Torey Lovullo, Paul Molitor Win Manager Of The Year Awards
Torey Lovullo of the Diamondbacks and Paul Molitor of the Twins have been named Manager of the Year in their respective leagues, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced on Tuesday. As a reminder, voting was conducted prior to the postseason, so the results of the playoffs had no bearing on the award’s recipients.
Lovullo, 52, wins NL Manager of the Year honors in his first season as a big league manager. Lovullo inherited a club that went 69-93 in 2016 but was able to help the D-backs flip that record to 93 wins and 69 losses. Lovullo’s D-backs claimed the top Wild Card spot in the National League and remained competitive throughout the season, even as center fielder A.J. Pollock missed nearly two months on the disabled list and Shelby Miller missed nearly the entire season due to Tommy John surgery.
Lovullo received 18 first-place votes and 111 voting points in the BBWAA’s weighted voting system, topping runner-up Dave Roberts of the Dodgers (five first-place votes, 55 points) and third-place finisher Bud Black of the Rockies (three first-place votes, 43 points) in the voting. Brewers skipper Craig Counsell finished fourth and took three first-place votes, while recently dismissed Nationals manager Dusty Baker finished fifth and received one first-place vote. A full breakdown of the voting can be seen here.
Molitor’s Twins became the first club in Major League history to go from a 100-loss season to a playoff berth when they secured the second American League Wild Card spot. The Twins surprisingly led the American League Central for much of the first half before sliding into the middle of pack and looking to have largely fallen out of contention at the non-waiver trade deadline. Minnesota dealt closer Brandon Kintzler to the Nationals and left-hander Jaime Garcia to the Yankees after dropping six of seven games (while the red-hot Indians and Royals soared to the top of the division), but Molitor’s club proved to be resilient.
From Aug. 1 through season’s end, the Twins went 35-24 as a number of their young talents surged in the second half. Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario surged over the final couple of months, helping the Twins to fend off an Angels club that remained in contention for a Wild Card spot into the last week of the season.
Molitor landed 18 first-place votes and finished with 112 points in the BBWAA’s voting system, as can be seen in the full breakdown of the voting. Indians skipper Terry Francona finished a close second with 11 first-place votes and 90 total points in the balloting. Astros skipper A.J. Hinch picked up the 30th and final first-place vote, finishing third in the balloting with 56 points. Former Yankees manager Joe Girardi was a frequent recipient of second- and third-place votes, rounding out the ballot with 12 points and a fourth-place finish.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Diamondbacks, J.D. Martinez
The Diamondbacks’ odds of re-signing free agent right fielder J.D. Martinez already looked low even before a report emerged Wednesday that he’s seeking a contract worth around $200MM in guarantees. The team’s chances of keeping the star slugger seemingly took another hit Friday when CEO Derrick Hall announced that its payroll won’t significantly climb in 2018.
“You’re not talking about $10 million,” Hall said of a potential spending increase (via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). That’s not to say the Diamondbacks won’t increase their payroll at all, however. There could be wiggle room for them to add a few million in payroll as the offseason moves along and club gets a clearer picture of its anticipated revenue.
Arizona hasn’t opened a season above the $100MM mark since 2014, though it did close each of the past two years above that figure. Now, thanks largely to guaranteed money owed to five veterans (Zack Greinke, Yasmany Tomas, Paul Goldschmidt, Jeff Mathis and Daniel Descalso) and arbitration projections for 14 other players, the Diamondbacks are already in the $120MM range for 2018 without having added any new players, per an estimate from Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource.
All signs are pointing toward J.D. Martinez’s exit via the open market, though Hall did say Friday that the Diamondbacks are “going to be aggressive for, really, any and all players that can help us,” adding that they’re “taking a strong look” at the 30-year-old (via Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). Martinez’s agent, Scott Boras, suggested Wednesday that he expects the Diamondbacks to be serious contenders to sign his client. But Hall revealed on Friday that there have not been any discussions between the club and Boras since Martinez hired him as his new representative Nov. 1.
“(We had) some good conversations (before free agency began) and since then he’s sought new representation, so things have changed from those initial conversations,” Hall said. “But J.D. is such a great guy and we’re just glad to know that he enjoyed his time here because we enjoyed him being here, too.”
After Arizona acquired Martinez from Detroit in a mid-July trade, he batted an all-world .302/.366/.741 with 29 home runs in 232 plate appearances to emerge as one of the most effective midseason pickups of all-time. That dazzling second-half output helped the Diamondbacks to a 93-69 finish and their first playoff berth since 2011, and Boras is well aware of it.
“High atop the MLB Empire rests the King Kong of Slug — a 50-point lead,” Boras said of the slugging percentage Martinez posted in Arizona (Twitter link via Jon Morosi of MLB Network). “That’s how dominant J.D. Kong is.”
Diamondbacks Re-Sign Rubby De La Rosa To Minors Deal
The D-backs announced Tuesday evening that they’ve re-signed right-hander Rubby De La Rosa to a two-year, minor league contract. He’d been released by the Diamondbacks back in September after undergoing a second career Tommy John surgery in August. He’s been assigned to Double-A Jackson and will spend 2018 rehabbing with the hope of returning to a big league mound in 2019.
De La Rosa, 29 next March, battled UCL issues in 2016 but elected to undergo stem cell therapy rather than a second Tommy John procedure. The stem cell treatment looked to have done the trick at one point this past season, as De La Rosa turned in excellent numbers across three minor league levels (mostly Triple-A) before returning to the Diamondbacks in late June. Unfortunately, he’d toss just 7 2/3 innings before going back on the shelf and ultimately going under the knife once again.
A former top prospect, De La Rosa has yet to establish himself as a regular rotation member in the big leagues, but many have wondered how he’d fare as a full-time reliever over the course of his big league career. In this past season’s brief sample, he averaged a hearty 97.1 mph on his fastball, lending credence to the notion that he could function as a power arm out of the ‘pen if he ditched his changeup and went with a pure fastball/slider combination. De La Rosa has long fared better against right-handed opponents and could become overpowering against them if his stuff plays up in a short-relief role.
The D-backs won’t be able to gauge that anytime in the near future, of course, but De La Rosa will be a name to keep an eye on when his elbow is (hopefully) healed up for the 2019 season — his age-30 campaign.
Quick Hits: Yu, Rangers, Mariners, Brantley, D-backs, Nats
Reflecting on his six-year tenure with the Rangers, impending free agent right-hander Yu Darvish told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News via text (through an interpreter) that he “listened and paid too much attention to any criticism I heard inside and outside the clubhouse” when he was a member of the team. Darvish also revealed that his relationship with his Rangers teammates “wasn’t great” at times. Those issues sapped Darvish of some of his joy for baseball, though he noted that he began regaining it after the Rangers traded him to the Dodgers on July 31. Darvish explained that his loss of enthusiasm wasn’t the fault of his previous club, however, as he came to realize “how much the Rangers and the fans cared about me” while in LA over the final three months of the season.
More from around the majors:
- The Mariners would like to retain impending free agent center fielder Jarrod Dyson, but his age (33) might stand in the way of them giving him a multiyear deal and lead to his exit, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times writes. First baseman Yonder Alonso could return, on the other hand, considering both the Mariners’ need at the position and general manager Jerry Dipoto’s assessment of the late-season trade acquisition’s performance in Seattle. “He plays a pretty solid first base. I think he gave us a presence after we got beyond the middle of our order,” Dipoto said of Alonso, who batted .265/.353/.439 in 150 plate appearances after coming over from Oakland. While the M’s are open to keeping Alonso, he’ll be part of “a pretty flush class of free-agent first baseman,” according to Dipoto, who added that “there are a lot of different options for us, and we want to make sure that we’re maximizing our potential at that position.”
- Although Michael Brantley missed a large portion of this past season with right ankle problems and then underwent surgery Oct. 19, the Indians still picked up his $12MM option for 2018 on Friday. When discussing the decision with Ryan Lewis of Ohio.com and other reporters, president Chris Antonetti noted that Brantley’s surgery carries a high rate of success (Twitter link). While the Indians are optimistic about Brantley’s health, Antonetti won’t talk about how the 30-year-old fits on the Tribe’s roster until he’s further along in his rehab, per Lewis.
- Diamondbacks infielder/outfielder Chris Owings underwent surgery on his right middle finger on Friday, the club announced. Owings previously had surgery on that same finger July 31, a day after he suffered what proved to be a season-ending fracture. The latest procedure “was performed to ensure continued proper and complete healing,” the D-backs stated.
- Bobby Henley will stay on as the Nationals’ third base coach under new manager Dave Martinez, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (Twitter link). As Washington’s third base coach since the 2014 season, Henley has survived the ousters of skippers Matt Williams and Dusty Baker.
Diamondbacks Exercise Club Option Over Daniel Descalso
The Diamondbacks have picked up their club option over utilityman Daniel Descalso, per a club announcement. He’ll earn $2MM for the 2018 season.
Arizona could have parted ways with the veteran while paying a $150K buyout. But the 31-year-old established himself as a steady member of the NL Wild Card-winning club and will again represent an affordable and versatile roster asset.
Descalso was asked to do more than likely was anticipated when he joined the Snakes last winter, moving over from the division-rival Rockies. He ended up seeing action in 131 games, posting a .233/.332/.395 slash with ten home runs over 398 plate appearances.
For the past two seasons, Descalso has drawn walks in about a dozen out of every hundred plate appearances, though he has never ended a MLB season with even an average level of offensive production. Most of all, though, Descalso is valued for his ability to line up all over the diamond, including
J.D. Martinez Hires Scott Boras
On the brink of free agency, slugger J.D. Martinez has switched representation and is now a client of agent Scott Boras, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (on Twitter). The change comes just a day before the beginning of an offseason in which Martinez stands out as the top bat on the free-agent market — if not the top free agent overall.
The 30-year-old Martinez missed the first five-plus weeks of the season due to a foot injury and nonetheless returned to hit a career-high 45 home runs in 119 games between the Tigers and Diamondbacks. Overall, he slashed a ridiculous .303/.376/.690 on the season, bringing his cumulative batting line since 2014 to .300/.362/.574. Martinez has averaged 32 homers per season and 40 long balls per 162 games played in that four-year stretch, establishing himself as one of the top sluggers in all of Major League Baseball.
Martinez’s new representatives will likely position him as the top offensive threat on the open market this winter, though they’ll also have to assuage concerns over their new client’s recent injuries as well as his declining defensive ratings. Martinez was limited to just 120 games in 2016 as well, though that was the result of a fractured elbow that can largely be written off as a fluke injury. His glovework could prove more troubling. After rating as an above-average defender in 2014-15, Martinez graded out as one of baseball’s worst defenders at any position in 2016 and was well below average (though still somewhat improved) in 2017.
Those potential shortcomings notwithstanding, it’s quite likely that Martinez will out-earn every other hitter on the free-agent market this winter. He joins Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Jake Arrieta as the most notable Boras clients of the offseason — a list that also includes Carlos Gomez, Carlos Gonzalez, Jeremy Hellickson and Tony Watson.
The change in representation has been reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains agency information on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you come across any notable errors or omissions within, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
Diamondbacks Outright Kristopher Negron
The D-backs announced on Tuesday that infielder/outfielder Kristopher Negron has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Reno. Negron, who will turn 32 in February, will have the option of rejecting that assignment in favor of free agency. The move drops Arizona’s 40-man roster count to 39.
Arizona was the fourth organization of which Negron has been a part in a 12-year professional career that dates back to the 2006 draft, when he was selected by the Red Sox in the seventh round. He’s seen MLB action in parts of four seasons, mostly with the Reds, hitting a combined .214/.296/.338 with six homers and seven steals in 301 plate appearances as a big leaguer. He saw just 31 PAs with the D-backs in 2017 and went 4-for-25 with four walks and a double.
Though Negron hasn’t contributed much at the plate in the Majors, he enjoyed a career year in Triple-A this past season, slashing .300/.366/.501 with 13 homers and 13 steals in 120 games. He also appeared at every position on the diamond with the exception of catcher — including an inning on the mound. He’s primarily been a shortstop throughout his career (4815 inning) but has also seen significant time at second base (2750 innings), third base (1340 innings) and in center field (843 innings). Even if he doesn’t return to the D-backs organization, he will in all likelihood ink a minor league pact and vie for a backup role in camp with another club next spring.
Diamondbacks Promote Jerry Narron To Bench Coach
The Diamondbacks have announced their coaching staff under manager Torey Lovullo for the upcoming season. Most notably, Jerry Narron will take the open bench coach position.
Arizona needed to find a replacement for Ron Gardenhire, who departed recently to become the Tigers’ manager. The organization turned to Narron, who had subbed in for Gardenhire earlier in the 2017 season when the latter was sidelined by cancer treatment.
Narron had initially been tabbed to manage the Snakes’ top affiliate, but ended up staying with the MLB club during its Wild Card run even after Gardenhire returned. He has previously spent five seasons as a manager and eight as a bench coach, so this is familiar territory.
There’s only one other change in the D-Backs staff after a successful 2017 season. Ariel Prieto, who had served as a coach and interpreter, will be replaced by Luis “Pipé” Urueta. You may recall that Prieto was investigated for wearing an Apple Watch during the Wild Card game, though no wrongdoing was found in an investigation.
Quick Hits: Ichiro, Yankees, D’Backs, Gardenhire
Happy birthday to Ichiro Suzuki, as the future Hall-of-Famer turns 44 years old today. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald takes a look at Ichiro’s offseason training regimen, though “offseason” may not be the correct term since the outfielder has continued to work out at Marlins Park almost every day since the season ended. Near-daily training has been a staple of almost every offseason for Suzuki — he took a month off in 2005 but tells Spencer via an interpreter that “my body just didn’t feel like my own body. My body was, like, sick.” Ichiro has long been known for his incredible fitness regime, and he doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon, as he has said that he hopes to keep playing into his 50s.
Here’s the latest from around baseball…
- With the Yankees making a deep postseason run this year, Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a few suggestions on what the club must now do to cement itself as a World Series contender. The list includes signing Shohei Otani, cutting down on strikeouts, re-signing CC Sabathia, reinforcing the bullpen by signing Mike Minor, and trading a high-paid veteran to ensure that the team gets under the $197MM luxury tax threshold. Sherman also floats the idea of shifting Gary Sanchez into a part-time DH role with Otani, which then necessitates signing a backup catcher capable of handling a workload of around 60 games.
- The Diamondbacks‘ roster is broken down by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, who looks at both 2018 salary (hat tip to Piecoro for citing MLBTR’s arbitration projections) and each player’s role on next year’s club. With payroll size still an issue for the D’Backs, players such as Patrick Corbin or even A.J. Pollock could come up in trade talks since both will be free agents in the 2018-19 offseason. Brandon Drury or Nick Ahmed are cheaper but could also potentially be shopped due to a logjam of other infield options. Piecoro predicts Arizona will exercise its $2MM club option on Daniel Descalso since the veteran “was a big part of the clubhouse culture.”
- The Tigers‘ choice of Ron Gardenhire as the team’s next manager “was a solid hire. It was a safe one, too,” The Athletic’s Katie Strang writes (subscription required and recommended). Both Gardenhire and Tigers GM Al Avila are under contract through 2020, so there is no small sense that Avila’s own job security will be scrutinized as the Tigers undergo a lengthy rebuild. Strang also shares some details on the Tigers’ managerial search, which included a wide variety of candidates but seemed to wrap up quickly (before even a second round of interviews) once Gardenhire emerged as the top contender.
West Notes: LaRussa, Rockies, Beltre
Outgoing Diamondbacks executive Tony La Russa discussed his decision to depart with MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert. He says that the club’s baseball decisionmaking is in “great hands” both at the front office and field level, which would be difficult to dispute after a strong season. It’s not yet clear what’s next for the legendary former skipper, though he says he has already been in contact with a few other teams.
Here’s more from out west:
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post breaks down the Rockies bullpen options entering the offseason. With Greg Holland, Jake McGee, and mid-season acquisition Pat Neshek all set to hit the open market, there are plenty of questions despite the generally promising performance of the unit in 2017. So long as Colorado is willing to spend near last year’s level (around $130MM), there ought to be some space to fit some reasonably significant salaries to fill out and improve the pen.
- The Rangers dealt away veterans at the 2017 trade deadline, but still don’t appear interested in a full-blown sell-off. Most notably, the team held veteran third baseman Adrian Beltre, who is entering the final season of his contract. GM Jon Daniels says that the club “will be designed with Adrian as our third baseman,” as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to tweet. The Rangers’ head baseball decisionmaker suggested that Beltre and the organization have come to an understanding about the immediate direction, though he also noted that it’s at least theoretically possible the path could change. Beltre again battled through health problems to post an outstanding .312/.383/.532 slash. While he’s owed a hefty $18MM, the contract would still hold quite a lot of appeal to other organizations given Beltre’s sustained excellence. Still, it seems the Rangers will be looking to build around him rather than making a deal, though it remains unclear what kind of capacity the team has for veteran acquisitions.