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Archives for October 2016

Central Notes: Ray, Salazar, Cards’ Rotation

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Brewers first-rounder Corey Ray recently required surgery to fix a torn meniscus, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports on Twitter. It seems he suffered the injury while participating in fall instructional activities. The 22-year-old was taken fifth overall out of the University of Louisville in this year’s draft. He spent most of his first professional season at the High-A level, where he struggled to a .247/.307/.385 batting line. Though he’ll lose some opportunities in instructs, it seems fair to think that the meniscus issue won’t pose a major road block in Ray’s hopeful path to the majors.

Here are a few more notes from the central divisions:

  • Though indications had been that the Indians may be able to receive a contribution from righty Danny Salazar in the ALCS, it turns out he won’t quite be ready, as Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports. “He’s doing pretty well, but he’s not back to throwing all his pitches or letting it go at 100 percent,” said manager Terry Francona. With the team’s “first priority being about getting him back healthy,” said the skipper, Salazar won’t be pushed.
  • The Cardinals will have some sorting to do in their rotation this winter, and Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (slideshow link) handicaps the odds of the various internal options heading into the offseason. With Lance Lynn hopefully returning from Tommy John surgery and Alex Reyes all but nailing down a spot, that could leave several rather heralded arms on the outside looking in. Among them are Luke Weaver, Jaime Garcia, and even Michael Wacha. Weaver excelled in the upper minors and showed plenty of promise (but also some areas for improvement) in his MLB debut; he’ll likely return to Triple-A. Garcia remains a major question mark with the team undecided on his option. “There were nights where he looked like he was a No. 1 or No. 2 starter, and then there were nights where I’m sure the manager wanted to punch me,” GM John Mozeliak said of the enigmatic southpaw. And in the biggest head-turner of them all, Wacha is likely out “on paper,” as things stand, in Frederickson’s analysis. That’s still likely open for debate, and certainly is subject to health considerations.

Javier Lopez Suggests He’ll Likely Pitch In 2017

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Giants lefty Javier Lopez is interested in pitching again in 2017, as Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com reports. The 39-year-old had seemed to be a candidate to retire after the year, when his three-year, $13MM contract expires.

“I don’t know what’s next for me,” Lopez said after the Giants were bumped from the postseaon. “I’m a free agent and we’ll see what happens. If I have the opportunity to come back, I’ll welcome that.”

There are several ways to interpret those comments, including that he may only be interested in pitching if he can do so in San Francisco, where he has played since 2010. But it seems fair to expect that Lopez will be open to opportunities with other organizations this winter.

The level of open-market interest in the fourteen-year veteran remains to be seen. He threw only 26 2/3 innings this year despite making 68 appearances, with Giants skipper Bruce Bochy deploying him as perhaps the truest LOOGY in baseball.

Lopez ended the year with a 4.05 ERA, which is his worst mark in San Francisco but really isn’t all that relevant given the unique nature of his usage. More notably, he exhibited some erosion in the strikeout-to-walk department, managing only 15 strikeouts against 15 walks on the year. Though Lopez has succeeded for most of his career with an uninspiring K/BB ratio, he also ended 2016 with a 6.3% swinging strike rate that represented a clear personal low.

Lopez did manage to limit the ninety opposing lefties that he faced to a .208/.315/.312 batting line, and the ability to dominate in that area is the key skill for which he’d be pursued. The 28 righties who stepped into the box against him posted a .348/.464/.522 slash, but Lopez has long carried extreme platoon splits.

NL East Notes: Fredi, Harper, Strasburg, Phillies, Washington

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The Marlins are in talks with former manager Fredi Gonzalez about their third base coach vacancy, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Gonzalez, who skippered both the Marlins and Braves (who fired him earlier this season), has had multiple conversations about the possibility with the team, per Frisaro’s report. Serving as a third base coach wouldn’t be anything new for Gonzalez, as he held that post with the Braves before being hired as the Marlins’ manager in 2007. Miami is also looking to find a replacement coach for hitting coach Barry Bonds, whose contract was not renewed, as well as bullpen coach Reed Cornelius. Frisaro writes that former big league third baseman Mike Pagliarulo, who played with Marlins manager Don Mattingly as a member of the Yankees, is under consideration for the hitting coach vacancy.

