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Royals, Tigers Have ‘Shown Interest’ In Jorge Mateo

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The Royals and Tigers have “shown interest” in A’s utilityman Jorge Mateo, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. Other clubs, too, have seemingly checked in, although one A’s source tells Rosenthal overall interest in the 24-year-old is “tepid.”

Mateo hit a decent .289/.330/.504 with 19 home runs and 24 stolen bases in Triple-A in 2019. That marked a significant step up from his abysmal showing there the year prior. He’s in the mix with Franklin Barreto, Vimael Machin and Tony Kemp for the seemingly wide open second base job in Oakland. There’s some upside in that group, but none of the players involved are yet established. More challenging, it’s not a group that comes with a ton of roster flexibility.

Mateo, Barreto and Kemp are out of minor-league options, meaning each has to make the active roster or be exposed to waivers. Machin, meanwhile, is a Rule V pick; he, too, must spend the entire season on the 26-man or be exposed to waivers (and if unclaimed, offered back to the Cubs’ organization).

It’s difficult to imagine a situation in which all of Mateo, Barreto, Machin and Kemp make the season-opening roster. There’s little reason not to explore the trade market for whomever the front office isn’t comfortable with making the roster.

Mateo and Barreto, also 24, would figure to draw some interest. Each was once a highly-touted prospect with youth still on his side. Neither has a strong MLB track record- Mateo has yet to reach the majors at all- but there are likely teams intrigued by their physical tools and generally solid minor-league performances.

The Royals and Tigers each seem like sensible matches if the A’s were to part with Mateo (or Barreto for that matter, although there’s no indication either team has expressed interest in him). Unlike Oakland, neither K.C. nor Detroit has much of a chance of contending for a playoff spot in 2020. There’d be limited harm in giving Mateo an extended MLB look in hopes he can make good on his past prospect status. He wouldn’t fetch nearly as much in trade as he would’ve a few years ago, but it’s not hard to imagine the A’s extracting something of value, whether from the Tigers, Royals, or another organization.

Notably, the Tigers have season-opening waiver priority leaguewide. (They’re followed by the Orioles, Marlins, then the Royals). If Oakland can’t come to an agreement on a trade but decides not to carry Mateo on the season-opening roster, Detroit would have first crack at him on waivers. That could inspire some urgency on Kansas City’s part to make a deal, depending on the extent of their interest in the speedster.

Injury Notes: Snell, Carrasco, Mondesi, Dodgers

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We’ll round up the latest health news from around MLB on this Sunday morning.

  • Blake Snell will return to spring training action Monday, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. A bullpen session Friday went according to plan, Topkin adds, so the Rays feel comfortable allowing the 2018 AL Cy Young winner to begin building up innings in-game. It’s possible Snell won’t quite be ready for Opening Day, but it seems the cortisone shot he received in his throwing elbow last week isn’t indicative of any long-term issue.
  • Indians’ right-hander Carlos Carrasco has been slowed recently by “mild elbow inflammation,” tweets MLB.com’s Mandy Bell. At this point, the club doesn’t consider the issue a great concern, Bell adds. A full, healthy season from Carrasco would certainly be a plus for Cleveland, who has traded away Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber in the past calendar year and saw Mike Clevinger go down for the season’s first month-plus with a partial meniscus tear.
  • Royals’ shortstop Adalberto Mondesi has yet to make his spring training debut thanks to the shoulder surgery he underwent last September. His rehab was “paused” recently due to some soreness, manager Mike Matheny told reporters (via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com), but a visit Friday with his surgeon confirmed Mondesi is on schedule in his recovery. Kansas City continues to hold out hope the talented 24-year-old will be able to return by Opening Day.
  • Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register has the latest on a few Dodgers’ health situations. Mookie Betts has missed a few games of action with food poisoning, but he could return to the lineup Monday, manager Dave Roberts tells Plunkett. Meanwhile, Joc Pederson will make his first spring training start in minor-league camp today as he recovers from a hip injury, while right-hander Jimmy Nelson is set for a bullpen session. Nelson was briefly shut down with groin discomfort two weeks ago.

