May 21, 2013

MLB Free Agency: Indians reportedly ink Mark Reynolds to one-year deal

December 9, 2012 by 18 Comments

Those looking for the Cleveland Indians to sign a free agent slugger can look no further as they have reportedly closed in on signing corner infielder Mark Reynolds to a one-year deal worth $6 million.

Reynolds, 29, hit .221/.335/.429 with 23 home runs and 69 runs batted in through 135 games for the Baltimore Orioles last season. When he plays a full season, the right-handed slugger is capable of providing stellar power numbers. He clubbed 37 home runs in 2011 to go with 44 in 2008.

Considered by most to be a poor man’s version of Chicago’s Adam Dunn, Reynolds also strikes out his fair share of times.While he can play third base, it appears that the Indians have signed him to suit up as their every day first baseman. What this means for their pursuit of free agent veteran Kevin Youkilis remains to be seen. It was reported earlier on Sunday that he is strongly considering the one-year, $12 million deal.

First reported by The Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes, the deal also includes incentives.

[Related: Why Missing Out on Victorino is a Good Thing]

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  • Jack

    and by “his fair share” you mean more than anyone…ever. that doesn’t seem fair to me; leave some for grady.

  • Lyon25

    I’ll take it. At least he can hit for some power. And he’s eight handed.

  • saggy

    only problem i have is that Reynolds is a notorious second-half player. that means we probably wouldn’t be able to trade him!

  • Jack

    How does he strike out so much then? You would think having 8 hands octomark would have good plate coverage…

  • Lyon25

    Dang auto correct. I wish he was 8 handed

  • Josh

    A notorious second half player? His BA, OBP and SLG are all higher in the first half for his career. As are his HR, 2B, 3B, RBI and virtually every other stat.

  • FearTheRoo

    A low .200s hitter? This is the free agent we’ve all been waiting for.

    This team will be BAD this season. But hey, don’t go to the games if all you care about is winning.

  • Justin

    Sounds like a good low risk move. We’re going to pay him about 3 million more than Kotchman, maybe this guy can hit a dinger or two. He’ll also help balance out the lineup.

  • architrance

    I have seriously never been so excited about a career .235 hitter before. At least we finally have some right handed power.

    Couple this with a Youk/Swisher signing, an that’s a significant upgrade.

  • Garry_Owen

    That grinding sound you hear is Russell Branyan’s teeth.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    I know the numbers probably tell a different story, but my eyes tell me that Reynolds is a guy who will strand a ton of runners on base. Is that true? I watched a lot of Orioles games this past year and I swear this guy ended so many promising innings for them. Maybe I’m just hating on him because he’s a UVA grad. Hey Mark, shouldn’t you be wearing a tie with your uniform? You look like a hobo.

  • JK

    Hits .221 & strikes out a lot…. can’t wait.

  • mgbode

    You know how we track SO:BB for pitchers? I think we should do something similar for hitters. For instance, Mark has a pretty consistent 13%BB rate, but also has a pretty consistent 32%SO rate. So, he would have a 2.5 SO:BB rate (which is bad). Those SOs can happen anytime, so run-killing moments will not be excluded.

    Last season though, with Men-In-Scoring position, Mark Reynolds by far had his best splits in BA/OBP/SLG: .286/.389/.581

    These situations have been shown in the past to level out with larger sample sizes though, so I’m not going to read into that much (in 2011, all 3 of those categories were his worst splits).

    As far as valued added, it will likely be limited:
    B-R has him at WAR the past 3 seasons: 0.2, 0.5, -0.1
    F-G has him at WAR the past 3 seasons: 2.3, 0.3, 0.5

  • mgbode

    oh, and let’s be honest about what Mark Reynolds is: he is a right-handed replacement for Travis Hafner. He is not quite the hitter that Hafner is, but he can play 1B and he has been much, much healthier. Let’s hope it works out for the Tribe.

  • markn95

    I’m fine with it. About as good as you can get one a 1-year deal (I’m amazed the MLB Players Union hasn’t outlawed these yet…the bastards). We’re paying him $1M more than we did Grady, not too shabby either. Those Dolans sure aren’t going crazy with their STO money!

    Scott–you stole my thunder with the poor man’s Adam Dunn comment. That said, when it comes to OBP, Reynolds is a starving man’s Adam Dunn. On the other other hand, he’s a major upgrade over Shelly Duncan.

  • mgbode

    Going on the SO:BB rate below, Dunn the last 2 seasons is a 15.5% SO guy (actually worse in 2012) and a 35%BB guy. Neither guy is good here, but Dunn is a bit better.

    Dunn’s SO:BB rate = 2.25
    Reynold’s SO:BB rate = 2.5

  • mgbode

    oh dang. this could be a AL Central shifting move.

    [quote]KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The Kansas City Royals gambled their future Sunday night for a chance to win right now.

    The Royals acquired former All-Star James Shields and fellow right-hander Wade Davis from Tampa Bay in a six-player deal that sent top prospects Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi along with two other minor leaguers to the Rays. The swap immediately bolsters the Royals’ starting rotation and should make them a contender in the relatively weak American League Central.

    Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/baseball/mlb/12/09/rays-royals-trade-james-shields-wil-myers.ap/index.html#ixzz2EfiR3a9e
    [/quote]

    Shields and Wade Davis provide the Royals with an honest-to-goodness MLB rotation. They have the hitting potential, which could make them a complete team. Yeah, it could fall apart too, but this is a good gamble by them. I’m impressed (and saddened – one more team we just fell behind in our own division).

  • mgbode

    couple that with the Dodgers beating out the Rangers for Greinke, which killed our chances at AZ’s prospects (as they would have possibly shipped Justin Upton to Texas using us as a 3rd/4th team in the trade).

    and now Rangers talking to Mets to get Dickey instead (using some of the prospects they would have to get Upton).

    why do the Indians keep putting down their chips on red only to see the wheel come up black every friggin’ time?