AL Notes: Yankees, Royals, Cabrera, Odorizzi
The Royals are having a better season than the Yankees, but that doesn’t mean the Royals’ situation is better, Andy Martino of New York Daily News reminds fans who would like to see the Yankees take a more player development-heavy approach. The Yankees, who depend heavily on expensive talent from outside their organization, have spent the past 20 years in playoff races, while the Royals have spent years losing while trying to develop a solid core. The Yankees consistently contend, which is why Carlos Beltran picked the Yankees over the Royals last offseason, Martino writes. “I liked (the Royals). I liked the team,” says Beltran. “But at the end of the day, I felt that this (the Yankees) organization — every year, man, they find a way to put things together.” Of course, the Yankees are able to pursue the strategy they do because of their financial advantages, and Beltran’s first year perhaps illustrates certain problems with their strategy. Here are more notes from the American League.
- Melky Cabrera suffered a season-ending injury last night and can become a free agent after the season, but he wants to remain with the Blue Jays next season, the Associated Press reports. “I stay in Toronto,” Cabrera said last night. Cabrera, 30, has had a strong season in the last year of his two-year, $16MM deal, hitting .301/.351/.458.
- 2014 hasn’t been a strong season for the Rays, but Jake Odorizzi‘s development has clearly been a bright spot, as Andrew Astleford of FOX Sports Florida notes. Odorizzi has struck out 9.7 batters per nine innings in a full season in the rotation, and he’s posted strong numbers overall, improving after a bumpy month of April. That’s not bad for a player who wasn’t even the headliner in the trade in which he was acquired. ”I think you’re just seeing a young man understanding what he has and how to utilize it,” says Rays manager Joe Maddon. ”That’s it.”
Week In Review: 8/30/14 – 9/5/14
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- The Astros fired manager Bo Porter.
- Ron Washington resigned as manager of the Rangers.
- The Diamondbacks removed Kevin Towers from their GM role.
- The Rockies signed pitcher Jorge De La Rosa to a two-year extension.
- The Brewers acquired reliever Jonathan Broxton from the Reds for two players to be named later.
- The Athletics acquired DH Adam Dunn from the White Sox for P Nolan Sanburn.
- The Angels exercised their 2015 option on GM Jerry Dipoto.
Trades
- Blue Jays – acquired OF John Mayberry Jr. from Phillies for INF Gustavo Pierre
- Yankees – acquired P Chaz Roe from Marlins for cash considerations
- Orioles – acquired INF Kelly Johnson and INF Michael Almanzar from Red Sox for INF Jemile Weeks and INF Ivan De Jesus
- Orioles – acquired OF Alejandro De Aza from White Sox for P Miguel Chalas and P Mark Blackmar
Top Prospect Promotions
- Dodgers – OF Joc Pederson (link)
- Blue Jays – OF Dalton Pompey, P Daniel Norris (link)
- Phillies – INF Maikel Franco (link)
Claimed
- Indians – OF J.B. Shuck (from Angels – link)
- Astros – P Sam Deduno (from Twins – link)
Designated For Assignment
- Angels – P Michael Kohn (link)
- Pirates – INF Michael Martinez (link), 1B Chris McGuiness (link)
- Blue Jays – OF Darin Mastroianni, 1B Matt Hague (link)
- Royals – P Blake Wood, P Chris Dwyer (link)
Outrighted
- Yankees – OF Zoilo Almonte (link), P Rich Hill (link)
- Padres – P Troy Patton (link), INF Chris Nelson (link)
- Astros – P Paul Clemens, P David Martinez (link)
- Brewers – OF Caleb Gindl (link)
- Rangers – 1B/OF Mike Carp (link)
- Dodgers – INF Carlos Triunfel (link)
- Athletics – P Joe Savery (link), P Deck McGuire (link)
- Blue Jays – P Sergio Santos (link)
- Rays – C Ali Solis (link)
- Twins – P Edgar Ibarra (link)
- Tigers – P Justin Miller, P Jose Ortega (link)
- White Sox – P Nestor Molina (link)
- Orioles – P Suk-min Yoon, INF Cord Phelps (link)
Released
- Royals – P Bruce Chen (link)
- Mariners – P Todd Coffey (link)
- Yankees – P Matt Daley (link)
- Blue Jays – P Neil Wagner (link)
Quick Hits: Cabrera, Pinto, Astros, McDonald, Yankees
The Blue Jays have announced that outfielder Melky Cabrera will be out for the rest of the season with right pinky finger fracture he suffered during Friday’s game, and he’ll have surgery next week. Cabrera is a free agent after the season, which means his career in Toronto could soon be over. As long as he figures to be healthy for the start of next season, though, he could be in for a nice payday in a free agent market that doesn’t feature much hitting. After struggling through the first season of his two-year deal with the Jays, Cabrera has bounced back in 2014, hitting .300/.348/.457 in 619 plate appearances. Cabrera’s injury is a blow to the Jays, who have won five games in a row to cling to their playoff hopes but are still 4 1/2 games back of the last Wild Card spot. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- Twins catcher Josmil Pinto says he has no issue with the team signing Kurt Suzuki to a two-year extension, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. “It’s good,” says Pinto. “If I play a little more time with him, I’ll get more experience. He’s got like eight years in the big leagues.” Suzuki initially signed a one-year deal with the Twins before the season, and it looked like Pinto might take over once he left. But Suzuki hit well and won the respect of the Twins’ pitchers, and now it looks like Pinto will back him up as Suzuki’s extension kicks in next season.
