MLBTR Live Chat 3/17/16
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.
Padres Sign Mike Olt To Minors Deal
The Padres have signed Mike Olt to a minor league deal which does not contain an invite to big league Spring Training, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union Tribune. The 27-year-old Olt will head to minor league camp. Olt’s signing was first noted by MadFriars.com, who tweeted a picture of Olt in uniform at Spring Training.
Olt’s deal with the Padres will reunite him with general manager A.J. Preller, who was an assistant GM with the Rangers when Olt was one of the game’s top-ranked prospect as a member of the Rangers organization. The former No. 49 overall pick in the 2010 draft, Olt’s big-time right-handed power quickly landed him among the game’s Top 30 prospects in the eyes of MLB.com, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. The UConn product’s best season in the minors came in 2012, when he slashed .288/.398/.579 with 28 homers at the Double-A level.
Olt has never hit much in the Majors, amassing just a .168/.250/.330 batting line with a jarring 37 percent strikeout rate. Contact has long been an issue for the slugger, who split the 2015 campaign between the Cubs and White Sox but was released by the latter earlier this week. Olt missed considerable time last season with a fractured wrist suffered early in the year upon being hit by a pitch. He’ll give the Padres some depth at the infield corners, with third base being a particularly thin area for the organization.
Further Details On The Adam LaRoche Situation
Adam LaRoche‘s decision to step away from the game of baseball (and a $13MM salary) earlier this week surprised most of the baseball world and left his teammates stunned. The subsequent reports that LaRoche’s decision stemmed from a request made by White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams that LaRoche’s 14-year-old son, Drake, not be allowed in the clubhouse on a daily basis anymore in 2016 (as he has been for the past five seasons of Adam’s career with the Nationals and White Sox) added quite a few wrinkles to the story. That news has triggered reactions from teammates and the media alike in addition to yielding several additionally newsworthy items, which we’ll compile here…
- White Sox players have emphatically sided with LaRoche in the matter, so much so that the team considered boycotting yesterday’s Spring Training game, reports ESPN’s Karl Ravech. Manager Robin Ventura intervened and convinced the players to take the field, but the clubhouse is none too pleased with the front office’s decision on the matter. Per Ravech, there’s a division between the clubhouse (including the players and Ventura) and the front office.
- CSN Chicago’s David Kaplan reports a number of elements on the decision, including the fact that allowing Drake to be in the clubhouse every day was actually a requirement for LaRoche to even sign with the Sox in the first place (Twitter link). According to Kaplan (link), LaRoche would not have signed with Chicago had he not been promised full access for his son, and both Ventura and GM Rick Hahn agreed to the situation before LaRoche was signed (link). Furthermore, Kaplan hears that White Sox players had a “very heated” meeting with management wherein high-profile players, including Chris Sale, “really went after” Williams. Kaplan describes the meeting as “very contentious,” noting that the Sox clubhouse think highly of LaRoche and his son.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan hears the same, tweeting that Sale “absolutely lit up” Williams over the situation. In a full column, Passan echoes the sentiment that Drake was welcome in the clubhouse and goes on to opine that, while the White Sox’ request was not necessarily misplaced, it was poorly timed. Implementing this new philosophy midway through Spring Training should never have happened, Passan writes, suggesting instead that it should’ve been handled before camp opened. Moreover, Passan tweets that the Sox roster feels that Williams isn’t around the clubhouse enough to understand the dynamics.
- Outfielder Adam Eaton spoke to CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes about the matter yesterday, firmly voicing his support for LaRoche and Drake. “We wanted Drake in the clubhouse, and we were backing Adam in every aspect,” said Eaton. “…He chose family over allowing his son to be in the clubhouse and we respect what he had to do. … We can say we enjoyed Drake LaRoche in the clubhouse and everything he brought in the clubhouse. He brought perspective. He helped out and around, he wasn’t a burden by any stretch of the imagination.” Eaton says that both Adam and Drake are “probably the most respected people” he’s shared a clubhouse with, noting that Drake often helped by cleaning players’ cleats and assisting in drills. “Never a trouble in the clubhouse,” Eaton repeated.
- USA Today’s Bob Nightengale contests that the Sox were in the right to make the request of LaRoche. Williams’ main point in speaking to Nightengale is that there is nary a business anywhere else in the country where a parent can bring his 14-year-old child to work every day. The longtime Chicago exec made it clear that he thinks highly of Drake, and the decision was in no way related to his conduct in the clubhouse. “Simply, you have to make a decision from the management perspective or an organization at large,” said Williams. “We went into this season saying to ourselves, ‘We are going to commit and focus and not leave any stone unturned.'” He also notes that he didn’t ask that Drake be completely absent, but rather simply dial back the frequency with which his son spent days in the clubhouse. Nightengale opines that it would be a shame for such a respected player to see his career end in this way, writing that LaRoche should “rip up his retirement papers” and return to the club on Friday.
