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AL Notes: Rays, Miller, Allen, Orioles

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The Rays’ reputation for creative thinking is somewhat making the team a victim of its own success in 2018, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  The Rays have already lost two members of their coaching staff to managerial jobs (Charlie Montoyo with the Blue Jays and Rocco Baldelli with the Twins), while senior VP Chaim Bloom was a finalist for the Mets’ GM job and has been mentioned as a possible candidate to run the Giants’ baseball operations department.  For now, Tampa has two coaching vacancies to fill, though the responsibilities of Baldelli’s old infield coordinator role could be altered, as that job was specifically tailored for Baldelli’s skillset.  Topkin wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one new coach from outside the organization hired, though the Rays do have a long track record of promoting from within the organization.

Some more from around the American League….

  • Neither Andrew Miller or Cody Allen had a season to remember in 2018, though could those disappointing years actually make it more likely that one of the two relievers returns to the Indians bullpen in 2019?  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer explores the possibility as part of a reader mailbag, with the caveat that “this is a buyer beware situation even on a one-year deal.”  Miller was hampered by multiple injuries en route to a 4.24 ERA over 34 innings for the Tribe last season, while Allen simply lacked consistency, posting a career-high 4.70 ERA over 67 frames.  The prevailing wisdom had been that Cleveland wouldn’t be able to afford to re-sign either pitcher in free agency, though if either Miller or Allen was willing to take a one-year pillow contract (with an eye towards pitching better and then looking for a multi-year contract in the 2019-20 offseason), it’s possible the Tribe could be open to that type of short-term expenditure.  The price tag will be an issue, of course, as Cleveland already has over $135MM in projected payroll for next season and still must address other needs this winter.
  • The Orioles are parting ways with several members of the organization, as The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com were among those to report the changes.  Triple-A manager Ron Johnson, director of Dominican baseball operations Nelson Norman, East Coast scouting supervisor Kirk Fredriksson, special assistant Matt Haas, and area scout Dana Duquette didn’t have their contracts renewed for 2019.  Senior advisor Joe McIlvaine and special assignment scout Wayne Britton also won’t be returning next season, Kubatko reports.
  • In another piece from Kubatko, he speculates that left-hander Sean Gilmartin and outfielder John Andreoli could be candidates to be outrighted as the Orioles clear roster space in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.  (Kubatko already reported that Jace Peterson has been told by the team that he’ll be placed on outright waivers.)  Gilmartin posted a 3.00 ERA over 27 relief innings for Baltimore after signing a minor league deal last summer, and Kubatko speculates that the O’s could try re-signing Gilmartin after the Rule 5 Draft since the southpaw has potential as a multi-inning reliever.  The 28-year-old Andreoli made his Major League debut last season, posting a .546 OPS over 67 PA with the Mariners and Orioles.

Orioles To Place Jace Peterson On Outright Waivers

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The Orioles have told utilityman Jace Peterson that he will be placed on outright waivers, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports.  The team is expected to try and re-sign Peterson after the non-tender deadline (November 30) and the Rule 5 Draft in December.

The move will free up a spot on the Orioles’ roster and also save the club a bit of money in arbitration costs.  After earning $900K in 2018 in his first year of arbitration eligibility, Peterson was projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz for a raise up to $1.3MM for 2019.  Rather than commit to such an amount, the Orioles could try to bring Peterson back on a less-expensive minor league deal or a split contract.

Peterson, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Yankees last April and ended up appearing in 93 games for Baltimore, batting .195/.308/.325 over 235 PA in the orange and black while seeing time as a second baseman, third baseman, corner outfielder, and even three games at shortstop.  Peterson hasn’t hit much over his five MLB seasons, though his versatility makes him a useful bench asset, and he received some interest from multiple teams when available in April.

