NL East Notes: Mujica, Frieri, Francoeur, Foltynewicz, Gant
Let’s take a look at a few spring roster battles out of the NL East to round out the evening …
- Like most organizations, the Phillies have several opt-out dates approaching — particularly in their relief corps. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, the Phils face potential decisions on Edward Mujica (Saturday) and Ernesto Frieri (next Thursday) in short order, with Andrew Bailey (May 1) and James Russell (June 1) to follow. Mujica seems destined for a big league job, says Zolecki, while it’s not clear that Frieri will make it onto the active roster after rough results thus far.
- Members of Braves brass like Jeff Francoeur as a right-handed bench bat, which means the club could elect to give him its last outfield spot over Nick Swisher and Emilio Bonifacio, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Braves brought Swisher to camp with the hope that he’d show well enough to entice another team to trade for him. While Swisher has hit .294/.429/.382 in 34 at-bats, a deal hasn’t come along. Thus, the Braves could ultimately eat the 12-year veteran’s entire $15MM salary in order to get rid of him. Bonifacio, who’s due a much more palatable $1.25MM this year, is potentially movable. If not, the Braves will have an easier time eating his contract than Swisher’s.
- Elsewhere, Mike Foltynewicz is favored to beat out Williams Perez and Manny Banuelos for the Braves‘ fifth starter spot, per O’Brien. Regardless, the Braves won’t need a fifth starter until April 12, so they might start the season with an eight-man bullpen. That would ostensibly bode well, at least temporarily, for the out-of-options Jose Ramirez and Rule 5 pick Dan Winkler.
- MLB.com’s Mark Bowman agrees that Foltynewicz is making a strong case for a rotation slot with the Braves. He has recovered quicker than expected from a scary bout with a blood clot. Meanwhile, John Gant has remained in the running longer than might have been expected. Per Bowman, the 23-year-old, who came over in last year’s Juan Uribe/Kelly Johnson swap with the division-rival Mets, may be in line behind Foltynewicz and Jhoulys Chacin.
- Meanwhile, the Braves will be looking around for southpaw relievers as players begin to shake loose from other organizations, Bowman suggests. Ian Krol has underwhelmed and doesn’t seem likely to take a roster spot, leaving Alex Torres as perhaps the only southpaw currently in camp who’ll be on the Opening Day roster. One internal option that could re-enter the picture, he adds, is Hunter Cervenka, who has already been shipped down to minor league camp.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Shields, Holt, Fowler
While the total value of international signings grabs most of the headlines, it’s also interesting to look at the volume, and Ben Badler of Baseball America recently did just that. Over the calendar year of 2015, the Yankees signed more talent from outside the United States — 57 players in all — than any team in baseball. The AL East as a whole was active, per Badler, with the Red Sox and Rays also falling in the top five (but the Blue Jays and Orioles sitting in the bottom ten).
Let’s take a look at the latest out of the division:
- Despite the Yankees‘ stockpile of powerful late-inning arms, the club is on the lookout for middle relievers with camp winding down, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Current options include pitchers such as right-handers Bryan Mitchell, Johnny Barbato, and Branden Pinder and lefties Chasen Shreve, Tyler Olson, and James Pazos — most of whom have quite limited experience in the majors. While it’s easy to imagine these and other arms all spending time at the big league level, it also makes sense for the club to pursue a veteran addition or two.
- Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia are fighting for the final Yankees rotation spot, with the loser likely to open in the pen. As ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand reports, the club is giving real consideration to using Sabathia in relief despite his huge contract. But Nova didn’t perform well at all today in his penultimate start, as Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog writes.
- The Red Sox‘ “stance doesn’t seem to have changed” on Padres righty James Shields, per ESPN.com’s Scott Lauber (via Twitter), with concerns persisting as to whether his flyball-heavy batted ball results would play well at Fenway. That factor played an important role in the club’s decision not to pursue him in free agency, and the Sox appear uninterested in chasing him now via trade. It was reported earlier today that Boston has been in touch with San Diego on pitchers, but there are certainly other names that may have been of greater interest.
- Meanwhile, Red Sox skipper John Farrell says that utilityman Brock Holt could see significant action in the outfield, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports. “There is a chance for him to get a good number of at-bats out in left field,” said Farrell. “How those at-bats in left field are divvied up, that remains to be seen. I’m not going to say it’s a strict platoon, but there are going to be multiple guys getting at-bats out of that position.” Needless to say, that statement represents a signal that Rusney Castillo will need to earn his playing time, as he’ll also face competition from Chris Young. Boston has endeavored to light a fire under several presumed regulars this spring, with other options helping to force the action with strong showings.
