The Caesars agreed to send catcher Christian Bethancourt to the Brooklyn 42s for outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. Both players will receive the same league minimum salary in 2015 and have similar service time with Kiermaier spending 58 days in his BSL rookie season compared to Bethancourt's 47.
The Caesars were looking to trade from their catching depth to improve depth at positions of need. Bethancourt sat behind John Jaso, Wilin Rosario, and Stephen Vogt on the depth chart prior to the trade. Kiermaier is eligible at all outfield positions in 2015 and projects to be the Rays' starting rightfielder. He should see the requisite 20 games in CF needed to retain his eligibility there.
Any discussion regarding Kiermaier begins with his defensive ability. He was nominated for a Gold Glove last year and inspired D-Rays Bat to relive his highlights in a two part series. The numbers back this up. Kiermaier began 2014 in AAA Durham and was called up twice until finally sticking around following his May 31st callup. As such, he only appeared in 108 MLB games where he played CF and RF. No outfielder with at least 800 innings had a higher UZR/150 than Kiermaier's 36.3. The next closest was Mets' defensive whiz Juan Lagares at 25.3. Kiermaier was much better in RF but held his own in CF. The scouting backs up the numbers. Coming into 2014, Kiermaier was rated as the Rays #10 prospect by Baseball America and the best defensive outfielder and arm in the system. Baseball Prospectus rated him 8th in the organization with similar praise for his defensive ability.
Kiermaier still has some questions regarding his offensive ability. His career minor league line was .278/.352/.398 in 1,649 plate appearances with 15 career home runs and he stole 86 bases while being caught 32 times. His overall major league line in 2014 was .263/.315/.450 with 10 home runs (one was of the inside the park variety) and but he was only successful in five of his nine stolen base attempts. Within his MLB line was a huge platoon split as the left handed hitter had an .840 OPS against RHP and a .497 OPS against LHP. Additionally he hit .315/.353/.574 in his first 50 games and struggled to a .213/.280/.331 line in his final 59 games. The Caesars expect his 2015 offensive performance to be slightly worse than his overall 2014 line and hope to see him steal bases more in line with his minor league rate. He saw just over 20% of his 2014 plate appearances against LHP and that should be the maximum allowed in 2015.
Ultimately, the trade was extremely fair. Bethancourt is a highly regarded, defense first catching prospect and rated in the back half of most publications' top 100 prospects coming into 2014 and should retain a spot there on the 2015 lists. He's a career .270/.300/.379 hitter in 2,189 minor league plate appearances over seven seasons. There are significant questions about the development of his bat. He appears to be in line to see the majority of playing time for the Braves at catcher in 2015. The Caesars feel Kiermaier is the more likely bet to have a playable bat and their catcher depth afforded them the chance to trade Bethancourt. The Caesars originally acquired Bethancourt from the Line in the November 2013. Bethancourt was traded along with Donn Roach and Orlando Arcia to the Caesars for David Freese, Charlie Morton, and Dan Uggla. This could turn out to be a win-win trade for both teams.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Friday, January 16, 2015
2015 Free Agent Signings Part Two
The second batch of offseason signings are below. The Caesars don't anticipate making any further MLB signings and have a number of players targeted in the minor league phase of free agency.
John Jaso, C TB: Jaso has been a member of the Caesars since the inception of BSL. He received $4.5 million in the 2013 initial auction which included the rights to at least 2014 and 2015. He received a modest raise to $4.9 million through arbitration for 2014. His 2015 arbitration number soared to $7.8 million and led to him being non-tendered.
The Caesars were thrilled to sign Jaso for what amounted to a two year, $3 million contract. Jaso's problem over the past two seasons has been staying healthy and for $1.5 million a season, his offensive upside from the catcher's position is a reasonable gamble. His career numbers are .259/.359/.399 and he's eclipsed that .758 OPS in each of the last three seasons. Jaso has suffered season ending concussions in July 2013 and August 2014.
If Jaso stays healthy and exhibits no negative signs of his previous concussions, this contract is a steal for the Caesars. He was recently traded by the A's to the Rays. He projects to get more time at catcher with the Rays than he would have with the A's, but the Rays were adamant in stating they view him as a hitter first. The Rays will attempt to keep Jaso healthier by using him at DH more than catcher, but he should catch enough (20 games) to retain eligibility in BSL.
Dian Toscano, OF ATL: Toscano became eligible for free agency by signing a four year, $6 million major league contract with the Braves. The deal includes an option for a fifth year. The consensus view on Toscano is a role player, fourth outfielder. He never played for the Cuban National Team but performed well in the Cuban Serie Nacional. He played 265 games across five seasons with his last coming in 2013 as he was suspended for attempting to defect. In the Serie Nacional he was a lifetime .301/.405/.428 hitter with 13 career home runs and a career 80/99 K/BB ratio. He bats and throws left handed although his weak arm prevents him from playing RF. He has the speed to play CF.
