Marlins Now Unlikely To Trade Marcell Ozuna
After agreeing to terms with starter Wei-Yin Chen, the Marlins now seem rather unlikely to deal away young outfielder Marcell Ozuna, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports on Twitter. Miami had reportedly been dangling Ozuna in hopes of landing a young rotation piece, but seemingly moved on to strike an agreement with Chen when it could not find a trade arrangement it liked.
Of course, much of the impetus for the apparent organizational inclination to trade Ozuna seemed to come from owner Jeffrey Loria. Though there had been discussions about an extension, things turned south after the Scott Boras-represented Ozuna declined to pursue a contract and then struggled to open the 2015 season.
When Jon Heyman asked Loria today whether Ozuna would be moved, he reportedly responded: “he’s here!” (Twitter link.) That line is hardly definitive, of course, but it certainly seems to suggest that it could stay that way in the context of the Chen agreement and the aforementioned report.
While the Marlins were said to be comfortable deploying Christian Yelich in center if a deal had come together involving Ozuna, it seems preferable to keep him and Giancarlo Stanton at the corners. Indeed, as I wrote in addressing the lynchpin decision on Ozuna in the Marlins’ offseason outlook, there is still tremendous appeal in keeping that trio together for the foreseeable future.
Monte Irvin Passes Away At 96
Hall of Famer Monte Irvin has passed away at 96 years of age, according to a remembrance posted on the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s website. MLBTR joins those around the league in celebrating Irvin’s long and prosperous life, and offering its condolences to his loved ones.
Irvin was an iconic ballplayer who excelled in both the Negro Legaues and the major leagues. The World War II veteran later worked as a scout, spent time in the commissioner’s office, and grew to become a beloved ambassador of the game for many decades after his playing career ended.
A standout performer with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League, Irvin drew consideration to become the player to break the color barrier and at one point seemed lined up to do just that. While that honor went to Jackie Robinson, it was Irvin (among others) who carried the legacy forward after Robinson’s untimely death.
Irvin ultimately joined the New York Giants as an outfielder before his age-30 season. He played for eight years in the majors, compiling a .293/.383/.475 batting line and swatting 99 home runs. As good as those statistics were, of course, they only hinted at what Irvin might have done had he spent his youth and prime at the big league level.
Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson offered some compelling words on Irvin:
“Monte Irvin’s affable demeanor, strong constitution and coolness under pressure helped guide baseball through desegregation and set a standard for American culture. His abilities on the field as the consummate teammate are undeniable, as evidenced by World Series titles he contributed to in both the Negro and Major leagues, and a richly-deserved plaque in Cooperstown. He was on the original committee that elected Negro Leagues stars to the Hall of Fame, something for which the Museum will always be grateful.”
If you’re interested in getting a sense of Irvin’s personality and reading up on some of his stories from the wondrous period in which he played, be sure to give a read to this piece from MLB.com’s Richard Justice. Be sure also to click on the video link at the Hall of Fame page linked above, which features a nice interview with Irvin. (It includes some interesting thoughts on the modern game that are, perhaps, even more interesting when you realize the interview was conducted nearly twenty years ago.)
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of today’s live chat, hosted by Steve Adams.
Dodgers Hire Alex Anthopoulos As Vice President
JANUARY 12: The Dodgers have announced Anthopoulos’s hiring as vice president of baseball operations.
JANUARY 5: Former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, whose resignation at season’s end shocked many in the baseball world, will join the Dodgers’ front office and work alongside GM Farhan Zaidi, according to multiple reports, including one from Vince Cauchon of Radio X in Quebec, who was the first to report the hiring earlier today (via Twitter). Cauchon seems to imply that a deal is in place, and Jon Heyman tweets that an agreement is being finalized. All told, it seems likely that the team will announce the hire in the near future. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times writes the move is “expected” to be completed soon, though no specific role has been determined at this point.
