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NL East Notes: Ramos, Hernandez, Happ, Braves, Folty, Mattingly

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The Mets had a meeting with Wilson Ramos and his camp today, the New York Post’s Mike Puma reports (via Twitter).  While the Mets are known to be exploring the catching market, some reports characterized Ramos as something of a secondary target for New York due to concerns about his lengthy injury history and his defense.  Still, it can’t hurt for the club to touch base with Ramos to see if there’s a fit, especially since talks between the Mets and Martin Maldonado (reportedly atop the team’s list) had yet to develop as of last week.

Here’s more from around the NL East…

  • Like pretty much every Phillie not named Aaron Nola or Rhys Hoskins, Cesar Hernandez has been mentioned as a potential trade chip this offseason.  The Phillies, however, aren’t looking to deal Hernandez since they feel the second baseman will rebound in 2019 with better health, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports (Twitter link).  Hernandez spent much of the second half playing through a broken foot, which certainly contributed to his drop in production after posting above-average numbers in 2016-17.  With Hernandez seemingly remaining at the keystone, Scott Kingery will remain as a super-utility player.
  • The Phillies have kept up an “ongoing dialogue” with free agent southpaw J.A. Happ “over the last several days,” The Athletic’s Jayson Stark tweets.  Philadelphia isn’t the only NL East team in on the veteran lefty, as Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman describes the Braves as an “under the radar” contender for Happ’s services.  Atlanta still seems to be in the running as Happ’s market is beginning to narrow.  Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos has already acquired Happ once before, trading for the pitcher in 2012 when Anthopoulos was the Blue Jays’ general manager.
  • Some teams have the impression that the Braves would be open to trading Mike Foltynewicz and Ender Inciarte, though Foltynewicz isn’t available, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (Twitter links).  While Atlanta has enough young pitching that a Foltynewicz deal is palatable on paper, moving a controllable young arm coming off a breakout season is highly unlikely.  The team wouldn’t make such a move unless it received a ton in return, or unless the Braves had confidence that they would acquire another frontline pitcher in a separate trade.  Moving Inciarte is perhaps more feasible, as Ronald Acuna could take over in center field.  Speaking to reporters (including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) today, Anthopoulos indicated that he hadn’t closed the door on deals involving players on the Braves’ 25-man roster.
  • In a mailbag piece from Burns, he notes that Carlos Gonzalez has interest in joining the Braves, “though that may not be mutual at this time.”  Atlanta has an outfield vacancy due to Nick Markakis hitting free agency, though Gonzalez might not be one of the top choices on the Braves’ board, if he’s under consideration at all.  Gonzalez rebounded from a very poor 2017 season, though his 2018 numbers at the plate (96 wRC+, 99 OPS+) were still below-average.
  • There haven’t yet been any talks between Don Mattingly and the Marlins about a contract extension, the manager tells MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro.  Mattingly is entering the final year of his current deal, and indicated that he is more focused on the upcoming season than his future status.  “I like it here.  I want to be a part of what we’re doing and building it,” Mattingly said.  “But, again, I’m just kind of at a point where I’m pretty comfortable with myself, where I’m at.”  Mattingly, of course, was hired when Jeffrey Loria owned the Marlins, rather than the current Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter regime, though the veteran skipper wasn’t one of the many in-house names replaced during the new ownership group’s wide-ranging overhaul of the franchise, both on and off the field.

Central Trade Rumblings: Indians Starters, Castellanos, Cervelli

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Let’s round up the latest trade chatter from the central divisions:

