Braves Rumors

NL East Notes: Wieters, Braves, Locke, Marlins, Tazawa

By Steve Adams | February 24, 2017 at 10:26am CDT

Matt Wieters’ deal with the Nationals became official this morning, and the veteran catcher provided some more details on the non-baseball injury that agent Scott Boras alluded to in recent weeks (Twitter links via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). Boras noted that Wieters suffered a laceration on his non-throwing arm that required stitches, and Wieters elaborated on the matter, explaining that he dropped a glass water jug on his left forearm/wrist area in early November. The injury held him out of any baseball activity for a sizable 10-week time frame, but it doesn’t seem as though there are any lingering effects.

A few more items pertaining to the NL East…

Braves general manager John Coppolella sat down with Mark Bowman of MLB.com to discuss the team’s offseason and the GM’s early impressions from the first week of Spring Training. Coppolella noted that he feels the team has better bullpen depth than it’s had at any point in the past four to five years. He noted that if there’s one area that the Braves could still look to make a late addition, it’d be in the form of a bench bat. “That could be a trade or it could end up being somebody in camp right now,” said Coppolella. Notably, Atlanta has been connected to former Braves bench pieces Jeff Francoeur and Kelly Johnson in the past month, both of whom remain available.
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports that Marlins left-hander Jeff Locke underwent an MRI to examine his left shoulder, though the team is optimistic that there’s nothing seriously wrong with the southpaw. Manager Don Mattingly noted that Locke has been feeling better of late but “was still feeling something” when he played catch yesterday. Outfielder Marcell Ozuna is also nursing some shoulder discomfort, though his situation sounds less concerning; Mattingly said Ozuna is getting “an extra day” before jumping into Grapefruit League play.
Spencer also notes that the Marlins are still keeping an eye on the market for unsigned starting pitchers, including Henderson Alvarez, Jake Peavy, Colby Lewis and Doug Fister. However, they’re doing so on an “in case of need” basis, suggesting that they won’t add a notable name without an injury or unforeseen issue with a current member of the starting rotation.
Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes that Marlins offseason signee Junichi Tazawa is happy to be reunited with Juan Nieves, his former Red Sox pitching coach who now occupies the same role in Miami. As Healey notes, Nieves was Tazawa’s pitching coach for the best two seasons of his career — the 2013 and 2014 seasons. During that time, the righty turned in a 3.02 ERA with 9.3 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 over the life of 131 1/3 innings. Nieves observed that Tazawa’s arm angle has risen since the two worked together, which could have had an adverse effect on his performance.

Braves Agree To Minors Deal With Former NFL Cornerback Sanders Commings

By Steve Adams | February 24, 2017 at 9:40am CDT

FEB. 24: Commings received the same $100K signing bonus that Tebow did upon signing his minor league pact with the Mets, tweets Rosenthal.

FEB. 23: The Braves have agreed to sign former NFL defensive back Sanders Commings to a minor league contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Rosenthal wrote earlier this month that the former Kansas City Chiefs and University of Georgia corner had interest in pursuing a baseball career as an outfielder.

Commings, who will turn 27 in early March, was a fifth-round pick by the Chiefs back in 2013, though he appeared in just two games with Kansas City in his brief NFL career. He’s no stranger to baseball, having played high school ball in Augusta, Ga., as Rosenthal noted. The Diamondbacks actually drafted Commings in the 37th round back in 2008, but he opted instead to attend Georgia and ultimately pursued a career in football.

Commings is being represented by agent Charles Hairston, the cousin of former Major Leaguers Jerry Hairston Jr. and Scott Hairston. Jerry Hairston lauded Commings’ athleticism and natural baseball acumen when speaking to Rosenthal, telling him that he believes Commings would already be in the Majors had he stuck with baseball for his whole career. Certainly, that’s a bold statement and one that should be taken with a grain of salt from someone who clearly has a vested interest in selling the abilities of the player in question — the Starling Marte comp used by Hairston seems particularly egregious — but it’s also unlikely that Hairston would’ve taken the time to work with a talent that he did not believe had a potential future in the game.

