Archives for September 2018

Victor Martinez Will Conclude Playing Career This Weekend

By TC Zencka and Jeff Todd | September 21, 2018 at 3:56pm CDT

Victor Martinez will take the final at-bat of his career this Saturday, per Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. Friday and Saturday against Kansas City will be the final two games of Martinez’s career.

It seems, then, that Martinez has put aside any remaining doubt as to his intentions. He said recently, in reference to the remainder of the 2018 season, that he was “pretty sure this is going to be it,” as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com was among those to cover. It’s now clear that Martinez will hang up his spikes after taking the final at-bat of his career in front of his home crowd in Detroit — which, as Woodberry tweets, is the way the veteran wants to wrap things up.

Martinez, a native of Venezuala, signed as an amateur free agent with the Cleveland Indians in 1996. After breaking into the majors as a catcher with the Indians in 2002, Martinez played his first full season as a 24-year-old the following season. Cleveland traded their star catcher to the Boston Red Sox at the 2009 deadline for a package of Nick Hagadone, Justin Masterson, and Bryan Price. After finishing out the 2009 season with a disappointing ALDS loss to the Angels, Martinez returned to Boston for the 2010 seasons – his last year of playing full-time at catcher.

As a free agent in 2011, Martinez joined the Detroit Tigers on a four-year, $50MM contract, where he became a primary designated hitter. The Tigers won the AL Central in all four seasons of Martinez’ initial deal, prompting the Tigers to re-sign him after the 2014 season to a second four-year pact, this one worth $68MM. That contract runs out at the end of this season.

The last two seasons have not been kind to Martinez, but he was legitimately one of the most feared hitters in the American League for a ten-year stretch from 2004-2014. His best season came with the Tigers in 2014 when he hit .335/.409/.565, leading the league with an impressive .974 OPS. For his career, Martinez slashed .296/.360/.455, with 246 home runs and a 118 OPS+, making the All-Star team five times and winning a Silver Slugger Award twice – in 2004 as a catcher and in 2014 as a DH.

Unfortunately, Martinez never won a World Series, but he was no stranger to the postseason, reaching the ALCS with Cleveland in 2007 and again with Detroit in 2011. Martinez missed the entirety of the 2012 season after tearing his left ACL during offseason conditioning, which was – unfortunately for Martinez – the year Detroit won the American League Pennant, getting swept by the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.

With 32.3 career rWAR, there’s a Hall of Fame case to be made for the switch-hitting catcher/1B/DH – but it’s unlikely. His 30.6 JAWS score puts him well below the average Hall of Fame score of 44.0 for catchers, but certainly impressive enough to receive some votes and remain on the ballot for a few years. Nevertheless, Saturday will mark the final playing time in a long and impressive career for Martinez, who turns 40 in December. Martinez will retire having made over $140MM across 16 major league seasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tigers Select Harold Castro

By Jeff Todd | September 21, 2018 at 2:41pm CDT

The Tigers have selected the contract of infielder Harold Castro, per a club announcement. A roster spot was freed by placing injured starter Michael Fulmer on the 60-day DL.

Castro, 24, has not done much at all with the bat in the upper minors. Through 367 plate appearances this year at Double and Triple-A, he posted a .265/.283/.319 batting line with a pair of home runs and just nine walks.

Still, the Venezuelan could perhaps be a candidate to hold a 40-man spot through the winter if the Detroit organization feels he can contribute over time in a utility role. Castro has spent most of his time as a professional at second base, but has also lined up at short, third, and all three outfield positions.

As for Fulmer, the move doesn’t tell us anything new. It was already clear that he was done for the season when he underwent knee surgery yesterday.

Rangers Fire Jeff Banister

By Steve Adams | September 21, 2018 at 1:00pm CDT

1:00pm: The Rangers have announced that Banister has been relieved of his duties. Wakamatsu will finish out the season as the interim manager.

12:42pm: The Rangers will not bring manager Jeff Banister back for a fifth season in 2019, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Banister is under contract for next season, but he’ll earn his reported $950K salary while someone else takes the helm for the Rangers, it seems. Grant notes that Banister will not finish out the season, and bench coach Don Wakamatsu will likely serve as the interim skipper.

