Connor Byrne | MLB Trade Rumors

NL Health Notes: Watson, A. Miller, Freeman, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | March 2, 2020 at 9:43pm CDT

Giants reliever Tony Watson has been dealing with shoulder tightness this spring, but the left-hander said Monday (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle), “It’s nothing I’m concerned about.” Watson, who threw his second bullpen session in three days on Monday, expects he’ll be set to go for the beginning of the regular season. However, it’s unknown when he’ll be ready to appear in a spring training game. The 34-year-old’s the elder statesman in a bullpen that has undergone significant changes since last season, when the normally reliable Watson turned in a career-worst campaign. Watson wound up with a 4.17 ERA/4.81 FIP and 6.83 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 over 54 innings, but the Giants still brought him back on a reasonably priced guarantee ($3MM).

Let’s check in on a few more health situations from around the National League…

Cardinals southpaw Andrew Miller is having difficulty “getting a feel for the ball,” Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Nothing “physically hurts,” according to Miller, but Goold writes that he’ll undergo a “battery of exams” to determine what’s troubling him. That’s not the type of news he or the Cardinals wanted entering the second season of a two-year, $25MM contract. The 34-year-old didn’t deliver as hoped in Year 1, as he posted a 4.45 ERA/5.19 FIP with 11.52 K/9, 4.45 BB/9 and a 37.2 percent grounder rate in 54 2/3 innings. Miller pitched in 73 games, and with 37 more appearances this year (110 from 2019-20), his $12MM vesting option for 2021 will become guaranteed.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has battled some discomfort in his surgically repaired right elbow, but as expected, he appears to be fine. After sitting out of action last week, Freeman returned Monday, saying (per David O’Brien of The Athletic, via Instagram), “I feel great,” and added that he’s not facing any restrictions. That’s excellent for Atlanta, which will likely need yet another outstanding season from Freeman if it’s going to rule the National League East for the third year in a row.
The Dodgers have temporarily shut down infield prospect Omar Estevez as a result of soreness in his right (throwing) shoulder, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. Estevez has been in camp this spring as a non-roster invitee. It’s unclear how much time he’ll miss, but it’s the latest injury for a player who sat out roughly two months last season with a hamstring strain. When healthy in 2019, though, Estevez put up nice production in his Double-A debut, batting .291/.352/.431 in 336 plate appearances. He now ranks as Baseball America’s 16th-best Dodgers prospect.

Latest On Yasiel Puig

By Connor Byrne | March 2, 2020 at 8:15pm CDT

The Major League Baseball season is set to open in just a few weeks, and outfielder Yasiel Puig surprisingly remains without a job. Could a return to Southern California, where he played and sometimes thrived in Los Angeles from 2013-18, be in the offing? The Angels have at least “considered” signing Puig, though “not too seriously,” Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. The belief is that Puig turned down a one-year, $10MM contract from a National League club, Shaikin adds, but i’s unclear when the team presented Puig with that offer.

The Angels recently tried to upgrade their outfield with a different Dodger in Joc Pederson, but the trade between the two LA teams trade fell apart. It now appears they’re prepared to ride with in-house possibilities, per Shaikin, who reports they’re more inclined to spend available resources on pitching than their lineup.

As for the Angels’ current outfield setup, Brian Goodwin’s the favorite to start in right field alongside center fielder Mike Trout and left fielder Justin Upton. Goodwin, a waiver claim last March, put up respectable numbers over a full season of work during his first year with the club. He’ll continue to keep the seat warm for uber-prospect Jo Adell, who figures to make his major league debut sometime in 2020, and the Angels also have utility player David Fletcher and another talented prospect, Brandon Marsh, on hand as possibilities. Marsh, however, has been slowed by a left elbow strain.

Considering the options already on the roster, Puig and Angels don’t look like a perfect match. Elsewhere, nobody seems to be pursuing Puig with much gusto at this point, even though he could at least improve some non-contenders’ outfields and emerge as a trade chip around the July deadline. One problem for Puig is that he posted a less-than-ideal platform in 2019. Although he did rack up 24 home runs and 19 stolen bases across 611 plate appearances, Puig batted a so-so .267/.327/.458 – good for a 101 wRC+ that comes up well shy of his lifetime mark (124).

