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MLBPA Launches Investigation Of Comments From Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos

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9:50pm: Anthopoulos has issued a statement (via the Braves, on Twitter), saying: “In advance of the General Managers meetings, I called around to Clubs to explore the possibility of potential off-season trades. At no time during any of these calls was there discussion of individual free agents or the Braves’ intentions with respect to the free agent market. To the extent I indicated otherwise during my media availability on Monday, I misspoke and apologize for any confusion.”

5:40pm: Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, announced Wednesday that the MLBPA has launched an investigation looking into recent comments from Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Specifically, the union took umbrage with the following comment Anthopoulos made during a recent conference call with Atlanta beat writers (link via The Athletic’s David O’Brien):

Every day you get more information. And we’ve had time to connect with 27 of the clubs — obviously the Astros and (Nationals) being in the World Series, they were tied up — but we had a chance to get a sense of what the other clubs are going to look to do in free agency, who might be available in trades.

The MLBPA’s issue stems from Anthopoulos’ acknowledgment of getting a feel for how other clubs plan to act in free agency. With regard to sharing intel in free agency, the collective bargaining agreement states: “Players shall not act in concert with other Players, and Clubs shall not act in concert with other Clubs.” In a press release, Clark expressed extreme displeasure with Anthopoulos’ assertion and offered the following response:

The statements made by Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos call into question the integrity of the entire free-agent system. The clear description of Club coordination is egregious, and we have launched an immediate investigation looking into the matter.

It’s the latest chapter in a saga that has seen tension between labor and management mount at an alarming rate. Clark and the Union have previously asked the league to investigate whether low-payroll clubs have appropriately utilized their revenue-sharing resources — the Pirates and Marlins, specifically — as multiple agents (including agent-turned-Mets-GM Brodie Van Wagenen) have spoken of “coordinated” efforts on the part of owners to scale back salaries at the Major League level. Clark has also accused MLB teams of a “race to the bottom,” and more recently raised issue with teams’ early assertions that they’ll face payroll constraints despite the continual increase in franchise values. (The Royals and Marlins have recently sold for $1 billion and $1.2 billion.)

There’s been no shortage of speculation surrounding a potential labor stoppage at the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement (in 2021). The extent of the unrest has prompted the league and the union to begin negotiations for the next CBA much earlier than they’d normally have begun such discussions, but today’s statement from Clark only underscores the chasm that currently exists between the two sides.

Offseason Outlook: Seattle Mariners

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MLBTR is publishing Offseason Outlooks for all 30 teams.  Click here to read the other entries in this series.

The Seattle Mariners burst onto the scene in 2019, providing us with a valuable reminder about the importance of sample size as they jumped out to a 13-2 start. Those early wins would amount to nearly 20 percent of their total for the year. They went on to play just .374 baseball the rest of the way en route to a 68-94 last place finish, thereby extending their postseason drought streak to an 18th consecutive season (the longest active such streak in North American professional sports). Now that the Nationals won it all in October, the Mariners also hold the ignominious distinction of being the only team in the majors without a single World Series appearance.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Kyle Seager, 3B: $38MM through 2021, $15MM club option in 2022 (becomes player option if Seager is traded)
  • Yusei Kikuchi, SP: $32MM through 2021, if 4-year/$66MM club option for 2022 to 2025 is declined, it turns into a $13MM player option for 2022
  • Dee Gordon, 2B: $13.8MM in 2020, $14MM vesting option in 2021

Arbitration-Eligible Players (salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Option Decisions

  • Wade LeBlanc, SP: $5MM club option, declined for $450K buyout

Free Agents

To get a sense of the Mariners 2019 season, consider this: their leader in games played was a designated hitter with a .208 batting average. Or this: where baseball-reference lists their pitching staff, just four starting pitchers populate, one of whom spent the final two months on the Diamondbacks. Or try this: Edwin Encarnacion finished third on the team among position players in bWAR, and he played his last game as a Mariner on June 12. Put another way, the Mariners lost 94 games in 2019 as they entered year one of a self-described “reimagining.”

