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Archives for March 2016

Dodgers Notes: Rotation, Maeda, TV Deal

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The Dodgers could consider a trade to help their ailing pitching staff, but only if an “impact” arm could be acquired, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter links).  That said, rotation help could come from within, as Ross Stripling, Zach Lee and Carlos Frias are all in the running to be the fifth starter.  Here’s more on the Dodgers…

  • The Dodgers’ low-key offseason and now their spring injury plague has led to some pessimism about the club, as Sherman explores in a column.  In not stripping the farm to acquire big names at either last July’s trade deadline or during the winter, however, the Dodgers feel they’ve amassed the depth necessary to withstand this injury bug.  Yasiel Puig has also been in good form both on the field and in the clubhouse this spring.
  • With all the injury gloom surrounding the Dodgers’ rotation, one major bright spot has been Kenta Maeda’s excellent Spring Training, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick writes.  Maeda has a 1.89 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 19 spring innings, firmly establishing his place in the pitching staff.  The Japanese righty signed a rather unique eight-year, $25MM contract (with over $65MM available in incentive bonuses) with Los Angeles this winter, a structure inspired by some concerns the Dodgers had over Maeda’s physical.
  • Earlier this week, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan examined the controversy surrounding the Dodgers/Time Warner television contract.  Passan criticized all sides for the situation that has led to many L.A. residents unable to watch Dodger games for the last two years, and also explores what the future could hold for all baseball teams and cable TV deals.

Mariners Talking To Padres About Righty Relievers

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The Mariners have talked to the Padres about acquiring a right-handed reliever, with Nick Vincent, Kevin Quackenbush and Jon Edwards all being mentioned in discussions, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune reports.  The M’s are looking to add some depth to a pen that has been thinned out by injuries to Charlie Furbush, Evan Scribner and Ryan Cook, while the Padres have a bit of a surplus in their own relief corps.

As A.J. Cassavell of MLB.com notes, Fernando Rodney, Carlos Villanueva and Brandon Maurer are locked into spots in San Diego’s bullpen, leaving Vincent, Quackenbush and Edwards and others vying for the three open spots.  Drew Pomeranz is a key figure in this race since he’ll make the roster as either a starter or a reliever, so the number of available bullpen spots could shrink if Pomeranz doesn’t make the rotation.

Padres manager Andy Green noted early in camp that Vincent and Quackenbush were favorites to win jobs, which makes sense given how impressive both righties have been during their time in San Diego.  Vincent has a 2.63 ERA, 9.6 K/9 and 4.13 K/BB rate over 150 2/3 relief innings since 2012, while Quackenbush has a 3.28 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 3.00 K/BB rate over 112 1/2 career innings.

Edwards has the least MLB experience of the three though he has the longest pro career, having been picked by the Cardinals as an outfielder in the 14th round of the 2006 draft.  He converted to pitching in 2011 and has consistently missed bats and struggled with his control at both the minor and Major League levels.  Edwards has a 4.32 ERA, 11.2 K/9 and 7.6 BB/9 over 25 big league innings.

Vincent is the only one of the trio who is out of options and his numbers did dip a bit last season (lower K/9, higher walk rate, 3.90 SIERA and 4.26 xFIP that belied his 2.53 ERA), so it’s possible San Diego could be exploring its options even though on paper, Vincent is the most established of the three.  Quackenbush has been mentioned as a possible closer of the future for the Padres, especially when Craig Kimbrel was dealt, though Rodney’s acquisition would seem to imply that “the Duck” will remain in a setup role for now.

As Dutton notes, the Mariners are planning to use a seven-man bullpen, though there’s a lot of uncertainty about who those seven pitchers will be in the wake of the injuries.  Steve Cishek, Joaquin Benoit, Joel Peralta and Tony Zych all have a grasp on right-handed roles with Mike Montgomery and Vidal Nuno serving as the two southpaws.  If a new righty reliever is added, the M’s would send Donn Roach, Mayckol Guaipe and Blake Parker to Triple-A.