Camp Battles: Boston’s Rotation

By Connor Byrne | March 2, 2020 at 7:23pm CDT

Boston’s season-opening rotation is going to look quite a bit different than we could have imagined just a few weeks ago. Gone is left-hander David Price, whom the Red Sox traded to the Dodgers less than a month ago. Fellow southpaw Chris Sale – the team’s No. 1 starter – is still in the fold, but he’ll open the campaign on the 15-day injured list as a result of a pneumonia that has slowed him this spring. Price’s departure and the temporary absence of Sale leaves the Red Sox with just three hurlers – Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez – who are shoo-ins to begin 2020 in their rotation. So, even if not for Sale’s illness, they’d still be looking for someone to claim a spot in their rotation in the coming weeks.

Boston’s led by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who used to be an executive with a Tampa Bay team that spearheaded the opener strategy. Manager Ron Roenicke admitted last week the Red Sox could mimic the AL East rival Rays in that regard (via Chad Jennings of The Athletic; subscription link).

“We can do (an opener) with two spots in the rotation,” Roenicke said. “But we’ll see if someone emerges and covers one of those spots (as a traditional starter).”

If the Red Sox do want to find at least one more conventional starter before the season, and if they’re not going to venture outside the organization to get one (which is a possibility), whom could they turn to from within? Let’s take a look at some of their options…

Ryan Weber, RHP: The 29-year-old Weber has pitched in the majors for the Braves, Mariners, Rays and Red Sox since 2015, but he hasn’t experienced much success in the bigs. Weber’s fastball averaged under 89 mph last year as a member of the Red Sox, with whom he struggled to a 5.09 ERA (with a much better 4.20 FIP) and 6.42 K/9, 1.77 BB/9 and a 48.6 percent groundball rate across a career-high 40 2/3 innings. While Weber worked mostly as a reliever in 2019, the Red Sox are optimistic about his chances of turning into a capable starter or at least a bulk pitcher, thanks to increased reliance on a cutter.
Chris Mazza, RHP: Mazza debuted in MLB last season with the Mets at the age of 29, but he yielded 10 earned runs on 21 hits during that 16 1/3-inning span. To Mazza’s credit, he was far better last year in Triple-A, where he put up a 3.67 ERA/3.85 FIP with 7.34 K/9, 2.13 BB/9 and a lofty 58 percent groundball rate across 76 frames.The Mets cut Mazza loose after the season, and he ended up with the Red Sox via waivers.
Mike Shawaryn, RHP: Shawaryn, 25, was a fifth-rounder of the Red Sox in 2016 who climbed to the majors for the first time last season. It didn’t go well; even though Shawaryn racked up 29 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings, he surrendered 22 earned runs on 26 hits and issued 13 walks. And he wasn’t great with Triple-A Pawtucket, either, evidenced by a 4.52 ERA/5.65 FIP with 7.63 K/9 and 4.92 BB/9 in 89 2/3 frames.
Kyle Hart, LHP: A 19th-round pick of the Red Sox in 2016, Hart has consistently prevented runs at a solid clip in the minors, where he has never posted an ERA above the threes at any level. The 27-year-old made his Triple-A debut in 2019 and logged a 3.86 ERA/4.32 FIP with 7.18 K/9 and 3.23 BB/9 over 100 1/3 innings.
Hector Velazquez, RHP: The 31-year-old threw upward of 100 effective innings for the Red Sox from 2017-18, but things went downhill last season. Owing in part to a career-worst 4.47 BB/9 and a personal-low 38.6 percent groundball rate, Velazquez ended up with a 5.43 ERA/4.74 FIP in 56 1/3 innings.
Matt Hall, LHP: Hall, 26, joined the Red Sox in a minor trade with the Tigers in January. The spin rate darling has enjoyed some success in the minors, shown in part by a 4.25 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 144 Triple-A innings, but has allowed almost 10 runs per nine with 5.17 BB/9 in a smaller sample of major league frames (31 1/3).
Phillips Valdez, RHP: Valdez was a waiver pickup from the Mariners just last week. He got his first taste of MLB action with the Rangers a season ago, and while he pitched to a 3.94 ERA, averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine and induced grounders at a 53.3 percent clip, he walked more than five per nine at the same time. And Valdez wasn’t as good at Triple-A, where he recorded a 4.92 ERA/5.59 FIP with 7.44 K/9 and 4.12 BB/9 in 78 2/3 innings of work.
Brian Johnson, LHP: Unlike the names listed above, Johnson’s not on Boston’s 40-man roster, meaning he’s facing an especially steep climb to begin the season in the majors. Now 29, Johnson turned in passable numbers as a member of the Red Sox in 2017-18, but health problems helped hold the soft-tossing southpaw to a 6.02 ERA/5.32 FIP in 40 1/3 innings last year, when he walked over five hitters per nine.

If you don’t find Boston’s back-end rotation choices enthralling, it’s hard to blame you. For all we know, though, Bloom will end up going outside for help – something he seems open to doing – whether via free agency, the trade market, waivers or some combination.

