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Nationals Sign Alejandro De Aza

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The Nationals have signed veteran outfielder Alejandro De Aza to a minor-league deal, as Triple-A Syracuse radio man Kevin Brown first tweeted. He has joined the organization’s top affiliated.

De Aza, 33, spent the spring with the Athletics. But he opted out of the deal late in camp when it became apparent that he wouldn’t crack the Opening Day roster. De Aza has yet to sign with another organization since.

The 2016 season was a bit of an odd one for the veteran outfielder. He landed a $5.75MM guarantee from the Mets, but never really fit after the team re-signed Yoenis Cespedes. He ultimately slashed just .205/.297/.321 over 267 plate appearances, his least activity since he establishes himself as a regular back in 2012. But De Aza has mostly been a slightly above-average hitter in the majors.

For the time being, De Aza will function as depth. But it’s possible to imagine him factoring in at the major league level for the Nats. He’s capable of playing center field and would offer a left-handed-hitting alternative to the (currently hot-hitting) Brian Goodwin in a reserve role. The righty swinging Michael Taylor is currently standing in at center for the injured Adam Eaton, who is likely to miss the rest of the season. Optimally, Taylor would be paired with a platoon partner, though that’s not currently possible with the organization also dealing with an injury to Jayson Werth.

Alejandro De Aza Opts Out Of Athletics Contract

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MONDAY: De Aza has in fact opted out, Slusser tweets.

SUNDAY: Alejandro De Aza is expected to exercise the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the A’s on Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  De Aza is the second notable A’s veteran to opt out in as many days, after Ross Detwiler used his clause earlier today.

De Aza signed his deal with Oakland in January and would’ve earned $1.25MM if he had cracked the roster.  Instead, it looks like the A’s will go with Mark Canha and Jaff Decker as their primary backup outfielders, though Slusser notes that Dacker could be on the outs if the Athletics decide on an eighth reliever rather than a fourth bench player.  (Utilityman Adam Rosales can play a corner outfield spot in a pinch.)

De Aza, who turns 33 in April, is coming off a tough season with the Mets that saw him hit .205/.297/.321 in 267 PA.  This was much less playing time than De Aza expected to receive when he originally signed with New York last winter, though after the Mets unexpectedly re-signed Yoenis Cespedes, De Aza fell behind Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares on the depth chart.

From 2011-15, De Aza hit a solid .270/.335/.413 over 2324 PA and he owns a similar batting line in his career splits against right-handed pitching.  Since De Aza is a left-handed bat who can provide passable defense at all three outfield spots, I’d guess that many of the teams linked to Angel Pagan (such as the Braves, Blue Jays, Phillies, Nationals, or Pirates) could potentially check in on De Aza’s services.

AL West Notes: De Aza, Mariners, Cashner, Astros

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The injury to Athletics outfielder Jake Smolinski gives non-roster invitee Alejandro De Aza a considerably stronger chance of making the roster, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. While both De Aza and fellow NRI Jaff Dacker have impressed the A’s in camp, De Aza appears to have an edge due to the fact that he has an opt-out in his contract at month’s end if he has not made the roster. Decker, meanwhile, does not have that luxury. Slusser notes that it’s possible that Mark Canha will be the only outfield reserve to break camp with the team, should the A’s wish to carry eight relievers (thereby allowing them to retain out-of-options righty Raul Alcantara), but that’d also leave them without much of a backup option in center field.

