MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
There were dozens of MLB players that changed addresses across the league, including former major award winners, but these are the 10 most significant.
Seven MLB players who were on the roster for last summer’s All-Star Game at Progressive Field in Cleveland changed teams this offseason. There were also two former MVPs and five former Cy Young Award winners who switched addresses.
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The list of MLB players that changed teams included two of the top 10 position players in terms of Wins Above Replacement in 2019 as well as one of the top 10 pitchers on MLB’s list of WAR leaders. Both league leaders in earned run average are on new teams, with one of them in a new country.
The American League leader in runs scored is now in the National League. The major league leader in doubles was fitted for new threads. Three of the top 10 base stealers in both the American and National leagues ran off to new cities. So did the major-league leader in RBI.
We’ve reached a point where pitching wins really shouldn’t be considered all that big a deal, but half of last season’s 20-game win club changed teams (yeah, one of the two, but still … doesn’t “half” sound like a much more significant thing?) The same player also led all of baseball in strikeouts per nine innings.
Back to the list of award winners on the move, there were two former World Series MVPs and three former NLCS Most Valuable Players that will be playing for different teams. The guy who kick-started the Washington Nationals’ rally from a 2-0 deficit in Game 7 of the World Series last October with a one-out solo homer off Zack Greinke won’t be back to defend the title.
And unlike last offseason, when several of the top free agents on the market remained unsigned well into spring training (and beyond), it appears most of the dust has settled, with veteran starting pitchers Andrew Cashner and Jason Vargas perhaps the most attractive MLB players still remaining without contracts.
Breaking it all down, these may be the 10 most important old faces in new places this spring.
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
player. 61. . . . mike moustakas. 10
How acquired: Signed as free agent on Dec. 5
Mike Moustakas was an All-Star for the third time in his career last season with the Milwaukee Brewers, slashing .254/.329/.516 with 35 homers, 87 RBI and 80 runs scored in 143 games to help the Brewers make the postseason for a second straight season for just the second time in franchise history and the first since 1981-82.
Moustakas came to Milwaukee with playoff experience in 2018, having helped the Kansas City Royals to the 2015 World Series title. But in 11 playoff games with the Brewers, Moustakas slashed just .182/.250/.227 in 48 plate appearances, scoring three runs with two doubles and three RBI to go with 14 strikeouts.
That included an 0-for-4 against the Nationals in the NL Wild Card game last year when Milwaukee coughed up a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth en route to a 4-3 loss and a quick exit from the playoff party.
Moustakas signed a five-year, $80 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds and will remain in the NL Central after declining his mutual option in favor of a $3 million buyout. Moustakas’ new contract includes a $20 million team option with a $4 million buyout in 2024 and includes $500,000 in award bonuses available each season.
He posted an OPS+ of 114 last season, while his 35 home runs were the second-most in his career behind the 38 he clubbed for the Royals in 2017.
According to FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projection, Moustakas grades out at a .263/.327/.512 slash this season with 37 homers, 102 RBI and 82 runs scored.
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
. tommy pham. 8. player. 127. .
How acquired: Padres traded Hunter Renfroe, Xavier Edwards, and player to be named later to Rays for Pham and Jake Cronenworth on Dec. 6
Tommy Pham was a late bloomer in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 16th round of the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft and spending eight years in the minors before debuting in 2014.
Last season with the Tampa Bay Rays, Pham hit .273/.369/.450 in 145 games, with 33 doubles, 21 homers, 77 runs and 68 RBI over 654 plate appearances, while also swiping 25 bases (fifth in the American League) in 29 attempts (the second-base success rate in the AL at 86.21 percent). Pham was also seventh in the AL with 81 walks.
He helped the Rays to a win over the Oakland Athletics in the AL Wild Card Game, going 2-for-4 with a solo homer, and hit .333/.364/.476 with a home run and two RBI as Tampa Bay fell in five games to the Houston Astros in the ALCS.
The Padres gave up right fielder Hunter Renfroe, who his .216/.289/.489 with 33 home runs last season, along with 20-year-old minor-league infielder Xavier Edwards to get Pham and 26-year-old prospect Jake Cronenworth, who hit .334/.439/.520 in 94 games at Triple-A Durham while returning to the mound for six starts after not pitching since he was a collegian at Michigan.
Pham signed a one year, $7.9 million contract in January to avoid arbitration, but is not free-agent eligible until after the 2021 season.
Pham, who will turn 32 on March 8, projects to a .271/.367/.462 slash line according to FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projection, with 23 homers, 89 runs, and 71 RBI.
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
. robinson chirinos. 7. player. 126. .
How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Jan. 15
If the Texas Rangers’ new catcher looks an awful lot like their old catcher, there’s a reason for that. After playing parts of six seasons with Texas from 2013-18, Robinson Chirinos signed with the AL West-rival Houston Astros in December 2018.
After helping Houston return to the World Series, Chirinos opted to return to the Metroplex, re-signing with the Rangers on Jan. 15.