- The Astros recently fired manager Bo Porter and bench coach Dave Trembley, and it’s unclear what will happen to their remaining coaches next season. But GM Jeff Luhnow is happy with them, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart writes. Luhnow points to performances by Chris Carter and Jose Altuve this season as evidence that the team’s hitting instruction has been good, and he says that pitching coach Brent Strom has done “a tremendous job.”
- Tigers third base coach Dave Clark would have interest in returning to Houston to manage the Astros, MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports. “[I]t’s always intriguing to have your name mentioned as a possible managerial candidate. It’s definitely something I would entertain,” says Clark, a base coach with the Astros until he joined Brad Ausmus’ staff this season.
- Angels infielder John McDonald realizes the 2014 season might be his last, writes MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. “I don’t want to discount anything, but you’re also realistic about where you are in your career,” says the 39-year-old McDonald. “I’m at [69] at-bats right now, over the course of a full year, and last year I had the same. I’m also realistic.” McDonald has now played parts of 16 seasons with the Indians, Blue Jays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Phillies, Red Sox and Angels.
- The Yankees‘ performance this year should serve as a wake-up call to the team’s top brass, Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues writes. The team’s usual strategy of signing the best free agents doesn’t work as well as it used to, Axisa writes, but the advent of the luxury tax has limited the Yankees’ advantage over other teams — the Yankees’ payroll has stayed roughly static in the last several years, while other teams’ payrolls have risen. And the number of pre-free-agency extensions means fewer players hit free agency during their prime years. The Yankees will need to stop depending so heavily on veteran free agents, Axisa suggests.
Josh Beckett To Consider Retiring This Offseason
Injured Dodgers starter Josh Beckett is out for the season and needs surgery to fix a torn labrum and lesion in his hip. He has not decided whether to play next season, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times tweets, but it sounds like retirement is a strong possibility. He “sounds like a man ready to walk away,” tweets Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
Beckett is the final year of a four-year, $68MM extension that he signed with the Red Sox in 2010. The Dodgers acquired him and took on most of his salary in their huge 2012 trade that also brought Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.
Beckett has pitched well this season, posting a 2.88 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 while throwing a no-hitter in May. For the second consecutive season, though, he’s missed significant time due to injury, pitching 115 2/3 innings this year after throwing just 43 1/3 innings in 2013 while struggling with thoracic outlet syndrome.
Beckett got an early start to his big-league career, first appearing with the Marlins as a 21-year-old in 2001 and emerging as the MVP of the 2003 World Series at the tender age of 23, and he’s now pitched 2,051 career innings, posting a 3.88 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.
Fallout From Ron Washington’s Resignation
Here’s a roundup of news on and reactions to Ron Washington’s resignation as manager of the Rangers earlier today:
- Washington’s departure is the latest setback for a team that’s suffered an amazing number of them this season, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. Heyman notes that although Washington failed a cocaine test in 2009, his departure for personal reasons has nothing to do with drugs. The reasons for his departure are unclear.
- Washington says he will return to baseball, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. “I’ll be back!” Washington writes in a text message. “Need some time!”
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels says the team wanted Washington to return in 2015, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest writes. Washington’s decision also took Rangers players by surprise. “To hear he’s no longer with us it crushed me,” says Derek Holland. “It was kind of quick. I wish he had more time with us, especially myself. I would have loved to have a moment at least to say goodbye to him.”
