Archives for September 2019

Mets Notes: Cano, Diaz, Offseason, Smith

By Mark Polishuk | September 26, 2019 at 6:56pm CDT

It’s a hypothetical that Mets fans could be asking for years to come — what if the team didn’t make last December’s big blockbuster trade with the Mariners for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz? Yahoo Sports’ Matt Ehalt looks at a potential alternate reality where the trade didn’t take place, which keeps Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Gerson Bautista, and prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn in the New York organization and also slightly dims Van Wagenen’s “win-now” push, which also means that Marcus Stroman isn’t acquired at the trade deadline (for pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson). All other moves remain the same, which means that J.D. Davis and Wilson Ramos are still on the team, for instance.

The end result is a Mets roster that has a lot more young talent as its disposal as possible trade chips or roster reinforcements for 2020, plus a lot more financial flexibility without Cano or Diaz on the payroll. McNeil is locked in as the everyday second baseman, while players like Davis and Pete Alonso still blossom as they did in the real world. “In this alternate universe, the Mets enter the offseason in a much better position,” Ehalt writes, as while “this version of the Mets would win fewer games than the 80-plus games the Mets will win this year, but a few wins are irrelevant when neither season results in a postseason berth.”

Here’s more from Citi Field…

“Boldness won Brodie Van Wagenen the job of Mets general manager, and lost the season,” the New York Post’s Joel Sherman writes in roundup of the Mets’ 2019 campaign and a look ahead to what the team should do this offseason. Sherman notes that while many of Van Wagenen’s bigger moves (i.e. the Mariners trade) backfired, many of his less-heralded moves proved successful, such as acquiring J.D. Davis or Justin Wilson. Looking ahead to 2020, Sherman proposes that the Mets should continue to “find hidden treasures” on other teams’ rosters, acquire a proper center fielder (Sherman suggests the Padres’ Manuel Margot) for at least a platoon role, and hang onto Diaz and Noah Syndergaard rather than trade either pitcher. To juggle the payroll, Sherman also suggests a few bad contract swaps, unloading the likes of Ramos or Jed Lowrie for high-priced relievers who are also in need of a change of scenery (such as the Rockies’ Jake McGee or White Sox righty Kelvin Herrera).
Dominic Smith, center fielder? After getting work in the corner outfield this year, Smith tells MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo that he wants to contribute to the 2020 Mets at as many positions as possible. This includes all three outfield spots and at his old first base position, despite something of a roster logjam — Pete Alonso obviously isn’t going anywhere at first base, while Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, or J.D. Davis could all be options for corner outfield work (not to mention the x-factor that is Yoenis Cespedes, should he be able to get healthy). While center field may seem like a tall order for a player who didn’t fare well defensively as a corner outfielder, Smith will have an offseason to fully prepare himself for outfield work, and to that end has already hired a track coach for offseason speed training. With the Mets looking for answers in center, there’s at least a chance that Smith could be a part-time solution up the middle. “Why not get in great shape, man, and go out there and try to compete and do it? I don’t sell myself short on anything. I feel like I can go out there and compete and do anything,” Smith said.

Reds Notes: Brennaman, Votto, Gray, Barnhart

By Mark Polishuk | September 26, 2019 at 5:23pm CDT

The Reds played their last home game of the season today, which doubled the final game of Marty Brennaman’s 46-year career calling Reds baseball. The longtime radio broadcaster was feted by the team in ceremonies both before and after the game, giving the Cincinnati fans multiple chances to celebrate the man who has been a fixture behind the microphone since the days of the Big Red Machine teams. We at MLBTR congratulate Brennaman on a wonderful career, and wish him all the best in retirement.

NL West Notes: Marte, Rockies, Giants, Gott

By Mark Polishuk | September 26, 2019 at 4:21pm CDT

The Diamondbacks will take steps to try and keep Ketel Marte healthier in 2020, GM Mike Hazen told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, including “getting him off his feet at various points in time” during the season, and investigating “offseason/spring training type of regimens, physically, that we can help him strengthen to put himself in a better position coming into the season.” Something that doesn’t appear to be on the table is moving Marte back to second base, as while Hazen didn’t entirely rule out the idea, “I think how he fits onto the major-league team is a tremendous luxury.” Marte’s transition to regular center field duty went swimmingly from a defensive standpoint, as he posted an excellent +7 Defensive Runs Saved and +10.8 UZR/150 over 687 2/3 innings at the position. He also saw significant action at second base and a bit of time at shortstop, so between that versatility and a huge offensive performance (32 homers and a .329/.389/.592 slash line), Marte was one of the most valuable players of 2019 —- his 7.1 fWAR ranks sixth in all of baseball.

There was a bit of an injury cost, however, as Marte was shut down last week due to a stress reaction in his back. While the stress reaction wasn’t terribly serious, keeping the superstar healthy is of the utmost importance for the D’Backs. Hazen said the Diamondbacks won’t be “closing ourselves off to what the offseason will bring,” so Marte’s positional usage could perhaps be altered again should Arizona have the chance to acquire another regular center fielder (or second baseman). Marte seems like the best bet to be in center on Opening Day, however, given that landing a center fielder would likely come at a significant financial or trade cost to the D’Backs.

Mets Activate Dominic Smith From 60-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | September 26, 2019 at 2:18pm CDT

The Mets have activated first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith from the 60-day injured list, as per a team announcement (via Twitter). Jeff McNeil will take Smith’s spot on the 60-day IL, as McNeil suffered a fractured wrist in last night’s game.

After a stress reaction in his left foot put Smith out of action back on July 27, he has made it back in time to add a coda onto what has already been a successful 2019 campaign. Smith has hit .278/.352/.506 with 10 homers over 196 plate appearances, with the bulk of that playing time coming against right-handed pitching. While Smith was much more successful (.882 OPS) against righties, he also managed a pretty respectable .281/.343/.406 slash line in his 35 PA against southpaws, which is a promising sign for the 24-year-old’s chances at becoming an everyday player.

Formerly a top-100 prospect, Smith’s first two seasons in the majors saw him hit only .210/.259/.406 over 332 PA. Smith faced criticisms about his conditioning (which he addressed last winter) and, with Pete Alonso on the rise as the Mets’ new first baseman of the future, there was speculation that New York could look to trade Smith since he seemingly didn’t have any other position on the diamond. Instead, Smith saw a lot of time in left field this year, though defensive metrics (-24.1 UZR/150, minus-2 Defensive Runs Saved) weren’t impressed by work.

It isn’t out of the question that Smith could be put on the trade market again, now that he has somewhat revived his stock by showing that he can hit MLB pitching. An American League team that can offer DH at-bats could be a better fit than a National League club like the Mets, plus New York also has a crowded corner outfield situation as it is. That said, Smith is still controlled for the next four seasons and isn’t arbitration-eligible until after 2020, so the Mets could prefer to keep him around as an inexpensive and useful part-timer.

Moises Alou Declines To Interview For Padres’ Manager Job

By Mark Polishuk | September 26, 2019 at 1:38pm CDT

Moises Alou has taken himself out of consideration for the Padres’ open managerial job, ESPN.com’s Enrique Rojas reports (Twitter links). Alou has been working for the Padres as a special assistant in the player development department since 2015, though he declined interest in the manager’s position for family reasons.

The former outfielder was reportedly one of several notable names already receiving consideration from the Padres as Andy Green’s replacement in the dugout. San Diego is looking both at managers with a lot of experience running a Major League team (i.e. Mike Scioscia, Ron Washington, and Bruce Bochy) and also former players without any managerial experience, such as Alou.

This isn’t the first time that Alou has been on the Padres’ radar, as he also decided not to interview for their last managerial opening back in 2015. He also turned down requests from other teams for managerial interviews last offseason. The 53-year-old simply seems content in his current role and, as he told Rojas, would prefer to spend time with his family rather than go through the travel and daily grind that comes with being a manager.