Executive VP and GM Jerry Dipoto has been hard at work outlining clear guidelines to prepare the Seattle fanbase for another development year in 2020. It’s a rebuild, no doubt, but Dipoto has done a nice job of claiming some high-ceiling youngsters to keep an entertaining product on the field. They’re not quite “reclamation projects” because these players have yet to establish themselves in the majors, but recent acquisitions like Shed Long, Justus Sheffield, Jake Fraley, and J.P. Crawford have been in the conversation as prospects for some time and are now getting a fresh look in Seattle. These “reclamation prospects,” let’s call them, give the fanbase something to root for even as the losses pile up. It would not be surprising in the least to see Trader Jerry target more of these types of projects for 2020.

In terms of their own prospects, the time to shine is nigh for the likes of Justin Dunn, Kyle Lewis, Braden Bishop, and Evan White. Lewis got the biggest head start in 2019 by muscling up for a .592 slugging percentage in 71 at-bats as a September call-up. White probably has the highest ceiling, though he’s furthest away and there should be no rush to start the service clock of their 23-year-old first baseman. If this crew with the others above are able to successfully establish a base of major league talent, the Mariners will be in a good place to augment as their best prospects (Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez, Logan Gilbert) approach promotion in a year or two.

Whether that group has a high enough ceiling to challenge the juggernaut Astros and competitive A’s isn’t totally clear. Hence, the second year of this rebuild provides an important window for the Mariners to add more talent. They shipped out most of their marketable vets in last year’s purge, but a few pieces remain that could conceivably move for prospects. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times quotes Dipoto predicting a calmer trade season, but a tiger can’t change its stripes, and with 29 enabling GMs out there ready to deal, take Dipoto’s claim with a grain of salt for now. That said, the offense looks pretty close to set, with Kyle Seager, Crawford, Dee Gordon, and Austin Nola going around the horn and Domingo Santana, Mallex Smith, and Mitch Haniger penciled into the outfield. Omar Narvaez and Tom Murphy make up the catching tandem, and probably the most secure unit on the roster. To Dipoto’s point, that lineup doesn’t boast a cavalcade of gems opposing GMs will trip over each other to come claim, but they do have a sort of logjam with Tim Beckham, Dylan Moore, Shed Long, Lewis, Fraley, and Bishop all ready for larger shares of playing time asap. Dipoto will listen to offers, no doubt, but it might take until mid-season to find takers for his remaining vets.

With a good first half, the Mariners will no doubt try to move Santana. He’ll make around $4.4MM in 2020 and will be arbitration eligible for the final time in 2021, so he’s controllable but affordable. A 2019 line of .253/.329/.441 is pretty close to what you might expect from Santana, but he strikes out too much and is borderline unplayable in the field, which will grossly mitigate any potential prospect return. Same for Daniel Vogelbach, who struggled in the second half to the point that the team plans to play him more or less exclusively at DH. Gordon has the name recognition to pop up in trade rumors but not the track record of recent productivity to make him appealing. Seager put together a bounceback campaign, hitting .239/.321/.468, but as the longest-tenured Mariner, he’s also a fine candidate to serve as a veteran bridge to the next competitive group. Besides, he’s still likely too expensive to move (especially since his 2022 option becomes guaranteed with a trade).

On the more plausible side, a healthy Mitch Haniger could fetch a decent return, as could any number of bullpen arms that develop over the first half of the season. Roenis Elias and Hunter Strickland helped replenish the pool in that way last trade deadline, and they should probably be open to moving anyone who steps up in the first half this year, including controllable assets like Taylor Guilbeau, whom they received from Washington in the Elias/Strickland deal. Austin Adams is another Washington castoff who could become a valuable trade chip once he is healthy, as might Sam Tuivailala, Matt Magill, or any number of slush pile free agents they add to the mix prior to Spring Training. Dipoto took full advantage of the bullpen carousel last season, and it’s a safe bet to expect him to do so again.

Keon Broxton was a mid-season slush-pile find from last season, but with no offense to speak of, the defensive standout was outrighted at the starting bell of the offseason. Like Broxton, Ryon Healy chose free agency after a disappointing two-year run in Seattle. Dipoto sent Emilio Pagan to Oakland to acquire Healy, a disappointing move in retrospect as the first baseman hit just .236/.280/.423 across 711 plate appearances in two seasons in Seattle.

Speaking of free agency, the Mariners do have some money to spend, and Dipoto will look to add flippable assets, probably in the form of starters on one-year deals. Tanner Roark, Alex Wood, Wade Miley, Drew Smyly, Martin Perez and Tyson Ross might be free agent targets. Depending on the shape of the market, Michael Wacha, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Lyles and Kendall Graveman could also be names worth exploring. Speculatively speaking, Julio Teheran, who had his option declined by the Braves, could be a name they monitor depending on the price point. There’s anywhere from one to three rotation spots up for grabs in Seattle, depending on how aggressive they want to be with getting Sheffield and Dunn time on the major league roster. In a perfect world, Kikuchi pitches better in his second season stateside while Sheffield and Dunn make themselves indispensable pieces of the 2021 rotation — but there’s probably at least one rotation spot available for a veteran looking to establish value.

Marco Gonzales is the big potential trade chip they have yet to cash in, but every indication points to him being a foundational piece over trade fodder. After pitching to a 3.99 ERA/3.83 FIP across 369 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, the soon-to-be 28-year-old enters 2020 as easily the most reliable member of the pitching staff. If indeed Dipoto hopes to re-enter the competitive fray in 2021, Gonzales provides more value pitching for the Mariners than as trade bait. And given that he is under team control for an additional three seasons after 2020, there’s no real urgency to move him. Especially not after the good faith two-year deal they gave Gonzales as a pre-arb player undoubtedly laid the groundwork for productive negotiations in the future.

Still, the Mariners have almost no money on the books following this season, and given Dipoto’s itchy trigger finger, there’s no ruling out acquiring a player with more than one season of team control. There’s no ruling out anything, really, when it comes to Dipoto. The Mariners are in a great place financially, and Lord knows Dipoto will eventually explore the trade market. For at least the next calendar year, the Mariners have only one priority: add talent to the organization by whatever means necessary so that come 2021, as promised, the framework for a contender is in place.

Lester Strode Won’t Return As Cubs’ Bullpen Coach

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8:25pm: WEEI’s Rob Bradford writes that LeVangie’s interview was indeed for the bullpen coach vacancy.

7:40pm: The Cubs will not retain bullpen coach Lester Strode in that role, reports ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers. The 61-year-old Strode has spent 31 years in the Cubs organization, including the past 13 years as the Major League bullpen coach. He has, however, been offered a “prominent” position elsewhere in the organization, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds (via Twitter).

Chicago has already interviewed recently dismissed Phillies pitching coach Chris Young — not to be confused with the former MLB pitcher or outfielder — as a potential successor to Strode, per Rogers. Heyman adds one other potential candidate: former Red Sox pitching coach Dana LeVangie. The 50-year-old knows recently hired manager David Ross well, as he was the Red Sox’ bullpen coach during Ross’ time as the team’s backup catcher in 2013-14. LeVangie also worked in the Red Sox scouting department while current Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, GM Jed Hoyer and vice president Jason McLeod were in the organization.

