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Jose Fernandez Dies In Boating Accident

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In stunning and tragic news, one of baseball’s preeminent young stars, Marlins right-hander Jose Fernandez, died in a boating accident early Sunday morning, the team has confirmed. Fernandez was 24.

“The Miami Marlins organization is devastated by the tragic loss of Jose Fernandez. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at a very difficult time,” the club said in a statement.

As a result of Fernandez’s death, the Marlins have canceled their game against the Braves on Sunday.

Fernandez was among three men who were found dead after a Coast Guard Patrol spotted an overturned boat off Miami Beach at 3:30 a.m. ET. The 32-foot boat the group was on had a “severe impact” with a jetty, Lorenzo Veloz of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told the Associated Press. There’s “no indication of alcohol or illegal drugs involved,” though the high rate of speed at which the boat was traveling factored into the crash, the Coast Guard said (via ESPN.com and Adam Kuperstein of NBC 6).

Jose Fernandez

In Fernandez, baseball has lost one of its most charismatic and talented performers, which commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged in a statement.

“All of Baseball is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez. He was one of our game’s great young stars who made a dramatic impact on and off the field since his debut in 2013. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, the Miami Marlins organization and all of the people he touched in his life,” said Manfred.

Before his career began, Fernandez endured a harrowing experience during his 2008 emigration from Cuba as he sought to realize his dream of pitching in the majors. He and his party dodged bullets from Cuban Coast Guard boats as they journeyed to Mexico. Along the way, Fernandez’s mother, Maritza, fell in the ocean, and he saved her from drowning.

“I dove to help a person not thinking who that person was,” said Fernandez. “Imagine when I realized it was my own mother. If that does not leave a mark on you for the rest of your life, I don’t know what will.”

Fernandez’s successful defection from Cuba came after three failed attempts, all of which occurred before he turned 15. Each of those three instances resulted in jail time for Fernandez, who became a United States citizen in 2015.

Three years after Fernandez departed his homeland, the Marlins selected him with the 14th pick of the 2011 draft. Two years later, he debuted with the Marlins and immediately emerged as one of the majors’ most electrifying arms. In 172 2/3 innings in 2013, Fernandez registered a sterling 2.19 ERA to go with 9.75 K/9 against 3.02 BB/9 en route to National League Rookie of the Year honors.

Fernandez underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2014, which limited him to 51 2/3 innings that year and 64 2/3 frames last season. He returned in earnest this year and dominated the opposition, logging a 2.86 ERA, 12.49 K/9 and 2.71 BB/9 across a personal-best 182 1/3 innings. Overall, the ace amassed 471 1/3 career major league innings, recorded a 2.58 ERA, 11.25 K/9 and 2.67 BB/9, and earned two All-Star nods.

“He was the heartbeat of our team,” a Marlins official told Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Prior to his death, Fernandez was set to become a father. His girlfriend, Carla Mendoza, has a baby on the way. The MLBTR staff joins the rest of the sports world in offering our condolences to Fernandez’s family and the Marlins organization.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Scully, Trumbo, Yankees, Urshela, Cardinals

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Vin Scully’s final game behind the mic at Dodger Stadium was a memorable one, as the Dodgers clinched the NL West with a 4-3 win over the Rockies, fueled by a 10th-inning walkoff homer from Charlie Culberson.  The legendary announcer has already said he won’t be calling any Dodger postseason action, so the final three games of Scully’s 67-year career will come on September 30-October 2, when the Dodgers head to San Francisco for the last three games of the regular season.

Some stray items from around baseball…

  • 2016 is quietly on pace to be one of the biggest home run seasons in the game’s history, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan writes in his weekly “Ten Degrees” column.  Hitters are on pace for the second-highest single-season homer total ever, behind only the 2000 season.  With power on the rise and more readily available than in recent seasons, Passan notes that Mark Trumbo’s free agent stock could be hampered.  Teams will look harder at Trumbo’s lack of defense or OBP if homers are no longer seen as quite a rare commodity.
  • The Yankees have been rumored to be interested in a reunion with Aroldis Chapman, and the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff notes that Dellin Betances’ recent struggles could exacerbate the Yankees’ need for another big bullpen arm.  Betances has only “struggled” since August 1 (3.48 ERA and a 32:9 K/BB rate in 20 2/3 innings) by his high standards, though fatigue could be an issue given how much Betances has pitched both this season and over the last three years on the whole.  Signing Chapman in free agency and moving Betances back to a setup role would again give the Yankees an elite end-game pairing, if not quite the uniquely great trio they had earlier in the season with Andrew Miller also in the mix.
  • As part of a reader mailbag piece, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opined that the Indians probably aren’t likely to shop Giovanny Urshela this season now that Jose Ramirez looks like an answer at third base.  Urshela is a gifted defender but he has posted just a .608 OPS over his 288 career PA in the majors and a .269/.302/.402 career slash line over eight minor league seasons.  Other teams may not be willing to give up much in a trade for a player who has shown so little at the plate.
  • The Cubs completely rebuilt their roster from scratch to become a powerhouse team both this season and potentially for years to come, though Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon that such an extensive rebuild would be unlikely for his club.  “They were able to do so without being overly concerned about how they finished for a couple years….I’ve always said St. Louis has been a place that demands winning,” Mozeliak said.  “[Owner Bill] DeWitt Jr. and myself, we’re not ever looking at a season where we want to take a timeout or two and try to reshuffle the deck.”  Mozeliak implied that the Cards would only explore such a strategy if their minor league system totally dried up, which doesn’t seem like an impending issue given how well St. Louis has drafted and developed young players over the last two decades.

Poll: Should The Blue Jays Issue Michael Saunders A Qualifying Offer?

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Back on August 16, I posted a forecast of which free agents could receive qualifying offers from their teams this offseason.  Michael Saunders was listed as one of my “easy calls” to receive the one-year, $16.7MM contract, with one important caveat.  Saunders, at that point, had been in a month-long slump, so I noted that the Blue Jays could re-consider issuing Saunders a QO if his slump continued, given his lack of track record as an upper-tier hitter.

Well, fast-forward six weeks and Saunders’ bat has yet to wake up.  In 27 games between August 16 and September 23, Saunders is hitting just .207/.286/.427 with four homers over 92 plate appearances.  In the second half altogether, Saunders has contributed a .179/.284/.375 slash line over 195 PA, though eight of his 24 homers on the season have come since the All-Star break.

So while Saunders has retained some of his pop (he has a respectable .196 isolated slugging mark in the second half) since the Midsummer Classic, the rest of his batting numbers have fallen off the table.  This has made Saunders a sub-replacement level player for the Jays, since if Saunders isn’t hitting, he can’t contribute much on the basepaths or as a corner outfielder.  An above-average baserunner early in his career according to Fangraphs’ BsR metric, Saunders has unsurprisingly been subpar in that category since tearing his meniscus during a freak Spring Training accident in 2015 and subsequently missing much of that season due to knee problems.  It’s fair to guess that the knee injury has also contributed to Saunders’ poor defense, as his minus-9 Defensive Runs Scored and -12.1 UZR/150 this season in the outfield is well below his pre-meniscus tear career standard as a decent left fielder and a very good right fielder.

As it pertains to Saunders’ free agent stock, teams will certainly think hard about offering a big multi-year deal to a player who may already be turning into a bat-only type as he enters his age-30 season, especially when his bat may not be that potent.  If Saunders and his representatives at Meister Sports Management feel that these question marks and the QO-attached draft pick compensation hanging over his free agency could limit his market, he could accept the Jays’ qualifying offer and aim for 2017 as that true breakout year where he is both healthy and consistently productive.

If the Blue Jays think there’s a chance Saunders accepts a QO, would they be comfortable offering it?  The Jays may be wary committing $16.7MM to a player with Saunders’ limitations.  There’s also the fact that Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are also free agents this winter, and both will certainly be issued qualifying offers.  Encarnacion will definitely reject his, while there’s a chance Bautista could accept given his disappointing and injury-plagued season.  If both signed elsewhere, the Jays would probably welcome Saunders accepting a QO just so they could retain one important bat for the lineup.  Encarnacion’s departure would also free up the designated hitter spot for Saunders and other veterans in the Blue Jays lineup.  If fatigue has been a factor in Saunders’ second-half slide, regular DH at-bats would help keep him fresher and perhaps more productive over all 162 games.

This all being said, let’s not forget just how tremendous Saunders was in the first half of 2016.  Only 13 players in baseball topped Saunders’ first-half wRC+ of 146, and the outfielder hit an impressive .298/.372/.551 with 16 homers over 344 PA.  Saunders had long been rumored to have middle-of-the-order bat potential, and it was all clicking for him in the first 3.5 months of the season.

