I can't believe Kevin Gregg is still around
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Third baseman Todd Frazier has reached agreement with the Cincinnati Reds on a two-year, $12 million contract, the team announced Sunday.
The deal will pay Frazier $4.5 million in 2015, including a signing bonus, and $7.5 million in 2016.
Frazier, who turns 29 on Thursday, is a .258 career hitter with a .775 OPS in parts of four seasons with Cincinnati. He posted a career-high 29 homers and 80 RBIs in 157 games last season.
Frazier avoided a salary arbitration hearing with his new deal. He had been seeking $5.7 million in arbitration, while the Reds had countered with an offer of $3.9 million.
The new contract for Frazier leaves closer Aroldis Chapman as the only Cincinnati player still scheduled for a salary arbitration hearing.Comment -
Definitely two signings that are worthy of head-scratchings!Reds add relievers Badenhop, Gregg
CINCINNATI -- The Reds have added a pair of right-handed pitchers to their bullpen, agreeing to a one-year deal with Burke Badenhop that guarantees him $2.5 million and giving Kevin Gregg a minor league contract.
Badenhop, who turns 32 on Monday, was 0-3 with a 2.29 ERA and one save in 70 relief appearances for Boston last year. He is 18-23 in seven big league seasons that included stints with Florida (2008-11), Tampa Bay (2012) and Milwaukee (2013).
Badenhop gets $1 million this year under Saturday's agreement, which includes a mutual option for 2016 at $4 million with a $1.5 million buyout. He can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses for games pitched: $50,000 for 45, and $100,000 apiece for 50 and 55. If the option is exercised, he also could earn the bonuses in 2016.
Gregg, 36, had a 10.00 ERA in 10 games last year in his second stint with the Marlins, when he started the season in Miami's minor league system and then needed surgery in August to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow. He is 30-44 in 12 seasons, also pitching for the Angels (2003-06), the Marlins (2007-08), the Chicago Cubs (2009, `13), Toronto (2010) and Baltimore (2011-12).
He would get a $1.5 million, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster and have the chance to earn performance bonuses.
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About time the reds did something. Still not sure how I feel about these two!!??
I often wonder what teams see in some of these players they sign?
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Rockies manager Walt Weiss said Monday morning shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez "are on schedule or even ahead of schedule," per MLB Network Radio. Tulowitzki is recovering from August hip surgery, while Gonzalez is recovering from August knee surgery.
"We feel like CarGo and Tulo are still elite and in their prime. We feel like there's a window of opportunity here," Weiss said.Comment -
Gregg did okay with the cubs I guessComment -
ESPN Leagues are up now. Maintenance has ended.Comment -
Kevin gregg is nothing compared to Brad Penny. penny ia good for 10 runs a gameComment -
Braves: Signed RHP Jose Veras to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training (MLB.com) ... Signed RHP Matt Capps to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Pirates: Lost arbitration hearing to RHP Vance Worley, who will earn $2.45 million in 2015.
HOT STOVE RUMORS
IF Yoan Moncada: Moncada's agent said he is "hoping we're at the final end of the process" of signing with a team. Moncada is a 19-year-old Cuban free agent widely considered a future star.
OF Luke Scott: Working out for teams and hoping to attempt a comeback. Scott spent last season in Korea. (SB Nation)
Phillies: GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said he will look to add a veteran shortstop and a catcher in the coming weeks. (ESPN)
INJURY UPDATES
Angels: RHP Garrett Richards (knee) ran on his full body weight for the first time during his rehab. (MLB.com)
Rangers: IF Jurickson Profar (shoulder) is playing catch and taking dry swings ... LHP Matt Harrison (back) is playing catch at a distance of 90 feet. (Fox Sports Southwest)
Tigers: DH Victor Martinez (knee) underwent surgery and will miss 4-6 weeks.
White Sox: OF Tony Campana suffered a torn ACL during an offseason workout and will likely miss the entire 2015 season, the team announced.Comment -
vance worley got PAIDComment -
Ya. I happy with this signing and keeping him around for a couple more years.Comment -
Earlier this week, the last big name free agent came off the board when the Padres inked right-hander James Shields to a four-year contract. The only players left on the open market are spare part players -- extra relievers, bench players, those sorts of guys. Well, those guys and one potential franchise player.
What follows are the 10 best unsigned free agents according to our behind the scenes rankings, put together earlier this offseason by me and my fellow Eye on Baseball bloggers. I did take one liberty, however, and added a player to the list who was only recently declared a free agent by MLB. He ranks No. 1. Let's get to it:
1. Yoan Moncada, IF
Moncada, 19, is easily the best free agent available. The Cuban wunderkind was recently cleared to sign by MLB and the Office of Foreign Assets Control -- unlike fellow Cubans Hector Olivera and Andy Ibanez, who are still going through the process -- and his representative David Hastings told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that "by the end of next week, we'll have a much clearer picture of where he will sign."
