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Derek Holland To Be Shut Down For Four To Six Weeks

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Rangers starter Derek Holland will not pick up a baseball for the next four to six weeks after being diagnosed with a sub-scapular strain, the club told reporters including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).

Holland left his start today after the first inning, continuing a nearly unimaginable string of pitching injuries for the club. Fortunately for Holland, surgery is not on the table, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest tweets. He’ll undergo a scan in a month, with the course of action determined from that point.

Texas did just sign veteran lefty Wandy Rodriguez to provide an additional option, and he figures to be the most likely candidate to join the big league rotation in the short term. Of course, the club may prefer not to begin paying out Rodriguez’s available incentives (which could reach $1.8MM), though his salary will be at the league-minimum rate.

Holland was not the only casualty in today’s action. The Rangers also saw outfielders Shin-Soo Choo and Ryan Rua leave with injuries — back spasms and a sprained ankle, respectively — and could be left scrambling to fill in its lineup as well.

Minor Moves: Luis Merejo, James Harris

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game, all via Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (links to Twitter):

  • The Braves have released lefty Luis Merejo, who has been out for quite some time after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The 20-year-old international signee had “shown promise” in his debut in the Gulf Coast League back in 2012, says Eddy, and indeed he struck out 11.6 and walked just 2.0 batters per nine in his first 41 professional innings.
  • Outfielder James Harris, who had been released by the Rays, was signed by the Athletics. One of Tampa’s multiple sandwich picks back in 2011, Harris has slashed a meager .215/.291/.305 in 898 turns at bat in his career in the lower minors. He is still just 21 years of age, however.

Shortstop Alternatives For The Padres

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The Padres are said to be “scouring” the trade market for shortstop upgrades over internal options Clint Barmes and Alexi Amarista, and while significant trades at this stage of the season are indeed rare, the Sunday’s blockbuster acquisition of Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton from the Braves shows that GM A.J. Preller isn’t averse to making trades at any stage of the season.

Both Dave Cameron of Fangraphs and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports beat me to writing something on the subject, and each piece is well worth the read. However, there are a vast expanse of shortstop options available for the Padres to explore, and Rosenthal reports that the team seems likelier to add a low-cost upgrade than to make an extravagant splash for the likes of Elvis Andrus or Starlin Castro. (The Padres have concerns about Castro’s glove at shortstop, in fact, Rosenthal adds, and have not recently been in touch regarding Chicago’s middle infielders.)

Cameron discusses a wide range of shortstop possibilities for the Friars, concluding that an acquisition of Jean Segura might be the most logical upgrade for San Diego. While I agree that Segura makes some sense for the Padres, there are some additional low-cost names (from a financial standpoint, that is) that could  be replaced within their respective organizations.

Before delving into some speculative candidates, let’s first take a quick glance at the current options in San Diego. Barmes batted a decisively sub-par .245/.328/.294 last season, with six of his nine walks coming while batting eighth, in front of the pitcher. While he’s well-known as a plus defender, Barmes projects to be roughly a replacement level player when looking at the ZiPS and Steamer projection systems. Likewise, Amarista is a light-hitting infielder, who projects to be scarcely more than a replacement-level option. He’s younger than Barmes but is also just a .233/.278/.335 hitter in more than 1200 plate appearances. It’d be a surprise to see him contribute anything close to league-average production at the dish.

The Padres have a pair of serviceable gloves at shortstop, but neither comes with much in the way of offensive upside, and as such, their search for a shortstop upgrade isn’t unexpected.

All that said, let’s look at some options around the league that could serve as alternatives to Amarista and Barmes…

Luis Sardinas, Brewers: Preller of all people should be familiar with Sardinas, who was signed by the Rangers and developed into a promising prospect while Preller was still in the Texas front office. The jury is out on how much Sardinas will actually hit — he’s batted .290/.310/.374 in limited Triple-A action and didn’t fare much better in the Majors last year — but he’s regarded as a plus defender and has more upside at the plate than either incumbent option in San Diego. Sardinas is blocked in the Majors by Segura, who, as Cameron noted, could be a fit in San Diego himself, if the Brewers believe that Sardinas can adequately step into the everyday role at shortstop.

