Hot Stove: 12/2 | Power Bats on the Move

News

MLB Network hired Carlos Peña to work as an analyst, which may mean an end to the 36 year old’s 14 year career, though no official announcement has been made.

The Marlins are in talks with Jose Fernandez on an extension and have reportedly offered him a six year, $40 million deal.

Free Agent Signings

Diamondbacks signed Yasmany Tomas (no MLB experience, 2015 age: 24) to a six year, $68.5 million deal ($11.4 million per season).

Mariners signed Nelson Cruz (40 HR, 108 RBI, .271 AVG, 4 SB, 2015 age: 34-35) to a four year, $58 million deal ($14.5 million per season).

Royals resigned Jason Frasor (4-1, 2.66 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 2015 age: 37-38) to a one year, $1.8 million deal.

Though he’s not getting the $100 million some thought he could get, Yasmany Tomas is in for the second biggest payday ever for a Cuban ballplayer, behind only Rusney Castillo’s seven year, $72.5 million dael and ahead of Jose Abreu’s six year, $68 million deal. To me, this was a very good move for the D-Backs, as they found a big bat to slot in behind Paul Goldschmidt. They thought Mark Trumbo would do the job, and he still may, but now they have a solid 3-4-5 with the trio. Interestingly, it may be difficult for Arizona to split up its core lefties. Arguably the four best power hitters on the team, Goldschmidt, Tomas, Trumbo, and Aaron Hill, are all right handed, while the contact hitters like Ender Inciarte and David Peralta are left handed. The only players who break the pattern are left handed power hitter Miguel Montero and right handed contact hitter A.J. Pollock. Back to the Cuban outfielder, Tomas is said to have as much power as anybody who’s come out of Cuba. Scouting reports have likened him to Dayan Viciedo as a worst case scenario, Nelson Cruz and a right handed Jay Bruce as possible outcomes, and Justin Upton as a best case scenario. He had his best Cuban season in 2011-2012, when he hit 20 home runs, drove in 50, and batted .298 in 83 games at age 21, garnering roughly half as many at bats as a regular player would in the majors. The following year, in his age 22 season, he hit .289 with 15 home runs and 60 RBI in 81 games, again garnering about half the at bats of a major league regular.

It’s funny what a major league home run crown can do to you. Nelson Cruzsigned for just $8 million prior to the 2014 season, and 40 home runs later, he’s tacked 50 onto that total for a new four year, $58 million deal. This was a very good signing for Seattle, as they desperately needed a right handed power bat to balance left handers like Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager. With four, nine, and seven years remaining on their contracts, respectively, Cruz, Cano, and Seager will form the heart of a Seattle batting order, once devoid of big bats, for years to come. The one downside to Cruz, aside from his defense (which won’t really matter as the Mariners plan to use him as a DH), is his inability to stay on the active roster. He did not play in more than 128 games until 2012, his eighth season, when he played in 159. It looked like he would again put up a full season in 2013 before the BioGenesis scandal led to an August suspension. He returned to play in 159 games in 2014, so it may be that his injury issues are behind him. Back in 2010, he batted .318 with 22 home runs and 78 RBI in just 108 games, even stealing 17 bases. Last year, playing in all but three games for the Orioles, he hit .271 with 40 home runs and 108 RBI.

Trades

A’s traded Josh Donaldson (29 HR, 98 RBI, .255 AVG, 8 SB, 2015 age: 29) to the Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie (12 HR, 38 RBI, .247 AVG, 0 SB, 2015 age: 25),Kendall Graveman (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 2015 age: 24), Sean Nolin (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2015 age: 25), and minor leaguer Franklin Barreto (6 HR, 61 RBI, .311 AVG, 29 SB at Low Class A, 2015 age: 19).

Royals traded Aaron Crow (6-1, 4.12 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 3 SV, 2015 age: 28) to the Marlins for Brian Flynn (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, 2015 age: 25) and minor leaguer Reid Redman (5-1, 2.04 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 7 SV at High Class A and AA, 2015 age: 26).

