Under-the-Radar 2015-16 MLB Offseason Moves That Will Pay Big Dividends
Every year, superstars command the offseason spotlight, dominating the rumor mill and the minds of fans, who dream of, say, David Price atop the rotation. And while this offseason featured more high-profile, superstar talent than normal, not every team can make a big splash.
No one disputes the impact of a star, but having one (or more) of them on a roster doesn't guarantee that a team will find regular-season success. In fact, it's often the quality of a team's role players—those whose additions tend to fly under-the-radar, relatively unnoticed—that dictate how a team will fare.
While none of the players we're about to take a look at is a legitimate game-changer, they're all going to have a positive impact on their new teams' fortunes in 2016.
Seattle Signs Nori Aoki
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Forget the Big Three of Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton—the likes of Dexter Fowler, Gerardo Parra and Denard Span overshadowed Nori Aoki on the free-agent market.
Yet it was the 34-year-old outfielder, and not one of the more powerful and/or younger options available to Seattle, that allowed new general manager Jerry DiPoto to cross off multiple things from his offseason to-do list.
“Adding Nori addresses our desire to be more athletic in the outfield, as well as more contact-oriented in the batter’s box,” Dipoto said at Aoki's introductory press conference, per the Seattle Times' Ryan Divish. “His consistency, versatility and energetic style of play will fit us very well.”
While he's athletic and versatile enough to play all three outfield positions, Aoki figures to spend the bulk of his time in left field. But it's his ability to get on base consistently, as evidenced by a .353 career on-base percentage, that will pay dividends for the Mariners.
This is a team that, despite finishing the 2015 season fifth in home runs (198), managed to finish only 21st in runs (656). With Aoki hitting ahead of the team's big bats—Kyle Seager, Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz—the Mariners are better equipped to take advantage of that power.
Atlanta Signs Bud Norris
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Atlanta's signing of Bud Norris to a one-year, $2.5 million deal barely registered a blip on the offseason radar, which is no surprise when you consider the number of high-profile starters who were available as free agents and the lucrative, multiyear deals many of them landed.
That he's coming off a career-worst performance in 2015 (3-11, 6.72 ERA, 1.58 WHIP), when he ultimately lost his spot on Baltimore's roster and finished the season as a reliever in San Diego, didn't help his earning power.
But for a rebuilding Atlanta club, one that has a plethora of young, talented and relatively inexperienced young starters as rotation options (with the exception of Julio Teheran), adding a veteran starter like Norris at a negligible price is a risk worth taking.
"He's always had good stuff and he's pitched in tough pitcher's parks," Braves general manager John Coppolella told MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "We feel good about his potential to be a good buy-low guy."
While the Braves would be ecstatic if Norris was able to replicate his career-best numbers from 2014, when he went 15-8 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 28 starts for the Orioles, he doesn't have to in order to pay big dividends for the Braves.
Simply returning to his previous form as a reliable, serviceable mid-rotation arm—he averaged 170 innings per season with a 4.21 ERA and 1.38 WHIP from 2010 through 2014—will make his one-year pact look like one of the offseason's biggest bargains.
Detroit Trades for Justin Wilson
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Having been Dave Dombrowski's right-hand man for years, Detroit general manager Al Avila was all too familiar with the team's bullpen issues. And he wasted little time in addressing them this offseason, adding Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Lowe and Justin Wilson to a revamped relief corps.
Wilson, 28, comes with three years of club control remaining, a fastball that sits comfortably in the high 90s and the ability to get both right and left-handed hitters out. He's averaged a 3.05 ERA and 1.16 WHIP and 65 innings per year over the past three seasons.
That's a major addition for a Tigers bullpen that pitched to baseball's 27th-worst bullpen ERA (4.38) in 2015 and hasn't finished the year with a sub-4.00 ERA since 2012, when it ranked 18th with a 3.79 mark.
Acquiring Wilson wasn't cheap—the Tigers had to send a pair of quality starting pitching prospects, Luis Cessa and Chad Green, to the New York Yankees to strike a deal. But for a team that is built to win now, Wilson's reliability trumps any future value that Cessa and Green may provide.
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Pittsburgh Signs Juan Nicasio
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Pittsburgh returns the bulk of a bullpen that led baseball with a 2.67 ERA in 2015, but some new additions could make the group even better. That includes Juan Nicasio, who seemed to find new life as a reliever for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year after four years of trying to survive as a starter for Colorado.
“Juan Nicasio is an experienced pitcher with the pitch repertoire and versatility to fill a variety of roles on our pitching staff,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bill Brink. “He had a strong season pitching primarily as a relief pitcher last year and we look forward to Juan’s impact on our Major League club.”
The 29-year-old pitched to a career-best 3.86 ERA while averaging more than one strikeout per inning over 53 relief appearances for the Dodgers, though his 1.56 WHIP and rate of 4.9 walks per nine innings left plenty to be desired.
While Nicasio figures to stick in the bullpen, the Pirates could look to stretch him out and make him a starter once again, should the need arise. Regardless of his role, working with the game's best pitching coach, Ray Searage, will find Nicasio at his very best in Pittsburgh next season.
Kansas City Signs Dillon Gee
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While he's not assured of a spot on Kansas City's roster, much less in its starting rotation, Dillon Gee decided that a minor league deal with the Royals was a better option than a big league deal with a rebuilding club, according to ESPN.com's Adam Rubin.
Gee, 29, was ineffective over eight appearances (seven starts) for the New York Mets in 2015 (5.90 ERA, 1.66 WHIP) before suffering a groin injury and, eventually, being designated for assignment and relegated to the minors for the remainder of the season.
But he's proved to be an effective back-end starter when healthy, averaging 152 innings, a 4.01 ERA and 1.29 WHIP per year from 2011 through 2014. He could fill the same role for the Royals, a team that lost Johnny Cueto to free agency (and much of its depth to acquire him).
In fact, Gee might be a perfect fit in Kansas City, as Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out on Twitter shortly after the agreement was announced: "Dillon Gee seems like the kind of pitcher who will benefit from #Royals' 'pen. .692 OPS allowed first time thru order. Then .693. Then .806."
Due a $2 million base salary (with additional incentives) if he makes the roster, Gee will pay dividends as an inexpensive yet experienced arm capable of keeping things close until Kansas City's electric bullpen takes over.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts (via Baseball Prospectus).
Hit me up on Twitter to talk the Hot Stove League and all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR.
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