More from the division…

  • Scott Boras spoke with the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes about a pair of his clients that have been the subject of plenty of injury news and speculation: Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci has reported that Harper is playing through a shoulder injury despite denials from the team, but neither Harper nor Boras has been willing to comment on the matter, leading to some degree of uncertainty. “He’s obviously played with limitations at times this year, no question,” said Boras of Harper. “… It’s a very different year when you lead the league in walks and intentional walks, making the adjustment about how to handle how the league’s decided to take away what you normally have instead of challenging you.” Boras wouldn’t give a definitive comment about Harper’s injury or lack thereof, stating only, “[I]f there’s anyone pushing Bryce, it’s Bryce.” As far as Strasburg, Boras voiced praise for the Nationals’ communication on the matter and didn’t appear to express any significant concern over Strasburg’s recent bullpen session (which was cut short by some discomfort in his injured forearm) or the fact that his client is attempting to return from a fairly recent injury to pitch in October.
  • In his latest Inbox column, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki answers several questions about the Phillies’ offseason and their 2017 outlook. Notably, Zolecki believes Odubel Herrera to be the only definitive lock for next season’s outfield and adds that he expects the Phillies to acquire an outfielder this offseason as well, though not necessarily one that will require an expensive multi-year commitment. Zolecki also has difficulty envisioning a trade of Cameron Rupp due to the fact that there aren’t any other experienced catchers in the organization (although speaking purely speculatively, I’ll suggest that the Phils could deal Rupp and sign a veteran to a one-year deal as a bridge to Jorge Alfaro and/or Andrew Knapp).
  • David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution chatted with Braves GM John Coppolella about the hiring of Ron Washington as his new third base coach and explained that the former Rangers skipper was initially interviewing only for the managerial vacancy. However, Washington impressed the Braves, and Coppolella and other Braves decisionmakers reached out to the A’s, where Washington served as a third base coach in 2016, about possibly hiring him. “It just happened where, as we spoke to Oakland, credit to (Athletics executive vice president of baseball operations) Billy Beane and to (general manager) David Forst — these guys told us, ‘We just want Wash to be happy, we just want good things for Wash,'” said Coppolella. “When he wanted to go for this opportunity so he could be closer to home, so he could get on a new adventure, those guys (Beane and Forst) didn’t stand in his way. Those are two high-character guys who really did a selfless thing all the way around with Ron Washington.”
  • Meanwhile, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Athletics did make an attempt to retain Washington by offering to match the Braves’ offer, but Washington’s ultimate preference was to be closer to his family in New Orleans, so the A’s respectfully allowed him to move to another team. Beane offered high praise for his departing coach, issuing a statement in which he said that Washington’s “professionalism and enthusiasm have left an indelible mark on everyone in our organization.”

Rockies Outright Christian Bergman, Justin Miller

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The Rockies announced today that right-handers Christian Bergman and Justin Miller have been outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque, thereby clearing a pair of spots on their 40-man roster, which now sits at 38.

Bergman, 28, pitched part of his third season with the Rockies this season, logging 24 2/3 innings but struggling to an 8.39 ERA in that time. His peripheral stats were a bit more encouraging, though, as Bergman struck out 22 batters against just six walks with a 37.1 percent ground-ball rate. He was plagued by a .381 BABIP and by the fact that a sky-high 20 percent of his fly-balls turned into home runs, with seven long balls clearing the fence against him overall. That figure seems like an anomaly, especially considering a more standard 10 percent homer-to-fly ball rate in his two previous seasons. Overall, Bergman has a 5.79 ERA in 147 2/3 innings, though a 4.51 xFIP and 4.43 SIERA give some hope for future improvement.

The 29-year-old Miller, meanwhile, tallied an even more substantial amount of time in the Rockies’ bullpen, tossing 42 2/3 innings, though he too had difficulty, as evidenced by his 5.70 ERA. Miller, though, averaged 93.1 mph on his fastball and punched out 45 batters in his 42 2/3 innings of work, though his control (4.2 BB/9) took a step back from a solid 2015 season that saw him post a 4.05 ERA (3.22 xFIP, 2.84 SIERA) in 33 1/3 innings. The majority of Miller’s struggles came when pitching at Coors Field this season, as he posted a 7.40 ERA at home against a 4.09 ERA on the road. His overall numbers in the Majors don’t stand out, but he’s shown a knack for missing bats at both the Major League and minor league level throughout his career.