The first thing I have to say is that I believe the Blue Jays gave up too much for Donaldson. Though he is one of the better players in the game and one you can build your team around, to me he is not worth three high end prospects plus a bona fide major leaguer. The Blue Jays want to win now, but they may be narrowing that opportunity window by trading away nearly major league ready prospects. However, Josh Donaldson is an excellent player to have on any team. Not only is he a great hitter, but his defense has placed him among the best in baseball at the hot corner. His bat will slot in with Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, but like Yasmany Tomas’ Diamondbacks, the Donaldson’s Blue Jays’ lineup will now have an all right-handed core. The Auburn product put up a huge breakout season in 2013, batting .301 with 24 home runs, 93 RBI, and 37 doubles in 158 games for the A’s, leading them to the playoffs and establishing himself as one of the best in the game. His .384 on-base percentage was the sixth highest in the American League. Last year, he seemed to take a step back, and he ended up batting .259 with 29 home runs, 98 RBI, and 31 doubles in 158 games. He was one of the few A’s hitters who kept hititng in the second half, actually batting .280 in 66 games after the All Star Break.

The A’s knew that trading Donaldson would leave a huge hole at third base, so they addressed that issue by acquiring Brett Lawrie in the deal. He’s no Josh Donaldson, but the 24 year old Lawrie is a capable major league third baseman at this point. The former top prospect with the Mariners can still be a late-bloomer and take off in Oakland. If the A’s get lucky, he could even end up as good as Donaldson at the plate, considering he’s still just 24. The Canadian has battled injuries over his four years with the Blue Jays, but when he’s been healthy, he’s been a solid hitter and defender. In a 43 game cup of coffee in 2011 (which immediately succeeded a minor league campaign where he hit .347 with 18 home runs in 73 games), the then 21 year old hit .293 with nine home runs and seven stolen bases. He had his best full season in 2012 at the age of 22, batting .273 with 11 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 125 games. Injuries limited him to 107 games in 2013 and 70 games in 2014, but he is hoping to get healthy for the 2015 season. One of the two minor league starters brought on by Oakland was Kendall Graveman, a 23 year old righty out of Mississippi State. Graveman was my Minor League Pitcher of the Year after going 14-6 with a 1.83 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP across four levels before making his major league debut on September 5th. Interestingly, Graveman didn’t step on a professional mound until he was 22, and after just ten starts in that first year in 2013, he compiled his amazing season. After starting the season at Class A Lansing, he worked his way through High Class A Dunedin (where he spent most of his time), AA New Hampshire, and AAA Buffalo before reaching Toronto in September. He could be major league ready on Opening Day in 2015, and don’t count him out for the A’s rotation. The other starting pitcher was Sean Nolin, a 24 year old lefty who’s been knocking on the door for a couple of years now. The 6’4” Nolin is 27-17 with a 3.06 ERA over his five year minor league career, but all that has translated into just two and a third major league innings. He’s been an All Star at the High Class A and AA levels, and now he’s just waiting on his chance to make it in a big league rotation, though he could speed up his call-up if he transitions to relief. Lastly, the A’s picked up an intriguing young shortstop named Franklin Barreto, an 18 year old Venezuelan with 132 professional games under his belt. The 5’9” kid put on a show at Low Class A Vancouver, batting .311 with six home runs and 29 stolen bases in 73 games. He’s toolsy, meaning he has five-tool potential, and at 18 years old he’s already making waves. Over his 132 minor league games, amounting to roughly one season, he’s batted .296 with 10 home runs, 87 RBI, 39 stolen bases, 99 runs, and 44 doubles.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers

If your team is not included, please email me and I will add them.

HR: home runs. RBI: runs batted in. AVG: batting average. SB: stolen bases. ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched. K’s: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman