Coaching And Front Office Notes: Rockies, Rangers, Cardinals
As we head into the offseason, here’s the latest on MLB coaching and front office changes:
- Earlier today, it emerged that the Rockies could hire their next manager within the next couple of days. One former manager who won’t be getting the position is former Brewers skipper Ron Roenicke, who was interested in the job but who has not been interviewed and does not believe he is a candidate, according to Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Roenicke currently serves as the Angels’ third base coach.
- With assistant Thad Levine departing to become GM of the Twins, Rangers GM Jon Daniels says his team could replace Levine with an outside hire but could also distribute his duties to other members of the front office, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets.
- The Cardinals have hired Bob Gebhard as a special assistant to GM John Mozeliak, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The 73-year-old Gebhard briefly pitched for the Twins and Expos in the early 1970s, and he was the Rockies’ first GM, serving in that capacity throughout most of the 1990s.
- It would appear the Cardinals have also created an entirely new coaching position. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that they’ve promoted Mike Shildt to the big leagues as a “quality control coach.” They’ve also promoted Oliver Marmol to be their new first base coach. Shildt has eight years of managerial experience in the Cardinals’ minor league system, spending the last two years with Triple-A Memphis. The 30-year-old Marmol spent several years in the Cards’ system as an infielder before transitioning to coaching. He managed at Class A+ Palm Beach last year.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/3/16
Here’s a collection of minor moves from around the game, to add to the long list of outrights we posted earlier:
- The Braves have signed righty Danny Reynolds to a minor league deal, tweets MLBTR’s Zach Links. Reynolds struggled with Double-A Arkansas in the Angels’ system in 2016, with a 5.61 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 over 33 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old was released in June and wound up in independent ball. Most reports offer praise for his velocity, however, and his stuff was interesting enough that he went from the Angels to the Dodgers to the Astros and back to the Angels in a four-month series of waiver claims starting last December, so the Braves might hope he provides a bit of upside than the typical organizational player.
- Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger has elected to become a free agent, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The M’s announced yesterday that they had outrighted Clevenger. The 30-year-old hit .221/.303/.309 while playing sparingly in the big leagues last season. He missed time to an elbow injury, then was suspended by the team following a pair of offensive tweets.
- The Rangers have announced that they’ve selected the contract of IF/OF Drew Robinson, preventing him from becoming a minor league free agent. The 24-year-old had a solid season with Triple-A Round Rock in 2016, batting .257/.350/.480 with 20 home runs in 539 plate appearances. Robinson has struck out in more than a quarter of his career minor league plate appearances and typically doesn’t hit for good averages, but his walk-heavy offensive game has been resilient as he’s moved through the Rangers’ system, and his ability to play six positions (first, second, third and all three outfield spots) could help make him useful at the big-league level.
Avila: Tigers To Have “Wide Open Competition” In Center Field
Following the Tigers’ decisions to exercise closer Francisco Rodriguez‘s option and to trade center fielder Cameron Maybin to the Angels for pitcher Victor Alcantara, the team issued a statement with quotes from GM Avila. In the wake of Maybin’s departure, the team will sort through various options at center field next season, Avila says.
“We will weigh our options as far as center field is concerned for next season,” says the GM. “There will be a wide open competition starting in the spring and we’ll see how it plays out.”
The team’s options at center field could include JaCoby Jones, Tyler Collins and Anthony Gose. All three, though, come with drawbacks. Jones mostly played infield in the minors, has limited experience above Double-A and batted just .243/.309/.356 while striking out in 29.9% of his plate appearances at Triple-A Toledo last year. Collins posted a .687 OPS for Detroit last season and fared even worse at Toledo. And Gose also failed to hit, batting .209/.287/.341 in the big leagues in 2016. In contrast, Maybin’s 2016 season was a highly successful one, and it appears the Tigers will miss his .383 OBP in particular. Avila’s comments don’t preclude the possibility that the Tigers could expand their search for a center fielder outside the organization, however.