  • The Mariners, too, could open the year with an eight-man bullpen, according to manager Scott Servais (as Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes). Edwin Diaz is locked in as the team’s closer, and he’ll be joined by righties Nick Vincent and Evan Scribner as well as southpaw Marc Rzepczynski. Servais listed Dan Altavilla and Casey Fien as candidates as well. The Seattle ’pen picture is a bit muddied by the fact that Steve Cishek will open the season on the disabled list and that Shae Simmons is being slowed by forearm soreness. Other candidates for the bullpen include Tony Zych, James Pazos, Chris Heston and Ariel Miranda (as can be seen on the team’s depth chart at RosterResource.com).
  • Ailing Rangers right-hander Andrew Cashner had a good week of throwing, he told reporters earlier today (Twitter link via MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan). He’s set to meet with doctors on Friday of this week and added that he “should take off from there.” It’s already been reported that Cashner won’t be ready to begin the 2017 season, but an exact timetable for his regular-season Rangers debut is not yet known.
  • The Astros have made an unorthodox coaching appointment, reports Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. Sig Mejdal, who was hired by the Astros in 2012 and given the title of “director of decision sciences” and more recently named a special assistant to GM Jeff Luhnow, will continue to fulfill those duties while also serving as a coach with the team’s short-season Class-A affiliate in 2017. Mejdal will be a “development coach” and be on the road with the team full-time when their season begins in June. He’ll help both the players and his fellow coaches to utilize the increasing amount of technology that is becoming available to them (in addition to more traditional coaching duties). Luhnow tells Kaplan that Mejdal, a former NASA researcher, will still be involved in all front office processes even when he relocates to upstate New York for the new position this summer.

Athletics Sign Alejandro De Aza To Minor League Deal

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The Athletics have signed veteran outfielder Alejandro De Aza to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training, the team announced on Friday. De Aza can earn at a $1.75MM rate if he cracks the MLB roster, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links), with another $1MM in available incentives.

De Aza, 33 in April, posted underwhelming numbers with the Mets after signing a one-year deal last winter, though he finished the year considerably better than he began. After batting a woeful .158/.216/.232 through the end of June, De Aza turned a corner and slashed a respectable .237/.348/.381 from July 1 through season’s end (164 plate appearances). He’s also just one season removed from a solid .262/.333/.422 batting line in 365 plate appearances split between the Orioles, Red Sox and Giants.

The A’s currently figure to have Khris Davis, Rajai Davis, Matt Joyce and Jake Smolinski see plenty of time in the outfield now that Brett Eibner has been designated for assignment. De Aza will compete for a bench spot and could serve as a left-handed complement to either Davis (both hit right-handed), though he’s spent considerably more time in the corner outfield than he has in center in recent years. De Aza did log nearly 300 innings in center for the Mets last season and receive roughly average rankings from Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, but his overall marks since 2012 aren’t encouraging and, at age 33, it’s tough to reasonably expect a dramatic rebound.

Quick Hits: Yanks, Bucs, BoSox, Rangers, Mets

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If first baseman Mark Teixeira and designated hitter Alex Rodriguez don’t turn around their seasons by the July All-Star break, the Yankees should buy the pair out, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. While the Yankees still owe them around $45.4MM combined, Sherman notes that the Rockies and Dodgers have taken similar financial hits with the recent buyouts of Jose Reyes and Carl Crawford. The 37-36 Yankees wouldn’t exactly be loaded with capable first basemen without Teixeira, though, as their depth chart shows. Jettisoning A-Rod, who’s signed through 2017, would enable the Yankees to put 39-year-old Carlos Beltran at DH and go with some combination of Aaron Hicks, Rob Refsnyder and prospect Aaron Judge in right field, Sherman contends. It seems doubtful that the Yankees would get rid of either, but the team clearly needs more production from the veteran duo. Teixeira, a pending free agent, is batting a horrendous .176/.271/.259 with three homers in 192 plate appearances – a far cry from the .255/.357/.548 line and 31 HRs he slugged in 462 PAs last year. Notably, Rodriguez is five homers shy of 700, which is another reason the Yankees look unlikely to move on from him. The 40-year-old is slashing a weak .222/.264/.398, however, after posting a .250/.356/.486 line and racking up 33 long balls in 2015.