Because of his age, Moncada is subject to the international spending restrictions, meaning he will not be signing a multiyear contract like most free agents. He'll instead receive a lump sum bonus. And, because his bonus is expected to be massive ($30 million or so based on some estimates), it will be taxed at 100 percent for exceeding MLB's spending pools regardless of who signs him. That means we're talking about a potential $60 million payout, all up front.
Moncada is a budding star by all accounts. MLB.com's Jim Callis recently compared him to the game's elite minor league middle infield prospects and Moncada belongs right with all of them. He's considered a future franchise player and I'm guessing several teams will be happy to drop $60 million or more on this kid. With this much up front cash on the table, signing Moncada might be an ownership decision, not a GM decision.
2. Rickie Weeks, 2B
Although he was used in a platoon role for the first time in his career, Weeks had a nice year in 2014, hitting .274/.357/.452 (124 OPS+) with eight homers in 289 plate appearances. His defense isn't very good anymore and he's probably nothing more than the right-handed half of a second base platoon, but surely some team out there could use Rickie, right? The Blue Jays maybe? Quality middle infield help is hard to find. Some team out there stands to benefit from signing Weeks this late in the offseason.
3. Rafael Soriano, RHP
A dreadful second half (6.48 ERA and 1.60 WHIP) last year has made it easy to overlook Soriano's dominant first half (0.97 ERA and 0.81 WHIP). He's getting up there in years (35) and he can be a little moody, but Soriano is still a solid major league reliever with closing experience. Lots of clubs could use someone like him to round out the bullpen.
4. Francisco Rodriguez, RHP
K-Rod had a nice year with the Brewers in 2014 (3.04 ERA and 44 saves) but he was shockingly homer prone (14 HR in 68 innings) and that will make some teams nervous. Especially since he no longer has a big fastball at age 33 and relies on changing speeds and hitting corners to get outs. As with Soriano, there are still plenty of teams that could use someone with Rodriguez's closing experience and pedigree.
5. Roberto Hernandez, RHP
The pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona can still get ground balls (49.7 percent ground ball rate in 2014) and chew up innings, which are good skills to have. He's very hittable though, and he'll drive you mad with walks at times, but hey, at this point of the offseason you're only going to find flawed pitchers. Hernandez might have to wait until some team inevitably loses a pitcher to injury in spring training to find a job.
6. Chris Young RHP
Young had a nice year for the Mariners last season, pitching to a 3.65 ERA in 165 innings. He's very unconventional, using his 6-foot-10 frame to pitch up in the zone with a mid-80s fastball that gets a ton of pop-ups and fly balls, meaning he needs a big ballpark to succeed. To wit: Young had a 2.48 ERA with eight homers allowed at spacious Safeco Field in 2014 compared to a 5.03 ERA with 18 homers allowed on the road. Small ballpark teams need not inquire.
7. Joba Chamberlain, RHP
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Chamberlain rejected several offers this offseason because he did not want to pitch for those teams. He might want a do-over. Joba had an alright season for the Tigers a year ago (3.57 ERA), and he did just turn 29, meaning there is at least the illusion of upside, so I don't think he will remain unemployed much longer. He might come off board before Soriano and K-Rod if those two are seeking something resembling closer money.
8. Franklin Morales, LHP
Morales just turned 29 a few days ago and is a lefty who throws reasonably hard. Those guys usually don't stay unemployed too long. He's held left-handed batters to a .240/.306/.345 batting line the last two years and that's workable. Morales did work as a starter for the Rockies most of last season, so perhaps he'll improve if used exclusively as a left-on-left reliever. The Mets have been looking for someone like that and hey, Morales will come cheap.
9. Joe Thatcher, LHP
Thatcher is the quintessential funky delivery left-on-left reliever. He's held lefty batters to a .222/.289/.351 batting line with a 31.6 percent strikeout rate in his career and that's really good. An ankle injury sabotaged the end of Thatcher's season last year and perhaps that's giving teams pause. Because he's lefty, it's only a matter of time until Thatcher finds work.
10. Brian Wilson, RHP
One more pitcher. Pitchers are pretty much all that's left on the market. Wilson was pretty terrible with the Dodgers last season (4.66 ERA), so terrible that they opted to release him earlier this winter even though they owe him $9.5 million in 2015. Because Los Angeles is paying him, any team can sign Wilson for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum. He had a 0.66 ERA and threw the snot out of the ball following his second Tommy John procedure in 2013, and he is only 32, so will someone take a chance?Comment -
I like Chris young to help a team this yearComment -
Jonathan Lucroy to miss 4-6 weeks
MILWAUKEE -- All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy will miss four to six weeks of spring training for the Brewers because of a strain of his right hamstring.
