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Angels Engaged In “Dialogue” With Justin Upton

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Angels outfielder Justin Upton is still weighing his opt-out decision, which promises to have widespread ramifications for the free-agent market. But as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports, the club isn’t just sitting back and waiting to learn Upton’s fate.

Rather, Halos GM Billy Eppler says “there is dialogue going on” between the sides, citing a “positive conversation” with Upton and his agent, Larry Reynolds. He did not divulge details beyond that, quite understandably, so it’s not entirely clear just what was discussed. But it certainly seems as if the team is taking a proactive approach in the hopes that Upton will remain in an Angels uniform for 2018 and beyond.

Upton can choose to enter the open market — which he’d do free and clear of any qualifying-offer-related draft compensation — or elect instead to keep the four-year, $88.5MM guarantee remaining on his contract. The Angels are surely hoping to convince Upton to stay, though we don’t know anything else about the substance of the chatter. Beyond pitching Upton on the organization, it’s not known whether some additional inducement has or could be contemplated. In theory, though, the sides could completely re-work the contract, modify it in some way, or instead just continue their discussion into free agency.

Unusual circumstances surrounded the 30-year-old Upton’s move out west. Despite the presence of the opt-out provision, the club acquired him from the Tigers at the last possible moment — during the revocable trade period, on August 31st, the last day that teams could add outside players who’d be eligible for the postseason. Righty Grayson Long and a player to be named or cash went to Detroit in the deal, which included no assurances or future considerations regarding Upton’s remaining contract (or lack thereof).

Upton played well in Los Angeles, though the club fell shy of the postseason. Through 115 plate appearances, he slashed .245/.357/.531 with seven home runs — good for a 137 OPS+ that matched his output over his first 125 games on the year with the Tigers. Though Upton has had a few productivity dips in his eleven-year career, he carries an excellent .269/.348/.479 cumulative batting line through more than six thousand trips to the plate at the game’s highest level.

Youth is still mostly on Upton’s side. So are defensive metrics, which see him as a solid-to-excellent fielder in left. In the aggregate, it’s fairly easy to make out a case for Upton commanding a guarantee of $20MM or more annually for a five- or six-year term — as he received the last time he went to the open market. Now that the risks of playing out the season are in the past, he doesn’t have much reason to take a (hypothetical) offer from the Angels before testing the broader market, though perhaps he could try to gain a sweetener if he’s at all inclined to avoid the risks of free agency by declining the opt-out opportunity.

Angels Acquire Felix Pena, Designate Jason Gurka

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The Angels have announced the acquisition of righty Felix Pena from the Cubs. Los Angeles designated southpaw Jason Gurka for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot.

Pena, a 27-year-old from the Dominican Republic, had made 36 MLB appearances over the past two seasons. He carries a 4.98 ERA in the majors, with 10.4 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9. Nine opposing long balls have accounted for quite a bit of the damage against him.

For Los Angeles, this is an opportunity to take a shot on a hurler that has at times shown signs of more. He had generally produced quality results in the minors as a starter before moving to the pen and of late has boosted his strikeout numbers. Pena carries a promising 12.7% swinging-strike in the majors.

As for Gurka, he’ll have an opportunity to test the open market if he’s not claimed. He made it up to the majors briefly late this year, but spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A. Gurka was rather impressive overall, spinning 50 2/3 innings of 3.20 ERA ball with 9.9 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 at the highest level of the minors, but he has failed to receive extended MLB looks in the past despite quality minor-league numbers.

Heyman’s Latest: Colon, Cashner, Vargas, Upton, Bridwell, Marlins, Cardinals

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Here’s the latest hot stove buzz from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, from his weekly collections of American League notes and National League notes…

