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Archives for March 2015

Mets Notes: Alderson, Collins, Wheeler, Matusz

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Sandy Alderson’s new biography (Baseball Maverick: How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baseball and Revived the Mets, by Steve Kettmann) contains several interesting background tidbits about many of Alderson’s major transactions as the Mets general manager.  ESPN’s Adam Rubin runs down some of the highlights, including some alternate trades for Carlos Beltran and R.A. Dickey, extension talks with Jose Reyes and even a flirtation with Robinson Cano last winter.  The book also includes comments from Alderson about the Mets payroll situation, which led to Alderson clarifying his position last week.  Here’s some more from the Amazins…

  • Perhaps the most timely revelation from the book was that last August, Alderson told Kettmann that Terry Collins’ chances of returning as the Mets’ manager in 2015 stood at roughly 51 percent and “Frankly, for me, that percentage has been eroding.”  Alderson was upset that the Mets’ patience at the plate seemed to be dropping, but a meeting with the club’s hitters apparently saved Collins from being fired.  Collins is entering the last year of his contract and he’s been rumored to be on the hot seat unless the Mets take a step forward to contention.
  • While Zack Wheeler was indeed pitching through pain last season, it was due to a torn tendon in his right elbow, Newsday’s Marc Carig reports.  Nothing was thought to be wrong with Wheeler’s UCL until last week’s examination revealed that the right-hander had suffered a tear and would need to undergo Tommy John surgery.
  • B.B. Abbott, Wheeler’s agent, told reporters (including Dan Martin of the New York Post) that he has “zero issues whatsoever with how the Mets handled Zack last year or in the offseason.“
  • The Mets are only one of several teams interested in Orioles southpaw Brian Matusz, a scout tells Adam Rubin (Twitter link).  As teams make roster cuts over the next two weeks, however, “there should be plenty of lefties that shake loose of lesser ilk.”  Needless to say, these other left-handed relief options would presumably also come at a much lower price tag than Matusz’s $3.2MM salary.
  • The scout also suggests that Marlins left-hander Andrew McKirahan is better than any of the Mets’ internal lefty relievers and would be a good addition to the team if Miami cuts him.  McKirahan was selected by the Fish in last December’s Rule 5 draft and must spend the entire season on the Marlins’ 25-man roster or else be offered back to the Cubs.

No Extension Talks Between Royals, Alex Gordon

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Though Alex Gordon is entering his last guaranteed year under contract with the Royals, the outfielder tells Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star that “not one bit” of talks have taken place about an extension.  “I love it here.  This is where I want to play,” Gordon said.  “But you have to realize the situation. Maybe it won’t happen, maybe it will.”

Gordon has a $13.25MM player option for 2016 that he was originally intending to exercise as of last summer, though he said last month that he wasn’t sure if he would pick his option up.  If Gordon has a good 2015 season, declining the option would put him in line for an expensive multi-year contract on the free agent market.

Mellinger’s piece outlines the pros and cons of extending Gordon from the Royals’ perspective.  On the pro side, Gordon has been a productive player, they have no ready-made replacement for his bat or outstanding left field glove, and the popular Gordon has been a “face of the franchise” for the last decade.  On the con side, a Gordon extension would surely be the most expensive contract in Royals history and they may not want to spend that much on a player who will be entering his age-32 season in 2016.

Gordon did undergo wrist surgery in December and has yet to appear in any Spring Training action, so it could be that the Royals simply want to make sure that he’s recovered before discussing a new deal.  Still, I agree with Mellinger that it’s rather surprising that Kansas City hasn’t at least broached the subject of an extension with Gordon or his representatives at Excel Sports Management.  Most players don’t want to negotiate new contracts once the season begins, so even if no agreement is reached now, K.C. could at least lay some groundwork for further talks after the season.

Braves Release Tyler Pastornicky

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The Braves have released Tyler Pastornicky, according to the International League’s transactions page.  The middle infielder had already been outrighted off of Atlanta’s 40-man roster earlier this offseason.

Pastornicky, 25, originally came to Atlanta as part of the Yunel Escobar trade in July 2010 and he began the 2012 season as the Braves’ regular shortstop, though his spot was supplanted by Andrelton Simmons.  Now blocked at short, Pastornicky was shifted to second base though couldn’t catch on as a regular.  Pastornicky has only a .243/.295/.314 slash line over 268 Major League plate appearances, though he hit a more respectable .280/.343/.376 over 2390 minor league PA.

Brewers Exercise Ron Roenicke’s 2016 Option

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The Brewers have announced that they exercised their club option on Ron Roenicke’s contract, guaranteeing the manager’s deal through the 2016 season.  It was almost exactly a year ago that the club picked up Roenicke’s option for the 2015 and added that 2016 option year to his deal.

In four years as Milwaukee’s manager, Roenicke has led the team to a 335-313 (.517) record, highlighted by an NL Central title and a trip to the NLCS in 2011.  Despite three winning seasons in four years under Roenicke, however, 2011 remains the club’s last postseason appearance.  The Brewers led the Central for much of last season before fading down the stretch.  In exercising Roenicke’s option now, both the team and the manager can forego questions about his status until later in the season, though it’s fair to wonder if Roenicke could be on the hot seat if the Brewers aren’t contenders.