The 38-year-old Anthopoulos will become the sixth member of the Dodgers’ front office that is either a current or former GM, joining president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, Zaidi, senior vice president Josh Byrnes, senior advisor Ned Colletti and special advisor Gerry Hunsicker. Byrnes has previously served as the GM of the Padres and D-backs, while Colletti was the Dodgers’ GM before the current regime inherited baseball operations autonomy. Hunsicker spent roughly a decade as the Astros’ GM.
Anthopoulos was named the Sporting News’ executive of the year in 2015 on the heels of a number of high-profile trades that culminated in a division title and ALCS run for the Blue Jays, snapping a 22-year playoff drought in Toronto. The acquisitions of Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and David Price stand out as perhaps the most memorable trades, but Anthopoulos also acquired LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Lowe and Ben Revere in addition to signing Russell Martin to a five-year contract in the offseason. However, with CEO Paul Beeston set to retire in Toronto, ownership sought a replacement and reportedly offered former Indians GM/president Mark Shapiro final say in baseball operations decisions as a means of luring him to Toronto. That promise is said to have led to Anthopoulos’ resignation, despite the fact that he was offered an extension prior to his departure.
Anthopoulos will add to a growing collection of well-respected baseball minds working to shape the Dodgers, though his specific role remains unclear, as does the number of teams that expressed interest in hiring him. Anthopoulos told the Canadian Press last month that he’d received interest from a variety of teams and media outlets and was expecting to take a job with a team in January. One report even mentioned that the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes had interest in bringing Anthopoulos on board in their front office. That would’ve made him the second notable baseball executive to change sports this month — Paul DePodesta reportedly is leaving the Mets to join the Cleveland Browns’ front office (as explained on MLBTR and on Pro Football Rumors earlier today) — but it seems that Anthopoulos will instead remain in the game with which he has been involved since 2000.
Rockies Sign Gerardo Parra
The Rockies have officially announced a three-year, $27.5MM deal with outfielder Gerardo Parra. The contract includes a club option for a fourth year at $12MM, which comes with a $1.5MM buyout.
Parra, a client of Octagon, will earn $26MM over the first three years of the deal. He gets $8MM for the coming season, $8MM again in 2017, and then $10MM in the final season.
In Parra, who’ll turn 29 early in the season, the Rox will pick up a young, athletic player whose performance has been somewhat difficult to judge. As I explained in late August of last year, a huge first-half performance (combined with his age) made a four-year guarantee and/or ten-plus-million AAV seem plausible at one point.
But Parra tailed off down the stretch, ending the year with a .291/.328/.452 slash. That’s still good, of course, but is hardly the breakout that had seemed in the offing as of late summer. And he’s been more of an average to slightly-below-average offensive producer for most of his career. It’s worth noting, too, that the left-handed-hitting Parra has also tended to carry significant platoon splits.
It’s at least as hard to peg Parra from a defensive perspective. He became something of a sabermetric darling back in 2013, when he turned in a monster year with the glove (29.5 UZR, 41 DRS). That had followed several years of above-average metrics, seeming to suggest that Parra was one of the game’s best corner outfielders (if not also a good center fielder as well). But both of those major defensive rating systems have identified a significant drop-off in each of the last two seasons, with Parra rating as a well-below-average performer last season.
Ultimately, the contract comes in just shy of the three-year, $27MM prediction made by MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes before the hot stove kicked into gear this winter. While Parra always seemed to occupy a nice niche in this market, drawing wide appeal with his sturdy reputation and lower price tag, it is still notable that he was able to meet expectations despite the fact that the position-player market has been slow to develop.
Obviously, it’s an interesting strategy for Colorado to pursue, as the team could certainly have relied on its in-house options for the coming season. Parra will join a depth chart that already features left-handed-hitting outfielders Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, and Corey Dickerson, possibly suggesting that one of those players could end up on the move. Certainly, it’s not a minor signing for this organization, which hadn’t given out a deal of this magnitude since the pre-2012 Michael Cuddyer contract.
Signing a replacement for one of the team’s incumbent bats, in concert with a trade to acquire pitching, has long seemed an intriguing possibility, and it could be that GM Jeff Bridich is employing just such an approach here. He addressed that general concept in a recent interview on the MLBTR Podcast (at about the 13-minute mark), saying that it could be “part of a strategy” but noting that it’s still “incumbent upon us to know when a good baseball trade is a good baseball trade” — regardless of which direction the pitchers and position players were headed.
