Desert Dogs

MadBum goes to the desert

Madison Bumgarner is trading in his oceanside home ballpark for a more understated poolside view.
The southpaw is making the leap from one NL West club to another, reportedly agreeing to a five-year, $85 million contract with the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

As part of the deal, Bumgarner will receive $15 million in deferred money, per Rosenthal. That means Bumgarner will make $70 million over the course of his five years, a number comparable to the four-year, $70-plus million offer the Giants made to keep him in San Francisco.  In the end, the guarantee of a fifth year proved to be the difference.

The move represents the latest for a Diamondbacks rotation that looks nothing like it did a little over a year ago. At the end of the 2018 season, the staff was anchored by veteran Zack Greinke and prepared to watch 11-game winner Patrick Corbin depart via free agency. Zack Godley had made 32 starts that season and Clay Buchholz and Matt Koch made 16 and 14, respectively.
Now, Bumgarner will head a rotation that includes Zac Gallen, acquired from the Marlins at July's trade deadline; Robbie Ray, who may actually be on his way out the door with the Bumgarner signing; and guys like Luke Weaver, Merrill Kelly, Alex Young and Mike Leake, all of whom will vie for starting jobs in spring. Taylor Clarke, Godley and prospect Jon Duplantier could also make their case in spring.

The loss of their ace means Johnny Cueto will slide into that role for the Giants after returning at the end of 2019. Jeff Samardzija and the newly signed Kevin Gausman will follow, with Tyler Beede, Logan Webb and others behind them.
For Bumgarner, the move to Arizona isn't entirely neutral given how pitcher-friendly Oracle Park is, but Chase Field plays fairly neutral for power. That's good news for the southpaw, who gave up a career-high 30 homers this past season.
His leaving the free agent market means another top target for some teams is off the board. With Bumgarner gone, lefties Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dallas Keuchel are the next top options for clubs seeking pitching help.

 

 

Rangers Get Kluber For Clase, DeShields

One such club seeking help was the Rangers.
They filled a need Sunday when they acquired former Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber from the Indians for reliever Emmanuel Clase and outfielder Delino DeShields.

"Before last year, Corey was one of the elite pitchers in the game for an extended stretch," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "Last year was a little bit of a lost year for him but we think the reasons for it don't necessarily give us pause. In some ways the time off may have been a good thing, a blessing in disguise that he had thrown a lot of innings [418] in the previous two years."
The acquisition was the third for the Rangers' rotation this winter, as they previously added free agents Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles. Holdovers Mike Minor and Lance Lynn will round out the rotation.
"It sets up pretty well," Daniels said. "Now we have to go out and perform. This group has a track record and pedigree. We are excited to see them work together. This group has a chance to go out and give us both quantity and quality innings. We should be in the ballgame every night."
Kluber suffered from both injury and ineffectiveness in 2019, posting a 5.80 ERA in seven starts. In each of the prior five seasons, though, he's received Cy Young votes, including winning the award in 2014 and 2017.
The return for the Indians was met with confusion and some dismay. Clase posted a 2.31 ERA in 23 1/3 innings with the Rangers this past season and possesses a cut fastball that touches triple digits, making his ceiling as high as any young reliever's. DeShields stole 24 bases while batting .249/.325/.347 in 118 games last year.

"There were a lot of teams that had interest in Corey,", according to Chris Antonetti. "We had a variety of different packages, some of whom had players who were a little further away from the Major Leagues. One of the things we did like about what the Rangers offered were two players that could come back and help us in 2020 and help us try to sustain the level of competitiveness we've had over the last seven years."
We'll see soon enough how the trade works out for both sides.

National League Quick Hits:

  Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that the Marlins met with Yasiel Puig last week. Heyman also notes that the Marlins have talked with the agents for Avisail Garcia, Corey Dickerson and Kole Calhoun, as well, which had been reported previously. Miami's outfield is pretty barren right now, so it's not a surprise that they're kicking the tires on multiple players. Puig had an up-and-down 2019 season, but he just turned 29 and could wind up being a nice value addition this winter. ... Dodgers signed RHP Blake Treinen to a one-year, $10 million contract. The deal was first reported last week and has now been made official. Treinen struggled to a 4.91 ERA and 59/37 K/BB ratio over 58 2/3 innings this past season, but he was one of the best relievers in baseball in 2018. Especially on a one-year contract, he's a nice bounce-back game for the Dodgers ... Phillies signed SS Didi Gregorius to a one-year, $14 million contract. The deal was first reported on Tuesday and has now been made official. Gregorius reportedly had multi-year contract offers, but he preferred to take a one-year pact to re-establish his value after his down 2019 campaign following a return from Tommy John surgery. He's a good bet to bounce back in 2020 after a normal offseason. With Gregorius taking over at shortstop, the Phillies plan to move Jean Segura to second base ... Brewers signed LHP Brett Anderson to a one-year, $5 million contract. He can earn an additional $2 million in incentives. Anderson stayed healthy for 30 starts in 2019 for just the third time in his career, posting a 3.89 ERA over 176 innings. The veteran left-hander should be a solid back-end starter for the Brew Crew, although his lack of strikeouts makes him pretty useless for fantasy purposes.

American League Quick Hits: Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Rays are finalizing a contract with Japanese slugger Yoshitomo Tsutsugo. It will be a two-year deal in the range of $12 million, plus a posting fee of around $2.4 million. Topkin says that the Rays will likely rotate Tsutsugo between left field, third base and designated hitter. The 28-year-old is known for his bat, having put up a .899 OPS with 29 home runs in 131 games this past season with the Yokohama Bay Stars. There's obviously a wild card element with Tsutsugo, but he certainly has a shot to be mixed league-viable out of the gate ... he Twins are still engaged in talks with free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson. The Nationals are believed to have the largest offer on the table for Donaldson at this time. Donaldson is on record as stating he would like to return to Atlanta if the money is there. The Twins think they still have a chance and would love to bring in Donaldson to man their hot corner so they can move Miguel Sano to first base. The former AL MVP seems likely to get a four-year contract even though he is 34 years old. Last winter he had to settle for a one-year, $23 million contract with the Braves. He responded with a .900 OPS, 34 bombs and 94 RBI in 155 games ... The Blue Jays are attempting to sign free agent starter Hyun-Jin Ryu. Now that Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg are off the market, Ryu could be the top remaining target for teams looking to boost their rotations. Ryu went 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA in 29 starts for the Dodgers this year, although he faded down the stretch. He has a 2.98 career ERA in 125 starts since joining the Dodgers in 2013. The knock on Ryu is his durability -- he's never thrown more than 192 innings in a season (and that was in 2013) and has suffered multiple long-term injuries. The Dodgers and Twins are also in the hunt for Ryu, and there are probably other suitors as well. The Blue Jays signed free agent starter Tanner Roark to a two-year, $24 million deal last week but apparently they aren't finished upgrading their rotation yet ... Angels signed 3B Anthony Rendon to a seven-year, $245 million contract. He'll be formally introduced at a press conference at Angel Stadium at noon on Saturday. The superstar third baseman agreed to the contract on Wednesday during the Winter Meetings in San Diego, and now it's officially official. Rendon will get an average annual value of $35 million per season -- with the deal being slightly back-loaded. .