Tigers Unlikely To Pursue Stephen Drew
GM Dave Dombrowski says the Tigers will not pursue free agent shortstop Stephen Drew, the Detroit News' Lynn Henning reports. Dombrowski says the Tigers will go with "internal candidates" to replace the injured Jose Iglesias at shortstop, perhaps including Danny Worth, Eugenio Suarez or Hernan Perez.
Henning takes that to mean that the Tigers might still have interest in pursuing trades as a way of finding a new shortstop, but they will not pursue Drew. The Tigers have the No. 23 pick in the upcoming draft, and Henning suggests they do not want to give that up in order to sign Drew. They also do not want to sign Drew to a long-term deal when Iglesias still figures to be their long-term answer at shortstop.
It emerged this weekend that Iglesias' shin injury would cause him to miss most of the 2014 season. That news has led to increased speculation that the Tigers would sign Drew, who previously had not been able to find much of a market after rejecting a qualifying offer from the Red Sox.
Chris Davis Extension Talks Dormant
Chris Davis and the Orioles have not made progress recently on a contract extension, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports. "Not that I know of and you guys are pretty good about finding things out," said Davis, when asked if there had been any new developments. "I'm sure if anything is said, we'll be talking about it, but those are for Scott (Boras) and Dan (Duquette). I have way too much to focus on here."
Davis is making $10.35MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He can become a free agent after 2015, when he should be able to land a big contract, given that he'll only be heading into his age-30 season. The first baseman hit .286/.370/.634 with 53 homers in 673 plate appearances with the Orioles in 2013. Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, who is also a Boras client, will also be eligible for free agency after 2015.
Bill Bray Retires
Former Nationals and Reds reliever Bill Bray tweets that he has retired. He notes that he has a labrum tear, which made the decision simpler for him.
Bray was a first-round pick of the Expos in 2004 out of William & Mary, and he made it to the Majors with the Nationals in 2006 before heading to the Reds in the Austin Kearns trade a month later. He eventually settled in as a semi-regular member of the Reds' bullpen, piling up 197 1/3 career innings with a 3.74 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2012, and spent the 2013 season back in the Nationals organization, dealing with shoulder troubles.
Dodgers Designate Javy Guerra For Assignment
The Dodgers have designated pitcher Javy Guerra for assignment to make room on the roster for utilityman Chone Figgins, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick tweets. Guerra spent most of the 2013 season with Triple-A Albuquerque and posted a 6.75 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in just 10 2/3 innings in the big leagues. He was, however, an effective member of the Dodgers' 2011 and 2012 bullpens, even serving as their closer in parts of both seasons, and he's still just 28. He entered 2014 out of options, and it would have been tricky for the Dodgers to fit him into a crowded bullpen.
Figgins, meanwhile, appears to be headed back to the Majors. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Mariners in 2012, when he hit .181/.262/.271 in 194 plate appearances.
Week In Review: 3/9/14 – 3/15/14
Here's a look back at this week at MLBTR:
Key Moves
- The Braves signed SP Ervin Santana to a one-year deal.
- The Twins signed reliever Glen Perkins to a four-year extension.
- The Cardinals signed SS Aledmys Diaz to a four-year deal.
Traded
- Nationals — acquired INF Brandon Laird from the Royals for a PTBNL or cash
- Braves — acquired SP Zach Stewart from the White Sox for cash considerations
Retired
- SP Livan Hernandez (link)
Outrighted
- Brewers — RP Jose De La Torre (link)
- Diamondbacks — RP Santos Rodriguez (link)
Released
- Astros — 1B Brett Wallace (link)
- Angels — SP Mark Mulder (link)
- Phillies — C Lou Marson (link)
Key Minor-League Signings
- Royals — RP Ramon Troncoso (link) and P Brett Tomko (link)
Minor Moves: Hector Gomez
Here are today's minor moves from around baseball.
- The Brewers have traded infielder Hector Gomez to the Angels for a player to be named, MLB Daily Dish's Justin Millar reports. Gomez, who recently turned 26, hit .196/.238/.255 in 406 plate appearances with Double-A Huntsville in 2013. He briefly appeared in the big leagues with Rockies in 2011. UPDATE: The Angels say there is "zero truth" to the Gomez report, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
Offseason In Review: St. Louis Cardinals
Coming off a World Series appeareance in 2013, the Cardinals decisively addressed their few obvious needs and now head into 2014 with a better defense and a good bat at shortstop.
Major League Signings
- Jhonny Peralta, SS: four years, $53MM.
- Aledmys Diaz, IF: four years, $8MM.
- Mark Ellis, IF: one year, $5.25MM.
- Total spend: $66.25MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades and Claims
- Traded 3B David Freese and RP Fernando Salas to the Angels for OF Peter Bourjos and OF Randal Grichuk.
