West Notes: Gallardo, Betancourt, Beachy
The Rangers acquired Yovani Gallardo in the offseason with the idea that he’d be a mid-rotation starter, but with Yu Darvish‘s injury and Derek Holland‘s shoulder trouble, it looks like the team could depend on Gallardo to start Opening Day, MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby writes. It’s not as if Gallardo can’t handle the assignment, of course, only that Texas’ best laid plans have gone awry. “The guy started five straight Opening Days for Milwaukee,” says GM Jon Daniels. “But it’s not what we had in mind.” Here’s more from the West divisions.
- Former closer Rafael Betancourt is competing for the last spot in the Rockies‘ bullpen, Nick Groke of the Denver Post writes. Last year, the 39-year-old found himself rehabbing in rookie ball after having Tommy John surgery in 2013. That wasn’t an easy assignment for a longtime MLB veteran, either, given that the Rockies’ Grand Junction team is in the Pioneer League, a brutal league for travel. The Rockies re-signed Betancourt to a minor-league deal in the offseason. Groke notes that he’s competing against Brooks Brown, Tommy Kahnle and Jairo Diaz, all of whom have options.
- Dodgers pitcher Brandon Beachy took another step toward returning from his own Tommy John surgery Tuesday, writes MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. He threw off a mound, then had a long session in which he worked on his mechanics. The Dodgers signed Beachy in February to a one-year deal with an option, and Gurnick notes that it looks like he could return to action sometime around the All-Star break. The cost of the Dodgers’ option ranges from $3MM-$6MM and will depend on how much Beachy can pitch before the end of the season.
Quick Hits: Swihart, Bryant, Mariners
The Phillies and Red Sox have made “virtually no headway” on a Cole Hamels trade, and that’s because the Red Sox refuse to include top catching prospect Blake Swihart, Jayson Stark of ESPN writes. Of course, that didn’t stop media speculation when Swihart joined the Red Sox’ starting lineup as they took on the Phillies in Clearwater Sunday. “I think it’s funny just like you guys do,” says Swihart. In the meantime, manager John Farrell expresses confidence in another young Red Sox catcher, Christian Vazquez. “Blake is the name that’s always been in the rumors, because of what he potentially could be attached to,” says Farrell. “But the guy who is as good as anybody in the game right now, as far as catching, receiving and throwing, is Christian Vazquez.” Vazquez will start for the Red Sox while Swihart appears likely to begin the season at Triple-A, a level at which he has only 18 games of experience. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- Cubs slugger Kris Bryant is eager to prove he belongs in the big leagues, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. “I want to build on what I’ve done so far. Now I’ve got the gas to the floor, and I’m not going to let up,” Bryant says. The Cubs want Bryant to work on his defense, and he likely won’t start the year in the Majors. Heyman suggests that’s not due to service-time concerns, but the fact that the Cubs will gain an extra year of service time by holding Bryant back for a couple weeks of the regular season is surely, at the very least, a happy byproduct of their likely development plan. Whenever Bryant’s promotion to the big leagues arrives, it will be a momentous occasion. By hitting six homers in his first 23 Spring Training plate appearances, Bryant has done nothing to quiet the hype that swirled around him last year.
- Jack Zduriencik and the Mariners are hoping to improve on a 2014 season in which they fell just short of a playoff berth, MLB.com’s Mike Bauman writes. “I like what should be our 25-man roster,” says Zduriencik after an offseason in which the Mariners added Nelson Cruz, Seth Smith, J.A. Happ, Justin Ruggiano and Rickie Weeks. He adds that he feels the Mariners’ depth in the minors is also an asset. “We hoped we could have a good, competitive club year in and year out, a good Minor League system that could continue to fill the void when you have a need, instead of what we had a few years ago, when we had 16, 17, 18 players that debuted in the big leagues in one year.”
