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Rangers Content With Current Catching Situation

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The Rangers have reportedly been in the market for a catcher in recent weeks, but that search has apparently been put on the back burner.  On Sunday, Texas GM Jon Daniels indicated that he will not be adding another catcher between now and Opening Day, as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com writes.

“At this point I anticipate both our catchers are in camp,” Daniels said. “We are open if there is a true improvement to the team, but we’re not going to change for change’s sake.”

Daniels admitted that he has talked “a little bit” with rival teams about acquiring a catcher, but Sullivan gleans that the asking prices for Derek Norris and Jonathan Lucroy have simply been too high.  Ultimately then, the Rangers will head into April with Robinson Chirinos behind the dish and a handful of veteran catchers jostling for the No. 2 job.

But, aside from Bobby Wilson, Chris Gimenez, and Michael McKenry, Sullivan notes that 2010 sixth-round pick Brett Nicholas has looked strong in camp and could also find his way on to the roster.  Daniels says that the team wasn’t sure what they had in Nicholas but his performance as of late has the club viewing him as “a big league-capable catcher.”  On the other hand, Nicholas can be stashed in the minors whereas the team’s trio of veterans probably can’t.  Gimenez is out-of-options and Wilson and McKenry have opt-out opportunities if they’re not on the big league roster.

In a perfect world, the Rangers would probably prefer to have Lucroy or Norris to shore things up behind the plate, but they are not presently willing to meet the demands of the Brewers or Padres in order to make a trade happen.  The salaries of both players ($4MM and $2.9MM), respectively, are also factors.  Even though those are relatively modest sums, the team is already said to be well over their projected payroll thanks to the Ian Desmond signing.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Freese, Blue Jays, Bradley

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Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere:

Please send submissions to Zach Links at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/20/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The White Sox acquired right-hander Brandon Sinnery from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports (via Twitter).  Sinnery will report to the Sox minor league camp.  The righty went undrafted out of the University of Michigan but signed with the D’Backs in 2013 after a season of independent ball.  Sinnery has a 4.09 ERA, 2.77 K/BB rate and 5.9 K/9 in 477 1/3 innings, starting 78 of his 80 career games in Arizona’s system.

Astros Looking For Catching Depth

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With backup Max Stassi sidelined for six weeks after hamate bone surgery, Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that the team is looking at catchers outside the organization.  While Hinch said he’s comfortable with minor leaguers Roberto Pena or Tyler Heineman as the backup to start the season, it only makes sense that Houston would explore the market for experienced help.  The team’s hopes that Evan Gattis could be an option behind the plate have been scuttled by Gattis’ hernia surgery, which could keep him out of Spring Training action altogether.

The Astros recently had a scout watching Tigers backup Bryan Holaday, McTaggart reports.  Holaday is out of options and is stuck behind James McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, though there’s at least a chance Detroit will keep all three catchers since the club likes Holaday quite a bit.  Houston has also reportedly shown interest in Blue Jays minor league backstop A.J. Jimenez, another out of options player.

Beyond those two, McTaggart lists some of the other potential candidates who could be acquired or available on the waiver wire as Spring Training rolls on.  Possible targets include J.P. Arencibia, Carlos Corporan, Tim Federowicz, Ryan Hanigan, Austin Romine and the odd men out of the Rangers’ backup competition between Chris Gimenez, Michael McKenry and Bobby Wilson.  I’d also cite the Padres and Rays as teams who could be open to moving a catcher.

AL Central Notes: Reinsdorf, Byrd, Ohlendorf, V-Mart, Ortiz

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Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…

  • White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf issued an official statement regarding the Adam LaRoche retirement controversy, noting that this will be the last public discussion of the matter by any White Sox employee.  Reinsdorf expressed his respect for LaRoche and his full confidence in the White Sox management team.  “I do not believe there is anyone to directly blame in this situation. While there is no doubt this might have been handled differently, the fact remains that this is an internal matter that we have discussed and now resolved,” Reinsdorf said, also noting that he felt “much of this was a result of miscommunication and misunderstanding rather than this being a case of anyone not telling the truth.”
  • Marlon Byrd’s minor league contract with the Indians has up to $2.5MM available in incentives, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports (Twitter link).  The veteran outfielder will earn a base salary of $1MM if he makes the Tribe’s big league roster.
  • Ross Ohlendorf can opt out of his minor league deal with the Royals today, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports.  If the team wants to keep the veteran righty, it will have to put him on the 40-man roster.  Ohlendorf posted good results in 19 1/3 innings of the Rangers bullpen last season, though his path to a similar role in K.C. could be difficult given the number of other good arms in the Royals’ relief corps.
  • “It’s a possibility” that Victor Martinez may not be ready for Opening Day, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including MLB.com’s Cash Kruth).  Martinez hasn’t appeared in a game since straining his left hamstring on Monday.  Ausmus said the veteran slugger could swing a bat tomorrow for the first time since the injury, though “we’ve got to wait and see.”
  • As David Ortiz enters his final season, the Twins’ infamous decision to release the slugger in 2002 is revisited by Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  Twins GM Terry Ryan took responsibility for the release, calling it “a very bad baseball decision. We thought we had better options. We were wrong in a big way.”  Ortiz is still dismayed about his treatment with the Twins organization, noting that the focus always seemed to be on his shortcomings rather than the positives he could bring in the form of his power bat.