  • Bartolo Colon feels he can play “just one” more season.  A return in 2018 would make it 21 seasons in the big leagues for Colon, who turns 45 in May.  The veteran has become a fan favorite around baseball thanks to his unlikely late-career revival, though Colon finally started to look his age in 2017, posting a 6.48 ERA over 143 innings with the Twins and Braves.  Despite his recent struggles, Colon seems to be a likely candidate to land a low-cost MLB contract with a team next year, given his lengthy track record.
  • The Rangers are considering issuing a qualifying offer to Andrew Cashner.  This would ensure that Texas received some draft pick compensation if Cashner rejected the QO, though given the Rangers’ need for pitching, they could welcome the chance to bring back Cashner on a one-year deal.  Still, since the QO carries a hefty cost of $18.1MM, it is still a little surprising that Texas is considering issuing one to Cashner, who is a decent candidate to accept.  MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently covered Cashner’s interesting offseason case in a Free Agent Stock Watch piece, outlining the many pros and cons suitors face in weighing a Cashner this winter.
  • In less-surprising qualifying offer news, the Royals are a virtual lock to extend the QO to Lorenzo Cain but aren’t planning to issue one to Jason Vargas.  Tommy John surgery sidelined Vargas for much of his three-year stint in Kansas City, though he was mostly effective (4.16 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 2.31 K/BB rate) over 179 2/3 IP in 2017.  Given that TJ surgery and the fact that Vargas turns 35 in February, he’d seem to be a good candidate to accept a qualifying offer, and the Royals probably don’t want an $18.1MM salary on the books as they embark on a possible rebuild.
  • There apparently haven’t been any talks between the Angels and Justin Upton about his opt-out clause, which Heyman finds “interesting.”  There isn’t any immediate rush, of course, as Upton doesn’t need to make his decision until three days after the World Series is over.  “Most see it as a very close call” as to whether Upton will actually opt out of the four years and $88.5MM remaining on his deal given the mutual interest between he and the Angels.  The possibility exists that the two sides could work out an extension to tack another year or two beyond the current end of Upton’s deal, though the lack of talks indicates that scenario has yet to be explored.
  • The Angels initially tried to acquire Parker Bridwell from the Orioles last year before finally landing the right-hander in April for what Heyman describes as “just a small amount of cash.”  This minor deal at the time ended up being a steal for the Halos, as Bridwell delivered a 3.64 ERA over 121 innings, starting 20 of his 21 appearances for Los Angeles.
  • According to one Marlins player, the Cardinals reportedly expressed interest in Marcell Ozuna, Dee Gordon and Brad Ziegler this summer, with Ziegler’s name surfacing after Trevor Rosenthal was lost to Tommy John surgery in late August.  The Cards’ interest in Ozuna (and other Miami outfielders) is known, though this is the first time Gordon and Ziegler have been linked to St. Louis.  It makes sense that the Cards would’ve checked in on Ziegler given their sudden need for relief help after Rosenthal went down, though it remains to be seen if Ziegler would be a trade target this winter as the team looks to bolster its pen.  Ziegler has a hefty $9MM salary in 2018, though the Marlins could eat some of that money to make a deal happen.  Gordon would be an even pricier addition at $38MM owed through the 2020 season, plus a $14MM vesting option for 2021.

AL West Notes: Dipoto, Angels, Astros

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Here’s the latest from around the AL West…

  • Jerry Dipoto originally signed a three-year deal with the Mariners, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports, so the general manager is entering his last year under contract.  Seattle is 164-160 in two seasons under Dipoto, with a winning year in 2016 followed up by a disappointing, injury-filled year this season.  There haven’t been any rumblings about Dipoto’s job security, however, and it would make sense if the M’s explored extensions with Dipoto and manager Scott Servais (whose deal is also up after 2018) this winter in order to avoid lame-duck status for either man.  More pressure would seem to be on Servais since managers are more readily replaced than GMs, though Dipoto recently defended his skipper against some reports of clubhouse criticism.  The firings of bench coach Tim Bogar and first base coach Casey Candaele does remove some of Servais’ support system — Heyman notes that Candaele and Servais are good friends, while Bogar is close with Dipoto.
  • The Angels announced earlier this week that hitting coach Dave Hansen won’t return to the club next season.  Hansen had been with L.A. for the last four seasons, first as an assistant hitting coach and then taking over the lead job in 2016-17.  The Angels finished near the bottom of most offensive categories last year, as Mike Trout (181), Andrelton Simmons (103) and late-August addition Justin Upton (137) were the only regulars to finish with a wRC+ above the league-average 100 mark.  (Yunel Escobar also finished with a 100 wRC+ on the dot.)
  • Analytics played a major role in the Astros’ rebuild and subsequent rise to World Series contender, though as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes, the Astros are now faced with the challenge of staying ahead of the curve.  “It’s a double-edged sword.  If [other teams are] following things we did first, it means, a) it works; and b) our advantage is gone, or dissipating,” Houston GM Jeff Luhnow said. “That’s why we’re constantly trying to figure out how we can gain small advantages in multiple areas.  We’re all observing each other.  I copy what I see works with other teams and vice-versa.  Keeping things a secret allows you to benefit longer but it’s hard to do.”

