The Miami Marlins have agreed to terms to a two-year, $16 million deal with outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald first reported. MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reported that Morse would make about $12 million with Miami. The deal includes performance incentives. The 32-year-old Morse hit .279/.336/.475 with 16 home runs and 61 runs batted in over 482 plate appearances with the Giants in 2014. He spent most of his time in the field in the outfield, but Morse does have over 1000 innings of experience at first base, where he will likely platoon with Garrett Jones (assuming Jones is not traded). Morse was average at first in 2014. The Florida native was selected in the 3rd round of the 2000 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. He has hit .281/.335/.473 in 10 big league seasons with the Mariners, Nationals, Orioles, and Giants. Morse was worth 1.0 fWAR in 2014, and at an annual average value of $6 million, his signing makes a ton of sense for the Marlins, who have wanted to either platoon with the left-handed Jones (Morse is a righty) or perhaps replace him. If the Marlins get a good deal for Jones, there is absolutely no reason as to why they will not move him. Morse has only received over 500 plate appearances once in his career, but that was in 2011, when he hit .303/.360/.550 with 31 homers and 95 runs batted in with Washington. He can definitely start in Miami if they want him to. The Marlins have proven that they want to not only contend for the National League Wild Card in 2015, but also contend for the National League East division title. They have made a lot of moves this offseason, including the trades for Dee Gordon and Mat Latos, while now signing Michael Morse. They also extended Giancarlo Stanton to the $325 million deal. --Devan Fink
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The Kansas City Royals have agreed to sign outfielder Alex Rios to a one-year, $11 million deal, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Royals have been in the market for outfielders, considering the fact that they didn't have a viable right fielder. Rios fits that bill, as he has played 9,702.1 innings of right over his career, while being a pretty good fielder at the position. Kansas City has been pretty quiet this offseason. They still need some starting pitching, as they will almost be guaranteed to lose James Shields to free agency. The American League champions have some work to do, but the acquisition of Rios fills the need out in right field. Rios missed 22 games this season due to a thumb infection and contusion. Regardless, he has been very healthy over his career, failing to reach 500 plate appearances just twice over his big league career, in 2004 and 2006 with the Toronto Blue Jays. This past season, the 33-year-old Rios slashed .280/.311/.398 with four homers and 54 runs batted in over 521 plate appearances. Rios' four homers were the second-lowest of his career. It appears as if his power is regressing. However, Rios was worth 0.2 fWAR, as he was below average both offensively and defensively. Rios posted a 92 wRC+ and a -3 defensive runs saved. If he can regain his old form with Kansas City, Rios will definitely be a worthwhile addition. It's hard to get a primer outfielder at $11 million over one season, and Rios likely won't be a primer outfielder in 2015, but if he can just play to some of the same level he did in the past, the Royals may have a real steal on their hands. And as they hope to get back to the World Series, these are the gambles they have to make. Rios went to high school in Puerto Rico and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 1999 MLB Draft. Over his career, he has slashed .278/.323/.439 with 165 home runs and 762 runs batted in over 11 big league seasons with the Blue Jays, White Sox, and Rangers. --Devan Fink The Dodgers have continued their big offseason, as they have signed lefty Brett Anderson to a one-year, $10 million deal, according to Buster Olney of ESPN. Anderson's deal includes up to $4 million in performance boosters, Olney reported, and as Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports, Anderson begins earning his incentives after 150 innings pitched. He can earn the full $4 million if he pitches 200 innings or more, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Passan reports that the Braves and the Royals were the finalists for Anderson, two teams that could use a guy of Anderson's caliber, a type of guy who will sign on with a medium-risk, high-reward type of deal. And that is exactly what he got with the Dodgers, however, a $10 million guarantee is a pretty nice paycheck regardless of the performance boosters. Anderson has only pitched over 150 innings once in his career, back