- The Orioles not only offered Dexter Fowler $33MM over three years, but would’ve gone as high as $36MM, Heyman tweets. It seemed at one point, of course, that Baltimore was set to sign the outfielder before he would up back in Chicago for one year and $13MM.
Minor MLB Transactions: 3/25/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest moves at the top of the post…
- Reds minor leaguer Jose Veras has received a 72-game PED suspension, as Cincinnati assistant director of media relations Jamie Ramsey tweets. Veras, 22, has not yet moved past the Dominican summer league in his professional career. He shouldn’t be confused with the long-time MLB veteran and former closer by the same name — who is still a free agent looking for his next opportunity after failing to crack the majors last year for the first time since he reached the bigs in 2006.
- Right-hander Deolis Guerra became a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment from the Angels, though manager Mike Scioscia told reporters (including MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez) that Guerra was staying with the club on a new minor league contract. The Halos selected Guerra off the Pirates roster in the Rule 5 draft last winter, and since Guerra had already been outrighted off Pittsburgh’s roster when he was with the organization, he didn’t have to be returned to the Bucs after his initial removal from Anaheim’s roster. Guerra, who turns 27 next month, made his Major League debut last season, posting a 6.48 ERA over 16 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh. He boasted some impressive peripherals (17 strikeouts against three walks) but also allowed five homers in his short stint in the bigs.
- Outfielder Felix Perez has requested a release from his minor league deal with the Orioles, possibly to pursue an opportunity with a Japanese team, Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic reports (Twitter links). Perez hit .281/.329/.404 over 2114 plate appearances in the Reds’ system from 2010-14 and he spent 2015 playing for Monterrey’s Mexican League team.
Nationals Outright Tyler Moore
TODAY: Moore has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, per an announcement from the club.
YESTERDAY: The Nationals placed first baseman/outfielder Tyler Moore on waivers yesterday, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter. It’s not immediately clear if the club is seeking release or outright waivers, but Moore would not be able to refuse an assignment if outrighted, as he’s accrued less than five years of service and has never previously been removed from the 40-man.
Moore, who is out of options, had agreed to a $900K salary in his first season of arbitration eligibility.Washington will remain on he hook for about one quarter of that non-guaranteed amount (45 days of pay, or approximately $221K). Moore had seemed in line for a bench bat role, but obviously the organization decided to go with another alignment.
The Nationals have utilized Moore in a bench role in each of the previous four campaigns, though he’s never exceeded 200 plate appearances in a single year. All told, he owns a .228/.281/.401 slash with 24 home runs over 649 trips to the plate at the major league level.
Moore played his way into the organization’s plans with a strong 2012 effort, but has fallen shy of league average production in each year that’s followed. He has generally hit well in the upper minors and obviously has intriguing power, but he’s not a natural outfielder and doesn’t represent a platoon option at first base. With four solid outfield options on hand and a variety of potential bench pieces with greater versatility, it seems that Moore was the odd man out.
To some extent, the move represents a vote of confidence in the health of Ryan Zimmerman, as Moore would likely have stepped into a time share with Clint Robinson had Zimmerman been deemed unready for the start of the season. Of course, he might well still take such a role, if he clears waivers and is stashed at Triple-A. Any team considering a claim of Moore would need to take on his arbitration obligations, and Moore’s anemic spring batting line could make that unlikely.
NL Central Notes: Bailey, Smith, Jones, Braun, Victorino, Luebke
Reds righty Homer Bailey is progressing rapidly in his effort to return from Tommy John surgery, MLB.com’s Barry Bloom writes. The club is targeting a May 1 return, which would be less than a year from the date of his procedure. Manager Bryan Price actually suggested that Bailey could have been ready for the start of the season, but the organization chose not to “push him.” The right represents an important bounceback player to watch, given his huge contract. He says that recovery has been “smoother” than he anticipated and that he’s yet to experience discomfort throwing.
Here’s more from the NL Central:
- There was plenty of news out of Brewers camp today, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Top reliever Will Smith is experiencing knee swelling and could miss the start of the season. That would leave Jeremy Jeffress as the obvious choice to handle the 9th while Smith works back to full speed.
- Brewers Rule 5 pick Zack Jones has had shoulder issues all spring long and is going to start out on the DL. That could actually make it easier to keep him, as the team can bring him along slowly and give him some minor league time on a rehab assignment before exposing him to the majors.