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/28/18

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The latest minor league moves from around baseball…

  • The Diamondbacks have re-signed first baseman Cody Decker and right-hander Kevin McCanna to minor league contracts and assigned them both to Triple-A Reno, as per the Reno affiliate’s official Twitter feed (links here).  The 31-year-old Decker will return for his second season in Arizona’s organization, after hitting .261/.351/.503 over 191 combined PA at the Triple-A and Double-A levels in 2018.  McCanna, 24, posted a 3.84 ERA, 9.2 K/9, and a 3.00 K/BB rate over 70 1/3 combined innings at A-ball and high-A ball, starting 13 of his 14 games before injuries sidelined him in late June.

Heyman’s Latest: Hamels, Smoak, Nunez, Bregman, Padres

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The Cubs seem likely to pick up left-hander Cole Hamels’ $20MM option for 2019, Jon Heyman of Fancred writes. The club could instead buy out Hamels for $6MM, a sum his previous team – the Rangers – would cover, though that would be a surprise in the wake of his second-half performance. After the Cubs acquired Hamels in late July, he pitched to a 2.36 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 76 1/3 innings. Thanks in part to Hamels’ excellent results over the final couple months of the season, Cubs president Theo Epstein recently called the 34-year-old a “breath of fresh air.”

Here’s more from Heyman’s latest column:

  • Surprisingly, despite his quality production from 2017-18 and his reasonable price tag for next season, the Blue Jays aren’t certain to exercise first baseman Justin Smoak’s option, according to Heyman. Toronto must decide whether to bring back Smoak for $8MM or cut him loose and pay $250K. But if the team’s uninterested in retaining Smoak, perhaps it’ll pick up the soon-to-be 32-year-old’s option and shop him to first base needy-clubs. MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently took a look at several teams that could pursue a deal for the switch-hitting Smoak, who slashed .242/.350/.457 (121 wRC+) with 25 home runs in 594 PA this year.
  • Red Sox infielder Eduardo Nunez is “likely” to exercise his $5MM player option, per Heyman. Nunez could otherwise opt out and receive $2MM, but he’d be doing so on the heels of a rough campaign (heroics in Game 1 of the World Series notwithstanding). The 31-year-old hit a meek .265/.289/.388 (78 wRC+) in 502 regular-season plate appearances and accounted for minus-0.4 fWAR – the sixth-worst mark among those who totaled at least 500 PA. Notably, Nunez had a much better campaign in 2017, but he was still unable to secure a large guarantee as a free agent last winter.
  • Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud is a non-tender candidate, Heyman relays. The oft-injured d’Arnaud is projected to earn $3.7MM in 2019, his last year of arbitration, but the Mets could deem that too pricey in the wake of another injury-shortened season. D’Arnaud, 29, suffered a partial UCL tear in early April, limiting him to four games. With d’Arnaud unavailable, the Mets ended up relying on Devin Mesoraco and Kevin Plawecki behind the plate. There’s also uncertainty with Mesoraco heading into the offseason, given that he’s a pending free agent.
  • Astros superstar Alex Bregman is among those sticking with agent Brodie Scoffield, who recently left Legacy to start Tidal Sports Group, Heyman writes. The 24-year-old third baseman is coming off a tremendous season in which he hit .284/394/.532 (157 wRC+) with 31 home runs, more walks (96) than strikeouts (85) and 7.6 fWAR across 705 trips to the plate. Bregman’s in line to play his final pre-arb season in 2019.
  • Some manager-needy teams recently requested interviews with Padres executive Moises Alou, but the 52-year-old spurned those overtures, Heyman reports. Alou, a big league outfielder from 1990-2008, joined San Diego’s front office in 2015. He doesn’t have any managerial experience, though it does run in his family. His father, Felipe Alou, managed the Expos (1992-2001) and Giants (2003-06) to a combined 1,033-1,021 record, and he took home NL Manager of the Year honors during the strike-shortened ’94 season.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Free Agency, Nats, Yanks, Phils, Bucs, Marlins

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This week in baseball blogs…

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AL Notes: G. Sanchez, Tribe, Chisenhall, Orioles

