Mariners catcher Jesus Sucre, who recently suffered a fractured fibula while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League, will be out considerably longer than initially believed, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Sucre’s injury ultimately required surgery that will keep him on the shelf for the next six months, trainer Rick Griffin told Seattle reporters yesterday. Sucre was, perhaps, a long shot to make the Mariners’ roster in the first place considering the team’s offseason additions of Chris Iannetta and Steve Clevenger, but he now stands to miss as much as half the season. While Sucre is just a .178/.206/.229 hitter in 235 plate appearances at the Major League level, he’s also caught 40 percent of opposing base-stealers and rated as a strong pitch-framer throughout his big league tenure in Seattle. Johns notes within his piece that Sucre is the only player dealing with a significant injury as camp approaches, adding that Robinson Cano is fully recovered from double hernia surgery that he underwent in October and lefty Charlie Furbush is throwing pain-free after missing the second half of the 2015 season due to shoulder tendinitis.
Here’s more from the AL West…
- Also from Johns, both Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais said at a recent media luncheon that they feel the team is positioned to contend in the AL West this season. Servais spoke highly of the club’s improvements in terms of outfield defense and overall athleticism, though he conceded that they’ll have to perform well in close games due to the nature of Seattle’s run-suppressing environment. “I think we’ll play a high number of one-run games,” said Servais. “I just believe in this ballpark, you’re going to play tight games. So the ability to get on base and create consistent opportunities to score is important. The more athletic you are, the better chance you have to make that happen.” Dipoto went on to speak about the competition not only for the final few spots in the bullpen but also in the rotation, where he labeled the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation a “great competition” between Taijuan Walker, James Paxton and Nate Karns. He also added that the club’s goal is for Mike Zunino to open the season at Triple-A and get as much development time as he needs after many believe that he was rushed to the Majors. “This season is going to be about what’s best in the career development of Mike Zunino,” said Dipoto. Topics such as the potential batting order, defensive alignments and first-base platoon options are discussed in the piece as well.
- Following the announcement of Doug Fister‘s one-year deal with the Astros on Thursday, Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs explores the greatly diminished velocity which contributed to Fister’s struggles and left him with only a slightly larger guarantee than journeyman Rich Hill. Sullivan found 117 pitchers dating back to 2002 that lost more than 1.5 mph on their fastball in consecutive seasons of 50 innings or more (which Fister has done), finding that there are nearly as many pitchers who didn’t start a game in the third year (15) as there were pitchers who regained a full mile per hour on their heater (22). While there were some notable exceptions (Ryan Vogelsong among them), most saw, at best, minimal improvement of 0.1 to 0.2 mph in their fastballs. Though a forearm problem could have played a role in Fister’s drop, Sullivan also points out that he didn’t gain any velocity in his return to the rotation after a DL stint, making a big rebound in 2016 seem unlikely. The one-year term could also be advantageous to Fister, however, as if he is able to rediscover some of his previous form, he’ll be able to enter a vastly weaker market in a considerably strong position next winter.
- Though C.J. Wilson has been an oft-speculated trade candidate this winter, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes that Wilson is likely to open the season with the Angels. Much has been made of the Angels’ left field platoon of Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry — I’d personally contend that second base is a greater need, anyhow — but Wilson himself spoke to Fletcher and voiced a belief that the club’s rotation will be what determines its successes in 2016. Wilson noted that a team “[doesn’t] need 10 Mike Trouts,” as he went on to discuss the club’s depth of rotation candidates and some of the questions that surround them — himself included. Wilson said that on a personal level, he won’t be satisfied unless he approaches his 2013 results — a 3.39 ERA in 212 1/3 innings — but he’s more concerned with team success anyhow. “I’ve had all the individual success I need in my career,” Wilson told Fletcher. “The only thing left for me is the World Series. Anything less than that is not going to be enough.”
Wilson needs to show up and be healthy in 2016, if he’s healthy and pitching well, do the angels trade him or keep him?
They keep him if they are in the playoff race.
hopefully he’s healthy along with weaver
Would depend on the situation.
I think key to the Fister signing is that he’s never been a power pitcher. Always relied on a 86-87 mph fastball and got a lot of grounders and weak outs. Astros banking on (a) forearm is healthy and (b) style of pitching fits well with what Brent Strom, Astros pitching coach, preaches. Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh are two great examples of what Strom has done working with the pitching staff last couple of years.
Wilson’s personality just seems like a nuance. Even in contention they should have his stock rise and sell high on him. Anything to replenIsh the farm system seems ideal at this point.