- The issue of children in clubhouses is not unique to the White Sox organization, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, examining some of the policies and measures recently implemented by the Red Sox pertaining to this exact manner. Rosenthal also provides further details on Sale’s words for Williams (links to Twitter), adding that Sale told Williams to get out of the clubhouse and stay out.
- In a second column, Rosenthal reports that neither Hahn nor Ventura agrees with Williams’ approach. Asked why he made the decision and broke the news to LaRoche himself (as opposed to Hahn or Ventura), Williams told Rosenthal: “This had the potential to piss people off and I’m the best one to absorb the heat. Period.” A pair of sources also told Rosenthal that the agreement mentioned by Kaplan, in which Drake was permitted to be in the clubhouse on a daily basis, “might only have been verbal” as opposed to anything that was put in writing.
Reds To Sign Alfredo Simon To Major League Deal
1:15pm: MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports that Simon receives a $2MM base salary on the deal and can take home another $1.5MM worth of incentives (Twitter link).
11:01am: The Reds and right-hander Alfredo Simon are in agreement on a Major League contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The MVP Sports client will return to the Reds, where he pitched from 2012-14 before being traded to the Tigers in exchange for Eugenio Suarez and minor league righty Jonathon Crawford.
Simon, 35 in May, tallied 345 innings and a 3.16 ERA in his three years with the Reds, averaging 6.3 strikeouts and 2.7 walks per nine innings pitched to go along with a 48.5 percent ground-ball rate. Simon spent the first two years of his Reds tenure in the bullpen, but he made the jump to the rotation in 2014 and yielded better results than perhaps even the most optimistic expectations could’ve predicted. Simon made the first All-Star team of his career at the age of 33 that season, pitching to a 3.44 ERA in 196 2/3 innings. The outstanding work was enough to pique the Tigers’ trade interest and convince Detroit to cede a pair of intriguing young players for the final year of Simon’s club control.
Simon’s excellent season in ’14, though, looked to be largely smoke and mirrors, even at the time. The veteran benefited greatly from a minuscule .232 BABIP and 85 percent strand rate in the first half — neither of which appeared to make his 2.70 first-half ERA sustainable. That production did indeed prove too much to maintain, as Simon’s BABIP regressed to .309 in the second half, and his ERA after the break was a more pedestrian 4.52.
None of that, however, is to say that Simon can’t provide on-field value to the Reds’ pitching staff in 2016. (His off-field history, on the other hand, is a separate and lengthy issue.) The right-hander struggled to a 5.05 ERA with the Tigers last season, but that was partly due to a dip in strikeout rate and an increased walk rate. A move back to the NL could aid both of those factors, and despite the lackluster ERA, it has to be noted that Simon still racked up 187 innings in the Detroit rotation in what was another healthy year in the rotation. Making roughly 30 starts and delivering an ERA in the low- to mid-4.00 range would still be a boost to an uncertain Reds staff.
Indeed, Cincinnati has upside but also plenty of question marks beyond right-handers Anthony DeSclafani and Raisel Iglesias, so there’s certainly cause to add some depth in the form of Simon. While the club has a number of interesting young arms — Robert Stephenson, Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb, Michael Lorenzen and Cody Reed, to name a few — it’s difficult to rely on such an unproven mix to round out the rotation. That’s especially true in light of a UCL sprain for Lorenzen and a delayed start to the year for Lamb, who is recovering from offseason back surgery. The Reds, of course, also have veteran Homer Bailey on the mend from Tommy John surgery, but he figures to miss at least a couple of months this season as he works his way back, so there’s no telling exactly how many innings the club can receive from him.
Simon’s late start might mean that he won’t quite be ready to step into the Opening Day rotation, but even if that’s the case, it’s easy enough to see him jumping into the starting mix by the middle of next month and providing a stabilizing presence to an otherwise youthful staff. The Reds needn’t make a 40-man roster move to accommodate the addition of Simon, as that roster will stand at just 39 players, even after Simon’s return is finalized.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bronson Arroyo Has Torn Rotator Cuff
10:50am: The tear is in Arroyo’s rotator cuff, not his labrum, the pitcher himself told reporters (Twitter link via Zuckerman). Arroyo described the tear as “significant” and said that while he’s waiting for further evaluation, “It’s not looking real good.” Via James Wagner of the Washington Post (on Twitter), Arroyo says he will decide whether to rehab the shoulder or retire within the next couple of days.