- The lower back soreness experienced recently by Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun appears to be an increasing concern. Manager Craig Counsell suggested that the team will exercise caution, but doesn’t expect the problem to disappear in the next few days. “We may have to manage this into the season,” said Counsell. “That’s becoming apparent now.”
- Outfielder Shane Victorino discussed his status with the Cubs with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It appears he’s still deciding whether to remain in the organization, but doesn’t seem inclined to retire. “I just still want to play the game I love,” Victorino said. “We all want to do that forever, but this time I really felt like I had made a turn for the better this offseason, going back to switch-hitting.” He added that he wouldn’t hesitate to call it quits if he felt otherwise, saying: “I am my hardest critic, so if I feel like I am done, no one would need to make that decision for me.”
- Pirates lefty Cory Luebke has an opt-out date of Tuesday the 29th, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. That’ll be an interesting situation to monitor, as Luebke has reportedly been fairly impressive in camp — as we covered last night.
Offseason In Review: Boston Red Sox
This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s Offseason In Review series. The full index of Offseason In Review posts can be found here.
Two major pitching additions have the Red Sox hoping for a return to contention in David Ortiz‘s final season.
Major League Signings
- David Price, SP: Seven years, $217MM
- Chris Young, OF: Two years, $13MM
- Sandy Leon, C: One year, $534K ($273K if he remains in the minors)
- Total spend: $230.273MM guaranteed
Trades And Claims
- Acquired RP Craig Kimbrel from Padres for OF Manuel Margot, SS Javier Guerra, IF Carlos Asuaje, and LHP Logan Allen
- Acquired RP Carson Smith and SP/RP Roenis Elias from Mariners for SP Wade Miley and RP Jonathan Aro
- Acquired cash considerations from Brewers for 3B/OF Garin Cecchini
Notable Minor League Signings
- David Murphy ($2MM if he makes the MLB roster), Sean O’Sullivan, Carlos Marmol, Brennan Boesch ($1MM if he makes the MLB roster), Anthony Varvaro, Dan Butler
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
Needs Addressed
Basically from the moment Jon Lester was traded to Oakland in a 2014 deadline deal, Boston fans and media have been clamoring for the Red Sox to acquire a new ace. That box can be officially checked now that the Sox have landed one of the game’s best pitchers in David Price. There was little doubt headed into the winter that the Sox would pursue a front-of-the-rotation arm, with the real question being whether the team would trade for an ace or sign one. The latter option wasn’t a given considering how the organization had a well-publicized hesitation to signing pitchers to big contracts through their 30s.
Needless to say, that hesitation is no more since the Red Sox signed Price to the largest contract ever given to a pitcher. Price’s track record of durability undoubtedly factored into Boston’s willingness to make a deal, and it’s possible the team could avoid paying Price into his late 30s altogether if he exercises the opt-out clause in his deal after the 2018 season. An opt-out would turn the contract into “only” a three-year/$90MM commitment over Price’s age 30-32 seasons.
Price will headline a rotation that includes Clay Buchholz (whose $13MM club option for 2016 was unsurprisingly exercised by the team), Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez and Joe Kelly. Rodriguez will likely miss the first few weeks of the season recovering from a dislocated kneecap, so new acquisition Roenis Elias or knuckleballer Steven Wright will compete to be Rodriguez’s fill-in or even push Kelly for the fifth spot.
The Sox had something of a rotation surplus even before Price signed, so the team was comfortable letting late-season surprise Rich Hill leave in free agency. After Price joined the club, Boston made room by dealing Wade Miley to Seattle in exchange for Elias and righty reliever Carson Smith.
While the rotation took the brunt of the criticism last year, Boston’s bullpen was actually the worse (by far) of the two pitching units and perhaps even more in need of an overhaul. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and GM Mike Hazen addressed this need in a major way early in the offseason by acquiring Craig Kimbrel from the Padres for a very significant prospect package.
It’s a sign of just how dominant Kimbrel has been over his career that 2015 was easily his worst overall season, despite posting a 2.58 ERA, 13.2 K/9 and 3.95 K/BB ratio. In adding arguably baseball’s best closer, the Red Sox now have a more stable answer in the ninth inning than Koji Uehara, who suffered a fractured wrist last season and turns 41 in April. This being said, Uehara did nothing performance-wise to merit the demotion, so he projects as a very dangerous setup man.
