Twins prospect Max Kepler has progressed greatly since signing out of Germany as a teenager, as Parker Hageman of TwinsDaily.com writes in an interesting look at the 22-year-old. “His [development] was limited out of Germany,” said VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff. “Played a lot more soccer games than he did baseball games before he was signed. It takes patience and we have a lot of that in our organization, thankfully.” Kepler, who joined the Minnesota organization for a $800K bonus, is one of an increasingly promising group of European prospects who have come to North American baseball in recent years. He has been outstanding in his first run at the Double-A level, slashing .334/.420/.558 with nine home runs and 16 stolen bases over 431 plate appearances.
If you’re interested in the topic of European baseball, be sure to keep an eye out for today’s MLBTR podcast, which discusses it extensively. In the meantime, here are a few more stray notes from around the league:
- Whatever the Red Sox do with Hanley Ramirez the rest of the way in 2015, opines John Tomase of WEEI.com, finding him a new home this winter should be at the top of the to-do list of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Ramirez has had a deleterious effect throughout the organization, Tomase argues, suggesting that relying on the veteran at first carries too much risk. Yesterday, we polled MLBTR readers on the matter. The current results: a virtual dead heat between “move him to first” and “deal him away.”
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at the Giants’ upcoming offseason bullpen questions. It could be time for the club to say goodbye to southpaw Jeremy Affeldt, he writes. The 36-year-old has struggled this year, the last of a three-year, $18MM contract he inked to return to San Francisco. Closer Santiago Casilla, meanwhile, can be brought back with a $5.5MM option or cut loose through a $1MM buyout. While it’s an open question whether he should be given the ninth inning, says Schulman, Casilla still seems likely to be retained at that price.
It looks as if the bullpen for the Giants is set for next year. Casilla, Romo, Strickland, Kontos, Lopez, Osich, and an open spot. If they could add a legit closer, great, but that isn’t their style. Strickland is likely the next to get a shot to close. The 1 open spot could go to Derek Law, or someone who could be a long man like Ty Blach or Clayton Blackburn. They need to save money wherever they can in order to get another bat.
Jeremy Affeldt is one of my favorite Giants. Outspending guy, gives to charities that I really like, but has also been outstanding, aside from this year.
I would love to see the Giants bring him back if the price is right, but I completely understand if they don’t… I’ll just have to cheer for him while also cheering for SF… hopefully he goes to an AL team so he doesn’t have to face SF as often, thus making me conflicted.
I’d also be interested to see Osich in a closer role, just to see what he’s capable of.
Not buying the “Hanley must go” argument on the grounds that he’s some sort of team cancer. So far, he’s seemed pretty amicable to first base, just as he never voiced any concerns over the move to left.
Yes, it’s clear he didn’t try hard enough, but that reflects poorly on Farrell, Cherington, Lucchino, Ortiz, Pedroia, and all the other leaders on the ream as well.
Why do baseball writers accept this world where once you hand a guy a big money contract, he’s allowed to do whatever he pleases? Get fat and pick dandelions in the outfield. Leadership isn’t all about passionate speeches and rally thongs. It’s about telling a guy when he needs to grow up and take responsibility. Shipping him somewhere else is just lazy.
“Leadership isn’t all about passionate speeches and rally thongs.”
Sticking with Giant-centric examples (Hunter Pence for the speeches and Aubrey Huff for the thong), Buster Posey’s quiet, low-key, leadership is still too often overlooked.
Exactly. I’m not saying rally thongs and speeches are bad, but there’s more to it than that.
He never voiced any concerns about moving to LF because he signed a contract for $88MM knowing that if he signed it, he’d be moving to LF.
Hanley is a 31 year old man, not a kid. It is no one’s fault but his own that he doesn’t try to do his job. The idea that because he’s a millionaire he should be treated like a 12 year old that is told he has to switch positions because he’s terrible is laughable.
I don’t agree that he never voiced any concerns because he was getting the money. He signed fairly early in the offseason, well before anyone was expecting him to.
Plenty of 31 year olds act like children. Hanley is one them. I’m not saying he should be told he had to switch positions because he’s terrible, I’m saying that he should be told to try harder because he’s terrible.
Yes, this is laughable. I would be laughing if I wasn’t a Sox fan. The answer is not to eat tens of millions to ship him away. The answer is for DD to take him into his office and give him a (figurative or literal) spanking.
Keep in mind that Hanley makes more money than DD. He is going to get paid, regardless. I truly believe that Boston paid what they did for Hanley because he came up thru their organization, and that Hanley agreed to the contract, signing early and for less than the media projected, because he realized no one was going to sign him to play SS, he didn’t want to DH, and his agent was probably saying he probably wasn’t going to get a better offer.
Hanley has had problems in 2 other organizations with numerous FO people, managers, coaches and team leaders. He long ago proved not to be coachable, is dead set on doing what he wants when he wants – and that includes sitting out in big games rather then play hurt or take a shot.
The Red Sox are not guilty over the way they’ve handled him – they’re guilty of putting him on the team and expecting him to be any different then he was preciously. His playing LF is only part of the problem.
This – nailed it.
Josh Osich is the clear choice to take Affeldt’s role next season. I’ve been impressed with him so far.
I said it above, I’ll say it here… Affeldt is one of my favorite Giants. Outstanding guy in so many ways. He’s got a book out, I encourage everyone to read it.
I would love to see him come back, just as a sentimental move… but I understand it’s not that simple. Here’s to crossing my fingers.
That being said, I want to see Osich in the closer role… see what he’s made of.
If Affeldt doesn’t come back, I hope there’s some way the Giants can give him a proper sendoff. He was good all the time, but he was extraordinarily good in the postseason. 2012 and 2014: 22 IP, 0 ER.
I’m assuming it was all fans of other AL East teams who voted “Move Hanley to first”.
I am guilty as charged..
Lol, you nailed me as well.
I prefer he stay in left field blocking the younger guys.
I’d prefer he stay in LF, and give every hitter an extra two bases because the ball sails over his head as he jumps at the Green Monster and tries to catch it.
Can’t help but pull for Kepler. Such a unique story.
Did anyone really expect Hanley to be anything other than what he is now? He’s a lazy, out of shape defensive liability, with zero interest in improving as a player or a teammate.
When there are Dodgers fans rejoicing because he signed elsewhere, that’s never a good sign for the next team.
Giving him a brinks truck full of cash was never going to help.
If I had read your post first, I wouldn’t have made mine above.
Shades of when the Red Sox overpaid JD Drew from the Dodgers, and watched him play for the name on the back of the uni.
Very good example – I had completely forgotten about JD Drew. One of the most unlikeable people in baseball of recent years!
I can somewhat agree with a lot of this, except the last point in the first paragraph. I do believe he has grown as a teammate, and is no longer the cancer that he was with the Marlins. I do not believe he had any clubhouse issues with the Dodgers in his stint there, and it doesn’t seem to be an issue with the Red Sox either (do not believe the Boston media, they love to create gossip about players’ pasts). He is repeatedly the first guy out of the dugout congratulate his teammates when they score, hit a home run, etc. I don’t believe he is an issue in the clubhouse anymore, or is significantly less so.
I like the word “opines” when used in posts. Well done.