It’s a jarring fall for Banister, the 2015 American League Manager of the Year. He guided the Rangers to a pair of winning records and a consecutive American League Division Series appearances in 2015-16 — his first two at the helm of a Major League organization. The 2017 Rangers disappointed but hung around in the race until September, ultimately finishing at 78-84. The Rangers have ensured a worse record than that in 2018 with 88 losses already in the books.

Certainly, it’d be unfair to place the entirety of the 2018 team’s failures on Banister’s shoulders. He was scarcely afforded a rotation to work with as the Rangers performed a series of half-measures last offseason, declining to enter a definitive rebuild but also paring back payroll and signing a series of stopgaps for the rotation. Texas came out of the gates strong with a three-year deal for Mike Minor to return to a starting role, but that was paired with low-cost additions of Doug Fister, Matt Moore and Bartolo Colon. Moore, perhaps, could’ve been considered an upside play, but pairing that unit with Minor and the returning Cole Hamels never looked like anywhere near enough to have a realistic shot at contending in 2018.

That said, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson reported in a detailed column yesterday that Banister’s communication skills with his players had come under fire recently, with pitchers sometimes not knowing when their next start would be while some position players would find themselves in the lineup having previously been assured a day off. Texas also burned through several closers very quickly under Banister’s watch, with Shawn Tolleson flaming out in 2016 after being used on five consecutive days to close out the 2015 regular season. Sam Dyson, another bullpen workhorse under Banister, had dismal 2017 results after a heavy workload in 2016, though he’s since bounced back in San Francisco.

Wakamatsu, Grant further tweets, figures to become a candidate to take over the club on a full-time basis in 2019 and beyond. That said, the Rangers will surely interview candidates from outside the organization as they look for a developmentally-inclined skipper to help them through some degree of a rebuilding process. It’s not clear whether the Rangers will retain any of the current coaching staff, though the fact that Wakamatsu will be considered as a replacement bodes well for his chances of returning in some capacity.

Royals Reportedly Set For Payroll Reduction In 2019

By Steve Adams | September 21, 2018 at 12:04pm CDT

The Royals entered the 2018 season with a payroll of roughly $122MM — their fourth straight season with a $100MM-plus payroll — but Fancred’s Jon Heyman writes in his latest notes column that the team is expected to pare that figure back by as much as $30-35MM for the 2019 campaign.

Scaling back the payroll isn’t exactly a shock for a club that has been working to rebuild its farm system, though the cut described by Heyman would be a fairly substantial downturn in on-field spending. Unlike the Marlins, though, who slashed payroll to similar levels this past offseason, the Royals won’t have to orchestrate any type of fire sale to do so. They already saved money by trading impending free agents like Kelvin Herrera, Mike Moustakas and Jon Jay prior to the non-waiver trade deadline (plus Lucas Duda and Drew Butera in August). The Royals are also paying Travis Wood, Joakim Soria and Brandon Moss in 2018 as part of previous trades to shed each of those contracts; all of those obligations will be off the books come 2019.

[Related: Kansas City Royals depth chart]

After all those subtractions, the Royals have about $69.5MM on the books for the 2019 season by way of guaranteed contracts for Alex Gordon, Ian Kennedy, Danny Duffy, Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler. They’ll have several arbitration cases in the form of Brandon Maurer, Nate Karns, Brian Flynn, Cheslor Cuthbert, Jesse Hahn and Paulo Orlando, though some (if not most) of that group could be non-tendered this winter.

It’s unlikely that the Kansas City front office will be able to find a taker for any of the team’s most onerous financial commitments (Kennedy, Gordon), and it seems equally unlikely that the team would sell low on Duffy or Perez coming off lackluster seasons. Perez’s power numbers remain quite strong, but he’s turned in a career-worst .270 OBP to date — third worst among qualified MLB hitters. Duffy, meanwhile, posted a 4.88 ERA through 155 innings in a season that was marred by shoulder issues.