Javier Baez, Cubs: While much of the talk surrounding the Cubs and Padres has centered around Starlin Castro, one could make the case that Baez is a better fit. The Padres’ payroll undoubtedly has to be nearing its apex, and squeezing Castro’s sizable contract into the books may be too tall a task. Additionally, the Cubs are trying to contend this year, and jettisoning one of their core pieces and more proven hitters could be a lateral move, or even a step backwards, depending on what the Padres are willing to offer. Baez isn’t a definitive upgrade, but his light-tower power unequivocally gives him more upside than current options, and Preller’s Padres have an affinity for right-handed power bats. The Cubs could commit to Arismendy Alcantara at second base in the event of a Baez trade, though the Padres have parted with most of their upper-level pitching prospects, making a trade perhaps more difficult.

Jordy Mercer, Pirates: Moving Mercer now would likely accelerate that Pirates’ timeline for getting Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang regular at-bats at the big league level, and they may not be comfortable moving Mercer until seeing how Kang adjusts to the Major Leagues (admittedly, they may not be comfortable moving him even if Kang hits). However, Mercer is a solid enough hitter and fielder that the Padres could reasonably expect him to be worth a couple of wins per season, and they could send Amarista back to Pittsburgh along with any potential prospects to give the Bucs an immediate alternative in the event that Kang struggles. If the Padres offered a means of improving the Pirates’ 2015 roster, it’s at least plausible.

Eugenio Suarez, Reds: Acquired from the Tigers in the offseason, Suarez isn’t as gifted a defender as Barmes, but he but he held his own from a defensive standpoint last year in the eyes of Ultimate Zone Rating (Defensive Runs Saved was a bit more pessimistic). He comes with significantly more upside at the plate, however, as evidenced by a .278/.362/.415 batting line. ZiPS projects him at two wins, for those who are interested in projection systems, and the Reds, who stand to lose both Mike Leake and Johnny Cueto after the season, might be interested in adding some pitching to the upper levels of their system, even if it’s not an elite prospect with front-of-the-rotation upside.

Eduardo Escobar, Twins: Minnesota seems set to give Danny Santana every opportunity to prove that he’s their shortstop of the future, leaving Escobar as a perhaps overqualified utility infielder. The switch-hitting 26-year-old grades out as average or slightly better in the field over the course of a relatively small sample of 1053 innings, and he delivered a .275/.315/.406 batting line in the Twins’ pitcher-friendly home park last year (102 OPS+/wRC+). His offense may trend downward a bit, as he may not sustain his .336 BABIP, but he’s probably a better hitter than Amarista/Barmes and won’t sink the Padres in the field. Of course, the Padres could try to pry Santana away from the Twins as well, who could then use Escobar at shortstop until the more highly regarded Jorge Polanco is MLB-ready. But, I’d think the asking price on Santana would be higher, even if he clearly won’t repeat last year’s .405-BABIP-fueled offensive output.

Brad Miller/Chris Taylor, Mariners: Both Seattle shortstops were oft-mentioned as trade candidates throughout the offseason. For the time being, Miller’s getting a look at shortstop after Taylor fractured his wrist in Spring Training. Miller’s first half in 2014 was an unmitigated disaster (.204/.273/.330), but he quietly had a nice second half (.268/.330/.464), performed quite well in spring and has hit well in this season’s minuscule sample size. Miller struggles against lefties, so perhaps there’s some merit to the idea of a platoon, but either of these two would likely be an upgrade in San Diego (once Taylor is healthy, of course).

Obviously, there are far more names that could be suggested. The likes of Erisbel Arruebarrena and Deven Marrero come to mind, though each strong defender has drawn questions about his bat. Danny Espinosa has far more big league experience, but he offers a similar tale of plus defense and a questionable bat. Jonathan Villar has been displaced in Houston, but he grades out as a poor defender and hit his way into a demotion to Triple-A last year. Nick Franklin, now with Tampa following last year’s David Price trade, could be a consideration, but he’s injured at the moment and has also drawn questions about his glove at short.

The temptation for Padres fans, based on Preller’s track record, might to expect the moon and set their sights on Troy Tulowitzki and Starlin Castro, but the market does bear plenty of affordable options that are perhaps superfluous to their respective organizations. While that doesn’t mean they can be had for nothing, the presence of viable, starting-caliber alternatives within the organizations listed here makes a trade easier to envision.

