Central Notes: Gomez, Castillo, Polanco
Outfielder Carlos Gomez would eventually like to retire with the Brewers, Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel writes. “I feel in my heart and my mind that this is the organization where I grew up,” says Gomez. “My best memory in my career is in a Brewers uniform and I’d like to retire some day in this uniform.” Gomez, of course, currently plays for the Astros (who are currently in Milwaukee), and his desire to finish his career with the Brew Crew isn’t likely to result in an imminent transaction, and might not even lead to him signing with the Brewers once his current contract expires this fall. But it’s hardly surprising that the Brewers organization would hold a special place in his heart. After coming through the Mets system and playing for two seasons with the Twins, Gomez blossomed in Milwaukee, finishing in the top ten in NL MVP voting with a 7.4-fWAR season in 2013 and making the All-Star team that year and in 2014. Here’s more from the Central divisions.
- Dave Dombrowski’s Tigers offered outfielder Rusney Castillo a $40MM deal when Castillo was a free agent, Jon Heyman tweets. That figure didn’t approach the $72.5MM offer Castillo eventually got from the Red Sox, but it suggests that Dombrowski liked Castillo even before taking over as the Red Sox’ president of baseball operations. Castillo’s deal with the Red Sox, of course, hasn’t worked out well so far, and he has yet to receive a plate appearance this season.
- Fellow Pirates players say Gregory Polanco‘s recent extension will help him perform better by protecting him from worry about his contract status, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. “I told [Polanco], just like when it happened to me, it’s good to get it out of the way,” says Andrew McCutchen, who received his own long-term deal in 2012. “I honestly think that’s kind of helped him. He’s going to be able to just go out and not worry. He’s financially set, and I’m looking forward to him being able to be the player that we know he can be.”
East Notes: Ellsbury, Encarnacion, Ortiz, Mets, Morales
Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury‘s $153MM deal could turn out to be one of the worst in the history of the Yankees franchise, ESPN’s Andrew Marchand writes. At the time the deal was signed, it looked like the team’s best chance to get value was for Ellsbury to be very productive at the front end of the deal, but that hasn’t really proven to be the case. He produced a solid .271/.328/.419 season in 2014, but last year he hit just .257/.318/.345 while dealing with knee issues, with his isolated power dropping from .148 to .088. He’s off to a 4-for-18 start this season. Here’s more from the East divisions.
- Red Sox legend David Ortiz thinks Edwin Encarnacion should replace him as the Sox’ DH after he retires, WEEI’s Rob Bradford writes. “Hell, yeah. He’s a perfect replacement,” Ortiz says. “Because of everything, but mostly because he can hit.” Encarnacion says he still wants to play first base as well as DH, but he’s already talked to Ortiz about the possibility of playing DH full-time in the future (although not for the Red Sox specifically). Encarnacion batted .277/.372/.557 last season in Toronto. It now appears extension talks with the Blue Jays are dead. He’s set to become a free agent after the season.
- Mets manager Terry Collins says that he will utilize a full-blown left field platoon of Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares, Marc Carig of Newsday reports (Twitter links). “We’re in a situation where we’re trying to win games,” said Collins. “This is not a time to develop players.” The Mets skipper added that it wasn’t just a matter of getting Lagares in for his glove, noting that he likes his bat against lefties.
- Blue Jays lefty Franklin Morales says he felt “weakness” in his shoulder upon completing his first warm-up pitch yesterday, Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling tweets. Also via Zwelling (on Twitter), Jays manager John Gibbons says today that Morales’ situation isn’t serious and that Morales simply couldn’t loosen up last night. The Jays had planned to use Morales in the sixth inning yesterday, but he didn’t end up pitching. The Jays signed Morales to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal last week after the Brewers released him.
Week In Review: 4/2/16 – 4/8/16
Here’s a look back at the past week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- The Giants agreed to sign first baseman Brandon Belt to a five-year extension.
- The Pirates signed outfielder Gregory Polanco to a five-year extension.
Signings
- Blue Jays – P Franklin Morales (link)
- Brewers – P Carlos Torres (link)
Trades
- Brewers – acquired P Sam Freeman from Rangers for cash considerations
- Orioles – acquired P Jayson Aquino from Cardinals for cash considerations
- Blue Jays – acquired P Chris Leroux from Phillies for cash considerations
- Rays – acquired C Carlos Corporan from Yankees for cash considerations
Claimed
- Padres – P Brad Hand (from Marlins)
- Rays – 1B/OF Jake Goebbert (from Pirates)
Designated For Assignment
- Diamondbacks – P Kyle Drabek (link)
- Rangers – OF Justin Ruggiano (link)
- Astros – P Dan Reynolds (link)
- Brewers – P Ariel Pena (link)
- Indians – OF James Ramsey (link)
- Padres – P Josh Martin (link)
- Pirates – P John Holdzkom, IF Pedro Florimon (link)
- Braves – OF Michael Bourn (link), UT Emilio Bonifacio (link)
Outrighted
- Marlins – OF Cole Gillespie (link)
- Blue Jays – C A.J. Jimenez (link), 1B Jesus Montero, OF Junior Lake (link)
- Mariners – C Rob Brantly (link)
Returned
Released
- Phillies – P Ernesto Frieri (link)
- Twins – P Aaron Thompson (link)
- Nationals – OF Reed Johnson (link)
Key Minor League Signings
- Padres – 1B James Loney (link; Loney had previously been released by the Rays)
- Dodgers – P Sam LeCure (link), P Dale Thayer (link)
- Rangers – P Burke Badenhop (link)
- Mets – C Rene Rivera (link)
- White Sox – P Miguel Gonzalez (link)
- Angels – P Neal Cotts (link)
- Reds – P Steve Delabar (link)
Luis Severino Switches Agencies
Standout young Yankees right-hander Luis Severino has changed representation and is now a client of Paul Kinzer’s Rep 1 Baseball, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Baseball Essential’s Robert Murray tweets that Severino followed agent Nelson Montas De Oca to his new agency.
Severino celebrated just his 22nd birthday in February, but he’s already burst onto the scene as one of the game’s more exciting young arms. The former top prospect made 11 starts for the Yankees down the stretched and helped New York to a Wild Card playoff berth last season by logging a 2.89 ERA in his 62 1/3 innings at the big league level. Severino averaged 8.1 strikeouts and 3.2 walks per nine innings to go along with a solid 50.3 percent ground-ball rate in that impressive debut, and his fastball averaged 95.3 mph along the way.
Of course, with only 61 days of major league service under his belt, Severino remains under team control through 2021. He’s on track to become eligible for arbitration before the 2019 campaign, as he won’t qualify as a Super Two if he remains on the active roster. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any opportunity for contractual work for his new reps, though, as the young righty could profile as an extension candidate if he continues to entrench himself on the Yankees’ staff.
Madison Bumgarner Hires Excel Sports Management
Giants ace Madison Bumgarner recently changed representation, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports on Twitter. The outstanding southpaw has hired Excel Sports Management as his agency.
Bumgarner, 26, has gone from being a quality young pitcher to a bona fide top-of-the-rotation star. He’s ended each of the last three seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA, and has increased his innings output and K:BB ratio in each successive campaign. Last year, he spun a career-high 218 1/3 frames and struck out 9.6 while walking only 1.6 opposing batters per nine.
Of course, the Giants were able to lock MadBum into an early-career extension just prior to the 2012 season. That pact largely lined up with the guarantees given to other impressive young starters, but did set a record for 1+ service-time pitchers when it was signed.
Now, of course, the contract is an unquestionable steal for San Francisco, which controls Bumgarner through 2019 via a pair of $12MM options. That would take Bumgarner through his age-29 season, meaning he could still hit the open market at a reasonably young age — or, of course, consider an additional extension.
Bumgarner joins an already-impressive stable of pitchers with Excel, including Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Masahiro Tanaka. As always, you can find information on player representation in MLBTR’s Agency Database.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/8/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Marlins have outrighted outfielder Cole Gillespie after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. Gillespie, 31, has received only sporadic playing time over the last several years, but had his most productive campaign in 2015 for Miami, slashing .290/.333/.428 in 157 plate appearances. But with five names ahead of him in the outfield mix, Gillespie found himself in DFA limbo to open the year.
- Long-time big league infielder Josh Wilson has inked with the indy league York Revolution, the club announced (h/t Jason Bristol, CBS 21 News, via Twitter). Wilson, 35, has seen action in eight major league seasons, most recently with the Tigers, though he hasn’t topped 100 turns at bat in a season since his 2010 stint with the Mariners. All told, Wilson has compiled a .229/.280/.319 batting line in 1,190 plate appearances at the major league level, though obviously he’s valued mostly for his quality glovework.
Injury Notes: Schwarber, DeSclafani, deGrom, Inciarte, Ryu
The big news of the day, of course, is the Cubs‘ loss of Kyle Schwarber for the season with a devastating knee injury. Schwarber won’t have his knee operation until the swelling has subsided, which may take a few weeks, and his expected timeline won’t really be known until that time, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com was among those to tweet. Manager Joe Maddon, meanwhile, said it was “classic validation of why we signed Dexter Fowler” (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, on Twitter). Maddon added that Jorge Soler will see plenty of action in Schwarber’s stead, with Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist also representing options to fill in.
There were a few other notable injury matters that hit the news wire:
- Reds righty Anthony DeSclafani will be bumped once again after being expected to make his season debut on Sunday, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports on Twitter. Manager Bryan Price said there hasn’t been a setback, but suggested that the club was exercising added caution. DeSclafani had been slated for Opening Day duties, but is trying to work through an oblique strain.
