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Archives for January 2017

AL Notes: Angels, Indians, Bautista, Astros

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Angels first baseman C.J. Cron has come up as a possible trade candidate in the wake of the team’s agreement with free agent Luis Valbuena on Thursday, but the Halos’ decision to add another corner infielder has more to do with Albert Pujols’ uncertain status, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Pujols could miss the beginning of next season as a result of December foot surgery. In the meantime, the Angels will play the lefty-swinging Valbuena against right-handed pitching and deploy him at Pujols’ positions – designated hitter and first base – as well as third base, writes Rosenthal. When Pujols returns, the club could take advantage of the fact that Cron and Jefrey Marte have minor league options remaining and send either to Triple-A Salt Lake City, Rosenthal notes. Looking ahead a year, third baseman Yunel Escobar could depart in free agency next winter. That would enable Valbuena to take over at the hot corner on a full-time basis in 2018.

More from the American League:

  • Right fielder Jose Bautista, who brought an end to a drawn-out saga when he re-signed with the Blue Jays earlier this week, didn’t seriously consider joining the Indians, reports Terry Pluto of cleveland.com. The Indians inquired about Bautista, but it doesn’t seem as if either side was gung-ho about a union. After all, manager Terry Francona declared that the Tribe’s pursuit of Bautista in free agency – which may have included a bid – was overstated.
  • While the Astros committed a guaranteed $14MM to Charlie Morton earlier this offseason, the right-hander isn’t a lock to win a spot in their rotation, general manager Jeff Luhnow suggested to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). Luhnow does expect Morton to end up in the Astros’ starting five, but he’s only “softly” part of the rotation for now. The Astros have been pushing to add a front-line starter all winter, and picking one up could relegate Morton to a bullpen role. As of now, in addition to established starters Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and Morton, the team has intriguing young options – including Joe Musgrove and Francis Martes  – knocking on the door.
  • Once regarded as key building blocks for the Astros, first baseman A.J. Reed and third baseman Colin Moran are long shots to crack the big league roster this year after rough seasons, writes Jake Kaplan of Baseball America (subscription required/recommended). Reed, whom BA ranked as baseball’s 11th-best prospect a year ago, got his first taste of major league action in 2016 and batted a weak .164/.270/.262 with a 34 percent strikeout rate in 141 plate appearances. The soon-to-be 24-year-old did rake at Triple-A Fresno (.291/.368/.556 in 296 PAs), though he’s now behind $47.5MM man Yulieski Gurriel and Marwin Gonzalez on the Astros’ first base depth chart. With Carlos Beltran and Evan Gattis also on hand, Reed  stands even less of a chance to garner at-bats as a DH. Moran, the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, didn’t help his cause in Fresno – .259/.329/.368 in 511 trips to the plate – and the emergence of Alex Bregman in Houston only added to his problems. Bregman looks like the Astros’ long-term solution at third, putting the 24-year-old Moran’s future in question.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/21/17

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Saturday’s minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Astros have signed right-hander Dayan Diaz to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training, tweets Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. This will be the second stint with the Houston franchise for the 27-year-old Diaz, who broke in as a member of the organization from 2010-12. Diaz has since pitched for three other clubs, and he made his major league debut last season in a 6 2/3-inning showing with the Reds. That didn’t go well, though, as Diaz yielded seven earned runs on 10 hits and seven walks. He has been far more successful at the Triple-A level, having recorded a 2.47 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 113 innings over the past two seasons.

Cafardo’s Latest: Rays, Indians, Bautista, Arroyo, Hanigan

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The Rays shipped starter Drew Smyly to the Mariners earlier this month, and they might not be done dealing veterans from their rotation, a major league source told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. It’s doubtful the Rays will trade either ace Chris Archer or Alex Cobb, whose value is down because he hasn’t reestablished it since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015, observes Cafardo. That leaves right-hander Jake Odorizzi as a vet who could end up on the move. Odorizzi’s name has come up in rumors throughout the winter after a season in which he posted a 3.69 ERA with 7.96 K/9 against 2.59 BB/9 in a career-high 187 2/3 innings. The soon-to-be 27-year-old is under team control via arbitration through the 2019 campaign.

