Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for March 2014

Jarrod Parker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

2:49pm: Athletics assistant GM David Forst tells reporters, including MLB.com's Jane Lee, that Kazmir's injury is very minor, and he could have pitched today (Twitter link). Slusser tweets that Kazmir may even start tomorrow.

Forst also adds that the team has no plans to look outside the organization to acquire additional pitching depth (Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet reporting via Twitter).

2:38pm: The Athletics have announced, via Twitter, that right-hander Jarrod Parker will undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career next week.

It's a big blow for the defending AL West champions, and though the team has more pitching depth than most clubs, they also shut right-hander A.J. Griffin down for three weeks over the weekend and will likely be without him for at least the first month of the season, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser (on Twitter). Beyond that, offseason signee Scott Kazmir was scratched from today's Spring Training start due to triceps stiffness.

With Parker and Griffin on the shelf, the A's would figure to open the season with Kazmir (if his triceps injury is minor), Sonny Gray, Dan Straily, Tommy Milone and one of Drew Pomeranz, Jesse Chavez or Josh Lindblom in the rotation (Slusser earlier tweeted that it would likely be Chavez). Obviously, that's a considerably weaker group than it would be with a healthy Parker and Griffin in the mix, and it's fair to wonder if the A's will pursue a trade to add further depth — perhaps an out-of-options starter from another club.

Parker, 25, has given the A's 378 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball with 6.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 over the past two seasons, helping the club to a pair of AL West division titles. Oakland originally acquired him from the Diamondbacks along with Ryan Cook and Collin Cowgill in the trade that sent Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow to Arizona. His first Tommy John surgery came back in October 2009 when he was still in the Diamondbacks organization.

The news is the latest in a slew of Tommy John surgeries, as Kris Medlen is all but certain to require Tommy John, while Brandon Beachy also faces that possibility and Patrick Corbin will seemingly suffer that same fate as well. Beyond that, Padres right-hander Joe Wieland is undergoing an MRI today that could reveal UCL damage and lead to his second Tommy John operation.

Red Sox Shopping Ryan Lavarnway

By | at

Given their considerable depth behind the plate, the Red Sox have begun shopping Ryan Lavarnway, a source tells Sean McAdam of Comcast SportsNet New England. A.J. Pierzynski and David Ross will form the primary catching tandem at the Major League level, while Christian Vazquez and Daniel Butler will handle the catching duties at Triple-A Pawtucket.

Boston has experimented with using Lavarnway at first base during Spring Training, which would likely be where he would receive most of his at-bats were he to open the season at Pawtucket. However, while that bit of experience could make him slightly more appealing in a trade, he's more valuable to the Red Sox or another club when he's catching.

The 26-year-old Lavarnway was once considered Boston's catcher of the future and has ranked as a Top 100 prospect according to MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus as recently as 2012. He boasts a gaudy .284/.373/.471 batting line in 845 career plate appearances at Triple-A, although it's worth noting that he slipped to a .250/.346/.350 triple-slash in 2013. Lavarnway has also struggled at the Major League level, batting just .208/.258/.327 in 291 PAs.

Many teams figure to be looking for catching help at this time of the year, and Lavarnway is attractive in that he can be controlled through at least the 2018 season (he has one year, 40 days of Major League service time). The Pirates learned today that Chris Stewart will probably need knee surgery (hat tip: Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Twitter), though they likely feel that they have another capable backup to Russell Martin in-house in the form of Tony Sanchez.

The White Sox strike me as a possible fit, as they did little to address that need this offseason and are planning to give Tyler Flowers another opportunity at the job. Lavarnway would fit GM Rick Hahn's stated goal of adding controllable talent, and he's also younger than Flowers with a slightly better minor league track record. The Orioles are also said to be looking outside the organization for candidates to back-up Matt Wieters. Arizona has asked for catchers in trade proposals for their young shortstops as well; while Lavarnway wouldn't be enough for GM Kevin Towers to part with Chris Owings or Didi Gregorius, the mere fact that the D'Backs have prioritized catchers seems to suggest that they wouldn't mind adding some depth. Of course, all of these potential fits are just speculation on my behalf.

Pitching Links: Niese, Samardzija, Hanrahan, Richard

By | at

It seems like every club is getting bad news regarding its pitchers these days, but the Mets can breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to lefty Jon Niese. ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin reports that Niese, who was pulled from Sunday's start early due to elbow discomfort, learned that he has some inflammation but no ligament damage in the elbow. He received a cortisone shot and is tentatively set to resume throwing on Wednesday. Niese still figures to open the season on the DL, according to Rubin, but only for a few days, as the Mets won't need a fifth starter until April 6. Niese is likely to be activated at that point.