Given that teams are increasingly preferring to be flexible with their DH spot rather than have one designated hitter, a team with holes at both DH and corner outfield would certainly consider Saunders to rotate between both positions.  As mentioned earlier, 2017 will be Saunders’ age-30 season, which gives him an age advantage over some of the other notable corner outfield/DH types on the market this offseason.  Teams may be more willing to surrender a draft pick for a player who could still be coming into his prime, so it’s quite possible that Saunders will find a nice contract elsewhere and the Jays can recoup a draft pick via the qualifying offer.

Far from being an “easy call” anymore, Saunders now stands as one of the most intriguing QO cases of any free agent this winter, particularly given how his situation could influence how the Blue Jays approach re-signing Encarnacion and/or Bautista.  How do MLBTR readers feel?  (link for app users):

Injury Notes: Harper, Choo, Gray, Wendelken

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The latest on some developing injury situations from around baseball…

  • Bryce Harper is day-to-day with a thumb injury, and the Nationals star outfielder will undergo x-rays tomorrow to determine the extent of the problem.  The injury, suffered on an awkward slide into third base, forced Harper to leave after the third inning of today’s 10-7 Washington win over the Pirates.  Harper “didn’t sound especially worried” (in the words of MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman) when discussing the injury with media after the game.  The Nationals has already clinched the NL East and know they’ll be facing the Dodgers in the NLDS, so while homefield advantage has yet to be determined, the Nats would probably feel safe in sitting Harper to rest his injury (assuming it isn’t overly serious) for the last week of the regular season.
  • Shin-Soo Choo will begin three days of play in the Instructional League to see if he can be ready to return to the Rangers in time for the postseason, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes.  Choo is rather surprisingly close to getting back in action after suffering a fractured left forearm in mid-August, and if all goes well, the outfielder believes he could return to the Texas lineup on Friday for the beginning of a season-ending series against the Rays.  Plans could quickly change, of course, if Choo has a setback or if he doesn’t look sharp in his very limited rehab assignment.  Sullivan notes that Choo’s situation is one of many postseason roster questions for the Rangers, as the club is also undecided about whether Jeremy Jeffress, Tony Barnette or Derek Holland will be in the bullpen for the ALDS.
  • Sonny Gray will make one more start in 2016, albeit an abbreviated one.  Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jane Lee) that Gray will be on a limited pitch count when he starts Wednesday’s game against the Angels, and Ross Detwiler will step in after Gray tosses an inning or two.  Gray has been on the DL since early August due to a right forearm strain, the second extended DL stint of what has been a disappointing season for the A’s ace righty.  In 116 innings, Gray has posted a career-worst 5.74 ERA.
  • Athletics righty J.B. Wendelken will get a second opinion about whether he needs Tommy John surgery or not, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports (Twitter link), though the odds are “not optimistic” that Wendelken can avoid the procedure.  Wendelken made his MLB debut this season, posting a 9.95 ERA over 12 2/3 relief innings for the A’s.  Going by the usual recovery timeline for TJ patients, Wendelken will be sidelined until the beginning of the 2018 season.

Brewers Notes: Stearns, Rebuild, Counsell, Braun

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Here’s the latest out of Milwaukee…

  • Khris Davis and Jean Segura could have been building blocks for the Brewers rather than enjoying big seasons for the A’s and Diamondbacks, though GM David Stearns tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he doesn’t regret dealing the two players last winter to pick up younger talent.  “There are going to be times when you trade a player and he has a good year, and that’s OK,” Stearns said.  “These are challenging decisions but we make them with a great deal of confidence.  If we continue to follow this approach, we believe we’re going to amass the critical amount of talent at the major-league level that’s going to allow us to compete consistently.”  Both Stearns and owner Mark Attanasio said are committed to continuing the team’s rebuilding plan, and are pleased with the Brewers’ progress in 2016.
  • Attanasio hinted that manager Craig Counsell will receive a contract extension this winter.  Counsell’s original three-year deal expires at the end of the 2017 season.  Counsell has a 131-162 record as Milwaukee’s skipper, though wins and losses on a rebuilding team aren’t necessarily as important as how Counsell has handled several challenges in his first full season as manager — keeping the Brewers prepared and competitive amidst a losing season, preparing younger players getting their first shot in the bigs and handling the trade rumors swirling around Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Braun.  As it is somewhat unusual for a new GM to step into a job with a manager he didn’t originally hire, Attanasio said he has been impressed at how Counsell and Stearns have worked together.
  • Today was the Brewers’ last home game of the season, and it could potentially also be Braun’s last time wearing a Milwaukee uniform at Miller Park.  The slugger told reporters (including Haudricourt, via Twitter) that he didn’t think there was “a great chance” he would be traded this offseason, though there is a “higher chance” at a deal this winter than there has been in past years.  “On a day like today, it’s impossible not to think about it [a trade] at least a little bit. You try to stay focused,” Braun said.  Several teams were rumored to be interested in Braun around the trade deadline, and the Brewers and Dodgers seemingly came rather close on a potential deal that would’ve sent Braun to Los Angeles for a trade package including Yasiel Puig.  Braun will have quite a bit of control over his future, as his contract allows him to block trades to 23 teams every season.  The Dodgers were one of three teams (along with the Angels and Marlins) who weren’t included on his no-trade list in each of the last two years.