Giants, Kevin Correia Agree To Minor League Deal

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APRIL 10: Heyman reports that Correia’s deal has an $850K base salary in the Majors as well as up to $800K worth of incentives (Twitter link). Correia also secured two opt-out dates on the contract — the first coming on June 1 and the second coming on July 1.

APRIL 7: The Giants have agreed to a Minor League contract with veteran right-hander (and former Giant) Kevin Correia, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Longtime Giants scribe Andrew Baggarly first reported that the two sides were nearing a Minors pact (Twitter links). Correia, who had been in camp with the Mariners but was released late in the spring, would head to extended Spring Training to ramp up his pitch count before heading to Triple-A, Baggarly adds.

Correia split the 2014 season between the Twins and Dodgers, struggling to one of the least effective seasons of his big league career. The All Bases Covered Sports Management client served as a durable source of innings for Minnesota in the first season of a two-year, $10MM contract in 2013, but last year he slumped to a 5.44 ERA, averaging just 4.6 strikeouts per nine innings against a solid average of 2.3 walks per nine. His previously above-average ground-ball rate dipped below the league average as well, checking in at 43.2 percent.

The Giants are in need of rotation depth, however, and Correia can provide that. He’ll give San Francisco an option to use as a spot starter or long man in the bullpen down the line. The Giants’ rotation depth has already been compromised by a strained flexor tendon that has landed Matt Cain on the 15-day DL and a minor back issue that has delayed Jake Peavy’s season debut. Chris Heston has already been recalled to make a spot start, while Ryan Vogelsong, who had been re-signed as a reliever, has been asked to step into the rotation in Peavy’s stead. Swingman Yusmeiro Petit, who set a Major League record for consecutive batters retired in 2014, could eventually factor into the rotation mix if injuries persist.

The 34-year-old Correia was a fourth-round pick of the Giants in 2002 and spent parts of the 2003-08 seasons with the Giants, working to a combined 4.59 ERA in 398 innings between the rotation and bullpen.

Royals Sign Troy Patton To Minor League Deal

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The Royals and left-hander Troy Patton agreed to a Minor League contract the day before the season began, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link). Patton won’t be available to begin the season, as he was hit with an 80-game suspension in November after testing positive for amphetamines. Patton had previously served a 25-game suspension for the same reason — Adderall usage without a therapeutic use exemption.

Suspensions aside, Patton was a largely serviceable reliever from 2011-13 with the Orioles, working to a 3.05 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 45.8 percent ground-ball rate. Baltimore flipped Patton to the Padres in exchange for catcher Nick Hundley last year, however, and he struggled in a small, 14-inning sample of work between the two clubs, yielding eight runs on 16 hits (two homers) and five walks. Overall, Patton sports an aesthetically pleasing 3.25 ERA and has held lefties to a weak batting line of just .243/.284/.349. FIP and xFIP both feel his ERA should be closer to 3.90, while SIERA pegs him at 3.51.

At 29 years of age, Patton still has some relative youth on his side, and he’ll provide the Royals with some depth at an area of need once his suspension is complete. Kansas City lost left-handed reliever Tim Collins for the season due to Tommy John surgery, so Patton could conceivably work his way into a bullpen role later in the year. And, with 4.138 years of big league service, he could be controlled via arbitration on the perhaps unlikely chance that he emerges as a viable contributor.

Heyman’s Latest: Kimbrel, Howard, Perez, Salty, Soriano, Cueto

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has penned a lengthy column that’s chock full of Hot Stove related items as the season gets underway. First and foremost, he chronicles the Braves’ trade of Craig Kimbrel at length. Heyman spoke to president of baseball ops John Hart, who candidly told Heyman that the team took a hard line of refusing to trade Kimbrel unless Melvin Upton Jr. was involved in the deal. “We were not going to separate Kimbrel and trade him by himself,” Hart told Heyman. Atlanta reached out to the Cubs, Astros, Dodgers and Padres, among others, this winter in an effort to move Upton, and despite the Dodgers’ bullpen needs, they weren’t willing to add Upton’s contract to that of Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier, having already shed Matt Kemp’s contract. The Padres trade didn’t heat up until about four days before it was agreed upon, Heyman writes, with Hart even remaining in Orlando to finish negotiations rather than fly with the team to Miami at the end of Spring Training. Hart credited assistant GM John Coppolella for doing much of the legwork and his creativity in getting the trade finalized.

