Archives for February 2018

Rays’ Brent Honeywell Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By Steve Adams | February 27, 2018 at 11:22am CDT

FEBRUARY 27: Honeywell underwent surgery today, Topkin tweets.

FEBRUARY 23: Rays top pitching prospect Brent Honeywell has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tommy John surgery has been recommended for the promising 22-year-old.

The diagnosis represents a worst-case scenario for the Rays in the wake of yesterday’s ominous arm injury for Honeywell. The early diagnosis was a forearm strain, though that’s often a precursor to a UCL tear upon further testing. Topkin noted yesterday that the injury was of “major concern” to the Rays. Honeywell reportedly threw roughly 10 pitches in a batting practice session before loudly shouting after his final pitch and eventually walking off the mound with a trainer.

The likely loss of Honeywell for the season is a brutal hit to the Rays’ depth. Even though Tampa Bay is hardly lacking for rotation alternatives, Honeywell ranks as not just one of the best pitching prospects in baseball but one of the top overall prospects in the game. Each of Baseball America, MLB.com, ESPN, Fangraphs and Baseball Prospectus ranked Honeywell within the top 15 overall prospects on their respective top 100 lists heading into the 2018 season.

Honeywell, the No. 72 overall draft pick in the 2014 draft, enjoyed a terrific season in Triple-A against older competition in 2017, tossing 123 2/3 innings with 11.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9 and a 41.2 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 3.64 ERA, a 2.84 FIP and a 2.77 xFIP.

Topkin had previously reported that Honeywell was likely ticketed for Triple-A to open the season, as the Rays are prepared to open the year with a four-man rotation of Chris Archer, Nathan Eovaldi, Jake Faria and Blake Snell. Matt Andriese will begin the season as a multi-inning reliever, but the extra off-days early in the 2018 schedule mean the Rays won’t need a fifth starter for several weeks. Andriese seems likely to eventually step into that role. Honeywell could’ve been called up early this summer to avoid Super Two status or, at the very least, called up at some point in May once the team had secured another year of club control over the highly touted righty.

That, of course, won’t be the case at all now at any point in the 2018 season. The Rays have alternatives to eventually step into the rotation as needed, though none comes with an upside that matches Honeywell. Nonetheless, the Rays have an enviable stock of young pitching in the upper minors and already on the 40-man roster, led by Anthony Banda, Jose De Leon, Ryan Yarbrough and Yonny Chirinos.

Jake Burger Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

By Jeff Todd | February 27, 2018 at 10:12am CDT

White Sox prospect Jake Burger has been diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon that will require surgery, per a club announcement. He’s expected to miss the entire 2018 campaign.

That’s obviously a highly disappointing development for both the player and the team. Burger, a third baseman by trade, was selected with the 11th overall pick in last year’s draft.

A highly productive collegiate power hitter, the 21-year-old Burger did not exactly dominate in his first professional season. He spent most of the year at the Class A level, where he slashed .271/.335/.409 with four home runs over two hundred plate appearances.

Despite the less-than-exciting debut, hopes remain high that Burger will become a part of a future core group. Unfortunately, his development will now be on hold for a season while he works back from this significant injury.

MLBPA Files Grievance Against Four Teams Over Revenue Sharing Funds

By Jeff Todd | February 27, 2018 at 9:52am CDT

The Major League Baseball Player’s Association has initiated a grievance proceeding against the Athletics, Marlins, Pirates, and Rays regarding those teams’ spending of revenue sharing dollars, according to a report from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

This general issue has been percolating for some time, even as additional concerns have arisen as to the pace of free-agent signings over the 2017-18 offseason. The MLBPA reportedly engaged with the league office over the Miami and Pittsburgh organizations’ spending earlier this year.

At the time, MLB and the teams at issue rejected the idea that there was any issue worth exploring further. Clearly, the union disagrees and also feels that two other organizations’ practices merit examination. Per Topkin, the complaint relates to spending both last year and over the present offseason.

Revenue-sharing dollars — which will be phased out for the A’s under the current Basic Agreement — are required to be spent for improving the MLB performance of recipient clubs. That doesn’t necessarily mean it all must go to player salaries, but though teams are required to report on how they use the money. And as JJ Cooper of Baseball America notes on Twitter, successive collective bargaining agreements have tightened the permissible uses.

