Archives for 2020

Latest Notes On Angels Pitching Staff

By Jeff Todd | February 28, 2020 at 8:35pm CDT

Uncertainty surrounding starting pitching is nothing new for the Angels … but it surely isn’t welcome. The still-unknown outlook for Griffin Canning is weighing on the team at the moment. That’s the backdrop for several of the latest notes regarding the Los Angeles ballclub …

GM Billy Eppler says he doesn’t feel any added need to acquire a new starter — at least not yet — as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. That may in part speak to ongoing hope that Canning’s elbow woes won’t ultimately represent a major problem. But it also reflects the simple fact that, as Eppler notes, it just isn’t the best time of year to go out looking for a new arm. The open market’s best options are already taken and teams that have depth on hand are loathe to part with it at this juncture. A patient approach therefore makes sense, as the Halos’ precise level of need isn’t yet known and some amount of pitching supply is likely to free up later in Spring Training.
The Angels will build up JC Ramirez as a starter in camp, manager Joe Maddon told reporters including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic (Twitter link). As Ardaya notes, that could put the righty in the running for some sort of a flexible swingman function throughout the season. Ramirez just re-joined the Halos after reportedly showing a bit of a velocity renaissance in winter ball. If he can get back to something approaching the solid form he showed in 2016 and 2017, he’d be an awfully useful part of the Angels’ pitching staff.
There’s better news in the bullpen, where key righty Keynan Middleton seems to be showing well. As Fletcher tweets, Middleton was pumping 96-97 mph heat in his scoreless outing today. That’s a good sign given what we saw of him late last season, when he had only just returned from Tommy John surgery. While he allowed only a single earned run in 7 2/3 innings late in 2019, Middleton was clearly not in top form. He displayed a loss of over two mph on his average fastball and dished out seven walks to go with six strikeouts.

Christopher Ilitch On Tigers’ Rebuilding Efforts

By Jeff Todd | February 28, 2020 at 6:33pm CDT

Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch spoke confidently about his organization’s rebuilding efforts, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. He also explained the pace of an increasingly agonizing process.

Detroit fans won’t need or want to hear the gory details, but it ain’t pretty. The club lost 98 games in consecutive seasons leading up to last year’s putrid 47-114 showing. It’s hard to watch.

Then again, there’s an argument to be made that, if you’re going to dive, you really ought to dive hard. With another first-overall draft pick to work with, the Tigers have now afforded themselves every possible chance to load up on young talent. GM Al Avila sees big things to come from the club’s rotation prospects, in particular, as he told MLB Network Radio today (Twitter link).

Ilitch wants fans to know that he’s suffering along with them and shares their drive to win. He says he’s “very competitive” and assures that “the fire is burning inside.” And Ilitch made clear he’s very pleased with the “trajectory” of the rebuilding effort, even if the loss tallies have mounted at the MLB level.

Obviously, the Tigers aren’t ready to mount a spirited return to the ranks of relevance just yet. But once they are? Ilitch may not be promising to spend at the top of the market the way his father did, but he made clear he expects to open the pocketbook.

“When I feel the time is right, Al is going to have the resources to go out and sign the free agents he needs to add around our home-grown base and core of talent,” says Ilitch. “That day will come and we’ll be ready for it. He will have the resources to do that.”

That’s where the catch comes in for anxious Tigers supporters. Ilitch understandably can’t yet say when the revival will begin in earnest.

“I am a competitive person but I am also an exceptionally disciplined person,” he says. While there’s a desire to win “as fast as possible,” Ilitch is presently focused on “establishing the foundation” and “building this the right way.”

The hope is obviously that of just about every other team in baseball: a sustainable winner. Citing his experiences with the Tigers and NHL Red Wings, Ilitch says he’s confident in delivering on that goal: “Be patient, be disciplined and we’re going to get there.”

Andrew McCutchen To Open Season On Injured List

By Jeff Todd | February 28, 2020 at 3:55pm CDT

Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen will open the 2020 campaign on the injured list, manager Joe Girardi told reporters including Matt Gelb of The Athletic (via Twitter). McCutchen has been working back to health from a torn ACL.

