting an “explosive” fastball that reaches 97 mph and could climb higher as he continues to grow. Yean throws both a four-seamer and two-seamer in addition to a slider and a changeup. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, Yean has the type of velocity, breaking ball and projectable frame typical of first- and second-round high school draftees, Longenhagen wrote for his Nats rankings at FanGraphs.

The Bell trade could be the first of several for the rebuilding Pirates this winter. Musgrove remains one of the more appealing arms who could change hands this offseason, and any of Brault, Kuhl, reliever Richard Rodriguez, catcher Jacob Stallings and second baseman Adam Frazier stand out as viable trade pieces. No one in the NL Central is making an aggressive push to seize the division crown, but the Pirates are the only one of the quintet who are in the midst of a full-scale rebuild. Further change is surely on the horizon under second-year general manager Ben Cherington.

The Nats, meanwhile, still have work to do. Adding a corner outfielder, at least one back-of-the-rotation starter — particularly now that they’ve subtracted Crowe from the mix — and perhaps an upgrade at catcher could all be on the horizon for GM Mike Rizzo and his staff as the Nats look to get back to their winning ways in 2021.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported that the two teams were closing in on a trade. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that an agreement of Bell for two young pitchers had been reached. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman added the names of the two pitchers going to Pittsburgh.

MLBTR Poll: Grading The Josh Bell Trade

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Christmas Eve isn’t a time to expect blockbuster moves to take place in Major League Baseball, but the Nationals and Pirates came together on a significant trade Thursday. The deal left the Nationals with a new first baseman in Josh Bell, whom they acquired from the Pirates for young right-handers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean.

Bell is a potentially huge acquisition for Washington, as he was a 37-home run-hitting All-Star as recently as 2019. Otherwise, the switch-hitting 28-year-old has been closer to average than great as a hitter since he debuted in 2016. Last season was tough sledding for Bell, who hit a disappointing .226/.305/.364 with eight home runs and a career-worst 26.5 percent strikeout rate in 223 plate appearances. Bell still has two years of team control left (he’ll make a projected $5.1MM to $7.2MM in 2021), but the Pirates decided to sell low on him. If he returns to his previous form, Bell shouldn’t have issues improving on the Nationals’ 2020 first base trio of Eric Thames, Asdrubal Cabrera and the now-retired Howie Kendrick. Nats first basemen finished the year 29th in fWAR (minus-0.7 fWAR) and batted .233/.305/.397.

The Pirates, who have little to no chance of competing in the near future, found Crowe and Yean enticing enough to part with Bell. Crowe is already their 17th-ranked prospect at MLB.com, which writes that he could turn into a No. 4/5 starter if he is able to refine his breaking ball and pitch usage. The 26-year-old made a brief major league debut last season, throwing 8 1/3 innings, and has notched a 4.03 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 290 minor league frames.

By MLB.com’s standards, Yean is a much more impressive prospect than Crowe, as it places the hard-throwing Yean seventh in the Pirates’ system. He’s just 19 years old, but combining “his stuff, size and delivery, Yean looks every bit the part of a future big league starter,” per MLB.com. Yean amassed 46 1/3 innings between the rookie and low-A levels in 2019 and put up a 3.50 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 46 1/3 frames.

What do you think of the trade for Washington and Pittsburgh? (Poll links for app users: Nationals, Pirates)

Nationals Open To Moving Carter Kieboom In Trade Talks

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As the Nationals continue to explore their offseason trade options, the team is “definitely open” to including former top prospect Carter Kieboom in negotiations, The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli reports (Twitter links).  Right-handed pitching prospects Cade Cavalli and Jackson Rutledge, however, are not available.

Washington went into the 2020 season hoping Kieboom could step in as the new everyday third baseman, after Anthony Rendon left for the Angels in free agency.  While nobody expected Kieboom to match Rendon’s All-Star level of production, the Nats surely hoped for more than the .202/.344/.212 slash line Kieboom delivered over 122 plate appearances.  The lack of hitting led the Nationals to demote Kieboom to their alternate training site for just shy of two weeks, and his season was also shortened by a wrist injury in the final week of play.