in 2009. He has had three surgeries, a foot stress fracture, and elbow issues (which lead to Tommy John surgery). Anderson has been brilliant when on the field, but that is becoming more of a rarity. The Colorado Rockies signed Anderson two a one-year, $1.5 million deal last offseason and ended up buying out of his contract option. He went 1-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 43.1 innings pitched in 2014, posting a 29 to 13 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was good, very good, in fact, as he posted the second-highest (tied) ERA+ of his career, pitching in the second-fewest innings. Anderson adds to a whole boatload of Dodgers additions this offseason. They have acquired Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick, and Yasmani Grandal, to help the holes they have had at shortstop, second base, and catcher, respectively, while adding Brandon McCarthy to help the rotation. Anderson could be a real steal for Andrew Friedman and the front office, but he needs to stay healthy. The former second round pick out of Stillwater High (Stillwater, Oklahoma) is 27-32 with a 3.73 ERA in 494.0 innings pitched over his six year big league career, spending time with the Athletics and Rockies. --Devan Fink The Houston Astros have agreed to sign shortstop Jed Lowrie to a three-year deal, they announced. Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports that Lowrie will get a $23 million guarantee with a team option for $6 million, that includes a $1 million buyout. The Astros add Lowrie to their list of free agent additions. They added relievers Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek already this offseason and now have agreed to terms with the shortstop Lowrie. Lowrie received interest from multiple teams, including the New York Mets, who desperately need a shortstop in 2015. The Giants inquired on Lowrie to play either second or third, while the Athletics also made an offer to him to play second base, due to the addition of Brett Lawrie. The 30-year-old Lowrie already spent a season with the Astros, playing with Houston back in 2008. This past season he hit .249/.321/.355 with six home runs and 50 runs batted in over 566 plate appearances with the Oakland Athletics. Lowrie is an average defender, depending on whether you use the metric UZR or defensive runs saved. Overall, he was worth 1.8 fWAR. The Astros have some real depth around their infield, as their top prospects begin to come up to the major leagues. Jon Singleton reigns out at first, All-Star and AL batting champion Jose Altuve plays second, Matt Dominguez plays third, and Lowrie now plays short. The Astros won 70 games in 2014 and will likely improve in the coming years. The North Salem HS native was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 1st round of the 2005 MLB Draft. He has hit .261/.330/.411 with 56 homers and 284 runs batted in over 2,535 plate appearances in seven seasons with the Red Sox, Astros, and Athletics. He has been a pretty good defender over his career. --Devan Fink The Yankees have re-signed third baseman Chase Headley to a four-year, $52 million deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Yankees have since announced the deal. Headley spent the final two months of the season with the Yankees. He was acquired by New York before the July 31 trade deadline, and was very good for them out at third base. With Alex Rodriguez coming back this season, it appears that he will be playing more first base and designated hitter, considering that the Yankees now have a solid option at the hot corner in Headley. Going to a hitter's park in Yankees Stadium from the pitcher's wonderland out in San Diego helped Headley's power through the rest of last season. His slugging percentage increased by 43 points, as he hit just one less homer in a Yankees uniform than he did with San Diego, coming in over 83 less plate appearances. Headley, who hit 31 homers back in 2012, could be a nice investment for New York. The Yankees have made quite a few moves this offseason, signing Andrew Miller to a $36 million deal, while also acquiring shortstop Didi Gregorious from the Diamondbacks in a three-team deal. Overall, the Yankees have an interesting infield, with Mark Teixeira at first, Martin Prado at second, Gregorious at short, and now Headley at third. Alex Rodriguez will likely play designated hitter, where Chris Young currently resides on their depth chart. Headley, 30, slashed .243/.328/.372 with 13 home runs and 49 runs batted in over 531 plate appearances with the Padres and Yankees in 2014. Headley was a great defender and was worth 13 defensive runs saved in 1082.2 innings at third base. He was worth a total 4.4 fWAR. --Devan Fink |
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