The latest from around the NL East…
- The Mets had Bud Norris “on their board” before the veteran right-hander signed with the Cardinals, The Athletic’s Marc Carig reports (Twitter link). Norris’ versatility as both a reliever and a potential swingman or spot starter intrigued the Mets, who may or may not be still looking for rotation depth.
- Juan Lagares’ name has surfaced in some trade rumors over the offseason, though MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link) doubts the Mets would part with the defensively-gifted outfielder. The team is thin on outfield depth as it is, and Lagares is penciled in as the starting center fielder until Michael Conforto is healthy. Dealing Lagares (who is owed $15.5MM over the next two seasons) would free up some payroll space for the Mets, and he hasn’t hit much over the last three years, with injuries playing a role in his struggles at the plate. Nevertheless, DiComo writes that “the Mets are super bullish on” Lagares and even plan to use him against both left-handed and right-handed pitching.
- Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos discussed his team’s signing of Chris Stewart with reporters (including David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), admitting that Stewart’s addition is “not a clean fit right now” since the team is set behind the plate with Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki. The hope is that Stewart will accept an assignment to Triple-A at the end of Spring Training to provide additional depth at catcher behind the MLB duo. The Braves would’ve preferred to sign Stewart to a minor league deal, though Stewart was insistent on receiving a Major League contract, even if his deal isn’t guaranteed.
- The idea of players asking for trades is “a little radical” for Martin Prado, the veteran infielder told reporters, including Clark Spencer and Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald. Unlike several Marlins teammates who are still with the team (J.T. Realmuto, Starlin Castro) or have since been dealt (Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich), Prado said he would never request a trade, though he “respected” those players’ decisions. While Prado may have not have asked for a deal, Miami reportedly looked into trading the infielder and $28.5MM remaining on his salary as part of the team’s latest payroll slash.
- Wei-Yin Chen won’t be ready to be on the Marlins’ Opening Day roster, manager Don Mattingly told media, including Spencer and Fernandez. Chen is beginning a throwing program during Spring Training as he continues to recover from the elbow problems that limited him to only 33 innings in 2017. Mattingly didn’t put a timetable on when Chen is expected to be ready, other than to say that he expects the southpaw to be in the rotation at some point.
- Also from the Spencer/Fernandez piece, Dan Straily’s arbitration hearing with the Marlins will take place tomorrow. The two sides will face the arb panel despite a rather small difference in submitted figures; Straily is asking for a $3.55MM salary in 2018, while the Fish countered with an offer of $3.37MM. Miami has already gone to arbitration hearings twice this winter, winning one (against Realmuto) and losing the other (to Justin Bour).
- With the Phillies stressing defensive versatility, the team will work Roman Quinn out at shortstop this spring, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Daily News writes. Manager Gabe Kapler said the team won’t try Quinn at shortstop in an actual game before they see how he handles infield drills, though Kapler noted that “we’d be foolish not to look under that stone” given Quinn’s athleticism. Quinn was originally drafted as a shortstop the Phillies took him in the second round in 2011, but was shifted to the outfield after some early-career defensive struggles. Quinn can already play all three outfield spots, though adding shortstop to his defensive repertoire would only help his chances of winning a spot on what could be a short Phillies bench.
Gosh I hope Bud Norris doesn’t assume that role with the cards.
Meh, if everyone else in the lineup hits, sticking Legares at 7 or 8 and getting Gold Glove CF doesn’t seem like such a bad thing, especially for a pitching-centric team. If he hits too: bonus.
Agree. Especially since since conforto isn’t a gifted fielder especially in center, with Bruce and cespedes on his wings. Problem is none of those three would play a bench role
Bruce could go to first with gonzo to the bench & late inning def replacement
Especially since upper management seldom makes sense they will use the opportunity to create uncertainty so that everybody is a bit out of position with no stability. Legares can’t hit. That’s not the only position in the lineup that has a black hole.
Without a cohesive lineup they will mess with the defensive alignment and fans will watch a porous team in the field.
Oh well…same as last year.
Conforto’s defense is incredibly underrated. According to those fancy metrics he actually takes the most efficient routes to the ball of all the Mets outfielders, including Lagares.
Since when did Legares become Willie Mays?
Word got out that Lageres worked with JDM’s hitting coach and supposedly it really helped. I’ve always liked Lagares, but he is injury prone, which makes it hard to make a positive impact from the training room. I think/hope he can figure out his bat bc he still is GG-worthy in center.
The articles says the Mets are thin on outfield depth but I’d have to disagree. They have Nimmo and lagares already as backup options. I’m not sure if lagares has a whole lot of surplus value on that contract at 2/15.
Gotta remember the best CF from a defensive standpoint in the NL wears a tomahawk across his chest.
Chris Stewart insisted! Wow, hope other worthless retirees do not insist, poor Anthopolous.
Braves sign hole in the head! They would have preferred no hole in the head but the hole insisted.
Note to every professional athlete, take a page out of Martin Prado’s handbook. At the end of the day you’re still an employee.
Agreed…too many babies in Baseball..
Prado has an absurd contract that could never be traded – not even if the Marlins paid two-thirds of it. Easy words for him, to be honest.
If Straily wins his arb hearing the marlins will want to trade him to keep payroll in check
Chen (a Boras client) has panned our very well so far!
The last scouting report on Roman Quinn by Jason Parks before he left Baseball Prospectus had Quinn staying at SS. The Phillies moved him to CF a few months later. That’s the Phillies Way. They had J.P. Crawford so why keep Quinn at SS? They didn’t have a CF at that time.
John Middleton’s planning to crush that farm system just as he did before. The Phillies were the most profitable team in MLB the past two years. Rebuilds = $$$$
Oh great, you’re back with another gem. Hadn’t seen your nonsense in awhile and was hoping you had finally given up on a sport you know nothing about. As much as you are grasping at straws here to find anything and everything to whine about, shifting Quinn to OF wasn’t part of Middleton’s grand scheme to bring down the Phillies organization. It’s basic positional flexibility, you moron, and it is a benefit to both team and player. At this point we all know you’ve gotta be trolling, as it’s not possible that you could actually believe the garbage you post on here.
“At this point we all know you’ve gotta be trolling, as it’s not possible that you could actually believe the garbage you post on here.”….sadly he does. His blog is even worse, almost frightening.
I don’t know if I’d say Lagares is penciled in as the starter. It’ll be a competition between Lagares and his revamped swing and young Brandon Nimmo and his solid plate discipline that could end up in a platoon. Either way they both can get a nice audition before Conforto returns.