More from Cafardo:

  • The Indians were interested in right fielder Jose Bautista and reportedly even bid on him in free agency before he re-signed with the Blue Jays earlier this week. However, the Tribe’s pursuit of Bautista was overstated, according to manager Terry Francona. On the heels of an American League-pennant winning 2016, Francona also discussed other subjects with Cafardo – including the Indians’ signing of ex-Bautista teammate Edwin Encarnacion, reliever salaries and bullpen usage – so check out the column for the full rundown.
  • Free agent righty Bronson Arroyo said a month ago that he was unsure if he’d be able to pitch again because, at the time, his arm felt “terrible” on certain days. Fortunately, Arroyo has made “great progress” and is hoping to sign with a team in late February for what would be his age-40 season, per Cafardo. Long a capable major league starter with primarily the Red Sox and Reds, injuries have kept Arroyo out of action since a June 2014 outing with the Diamondbacks. Arroyo underwent a Tommy John procedure later that year, causing him to miss the entire 2015 campaign. He then signed a minor league contract with the Nationals last winter, but he suffered a partial tear of a tendon in his right rotator cuff during spring training and has been rehabbing since.
  • Interest in free agent catcher Ryan Hanigan is increasing as the spring nears, his agent, Tom O’Connell, informed Cafardo. The 36-year-old Hanigan has been available since November, when the Red Sox declined his $3.75MM option for 2017 after he batted an unappealing .171/.230/.238 in 113 plate appearances last season. Behind the plate, Hanigan also fell off in the pitch-framing department (via Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner), though he does carry a strong defensive track record.

Quick Hits: Romo, Pomeranz, Farm Systems, Saltalamacchia

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The latest from around baseball…

  • The Brewers had some interest in Sergio Romo prior to their signing of Neftali Feliz, Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group.  Milwaukee was known to be looking for relief pitching and landed both Feliz on a big league deal and Joba Chamberlain on a minors contract this week.  The Brewers also made an offer to Romo’s former Giants teammate Santiago Casilla before they signed Feliz.  Romo was known to have received interest from at least two non-Giants teams this offseason, though there hasn’t been much buzz overall about the veteran right-hander’s market.
  • Drew Pomeranz told reporters (including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal) that he received a stem-cell injection in his left elbow after last season concluded.  The southpaw said he felt some “minor elbow discomfort” last year but is now feeling healthy as he enters his pre-Spring Training preparations.  Pomeranz’s health was a major source of controversy last season, as Padres GM A.J. Preller was issued a 30-day suspension for failing to disclose medical information about Pomeranz to the Red Sox before Boston acquired the lefty for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza.
  • Speaking of Pomeranz, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham (Twitter link) and other reporters that the two sides are getting close to a deal to avoid an arbitration hearing.  Pomeranz filed for a $5.7MM salary while the Sox countered with a $3.6MM offer.
  • The Braves have the top farm system in baseball, ESPN’s Keith Law opines, as he ranks the minor league systems of all 30 teams in a three-part series for ESPN.com subscribers.  The Yankees (#2 on Law’s list) and Padres (#3) also have strong cases for the top spot, though Law gives Atlanta the edge due to the Braves’ sheer volume of talented pitching prospects and position players in the middle of the field.  Coming in at the bottom of the ranking are the Diamondbacks, who Law feels are “several drafts away from getting back into the middle of the pack” thanks to ill-advised trades, draft picks and international signings under the regime of former GM Dave Stewart.
  • Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is now being represented by ACES, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).  Jim Munsey, Saltalamacchia’s former agent, is leaving the business, so we could soon be hearing more about further representation switches from other Munsey Sports Management clients like Sean Burnett or Rafael Lopez.  Check out MLBTR’s Agency Database for an extensive listing of representation information for more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Korea’s NC Dinos Sign Jeff Manship

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SUNDAY: The Dinos have announced the move.

SATURDAY: NC Dinos of the KBO League have signed right-hander Jeff Manship, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net reported earlier this week that the two sides were in the process of working out a deal.  Terms of the contract weren’t announced.  Manship is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Manship posted a 3.12 ERA, 7.5 K/9, 51.1% grounder rate and 1.64 K/BB rate over 43 1/3 innings out of the Indians bullpen last year, plus 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the Tribe during their postseason run.  This came on the heels of an eye-popping 2015 season in Cleveland when Manship posted a minuscule 0.92 ERA over 39 1/3 relief innings.

