MLB: Offseason Day One Recap and Reactions as Teams Pick Up Options

The 2016-2017 MLB offseason kicked off this morning as teams began to make decisions on players with 2017 club options. Here’s a rundown of the day’s action as well as reactions.

Today marks the beginning of the five-day exclusive negotiations between MLB clubs and their free agent eligible players as well as those with club options for 2017. Here’s a quick recap of today’s offseason action around the league.

Jay Bruce: The New York Mets have picked up right fielder Jay Bruce’s $13 million option for the 2017 season. Bruce struggled in his first half-season in New York, hitting just .219 with eight home runs and 19 RBI over 50 games for the Mets.

The Mets had little option in the decision. With outfielder Yoenis Cespedes likely to opt out of his contract to hit the open market again, the Mets needed to secure Bruce, a left-handed bat for the 2017 season. Bruce is a lifetime .248 hitter, but was enjoying an exceptional 2016 campaign with the Cincinnati Reds before being dealt to New York. The Mets hope he can provide more along the lines of the .265, 25 HR and 80 RBI production he showed with the Reds in 2016.

Jaime Garcia: The St. Louis Cardinals have picked up the 30-year-old southpaw’s $12 million option for the 2017 season on Thursday morning.

Garcia posted a less than stellar 10-13 record in 2016 with an ERA of 4.67 over 30 starts for the Cards. Garcia will help add depth to the Cardinals rotation in 2017, and much like the Mets are hoping for Jay Bruce, the Cardinals hope that Garcia can return to his 2015 form when he went 10-6 with a 2.43 ERA.

Carlos Santana: Long before the sting of their Game Seven loss in the 2016 World Series wears off, the Indians have to begin preparing for another run in 2017. They made the first move this morning by picking up slugging first baseman Carlos Santana’s $12 million option for the 2017 season.

Santana hit 34 home runs for the Tribe in 2016 and has hit 151 dingers over the course of his seven seasons with the Indians. Santana will likely be the Indians’ biggest power source in 2017 with Mike Napoli potentially heading into free agency in the next week.

Gio Gonzalez: The Washington Nationals picked up the $12 million 2017 option for starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez finished up the 2016 season with an 11-11 record and a 4.57 ERA for the Nationals. Gonzalez really has been mediocre at best during his tenure with the Nationals to date.

Outside of his first season in D.C. in 2012 when he won 21 games and posted a stellar 2.89 ERA, Gonzalez is just 43-37 with a 3.82 ERA over the last four seasons with the Nationals. At 31 years of age, the right-hander seems like a steep investment at $12 million dollars for 2017, but the Nationals wouldn’t be better served trying to replace him through free agency given the weak starting pitching market this year.

Jonathan Lucroy: The Texas Rangers picked up catcher Jonathan Lucroy’s $5.25 million 2017 club option as well this afternoon. Lucroy was acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers prior to the trade deadline this past July, and hit .276 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI for the Rangers in 47 games.

The veteran catcher is a no-brainer move for the Rangers at the team friendly cost of just $5.25 million for a catcher who holds a career .248 batting average with 91 home runs over the course of his seven major league seasons.

Wade Davis: The Kansas City Royals unsurprisingly picked up their $10 million option on reliever Wade Davis. Though the 31-year-old right-hander missed some time to injury this year, he still turned in an impressive season, notching 27 saves with a 1.87 ERA.

It should be interesting to see if the Royals shop Davis in trade talks over the winter. His name surfaced in rumors preceding last August’s non-waiver deadline.

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Clay Buchholz: The Boston Red Sox picked up the $13.5 million option for 2017 on veteran pitcher Clay Buchholz. Buchholz finished 2016 with an 8-10 record and a 4.78 ERA.

Buchholz hasn’t had a winning record since 2013 when he went 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA over 16 starts for the Red Sox. Buchholz stays with the Red Sox for another season, much like Gio Gonzalez with the Nationals because of a poor free agent class not providing a more viable option.

Matt Moore: The San Francisco Giants exercised Matt Moore’s $7 million option for 2017. Moore was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays to solidify the Giants rotation.

Moore went 6-5 with a 4.08 ERA for the Giants in 2016. The 27-year-old has team options in 2018 and 2019 as well.

Ryan Howard: The Philadelphia Phillies closed the book on the Ryan Howard era this afternoon by declining his massive $23 million option for the 2017 season. Howard hit a career low .196 for the Phillies in 112 games in 2016.

The Phillies, in the process of rebuilding, move on from the 36-year-old former slugger and free up space in their budget for 2017.

Fernando Rodney: The Miami Marlins declined to exercise their $4.1 million club option on reliever Fernando Rodney. Rodney was 2-3 with an ERA near six with the Marlins in 2016.

At 39 years old, Rodney just doesn’t fit in with a young Marlins core that is undoubtedly looking to get younger this offseason.

Next: 2016 Offseason Preview, Key Dates, and Hot Takes

Matt Albers: The Chicago White Sox declined to exercise their $3 million club option on reliever Matt Albers.

Simply put, Albers was awful for nearly all of 2016 with the White Sox. The 33-year-old reliever went 2-6 with a 6.31 ERA for the White Sox. Albers allowed 97 of the 237 hitters that he faced to reach base over the course of 51 innings of work out of the Sox bullpen.

Stay tuned to Call to the Pen for the latest MLB offseason news and notes.

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