The Royals could organically scale back payroll by as much as $50MM, though it seems reasonable to expect that they’ll invest some funds in second- and third-tier free-agent pickups. They’re not likely to contend next season even with the rampant mediocrity that permeates the AL Central, but GM Dayton Moore has been candid about his desire to improve the on-field product sooner rather than later. To that end, Moore and his staff prioritized near-MLB assets in many of their trades over the past calendar year, landing players like Brett Phillips, Jorge Lopez, Heath Fillmyer, Trevor Oaks and Jerry Vasto. The Royals were also aggressive in the Rule 5 Draft (Brad Keller, Burch Smith) and picked up cast-offs with MLB experience from other organizations (Brian Goodwin, Ben Lively) over the summer.

Adding some low-cost veterans on short-term deals could help to field a more competitive product than the one the Royals trotted out for much of 2018 — and a full season of Adalberto Mondesi won’t hurt, either. Such investments could also present the opportunity to further stock the farm with some upper-level talent prior to the 2019 non-waiver deadline (as was the case with last winter’s Moustakas reunion, which ultimately netted both Phillips and Lopez).

Mets Notes: Flores, Smith, Wheeler

By Steve Adams | September 21, 2018 at 10:15am CDT

The Mets announced to reporters yesterday that they’ve shut down infielder Wilmer Flores for the remainder of the season after he was diagnosed with early onset arthritis in both knees (links via Newsday’s Anthony Rieber and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). It’s a curious diagnosis for a player who has yet to celebrate his 28th birthday, though Flores suggested that he doesn’t believe the issue will have a significant impact on his immediate future. For the time being, he received an injection in each knee with the hope that it’ll curtail the symptoms he’s been feeling.

Asked about how the dual knee issues could impact Flores’ future with the team, manager Mickey Callaway was noncommittal. “I think that really depends on what the rest of our team looks like,” said Callaway. “He can definitely obviously fill in, and start, and swing the bat well and play good enough defense. … We’ll just have to see what the makeup of our team looks like next year.” Flores is arbitration-eligible for the final time this winter and hit .267/.319/.417 in 429 plate appearances.

AL Central Notes: Fulmer, Twins, Mondesi, O’Hearn

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | September 20, 2018 at 9:39pm CDT

Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press examines the aftermath of a brutal season for Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer. The results are hard to deny. As Fenech puts it, Fulmer has gone “from being the most important trade piece of the Tigers’ rebuild … to a missed opportunity.” Of course, there were reasons that the team elected not to move off of the big price tag it placed on the young hurler, as Fenech explores while noting it’d be unfair to use hindsight to say the Tigers “should” have traded Fulmer sooner. As things stand, it seems the Detroit organization will pay Fulmer his arbitration salary for 2019 (as a Super Two) and hope he can regain his standing. After all, he’s still controlled for four full seasons, and a vintage first half or even a strong full season would likely serve to quickly rebuild some of Fulmer’s stock.

Elsewhere in the AL Central…

Jake Depue of 1500 ESPN takes a look at some of the 40-man roster decisions the Twins will have to make in advance of the Rule 5 Draft this offseason. Nick Gordon stands out at the most obvious minor leaguer in need of protection, but the Twins will also need to clear roster space for names like outfielder LaMonte Wade, infielder Luis Arraez and relievers Jake Reed and Tyler Jay, among others. However, with four free agents (Ervin Santana, Logan Forsythe, Matt Belisle, Chris Gimenez) and several non-tender/outright candidates on the fringes of the roster at present, Minnesota should have a fair bit of flexibility as that early offseason deadline approaches.
Both Adalberto Mondesi and Ryan O’Hearn have been impressing with the Royals lately, Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star writes. Mondesi, in particular, is the focus of the column, with manager Ned Yost and quality control coach Pedro Grifol (via Yost) weighing in on the improvements in the second-generation infielder’s improvements. “I just think he’s really, really talented,” Yost said of Mondesi, noting that the organization is pleased and feels he’s improved in “all phases of his game.” Mondesi has indeed been a bright spot in a bleak Kansas City season — MLBTR’s Jeff Todd just recently listed him as the primary silver lining for the Royals — as he’s shown a promising blend of speed, power and defense. Mondesi, who homered again tonight, is now hitting .290/.316/.496 with 11 homers, 26 steals and quality defensive marks at both shortstop (+2 DRS, +2 UZR) and second base (+3 DRS, +1.7 UZR). O’Hearn may not have garnered as much attention, but the 25-year-old first baseman is sporting a ridiculous .272/.372/.632 slash and 11 homers through his first 145 MLB plate appearances (albeit while showing some enormous platoon splits in that small sample).