Despite his impressive work in an Indians uniform, the Tribe non-tendered Manship before his first stint through the arbitration process.  (MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected Manship to earn $1.2MM.)  Manship’s numbers over his first six seasons prior to his arrival in Cleveland were unimpressive, and advanced metrics indicated that he may have been fortunate to deliver the results that he did last year.  ERA indicators — 5.11 FIP, 4.81 xFIP, 4.53 SIERA — were much higher than Manship’s actual 3.12 ERA, and his .266 BABIP and 80.5% strand rate counteracted quite a bit of hard contact allowed by the right-hander; only 22.1% of contact allowed by Manship last season was of the soft variety, as per Fangraphs.

You’d still imagine that a 2.07 ERA and 50.6% grounder rate over the last two seasons would catch the attention of at least one MLB team, though Manship will instead head to the notoriously hitter-friendly KBO.  It’s quite possible that the crowded bullpen market led to Manship’s decision.  MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker lists over three dozen relievers and starter-turned-reliever arms still on the open market.

Tim Lincecum Hoping To Start, Pitch In Majors In 2017

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Tim Lincecum is throwing in preparation for the upcoming season and is still hopeful of finding another opportunity in the majors, agent Rick Thurman tells Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group.  Lincecum has no plans to retire, or to look for offers outside of Major League Baseball, Thurman said.

After signing a prorated $2.5MM deal with the Angels last May, Lincecum posted a 9.16 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 1.39 K/BB rate over 38 1/3 innings for the Halos.  Some degree of bad luck was involved in those numbers (a .432 BABIP and a whopping 22.9% home run rate), though Lincecum only averaged 87.2 mph on his fastball.  He threw that fastball a career-low 42.9% of the time, as Lincecum adjusted to his declining velocity by trying a more finesse-based pitching attack, such as tossing a changeup 29.4% of the time (well above his previous high of 24.5%).

Lincecum underwent hip surgery in September 2015 and his return from injury drew quite a bit of interest, as his showcase was attended by scouts from over half the teams in the big leagues.  In the wake of his rough 2016 campaign, however, Baggarly feels Lincecum will have to settle for a minor league deal if he is to catch on with a big league club this offseason.

Lincecum signed with the Angels in part because they were willing to commit to using him as a starting pitcher, and it seems as if the righty is still looking to continue as a starter rather than consider a move to the bullpen.  As Baggarly puts it, Lincecum becoming a reliever has been “a long-predicted role in his career arc,” especially given his declining velocity and effectiveness in recent years.  Only eight of Lincecum’s 278 career regular season appearances have come as a reliever, though that doesn’t count his postseason work in 2012, when his effectiveness out of the pen helped the Giants win the World Series.

Given how dominant Lincecum was in his prime years (winning NL Cy Young Awards in both 2008 and 2009), one can’t blame him for wanting to exhaust all possible options as a starter, though the time may have come to embrace relief pitching if he wants to continue in the majors.  The Giants don’t have any more room in their bullpen for a potential reunion with their former ace, Baggarly writes, though one would think Lincecum would draw interest from at least a few teams if he indicated a willingness to work as a reliever.

Latest On Matt Wieters’ Market

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Matt Wieters is still looking for a new team, and the catcher is short one more potential landing spot now that Braves have agreed to sign Kurt Suzuki.  Atlanta had long been cited as a candidate to sign Georgia Tech alum Wieters; just under 30% of MLBTR readers predicted the Braves as Wieters’ next team in a poll last month.

ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick explored the Wieters market in a series of tweets (1, 2, 3, 4), including the news that there is some sentiment within the Orioles organization to re-sign Wieters to a one-year deal.  Under this arrangement, Wieters would split time with Welington Castillo behind the plate while also getting some at-bats as a DH.  While Wieters is popular with Baltimore’s on-field staff, however, Crasnick describes the O’s as “a long shot” for Wieters since the team’s analytics staff has reservations.

Wieters would certainly be an upgrade over current backup catcher Caleb Joseph, and a one-year deal would give the Orioles future flexibility at catcher — Castillo has a player option for 2018 and top prospect Chance Sisco is close to being ready for the big leagues.  Wieters would still carry a not-insignificant price tag even on a one-year contract, and the Orioles might not be keen to spend that much on the catcher position when Joseph is still in the fold at a low price and could rebound from his dismal 2016 season.

A timeshare-esque situation in Baltimore also wouldn’t necessarily help Wieters’ chances at scoring his sought-after multi-year contract next winter, so he could prefer a clearer path to playing time.  An MLB source with knowledge of the catching market tells Crasnick that the Angels, Rockies and perhaps the Reds seem to be the best fits for Wieters on a one-year deal.  The Angels have reportedly had some internal talks about Wieters already, while the Rockies could use a more established catcher in lieu of their planned Tony Wolters/Tom Murphy platoon.