This is certainly not the outcome the Phils hoped for. But there’s no indication that there’s cause for particular concern, either. McCutchen is obviously being handled with some care given that he’s returning from such a significant injury.

The timeline will surely be dictated by the progress Cutch is able to make over the coming weeks. But Girardi says the expectation is that the long-time star will be ready to join the club at some point in April, so the team obviously doesn’t anticipate an especially lengthy absence.

With McCutchen sidelined, the Phillies will presumably turn over additional opportunities to a rotating cast of others. Veteran Jay Bruce seems likely to see most of the action against righties, with switch-hitter Roman Quinn and right-handed-hitting utilityman Josh Harrison among the leading candidates to share time.

The additional roster spot increases the chances for all of the club’s many non-roster invitees. If Harrison makes the club and is slated for outfield duties, then there’ll be a bigger opening for infielder challengers such as Neil Walker, Logan Forsythe, T.J. Rivera, Phil Gosselin, and Ronald Torreyes. Or the team could help fill in for Cutch by turning to a right-handed-hitting outfielder such as Matt Szczur or Mikie Mahtook. There’s also added space available for left-handed hitters in camp such as Nick Williams, Kyle Garlick, and Nick Martini.

Brent Honeywell Returns To Mound

By Jeff Todd | February 28, 2020 at 3:03pm CDT

In a key moment for the Rays and righty Brent Honeywell, the prized youngster resumed throwing from the mound today, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. He remains a long ways away from competitive action but now can begin his rehab in earnest.

Long a lauded talent, Honeywell has been rehabbing for about two years now. He was sidelined by a brutal string of health problems in his elbow, beginning with Tommy John surgery and most recently featuring a fracture.

Honeywell’s timeline is still unclear, but Topkin provides some parameters. In the best case scenario, Honeywell might be ready to join a Rays affiliate at some point in May. Whether and when he could end up on the MLB map is obviously depend upon quite a few preliminary factors.

Honeywell seemed close to big league readiness when last he was seen in game action. In 2017, he worked to a 3.49 ERA with 11.3 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 over 136 2/3 innings in the upper minors.

The future still remains bright as Honeywell closes in on his 25th birthday — presuming, at least, that he can finally get back to competitive pitching. Baseball America and MLB.com have ranked him among the game’s hundred best prospects in each of the past five years, even as the health concerns have mounted.

Honeywell knows he has a lot of work left, of course, having gone through this process before. But he called the return to the mound “a big, big leap mentally wise” and says he “was real happy with it.” Indeed, the former second rounder even indicated that he feels better and more confident now than he did at any point during his original comeback effort.

Who Else Could The Red Sox Target In Trades?

By Steve Adams | February 28, 2020 at 1:43pm CDT

When Wil Myers’ name surfaced in trade rumblings surrounding the Padres, Red Sox and Mookie Betts, it seemed like a fairly straightforward thought process. The Padres wanted to acquire a star (Betts), had been seeking to jettison some of Myers’ contract and didn’t want to pay both Myers’ $20MM salary and Betts’ $27MM salary. But when the Myers-to-Red Sox rumors reemerged even after Betts had been traded to the Dodgers, that was more surprising. Eventually, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported that the Sox’ aim in those talks was to use some of their newfound payroll space and luxury tax breathing room to effectively purchase some young pitching from the Padres. The basic premise: take on half of Myers’ contract and also acquire a pitcher such as Cal Quantrill to immediately plug into the mix at the MLB level. However, per Speier, there’s not much optimism at the moment that such a deal will come together.

But does that mean the Red Sox should abandon the strategy entirely? Well, why would they? There are dozens of undesirable contracts throughout MLB, and many clubs on the hook for those deals have pitching talent with which they could conceivably part.

However, it’s not as simple as just picking out a big-time contract and saying, “Let’s dump this on the Red Sox along with [Player X]!” Myers’ contract was something of an ideal fit for the Sox. The Padres aggressively backloaded his six-year, $83MM deal to the point that Myers earned only $7MM in salaries from 2017-19 (in addition to a weighty $15MM signing bonus). That’s notable for the Red Sox because they’re still “only” about $12-13MM shy of the luxury barrier. Taking on a bad contract with a $20MM+ annual salary over its full term — the relevant data point from a competitive balance tax perspective — would put them right back into the tax territory that ownership ~~insisted on escaping~~ erm, was … happy to escape as an ancillary benefit of building a competitive window … or however they choose to try to spin it.