Kimbrel and Smith (if healthy, as we’ll address later) stand as huge upgrades to a relief corps that includes Uehara, Junichi Tazawa and lefties Robbie Ross and Tommy Layne, with Elias likely to figure in as additional southpaw depth. The wild card is Carlos Marmol, signed to a minor league deal so the Sox can see if they can solve Marmol’s long-standing control issues and revive his career.
Veteran Chris Young was signed to provide some outfield depth in left and center, and Young also provides a lefty-mashing bat that could make him a natural platoon partner with the left-handed hitting Jackie Bradley. Boston also landed more veteran depth in the form of David Murphy, who could be a bargain on a minor league contract provided that he doesn’t opt out at the end of Spring Training.
AL West Notes: Lee, Peralta, Ruggiano, Rangers
Some news from the AL West…
- Dae-Ho Lee can opt out of his minor league deal with the Mariners on Sunday and become a free agent if he isn’t on the 40-man roster, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. It seems as if Lee is on track to indeed make the M’s as the right-handed side of a first base platoon with Adam Lind, and Lee will earn a $1MM base salary if he makes the MLB roster (plus another $3MM in possible bonuses). If Lee beats out Jesus Montero for the job, Dutton figures the M’s will try to deal the out-of-options Montero before exposing him to the waiver wire.
- Also from Dutton’s piece, the Mariners face the Tuesday deadline for Article XX(B) free agents to let Joel Peralta know if he’s made the roster, though Dutton figures Peralta is a pretty safe bet. Peralta signed a minor league deal with Seattle last month that will pay the 11-year veteran $1.25MM in guaranteed salary if he makes the M’s roster. While Peralta hasn’t had a great spring, his case has been helped by some injuries to other Mariners relievers.
- Rangers outfielder Justin Ruggiano could become a trade target for clubs looking for outfield help, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal opines (Twitter link). Ruggiano signed a one-year, $1.65MM Major League deal with Texas in December to provide depth in left given Josh Hamilton‘s injured status, though with Ian Diamond now signed as the regular left field, Ruggiano has become a bit of a surplus. Ruggiano turns 34 in April and owns an impressive .272/.336/.520 career slash line after left-handed pitching.
- The Rangers could use a modified four-man rotation as a way of sidestepping a roster crunch in April, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News opines. The club’s fifth starter candidates operate as swingmen to cover both those spot starts and the role as eighth man in the bullpen. This could also allow Texas to keep out-of-options Sam Freeman rather than exposing him to waivers.
- “A baseball team can’t ever be carried by one individual player. Yet Mike Trout comes the closest,” Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes in a piece about his site’s outfield projections. Trout’s projected 8.8 fWAR for 2016 almost single-handedly gives the Angels the best projected outfield in baseball (with right fielder Kole Calhoun contributing 2.8 fWAR and the Daniel Nava/Craig Gentry platoon in left at 0.7 fWAR). Sullivan feels Trout alone is keeping the Halos competitive, as without him, “the Angels are a group we’d think ought to be rebuilding….the Angels’ situation is miserable. They’d be a bad team with a bad farm system. That’s the worst situation to be in.”
- In other AL West news from earlier today, the Astros released veteran southpaw Neal Cotts…the Angels shut down C.J. Wilson‘s throwing program, and thus the lefty will be sidelined until at least May.
C.J. Wilson To Miss At Least First Month Of Regular Season
Left-hander C.J. Wilson‘s shoulder soreness has led the Angels to shut down his throwing program for at least 8-10 days, manager Mike Scioscia told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). There was already speculation that Wilson would miss some significant time to begin the season, and this latest setback means that he won’t be able to return until May at the earliest.
An MRI last month revealed that Wilson was suffering from tendinitis rather than a more serious injury, though that’s probably little comfort to Wilson now as he’s missed all of Spring Training. The southpaw was already recovering from another injury, an August surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow that cut short his 2015 season.
Wilson is owed $20MM in 2016, the last season of the five-year, $77.5MM free agent deal he signed with the Halos following the 2011 campaign. That salary, the elbow surgery, an eight-team no-trade clause and Wilson’s age (35) all limited his trade value this past winter, as the Angels were known to be shopping the veteran in an attempt to get some payroll relief. A few teams showed interest but only as a buy-low candidate. Now that Wilson will miss at least a month, it creates less time for him to re-establish his health and effectiveness before either the July trade deadline or for free agency in the offseason.