  • Though he had previously indicated otherwise, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the Indians are exploring trade scenarios in which they’d dump a big contract (likely Jason Kipnis or Edwin Encarnacion) while dealing a top starter (Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer). Clearly, the Indians are still working through scenarios that’ll increase their roster flexibility. Infusing young talent and enhancing payroll flexibility would both be of interest, and it’s not clear that either is a particular priority. It’ll certainly be fascinating to see how the market develops for those high-end righties.
  • In talks with the Dodgers, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (Twitter link), the Indians are showing interest in highly regarded prospect Alex Verdugo. The Los Angeles outfielder is clearly due for a full crack at the big leagues after turning in consecutive strong seasons at the Triple-A level. Still just 22 years of age, Verdugo is noted for his high-end left-handed hit tool and contact ability — not unlike Michael Brantley, who recently wrapped up a successful tenure with the Cleveland organization and who is expected to land a large contract elsewhere.
  • The Tigers are “determined to move on” from outfielder Nicholas Castellanos, Antony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports. There’s initial interest from other clubs, per MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). It seems the Braves have at least “checked in” on the 26-year-old, who is projected by MLBTR to earn a $11.3MM salary in his final season of arbitration eligibility. The Atlanta organization has an opening in right field and has plenty of assets that’d be of interest to Detroit. Castellanos certainly has produced the kind of offensive output that’d be of interest — he’s slashing .285/.336/.495 over the past three seasons — but comes with anything but a sterling defensive reputation.
  • Pirates backstop Francisco Cervelli emerged recently as a possible trade chip, but Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that the market situation may not be ripe for a move. With a $11.5MM salary and history of concussions, Cervelli seems not to be drawing the kind of interest that the Bucs would need to see to make a deal. While the Pirates obviously have confidence in their internal replacement options, Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings, they surely also value Cervelli. After all, he just turned in one of the best seasons of any backstop in the game in 2018 and the Bucs made a notable pair of win-soon moves at the ’18 trade deadline.

Orioles Claim Rio Ruiz

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The Orioles announced today that they have claimed third baseman Rio Ruiz off waivers from the Braves. Ruiz becomes the first 40-man roster addition of new O’s GM Mike Elias.

Ruiz, 24, signed for well over the slot value after the Astros selected him in the fourth round of the 2012 draft — their first under Elias’s direction. After a few seasons with the Houston organization, Ruiz was sent on to Atlanta along with Mike Foltynewicz in the deal that delivered Evan Gattis to the ’Stros.

Over the years, Ruiz has at times shown hints of his long-valued talent, but hasn’t generally produced consistently at the plate and did not take advantage of a brief shot at the majors in 2017. He spent the bulk of the 2018 campaign at Triple-A, where he slashed .269/.322/.390 with nine home runs in 541 plate appearances.

Free Agent Chatter: Nats/Harper, Miller, Kelly, Keuchel, Halos

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So, are the Nationals really out of the picture for Bryce Harper, as owner Mark Lerner strongly suggested recently? Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post writes that he’s not yet sold that the incumbent Nats have completely bid adieu to their franchise-defining star. It’s an interesting read for fans to contemplate as Harper’s still-uncertain market continues to evolve … particularly now that president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo nudged the door back open to a return in an interview today on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link).

Here are the latest free agent notes emanating from the Winter Meetings:

  • Free agent lefty Andrew Miller is among the relievers drawing wide interest, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link). Nine teams, in fact, are knocking down the doors of Miller’s reps. It’s hardly surprising to hear that the veteran has interested about a third of the league. After all, there are indications he may be returning to full health, and he’s among the game’s best relievers when he’s at full speed.
  • Right-handed reliever Joe Kelly is also among those hurlers who is getting plenty of calls, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes. Kelly’s physical tools — especially, a blistering heater — have never been in doubt, and he showed some promise of turning them into sustainable productivity late in 2018 with some notable pitch usage tweaks and a strong postseason run. Entering the winter, MLBTR predicted that Kelly would match Miller with a three-year, $27MM deal.
  • It’s still difficult to get a sense of the precise teams to watch on most relievers. The same is largely true, it seems, of lefty starter Dallas Keuchel. He’s the most accomplished hurler on the market, but there’s also clearly some cause for trepidation as to how he’ll age. There are also conflicting signals now as to his top suitors. Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter links) recently said that Keuchel topped the Braves’ “wish list,” with the Reds and Phillies the other two “primary teams” involved in his market. But MLB.com’s Mark Bowman strongly contests that characterization, tweeting that the Atlanta organization has not even “had any discussions regarding Keuchel” to this point. And Heyman now tweets that the Atlanta organization is “not currently engaged” with Keuchel. The bottom line seems to be that, even if the Braves would like to add Keuchl (or another particular hurler), they are not interested in chasing the market on any specific starter.
  • To this point, it has been hard to gauge the Angels’ stance on the market this winter. While the organization no doubt hopes to add pieces in a bid to build a winner around Mike Trout, financial restraints, rotation questions, and a challenging division pose barriers. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes (subscription link) that the Halos were in on both Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi before they signed elsewhere, perhaps indicating that the club will knock on some other notable doors over the coming weeks. MLBTR’s in-depth recent assessment of the Angels’ payroll situation reveals that there could be some real money to work with, though precisely how much and how it’ll be deployed remains to be seen.

