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Injury Notes: Brantley, Matusz, Loup, Gardner, Rodriguez

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Spring Training is still young, but we’ve already seen a rash of injuries, with Brett Anderson going down for three to five months due to back surgery while a pair of AL Central outfielders — Jarrod Dyson (link) and Cameron Maybin (link) — could each be out up to six weeks. Here’s a look around the league at some other injuries that could potentially carry roster ramifications…

  • Indians left fielder Michael Brantley has “flown through” his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery, manager Terry Francona told reporters, including Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel, on Wednesday. Brantley’s next step is to hit in a batting cage, and from there he’ll progress to full batting practice, per Francona, who said he doesn’t think Brantley will need to be out as long as the initial projections that pegged him for an early May return. While Francona notes that there’s still a significant progression required before Brantley is game-ready, the general feeling surrounding his return appears to be optimistic in nature.
  • The outlook on Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz, however, doesn’t appear as rosy; manager Buck Showalter told reporters that the reliever would undergo an MRI, and his return to action isn’t imminent (links to Twitter from MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli). As Ghiroli notes, the club expects to know more on the status of Matusz tomorrow.
  • Blue Jays lefty Aaron Loup is also ailing, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Loup is experiencing tightness in his left forearm and could be headed for an MRI, though the next steps in his rehab aren’t yet known. “He threw today and didn’t feel real good, so they’re going to check it out,” said manager John Gibbons.
  • Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner isn’t expected to play in spring games until after March 14, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch writes, as he’s currently dealing with lingering effects from a deep bone bruise in his wrist suffered in the American League Wild Card game last season. Gardner faced live pitching on Wednesday after taking the winter off from hitting, Hoch notes, and while everything went well, he’s still behind the rest of the club’s outfielders. However, despite the fact that his spring debut will be delayed by a couple of weeks, Gardner should have enough time to get up to speed for the regular season, in the estimation of manager Joe Girardi.
  • Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez suffered a dislocated right kneecap earlier this week, but the team hopes to have him ready for Opening Day, writes Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. “There’s still a little bit of swelling in the knee, but he’s improving to the point where we’ll put a ball in his hand today and he’ll begin a throwing program on flat ground that will be shortened distance,” explained manager John Farrell, who also noted that while Opening Day is the goal, Rodriguez will “be out there when he’s out of danger.”

Orioles Avoid Arbitration With Brian Matusz

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We’ll track the day’s arb deals here:

  • The Orioles have avoided arbitration with southpaw Brian Matusz for $3.9MM, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Matusz had filed at $4.4MM, with the team countering at $3.5MM, so he’ll fall just on the low side of the midpoint. MLBTR had projected him to earn just $3.4MM in his final trip through the arb process, so he’ll do a fair bit better than that. The 28-year-old posted career-best results last year, working to a 2.94 ERA with 10.3 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 over 49 frames. Certainly, a repeat would put him in rather high demand on the open market.

Olney On Piazza, Upton, Davis, Bastardo, Giants

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Mike Piazza’s induction into the Hall of Fame could help the cases for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, writes Buster Olney of ESPN (Insider Only). With Piazza increasing from 57.8 percent to 83 percent of the vote in just four years, Olney figures that writers will need to consider the hypocrisy of their voting behavior. While Piazza (and fellow candidate Jeff Bagwell) are suspected by some writers of having used PEDs, Clemens and Bonds are known users. In my opinion, that will supply all the rationalization needed by intransigent writers.

On to current baseball news:

  • The Orioles are the beneficiaries of the Denard Span signing. As one of the few teams with money and a pressing need in the outfield, they have leverage in talks with players like Justin Upton. Olney is not the first to wonder if Upton would sign a pillow contract to play with the Orioles. The Rangers are another team interested in Upton on a one-year contract.
  • While Baltimore may eventually sign Chris Davis, some in the organization would like to reduce their seven-year, $150MM offer or simply move on to other players. To me, it seems as though Davis is playing a dangerous game of chicken. However, agent Scott Boras has successful navigated similar scenarios. One notable example is the Cardinals’ signing of Matt Holliday to a seven-year, $120MM deal prior to the 2010 season.
  • In further Baltimore-related news, the club has “a lot of interest” in southpaw reliever Antonio Bastardo. He’s coming off a successful campaign with the Pirates. He posted a 2.98 ERA, 10.05 K/9 and 4.08 BB/9 in 57 innings – numbers similar to his career marks. As a fly ball pitcher, Bastardo may not be the best fit for the mostly small ball parks of the AL East. However, Bastardo did have success preventing home runs in Citizen’s Bank Park for most of his career. If the O’s inked Bastardo, they would probably trade fellow lefty Brian Matusz.
  • The Giants would benefit from more roster depth, but they won’t use the free agent market to build it. Olney figures the club will explore trades for additional personnel.