LeVangie was ousted as the Red Sox’ pitching coach at season’s end, though he was reassigned to another position rather than dismissed entirely. It’s common for coaches who are reassigned to be given the opportunity to interview elsewhere, though, and Heyman notes that LeVangie has indeed interviewed for an unspecified position on Ross’ staff. It was also reported yesterday that former Padres skipper Andy Green has interviewed to serve as Chicago’s bench coach in 2020.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/6/19

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We’ll track today’s minor moves — some of the first of this nascent offseason — in this post…

  • The Twins’ Triple-A affiliate announced the re-signing of catcher Tomas Telis and right-hander Jonathan Cheshire on minor league contracts. Telis, 28, appeared in the Majors each year from 2014-18, hitting a combined .230/.267/.298 in 267 plate appearances between the Marlins and Rangers. He’s a much more accomplished Triple-A hitter, though, and like many minor leaguers, he posted his best numbers ever in 2019’s heightened offensive environment in Triple-A. In 327 plate appearances with the Rochester Red Wings, Telis hit .330/.364/.490 with eight homers and 21 doubles. Cheshire, 25 this month, joined the Twins in August after struggling with the Blue Jays but showing well with the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League. Upon signing with the Twins, he tossed 13 2/3 shutout innings with a 14-to-4 K/BB ratio (one walk being intentional). The former 36th-round pick (Jays, 2017) will get another look in the upper levels of the Twins’ system on the heels of that impressive performance.

Josh Lindblom Eyeing MLB Return

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If you click through right-hander Josh Lindblom’s archives here at MLBTR, the headlines aren’t exactly eye-catching. A series of DFAs, outrights, releases and minor league re-signings with the Pirates make up most of the recent chatter on the 32-year-old, whom many readers may never even have heard of. Lindblom pitched 147 innings in parts of five seasons with the Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers, A’s and Pirates from 2011-17. Interspersed throughout were multiple stints with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (2015-16 and a midseason return in 2017). Lindblom opened 2017 on a minor league deal with Pittsburgh but eventually returned to the KBO in relative anonymity among MLB fans.

There’s nothing “anonymous” about Lindblom’s past two seasons as far as KBO fans are concerned, though. While his 2017 campaign there was solid but unspectacular, Lindblom has erupted as one of the best pitchers in South Korea since the beginning of 2018. In two seasons with the Doosan Bears, Lindblom has worked to a combined 2.68 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and 0.72 HR/9 in 363 1/3 innings. His 2019 strikeout, walk and home-run rates all improved over their already-strong 2018 marks as Lindblom racked up 194 2/3 innings with a 2.50 ERA. The righty flirted with a sub-2.00 ERA for much of the season and this week was announced as the winner of his second straight Choi Dong-Won Award — the top pitching award in the KBO.

With that run of excellence and a Korean Series championship in his back pocket, Lindblom now has his sights set on a return to Major League Baseball. Unlike last time when he quietly signed a minor league pact with the Pirates, however, he could very well find genuine interest on Major League offers. Lindblom’s current two-year platform tops that of fellow right-hander Merrill Kelly in just about every capacity, and Kelly landed a two-year, $5.5MM contract with the Diamondbacks last winter. It’s important to note that Kelly, who pitched this past season at age 30, was younger — but the gap between their numbers isn’t particularly close:

IP ERA WHIP K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Merrill Kelly (2017-18) 348.333 3.82 1.29 9.04 2.38 0.88
Josh Lindblom (2018-19) 363.666 2.67 1.03 8.56 1.66 0.72

That’s obviously a pretty basic look at the pair’s stats overseas, but there’s nonetheless a notable discrepancy, even if Kelly did manage to strike batters out at a slightly higher rate.

There’s reason to consider Lindblom beyond his surface-level numbers, though. He isn’t going to blow big league hitters away with velocity — his heater averaged 91 mph this year in the KBO — but Lindblom has standout spin rates on his side. Data obtained by MLBTR puts his four-seamer at a hefty 2610 RPM this past season, while his splitter (where less spin is better) would also rank quite well among big league hurlers at 1200 RPM. The KBO ball isn’t the exact same as the MLB ball, so the carryover might not be exact, but Lindblom’s ability to spin the ball is something that could be of genuine intrigue to a Major League club.