Here’s more from around the majors:

  • Pirates general manager Neal Huntington dismissed the idea of trading five-time All-Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen earlier this week, but it’s something the team should eventually consider, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates have a top-end outfield prospect in Austin Meadows, who would step in alongside Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco in the event of a McCutchen trade. Long the face of the Pirates’ franchise, the 29-year-old McCutchen is under team control through 2018 on an eminently reasonable contract. Even after a two-homer game Saturday, though, his normally excellent offensive production hasn’t been there this season. Through 316 PAs this year, the former NL MVP has hit .243/.320/423 – good for a league-average 101 wRC+. Right thumb issues have hampered McCutchen, who’s showing far less control over the strike zone than usual, as FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan detailed Thursday. For his part, McCutchen said Saturday that he isn’t concerned about trade rumors because they’re out of his control (Twitter link via Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune-Review).
  • The Rangers inquired about Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright during the offseason, Texas president and GM Jon Daniels told Rob Bradford of WEEI on Saturday. “We asked about him this winter and they did not want to move him,” said Daniels. Wright was out of options  and coming off a season in which he threw 72 2/3 innings and recorded a 4.09 ERA, 6.44 K/9, 3.34 BB/9 and 43.2 percent ground-ball rate. Nearly all of those numbers have improved this season, especially the 31-year-old’s ERA – which stands at a sparkling 2.18 through 103 frames. Daniels told Bradford that the Rangers “would have tried harder” to land Wright had they known he would be this successful in 2016.
  • Mets outfielder Alejandro De Aza has batted an ugly .169/.221/.247 with 29 strikeouts and five walks through 96 trips to the plate, but designating him for assignment isn’t under consideration as of now, a source told Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter link). De Aza, whom the Mets signed to a $5.75MM deal in the offseason, will be a free agent at year’s end.

AL & NL East Roster Decisions

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The Red Sox intend to use Brock Holt as their primary option in left field against left-handed pitching, Ian Browne of MLB.com tweets. That means that high-priced Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo will be battling with Chris Young for playing time against righties. While both could certainly be in the lineup at the same time, manager John Farrell suggested that he sees both Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts as more or less everyday options, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. That certainly could leave few options for Castillo, who is looking to make good on the big contract he signed as a free agent out of Cuba.

Here’s a look at more notable roster moves to come from the East divisions:

  • It’s “a given” that Juan Lagares and Yoenis Cespedes will both be in the Mets’ lineup against left-handed pitching, ESPNNewYork.com’s tweets. It’s not yet clear whether Michael Conforto or Curtis Granderson will see the lion’s share of time in right field when a southpaw is on the mound, he adds, but the scenario figures to cut into their time. As for Alejandro De Aza, it’s unclear when and how he’ll get action, though a late-spring trade still seems possible.
  • Meanwhile, the Mets appear not to have any cause for concern with righty Matt Harvey, who is dealing with blood clots in his bladder but is expected to open the season on the active roster, according to WFAN’s Ed Coleman (h/t to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, via Twitter). Alarm bells were rung after the team announced an undisclosed medical issue for the star hurler, but it seems he’s still in line to take the ball on April 3rd.
  • Erasmo Ramirez will start out in the pen for the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). He’ll presumably move back into the rotation when the need for a fifth starter arises, but Tampa Bay is set to use four starters for most of the first five weeks of the year.

Six Teams Have Interest In Alejandro De Aza

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There are six clubs interested in Mets outfielder Alejandro De Aza, according to ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin (via Twitter). But New York is apparently waiting for an offer to take on all of the $5.75MM he is owed for the coming season.

It’s an unusual situation, of course, because De Aza signed on with the Mets before the team dramatically re-united with Yoenis Cespedes. While he had been expected to platoon with Juan Lagares in center, De Aza now looks to be be an expensive fifth outfielder — with two other left-handed hitters (Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson) in front of him in the corners.

De Aza, who’ll soon turn 32, is a solid outfield option who can play all three positions on the grass (though he’s hardly a premium defender up the middle). He handles right-handed pitching while struggling against lefties, so there are limits to his usefulness, but on the whole he’s a nice piece in the right situation. For what it’s worth, De Aza has seven hits (including two doubles) and two walks in his 16 spring plate appearances to date, so he’s off to a nice start.

There aren’t very many teams with glaring outfield needs at this stage of the winter, so finding a taker for all of De Aza’s salary may prove difficult (and he’ll also need to approve any spring trade). The Indians remain the expected contender in most obvious need of an outfield addition, though it’s not clear that the club would be willing to take on that much cash. The Angels have also been hesitant to add any more salary, but could surely justify such an addition. If the Royals are more concerned with Jarrod Dyson’s health than is publicly known, they too could conceivably match. And arguments might possibly be made for a few other organizations, including the Blue Jays (who pursued Jay Bruce previously) and the Cardinals — who could use the depth in center and whose top left-handed-hitting outfield options are Brandon Moss, who hasn’t spent all that much time in the grass, and minor league signee Carlos Peguero.

