The Cleveland Indians have agreed to terms with infielder Juan Uribe, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported on Friday.
According to a report from Buster Olney of ESPN, Uribe agreed to a one-year deal worth $4 million plus incentives. The deal is still pending a physical. Cleveland has needed infield help for some time now, but they have been unwilling to spend big on free agents. Though a modest signing, Uribe should come in as the starting third baseman in Cleveland. They did not have a legitimate option there last year. In fact, Indians' third basemen were the third-worst in the Majors last season in wRC+, with a 72 mark. Offense was scarce for Cleveland third basemen, but overall, they were worth 1.2 fWAR due to solid defense. Even still, that was 23rd in the Majors. Uribe, soon to be 37, hit for a .253/.320/.417 slash line last season, playing for the Dodgers, Braves, and Mets. He swatted 14 home runs and drove in 43 RBIs in 397 plate appearances. According to FanGraphs, he was worth 1.9 Wins Above Replacement. Despite his age, Uribe was still an above-average contribution on both sides of the ball. Over his career, Uribe has a .256/.303/.421 slash line in 15 Major League seasons. He has been worth a combined 24.4 fWAR. --Devan Fink
0 Comments
The Atlanta Braves acquire outfielder Nick Swisher, outfielder Michael Bourn, and cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for third baseman Chris Johnson, the teams announced. Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports first mentioned the possibility of the deal.
According to Brown's colleague at Yahoo, Jeff Passan, the Braves will receive more than $10 million from the Indians in the swap. In the first August blockbuster of the waiver trading season, the two teams deal bad contracts. This deal was more about moving payroll off the books and getting rid of players clogging spots on the roster rather than getting real value in return. In order to move Johnson, who is signed through 2017 (with a team option for 2018) and is owed a guaranteed $18.5 million, the Braves took on Bourn and Swisher, who both are signed just through next season, at $14 million and $15 million, respectively. So, the Braves basically removed two years of a "bad contract" and took two players signed for a year less. With the $10 million in relief that the Indians will be giving them, the Braves will basically be paying Bourn and Swisher $19 million next season, or about all of Johnson's remaining contract in one year, if that makes sense. For the Indians, this trade opens up two spots on their roster that have been clogged. Also, they could try and get Johnson to produce as a change-of-scenery candidate, as he was above average offensively just two years ago. This season, none of the players involved in the deal have been superb, which is the reason they are considered to be in "bad contracts." Swisher, 34, has played in just 30 games due to injury and has hit .198/.261/.297/.558 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 111 plate appearances. He has a 54 wRC+ and a -0.7 fWAR this year. Bourn, 32, has been a bit better than his new Braves counterpart, hitting .246/.313/.294/.608 with 13 stolen bases (18 attempts) and 19 RBIs over 326 plate appearances. He has a 74 wRC+ and a -0.2 fWAR. Johnson, 30, is hitting .235/.272/.320/.592 with two home runs and 11 RBIs over 162 plate appearances. He has a 63 wRC+ and a -0.4 fWAR. The two teams had reportedly talked a Swisher-for-Johnson swap prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, but nothing got done. It is unclear if these players cleared waivers, but no team would likely be willing to risk taking on the contracts for free, so they presumably did clear. --Devan Fink
The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired first baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss from the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish first reported.
The Indians received Cardinals' left-handed pitching prospect Rob Kaminsky in return, Cotillo first noted. Kaminsky was the Cardinals' first round pick in 2013. Moss is an interesting acquisition for a Cardinals team that just lost outfielder Matt Holliday for awhile due to a quad injury. Moss can also fill in at first base, where Mark Reynolds has been playing in place of Matt Adams, who was lost for the year. The 31-year-old Moss is hitting .217/.288/.407 this season, with 15 homers and 50 RBIs in 375 plate appearances. He has much better splits against left-handers, where he will likely find most of his appearances in St. Louis. The Indians get a nice return for Moss, who is a free agent after next season. Kaminsky is a former first round pick and is already in High Single-A at age 20. He's shown excellent control and has a chance to be an impact big league pitcher. --Devan Fink
The Los Angeles Angels have acquired two outfielders on Tuesday, acquiring David Murphy from the Cleveland Indians and David DeJesus from the Tampa Bay Rays, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reported (two links).
Going to the Indians for Murphy is Double-A shortstop Eric Stamets and going to the Rays for DeJesus is Rookie right-hander Eduar Lopez. Both deals, while separate deals, do make sense for the Angels as they have been in need of outfielders. Though they acquired Shane Victorino yesterday, the Angels still needed outfield help after a disastrous start from Matthew Joyce this year in left. Three outfielders is a lot, but depth is important for any team, and Mike Trout is currently injured pending an MRI. On the season, Murphy is batting .296/.344/.437 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in 229 plate appearances. This season, against right-handers, he's been playing pretty well, with a .785 OPS in 212 PA. He hasn't had much experience against southpaws. DeJesus, on the other hand, is hitting .259/.323/.375 with five homers and 26 RBIs in 257 plate appearances. His spits are similar to Murphy's, posting a .715 OPS against righties and a .236 OPS against southpaws. --Devan Fink The Cleveland Indians and right-hander Corey Kluber have agreed to a five-year extension that includes two club options, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports confirmed. Kluber's deal is worth a guaranteed $38.5 million, but with escalators and performance enhancements, he can make up to $77 million over the life of the deal, per reports. Kluber is the reigning AL Cy Young award winner after going 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA, 2.35 FIP, and 152 ERA+ in 235.2 innings pitched over 34 starts last season. He struck out 269 batters as compared to 51 walks, good for a 5.27 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Those numbers were very uncharacteristic for the 28-year-old Kluber, who is now considered a late-bloomer. After making a mechanical adjustment in adding a sinker a few years ago, he saw his numbers greatly improve in 2013 and then have a fantastic season in 2014. With just over two full seasons of Major League service time, this extension will buyout Kluber's last pre-arbitration season next year, his three arbitration seasons, and one free agent year. The two options could give the Indians control of Kluber's first three free agent seasons. If all options are picked up, Kluber will be in a Cleveland uniform through his age-35 season. If they don't, they will still have him in control through his age-33 season. Considering that Kluber is that late bloomer that was mentioned, he may not get a huge contract as a free agent. Even still, after having a solid year in 2013, and an excellent season this past year, he'll get some job security, which makes this a great deal for him. On the contrary, the Indians cannot be unhappy about a possible seven seasons of control of the reigning Cy Young award winner. Both sides must be very happy about this contract. Kluber's agent, BB Abbott of Jet Sports Management, did a very nice job. --Devan Fink |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2017
|