Quick Hits: Dusty, Upton, Giants, Mets, Eiland

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Dusty Baker’s contract is up after the Nationals’ postseason run is over, though his future as manager isn’t contingent on a first-round playoff victory, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes as part of a reader mailbag piece (with fellow Post scribe Jorge Castillo).  Nats ownership likes Baker and wants him to keep managing if he’s still willing and able, though an extension hasn’t been worked out since that just isn’t how the Lerner family handles business with managers.  Baker told Janes and other reporters today that he was informed that “we’re gonna wait til after the season” to discuss a possible new deal.

Here’s more from around baseball as the Yankees are off to the ALDS…

  • It is “increasingly likely” that Justin Upton will choose to opt out of the remaining four years and $88.5MM remaining on his contract, a source tells MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi.  Upton’s outstanding 2017 season gives him a strong case to look for a larger deal in free agency this winter, though opting out doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll leave the Angels.  Morosi notes that Upton could use the opt-out clause as a way to leverage an extension from the Halos, as C.C. Sabathia did with the Yankees six years ago.
  • Power and outfield defense are both needs for the Giants this winter, though as team executives told reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle and MLB.com’s Jonathan Hawthorne) today, the team won’t sacrifice the latter for the sake of the former.  “We don’t want to get too far away from our game,” GM Bobby Evans said.  “We’re a pitching and defense team.  If we compromise too much in the area of power and give up to much defensively, that can hurt us as much as the benefit of adding the power.”  A younger and more athletic outfield seems like a priority, and Schulman feels this might rule out a run at 31-year-old free agent Lorenzo Cain.  In my view, Cain’s excellent glove would seem to make a good fit for the Giants, though his defensive metrics did decline (from great to “merely” quite good) in 2017.
  • The Giants will look to add at all three outfield positions, as incumbent outfielders Denard Span and Hunter Pence could be in line for position changes.  Span, according to manager Bruce Bochy, is “all in” about moving from center to left field.  This wouldn’t seem to leave much room for Pence to move from right field, though Schulman suggests that Span and Pence could both share a position.  That would be a very expensive solution considering that Span and Pence will combine to earn $30.5MM in 2018, though since both also have notable injury histories, a time-share could help keep both players healthy.
  • Outgoing Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland looks like a candidate for the Mets’ own pitching coach vacancy, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets.  Eiland has spent the last six years with the Royals and has some prior experience in the Big Apple, serving as the Yankees’ pitching coach from 2008-10.

Central Notes: Brewers, Tigers, McCutchen, Kluber

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Second base is “a position we’re going to have to take a long look at,” Brewers GM David Stearns said during the team’s end-of-season meeting with reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).  Jonathan Villar’s struggles required the Brew Crew to trade for Neil Walker in August, and now with Walker headed for free agency and Eric Sogard (another free agent) perhaps best suited for utility duty, a decision will need to be made about giving Villar another chance or perhaps looking for another addition.  Starting pitching is another need given the uncertainty surrounding Jimmy Nelson’s return from a labrum procedure, though manager Craig Counsell said it was too early to consider whether Josh Hader could be moved into a rotation role.

Here’s more from both the NL and AL Central…

  • The Tigers will interview Marlins third base coach Fredi Gonzalez and White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing this week about the managerial vacancy, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports.  Angels bench coach Dino Ebel is also on Detroit’s list of candidates, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets.  Several other internal (coaches Lloyd McClendon, Omar Vizquel, Dave Clark) and external (Phil Nevin and Charlie Montoyo) have already been linked to the Tigers’ search, which reportedly began with around 50 names in consideration.
  • Andrew McCutchen is the key figure of this Pirates offseason, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, as the team faces a big decision about trading the long-time star outfielder.  Dealing McCutchen would essentially mark the end of an era for the franchise, though it would free up $14.5MM in payroll for 2018 (Brink rightly figures McCutchen’s club option is sure to be exercised by the Pirates) that could then be used to fill other roster holes.  McCutchen turns 31 next week and is coming off a solid 2017 season that revived his value following a very disappointing 2016 campaign.
  • Corey Kluber was a promising but unheralded young arm in the Padres farm system when he was acquired by the Indians in July 2010, as Cleveland.com’s Bud Shaw revisits the trade that gave the Tribe its ace.  Kluber was acquired as part of a three-team deal that saw the Cardinals send Ryan Ludwick to the Padres, while St. Louis picked up Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and Nick Greenwood from San Diego.  Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, then the team’s GM, said they received good scouting reports and “great analytical information” on Kluber that caught their interest, but “at the same time, no one sat there and said we were trading for a future Cy Young winner. We had no idea.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/3/17

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Here are the latest minor league moves from around baseball.  All transactions were reported by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, unless otherwise cited.