He is only 25 and the Caesars are willing to give him a major league deal to see what he has. At worst, they project him as a bench OFer, with CF qualification. At best, he could turn into an everyday player with modest steals and batting average upside. Toscano has yet to officially sign with the Braves due to a visa issue. If that is not resolved by the start of the season, he will be placed on the restricted list.
Trevor Cahill, SP ARI: Cahill was non-tendered by the Dream Inceptors when his projected salary for this season was $5 million. This was Cahill's third arbitration eligible season, so he was destined to be a free agent next year. The Inceptors let him go after his disastrous 2014 season. Cahill's MLB contract pays him $12 million in 2015 and has team options for 2016 and 2017. Those options surely won't be picked up and the Diamondbacks couldn't get anyone to take Cahill for when they DFAed him last June.
Cahill struggled in 110.2 innings last season, mostly due to his walk rate increasing for the third consecutive season. He did, however, manage to also bump his strikeout rate up so his K/BB ratio wasn't as bad as it was in 2013. It appears Cahill has the ability to bounce back as he posted the second best FIP and xFIP of his career. He didn't get as many ground balls and let up an astounding amount of line drives.
The Caesars are hoping for a FIP induced bounce back from Cahill. They gave him a one year contract with a reasonable club option if he pitches 170 innings. The only way he will hit that mark is if he's healthy and effective, so it's likely to be a cheap, one year deal. He has an excellent chance of being at least a league average starter and the upside is there to be more of a mid-rotation arm. At worst, he'll be an effective RP as he's much better against RH than LH (.929 vs .657 OPS).
John Jaso, C TB: Jaso has been a member of the Caesars since the inception of BSL. He received $4.5 million in the 2013 initial auction which included the rights to at least 2014 and 2015. He received a modest raise to $4.9 million through arbitration for 2014. His 2015 arbitration number soared to $7.8 million and led to him being non-tendered.
The Caesars were thrilled to sign Jaso for what amounted to a two year, $3 million contract. Jaso's problem over the past two seasons has been staying healthy and for $1.5 million a season, his offensive upside from the catcher's position is a reasonable gamble. His career numbers are .259/.359/.399 and he's eclipsed that .758 OPS in each of the last three seasons. Jaso has suffered season ending concussions in July 2013 and August 2014.
If Jaso stays healthy and exhibits no negative signs of his previous concussions, this contract is a steal for the Caesars. He was recently traded by the A's to the Rays. He projects to get more time at catcher with the Rays than he would have with the A's, but the Rays were adamant in stating they view him as a hitter first. The Rays will attempt to keep Jaso healthier by using him at DH more than catcher, but he should catch enough (20 games) to retain eligibility in BSL.
Dian Toscano, OF ATL: Toscano became eligible for free agency by signing a four year, $6 million major league contract with the Braves. The deal includes an option for a fifth year. The consensus view on Toscano is a role player, fourth outfielder. He never played for the Cuban National Team but performed well in the Cuban Serie Nacional. He played 265 games across five seasons with his last coming in 2013 as he was suspended for attempting to defect. In the Serie Nacional he was a lifetime .301/.405/.428 hitter with 13 career home runs and a career 80/99 K/BB ratio. He bats and throws left handed although his weak arm prevents him from playing RF. He has the speed to play CF.
He is only 25 and the Caesars are willing to give him a major league deal to see what he has. At worst, they project him as a bench OFer, with CF qualification. At best, he could turn into an everyday player with modest steals and batting average upside. Toscano has yet to officially sign with the Braves due to a visa issue. If that is not resolved by the start of the season, he will be placed on the restricted list.
Trevor Cahill, SP ARI: Cahill was non-tendered by the Dream Inceptors when his projected salary for this season was $5 million. This was Cahill's third arbitration eligible season, so he was destined to be a free agent next year. The Inceptors let him go after his disastrous 2014 season. Cahill's MLB contract pays him $12 million in 2015 and has team options for 2016 and 2017. Those options surely won't be picked up and the Diamondbacks couldn't get anyone to take Cahill for when they DFAed him last June.
Cahill struggled in 110.2 innings last season, mostly due to his walk rate increasing for the third consecutive season. He did, however, manage to also bump his strikeout rate up so his K/BB ratio wasn't as bad as it was in 2013. It appears Cahill has the ability to bounce back as he posted the second best FIP and xFIP of his career. He didn't get as many ground balls and let up an astounding amount of line drives.
The Caesars are hoping for a FIP induced bounce back from Cahill. They gave him a one year contract with a reasonable club option if he pitches 170 innings. The only way he will hit that mark is if he's healthy and effective, so it's likely to be a cheap, one year deal. He has an excellent chance of being at least a league average starter and the upside is there to be more of a mid-rotation arm. At worst, he'll be an effective RP as he's much better against RH than LH (.929 vs .657 OPS).
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