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:

  • Just days ago, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes unveiled his 2017 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings.  Stephen Strasburg takes the No. 1 position on the list as he looks to break David Price’s record deal for starting pitchers.
  • Chuck Wasserstrom sat down with Andy MacPhail to discuss the 25-year anniversary of the Twins’ 1991 World Series championship.  One of the key moves in building the Twins’ championship roster came in July 1989 when they dealt fan favorite Frank Viola.  MacPhail admits that trading the pitcher was difficult.  “I remember just wanting to have to sit down for a moment and sort of collect myself. Independent of the market size, it clearly was not an easy decision,” MacPhail said.  “It was not going to be popular, because you are trading a known for multiple unknowns to some degree. While I felt conviction that it was the right thing for us to make the trade … I wouldn’t say I was conflicted, but I recognized back then that of all the trades I had made in my career, this one was going to have the most riding on it. If it was not successful, it was going to come back and bite you personally – probably in a big way. You trade a potential 20-game winner to a New York club, you better be getting something back.”
  • Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart surprised everyone in baseball this winter with his moves.  Recently, Brett Ballantini sat down with the agent-turned-GM to discuss his offseason overhaul in Arizona.
  • Speaking of Stewart, MLBTR’s Steve Adams looked back on the Diamondbacks’ aggressive offseason.  Arizona committed a whopping $206.5MM over six years to pitcher Zack Greinke while trading a sizable package to the Braves for right-hander Shelby Miller (and left-hander Gabe Speier).  Now, the D’Backs are hoping to go from 79 wins to the top of the NL West.
  • On the latest edition of the MLBTR Podcast, host Jeff Todd spoke with former big league catcher John Baker to discuss his role with the Cubs organization.  Jeff also spoke with Tim about his power rankings for 2017.   A new episode of the podcast is released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
  • This winter, the Braves continued their build towards contending in 2017 in an effort to boost fan interest when their brand new ballpark opens up.  Jeff looked back on Atlanta’s moves, including deals for Shelby Miller and Andrelton Simmons.
  • The Astros’ success in 2015 was a pleasant surprise.  In 2016, they’ll enter the season with some very real expectations for success.  Steve reflected on Houston’s offseason dealings, including the acquisition of reliever Ken Giles.
  • Faced with a payroll crunch, new GM Billy Eppler was somewhat limited in what he could do this past winter.  Still, as MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk writes, the Halos made a couple of trades to improve their infield situation while making some other low-cost moves.
  • The Rays needed offense this offseason and president of baseball operations Matthew Silverman wasted little time in getting that accomplished, as Mark writes in his Offseason In Review for Tampa Bay.  While Tampa brought some new bats into the mix, however, there are plenty of questions remaining for the team in the wake of their winter dealings.
  • The Orioles spent more than ever this winter in an effort to try and win the AL East.  Mark looked back on all of the O’s moves, including headline-grabbers like Chris Davis’ deal, the Darren O’Day re-signing, the addition of Yovani Gallardo, and the trade for Mark Trumbo.
  • After adding David Price and Craig Kimbrel, the Red Sox are hoping to make David Ortiz’s final season a memorable one, as Mark writes.
  • The Pirates’ offseason wasn’t splashy, but there are still additions that are worth paying attention to, as MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth writes.
  • The rebuild continues in Philly and Jeff looked at the deals made by the Phillies’ new forward-thinking regime.

Mariners Place Jesus Montero On Waivers

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7:28pm: Montero has indeed been placed on waivers, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  The Mariners will make an official announcement tomorrow once the 48-hour waiver period has passed, according to MLB.com’s Greg Johns (Twitter).

12:46pm: While there is no official word on the matter, it appears that the Mariners have placed Jesus Montero on waivers, as Bob Dutton of The News Tribune writes.  The Mariners declined to speak about Montero’s status on Sunday morning, but his locker in the clubhouse was empty.

When asked about Montero’s whereabouts, manager Scott Servais told reporters that the designated hitter is “spending a day with his family.”  Montero’s absence on Sunday coupled with the news that Dae-Ho Lee has been added to the 40-man roster seems to suggest that former top prospect is out of the picture in Seattle.

The Mariners traded right-handed pitcher Michael Pineda for the 26-year-old prior to the 2012 season. Since then, he’s disappointed by accruing -1.4 WAR over parts of four seasons. He did enjoy an extremely successful stint at Triple-A last season, hitting .355/.398/.569 in 430 plate appearances.