Myers came with a $13.8MM luxury hit — and the cash the Padres would’ve included in the deal (a reported $30MM or so) would’ve essentially dropped Boston’s luxury obligation to $3.8MM. That’s an ideal balance of flexing the club’s deep pockets without running the risk of even approaching the luxury barrier. It’s easy to suggest Albert Pujols ($24MM AAV), Justin Upton ($23MM), Jason Heyward ($23MM), Chris Davis ($23MM), Matt Carpenter ($18.5MM) and plenty of others as a plausible fit, but Myers presented Boston with the rare opportunity to absorb half of a player’s remaining contract (and more than 36 percent of the total value) while only increasing their luxury payroll by about 1.9 percent. That’s not going to be the case with such high-AAV players.

Arrangements like the Myers deal are tough to find. Myers may well have been the single best target for this prospect-purchasing gambit — but he’s not the only one. Let’s take a speculative look at who else the Red Sox could inquire on in an effort to pursue a similar template but with a different trade focal point:

Rougned Odor, Rangers, 2B (three years, $36MM remaining on six-year, $49.5MM deal)

Odor’s contract only comes with an $8.25MM luxury hit in the first place, which the Red Sox could fit into their current budget even if Texas doesn’t include any cash. Add in even a few million dollars from the Rangers, and the Sox would be well shy of running into the threshold. To say the Odor extension hasn’t worked out for the Rangers would be putting things mildly; he’s hit .219/.285/.419 since putting pen to paper three years ago, and the bulk of the guarantee is yet to be paid out

The Rangers aren’t really maxed out in terms of payroll, but they’re also looking at playing one of the game’s top second base prospects in center field — surely in part due to Odor’s presence on the roster. Texas also added three starters with multiple years of control this winter (Corey Kluber, Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles), making it easier to absorb the blow of trading a big-league-ready arm. Maybe they wouldn’t be keen on using Kolby Allard (or someone similar) to rid themselves of the Odor contract, but if you’re the Red Sox, that’s an avenue to explore. It’s not like second base is a position of great certainty in Boston at the moment, anyhow.

Kyle Seager, Mariners, 3B (two years, $37MM remaining on seven-year, $100MM deal*)

The asterisk next to Odor’s name is necessitated by his contract’s “poison pill” — i.e. a $15MM club option that turns into a player option in the event of a trade. He’s at two years and $37MM only while donning a Mariners jersey; the moment he’s traded, that effectively becomes three years and $52MM. That wrinkle wouldn’t immediately impact his luxury tax hit though (and only minimally impacts it if/when he does trigger the option, as the current mark is $14.29MM).

The Red Sox are set at third base with Rafael Devers, but this type of trade isn’t really about positional need (and Seager could perhaps work at second base anyhow). The Mariners’ rebuild/”reimagining”/whatever they prefer to call it is nearing the point where GM Jerry Dipoto is going to want to supplement his emerging core with free agent acquisitions. Dropping a notable portion of the $19MM owed to Seager in 2020 and, perhaps more importantly, the $18MM owed to him in 2021 will aid in that effort.

Dee Gordon, Mariners, 2B/OF (one year, $14.5MM remaining on five-year, $50MM deal)

Same concept as Seager but with slightly different details. Gordon is a man without a position in Seattle and a free agent at season’s end. Gordon’s deal comes with a $10MM luxury hit that the Sox could shoehorn into their ledger without going over the barrier, but they’d have minimal breathing room. Gordon could step in as the primary second baseman with Dustin Pedroia on the shelf, pushing Jose Peraza to a more familiar utility role. And the Mariners would surely love to use that roster spot to get a look at a younger player while saving $14MM to spend on supplementing their core.