The injury is near the top of Lucroy's hamstring, close to the hip, an area that had given Lucroy a little trouble at the end of last season, assistant general manager Gord Ash said Wednesday.
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Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesThe Brewers hope Jonathan Lucroy will be ready for their April 6 opener against Colorado.
Lucroy said in a phone interview that the hamstring started bothering him when he pulled up quickly while running hard into third base during a game in August.
He said he has been diagnosed with a partially torn tendon, though "it sounded worse" than it felt.
Lucroy was fine when he was examined Jan. 26 in Milwaukee at the time of the team's winter fan outreach event, Ash said. The Brewers are unsure how Lucroy aggravated the injury.
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Not good at all for the Brew CrewComment -
I'm surprised Weeks is still available. Seems he would fit in great with many teams.
Didn't realize Soriano was 35, thought he was younger than that. Talk about a tale of two seasons for him last year!
When I saw Roberto Hernandez on the list, my first thought was WTF?
Forgot he used to be Fausto Carmona!
Wouldn't be surprised if Brian Wilson never pitches in MLB again...
On second thought, a team may give him a chance based on some of the signings I've seen recently...Comment -
Hammy injuries can linger for a long time...Jonathan Lucroy to miss 4-6 weeks
MILWAUKEE -- All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy will miss four to six weeks of spring training for the Brewers because of a strain of his right hamstring.
The injury is near the top of Lucroy's hamstring, close to the hip, an area that had given Lucroy a little trouble at the end of last season, assistant general manager Gord Ash said Wednesday.
[+] EnlargeJim McIsaac/Getty ImagesThe Brewers hope Jonathan Lucroy will be ready for their April 6 opener against Colorado.
Lucroy said in a phone interview that the hamstring started bothering him when he pulled up quickly while running hard into third base during a game in August.
He said he has been diagnosed with a partially torn tendon, though "it sounded worse" than it felt.
Lucroy was fine when he was examined Jan. 26 in Milwaukee at the time of the team's winter fan outreach event, Ash said. The Brewers are unsure how Lucroy aggravated the injury.
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Not good at all for the Brew Crew
At least he has 6-8 weeks to fully recuperate before the season begins...
"The Brewers are unsure how Lucroy aggravated the injury."
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I don't like this idea.
With runs scored dipping to a 34-year low this past season, Major League Baseball says in 2016 it could change the official rule-book definition of a strike in order to boost offensive production. Independent researchers conclude that umpires, over the past six seasons in particular, have been calling strikes too low — within an area that's tough for hitters to make solid contact.
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan reports that MLB will spend the 2015 season observing and — if pitching continues to dominate for the suspected reasons — will shrink the zone upward.The problem, sources said, stems from technological leaps that caused unintended consequences. In 1996, when the league last changed the strike zone to extend it from the top of the knees to the bottom, beneath the hollow of the kneecap, it did so to encourage umpires to call knee-level strikes. The lower end of the zone, in practice, was about three-quarters of the way down the thigh, so the idea was that by adjusting the eye levels of umpires to look lower, the result would be a more traditional strike zone.Such tinkering, and the additional runs scored that are likely to follow, would seem to counter another of MLB's wishes — to shorten the length of games, as new commissioner Rob Manfred has stated. A few weeks ago, Manfred sounded gung ho about abolishing acute defensive shifts, but backed off after critics complained. Fine-tuning the strike zone, while something the umpires' union and the players association would have to agree with, seems like something everyone could get behind. Well all want a "better" strike zone. But there's reason to believe the problem with the official strike zone is that it exists at all.
Then along came Questec, the computerized pitch-tracking system, followed by Zone Evaluation, the current version tied in to MLB's PITCHf/x system. With a tremendous degree of accuracy – especially in recent years – the systems tracked textbook balls and strikes, and the home-plate umpires' performances were graded on a nightly basis. Over time, not only did umpires' strike zones move down to the knees, they went to the hollow and even a smidge below.
“I don't think the Playing Rules Committee at the time of the last change ever expected that the umpires would call strikes at the hollow of the knee,” said Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, the current chairman of the committee. “To their credit, the umpires now are.”