Chirinos will be 36 in June and the Venezuelan native is what he is at this point, a veteran backstop with some pop who gave the Astros some surprisingly good defensive work in 2019 after arriving with a reputation as a sub-par performer behind the dish.
Last season, he hit .238/.347/.443 in 114 games and 437 plate appearances, posting 17 homers, 58 RBI and 57 runs while also getting hit by pitch 13 times, fifth-most in the AL. That was down from his 19 plunkings in 2018. He was also seventh in the AL with a 1.7 defensive WAR.
During Houston’s postseason run, Chirinos hit .146/.222/.390 in 14 games and 45 plate appearances, with a double, three homers, four runs and four RBI mixed in with 17 strikeouts.
He homered in both Games 3 and 4 of the World Series at Washington, both wins for the Astros, and his home run in Game 4 of the ALDS at Tampa Bay accounted for Houston’s lone run in a 4-1 loss. But Chirinos was 0-for-8 with four strikeouts over the final two games of the World Series loss to the Nationals.
He signed a two-year, $12 million contract with Texas, with the second year a $6.5 million team option with a $1 million buyout.
As far as a projection, per the Depth Charts numbers at FanGraphs, Chirinos checks in at .227/.332/.418 with 14 home runs, 45 RBI and 43 runs.
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
6. player. 82. . . . jonathan villar
How acquired: Marlins traded Easton Lucas to Orioles for Villar on Dec. 2
Jonathan Villar very quietly had a very good season for the dismal Baltimore Orioles in 2019, leading the majors as one of five MLB players to appear in all 162 games, while finishing third in the AL with 40 stolen bases and eighth with a success rate of 81.63 percent.
He led the AL with a 30.0 power-speed number while splitting time between both middle infield positions. He made 85 starts at second base and started 73 games at shortstop.
His slash line of .274/.339/.453 was his best since his first season as a regular with Milwaukee in 2016 and he clubbed a career-high 24 home runs to go with 111 runs, 33 doubles, and 73 RBI.
The Miami Marlins didn’t part with a lot to get Villar, trading away 23-year-old left-hander Easton Lucas, who was a 14th-round pick last June from Pepperdine and pitched at Batavia in low-A as well as making one appearance for the Marlins rookie league entry in the Gulf Coast League.
Villar signed a one-year, $8.2 million deal in January to avoid arbitration this year and is eligible for free agency until after this season.
Villar will be 29 on May 2 and is likely close to his ceiling as a power/speed guy who strikes out a ton (176 in 714 plate appearances last season). The Depth Charts projections at FanGraphs have Villar dipping a but with the move to Miami, forecasting a .259/.328/.406 slash line with 17 homers, 81 runs and 61 RBI to go with 37 steals.
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
player. 39. . . . hyun-jin ryu. 5
How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Dec. 27
Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu put together a pretty good walk year in 2019, leading the majors with a 2.32 ERA and finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award voting while earning his first All-Star berth.
Ryu got the one first-place vote that Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets did not receive.
But after a stellar first half, Ryu tailed off a bit after the All-Star break as he battled a sore neck that cost him a couple of weeks in August.
He had a 2.32 ERA and 1.007 WHIP in 182.2 innings, striking out 163 and surrendering 17 home runs. His ERA+ of 179 led the NL and his 1.2 walks per nine innings was the best rate in baseball.
Ryu was eighth in WAR among NL pitchers at 5.1, third in WHIP and second in home runs per nine innings at 0.838.
He started Game 3 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS against Washington, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts over five innings in the Dodgers’ 10-4 win, a victory that proved to be their last of the series and the season.
Ryu was phenomenal in the first half last season, with a 1.73 ERA and 0.908 WHIP in 17 starts and 109 innings, striking out 99. After the break, Ryu posted a 3.18 ERA and 1.154 WHIP in 73.2 innings over 12 starts, fanning 64.
He turns 33 on March 25 and signed a four-year, $80 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. But his Depth Charts projections at FanGraphs are not terrific — a 3.95 ERA and 1.19 WHIP and a projected 29 homers allowed after surrendering just 17 last season.
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
. . josh donaldson. 4. player. 2.
How acquired: Signed as free agent on Jan. 22
Josh Donaldson bounced back from a disastrous 2018 campaign, turning a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves last season into a five-year, $100 million contract with the Minnesota Twins that includes a $16 million team option for 2024, with a buyout of $8 million that could increase to as much as $12 million based on awards in 2020-23.
Donaldson, a three-time All-Star and the American League MVP with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, played in just 52 games in 2018 before recovering to play in 155 for the Braves last season, hitting .259/.379/.521 with 33 doubles, 37 home runs, 94 RBI and 96 runs in 659 plate appearances.
He was eighth in the NL with 6.1 WAR (sixth among NL position players), ninth in home runs and fourth with 100 walks.