Randal Grichuk, Blue Jays, OF (four years, $43MM remaining on five-year, $52MM deal)

It’s hard not to wonder if the Jays would like a mulligan on last spring’s extension after Grichuk slashed .232/.280/.457 in 2019, effectively playing at replacement level. Then again, the Grichuk deal was a head-scratching move for most onlookers (myself included), as he didn’t appear to be a clear extension candidate. That 2019 slash looks awfully similar to Grichuk’s combined production from 2016-18 (.241/.292/.485), so perhaps the Jays are content with what he’s bringing to the table… but $43MM over the next four seasons nonetheless feels quite steep.

If the Jays are indeed looking for a way to back out of the deal, the organization is teeming with usable but unspectacular arms in the upper minors as it awaits the rise of higher-end prospects. The Sox aren’t getting Nate Pearson or anyone close to that caliber out of this deal, but paying a good chunk Grichuk’s deal in an effort to acquire a controllable fourth/fifth starter would be plenty defensible.

Ian Desmond, Rockies, INF/OF (two years, $26MM remaining on five-year, $70MM deal)

The Desmond deal has been a bust for the Rockies, who no longer even have a clear place to play one of their most highly compensated players. Charlie Blackmon, David Dahl, Raimel Tapia and Sam Hilliard are all more deserving of looks in the outfield. Garrett Hampson, Brendan Rodgers and Ryan McMahon are in the mix at second base. McMahon could also play first, where the Rockies have another underperforming veteran in Daniel Murphy (though he’s only signed through 2020).

Colorado owner Dick Monfort opened the season by declaring a lack of payroll flexibility (and, after a winter of inactivity, bizarrely proclaimed that the same Rockies club that lost 91 games in 2019 would win 94 games in 2020). The Rockies aren’t exactly teeming with high-end pitching talent — hence the 91 losses in 2019 — but they have seven or eight starters on the 40-man roster and in Triple-A behind German Marquez, Jon Gray and Kyle Freeland. This type of trade doesn’t really feel like Colorado’s style — in general, the Rockies aren’t highly active on the trade market — but if the Sox are interested in one of those back-of-the-rotation arms, it’s not hard to see the framework of a speculative deal.

—

As this exercise shows, it’s not exactly easy to structure a deal on this sort of premise — in large part because there just aren’t that many suitable contracts. And few clubs have the abundance of upper-level talent (with associated 40-man roster pressures) of the Padres. Still, the Red Sox surely will keep exploring avenues to put their wallet to work while still ducking under the luxury line.

Stephen Piscotty Questionable For Opening Day

By Steve Adams | February 28, 2020 at 10:36am CDT

The Athletics are shutting outfielder Stephen Piscotty down after an MRI revealed that his intercostal strain is “a little worse” than anticipated, manager Bob Melvin told reporters Friday (Twitter link via Martin Gallegos of MLB.com). The Athletics aren’t completely ruling out a scenario wherein Piscotty is ready to go on Opening Day, but his outlook is a bit uncertain at the moment.

Piscotty, 29, enjoyed a strong debut campaign with Oakland in 2018 after being traded over from the Cardinals, hitting .267/.331/.491 with 27 homers and 41 doubles. Knee and ankle troubles plagued him in 2019, though, and his ensuing .249/.309/.412 slash with 13 homers and 17 doubles marked a notable step back.

Currently, Piscotty is slated to be Oakland’s primary right fielder even in spite of the 2019 downturn. That’s in part due to his upside but also in part due to the fact that he’s being paid $7MM in 2020 under the terms of the six-year, $33.5MM extension he signed with the Cardinals back in April 2017. That deal runs through the 2022 season, paying Piscotty $7.25MM in both 2021 and 2022, and it also contains a $15MM club option for 2023 (with a $1MM buyout).

If Piscotty isn’t ready to go come Opening Day, the A’s aren’t short on alternatives. Veteran outfielder Robbie Grossman is in his final year of club control before he reaches free agency, and utilityman Chad Pinder has plenty of experience in the outfield corners as well. Should the club elect to simply elevate the role of Grossman and/or Pinder, that might help to open the door for out-of-options Jorge Mateo to make the club in a utility capacity. It’s also worth noting that the A’s have outfielders Dustin Fowler, Skye Bolt and Luis Barrera on the 40-man roster as well. Both Fowler and Bolt have big league experience.