NL West Notes: Goldschmidt, Blanco, Floro

By Steve Adams | September 20, 2018 at 8:01pm CDT

The Diamondbacks’ recent plummet out of contention in the NL West should force the team and fans alike to ask the uncomfortable question of how long Paul Goldschmidt will remain with the team, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Arizona holds a no-brainer $14.5MM option over Goldschmidt for the 2019 season, but he’s slated to hit free agency after that campaign. The D-backs don’t have tons of financial flexibility (thanks largely to enormous salaries for Zack Greinke and, to a lesser extent, Yasmany Tomas), and they’re lacking in the upper levels of the farm following numerous win-now trades. There’s also the question of how willing the team should be to commit what could be a $25MM+ annual salary to a player who’d be 32 years of age in the first season of that contract.

While the D-backs and Rockies aren’t in the same situation in terms of payroll and overall farm strength, Arizona’s Goldschmidt conundrum nonetheless has some parallels to the looming decision Colorado will need to make with regard to Nolan Arenado. Both players will be free agents following the 2019 season, and both franchise players could be difficult to extend now that they’ve come this close to reaching free agency.

Here’s more from the division…

Hunter Pence has recently ducked questions about whether he’ll continue his playing career beyond the current season, but Kerry Crowley of the San Francisco Chronicle notes that Pence isn’t the only Giants outfielder whose career could be in question. Veteran speedster Gregor Blanco discussed his future with Crowley, acknowledging that he’s not certain what type of interest he’ll draw in free agency but adding that he does hope to continue his career. “I’m really pleased and happy and proud of myself for my career, but I still have one more goal and that’s trying to make it to 10 years in the game,” said Blanco. The 34-year-old technically has already appeared in parts of 10 big league seasons, though his 2009 campaign was quite abbreviated (24 games, 48 PAs) and, in terms of Major League service time, he’ll finish 2018 with eight-plus years. It’s been a tough season at the plate for Blanco, who has batted just .225/.277/.331 through 174 trips to the plate.
Dylan Floro has proven to be an exceptional find for the Dodgers, writes Mark Whicker of the Southern California News Group. Acquired from the Reds alongside some international bonus pool space in a largely unheralded trade this summer, the journeyman Floro has delivered 27 innings of 1.33 ERA ball with 10.0 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 0.33 HR/9 and a 54.8 percent ground-ball rate. Floro discussed the manner in which he’s changed his pitch selection since returning to Los Angeles, as well as the way in which manager Dave Roberts’ confidence has made him feel at ease. “Mainly it’s been nice to know I’m going to get chances even if I have a rough night, and I’ve had a couple of those,” said Floro, who had previously been designated for assignment on four occasions (including once by the Dodgers, before ever pitching in a big league game for them).

Astros, Round Rock Express Announce Triple-A Affiliate Agreement

By Jeff Todd | September 20, 2018 at 7:23pm CDT

THURSDAY: The organizations have announced a four-year player development contract.

TUESDAY: The Triple-A Round Rock franchise has scheduled a press conference on Thursday night. While there’s still no official word, every indication has been that the Astros will be moving their top affiliate to Round Rock. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to tweet that the Houston organization will indeed be formalizing an arrangement to bring its highest-level minor-leaguers into the state of Texas.

Previously, of course, both of these outfits had alternative affiliations. The Rangers had utilized Round Rock for eight seasons, but now find themselves among three MLB teams and three Triple-A sites still engaged in match-up negotiations. And the ’Stros had spent four seasons with the Fresno Grizzlies, who are now looking for a new mate.