Best known for his outstanding playing career, Alou was a six-time All-Star and a .303/.369/.516 hitter over 17 MLB seasons. While he hasn’t managed himself, the job runs in the family, as his father Felipe managed the Expos and Giants over 14 seasons.

Athletics Call Up Skye Bolt

By Steve Adams | September 26, 2019 at 12:47pm CDT

The A’s have called up some outfield depth for the final few games of the season, summoning Skye Bolt to the big league roster, per a club announcement.

Oakland was without Khris Davis due to the stomach flu yesterday and saw Mark Canha exit last night’s game due to a groin injury, thus prompting the move to get an additional body onto the roster. It won’t be the MLB debut for the 25-year-old Bolt, who appeared in four games with the Athletics earlier this season.

Bolt, a fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft, spent the rest of the season in Triple-A Las Vegas, where he batted .269/.350/.459 with 11 homers, 19 doubles, three triples and seven steals in 347 plate appearances. He had his share of strikeout issues with the Aviators (27.1 percent) but did manage to draw a free pass in 10.7 percent of his trips to the plate.

Despite modest stolen-base totals throughout his pro career, Bolt fittingly draws plus grades on his speed in scouting reports and is also considered to have an above-average throwing arm. He’s not considered to be one of the organization’s top prospect but does land in the middle of the team’s Top 30 rankings at MLB.com and Fangraphs. Bolt has split the Triple-A season between center field and right field in mostly even fashion, so he’ll presumably be an option at any of the three outfield slots should a need arise.

The A’s have a half-game lead over the Rays for the top Wild Card spot in the American League, with the Indians still factoring into the mix. Cleveland trails Tampa Bay by a 1.5-game deficit with another four games to play.

Michael Wacha To Undergo MRI

By Steve Adams | September 26, 2019 at 9:54am CDT

Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha exited what may have been his final appearance in a Cardinals uniform during the second inning last night due to what the team initially termed a “mild strain” of his right shoulder. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Wacha had difficulty getting loose in warmups yesterday and is now slated for an MRI to gather more information on the injury.

The results of the imaging will be consequential on multiple levels, as they could not only determine Wacha’s status for the Cardinals’ postseason roster but could have a considerable impact on the right-hander’s looming free agency. Wacha would presumably only be a consideration to make the postseason roster as a reliever — Jack Flaherty, Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson would handle starting duties — but a balky shoulder could leave him on the outside looking in.

Wacha’s free-agent stock has tumbled considerably in 2019. Entering the year, he was coming off a 3.20 ERA through 15 starts in 2018 and a solid 30-start campaign in 2017. Wacha did miss half the 2018 campaign, but that was due to a pair of oblique strains on his left side — not an arm-related injury. As a former first-round pick and top prospect who was slated to hit free agency in advance of his age-28 season, Wacha would’ve benefited immensely from a continuation of the 3.82 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 he’d posted over his prior 250 big league innings.

Instead, he missed a week early in the season due to tendinitis in his knee and has struggled repeatedly when working as a starter. The St. Louis organization has twice demoted him to the bullpen, only to return him to the rotation out of necessity, but the results haven’t been favorable in either role. Overall, he’s pitched to a 4.76 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, a whopping 1.85 HR/9 and a 48 percent ground-ball rate.

Of all the red flags surrounding Wacha, though, this latest bout of shoulder trouble could be the most concerning. It’s been years since the shoulder caused him to miss time, but Wacha does have a history of shoulder troubles. A stress reaction in that same shoulder caused him to miss more than two months of his second big league season back in 2014, and he missed more than a month with shoulder inflammation in 2016. Even if the MRI reveals no major damage, Wacha may not have much of a chance to prove that he can continue pitching unencumbered by the shoulder discomfort, and a second-inning departure due to shoulder pain isn’t exactly a high point on which to set out into the open market.