Oscar Mercado Day-To-Day With Sprained Wrist

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MARCH 7: Fortunately, it seems Mercado has avoided serious injury. The MRI revealed a “mild sprain,” tweets Zack Meisel of the Athletic. He’s currently day-to-day.

MARCH 6: Indians center fielder Oscar Mercado will undergo an MRI on his left wrist after injuring it while making a diving catch in yesterday’s Cactus League game, the team revealed to reporters (Twitter link via Mandy Bell of MLB.com). Mercado laid out to catch a shallow fly in center field and immediately came up clutching his wrist (video link). He immediately exited the game in obvious pain. The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd tweets that Mercado will be evaluated by hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham, and an update will likely be provided tomorrow.

Mercado, 25, broke out with a strong rookie campaign in 2019, cementing himself as Cleveland’s center fielder with a .269/.318/.443 batting line, 15 home runs, 25 doubles, three triples and 15 steals. Mercado played a well above-average center field by virtually any available metric (+10 Defensive Runs Saved, +2.8 Ultimate Zone Rating, +5 Outs Above Average). While there’s been plenty of ink dedicated to the uncertainty in the Indians’ corner outfield slots, Mercado’s grip on the center field job has never been in question.

Should the Indians receive bad news, their acquisition of Delino DeShields Jr. in the Corey Kluber trade will give them an experienced center field option to plug in on a short-term basis. DeShields can’t match Mercado’s offensive production — he’s a career .246/.326/.342 hitter (76 wRC+) — but is a similarly well-regarded defender with even more speed to burn. Fellow speedster Greg Allen also has ample experience in center field, too.

Injuries have been an issue for Cleveland early in camp, as Mike Clevinger has undergone knee surgery and Emmanuel Clase (acquired alongside DeShields in the aforementioned Kluber swap) will miss up to 12 weeks after being diagnosed with a strained teres major.

Angels, Kole Calhoun Never Got Close On New Contract

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Kole Calhoun had spent his entire pro career in the Angels’ organization until the club bought him out for $1MM in lieu of a $14MM team option last November. The two sides had some discussions about a reunion over the offseason, reports Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic, but talks didn’t get particularly far.

“(There was) never really a moment I thought I’d be back,” Calhoun told Ardaya. Instead, the corner outfielder inked a two-year, $16MM contract (with a 2022 club option) to join his hometown Diamondbacks in December.

As Calhoun himself points out, it’s not particularly surprising the Angels didn’t ardently pursue a reunion. That’s not a knock on Calhoun, who was solid again in 2019. He hit .232/.325/.467 (108 wRC+) with his typical strong right field defense. All told, he was worth upwards of two fWAR in five of his six full seasons in Anaheim.

Rather, the organization’s reluctance merely reflects its comfort with the current outfield mix. Justin Upton was always certain to get an opportunity for a bounce-back season in left field. Brian Goodwin, meanwhile, looks to have established himself as a solid placeholder in right until top prospect Jo Adell reaches the majors, which will almost certainly be at some point in 2020. David Fletcher, having been displaced as the everyday third baseman by Anthony Rendon, is in line for some work in the outfield as a utility option, as well, Ardaya notes.

With the Angels shelling out $245MM for Rendon and making multiple additions to the starting rotation this offseason, it never seemed likely they would top the market to bring back Calhoun. There’s no animosity, as Calhoun called his time in Anaheim “a heck of a ride,” before telling Ardaya he’s turning his attention to Arizona, where he figures to be the Snakes’ top option in right field.

Tyler Beede Diagnosed With Flexor Strain, UCL Sprain

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MARCH 7: Beede will visit noted orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache for his previously-anticipated second opinion Monday, per various reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic).

MARCH 4: The Giants announced Wednesday that an MRI on right-hander Tyler Beede revealed a flexor strain and a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. No immediate treatment plan was provided, as the club will be seeking second opinions for the time being. Beede exited his most recent spring outing due to tightness in his elbow. Beede tells reporters that his UCL is 75 percent intact and that he’s not expecting surgery at this time (Twitter link via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle).

Beede, 26, was a leading candidate to break camp in the fifth spot in the Giants’ rotation behind Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly. Now, however, his outlook is considerably cloudier, which could open the door for an alternative option to seize that role. Just last week, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi listed Beede, Dereck Rodriguez, Andrew Suarez and Logan Webb as potential rotation candidates. The Giants also have veterans Trevor Cahill and Tyson Ross in camp on non-roster invitees.

At the very least, it looks exceedingly likely that Beede will open the season on the injured list. Obviously, though, any UCL injury and/or flexor strain comes with the possibility of a serious operation. Even non-surgical treatments for those types of injuries tend to come with lengthy rehab stints.

It’s a tough blow for Beede, a two-time first-round pick (Blue Jays in 2011, Giants in 2014) who has yet to cement himself as a consistent starter at the big league level. The right-hander started 22 games for the Giants in ’19 and racked up 117 innings, but he also struggled to a 5.08 ERA (5.03 FIP). Despite the Giants’ cavernous home park, the long ball was an issue for Beede (1.7 HR/9). There was perhaps some hope that a correction in the ball’s composition could help Beede. After all, he averaged 94.3 mph on a fastball with above-average spin. Beede’s 8.7 K/9 rate and 11.2 percent swinigng-strike rate both checked in better than that of the league-average starting pitcher as well.

Cardinals Release Yairo Munoz

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The Cardinals announced this morning that they’ve placed infielder Yairo Munoz on unconditional release waivers. The move leaves an opening on the 40-man roster.

In an important detail, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that Munoz “left the team, flew home” without notifying the Cardinals. Manager Mike Shildt told Goold and other reporters that Munoz frequently complained about playing time last season. That’s certainly an interesting twist to the story, and it seems clear that Munoz wasn’t released for any baseball reason, but rather as a result of his own decision to excuse himself from camp.

As a matter of fact, Shildt stated that Munoz “had an inside track to a roster spot” as the team’s utilityman, according to Mark Saxon of The Athletic. Munoz, 25, has fulfilled a similar role for the Cardinals in each of the last two years, and he’s by no means been an unplayable Major Leaguer. There’s value in a player who can capably man six positions on the diamond, and Munoz has been just that over his first two big league seasons. That said, it would be hard to argue that Munoz, who owns a .273/.331/.391 career slash line over roughly a season’s worth of plate appearances, is deserving of the expanded role that he apparently coveted.

That’s especially true given the presence of established veterans in the St. Louis infield, which is where Munoz fits best. He had little chance of unseating either Matt Carpenter or Paul DeJong, the incumbent starters at Munoz’s two best positions. That starting combination has garnered four All-Star selections between them. The path to playing time in an outfield corner was perhaps less crowded, but even so: the team surely prefers Tommy Edman to Munoz after the former’s standout rookie performance; Dexter Fowler showed signs of life last year, and top prospect Dylan Carlson is waiting in the wings.

Munoz has five years of team control remaining, and that youth coupled with his positional versatility could make him an attractive free-agent option for several teams. It seems unlikely that Munoz is widely viewed as a starter in the short-term, so he may have to settle for a role similar to the one he played with St. Louis. It’s also fair to ask whether teams will hesitate given the circumstances surrounding Munoz’s release.

Quick Hits: Maeda, Dodgers, Angels, Cards, Royals

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The Dodgers dealt Kenta Maeda to the Twins last month, after which the right-hander seemingly indicated that he asked for a trade out of the Los Angeles organization. However, that’s not what happened, according to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). While Maeda did make it known to the Dodgers he prefers to start (they often used him as a reliever from 2018-19), Friedman insists there was no trade request when the two met last season. “I saw the headline and then we had someone actually listen to it. And he didn’t in that meeting demand anything and nor did he actually say he did in that interview,” Friedman stated. For their part, the Dodgers didn’t enter the offseason planning to move Maeda, per Friedman, but they pulled the trigger when the Twins offered a Brusdar Graterol-led package. Maeda, meanwhile, will now have an opportunity to return to being a full-time starter in Minnesota.

  • The Angels fired visiting clubhouse manager Brian Harkins on Thursday amid allegations that he provided “illegal substances” to help opposing pitchers grip the ball better, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports. The news did not come as a surprise to the Angels, per Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register. “I think everybody knows that most guys are doing it,” left-hander Andrew Heaney said. “I don’t think it’s that surprising for anybody who knows baseball.” Pitching coach Mickey Callaway told Fletcher he expects Major League Baseball to ban hurlers from using pine tar and other such substances, but he believes it could have a detrimental effect because they help pitchers’ control – especially in cold conditions. “If I were a hitter, I’d be scared to dig into the box in Detroit on April 10,” he said. Manager Joe Maddon also weighed in, saying pitchers have been using substances to better their grip for “as long as I’ve been in baseball.” Maddon wonders whether MLB will eventually have to make changes to the ball, as the current one has become slicker.
  • Cardinals righty Carlos Martinez has been a starter for most of his career, but shoulder issues helped force the hard-throwing 28-year-old to their bullpen last season. He’s now back in the Cardinals’ rotation, though, and is showing off his old form this spring, as Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch observes.  “Everything’s been really good,” manager Mike Shildt said after Martinez threw five scoreless innings against Washington on Thursday. “That was a pretty dramatic display of, ‘Hey, I’m a starter.’ He’s established himself, for sure.”  Martinez has been quite successful in a starting role, having recorded a 3.38 ERA/3.61 FIP in 712 1/3 innings from the Cardinals’ rotation. The reigning NL Central champions would surely be pleased if he can offer similar production this season, especially with fellow righty Miles Mikolas set to miss the beginning of the year with an elbow injury.
  • There is a growing likelihood that the Royals will use first basemen Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan McBroom in “a soft platoon” to open the season, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes. As we touched on Friday, the left-handed O’Hearn is seeking a bounce-back year after logging horrid production in 2019. The right-handed McBroom was better with the Royals last year in his first season in the majors, hitting .293/.361/.350. However, it was only an 83-plate appearance sample, in which McBroom failed to hit a home run, struck out over 30 percent of the time and was the beneficiary of an unsustainable .440 batting average on balls in play. To his credit, though, McBroom thrived as a Yankees farmhand last season in Triple-A ball, where he slashed .315/.402/.574 and slugged 26 homers in 482 PA.

Camp Battles: Cubs’ Second Base Competition

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As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes detailed earlier this week, the Cubs are coming off a rather quiet offseason. There were no earth-shattering trades, no significant free-agent signings. The high-payroll club doled out just $3.5MM in guaranteed contracts over the winter, though it did add at least a couple familiar names by way of the minor league market. One of those pickups, longtime Indian Jason Kipnis, is vying to begin the season as the Cubs’ starting second baseman. The position was a sore spot last year for a what was overall a disappointing Chicago team – one that received little from Ben Zobrist (who missed a sizable portion of the season because of a personal matter), Addison Russell and Daniel Descalso. The lone member of that trio still with the organization is Descalso, who’s competing with Kipnis and a couple others to become rookie manager Davis Ross’ Opening Day choice at the keystone. Here’s a rundown of the quartet that’s in the mix…

  • Jason Kipnis: He was a two-time All-Star in Cleveland during his heyday, but it has been a few years since Kipnis even came close to putting up average offensive production. The 32-year-old’s .245/.304/.410 line in 511 plate appearances in 2019 helped prevent him from scoring a guaranteed contract in his first trip to free agency. Kipnis was much better during the second half of the season, though, and the left-handed hitter was playable against right-handed pitchers. As someone who has regularly performed better versus righties than southpaws, he could wind up as part of a platoon for the Cubs.
  • Daniel Descalso: The normally light-hitting Descalso had a solid season with the Diamondbacks in 2018, thereby convincing the Cubs to give him a two-year, $5MM guarantee in the ensuing winter. Thus far, however, the deal has blown up in the team’s face. Descalso, 33, limped to a .173/.271/.250 line with just two home runs in 194 trips to the plate. Along the way, his ISO (.077) dropped off 121 points from the prior season, while his strikeout and walk rates also trended in the wrong direction.
  • David Bote: The versatile Bote, 26, recorded adequate numbers for the second straight year in 2019, slashing .257/.362/.422 with 11 homers and 1.5 fWAR in 356 PA. On paper, it may make sense to attempt a platoon between the right-handed Bote and Kipnis, but Bote actually posted far superior production versus same-handed pitchers than southpaws last season.
  • Nico Hoerner: The 22-year-old Hoerner debuted with the Cubs last September, at which point the recent first-round pick (No. 24 in 2018) was regarded as a top-50 prospect. Hoerner ultimately didn’t log great numbers in his initial taste of MLB action (.282/.305/.436), but it was just an 82-PA sample; furthermore, it was the first time Hoerner had even played above the Double-A ball, making it all the more understandable he didn’t light the league on fire in his initial try. Hoerner may end up as Chicago’s long-term solution at second, but if the club doesn’t think he’s ready yet, it’ll have the option of sending him to Triple-A Iowa for more seasoning and regular playing time.

East Notes: Moose, Jays, Donaldson, Braves, N. Walker, deGrom

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Mike Moustakas came off the market when he signed a surprisingly large contract (four years, $64MM) with the Reds in December. It turns out that the Blue Jays were among the runners-up for Moustakas, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who tweets that they made him a three-year, $30MM offer. The Reds obviously blew that proposal out of the water, however, and the Jays pivoted to a much cheaper corner infielder Travis Shaw (one year, $4MM). A third baseman for most of his career, Moustakas is set to handle second in Cincinnati. That position is spoken for in Toronto (Cavan Biggio), as is third (Vladimir Guerrero Jr.), so it seems likely Moustakas would have worked at 1B extensively for the first time in his career had the club won the bidding for him. Instead, the Blue Jays will hope for a bounce-back season from Shaw, who was teammates with Moustakas in Milwaukee last year.

Let’s move over to the NL East…

  • The Braves lost their top free agent, Josh Donaldson, to the Twins’ four-year, $92MM offer over the winter. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos acknowledged afterward that the team put forth an offer that came up short. Heyman has some details on it, reporting that the Braves were willing to go to four years in the range of $75MM to $90MM to retain Donaldson. That’s a wide gap, so it’s unknown just how much money Donaldson would have left on the table to re-sign with Atlanta. Regardless, the club now looks to be in much less impressive shape at third, where Austin Riley and Johan Camargo are competing for the starting role.
  • Infielder Neil Walker signed a minor league contract with the Phillies over the winter, but he has no plans to play below the MLB level. “I’m not going to concede to the notion of retiring as a 34-year-old who is in good shape,” Walker told Matt Gelb of The Athletic (subscription link). “But I’m not going to play in Triple A.” For now, Walker’s continuing to compete for a reserve role in Philadelphia, but if he’s unable to find a big league job with the Phillies or another team this season, it’s possible it’ll be the end of the line for the longtime second baseman. The switch-hitting Walker did still have something to offer at the plate last season, though, as he batted .261/.344/.395 (99 wRC+) in 381 trips.
  • As a back-to-back Cy Young winner, it doesn’t seem that Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom has to change anything. But the ace is now working on adding more curveballs into his repertoire, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News writes. According to FanGraphs, deGrom’s usage of the pitch ranged from 7.9 percent to 10.8 percent from 2014-18. The number dropped to 3 percent in 2019, when opposing hitters had their way with it to the tune of a .364 weighted on-base average. That was the only pitch deGrom threw last year that hitters could even muster a .300 mark against. He was dominant overall, notching a 2.43 ERA/2.67 FIP with 11.25 K/9 and 1.94 BB/9 over 204 innings.

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