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Quick Hits: Pirates, Braves, Angels, Rangers

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Between Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston, Super Bowl champ Russell Wilson and former NBA star Tracy McGrady, MLB has an excellent opportunity to generate more interest in baseball among young African-Americans, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Winston closes for Florida State University's baseball team, while Wilson will be in Rangers camp this week after being picked in the Rule Five draft in December. McGrady, of course, is trying to catch on with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters as a pitcher. MLB should handle the situation differently than it did Michael Jordan's foray into professional baseball two decades ago, which was viewed with hostility by many in the game at the time, Sherman says. Here are more late-night links from around the majors:

  • The Pirates' ability to "fix" Edinson Volquez is likely to have a big impact on their playoff hopes, David Golebiewski of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says.
  • Braves outfielder B.J. Upton sought help from no one during his lost 2013 season, The Associated Press reports.
  • Despite 2014 being a must-win season for Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that the executive didn't set out this offseason to acquire veterans who could provide a short-term band-aid for the club. "That's not in my DNA," he said. "The best representation of the job you do over time is what you leave behind." Dipoto also feels that the club has "a lot of veteran players in that 29 to 31 zone. That is when you win."
  • Neftali Feliz and Joakim Soria are competing for the Rangers' closer job, but the former hasn't impressed early in camp, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "Feliz was not sharp in his intrasquad game and I’m told his mechanics are still kind of out of whack," Grant notes.

Poll: Should The Qualifying Offer Be Scrapped?

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Love it or hate it, there's no denying that the qualifying offer has disrupted baseball's free agent economy. With less than a month to go before Opening Day, three capable players - Stephen Drew, Kendrys Morales and Ervin Santana - are still on the market, potential suitors remaining hesitant to give up a draft pick and its associated bonus pool money. Some players, like Ubaldo Jimenez, have still commanded sizeable deals. Others, however, haven't fared so well. Few would have expected Nelson Cruz to settle for a one-year, $8MM guarantee at the offseason's outset, for example. 

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow argued in a recent interview with MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo that turning down this offseason's $14.1MM qualifying offer, which links players with draft pick compensation, is rejecting "what a lot of people would consider pretty generous, life-changing money." The current system is, in any case, "an improvement over what was there before," Luhnow said. On the other hand, there can be little doubt that the qualifying offer is suppressing the salaries of some players at a time when Major League Baseball has never been more profitable. The system can also frustrate fans. Adding Drew, Morales or Santana would improve many clubs' chances for a 2014 postseason berth, and some find it hard to digest that the value of a draft pick can outweigh that of a player who can impact a team now.

The qualifying offer system will remain in place through at least December 2016, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. At that point, MLB owners and players will reconvene to try to hammer out a new deal, and the qualifying offer is sure to emerge as a topic of discussion. At that time, should the system be scrapped?

AL Notes: Extensions, Lester, O’s, Tigers

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A long-term agreement between Mike Trout and the Angels would carry upside and risk for both player and club, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes. Agent Paul Cohen, whose clients include Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitzki, tells DiGiovanna he's generally in favor of such deals. "Our view is you never turn down your first fortune, especially if you can keep your free agent years intact at age 29 or 30," Cohen comments. However, Scott Boras chimes in to argue that such deals often benefit teams. Boras discloses that the Indians attempted to extend his client Shin-Soo Choo with a deal in the $27MM-$42MM range. Choo, of course, waited and cashed in this offseason with a seven-year, $130MM free agent deal with the Rangers. Here are more notes from around the majors:

East Notes: Orioles, Yankees, Braves

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The Braves top a ranking of baseball's best bullpens over at MLB.com's Outside Pitch blog. Craig Kimbrel is a big part of that choice, but the presence of Luis Avilan, Jordan Walden and David Carpenter also make the Atlanta relief corps one of MLB's deepest, according to Outside Pitch's Shawn Ferris. Completing the list are the Red Sox, Cardinals, Pirates and Reds. Here's more from around baseball's Eastern divisions:

  • Braves second base prospect Tommy La Stella has been turning heads early in camp, Carroll Rogers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes, though the club still plans on starting the season with veteran Dan Uggla at the keystone.
  • Nelson Cruz had a successful debut for the Orioles in a matchup with the Blue Jays, walking twice and scoring from first on a Chris Davis double (via Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com). "It doesn’t feel like butterflies or anything," Cruz said. "I feel normal, I guess, as soon as I come out to the field."
  • Yankees hurler CC Sabathia wasn't concerned after his fastball topped out at 88 MPH in his first Spring Training outing, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports. “My fastball is what it is. If it gets better, it will. If it’s not, it won’t,” Sabathia commented. McCarron writes that the concerns are likely to persist if the lefty's heater doesn't tick up, noting that Sabathia lost a significant amount of weight this offseason.