More highlights from Heyman’s article (though the entire piece is well worth your time)…

  • While some reports late in Spring Training indicated that the Phillies would be willing to eat up to $50MM of the remaining $60MM on Ryan Howard’s contract, two GMs tell Heyman they hadn’t heard that figure. One of those GMs was of the belief that the Phillies’ top offer was to pay about $35MM, which, Heyman speculates, may have been a large reason that the Royals opted to sign Kendrys Morales for two years and $17MM rather than pursue a Howard trade.
  • Speaking of the Royals, Heyman hears that the team is open to pursuing a second extension with catcher Salvador Perez and would be happy to make him a Royal for life. Heyman notes that some in the organization even have some sympathy for Perez, whose five-year, $7MM contract is widely considered the most team-friendly deal in all of baseball. Perez’s deal contains three startlingly low club options valued at $3.75MM, $5MM and $6MM for the 2017-19 seasons — two of which would have been free-agent seasons beginning at the age of 28.
  • The Marlins tried to trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia this winter after the catcher’s first season on a three-year, $21MM pact was a struggle, but his salary was too great a deterrent. The Marlins presumably feel that top prospect J.T. Realmuto could step into the catcher’s role in the not-too-distant future.
  • The Tigers are believed to be at least monitoring Rafael Soriano’s workouts at the Boras Sports Training Institute in Miami, per Heyman. However, Soriano has seen his stock suffer not only due to ineffective innings late int he 2014 season but also due to perceptions about his personality and negative clubhouse impact. At least one club that was taking a hard look at late-inning relievers ruled out Soriano entirely due to that perception, Heyman reports.
  • The Reds felt the odds of extending Johnny Cueto prior to Opening Day were so slim that it’s not even clear if they made a formal offer, writes Heyman. Cueto is seeking a figure in the range of $200MM following Max Scherzer’s mammoth contract this offseason, he adds. Heyman also opines that David Price would probably be selling himself short if he took much less than $200MM from the Tigers at this point as well.
  • Anecdotally, Heyman tells the story of how Cody Ross’ career began when he was sold to the Marlins from the Reds in exchange for “cash considerations” of precisely one dollar. Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky spoke to Heyman about the deal, explaining that they didn’t have room on the Cincinnati roster back in ’06 but genuinely wanted to get Ross into the best possible position to have a chance at a Major League roster spot. Ross has gone on to earn more than $52MM in the game of baseball.

AL Central Notes: Nolasco, May, Sands, Royals, Tigers

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Following yesterday’s MRI, the Twins will place right-hander Ricky Nolasco on the disabled list and recall prospect Trevor May to join the rotation, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. After signing a four-year, $49MM contract in the 2013-14 offseason, Nolasco’s first season was marred by an elbow injury that limited his time on the field and led to an ERA well north of 5.00. He improved upon returning from the DL, so both he and the team hoped to leave last season’s struggles in the past. Unfortunately, his elbow flared up again in an ugly first start, leading to the forthcoming decision to officially place him back on the DL. May, ranked as one of Minnesota’s best prospects by Baseball America (No. 9), MLB.com (No. 11) and Fangraphs (No. 9), notched an excellent 2.85 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 98 Triple-A innings last year. He was hit hard in his first taste of MLB action, registering a ghastly 7.88 ERA, but a sky-high .377 BABIP contributed heavily to those troubles. One would think that this could be an opportunity for May to seize a rotation spot for the long run if he performs well out of the gate.

Here’s more from the AL Central…

  • The Indians announced today that they’ve purchased the contract of first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands, optioned Austin Adams to the Minors and transferred Josh Tomlin to the 60-day DL. The addition of Sands may not be a long-term maneuver, however, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets that Sands will serve as outfield insurance while Michael Brantley deals with a back issue. (Brantley is in the lineup for today’s home opener, though.)
  • In a Royals mailbag, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star notes that while the team’s bullpen is excellent, its composition isn’t exactly ideal. The only Royals relievers with options remaining are Greg Holland, Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera. The Royals lack the flexibility to option a lesser reliever to the Minors without first exposing them to waivers, thereby eliminating the possibility of making roster moves to bring in a fresh arm when necessary. McCullough opines, though, that a trade won’t be necessary upon Luke Hochevar’s activation from the disabled list. McCullough also handicaps future rotation options and discusses Mike Moustakas’ outlook in the piece.
  • Joakim Soria is better equipped to be the Tigers’ closer than Joe Nathan, writes MLive.com’s James Schmehl, and while Soria will indeed own the ninth inning while Nathan is on the disabled list, that transition in no way fixes the Detroit ’pen, he opines. The Tigers lack a reliable option to step into the eighth inning on a consistent basis, and the move of Soria to the ninth inning only further exemplifies what a thin relief corps Detroit has on its hands. Manager Brad Ausmus called the bullpen “a little bit of a concern” but said he only expects Nathan to be sidelined for a few weeks. All this said, I doubt there’d be much surprise around the game if the Tigers were yet again seeking bullpen help on the trade market this season.