Enforcing the provisions relating to these funds falls in the domain of commissioner Rob Manfred. He can issue penalties, require the submission of a two-year plan, and even order changes with that plan (“after consultation with the Players Association”).

As Topkin notes, it is not immediately clear what the MLBPA is seeking in relief. The collectively bargained provisions do seem to give the union an interest in ensuring the provisions are followed, though, and perhaps the situation is seen as drastic enough to merit a test of their meaning before an arbitrator.

In a statement to the Times, the league confirmed receipt of the grievance but stated that MLB “believe[s] it has no merit.” Pirates president Frank Coonelly responded with a combative tone, issuing a statement labeling the action “patently baseless” (via MLB.com’s Adam Berry, on Twitter). Rays owner Stuart Sternberg defended his own organization in less strident terms (via Topkin, on Twitter).

Poll: Most Pressing Need For Free-Agent Starter?

By Jeff Todd | February 27, 2018 at 8:50am CDT

While we’ve seen some general movement on the free-agent market, the top of the starting pitching class is still chock full of possibilities. Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn, and Alex Cobb all figured to command significant contracts entering the winter. These players and their reps have to this point seemingly felt justified in continuing to maintain fairly high asking prices.

Whether or not some or all of these three veteran hurlers can land lengthy, high-AAV contracts will depend upon how the current multi-actor standoff resolves. Who blinks first: a player that decides it’s just time to get into camp or a team that feels it has to get a starter? Will a sudden injury or other development boost demand?

Even without any changes in the market situation, the current staring contest seems to offer plenty of different outcomes. Organizations will obviously feel hopeful of scoring a bargain after seeing some cut-rate prices on hitters. But these pitchers are surely still hoping for some northward bidding movement given the number of teams that still have an evident need.

As they say, it only takes one offer to lead to a big contract. So, I thought it’d be interesting to see whether the MLBTR readership has a favorite to drive the price among the teams still hunting for starters. Put another way: which of these organizations most needs to pony up some cash and land one of these free-agent starters?

(Links to Roster Resource depth charts.)

Angels — If things work out, the Halos will have six talented hurlers all working out of the rotation. Even if that involves some tag-team disabled list action reminiscent of the cross-town Dodgers, it’s not hard to imagine the Angels getting a lot of good innings from their many risky but talented pitchers. That said, finishing off a fascinating offseason by adding a quality starter would not only enhance the outlook of the rotation but would allow the club to drop an arm into a bullpen that could also probably stand to be improved.
Brewers — Milwaukee is trying to be targeted in adding around its young core and is justified in exercising some caution. But with Jimmy Nelson still a question mark, the back of the rotation is currently subject to an open competition. While the team has several pitchers with some degree of merit, it’s not a group you’d peg to be capable of chasing down the Cubs and Cards.
Cardinals — Speaking of the Cards … many have suggested all winter long that St. Louis needs to add more, particularly in the rotation. There’s still plenty of talent on the staff, but most of the anticipated members come with fairly notable levels of risk (injury, age, experience, etc.).
Mariners — While an early scare to Felix Hernandez may not be cause for concern, his recent track record and the lack of a clear number five starter arguably are. Seattle has long been viewed as a fringe possibility for a rotation upgrade, but some would say it ought to be in the thick of things.
Nationals — Sure, the Nats could just utilize their internal possibilities (A.J. Cole, Erick Fedde, Edwin Jackson, Tom Milone) for a fifth starter and rotation depth, trusting that the trade deadline will offer a chance to shore up as needed. But this is a team that can’t afford any missteps as it tries to finally reach and advance into the postseason.
Orioles — The O’s have filled two of their rotation openings and currently plan to compete the third. That’s a defensible strategy, perhaps, but the unit doesn’t inspire much confidence that Baltimore will be able to challenge the highly talented teams that paced the division last year. Another move could go a long way.
Phillies — It’s hard to call it a need for the still-rebuilding Phils to land a significant starter. Then again, given the amount the front office has invested in short-term assets of late, and the amount spent on Carlos Santana and others this winter, perhaps there’s a case to be made that the organization really should be pushing the market to get a significant hurler.
Rangers — Indications are that a big contract won’t be handed out and that the team will roll with some kind of six-man rotation unit. But it’s easy to see how a quality starter would transform the pitching staff by installing more good innings in the rotation and bumping other quality arms into the pen.
Twins — Perhaps taking advantage of the collapse of the market for slugger Logan Morrison means the Twins won’t have as much cash to work with. On the other hand, you could argue that the addition of LoMo and others only creates an opportunity for a more significant investment to really pay off.
Yankees — Hoping that Jordan Montgomery continues to progress is a perfectly reasonable strategy for filling out the rotation. And there are at least a few depth possibilities still floating around the organization, with a vast array of possibilities at the deadline. But expectations are extremely high in the Bronx and every win will count. Having added an affordable infield option, perhaps the Yanks can and should spend a bit more to finish off their staff.