Pirates Hope To Re-Sign Sean Rodriguez

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It didn’t take much last winter for the Pirates to re-sign utilityman Sean Rodriguez, who inked a one-year, $2.5MM contract after a poor season. Considering Rodriguez has drastically improved his output this year, Pittsburgh won’t be able to bring him back during the offseason at such a low cost, which general manager Neal Huntington knows.

“We’d love to have Sean remain in a Pirate uniform,” Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Given what he’s done this year, we would fully anticipate that there’s going to be quite a market out there for him.”

Rodriguez has lined up everywhere but pitcher and catcher this season, though he has spent the lion’s share of his time at first base, the middle infield and right field. Offensively, the 31-year-old is amid a career campaign, having slashed a terrific .264/.345/.518 with 18 home runs through 320 plate appearances. Rodriguez’s overall line and homer total are easily personal bests since he broke into the majors with the Angels in 2008, and the longtime Ray has helped his cause with a 10 percent walk rate. That’s significantly better than the 2.1 percent mark Rodriguez posted in 2015, when he logged one of his worst seasons.

In assessing Rodriguez’s value, Huntington said, “Sean’s just done a remarkable job. The defensive versatility and the impact, it’s hard to measure.”

Rodriguez hit an uninspiring .228/.295/.371 across 2,093 PAs entering this season, but he could seek a multiyear deal worth around $5MM per annum on the heels of a strong 2016, writes Biertempfel. That would likely price him out of Pittsburgh, per Biertempfel, who notes that the club has potential in-house replacements in Adam Frazier and Alen Hanson. Frazier seems especially likely to take over for Rodriguez, as the 24-year-old has spent time at multiple infield and outfield positions and slashed .311/.361/.432 in his first 144 major league trips to the plate.

Reactions To Jose Fernandez’s Death

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On the heels of Marlins ace Jose Fernandez’s tragic death Sunday, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com wonders what might have been had his life not been cut short at the age of 24. The fun-loving Fernandez’s upside on the mound was limitless, writes Stark, who opines that the Cuba native could have been the next Pedro Martinez. To back up such high praise, Stark notes that Fernandez’s lifetime 150 ERA+ ranks first among right-handers whose careers began since World War II (minimum 70 starts).

More reactions to the death of Fernandez, whose loss has the baseball world in mourning:

  • Speaking of Martinez, the 44-year-old Hall of Famer and three-time Cy Young Award winner said Sunday that Fernandez was a “better talent” than he was (Twitter link via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald). That’s quite an endorsement from Martinez, hands down one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the sport.
  • In emigrating from a communist country to emerge as an elite pitcher in the United States, Fernandez became the embodiment of the American Dream, offers Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. It wasn’t easy for Fernandez, who ended up in jail three times as a young teenager after failed attempts to immigrate to America. The fourth try, which came in 2008, was successful, but Fernandez had to dive into the ocean to save his mother from drowning as they fled to Mexico. Years later, in 2015, Fernandez became a proud U.S. citizen, as Passan details.
  • On the field, Fernandez recorded the best FIP of any modern era pitcher – Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax rank second and third – per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Off the field, Fernandez brought happiness to those around him, writes Heyman. “He just could bring a smile to everyone’s face,” former teammate Steve Cishek said.
  • At a tearful press conference Sunday, Marlins manager Don Mattingly added, “I see such a little boy in the way he played. Such joy. When you watch kids play Little League, that’s what I think about.” Stated owner Jeffrey Loria, “Sadly, the brightest lights are often the ones that extinguish the fastest. Jose left us far too soon, but his memory will endure in all of us. At this difficult time, our prayers are with his mother, grandmother, family and friends.”