Projected Super Two Cutoff

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The projected cutoff for players to achieve “Super Two” status this year will be two years, 140 days of Major League service time (commonly written as 2.140), according to Ryan Galla of CAA Baseball (Twitter link). Super Two status can have significant financial implications for teams and players, but before we delve into which players stand to benefit and which will be harmed by this year’s projected cutoff, here’s a quick refresher for those who have forgotten or are unfamiliar with the Super Two distinction.

The most common way for MLB players to become eligible for arbitration is simply to accrue three years of Major League service time. A full year of Major League service is defined as spending 172 days on a 25-man roster or on the Major League disabled list.

However, the top 22 percent of each year’s class of players with between two and three years of service time that also spend at least 86 days (half a year of MLB service) on a 25-man roster or on the Major League DL are also deemed eligible and referred to as “Super Two” players. These players will be eligible for arbitration prior to reaching their third year of service and commonly go through the arbitration process four times, as opposed to the standard three.

Among the current Major League players that would qualify for this distinction upon collecting a full year of service in 2015 are Dan Jennings (1.171 years of service), George Kontos (1.171), Justin Grimm (1.170), Dan Otero (1.169), David Lough (1.169), Avisail Garcia (1.167), Jurickson Profar (1.167), Didi Gregorius (1.159), Danny Farquhar (1.158), Nolan Arenado (1.155), Jean Machi (1.154), Seth Maness (1.154), Marcell Ozuna (1.153), Scott Van Slyke (1.151), Tyler Thornburg (1.146), Evan Scribner (1.142) and Alex Torres (1.141). It remains possible that not all of the names listed here will accrue the necessary service time to cross the 2.140 threshold, so not all of these names are locks to receive Super Two status.

There are also a number of players who could be recalled from the Minor Leagues and achieve Super Two distinction, presuming they’re on a roster for the required 86-plus days. Brandon Barnes (2.058), Steve Clevenger (2.058), Chris Parmelee (2.058) and Scott Diamond (1.161) are just a few examples of such players that began the season in the Minor Leagues but could end up as Super Two players. (Of course, with enough service time, the players with two-plus years could also hit three years of MLB service, bringing them a year closer to free agency and reducing the minimum number of trips through arbitration to three.)

This year’s cutoff projects to be a bit higher than it has been in recent years:

  • 2014: 2.133
  • 2013: 2.122
  • 2012: 2.140
  • 2011: 2.146
  • 2010: 2.122
  • 2009: 2.139

If the 2.140 cutoff holds, a few players that looked likely to end up as Super Twos will instead fall just shy of eligibility. T.J. McFarland (1.138), Zach Putnam (1.135), Oswaldo Arcia (1.132), Kole Calhoun (1.130), Anthony Rendon (1.130) and, to a lesser extent, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Alex Wood (1.123) all stood a chance at reaching Super Two status based on previous cutoffs but appear to be on the outside looking in at this point.

It should also be noted, though, that last year’s April projection of 2.128 wound up falling a bit shy of the actual 2.133 cutoff, leaving Drew Hutchison, Eduardo Escobar and D.J. LeMahieu worse for the wear, financially speaking. Of the players currently on the bubble, Torres would be the most susceptible to missing in this fashion. We’ll have a clearer picture of the firm cutoff date later in the year, as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reported the 1.133 figure late last September.