Wacha is a fairly accomplished big league pitcher — he’s a former All-Star and NLCS MVP with a sub-4.00 ERA in 867 2/3 career innings — but despite having age firmly on his side, he’ll enter the offseason as more of a rebound candidate than a marquee free agent.

MLBTR Poll: Cubs’ Biggest Roster Need

By Jeff Todd | September 26, 2019 at 8:24am CDT

There’s still a lot of time left to dissect what could be a fascinating upcoming offseason for the Cubs. Questions abound for the organization. This time last year, it wasn’t yet clear how limited the spending capacity would be. We’ve got quite a bit left to learn before we can seriously contemplate just how the club can fill its chief needs. But with the team now officially bounced from the postseason race, it seems an opportune moment to gauge the sentiment of the MLBTR readership on the key roster issues facing the team moving forward.

Looking forward, the Cubs will dispatch Ben Zobrist, Cole Hamels, Steve Cishek, and the recently acquired Nicholas Castellanos onto the open market. Otherwise, the club controls the remainder of the roster. Barring a major trade, there isn’t a need behind the dish (Willson Contreras, Victor Caratini), in the corner infield (Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo), or at shortstop (Javier Baez). There are a variety of multi-positional players floating around, but nobody has a firm claim to second base. The team can account for most of the necessary outfield, rotation, and bullpen spots, but could clearly stand to improve in all of those areas.

There’s a basic snapshot. What do you think the biggest need is for the Cubbies? (Poll link for app users.)

Three Needs: Kansas City Royals

By Jeff Todd | September 26, 2019 at 7:30am CDT

We’re continuing with our “Three Needs” series, in which we take a look at the chief issues to be addressed for clubs that have fallen out of contention. We’ve already focused on the Mariners, Tigers, White Sox, Marlins, Rangers, Pirates, and Angels. Now we’re going to Kansas City to check in on a Royals team that just cracked 100 losses for the second-consecutive season — an ignominious feat they last accomplished in 2005-2006.

[Kansas City Royals Depth Chart]

1. Auction Off Whit Merrifield

You never want to move a guy like this. But he’s closing in on his 31st birthday and showed a slight but noticeable downtick in the speed department last year, dropping from his 95th percentile highpoint to the 85.6th percentile in sprint speed. That’s still quite good, but the difference showed up in the results: Merrifield was successful on just 19 of 29 stolen base attempts a year after swiping 45 and generated 1.2 runs on the bases after tabbing 7.4 in 2018.

We’re not pulling the fire alarm on Merrifield. Even if he’s merely a really good but sub-elite baserunner, he’s one of the game’s steadiest high-average hitters and continues to show solid pop. And while the metrics waffled a bit on the glovework, Merrifield still carries a track record of quality defensive play along with immense versatility.

Add it all up, and … did we mention the Royals just lost 100 games for the second time in a row? Merrifield is a heck of a useful player on a nice contract. He’d basically fit on any team in baseball and might be a real difference-maker in the right situation. Everything about Merrifield’s profile screams for him to be sent to a contender. Keeping him is a luxury the Royals can’t afford.

2. Pursue Extensions, But Don’t Over-Extend

The core reason the Royals ought to move Merrifield is that a low-revenue team only has so many opportunities to achieve value and swing above its spending weight. Those must be maximized, particularly when the team is in a rebuilding phase. The same reasoning supports the pursuit of offseason extension negotiations — with some players, and to a point.

Why the cautionary references? Because a team in this situation must maintain some serious future-looking spending discipline and focus primarily on improving its asset base rather than on avoiding the eventual departure of guys it likes.

Convincing slugger Jorge Soler to commit into his thirties seems unnecessarily risky, even if he just enjoyed a nice campaign. Righty Brad Keller might be worth inking at the right price after another good season in terms of results, but the landmine detectors (5.24 SIERA, for example) are flashing red. A long-term arrangement with Adalberto Mondesi or even Hunter Dozier could deliver huge upside, and certainly ought to be considered, but the organization should pull hard on its leverage given the ongoing uncertainty with those players.