However Piscotty progresses, it doesn’t sound at present like there’s any reason to believe that his injury is a long-term issue. Still, the A’s have three out-of-options players and a Rule 5 pick vying for their second base gig — Mateo, Franklin Barreto, Tony Kemp and Vimael Machin — so an early-season IL stint for Piscotty could create some additional time to make a decision on that group of players.

Griffin Canning’s MRI Shows “Chronic Changes” To UCL, Acute Joint Irritation

By Steve Adams | February 28, 2020 at 10:10am CDT

10:10am: Canning spoke with reporters about his injury and took a positive tone, suggesting that he feels the injury is little more than “normal wear and tear” and likening the issue to one that sidelined him last August (Twitter thread via Fletcher). The MRI did not reveal any tearing of the ulnar collateral ligament. Still, the “chronic changes” referenced by the team will be the subject of further testing.

February 28, 8:45am: The Angels announced that Canning’s MRI revealed “chronic changes to the UCL and acute joint irritation” in his right elbow. No immediate treatment or timetable was provided, as the organization has scheduled further tests and evaluation over the “next couple days.”

February 27: In an all-too-familiar bit of ominous news for Angels fans, manager Joe Maddon revealed today that right-hander Griffin Canning is headed for an MRI to examine his right elbow (Twitter link via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). Canning felt something abnormal during yesterday’s Cactus League outing, per Maddon, who acknowledged some organizational concern regarding the injury.

The Angels’ pitching staff has been decimated by injury in recent seasons, and that litany of pitcher injuries only makes the Canning scenario feel all the more foreboding. Canning, after all, is one of the club’s most promising young arms and has been expected to play a key role on the 2020 staff. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick out of UCLA back in 2017 and entered the 2019 campaign as a consensus top 100 prospect in the game. Canning parlayed a trio of dominant Triple-A starts into his first call to the Majors, going on to toss 90 1/3 frames with a 4.58 ERA (4.37 FIP), 9.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 1.39 HR/9. He was slowed by inflammation in his right elbow along the way, however.

The Halos entered the offseason with their sights set on adding a top-end talent to the rotation but instead signed Anthony Rendon to bolster the lineup and defense after missing out on Gerrit Cole. Anaheim did sign free agent righty Julio Teheran and acquire right-hander Dylan Bundy from the Orioles with the goal of adding that duo to a rotation mix that also included Canning, Andrew Heaney and (in mid-May) a returning Shohei Ohtani.

If Canning misses any time, though, the Angels will be looking at an Opening Day rotation consisting of Heaney, Teheran (assuming his hamstring issue does indeed prove minor) and Bundy, with little certainty beyond that. Patrick Sandoval, Jaime Barria, Dillon Peters and Jose Suarez are all on the 40-man roster and all have some MLB experience, but that’s a highly unproven quartet. Swingman Matt Andriese, acquired from the D-backs, could be stretched out for starting duties during camp as well; he spent the entire ’19 season in the Arizona bullpen but does have 49 starts at the big league level under his belt (all but one coming with the Rays).

Brewers Extend Freddy Peralta

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | February 28, 2020 at 9:10am CDT

February 28: The Brewers have officially announced the deal, which covers the 2020-24 seasons and contains club options for 2025 and 2026.

February 26: The Brewers are closing in on an extension with righty Freddy Peralta, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). It’ll be worth a guaranteed $15.5MM over a five-year term. Peralta, a client of Rep 1 Baseball, will also give the Milwaukee organization a pair of club options in the pact. They could tack on another $14.5MM in total value if exercised.

As Rosenthal notes, this is nearly the same contract as that reached recently between Aaron Bummer and the White Sox. But there are some notable distinctions.

Peralta wouldn’t have qualified for arbitration until 2022 at the earliest. (Bummer was on track to be a Super Two at the end of the season.) And Peralta owns only a 4.79 ERA through 163 1/3 career innings. (Bummer had a highly productive 2019 effort.)

At the same time, there’s arguably even greater upside here for the Milwaukee organization. Peralta is capable of working as a starter — or, perhaps, as a provider of bulk innings or roving high-leverage arm. He may not yet have ironed out all the kinks, but he was a well-regarded prospect who now owns a flashy 11.6 K/9 (versus 4.2 BB/9) in his young MLB career. Oh, and he is still just 23 years of age.