So, which team really needs to add that big arm? (Link for app users.)

West Notes: Ohtani, CarGo, Scott

By Jeff Todd | February 27, 2018 at 12:22am CDT

As Shohei Ohtani settles into his first MLB camp, the Angels are keeping close tabs on his workload, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. It’s all still being sorted on the fly, but there are also some “objective” standards in place, including limits on the volume and timing of Ohtani’s swings of the bat. There are dichotomies aplenty for the hurler/slugger, including the impressions of team personnel such as hitting coach Eric Hinske (“uncharted waters”) and manager Mike Scioscia (“don’t know it’s anything that isn’t happening with other players”).

The Rockies miss Carlos Gonzalez “really badly,” third baseman Nolan Arenado tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Gonzalez’s presence in the clubhouse was clearly seen as a big positive by Arenado and others. Indeed, the young star was not shy in advocating for a reunion with the veteran former star. That has long seemed a possibility, but not a priority, and there’s no indication at this point that there’s any movement toward a deal. Coming into the winter, Gonzalez seemed likely to command a fairly sizable commitment on a one-year term, reflecting his streaky recent track record but also his long-recognized status as a high-end hitter. But the market has been particularly unkind to non-premium position players, so it’s really anyone’s guess at this point what kind of guarantee CarGo will be able to secure and what team it will be with.
Rangers righty Tayler Scott lost out on the race to be the first African-born person to play in the majors when fellow South African Gift Ngoepe hit the bigs last year. But Scott tells MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan that he still has his sights set on “the title of being the first South African pitcher.” The dedication certainly seems to be there. Baseball obviously remains a niche sport in his homeland, so Scott and his family relocated to the United States while he was in high school. Now 25, Scott has yet to master the upper minors but will be jockeying for position in camp with the Texas organization, which acquired him as part of last summer’s Jeremy Jeffress swap.

Andrew Bailey Announces Retirement

By Jeff Todd | February 26, 2018 at 8:03pm CDT

Reliever Andrew Bailey announced today (via Instagram) that he is hanging up his spikes in favor of a non-playing position with the Angels. Bailey will become the organization’s instant replay coordinator and coaching assistant, per Pedro Moura of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 33-year-old Bailey ends his career with a 3.12 lifetime ERA over eight MLB campaigns. Of course, that hardly tells the tale of his winding journey through professional baseball.

A sixth-round pick from Wagner College, Bailey spent three years in the minors as a starter before debuting in the Athletics’ pen in 2009. He turned in an eye-opening campaign, racking up 83 1/3 innings of 1.84 ERA ball with 9.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and just 5.3 hits per nine.

Bailey took hold of the A’s closing job that year and ended up with 75 saves over three years in Oakland. His final season there was his worst, but he managed to rebound from a forearm strain to throw 41 2/3 innings with a 3.24 earned run average.

That platform set the stage for a swap that sent Bailey to the Red Sox in exchange for Josh Reddick and others. (That trade had quite the butterfly effect, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams observed the following winter.) At the time, it seemed that Bailey would step into the closer’s role that had just been vacated by Jonathan Papelbon.