Extension Candidate: Tyson Ross
Since arriving from the Athletics organization in a seemingly minor trade following the 2012 season, starting pitcher Tyson Ross has blossomed in San Diego. He followed a strong 2013 with a terrific 2014 campaign in which he posted a 2.81 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, with his only obvious blemish coming when he missed his last start due to a slight forearm strain. Ross looks like a starting pitcher the Padres can build around, and at least for now, the Padres seem to agree, declining to trade Ross and Andrew Cashner even though new GM A.J. Preller used the trade market to transform much of the rest of the team this winter.
Ross posted a 1.88 ERA in the pitcher’s haven of PETCO Park and a 3.79 ERA elsewhere in 2014, but he seems like the sort of pitcher who should be able to succeed in any home ballpark. His strikeout and walk totals are strong, and his 56.2 ground ball percentage over the past two seasons is outstanding, ranking third among pitchers who have thrown at least 300 innings in that time. He also has a mid-90s fastball, although he’s relied on that less in recent years, turning instead to a sinker and a ridiculous slider that help generate all those ground balls. If anything, his exceptional ground ball abilities are somewhat wasted in the dead air of PETCO Park.
The Padres control Ross’ rights through the 2017 season, and already the Wasserman Media Group client has established a fairly high salary baseline as a Super Two player. Ross and the Padres settled for $5.25MM this winter for 2015, his second year of arbitration eligibility. That could put him on pace to make about $25MM from 2015 through 2017, depending on how he performs in the next two seasons.
There haven’t been many recent extensions for pitchers with arbitration situations similar to Ross’. Perhaps the one that comes closest is that of Gio Gonzalez, who signed a five-year, $42MM deal with a team option and a player/vesting option three years ago. At the time of that deal, Gonzalez, also a Super Two player, was heading into his first season of arbitration eligibility, with MLBTR projecting a $4.2MM salary for that year. Ross is one year closer to free agency than Gonzalez was, and salaries have escalated throughout the game since then, so the Padres would likely have to pay more heavily than the Nationals. But a deal for Ross in the $55MM-$60MM range with a structure similar to the Gonzalez contract would seem fair. The end result might look something like Matt Harrison‘s current five-year, $55MM deal with the Rangers, which includes one club option.
If Ross has interest in a long-term contract, the circumstances would seem favorable for the Padres to sign him. San Diego has a lucrative new TV deal, and the Padres’ new ownership and seems intent on spending. And while the team has a fairly strong rotation now, they might not have one forever. Ian Kennedy is eligible for free agency after the season, and Cashner after 2016. Even with young or relatively young arms like Odrisamer Despaigne, Robbie Erlin, Matt Wisler and Casey Kelly in the system, signing at least one of Kennedy, Cashner or Ross would seem prudent — the pitcher who remains with the Padres long-term could join James Shields as a veteran rotation anchor.
Of course, with Preller, one never knows. It wasn’t he who traded for Ross, and he hasn’t yet shown strong attachments to players he didn’t acquire. (And he already traded Tyson’s brother Joe to the Nationals in the Wil Myers deal.) Preller could have his mind on something else entirely, particularly given the strong group of starting pitchers available on the free-agent market next winter. There are reasons to be somewhat cautious of Ross, too — he pitched about 60 more innings in 2014 than he did the previous year, and he has unusual mechanics and relies heavily on his slider. All those factors could make him an injury risk. But there’s little else to dislike about him, and if the Padres are comfortable with his health, perhaps the two sides can strike a deal at some point.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NL Notes: Epstein, Diamondbacks, Brewers
Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has nothing to report about whether he might soon receive an extension, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes. “That’s a private matter,” says Epstein. “I look at it and the club looks at it like this is going to be a longer-term marriage, and we’re not concerned about the fact there is no extension.” Epstein’s contract ends after 2016. With salaries for big-name executives increasing (Sullivan points out that Andrew Friedman got five years and $35MM from the Dodgers), Sullivan wonders if Epstein could go elsewhere after his contract expires if the Cubs’ rebuild pans out as most fans hope. Here are more notes from the National League.