If he’s healthy , he could help out the club in a big way, it will come down to the rotation for the angels if they want to win the west.
Exactly, Wilson is a legend in his own eyes for whatever reason. He’s been average at best.
He can show he’s healthy , will eppler keep him or trade him for a bat and a prospect.
I seriously wonder if the Yankees would be interested in a CJ for Headley swap. NYY has infield depth and LAA could then shift Escobar to 2B and add a lefty bat to the line-up. Couple of guys on here shot it down pretty quickly (maybe NYY would too) but I think it’s at least plausible. Maybe add Santiago/Nova to each side?
If the yankees eat the contract of Wilson, and eat some of headley’s.
Yunel to 2nd? we need a defensive upgrade at 2nd, although we currently don’t know if Johnny has improved, anyway Yunel wouldn’t be a defensive upgrade.
Of course CJ thinks it will come down to the rotation. But the offense is truly what is going to cause problems for the Angels this year. Obviously no team needs nine Mike Trouts. But this team only has one…plus one Calhoun…one Pujols who will start the season late…and a whole lot of offensive inconsistency.
Somebody has to get on in front of Trout and somebody has to hit him in. I don’t know who is going to do that, but I’m sure it’s not going to be CJ Wilson.
the line up should go like this
1.Escobar
2.Calhoun
3.Trout
4.Pujols
5.Cron
6.Simmons
7.Gentry/Nava
8.Perez/Soto
9.Johnny G
I think you’ve nailed the lineup. That’s a scary amount of mediocrity. I disagree with Steve Adams here…the Gentry/Nava platoon is a much greater concern than Johnny G.
I think the gentry and nava platoon could work out if they are healthy, I would still prefer upton or cespedes or parra. I would of been happy with bringing back Murphy.
You’re forgetting the fact that the number one issue with the Angels was the top of their lineup and the crazy amount of solo HR’s by Trout and Pujols. It’s not about who is playing LF necessarily, it’s about who is pairing with Calhoun at the top of the lineup. Escobar, Simmons, Nava, Gentry, even Pennington gives Scioscia a lot of options there. Just having Escobar or Simmons hitting 2nd behind Calhoun in 2015 would’ve given Trout and Pujols well over 100 runs driven in each, and likely the division. That was the number one need to be addressed and the Angels addressed it. LF is just the position where they’re going to have to hope for at least league average production and will likely man the bottom half of the lineup. Even in 2014, the Angels had the same problem in LF as they had in 2015, but they still managed to lead the Majors in runs.
I would rather the Angels sign Alvarez to be the dh. Cron is complete garbage. Alvarez would add better protection than Cron. Santiago Sales and Escobar to the Yankees for Gardner would be better. Than sign Freese to a 2 year deal.
If the Angels had both Calhoun and Escobar in front of Trout last season, he would’ve driven in over 100.
and possibly winning the al west.
Exactly. Everyone’s so focused on LF that we’ve forgotten to talk about how the lineup is actually going to shape up. It’s more about filling that statistical void at the top of the order. And by acquiring Escobar, Simmons, Nava, Gentry, Pennington, etc. they’ve given themselves a long list of options to pair with Calhoun at the top of the lineup that would’ve given Trout and Pujols way more runs driven in, and like you said possibly given the team the division. That was the number one issue and the Angels addressed it like 5 times over. But fans seem to distracted from that by the media shoving LF and and big named free agents in our face all offseason. The Angels offense will be better in 2016. I’m more concerned about their rotation and how they’re going to juggle 8 starters for 5 spots.
Cj Wilson to the Marlins for Derek Dietrich ? Solves both teams needs, Dietrich can play second and both corner outfield spots, Wilson will give Miami another starter and maybe pitching in that big ball park could be good for Cj. Or worse
that would be another good fit for wilson, maybe they could include prado as well?
or Ozuna?
Wilson does not get you ozuna
The Angels would have to add two more players with Wilson to get Ozuna, the Marlins asking price for him is really high
Idk I feel like that could work because that would solve the third base second base and outfield options but maybe the Marlins would ask for someone else with Wilson back for prado and deitrich
An idea for the Angels. Sign Ian Desmond for third base, use escobar at 2nd, then trade for Soler from the Cubs for LF. We have pitchers to trade and the Cubs are looking for pitchers. Also, Maddon might have his eyes on some of his former Angels players. Could use CJ to get some minor leaguers to throw into the deal.