Yanks DFA Eovaldi

[SRQCub]

Hmmmm.... could he be a worthwhile target?

[MUCubsfan]

He's going to miss all of 2017 and has never really been that good. If this were the 2012 Cubs, I'd say maybe sign him to a two year deal and see if you could rehab and then flip him at the ASB in the 2nd year. Now though? Not sure I see the point.

[davell]

He's missing 2017. If he's open to signing a rehab deal, where he gives us an incentive laden secdond year, then sure. Why not? Since he's missing this season though, I doubt he'll be in a hurry to sign.

[Rob]

I love Eovaldi as a rehab target.

[apete6]

He's going to miss all of 2017 and has never really been that good. If this were the 2012 Cubs, I'd say maybe sign him to a two year deal and see if you could rehab and then flip him at the ASB in the 2nd year. Now though? Not sure I see the point.

 

You can just DFA a guy who got injured while on the Major League roster last year? I didn't know that. Even in the NFL, you get an injury settlement.

[Cubswin11]

He's going to miss all of 2017 and has never really been that good. If this were the 2012 Cubs, I'd say maybe sign him to a two year deal and see if you could rehab and then flip him at the ASB in the 2nd year. Now though? Not sure I see the point.

 

You can just DFA a guy who got injured while on the Major League roster last year? I didn't know that. Even in the NFL, you get an injury settlement.

You still have to pay him whatever he's owed on his contract if he goes unclaimed/isn't traded. And if he goes through waivers unclaimed and becomes the FA and the signing team signs him for less than his guaranteed contract the DFA'ing team still needs to pay the difference.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Cubswin11

[apete6]

He's going to miss all of 2017 and has never really been that good. If this were the 2012 Cubs, I'd say maybe sign him to a two year deal and see if you could rehab and then flip him at the ASB in the 2nd year. Now though? Not sure I see the point.

 

You can just DFA a guy who got injured while on the Major League roster last year? I didn't know that. Even in the NFL, you get an injury settlement.

You still have to pay him whatever he's owed on his contract if he goes unclaimed/isn't traded.

 

OK, thanks. So basically if no one picks him up, he gets the league minimum or whatever his lowest arbitration number would have been?

[Cubswin11]

 

You can just DFA a guy who got injured while on the Major League roster last year? I didn't know that. Even in the NFL, you get an injury settlement.

You still have to pay him whatever he's owed on his contract if he goes unclaimed/isn't traded.

 

OK, thanks. So basically if no one picks him up, he gets the league minimum or whatever his lowest arbitration number would have been?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designated_for_assignment Also see my edit.

[apete6]

You still have to pay him whatever he's owed on his contract if he goes unclaimed/isn't traded.

 

OK, thanks. So basically if no one picks him up, he gets the league minimum or whatever his lowest arbitration number would have been?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designated_for_assignment Also see my edit.

 

Cool. Thanks much!

[CubsWin]

Eovaldi is now officially a free agent after being released by the Yankees on the 28th. The Cubs have one of the best rehab facilities, if not the best, at the Under Armour Performance Center. AZ Phil wrote about the possibility of it being a lure for Eovaldi in either a one-year rehab contract or a longer term deal in the comment section at thecubreporter.com.

 

For those of you who might not be aware of it, the Cubs have one of the best rehab facilities in baseball at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ. So the Cubs are now better-able to entice free-agents (especially pitchers) to sign contracts and rehab with the Cubs at the UAPC.

 

It doesn't always work out (for every Jack Leathersich there is an Aaron Crow), but I wouldn't be surprised if the Cubs are pursuing RHSP Nathan Eovaldi (August 2016 TJS) right now, offering a either a 2017 minor league contract or a two-year or three-year major league contract. (Eovaldi was released by the Yankees last week).

 

The Cubs are fairly set in the starting rotation for the upcoming season (with Mike Montgomery likely replacing the departed Jason Hammel), but Jake Arrieta and John Lackey will be free-agents post-2017, so the Cubs will probably need a couple of established MLB starting pitchers in 2018 and possibly in 2019, too (the Cubs best starting pitching prospects are all probably at least a couple of years away).

 

So the Cubs could offer a back-loaded major league deal to Eovaldi, where he makes the MLB minimum salary in 2017 while he spends the year on the 60-day DL rehabbing at the UAPC, and then a more substantial non-guaranteed salary in 2018 and possibly in 2019 as well (probably with a club option buy-out post-2017) when he should be ready to go full-bore.

 

The Cubs presently have three slots open on their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) plus maybe another three or four slots if (as I would expect) several players are non-tendered next week, so adding Eovaldi to the 40 really isn't a problem. The Cubs would be able to place Eovaldi on the 60-day DL as early as the start of Spring Training if his slot on the 40-man roster is needed, and he would be a "replaceable player" on the post-season eligibility list if he isn't able to return to the mound until 2018.

 

Or the Cubs could offer Eovaldi a 2017 minor league contract for the MLB minimum salary while he rehabs, and then have the option to add him to their MLB 40-man roster after the 2017 World Series (he would be only arbitration-eligible if not added to the 40 until post-2017, because he won't be an Article XX-B FA until he accrues another 159 days of MLB Service Time), and if the Cubs don't add him to their MLB Reserve List post-2017 World Series, Eovaldi would be a minor league 6YFA.

 

It's really kind of a win-win situation for both sides. The Cubs will need an established MLB starter in 2018 but probably not in 2017, and Eovaldi won't be able to pitch in 2017 but he should be 100% in 2018. And if he is able to at least work out of the bullpen but not as a starting pitcher right away, his high-velocity fastball/hard slider combo could play well out of the pen in the meantime (maybe he could pull a Schwarber and return just in time for the 2017 World Series?!).

 

I sure wouldn't mind the Cubs signing him. Low risk/high reward.