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Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is coming off a disappointing season in which he endured plenty of criticism for both his underwhelming offensive performance and his subpar pitch blocking behind the plate. Nevertheless, New York will again rely on Sanchez as its starting backstop in 2019, general manager Brian Cashman recently told ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay (hat tip to Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues). “We know what he’s capable of doing,” Cashman said. “And I’m already getting phone calls to be honest from clubs trying to knock on our door to see if he’s available. And he’s not … He will be our catcher.” Sanchez was the game’s best hitting catcher from 2016-17, a 754-plate appearance span in which he batted .284/.354/.568 with 53 home runs, but dropped to .186/.291/.406 with 18 HRs in 374 PA in 2018. A .197 batting average of balls in play (down from .308 the previous two seasons) played a part in that, though, and Statcast suggests Sanchez deserved much better offensive numbers than his bottom-line results. Perhaps thanks in part to that data, not to mention his past production, it appears the Yankees are counting on a return to form in 2019 from the soon-to-be 26-year-old. Sanchez is slated to play his final pre-arb season next year, meaning he’ll earn a bargain salary. That only adds to Sanchez’s appeal for the Yankees and the teams that have inquired about him.

More from the American League…

  • There’s almost no chance the Indians will re-sign pending free-agent outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com writes. The 30-year-old’s coming off his second straight injury-plagued season (he played just 82 games in 2017 and only 29 in ’18), and the Indians seem to have a cheaper in-house replacement in Tyler Naquin, Bastian observes. Chisenhall, to his credit, was a strong offensive contributor during his limited playing time over the past couple years. He has also been a member of the Cleveland organization since it drafted him 29th overall in 2008, so a parting of ways would mean the end of a long union between the two sides.
  • The Orioles came in second in the race for Cuban pitching prospect Sandy Gaston, whom the Rays reeled in earlier this week, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Meanwhile, the Mesa brothers – two other Orioles targets who joined the Marlins last weekend – were essentially a package deal, despite earlier reports to the contrary, per Kubatko. Although Baltimore had the most international pool space available, it lost out on all three prospects, leading to questions as to what went wrong for the beleaguered franchise.

Trevor Rosenthal Planning October Showcase For MLB Teams

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Oct. 27: Rosenthal’s showcase seems to have gone well, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman.  The righty reportedly sat at around 98 MPH for much of the session and apparently touched 100 at least once.  The event was “well attended” by front office personnel around the league.

Sept. 26: Rosenthal announced on Twitter that his showcase will be held October 3rd in Irvine, CA.

Aug. 14: Former Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal’s progress from Tommy John surgery appears to be progressing nicely, as  the right-hander took to Twitter today to announce that he’s planning an October showcase for interested clubs. Rosenthal has tweeted a few clips of himself pitching over the past month and included another with today’s announcement.

Details of his showcase aren’t yet clear, but it stands to reason that virtually every team in the Majors will at least have a scout on hand to watch the former All-Star. By the time October rolls around, Rosenthal will be 13 months removed from the operation he underwent late last August — closer to 14 months if he waits until the end of the month. He’ll be a full 18 months removed from surgery by the time pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training next February.

Rosenthal had multiple options in free agency this past offseason. Some hurlers in similar situations of late have inked modest two-year deals, locking in some earnings but also leaving plenty of upside on the table. Instead, Rosenthal will pursue much the same route that fellow closer and fellow Scott Boras client Greg Holland took after having Tommy John surgery late in the 2015 season. Holland sat out the 2016 campaign entirely and signed a one-year, $7MM deal with heaps of incentives and a vesting player option.

Unlike Holland, who was 29 when he had his surgery and 31 by the time he signed with the Rockies, Rosenthal will have relative youth on his side. He underwent surgery at the age of 27 and won’t turn 29 until late next May, so he’ll be considerably younger than Holland was. Rosenthal was also on the upswing at the time he was hurt, whereas Holland had struggled and lost velocity while evidently pitching through injury.