Lindblom’s pitch selection has also changed over the past two seasons, with the 2019 version of the right-hander’s repertoire leaning much more heavily on a four-seamer/splitter/cutter combination than in the past. His slider, changeup and curveball were all used minimally (eight percent or lower), and he’s ditched his former two-seamer entirely. It seems likely that he’d continue to be reliant on the same three-pitch mix that fueled his breakout. The splitter, in particular, has developed into a weapon for Lindblom in the KBO despite the fact that he never threw the pitch during his time in MLB. Notably, he’s also generated extremely low levels of opponent exit velocity, though the weaker competition and different ball composition make it tough to discern exactly how to value that data.

Broadly speaking, that’ll be the question for Major League teams this winter: How should they react to a pitcher who was a fringe 40-man candidate in his last two MLB stints but has made demonstrable alterations that resulted in positive indicators?

It’s easy to dream on Lindblom’s KBO numbers, but remember that even star-caliber KBO players haven’t been compensated particularly well by Major League teams. Jung Ho Kang and ByungHo Park were MVP-caliber talents in South Korea but secured respective guarantees of $11MM and $12MM over four-year terms from the Pirates and Twins. The aforementioned Kelly was clearly an above-average starter in KBO’s hitter-friendly environment but didn’t secure $3MM per season in MLB guarantees — and his contract with the D-backs surrendered two additional years of control via affordable club options.

Penciling in Lindblom at even a $5-6MM salary would be aggressive based on prior trends, and age certainly won’t help his case. Team executives with whom MLBTR inquired suggested Lindblom could be viewed anywhere from a swingman to an intriguing back-of-the-rotation starter. Despite the gap in stats between Lindblom and Kelly in the KBO, not everyone who weighed in was sold on Lindblom as the better long-term play.

In this year’s edition of our annual Top 50 Free Agents (published Monday), we ranked Lindblom near the back end of the list and pegged him for a two-year deal worth a total of $8MM. That doesn’t sound like much to most onlookers — and realistically won’t cut deeply into any team’s payroll — but it’d nevertheless be a fairly risky gamble on a 32-year-old who has never found much MLB success.

Perhaps a club will fall in love with the spin and his highly GIF-able splitter — tip of the cap to Sung Min Kim (Twitter links) — but we’ve yet to see a pitcher who fits this career arc top the two years and $15.5MM that Miles Mikolas secured in 2017. Mikolas came back in advance of his age-29 season and had a more dominant three-year run in Japan than Lindblom has had in Korea. As such, that contract felt too aggressive to project, but something between Kelly’s deal and that contract seems plausible. Last offseason, swingman Jesse Chavez signed for that same two-year, $8MM we projected, so it doesn’t seem outlandish to suggest a comparable amount for Lindblom.

Lindblom has also drawn interest from teams in Japan and could quite likely receive a nice offer to return to the Bears in 2020, so he’ll have choices at his disposal this winter. Regardless of where he lands this time around, he’s a source of greater intrigue than he was the last time he was quietly available for any team to sign.

Martin Prado Appears Likely To Retire

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Veteran infielder Martin Prado appears to be preparing to call it quits, sources tell Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The 36-year-old reached the open market after wrapping up a three-year extension with the Marlins.

Prado was in the midst of a solid campaign when he re-upped with the Fish late in the 2016 season. It seemed at the time like a bit of a hefty guarantee, but not wildly out of whack for the value he might have commanded on the open market in the ensuing winter.

Unfortunately, that proved to be a last hurrah in an otherwise excellent career. A string of leg injuries limited Prado’s availability and his performance fell off a cliff. In the three campaigns that followed, Prado has been limited to just 616 plate appearances of .241/.276/.313 hitting.

Prado spent most of his time in 2019 at first base; clearly, there aren’t any organizations that would prefer to have that sort of offensive production occupying that position. There’s no question Prado would need to settle for a minor-league deal if he decides to play.

