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Pablo Sandoval confirmed that he is returning to the Giants for the 2020 season.
Sandoval is returning on a minor league deal that will pay him $2 million with another $750,000 in incentives.Comment -
Three full seasons have elapsed since Scott Kazmir pitched in a Major League game, but the veteran left-hander is set to launch another comeback attempt at 36 years of age. Kazmir recently tweeted a video of himself throwing in a bullpen session, and the former Rays, Indians, Angels, A’s and Dodgers southpaw confirmed to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he hopes to return to the big leagues in 2020.
Kazmir, who’s open to a minor league contract and a chance to prove himself in Spring Training (as he’d need to be after such a lengthy absence), tells Topkin he’s still in the process of rebuilding his arm strength and fastball velocity. He’s worked out with Driveline this winter and recently topped out at 90.9 mph in a bullpen session. That’s already a far sight higher than the 86 mph at which his heater sat when he first began throwing with an eye toward a big league return. Kazmir’s fastball sat at 91.4 mph in his final season with the Dodgers in 2016, so he’s not quite yet even topping out at his previous fastball average. However, he also has nearly two months before the season would begin.
This, of course, wouldn’t be the first comeback attempt for Kazmir. The former Rays ace saw a sharp decline in 2009-10, pitched just 1 2/3 innings in 2011 and was out of affiliated baseball entirely in 2012 before embarking on a similar journey. That career renaissance proved quite fruitful, as Kazmir parlayed a minor league deal with the Indians into a quality 2013 campaign in which he tossed 158 innings of 4.04 ERA ball with better than a strikeout per inning.
That showing landed him a two-year, $22MM deal with the A’s the following winter, and Kazmir made good on that deal as well, throwing a combined 373 1/3 frames of 3.33 ERA ball with the Athletics and (following a 2015 trade) the Astros. He headed into the 2015-16 offseason as a highly sought-after commodity and landed a three-year, $48MM pact with the Dodgers that proved regrettable for the club when neck and hip injuries wiped out years two and three of that pact.
It’s been a long time since Kazmir was at the top of his game, but he’s nevertheless a three-time All-Star with six career seasons featuring a sub-4.00 ERA and at least 140 innings of work. In total, Kazmir has a 4.01 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 1.01 HR/9 and a 40.2 percent ground-ball rate in 1689 2/3 innings at the MLB level. Given that the free-agent class has been largely picked over at this point in the winter, a returning Kazmir adds a source of genuine intrigue to the dwindling remnants of this year’s class of open-market starters.Comment -
Wow Kazmir is 36. Where has time goneComment -
Cant believe these Arenado for KB rumors. That would be crazy.Comment -
Someone give me orioles to win the world series futuresComment -
Dusty Baker is the new Astros manager on a 1 year deal plus option for 2nd year.Comment -
The Mariners have added a pair of potential rotation candidates in Wei-Yin Chen and Nick Margevicius since last week, and they may not be done yet. It’s “believed” that they’re still interested in free-agent right-hander Taijuan Walker, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. Johns first connected the Mariners to Walker over a month ago, but rumors centering on the 27-year-old have been scarce in the past several weeks.
There has already been one Seattle stint for Walker, whom the team chose 43rd overall in the 2011 draft and then saw blossom into an elite prospect. Walker stayed with the organization through 2016, but the M’s then traded him to Arizona in a move that netted them outfielder Mitch Haniger and middle infielder Jean Segura (now with the Phillies). Segura was later shipped out as part of a deal for the Mariners’ current shortstop, J.P. Crawford.
Walker, still only 27 years old, perhaps hasn’t lived up to the billing he had as a prospect. He had an uneven tenure with the M’s, though Walker was effective with Arizona in his first season there. Unfortunately, shoulder and elbow injuries (including Tommy John surgery) have cut him down dating back to 2018, having limited him to 14 innings in the past two seasons. Walker tossed just one frame last year, in the Diamondbacks’ final game.
Despite the arm troubles Walker has endured of late, he does look like one of the most interesting starters left in a free-agent market that has mostly been picked over. In the Mariners’ rebuilding position, Walker makes sense as a buy-low type who could have a chance to push for a spot in a rotation that’s short on established options behind Marco Gonzales.Comment -
After what happened with the scandal they probably wanted to get someone safe. Dusty Baker is a safe manager who won't get them into trouble, will probably win games in the regular season because of the talent on that roster, and then of course he'll choke in the playoffs like he always does. He still gets jobs though which is nothing short of miraculous considering he's never won in the playoffs.Comment -
Red Sox and Dodgers talking about a possible Betts trade again.Comment -
Reds get another Cubs player
CINCINNATI -- During their aggressive offseason, the Reds addressed needs for their lineup and rotation. On Thursday, they checked off another box by making a move for the bullpen.