NL East Notes: Mets, deGrom, Mejia, De Aza, Nola, Capps

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Longtime Mets media relations executive Shannon Forde passed away this evening after an extended battle with breast cancer. She was only 44 years of age, and leaves behind a husband and two young children. Her loss has sparked a remarkable outpouring of grief, and it is evident that she had a huge impact on many people who worked for or around the team. We recommend this piece from Joel Sherman of the New York Post as we join so many others in expressing our sympathies to her family and friends.

Here are some notes from New York and the NL East:

  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson said today that there are no current extension talks with the team’s slate of young starters, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. Emphasizing that he doesn’t see much “urgency” given the length of control over most of the club’s key pitchers, Alderson said that it’s also rather early in camp for such discussions to be held. “There hasn’t been any discussion with any of our starting pitchers,” he said, “not because we’re unwilling or because there isn’t any interest on the part of the players necessarily — just we are where we are in the spring-training schedule. It’s a little early. Agents don’t typically come in until later. I don’t think you can draw anything from that.”
  • Meanwhile, the Mets renewed the contract of surprise ace Jacob deGrom at a rate of $607K, which is well above the minimum salary but also hardly reflects his outstanding contributions over the last two seasons. While deGrom declined to agree to that deal — a symbolic formality — it doesn’t appear that there’s any cause for hard feelings going forward, as DiComo further reports.  “We haven’t talked about anything yet, and I don’t think this will affect that in any way,” said deGrom. “I think we’re still open to discussions for long-term things, but nothing’s in the works now.” For what it’s worth, as I’ve suggested before, I see deGrom as the likeliest of the New York hurlers to sign on to a long-term contract given his high rate of play, relatively advanced age, and approaching arbitration eligibility.
  • Another Mets pitcher, banned reliever Jenrry Mejia, claims that he was only guilty of one of his three PED-related suspensions, as he tells Ben Berkon of the New York Times. He also accused the league of participating in some kind of “conspiracy” against him and suggested that the union had failed to adequately defend him. An MLB spokesman denied that any league official had ever even met with Mejia relating to his trio of failed drug tests. As Berkon notes, his comments don’t seem likely to help him if he chooses to seek reinstatement, though he has some time to think about how to approach that matter.
  • The Mets haven’t received any interest in outfielder Alejandro De Aza and aren’t shopping him, Mike Puma of the New York Post recently tweeted. Though the veteran outfielder’s utility was greatly lessened when the club made a late strike for Yoenis Cespedes, it seems that it will take a change in circumstances for him to be moved to another organization.
  • Aaron Nola impressed in his first 77 2/3 innings last year for the Phillies, and he tells MLBTR’s Zach Links (via Twitter) that he’s not interested in easing his way into things this year. “I want to go 200+ innings. I want to throw as many innings as I can,” Nola said recently. Actually, that seems like rather an attainable goal, as he ran up 109 1/3 innings in the minors last year.
  • The Marlins are waiting to see what Dr. James Andrews recommends on Monday with regard to key reliever Carter Capps, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Miami won’t seek to strike a deal for another pen arm before that time, per the report, but it seems that an addition may well be contemplated if an extended absence results. At this point, even in the best of circumstances it seems likely that Capps will be required to spend some time resting and rehabbing.