NL News & Rumors: Cubs, Schwarber, Mets, Giants, Bucs, Braves

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The Cubs, who have always been bullish on Kyle Schwarber, continue to spurn inquiries for the slugger, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. Still only 25 years old, Schwarber just turned in a 3.2-fWAR season in which he batted .238/.356/.467 (115 wRC+) with 26 home runs in 510 plate appearances and unexpectedly received positive marks in left field (two DRS, 9.8 UZR). Schwarber will play his first of three potential arbitation seasons in 2019, when he’s projected to earn just $3.1MM.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • Unsurprisingly, the Mets aren’t willing to part with both Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo in a trade for Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports. Moreover, the Mets don’t want to trade young infielder Amed Rosario at all, Heyman adds. As great as Realmuto is, it wouldn’t make sense for the Mets to trade Conforto and Nimmo – their most valuable outfielders – for two years of control over him. Conforto still has another three years of control left, while Nimmo has four more – including a pre-arb season in 2019.
  • The Giants hired Farhan Zaidi as their president of baseball operations a month ago, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was among the candidates they spoke with before then, according to Heyman. It’s unclear how serious the Giants’ interest in Huntington was, but it is known that he’s under contract in Pittsburgh through 2021. Next season will be Huntington’s 12th as the Pirates’ GM.
  • More on the Mets, who – along with the previously reported Chili Davis – have added Chuck Hernandez and Luis Rojas to their coaching staff, Heyman tweets and the the team has since made official. Hernandez will be their bullpen coach, while Rojas will serve as a quality control coach. Hernandez worked as the division-rival Braves’ pitching coach from 2017-18. They dismissed him after last season.
  • Speaking of the Braves, they’ve hired Gary Rajsich to work in professional and amateur scouting, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Rajsich had been the Orioles’ scouting director since 2011, bu they booted him from their front office last month.

Trade/FA Rumors: Braves, M’s, Haniger, Mets, Puig, Yanks, Lynn

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The latest rumors from around the majors…

  • The Braves, who are seeking outfield help, contacted the Mariners about Mitch Haniger and the Diamondbacks regarding David Peralta, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. However, Atlanta was turned away in both cases, per Burns. It’s unclear how far those discussions went, but with the Mariners in a full rebuild and the Diamondbacks seemingly going backward, it’s unsurprising the Braves showed interest in Haniger and Peralta. The soon-to-be 28-year-old Haniger is unquestionably among the most valuable outfielders in the game, considering both his on-field performance and four remaining years of team control – including another pre-arb season. As you’d expect, general manager Jerry Dipoto would need to be “blown away” to trade Haniger, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says (video link). Peralta, meanwhile, was similarly outstanding in 2018, but he’s neither as youthful (31) nor as controllable as Haniger. Peralta has a pair of arb-eligible years left, and is projected to earn an affordable $7.7MM in 2019.
  • With Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig possibly on the outs in Los Angeles, the Mets figure to at least inquire on the 28-year-old, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Puig would give the Mets another right-handed outfielder, which is on general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s wish list, without having to make a long-term commitment. He’s only under control for another year, at a projected $11.3MM.
  • Free-agent right-hander Lance Lynn is among Plan B starting options for the Yankees, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported this week. Per Feinsand, New York was “engaged with” Lynn even before another of its potential free-agent possibilities, Nathan Eovaldi, re-signed with Boston. The Yankees and Lynn are already familiar with each other, as the Bombers acquired the 31-year-old from the Twins last July and benefited from his presence down the stretch. Lynn totaled 54 1/3 innings of 4.14 ERA/2.17 FIP pitching with superb strikeout and walk rates (10.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9) as a member of the Yankees, but that came after he underwhelmed as a Twin. Thanks in part to his unimpressive Minnesota stint, Lynn’s projected to collect a much less expensive contract than Eovaldi and former Yankee target/newly minted National Patrick Corbin have received this offseason.

