Padres right-hander Jhoulys Chacin threw 180 1/3 innings of 3.89 ERA ball and contributed upward of two wins above replacement this season, making him one of the top bargain signings of 2017. Chacin inked a $1.75MM deal with the Padres last winter and should fare much better on his next contract, one that might come from another organization. But Chacin told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday that he’d be willing to continue his career in San Diego (Twitter link). “It’s hard to tell,” Chacin said of his future. “But I would be really happy to come back here.” Re-signing the capable innings eater would make a lot of sense for the rebuilding, starter-needy Padres, as MLBTR’s Jason Martinez wrote Friday.
More from San Diego and a couple other cities:
- Padres owner Ron Fowler informed Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune that there are “a couple people we’re fairly close to getting deals done with,” which could mean Chacin or any of their other impending free agents. Regardless, both Fowler and managing partner Ron Seidler suggested to Lin that they’re happy with how this year has gone for the club. Seidler has seen enough progress to believe the Padres could soon be a factor in the NL West, a division the big-spending Dodgers have ruled over the past half-decade. Looking ahead two years, Seidler said: “At minimum, if we’re not in the chase for (the playoffs), I’d be disappointed. (If not), it wouldn’t mean I’d be angry or upset or anything. I think, given where we are right now, in 2019 we should have every chance not to just be a playoff team but to win the division.” Check out Lin’s full piece for more quotes from Seidler and Fowler on the direction of the franchise.
- By starting in his final three appearances of the year, Angels righty Bud Norris lost out on a $500K bonus, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Norris would have collected that money had he made 60 relief appearances (he finished with 57), but starting him was not a money-saving move by the Angels. Rather, Norris volunteered to switch roles down the stretch, his representative revealed. “He did it for the team,” agent Joel Wolfe told Fletcher. “Now he’s going into free agency as one of the most versatile and valuable pitching assets given the ways teams tactically use their pitching staffs. The value he’s gotten out of starting is far in excess of that performance bonus.” Norris joined the Angels on a minor league deal last January and proved to be a shrewd pickup, pitching to a 4.21 ERA and recording 10.74 K/9 against 3.92 BB/9 over 62 innings. Thanks to that production, he seems likely to land a major league contract during the upcoming offseason.
- Shin-Soo Choo has gotten some practice reps at first base this week and could end up as a part-time option there in 2018 for the Rangers, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. The Rangers are likely to cut ties with Mike Napoli after the season, which could open up first for Joey Gallo, but he’s probably better suited for the outfield, Wilson observes. Should Gallo take a spot in the grass, it might lead to some time at first for Choo, who has only served as an outfielder and a designated hitter since making his big league debut in 2005. Advanced defensive metrics have typically been bearish on Choo’s work in the field, though, and he’ll turn 36 next summer. First seems like a more logical place for him, then, though Wilson cautions that this experiment isn’t guaranteed to stretch into next season. Offensively, the lefty-swinging Choo has turned in another respectable year with 22 home runs, 12 stolen bases and a .261/.357/.423 line in 636 plate appearances.
Starting 3 games was worth 500k?? I doubt that. It’s not like those were the first 3 games we’ve seen bud Norris start. He wasn’t even stretched out for them, I don’t know how that was anything but a 500k loss for him.
He would have had the 500k, but he was on the dl for 2 weeks in early August after having a horrible two to three weeks before blowing big leads and the games in relief.
He would’ve had it if he didn’t start those games. His performance is irrelevant, he would’ve been used out of the pen 3 more times. I’m sure bud Norris has made a good chunk of money over his career but losing 500k for 3 starts isn’t a smart money move.
No, it isn’t a smart money move.
It’s called being a teammate. He volunteered to start when the SP ranks thinned on Heaney’s injury. It was with the knowledge that had he stayed in bullpen, he would have easily had those three appearances and scored the bonus.
But it might also cause GMs to look at him again as possible SP, which could boost his salary potential in 2018 and beyond. If this is a successful long play, then it is a smart money move.
3 innings start isn’t a start though. Angels should pay him the bonus anyway for being a “good teammate”
Even though I feel like it’s BS, and a money saving move by the Angels, and his agent is trying to save the franchise’s face, that quote given by Bud Norris’s agent:
“He did it for the team,” “Now he’s going into free agency as one of the most versatile and valuable pitching assets given the ways teams tactically use their pitching staffs. The value he’s gotten out of starting is far in excess of that performance bonus.”
is eerily reminiscent of Brett Myers. I loved that guy’s versatility.