Two years ago, Sam Miller of Baseball Prospectus made the case for abolishing the official strike zone and giving the power to the umpires to call balls and strikes as they see them — which is what naturally happens anyway. What Miller really wants — and where MLB probably will go someday — is having computers call balls and strikes. But short of that radical change, here's what would happen if we harshley abridged the rule book when it comes to the strike zone:[I]f there was no rulebook, we wouldn't feel entitled to that pitch. We might not like the umpire's call, but we would no longer feel victimized by it. It'd be like replacing a judge who is crooked, who is taking bribes, who is passed out drunk, with one who is merely unsympathetic to our case.Any official boundary for the strike zone always will been too rigid for the human brain to process. The zone, in reality, always has been an umpire's best guess. So why not be true to what baseball is, and erase the "official" strike zone, when no such zone exists (and can't exist) in reality? Make determining balls and strikes an entirely human endeavor.
Here's how the rulebook should define a strike:A ball, delivered by the pitcher while standing wholly within the lines of his position and facing the batsman, that, so delivered, is determined by the umpire to be a fair pitch.And, instead of a PITCHTRAX graphic in the corner of the screen telling us whether it was on this side of a non-binding border or that side of a non-binding border, would tell us how often a pitch in that location is usually called a strike. A real-world strike zone, like Brooks Baseball provides us, rather than the false and pointless legalistic strike zone that we deploy only when it suits our purposes.
And that should cover it. The pitch must be legal, and it must be in an area in which the hitter has a reasonable expectation of being able to hit it.
Otherwise, bring in the robots.Comment -
Bring on the robots! I really like the idea, MLB umps suck at calling a consistent strike zone.Comment -
I don't want robots
umps are a good way to find an edge most don't look for in capping baseballComment -
Reds and LHP Aroldis Chapman avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $8.05 million contract.
Chapman asked for $8.7 million and was offered $6.65 million by the Reds when figures were exchanged last month, so they wound up settling quite a bit higher than the mispoint. The left-hander boasts a 2.32 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 430/122 K/BB ratio through the first 252 2/3 innings of his career.
Reds are done with arbitration. Have avoided it since 2004. I think Chapman would have easily won the case if they didn't settle.Comment -
The Reds announced Friday they avoided arbitration with closer Aroldis Chapman by agreeing to a one-year deal for the 2015 season. Chapman will earn $8.05 million in 2015, per CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. Chapman had filed for $8.7 million and the Reds offered $6.65 million.
Chapman has made the All-Star team in three straight seasons. He has also had at least 36 saves over the last three seasons.Comment -
Just hoping he has a lot opportunities for saves this season.
The Reds announced Friday they avoided arbitration with closer Aroldis Chapman by agreeing to a one-year deal for the 2015 season. Chapman will earn $8.05 million in 2015, per CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. Chapman had filed for $8.7 million and the Reds offered $6.65 million.
Chapman has made the All-Star team in three straight seasons. He has also had at least 36 saves over the last three seasons.
Oh ya, And converts them!!!!
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The Miami Marlins will host the 2017 MLB All-Star Game.Comment -
The Reds announced Friday they avoided arbitration with closer Aroldis Chapman by agreeing to a one-year deal for the 2015 season. Chapman will earn $8.05 million in 2015, per CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. Chapman had filed for $8.7 million and the Reds offered $6.65 million.
Chapman has made the All-Star team in three straight seasons. He has also had at least 36 saves over the last three seasons.Hopefully the Pirates have big leads going into the 9th so they don't have to see this guy out on the bump!
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Blue Jays: Beat 3B Josh Donaldson in arbitration, so he'll earn $4.3 million next year instead of the $5.725 million he was seeking. It's a big win for the team but it could have come with a price. (Jon Heyman)
Braves: Signed OF Eric Young Jr. to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, the team announced.
Brewers: Signed RHP David Herndon to a minor league contract. (MLB.com)
Diamondbacks: Agreed to a one-year contract worth $4.875 million with RHP Addison Reed, avoiding arbitration. He can earn another $50,000 through incentives. (Jon Heyman)
Giants: Signed LHP Clay Rapada to a minor league contract. (Baseball America)
Mariners: Designated LHP Edgar Olmos for assignment, the team announced. The move creates room on the 40-man roster for the recently signed IF Rickie Weeks.
Marlins: Beat RHP David Phelps in arbitration. He'll earn $1.4 million in 2015 rather than the $1.875 million he was seeking. (Jon Heyman)
Reds: Agreed to a one-year deal worth $8.05 million with LHP Aroldis Chapman, avoiding arbitration. (Jon Heyman)
Royals: Agreed to a one-year contract worth $8.25 million with RHP Greg Holland, avoiding arbitration. He will receive a $100,000 bonus if traded and the deal includes performance bonuses (Jon Heyman) ... Signed RHP Joe Blanton to a minor league contract. He'll earn a $1 million base salary in MLB with $3 million in incentives. Blanton can opt out of his contract if he is not on the big league roster on April 1 and May 15. (Jon Heyman)Comment