Jerry Hairston and Commings have been working out together five times per week, Rosenthal noted in his column, and Hairston enlisted Class-A Rangers right-hander Collin Wiles to throw to him this winter. Wiles, the former No. 53 pick in the draft (2012), said that he’s been impressed by Commings’ work at the plate as well.

It’s not yet clear exactly where Commings will begin his minor league career. While the odds are certainly stacked against him, and he’ll inevitably draw comparisons to former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who is pursuing a baseball career with the Mets, there’s little harm in the big picture for the Braves to roll the dice on Commings’ athleticism.

Injury Notes: Elbow Therapy, Hamilton, Britton, Cishek, Wright, Wheeler, Braves, Gibson

By Jeff Todd | February 22, 2017 at 10:09am CDT

With elbow health continuing to generate headlines, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports takes a look at the variety of new treatments — generally grouped under the header of orthobiologics — that pitchers, teams, and medical professionals have turned to in an effort to avoid the necessity of going under the knife. Stem-cell therapy and platelet-rich plasma treatments are now increasingly being deployed throughout the game, though it remains to be seen whether they’ll prove effective. You’ll certainly want to give this piece a full read to understand the state of the science. Those interested in the general subject will also want to read up on the surgical alternatives to the traditional Tommy John approach to torn ulnar collateral ligaments, as we recently discussed here.

Here’s the latest on some injury and health matters around the league:

Veteran Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton is headed for a visit with his surgeon after feeling pain in his recently repaired left knee, as Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report on Twitter. It’s unclear as yet how serious a concern the latest knee issue is, though it’s far from the first time that Hamilton has dealt with problems in that joint. The 35-year-old, who last appeared in 2015, is in camp on a minor-league deal. He has been expected to compete for a reserve role as a left-handed-hitting option in the corner outfield, at first base, or in the DH slot.
There’s promising news on Orioles closer Zach Britton’s potential oblique issues, which came to light yesterday. He told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (links to Twitter), that he’s not overly concerned with the issue and would still be available to throw were it the regular season. Britton’s comments largely echo those made yesterday by manager Buck Showalter, serving to further reduce the volume on the alarm bells. The key southpaw adds that he finds it encouraging that he has not experienced any pain while throwing.
Mariners righty Steve Cishek has picked up a ball for the first time since his hip surgery last fall, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports. For now, he’ll only throw lightly off of flat ground every other day, though hopefully he’ll ramp up from there. “It felt pretty good, surprisingly,” said Cishek. “There’s some discomfort, but the joint has to get used to that motion again. I was surprised how good it actually felt.”
Likewise, Mets third baseman David Wright is only beginning to throw the ball, though in his case too it represents an important first step. As Mike Puma of the New York Post reports, manager Terry Collins says it’s likely that Wright won’t take to the field until the middle of March as he continues to work back slowly from serious back and neck issues. Wright is expected to receive opportunities to hit, likely on the minor-league side of camp, in the interim. New York is understandably taking a cautious approach to the veteran. While it still seems unlikely he’ll be ready for Opening Day, the hope may be that he can return to strength in time for MLB action in a relatively early stage of the coming season.
Mets righty Zack Wheeler is back on the bump and was able to throw thirty pitches today without incident, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News tweets. He, too, will surely be handled with kid gloves after a slower-than-hoped return from Tommy John surgery and some elbow discomfort earlier this month. It’s a good sign that Wheeler has been able to return to the mound relatively swiftly, though it remains anyone’s guess just how much the club will get from him in 2017.
There’s some cautious optimism in Braves camp about the health of lefty Paco Rodriguez, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Though Rodriguez “has understandably shown occasional signs of rust” as he works back from his own TJ procedure, writes Bowman, the health signs have been encouraging. Atlanta agreed to a $637,500 salary with Rodriguez to avoid arbitration, seemingly leveraging the possibility of a non-tender to secure a deal that fell below MLBTR’s projection of $900K.
Likewise, Braves righty Dan Winkler is attempting a return, though in his case it’s from a somewhat scarier elbow fracture, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains. The 27-year-old, who had already battled back from Tommy John surgery, faced a much different recovery process after his second procedure. Now, he’s working on refining his delivery to avoid future problems. Because of the time he’s missed, the 2014 Rule 5 draftee still must stay on Atlanta’s active roster for about two months in order for the organization to take full control of his rights.
Twins righty Kyle Gibson is also seeking to make mechanical changes this spring, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. The 29-year-old, who’s set to earn $2.9MM through arbitration, is seeking to tamp down persistent shoulder problems. As Berardino writes, a new training regimen has been designed in order “to teach Gibson’s arm to pronate properly at the end of his delivery” and thus “keep the humerus from rubbing on the shoulder’s connective tissues.”