  • Right-hander Michael Ynoa has re-signed with the White Sox rather than test minor league free agency.  Ynoa was outrighted off Chicago’s roster earlier this season after posting a 5.90 ERA over 29 innings.  Once a highly-touted international signing as a teenager, Ynoa has struggled with his command in both the minors and at the big league level, with a 5.9 BB/9 over 59 career innings with the White Sox in 2016-17.
  • The Angels signed righty Vicente Campos to a minor league contract, as Campos will return to the organization after being released in September.  Campos posed an 8.22 ERA over 23 innings last season split between Triple-A, high A-ball and rookie ball as he worked his back from forearm surgery in September 2016.  His Major League resume consists of 5 2/3 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2016.

Coaching/Managerial Notes: Hot Seats, Royals, Scioscia, Snitker

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic runs down the big league managers that could be on the hot seat (subscription required and strongly recommended). Rosenthal lists Braves skipper Brian Snitker as an immediate candidate and notes that Red Sox skipper John Farrell, too, could be on the hot seat if the Sox are bounced in the ALDS for a second straight season. Farrell was inherited rather than hired by president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. While Orioles owner Peter Angelos isn’t likely to dismiss Buck Showalter, the tension between him and GM Dan Duquette continues to loom large in the organization. Rosenthal also covers several other managers on shaky ground that could find themselves in jeopardy with poor team showings in 2018.

A bit from MLB’s dugouts around the league…

  • The Royals and pitching coach Dave Eiland reached a mutual agreement to part ways, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman. The 51-year-old Eiland spent six seasons as the pitching coach for manager Ned Yost in Kansas City, helping the team to consecutive World Series appearances in 2014-15 and, of course, a World Series victory in the latter of those two seasons. He also spent 2008-10 as the Yankees pitching coach, so Eiland’s considerable experience should get him some type of opportunity with another organization, even if the Royals’ pitching staff as a whole underperformed in a disappointing 2017 campaign. Rustin Dodd and Pete Grahoff of the Kansas City Star, meanwhile, report that bench coach Don Wakamatsu, bullpen coach Doug Henry and assistant hitting coach Brian Buchanan are also expected to be dismissed. Kansas City has since announced that Eiland and Wakamatsu will not have their contracts renewed.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia will be back with the team in 2018 — the final season of his 10-year contract as skipper of the Halos, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Scioscia hopes to manage the Angels beyond the 2018 season, Fletcher notes, but he’s content heading into the final season of his contract without signing an extension. The 58-year-old Scioscia is Major League Baseball’s longest tenured manager, as he’s been skipper of the Angels since the 2000 campaign. The Halos were in contention for the American League’s second Wild Card spot up until the final week of the season despite a slew of injuries that decimated their pitching staff for much of the year.
  • Braves president of baseball operations plans to meet with manager Brian Snitker to discuss his future “as early as today,” tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. The Braves will have a decision on the coaching staff at some point midweek, per Bowman. Notably, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that Hart said today’s sudden resignation of GM John Coppolella in the wake of an MLB investigation isn’t likely to impact the decision one way or another (Twitter links). O’Brien guesses that the option on Snitker will be exercised, though it seems that a formal decision has not yet been made.

West Notes: Padres, Angels, Rangers

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Padres right-hander Jhoulys Chacin threw 180 1/3 innings of 3.89 ERA ball and contributed upward of two wins above replacement this season, making him one of the top bargain signings of 2017. Chacin inked a $1.75MM deal with the Padres last winter and should fare much better on his next contract, one that might come from another organization. But Chacin told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday that he’d be willing to continue his career in San Diego (Twitter link). “It’s hard to tell,” Chacin said of his future. “But I would be really happy to come back here.” Re-signing the capable innings eater would make a lot of sense for the rebuilding, starter-needy Padres, as MLBTR’s Jason Martinez wrote Friday.