Brad Johnson contributed to this post.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Shark, Luebke, Cards

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It was on this day in 2002 that the Cubs traded swingman Julian Tavarez and three prospects to the Marlins for Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca.  While Clement and Alfonseca were useful players for Chicago, this is definitely a “what if?” deal for the Cubs and their fans since Dontrelle Willis was one of the prospects sent to the Fish.  The deal immediately led to some pain for the Cubs when Willis’ Marlins beat Chicago in the 2003 NLCS (featuring the infamous Steve Bartman incident) en route to a World Series title.

Here’s some news from around the NL Central…

  • The Brewers announced several roster moves today, including the news that Will Middlebrooks, Eric Young Jr., Josmil Pinto, Shane Peterson, Manny Pina and Jake Elmore were told they won’t be making the Major League roster (Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the rundown of all the transactions).  All six players will remain in the Brewers’ camp.  Five of the six were new arrivals this winter — Pina was part of the Francisco Rodriguez trade with the Tigers, Pinto was a waiver claim from the Padres, and Middlebrooks, Young and Elmore were all minor league signings.
  • Jeff Samardzija told ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers that he met with Theo Epstein this winter to explore a possible return to the Cubs,  though not much came from the talks.  “From where we were at, it takes a lot more to get a deal done. I think Theo had an idea of what they wanted and what they were looking for this year,” Samardzija said.  The new Giants rotation member also discusses his previous stint with the Cubs and how the club’s rebuilding process has seemed to pay off.
  • The Pirates reinvested in their bullpen this winter, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes, a strategy that makes an increasing amonut of financial and statistical sense, particularly for mid-market payroll clubs like the Bucs.
  • Now that Eric O’Flaherty has been traded to Atlanta, it looks like Cory Luebke is going to make the Pirates’ Opening Day roster, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets.  The 31-year-old has reportedly clocking in at 94mph with his fastball and 87mph with his curve this spring.  Luebke has an opt-out on Tuesday but it sounds like the Bucs won’t give opposing teams a chance to snatch him up.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says that the team’s decision on Rule 5 right-hander Matt Bowman “could come down to the final hour,” as Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com writes.  The Cardinals selected Bowman off of the Mets’ roster in December, making him their first Rule 5 selection in four years.  Roughly two weeks ago, ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin reported that Bowman was “more likely than not” to make the cut in St. Louis.
  • Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo will be taking a medical leave of absence to recover from offseason knee surgery, the club told reporters today (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  Manager Mike Matheny said the Cards are preparing as if Oquendo will miss the entire season, and several members of the St. Louis coaching staff have shuffled positions.
  • The Reds have some decisions to make before Opening Day, as C. Trent Rosecrans and Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer project the club’s 25-man roster.

AL East Notes: Loney, Yankees, Levine, Smith

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Here’s the latest from around the AL East…

  • Hearing his name mentioned in trade speculation is nothing new for James Loney, as the veteran first baseman tells Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune.  “I think I’ve dealt with this pretty much every year in my career, at some point, trade rumors.  It gets kind of old.  I’m not putting too much stock in it, because nothing’s happened yet,” Loney said.  It’s no secret that the Rays have been shopping Loney and his $8MM salary for much of the offseason, though no takers have been found.
  • Loney’s presence is one of the many playing-time complications facing the Rays as they prepare to set their Opening Day roster, as Mooney and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explore in separate pieces.  Dealing Loney wouldn’t just save some payroll, but it would also free up a much-needed roster spot for either one of the Rays’ several available position players or perhaps another reliever.  If a trade can’t be found, Topkin speculates that Tampa could hang onto Loney for a few weeks into the season until a fifth starter is needed, or the team could just see Loney’s salary as a sunk cost and release him.
  • The Yankees optioned Rob Refsnyder to Triple-A camp, with manager Joe Girardi telling reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that the club wants Refsnyder to get more experience playing third base before using him as a utility infielder at the big league level.  Ronald Torreyes and Pete Kozma are battling for the backup infield job now, though Giradi didn’t rule out the possibility that the Yankees would look at adding an infielder when other teams make their spring cuts.
  • While the Yankees will continue to support income redistribution in the next collective bargaining agreement, president Randy Levine tells FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that the Yankees certainly want to see some changes made to the current system.  “What is very burdensome to us — and is unfair — is the amount of money we have to pay in revenue sharing compared, for example, to teams in our market that pay 10 times less than us,” Levine said, referring to the Mets.  The revenue-sharing contributions are determined by a formula based around net local revenue.  Levine said the Yankees made around $90MM in revenue-sharing payments in 2015.  According to Forbes magazine, the Yankees still led all MLB teams in revenue ($516MM) last year, even accounting those revenue-sharing payments.
  • There has been some speculation that Carson Smith’s potential as an injury risk could’ve been a reason the Mariners dealt the reliever to the Red Sox this winter, Fangraphs’ David Laurila writes.  Smith is on the DL with a strain of his flexor mass muscle and it isn’t known when he’ll return, though the injury isn’t thought to be too serious.  The red flags for Smith are his unusual delivery and his heavy use of the slider — only four pitchers (minimum 60 innings) threw a higher percentage of sliders than Smith did in 2015.  “I’ve heard that my whole life, but throwing from a lower arm slot is something that’s come natural for me,” Smith told Laurila.  “I’ve found ways to manage it, whether it’s the weight room, the trainer’s room, or on the field.”  MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum recently cited Smith as a slightly above-average risk for Tommy John surgery as a part of his larger study to predict which pitchers will require TJ procedure in the future.
  • In other AL East news from earlier today, David Murphy opted out of his minor league contract with the Red Sox and is already drawing interest from the Orioles and other clubs….the Orioles have discussed releasing Hyun Soo Kim from his two-year contract.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Ortiz, Blue Jays, White Sox

