Portland’s C.J. Chatham tags out Harrisburg Senators’ Luis Sardinas in a July 26, 2019 game. Chatham was traded by the Red Sox to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later or cash. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies acquired infielder C.J. Chatham from the Boston Red Sox on Monday for a player to be named or cash.
Chatham hit .298 with 14 home runs and a .739 OPS in 266 minor league games. He batted .302 with two home runs in 20 games in Triple-A in 2019. He also played 90 games for the Portland Sea Dogs in 2019, hitting .297 with three home runs and 36 RBI.
Chatham was selected by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2016 amateur draft.
• Also Monday, the Phillies finalized their $6 million, one-year contract with reliever Archie Bradley.
The deal had been agreed to Thursday, pending a successful physical.
The right-hander was 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA and six saves in 16 games last season with Arizona and Cincinnati, and he earned $1,518,519 prorated from a $4.1 million salary. Bradley had a career-best 18 saves in 2019.
The 28-year-old Bradley joins a bullpen that was among the worst in Major League Baseball. Philadelphia’s relievers combined for a 7.06 ERA, and the team blew three-run leads eight separate times. The Phillies ended up one win shy of qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2011.
Bradley is 23-25 with a 3.91 ERA and 28 saves in six seasons. He has 425 strikeouts in 412 innings.
LESTER TO NATIONALS: Left-hander Jon Lester and the Washington Nationals have an agreement in principle in place for a one-year contract, pending the successful completion of a physical exam, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed to The Associated Press.
Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester has agreed to a one-year deal with the Nationals, pending a physical, according to reports. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity on Monday night because the contract was not yet official.
ESPN was first to report an agreement between Lester and the Nationals, whose manager, Dave Martinez, was the bench coach for the Chicago Cubs when the starting pitcher helped that club win the 2016 World Series for its first title in 108 years.
Lester is expected to fill the need for a No. 4 starter in Washington, slotting into a rotation that is led by three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, 2019 World Series MVP and lefty Patrick Corbin.
Coming off a last-place finish in the NL East in 2020, Washington’s busy offseason already included adding outfielder Kyle Schwarber via free agency – like Lester, from the Cubs – and first baseman Josh Bell in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Lester turned 37 this month and will be heading into his 16th season in 2021. He has a 193-111 record and 3.60 ERA for his career, which mostly was spent with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, plus part of one season with the Oakland Athletics.
Lester is a workhorse who has topped 200 innings in eight regular seasons and still threw at least 170 in each of the past three full years. He’s also been a postseason star, putting up a 2.51 ERA across 154 innings while helping Boston win a pair of World Series championships before being a part of Chicago’s title run.
Lester is owed a $10 million buyout by Chicago: $2 million on each Dec. 31 from 2022 through 2026. He was 77-44 with a 3.64 ERA in 171 starts with the Cubs.
TRADE: The San Diego Padres are adding yet another pitcher to their rotation, agreeing to bring right-hander Joe Musgrove to his hometown team in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Another person confirmed the New York Mets were also involved in the trade, acquiring left-hander Joey Lucchesi from San Diego. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.
Musgrove, who played at Grossmont High in suburban El Cajon, California, will join a rotation that includes Yu Darvish and Blake Snell, who were obtained in blockbuster trades after Christmas.
Musgrove will head from a Pirates team that had the worst record in the majors during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season to a Padres club that ended a 13-year playoff drought and believes it can contend for the World Series title.
WHITE SOX: Liam Hendriks has a full no-trade provision through October in his $54 million, three-year contract with Chicago.
For the year after that, through October 2022, the closer can submit a list of 10 teams he can’t be traded to without his consent. From November 2022 through the end of the contract, he can submit a list of five teams he can’t be traded to without his consent.
Hendriks gets a $1 million signing bonus, payable this July 1, and salaries of $11 million this year, $13 million in 2022 and $14 million in 2023. The White Sox have an unusual $15 million option for 2024 with a $15 million buyout, and if the option is not exercised, the buyout would be due in 10 payments of $1.5 million each July 1 2024-33.
If Hendriks is traded, the option year would become guaranteed.
ASTROS: Reliever Pedro Báez can boost his 2022 option year salary and also his buyout as part of his $12.5 million, two-year contract with Houston.
Báez will receive a $500,000 signing bonus, payable on Feb. 28, as part of the deal finalized Friday. He gets salaries of $4.5 million this year and $5.5 million in 2022. Houston has a $7.5 million option for 2023 with a $2 million buyout.
Báez’s 2022 salary can escalate by $1 million based on innings this year: $250,000 each for 30, 40, 50 and 60. His option would escalate to $8 million and the buyout would increase to $2.5 million if he has 100 innings or 100 games in 2021 and 2022 combined.
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