Peralta’s earned-run numbers dipped in 2019 when compared to his 2018 debut. Like many other hurlers, he struggled to contain the long ball in a season that produced record home-run levels due to the altered composition of the baseball itself.

In other ways, though, he made clear strides. Peralta upped his average fastball to the 94 mph level on the year; notably, it trended steadily up to the point that he was sitting 96 by season’s end. That primary offering continues to exhibit excellent spin rate. Peralta boosted his swinging-strike rate to 13.0%. He was also fairly stingy in terms of hard contact; Statcast credited opposing hitters with a .333 wOBA but only a .309 xwOBA.

For the Brewers, the downside in such an extension is minimal given the low cost of the deal. It’s always possible that Peralta simply doesn’t piece everything together and remains a fringe big league option, but the financial risk is negligible. If Peralta is able to emerge as even a serviceable fifth starter or reliever, the deal will be well worth it; anything more could turn the pact into a downright bargain for president of baseball operations David Stearns and his staff. That’s not to say that Peralta shouldn’t have signed the deal — turning down life-changing money at any point is extraordinarily difficult — but the upside outweighs the risk rather notably.

As for how Peralta will factor into the immediate plans, that remains to be seen. He’s battling offseason acquisition Eric Lauer and right-hander Corbin Burnes for the final spot in Milwaukee’s rotation this spring. Even if he doesn’t win the job off the bat, injuries always arise, and the Brewers’ rotation has enough uncertain names that it seems likely we’ll see Peralta make some starts in 2020. If not, the aforementioned bullpen role always remains a possibility.

It’s also worth highlighting the extent to which Peralta’s deal enhances the long-term potential for a cost-efficient rotation in Milwaukee. Josh Lindblom’s three-year, $9.125MM deal spans the 2020-22 seasons. Brandon Woodruff and Burnes are controlled through 2024 and Adrian Houser through 2025. Obviously, not all five members of that quintet are going to pan out as viable big league starters. But some combination of those arms should comprise a notable chunk of the rotation for the foreseeable future — and they’ll likely do so while combining to earn less than $20MM annually as far into the future as 2022.

Peralta is now under control longer than any of his teammates, though Milwaukee’s affinity for precisely this type of value-focused contract structure suggests that similar arrangements will be pursued in the coming weeks and in subsequent offseasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Zaidi On Giants’ Rotation, Bullpen, Dubon, Backup Catcher

By Steve Adams | February 28, 2020 at 7:50am CDT

The Giants have a whopping 71 players in Major League Spring Training this season — a testament to an active offseason in terms of minor league free agency and also a reflection of the lack of certainty on a roster that is still being retooled by a new regime. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi appeared on KNBR’s Murph & Mac Show yesterday to discuss the state of the roster, echoing at multiple points that “competition is going to be the theme of this camp” (full audio of the 18-minute interview).

Not surprisingly, Zaidi dubbed both Kevin Gausman and Drew Smyly, who each signed one-year Major League deals this winter, as likely members of the rotation. As for the fifth spot behind Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Gausman and Smyly, the Giants’ president named right-hander right-handers Tyler Beede, Logan Webb and Dereck Rodriguez as well as lefty Andrew Suarez as possible options to win the job.

While there’s really only one spot available on the starting staff, that’s far from the case with respect to San Francisco’s relief corps. “Our bullpen is going to be pretty wide open,” Zaidi acknowledged. “…We’ve had some guys really impress. Matt Carasiti, Rico Garcia were both really impressive a couple days ago.”

That open competition is partly by design and partly by circumstance. The club surely hoped that righty Reyes Moronta would anchor a high-leverage spot in 2020, but shoulder surgery late in the ’19 campaign will sideline him for most, if not all of the upcoming season. Will Smith departed via free agency, taking an early three-year deal with the Braves. Zaidi & Co. traded both Mark Melancon and Sam Dyson, each of whom was controlled through 2020, at last year’s deadline. What was arguably the Giants’ greatest strength entering the 2019 season quickly became a blank canvas for 2020.