Donaldson struggled in Atlanta’s NLDS loss to the Cardinals, going just 3-for-19 in 22 plate appearances with a double, a homer and three RBI while scoring twice. His home run off Jack Flaherty in the bottom of the fourth in Game 5 came when the Braves were already down 13-0 and was their only run of the game.
The 34-year-old carries Depth Charts projections at FanGraphs of a .260/.376/.504 slash line to go with 33 homers, 98 RBI and 94 runs scored.
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
102. . . . anthony rendon. 3. player
How acquired: Signed as free agent on Dec. 13
Anthony Rendon did just about all a player could do in 2019. First All-Star Game? Check. Top three MVP finish? Check. Game 7 home run in a World Series victory? Check and check.
Rendon led the majors with 126 RBI last season for the Washington Nationals and led the NL in doubles for the second consecutive year, cracking 44. In 146 games, Rendon slashed .319/.412/.598 with 34 homers, scoring 117 runs and posting an OPS+ of 153.
His October run for the Nationals was terrific as well, hitting .328/.413/.590 in 17 games and 75 plate appearances, with seven doubles, three homers, 11 runs, and 15 RBI.
His home runs seemed to come at opportune times for Washington as well. There was a leadoff shot in the eighth inning off Clayton Kershaw as the Nats came from behind in Game 5 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium to win 7-3 in 10 innings. Washington was down 3-1 entering the inning.
With the Nationals up 3-2 in Game 6 of the World Series and trailing the Astros, 3 games to 2, Rendon’s two-run blast off Will Harris in the seventh inning provided some insurance and his one-out solo job off Zack Greinke in the seventh inning in Game 7 got the Nationals on the board after they had trailed 2-0 and started Washington on the comeback trail in its 6-2 win.
Rendon got a big deal from the Los Angeles Angels, seven years and $245 million and should provide a tremendous 1-2 punch with Mike Trout in the Halos order (now if only he could pitch).
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
. . mookie betts. 2. player. 71.
How acquired: Dodgers traded Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong to Red Sox for Betts, David Price and cash on Feb. 10
Mookie Betts already made history before the 2020 season began, agreeing last month to a record $27 million contract to avoid arbitration with the Boston Red Sox.
Exactly one month after coming to that agreement, the Red Sox shipped the 2018 American League MVP along with former Cy Young winner David Price and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jake Verdugo and a couple of prospects in 21-year-old infielder Jeter Downs and 23-year-old catcher Connor Wong.
Betts can hit the open market this fall, so it’s a gamble by the Dodgers. But he followed up his MVP campaign with a very solid .295/.391/.524 slash line in 150 games in 2018, leading the majors with 135 runs scored while posting 40 doubles, 29 homers and 80 RBI in 706 plate appearances.
He’s already a four-time All-Star with a pair of top-three MVP finishes (he was second in the voting in 2016) and despite not having a stellar 2018 postseason, already has won a World Series ring.
Betts also has four Gold Gloves in five full seasons, so if he’s not the total package, he’s awfully close to it. After leading the American League with 10.9 WAR in 2018, he slipped precipitously … to seventh at 6.8.
Just 27 years old, Betts will break the bank at some point in 2020. It’s just a question of whether it will be an extension from the Dodgers sooner or a free agent bonanza from someone later.
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
gerrit cole. 1. player. 43. . .
How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Dec. 18
The New York Yankees making the biggest offseason splash? That never happens, does it?
But seriously, folks.
The Yankees pulled all the spare change out of the couch cushions to sign right-hander Gerrit Cole to a nine-year, $324 million contract that will pay Cole $36 million a season.
The three-time All-Star can opt-out of the deal after the 2024 season, while the Yankees can void the opt-out clause for the super-low price of a guaranteed 10th year in 2029 … at another $36 million.
Cole finished second in the AL Cy Young voting last season while with the Houston Astros, finishing behind teammate Justin Verlander. He was eighth in the AL with 6.8 WAR and fourth among pitchers at a 6.9 figure.
That went along with leading the AL in ERA, strikeout, strikeouts per nine innings and ERA+.
In 33 starts, Cole posted a 2.50 ERA and 0.895 WHIP in 212.1 innings, striking out a career-high 326 batters while allowing 29 home runs. He was an All-Star for the second straight season and helped pitch Houston to its second World Series appearance in three years.
And Cole was dominant for most of the postseason. He made five starts and worked 36.2 innings with a 1.72 ERA and 0.873 WHIP to go with 47 strikeouts.
He struck out 15 in 7.2 shutout innings in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rays, came back with eight innings of two-hit pitching in the Game 5 clincher, striking out 10 and allowing just one run.
He shut down the Yankees on four hits over seven innings in Game 3 of the ALCS and allowed a run on three hits over seven innings in a Game 5 win at Washington in the World Series. His one poor outing was in Game 1 of the World Series, allowing five runs on eight hits in seven innings in a 5-4 loss.
Next. The best MLB players for all 30 teams in 2020. dark
Cole won’t turn 30 until early September, but nine (or 10) years is an awfully long contract for a franchise that never seems to be able to stop itself from going back to that particular well.