Over his four years in Anaheim, Wilson has averaged 181 innings per season with a 3.87 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and 2.03 K/BB rate. His absence further thins out an Angels rotation that also has Jered Weaver battling neck stiffness. The rotation projects as Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, Weaver, Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker, with Nick Tropeano and (when he returns from Tommy John rehab) Tyler Skaggs also on hand.
Orioles Among Teams Talking To Padres About James Shields
2:04pm: The Padres are getting calls from other teams but aren’t in active trade talks about Shields or any other big-name veterans at this time, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
1:45pm: The Orioles are one of “a few teams” who have talked to the Padres about veteran righty James Shields, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). The Red Sox have also been in contact with San Diego about starting pitching, so Heyman feels Shields’ name likely came up between the two sides. No trade is thought to be close at the present time, however.
At least $65MM remains owed to Shields on his current contract — $21MM in each of the next three seasons, and a $2MM buyout of a $16MM club option for 2019. According to Heyman, the Padres are willing to cover some of Shields’ contract, though the exact number depends on how much they get back in a trade.
Shields can also opt out of the contract after this season, which adds another wrinkle to trade negotiations as a suitor may not want to give up too much for just one season of Shields’ services. Shields will be 35 on Opening Day 2017 so he may not want to test the open market again if he doesn’t think he can top the $44MM already guaranteed to him, though another solid season could make him a hot commodity in a 2016-17 free agent market that’s very thin on quality pitching.
Shields is coming off something of an unusual season that saw him post a 3.91 ERA with a career-best 9.61 K/9, yet he also had career highs in walk rate (3.6 BB/9) and homer rate (17.6%). That last stat is particularly odd given that he pitched his home games at Petco Park — it could be a total fluke, or perhaps a portent of trouble if Shields ends up moving to a more hitter-friendly ballpark like Camden Yards or Fenway Park. Still, Shields was as durable as ever, topping the 200-inning plateau for the ninth straight season, even if his 202 1/3 IP was his lowest mark of those nine years.
This isn’t the first time that the O’s have been linked to Shields this offseason, and the veteran would add some stability to a questionable Baltimore rotation. Kevin Gausman may hit the DL with shoulder soreness, while Miguel Gonzalez has had a rough spring and could lose his starting spot to Tyler Wilson. Yovani Gallardo, Ubaldo Jimenez and Chris Tillman project as Baltimore’s other starters. The Orioles don’t have a deep minor league system to trade from and they’re notoriously finicky about acquiring pitchers due to injury concerns, though Shields’ track record of durability should at least somewhat mitigate the latter issue.
Beyond David Price, the Sox also have some rotation question marks. Clay Buchholz has a well-documented injury history and Eduardo Rodriguez will spend the first month of the season on the DL (with knuckleballer Steven Wright the favorite to step in). Rick Porcello and Joe Kelly are both looking to rebound after difficult 2015 seasons. Boston has enough farm system depth to offer a blue chip prospect to San Diego in order to get the Friars to cover a larger chunk of Shields’ deal, though the Sox also have the payroll space to absorb more of the contract in exchange for a lesser prospect in a semi-salary dump.
Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner both drew a lot of trade buzz this winter, so it’s fair to assume that the Red Sox at least checked in with the Padres about both younger arms. Ross would be the bigger prize, a top-of-the-rotation type who’s controllable through the 2017 season. Cashner has shown flashes of ace ability in the past, though he will be a free agent after this season.
Phillies Sign Pete Mackanin To New Extension
The Phillies have announced that manager Pete Mackanin has been signed to a new contract that will cover the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The deal also includes a club option for 2018.
This fresh contract overwrites the extension Mackanin received just last September when the Phils removed his interim tag and made him their official manager for the 2016 season. That older deal gave Mackanin a guarantee for 2016 and a club option for 2017, whereas this new contract adds an extra year of security for the 64-year-old.
Mackanin stepped in as the Phillies’ interim manager when Ryne Sandberg resigned in June, and the team went 37-51 under his leadership. More importantly than wins and losses for the rebuilding Phillies, Mackanin impressed upper management with his handling of the young talent. In a statement when Mackanin was originally extended in September, Phillies president Andy MacPhail said “Since assuming the interim manager position in June, Pete has developed an excellent rapport with our players and has also connected well with the media and our fans. Equally as important is his eagerness to take on the challenge of rebuilding the team and further developing our players.”
Prior to taking over managerial duties, Mackanin served as the Phillies’ third base coach and bench coach in two stints with the club since 2009. This is Mackanin’s first non-interim managerial job in the bigs after a long career of coaching and managing at both the Major League and minor league levels.