Still, the Holland contract could serve as something of a barometer when trying to gauge Rosenthal’s earning power this offseason, and it’s likely encouraging for Rosenthal’s camp that in spite of last year’s free-agent freeze, relief pitchers as a group were generally still well-compensated. It seems likely to expect that, if all goes well at his showcase, he’ll be in position to command a big league deal with a fairly significant salary in addition to performance incentives. If Rosenthal shows the same stuff he did in 2017 — when he averaged 98.8 mph with his fastball and generated a 15.9% swinging-strike rate — then there could be a bidding war.

Rosenthal’s track record will obviously also be a factor. While his tenure with the Cardinals had its ups and downs, his collective body of work in St. Louis was unquestionably impressive. In 325 innings out of the Cardinals’ bullpen, Rosenthal pitched to a 2.99 ERA and racked up 121 saved. Along the way, he averaged 12.1 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 and 0.47 HR/9 with a 44.6 percent ground-ball rate. Rosenthal’s fastball averaged 97.4 mph in his time with the Cardinals, and he generated a healthy 13.1 percent swinging-strike rate and a 30.3 percent chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone.

Mets Notes: Van Wagenen, deGrom, Cespedes, Vargas, CAA

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Earlier this afternoon, the Mets sent shockwaves through the baseball world by reportedly agreeing to terms with former CAA agent Brodie Van Wagenen on a deal to become the team’s new General Manager.  The hire, reportedly spearheaded by team COO Jeff Wilpon, is a puzzling one for an organization in flux: Van Wagenen, after all, was hired despite a résumé utterly devoid of any front office, scouting, or player development experience, and currently represents nearly a quarter of the Mets’ 25-man roster in contract matters.  Charges of interest conflicts will assuredly be flung from all directions – according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the club seems as throughly entangled with the 44-year-old former agent as any in the league.  In the past two offseasons alone, Van Wagenen has negotiated deals on behalf of outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, third baseman Todd Frazier, and lefty Jason Vargas for a combined $143MM.  Of particular interest to Sherman is Van Wagenen’s February 2018 outburst, where the agent, furious at perceived collusion in the glacially-paced free agent market, drafted a public statement suggesting that some frozen-out players may have been preparing to boycott the upcoming season.  Van Wagenen, of course, has now scooted his seat to the other side of the table, where the traits he doubtless extolled so forcefully will likely be minimized at every turn.

The elephant in that room, it seems, is 30-year-old Jacob deGrom, on whose side Van Wagenen has long campaigned for either an extension or trade, and many questions await.  Van Wagenen and his new colleagues could certainly extricate themselves from the awkward discussions to follow by peddling the ace at first opportunity in the forthcoming market, but that route seems altogether unlikely at this point.  In a separate report by The Post, sources indicate that team owner Fred Wilpon is hell-bent on a playoff run next season and was loath to consider candidates who suggested otherwise.

In other rumblings from Flushing . . .

  • Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News raises similar questions of the new hire, posing scores of inquiries about current and prospective players and the potential conflicts of interests with both.  In particular, she addresses the cases of former Van Wagenen clients Cespedes and Vargas, both of whom the agent may be forced to engage in uncomfortable discussions with.  Cespedes, of course, underwent a second surgery on his left heel yesterday and may miss up to half of the upcoming campaign.  Though he’s been productive at the plate over the last two seasons, slashing .282/.343/.525, the 33-year-old has been limited to just 120 games over that time and will figure to miss a good deal more in the season to come.  Vargas, 35, had a dreadful season last year, allowing 1.76 HR/9 and posting just 92 IP across 20 starts on the way to a 5.77 ERA.  His 8.22 K/9, the highest of his career, did leave some room for optimism, but a return to a similar path will almost surely leave the new GM in an extremely awkward position with a former client who has just one year remaining on his deal.
  • Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that Matt Ricatto and Jeff Berry of CAA will now handle agency duties for deGrom following the departure of Van Wagenen.

