Central Notes: Pirates, Giambi, Baker, White Sox
With a 1-0 win over the Rangers Monday night, the Pirates clinched their first winning season since 1992. 2011 draftee Gerrit Cole pitched seven dominant innings for the Bucs on Monday, and the Pirates have, of course, gotten big contributions from draftees like Andrew McCutchen (2005) and Pedro Alvarez (2008). But much of the Pirates' success in 2013 has stemmed from Neal Huntington's spectacular 2012-2013 offseason. He signed Francisco Liriano and Russell Martin, who have emerged as two of the Pirates' top players behind McCutchen. He also re-signed Jason Grilli, who dominated as the Pirates' closer, and traded for Mark Melancon, who has been even more dominant and who stepped in as closer after Grilli got hurt.
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports digs deep into the construction of the 2013 Pirates, noting that many of this year's Bucs also came from earlier trades. He singles out the then-unpopular Nate McLouth trade, which brought back Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton, as an important one for the Bucs. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- Jason Giambi wants to return to play for the Indians next season, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports. "I would love to play next year," Giambi says. "Hopefully it will be here. I love it here. I love the direction the team is going and the things we've got going here." Giambi is hitting .186/.278/.372 in 198 plate appearances this season.
- The Cubs are giving Scott Baker starts in September, but it's unclear whether he'll be playing for them next year, writes Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com. Baker made his first start since 2011 on Sunday, after missing most of the last two seasons with an elbow injury. The Cubs figure to have Jeff Samardzija, Travis Wood and Edwin Jackson in their rotation next year, with a variety of possible back-end options, including Jake Arrieta, Carlos Villanueva and Chris Rusin. Mooney notes that the Cubs will likely pursue more starting pitching in the offseason.
- The White Sox will pursue position players via free agency and trade this offseason, MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports. Sox GM Rick Hahn says he will be "open to" trading young pitching in order to acquire hitters. The White Sox's top young-ish pitchers at the big-league level include Jose Quintana, Nate Jones, Addison Reed and Hector Santiago. Chris Sale would obviously be a very valuable trade chip, but he's an elite talent and the White Sox signed him to an extension before the season, so that appears unlikely.
Quick Hits: Walker, Mets, Padres
Monday's game between the Astros and the Mariners will feature Jarred Cosart and Taijuan Walker, two top 100 prospects who made their debuts this year, MLB.com's Jason Mastrodonato reports. Before the season, Cosart was ranked the No. 73 prospect in baseball by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and No. 86 by ESPN's Keith Law. Mayo ranked Walker baseball's No. 4 prospect, and Law had Walker at No. 9. The game will also be Walker's first at Safeco Field, and his last of 2013. Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- The Mets could pursue a free agent shortstop in the coming offseason, Andy Martino of New York Daily News writes. Stephen Drew might be a possibility, and Yunel Escobar could be as well if the Rays decline his option, Martino reports. It seems doubtful that Escobar will be on the free agent market, but Drew, who is making $9.5MM this season, might make sense. (Other free agent options include Jhonny Peralta and Clint Barmes; you can find the full list of free agents here.) Martino quotes a team official calling Ruben Tejada a "very disappointing kid," but it's still possible that Tejada could be the Mets' starting shortstop next year as well.
- Padres manager Bud Black says had at least some interest in veteran pitcher Roy Oswalt before Oswalt signed with the Rockies, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). Oswalt has struggled through four starts for Colorado this season.
- The difference between Xander Bogaerts and Derek Jeter mirrors the differences between the Red Sox and Yankees franchises in general, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Bogaerts, a dynamic young player, allowed the Sox to ship off Jose Iglesias (and three young players) in order to get Jake Peavy. Meanwhile, Jeter is declining and injury-prone. And more broadly, Sherman says, the Sox appear to have a well-stocked roster in place not only for 2013, but also for next year, whereas the Yankees' will feature a number of albatross contracts.
Extension Candidate: Jean Segura
Early in the season, the Brewers reportedly offered shortstop Jean Segura an extension. As FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported, though, Segura's agent, Joe Klein, had limited interest in an extension for his client, in part because Segura had so little big-league experience that it was hard to tell what he was worth. "[W]ith a guy this young, it’s hard to figure out what the right numbers would be," said Klein. "It would be good, be nice if it was possible to do. But I don’t know. It’s way, way on the drawing board.” 
