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Archives for August 2015

NL Notes: Lamb, Giants, Aoki, Reyes

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Just-acquired lefty John Lamb will make his big league debut for the Reds tomorrow, the club announced. Lamb, 25, becomes the first player acquired in the Johnny Cueto deal to see the Cincinnati roster. The former top-100 prospect struggled to regain his form after Tommy John surgery, but had a sturdy 2014 and has been excellent thus far in 2015. Over 111 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year, he owns a 2.67 ERA with 9.5 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9.

  • The Giants have topped the luxury tax limits with their 2015 payroll, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. San Francisco is nevertheless willing to tack on obligations to add Chase Utley (or, presumably, another option). Indeed, the team had already gone over $189MM when it dealt for Mike Leake. Because it’s the first time the Giants have cracked that ceiling, they will owe only a 17.5% tax on the overage, and are expected to avoid any such payments next season.
  • With his move to the DL, Giants outfielder Nori Aoki no longer has a realistic chance to reach 550 plate appearances, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News notes on Twitter. That means that his $5.5MM option for next season will lie solely in the club’s hands. It would’ve become a mutual option had Aoki reached the threshold.
  • Cardinals righty Alex Reyes has opened a lot of eyes inside and outside the organization, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. The 20-year-old just earned a promotion to Double-A after dominating the High-A level with a huge fastball and excellent breaking ball, putting up a 2.26 ERA with 13.6 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings. GM John Mozeliak said that he has actually not received many trade inquiries on Reyes, since other clubs seem to realize that the organization has no intentions of moving the youngster. Reyes shot up to 20th on MLB.com’s most recent prospect rankings based on his huge upside and encouraging results, though he still has plenty of polishing ahead of him.

AL Notes: Tigers, Closers, Bird, Gordon

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MLive.com’s Chris Iott takes an extended look at the Tigers’ payroll situation going forward, explaining that the team will probably have over $130MM on the books even before addressing numerous still-undetermined roster spots. (MLBTR provided Iott with some hypothetical arbitration raises for players such as J.D. Martinez and Jose Iglesias. If Martinez finishes the season at his current production rate, he could be in line for nearly a $5MM salary bump.) Newly-minted GM Al Avila will face challenges even if the team spends at or past the $170MM+ Opening Day payroll it trotted out to start 2015, Iott writes, as the team has a host of needs if it hopes to put a legitimate contender on the field. He reasons that one or two starters, multiple bullpen pieces, a corner outfielder, and possibly a reserve backstop may need to be acquired between now and the start of the 2016 campaign.

  • One more immediate issue for the Tigers that could have future ramifications is the resolution of the team’s closer role. As George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press reports, manager Brad Ausmus has not yet committed to either Alex Wilson or Bruce Rondon, both of whom have recently converted two save opportunities. Ausmus says that Rondon may receive “some more opportunities” in the ninth, adding that “Wilson is going to pitch in the back end somewhere.” Regardless of their particular roles, Detroit will surely hope that the pair can make up a reliable one-two punch at the back of the pen. Neither will qualify for arbitration until 2017, making them cheap options for the organization as it approaches an interesting offseason.
  • The Yankees brought up promising young first baseman Greg Bird today, as Jack Curry of the YES Network reported on Twitter. Bird, 22, has put up a .277/.356/.469 slash with 12 home runs over 362 plate appearances. MLB.com currently rates him as the organization’s fourth overall prospect.
  • Royals outfielder Alex Gordon expects to begin a rehab assignment “shortly,” he tells MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link). Kansas City has been deploying trade deadline acquisition Ben Zobrist in left, but will have an opportunity to move him around the corner outfield and infield once Gordon goes back to his customary position. With an eleven-game division lead, however, the team will surely make sure that Gordon is at full health before working him back.

Giants, Others Have Made Offers To Phillies For Chase Utley

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TODAY, 9:55pm: Other clubs have also made offers to the Phillies for Utley, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports, though he notes that it does not appear any trade is imminent. It’s not yet known which other specific clubs have formally offered up packages for the second baseman.

8:21pm: San Francisco has made an offer for Utley and is “just waiting to hear” whether it will be accepted, GM Bobby Evans tells Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Evans said that he doubts a deal will be completed tonight.

We heard earlier this evening that Utley wants certain assurances regarding playing time before he’ll waive his no-trade rights. It’s not clear what Utley is seeking or what the Giants would be willing to do in that regard, though Evans has seemingly suggested that he is looking more for a part-time addition.

