Eddie Rosario, Cleveland Reportedly Agree to 1-Year, $8M Contract

Veteran outfielder Eddie Rosario and Cleveland agreed to terms on a one-year, $8 million contract on Friday, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. 

The 29-year-old was among the notable players non-tendered by his team. The decision reflected both his performance and the financial climate in MLB amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman reported the Minnesota Twins had exhausted all avenues to move him:

"The Twins shopped Rosario last offseason, but found his trade market lacking and hung onto him. They shopped him again this offseason, seeking a modest return because of his projected arbitration figure, eventually making Rosario available on outright waivers for nothing in return when they found no takers. He went unclaimed by all 29 other teams."

Rosario finished 2020 with 13 home runs, 42 RBI and a .257/.316/.476 slash line in 57 games. His on-base and slugging percentages were on par with his career averages (.310 OBP, .478 SLG), and therein lies the problem.

The Puerto Rican seems to have maxed out as a very good but not elite slugger at a time when finding very good sluggers isn't particularly hard.

From 2017 to '19, Rosario averaged just under 28 home runs and 88 RBI per season. He also ranked a modest 45th among outfielders in weighted on-base average (.339) and 42nd in weighted runs created plus (112), per FanGraphs.

His home and road splits were probably part of the equation when teams decided whether to make a claim after the Twins placed him on waivers. His production in six years at Target Field outpaced what he did away from Minneapolis.

• Home: 348 games, 67 home runs, 202 RBI, .289/.319/.518
• Away: 349 games, 52 home runs, 186 RBI, .266/.300/.440

This is all to explain why the Twins—and every other franchise—chose not to pay what MLB Trade Rumors' Tim Dierkes projected to be anywhere from $8.6 million to $12.9 million for Rosario in arbitration. He can still be a valuable contributor in the middle of the order.

The 2020 season was also encouraging in terms of his defense. Rosario was 42nd of 50 qualified outfielders in defensive runs saved (minus-eight) and 45th in ultimate zone rating (minus-5.6) in 2019, per FanGraphs. He was 15th and 24th in those categories last year.

Cleveland might have gotten a nice bargain in Rosario.