The Atlanta Braves signed right-handed starter R.A. Dickey to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2018 season, they announced Thursday morning.
FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reported that Dickey earned $8 million in the agreement. He makes $7.5 million in base salary for 2017, while potentially earning an $8 million team option for 2018 that comes with a $500,000 buyout. Atlanta had been looking for starting pitching on the free agent market. General manager John Coppolella told SB Nation's Chris Cotillo that the team may not be done looking for starters. "We will be looking for more rotation help," Coppolella said. "At least one and maybe two [starters]." Dickey's choice of Atlanta was due to its proximity to his Nashville home, agent Bo McKinnis told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Atlanta's new park that opens in 2017, in particular, is 30 minutes closer to Dickey's home than their old one. This past season, Braves' starters posted the second-worst Wins Above Replacement (per FanGraphs) among all Major League staffs. In terms of run prevention, Atlanta ranked third-worst in team ERA from their starters with a 4.87 mark. Dickey, by no means, was a big splash for the Braves, but he should be able to provide some quality innings going forward. The 42-year-old Dickey spent 2016 with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 30 games (29 starts), the knuckleballer went 10-15 with a 4.46 ERA and a 126-63 strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.03 FIP; 4.76 xFIP) in 169 2/3 innings pitched. In parts of 14 Major League seasons, Dickey has a 4.01 ERA and a 2.25 K/BB ratio over 1,883 2/3 Major League innings. He won the 2012 National League Cy Young award while with the Mets but has spent the last four seasons with the Blue Jays. --Devan Fink
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Ten pending free agents were offered a one-year, $17.2 million qualifying offer on Monday.
These players will have one week to decide whether they will accept or decline their respective teams' deals for the 2017 season. If accepted, they will sign with their 2016 team for the $17.2 million figure. If declined, these players will become free agents. However, if they sign somewhere other than their 2016 team, their new club will be forced to give up their first round pick (if unprotected). Their former team, on the other hand, will receive a compensation pick, sandwiched between the first and second rounds. Players who received the qualifying offer include:
Players traded midseason, such as Aroldis Chapman or Rich Hill, are ineligible to receive a qualifying offer. In 2015, three players--Brett Anderson, Colby Rasmus, and Matt Wieters--accepted the qualifying offer, making them the first to take the deal since the system was put in place since 2012. --Devan Fink
The Arizona Diamondbacks have hired Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo as their new manager on Friday.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 Phoenix first reported the hiring. He noted that the press conference to introduce Lovullo be on Monday. With the move to Arizona, Lovullo will follow ex-Red Sox general manager Mike Hazen out west. On Oct. 3, the Diamondbacks both fired GM Dave Stewart and manager Phil Nevin at the end of a disappointing season where the team finished fourth in the NL West with a 69-93 record. Thirteen days later, Arizona brought in Hazen, and ever since, many have hypothesized that he would bring Lovullo with him to fill the manager's role. The 51 year old Lovullo has been serving as the Boston Red Sox bench coach since 2013. In 2015, he was the Red Sox' interim manager while permanent manager John Farrell missed the end of the season with lymphoma, a type of a cancer. In his absence, Lovullo carried the team to a 28-21 record. Many around the league thought that Lovullo would be a big league manager at some point during his career, but until now, he has never been given the opportunity for a full-time position despite having interviewed for multiple jobs in the past. An alumni of UCLA, Lovullo spent parts of eight seasons in the Major Leagues as a player before transitioning into coaching in 2001. Outside of the Red Sox' bench coach job, Lovullo's only other spot in the big leagues was as the Blue Jays' 1st base coach from 2011 to 2012. --Devan Fink
In the first move of the new offseason, the Los Angeles Angels announced the acquisition of outfielder Cameron Maybin from the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
The deal was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Right-handed pitcher Victor Alcantara headed back to Detroit in the trade, per the official announcement. The Angels, as part of the trade, exercised Maybin's 2017 team option worth $9 million. This is the reason that likely facilitated the deal from Detroit's perspective. Maybin was an odd man out in their outfield, but instead of declining his option and making him a free agent, the Tigers were able to get a prospect in return. Los Angeles needed an upgrade in left field, and that is where Maybin will fit in. The team had the second-worst OPS from this position in 2016; they ranked 23rd in fWAR. The 29-year-old Maybin played in 94 games last season and was fairly productive. Over 391 plate appearances, he hit .315/.383/.418 with four home runs, 43 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He was worth 2.0 fWAR, his highest total since 2012. Lifetime, Maybin has hit .259/.322/.373 but has struggled to stay healthy. The former 10th overall pick has appeared in 100 or more games just three times in his 10 year MLB career. As for the other part of the trade, the Angels' No. 8 prospect (MLB.com), Alcantara, will go to the Tigers. At Double-A Arkansas this season, he went 3-7 with a 4.30 ERA and a 79-57 K/BB ratio over 110 innings. He has pitched as both a starter and a reliever over his career but has generally served as the former. --Devan Fink |
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