Duquette On Davis, Matusz, Walker

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Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette spoke to the media (including Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun and MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) on the eve of the Winter Meetings, and here are some of the highlights…

  • Duquette didn’t have much of an update on the Orioles’ talks with Chris Davis, only to say that the team is still involved since “I don’t know what the other teams’ market is for him.”  As Kubatko put it, there are several baseball people at the Winter Meetings “wondering if the Orioles are the frontrunners by default.”  Baltimore has been the only team clearly linked to Davis thus far, though the Cardinals and Red Sox have both been rumored to have at least some interest.
  • The Orioles’ shopping list includes an outfielder and Duquette said the team would prefer to add a left-handed hitter to help balance the lineup.  As expected, Duquette didn’t comment on specific free agents, such as when he was asked about Baltimore’s rumored interest in Alex Gordon.  “He’s a free agent, right?  He’s a left-handed hitter. There’s some good players on that market that are outfielders. There’s some good players there,” Duquette said.
  • The bullpen is also a need area, and Duquette didn’t comment on how close the O’s were to any sort of final agreement with Darren O’Day.
  • Duquette also said that “ideally” the team would add some lefty balance to both the lineup and the pitching staff, though the Orioles would “be OK with five righties” in the rotation.  If the O’s don’t have a left-handed starter by Spring Training, Duquette said the team could consider moving Brian Matusz back to the rotation since the southpaw usually stretches out in the spring in order to work on all of his pitches.  Matusz struggled as a starter over his first four MLB seasons before reviving his career as a very effective lefty specialist out of the bullpen since 2013.
  • First base prospect Christian Walker is receiving “quite a bit of interest” from other teams.  Walker has hit .280/.348/.453 with 57 homers over 1723 PA in the minors, though he has only a .751 OPS at the Triple-A level, something Duquette believed could be due to Triple-A Norfolk’s large ballpark.  Baseball America ranked him as the third-best prospect in Baltimore’s system prior to the 2015 season.

AL East Notes: Rays, Hanley, Red Sox, Matusz

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The Yankees’ postseason didn’t last long, as the team fell, 3-0, to the Astros in tonight’s American League Wild Card game. Their focus will now shift to the offseason, but here are some notes on the other teams in the AL East that have already been plotting out their winter game plans…

  • The Rays are having conversations about payroll constraints, general manager Matthew Silverman told reporters, including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). As Silverman points out, the top 10 teams in the league averaged a payroll that was $100MM greater than the Rays’ 2015 mark of $75MM. Payroll restrictions typically prevent the Rays from significant free-agent expenditures, and they also prevent Tampa Bay from being able to hang onto many of their homegrown stars. A look at MLBTR’s arbitration projections shows that the Rays could have some tough calls on their hands this winter, as their 11 arb-eligible players project to earn a combined $28.9MM.
  • The Red Sox are asking Hanley Ramirez to drop 15 to 20 pounds this offseason, interim manager Torey Lovullo told Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The organization feels that as an infielder, it’ll pay off to be more agile than was required in left field. Ramirez was listed at 225 pounds this season, though Lauber notes that he reported at 240 pounds — 10 pounds heavier than he was in 2014. While the Sox will likely make an effort to trade Ramirez his offseason, he’ll be penciled in at first base if he returns to the club in 2016.
  • Lauber’s colleague, Jason Mastrodonato, asks five critical questions for the Red Sox as they head into the offseason. Among them are whether or not Christian Vazquez will be able to throw right away next season (the young catcher had Tommy John surgery earlier this year), if Rusney Castillo’s bat will merit regular playing time and if the team can effectively develop starting pitching or if changes are needed.
  • Arthroscopic surgery on the right (non-throwing) shoulder of Orioles lefty Brian Matusz went as planned today, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Matusz said that the recovery process should take about a month, which should give him time to recover and have a typical offseason. Matusz is arbitration eligible for the final time this offseason and will be a free agent next winter.

