East Notes: Yankees, Braves, Howard
The Yankees are making the right moves to build their bullpen by adding inexpensive depth, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (Insider-only). Chasen Shreve, acquired from the Braves in the Manny Banuelos deal, gives the Yankees another hard-throwing lefty to go with Andrew Miller and Justin Wilson, and David Carpenter, the Yankees’ other acquisition in that deal, should be tough on righties. Miller, of course, was very expensive, but he was one of baseball’s best relievers last season. The Braves, meanwhile, got a project in Banuelos, and they could try to continue developing him as a starter, hoping his velocity rebounds after missing most of 2012 and all of 2013 due to injury. Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- The Yankees are comfortable with their current rotation of Masahiro Tanaka, C.C. Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and Chris Capuano, but they’re still likely to add pitching before Spring Training, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch writes in a Q+A. The team still says it will not add a big contract by signing Max Scherzer or James Shields, however.
- The Phillies have traded Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd, but their rebuild can’t begin in earnest until Ryan Howard departs, Bob Brookover of the Inquirer writes. Howard blocks top prospect Maikel Franco, who played well down the stretch at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and in winter ball in the Dominican. Having Franco at first and Cody Asche at third makes the most sense for the Phillies going forward, Brookover argues.
Week In Review: 12/27/14 – 1/2/15
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- The Reds acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd and cash from the Phillies for pitcher Ben Lively.
- The Mariners acquired outfielder Seth Smith from the Padres for pitcher Brandon Maurer.
- The Rays agreed to sign infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to a one-year deal.
- The Padres acquired reliever Shawn Kelley from the Yankees for pitcher Johnny Barbato.
- The Braves acquired starter Manny Banuelos from the Yankees for relievers David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve.
Signed / Agreed To Terms
- Rockies – C Nick Hundley (two years)
- Cubs – OF Chris Denorfia (one year)
Avoided Arbitration
- Diamondbacks – IF Cliff Pennington (link)
Designated For Assignment
- Dodgers – INF Erisbel Arruebarrena (link)
- Padres – P Keyvius Sampson (link)
- Royals – IF Ryan Jackson (link)
Outrighted
- Twins – IF/OF Chris Parmelee (became free agent)
Key Minor League Signings
- Dodgers – P Sergio Santos (link)
- Phillies – P Wandy Rodriguez (link)
Other
- P Logan Ondrusek signed with the Yakult Swallows in Japan.
Tillman, Orioles Mutually Interested In Extension
Righty Chris Tillman and the Orioles have “mutual interest” in an extension, executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette tells Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Tillman is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.
“There are a few candidates for that,” says Duquette. “We haven’t spent much time on that, but contract discussion is always a good time to explore that.”
Matt Swartz’s model projects Tillman will make $5.4MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility. As Swartz notes, that would break Dontrelle Willis‘ record (later tied by David Price) for first-time eligible starting pitchers, which has stood at $4.35MM for eight years. Swartz suspects, however, the model’s $5.4MM guess is a bit high.
Still, with a 13-6 record in 2014 (not a particularly important figure analytically, but a consideration in arbitration), a 3.34 ERA and 207 1/3 innings pitched, Tillman can make a very strong arbitration case. Of course, one reason Willis’ mark has stood for so long is because some candidates to break it (such as Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum and Mat Latos) have signed extensions first. All three of those pitchers initially signed two-year deals. It’s unclear if the Orioles would have interest locking Tillman up long term, or if they would want a shorter deal primarily intended to provide cost certainty for the 26-year-old’s arbitration years. If it’s the latter, Latos’ two-year, $11.5MM deal from before the 2013 season might provide a reasonable starting point for discussions.
Padres Made “Serious Push” To Sign Hiroki Kuroda
The Padres made a “serious push” to sign Hiroki Kuroda before the former Yankees pitcher decided to return to the Hiroshima Carp, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. One report out of Japan indicated that the Padres offered $18MM, a figure a team source tells Sanders was a bit high.
Adding Kuroda would have continued a remarkable Padres offseason that has also featured the additions of Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Derek Norris. Kuroda would presumably have joined the Padres’ rotation along with Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy, Tyson Ross and Odrisamer Despaigne, although, as Sanders suggests, signing Kuroda might have been the prelude to yet another trade for busy Padres GM A.J. Preller.