Both Bergman and Miller can elect free agency in lieu of this outright assignment, so either could be attractive to other clubs on minor league pacts. Bergman has spent most of his minor league career starting, so he could be a rotation depth piece for a club in a thin free-agent market. Miller, on the other hand, has never made a start in the Majors or minors since being selected in the 16th round of the 2008 draft by the Rangers.

AL East Notes: Encarnacion, Eveland, Rays, Orioles

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In his latest column, FanRag’s Jon Heyman writes that while the Blue Jays offered Edwin Encarnacion only a two-year deal with a pair of options back in Spring Training (as has been previously reported), his huge season is expected to push the Jays to up their offer. Toronto “might consider” four years, per Heyman, though their preference would be to retain Encarnacion on a three-year pact. A three-year deal strikes me as a non-starter, as Encarnacion should be considered a lock for at least a four-year deal after seeing other defensively limited, mid-30s sluggers like Nelson Cruz ($57MM) and Victor Martinez ($68MM) pull in four-year pacts in recent offseasons. (For what it’s worth, I expect Encarnacion to top the total value of both of those contracts with ease.) The Blue Jays will make qualifying offers to both Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, per Heyman, though that’s long been the expectation for the pair of veteran sluggers.

More from the AL East…

  • The Rays outrighted left-hander Dana Eveland last week, and the veteran reliever recently elected free agency, but he’s expected to re-sign with the team, per MLB.com’s Bill Chastain. “That’s the plan,” Eveland told Chastain when asked about a return. Eveland said he expects to be back in the fold in the near future, presumably on a minor league deal. Though the 33-year-old allowed 23 runs in 23 big league innings this season, he was lights out at Triple-A Durham, where he posted a 0.30 ERA (one earned run) with a 21-to-6 K/BB ratio in 29 2/3 innings. Eveland has bounced all over the league since debuting as a 21-year-old with the Brewers in 2005, and while he’s had difficulty sticking in one place, he’s been appealing enough to MLB clubs to have appeared in the Majors in all but one season since that 2005 debut. (He spent the 2013 season pitching in Korea.) Eveland has a 5.46 ERA in 446 1/3 big league innings split between 10 teams.
  • Chastain also reports that the Rays informed longtime strength and conditioning coach Kevin Barr that they’re going in another direction next season. Barr offered praise for the organization and had kind words to say about his time there, but he joins former hitting coach Derek Shelton as members of the 2016 staff to be dismissed.
  • MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko examined the Orioles’ arbitration-eligible players following the release of MLBTR’s arbitration projections earlier this week. While Kubatko notes that the likes of Chris Tillman, Zach Britton, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Kevin Gausman will obviously be tendered contracts, things are less certain for utilityman Ryan Flaherty, left-hander T.J. McFarland and right-hander Vance Worley — each of whom could be deemed to expensive and could be a non-tender candidate. Caleb Joseph figures to be the backup catcher next season based on his modest $1MM projection, even though he struggled tremendously in 2016. (Joseph did not hit a home run all season and, somewhat amazingly, did not collect a single RBI.) Of course, it remains to be seen exactly who will be the primary backstop for the Orioles in 2017.

Santiago Casilla Upset After Watching Giants’ Pen Collapse In NLDS

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Former Giants closer Santiago Casilla watched last night as five separate San Francisco relievers tried and failed to stop the Cubs in the 9th. Instead, a three-run lead turned into a one-run deficit. As Carl Steward of the Mercury News reports, the 36-year-old righty was moved to tears by the loss — and the fact that he wasn’t able to help in the attempt to prevent it.

Though he lost his closer’s role after logging 31 saves this season, Casilla was stung by the fact he wasn’t considered at any point in the decisive fourth game of the NLDS, Steward says. As Casilla heads to the open market this winter, it seems likelier than ever that his seven-year run with the Giants will come to an end. “I’m a free agent, so I don’t know,” Casilla said of his future. “I’m just going to wait and see what happens.”