Chone Figgins Retires

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Chone Figgins has officially announced his retirement, as per an Angels press release.  He will sign a ceremonial one-day contract with the Halos tomorrow in order to leave baseball in the same uniform in which he spent eight of his 12 MLB seasons.

Figgins was originally drafted by the Rockies in the fourth round of the 1997 draft, and wasn’t a particularly heralded prospect.  Faint praise became a positive for Figgins, as he related in his retirement statement:

“There was a quote written about me during my second year in the minors that I’ll never forget. It was a story about all minor leaguers and how scouts projected the progress of their careers.  Mine said at best I would be a fringe big leaguer, if I ever made it.  To me, that was the greatest quote I ever read about myself.  Fringe is usually not a compliment in pro ball, but in my eyes, it meant I could be in the big leagues one day.”

A trade to the Angels in July 2001 led to a big league debut in late 2002 at the high point in Anaheim baseball history.  Figgins went from a late season callup to earning a World Series ring, appearing in six postseason games as a pinch-runner during the Angels’ run to their only championship.

After that auspicious debut, Figgins became a key part of the Angels’ lineup over the next seven seasons with a game built around versatility, speed, and high average and on-base skills.  Figgins spent most of his time as a third baseman but also saw significant action in center field as well as right, left, short and second.  He hit .291/.363/.388 over 4075 PA as an Angel, and is the team’s all-time leader in stolen bases (280) and second on its all-time triples list (53).

Figgins’ all-around value peaked with a 7.7 rWAR/6.5 fWAR season in 2009, which was good timing as he headed into free agency that winter and resulted in a four-year, $36MM contract with the Mariners.  Unfortunately for both Figgins and the club, 2009 was his last productive season.  Figgins badly struggled in Seattle and was released prior to his final year of that deal.

He briefly signed a minor league deal with the Marlins after that release but was cut in Spring Training and sat out the 2013 season before catching on with the 2014 Dodgers for what ended up being his final 38 games in the Show.

All told, Figgins ended his career with a .276/.349/.363 slash line over 5360 PA, 1298 hits, 341 stolen bases and just under $52MM in career earnings.  We at MLBTR congratulate Figgins on a fine career and wish him the best in his post-playing days.

Rafael Soriano Retires

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TODAY: Soriano made his retirement official in a statement from the Blue Jays media department today, as the reliever thanked fans, teammates, and personnel from his former clubs for their support over the course of his career.

THURSDAY: Right-hander Rafael Soriano is set to retire, according to James Wagner of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The 36-year-old was set to join the Blue Jays on a minor league deal but had yet to report due to apparent visa issues.

Soriano had a short stint last year with the Cubs after waiting until mid-season to sign. He was limited due to a shoulder injury and ultimately made only six appearances with Chicago before he was released.

Before that, of course, Soriano enjoyed a lengthy run as a prominent late-inning reliever. All told, he’s racked up 636 1/3 innings of 2.89 ERA pitching with 9.1 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 over 14 MLB campaigns.

That neat summation of his career probably doesn’t do justice to the volume of interesting transactional news that Soriano provided to MLBTR readers over the years. In many ways, his career functions as a crash course in recent hot stove developments.

Soriano had uneven results in his first several seasons, but established himself as a quality pen presence with the Mariners in 2006. He was dealt to the Braves after that season and enjoyed a solid three-year run. Atlanta offered him arbitration when he hit the open market after 2009, with intentions of recouping draft compensation under the old Type A/B system, but was surprised when he decided to accept. Thus began a dizzying series of trade rumors, with Soriano ultimately heading to the Rays in exchange for Jesse Chavez.

In his lone season in Tampa Bay, Soriano turned into a dominant closer, leading the league with 45 saves and posting a 1.73 ERA in his 62 1/3 frames. Entering the open market (again, as a Type A free agent), he landed with the Yankees as Mariano Rivera’s set-up man. The deal promised the then-Scott Boras client $35MM over three years, and included two consecutive opt-outs.