Regarding Rodriguez, Avila says, “We liked the job K-Rod did last season and the numbers show he was a reliable closer for us. He stabilizes the back end of our bullpen and provides veteran leadership to our younger bullpen arms.” The 34-year-old K-Rod figures to close for the Tigers next season, unless the Tigers decide to put him on the trade market.
Dick Williams On Reds’ Bullpen
The Reds want to upgrade their bullpen this offseason, but GM Dick Williams admits that will be a challenge, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. “There is not a ton of options available, and there are a lot of teams talking about needing bullpen help right now. We just have to be careful that we don’t get swept up in a market that is overheated,” says Williams, who adds that he might prefer internal options like Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen to pitch in multiple-inning bullpen roles next season, rather than hunting for that sort of pitcher on in free agency. Both pitchers were among the Reds’ best in 2016, and both also have experience starting.
“In the second half of the season, we were trying to promote the usage of Iglesias and Lorenzen in that type of multi-inning role,” says Williams. “People are always looking for the market inefficiency, and if all of a sudden everybody is out chasing multi-inning guys, then you might have to look elsewhere.”
Williams adds that the Reds do not plan to re-sign J.J. Hoover, who was outrighted in August and became a free agent last month. Hoover was a solid contributor in the Reds’ 2015 ‘pen, but he was awful in 2016 after being called upon to replace Aroldis Chapman as the Reds’ closer, allowing 29 runs in 18 2/3 innings in the big leagues. He did, however, fare well in an extended stay at Triple-A Louisville.
Rangers Prefer To Have Joey Gallo Start 2017 In Minors
The Rangers’ plans for first base in 2017 aren’t entirely clear, but it appears Joey Gallo does not top their list of potential starters at the position, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News notes. “We think Joey is going to be a very good player in this league, but when is still too early to say,” says GM Jon Daniels. “Ideally, he’d probably get a little more time, unless there is a big jump like Ryan Rua took last year.” Daniels cites Jurickson Profar and Rua as candidates for playing time at first.
Incumbent first baseman Mitch Moreland is a free agent this winter, and Gallo is a talented minor league slugger with a long history of hitting for incredible power — he’s hit 152 home runs, many of the light-tower variety, in parts of five minor league seasons. He’s a third baseman by trade, but he played 32 games at first base in for Triple-A Round Rock last season and would appear to be an obvious candidate to take over the position now that there’s a vacancy. The Rangers could also have playing time available at DH, depending on how this offseason shakes out.
Gallo also has obvious weaknesses, however. He struck out in nearly 35% of his plate appearances last year at Round Rock, and has whiffed a ridiculous 76 times in 153 plate appearances in the big leagues. He would likely have a hard time posting batting averages above the Mendoza Line without improvements in that category, and the Rangers might feel Round Rock is the best place to address his deficiencies. Gallo went to Venezuela this offseason to work on his game in winter ball, but has been sidelined by a hamstring injury.
Tigers Exercise 2017 Option On Francisco Rodriguez
The Tigers announced today that they’ve exercised their $6MM club option on closer Francisco Rodriguez. That option came with a $2MM buyout, effectively making this a $4MM decision for the Tigers.
Rodriguez, 35 in January, enjoyed a strong first year with the Tigers in 2016 after being acquired from the Brewers in exchange for minor league infielder Javier Betancourt. The active saves leader (430 in his career), Rodriguez picked up 44 saves in the Motor City and pitched to a 3.24 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 to go along with a career-best 54.7 ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 innings.
The Tigers were faced with two option decisions this offseason and elected to pick up their option on K-Rod while trading center fielder Cameron Maybin to the Angels in exchange for minor league righty Victor Alcantara. That would appear to be the first step in GM Al Avila’s stated goal of getting younger while scaling back the team’s payroll. However, while Rodriguez looks to be in the fold next season for now, there’s no guarantee that he won’t be shopped around later this winter.
If K-Rod is indeed back with the Tigers, he’ll join hard-throwing setup man Bruce Rondon in the bullpen along with lefty Justin Wilson and right-hander Alex Wilson. The Tigers also possess one of the game’s more intriguing bullpen prospects in minor league strikeout machine Joe Jimenez, giving the team the foundation for a potentially strong bullpen next season. (Alcantara, acquired in the Maybin deal, could potentially factor into that mix at some point as well.)