- Claimed OF Rafael Ortega from the Rangers.
Notable Losses
Extensions
- Matt Carpenter, INF: six years, $52MM, with a 2020 club option
Needs Addressed
Peralta, the Cardinals' key offseason addition, may be due for a downswing after a .374 BABIP in 2013, but he'll likely still provide a big offensive boost over Pete Kozma, who was a hole in a strong 2013 lineup. Peralta also has long posted surprisingly good defensive numbers. At $53MM, Peralta wasn't cheap, particularly in light of the complete absence of a market for Stephen Drew, but he was one of the top players on the shortstop market, and the Cardinals badly needed an upgrade. Kolten Wong appears to be the Cardinals' second baseman of the future, with 2013 MVP candidate Matt Carpenter moving to third, but the Cards also added Ellis in case Wong isn't yet ready to step in.
Aledmys Diaz's future role with the Cardinals is less clear, given that the team already appeared to be set in the infield at the time of his signing, but he should provide depth, at the very least, in the near future. The Cardinals plan to have him start the season at Double-A, so it will likely be awhile before he makes an impact at the big-league level. Some scouts feel the 23-year-old Diaz may be stretched as a full-time shortstop, but he could play solid defense at second while hitting for average.
After moving Carpenter to third base, the Cardinals rewarded him for his excellent 2013 season with a six-year extension that bought out his last four years of team control and two free-agent seasons, with an option for a third. The signing, while not a huge overpay, is a gamble. Carpenter started his big-league career rather late and had already been under control through his age-31 season, so his contract buys out his age-32 and age-33 seasons, when he might be past his peak.
Questions Remaining
Not many. The Cardinals hardly bothered to address their pitching staff this offseason, probably (and sensibly) figuring that a rotation topped by Adam Wainwright and young guns Michael Wacha and Shelby Miller and a bullpen headed by young flame-throwers Trevor Rosenthal and Carlos Martinez was more than good enough on its own. (Martinez is also still a candidate to start.)
Offensively, it's unclear how much Bourjos and Wong will hit, but Bourjos' defense helps compensate for any offensive troubles, and Ellis is a very strong backup plan if Wong doesn't settle in. The Cardinals' offensive depth should give them decent options at nearly any position if there's an issue (with the possible exception of catcher, should Yadier Molina suffer a significant injury).
Deal of Note
The Cardinals' trade of David Freese and Fernando Salas for Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk quietly addressed several issues in one fell swoop, no small feat for an organization that didn't have many issues to begin with. The Cardinals' outfield defense was probably an even bigger weakness than the shortstop position last season. They had aging veterans Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran in the corner outfield positions, with Jon Jay frequently looking like a fish out of water in center field. The three combined for -28.1 UZR in 2013.
The Cardinals let Beltran go to the Yankees, and they'll miss his bat, but the playing time top prospect Oscar Taveras will likely receive in his absence is a nice consolation prize. (Allen Craig will also likely receive playing time in right, especially at the start of the season — the Cardinals have already optioned Taveras to the minors after a spring training fraught with hamstring issues.) Jay will return, now in a reserve role. And Bourjos will provide an enormous defensive upgrade in center field. He's a ground-ball hitter who will likely be decent at best offensively, but if he's ten runs above average with the glove, he won't need to hit much. Meanwhile, trading Freese — also likely a below-average defensive player, particularly going forward — cleared the way for the Cardinals to install defensive upgrades at both third and second. The Cardinals also plan to use more shifts in 2014.
Overview
What do you get for the team that has everything? The Cardinals' only major weaknesses last season were shortstop and defense, and GM John Mozeliak addressed both this offseason. With Chris Carpenter and Rafael Furcal (neither of whom played for the Cardinals in 2013) coming off the payroll along with Beltran and Jake Westbook, the Cardinals had plenty of payroll space, and not much that they needed to spend it on.
The Cardinals do, of course, have a core of veteran stars in Wainwright ($19.5MM in 2014), Holliday ($17MM) and Molina ($15MM). But their flexibility stems from an army of effective homegrown players each making less than $4MM in 2014: Matt Carpenter (7.0 fWAR in 2013), Lance Lynn (3.3), Craig (2.6), Rosenthal (2.2), Miller (2.1), Jay (1.9), Matt Adams (1.7) and Wacha (1.1). That's the function not only of good scouting and development systems, but also simply a lot of talent getting to the Majors at the same time. The Cardinals' 2009 draft, which produced Carpenter, Rosenthal, Miller, Adams and pitcher Joe Kelly, was one of the best drafts in recent memory, and now the Cards are reaping the benefits. Those five players produced almost 14 WAR for a total of about $2.5MM in 2013, and it's hard not to pile up wins with that kind of head start.