- The Diamondbacks do not plan to make a deal for a catcher, GM Dave Stewart tells FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). “We’re not going to trade for a catcher. Some people think we are. We’re not,” Stewart says. The Diamondbacks took Oscar Hernandez in the Rule 5 Draft with the idea that he would compete for time behind the plate, but he has a broken hamate bone. Tuffy Gosewisch currently projects as the Snakes’ starter, and they also have Gerald Laird, Peter O’Brien and Blake Lalli in camp.
- Now that Francisco Rodriguez is in camp, the Brewers have a logjam in the bullpen, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Rodriguez, Jonathan Broxton, Will Smith, Jeremy Jeffress, Neal Cotts and Brandon Kintzler join Tyler Thornburg and Jim Henderson (who are both returning from injury, although Henderson is struggling with his velocity) as pitchers who seem like they should get spots out of camp. Even that is too many relievers unless the Brewers want to carry a 13-man staff. (One short-term fix might be to send down Thornburg or a starter like Jimmy Nelson, if only for the first few weeks of April in Nelson’s case — the Brewers won’t need a fifth starter until April 20). That means it could be tough for pitchers like Chris Perez (who is signed to a minor-league deal and has May 1 and June 1 opt-out dates) and Rob Wooten to make the team.
Stanford’s Cal Quantrill To Have Tommy John Surgery
Stanford righty Cal Quantrill, who appeared likely to be a top draft pick in 2016, is out for the rest of the season with elbow trouble and will have Tommy John surgery Friday, Jeff Blair of Sportsnet.ca tweets. Quantrill posted a 2.68 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 110 2/3 innings in his freshman year at Stanford in 2014 and was off to a good start in three outings in 2015. The Yankees drafted him in the 26th round in 2013. He is the son of former big-league reliever Paul Quantrill.
The Blue Jays took injured pitcher Jeff Hoffman with the ninth overall pick in 2014, and the Nationals selected another injured pitcher, Erick Fedde, with the No. 18 pick and have had great success so far with another prospect, Lucas Giolito, who was known to have elbow issues when selected. So Quantrill’s injury might not prevent him from being selected early in 2016, particularly since there’s time for him to be mostly recovered by the time next year’s draft rolls around. Nonetheless, Quantrill’s injury is part of an epidemic of elbow trouble for pitchers at all levels, most recently including Yu Darvish, Josh Edgin, Tim Collins, Brandon Cumpton and Joel Hanrahan.
Central Notes: Rosen, Robertson, Rodriguez
The Indians announced that former star third baseman Al Rosen died last night. He was 91. “He was an inspiration to us all and had a special presence, strength and intellect,” says Indians president Mark Shapiro, calling Rosen’s competitiveness and toughness “legendary.” Rosen hit .285/.384/.495 over a ten-year big-league career spent entirely with the Indians. His best season came in 1953, when he hit .336/.422/.613, won the AL MVP award and missed a Triple Crown by one point of batting average. Injuries ended his playing career early, but he went on to become president and chief operating officer of the Yankees (1978-79), then became president and GM of the Astros (1980-85) and Giants (1985-92). Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- The White Sox paid $46MM for closer David Robertson, but they weren’t planning on spending heavily on a closer if they didn’t get him, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes. Robertson was the specific player they wanted, and if they hadn’t gotten him, they would have developed a closer internally. “I still feel strongly that we have a very solid track record in terms of that development, whether it’s (Bobby) Jenks or (Sergio) Santos or (Addison Reed) or whomever else through the years, like Keith Foulke before that,” says GM Rick Hahn. “And that’s going to continue to serve us as we build out the bullpen from the back in front of David.”
