MLB Players with Big Opportunities Opened Up After Early Offseason Moves
After one of the wildest weeks in recent memory, the MLB winter meetings are over.
As the sports reporters recover, we look at the new opportunities that have opened up following the various trades and signings made so far this offseason.
Ranging from top prospects to some of the top signings, here are eight players who will have an expanded role in 2015.
Rays RHP Ernesto Frieri
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Signing: Tampa Bay Rays sign Ernesto Frieri to an incentive-laden deal.
Will the Rays still have their magical fairy dust for relievers after Joe Maddon's departure? Ernesto Frieri and the front office sure hope so.
From 2009 to 2013, Frieri recorded a 2.76 ERA, 1.17 WHIP with 60 saves and 315 strikeouts over 231.1 innings. In every season other than 2013, his FIP was higher than his ERA, so there were some concerns, but nothing could have foreshadowed his implosion this past season. His strikeouts were down, his home run rate and batting average on balls in play (BABIP) skyrocketed and his ERA ballooned to 7.34.
What the Rays are banking on is that his 2014 xFIP of 3.67—right in line with his career-average of 3.72—tells the real story of his season. They'll also be hoping that he returns to form in 2015.
The Rays don't have an anointed closer, so with a strong spring, Frieri has a chance to re-establish himself as the potential All-Star reliever he was with the Padres and briefly with the Angels.
Athletics 1B Ike Davis
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Trade: Oakland Athletics acquire Ike Davis from the Pittsburgh Pirates and sign him to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration.
Once upon a time, when I was writing on my own New York Mets blog, I compared a young Ike Davis to a young Joey Votto. Looking at their stats, I still stand by the comparison; watching Davis on the field, it's clear I didn't get that one right.
For Athletics fans, however, the premise still stands: Davis' power and on-base potential is still in there, he just needs to rediscover it.
Last season, in part-time duty with the Pirates, Davis had a .343 on-base percentage and 10 home runs in 131 games. As recently as 2012, Davis hit 32 home runs with 90 RBI in 156 games, including a 20 home run second half of the season with a .542 slugging percentage.
The A's traded away Brandon Moss and signed Davis to a $3.8 million deal to avoid arbitration. For a cash-stripped team to pay Davis that type of money, he is going to get some playing time. In a league where power bats are more valuable by the day and considering FanGraphs projects him to be a 2 WAR player in 2015, getting Davis to rebound could be yet another magic trick from Billy Beane.
D-Backs LHP Rubby De La Rosa
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Last season, Rubby De La Rosa did what most rookies in Major League Baseball do: show inconsistency.
In his 37.1 innings before the All-Star break, De La Rosa had a 2.89 ERA with 33 strikeouts against just eight walks over six starts. After the All-Star break, his ERA jumped to 5.32 and he lost control of the strike zone, with 41 strikeouts against 27 walks, leading to a 2-6 record.
Moving from the powerful AL East to the nowhere near as potent NL West will only help De La Rosa's numbers. Throughout the minors, he averaged about one strikeout per inning. His 94-plus mph fastball is an asset, his slider appears to be his best put-away pitch, per Brooks Baseball.
His strikeout numbers dwindled as the season moved along, as he was less effective with the slider, so if he can rebuild that pitch, he should find renewed success.
Despite acquiring Jeremy Hellickson earlier this offseason, the D-backs still have plenty of holes in their pitching staff. De La Rosa and his power arm should fit nicely and provide a middle- or back-of-the-rotation option in 2015.
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Rangers LHP Ross Detwiler
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Source: Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that the Washington Nationals have traded Ross Detwiler to the Texas Rangers.
Ross Detwiler has been a name I've seen pop up in trade rumors and never quite understood why teams weren't trying harder to acquire him.
From 2011 to 2013, when Detwiler was primarily used as a starter, he had a 3.46 ERA, which was 32nd among all starters in baseball.
While he won't blow you away with his strikeout numbers (5.45 career strikeouts per nine innings), he does a pretty good job at keeping the ball on the ground with a fastball, curveball, changeup arsenal, so moving to the home run paradise that is the Ballpark in Arlington shouldn't impact his game too much.
The Nationals had too many assets in their rotation to properly use Detwiler and had to shift him to the bullpen in 2014. The Rangers have no such problems, and Detwiler should be able to slide into their rotation right away and win 10-12 games in his first season if given the opportunity.
Angels LHP Andrew Heaney
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It's not very often the ninth overall pick (from 2012) gets traded twice in one day, but it happened to Andrew Heaney, who took the deals in stride, even showing off his social media skills.
On the team's conference call Friday, Heaney talked about being ready for the challenge of joining the AL's best regular season team of 2014:
"'I tried to remain pretty level-headed about it,' said Heaney during a conference call on Friday. 'I didn't have enough time to really process where I might stand with the Dodgers but as soon as I found out I was with the Angels, I kind of put myself in that position to get ready to compete in spring training for a spot in the starting rotation.'