Segura is making close to the league minimum this season, and one would think he would be highly motivated to sign an extension. "God give me the opportunity to be professional baseball player and you know, this tough decision to make, but I just wanted to be successful to help my family be good. You know?" Segura told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in May. "And I think this is the only way that I can help them, quickly, you know?"
Still, an extension negotiation so early in the season would have put Klein in a tricky spot. Segura only had about 300 big-league plate appearances to that point, and an extension, even though it would have provided Segura and his family with financial security, would have had every chance of quickly turning into a bargain for the Brewers. In recent years, there have been only three long-term extensions for players with less than a year of service time: Evan Longoria's 2008 deal with the Rays, Matt Moore's deal with the Rays three years later, and Salvador Perez's five-year pact with the Royals. Longoria's contract was unquestionably a great deal for his team, and Moore's and Perez's look like they will be as well.
Now that the season is almost over, there's no indication that Segura and the Brewers have talked again, but Klein's worries about the lack of information about his client should be less of an issue. Klein also now has more leverage, since Segura is closer to arbitration eligibility. Segura now has more than twice as many big-league plate appearances as he did when the two sides reportedly talked early in the season. While Segura cooled down after a very hot start, his abilities to hit for average, steal bases and play shortstop make him an asset worthy of a long-term deal. At age 23, he has been one of the better shortstops in baseball this season.
Jose Altuve's recent four-year, $12.5MM contract with the Astros provides an obvious precedent for an extension for a middle infielder with between one and two years of service time, but Segura is a far better player. According to MLBTR's Extension Tracker, other recent examples of extensions for players with one to two years of service time include Paul Goldschmidt (five years, $32MM), Madison Bumgarner (five years, $35MM) and Carlos Santana (five years, $21MM). All four deals include at least one team option.
Segura is unlikely to produce the sort of power numbers that would have made Goldschmidt lots of money in arbirtation, but a deal weighted toward the low end of these three extensions might work. Currently, Segura is eligible for arbitration after the 2015 season and for free agency after 2018. A five-year deal, therefore, would buy out all of his remaining pre-free-agency service time. The Brewers would certainly want to include a team option or two in exchange for assuming greater risk. A five-year deal, plus an option, for around $20MM-23MM guaranteed might make sense.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Week In Review: 9/1/13 – 9/7/13
Here's a look back at this week at MLBTR.
- The Padres signed outfielder Will Venable to a two-year, $8.5MM contract extension.
- The Cubs claimed pitcher Daniel Bard from the Red Sox.
- The Nationals claimed infielder Mauro Gomez from the Blue Jays.
- The Astros claimed outfielder Eric Thames from the Orioles.
- The Astros acquired catcher Matt Pagnozzi from the Braves for cash considerations.
- The Mets signed pitcher Aaron Harang to a minor-league deal.
- The Pirates designated pitcher James McDonald for assignment.
- The Cubs designated infielder Cody Ransom for assignment.
- The Orioles designated third baseman Alex Liddi for assignment.
- The Astros designated pitcher Hector Ambriz for assignment.
- The Rockies outrighted outfielder Tyler Colvin.
- The White Sox outrighted reliever Jhan Marinez.
- The Indians outrighted outfielder Tim Fedroff and shortstop Juan Diaz.
- The Giants outrighted pitcher Dan Runzler.
- The Cubs outrighted pitchers Michael Bowden and Eduardo Sanchez, along with outfielders Cole Gillespie and Dave Sappelt.
- The Rangers outrighted outfielder Joe Benson.
- The Marlins outrighted 1B/OF Jordan Brown.
- The Royals outrighted third baseman Edinson Rincon.
- The Astros outrighted pitcher Edgar Gonzalez.
- The Athletics outrighted pitcher Hideki Okajima.
- The Reds outrighted pitcher Pedro Villarreal.
- The Orioles outrighted catcher Taylor Teagarden.
- The Reds released pitcher Justin Freeman.
- The Giants released outfielder Kensuke Tanaka.
- The Athletics released catcher Luke Montz.
- Pitcher Mark Lowe opted out of his contract with the Nationals.
- Pitcher Mike Zagurski opted out of his contract with the Athletics.
- With the expansion of active rosters, a number of top prospects were promoted to the big leagues for the first time, including James Paxton of the Mariners and Billy Hamilton of the Reds.