Aside from a respectable OBP, there wasn’t much to like about Kieboom’s first extended taste of Major League action, as he didn’t make much hard contact and next to no power — Kieboom had the lowest slugging percentage of any player in baseball with at least 120 PA.  However, Kieboom showed lots of pop in the minors, hitting .287/.378/.469 with 45 homers in 1462 PA in the Washington farm system after being drafted 28th overall in 2016.

Considering this prospect pedigree, Kieboom’s age (23) and the fact that the 2020 season was about the most difficult of possible circumstances for a younger player to acclimate himself to the big leagues, it is certainly very possible that Kieboom can break out in the near future.  As such, Ghiroli notes that the Nationals surely aren’t going to “give him away” in any trade, if they were to deal him whatsoever.  It’s probably safe to assume most teams also still see Kieboom as a valuable trade chip, so D.C. would only deal Kieboom as the centerpiece of a trade for an established MLB player — perhaps even at third base, to solidify that position.

Cavalli and Rutledge are widely seen as the top two prospects in a Washington farm system that is heavy on pitching, particularly right-handers.  The sheer amount of depth makes it possible that the Nationals might be willing to discuss one of those less highly-regarded prospects (say, in the 5-10 range of their top ten list) but it also makes sense that they’re not budging on moving Cavalli or Rutledge, both first-round picks in the last two drafts.

Howie Kendrick Retires

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Free-agent infielder Howie Kendrick announced Monday on his Instagram account that he has decided to retire, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post was among those to report.

This concludes an outstanding career for the 37-year-old Kendrick, who entered the professional ranks as a 10th-round pick of the Angels in 2002. Kendrick was regularly a formidable offensive presence in their uniform, even earning his lone All-Star nod in 2011. The Angels wound up trading Kendrick to the Dodgers in 2014 for left-hander Andrew Heaney, though Kendrick’s numbers dipped somewhat in their uniform. Kendrick’s Dodgers days concluded when they dealt him to the Phillies in 2016. His tenure in Philly also didn’t last long, as the club traded him to the Nationals during the ensuing season.

The move to Washington couldn’t have worked out much better for Kendrick, who was an integral part of the Nats from the 2017-19 regular seasons. Above all, his contributions during the team’s first-ever run to a World Series title in 2019 will never be forgotten by the franchise or its fans. Kendrick hit a grand slam in Game 5 of that year’s NLDS against the Dodgers, which helped the Nationals to a series-deciding win, and continued his heroics during the Fall Classic. With the Nats in danger of losing Game 7 to the Astros, Kendrick smacked a two-run homer in the seventh inning that gave the Nats a 3-2 lead they never relinquished.

Last season didn’t go well for Washington or Kendrick, whose numbers slid during an injury-shortened campaign, though he’ll always be regarded as a key component of their title-winning club and someone who was consistently a quality producer. Kendrick slashed .294/.337/.430 with 127 home runs and 126 stolen bases across 6,421 big league plate appearances, and he made upward of $71.6MM during his time in the majors, according to Baseball-Reference. MLBTR wishes Kendrick the best in retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nationals Re-Sign Javy Guerra To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Javy Guerra to a minor league contract, according to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. The deal comes with an invitation to spring training.

Guerra could now spend a third straight season with the Nationals, who first acquired him via waivers from the Blue Jays in May 2019. He has since thrown 69 1/3 innings of 4.67 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. Guerra picked up 15 2/3 innings with the Nats last season and recorded a 4.02 ERA/4.53 FIP with 7.47 K/9 and 4.02 BB/9. Washington outrighted him after that, but he’s now back with the organization.

Guerra, who turned 35 in October, has spent time with a few teams since his major league career began in 2011 with the Dodgers. He owns a respectable 3.73 ERA/3.99 FIP with 7.31 K/9 against 3.58 BB/9 over 296 2/3 frames.

Nationals Sign Welington Castillo To Minor League Contract

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The Nationals have signed catcher Welington Castillo to a minor league contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Castillo will earn a $950K salary if he cracks the Nationals’ big league roster.

This is the second straight winter in which Castillo has inked a minors deal with the Nationals, though he didn’t play at all last year after opting out over COVID-19 concerns. He’ll now vie for a spot on a Nationals team that has just one proven catcher in Yan Gomes. Tres Barrera, who has two major league plate appearances on his resume, is the only other catcher on the team’s 40-man roster.