- Bench coach (and now interim manager) Tim Bogar and former first base coach Dave Anderson could be candidates to replace Washington on a permanent basis, MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby tweets. Anderson is now a minor league infield instructor with the Orioles after the Rangers declined to renew his contract following the 2013 season.
- The Rangers have not decided whether to begin a managerial search immediately or to do so in the offseason, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets.
Blue Jays Designate Neil Wagner For Assignment
The Blue Jays have designated reliever Neil Wagner for assignment, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Wagner had Tommy John surgery in August. He pitched ten innings for the Blue Jays this year, all of them in April and May.
The 30-year-old Wagner was a late-round draft pick by the Indians in 2005, and he made his way to the Athletics in a minor trade in 2010. He briefly appeared in the big leagues with the A’s in 2011, then briefly pitched in the Padres organization before signing with the Jays in 2012. He had his only significant stint in the big leagues in 2013, when he pitched reasonably well, posting a 3.79 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 38 innings.
Dodgers Designate Carlos Triunfel For Assignment
The Dodgers have have announced that they’ve designated infielder Carlos Triunfel for assignment. The move clears roster space for top outfield prospect Joc Pederson, who was promoted today.
Triunfel, 24, has received 16 plate appearances with the Dodgers this season. Formerly a top shortstop prospect with the Mariners, he also got cups of coffee with Seattle in 2012 and 2013 before the Dodgers claimed him in April. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Albuquerque and hit .223/.256/.330 in 321 plate appearances, not an impressive performance in a favorable environment for hitters.
Dodgers Promote Joc Pederson
The Dodgers have promoted top prospect Joc Pederson, Ryan Walton of Valley Bay News tweets. Pederson still needs to be added to their 40-man roster.
Pederson is in the midst of an offensive season that’s brilliant even in the desert air of Triple-A Albuquerque, hitting .303/.435/.582 in 553 plate appearances. MLB.com currently ranks Pederson the No. 18 prospect in baseball, praising his power (he has 33 home runs so far this season) and plate discipline, but noting that he needs to work on hitting left-handers. Before the season, Baseball America ranked Pederson at No. 34, and ESPN’s Keith Law had him at No. 41.
BA’s Prospect Handbook 2014 ranked Pederson the No. 1 prospect in the Dodgers system, noting that he receives comparisons to players like Curtis Granderson and Jim Edmonds. The Granderson comparison might be apt — Pederson is a lefty hitter who draws plenty of walks and also strikes out a lot, with 149 whiffs so far this year at Triple-A. Whether Pederson will be able to overcome those minor league strikeouts as smoothly as Granderson did remains to be seen, but he’s still an exciting talent with strong tools across the board. He can play all three outfield positions, and he mostly played center with Albuquerque.
Where Pederson will fit with the Dodgers right now is unclear, however. The Dodgers have a number of outfielders who are either performing well (Yasiel Puig, Scott Van Slyke) or very expensive (Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier), and they’ll need to sort through them in order to find playing time for Pederson.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Fallout From Astros’ Dismissal Of Bo Porter
Here’s the latest on the Astros’ managerial situation after the firing of Bo Porter earlier today:
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says the team could hire a new manager before the end of the season, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Luhnow says the Astros will be looking for similar qualities in a manager that they were looking for when they hired Porter. He also notes that interim manager Tom Lawless could be considered for the job on a permanent basis if he expresses interest in the position.
- It certainly sounds like Lawless is interested, to judge from his comments today (via Drellich). “Oh, it was pretty exciting,” he says. “I got (word) yesterday, last night. Jeff called and wanted to know if I wanted to take over the team for the last 30 days, and I said, ‘Sure!’“
- Porter has released a statement regarding his dismissal, thanking the Astros and the city of Houston for their support.
- One potential candidate to replace Porter could be former Padres star Phil Nevin, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. Nevin has impressed observers with his work this year as the manager for Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks’ system.
Athletics Designate Joe Savery For Assignment
The Athletics have designated lefty Joe Savery for assignment, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The move clears space on their 40-man roster for catcher Bryan Anderson.
Savery has only pitched four innings for the A’s this season, spending most of it with Triple-A Sacramento, where he posted a 2.84 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 44 1/3 innings. The 28-year-old was a first-round pick by the Phillies in 2007, and he pitched parts of three seasons in the Philadelphia bullpen before the A’s claimed him in February. In the midst of a respectable season, he seems like a reasonable bet to be claimed again, but the A’s already had three good lefties in their bullpen in Luke Gregerson, Fernando Abad and Eric O’Flaherty and didn’t necessarily need Savery.