Things went south quickly in Boston, as Bailey opened the season on the DL due to a thumb injury and was tagged for a dozen earned runs in 15 1/3 frames upon his return. Though he bounced back to spin 28 2/3 frames of 3.77 ERA ball with 12.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 2013, Bailey’s season was cut short by a significant shoulder injury that required surgery. He was non-tendered in advance of the 2014 campaign.

After enduring an obstacle-ridden rehab process, Bailey finally returned to the majors in September of 2015 with the Yankees. He made it unscathed through a 33-appearance opportunity with the Phillies in 2016, but limped to a 6.40 ERA and was released.

Bailey ended up catching on with the Angels at the tail end of the 2016 and turned in what was to be something of a last hurrah. Despite showing greatly diminished velocity, he saved six more games in a dozen appearances, earning a $1MM guarantee to return to Los Angeles for the 2017 season. Unfortunately, ongoing shoulder maladies kept Bailey to throwing four scoreless frames in the majors for the season.

Though Bailey did not have the kind of overall career that his first few seasons promised, he certainly had plenty of good moments and battled through quite a lot of injury-related adversity. (Among the many people he thanked in his message were “the countless athletic trainers, PT’s, strength coaches, surgeons and therapists.”) MLBTR wishes him the best of luck in his new pursuit within the game of baseball.

Blue Jays Designate Ezequiel Carrera

By Jeff Todd | February 26, 2018 at 6:03pm CDT

The Blue Jays have designated outfielder Ezequiel Carrera for assignment, per the organization (h/t Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, via Twitter). The roster spot was needed for righty Seung-hwan Oh, whose signing is now official.

With Curtis Granderson and Randal Grichuk entering the Jays’ outfield mix this winter, Carrera lacked a clear path to a significant role. Though it seemed possible he might sneak in as a fifth outfielder, particularly since Granderson is the only Toronto outfielder who hits from the left side, that would have meant squeezing the infield or pitching depth. Clearly, that’s not the direction the Jays front office decided to go.

[RELATED: Updated Blue Jays Depth Chart]

Carrera, 30, turned in a useful season at the plate in 2017. Over 325 plate appearances, he slashed .282/.356/.408 with eight home runs and ten steals. That said, the outfielder’s lifetime offensive output (89 wRC+) is not quite as impressive and he needed a .358 batting average on balls in play to post his personal-best slash. While metrics soured on his glovework last year, Carrera has graded as an above-average corner outfielder in the past and has spent plenty of time in center.

It’s hardly an exciting profile, but Carrera could conceivably draw interest. He’s slated to earn a not-insignificant $1.9MM this year via arbitration, though, so interested teams may prefer to pursue him as a free agent than claim him or trade for him. Unless another organization takes over the contract, the Blue Jays will owe Carrera thirty days of pay (just over $300K).

Blue Jays Sign Seung-Hwan Oh

By Mark Polishuk | February 26, 2018 at 5:58pm CDT

Feb. 26, 5:58pm: The Toronto organization has announced the signing. He’ll earn $1.75MM for 2018, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter), with a $250K buyout on a $2MM option that vests upon seventy appearances. The deal also includes $1.5MM in possible incentives.

12:08pm: Oh has passed his physical, tweets Nicholson-Smith. The move, then, should be officially announced in the near future.

Feb. 25: The Blue Jays have agreed to sign right-hander Seung-hwan Oh, FanRag Sports’ Robert Murray reports (Twitter link). The deal is a one-year contract that will guarantee Oh $2MM in 2018, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (Twitter links), plus there is a vesting option for 2019. Oh is a client of Rosenhaus Sports Representation.

The contract is contingent on Oh passing a physical, which could still be a notable obstacle given that a deal between Oh and the Rangers fell through earlier this month. The Rangers’ deal with Oh called for a $2.75MM guarantee, plus a $4.5MM club option (with a $250K buyout) for 2019. As per Sung Min Kim of the Sporting News (via Twitter), however, Oh’s MRI revealed some inflammation in his throwing elbow that wasn’t considered serious enough to scuttle the deal altogether, though the Rangers tried three times to re-work the terms. Oh’s representation didn’t want to re-open talks, and thus no contract was finalized.