Casilla did make it onto the NLDS roster after a tough end to the year, but made just one appearance in the series. In his 7 2/3 frames from the start of September, he allowed five earned runs with just five strikeouts against three walks. Though he only permitted six hits, two were homers. Of course, he had been solid — albeit hardly dominant — for much of the season, ending with a 3.57 ERA with 10.1 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 over 58 total innings.

Despite his diminished role, Casilla said that he felt confident he could have gotten the job done when the Giants most needed a shut-down inning. “I’m a pitcher. I’m part of the bullpen,” he said. “I know I have had some bad moments in September and during the season, but I have good numbers in the playoffs and I know I can pitch in that situation. I know I can pitch in the big leagues.”

Indeed, Casilla does possess a rather distinguished postseason track record. In 19 2/3 frames, all with the Giants, he allowed just two earned runs on 15 hits while striking out twenty and permitting only five free passes.

It seems, though, that Casilla had already been buried on the depth chart. A parade of his pen mates — Derek Law, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo, Will Smith, and Hunter Strickland — was called upon while Casilla sat in the dugout. Regardless of one’s views on the decisionmaking process of oft-lauded skipper Bruce Bochy — certainly, the post-loss questioning is inevitable given the result — the Giants seem to be headed in a different direction with the back of their pen.

Whether or not San Francisco will pursue Casilla in the offseason, and whether he’d be amenable to a return at this point, remain to be seen. But he figures to receive a good bit of interest on the market. Casilla’s late-inning track record certainly doesn’t hurt his case, even if he stumbled at times this year, but teams will mostly focus on the fact that he’s thrown at least fifty innings annually since joining the Giants in 2010, with a cumulative 2.42 ERA. In fact, 2016 was the first time he provided the organization with an earned run average of greater than three per nine.

Injury Notes: Salazar, Strasburg, Liriano, Pagan, Young

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The Indians continue to see progress from right Danny Salazar, as ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports. He is readying for a sim game today or tomorrow as he works to return from a forearm strain, after which Cleveland will determine whether he’s ready to work from the bullpen in the upcoming ALCS. That would provide the Indians with a notable boost to a bullpen that figures to be a key to the team’s chances.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the game:

  • As they hope for their own trip to the league championship round, the Nationals don’t appear to have quite as much cause for optimism for their own injured starter, Stephen Strasburg, as MLB.com’s Jamal Collier reports. Manager Dusty Baker said that Strasburg, who’s dealing with forearm problems, was throwing well in a pen session but elected to cut it short after experiencing discomfort. Baker did suggest it wasn’t a true setback, and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post notes on Twitter that Strasburg was tossing from flat ground yesterday. That seems to suggest there’s at least a glimmer of hope that he’d be available if the team reaches the NLCS, though perhaps a hypothetical World Series return would be more plausible.
  • The Blue Jays appear set to utilize lefty Francisco Liriano in the ALCS after he reported positive developments after being struck by a liner in the divisional series, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. Liriano says he’s symptom-free and ready to go this weekend. The 32-year-old pitched well down the stretch while working mostly as a starter, but has been used from the pen thus far in the postseason. He’ll likely factor as an important swingman as the Jays seek to move on to the playoffs’ final round.
  • Giants outfielder Angel Pagan was hopeful he’d be able to go for last night’s thrilling NLDS Game 4, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News reported. His back spasms had him at day-to-day status, the veteran said. Ultimately, though, Pagan did not appear in the contest, in which San Francisco suffered another stunning bullpen meltdown to end its season. The 35-year-old’s five-year run with the Giants may be over, with the seemingly minor back issue not doing much to damper a nice bounceback campaign. Over 543 plate appearances on the year, he posted a sturdy .277/.331/.418 batting line with 15 steals and a dozen home runs. The switch-hitting Pagan was particularly good against right-handed pitching, and seems likely to draw a fair bit of interest as a center field-capable fourth outfielder on the open market.
  • Royals righty Chris Young underwent surgery to what the team described as his “bilateral core and right-sided adductor,” per a club announcement (via MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan; Twitter links). He’s only expected to need eight weeks to recover, meaning that the procedure shouldn’t have much of an impact on his ramp-up next spring.