YESTERDAY: The Phillies and Giants are discussing a trade that would send Chase Utley to San Francisco, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi reports (on Twitter).  The two teams are discussing specific names of prospects, which is an indication that the talks are at least fairly advanced.

Utley cleared waivers yesterday, and can now be freely traded to any club he wishes, provided he okays the move by waiving his no-trade protection.  It has been suggested that Utley could be particularly open to coming to San Francisco given that his family’s offseason home is in the Bay Area, not to mention the more obvious fact that he’d be joining the defending World Series champions in a pennant race.

The Giants’ interest in Utley surfaced when Joe Panik hit the DL with an ongoing back problem.  Utley could fill in at second and then, once Panik returns, shift into either a bench role or a part-time role at first base (though since both Utley and Brandon Belt are left-handed hitters, it wouldn’t be a perfect fit).

While a very small sample size, Utley has hit .412/.389/.588 over 18 plate appearances since his return from the disabled list.  Despite the very poor numbers Utley posted over the season’s first few months, the longtime Phillie’s apparent health and his career track record has generated trade interest from the Giants, Yankees, Cubs and Angels.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/13/15

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Righty Wilfredo Boscan has accepted his outright assignment with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, as he started for the club tonight. MLBTR’s Zach Links reported yesterday that Boscan had yet to decide whether to elect free agency, but he evidently turned down the chance to hit the open market. The 25-year-old has had a nice season in his first year with the Pittsburgh organization, putting up 94 2/3 innings of 3.33 ERA ball coming into today’s action. (That earned run average is on its way down as we speak: Boscan has thrown five scoreless frames as of publishing this post.)

C.J. Wilson To Undergo Season-Ending Elbow Surgery

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As expected, Angels starter C.J. Wilson has decided to undergo elbow surgery and will miss the rest of the season, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. Wilson is expected to be ready for the spring.

Wilson was reportedly weighing whether or not to go under the knife after dealing with multiple bone spurs all season long. He’s previously had clean-up operations with good results, and was able to toss over two hundred innings in 2013 after having bone spurs removed over the prior offseason.

Wilson topped that inning mark in four straight seasons, including his first two with the Angels, but fell shy last year and will do so again in 2015. He’ll wrap up his season with 132 frames of 3.89 ERA pitching, with 7.5 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9. The Halos owe Wilson $20MM next year, the final season of his contract.

At this point, it’s no surprise to the Angels that they’ll be without Wilson, and an outside addition seems unlikely. But it certainly hurts to lose depth, and the injury (plus his large salary) will make it rather difficult for the team to consider trading Wilson over the winter.

Chase Utley Seeks Playing-Time Assurance To Waive No-Trade

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Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has drawn interest on the trade market after clearing revocable waivers, making him eligible to be dealt to any team. But he does possess full no-trade protection by way of ten-and-five rights, and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports that Utley will only authorize a deal if he receives certain assurances of playing time. (Links to Twitter.)

In part, it seems, that preference is motivated by the fact that Utley is planning to play in 2016, per the report. It’s likely that he’ll be looking for a new deal as a free agent. Utley’s deal includes a vesting option for next year, but he will almost certainly not meet the plate appearance threshold required for the option to vest. And it’s unlikely that Philadelphia or an acquiring team will pick up the club option (which has a floating value depending upon how much time he spends on the DL).

With a $2MM buyout on next year’s option and about $4.5MM to go the rest of the way in 2015, it’s expected that the Phillies will need to pay down a good portion of the contract to facilitate a trade. Of course, that’s strongly implied by the fact that Utley was not claimed on waivers.

Several clubs are reportedly interested in the veteran second baseman, who has turned things on at the plate since coming off the DL. Olney notes that the Cubs have had conversations about Utley with the Phils for some time. And he observes that Chicago would conceivably be able to slot Utley into a regular role, though one wonders whether the team would still prefer some kind of time-share. (It’s not clear exactly what kind of situation would hold appeal to the 36-year-old.)

The Giants, meanwhile, are also interested, but may have a harder time promising playing time. Incumbent Joe Panik is expected to return from the DL before the end of the regular season. While acknowledging his team’s interest, San Francisco GM Bobby Evans noted that it may be difficult to add a player of Utley’s stature for part-time work, as Carl Seward of the Bay Area News Group tweeted yesterday, seemingly hinting at the issue raised by Olney.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams polled readers earlier today about Utley’s likely destination. You can head over to the poll to participate.

