Chicago Cubs Rumors: Five non-tendered players that could be signed
The Chicago Cubs have a great opportunity to improve their team by signing players that were recently non-tendered by their former clubs. Who could show up in Cubs rumors?
An MLB player with less than six years of service time needs to be offered a contract by their current club prior to the non-tender deadline each offseason. If a player with less than six years of service time is not offered a contract, that player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Reaching free agency after being non-tendered allows a player to sign a major league or minor league contract with any team. If a player is able to reach an agreement with a new club, that player will be unable to return to free agency until either the end of their new agreement, reaching six years of service time, or being non-tendered once again.
An example of a player that signed with a new team while still having additional years of team control left came when Kelly Johnson was non-tendered by the Atlanta Braves ahead of the 2010 regular season. As Johnson was free to sign with any team after being non-tendered, he was able to secure a one-year, $2.35 million contract to become a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
A mediocre slash-line of .224/.303/.389 alongside only 20 doubles and 8 home runs in 2009 spurred the Braves decision to non-tender Johnson. However, after putting together an impressive slash-line of .284/.370/.496 alongside 36 doubles and 26 home runs in 2010, the Diamondbacks decided to tender a contract to Johnson for the 2011 season as he was still under team control.
Although there are a lot of non-tendered players that do not go on to have the same amount of success as Johnson did in Arizona, there are plenty of cases of players performing well after a change in scenery. After all, Russell Martin was once non-tendered by the Los Angeles Dodgers and went on to have quite a solid career.
As there are a lot of intriguing players available in free agency now that the non-tender deadline has expired, the following are five options that would fill current roster needs for the Chicago Cubs.
The Cincinnati Reds made a somewhat surprising non-tender decision when they decided to allow a former second round pick to reach free agency earlier than expected.
Billy Hamilton was projected to receive $5.90 million in salary arbitration ahead of next season. After putting together a slash-line of .236/.299/.327, the Cincinnati Reds decided to part ways with Hamilton in order to allocate his expected salary to other parts of the roster.
Prior to the 2018 regular season, the Reds passed on trade offers for the speedy center fielder and team owner Bob Castellini even went on record about his desire to keep Hamilton in Cincinnati “forever.” As the slash-line for Hamilton last season is very similar to his career slash-line of .245/.298/.333, the decision to non-tender him is a surprising change of heart by the Reds.
Nonetheless, as Hamilton has the ability to rate positively on defense in all three outfield positions, he could provide a lot of value to the Cubs next season. According to FanGraphs, Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, and Albert Almora Jr. combined for a 20.9 UZR last season. Hamilton would have boosted this number as he provided a 5.9 UZR on his own last season.
Hamilton would definitely provide a lot of value for the Cubs on the defensive side, but he is also a phenomenal baserunner. Throughout his 690 games played at the major league level for the Reds, he compiled 277 stolen bases. These numbers also include an incredible four straight 56+ steal seasons from 2014-2017.
Although he is not the most accomplished offensive player, his ability to chase down any balls hit into the outfield alongside his ability to swipe bases at a moments notice would make Hamilton a valuable addition to the Cubs roster.
As left-handed specialists are a rare commodity throughout major league baseball, the Cubs should pounce on one that is currently a free agent after being non-tendered by his former club.
Xavier Cedeno was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2004 before the organization released him in 2010. Since that time, he has shuffled around between the Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers.
Although he has spent time with seven different organizations, he possesses solid career numbers with a 3.69 ERA, a 3.59 FIP, and a 1.366 WHIP through 249 appearances. Last season, Cedeno put together a 2.43 ERA, 2.95 FIP, and a 1.260 WHIP through 48 appearances.
Prior to last season, he was non-tendered by the Rays which allowed him to sign a one-year contract with the White Sox. During his 33 appearances with the White Sox, he put together a 2.84 ERA, a 3.00 FIP, and a 1.263 WHIP. This performance caused the Brewers to send Bryan Connell and Johan Dominguez to the south side in order to acquire Cedeno for a postseason push.
During his time in Milwaukee, Cedeno put together an impressive 1.13 ERA, 2.79 FIP, and a 1.250 WHIP through 15 appearances. Cedeno was projected to receive a modest $1.50 million through arbitration next season, so he was likely non-tendered for 40-man roster flexibility instead of for payroll purposes. Despite being non-tendered after allowing 2 earned runs during his four postseason appearances in the NLDS last season, Cedeno would be a strong bullpen addition.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have decided to retool their roster ahead of next season and this cause the organization to part ways with a reliever that was set to receive a raise through arbitration.