MARCH 17, 9:15am: The Nationals told reporters this morning, including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, that reports of the labrum tear are “premature,” and they’re waiting for an MRI from the D-backs to compare the results to yesterday’s test (links to Zuckerman on Twitter). Zuckerman further notes, though, that Arroyo was seen hugging teammates in the clubhouse and that “everyone seems to sense what the likely result” of the situation is. Said manager Dusty Baker: “We don’t have to make a rash decision on anything. I think we owe him that as a man and as a professional.”
MARCH 16: Right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who is in camp with the Nationals on a minor league contract and has been vying for the fifth spot in their rotation, has an “80 percent tear” of the labrum in his right shoulder, tweets MLB Network’s Peter Gammons. Earlier today, it was reported that Arroyo would be scratched from his upcoming start due to shoulder soreness, but the severity of the injury will end Arroyo’s comeback attempt with the Nationals, Gammons notes.
Arroyo chose a minor league deal with the Nats (and his former skipper Dusty Baker) this winter over a return to Cincinnati on a minor league pact. The veteran innings eater had been hoping to make it back to the Majors for the first time since 2014 after missing the 2015 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Arroyo had long been known for his durability prior to signing a two-year pact with the D-backs spanning those 2014-15 seasons, but he underwent Tommy John after tearing his UCL three months into his first season with Arizona. He didn’t pitch in 2015, though his salary was included in a couple of trades to help balance out the financial element of said deals.
Arroyo could certainly look to rehab from the injury, but the possibility also has to be raised that this latest setback could bring to an end what has been a long and fruitful career in the big leagues. Earlier this spring, the 39-year-old told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that he hoped to pitch beyond the 2016 campaign, but he also added, “If I don’t make it out of this camp and this arm just won’t go, I’m completely satisfied with what I’ve done in the game.”
From the team’s vantage point, the loss of Arroyo means that right-handers Joe Ross and Tanner Roark are likely to fill out the rotation behind Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. Top prospect Lucas Giolito figures to challenge for a rotation spot of his own at some point over the course of the season as well.
Tigers Notes: Verlander, Holaday, Nesbitt
Justin Verlander‘s somewhat quiet resurgence over the final two months of the season played a significant factor in the Tigers’ offseason, GM Al Avila tells ESPN’s Jayson Stark. “Justin’s finish gave us the confidence and the hope that we could go for it again, and rebuild this team and try to win a championship,” said Avila, who spent more than $270MM on free agents this winter and also made several upgrades on the trade market. As Stark notes, the Tigers’ rotation no longer has the star power it held in the days of Max Scherzer and David Price joining Verlander atop the starting five, but the addition of Jordan Zimmermann and a return to form for Anibal Sanchez could go a long way toward revitalizing the Detroit rotation and fueling yet another postseason push.
More notes out of Motown…
- The Tigers have “quietly prepared” to trade backup catcher Bryan Holaday ever since signing Jarrod Saltalamacchia to serve as the backup to starting catcher James McCann, writes Lynn Henning of the Detroit News. Though Holaday is in the midst of a big Spring Training performance and has seen time at both third base and left field in Grapefruit League action, the out-of-options catcher, whom Henning notes is beloved by teammates and coaches alike, is all but certain to land on another club at the end of the month. While Saltalamacchia isn’t as strong a defender as Holaday, the Tigers’ right-leaning lineup will benefit from Salty’s left-handed swing and power — traits that made him attractive to the club. The Tigers now consider the younger Miguel Gonzalez, who will head to Triple-A to open the season, as the third catcher in the organization, per Henning. As a career .251/.283/.340 hitter, Holaday’s value to other clubs isn’t exceptionally high, but he still offers a superior option to many internal candidates on clubs with more questionable catching depth.
- Right-hander Angel Nesbitt, who has been aiming to make the Opening Day bullpen, will now be out four to six weeks with a right ankle sprain suffered during pitchers’ fielding practice yesterday, as MLive.com’s Chris Iott writes. Nesbitt is currently using crutches and a walking boot to get around the clubhouse. Skipper Brad Ausmus told the Detroit media that Nesbitt had been throwing well and looked to have regained confidence after a shaky 2015 season. Nesbitt, who turned 25 this winter, earned a spot in the Tigers’ Opening Day ‘pen last season but struggled through 21 2/3 big league innings, posting a 5.40 ERA in that time. Nesbitt, who jumped directly to the Majors from Double-A after posting dominant numbers there, was sent to Triple-A and continued to struggle, logging a 6.25 ERA in 40 1/3 innings there. The hard-throwing righty will now, presumably, open the season at the Triple-A level and hope that better results yield a return to the Major League staff.