One player of particular note in all of this is Tampa’s Chris Archer. While Archer is already signed to a long-term deal, his contract calls for different base salaries depending on whether or not he’d have otherwise qualified as a Super Two. It seems like a virtual lock that he’d have qualified at this point (and that was the expectation all along), as Archer entered the season with 1.156 days of service. Archer’s deal guaranteed him $20MM at least, but the guarantee is $25.5MM if he would otherwise qualify for Super Two status. Archer earns $1MM in 2015 regardless, but he will earn $2.75MM in 2016 (as opposed to $1MM), $4.75MM in 2017 (vs. $3MM), $6.25MM in 2018 (vs. $4.75MM) and $7.5MM in 2019 (vs. $7MM) thanks to his presumed Super Two status. His $9MM and $11MM club options for the 2020 and 2021 seasons remain unchanged.

Phillies Notes: Hamels, Giles, O’Sullivan, Roster

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines that it’s time for the Phillies to accept that they won’t receive Mookie Betts, Blake Swihart or a prospect of that ilk (e.g. Corey Seager, Addison Russell) in exchange for ace Cole Hamels. He feels the team should restart talks with the Red Sox and focus on the slew of near-MLB-ready talent they have beyond those top two names, including Garin Cecchini, Deven Marrero, Henry Owens, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brian Johnson. While one could certainly construct an appealing package of those prospects, I’ll respectfully disagree with Rosenthal’s assertion that the Phillies should now drop their demands on Hamels. He struggled on Opening Day, but there’s little reason to expect those woes to continue, unless the team feels that there’s a risk for injury, which would complicate trade discussions in an entirely different fashion. A summer trade of Hamels could create more suitors, and if the demand for aces outweighs the supply — as is almost always the case — it’s easy to envision a team going beyond its current comfort zone at that time. As my colleague Jeff Todd has previously pointed out, the Phillies are in far less of a “must-trade” situation with Hamels than the Rays were with David Price, for example. Philadelphia has the resources to wait and see, unlike smaller-market teams that are forced to make a deal for fear of injury or rapid decline.

Here are some more notes on the Phillies…

  • Setup man Ken Giles was flat out dominant as a rookie in 2014, but he was plagued by back tightness in spring and struggled in his debut, showing diminished velocity. Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to skipper Ryne Sandberg about the issue, and Sandberg said that Giles feels the lost velocity was due to a mechanical issue and not to anything physical. As Kaplan points out, Giles’ velocity topped out at 96.6 mph in his shaky debut — a far cry from his 101 mph peak and 98 mph average fastball from last season. Kaplan adds that Giles’ erratic command may be a bigger issue, as the presumed closer-in-waiting struggled with walks in the Minors but seemed to eliminate the problem in last year’s four-month big league debut.
  • Kaplan also notes that right-hander Sean O’Sullivan has been tabbed as Sunday’s starter for the Phils, but he’s not on the 40-man roster, so a 40-man move is forthcoming. Both Cliff Lee and Mario Hollands are already on the 60-day disabled list, so transferring either of them is not an option. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com wrote last night that O’Sullivan is essentially a placeholder until righty Chad Billingsley’s pitch count is built up to around 100. Billingsley will throw 50 or so pitches tonight, per Salisbury, and could be ready for the big league rotation late this month or early in May. Billingsley spoke optimistically about his health and recovery from two elbow surgeries when asked by Salisbury.
  • The Phillies’ current roster serves as a case study in the dangers of committing to a core for too long, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Britton looks not only at the club’s decision to extend Ryan Howard too long but also the expensive forays into aging free agents and the trade of young players such as Michael Bourn, Carlos Carrasco and Travis d’Arnaud. Britton acknowledges that few of the prospects traded by Philadelphia have panned out, but the exodus of young players has left the Phillies with few viable replacement options, which may have played a role in their decision to extend veterans like Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley rather than trade them. (Then again, the Phils did nab a pair of solid pitching prospects for Rollins in the end, which has to be counted as a point in their favor.)

$60K MLB Contest At DraftKings

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Get in on the action by taking part in an exciting fantasy baseball contest from DraftKings! Join now for a chance to be one of the 4,625 top finishers who will get a piece of the $60K prize pool. Better yet, you can come away with a $4K top prize. It’s only $3 to enter, or you can take part for free if you make your first deposit. Click here to enter!

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The contest goes live tomorrow evening — Friday, April 10th — at 7:05pm EST, so get your selections made right now! After two duds in my last two contests, I’m hoping for a turnaround tomorrow:

04.010.2015 DraftKings

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