'It feels good for me to be wanted,' Heaney said. 'It was very positive. He said that they had been keeping an eye on me for a while and that they were excited to add me.
He kind of joked about it being a little bit of a crazy day but just said, 'Hey, I wanted to let you know that you're going to come into spring training in Arizona and be in a good spot and be competing for a job in the rotation.''
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Both Baseball American and Baseball Prospectus ranked Heaney as the 30th-best prospect in baseball heading into the 2014 season. In two seasons in the minors, he put up outstanding numbers (2.77 ERA with 262 strikeouts over 259.2 innings), but his success hasn't yet translated to the big leagues, with a 5.45 FIP over an admittedly small sample size of 29.1 innings.
FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel tweeted out a scouting report of Heaney, saying that he already has three average or better pitches and will be ready for MLB in 2015.
With Garrett Richards' injury and a lack of depth in the Angels' staff, Heaney should be able to slot in and provide a youthful boost to their rotation on Opening Day.
Red Sox OF Mookie Betts
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The Red Sox needed to acquire pitching this offseason. After Jon Lester officially signed with the Cubs, the Yoenis Cespedes rumor turned into reality and Boston shipped him off to Detroit, further clearing up a spot in the starting lineup for Markus "Mookie" Betts and his star potential.
Betts' play in the minors made it abundantly clear he belongs in the big leagues.
He hit .346 with a .431 on-base percentage and a .529 slugging percentage, to go along with 33 steals in 99 games in Double-A and Triple-A this past season.
After bouncing back and forth between the minors and majors, his batting average and slugging percentage climbed every month from June through September, and he finished the final two months with his best on-base percentages of .383 and .388, including a very impressive walk/strikeout ratio of 20/26.
The final slash line for his debut season, as a 21-year-old, was .291/.368/.448 over 52 games, earning a 1.9 WAR from FanGraphs.
Had they kept Cespedes, Betts would have struggled for playing time in a crowded outfield along side Hanley Ramirez, Rusney Castillo, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Shane Victorino but as my fellow B/R writer Zach Moretti talks about, he's atop the team's depth chart as their center fielder.
He's proven he belongs, now Betts must establish himself as a full-time regular. The Cespedes trade gives him that opportunity.
Yankees Relievers Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller
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Signings: Chicago White Sox sign David Robertson, and the New York Yankees sign Andrew Miller.
When playing against the New York Yankees next season, you better score your runs in the first seven innings.
Though we won't be hearing Enter Sandman from anyone coming out of the bullpen in the Bronx, if you're trailing and you have to go up against Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller with six outs to go, all I can say is good luck.
Miller (1.51) and Betances (1.64) finished with the fourth and fifth in FIPs among all pitchers in baseball who threw more than 20 innings last season. On top of that, Miller (14.87) had the second-best strikeout-per-nine-innings mark in baseball. Betances wasn't too far behind, finishing seventh at 13.50.
With David Robertson signing with the Chicago White Sox, the ninth-inning role in the Bronx is wide open, and despite giving Andrew Miller $36 million, 2014 All-Star Betances will be ready if called upon:
"'For me, I think I would just try to treat everything the same, no matter what happens,' Betances said. 'I know obviously it's a different role, but I'm just looking forward to helping the team win, no matter what situation they want me in.'
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'I'm looking forward to Spring Training. I'm just working hard and whatever role I get, I'm just trying to help the team win.'
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Miller's new-found success can be attributed to his devastating slider, per Brooks Baseball, while Betances has two out pitches with his fastball and curveball (Brooks Baseball). Both have the arsenal to get righties and lefties out, so whomever the Yankees choose, neither will be promising for their opponents in 2015 and beyond.
Dodgers OF Joc Pederson
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Source: Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Matt Kemp has been traded to San Diego Padres.
Joc Pederson had himself one of the best Triple-A seasons of the last century in 2014, becoming the first player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the Pacific Coast League since 1934. He also scored 106 runs and drew 100 walks in just 121 games.
The PCL is known to be a hitter-friendly league, but those numbers are just silly.
This past week, new Dodgers GM Andrew Friedman waved his magic wand and made Matt Kemp's contract and potentially negative clubhouse presence disappear to open up a spot for Pederson.
While he struggled in his limited time this past September (.143 batting average and no extra-base hits in 18 games), Pederson showed his potential and great eye, with 9 walks against 11 strikeouts to finish with a .351 OBP.
Without Kemp, Pederson will be patrolling center field for the Dodgers in 2015 and will likely be the favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year award heading into the season.
To talk baseball or follow the latest rumors, check in with me on Twitter: @ZPetersel.
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