That advantage will shrink in the coming years as those players become more expensive, but the Cardinals farm system can continue to augment a winning team, and Taveras and Wong, who could help this year's club, are no slouches. Taveras is still fighting to stay healthy, but whenever he ends up in the big leagues, he's a great bet to hit for average and probably also for power. Wong doesn't have Taveras' superstar upside, but he profiles as a solid contributor at second base.
After a strong offseason, the Cardinals have enough talent to make another playoff run. That their top competitors in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati shed talent (with the Pirates losing A.J. Burnett and the Reds losing Shin-Soo Choo and Bronson Arroyo) should only help, and so the Cardinals enter the season as favorites to win the NL Central.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Notes: Urias, Morales, Nady
Top pitching prospect Julio Urias, just 17, will start the Dodgers' spring training game today against the Padres, the team has announced. Urias has never pitched above the Class A Midwest League, where the lefty posted a 2.48 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 54 1/3 innings last season. That in itself was an accomplishment, given that it was only Urias' age-16 season, and he was pitching in a full-season league. Baseball America's Prospect Handbook 2014 ranks Urias the Dodgers' third-best prospect, noting that he throws 91-96 MPH, has an advanced approach to pitching, and could make quick progress through the minors. The Dodgers will surely have him start the season in the bush leagues, but even starting a big-league spring training game is quick progress indeed for a 17-year-old. Here are more notes from the West divisions.
- The Mariners are still trying to re-sign DH Kendrys Morales, ESPN's Jim Bowden tweets. They still would like Morales to reduce his price, however. Morales, of course, is still a free agent because the qualifying offer has depressed his market. Bowden also tweets that Felix Hernandez has been in touch with Morales and says that Morales would like to return if the two sides' financial differences can be resolved.
- Veteran Xavier Nady is back with the Padres, the team that drafted him, as an NRI, and he's trying to enjoy all the baseball he has left, writes MLB.com's Corey Brock. "I'm thankful for every day to put this uniform on," says Nady. "I know it doesn't last forever, but it's sure been a lot of fun." Nady also looks back to the beginning of his career, when he signed with the Padres in 2000 as a second-round pick out of UC-Berkeley and was immediately promoted to the Majors, where he went 1-for-1 in his only big-league at-bat before heading to the minors for the first time the following season.
Central Notes: Garza, Royals, Beltran, Sellers
Sticking with the Cubs didn't work out for Matt Garza, and now the Brewers starter wants to "kick their teeth in every time I get the chance," Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Garza isn't as angry as that makes it sound, though — he's just an energetic player looking for motivation. Wittenmyer notes that the Cubs had previously offered Garza a five-year extension that might have been worth around $65MM, but the two sides couldn't settle on a deal, and the Cubs ended up shipping him to the Rangers in the middle of last season. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- The Royals offered Carlos Beltran $42.5MM this offseason, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. That's only a bit below the $45MM Beltran received from the Yankees. (MLBTR's Steve Adams recently looked back the moves the Royals were able to make in an offseason that featured the departure of Ervin Santana but the additions of Omar Infante and Jason Vargas, both on four-year contracts.)
- The Indians plan to have Justin Sellers, who they recently acquired in a minor trade with the Dodgers, start at shortstop for Triple-A Columbus, writes Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. The Indians are fans of Sellers' fielding. Top prospect Francisco Lindor will start the season at Double-A Akron, perhaps bumping Sellers into a utility role at Triple-A if Lindor plays well enough to earn a promotion there.
Mets Notes: Drew, Franklin, Davis
Scott Boras says he has "had dialogue" with the Mets regarding Stephen Drew, Newsday's Anthony Rieber reports. Boras also seemed to criticize the Mets, however, for their lack of interest in signing Drew. "The bigger issue is the credibility of the teams that are deficient," said Boras. "They have known weaknesses. … When these players are available and clubs that have weaknesses are not pursuing them, a question of the integrity of what the goals of the organization are come to mind." The Mets still plan to go into the 2014 season with Ruben Tejada as their starting shortstop. Here are more notes from New York.
- One source close to Drew indicates he is unlikely to sign with the Mets, Dan Martin of the New York Post writes. Drew still wants a multiyear deal, and the Mets reportedly don't want to give him one.
- The Mets also haven't had significant talks with the Mariners about middle infielder Nick Franklin, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. The Mets had previously been connected to Franklin, who became expendable when the Mariners acquired Robinson Cano.
- The last day to release a player with a non-guaranteed Major League contract and pay just one-sixth of his salary was Wednesday, ESPN New York's Adam Rubin notes (on Twitter). In that context, it may be at least somewhat notable that Ike Davis is still with the Mets. Davis suffered through a disappointing season in 2013 and now has a calf injury. Davis has frequently been connected to other teams in trade rumors and is set to make just $3.5MM in 2014, however, so it seems unlikely the Mets would release him. They could, however, still do so and only pay one-fourth of his salary if they make the decision by March 26.