With Roenicke’s deal settled, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel believes that an extension could also be forthcoming for GM Doug Melvin, who is entering his last year under contract.

Red Sox Considering Extension For Mookie Betts

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The Red Sox have “at least internally discussed” looking into a contract extension with star youngster Mookie Betts, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports.  The team has yet to broach the subject with Betts or his representatives at Relativity Baseball, as Betts told Bradford “No, I haven’t done anything for that.”

Betts’ huge spring and Rusney Castillo’s oblique injury have seemingly cleared the path for Betts to begin the season as the Red Sox center fielder.  Now that Betts has won a regular job within Boston’s crowded outfield situation, Bradford notes that the team has even more confidence in Betts’ future and could be willing to put that confidence into writing in the form of a multi-year contract.  Of course, the Red Sox have already demonstrated their belief in Betts by making a virtual  untouchable in trade talks this winter, particularly in holding firm when the Phillies have asked for Betts in exchange for Cole Hamels.

While every team would undoubtedly prefer to have is top young players locked up on affordable multi-year deals, such aggressive moves to sign players to early extensions are usually made by lower-revenue or rebuilding teams (i.e. the Astros extending Jon Singleton, the Royals extending Salvador Perez, or the Rays extending Chris Archer, Matt Moore or Evan Longoria).  A larger-revenue team like the Red Sox, in theory, has more financial flexibility to “wait and see” with its prospects rather than try to achieve cost-certainty so soon.  Bradford observes the the Sox didn’t look into early extensions for the likes of Will Middlebrooks, Jackie Bradley or Xander Bogaerts, though since the latter two are represented by Scott Boras, those talks might’ve been a tough sell in any case.

Waiting even a year to extend Betts, however, could save the Red Sox some significant money.  If Betts plays as well in 2015 as Boston expects, he’ll be a similar position service time-wise as Christian Yelich is now; Yelich, of course, just agreed to a seven-year, $49.57MM extension with the Marlins.

Betts made his Major League debut last season, hitting .291/.368/.444 over 213 plate appearances.  He’s already under team control for the next six seasons, not being eligible for arbitration until after the 2017 campaign and not eligible for free agency until after 2020.  Looking at other recent extensions for players with under a year of service time, it seems likely that Boston would aim for at least five guaranteed years and at least two option years on the contract, which would extend their control over Betts though at least one of his free agent years.

For his part, the 22-year-old outfielder hasn’t yet put much thought into signing an extension.  “That’s a tough question. I don’t really know,” Betts said. “I think I would weigh my options and see what’s best for me with what’s best for the team. It’s kind of a mutual thing. It has to be fair and something that would give me some stability and not have to worry about it. It just depends on how things play out.”

Braves Release Jose Veras

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The Braves have released right-hander Jose Veras, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports (via Twitter).  The veteran reliever was in camp on a minor league deal with the team, signed in February.

Veras posted a 4.50 ERA, 9.8 K/9 and 1.85 K/BB rate in 46 combined innings with the Cubs and Astros last year, with most of the damage coming during a horrendous April (10 runs in 5 2/3 innings) that cost him his job as Chicago’s closer.  He hadn’t looked good in six Spring Training appearances for Atlanta, posting an 11.81 ERA and seven walks in 5 1/3 innings of work.

Despite Veras’ rough spring, his solid track record in recent years should make him a target for clubs looking to add some bullpen depth.  Veras was talking to at least four clubs during the offseason, including the Astros, so it seems likely that a market will exist for his services on another minor league deal.  It’s worth nothing that Veras is an Article XX(B) free agent, so in releasing him now, the Braves avoid the question of paying him a $100K retention bonus to keep him in the organization if he hadn’t made the Opening Day roster.

AL East Notes: Rays, Reimold, Castro

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Jacoby Ellsbury will be kept out of baseball activities for about a week after an MRI revealed a strained oblique, though Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including ESPN New York’s Wallace Matthews) that the injury is “really mild.”  Though the timing of the injury puts Ellsbury’s status for Opening Day in question, Girardi thinks Ellsbury will be able to play when the Yankees open the season on April 5.  Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • The Rays are already facing injury issues within their starting rotation, and president of baseball ops Matt Silverman told reporters (including Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune) that the team will explore external options.  “Those are conversations that will ramp up in the next couple of weeks as teams figure out what they have, what they need and where there may be some surplus,” Silverman said.  If the Rays did acquire another starter, however, Silverman said that pitcher would likely go to Triple-A, as the team will be using its minor league depth to bolster the big league rotation.
  • Nolan Reimold was offered minor league contracts by multiple teams but “there is no question [Baltimore] is where I wanted to end up,” he tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski.  The long-time Oriole is back with his original team after spending 2014 in the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks organizations, and Reimold said that Orioles VP of baseball operations Brady Anderson played a key role in his decision to return to the O’s.
  • Blue Jays righty Miguel Castro has looked so good in camp that, in the battle for an Opening Day bullpen role, “there’s not much doubt left that it’s Castro’s job to lose,” MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm writes.  Part of this has to due with a lack of relief depth for the Jays, though the 20-year-old Castro has impressed, allowing only two hits in 6 2/3 shutout innings over four outings.  Promoting Castro would be a bold move by Toronto, as Castro yet to pitch above the high-A ball level in his three pro seasons.