Braves Considering Kelly Johnson

By Jeff Todd | February 21, 2017 at 8:34am CDT

The Braves are among the organizations considering a move for free-agent infielder/outfielder Kelly Johnson, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). At this stage, though, Johnson is holding out for a MLB roster spot, per the report.

Presumably, Atlanta isn’t currently willing to clear 40-man space and guarantee cash to Johnson, who turns 35 tomorrow. Whether any organization ultimately will do so remains to be seen. On the one hand, an injury could suddenly make Johnson seem quite appealing; on the other, clubs may be less inclined to promise a MLB job as camp goes on.

In the Braves’ case, the presence of Jace Peterson — another left-handed-hitting infielder who could see time at second and third — complicates matters. While both could theoretically coexist on the same roster, it’s perhaps more likely that they’d end up battling for a single job.

Though Johnson’s latest stint in Atlanta wasn’t terribly productive — he hit just .215/.273/.289 in his 132 plate appearances there last year — there’s little question that the Braves front office is favorably disposed towards Johnson. After all, the club has signed and then traded him in each of the past two seasons.

Johnson did rebound last year upon moving to the Mets (a now-familiar intra-division transition). And he has been fairly consistent in recent years, providing solid pop while representing a less-than-inspiring on-base threat. Since becoming a purely part-time player in 2013, Johnson has posted a .241/.306/.402 batting line with 47 home runs over 1,372 plate appearances. He has also shown the ability to handle just about any defensive assignment that’s thrown at him, though he has only been asked to play shortstop in a pinch.

While there are obvious limitations to Johnson’s game, he seemingly represents a solid potential bench piece for many clubs. For instance, the Royals could seemingly stand to plug in a lefty-hitting second base option (more on that here), and it’s also possible to imagine matches with the division-rival White Sox, Tigers, and Twins — among other organizations that make some degree of sense on paper.

NL Notes: Cubs, Weaver, Reds, Mets, Nats

By Connor Byrne | February 19, 2017 at 3:07pm CDT

Whether the Cubs extend right-hander Jake Arrieta prior to free agency next winter will be up to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer, chairman Tom Ricketts told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. “They have the right perspective on what they have to put a great team on the field this year but have a longer term perspective in realizing decisions that affect this year might hurt us in a few years,” said Ricketts, who added that the reigning World Series champions will be “thoughtful and strategic” in deciding when to exceed the luxury-tax threshold. The Cubs spent past the mark for the first time last year, but they’re on track to avoid the penalty this season, estimates Jason Martinez of Roster Resource and MLBTR. Allowing Arrieta to walk in free agency next year would help the Cubs stay under the limit in 2018, too, though they’d also lose the 2015 NL Cy Young winner and one of the game’s top starters. It seems that will happen, however, as Arrieta’s agent, Scott Boras, could push for a $200MM-plus deal. In the meantime, Arrieta will make $15.6375M in his final year of team control.

Brandon Phillips Discusses Braves-Reds Trade

By Connor Byrne | February 18, 2017 at 8:02pm CDT

Contrary to a report from last month, newly acquired Braves second baseman Brandon Phillips insisted Friday that he did not block Atlanta’s initial attempt to land him from the Reds in November.

“I didn’t say no to [the] trade,” Phillips told Mark Bowman of MLB.com. “I didn’t really know what was going on. When I heard about it, I was like, ’For real, why didn’t you guys make that happen?’ That’s why I didn’t want to say anything or to call anybody out. I never said I didn’t want to play for the Atlanta Braves. I’m here now, and I’m very happy.”