AL West Notes: Martinez, Wilson, Astros, Davis

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The Rangers optioned right-hander Nick Martinez to Triple-A following yesterday’s poor outing versus the Twins, and as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News points out, it looks like the option will be a costly one for Martinez. The 25-year-old has already spent 18 days in the minors this season, and barring a quick recall due to an injury, his collective time at the Triple-A level will likely be large enough to prevent him from accruing a full year of service time, thus delaying his free agency by a season. However, as Grant stresses, this isn’t an instance of a team manipulating service time. Rather, Martinez’s poor outing exhausted the bullpen yesterday and eliminated the possibility of working with a short relief corps for a few days. Martinez’s recent play hasn’t done him any favors, either; he’s pitched to a 6.25 ERA over his previous 11 outings after a brilliant start to the season.

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • There’s been no final decision made on whether or not Angels lefty C.J. Wilson will undergo season-ending surgery, writes MLB.com’s Greg Garno. Wilson had a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache recently, and while the meeting revealed nothing new, per manager Mike Scioscia, the decision is solely up to Wilson. “Once he gets all the information, I’m sure we’ll get the results from it and see what C.J.’s decision is,” said Scioscia. The Angels are currently waiting for Wilson to “digest” all of the info and make the call, according to Scioscia. Wilson reportedly has eight bone spurs in his elbow which will need to be surgically removed at some point.
  • The Astros have had a rough stretch of games on the road, but GM Jeff Luhnow tells the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich that he’s confident due to the quality of pitching he’s received as well as the quality of upper-level players who will join the team in September. The Astros currently have a logjam of corner/DH options that will be magnified by the return of George Springer. As Drellich writes, though, it’s difficult to justify the loss of a player like Chris Carter for little to no return (that is, by way of DFA or waiver claim) when expanded rosters are just under two weeks away.
  • Alex Hall of Athletics Nation makes a case for the A’s to cut ties with Ike Davis sooner rather than later. As Hall notes, Davis hasn’t hit since coming off the DL in May, and his $3.8MM salary figures to increase even after a down season simply due to the nature of the arbitration process. Davis only has a year of team control remaining anyhow, so he’s not likely to be a long-term piece in Oakland, and the A’s could do well to replace him with a cheaper set of lottery tickets in 2016 as opposed to paying him north of $4MM. Davis was already acquired for very little last offseason, Hall points out, and a season marred by injury and more poor performance at the plate will sap him of any meaningful trade value this winter. Releasing him now would give Davis a chance to latch on with a contending team that wants to roll the dice on his previous success in the season’s final six weeks, which would be beneficial to both Davis and the A’s, Hall concludes.

Marlins Remain Open To Dealing Martin Prado

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Though the non-waiver trade deadline came and passed with Martin Prado remaining in a Marlins uniform, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that the Miami front office is still “certainly open” to trading Prado. However, Miami’s price tag on the veteran appears to remain exorbitant, as Frisaro notes that interested teams would have to overpay in order to acquire him.

Miami clearly places a huge value on Prado’s leadership and clubhouse presence, as the common refrain for a long time leading up to the non-waiver deadline was that the Marlins weren’t interested in trading him at all. Shortly before the deadline, it was reported that the Fish would be open to dealing Prado for a “big return,” and that’s apparently still the case (despite his lackluster offense since that report).

While Prado is a solid player, to be sure, it’s ambitious to seek a significant return. At 31 years old (32 in October), he’s on the wrong side of his prime. He’s also not particularly cheap, nor has he been all that productive in 2015. Prado is earning $11MM this season and next, although the Yankees are paying $3MM of that sum each year as part of the offseason trade that sent Prado to Miami and Nathan Eovaldi to New York.

Prado is hitting .270/.315/.353 on the season, and while some of the poor power numbers can be attributed to his Yellowstone-esque home environment(only AT&T Park and Kauffman Stadium have suppressed right-handed home runs more than Marlins Park), his park-adjusted batting line is still about 15 percent below the league average, per metrics like OPS+ and wRC+. An elite shortstop with that bat might warrant a fairly sizable return, but third base and even second base typically contribute more offensive output than Prado has in 2015.

It’s unclear whether or not Prado has already been run through waivers, but if he’s claimed on waivers, that would seem to further reduce the chances of a team striking a deal for him, as the Marlins would lose the benefit of competition in their trade efforts. Frisaro speculatively lists the Yankees as a fit for Prado, and while the fit makes sense, Hal Steinbrenner said yesterday that he was against trading the organization’s top prospects, and that would seemingly be the price to acquire Prado.

