Wilmer Flores To Undergo Wrist Surgery
Mets infielder Wilmer Flores will undergo surgery to have the hook of the hamate bone in his right wrist removed later this week, per reports from ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin (link) and Newsday’s Marc Carig (Twitter link). It’s not a major injury, and there was already a widespread expectation that Flores would miss the entire postseason, but Wednesday’s news ensures that Flores won’t return even if the Mets make another World Series run. He’ll have plenty of time to recover and be ready
Flores’ final game of the season came back on Sept. 10 against the Braves when he sustained an injury in a collision with catcher A.J. Pierzynski. While the injury has been termed a bone bruise since that time, manager Terry Collins told the media today that the issue was actually more severe, per Rubin.
Injuries and the offseason acquisitions of Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker combined to limit Flores’ playing time in 2016, but he was more productive this season than last, batting .267/.319/.469 with 16 homers across 355 plate appearances. That homer total matched Flores’ 2015 output despite the fact that he received 175 fewer plate appearances in 2016. Flores will take that solid production into his first trip through the arbitration process this winter, as he figures to receive a considerably boost from his 2016 salary, which was scarcely more than the league minimum. With questions about Walker’s future with the team and David Wright‘s long-term health, Flores should be an important cog in next year’s mix for infield playing time. New York can control him through the 2019 season via the aforementioned arbitration process.
Pirates Acquire Brady Dragmire From Blue Jays, Designate Phil Coke
The Pirates announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Brady Dragmire from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, lefty Phil Coke has been designated for assignment. Toronto designated Dragmire for assignment last week to add to its roster in the wake of Joaquin Benoit‘s injury.
The 23-year-old Dragmire logged a 4.38 ERA with 5.1 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 72 innings at Double-A New Hampshire this season. While those numbers don’t exactly stand out, the Bucs have a history of targeting ground-ball pitchers, and Dragmire excelled in that aspect, recording a stellar 63.6 percent ground-ball rate in the minors this year. That factor, as well as his relative youth, likely made him an appealing target for Pittsburgh.
As for Coke, the veteran 34-year-old found himself in Pittsburgh following a late September trade. Pittsburgh sent cash to the Yankees in exchange for Coke, who tossed four innings scoreless innings for the Pirates. Coke could’ve been a free agent at season’s end anyhow, so the DFA is largely a formality.
Athletics Outright Matt McBride, Chris Smith
The A’s announced this afternoon that they’ve outrighted catcher Matt McBride and right-hander Chris Smith off the 40-man roster. Both well-traveled minor leaguers have enough professional experience to elect free agency.
McBride, 31, appeared in 20 games with Oakland this season and totaled 44 plate appearances, during which he batted .209/.227/.279 with 10 punchouts against one walk. That marked the fourth season in which McBride spent some time at the Major League level — each of the other three came as a member of the Rockies — but the former second-round pick has been able to manage just a .201/.228/.299 slash in 202 big league plate appearances. He’s carved out an excellent career at the Triple-A level, however, where he’s batted .310/.350/.517 in parts of seven seasons. Given that production, McBride shouldn’t have trouble latching on elsewhere as a depth option.
Smith, 35, has also seen big league work in parts of four seasons. The 2002 fourth-rounder (Red Sox) totaled 24 2/3 innings with the A’s this year and turned in a very strong 2.92 ERA with 29 strikeouts and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate, but he also walked 13 in that time (4.7 BB/9) and averaged just 87.6 mph on his fastball. Like McBride, Smith has a pretty lengthy track record of success in Triple-A, having logged a 3.68 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 509 innings across parts of nine seasons at that level.
White Sox Outright Jacob Turner
The White Sox have outrighted right-hander Jacob Turner to Triple-A, per a club announcement. That move leaves the organization with one open 40-man spot at present.
Though he is still just 25 years of age, the once-touted Turner has still not shown signs of reaching his former promise. He wasn’t terribly effective even at the Triple-A level, and was bombed for a 6.57 ERA over 24 2/3 major league innings.
Neither were the peripherals terribly promising. Opposing hitters made hard contact on nearly 40% of the balls they put in play against Turner. He ended with just 6.6 K/9 against a messy 5.8 BB/9 and sported a 26.3% home run-per-flyball rate to go with his more-promising 51.2% groundball rate.
Angels Claim Blake Parker, Kirby Yates; Designate Nick Buss, A.J. Achter
The Angels have claimed pitchers Blake Parker and Kirby Yates from the Yankees, according to an announcement from New York. In a corresponding move, the Halos designated outfielder Nick Buss and righty A.J. Achter.
Parker and Yates both provide the Angels with bullpen options heading into 2017, at least assuming they hold onto their 40-man positions over the months to come. The former threw 17 1/3 major league innings last year, posting a 4.67 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9. He was much better, however, during his time at Triple-A, which came with the Mariners organization.
As for Yates, he’ll look to bounce back after coughing up 5.23 earned runs per nine in his 41 1/3 innings with the Yanks. Actually, though, his peripherals were rather promising. He logged 10.9 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 while carrying a career-high 11.6% swinging strike rate and topping 93 mph with his average fastball for the first time.
