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Archives for February 2018

Hunter Renfroe Reportedly Drawing Trade Interest

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Trade interest in outfielder Hunter Renfroe has picked up, according to a tweet from Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The report comes less than 24 hours after the Padres’ signing of Eric Hosmer to an eight-year, $144MM contract.

The signing of Hosmer would seem to displace incumbent first baseman Wil Myers, pushing him back to the outfield where he began his career. That would correspondingly create a logjam in the outfield for the Padres, as Renfroe, Jose Pirela and Manuel Margot had previously seemed tabbed for the three spots there. The team also has Alex Dickerson, Travis Jankowski, Cory Spangenberg and Matt Szczur, all of whom are candidates to compete for at least some at-bats. With all this in mind, it’s no surprise that teams would be calling about the 26-year-old Renfroe. Whether or not the Padres are seriously considering trading him remains to be seen, of course.

Renfroe boasts less than a full season’s worth of MLB at-bats for his career, and has struck out in over 28% of them. His power upside is tremendous, however, and that potential has translated to 30 career long balls thus far. It’s worth noting that after being recalled from the minors on September 18th of last season, Renfroe smashed six homers in his final 11 games of the season. If the former top prospect can work to reduce his sky-high 33.7% career chase rate and improve his contact overall, he’d be a truly valuable hitter for any major league ballclub.

Which teams are interested in acquiring the righty-hitting Renfroe and what they’d be willing to give up is unclear at this time. Morosi notes that the Braves are currently looking to add an outfielder, and Renfroe is a long-term piece (he’s under team control through at least 2023) that could certainly help the Braves during their next window of contention if he pans out. The Indians are in need of a right-handed hitting outfielder as well, though that fit is merely speculative. It’s also easy to wonder at this point whether teams who’ve shown interest in Brewers outfielder Domingo Santana (the Diamondbacks come to mind) might also have interest in Renfroe.

Renfroe was taken 13th overall by the Padres out of Mississippi State University during the 2013 draft, and rose quickly through the minors at first, reaching the Double-A level by the midway point of the following season. Prior to 2016, MLB Pipeline described him has having “plus-plus raw power to his pull side.” The publication also noted one of his biggest drawbacks: an aggressive, lengthy swing that makes him vulnerable to “quality secondary pitches” on the outer part of the plate. He’s long been lauded for his physical strength, as well as the quality of his contact when he’s able to put the bat on the ball.

Blue Jays Notes: Smoak, Biagini, Estrada, Granderson

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Justin Smoak’s breakout 2017 season ended with a whimper, as the Blue Jays first baseman dealt with fatigue and a then-undisclosed injury. Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports that Smoak dealt with patella tendinitis in one of his knees during the season’s final two months, during which he produced just a .211/.311/.406 batting line. However, the former top prospect made some adjustments to his offseason workout routine to try and avoid similar struggles in 2018. “I feel like I’ve done some things this offseason to make that better, and I just have to keep doing the things that I was doing to keep it strong and try to alleviate that pain.” The 31-year-old will try to build on a surprisingly dominant 2017 season during which he earned his first All-Star appearance and hit a career-high 38 homers. Though Smoak had been near replacement level for his entire career, he was worth 3.4 fWAR last year; whether that production is sustainable will be an interesting storyline to watch this season.

More news from up north…

  • Though right-hander Joe Biagini endured his fair share of struggles last season, Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker has faith in him (h/t Ben Nicholson-Smith of sportsnet.ca). “I still envision him as a quality major-league starter,” says Walker. A Rule 5 Draft pick of the Jays back in 2015, Biagini has just two full seasons and 18 MLB starts under his belt. Though his 5.34 ERA last season wouldn’t seem to offer much promise on the surface, it doesn’t tell the entire story, either. Biagini showed flashes of potential last season by going at least seven innings on four separate occasions, including a September start during which he struck out ten Orioles hitters and posted an 87.5% ground ball rate. If he can harness some of that ability, he may yet become a valuable member of Toronto’s rotation.
  • In retrospect, right-hander Marco Estrada feels good about his decision to sign a one-year deal with the Blue Jays (via Nicholson-Smith). “I’m blessed and happy that I was able to take care of that stuff early so I had none of those headaches and none of the stress about where I was going to end up,” Estrada said earlier this week. “It was really nice to enjoy this off-season.” Outfielder Curtis Granderson, who is one of two elected MLBPA Player Representatives, also offered his views on the offseason to this point. “Everything is still moving up. Revenue is at an all-time high. Minimum salaries are at an all-time high,” he said. “As long as everything continues to move in the right direction, in the same direction, I think it’s going to be a good thing.”

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Reds, Pirates

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Reiterating a familiar stance for the Brewers this offseason, GM David Stearns says that the club has confidence in its current group of starters, but they’re exploring upgrades (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). “We’ve explored a variety of starting pitching options out there, and have a pretty good sense of what the market is,” Stearns said Sunday. “Our stance is if we can make an acquisition that we think can meaningfully upgrade the team at a responsible investment level, that’s something we’re open to.” Stearns went on to say that he believes the Milwaukee front office has done a nice job of adding to their depth. This isn’t the first time the Brewers GM has expressed confidence in the club’s current group of starters, though that notion might be met with some skepticism considering the club’s lengthy pursuit of Yu Darvish that ultimately came up short.

Some other notes out of the NL Central…

  • Stearns expressed confidence in the club’s catching group as well when asked about the possibility of a reunion between the Brewers and Jonathan Lucroy (Twitter links from Haudricourt). The GM thinks that the team got “pretty meaningful production” last year from a position split between Manny Pina, Stephen Vogt and Jett Bandy (though there’s room for skepticism on that front too, considering the team’s catchers combined to finish 20th out of 30 MLB teams by positional fWAR). Haudricourt notes that Bandy is out of minor league options while Vogt’s deal is non-guaranteed, meaning the Brewers may have a tough decision to make during spring training camp.
  • Though Reds franchise icon Joey Votto has shown faith in the club’s rebuild in past seasons, the first baseman seems to be growing impatient, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I think we’re starting to get to the point where people are starting to get tired of this stretch of ball,” he told the press on Sunday. “I think something needs to start changing and start going in a different direction. I’m going to do my part to help make that change.” Votto certainly did all he could for the Reds during their recent losing stretch. Though the team lost at least 90 games in each of the past three seasons, he managed a stunning .320/.449/.557 slash line with 94 home runs and more walks (385) than strikeouts (338) during that time.
  • In part due to player feedback, the Pirates have made changes to their training staff this offseason that they believe will lead to fewer DL stints on the whole. Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the details: Bryan Housand, the team’s new head athletic trainer, and Todd Tomscyk, recently named director of sports medicine for the club, are two of the major cogs in this overhaul. GM Neal Huntington says that Tomczyk in particular will now be able to have a “bigger impact” on the club’s performance team. Notably, the club saw three of its 2017 contributors hit the DL with hamstring strains (Gregory Polanco, Adam Frazier and David Freese); perhaps this change in the club’s training approach could help to curb that issue in 2018.

Reactions To And Effects Of The Eric Hosmer Deal

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Though the Royals reportedly made Eric Hosmer a contract offer that would’ve stood as the largest in franchise history, GM Dayton Moore says that the club’s long time first baseman and fan favorite “took the better offer” in choosing the Padres (via Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star). One big difference between the two offers was that Kansas City never included an opt-out clause; Hosmer’s deal with the Padres contains one after his fifth season with them. Of course, that contract is also believed to guarantee him more years and overall dollars than the offers he reportedly received from the Royals. In addition, the offer from the Royals was apparently more “back-loaded”. Moore adds that he had a “pretty good sense about four days ago” that Hosmer wouldn’t be returning. Though he still held out hope, it was at that point that he began to “develop a mindset” that the club was probably going in a different direction.

More rumblings around the league following last night’s big news…

  • Now that Hosmer has officially signed elsewhere, the Royals are saying that they plan to move forward with a rebuild, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports. The club also says that they don’t plan to pursue any more marquee free agents. Rumors in the past 24 hours have connected the Royals with outgoing third baseman Mike Moustakas (at least in theory), but Nightengale’s sources would seem to throw some cold water on the idea of a reunion between the two. A similar report from ESPN’s Buster Olney runs parallel with that of Nightengale.
  • Manager Ned Yost texted Hosmer multiple times over the offseason, reports Jeffrey Flannagan of MLB.com. Yost never heard back, and jokingly says that he didn’t get a response even when he was “on [his] death bed.” Dodd reports that Yost (and Moore) really wanted Hosmer back, and believed that his legacy would be “cemented” in Kansas City.
  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star argues that fans are missing the point by focusing on Hosmer’s departure, when they should be focused on the moments he created during his tenure in Kansas City. Mellinger describes Hosmer as having “something like the perfect Royals career.” He cites myriad memorable moments from Hosmer’s time with the club, including his call up and playoff contributions.
  • The Padres are “more than a player away” from being a good baseball team, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports argues. However, he also makes the case that Hosmer may still be around when the team is able to “get it right”. Eight years is a long time, after all, and the Friars have players like Manuel Margot, Hunter Renfroe and Fernando Tatis Jr. who could be on the cusp of greatness. In addition, they have a strong farm system that can produce yet more great players. Brown makes the case that the signing makes some level of sense because Hosmer is simply a really good baseball player, and adds that this contract is the story Padres fans will be hearing “until the Padres are good again or until it’s clear they won’t be.”