Quick Hits: Waiver Trades, Hamilton, Blazek, Bard
Twins GM Terry Ryan says he has no qualms about blocking potential August trades by making waiver claims, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes (via Twitter). Ryan says he was surprised that Marlon Byrd — who's having a strong season and makes a paltry $700K — made it all the way through waivers until the Pirates claimed him. The Reds, for example, had waiver priority on the Pirates and might well have chosen to claim Byrd, both because Byrd would have cheaply improved their own team and also to prevent the rival Pirates from getting him. Here are more notes from around baseball.
- The Cardinals are the first big-league team that will have to figure out how to stop Billy Hamilton of the Reds, Max Schmetzer of MLB.com writes. Of course, that means that the basestealing phenom will have to battle against Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. "We have film on [Hamilton]," says Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "We're not going to ask the pitchers to be quicker on him or the catchers to throw quicker." Before the season, Hamilton was ranked the No. 20 prospect in baseball by Baseball America and No. 30 by ESPN's Keith Law. Even in a disappointing 2013 season, Hamilton managed to swipe 75 bases for Triple-A Louisville.
- Reliever Michael Blazek spent several days in "limbo" before being shipped from the Cardinals to the Brewers in the John Axford deal, Adam McCalvy and Kevin Massoth of MLB.com write. The Cards technically optioned Blazek to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday, but he was actually just waiting in his hotel in St. Louis, presumably to be called up when rosters expanded on Sunday. Instead, in his third day away from the team, he learned he was headed to Milwaukee.
- Daniel Bard was recently designated for assignment by the Red Sox, but claiming him on waivers could be a tricky proposition, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. That's because the claiming team would have to decide by early December whether to take Bard to arbitration, where he would receive a minimum of about $1.5MM next year. That might be a lot to pay a player who appears to be nowhere near the pitcher he was in 2009 through 2011, when he was a solid relief option.
Aaron Steen contributed to this post.
AL Central Notes: Yost, Iglesias, Sulbaran
Royals manager Ned Yost would like Major League Baseball to change its rules regarding September callups, Dick Kaegel and Kathleen Gier of MLB.com report. Teams who call up more players will have more tactical options than teams who call up fewer, so Yost would prefer to have teams limited to a specific number of players they can use each day, perhaps 28 to 30. Here are more notes from the AL Central.
- Jose Iglesias is back in Boston after being sent from the Red Sox to the Tigers in the Jake Peavy deal, MLB.com's Jason Beck notes. New manager Jim Leyland is trying to help his new shortstop refine his play and become more consistent. "You don't want to take any of that aggressiveness and energy away," says Leyland. "You just have to make sure you channel it in the proper direction. I think it takes time to let that happen."
- The Twins had a choice of players they could take as the PTBNL in the Drew Butera deal with the Dodgers, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. They eventually settled on 19-year-old lefty Miguel Sulbaran, who has pitched well as a starter in Class A this year. Sulbaran is undersized and may struggle as he ascends through the minors, but he still appears to be a very strong return for the Twins, given that Butera recently turned 30 and has only played in Triple-A in the Dodgers organization so far.
NL Central Notes: Pirates, Cardinals
Here are a few notes on the Pirates and Cardinals, and their race (along with the Reds) for the NL Central crown.
- The Pirates' surprising season has come, in part, as the result of bold drafting and good offseason decisions, the New York Times' Tyler Kepner writes. Picking Scott Boras clients Pedro Alvarez and Gerrit Cole early in drafts has paid off, and last winter's acquisitions of Russell Martin and Francisco Liriano (via free agency) and Mark Melancon (via the Joel Hanrahan trade) have done wonders for the Bucs. Kepner says that GM Neal Huntington's offseason was the best of any GM in baseball.
- The Pirates' improved farm system allowed them to make late-August deals for Marlon Byrd, John Buck and Justin Morneau, Huntington tells Peter Gammons. "In previous years, our system wasn’t developed and built enough to be able to make these deals," says Huntington. "Now we are, and because we are we didn’t have to trade a Jameson Taillon or our top young players." The Pirates did trade for Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick down the stretch in 2011, and Wandy Rodriguez, Gaby Sanchez and Chad Qualls in 2012, so it's not as if mid-season deals for veterans are totally new to them.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak opened himself to second-guessing when he let the August trade deadline pass without acquiring a starting pitcher, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch writes. The Cards had interest in Dan Haren of the Nationals, but thought his price was too high. The Cardinals did acquire John Axford from the Brewers, but Miklasz points out that they had to give up a young, live arm in Michael Blazek to do it.