Oh came to Major League Baseball in the 2015-16 offseason after 11 seasons as a top closer in both the Korean Baseball Organization and Nippon Professional Baseball. He made an immediate impact on the Cardinals’ bullpen, posting a 1.92 ERA, 11.6 K/9, and 5.72 K/BB rate over 79 2/3 innings and taking over the Cards’ closer job. Oh’s follow-up campaign, however, wasn’t nearly as successful, as his troubles with the home-run ball (1.5 HR/9) led to his removal from ninth-inning duty last summer. Beyond just the increase in homers, Oh also saw his grounder rate (40% to 28.7%), strikeout rate (down to 8.19 K/9), and swinging strike percentage (18% to 12.9%) drop from his 2016 numbers, and he posted a 4.10 ERA over 59 1/3 IP.

While it was a tough year for Oh, his stats didn’t crater to the point that a turn-around isn’t out of the question, or that his problems weren’t due to a normal sophomore slump. His hard-hit ball rate actually dropped from 2016 to 2017, for instance, even though his overall contact rates increased. Moving to Rogers Centre and the AL East might not be much help to Oh’s home run issues, of course, and since he is 35 years old, there’s also the chance that Oh is simply starting to decline.

[Updated Blue Jays depth chart at Roster Resource]

Still, the reasonable $2MM price tag makes Oh a decent risk for a Jays team that was known to still be looking around for bullpen help. Oh won’t be asked to be a “Final Boss” (his old KBO nickname) in Toronto with Roberto Osuna firmly holding down the closer’s job, though he’ll step right into the setup mix alongside Ryan Tepera and Danny Barnes (not to mention longer-shot non-roster invites like John Axford or Al Alburquerque). Joe Biagini could also again step into a meaningful bullpen role, though the Jays are currently stretching the righty out as a starter in Triple-A to provide depth and occasional spot-start duty.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Reds Sign Ben Revere

By Mark Polishuk | February 26, 2018 at 5:38pm CDT

Feb. 26, 5:37pm: The deal is now official (h/t John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, via Twitter).

10:25am: Reds manager Bryan Price confirmed the agreement with John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, though he notes that the agreement is still pending a physical (Twitter link).

Feb. 25: The Reds have agreed to a minor league deal with free agent outfielder Ben Revere, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links). Revere will receive an invitation to Cincinnati’s big league Spring Training camp, and he will earn between $1MM to $1.5MM if he should crack the Reds’ 25-man roster.

Revere will provide Cincy with a veteran backup option amidst a generally inexperienced crop of outfielders in camp. The 29-year-old Revere hit .275/.308/.344 over 308 plate appearances with the Angels last season, modest numbers that still represented a solid improvement over his disastrous 2016 campaign with the Nationals. He also again looked like his usual dangerous self on the basepaths, recording 21 steals in 27 chances and earning a strong +4.5 mark as per Fangraphs’ Baserunning (BsR) metric.

Cincinnati plans to deploy a four-man rotation of Adam Duvall, Billy Hamilton, Scott Schebler, and Jesse Winker in the outfield this season, which could make it hard for a fifth outfielder to make the team’s big league roster. Still, Revere’s ability to play all three outfield spots is a plus in his favor (even if defensive metrics indicate he is average at best at all positions), and at worst he could also provide the Reds with some minor league depth. Hamilton’s name was often floated in trade rumors over the offseason, so Revere could also step into the mix should the Reds swing a last-minute deal before Opening Day.

AL Central Notes: Twins, Naquin, Burger

By Steve Adams | February 26, 2018 at 5:30pm CDT

The Twins made a splash by upgrading their DH slot with yesterday’s addition of Logan Morrison, but Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com takes a look at the organization’s continued need for rotation help. While Minnesota has made one mid-level addition by picking up Jake Odorizzi, the team will be without Ervin Santana for as much as a month and still lacks certainty in the starting group as a whole. Castrovince points out that the Twins’ primary (and perhaps only) competition in the AL Central, the Indians, are hardly a flawless team. While Cleveland still seems an obvious favorite, it is certainly worth giving chase for the Twins given the state of the rest of the division.

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