Free-agent reliever Pedro Strop and Cincinnati have agreed to terms on a one-year, $1.825 million contract, a source confirmed to MLB.com. The deal for the right-hander, which the club has not announced, is pending the completion of a physical.
According to MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal, Strop’s contract includes performance incentives that can raise its total value to $3.5 million.
Strop, 34, has pitched for the National League Central-rival Cubs since 2013. The 11-year veteran, who also pitched for the Rangers and Orioles since his big league debut in '09, has a 3.21 ERA over 555 career games.
However, Strop is seeking a rebound from a career-worst season. In 2019, he was 2-5 with a 4.97 ERA over 50 appearances (41 2/3 innings) with the Cubs.
Strop’s strikeout rate remained at a healthy 27.5 percent, but his walk rate spiked to 11.2 percent -- his highest mark since 2012. He also spent time on the injured list with neck and left hamstring ailments.
While Strop’s 2019 season was not his best, his primary pitch was still largely effective. Opponents hit just .123 with one home run across 65 at-bats against Strop’s slider, per Statcast, and whiffed on nearly 45 percent of their swings against that offering.
When it becomes official, Strop would be the fifth free agent the Reds have signed to a big league contract this offseason, totaling nearly $166 million.
Cincinnati finalized its four-year, $64 million deal with outfielder Nick Castellanos on Monday. Signed earlier were second baseman Mike Moustakas (also for four years and $64 million), outfielder Shogo Akiyama (three years, $21 million) and left-handed starter Wade Miley (two years, $15 million).
Strop bolsters a Reds bullpen that has locked down five of its eight spots. He joins Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, Amir Garrett and Robert Stephenson. Also competing for spots will be non-roster invites Tyler Thornburg, Jesse Biddle and Nate Jones, and holdovers such as Lucas Sims, Cody Reed and Sal Romano.Comment -
Good luck to everyone todayComment -
Giants showing interest in bringing back Hunter Pence.Comment -
Reds are taking all the Cubs!Comment -
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If Betts goes to the Dodgers, they may win a playoff series.Comment -
Dodgers need to build for postseason; crushing out in first round with the resources they have is just madnessComment -
Curtis Granderson announces his retirement after a 16 year career.Comment -
Chris Sale, LHP, Red Sox – five years, $145MM through 2024: It’s understandable why the Red Sox locked up Sale, who was then coming off an otherworldly season in which he helped the club to a World Series title. Sale battled shoulder problems late in that year, however, and dealt with further injury woes and a drop in performance last season. The 30-year-old wound up throwing 147 1/3 innings, his fewest since 2011, thanks in part to elbow issues. When he did take the mound, Sale put up a career-worst ERA (4.40) and saw his average fastball velocity drop exactly 2 mph (95.7 to 93.7) from 2018. Those are alarming facts, but the bottom line is that there’s still plenty to like with Sale in the here and now. He did, after all, post a 3.39 FIP/2.93 xFIP/3.00 SIERA with an eye-popping 13.32 K/9 against 2.26 BB/9 during his “down” 2019.
Jacob deGrom, RHP, Mets – four years, $120.5MM through 2023: This contract looks like a steal for the Mets, who retained arguably the best pitcher in the game for almost three times less than Gerrit Cole got in free agency this winter. After receiving his extension last March, the 31-year-old deGrom proceeded to put up his second straight NL Cy Young-winning season, during which he logged a 2.43 ERA/2.67 FIP with 11.25 K/9 and 1.94 BB/9 in 204 innings.
Miles Mikolas, RHP, Cardinals – four years, $68MM through 2023: Mikolas struggled in the majors early in his career, dominated in Japan for a couple years, and then thrived in his first season back in the bigs with the Cardinals in 2018. They were impressed enough to lock up Mikolas for the long haul before last season, but the 31-year-old declined somewhat. He still offered quality production, though, with his velocity and swinging-strike rates in the same vicinity as the previous season. Mikolas ended up tossing 184 frames of 4.16 ERA/4.27 FIP ball with 7.04 K/9 and 1.57 BB/9 (the fourth-lowest walk rate in MLB).
Justin Verlander, RHP, Astros – two years, $66MM through 2021: There’s not much to say here besides the obvious: This looks like a good decision. The ageless Verlander, soon to turn 37, just won the second AL Cy Young of his career. He’s in line to front the Astros’ staff, which lost Cole, for at least two more seasons.
Kyle Hendricks, RHP, Cubs – four years, $55.5MM through 2023: The soft-tossing Hendricks isn’t the flashiest, but the 30-year-old righty has typically kept runs off the board and limited walks. Last season was no different – Hendricks recorded a 3.46 ERA/3.61 FIP with 7.63 K/9 against 1.67 BB/9 over 177 innings. With a fastball that only clocks in around 87 mph, there’s little room for error, but Hendricks has made it work so far. Despite Hendricks’ unimposing velocity, his fastball was one of the most valuable in the game last year, per FanGraphs.Comment