3. Chase Some Upside In A Free Agent Signing

There are lots of problems on the Royals roster. How could there not be? It doesn’t matter so much where the team decides to add — first base, middle infield, outfield, pitching of all varieties — as that it does so boldly. At least, it’s worth a serious attempt. Having already endured the bulk of the payroll hangover from the team’s recent run of success, there’s some payroll space to play with.

Last year, the organization inked one-year deals with Billy Hamilton, Chris Owings, Jake Diekman, Brad Boxberger, Terrance Gore, and Kyle Zimmer. Those signings more or less flopped completely, though such is life when it comes to this kind of dealmaking. It was generally a defensible group of signings, including some younger players who had shown real talent in the past along with easily flippable veteran relievers.

Continuing to make those kinds of signings is sensible, when the opportunities are there. But why not also ramp up the risk factor just a bit on a multi-year deal? Yasiel Puig, Avisail Garcia, and Corey Dickerson are interesting corner outfield targets; Alex Wood and Michael Wacha might like pitching in Kauffman. If any of those players struggle to find adequate arrangements elsewhere, they could be bailed out with a deal that spans multiple campaigns at a low-ish AAV — thus increasing the future trade value in the event that the anticipated bounceback comes to pass. With most of the market preferring to spend more for less years, there could be opportunities to swim against the tide and acquire somewhat higher-ceiling talent.

Latest On Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle

By Steve Adams | September 26, 2019 at 6:50am CDT

TODAY: Mackey reports further that the front office has in fact not yet made any decision on Hurdle’s fate (Twitter link).

YESTERDAY, 9:41pm: Hurdle spoke to reporters Wednesday night, but he didn’t offer much of any insight on who told him he’d manage the team in 2020, nor would he even repeat that he’d been assured as much (Twitter link via Adam Berry of MLB.com). Asked about his job status, Hurdle said he preferred to “pass” on commenting, repeatedly telling the media, “That’s all I’ve got for you,” when pressed further.

8:40pm: Curiously, Huntington declined to confirm or deny Hurdle’s assertion that he’s been told he’ll return next year (Twitter link via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Asked about Hurdle’s comments, the GM simply replied: “As we have in the past, we will publicly address any personnel decisions at the end of the season.”

6:45pm: While it’s been widely expected that the Pirates organization is in for significant turnover this winter, manager Clint Hurdle apparently won’t be among the casualties. Hurdle himself tells Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic (subscription required) that he was recently assured he’ll be back in the manager’s seat next season.

It’s been a disastrous season in Pittsburgh both on and off the field. The Pirates have had clubhouse fights, multiple on-field brawls and also handed out a suspension to reliever Keone Kela due to a reported altercation with bullpen coach Euclides Rojas. The team’s record sits at a woeful 66-91 after snapping a nine-game losing streak yesterday. There’s been considerable speculation about the likeliehood of a managerial change for the first time in nearly a decade, but it seems that Hurdle, who is signed through the 2021 season, will be given at least another year to try to restore order in the clubhouse and help the club to turn the tides in the win column.

Hurdle describes the 2019 season as a “punch-back” after a “nice season” in 2018 — the Pirates went 82-79, finishing fourth in the NL Central — but spoke optimistically of righting the ship in the future. Hurdle adds that he feels he has plenty left in the tank to finish out his contract, “if that works out.”

It’s not clear whether the Pirates will make sweeping changes on the coaching staff or within the front office, although The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel tweets that it “seems” that general manager Neal Huntington and team president Frank Coonelly will remain with the team as well.

In his career with the Pirates, Hurdle has managed to a winning record of 732-719, although much of that is attributable to 94- and 98-win seasons in 2013 and 2015, respectively, when Andrew McCutchen was at his peak level of dominance. Despite those impressive win totals, both seasons resulted in Wild Card berths rather than division titles. Since that 98-win apex in 2015, Pittsburgh is 39 games under .500.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines

Archives for September 2019

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect