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Archives for June 2020

Latest On MLB, MLBPA

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With Major League Baseball and the MLBPA unable to reach an agreement for 2020 on salaries and the length of a potential season, the league has turned its focus to health and safety measures, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. The union rejected the league’s latest proposal over the weekend, and the owners held a conference call Monday to discuss their next course of action, per Nightengale.

Because the two sides haven’t been able to come together during negotiations, the 2020 campaign is likely to be a 50- to 60-game regular season, Nightengale notes. Commissioner Rob Manfred has the right to determine how many games will be played. And while there has been talk about an increase in playoff teams, the union is of the belief the postseason will remain the same in 2020 with six division champions and four wild-card winners.

Acrimony between owners and players aside, it remains in question whether we’ll get any kind of season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just this past weekend, it was reported that a player and a pitching coach recently tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s unclear how the league will proceed if the game returns and someone else involved tests positive. In the meantime, if the league and the union do reach an agreement on health and safety, Nightengale reports that a 21-day spring camp 2.0 with the majority of teams training in their home ballparks and then a shortened season should be on the way.

Giants Agree To Above-Slot Bonus With 3rd-Rounder Kyle Harrison

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The Giants have agreed to a $2.5MM bonus with third-round selection Kyle Harrison, according to Marc Delucchi (via Twitter). If indeed a contract is finalized, Harrison will forego his commitment to UCLA.

That’s a big number for a player chosen with the 85th overall selection, which came with a $710,700 slot allocation. But the Giants will evidently find a way to free up some funds by inking below-slot deals with other draft choices.

Harrison, a Bay Area high school southpaw, wasn’t generally graded as a top-end prospect entering the draft. But MLB.com (63rd) and Baseball America (71st) did rate him among the hundred best players available.

The lefty will enter the San Francisco organization with high hopes given the big bonus. Reports generally frame him as a fairly polished and crafty hurler rather than a high-upside power arm. It seems evident that the Giants see a clear path to a big league rotation, if not alaso some front-of-the-rotation potential.

MLB Warns Teams Against “Exorbitant” Education Offers To Undrafted Players

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This year’s MLB draft was limited to five rounds, down from the usual forty. Those not selected are capped at just $20K in bonus money upon signing, well shy of the (already restricted) amounts typically spent. And now, MLB is warning teams not to promise too much in educational benefits when wooing undrafted players.

Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, via Twitter, the league has sent out formal guidance to its teams regarding the negotiation of college scholarship plan and continuing education program funding. Those programs are regular parts of the draft signing process.

It’s not entirely clear what the league is trying to tamp down on here, but the memorandum is said to advise organizations not to offer “exorbitant” funding of players’ education. As Cooper explains, there’s no evident reason for concern that teams could back-door money to players’ personal accounts. Indeed, the programs already come with clear guidelines governing their administration to avoid any skirting of draft bonus rules.

Perhaps the memo was meant mostly as a reminder to teams not to get too creative in their recruitment efforts. But it seems hard to justify any additional squeeze on incoming professional players after so much has already been taken off the table — particularly if it means limiting what those players are able to negotiate in future educational benefits.

Justin Verlander Throwing From Mound

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Astros ace Justin Verlander appears to have made full use of the coronavirus pause of the season. The veteran hurler is back to throwing off of the mound, per his own Instagram feed.

When last we checked in on JV, he was making progress in healing up from a few recent maladies. As of late April, he felt he had mostly healed from a lat strain and was also moving in a positive direction following groin surgery.

It would seem the upward trajectory has continued since that time. Verlander looks to be throwing comfortably in the video he provides.

What remains unclear at this point is just what timeline remains for Verlander to ramp up to full readiness. It isn’t yet known precisely when the 2020 season will launch, but that date is surely approaching.

It would obviously be a huge boon to the Astros to have Verlander available for all of the truncated campaign. He has been outstanding ever since arriving in Houston, producing excellent results while shouldering a heavy workload even as he moves into his late thirties.

MLB Authorizes Resumption Of Scouting Activities

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Scouts are dusting off their radar guns this morning. Major League Baseball has authorized a resumption of amateur scouting with some ongoing limitations, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports on Twitter.

Baseball’s eyes and ears are typically grinding out hours on the road this time of year. But they’ve been on ice along with the rest of the sport since mid-March.

For most fans, the real key here is that there’s baseball activity worthy of scouting at all. As McDaniel notes, the Perfect Game showcase schedule is slated to kick off this week. No doubt there’ll be hardball played around the country this summer, though some major events — among them, the Cape Cod League — have already been stricken from the calendar.

At the moment, teams won’t be permitted to assign more than a trio of scouts to any given event. Presumably, the primary concern isn’t with limiting large gatherings so much as preventing a scouting arms race.

International scouting is still not allowed, McDaniel adds on Twitter, though that could resume soon as well. Teams will now be allowed to comb through new video and data in assessing players abroad.

Despite those limitations, there’s loads of potential for teams willing to expend resources to get more and longer looks at potential targets. Much like the shakeup of the recent draft and post-draft signing period, the newly uncertain cost/reward structure of scouting in the coronavirus era will open opportunities for those clubs that best adapt.

What Do The Cubs Owe Players After 2020?

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2020 salary terms still need to be hammered out. But what about what’s owed to players beyond that point? The near-term economic picture remains questionable at best. That’ll make teams all the more cautious with guaranteed future salaries.

Every organization has some amount of future cash committed to players, all of it done before the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe. There are several different ways to look at salaries; for instance, for purposes of calculating the luxury tax, the average annual value is the touchstone, with up-front bonuses spread over the life of the deal. For this exercise, we’ll focus on actual cash outlays that still have yet to be paid.

We’ll run through every team, with a big assist from the Cot’s Baseball Contracts database. Prior entries can be found here. Next up is the Cubs:

*Includes remaining bonus payments owed to Jason Heyward

*Includes buyout on club options in Kyle Hendricks, Craig Kimbrel, David Bote, Anthony Rizzo, and Daniel Descalso contracts

*Includes buyout on mutual option in Jon Lester contract

(click to expand/view detail list)

Quick Hits: Bitsko, Tanaka, Moskos, Draft Prospects

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Nick Bitsko was originally slated to be part of the 2021 draft class, so when the young righty took some extra courses to graduate high school after his junior year and thus become eligible for the 2020 draft, the Rays didn’t have a ton of fresh information available, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  The Rays were limited to a three-inning showcase last August, “plus a 50-pitch March bullpen session at a small indoor facility and an hour-long Zoom call last week,” yet were still impressed enough to make Bitsko the 24th overall pick, just days before Bitsko’s 18th birthday.

Working largely off limited video from Bitsko’s high school games, some throwing-session footage posted by Bitsko himself online, and cellphone footage shot by scout Zach Clark during the bullpen session, the Rays became comfortable in the right-hander’s ability.  Clark is still the only Rays employee to speak to Bitsko or his parents in person, as Bitsko’s next meeting with team officials came during the online conversation.  “I think the Zoom call sent it over the top for our guys,” Clark said.  “Listen to Nick talk about pitching, preparation, what he’s done in the past, you’re like, ’Man, it’s really hard to believe you’re talking to a 17-year-old.’ ”

More from around baseball…

  • Of the Yankees’ three veteran impending free agent starters, Masahiro Tanaka is “the favorite to return” to the Bronx in 2021, George A. King III of the New York Post opines.  Tanaka will turn 32 in November, though James Paxton shares almost the exact same birthday and will carry a much more checkered injury history into the open market, while J.A. Happ turns 38 in October and is coming off a rough 2019 season.  Of course, there’s nothing stopping the Yankees from re-signing only one of these hurlers, and there’s also nothing to say that New York couldn’t let all three walk.  The latter scenario seems less likely, however, as that would leave the team with quite a young and unproven rotation mix behind Gerrit Cole, unless the Yankees acquired another veteran starter.
  • Fangraphs’ David Laurila recently caught up with Daniel Moskos, the fourth overall pick of the 2007 draft and currently the pitching coach for the Yankees’ A-ball affiliate in Charleston.  Despite his lofty draft status, Moskos’ MLB career consisted of only 24 1/3 innings for the Pirates in 2011 before elbow problems and a Tommy John surgery took their toll.  After bouncing around the minors, the Mexican League, and independent ball, Moskos followed the lead of several pitchers in recent years by visiting the Driveline facility to try and get his career on track.  As it turned out, it led to a career change entirely, as Moskos retired in order to take a job as coach and trainer at Driveline.  That position led to a lot of interest from other organizations about coaching roles, leading to Moskos being hired by the Yankees last November.
  • While teams are now eligible to begin signing undrafted free agents, some notable players who weren’t selected have opted to go back to school rather than take a $20K offer.  The Athletic’s Josh Tolentino reports (Twitter link) that right-hander Tommy Mace will return to Florida for his senior year, which isn’t surprising given that Mace was a consensus top-75 prospect as per this year’s draft projections.  (The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Mace as the 46th-best player in the class, with Fangraphs not far behind in placing Mace 47th.)  As Tolentino notes, another good year from Mace could make him in the top-15 range for the 2021 draft.
  • Infielder Darren Baker will also forego a free agent contract and return to Cal next season, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  Baker, the son of Astros manager Dusty Baker, was rated 184th in Baseball America’s draft prospect rankings.

Amateur Draft Signings: 6/14/20

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We’ll round up the latest draft signings around the league:

Latest Signings

  • The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with fifth-rounder Gavin Stone, as the right-hander announced himself on his Twitter feed.  Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) reports that Stone will receive a $100K bonus, which is significantly below the $327.2K slot price attached to the 159th overall pick.  Stone was the second-last player chosen in this year’s abbreviated draft, and wasn’t prominently featured in any pre-draft rankings apart from a 303rd-place spot on Baseball America’s top 500 draft prospects list.  The Central Arkansas product pitched well in his first real season as a starting pitcher, including a no-hitter in his final start of the year.

Earlier Today

  • Angels fourth-rounder Werner Blakely is expected to sign with the club for $900K, as first reported by Mason McRae of Prospects 365 (via Twitter) and confirmed by Robert Murray (Twitter link). Blakely, a prep shortstop from Michigan, ranked as the #297 prospect in the class on Baseball America’s pre-draft top 500. BA lauds his projectable 6’3″ frame, athleticism and power potential, but cautions that he’s exceptionally raw on both sides of the ball, perhaps not unexpected for a cold weather high schooler. Blakely’s draft position, #111 overall, comes with a slot value of just over $522K, so the Angels will go well over slot to woo the 18-year-old away from his commitment to Auburn.
  • The Angels have also inked third-round choice David Calabrese, according to McRae. He’ll earn a signing bonus of $744K, the slot value of the #82 selection with which he was chosen. Calabrese is an outfielder from the Canadian high school ranks, and was regarded as the top Canadian prospect in this year’s draft class. An Arkansas commit, he’s just 17 and is therefore one of the youngest players in his class thanks to his reclassification for this year. He’s a small outfielder who provides high-class speed on the bases, though he doesn’t offer much in the way of power. Most scouts think his speed and instincts will allow him to play center field in the long-term.

Undrafted Free Agent Signings: 6/14/20

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With the amateur draft limited to five rounds this year, hundreds of youngsters who would normally have been selected in a 40-round draft are now available to be signed by any Major League team for a $20K maximum bonus.  Many of these players will end up continuing (or beginning) their college careers in the hopes of being drafted in 2021 or beyond, but many will also sign in the coming weeks and months.  Baseball America has a full list of all agreements, and we’ll be highlighting some of the most notable deals here:

  • The Royals signed catcher Kale Emshoff, D1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers reports (Twitter link).  Emshoff appeared on pre-draft prospect listings from MLB.com (146th) and Baseball America (174th), with BA’s scouting report citing his “plus-plus raw power.”  After missing all of the 2019 season due to Tommy John surgery, Emshoff was off to a strong start in Arkansas-Little Rock’s first 17 games prior to the shutdown.

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