Offseason Outlook: Tampa Bay Rays

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Despite a last-place finish and their third straight losing season, the Rays are looking to reload rather than rebuild for 2017.

[Rays depth chart & payroll, via Roster Resource]

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Evan Longoria, 3B: $94MM through 2022 ($13MM club option for 2023, $5MM buyout)
  • Chris Archer, SP: $20.25MM through 2019 (plus club options for 2020-21)
  • Logan Forsythe, 2B: $5.75MM through 2017 ($8.5MM club option for 2018, $1MM buyout)

Arbitration Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections via MLB Trade Rumors)

Contract Options

  • None

Free Agents

The Rays’ 68-94 record marked the first time the club had failed to crack the 70-win plateau since the 2007 season, which was also the last year that Tampa finished last in the AL East.  There’s an argument to be made that a low-payroll team in a tough division should consider starting from scratch after such a rough season, yet the Rays certainly seem to have more talent than your usual last-place team.  With so many interesting players on hand, it isn’t surprising that Rays president of baseball ops Matt Silverman and his front office is “hellbent on getting this team back into contention.”

That being said, Silverman and company have quite a bit of work to do in figuring out how to fix their roster’s flaws.  Pretty much every unit on the team is a “yeah, but…” situation.  The lineup finished with the sixth-most homers of any team in baseball, but only 13th of 30 teams in slugging percentage, 24th in runs scored, 27th in OBP and 28th in batting average.  The bullpen had Alex Colome enjoy a breakout season as closer, but the relief corps as a whole ranked in the bottom half of the league in ERA, K/9, BB/9 and HR/9.  The Rays’ rotation has long been touted for their collection of young arms, but they finished middle-of-the-pack in most starting pitching categories, and lost one of their young arms when Matt Moore was traded to the Giants at the deadline.

Let’s begin with the rotation, which stands as Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Blake Snell, Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly.  Archer is looking to bounce back from something of a hard-luck year that saw a big spike in his home run totals, though most of his issues came only in the first half of the season.  Smyly is also looking for a rebound year, Snell will enter his first full year in the bigs and Cobb will be looking for a full campaign after making just five starts in 2016 as he returned from Tommy John surgery.

Tampa’s starting five has a lot of talent, though on the whole is still weighed more towards promise than proven MLB results.  Matt Andriese is also on hand as a rotation candidate, and I could be underrating his shot at a starting job.  He posted the same 2.0 fWAR as Odorizzi and Smyly despite pitching significantly fewer innings, and Andriese topped them both in BB/9, home run rate, grounder rate, FIP, xXIP and SIERA.  These stats aside, Andriese pitched quite a bit better in his 22 2/3 relief innings than he did in 105 IP as a starter, so the Rays could feel the righty is needed in the bullpen.  He could easily slide back into the rotation for a spot start or perhaps a more permanent role change if Smyly, Cobb or Snell struggle.

With some starting depth available, could the Rays deal another arm?  Archer and Odorizzi generated a lot of attention at the trade deadline before Moore was shipped out, and Smyly could also draw interest given his potential and two remaining years of control.  This offseason’s free agent starting pitching market is painfully thin, so Silverman could demand an even larger return for one of his top starters now than he did at the deadline.  Barring a blockbuster offer, I’d guess it would still be surprising to see the Rays deal Archer given his team-friendly contract (plus, most teams planning to contend don’t trade their ace).  Odorizzi and Smyly, however, could be shopped given their rising arbitration costs.

In the event of a starting pitching trade, Andriese could be elevated to the rotation or the Rays could pursue a veteran on a minor league deal to provide depth or compete for the fifth starter’s job.  Tampa Bay could also look to its farm system (i.e. Dylan Floro, Taylor Guerrieri or Brent Honeywell) for added starting or relief depth.

Any of these young arms could see work in relief anyway, as there is certainly room for improvement in the bullpen.  The Rays will be building from the back of the bullpen outwards, as while Colome got a bit of peripheral luck (namely a whopping 93% strand rate), the Rays probably feel pretty good about their ninth-inning situation.  Beyond Colome, southpaw Xavier Cedeno and righty Danny Farquhar had good seasons, long reliever Erasmo Ramirez was at least able to eat innings, and former closer Brad Boxberger is hoping to bounce back from an injury-ravaged year.  Boxberger will look for better health and better control (as per his ungainly 7.03 BB/9 over 24 1/3 innings), and while the Rays would hope Boxberger is able to serve as a setup man, they can’t be counting on much in the wake of his lost season.