Pirates Release Jesse Biddle
The Pirates have released left-hander Jesse Biddle, who was designated for assignment upon the team’s signing of third baseman David Freese. The MLB.com Transaction page first noted Biddle’s release, though Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com wrote this morning that he spoke to GM Neal Huntington, who said he hopes to re-sign Biddle to a minor league deal despite vacating his 40-man spot.
Pittsburgh initially acquired Biddle from the Phillies in exchange for right-hander Yoervis Medina. Biddle, a former first-round pick and top 100 prospect will miss the entire 2016 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. His walk rate increased notably upon reaching the Double-A level, though, and while he was considerably younger than his average competition in that first exposure in 2013, his overall numbers took a dive when he repeated the level in 2014. Biddle’s most recent season saw him pitch to a combined 4.95 ERA between his third Double-A stint and his first work at the Triple-A level, and news of his Tommy John surgery broke shortly after the 2015 season ended. Though he’s hit some adversity in recent seasons, Biddle won’t turn 25 until next October, so youth remains on his side as he seeks to get back on a professional mound and eventually crack a big league roster.
NL Central Notes: Dunnington, Brewers, Contreras, Nicasio
Former Cardinals minor leaguer Tyler Dunnington, who retired from the game during Spring Training 2015, tells Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com that he chose to leave the game due to homophobic comments and clubhouse culture that made him “miserable in a sport that used to give him life.” Dunnington, who kept his sexual orientation private throughout his baseball career but has come out since retiring, explained that a college coach made a detestable joke about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, and such talk didn’t dissipate upon his arrival in pro ball. A minor league teammate mentioned having a gay brother, and a pair of teammates questioned, in earnest, how anyone could have a homosexual friend, let alone brother. Some went so far as to discuss killing homosexuals, Zeigler writes. The inexcusable behavior isn’t lost on GM John Mozeliak, who told the Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold and Ben Frederickson: “This is very disappointing and our hope is that every player, staff member, and employee feels they are treated equally and fairly. Given the nature of these allegations I will certainly look into this further as well as speak with [MLB Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean] for further assistance on this matter…we will take this very seriously.”
Dunnington hopes to return to the game in a front office role, where he could help to take measures to prevent this type of culture and behavior. “After gaining acceptance from my friends and family I realized I didn’t have to quit baseball to find happiness,” Dunnington said. “I not only wanted to share my story but also apologize for not using the stage I had to help change the game.” Indeed, disturbing as Dunnington’s stories are, the sad reality is that the appalling comments he encountered are almost certainly not unique to the clubhouse he was in nor to the Cardinals organization.
Looking elsewhere in the division…
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers won’t name a closer before Opening Day. Manager Craig Counsell asserted that there’s “no such position as Opening Day closer” and said that left-hander Will Smith and right-hander Jeremy Jeffress will both get cracks at closing games early in the season. Counsell feels that it will behoove the Brewers to take advantage of having two quality late-inning relievers — one right-handed (Jeffress) and one left-handed (Smith) — to create the most advantageous matchups possible in attempting to lock down close victories. Counsell said the ninth inning could “eventually” belong to one pitcher, but he sees no reason to place any sort of restriction on either reliever right now.
- Cubs prospect Willson Contreras looks more and more like the team’s long-term answer behind the plate with every passing day, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Wittenmyer spoke to catching coach Mike Borzello, manager Joe Maddon and infielder Javier Baez, each of whom raved about some combination of Contreras’ throwing, handling of the pitching staff and above-average bat. Borzello noted that Contreras would probably break camp with a club that had less catching depth than Chicago currently has with Miguel Montero, David Ross and Kyle Schwarber. Contreras’ emergence further calls into question Schwarber’s future behind the plate, as if Contreras is the two-way backstop that many in the organization believe him to be, there’s less of a reason to continue to try to develop Schwarber as a catcher, where many scouts believe he is inadequate from a defensive standpoint.