Moving off of the Halos’ big league roster are Buss and Achter. The former cracked the majors briefly last year, struggling badly in 90 plate appearances. In his 372 Triple-A plate appearances, Buss posted a .290/.345/.462 batting line with six home runs.
The 28-year-old Achter threw a superficially productive 37 2/3 major league innings, with a 3.11 ERA, but things didn’t look great under the hood. He managed only 14 strikeouts against 12 walks while permitting 43 hits. Perhaps only sequencing luck — he carried a 93.1% strand rate — got in the way of much greater damage.
The Yankees also announced that righty Anthony Swarzak elected free agency rather than taking an outright assignment. He tossed 31 innings for the Yankees after a solid showing at Triple-A, but the results didn’t match up to his peripherals. Swarzak ended the year with a 5.52 ERA, owing largely to a sky-high 2.90 homers per nine. But he did compile 9.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 with a 46.4% groundball rate — leading to a 3.21 SIERA and 3.86 xFIP.
Latest On Diamondbacks’ Front Office Situation
Change is afoot in Arizona, as the Diamondbacks have already parted ways with GM Dave Stewart, VP DeJon Watson, and manager Chip Hale. Chief baseball officer Tony La Russa, who oversaw all of the baseball operations department, will no longer carry that mantle moving forward.
Assistant GM Bryan Minniti will seemingly take the reins on an interim basis, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports, though he has not been given any official nod — even temporarily — as of yet. Though his own role remains unsettled, La Russa may also be involved in handling the early offseason decisionmaking while the front office search ramps up.
Minniti, who joined the Arizona front office after a stint with the Nationals, is also likely to receive consideration for the full-time job, per the report. (He has long been considered a potential GM, as former MLBTR scribe Ben Nicholson-Smith explored way back in 2011.) Likewise, farm director Mike Bell may be viewed as a candidate as the D-Backs’ upper management group assesses its options.
In terms of external possibilities, we haven’t heard any names as of yet, and the organization has suggested it intends to remain quiet on the matter. But many around the game are wondering whether the Diamondbacks will struggle to attract some candidates owing to their frequent front office turnover and recent turmoil, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.
While various executives with rival teams gave Piecoro different indications about how big a concern they’d have with joining the Arizona organization, some were clear that its reputation is not strong. One unnamed exec who has been considered as a GM target told Piecoro that, while running the D-Backs’ baseball ops would hold “surface” appeal, “from everything I hear about some of the dysfunction up there, to be quite candid, I would have zero interest.” Another wondered whether the club would need to give out a lengthy guarantee to entice a quality candidate to “mov[e] your family for that level of insecurity, juxtaposed to the security that some of us have” in current positions with rival teams.
Braves To Interview Ron Washington, Bud Black
WEDNESDAY: Washington will sit down with the Atlanta brass today, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com tweets.
MONDAY: The Braves will interview Ron Washington and Bud Black for their managerial vacancy, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (all Twitter links). At last check, the Braves had already interviewed four internal candidates: interim manager Brian Snitker, bench coach Terry Pendleton, first base coach Eddie Perez and third base coach Bo Porter.
Snitker could be the favorite after winning praise for his work with the team down the stretch (although Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that Black is the “leading candidate“). Braves president of baseball operations John Hart says that hiring Pendleton, Perez or Porter would be difficult given what the team has done with Snitker at the helm. Snitker, meanwhile, says he understands the team’s need to evaluate other candidates.
Washington and Black are, of course, qualified candidates in their own right. Washington served parts of eight seasons as the Rangers’ manager and led them to two World Series before resigning in 2014. He currently serves as the Athletics’ third base coach. Black managed the Padres from 2007 through 2015, has an NL Manager Of The Year award to his credit, and has won praise for his work with pitchers. He was a candidate for the Nationals’ managerial opening last winter, and he currently works in the Angels’ front office.
Tigers Exercise Brad Ausmus’ Option
TODAY: Detroit has formally announced that Ausmus will be back next season. The press release makes no mention of any additional contract years, so it doesn’t seem that he has received any longer-term assurances.
YESTERDAY: The Tigers will exercise manager Brad Ausmus’ option for 2017, reports Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). Under Ausmus, the Tigers have gone 250-234 – including 86-75 in 2016 – with one playoff appearance in three seasons.
Detroit fell 2.5 games short of an American League wild-card spot this year, and there have been questions over the past several months regarding Ausmus’ job security. Ausmus seemed frustrated with his status over the weekend, telling reporters to “ask whoever’s managing next year” when they inquired about how the Tigers plan to use reliever Bruce Rondon in 2017. Ausmus also said he has “kind of been an interim manager for like two years.” Nevertheless, the former big league catcher expressed a desire to continue as Detroit’s skipper.
“It’s going to be between me and Al,” he said, referring to general manager Al Avila. “If Al thinks he would rather have someone else, I would respect his decision. If Al would like me to do it, I would love to do it. But to speculate over it is a waste of time.”