- Reliever Francisco Rodriguez, who officially signed with the Brewers Saturday, turned down more money elsewhere to return to Milwaukee, Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel tweets. His decision to sign with the Brewers was primarily about his comfort with pitching for them, not about finances, he says. 2015 will be the fifth consecutive season in which Rodriguez will have spent at least part of the year with the Brewers.
Chris Taylor Fractures Wrist, Out 4-6 Weeks
The Mariners have announced that shortstop Chris Taylor has a right wrist fracture and will be in a brace for seven to ten days, at which point he will receive additional treatment. He is expected to resume baseball activities in four to six weeks. One might think the injury could hamper Taylor’s offense well beyond the four-to-six-week time frame, given how long wrist injuries sometimes affect hitters. Taylor had an MRI after a ball struck his wrist on a foul tip yesterday.
Taylor had been competing with Brad Miller for the Mariners’ starting shortstop job, and there had been trade rumors about both of them this offseason. Those rumors had already quieted down this spring, but with Taylor’s injury, it appears especially unlikely that the Mariners will trade either of them before the start of the season. The 24-year-old Taylor hit .287/.347/.346 in 151 plate appearances in his rookie season in 2014.
Yankees Release Mat Gamel
Here are today’s minor moves from around the game:
- The Yankees have released corner infielder Mat Gamel barely a week after it emerged they were signing him to a minor-league deal, according to the International League transactions page. The former top Brewers prospect was attempting a comeback after missing the last two seasons with ACL tears. The last season in which he saw significant action was 2011, when he hit .310/.372/.540 in 545 plate appearances for Triple-A Nashville. He received a total of 269 plate appearances in the big leagues from 2008 through 2012.
Rays Considering Small Moves To Bolster Rotation
With Drew Smyly (shoulder) and Alex Colome (pneumonia) currently out, Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman says the team will consider both internal and external options to address its rotation, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes (Twitter links). “The wheels are spinning and we’re working on contingencies already,” says Silverman.
As Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune tweets, that will likely mean that if the Rays do make a move, it will be to address their rotation at Triple-A Durham, since the organization will lean on pitchers who had been projected to start the season there to instead begin the year in the big leagues. For example, pitchers like Nate Karns or Burch Smith who might have originally started the year in Durham could now begin the year in Tampa Bay, with the Rays making a minor-league signing or a minor trade at some point in Spring Training to fill their spots at the Triple-A level.
Looking more for minor-league depth seems like a sensible solution. There’s very little left on the free-agent market (with Randy Wolf as the only established starter remaining). And while pitchers like Karns and Smith are inexperienced (and any guess about Smith’s 2015 performance would be very speculative, given his forearm issues last year), they project as reasonable rotation patches. Meanwhile, the Rays figure to get Smyly and Colome back at some point, as well as Matt Moore later in the season, so any new acquisition might become superfluous within a couple months. They could, instead, find a pitcher or two near the end of Spring Training, perhaps a veteran with an out clause in his contract with the team he’s in camp with now.
Latest On Hector Olivera
Cuban free agent Hector Olivera‘s new agent, Greg Genske, says his client will sign soon, writes FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (all Twitter links). Genske also says that he and Olivera are weighing several possible multi-year deals. Rosenthal notes that the level of interest in Olivera indicates that there’s little concern over a report that Olivera has an elbow injury, although the signing team would likely perform a physical on Olivera before completing the deal even if Olivera signs with one of the many teams that have already given him an exam.
The Dodgers, Braves, Padres, Marlins, Athletics and Giants have all shown interest in Olivera. The Marlins reportedly made a $53MM offer to Olivera, then withdrew it after hearing the Dodgers’ offer was $77MM. (As MLBTR’s Steve Adams notes, it’s not clear the Dodgers actually made such a huge offer.) The Braves and Padres have also reportedly made hefty bids. The Braves were expected to meet with Genske yesterday. It’s widely expected that Olivera will sign shortly despite rumors of his health issues and his recent change of representation. Olivera is widely viewed as being big-league ready and might be able to start immediately at second base or third base.