AL Notes: Zito, Samardzija, Matusz, Red Sox

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A’s southpaw Barry Zito tossed four innings tonight in what could be his final Major League appearance, although the veteran lefty isn’t officially calling it a career yet, tweets MLB.com’s Jane Lee. Zito says that while he won’t yet announce his retirement, he does feel “complete” and is likes the idea of spending time with his family. If this is indeed it for Zito, the game had somewhat of a full-circle slant to it. As Melissa Lockard of OaklandClubhouse.com notes (via Twitter), Zito’s final start would be closed out by Sean Doolittle, whom the Athletics drafted with the compensation pick they earned upon Zito’s free agent departure.

A few more notes from the American League as Wednesday evening winds down…

  • Question marks surround Jeff Samardzija as he heads into free agency, writes ESPN Chicago’s Doug Padilla. The right-hander closed out the season with a pair of excellent starts, but that does little to erase the dismal August through which Samardzija suffered. Samardzija candidly said he’s not overly concerned with how much money he earns in free agency from a personal standpoint. Rather, his concern in contract negotiations has always been to preserve market value and set precedents for those who come after him. “I had enough money when I signed with the Cubs back in 2006,” said Samardzija, referring to the $10MM deal he signed with the Cubs to forgo his football career. “So, like I said before, for me it’s more about a professional thing and respecting the guys that came before me that have put us in this situation in this game. To make the money we make, and have the fun we have, and travel the way we travel, that needs to be continued by players that are coming behind me and current players. For me, that’s important.” Samardzija spoke highly of his time with the White Sox, saying the team has a number of great pieces in place that will help right the ship in future seasons and sounded open to a return.
  • Orioles lefty Brian Matusz will undergo surgery to repair the arthritic AC joint in right (non-throwing) shoulder on Monday, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The injury, Matusz told reporters (link), didn’t impact his performance but did force him to scale back his workouts. Encina notes that Matusz’s hope is that having the surgery immediately after the season will give him enough time to recover and enjoy a normal offseason before getting back into his preseason routine.
  • The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo covered a number of trade-related Red Sox topics in his latest mailbag piece. Within, Cafardo mentions that he recently spoke to one scout who feels the Sox should be willing to move left-hander Henry Owens if he were to bring back a more established arm (bear in mind, of course, that’s one scout’s take). Cafardo also writes about Deven Marrero’s future in Boston, or lack thereof, as he feels Marrero will ultimately end up as trade bait due to lack of a clear path to playing time and a glove that makes him capable of starting at shortstop elsewhere. Other offseason trade candidates he mentions include Clay Buchholz and Wade Miley.

AL East Links: Matusz, Tanaka, Arencibia

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Though the Rays are just 24-21 for the season and 5-5 over their last 10 games, they’ve vaulted into first place in the AL East as the division’s only winning team.  The Yankees have lost 10 of their last 11 games to drop to an even 22-22 while the Red Sox (21-23), Orioles (19-22) and Blue Jays (20-26) are just struggling to get back to the .500 mark.  Here’s the latest from the struggling division…

  • Orioles reliever Brian Matusz was ejected from Saturday’s game with the Marlins for having a foreign substance on his arm, and now the southpaw has been suspended for eight games, Major League Baseball announced today.  Matusz is appealing the suspension.  As Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun notes, the suspension comes at an inopportune time for the O’s, as their pitching depth will already be tested due to a stretch of 14 games in 13 days (thanks to a double-header).  Left-handed batters have only hit .185/.214/.296 this season against Matusz, who has a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings.  The eight games matches the length of the suspension handed out to Brewers lefty Will Smith for a similar offense last week.
  • Masahiro Tanaka told reporters (including Dan Martin of the New York Post) that he is “not gonna make a change” to his pitching style in the wake of forearm and wrist injuries, but admits that he is “going to have to oversee my body a little bit better.”  Tanaka’s health has been of great concern since it was revealed that he had a partially-torn UCL last summer, and despite a couple of DL stints since, the Yankees still hope their ace can avoid a longer-term stay on the injured reserve.  Tanaka will make his second minor league rehab start on Wednesday.
  • J.P. Arencibia is trying to stay optimistic as the catcher continues his pro career for the Rays’ Triple-A team, he tells Sportsnet’s Greg Mercer.  Arencibia goes into detail about how he felt he didn’t deal with the pressure of being an everyday player with the Blue Jays, and also about his surprise at being released by the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate earlier this season.