The Reds are a new name in the mix, and their interest in Wieters or any other established catcher hinges on Devin Mesoraco’s health.  Mesoraco underwent hip surgery last summer and was scheduled to begin catching drills around this point in January, so more should be known about his injury situation in the next few weeks.  Since signing a four-year, $28MM extension after the 2014 season, Mesoraco has barely been able to get onto the field, playing just 39 games total in 2015-16 due to shoulder surgery and procedures on both his left and right hips.  Tucker Barnhart handled most of the work last year in Mesoraco’s absence, hitting .257/.323/.379 in 420 PA and posting strong blocking numbers according to Baseball Prospectus, though both BP and StatCorner rank Barnhart as a below-average pitch framer.  Rule 5 pick Stuart Turner is the only other catcher on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster.

The Diamondbacks and Nationals have both been linked to Wieters at various times this winter, though Crasnick echoes other recent reports in saying that the Nats don’t seem to have much interest in Wieters.  After Washington acquired Derek Norris, there were rumors that the Nationals could sign Wieters and then flip Norris, though one would think that the Nats could’ve just signed Wieters rather than trade for Norris in the first place.  It doesn’t seem like D.C. is a fit at the moment, though “you can never rule out the Nationals with Scott Boras clients,” Crasnick writes.

Reliever Notes: Casilla, Betances, Nationals, Luhnow, Twins

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Here’s the latest bullpen buzz from around the game…

  • Before signing with the Athletics, Santiago Casilla told reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he also received an offer from the Brewers.  Earlier this week, Milwaukee went in another direction for its closing vacancy by signing Neftali Feliz to a one-year contract.
  • The Yankees discussed a multi-year deal with Dellin Betances, GM Brian Cashman tells Dan Martin of the New York Post.  The two sides didn’t reach an agreement prior to the arbitration deadline, however, and thus they will go to an arbitration hearing to determine Betances’ 2017 salary.  “Based on all of our discussions, it was clear our different perspectives were at such a wide bridge, that we’ll go out and basically have a polite discussion about market value and history of where the marketplace sits versus attempts for a new market creation,” Cashman said.  The Yankees filed for $3MM while Betances filed for $5MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility, a number the reliever feels is justified, he told the Post’s George A. King III.  “What I’ve done for the first three years for the team, we’re asking for a fair number and I just want to be treated fairly. That’s all I ask, to be honest with you,” Betances said.
  • Lack of depth may be a bigger bullpen issue for the Nationals than their lack of an experienced closer, MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes.  The Nats have been rather quiet as of late but Zuckerman notes that the club has “been looking at available relievers for weeks now,” as well as possible bench options.
  • The Astros are still monitoring the market for left-handed relievers, though GM Jeff Luhnow tells reporters (including Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle) that “at this point I’m not sure that anything’s going to get done there.”  Tony Sipp is the only southpaw in Houston’s bullpen right now, while inexperienced options Kevin Chapman, Ashur Tolliver and Reymin Guduan are also on the 40-man roster.
  • The Twins bullpen “still needs some work,” Paul Molitor tells MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger, as the manager says the team is continuing to look for possible upgrades.

Finalized First Round Order For 2017 MLB Draft

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Now that Mark Trumbo has re-signed with the Orioles, all ten players who were issued qualifying offers last November have found landing spots for 2017.  Based on the teams who gained and lost draft picks from these qualifying offer free agents, the order for the first round of the 2017 amateur draft has now been finalized.

The biggest takeaway from the updated order, of course, is how relatively static things have remained since the order was originally established at the end of the regular season.  Of the 10 players who were issued the one-year, $17.2MM qualifying offers, two (Neil Walker, Jeremy Hellickson) accepted, and five others (Trumbo, Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Bautista, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner) re-signed with their original teams.  It was a far cry from last offseason, when 20 players were issued qualifying offers and 11 switched teams.