Quick Hits: MLB Advanced Media, Tanaka, White Sox

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It's been a slow day throughout baseball, but there's been at least one very interesting development. At the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston today, MLB Advanced Media presented a new plan to measure new aspects of each play and connect various pieces of data to find out why each play turned out the way it did. For example, on a ball hit to the outfield, MLBAM will track not only the trajectory of the ball, but also the timing of the outfielder's first step and the efficiency of his route. The technology will also allow teams to connect hitting, pitching, baserunning and fielding data.

Details of the system have appeared on Twitter throughout the day, but MLB.com's Mark Newman explains the system more thoroughly in a long-form article. (When you click on the article, be sure to check out the video showing an example of the data the system will track.) The system appears likely to impact analysis of all aspects of the game, but it will most obviously impact analysis of fielding. "Just on the field, with the coaching staff and the manager — when you start to look at positioning, and you start to see the exit velocity of the ball coming off the bat, and is he late or is he ahead of a lot of pitches, and then you move your infielders and outfielders accordingly," MLB.com's Jim Duquette says. The data appears likely to have a significant impact on player valuation throughout the game. The data will be collected at Brewers, Twins and Mets home games in 2014, and then the system will launch in all other ballparks in 2015. Here are more notes from around the Majors.

  • Masahiro Tanaka made his spring debut with the Yankees today, pitching two scoreless innings and allowing two hits against the Phillies. Even Tanaka's first spring appearance was a major news event, given that Tanaka was the Yankees' highest-profile signing in an offseason filled with high-profile Yankees signings. Three Japanese television channels broadcast the game, which also included Hiroki Kuroda and Ichiro Suzuki. David Waldstein of the New York Times notes that Tanaka's fastball came in at 94 MPH. 
  • The White Sox have signed 24 pre-arbitration eligible players to one-year deals, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. Starting pitcher Jose Quintana, who posted a 3.51 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 200 innings in 2013, received a $50K raise to $550K, and reliever Nate Jones got a $37K raise to $545K.

NL Notes: Kendrick, Diamondbacks, Fernandez

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Kyle Kendrick of the Phillies is highly motivated as he prepares for free agency, Matt Gelb of the Inquirer writes. Gelb points to Jason Vargas, Scott Feldman and Ricky Nolasco — all of whom signed contracts worth at least $30MM — as potential comparables for Kendrick. "When similar guys close to your numbers sign those deals, that's a good thing," says Kendrick. Kendrick has never pitched more than 182 innings in a season, so 200 innings in 2014 would likely go a long way toward helping him strike gold on the free-agent market. Here's more from the National League.

  • The Diamondbacks' fate will be determined primarily by returning players like Paul Goldschmidt and Patrick Corbin, but their additions of Mark Trumbo, Bronson Arroyo and Addison Reed could be what finally gets them past .500, Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com writes. The Diamondbacks are also likely to receive a contribution from top prospect Archie Bradley, although the addition of Arroyo should allow the team to give Bradley some extra minor-league time. Bradley, 21, pitched most of last season at Double-A Mobile.
  • Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez tells the Miami Herald's Clark Spencer (via Twitter) that he will make $635K in 2014, a very significant raise for a pre-arbitration player. Earlier in the day, the Marlins announced that they had signed all of their 28 pre-arbitration-eligible players. Fernandez, of course, is following up a stellar first season in which he won the Rookie of the Year award and finished third in NL Cy Young voting.

Minor Moves: Chase D’Arnaud

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Here are today's minor moves from around baseball.