Kuroda, 39, remained reliable in 2014, posting a 3.71 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 199 innings with New York. Sanders notes that new Padres front office hire and former Dodgers scouting director Logan White was a key to Kuroda signing with the Dodgers when Kuroda arrived in the US prior to the 2008 season.
Minor Moves: Dae-eun Rhee
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan have announced that they’ve signed former Cubs prospect Dae-eun Rhee to a one-year deal worth around $450K, according to the Japan Times (via Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune on Twitter). Rhee, 25, posted a 3.42 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in a 152 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014. The Cubs signed Rhee out of Korea for $525K in 2007.
NL Notes: Dodgers, Nationals, Padres
The Dodgers have the money available to sign Max Scherzer or James Shields, but after adding Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson this offseason, they don’t plan to add another top starter to complement Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports. “I don’t think our intention ever was to sign one guy and punt on the fifth spot,” says GM Farhan Zaidi, who adds that any further starters the Dodgers add will be for depth. Zaidi also characterizes Anderson’s injuries last year as unlucky, and suggests they expect him to have a normal workload in 2015. “From a health standpoint, we feel very good about it,” Zaidi says. Here are more notes from the National League.
- Nationals Class A+ Potomac manager Tripp Keister is pleased that his team got Chris Bostick and Abel De Los Santos in the Ross Detwiler deal with Texas, Lacy Lusk of Baseball America writes. Both players faced Potomac last year while playing for the Rangers’ affiliate in Myrtle Beach. “He has a really good arm, and he showed some flashes of a really good breaking ball,” says Keister of De Los Santos, who posted a 1.97 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings of relief last year. “I don’t know if it’s quite as consistent as you’d like it, but he has a really big arm.”
- The Padres have, of course, spent the past month dealing away prospects in a surprising series of trades for big-league players that have had the team and its new GM, A.J. Preller, spinning wildly in the rumor mill. Credit Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel, then, for writing several thousand words about the Padres’ minor-league system, which looks dramatically different compared to the beginning of the offseason. Notably, the Padres have recently dealt with plenty of pitcher injuries (to Max Fried, Casey Kelly, Joe Wieland and Cory Luebke), and McDaniel notes that the Padres themselves have commissioned a study to figure out why, finding no systematic problems, only a string of unfortunate outcomes.
East Notes: Gibbons, Turner, Oliver
With the arrival of a new year comes a new season in Blue Jays manager John Gibbons’ contract, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. The new year guarantees Gibbons’ deal through 2016 and also adds a new option for 2017. Every new year adds a new season in Gibbons’ contract, and GM Alex Anthopoulos created the deal so that Gibbons would never have a lame-duck season on the horizon. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported in September that the Jays would retain Gibbons, who is 157-167 in two seasons on the job. Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- Nationals acquisition Trea Turner (who will be the PTBNL in the Wil Myers trade) was the best prospect dealt between the Winter Meetings and Christmas, writes John Manuel of Baseball America. Manuel mentions that Padres vice president of scouting operations Don Welke, a close associate of new GM A.J. Preller, came from the Blue Jays organization, which preached that shortstops must have excellent arms. Turner doesn’t, so the Padres probably didn’t view him as a shortstop in the long term (although Manuel does).
- The Phillies hope to help Rule 5 pick Andy Oliver with his control, Jim Salisbury writes for Baseball America. Oliver posted a very high 6.6 BB/9 in 64 innings of relief for the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis last year, but with 12.0 K/9 and excellent velocity. “There aren’t many lefthanders sitting between 94 and 97 (mph) with a good slider,” says pro scouting director Mike Ondo. “Obviously strike one is going to be important, but he’s got two big weapons. If some things come together, we hope we have something.” Ondo adds that the Phillies will use their other Rule 5 pick, Odubel Herrera, primarily as an outfielder.