Cardinals To Exercise Jaime Garcia’s Option, Decline Option On Jordan Walden
5:05pm: SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that right-hander Jordan Walden will have his option declined by the Cards. That’s hardly a surprising development, as Walden pitched just 10 1/3 innings over the life of what is in hindsight an ill-fated two-year, $6.6MM deal signed prior to the 2015 campaign. St. Louis acquired Walden from the Braves alongside Jason Heyward in exchange for Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins back in 2014, but injuries have prevented Walden from taking the hill much at all in the past two seasons. Walden’s option would’ve paid him $5.25MM had it been exercised, but he’ll receive a $250K buyout instead.
11:57am: The Cardinals will exercise left-hander Jaime Garcia‘s club option for 2017, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com (Twitter link). Garcia will make $12MM next season.
The injury-prone Garcia tossed 171 1/3 innings this season, easily his most since 2011, but run prevention was a serious problem. On the strength of a bloated home run-to-fly ball ratio (20.2 percent), Garcia put up the worst full-season ERA of his career (4.67). However, he did strike out just under eight batters per nine innings (7.86) while posting a respectable walk rate (2.99) and generating ground balls at a 56.7 percent clip.
Despite his history of injuries and a disappointing 2016, Garcia should draw trade interest if the Cardinals shop him. General manager John Mozeliak already did so during the summer, but Garcia ended up finishing the season in St. Louis. Garcia would certainly be among the most talented starters on the free agent market had the Cardinals bought him out, though, and a $12MM investment could be preferable to teams over signing a flawed free agent for more. The Cardinals could also retain Garcia as depth, of course, as Michael Wacha is a candidate to shift to the bullpen and Lance Lynn missed all of this season because of Tommy John surgery.
Astros Claim Nori Aoki From Mariners
The Astros announced today that they’ve claimed outfielder Nori Aoki off waivers from the Mariners. As MLB.com’s Greg Johns pointed out earlier today (on Twitter), there’s been a public misconception that Aoki is eligible for free agency because his option didn’t vest and because his previous contracts allowed him to hit free agency upon their completion. That doesn’t appear to have been the case with the one-year deal he inked in Seattle last offseason, and he’ll now be controllable by the Astros via arbitration for the 2017 season.
[Related: Updated Houston Astros depth chart]
Aoki, 35 in January, will give Houston an option to take some at-bats in left field next season in the wake of Colby Rasmus‘ impending departure. He’ll bring a contact-oriented approach to the Astros that represents something of a departure from the strikeout-prone bats with which Houston has been comfortable in recent years. Aoki hit .283/.349/.388 in 467 plate appearances and struck out at just a 9.6 percent clip with Seattle last year after signing a one-year deal in the offseason.
That contract guaranteed Aoki $5.5MM and came with a vesting option for the 2017 season, but Aoki fell 13 PAs shy of triggering that guaranteed 2017 payday. It would appear that the Mariners sought to outright Aoki, thereby allowing him to re-enter the free agent market, but he’ll now head to Houston as an arbitration eligible player. Presumably, he’s the front-runner for everyday at-bats in left field right now, where he’ll bring a career .286/.353/.387 slash and minuscule eight percent strikeout rate to the table. That’ll position the Astros to deploy an outfield with Aoki in left in budding star George Springer in right field. As it currently stands, defensive standout Jake Marisnick will get the bulk of the at-bats in center field, although the Astros have a number of versatile pieces that could allow them to pursue a variety of avenues this offseason.
Springer, for instance, could shift over to center field — especially now that Tal’s Hill has been removed from Minute Maid Park — and allow the Astros to pursue a big-time corner outfield bat. Alternatively, Houston could give Alex Bregman and/or Yulieski Gurriel some time in left field with Aoki covering right field and Springer taking some turns in center, thus freeing up more room for a corner infield/designated hitter addition.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mariners Exercise Seth Smith’s Option, Decline Option On Chris Iannetta
The Mariners announced today that they’ve exercised their $7MM option on outfielder Seth Smith and declined a $4.25MM option on catcher Chris Iannetta. FanRag’s Jon Heyman first tweeted that Smith’s option would be picked up, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweeted that Iannetta’s would be declined.