So, who’s in the mix? Likely closer Tony Watson and out-of-options righty Trevor Gott are the only two relievers on the roster who threw even 30 innings out of the ’pen last season. It’s possible that any of the aforementioned quartet of fifth-starter candidates could transition to a relief role. Tyler Rogers, Sam Coonrod and Jandel Gustave all received auditions in the bullpen last year, with Rogers (the twin brother of Twins closer Taylor Rogers) looking particularly impressive. Elsewhere on the 40-man roster, waiver claim Jarlin Garcia is out of minor league options, and Rule 5 pick Dany Jimenez is in a similar make-the-team-or-get-the-boot scenario.

The Giants moved prospect Shaun Anderson to the bullpen last year, and his name was notably absent when Zaidi discussed potential fifth starters. That’s also true of veteran non-roster invitees Trevor Cahill and Tyson Ross. One shouldn’t necessarily read Zaidi’s omission of those names in an off-the-cuff setting as a clear statement that they’re being viewed as bullpen-only pieces, but both Cahill and Ross have worked as relievers in the past, and it’s clear the bullpen offers a broader avenue to making the team. Beyond Carasiti and Garcia, both named by Zaidi, the Giants have veterans Jerry Blevins, Nick Vincent and Andrew Triggs in camp on non-roster deals.

Zaidi spent less time discussing the battles on the position-player side of things, but he did offer some insight into the role of Mauricio Dubon. It’s been suggested that the Giants will get the former Red Sox/Brewers infield prospect — acquired in last summer’s Drew Pomeranz/Ray Black swap — some work in center field. Zaidi made the organization’s plans for Dubon rather clear.

“He’s really embraced that possibility of moving around,” Zaidi said of the 25-year-old Dubon. “He obviously he played shortstop the first day [of Cactus League play]. Hopefully we get him out there in center field pretty soon. … He knows the more spots he can play, the more options he’s going to give Gabe and the staff, and the more at-bats he’s going to get. He’s fully embraced that.”

Playing Dubon all over the diamond will allow the club to take a longer look at non-roster invitee Yolmer Sanchez for second base. The Giants also have veteran utilityman Donovan Solano and former Rays prospect Kean Wong (younger brother of the Cardinals’ Kolten Wong) to evaluate. And with an outfield mix that is, by Zaidi’s own admission, somewhat unsettled in its own right, a successful acclimation to outfield work by Dubon (even on a part-time basis) would help shore things up.

With such a wide level of options already competing for roster spots, one might assume the Giants are done adding, but that’s not necessarily the case. The Giants’ catching depth took a hit when presumptive backup Aramis Garcia suffered a hip injury that required surgical repair — possibly sidelining him for the whole season. Rob Brantly and Tyler Heineman had already been inked as depth options behind Garcia, but that duo is now battling for a spot on the Opening Day roster … unless the Giants acquire another option.

“[Brantly and Heineman] both have legitimate shots,” Zaidi said. “But we also told those guys, ’Hey, we may go out and get somebody else. Either somebody else who’s in the competition or maybe even jumps to the front of the line.’ So those guys are aware of that, and we’ll keep an eye out. We’ll keep looking for the best possible option.”

The catching market has been largely picked over, although Russell Martin stands out as a notable veteran option who still boasts quality on-base and defensive skills. Any number of veterans who signed minor league deals elsewhere could potentially opt out of said deals or be cut loose, replenishing some of the open-market options. The waiver wire, of course, always presents another avenue from which Zaidi has never shied away. The bulk of the Giants’ offseason work in terms of player acquisition is done, but Zaidi and his staff still have a landslide of decisions to make over the next four weeks.

NL Notes: Senzel, D-backs, Rockies, Giants

By Connor Byrne | February 28, 2020 at 12:58am CDT

Reds outfielder Nick Senzel could begin appearing in spring training games next week, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Senzel has been working back from the shoulder surgery he underwent last September, and though the Reds believe he’s versatile enough to handle all three outfield positions, they’re only going to play him in center until he’s fully healed, according to manager David Bell. “I know he could do it but allowing him to focus on one spot may be more important than any of our other outfielders just because they all have so much more experience out there than he does,” Bell said of Senzel, a former infield prospect who spent his rookie season in center. The 24-year-old’s one of several outfielders for the Reds, who also count Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino among their options in the grass.

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