If Tampa looks to free agency to bolster the pen, expect the team to pursue veterans on inexpensive one-year deals in the hopes of finding a reclamation project.  One option could be to re-sign a familiar face in Kevin Jepsen, who struggled badly last year but posted strong relief numbers in 2014-15.

As always, don’t expect the Rays to be big spenders this winter.  After pushing payroll into the $74-75MM range in 2014 and 2015 in hopes of making a pennant run, the 2016 Opening Day payroll dropped to roughly $66.68MM.  Tampa already has approximately $58.2MM committed to 14 players for 2017, between the slightly more than $25MM guaranteed to Archer, Logan Forsythe and Evan Longoria and the $33.2MM projected to the club’s large arbitration class.

Smyly and Odorizzi have the highest price tags of those 11 arb-eligible players, and as I noted earlier, the Rays could free up some payroll space by trading either.  Ramirez’s $3.5MM projected salary could make him a trade chip as well.  Despite his interesting usage as an old-school fireman type of reliever, Ramirez’s numbers weren’t much more than average, so he could be seen as expendable.

Trading Longoria would free up the most money, of course, though there isn’t any sign that the Rays would deal their franchise player.  This is another case where, if the Rays are serious about contending, they’re pretty unlikely to deal an established star, especially since Tampa still has quite a few question marks around the diamond.  Third base is a position the Rays don’t have to worry about thanks to Longoria, with second base (Forsythe) and center (Kevin Kiermaier) also not positions of need.

The Rays believe they have an answer at shortstop in the form of Matt Duffy, acquired in the Moore trade.  Duffy was an outstanding third base defender over two seasons in San Francisco though he has only played 28 games at short in the big leagues.  Duffy recently underwent surgery to fix an Achilles tendon issue that bothered him all season and quite likely contributed to his poor year at the plate.  It could be that Duffy’s eventual future is as a utilityman given that top shortstop prospects Daniel Robertson and Willy Adames are both in the pipeline, but for now, Tampa Bay hopes Duffy can solidify a position that has been an issue.

Steven Souza is still the incumbent right fielder, though the Rays are still looking for a breakout from the 27-year-old.  Brad Miller and Corey Dickerson are penciled in at first base and left field, respectively, with Dickerson stepping up as defender last year after a few subpar years in left with the Rockies.  Miller has struggled with the glove pretty much everywhere he’s played around the diamond, though the Rays can live with some defensive issues at the less-critical position of first as long as Miller keeps slugging.  Acquired in a six-player deal with the Mariners last winter, Miller delivered just the 11th 30-homer season in Rays history.

Miller and Dickerson are both left-handed hitters who haven’t shown much against left-handed pitching, so the Rays could use a right-handed bat or two to platoon at first or in left field.  Richie Shaffer and Mikie Mahtook are internal options for these role, though Shaffer has actually hit righties much better over his brief career, while Mahtook couldn’t hit anything (39 wRC+) over 196 plate appearances last season.  Mahtook is at least ticketed for the fourth outfielder job given his ability to handle all three outfield spots.  First baseman Casey Gillaspie, the Rays’ first-round pick in the 2014 draft, hit very well in his first taste of Triple-A action last season and could earn himself a big league platoon role with a big Spring Training.

Looking at the 2016-17 free agent list for lefty-mashing bats in the Rays’ price range, players like Dae-Ho Lee or Franklin Gutierrez could be considered to join the 1B/DH/LF mix.  Sean Rodriguez, a former Ray, would also fit as a right-handed bat though his big 2016 numbers and defensive versatility may earn him a bigger contract than Tampa can afford.

