Here's the latest around the league from Tuesday.
Minnesota Twins sign Byung-ho Park to a four-year, $12 million deal. The Korean third baseman's contract includes an option for the 2020 season worth $6.5 million with a $500,000 buyout. Park and the Twins had a 30-day negotiation window for a contract after they won the bidding for him last month. Park is a slugging third baseman out of a hitter-friendly KBO. Even by KBO standards, he still posted eye-popping numbers, hitting a combined 105 home runs over the last two seasons. Baltimore Orioles acquire Mark Trumbo and another player from the Seattle Mariners for Steve Clevenger This deal is not quite completed yet, but according to Bob Dutton of The Tacoma News Tribune, the Orioles will be receiving Trumbo, who has moved around quite a bit over the last few seasons. The Mariners have increasingly wanted to deal Trumbo over the past few days, due to the fact that he will be owed a large sum in arbitration this offseason that they apparently are not willing to pay. According to MLB Trade Rumors' predictions, Trumbo will make around $9.1 million this offseason. The Orioles see a potential replacement for Chris Davis in Trumbo, who has plenty of power, but has horrid defense. The almost-30-year-old has averaged 31 home runs per 162 games played, but has on-base percentage issues. Last season, he hit .262/.310/.449 with 22 homers and 64 RBIs between the Diamondbacks and Mariners. --Devan Fink
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The Seattle Mariners have signed catcher Chris Iannetta to a one-year contract, they announced Monday night.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that Iannetta will make $4.25 million this season plus incentives. His deal also includes an option for 2017. GM Jerry Dipoto said in a conference call that the option could vest based on total games played this season. Iannetta had reportedly been close to signing with the Mariners since for awhile, but nothing solidified until Monday. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reported that Iannetta left the door open for his former team, the Angels, to make one last run at re-signing him before committing to Seattle. They did not act upon it and "clearly moved on." With Seattle having a multitude of issues at catcher last season, it only made sense that they went out and got an upgrade quickly into the offseason. In 2015, the team's catching corps led by Mike Zunino (49 OPS+) was the worst in the league and it was not even close. The Mariners' catchers registered a -1.9 fWAR last season, by far the worst in the Majors. They hit for a beyond dismal .168/.208/.259 slash line, posting a 28 wRC+, a solid 33 points behind second-worst. By no means is Iannetta a superstar catcher, but he will definitely upgrade the catching position for the Mariners. He hit for a .188/.293/.335 line with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs in 317 plate appearances last year. He provided slightly above-average defense, however, and was worth 0.5 fWAR. Despite his poor showing in 2015, Iannetta could be in for a rebound year this upcoming season. His .225 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) is an indicator of Iannetta getting unlucky on batted balls he put into play. His career average is .277. If Iannetta can even come close to his standard mark, one could expect his average to rise. Just two seasons ago, Iannetta posted a .252/.373/.392 line in 373 plate appearances. --Devan Fink
The Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners announced the completion a five-player trade on Monday night. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports first reported news of the deal.
The Mariners acquired outfielder Leonys Martin and right-hander Anthony Bass from the Rangers in exchange for right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen, outfielder James Jones, and a player to be named. Seattle has been extremely busy this offseason, new GM Jerry Dipoto's first at the helm. The team has acquired the likes of Joaquin Benoit and Nathan Karns already this offseason. They also re-signed Franklin Gutierrez to a Major League deal. The Mariners have wanted an athletic center fielder for quite some time now but have not found one until now. They deployed Austin Jackson there in 2015, but he is a free agent this offseason. The Rangers found Martin to be expendable after the emergence of Delino DeShields this season and the soon arrival of Lewis Brinson from Triple-A. The 27-year-old Martin hit just .219/.264/.313 with five home runs and 26 RBIs in 310 plate appearances last season. Martin had never been an above-average bat, but his 50 wRC+ was by far the lowest mark of his career. In 2015, he made just 71 defensive starts, which could have attributed to the lack of offense. Texas was able to net themselves a solid return for the outfielder. They added a hard-throwing relief pitcher in Tom Wilhelmsen, a piece that nicely goes along with Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman, Tanner Scheppers, Kelone Kela, and Shawn Tolleson out of the bullpen. All of them are hard-throwing relief pitchers. Wilhemsen's fastball averaged about 95 mph last season, according to Pitch F/X data. His maximum velocity on the heater was 98. Other than throwing hard, Wilhelmsen was a solid relief pitcher last season statistically as well. He went 2-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 53 games (62 innings) last season. He posted a 60 to 22 strikeout-to-walk ratio and allowed just three home runs. Wilhelmsen registered a 3.33 FIP, 4.22 xFIP, and 0.8 FanGraphs' Wins Above Replacement in 2015. --Devan Fink The Seattle Mariners announced the acquisition of right-handed relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit from the San Diego Padres, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported. In return for Benoit, the Padres recieved two minor leaguers: right-hander Enyel De Los Santos and infielder Nelson Ward. The Mariners have already proven quite busy during this Hot Stove season, acquiring the likes of Nathan Karns in a blockbuster with Tampa Bay, re-signing Franklin Gutierrez, and closing in on signing catcher Chris Iannetta. Under the new leadership in the front office, headed by new GM Jerry Dipoto, Seattle is obviously going in a completely different direction this offseason than it had in years past. The Mariners are being more aggressive and are making more moves early. Benoit is going to be a major upgrade in Seattle. Collectively, the Mariners' bullpen posted a 2.5 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement last season, good for 20th in the Majors. Their 4.58 ERA as a group was second-highest. Seattle's bullpen lacked depth. They had a couple solid arms here and there, but were forced to release their closer, Fernando Rodney, after poor play. Benoit will provide the depth that Seattle desperately needs going into 2016. Benoit has been a solid relief pitcher throughout his career, but had a really nice year in 2015. He went 6-5 with a 2.34 ERA in 65 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. He struck out 63, but also walked 23, leading his FIP to register at 3.75. The 38-year-old Benoit is signed through next season and will earn $8 million in what is the last of a three-year, $22 million contract he signed with San Diego during the 2013-2014 offseason. --Devan Fink The Seattle Mariners have re-signed outfielder Franklin Gutierrez to a one-year, Major League contract, they announced Wednesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Gutierrez is coming off a successful rebound campaign in 2015. After not appearing in the Major Leagues in two years, Gutierrez re-signed with the Mariners, dominated the minor leagues, and warranted himself a call-up on June 24, his first big league game since September 27, 2013. With Nelson Cruz, Seth Smith, James Jones, and Ramon Flores all likely spending time in the Mariners' outfield next season, Gutierrez appears to be their fourth outfielder and a power bat off the bench. Last season, the soon-to-be 33-year-old Gutierrez hit .292/.354/.620 in 189 plate appearances, homering 15 times and driving in 35 runs. Gutierrez had a once-promising career, winning a Gold Glove and hitting 30 home runs over the course of two seasons with Seattle back in 2009 and 2010, but injuries and illnesses, including issues with his immune system, have kept him off the field. The Mariners hope that Gutierrez was able to revive his career in 2015 and will prove valuable going into the 2016 campaign. --Devan Fink |
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