The rough ending doesn’t detract from Prado’s worthwhile time in the majors. He spent half of his 14 years with the Braves before stints with the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and Marlins. In total, he owns a .287/.335/.412 slash over 5,861 trips to the plate in that span.

Howie Kendrick Reportedly Drawing Early Interest

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On the heels of an outstanding bounceback campaign, veteran utilityman Howie Kendrick seems to be a popular early target. Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reports on Twitter that at least a pair of teams are already showing interest.

The Rays and Marlins are two of the clubs knocking on the door at the outset of the open-market season, per Ghiroli, who indicates there are others as well. It’s not hard to imagine why — though for different reasons with respect to each team.

Kendrick turned in a .344/.395/.572 regular season showing over 370 plate appearances before coming up with two enormously important postseason home runs. He also hit the ball harder than just about anyone in baseball during the 2019 and remains capable of spending at least some time at second base and the corner outfield. He’s a part-time guy, but a pretty darn good one.

For the Rays, Kendrick would presumably function mostly as a right-handed-hitting component in their first base/DH mix, while appearing as needed elsewhere on the diamond. Given their numerous existing options, he’d be one nice piece of the puzzle. The Marlins, meanwhile, would like to up their offensive output while adding some veteran leadership.

Kendrick is a Florida native, Ghiroli notes, but he resides in Phoenix. That would seem to leave plenty of room for multiple possibilities, if geographical preferences will drive his decision at all. It stands to reason that the 36-year-old would like to play again for a contending outfit, all else being equal.

We noted that the Rays made for a nice possible fit in our recent Top 50 Free Agent predictions here at MLBTR, though we ultimately guessed Kendrick would land with the Twins. That prediction was based in part upon the notion that there’d be sufficient interest to drive him into a two-year deal at around $6MM annually, which might be a bit rich for the Tampa Bay org. Ghiroli notes that Kendrick is seeking a short-term arrangement, though it’s not evident whether he has a preference for a one or two-year pact.

Russell Martin Intends To Play In 2020

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Veteran backstop Russell Martin intends to suit up again for the 2020 season, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). If and when he appears, it’ll represent his 15th season of MLB duty.

Martin, 37 in February, finished out his five-year, $82MM contract this season. He’ll assuredly be available for a much lesser commitment this time around after another steady but unexciting season of part-time duty.

When last Martin tested free agency, he was coming off of a personal-best offensive season. That’s not the case any longer. Martin carries a .211/.340/.350 slash line over the past three campaigns. This year with the Dodgers, he sunk to a personal-worst 83 wRC+.

The offensive limitations limit the appeal, but it stands to reason that there’ll still be a good bit of interest. Martin has long been lauded for his defensive chops and still grades as a plus pitch framer. He’s also a highly respected veteran who’d help draw the best out of a pitching staff and add gravitas to the dugout.

Giants Considering Scott Harris In GM Search

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The Giants’ search for a general manager has been a quiet one thus far, due in no small part to the fact that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is already fixed at the top of the ops hierarchy. (Indeed, he has operated without a GM since his hiring.) But it’s still an important executive position that offers the San Francisco organization an angle to bring aboard some new talent.

Among the candidates for the Giants GM post is Scott Harris, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Harris currently serves as an assistant GM with the Cubs — an organization that has quite a few well-titled cooks in the kitchen. That’s not to diminish Harris. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma profiled him last year in a subscription post, painting him as a hard-working and intelligent rising star in the game.

It seems there are others also under consideration, though identities have yet to be reported. Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News recently ran down some potential candidates. In particular, he noted that A’s GM Billy Owens — Zaidi’s former colleague — has interest in the opening. Owens was said to be under consideration this time last year, but Zaidi decided to go without a clear #2 in his first season at the helm.

It is still not evident what kind of timeline the process will take, or really where it stands at the moment. It seems reasonable to presume that the Giants (and the teams currently employing the candidates) will want to resolve things in relatively short order with the offseason upon us.

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