There’s no doubt that Prado would improve a large number of contending teams; he has a history of solid, albeit unspectacular offense to go along with defensive versatility and an excellent reputation as a teammate. All of these components make him a desirable piece to other teams, but not necessarily one for which an opposing club will pay a premium in a trade. If the Marlins weren’t overwhelmed by an offer prior to July 31, it’s tough to envision that scenario playing out in August.

Front Office Notes: Dombrowski, Chernoff, Avila, Tigers

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There’s been plenty of front office turnover this summer, with Dave Dombrowski’s departure from the Tigers’ front office, the beginning of Doug Melvin’s transition to an advisory role with the Brewers and the abrupt resignation of Angels GM Jerry Dipoto (who has since taken a temporary consulting position with the Red Sox).

Here’s the latest buzz pertaining to executives around the league…

  • The Nationals, Blue Jays and Mariners appear to be the most likely landing spots for Dombrowski, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The Blue Jays and Mariners were immediately speculated upon landing spots, as Toronto has long been on the hunt for a president to replace the retiring Paul Beeston, and Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik’s job security has been questioned in the wake of a disappointing season for the Mariners. The Nationals don’t have an immediate need and seem a somewhat curious fit, given the fact that the well-respected Mike Rizzo currently holds the president of baseball operations title in D.C. The combination of Rizzo and Dombrowski, though, would give Washington a pair of very accomplished baseball minds atop their decision-making pyramid, if the two were to work together.
  • “I’ve had a number of people tell me today they think [Indians assistant GM Mike] Chernoff will be the one to beat,” Peter Gammons replied to the MLB Network’s Chris Russo yesterday when asked who will be the new GM of the Brewers (video link, with Brewers talk beginning at about the 4:00 mark). Gammons also lists Red Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen as a possibility and notes that he believes Melvin could very well remain on board with the Brewers as a club president.
  • New Tigers GM Al Avila spoke at length with Tony Paul of the Detroit News about his new position. While Avila didn’t want to get too in-depth about the differences between him and his friend/predecessor, Dombrowski, he did tell Paul that the Tigers’ front office will take more of an analytical approach to roster construction. “One thing I will bring different is expanded analytics,” said Avila. “I will tell you that I feel that we have a ways to go to catch up with the industry. We have been making some strides, but we’ll fast-forward a little bit and add to that department. You’ll see a big difference there.” However, Avila also stressed the importance of maintaining a balance between traditional scouting and the statistical component of player analysis. As Paul notes, the presence of J.D. Martinez on the Tigers can be chalked up to traditional scouting, and Avila played a huge role in bringing Martinez to Detroit.
  • Lastly, the Tigers announced three more front office promotions earlier this week. Major League scout Dave Littlefield (the former GM of the Pirates) has been promoted to vice president of player development. Scott Reid has been bumped from special assistant to senior advisor, and Dick Egan is now a special assistant to the executive VP and general manager.

Poll: Trading Chase Utley

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The Chase Utley rumors have been fairly plentiful since he returned from the disabled list last weekend. The longtime Phillies second baseman was put on revocable trade waivers almost immediately, and he cleared earlier this week, making him eligible to be traded to any team.

The Giants are said to be in talks for Utley and even discussing specific prospect names that would head back from San Francisco, and he’s also been connected to the Cubs, Dodgers and Yankees, each of which has had various second base issues. The Giants are currently without Joe Panik, who won’t even begin baseball activities until next week. The Cubs have moved Addison Russell to shortstop and seem likely to keep him there, but they have both Starlin Castro and Chris Coghlan to handle second base (though neither’s played there at all in recent seasons). The Dodgers recently lost Howie Kendrick to the disabled list and have filled his roster spot with the promising but inexperienced Jose Peraza for now. And the Yankees have struggled at second base all season, with Stephen Drew receiving the bulk of playing time at the position.

Utley, once one of the most consistently potent bats in the National League, has faded significantly in 2015, though injuries have played a part to some extent. He’s appeared in five games since returning last Friday and hit in all five, and he’ll have the rest of the month to convince interested teams that he’s healthy (though a trade may not take that long to come to fruition). Utley’s $15MM vesting option is a non-factor now, as he should fall comfortably shy of the 500 plate appearances required to trigger that hefty payday even if he were to jump into an everyday role. Instead, the option will be valued between $5-11MM and come with a $2MM buyout. He has about $4.43MM in remaining salary plus a $2MM buyout on that option, so the Phillies will have to kick in some money in order to facilitate a deal, but they’ve been previously willing to do so.

All of that said, let’s open this one up for public debate (App users, you can cast your votes here)…

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