More from San Diego and a couple other cities:

  • Padres owner Ron Fowler informed Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune that there are “a couple people we’re fairly close to getting deals done with,” which could mean Chacin or any of their other impending free agents. Regardless, both Fowler and managing partner Ron Seidler suggested to Lin that they’re happy with how this year has gone for the club. Seidler has seen enough progress to believe the Padres could soon be a factor in the NL West, a division the big-spending Dodgers have ruled over the past half-decade. Looking ahead two years, Seidler said: “At minimum, if we’re not in the chase for (the playoffs), I’d be disappointed. (If not), it wouldn’t mean I’d be angry or upset or anything. I think, given where we are right now, in 2019 we should have every chance not to just be a playoff team but to win the division.” Check out Lin’s full piece for more quotes from Seidler and Fowler on the direction of the franchise.
  • By starting in his final three appearances of the year, Angels righty Bud Norris lost out on a $500K bonus, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Norris would have collected that money had he made 60 relief appearances (he finished with 57), but starting him was not a money-saving move by the Angels. Rather, Norris volunteered to switch roles down the stretch, his representative revealed. “He did it for the team,” agent Joel Wolfe told Fletcher. “Now he’s going into free agency as one of the most versatile and valuable pitching assets given the ways teams tactically use their pitching staffs. The value he’s gotten out of starting is far in excess of that performance bonus.” Norris joined the Angels on a minor league deal last January and proved to be a shrewd pickup, pitching to a 4.21 ERA and recording 10.74 K/9 against 3.92 BB/9 over 62 innings. Thanks to that production, he seems likely to land a major league contract during the upcoming offseason.
  • Shin-Soo Choo has gotten some practice reps at first base this week and could end up as a part-time option there in 2018 for the Rangers, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. The Rangers are likely to cut ties with Mike Napoli after the season, which could open up first for Joey Gallo, but he’s probably better suited for the outfield, Wilson observes. Should Gallo take a spot in the grass, it might lead to some time at first for Choo, who has only served as an outfielder and a designated hitter since making his big league debut in 2005. Advanced defensive metrics have typically been bearish on Choo’s work in the field, though, and he’ll turn 36 next summer. First seems like a more logical place for him, then, though Wilson cautions that this experiment isn’t guaranteed to stretch into next season. Offensively, the lefty-swinging Choo has turned in another respectable year with 22 home runs, 12 stolen bases and a .261/.357/.423 line in 636 plate appearances.

AL West Notes: Perez, Morton, Upton, Erasmo

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The Rangers have already told Martin Perez that they will exercise their $6MM option on the left-hander’s services, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports.  Teams have until five days after the World Series to decide on all contract options so nothing is official yet between Perez and the Rangers (we’ll have the news here on MLBTR when this move and other option decisions are finalized), though it was widely expected that Perez would be retained.  The Rangers would’ve had to pay $2.45MM in a buyout, so it was an easy call to spend the extra $3.55MM on Perez, who has delivered 3.8 fWAR and 377 2/3 innings over the last two seasons.  Texas also has club options on Perez for 2019 and 2020.

Here’s more from around the AL West…

  • Charlie Morton may call it a career after the 2018 season, the Astros right-hander told MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link).  Morton turns 35 in November 2018 and has battled several injuries throughout his career, though he is wrapping up one of the most successful of his ten seasons in the big leagues.  His unique enjoyment of his Astros experience, however, is actually one of the factors in Morton’s reasoning: “The group we have here is so good….The most valuable thing you have is time, and these are the guys I’m investing that in.  I can only think of a couple other groups I was with, where I look back and say ’That was really good.  That was worth it.’  It would be a search for that feeling, when you go in a clubhouse and like being with that group.  Here, you’re doing something meaningful — with everything that’s going on in the city….This is a moment to be cherished and valued.”
  • In other Morton-related news, he made his 25th start of the season tonight, which Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle notes triggered a $625K bonus in the Astros righty’s contract.  Morton also received $625K bonuses for hitting the 15-start and 20-start thresholds, so he’ll tack an extra $1.875MM onto his $7MM base salary for the 2017 season.  Morton also has the same base salary and bonus structure in place for 2018.
  • “Winning” is the only factor that will go into Justin Upton’s decision about opting out of his contract, he tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.  Of course, Upton faces a significant financial decision if he chooses to forego the $88.5MM remaining on his contract to re-enter free agency, though Fletcher notes that Upton could prioritize playing for a contender since he has already earned over $95MM in his career.  The Angels, of course, made a run at a wild card this year and could offer Upton that chance of playing for a winner, as the club will have some money to spend on needed upgrades this winter.
  • The Mariners “didn’t know quite what we were getting” when Erasmo Ramirez was re-acquired by the Rays, Seattle manager Scott Servais tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, but the right-hander has now established himself as a potential rotation candidate for the 2018 squad.  After working for several years as a swingman, Ramirez became a full-time starter after his trade to the Mariners and the results were impressive — 3.92 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 3.60 K/BB over 62 innings (11 starts).  Ramirez’s emergence is a boost to a Seattle team that is looking for healthy and reliable starting pitching this winter.
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