Though the Astros-Round Rock connection wasn’t inevitable, it certainly long stood out as a strong possibility. The Triple-A outfit is, after all, owned by the Ryan family. Legendary hurler Nolan Ryan, whose nickname on the mound inspired the club’s “Express” moniker, is presently an executive advisor to the Astros. His son, Astros president of business operations Reid Ryan, is another fellow owner of the minor-league club. Both rank high atop the Houston org chart.

Thus, Round Rock CEO Reese Ryan (son of Nolan and brother of Reid) was acknowledging the obvious yesterday when he said an agreement between these organizations was an “absolute no-brainer.” (Via Mark Berman of FOX 26, on Twitter.) Details of the new pact remain to be announced.

Managerial Notes: Showalter, Riggleman, Mattingly

By Steve Adams | September 20, 2018 at 4:56pm CDT

Earlier this afternoon it was reported that the Rangers are considering moving on from skipper Jeff Banister following the season. In the wake of that report, here’s some more chatter regarding managers whose futures have had some uncertainty surrounding them…

Fancred’s Jon Heyman reports in this week’s notes column that Orioles manager Buck Showalter is “very likely” to be replaced following this season, though the venerable veteran has yet to be definitively informed one way or another by team decision-makers. The decision on general manager Dan Duquette is more up in the air, per the report, and could yet go either way. Showalter has been managing the O’s since 2010 and guided the team to a 666-677 record that is largely skewed by the unmitigated disaster that has been the 2018 season. He’s among the game’s most respected managers, though there have been reports questioning his job security throughout the season.
In light of recent reports that interim Reds manager Jim Riggleman is a favorite of owner Bob Castellini, Heyman adds that Riggleman additionally has numerous fans in the Cincinnati front office. The 65-year-old Riggleman has a decent chance at being tabbed the team’s long-term skipper, though former Red Sox manager John Farrell will be among those considered to step into that role as well. The Reds hired Farrell to work for them in a scouting capacity last offseason.
Asked by Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald whether manager Don Mattingly will return for the 2019 season (Twitter link), Marlins CEO Derek Jeter suggested that to be the case, rhetorically replying, “He’s under contract, right?” Mattingly is indeed under contract, but only through the 2019 campaign. Beyond that, it’s not clear whether new Miami ownership has plans to bring in a manager of their own preference — Mattingly was inherited from the previous regime — or whether there’s interest in extending him beyond the ’19 season. Mattingly’s Marlins clubs haven’t had much success, and that’s truer than ever in 2018, though he wasn’t given much to work with heading into the current campaign following last offseason’s organizational tear-down.

Rangers Consider Replacing Jeff Banister

By Ty Bradley | September 20, 2018 at 3:26pm CDT

The Texas Rangers are considering moving on from their manager Jeff Banister, according to a report from Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Banister, the 2015 AL Manager of the year, is currently under contract through the 2019 season after the club exercised his option immediately following the 2017 season.

Banister, 54, was brought on to manage the team prior to the 2015 season, his first at the helm of a major league club. After back-to-back AL West titles to begin his tenure, the Rangers have slumped to a 64-88 mark this season, 31 games back of the division-leading Astros, after a disappointing 2017 campaign.

Per Wilson, though, it’s Banister’s inconsistent, and at times inadequate, communication skills that may lead to his departure, and not the team’s recent performance on the field.

The article, well worth a full read for Rangers fans, details multiple reports of players relaying the perceived communication issues. Per Wilson, players will often arrive at the ballpark unsure of whether or not they’ll be playing that day, even if they’ve been previously assured of a day off. Starting pitchers, typically the most steadfast creatures of habit, are often not informed of when their next start will take place, and are thus confused as to how best to prepare.

With General Manager Jon Daniels comfortable embarking on a full-scale rebuild, what with his newly-inked contract in place, Wilson makes certain that the club’s manager of the future will be unilaterally committed to the development of young talent. So far Banister appears on board, but only time well tell if the front office feels the same.

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