Avila was scheduled to meet with Ausmus sometime this week to discuss the latter’s job. It now appears Ausmus will get another chance with a Detroit team that has gone back-to-back years without a playoff berth.
Brian Cashman On Yankees’ Offseason Plans
Yankees GM Brian Cashman took his turn breaking down the club’s 2016 season and previewing the offseason that lies ahead. Jack Curry of the YES Network was among those on hand, and all links below are to his Twitter feed:
- When asked about the possibility of dealing for a top-line starter such as Chris Sale, Cashman said he’d be “hard-pressed” to part with the haul of young talent needed to pull off such a deal. He indicated that it would be a “dangerous approach” to chase that kind of acquisition, especially given that his club is more than one piece away from pushing for a championship
- Dellin Betances is in line to remain the Yankees’ closer, though Cashman held out the possibiity that the club will “do something different.” Curry notes that his own expectation is the team will chase lefty Aroldis Chapman, who is heading onto the open market after spending part of 2016 in New York (prior to his mid-season trade to the Cubs).
- In other pitching news, intriguing young righty Luis Severino won’t come into camp with a rotation job locked up, Cashman said. Instead, he’ll need to prove himself in camp, with Cashman saying that he hopes Severino “can regain starter ceiling status” after a tough 2016 campaign. Though he contributed only 71 major league frames with a 5.83 ERA last year, Severino is only 22 years of age and threw well at the Triple-A level in 2016.
- Meanwhile, veteran lefty CC Sabathia is headed for a clean-up procedure for his knee. It’s said to be a “routine” operation, which presumably won’t prevent the 36-year-old from a full spring build-up. Sabathia is an important part of the Yankees’ pitching mix after his $25MM option vested. He contributed 179 2/3 innings of 3.91 ERA pitching last year, making for a rather promising showing.
- New York will still presumably make an effort to bolster its rotation from the outside. Indeed, Cashman said the team will be on the lookout for opportunities to add arms. While the free agent picture is rather bleak, there are a few useful starters available as well as plenty of trade possibilities — even if chasing an ace likely isn’t in the cards.
- The Yankees have never asked catcher Brian McCann to waive his no-trade clause, which Cashman says represents an indication of how much the team values the veteran. McCann’s name has come up quite a bit in trade chatter with Gary Sanchez expected to take over primary duties behind the dish. But it’s certainly still plausible to imagine both players holding down important roles. Alternatively, with a lot of demand for catchers around the game, McCann could be moved to address another need.
- Meanwhile, the current plan is for Greg Bird and Tyler Austin to battle for playing time at first base while choosing from among Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, and Rob Refsnyder in right field. It’s likely the club will stay with its internal options in those areas, Cashman said, though he added that there is some uncertainty as to whether that mix will be sufficient.
- While he probably won’t be an option early in the year, hyped prospect Jorge Mateo could play his way into the team’s plans if he can turn things around after a rough 2016 at the High-A level. The 21-year-old, a shortstop by trade, is being exposed to center field in instructional league action this fall in a bid to increase his versatility.
- Cashman also addressed a few broader points. The organization still hopes to get under the luxury tax threshold at some point, which would reset the team’s rising tax figure. Both Cashman and skipper Joe Girardi will go year to year on their contracts rather than receiving any long-term assurances. And all coaches except Larry Rothschild are under contract, with the Yanks set to work on a new deal with their pitching coach.
Marlins Exercise Ichiro Option, Announce Prado Extension
The Marlins have officially announced that they have exercised the 2017 club option over outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and also added an additional $2MM option year to his deal. Miami also confirmed the previously-reported, three-year extension with third baseman Martin Prado.
It’ll cost the Fish just $2MM to bring back Ichiro, who topped 3,000 hits during his solid 2016 campaign. All told, he ran up a .288/.352/.374 batting line over 365 plate appearances. While nobody will mistake that for one of the Japanese star’s mid-prime seasons, it made him quite a useful fourth outfielder and represents remarkable productivity for a man of his age.
It remains to be seen whether the coming season will be the last for the all-time great performer. But it certainly appears that at least one more is under contemplation, given that the sides agreed to plug another option into his contract. With a starting outfield of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna, the hope will be that Ichiro is deployed only sparingly, but he has been needed for rather extensive use in each of his two seasons in Miami.
As for the Prado contract, which was reported about a week ago, the Marlins will keep the versatile veteran from testing a market that likely would have valued him rather highly. Prado, meanwhile, avoids the risk of entering free agency after declining a qualifying offer, which would have held down his market by requiring other teams to sacrifice a draft choice to sign him.
With Prado locked in at third for the time being, the Marlins appear to have solidified their infield mix. Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria did struggle quite a bit in 2016, but it’s unclear whether there’s any reasonable hope of upgrading. With Dee Gordon at second, J.T. Realmuto behind the plate, and Derek Dietrich available as a utility option, the only question may be what the team does to find a right-handed-hitting complement for Justin Bour at first base.
Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald tweeted that the announcements were expected today. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweeted on the additional option, while SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweeted its value.