- One reason Mozeliak didn't acquire a starter is that he's happy with youngsters Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Tyler Lyons as rotation stopgaps, Miklasz writes. The Cards' starters have struggled recently, which makes Miklasz wonder whether the team will change its rotation to arrange more starts for those stopgap pitchers.
Minor Moves: Aaron Harang
Here's a look at today's minor moves from around baseball.
- The Mets tweet that they have signed starting pitcher Aaron Harang to a minor-league deal. He has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The Mariners recently released Harang, who had posted a 5.76 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 120 1/3 innings for them this season. It remains to be seen how the Mets will use Harang, but their rotation has been wracked by injuries. Las Vegas has also clinched the Pacific Coast League Pacific Southern division and is about to begin its playoff run.
Olney On Santana, Pirates, Twins, Cardinals
Royals pitcher Ervin Santana tops the list of free-agents-to-be who have improved their stock this season, says ESPN's Buster Olney (subscription required, and recommended). Santana, who has a 3.19 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in a breakout 2013 season, was No. 7 on Tim Dierkes' 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings last month. On the flip side, Olney argues that Josh Johnson and Mike Morse have seen their stock dip further than any other 2013-14 free agents, although he also lists eight more. Here are some of Olney's thoughts on the past week's trades.
- The Pirates' deals for Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau made sense in part because they aren't sure when left fielder Starling Marte will be able to return from his hand injury. The right-handed Byrd and the left-handed Morneau also give the Pirates plenty of platoon options at the corner positions.
- The Twins' decision to trade longtime star Morneau allows them to avoid questions during the offseason about whether they will re-sign him, Olney says. Dealing Morneau with a month left in the season thus helps Morneau to leave Minnesota gracefully.
- The Cardinals will see if they can help new arrival John Axford improve. If he doesn't, the Cards could non-tender him during the offseason, but if he does, he could be a "tremendous weapon" the St. Louis bullpen in 2014.
Quick Hits: Black, Pirates, Rasmussen, McDonald
Reliever Vic Black did not suspect he would be headed to the Mets as the player to be named in the Marlon Byrd deal with the Pirates, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com writes. "It never crossed my mind," Black says. Black notes that his goal is to close in the big leagues, saying that he has the aggressive mentality necessary to be a closer. He also has closer-type stuff, with a plus fastball and a slider. Black had a 2.51 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 Triple-A Indianapolis this season. Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- The loss of Black and, potentially, Duke Welker (who may or may not be headed to the Twins as the PTBNL in the Justin Morneau trade) will add more uncertainty to a Pirates' Triple-A Indianapolis roster that has already had more than its share of flux. Brian Peloza of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review writes that the Pirates have promoted 18 different players from Indianapolis this season, more than other NL playoff contenders. Those players include Black, Welker, Alex Presley (the other player included in the Morneau deal), and top prospect Gerrit Cole.
- The Phillies believe that Rob Rasmussen, the pitcher they received when they traded Michael Young to the Dodgers, could end up as a reliever, Bob Brookover of the Inquirer reports. "He's starting now, but he could be a guy later on who could pitch in the bullpen," GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says. "Lefthanders are always valuable. He's viewed as a really strong makeup kid with a big arm." Rasmussen, 24, had a 2.55 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 for Double-A Chattanooga in 2013, although he struggled in 54 1/3 innings for Triple-A Albuquerque.
- Connecticut native and Massachusetts resident John McDonald is happy that a trade to the Red Sox brought him home, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. "[G]rowing up in New England, and getting to play in Fenway, and to put this uniform on today, it’s pretty awesome," McDonald says. The Red Sox will be the fourth team the infielder has played for this season, having also suited up for the Pirates, Indians and Phillies.
- Angels owner Arte Moreno needs to share his plan to rebuild the team with superstar outfielder Mike Trout, argues the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin. Trout will be close to free agency by the time it will become possible for the Angels to return to contention, at least on a regular basis, Shaikin says.
- The Rockies need to acquire a veteran starter in the offseason, and they also need bullpen help and a right-handed power bat, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post writes. Nonetheless, Renck suggests that the improvements in the Rockies' rotation this year (their 2013 starters have a 4.37 ERA, compared to a 5.81 ERA in 2012) suggest that the team is heading in the right direction.