Braves To Sign Andres Blanco

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The Braves have agreed to a minor-league pact with infielder Andres Blanco, according to Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link). He stands to earn at a $850K rate in the majors, if he can earn a roster spot.

Blanco will get a chance to impress the Atlanta brass with a big league camp invite. It’s certainly interesting that the organization has now added both Blanco and Pedro Florimon, each of whom fits the same general profile (switch-hitting, light-hitting utilitymen) and surely had other opportunities around the game.

Whether the Braves are considering keeping a player of this kind isn’t clear. At present, the club already has two presumptive reserve infielders on hand in Johan Camargo and Charlie Culberson, but it’s theoretically possible one of the two could be dealt. Of course, it could also simply be that the Braves are hoping to build out their minor-league infield depth.

Blanco, 34, had a few quality seasons with the Phillies but faltered in 2017. The ten-year MLB veteran failed to crack the big leagues last year, but did turn in a strong .271/.362/.435 slash over 357 plate appearances at Triple-A.

Trade/Free Agent Rumors: Mariners, Brantley, Kepler, Kikuchi

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While fans, pundits and other teams all try to parse the Mariners’ flurry of offseason moves, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto chatted with Fancred’s Jon Heyman and made a few definitive statements. Dipoto went on the record to indicate that the Mariners won’t be adding star right fielder Mitch Haniger to any trades as a means of persuading another team to take on a bad contract, nor will Seattle give any consideration to the thought of releasing Felix Hernandez this offseason, as some have speculated. Dipoto says there’s “zero” chance the Mariners would release King Felix this winter, adding that “out of respect to the career he’s had he deserves the opportunity” to right the ship in 2019. Heyman suggests that any of Ryon Healy, Carlos Santana, Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak or Mike Leake could be the next to go as the Mariners look to further reshape the organization.

Some more rumblings on both the trade and free-agent markets…

  • Michael Brantley’s agents are telling interested teams that the left fielder is willing to play some first base next season, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Brantley hasn’t played the position since a brief crash course there in the minors back in ’08, and no club is looking at him as a regular at first, Rosenthal notes. That said, Brantley’s willingness to play a new position won’t make him any less appealing to interested parties. One thing that could push suitors away, however, would be his asking price. David O’Brien of The Athletic suggests that Brantley could be looking for a Carlos Santana-esque salary of $20MM over a three-year term — a lofty ask for a player with his injury history. The 31-year-old was undeniably terrific at the plate in 2018, as he typically is when healthy, but shoulder and ankle injuries wiped out most of his 2016-17 seasons. O’Brien further tweets that the Braves might be willing to go to three years for Brantley, but not at an annual value anywhere near that rate.
  • Max Kepler’s name is commonly brought up when rival clubs call the Twins about potential trades, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic (subscription required). That’s been the case for more than a year now, Hayes notes, reporting that Kepler was one of the numerous pieces the Rays sought last winter when chatting Chris Archer with Minnesota. But the Twins still believe that Kepler, an excellent outfielder defender who has displayed some power but not authored a genuine breakout season just yet, is capable of taking his game to a new level. As chief baseball officer Derek Falvey explains to Hayes, it’s tough to judge Kepler’s development as one would with a traditional prospect given that he was born in Berlin, Germany and has still accrued fewer at-bats than many players who are several years younger but come from places where baseball is commonly played year-round. A strong right fielder who can play center as well, Kepler won’t turn 26 until February and still has four years of team control remaining.
  • The Rangers are doing their homework on Japanese lefty Yusei Kikuchi, GM Jon Daniels tells T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Daniels declined to comment on the Rangers’ specific level of interest in Kikuchi but suggested that his scouts are “obviously” aware of the Seibu Lions ace, who was posted for MLB clubs earlier this week. While early rumors have suggested that Kikuchi may prefer a West Coast club, the Rangers are no strangers to pursuing high-profile NPB talent, as evidenced by their acquisition of Yu Darvish several years ago (admittedly under a different posting system). While Texas isn’t in position to contend next season, the 27-year-old Kikuchi is a logical target even for non-contending clubs, as his relative youth means that he could still be in his prime when a rebuilding club turns the corner. And, given Texas’ utter dearth of pitching, it’s only logical that they’d have interest in a youthful option with a fair bit of upside.