  • Pirates infielder Chase d'Arnaud has been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, the Tribune-Review's Rob Biertempfel tweets. The Pirates had designated d'Arnaud for assignment earlier in the week in order to clear roster space for fellow infielder Brent Morel. D'Arnaud hit .238/.288/.350 in 262 plate appearances for Indianapolis in 2013. He has 157 career big-league plate appearances, most of them coming in 2011.

Astros Notes: Feldman, Qualifying Offers

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Scott Feldman was surprised when the Astros pursued him this season, but the team was persistent, reports Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. "I thought that they were more like in a rebuilding, just-going-to-let-all-these-young-guys-play mode," says Feldman. "And then after I talked to [manager Bo Porter] on the phone, he explained to me, 'No, no, we're done with that. We're trying to win.'" Feldman is now the Astros' higest-paid player, and they're counting on him to provide an example for younger players like Jarred Cosart. Here are more notes on the Astros.

  • The qualifying offer played a role in the Astros' decisions this offseason, GM Jeff Luhnow says in a wide-ranging interview with MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo. The Astros' top overall pick is, obviously, protected, but they also wanted to keep what is now the No. 37 overall pick, a competitive-balance selection they got when they traded Bud Norris to the Orioles. 
  • Nonetheless, Cotillo writes that Luhnow isn't as eager as some commentators to change the qualifying-offer system, which is a key reason Stephen Drew, Kendrys Morales and Ervin Santana remain on the free-agent market. "Players in order to be in that position have to turn down what a lot of people would consider pretty generous, life-changing money," says Luhnow, referring to the $14.1MM qualifying offer. "The intent of the rule is an improvement over what was there before. … Everyone had this conversation last year, then [Kyle] Lohse got signed and we went back to normal, so we'll see what happens."

AL Notes: Sano, Castro, Tigers

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Top Twins prospect Miguel Sano will have Tommy John surgery, La Velle E. Neal III of StarTribune.com reports. Via MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (on Twitter), the Twins have since confirmed that Sano will miss the entire 2014 season. Sano has had trouble with his ulnar collateral ligament going back to last season, and he injured it on Thursday while making a throw. MLB.com ranks Sano the fourth-best prospect in baseball (with another Twins prospect, Byron Buxton, coming in at No. 1). Sano, 20, hit .280/.382/.610 between Class A+ and Double-A last season. Here are more notes from the American League.

  • The Astros do not sound likely to trade catcher Jason Castro anytime soon, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. This offseason, several teams asked the Astros about Castro, but the Astros feel Castro's play and leadership are too valuable to deal right now. "We take all of those elements into account, and we really feel he's a player we can't be without at this point," says GM Jeff Luhnow. Castro, 26, will make $2.45MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility in 2014. He hit .276/.350/.485 in 491 plate appearances last season.
  • The Tigers have agreed to terms with eight pre-arbitration players, according to a team release: pitchers Melvin Mercedes, Bruce Rondon, Jose Alvarez and Ian Krol, catcher Bryan Holaday, and infielders Steve Lombardozzi, Francisco Martinez and Hernan Perez. Those players will all likely receive deals near the league minimum. The Tigers now have their entire 40-man roster under contract for 2014.  

Jon Lester, Red Sox Both Still Interested In Extension

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Jon Lester is due to become a free agent after the season, but both he and the Red Sox hope an extension is in the works, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman writes. And with Lester declaring that "I don't like change" and Red Sox brass declaring their strong interest in keeping him, Heyman writes, the odds are that an extension will get done. The Red Sox picked up their $13MM club option on Lester for 2014, and Lester would surely get a hefty raise on that total in an extension. Despite both parties' interest in completing a deal, however, it's not a given that a contract will get done before spring training ends. "I'd like to get it done down here," Lester says. "But it's going to be a tedious process." Yesterday, Lester's agents, Sam and Seth Levinson, arrived in Red Sox camp, although the reasons are unclear.

In negotiations between Lester and the Red Sox, an obvious starting point would be Homer Bailey's recent contract with the Reds. Like Lester, Bailey was due to become a free agent following the 2014 season. The two were fairly similar in value in 2013. Lester, at 30, is two years older than Bailey, but likely would receive somewhat more per year due to his better career performance. Bailey received six years and $105MM, with a mutual option for 2020.

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