Here are some more notes specifically pertaining to pitchers…

  • The Diamondbacks are likely to again scout Jeff Samardzija in the wake of Patrick Corbin's probable Tommy John surgery, reports Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. However, Levine writes that the Cubs would likely ask for Archie Bradley in return, which would seemingly end conversations before they began.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that free agent closer Joel Hanrahan is up to 90-92 mph in his rehab from Tommy John and flexor tendon surgery and could sign with a team soon. Hanrahan is coming off a season in which he pitched just 7 1/3 innings for the Red Sox before undergoing surgery on May 16. He still has a ways to go on his velocity, as he averages 96-97 mph when he's at his best.
  • Free agent left-hander Clayton Richard tells MLB Network Radio's Scott Braun that he underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last month (Twitter link). Richard rejected an outright assignment from the Padres and elected free agency at season's end, but this seems to rule out the possibility that he'd be ready to pitch anytime soon.

Jose Iglesias Expected To Miss Most Of 2014

By | at

MONDAY: Iglesias tells reporters, including MLB.com's Jason Beck, that he has been diagnosed with stress fractures in each shin, but he believes he can play at some point this season (Twitter links). Beck tweets that Iglesias will see a specialist tomorrow, which will give Detroit a better idea on his timeframe for a return.

MLB Network Radio's Jim Duquette first reported (via Twitter) that Iglesias' injury had worsened from shin spints to stress fractures earlier this morning.

SUNDAY, 1:09pm: Iglesias will need "extended rehab" for months and possibly the entire season, a source with knowledge of the injury tells the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters, including Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com, he feels for Iglesias, who played for him last year, but was "aware (the shins were an issue) to the extent we had to monitor. We had to get him off his feet because he felt some pain and soreness there."

11:22am: The Tigers are sending Iglesias for a third opinion, but GM Dave Dombrowski says that the shortstop will definitely start the year on the DL, reports Tom Gage of the Detroit News (Twitter links). Initially, at least, the team will look to fill in for Iglesias internally, said Dombrowski.

SATURDAY: Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias will miss most of the 2014 season with a shin injury, Jim Bowden of ESPN tweets, citing a player close to Iglesias. The injury has fueled speculation that the Tigers will now pursue Stephen Drew, Bowden notes.

Iglesias hit just .259/.306/.348 for the Tigers in 46 games after arriving in a trade with Boston in 2013, but is widely regarded as one of the game's top defensive shortstops. The Tigers were relying on Iglesias to serve as the cog in a more defense-oriented infield, so replacing him at this point in the offseason will be a challenge. Drew likely represents the simplest option for doing so.

Drew, 31, hit .253/.333/.443 with typically strong defense at short for the World Champion Red Sox in 2013, but his 124 games played was his highest total since 2010. The Scott Boras client managed just 79 games in 2012 and 86 games in 2011. That fragility is likely one major factor in his continued availability. Another, of course, is the draft pick compensation Drew is tied to after declining a qualifying offer from the Red Sox. If the Tigers do sign him, they'll lose what is currently the 23rd pick in the 2014 draft. Forfeiting that pick could be a tough pill for Detroit to swallow. GM Dave Dombrowski has managed to avoid doing so thus far this offseason, with his major acquisition, second baseman Ian Kinsler, coming via trade rather than free agency.

However, Detroit ultimately has few alternatives if the goal is replacing Iglesias with an impact player. Indeed, this situation — team with playoff aspirations loses middle infielder to injury late in Spring Training — seems to be precisely what Boras has waited for.

Mariners infielder Nick Franklin is another possibility. The 23-year-old's name has appeared frequently in trade rumors since the Robinson Cano signing, and as the owner of less than a year of service time, he'd pair with third baseman Nick Castellanos to give the Tigers two talented, cost-controlled infielders. On the other hand, Dombrowski may be hesistant to hand two starting infield jobs to unproven players in a season in which the Tigers expect to contend for a championship.

NL West Notes: Wieland, Dodgers, Lyles

By | at

The Padres have already taken a hit to their starting pitching depth after losing Cory Luebke to a second Tommy John surgery, and now right-hander Joe Wieland could suffer the same fate. Wieland is scheduled to have an MRI on his sore right elbow today, and Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweeted late last night that there's "significant concern" throughout the organization, with a re-torn UCL being the worst-case scenario. Wieland, like Luebke, spent the 2013 season recovering from 2012 Tommy John surgery. A second Tommy John surgery has become a familiar refrain around MLB of late; Daniel Hudson underwent his second Tommy John last summer, and there's a strong likelihood that Braves hurlers Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy will do so as well. D'Backs lefty Patrick Corbin could be headed for his first Tommy John surgery as well.

Here are a couple of other NL-West-related items…

  • The Dodgers are currently on the lookout for bench help, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who questions how the club could spent $225MM on payroll but enter the season with such a weak group of reserve players. Rival evaluators in Spring Training consider the Dodgers' bench to be the weakest in the division, says Rosenthal.
  • Within that piece, Rosenthal reports that the Dodgers indicated to Mark Ellis early in the offseason that another two-year deal was a possibility. However, Ellis eventually grew weary of the Dodgers' indecisiveness, as they offered a one-year deal after signing Alexander Guerrero. Rosenthal adds that one potential scenario last summer was for the Dodgers to flip Zach Lee to the Angels for Howie Kendrick, then move Ellis to Kansas City for Luke Hochevar, but ownership nixed the Kendrick-for-Lee swap.
  • Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes that while the Rockies initially thought right-hander Jordan Lyles would need some time in the minors when they acquired him in the Dexter Fowler trade, Lyles is forcing his way into immediate rotation consideration. He's competing with Franklin Morales for the fifth starter's role, and Lyles could benefit from the fact that Morales has bullpen experience. Manager Walt Weiss told Renck that Lyles is viewed strictly as a starter, so Morales could end up in relief with Lyles in the starting five.