Braves Hire Rick Kranitz As Pitching Coach

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DECEMBER 6: The Atlanta organization has announced the hiring.

DECEMBER 4: The Braves appear to be closing in on an agreement that will make Rick Kranitz their new pitching coach, per David O’Brien of The Athletic (via Twitter). It’s not clear if and when an announcement will be made, but the report says it’s now “expected” that Kranitz will come aboard.

It came as a surprise when the veteran coach came free after just one season with the Phillies. The driving force was not any particular displeasure with his performance on the part of the Philadelphia organization. Rather, faced with interest from other organizations in assistant pitching coach Chris Young, the Phils decided to promote him to Kranitz’s position.

On the Braves’ side, the organization decided after the 2018 campaign to part ways with Chuck Hernandez. That left the team in need of a new leader in the pitching department, coinciding with Kranitz’s availability.

The Atlanta staff had some notable successes last year, but also some disappointments. Frankly, much the same could be said of the Phillies, so it’s tough assess this move from an outside perspective. Clearly, though, Kranitz enjoys plenty of respect within the industry. He previously served as pitching coach for the Marlins, Orioles, and Brewers.

Alex Anthopoulos Discusses Braves’ Remaining Offseason Plans

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Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos chatted with reporters yesterday about his plans for the rest of the offseason. David O’Brien of The Athletic covered the chatter (links to Twitter).

Perhaps most notably, Anthopoulos indicated that the club’s early signings of Josh Donaldson ($23MM) and Brian McCann ($2MM) absorbed a significant portion of the club’s spending capacity. “We spent a good chunk of our offseason dollars on Donaldson and McCann,” he said.

Anthopoulos did not suggest that the Braves are done giving out contracts, but did hint at the nature of the pursuit. “[W]e still have money to work with,” he said, “but we have to be a little more selective now because we made those moves.”

It certainly doesn’t sound from those words as if Anthopoulos is lining up to participate in any bidding wars. Of course, it’s tough to know exactly how to read these latest comments. They could be seen as an indication that the organization doesn’t plan to make any further free-agent splashes. But they also may simply be designed to keep expectations in line and avoid any perception in the market that the club is interested in wild spending.

MLBTR’s Rob Huff recently examined the Braves’ payroll in detail, concluding that the organization could have something in the range of $50MM to play with this winter. If that’s the case, Donaldson and McCann would represent half of the 2019 availability — while, notably, not adding a dime to future payrolls. It could also be that the organization doesn’t plan to spend as much as that estimate suggests.

It’s worth remembering, too, that the Braves have ample prospect capital to work with in trade talks. That avenue isn’t quite as readily available to their division rivals, who’ll likely be more reliant on adding salary (or otherwise parting with relatively fewer top pre-MLB assets) to make further improvements.

Regardless, value clearly remains a priority for the Braves. Addressing the corner outfield situation, for example, does not appear to be a matter of picking a target and trying to get a deal done. O’Brien tweets that the club sees all the top veterans as potential fits, with the organization preferring to make only a one or two-year commitment if it makes a signing.

Meanwhile, Anthopoulos indicates that the club is working through some scenarios involving starting pitching but has yet to engage the relief market. That doesn’t say much, to be sure, but it could be read to suggest that the Braves won’t push the bidding on free agent pen arms.

The team’s early additions still seem to represent only a piece of the final picture. Certainly, the motivation to continue seeking ways to improve ought to be provided by the ongoing aggression of their division rivals. For now, there doesn’t seem to be any front-burner action in Atlanta. Of course, that can always change quickly. More broadly, it would seem imprudent to rule the Braves out of major moves the rest of the way. It’s worth remembering, after all, that Anthopoulos long insisted publicly that the club was fully content at third base before he landed Donaldson.

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