Orioles In Ongoing Trade Discussions Regarding Matusz, Webb

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The Orioles are having ongoing trade discussions pertaining to relief pitchers Brian Matusz and Ryan Webb, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Both names have been mentioned as candidates to land with another team for some time now, with Matusz at one point being connected to the Mets midway through Spring Training (New York, of course, opted instead to acquire Alex Torres and Jerry Blevins). Though that door may be shut, Matusz likely holds appeal to clubs in need of left-handed relief. The Rangers currently don’t have a lefty in their bullpen, for example, while teams like the Cubs (Phil Coke) and Rays (Jeff Beliveau) have just one southpaw in the bullpen. I can envision the Tigers as a fit also, given Ian Krol’s struggles in 2014.

Part of the reason that Matusz is considered expendable for the Orioles is his $3.2MM salary for the 2015 season, so moving him would require an acquiring club to expand its payroll, although Baltimore could theoretically be willing to include some cash to help facilitate the deal. Over the past two seasons, Matusz has been exceptional against 224 same-handed hitters, holding them to a .192/.251/.314 batting line.

As for Webb, the 29-year-old has reportedly already cleared outright waivers and, as a player with five-plus years of Major League service, can reject an outright assignment and force the team to either trade or release him (while still paying his salary). Webb’s $2.75MM salary undoubtedly played a role in his clearing waivers, though a team may be interested in bringing him on board if Baltimore is willing to pick up a portion of his contract. Of course, interested teams may be reluctant to give up much for a player that they know could soon be a free agent. Webb worked to a respectable 3.83 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 48.7 percent ground-ball rate last year in Baltimore.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Rays, Utley, D-Backs, Matusz

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Here are the highlights from an enormous notes post by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

  • There’s the potential for lots of trade activity between now and Opening Day, with an unusual number of teams with logjams at particular positions. But there aren’t many good pitching options, and many teams are already close to their payroll limits.
  • The Rays are one of several teams looking for starting pitching, but they’re currently focusing their efforts on depth, figuring they only need to cover for injured starters Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly for a month or so.
  • If the Phillies struggle early in the year, trade whispers involving Chase Utley could grow louder, with the Padres, Angels and possibly Giants looming as potentially interested teams. Utley would, of course, have to waive his no-trade clause, but he has West Coast roots.
  • The Diamondbacks are currently unwilling to trade Mark Trumbo, but that could change if they become dissatisfied with their outfield defense.
  • The Orioles discussed trading lefty Brian Matusz to the Rangers before Texas acquired Sam Freeman, and have listened to other clubs interested in Matusz as well. But the Nationals might be more willing than the Orioles to trade a lefty reliever — some within the Orioles see Matusz as a better option than either T.J. McFarland or Wesley Wright.

Orioles Notes: Matusz, Rotation, Verrett, Garcia

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Here are a few notes on the Orioles, many of them from CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman:

  • The team has received more inquiries about lefty reliever Brian Matusz since the emergence of rumors connecting him to the Mets. That could increase the chances that the Orioles will trade him, Heyman writes. The Orioles already have lefties T.J. McFarland and Wesley Wright, plus closer Zach Britton, in their bullpen.
  • The Orioles also have an abundance of starting pitchers, and they want Kevin Gausman in their rotation, so they could consider optioning Miguel Gonzalez or Wei-Yin Chen to the minors.
  • The Orioles would like to keep both their Rule 5 picks, Logan Verrett (Mets) and Jason Garcia (Red Sox), but it will be hard for them to retain both. Verrett, who has pitched well this spring, is more likely to stick, Heyman writes. (Verrett also has far more experience in the upper minors than Garcia does.) Even keeping one might be somewhat difficult, in my opinion, given all the Orioles’ more experienced relievers (Britton, McFarland, Wright, Darren O’Day, Tommy Hunter, Brad Brach and Ryan Webb, although McFarland and Webb could be optioned, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes). Trading Matusz would help if they’re serious about keeping Verrett and/or Garcia.
  • Garcia’s fastball has been “pretty unhittable” this spring, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo writes. He has never pitched above Class A, so the Red Sox might have thought no one would select him. Unsurprisingly for a young reliever, his secondary pitches aren’t strong, but a fastball in the upper 90s could help him have big-league success anyway.

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