Regardless of the cause, the Braves temporarily abandoned their goal of trading for Phillips, which led to their signing of Sean Rodriguez in free agency at the end of November. That disappointed Phillips, who had his “head down a little bit” afterward, but the shoulder injury Rodriguez suffered in a car crash last month put Phillips back on Atlanta’s radar. The Braves ultimately picked up the 35-year-old Phillips last Sunday for two minor league pitchers who lack big league potential, and they’ll take on just $1MM of the remaining $14MM on his contract. While Bowman notes there are “some concerns” regarding the left hand injury Phillips suffered late last season, the Braves simply couldn’t pass on Phillips at such a minimal price.

For Phillips’ part, he was “jumping for joy” when the move became official. Phillips had to waive his 10-and-5 rights in order to make it happen, and it surely helped the Braves’ cause that he’s a Georgia native who owns a home near their new stadium, SunTrust Park. “It was like I signed my first check or something,” said the three-time All-Star.

“I wanted it to happen a long time ago, but things happen,” added Phillips, who had been a Red since 2006. “There are different sides. I never thought it would happen, but I told my agent, ’You’ve got to make this happen.’ I miss Cincinnati. That’s always home. But Atlanta is my home, home.”

If healthy, Phillips believes he “can be one of the best players in this game” – a level he hasn’t reached in several years. More realistically, Phillips should be a satisfactory stopgap in 2017 for an improving Atlanta club which is anticipating high-end prospect Ozzie Albies’ forthcoming major league debut. Albies, 20, reached the Triple-A level as a teenager last season and now ranks between 11th and 26th on the top 100 prospects lists of Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law and MLB.com.

East Notes: Mets, Red Sox, Jays, Braves

By Connor Byrne | February 18, 2017 at 6:26pm CDT

Major League Baseball’s investigation into domestic violence allegations against Mets closer Jeurys Familia could be nearing a conclusion, according to Ken Davidoff and Matt Puma of the New York Post. The Mets excused Familia from their pitchers and catchers workout Saturday (and he won’t be in attendance Sunday), which is related to the league’s case, two sources informed Davidoff and Puma. Mets manager Terry Collins doesn’t expect Familia to miss any more time this spring beyond Sunday, but the league could hand the reliever a 30- to 50-game regular-season suspension in the coming weeks, Davidoff and Puma suggest.

NL West Notes: Gonzalez, Hill, Arroyo, Morse, Hwang, Stewart

By Jeff Todd | February 17, 2017 at 11:34pm CDT

Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is dealing with what he has described as a case of tennis elbow, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports. The veteran says that he suffered the malady due to an active offseason workout program. While he’s set to be shut down for about two weeks, Gonzalez says he expects to be back to full strength after some rest. Chase Utley is expected to see some time in camp at first, McCullough notes, as the team prepares in the event that Gonzalez does end up missing some time early.

Here’s more from the NL West:

The Giants may have the game’s most interesting aggregation of veterans competing for limited bench roles in camp, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes. “No promises, no guarantees,” GM Bobby Evans said of the signing of Aaron Hill. “Just creating competition. We’ll see how it plays out.” If there is a drawback to the large number of competitors, it’s probably the lack of reps available to young players — particularly top prospect Christian Arroyo. However, as Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area writes, GM Bobby Evans says that the organization already feels confident that Arroyo is capable of handling the bat at the major league level, suggesting that the club doesn’t need a long look this spring to determine his timeline.
As Baggarly notes, the right-handed-hitting Hill is competing to some extent not only with the array of infielders, but also players such as Michael Morse for a role as a righty bench bat. Morse returned to San Francisco after unexpectedly hammering out a deal at Hunter Pence’s wedding — an interesting story that also comes via Baggarly. Perhaps the single most intriguing player in camp, though, is Korean infielder Jae-gyun Hwang. As Baggarly also writes, agent Han Lee says that the KBO star is committed to pitting himself against MLB pitching. “A lot of people assume if he doesn’t make it, he’s just going to run back to Korea, but that’s not his mentality,” says Lee. “I’ve told him it’s very much possible he could start at Sacramento, and if that’s the case, he’ll just have to work his way up.”
Former Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart discussed his tenure in a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link). Stewart expressed disappointment with the fact that he wasn’t given a longer leash in Arizona, suggesting he hadn’t received a “true opportunity to do the job.” That said, he acknowledged the error behind one of the moves that perhaps helped spell the end of his time in Arizona — the infamous deal that sent Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte, and Aaron Blair to the Braves for Shelby Miller. “My gut that whole time said that I should not move Dansby Swanson,” he said, though he stressed that he still believes in Miller. “If anything, maybe substituting [him] with another player” would have been something he would like to “have a redo” on, said Stewart.