Despite compiling 32 saves and finishing 45 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, Brad Boxberger was not offered a contract ahead of the non-tender deadline. Throughout his career, he has compiled 76 saves and he has finished 131 games. As Boxberger is only 30-years-old with plenty of late game experience, he will be an intriguing free agent to watch this offseason.
Boxberger has already spent time with three organizations during his seven-year career. In two seasons with the San Diego Padres, he finished 10 games with 1 save, a 2.72 ERA and a 1.450 WHIP. In 4 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, he finished 76 games with 43 saves, a 3.33 ERA, and a 1.191 WHIP. During his lone season with the Diamondbacks, Boxberger compiled a 4.39 ERA and a 1.425 WHIP.
Although he held a solid 2.52 ERA, 3.49 FIP, and a 1.102 WHIP through his first three seasons, Boxberger garnered more attention when he earned a spot American League All-Star team in his fourth season. During this season, he finished an incredible 53 games for the Rays and saved 41 games.
As his ERA and WHIP ballooned a bit last season, Arizona chose to part ways with Boxberger instead of paying him the roughly $5.00 million he would have likely received in salary arbitration. Nonetheless, as he has a lot of previous late game success with numerous teams, the Cubs may want to entertain the idea of bringing him into the fold next season.
The Oakland Athletics made a somewhat surprising decision to not bring back one of their more reliable starting pitchers last season. However, as the organization has a long history of financial constraints, this specific non-tender decision is understandable.
Mike Fiers is projected to receive a $9.70 million salary ahead of next season following his strong performance last season through 31 appearances. As the Oakland Athletics have many players set to receive arbitration raises (such as Khris Davis and his expected $18.10 million payday), Fiers was unfortunately not offered a contract due to the A’s long history of payroll constraints.
Although the Athletics will likely attempt to bring Fiers back into the fold next season, allowing him to reach free agency gives other teams the opportunity to make him a contract offer this offseason. As Fiers put together a 12-8 record alongside a 3.56 ERA, a 4.75 FIP, and a 1.180 WHIP through 172.0 innings pitched last season, he will likely have a plethora of landing spots to choose for next season.
The Chicago Cubs have a lot of high-priced starting pitching options in the mix with Jon Lester ($27.50 million), Cole Hamels ($20.00 million), Yu Darvish ($20.00 million), Tyler Chatwood ($12.50 million), and Jose Quintana ($10.50 million), however, as Darvish and Chatwood did not add value to the team last season, it may be worth it for the organization to bring in another starting pitcher.
After all, Fiers does have four straight seasons with at least 29 appearances alongside pitching at least 153.1 innings per season as well during this time. Despite allowing 32 home runs in each of the last two seasons, Fiers has compiled an impressive 25 quality starts during this same timeframe. His propensity for quality starts would provide much-needed stability to the Cubs rotation.
The San Francisco Giants have a tough task ahead of them as they look to retool an expensive, aging roster. Even though changes were expected after bringing in a new president of baseball operations, they made a surprising move by recently non-tendering a solid reliever.
Hunter Strickland is now a free agent after the San Francisco Giants decided not to offer him a contract ahead of the non-tender deadline. Through his five years with the Giants, Strickland put together a strong 2.91 ERA, a 3.40 FIP, and a 1.195 WHIP over 253 relief appearances.
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During this time, Strickland compiled a 14-14 record with 82 games finished and 19 saves. He has also put together 211 strikeouts through his 226.0 career innings to this point. As Strickland has been a solid presence for the Giants over the last five seasons, it was surprising to see his name on the non-tendered list as he was only expected to receive a modest $2.50 million salary for next season through the arbitration process.
Even though the Giants moved players throughout last season to avoid exceeding the luxury tax threshold, it is unlikely that Strickland was a payroll casualty. Instead, the Giants may have decided it was best to use his 40-man roster spot to pursue other options as they may feel his best years are behind him.
For example. throughout his first four seasons in San Francisco, Strickland put together a 2.64 ERA, a 3.15 FIP, and a 1.140 WHIP through 180.2 innings pitched. During this time, he compiled 174 strikeouts compared to 58 walks for a 3.00 SO/W ratio. Last season, Strickland put together a 3.97 ERA, a 4.42 FIP, and a 1.412 WHIP through 45.1 innings pitched. He also walked 21 batters while only striking out 37 for a career-low 1.76 SO/W ratio.
Next. 7 potential free agent options for the Cubs. dark
Strickland’s velocity has dipped each year with the Giants after he was once able to average roughly 97 mph with his fastball back in 2015 and 2016. Nonetheless, as Strickland still has the ability to throw 95 mph with his fastball alongside mixing speeds with an 83 mph slider and an 88 mph change-up, he could be a steal for the Cubs if he is able to return to his 2014-2017 form.