Quick Hits: Tillman, Tigers, O’s, New York, G. Torres, Tebow

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The Tigers remain on the lookout for a starter, which could lead to a Chris Tillman signing, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets. Tillman threw for the Tigers on Saturday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun adds (via Twitter). Both Heyman and Encina note that Tillman is deciding among three teams and likely to sign within the next day or two, and they agree that a return to the Orioles is a legitimate possibility.

More from Baltimore and a few notes on the two New York franchises:

  • The Orioles will more likely sign a left-handed-hitting outfielder than trade for one, GM Jim Duquette told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and other reporters Sunday (Twitter links). A move is unlikely to come today, however.
  • The Mets’ Jason Vargas signing will likely conclude their heavy lifting for the offseason, general manager Sandy Alderson suggested Sunday (via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, on Twitter). “With Jason’s signing, we’re pretty much where we want to be,” said Alderson, who has been rather active in free agency since last season ended. Vargas was the sixth big league signing of the offseason for the Mets, who previously added or re-upped Jay Bruce, Todd Frazier, Anthony Swarzak, Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Reyes.
  • The Yankees would buy themselves an extra year of control by having infield prospect Gleyber Torres spend at least 16 days in the minors this year, but that’s not going to factor into whether he earns a roster spot, according to GM Brian Cashman (via David Lennon of Newsday). “It’s not part of my evaluation process,” Cashman told Lennon. “We’re trying to win. If we feel that somebody could benefit from more time in the minors, we’ll make that decision at the end of camp. But I’ll take all the information from what I see and factor that into the evaluation. Every win for us is valuable.” Torres, one of the game’s top prospects, may well emerge as the Opening Day second baseman for the Yankees, who lack an obvious solution there. That would be especially impressive given that Torres is still just 21 and has only totaled 235 plate appearances above the High-A level. He raked over that sample size last year, with a .287/.383/.430 line between Double-A and Triple-A, before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery on his left (non-throwing) elbow in June. Torres has fully recovered from the procedure.
  • The Mets actually have “modest expectations” that minor league outfielder Tim Tebow will eventually earn a major league call-up, Alderson revealed (Twitter link via James Wagner of the New York Times). “He’s great for baseball. He was phenomenal for minor league baseball last year,” Alderson said of the former Denver Broncos starting quarterback and ex-University of Florida football star. Prior to last season, which the 30-year-old divided between Single-A and High-A and hit .226/.309/.347 in 486 PAs, Tebow hadn’t played organized baseball since high school.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/18/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Marlins have outrighted right-hander Severino Gonzalez, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets. Miami acquired Gonzalez from Philadelphia in a minor trade last month. The 25-year-old spent the 2017 season in the minors (mostly Double-A) and recorded a 4.82 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 80 1/3 innings. Gonzalez worked out of the Phillies’ bullpen from 2015-16 and yielded a 6.68 ERA across 66 frames, despite strong strikeout and walk rates (8.45 K/9, 1.91 BB/9).

Angels Sign Chris Young To One-Year Deal

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The Angels have signed outfielder Chris Young to a one-year, major league contract, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter links). The deal comes with a $2MM base salary plus incentives for the CAA Sports client.

The 34-year-old Young brings experience at all three outfield spots and has been a plus defender in his career (19 Defensive Runs Saved, 8.5 Ultimate Zone Rating). He hasn’t seen much action lately in center field, though, and that’ll be the case again this year if Mike Trout stays healthy. Playing time could be hard to come by in the corners, too, given that the Angels also feature established starters in left field (Justin Upton) and right field (Kole Calhoun). Young logged 363 innings in the corners with the Red Sox in 2017 and accounted for minus-4 DRS and a minus-3.4 UZR.

Young is known more for his work on the offensive side, where he has produced a .237/.316/.430 line with 185 home runs and 140 stolen bases across 5,188 plate appearances with several teams. Given that the righty-swinging Young has become a southpaw-hitting platoon player as his career has progressed, the former 30-home run hasn’t racked up great counting stats in recent years. However, he tends to make his playing time count, evidenced by a .262/.361/.466 slash in 1,366 PAs versus left-handers. Young was uncharacteristically poor against lefties last year, though, en route to a .235/.322/.387 overall line and a minus-0.2 fWAR in 276 trips to the plate.

The Angels are obviously betting on a bounce-back showing from Young, who was a terrific bench option for the Yankees in 2015 and the Red Sox in ’16. If he returns to his lefty-mashing ways in 2018, it’d be a boon for an Angels offense that scuffled versus southpaws last season (.240/.332/.356).