Wilmer Reina of Diario la Verdad (Twitter links) and Jon Heyman (via Twitter) first reported the signing and its essential terms. Ken Rosenthal added the annual breakdown on Twitter.
Marlins To Sign Chris Johnson
The Marlins have agreed to sign corner infielder Chris Johnson, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. He was recently cut loose by the Indians after spending the last few months of 2015 in Cleveland following a trade from the Braves.
Johnson could provide a complement to left-handed-hitting first baseman Justin Bour, Jackson suggests. He’s spent most of his career at third base, of course, and would boost the team’s depth there as well, though starter Martin Prado and utility option Derek Dietrich are already in place.
The 31-year-old Johnson owns a .280/.316/.411 slash in his seven big league seasons. He’s a good line-drive hitter who makes plenty of contact, but the lack of power and mediocre fielding reviews have held down his value.
While it hasn’t yet been reported whether Johnson will receive a major league deal, most of Johnson’s salary ($7.5MM this year, and $9MM next) will be covered by Cleveland regardless. Much like Edwin Jackson, who also agreed with the Fish recently, Miami will get a more or less free roll opportunity on a veteran looking for a chance to re-establish himself as a viable Major League contributor.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/12/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Padres added lefty Ryan Buchter to the 40-man roster yesterday, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Buchter, a minor league signee, had drawn interest from an international club, which precipitated the move. As Lin notes, it appears that San Diego is committed to bringing a variety of unproven arms to camp to compete for bullpen jobs, with Buchter representing one such option.
- The Orioles have reached agreement on a minor league deal with infielder/outfielder Alex Liddi, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. Liddi, 27, has taken 188 plate appearances in the big leagues, but none since 2013. He played last year at the Double-A level for the Royals, slashing .287/.324/.474 over 514 plate appearances.
Marlins In “Active Negotiations” With Wei-Yin Chen
The Marlins “remain in active negotiations” with southpaw Wei-Yin Chen, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Rosenthal first said there was interest between the sides a few days back. Miami is not alone in pursuit, and the market is “evolving rapidly,” per the report.
Chen, a client of Scott Boras, is arguably the best pitcher left on the open market. Certainly, he came into the winter with the strongest earning power of those arms yet to have sign: MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ranked him the 13th overall free agent and valued him at five years and $80MM. Dierkes also took a full look at Chen’s open-market case in a free agent profile.
For Miami, the rotation has long been an area of focus, but the club has only added Edwin Jackson thus far. While he certainly builds out depth, it’s been a while since he was an effective rotation piece. And given the minimal financial commitment and availability of a bullpen role, it’s certainly possible that he could simply be utilized in a swingman capacity.
The Fish have a bit of an edge over other possible suitors for Chen, in that they have a protected first-round draft pick. Without the threat of losing a top selection, the club’s opportunity cost is much lower than those teams that would part with a valuable young piece. Of course, some of the other clubs rumored to have interest may not need to factor that too heavily, either, whether because they have already punted their top pick (e.g., Nationals), don’t have a strong draft position (e.g., Royals), or could sign other QO-bound free agents as well (e.g., Orioles).
Chen isn’t alone, of course. While the focus has been on the number of significant bats still available, he forms rather an impressive trio — along with Yovani Gallardo and Ian Kennedy — of still-available-starters. All three require draft compensation to sign.
Quick Hits: Yadiel Hernandez, Cardinals, Phillies, Indians
There’s already been a ton of news today regarding Cuban ballplayers, and there could be more to come in the weeks ahead. Former Serie Nacional star Yadiel Hernandez will hold a showcase for MLB clubs on February 23rd in Mexico City, MLBTR has learned. He defected this summer when he came to North Carolina with the Cuban national team, and Ben Badler of Baseball America noted earlier today (Twitter link) that Hernandez is one of the best position players available in a deep current pool of talent from the island nation. The 28-year-old has had his way with Cuban pitching at times — including a ridiculous .369/.509/.535 batting line that included 77 walks in 369 plate appearances last year — although Badler has explained previously that Hernandez is undersized and doesn’t possess loud tools. Nonetheless, every indication is that he could well be a viable big league player, so there’s sure to be ample interest.