Soriano’s first year in New York didn’t go as hoped, and he passed on his first opt-out opportunity. But he excelled in 2012, taking over as closer for an injured Rivera, and elected to head back to free agency. Of course, intervening rule changes had since swapped in the qualifying offer system, so this time Soriano declined a $13.3MM qualifying offer and again came with draft compensation attached to his name.

The Nationals added Soriano for two years and $28MM (with half of it deferred) on a contract that included a vesting clause. The veteran displaced an incumbent closer, Drew Storen, and ultimately gave the Nats 128 2/3 innings of 3.15 ERA pitching over a somewhat uneven tenure. (Storen ultimately re-took his closing duties, but the stage had been set for last year’s controversy and his eventual departure from D.C.)

In the aggregate, Soriano topped 200 career saves and was a net positive for the vast majority of his career. While it appears he won’t be taking a shot at a comeback, despite reportedly showing well in the Dominican winter league, Soriano has already completed a ten-year run as one of the game’s most productive overall relievers. MLBTR wishes him the best of luck in his future pursuits.

New York Notes: Wright, A-Rod, Tejada, Ellsbury

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Here’s the latest from both Big Apple teams…

  • Alex Rodriguez’s health problems have made him the Yankees’ full-time DH while David Wright’s spinal stenosis makes him questionable for even the modest 120-game plan the Mets originally slated for the star third baseman.  As Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, the health issues faced by these two stars have led to roster flexibility problems for both teams.  The Mets don’t have a left-handed hitting utility option available, and Sherman suggests that players like Yangervis Solarte, Derek Dietrich, Luis Valbuena could be good fits as potential trade targets if they’re made available.  The Yankees could use both an extra reliever and a versatile infielder as their 25th man, since depth is a need with so many aging stars in both the lineup and rotation.  This is a reason why the Yankees didn’t want to give a big league deal to a veteran infielder, as the club hopes Rob Refsnyder can also learn to play third.  On the external help front, Sherman suggests that Cody Asche makes sense as a trade target when healthy.
  • Signing Ruben Tejada to a minor league deal would’ve greatly helped the Yankees’ utility situation and also given a bit of a PR tweak to the Mets at the same time, Newsday’s David Lennon observes.  Tejada rejected the Yankees’ minor league offer for a one-year, $1.5MM Major League deal with the Cardinals.
  • X-rays and a CT scan were negative on Jacoby Ellsbury’s right wrist after the outfielder was hit by a pitch yesterday, though he tells reporters (including Lennon) and his wrist “is in a bad spot” and may need some time for the inflammation to die down.  With this and the Yankees’ spring schedule in mind, Ellsbury likely won’t play until Thursday at the earliest, as per Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
  • There’s an open spot in the Mets’ bullpen with Josh Edgin still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin looks at some of the roster logistics that could factor into the competition between Erik Goeddel and Jim Henderson.  It could end up being a short-term gig for either pitcher as Edgin hopes to be back by the start of May.

Latest On Edwin Encarnacion’s Contract Talks

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Edwin Encarnacion expressed doubts about his future with the Blue Jays, telling Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that he feels “they don’t have it in their plans for me to stay here.”  The slugger is “really disappointed that nothing has happened [in contract talks], but it’s not my decision,” as he wants to keep playing in Toronto beyond this season.

Encarnacion also commented on the lack of progress in extension talks earlier this week, telling ESPN’s Enrique Rojas that the two sides hadn’t begun discussing money yet, as there was still disagreement over how many years an extension would cover.  An unnamed Jays player and “Encarnacion loyalist” told Elliott a few days ago that he’d heard the club had only offered Encarnacion a one-year extension at the Winter Meetings and then a two-year offer later.  Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro offered no comments on the Encarnacion negotiations when talking to reporters, including John Lott of VICE Sports (Twitter links), as Shapiro noted that there would be a better chance at a positive outcome if the contract talks remained private.

Of course, there’s already been quite a bit of media buzz about both Encarnacion and (even moreso) Jose Bautista’s extension talks with the two sluggers both set for free agency next winter and both having been vocal about their desire to stay in Toronto.  It’s hard to discuss one player’s case without discussing the other, as the Jays are faced with the choice of extending two players to huge contracts through their mid-30’s (Encarnacion is 33) and late 30’s (Bautista is 35), extending just one of them or letting both walk, which would result in both fan disappointment and a gigantic hit to the Jays’ lineup.