Quick Hits: Yankees, Rockies, Guillen
The Yankees have quietly shed salary in a series of recent transactions, like the Shawn Kelley, Martin Prado and Francisco Cervelli deals, Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues writes. Those small savings could add up to something bigger, like a fraction of the money needed to sign Max Scherzer or James Shields. But Axisa feels it’s more likely the Yankees aren’t saving for any particular move, just working to make certain spots on their roster a bit younger. Here are more notes from around baseball.
- The Rockies‘ resistance to legitimate change is holding them back, Mark Townsend of Yahoo! Sports writes. They have two superstars (Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez) who haven’t stayed healthy lately, and not much else, and they haven’t been a serious contender since 2009. Meanwhile, their biggest move so far this offseason was yesterday’s pact with Nick Hundley, a decent catcher but not a difference-maker. They’ll likely make a couple more small moves (trading Wilin Rosario, adding some starting pitching), but nothing that will make them competitive now or in the future, Townsend argues.
- Former White Sox and Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen would be open to returning to baseball, Scott Merkin of MLB.com writes. “Am I waiting, sitting by the phone, waiting for a phone call? No,” Guillen says. “If somebody [thinks] I can help, of course I want to do it. If that comes, that would be awesome. But if not, my life right now is pretty healthy.” Merkin mentions the possibility that Guillen’s lack of filter might be too much risk in an era of social media. If Guillen wants to return to baseball, he might have to take a position as a base coach or minor-league manager to prove he won’t be a distraction.
NL West Notes: Tsao, Rosario, Padres
The Dodgers are about to sign Taiwanese righty Chin-hui Tsao, who hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2007 and hasn’t pitched professionally since 2009, when he was banned from Taiwan’s top league amidst allegations that he tried to help fix games. MLB has looked into Tsao’s case and allowed the Dodgers to pursue him, and that might be a mistake, Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown writes. Major League Baseball is typically very strict about the appearance of game-fixing (as Pete Rose’s situation suggests), and allowing Tsao to play, even on a minor-league deal, would set a strange precedent. Here are more notes from the NL West.
- Before today, there were already rumors about the possibility that the Rockies could trade Wilin Rosario, possibly to an American League team. After Colorado agreed to terms with fellow catcher Nick Hundley today, those rumors seemed ever more likely. But ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Rockies are telling interested parties that they will keep Rosario unless they’re blown away. Obviously, that could simply be a negotiating stance on the Rockies’ part. It seems unlikely that the Rockies would begin the season with Rosario, Hundley and Michael McKenry all on their active roster.
- Of all the extra outfielders in San Diego, it’s not surprising that the Padres traded Seth Smith first, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Unlike some of San Diego’s other surplus outfielders, Smith had value in a trade (as the Padres’ acquisition of a power arm in Brandon Maurer suggests). Also, he was owed $13MM for the next two years despite having no clear role with the team.
Reds Acquire Marlon Byrd
The Reds have announced that they’ve acquired Phillies outfielder Marlon Byrd and cash from the Phillies for righty prospect Ben Lively. The Phillies will pay half of Byrd’s $8MM salary in 2015, and nothing on his $8MM club/vesting option for the following year.
Earlier this week, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi reported that the Reds and Phillies had discussed a Byrd deal that ultimately didn’t take flight. It appears, however, that they finally found common ground. The Reds have traded Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon this offseason and have added few significant players of their own. An outfielder to add to Jay Bruce and Billy Hamilton was high on their shopping list, though, so it’s no surprise they’ve agreed to a trade for Byrd.
After an excellent 2013 campaign with the Mets and Pirates, Byrd kept hitting in 2014, batting .264/.312/.445 with 25 homers for Philadelphia. He’s average to above average defensively in a corner outfield spot, although he has mostly played right field recently and will be asked to play left in Cincinnati. Byrd had also frequently been connected to the Orioles this offseason.
Lively, 22, was the Reds’ fourth-round pick in 2013 out of the University of Central Florida, and he’s quickly made his way through the minors, spending 2014 with Class A+ Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola. Overall, he posted a 3.04 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. MLB.com ranks Lively as the Reds’ eighth-best prospect, noting that his stuff overwhelming but that he does have four good pitches and hides the ball well.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, who initially tweeted that the teams agreed to terms, als noted that the amount of money the Reds will receive was significant. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweeted immediately before the deal that the two sides could soon reach an agreement.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.