- While Spring Training stats are always taken with a grain of salt, a dominant outing from Pirates right-hander Juan Nicasio turned some heads today, writes ESPN’s Jayson Stark. “Dominant,” in fact, is selling the appearance short; Nicasio faced 14 hitters and allowed just one hit and recorded an incredible 10 strikeouts on Wednesday. Despite facing a strikeout-prone Orioles lineup, Nicasio caught the eye of manager Clint Hurdle, who says that his own experience managing at Coors Field made it easy to look past Nicasio’s lackluster career numbers when the Pirates added him on a one-year, $3MM deal this winter. Nicasio was originally signed to be a multi-inning reliever, but in light of his spring dominance, Hurdle wouldn’t rule out a rotation spot. Nicasio tells Stark that’s his ultimate goal: “I’m working hard for the rotation, but I can’t control all that.” As Stark writes, a well-known Pirates success story, Francisco Liriano, called Nicasio this offseason to sell him on the benefit of pitching coach Ray Searage. “Everybody talks about, ‘You go here, you get better,'” Nicasio says to Stark. “I know why now.”
AL Central Notes: Royals, Wang, Twins, Brantley
It’s undeniably been a special couple of seasons for the Royals, and many of the team’s core players tell Bob Nightengale of USA Today that they are enjoying the time they have together for at least the next couple of seasons. To a man, they expressed an interest in sticking around long-term, though of course it would be hard to predict how many will ultimately do so. Meanwhile, GM Dayton Moore suggested that the organization is taking much the same approach. “You can’t be so consumed with what players are going to be here for just this period of time,” he said. “There’s urgency every day. We’re not going to focus on next year, two years, or three years from now. I can’t predict the future. We’re just going to go out there and do the best we can.”
More from the division…
- One Royals newcomer, veteran righty Chien-Ming Wang, is hoping to become the organization’s latest pitching turnaround success, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports. The sinkerballer has thrown six impressive frames and worked into the mid-90s with his fastball after taking a different approach to his preparation over the winter. Wang, who will soon turn 36, has a May 1 opt-out date but is making a real run to crack the roster in the bullpen.
- Twins right-hander Trevor May is headed to the bullpen to open the season, writes MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger. GM Terry Ryan told reporters that May took the news “the right way,” though he may not have been privately displeased with the decision. Ryan went on to explain that he still believes May can start for the Twins in the future: “There are other factors in the decision and who is in the rotation and how they’ve done,” said Ryan. “But I don’t know why he couldn’t be a future starter in the Major Leagues. He’s got the pitches, he’s got the strength. He’s shown he can do it. But right now for this ballclub, the better fit is in the bullpen.” With May out of the rotation picture, Tommy Milone, Ricky Nolasco and top prospect Jose Berrios are competing for the final spot behind Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson and Tyler Duffey. Nolasco, notably, has two years and $25MM remaining on his contract with the Twins.
- Michael Brantley‘s accelerated recovery from shoulder surgery will take another step in the right direction tomorrow, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes. Brantley is slated to play four or five innings in the outfield and receive multiple at-bats in a minor league game, per manager Terry Francona. While Francona stopped short of calling Opening Day a possibility, Bastian notes that the opener continues to be Brantley’s goal. Francona noted that Brantley could return to the lineup in early or mid April, either of which would be considerably better for the Indians than initial projections on Brantley’s timeline. Bastian also breaks down the Indians’ potential outfield alignments in the event that Brantley does need to sit out the first couple weeks of the season.
Reds Release Carlos Contreras
The Reds have released right-handed reliever Carlos Contreras, tweets Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Buchanan further notes that Contreras had been placed on waivers upon being optioned to the minors earlier in the week, and he subsequently cleared, paving the way for his release. The team’s 40-man roster now stands at 38 players.
Contreras, 25, has spent parts of the past two seasons in the Cincinnati ‘pen, compiling a 5.51 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against a more troublesome 7.0 BB/9 across 47 1/3 innings. The 5’11”, 215-pound right-hander has averaged nearly 93 mph on his heater in that time, and he missed plenty of bats at the Triple-A level last season, albeit with the same lack of control he’s displayed in the Majors. In 39 2/3 innings with Triple-A Louisville in 2015, Contreras posted a 55-to-30 K/BB ratio to complement a strong 2.95 ERA.
Baseball America previously ranked Contreras as highly as seventh among Reds farmhands. Their scouting report that year, prior to the 2014 campaign, praised his plus fastball and changeup, also noting an improved slider that gave him a chance to remain in the rotation. However, BA also noted that Cabrera’s arm action led to control problems that could impact his future, and clearly those concerns have diminished his contributions to this point.
It’s unclear at this time what prompted the Reds to release Contreras rather than keep him in the minor leagues. It seems possible that an overseas club had some interest in Contreras, given his quality ERA and strikeout marks in the upper minors. If that’s not the case, Contreras will look to latch on with another organization. Having just turned 25 in January, Contreras would figure to pique the interest of other teams on a minors contract.