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

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

David Murphy Opts Out Of Red Sox Contract

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Outfielder David Murphy has opted out of his minor league deal with the Red Sox, according to several media members (including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal).  The club now has 48 hours to either release the veteran or add him to the 25-man roster.

The move doesn’t come as a surprise, as there has already been speculation about other teams (namely the Orioles) that would be interested in Murphy if he was hit the open market.  The 34-year-old hit .283/.318/.421 with 10 homers over 391 PA with the Angels and Indians last season, and he has a career .795 OPS against right-handed pitching, making Murphy a solid candidate for any club looking for left-handed bench depth or a platoon role.  Murphy has hinted that he would consider retiring rather than take a minor league job at this stage of his career, though this could be a moot point if there is a solid market for his services.

If Boston puts Murphy on its Opening Day roster, he’ll receive a $2MM base salary for 2016 as per the teams of his minors contract with the team.  It’s not out of the question that Murphy remains with the Sox, though the team has a number of outfield options to weigh.  Even if Rusney Castillo is sent down to Triple-A, the Red Sox could use Brock Holt or Travis Shaw as the left-handed hitting side of a platoon with Chris Young in left field, rather than retain Murphy.

Nationals, Braves Trade Tyler Moore For Nate Freiman

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The Nationals announced that they have acquired minor league first baseman Nate Freiman from the Braves in exchange for infielder/outfielder Tyler Moore.

Freiman, 29, signed on with Atlanta in December after having a disappointing year for the Athletics’ Triple- A affiliate.  In 305 plate appearances for Triple-A Nashville, the first baseman slashed just .220/.279/.321.  His last major league stint came in 2014 when he appeared in 36 games (93 plate appearances) for the A’s in 2014, slashing .218/.269/.448 with five homers.  Freiman had hoped to crack the roster in Atlanta, but he’ll now look to get back to the big leagues with the Nats.

Moore was put on waivers and then outrighted by Washington earlier this week, so it was pretty apparent that the out-of-options Moore was no longer in the team’s plans.  In four years as a bench bat in D.C., Moore hit .228/.281/.401 over 649 PA, with virtually equal numbers against both lefty and righty pitching.  Moore has played almost exclusively at first base and left field during his career, though he’s also appeared in nine games in right and worked out briefly as a third baseman this spring.

Padres Return Rule 5 Pick Blake Smith To White Sox

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Padres pitcher Blake Smith has cleared waivers, according to Dennis Lin of U-T San Diego (on Twitter). The Padres will now return the Rule 5 Draft selection to the White Sox.

Smith, 28, was a second round pick of the Dodgers in 2009 The University of California product was in the Los Angeles organization until May 2015 when he was shipped to the White Sox for left-hander Eric Surkamp.

Last year, Smith split time between Double-A (with both Dodgers and White Sox affiliates) and Triple-A, posting a combined 3.23 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9. When he was left exposed, the Padres pounced in the Rule 5 draft. However, he apparently did not do enough to compel the Padres to add him to the big league bullpen.

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