Last time he took the field, Castillo batted .209/.267/.417 with 12 home runs in 251 plate appearances as a member of the White Sox in 2019. Historically, though, the 33-year-old has been a rather effective offensive player relative to his position. Castillo has amassed 2,701 PA in the bigs with a handful of teams and combined for a .254/.313/.426 line and 98 homers.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/20/20

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The latest minor transactions from around the sport…

Latest Updates

  • Earlier this week, the Rays signed right-hander Chris Ellis to a minor league deal, as originally reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Originally a third-round pick for the Angels in the 2014 draft, Ellis was part of the trade package that brought Andrelton Simmons to Los Angeles back in November 2015.  The 28-year-old has a 4.80 ERA, 2.10 K/BB rate, and 8.5 K/9 over 645 1/3 career minor league innings for three different organizations (the Angels, Braves, and Cardinals), and he also had a cup of coffee in the big leagues with the Royals in 2019, appearing in one game.

Earlier Today

  • The Nationals have signed right-hander Jefry Rodríguez to a minor-league contract with an invitation to MLB spring training, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The 27-year-old originally signed with the Nats as an international amateur from the Dominican Republic. He was traded to Cleveland in the November 2018 Yan Gomes deal. Rodríguez posted a 5.20 ERA with underwhelming strikeout (16.5%) and walk (13.3%) rates in 98.2 MLB innings from 2018-19. He spent last season at the Indians’ alternate training site, where he strained his shoulder in September. Cleveland non-tendered him earlier this month.
  • The Mariners announced they signed reliever Drew Steckenrider earlier this month (h/t to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America). The 29-year-old broke into the majors with a pair of productive seasons with the Marlins but went down early in 2019 with a season-ending flexor strain. He spent all of 2020 on the injured list and was outrighted off Miami’s 40-man roster in October. The right-hander turns 30 in January.

Ryan Zimmerman Intends To Play In 2021

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The 2020 season was the first in Nationals’ team history without Ryan Zimmerman on the roster. After opting out in 2020, Zimmerman intends to return to the diamond in 2021, per Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post (via Twitter).

There’s no timetable for when Zimmerman might sit down with the Nats, but it’s safe to assume he’s not looking to relocate. Mr. Nat has indicated at every turn that he expects the Nationals to be his only professional franchise, and the love-fest has been a two-way street.

The Nationals happen to have a need at first and the ability to platoon Zimmerman. Manager Davey Martinez is used to protecting his veterans and piecing together the timeshare at first, as he’s done for the last couple of seasons. Howie Kendrick, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Eric Thames split time at first in Zim’s absence. All three are now free agents. Jake Noll currently sits atop the depth chart, but it’s safe to assume the 26-year-old with 30 career plate appearances isn’t likely to remain there through opening day.

The Nats have been linked to a number of top free agents, while GM Mike Rizzo noted their flexibility in seeking upgrades. Essentially, the Nats have room for improvement at both infield corners as well as whichever outfield corner Juan Soto doesn’t make camp in. If they were to make a run at J.T. Realmuto, few would be surprised, though Rizzo has said they are comfortable letting Yan Gomes crouch behind the plate for 90 to 100 games in 2021.

Regardless, Zimmerman’s clear intention to return ought to lend some clarity to Rizzo. He had signed for $2MM prior to opting out of 2020, and that’s a reasonable number to project for this season as well. He was tagged with a persistent case of plantar fasciitis in 2019, though he returned to slug a couple of big postseason home runs, as well as, appropriately, the first ever World Series long ball in franchise history.

Facing a fair amount of turnover from their title team in 2019, the Nats will appreciate Zimmerman’s stabilizing presence in the locker room. He’s not, however, likely to soak up much playing time. The 36-year-old has appeared in 100 games just twice over the last seven seasons, averaging 92 games and 364 plate appearances over that span. With a .263/.323/.470 line since 2014, he’s been a 107 wRC+ bat without any positional flexibility. Despite his limited utility, the team has shown a tremendous amount of faith in their longest-tenured player.

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