West Notes: Hosmer, CarGo, Rox, Mariners, D-backs, Giants

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The Padres’ signing of Eric Hosmer “is the most inexplicable move of the offseason,” Keith Law of ESPN opines (Insider required). Despite only bidding against the Royals for Hosmer, the Padres significantly overpaid for Hosmer in handing him an eight-year, $144MM guarantee, writes Law, who doesn’t expect the player to justify the cost. Hosmer has endured an inconsistent career, hasn’t lived up to the considerable hype he had as a prospect, and isn’t enough of an impact player to help turn around the Padres’ fortunes, Law contends. Further, adding Hosmer and bumping Wil Myers from first back to the outfield is unlikely to benefit the latter, who “will probably become an adequate-not-good player” in the grass, as opposed to the “good-not-great player” he was at first base, Law offers. While Law is bullish on the Padres’ overall direction, he regards this signing as a “baffling misstep” by their front office.

More from the majors’ West divisions:

  • The Rockies have continued to keep in touch with Scott Boras in regards to free agent outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, general manager Jeff Bridich told Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on Sunday (Twitter link). Ian Desmond, Gerardo Parra and David Dahl rank as the Rockies’ most prominent corner outfielders at the moment, but all three come with question marks. Desmond was subpar last year, Parra is out several weeks after undergoing hand surgery (and hasn’t been particularly good as a Rockie) and Dahl didn’t play in the majors at all in 2017 on account of a rib cage injury. Meanwhile, Gonzalez posted the worst season of his career – which helps explain why he’s still available – though he went on a tear in September (.377/.484/.766 in 93 plate appearances) to end on a high note.
  • Injuries tore through the Mariners’ rotation last season, and their starting depth is already being put to the test early this year. Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez has been shut down for two weeks with a minor lat strain, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times was among those to report (Twitter links). It’s only a precautionary measure by the Mariners, according to Divish, though it obviously makes for a less-than-ideal start to the year for their staff. The Mariners haven’t done anything to upgrade their rotation since last season concluded, but GM Jerry Dipoto has insisted he’s content with the group. If healthy, Ramirez will slot in fourth in the quintet in front of either Marco Gonzales or Ariel Miranda and behind James Paxton, Felix Hernandez and Mike Leake. Ramirez made 19 starts with the Mariners and Rays last year and pitched to a 4.74 ERA/4.71 FIP across that 100 2/3-inning span.
  • Diamondbacks left-hander Patrick Corbin was featured in trade rumors over the winter, but no deal has materialized to this point. Corbin’s “glad” to still be with the team, he tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. One reason the D-backs didn’t pull the trigger on a trade is because they were concerned about finding an adequate replacement, Piecoro notes. Corbin was a key part of their staff last year, when he totaled 3.0 fWAR and recorded a 4.03 ERA in 189 2/3 innings.
  • The friendship relievers Mark Melancon and Tony Watson forged during their time together in Pittsburgh from 2013-16 helped the Giants land Watson, Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News writes. Melancon explained Saturday that he had been trying to recruit Watson since last fall, saying: “I think I did, I’ve been pitching at him for the entire offseason and even prior to that. When he was in LA, I was like, ‘We need you over here now.’ So since September of last year I think.” Now that he’s teammates again with Watson, Melancon “couldn’t be more ecstatic.”

Angels To Sign Chris Carter

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The Angels have agreed to a minor league deal with first baseman Chris Carter, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. He’ll rake in $1.75MM if he makes the Angels’ roster and could earn up to $600K in incentives, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports.

The 31-year-old Carter could provide the Angels a replacement for fellow first baseman C.J. Cron, whom they traded to the Rays on Saturday. But Carter will have to spend the next several weeks rebuilding his stock in camp after he fared horribly in the majors with the Yankees last season. The powerful Carter hit just .201/.284/.370 with eight home runs and a .168 ISO over 208 appearances with New York before the club jettisoned him. Carter then caught on with Oakland on a minor league pact, but he didn’t return to the majors with the A’s. He instead took 154 PAs at the Triple-A level and batted .252/.357/.511.

Of course, the righty-hitting Carter isn’t far removed from leading the National League in home runs (41) as a Brewer in 2016, so he could emerge as a quality buy-low pickup for the Angels. While Carter has always been prone to strikeouts (he owns a career 33.3 percent K rate) and low batting averages, his .217/.312/.456 line across 2,853 big league PAs has still been 9 percent better than average, according to FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric (Cron has been 7 percent above in 1,475 PAs). Carter’s power (.239 ISO, four seasons with at least 24 HRs) and patience (11.5 percent walk rate) are to thank for that.

In the event Carter does find his way to Anaheim, he’ll join a team whose first base/designated hitter options were among the majors’ worst last year. Albert Pujols and Luis Valbuena are the Halos’ most prominent holdovers at those positions from 2017, and they’ve since added DH candidate/potential ace Shohei Ohtani.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Expansion, Free Agency, Bucs, Jays, Giants, O’s, Mets

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This week in baseball blogs…

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