Here’s how the first 30 picks in the draft will shake out, covering both the first round and the compensation round…

1. Twins
2. Reds
3. Padres
4. Rays
5. Braves
6. Athletics
7. Diamondbacks
8. Phillies
9. Brewers
10. Angels
11. White Sox
12. Pirates
13. Marlins
14. Royals
15. Astros
16. Yankees
17. Mariners
18. Tigers
19. Giants
20. Mets
21. Orioles
22. Blue Jays
23. Dodgers
24. Red Sox
25. Nationals
26. Rangers
27. Cubs

COMPENSATION ROUND (bonus picks given to teams who issued qualifying offers to players who signed elsewhere; picks are allotted in inverse order of 2015 record)

28. Blue Jays (for Edwin Encarnacion signing with the Indians)
29. Rangers (for Ian Desmond signing with the Rockies)
30. Cubs (for Dexter Fowler signing with the Cardinals)

Teams don’t easily part with first round picks under any circumstances, though this offseason’s QO market may have been particularly impacted by uncertainty surrounding the new collective bargaining agreement.  Several of the game’s biggest spenders decided to largely sit out the free agent market for luxury tax purposes, plus a glut of first base/corner outfield/DH types in the market also contributed to Bautista, Trumbo and Encarnacion all receiving smaller deals than expected.

Encarnacion’s quiet market opened the door for the Indians to make a rare free agent splash, signing the slugger to a three-year, $60MM deal.  The Tribe are clearly in win-now mode, and they felt that the chance to sign Encarnacion at a relative bargain price was worth giving up the 25th overall pick (Cleveland was originally selecting 27th, but their pick was bumped up after the Desmond and Fowler signings).

The Rockies originally held the 11th overall pick (the highest non-protected pick in the first round), so they single-handedly shifted the draft order when they rather surprisingly inked Desmond to a five-year, $70MM contract.  Adding to the curiosity is the fact that the Rockies intend to use the athletic Desmond as a first baseman, though those plans could still change if Colorado deals from its outfield surplus before Opening Day.  This signing could end up being widely debated for years, depending on how Desmond performs in Denver and who the White Sox select now that they have moved up to that 11th overall draft slot.

This will be the last offseason where business is conducted under these qualifying offer and draft compensation rules, thanks to the new CBA.  Beginning next winter, players who have been issued a qualifying offer in the past are no longer eligible for another QO, which could bode well for players like Bautista, Hellickson and Walker.  Teams that sign a QO free agent will no longer have to give up a first-rounder in compensation, though such signings will still some at a notable cost; the new rules will more closely tie qualifying offer free agents to the luxury tax, international draft pools and revenue-sharing systems.

MLB.com has the full order for the entire draft, including the order for the two Competitive Balance rounds, which respectively take place after the compensation round and the second round.  Competitive Balance picks can be traded once the season begins, so there’s still a chance that the draft order could be further altered before teams start making their selections on June 12.  The Rays hold the top Competitive Balance pick, drafting 31st overall.

5 Key Stories: 1/14/17 – 1/20/17

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Here are the top items from a busy week around baseball:

Blue Jays re-sign Jose Bautista.  The Blue Jays re-signed the longtime Toronto slugger to a one-year deal that will pay Bautista $18.5MM in guaranteed money.  The contract also contains a $17MM mutual option for 2018 and a $20MM vesting option for 2019, plus bonuses based on attendance figures.

Orioles re-sign Mark Trumbo.  Another AL East team retained a free agent slugger, as the Orioles brought Trumbo back on a three-year, $37.5MM deal.  Trumbo, whose first year in Baltimore saw him hit a league-best 47 homers, looks to split time between DH and a corner outfield spot, depending on matchups.

Angels sign Luis Valbuena, extend Kole Calhoun.  The Halos added some pop to their infield mix by signing Valbuena to a two-year deal.  Valbuena projects as a left-handed hitting complement to third baseman Yunel Escobar and/or switch-hitting second baseman Danny Espinosa, plus Valbuena could see action at first base with Albert Pujols recovering from offseason foot surgery.  In other news from Anaheim, the Angels signed right fielder Calhoun to a three-year, $26MM extension that contains a club option for 2020 (Calhoun’s first free agent season).

Royals extend Danny Duffy.  The Royals locked up a key member of their rotation by agreeing with Duffy on a five-year, $65MM extension.  The deal has significant big-picture implications for the Royals, as Duffy was one of several important players (such as Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Alcides Escobar) slated to hit free agency next winter.

Hall Of Fame voting results.  The Cooperstown class of 2017 was finalized after Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez were voted into the Hall Of Fame.  Rodriguez made the cut in his first year of eligibility, while Bagwell was in his seventh year and Raines was in his tenth and final year on the ballot.

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