Who else where they going to start? Chavez? And his almost 6 ERA. Heaney Myer and Ramirez. All three got hurt. The Angels couldn’t go to a four man rotation.
Norris only went 3 innings so he wasn’t exactly starting.
It had to do with being stretched out for a starting role. A swingman is who a team would prefer, moving from long relief to a spot start. But the long reliever (Chavez) didn’t cause management to think that was a good idea. Giving Chavez the start would have also triggered a bonus, but more importantly it would have been a white knuckle ride. Norris getting 3-4 solid innings would have been seen as a good outcome.
Wouldn’t mind it at all to see Chacin in a Padres uniform next year. He’ll cost a bit more and will at least test the open market tho. Still think they should have traded him.
Idk why Preller didn’t try to package Chacin and Stammen together for 1 prospect. Doesn’t hurt to take a flier on a pitcher. That pitcher couldnt be much worse than Mazzoni is.
Yeah I agree.. They already resigned Richard, so bringing back Chacin will give them more continuity. Those guys together would serve as a good veteran presence while also eating a healthy amount of innings.
The Rangers need to trade Profar for themselves and for him. First of all, he’s not happy in the slightest in Texas. Send him somewhere where he can go out there, break out and have a solid career.
And Texas, at least try to grab another change of scenery type kid like Daniel Robertson (Tampa).
I agree. But this was a random callout on Profar since he wasn’t listed in this column.
I think Phillies has the right idea. Profar’s value is pretty low right now and his attitude is worse. Someone like Robertson is the best TX could do. Maybe a relief pitcher who needs a change.
Chacin is actually someone I’d like to see the Cards target. He (I guess like everyone else) seems to be substantially better in larger parks and could be a nice 3/4 in the rotation…
Chacin’s era was 5 runs higher out of petco. Cards have waino, Weaver, flaherty, wacha Martinez and Reyes as rotation options right now and I’m not sure he’s better than any of them. Maybe wainwright at this point
I wonder, when was the last time a player said they would not be happy to come back to a team?
Jeff Samardzija two years ago?
Pablo Sandoval 3 years ago.. but he’s back
The Angels should’ve kept him. Not ideal but they needed quality innings wherever they could find them. And looking Chacin’s track record as a full season starter, he’s a guy who could’ve easily helped the Angels get a few more wins needed to get that WC spot. Offense did them in though.
Agreed. I was pleased with Chacin overall and his season improved as August rolled around, which suggested to me the coaching staff might have fine tuning in June and July and corrected a problem.
When the Angels didn’t seem to want to continue the relationship that seemed strange, though he may have been negotiating with various teams and his price/contract length expectations were beyond Angels comfort level.
Was this actually a productive year for the Padres though? Rebuilding teams are obviously more concerned with player development than their results, so while their record was better than expected, the more important thing was player development, and I’m not sure much happened in that regard.
Hedges and Renfroe sucked again, Espinoza got injured and Margot was fine, but probably profiles as a glove-first average regular, useful but unspectacular. The emergence of Michel Baez and Cal Quantrill is probably the best thing that happened to them, and I’m not sure that’s enough to consider this a “good year.”
How exactly did Hedges “suck” this year? He was one of the best if not the best defensive catcher in baseball and anyone who expected him to be even average with the bat needs to temper their expectations.
And Renfroe has never started out strong at any level of the minors. Have some patience with the guy.
Right? I’ll take 18 homers and 60 rbi’s from a young “defensive” catcher who manages a pitching staff as well as anyone I can recall for his age. He is a gamer and will only get better with the bat. Yadier Molina wasn’t great with the bat his first few years either, his defense was but with experience and hard work he made himself a better hitter, I can see the same happening with Hedges and if it doesn’t then Austin Allen with take his job in two years.
Fair enough, I guess, but 18 homers isn’t actually that impressive, and I don’t much care about RBI. Hedges hit .214/.268/.398, which is terrible, and his strikeout rate went the wrong way. Molina’s an exception, not the rule, and he always made so much more contact then Hedges anyways.
If you guys are ok writing off Renfroe’s poor season a fluke, ok, but power-only corner outfielders who don’t walk aren’t much loved in today’s game. At the very least, neither one of them was a good major-leaguer this season.
And my point wasn’t actually that these guys CAN’T be MLB players, but I’m much less confident of that than I was 5 months ago
Best if not the best defensive catcher lol
Extra chromosome lol