Marlins Outright Bryan Holaday, Drew Rucinski, Miguel Del Pozo

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Marlins’ backup catcher Bryan Holaday and reliever Drew Rucinski have been outrighted to Triple-A New Orleans, per the Sun Sentinel’s Wells Dusenbury. Rucinski has elected free agency.

The 30-year-old Holaday has appeared in the big leagues with the Tigers, Rangers, Red Sox, and Marlins since 2012. The veteran backstop has mostly been an emergency catching option, highlighted by an ALDS appearance for the 2014 Tigers, catching four innings to close out a Game 3 loss to Baltimore. That season was also his most prolific in the majors, appearing in 62 games for Detroit. This season, however, was a close second: 166 PA across 61 games, slashing .205/.261/.258 for the fish.

The 29-year-old Rucinski was serviceable in 32 appearances out of the Marlins’ bullpen in 2018 (0.1 fWAR, -0.6 rWAR), but there’s little to indicate he’ll be much more than an extra arm moving forward. Relying on a 6-pitch mix, Rucinski leans heavily on his cutter, which averaged 90.1 mph, per statcast. The right-hander finished 4-2 in 35.1 innings with a 4.33 ERA (4.76 xFIP).

Left-handed pitcher Miguel Del Pozo was also outrighted today, the team announced (via Twitter). Del Pozo spent 2018 in Double-A, but the Marlins have given themselves some extra breathing room, creating nine open spots on their 40-man roster with the removal of Holaday, Rucinski, and Del Pozo.

Quick Hits: Twins, Price, Rangers

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The Twins’ decision to hire Rocco Baldelli as their new manager meant also passing over incumbent bench coach Derek Shelton and hitting coach James Rowson for the position, but both chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine were adamant in expressing their hope that Shelton and Rowson will return to the staff in 2019, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic (subscription link). “We thought all three of those men were worthy of being managers,” said Levine of the trio before adding that it’d be a “tremendous competitive advantage” to have all three on the coaching staff. Shelton, who was the runner-up to Baldelli, took the news professionally but with clear disappointment, according to Levine. “The analogy we presented to Derek (on Wednesday) that we truly believe in is, (Falvey) and I are tackling the role of general manager together,” Levine continued. “We are hopeful that he would be open-minded about tackling the leadership in our clubhouse with Rocco Baldelli.”

A few more notes on some coaching situations around the league…

  • Former Reds manager Bryan Price is drawing interest around the league as a pitching coach, tweets Jerry Crasnick. Price, who was dismissed by Cincinnati in April, was a well-regarded pitching coach with the Mariners and Diamondbacks before serving in that role for the Reds. He ultimately succeeded Dusty Baker as the skipper, but didn’t find much success (not that anyone else would likely have fared much better). In all, Price has 13 years of experience as a big league pitching coach between the three organizations, so he’d bring plenty of experience to a new club in a return to that role.
  • The Rangers’ meandering search for a new manager could suggest some indecisiveness on the team’s part, writes Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram. It originally appeared that the club would choose one of eight initial interviewees, but after three of that group — Joe Girardi, David Bell, and Rocco Baldelli — were eliminated, the Rangers have changed course, expanding the search and interviewing more candidates. With no decision imminent, the hiring process may not conclude until after the World Series. Among the most notable names linked to the job are Eric Chavez, Stubby Clapp, and Astros bench coach Joe Espada.
  • Shiraz Rehman, recently hired by the Rangers to be their new assistant GM, has the potential to one day shed the “assistant” from that title, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. In addition to tracing Rehman’s path to this point of his career, Grant covers the reason for his decision to leave the Cubs to join the Texas organization. Although his title will remain unchanged, it appears that Rehman will enjoy an expanded role and take up a loftier spot on the decisionmaking ladder with his new club. He’ll also be looking at ways to squeeze value out of the team’s resources. Among other things, Rehman says he sees “some real low-hanging fruit, especially in player development,” that he hopes to take advantage of.

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