Outfield Notes: Holliday, Hamilton, De Aza, Victorino, Pagan

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All 1663 of Matt Holliday’s career games in the majors have come in left field or DH, but the veteran is getting some time at first base, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Holliday’s offseason workouts at first were initially reported by Heyman in December, as Holliday is hoping to extend his career by adding some positional versatility.  Quad injuries limited Holliday to just 73 games in 2015 but he has been an extremely productive and usually durable player over his six-plus years with the Cardinals, and he tells Heyman that he hopes to remain in St. Louis “as long as possible.”  The Cards will face a decision in the fall about whether to exercise their $17MM club option on Holliday for 2017 or buy him out for $1MM, though the 36-year-old could cause the option to vest with a top-10 finish in MVP voting.  Here’s some more about other prominent outfield names…

  • Josh Hamilton is visiting Dr. James Andrews’ clinic to get what is being termed as a second opinion on his left knee, which led Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News to rhetorically and somewhat ominously wonder “what was the first opinion?”  Hamilton has undergone two knee surgeries in the last six months and another procedure could be an option to relieve the knee soreness and pain that has continued to plague the outfielder.  The Rangers were already known to be looking for outfield depth, but if Hamilton isn’t healthy enough to manage even the platoon role that the team had laid out for him, Grant figures Texas might pursue a regular left fielder rather than a backup center fielder.  The Rangers might also be forced to give such a player a Major League contract if he’s getting regular playing time.
  • Alejandro De Aza finds himself in the unusual position of having just signed with a new team as a free agent but immediately facing trade speculation, yet the maybe temporary Mets outfielder told reporters (including ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin) that he was just focusing on preparing for the upcoming season.  The Mets’ surprising re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes created a surplus in New York’s outfield, and De Aza could already be the odd man out.  He cannot be traded without his permission until June 15, though this may not be an issue if De Aza wants more playing time elsewhere.  The Rangers have notably been linked to De Aza in trade rumors, pending the Hamilton situation.
  • Shane Victorino is yet another name on the Rangers’ list but Texas is reportedly only interested in signing him to a minor league contract.  Victorino is still holding out for a Major League deal, however, and SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets, that the veteran outfielder could find such a contract within the next few days.  (Again, Hamilton’s health could be a factor if the Rangers remained interested in Victorino’s services.)  On Monday, Yahoo’s Tim Brown tweeted that the Cubs seem like a fit for Victorino, who would fill a reserve role in Chicago.
  • Angel Pagan admitted to reporters (including Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he “was a little surprised” by the Giants’ signing of Denard Span.  “It’s not like I was mad, but I had to sit down with my family and explore what was going on and accept it and move on,” Pagan said.  With Span on board, Pagan will spend most of his time in left field, and while he admits it’ll be an adjustment not being a regular center fielder, “I’m just being unselfish to make that move. I just want to be able to provide the best I can to this team.”  Pagan is a free agent himself this coming offseason, so 2016 will be an important platform for him to rebound from three injury-plagued seasons and potentially earn another lucrative contract.

Rangers Monitoring Market For Outfielders

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Josh Hamilton reported to camp with inflammation in his recently-repaired left knee, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports. With ongoing uncertainty surrounding his availability, the Rangers are keeping an eye on several options for bolstering the club’s outfield depth, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports.

No deals are close to being struck at present, per FOX Sports, but the club is monitoring multiple possibilities. If it adds a bat, Texas would rather a left-handed hitter, though that isn’t seen as essential. The club wouldn’t be looking for a full-time regular so much as a veteran part-timer, it would appear.

One possibility raised in the report is a swap for Mets outfielder Alejandro De Aza. He was only just signed this winter — for one year and $5.75MM — and would therefore have the right to reject any deal. But De Aza has been discussed as a possible trade piece due to New York’s subsequent signing of Yoenis Cespedes.

Alternatives include free agents David Murphy and Will Venable, Morosi adds. Those two former Rangers remain unsigned, among several other notable players lined up as Dexter Fowler and Austin Jackson look for new homes. (For what it’s worth, Fowler and Jackson have long seemed speculative matches with Texas, though there’s no indication they are a present consideration.)

It’s interesting to wonder to what extent the Rangers would prioritize the addition of a center field-capable player. After all, as Sullivan notes, some combination of Justin Ruggiano and Ryan Rua (from the right side) and Joey Gallo, James Jones, or even Ike Davis (from the left) could potentially form a platoon in left if Hamilton misses time. Meanwhile, a potential partner for Delino DeShields Jr. wouldn’t be the worst idea, with only the unproven Jones representing an in-house candidate for that role. Both De Aza and Venable could present such an option.

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