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Ortiz, MVPs, Jays, Bucs, Yanks

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This week in the baseball blogosphere…

Please send submissions to ZachBBWI @gmail.com.

MLBTR Originals

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This week’s original features from the MLBTR staff:

  • Mark Polishuk explored what a potential contract extension might look like for Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez, who’s in the midst of his third straight excellent season.
  • The Braves and Padres haven’t been relevant to the National League playoff race this year, but that doesn’t mean their seasons have been completely devoid of positives. Jason Martinez highlighted the clubs’ five biggest bright spots of 2016 (ATL, SD).
  • Steve Adams analyzed the three biggest needs the Twins will have to address during the offseason, and Jeff Todd did the same with the Rays and Diamondbacks (MIN, TB, ARZ).
  • Jeff broke down the free agent stock of Royals designated hitter Kendrys Morales, whom Jeff doesn’t expect to receive a qualifying offer.
  • Considering Neil Walker recently underwent back surgery, Steve polled readers on whether the Mets should extend the consistently solid second baseman a qualifying offer after the season.

Duquette: Trumbo’s Power “Worth A Significant Investment”

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The Mariners weren’t interested in paying Mark Trumbo $9.1MM this year, so they dealt him and left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser to the Orioles last December for backup catcher Steve Clevenger. Almost a year later, it’s fair to say the Orioles made out well in the trade. Trumbo has slashed .250/.312/.526 with a major league-leading 45 home runs in 638 plate appearances, while Clevenger added little to the Mariners before earning a suspension for controversial tweets Friday.

Trumbo’s latest homer came Saturday for the contending Orioles, who picked up a 6-1 victory over the Diamondbacks to improve to 84-71. Baltimore currently holds a half-game lead on the second wild-card spot in the American League, and it’s arguable whether the team would be in a playoff position without Trumbo’s offensive output. For their part, the Orioles are thrilled with what Trumbo has contributed, as Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes.

“He’s an excellent veteran player,” general manager Dan Duquette said. “I really like what he’s done for our team. He’s got some really good personal qualities that add to the ballclub.”

Meanwhile, Trumbo – who has also played for the Angels and Diamondbacks – raved about his time with the Orioles.

“It’s been the most enjoyable season I’ve had … from the group of guys in the clubhouse to the winning they’ve done on the field,” Trumbo told Schmuck.

While there’s clearly respect between the two sides, it’s uncertain whether they’ll be able to work out a new deal to prevent Trumbo from leaving Baltimore as a free agent after the season. The Orioles hope Trumbo accepts a $16.7MM qualifying offer to remain with the team in 2017, per Schmuck, who notes that’s probably unrealistic. Odds are Trumbo will land a lucrative multiyear deal, but whether he’s worth one is up in the air. While the 30-year-old ranks 18th in the majors in homers (176) and 30th in ISO (.220) since debuting in 2010, he hasn’t brought much to the table aside from above-average power.

Trumbo’s subpar career walk rate (6.7 percent) has helped produce a .302 on-base percentage, and he hasn’t offered value on the base paths or defensively, having primarily lined up in the outfield and at first base. The lion’s share of Trumbo’s action this year has come in right field, and he currently rates as the majors’ 13th-worst outfielder in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-13) among those who have logged at least 500 innings. He’s also 17th from the bottom in Ultimate Zone Rating (minus-7.7).

Offensively, this season has been a tale of two halves for Trumbo. He batted an outstanding .288/.341/.582 with 28 HRs in 375 PAs before the All-Star break, but he has hit just .187/.263/.430 with a still-impressive 17 long balls in 259 trips to the plate since. In total, the package has been worth a mediocre 1.5 fWAR, though FanGraphs indicates that Trumbo has given the Orioles $12.2MM in value this season, thereby outproducing his salary.

Going forward, it’s questionable whether the career .250/.302/.470 hitter will be able to provide bang for a team’s buck on a more expensive contract. The Orioles already have one well-compensated slugger, first baseman Chris Davis, locked up through 2022 at $23MM per annum. Davis hasn’t performed to expectations in Year 1 of his deal, which could weigh on the Orioles’ minds when considering re-signing Trumbo. At the same time, they’re clearly cognizant of Trumbo’s power.

“His performance in terms of hitting the ball out of the ballpark and driving in runs is certainly worth a significant investment,” Duquette said.

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