Smith, who turned 34 at the end of September, proved to be a useful platoon bat for the Mariners, hitting .249/.342/.415 with 16 home runs and a healthy 11 percent walk rate on the season. To say that he was heavily shielded from facing left-handed pitching would be something of an understatement, as Smith received just 33 plate appearances against southpaws compared to 405 against righties. The reasoning behind the move isn’t hard to determine however; Smith has mashed at a .272/.355/.472 clip throughout his career when he holds the platoon advantage but has looked lost against left-handers, as evidenced by a career .202/.282/.312 slash against same-handed pitchers.
On the defensive side of the coin, Smith’s contributions to the team didn’t draw favorable reviews. Both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating pegged him as a poor left fielder and a roughly average right fielder. Smith has never been known for his glove, but this year’s poor marks in left field came in a fairly small sample, and he’s been largely adequate there over the bulk of his career per those same metrics.
As for Iannetta, the 33-year-old got off to a hot start with the Mariners in 2016 and looked to be working his way toward triggering a vesting option for the 2017 season based on his strong play through the season’s first two and a half months. As of June 16, Iannetta was batting a very respectable .247/.348/.412 through 198 trips to the plate. However, his production thereafter cratered, and as a result his playing time diminished. Iannetta received just 140 plate appearances from that point forth, in part due to the return of Mike Zunino but also due to the .160/.237/.216 slash line to which the veteran limped.
Iannetta was a well-above-average bat for the Rockies and Angels from 2008-14, but he’s now coming off a pair of dismal seasons at the plate that saw him bat a combined .199/.298/.332 in 655 plate appearances. Iannetta still possesses good discipline at the plate and a bit of pop from the right side of the dish, but he’ll probably have to entertain offers to be a backup catcher this winter after this 2015-16 run.
Rangers Will Make Qualifying Offer To Ian Desmond
The Rangers will make a $17.2MM qualifying offer to outfielder Ian Desmond, general manager Jon Daniels told reporters today (Twitter link via MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan). He’ll be the only Rangers free agent to receive one, though that’s not a surprise, as their other QO-eligible players (Colby Lewis and Mitch Moreland) have never been viewed as candidates.
The decision to extend a qualifying offer to Desmond was fairly straightforward, as the shortstop-turned-center-fielder had a terrific season in his lone year with Texas. Signed to a one-year, $8MM deal this past offseason after the multi-year deal he sought failed to materialize, Desmond proved to be one of the best bargains in all of baseball. Although Desmond, who turned 31 in September, tailed off in terms of productivity late in the season, he still finished out the year with a .285/.335/.446 batting line to go along with 22 homers, 21 stolen bases and respectable defensive marks in the outfield considering his lack of experience there. Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating both pegged Desmond as above average in left field in his time there early in the season, and while he drew slightly negative marks in center field from both metrics, there’s reason to believe that a player of his athleticism can post superior marks in 2017 with a year of experience now under his belt.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that Desmond will exclusively market himself as an outfielder. The former Nationals star, who switched agencies earlier this week and is now represented by CAA, is only a year removed from playing shortstop and could conceivably be viewed by teams as an option at other infield positions as well. From that standpoint, his new representatives could pitch him as a jack of all trades that needn’t be locked into one position, and that versatility could prove lucrative.
Even though rejecting a qualifying offer after the 2015 season undoubtedly played a role in Desmond’s struggles to find a significant multi-year deal last winter, it’d still be a surprise if he accepted the offer. Qualifying offers are formally due on Monday of next week, and from that point, players have one week to decide whether they’ll accept or reject. Coming off a much stronger 2016 season and with newfound defensive versatility to pitch to interested parties, Desmond should be able to land a nice multi-year deal in free agency — one of at least four years in length, in my view.