Here are a few more stray notes from around the game:
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak addressed the Astros’ computer hacking scandal for the first time, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the story. Mozeliak seemingly expressed a cautious optimism that no other members of the organization would join former scouting director Chris Correa in being implicated in the improper database accessing. “I hope there isn’t,” he said. “I think before we totally engage in answering everything we need these proceedings to be concluded.” The Cards’ top baseball decisionmaker also added that he first became aware of the extend of what information Correa had accessed when he read the complaint recently. Otherwise, though, he did not get into the factual topics, indicating that the organization would wait to do that until Correa is sentenced in April.
- The Phillies announced several front office moves today, including the team’s previously-reported hiring of Ned Rice as assistant GM. Philadelphia also announced that Pat Gillick will return to a senior advisory role, while Benny Looper will shift into such a position after previously serving as an AGM. On the analytics side, Scott Freedman has been bumped up to director of baseball operations (from his former title of manager of baseball analytics) while the club made a full-time analyst position for Lewis Pollis, who penned a widely-read senior thesis on the market for front office talent.
- The Indians have parted ways with former director of Latin American operations Ramon Pena, as Badler reports. Both Pena and president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti indicated that the split was mutual and was the result of divergent visions for the team’s efforts in Latin America.
East Notes: Ozuna, Gordon, Francoeur, Mets, O’s, Castro
Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna has enormous upside, assistant hitting coach Frank Menechino said in an interview today on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link). Menechino noted that Ozuna’s early success came despite the fact that he was quite raw, explaining that he’s had to learn on the fly — even as expectations, contract considerations, and other pressures were converging. Ozuna, of course, has long been seen as a trade chip, although momentum seems to be shifting away from that scenario.
More from Miami and some other news from the eastern divisions:
- The Marlins ought to make a long-term deal with Dee Gordon a priority, argues Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. After all, he suggests, his agents at Beverly Hills Sports Council might well try to argue that Gordon’s marquee accomplishments — leading the league in batting average, hits, and stolen bases while picking up a Gold Glove — support an outside-the-box arbitration payday. While MLBTR projects a $5.9MM salary in his second of four turns through arbitration, Gordon and his reps could always file for more and take their chances. Of course, as MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz explained in a recent podcast appearance (at about the 20-minute mark), Gordon’s meager home run and RBI tallies limit his arb-earning upside despite his other big numbers.
- While the Marlins have been fairly quiet this winter, they are still looking to add some players. Jon Heyman tweets that the club has its eye on some right-handed bats, with Jeff Francoeur among them.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson and the rest of the organization’s leadership have managed to upset a segment of the team’s fans despite last year’s World Series run, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Of course, as Davidoff explains, appeasing a “populist” sentiment in the fanbase (as Alderson put it) with a big signing would hardly guarantee on-field success.
- Young Orioles righties Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy are participating in minicamp and appear to be in good health, Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com reports. Both have had very tough runs of bad luck, and certainly the organization will be holding its collective breath to see how they feel as they ramp up this spring.
- Orioles skipper Buck Showalter said today that he could imagine slugger Chris Davis waiting to sign until late in camp, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports. “That’s not surprising at all the way that camp does business,” Showalter said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it went to February. It wouldn’t surprise me if it goes to March.” It’s probably not worth reading too much into those comments, since Showalter is obviously not privy to the specific strategy of Davis and his agent, Scott Boras. But his words do seem to hint at some frustration in the organization at the inability to achieve resolution one way or the other.
- If the Yankees need someone to step in at third base for Chase Headley, the club could well turn to Starlin Castro, GM Brian Cashman suggested today. As Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog writes, the newly-acquired infielder is still likely to spend most of his time at second, but his experience on the left side of the infield (almost entirely at short) could increase the team’s roster flexibility. Meanwhile, Cashman emphasized that Alex Rodriguez will not see time in the field.