AL Notes: Drew, Tigers, Blue Jays, Orioles

By | at

For the Tigers, signing free agent shortstop Stephen Drew would make "a great deal of sense," Dayn Perry of CBS Sports writes. Jose Iglesias looks likely to miss much of the season with a leg injury. The Tigers are lucky, in a sense, that a player as good as Drew is still out there to pursue. And though they would have to sacrifice the No. 23 overall pick in the draft to sign Drew, they need to focus on their goal of winning the 2014 World Series, Perry suggests. If Iglesias were to return at midseason, the Tigers could potentially move Drew to third base if Nick Castellanos isn't performing well there. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, however, has recently indicated that he is not interested in signing Drew. Here's more from the American League.

MLBTR Originals

By | at

A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:

  • Jeff Todd examined the qualifying offer system by considering its context (impact on the overall market, individual teams, and players) and purpose (taxing free agency, distributive goals, and competitive benefits). Jeff opines changes to the QO (including de-coupling the compensation and forfeiture aspects, encouraging participation by smaller-payroll clubs, and more closely aligning compensation/forfeiture to a player's actual market value) could vastly improve the system's function by more evenly spreading its benefits and burdens.   
  • The 2013-2014 Offseason In Review series continued with Jeff's synopsis of the Giants and Padres; Charlie Wilmoth's look at the Pirates and Cardinals; Mark Polishuk's rundown of the Yankees; Tim Dierkes' recap of the White Sox; and Steve Adams' analysis of the Twins and Royals.
  • Tim concluded his Out Of Options 2014 series (the 40-man roster players who have less than five years service time and are out of minor league options, per MLBTR sources) with his survey of the AL East, NL East, and AL West. Tim also combined the division-by-division breakdowns into one all-encompassing list sorted alphabetically by team.
  • Spending on free agents this offseason has now exceeded $2B, so Jeff updated each team's total to date. 
  • A pair of players switched agencies this week. Tim was the first to report White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia joined Octagon after having been with the Beverly Hills Sports Council and MLBTR learned Astros shortstop Jonathan Villar left the Kinzer Management Group for MDR Sports Management. 
  • Steve hosted this week's live chat.
  • Zach Links assembled the best of the baseball blogosphere for you in Baseball Blogs Weigh In. 

Tigers Unlikely To Pursue Stephen Drew

By | at

GM Dave Dombrowski says the Tigers will not pursue free agent shortstop Stephen Drew, the Detroit News' Lynn Henning reports. Dombrowski says the Tigers will go with "internal candidates" to replace the injured Jose Iglesias at shortstop, perhaps including Danny Worth, Eugenio Suarez or Hernan Perez.

Henning takes that to mean that the Tigers might still have interest in pursuing trades as a way of finding a new shortstop, but they will not pursue Drew. The Tigers have the No. 23 pick in the upcoming draft, and Henning suggests they do not want to give that up in order to sign Drew. They also do not want to sign Drew to a long-term deal when Iglesias still figures to be their long-term answer at shortstop.

It emerged this weekend that Iglesias' shin injury would cause him to miss most of the 2014 season. That news has led to increased speculation that the Tigers would sign Drew, who previously had not been able to find much of a market after rejecting a qualifying offer from the Red Sox.

Chris Davis Extension Talks Dormant

By | at

Chris Davis and the Orioles have not made progress recently on a contract extension, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports. "Not that I know of and you guys are pretty good about finding things out," said Davis, when asked if there had been any new developments. "I'm sure if anything is said, we'll be talking about it, but those are for Scott (Boras) and Dan (Duquette). I have way too much to focus on here."

Davis is making $10.35MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He can become a free agent after 2015, when he should be able to land a big contract, given that he'll only be heading into his age-30 season. The first baseman hit .286/.370/.634 with 53 homers in 673 plate appearances with the Orioles in 2013. Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, who is also a Boras client, will also be eligible for free agency after 2015.

Bill Bray Retires

By | at

Former Nationals and Reds reliever Bill Bray tweets that he has retired. He notes that he has a labrum tear, which made the decision simpler for him.

Bray was a first-round pick of the Expos in 2004 out of William & Mary, and he made it to the Majors with the Nationals in 2006 before heading to the Reds in the Austin Kearns trade a month later. He eventually settled in as a semi-regular member of the Reds' bullpen, piling up 197 1/3 career innings with a 3.74 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2012, and spent the 2013 season back in the Nationals organization, dealing with shoulder troubles.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top