Quick Hits: Vlad, Olivera, Hudson, Soria

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Matthew Marrota of Baseball Essential conducted an interesting interview with big league great Vladimir Guerrero and his prospect son, Vlad Jr. If you don’t believe Marrota’s description of the younger Guerrero as being the spitting image of his father in virtually all respects, the video included in the post ought to convince you. The one difference, according to Vlad Sr.? “He has more power, a lot,” says Guerrero. “I was very thin. Other than that we are the same player. We both played like men since we were very young.”

  • Ben Badler of Baseball America tweets that he continues to hear positive reviews on infielder Hector Olivera from scouts. The latest word, per Badler, is that the Dodgers and Padres are the most likely teams to add the veteran Cuban free agent.
  • Diamondbacks righty Daniel Hudson says his arm feels good after throwing two clean frames today, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports. Hudson remains on track to contribute at the big league level this year after coming back from a second Tommy John surgery, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll work from the rotation or the pen.
  • The Tigers have not made any attempt to work out a longer-term arrangement with reliever Joakim Soria, Tony Paul of the Detroit Free Press tweets. As he notes, that is not really surprising: Soria struggled upon being dealt to Detroit at the deadline last year, and Paul says there is “some skepticism” within the organization as to how he’ll perform this year. Assuming that nothing changes between now and the fall, the 30-year-old righty will hit the open market.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Craig, Wieters, Bailey, Tanaka

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Here’s the latest from the American League East:

  • The Red Sox risk losing a chance to acquire Cole Hamels of the Phillies by waiting to deal for him, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. While it is too early to judge the team’s current rotation, results — and, perhaps more importantly, reviews from rival scouts — have been less than promising.
  • Meanwhile, the Red Sox are still “trying to find a trade partner” for first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig, per Cafardo. He notes that the club has assigned several “top pro scouts” to watch the Giants, Padres, and Cubs recently, though it is not entirely clear that all of those clubs could match up on Craig.
  • Orioles catcher Matt Wieters will be shut down for about a week after experiencing tendinitis in his surgically-repaired right elbow after his first stint behind the dish, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. Manage Buck Showalter said that he does not see the news as a setback, and indicated that the move was made as an exercise of caution. Wieters’ ability to return to his usually sturdy work with the mask on is critical not only to the team’s hopes this year, but also to his free agent case after the season.
  • Reliever Andrew Bailey made his return to competitive action today for the Yankees, with Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog tweeting that Bailey’s fastball sat in the low 90s in his inning of work. Meanwhile, Masahiro Tanaka continued to show strong form this spring, as Jennings further reports. If both of those arms can prove healthy and effective, the club’s run prevention efforts will obviously receive a significant boost. While Tanaka pitched much of last season before being shut down with a partial UCL tear, Bailey has not thrown a big league pitch since 2013 and represents pure upside for New York.

NL Notes: Yelich, Braves, Guerrero, Dodgers Pen

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MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro discusses the path that led the Marlins to link up with young outfielder Christian Yelich on a still-unofficial extension. After exploratory talks last year, the team waited to see how other spending scenarios would shake out — including, notably, James Shields — before revisiting discussions with several younger players. Negotiations with Yelich gained traction when the team made clear it would beat Anthony Rizzo’s seven-year, $41MM deal, says Frisaro, and proceeded quickly from that point. Frisaro will discuss that and other Marlins matters as a guest on tomorrow’s MLBTR Podcast.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • The Braves are in a better situation than many realize, MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince argues. Internally, Atlanta thinks it could have a winning record and may even stay in the Wild Card picture. And in the grander scheme, the organization has improved its financial flexibility and added some interesting, upper-level arms. “What we didn’t want to have happen,” said assistant GM John Coppolella, “is finish this year .500, and then we lose [Jason] Heyward and [Justin] Upton and get back Draft picks 35 and 36 and we’re like, ’What the heck just happened?’ Then we’d be in deep trouble for the next five or six years.” President of baseball operations John Hart explained things this way: “We’ve tried to walk down the parallel line to allow ourselves a chance to be competitive.”
  • Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly praised the defensive improvements shown by infielder Alex Guerrero, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports. Los Angeles has moved him all over the diamond in an effort to expand his versatility and see where he fits most comfortably. The club will either need to put Guerrero on the big league roster or take a big hit on his four-year, $28MM deal to move him.
  • After an offseason full of organizational change, the Dodgers bullpen still remains unsettled, Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. At the moment, the only sure things for the Opening Day roster, per Saxon, are J.P. Howell, Chris Hatcher, and Joel Peralta, with Kenley Jansen and possibly Brandon League out with injuries. Juan Nicasio and Dustin McGowan also seem good bets, though veteran non-roster invitees Mike Adams and Sergio Santos are battling. That latter duo could end up fighting for one spot, with the loser heading to the minors to start the year.

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