- Star Mets righty Jacob deGrom only made it through 76 pitches in his first outing of the year and was pulled early with tightness in his lat. As Mike Puma of the New York Post reports, deGrom’s velocity was notably down from its usual mid-90s pace — which could be a result of the cool weather and lat issues. Of course, he was still plenty effective, and he isn’t currently set for an MRI, but there are still some warning signs and good reason to proceed with caution.
- Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte left tonight’s action early with a hamstring issue, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. He’s being labeled as day-to-day for the time being, and it doesn’t appear likely to be a serious injury, but those sorts of muscle tweaks can lead to longer absences than one might think. Atlanta fans will no doubt wonder whether a possible DL stint would open the door for the promotion of Mallex Smith, but the likelier course would be to lean on Drew Stubbs for the meantime.
- The Dodgers got some promising news on lefty Hyun-jin Ryu, who, tossed two 20-pitch sim-game innings today. As Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets, manager Dave Roberts says that Ryu “felt great” after getting his work in. There’s still a long way to go before Ryu will make it back to the big league mound, but he is set to increase his pitch output in another simulated outing on Tuesday. The club will hope that the quality southpaw can keep some positive momentum going, as he has progressed somewhat slower than expected from his shoulder labrum surgery.
Diamondbacks Designate Kyle Drabek, Select Matt Buschmann
The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Kyle Drabek for assignment, per a team announcement (and as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic said was in the works, on Twitter). His roster spot will go to fellow righty Matt Buschmann.
Drabek ended up making just one appearance in a quick stint, but he did provide two much-needed innings in relief last night. He owns a 5.26 ERA over 179 2/3 career MLB frames, but has never made good on his former promise. Drabek, who entered the professional ranks as a first-round pick, once rated as one of the game’s very best pitching prospects.
As for Buschmann, he’ll get his first crack at the majors after ten years of minor league action. The 32-year-old signed a minor league deal with Arizona this winter, and obviously picked the right organization. Working at Triple-A last year as a starter with three different clubs, Buschmann ran up a 4.14 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 134 2/3 innings.
Kyle Schwarber Out For Year With Torn Knee Ligaments
Cubs catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber will miss the season after being diagnosed with full tears to the anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments of his left knee, the club has informed reporters including Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com (Twitter link). Schwarber suffered the injury in an outfield collision last night.
Schwarber was initially diagnosed with only a significant ankle sprain, with x-rays negative for fractures. But the force of the impact with center fielder Dexter Fowler obviously caused much more significant damage to his knee. Now, his ACL and LCL will require surgery and extensive rehab.
Needless to say, it’s a major blow for the high-powered Cubs offense and the rising 23-year-old star. Schwarber was expected to see significant action in the outfield this season, sharing time with right-handed hitting youngster Jorge Soler after the club added Jason Heyward and re-signed Fowler over the winter. He was also set to see limited time behind the plate — his natural position — behind top two options Miguel Montero and David Ross, in hopes that he’d be eased into a more regular catching role in the future.
While losing Schwarber’s high-quality bat is a big loss, Chicago is better positioned to absorb the blow than the Diamondbacks were when they saw A.J. Pollock go down. Soler, Kris Bryant, Matt Szczur, and perhaps Javier Baez provide rather promising options, though they all swing from the right side. The club dealt away left-handed-hitting outfielder/infielder Chris Coghlan in conjunction with the re-acquisition of Fowler, taking away their top platoon option against right-handed pitching.
The biggest impact, in some ways, could be down the line. Schwarber has shown the athleticism to turn into a big league catcher, but is said to need to add polish to that element of his game. Of course, he’s also new to the outfield. Losing the chance to continue to hone his skills on defense — and to see more left-handed MLB pitching, which posed a challenge last year — could impact his development. That’s all before considering the possible long-term impact of what is unquestionably a significant knee injury.
With Schwarber unable to resume his progress as a backstop, top prospect Willson Contreras becomes an even more important asset. His own development has been a significant sub-plot for a Cubs organization that is full of major storylines. Montero is nearing 33 years of age and will be a free agent after 2017, while Ross is set to retire after the season. The door is now open next year — if not sooner — for the 23-year-old Contreras, who will open at Triple-A after a big 2015 in his first run at the Double-A level.
Padres Claim Brad Hand From Marlins
The Padres have claimed lefty Brad Hand off waivers from the Marlins, as MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell reports on Twitter. Hand was designated for assignment on Sunday.
San Diego seemed to be looking for swingmen to stash with the acquisition and subsequent waiving of Dan Straily, who ended up being claimed by the Reds. It’s possible we’ll see the same attempted with Hand, though he could go right onto the active roster with southpaw reliever Matt Thornton hitting the DL. (He’s being replaced, for now, by Robbie Erlin.)
The 26-year-old Hand has split his major league appearances roughly evenly between starting and relief roles. He owns a 4.71 career ERA, with 5.9 K/9 vs. 3.7 BB/9, over 288 2/3 frames spread across five campaigns. Unsurprisingly, Hand has been much more effectively when facing left-handed hitters (.614 OPS-against) and when working out of the pen (.652 OPS-against).