Though Encarnacion is the younger of the two, he could be the bigger question mark in terms of long-term durability.  Encarnacion is essentially already a full-time DH, and he’s been hampered by injuries to his quad, back and finger over the last two years.  An abscessed tooth and an oblique strain have kept Encarnacion from any game action this spring, though he told Elliott that “the oblique pain is minor” and he’s just being cautious in order to avoid a greater injury that would cost him time in the regular season.

On the flip side, Encarnacion has generally been a pretty durable player over the last four seasons and obviously his recent injuries haven’t impacted his offensive production.  Assuming that he hits as usual in 2016, he’ll be in line for a massive free agent contract next offseason, especially given how next year’s free agent class is thin on elite talent.

Encarnacion is a strong bet to land at least a four-year deal next winter, so if the unnamed teammate’s comment was accurate, then a one- or two-year extension offer is unrealistically low on the Blue Jays’ part.  Then again, it’s not uncommon in any negotiation to open with a very high (or low) dollar amount or number of years just on the off-chance that other side accepts, or at least to set a baseline for the talks.  Encarnacion set Opening Day as the deadline for extension talks, however, so it seems as if the two sides will need to make some quick progress if a new deal is to be reached this spring.

Sox Notes: ChiSox, BoSox, Sale, Craig, Loney, LaRoche

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The Red Sox and White Sox not only share similar nicknames, but they’ve also shared struggles in each of the last two seasons.  In fact, Boston and Chicago have identical 149-175 records over that stretch.  Here’s the latest from both shades of Sox…

  • Chris Sale had some harsh words for executive VP Kenny Williams in the wake of the Adam LaRoche controversy, though this hasn’t had any impact on Sale’s future with the team, a White Sox official tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  There is “no chance” Sale would be traded, the official said: “There was no chance in the offseason and no chance now. We’re building our team around Chris Sale.”
  • Just in case the relationship between Sale and the White Sox has indeed gone south, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe opines that the Red Sox should make a trade inquiry.  Abraham admits that Sale and and the Pale Hose “will probably make peace,” though this piece gives an idea of the gigantic price Chicago would demand for its ace.  Abraham suggests Boston could offer a trade package that includes Allen Craig and $18MM of his salary, plus young righty Anderson Espinoza and three other top-tier prospects.  In my opinion, I think even this impressive offer wouldn’t be enough to land a valuable asset like Sale, who is prized for not just his ability but also his contract — $21.15MM through 2017 and then club options for 2018 and 2019 worth a respective $12.5MM and $13.5MM.
  • While Craig may not be part of a blockbuster Red Sox trade package, Cafardo also suggests the first baseman could be a fit for the White Sox with LaRoche gone.  Chicago seems ready to fill LaRoche’s DH spot with Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia, though since Boston would inevitably be footing almost all of the $21MM remaining on Craig’s contract, it might not be a bad flier to take (especially since Cabrera and Garcia are coming off poor seasons).  Craig is trying to revive his career after two rough seasons that dropped his stock to the point that he was outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster last year.
  • In other first base trade speculation, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times wonders if James Loney could be a fit for the White Sox.  The Rays have been unsuccessfully shopping Loney all winter and are reportedly willing to cover some of the $8MM Loney is owed in 2016.  Like LaRoche, Loney is also a left-handed hitter, perhaps making him a more ideal complement to the right-handed Garcia and Jose Abreu.
  • LaRoche’s dispute with the White Sox about his son’s presence in the clubhouse has drawn a lot of response from around baseball, with ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) collecting some reaction from unnamed officials and front office personnel.  Most observes were surprised by the unusual nature of LaRoche’s demand that his son be a constant presence with the club and the seeming lack of communication between Kenny Williams, Rick Hahn and Robin Ventura about the situation.
  • “Honestly, I don’t think I was talking about the Red Sox,” David Price told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about his early comments about his ideal new team.  Price was focused on joining a team with a pipeline of young talent, and was initially thinking about the Cardinals and Cubs rather than the Red Sox since he “wasn’t as familiar” with Boston’s farm system.  The Cards and Cubs ended up being the next two highest bidders for Price’s services this winter, though their offers reportedly fell well short of the seven-year, $217MM contract Price signed with Boston since the Red Sox were intent on landing the ace.
  • One final note from Cafardo’s column: he notes that Red Sox infield prospect Marco Hernandez could be a trade target for other clubs in the wake of Hernandez’s strong Spring Training performance.  Hernandez, ranked as the 12th-best prospect in Boston’s system by Baseball America, is a 23-year-old who posted a combined .305/.330/.454 slash line over 484 PA at Double and Triple-A last season.  While his bat is still developing, Hernandez already has value as a utility infielder able to play second, third and shortstop.

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