One free agent name that jumps out is the guy the Rays signed last winter as a lefty-masher.  Steve Pearce posted an outstanding .908 OPS over 232 PA for the Rays before being dealt to Baltimore at the trade deadline.  Unfortunately for Pearce, a flexor mass injury in his right forearm limited his time with the O’s and he underwent surgery to fix the problem in late September.  Pearce will be sidelined until late January at the earliest and late March in a worst-case scenario, so until his diagnosis becomes clear, it’s hard to see him netting more than a one-year deal.  The Rays could offer Pearce a chance to return to a familiar surrounding and potentially pick up there he left off in 2016, playing either at first or in left when a southpaw is on the mound.  To sweeten the deal, the Rays could perhaps even take a flier on Pearce on a low-cost two-year deal to offer the veteran more long-term security.

Speaking of fliers, and this is purely speculation on my part, the Rays could use their unsettled catcher and DH spots as a way of looking into the Wilson Ramos market.  Such a scenario would’ve been unthinkable a few weeks ago, when Ramos was on pace to score perhaps as much as a five-year deal as the top free agent catcher on the market.  Then, unfortunately, Ramos suffered a torn right ACL for the second time in his career, ending his season and throwing his near-future into total uncertainty.  It won’t be known how much time Ramos will miss until he actually has his surgery, though he himself speculated that if he can’t physically handle regular catching duties, he could be limited to playing for AL teams due to the designated hitter rule.

As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted in that previous link, the Tropicana Field turf may not be an ideal landing spot for a catcher with bad knees, plus the Rays might still not be able to afford Ramos even if he ends up taking some type of prorated or incentive-heavy contract.  It would behoove the Rays to explore all options behind the plate, however, given how catcher has been such a problem area for years.  None of the catchers in the mix last year (Wilson, Curt Casali, Luke Maile, Hank Conger) did much to solve that problem, either offensively or defensively.

The Rays can’t afford Matt Wieters, but second-tier free agent catchers like Nick Hundley or Jason Castro could potentially be options if the Rays are willing to splurge (by their standards) on a notable multi-year contract.  The likes of Carlos Ruiz, Alex Avila or Chris Iannetta would be even cheaper and maybe more realistic options.  This offseason’s class is about as wide as a free agent catching market gets, so Tampa Bay can go in many directions for a sorely-needed upgrade.

Since free agency is something of a luxury for the Rays, expect Silverman to continue mining the trade market, as he did in his first two offseasons running Tampa’s front office.  The baseball operations head has done a good job of adding new building blocks for expendable parts, though clearly Silverman hasn’t been able to find the ideal mix for plugging all the holes on the roster.  This winter could go a long way towards determining the Rays’ future direction, as if they can’t get back on the winning track in 2017, hard questions may need to be asked about whether this core group of players are viable cornerstones for a contender or if a full rebuild could finally be necessary.

Boras On Matt Harvey’s Surgery And Prognosis

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Doctors have given Mets righty Matt Harvey reason for optimism in assessing his recovery prognosis after surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, his agent Scott Boras said today. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reported the latest on the star hurler.

“You kind of rely on the doctors here, and the doctor was extremely positive about the results of what he found when he did the operation, and the relief that he gave Matt,” said Boras. The surgeons were clear that they viewed the procedure as a success, the agent emphasized. “The doctor was very clear,” he said. “The doctor’s certainty is that he was able to give a nerve space so it could function normally.”

In his comments today, Boras also revealed some details about just what Harvey was dealing with in his abysmal 2016 season. “It was really just a nerve compression,” Boras explained. “[Harvey] didn’t have sensation [in his fingers]. And so clearly, the procedure allowed that relief where the nerve is now free and he should have full feeling in his hand.”

That Harvey was pitching with that kind of challenge seemingly helps explain his results. Though his velocity was largely in line with his career numbers, the 27-year-old not only scuffle to a 4.86 ERA in his 92 2/3 innings, but gave up 111 hits in that span and managed only 7.4 K/9 on the year.

The expectation in Harvey’s camp seems to be that he’ll be able to ramp up for a normal Spring Training. Harvey plans to build up his conditioning and finish off his rehab over the winter. Harvey has already resumed throwing.

It goes without saying, but the news seems to be highly promising for a Mets organization that has had a startling run of health issues in its rotation after pushing the unit hard in 2015. The club ought to have a chance to make at least a preliminary assessment of Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler before deciding how hard to push for added pitching depth over the winter.

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