East Notes: Hardy, Swihart, Wilson, Johnson, Scherzer

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | February 17, 2017 at 9:51pm CDT

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy underwent an MRI yesterday and a CT scan today due to back spasms that have been troubling him since late January, Hardy himself told reporters (via Peter Schmuck and Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun). Hardy has had back spasms in the past but doesn’t seem overly concerned by the injury, stating that they feel “similar to everything I’ve had in the past.” At this juncture, there doesn’t sound to be cause for significant concern, but the situation is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

A few more notes out of the game’s eastern divisions …

Spring Training is off to a rocky start for Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. Though it’s obviously still early, Swihart has struggled badly with getting the ball back to the pitcher. As Drellich explains, that’s perhaps of particular concern here: Swihart is reacclimating to life behind the dish after a stint in the outfield (and then on the DL) in 2016 and has always faced questions about his defensive abilities.
The Rays have some interest in newly knuckleballing righty Brian Wilson, according to Marc Topkin and Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. Once a power late-inning reliever, Wilson has battled injuries and hasn’t pitched competitively since 2014. Tampa Bay has dedicated resources to finding and developing knucklers, and trying out the soon-to-be-35-year-old would at least represent a fun-to-follow experiment.
Speaking of former closers, Jim Johnson will enter camp with a firm hold on the 9th inning for the Braves, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Atlanta extended the 33-year-old after his strong finish to the 2016 season, which included a run as the Braves’ closer. Johnson finished the year with 64 2/3 innings of 3.06 ERA ball on his ledger, supported by a surprising 9.5 K/9. A repeat of that strikeout rate seems unlikely, as Johnson’s 7.7% swinging-strike rate fell below the league average and right at his career mark, but he continues to induce plenty of groundballs.
After telling reporters yesterday that he was still experiencing symptoms from his broken right ring finger, Nationals righty Max Scherzer took part in a seemingly productive long toss session today, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post was among those to tweet. While it still seems likely that he’ll be delayed, and may not quite be ready to take the ball on Opening Day, it’s encouraging that Scherzer is not being held back entirely from throwing. The reigning National League Cy Young winner had been expected to participate in the World Baseball Classic, but those plans were already iced when the news emerged that he had been diagnosed with the fractured digit.

Sean Rodriguez Likely To Miss 2017 Season After Shoulder Surgery

By Jeff Todd | February 15, 2017 at 2:18pm CDT

Braves infielder Sean Rodriguez underwent a procedure to repair the rotator cuff in his left shoulder, per a club announcement. Though the team did not provide a timetable, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that it’s likely Rodriguez will miss the entire 2017 campaign after suffering what MLB.com’s Mark Bowman describes (via Twitter) as a complete tear.

Rodriguez, 31, suffered the injury when he and his family endured a terrifying auto accident that left the driver of another vehicle dead. He had signed on with the Atlanta organization on a two-year deal that promised him $11MM. Upon learning of the injury, the Braves went on to acquire veteran Brandon Phillips to help account for Rodriguez’s absence.

What’s most important here, of course, is the health of Rodriguez and his family. But it’s surely disappointing for him to endure this now, after turning in a career-best 2016 campaign for the Pirates. Soon to turn 32, Rodriguez put up a .270/.349/.510 batting line and swatted 18 home runs in 342 plate appearances. The versatile defender saw time all over the infield and in the corner outfield in Pittsburgh.

Though Rodriguez had been expected to spend most of his time at second base upon arriving in Atlanta, his flexibility could well still come into play for the organization. When he’s able to return, even if it’s not until next season, Rodriguez may find a role as a utility player — at least, that is, assuming that prospect Ozzie Albies makes the progress that the Braves organization surely hopes and expects in the interim.

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