NL Notes: Senzel, D-backs, Rockies, Giants

By Connor Byrne | February 28, 2020 at 12:58am CDT

Reds outfielder Nick Senzel could begin appearing in spring training games next week, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Senzel has been working back from the shoulder surgery he underwent last September, and though the Reds believe he’s versatile enough to handle all three outfield positions, they’re only going to play him in center until he’s fully healed, according to manager David Bell. “I know he could do it but allowing him to focus on one spot may be more important than any of our other outfielders just because they all have so much more experience out there than he does,” Bell said of Senzel, a former infield prospect who spent his rookie season in center. The 24-year-old’s one of several outfielders for the Reds, who also count Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino among their options in the grass.

Trevor Bauer Discusses Future

By Connor Byrne | February 27, 2020 at 11:03pm CDT

Always known for thinking outside the box, Reds right-hander Trevor Bauer has another unconventional idea: Wherever he signs as a free agent after this season, he wants to pitch every fourth day instead of every fifth, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

“It only seems crazy because no one is doing it right now,” Bauer said of his plan. “But I’m very convicted in the fact that, one, I can do it. Two, I would be better doing it. And three, it would be a benefit to my team.”

Along with that request, Bauer wants to play for a contender that respects him and values technology, Nightengale relays. That all seems reasonable enough, but whether anyone would sign him with the intention of starting him every fourth day is an open question. Regardless, it’s not the first time Bauer has expressed a willingness to pitch on short rest.

Back when he was a member of the Indians during the 2017 ALDS, Bauer made a start on three days’ rest, saying beforehand, “I consider this normal rest for me.” He added, “If I could draw it up personally, this is how I’d pitch every time.”

Bauer then went out and yielded four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the Yankees, though it wouldn’t be fair to pass judgment based on a one-game sample size.

Aside from offering his opinions on how much rest he prefers, Bauer has raised eyebrows in the past by expressing a desire to eschew long-term contracts and sign one-year deals for the rest of his career. While discussing that subject with Nightengale, the 29-year-old seemed less sure of how he’ll proceed.

“I mean, I don’t know how I’m going to react once free agency gets here,” Bauer stated. “I said what I said, but you can never know how it’s going to go until you actually get there.”

Bauer also noted that he’s not motivated by money at this point, having “made a lot of” it during his career. He earned just under $30MM in salaries from 2011-19, according to Baseball Reference, and will make another $17.5MM this season in his last year of arbitration control.

Bauer may be in for another big salary in 2021, but it’s fair to say that will depend in part on how he pitches this year. While he had a rough go of it with the Reds after they acquired him from the Indians last July, his combined production between the two teams was still decent. The hard-throwing Bauer wound up with a 4.48 ERA/4.34 FIP and 10.69 K/9 and 3.46 BB/9 in a career-best 213 innings (his fifth straight season with 175 or more frames), but those numbers pale in comparison to his all-world output from 2018.

Yankees Notes: Judge, Stanton, Severino, Frazier

By Connor Byrne | February 27, 2020 at 9:33pm CDT

Already bedeviled by injuries early this spring, the last thing the Yankees need is more unwelcome news on that front. However, in yet another less-than-ideal development, right fielder Aaron Judge will likely be down for at least another week, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports. Judge is “doing well” in his recovery from a sore right shoulder, per manager Aaron Boone, but he hasn’t progressed beyond hitting in the cage. Boone added that there’s “plenty of time” for Judge to ramp up before the season starts, but it’s still a situation worth monitoring for a Yankees club that’s also down two other starting outfielders in Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton.

Speaking of Stanton, Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks back on a 2017-18 offseason that saw the Yankees acquire him and strike out in their pursuit of two-way star Shohei Ohtani. Three days after Ohtani went to the Angels, the Yankees landed the high-priced Stanton – then the reigning NL MVP – in a trade with the Marlins. Stanton would not have been a Yankee had they gotten Ohtani because there wouldn’t have been room for the two of them at DH, Sherman observes. While Stanton had a very productive first year as a Yankee and Ohtani has barely pitched because of injuries, his tenure in New York hasn’t gone well since then. Stanton was just about nonexistent last season because of his own health woes and is now battling a calf injury that could shelve him for Opening Day. Moreover, the Yankees are still on the hook for eight more seasons and $244MM of the 30-year-old Stanton (Ohtani makes a relative pittance, on the other hand), so Sherman argues that the team’s “going to have to continue to build rosters that assume his regular absence and do it with a payroll elevated by his contract.”
Like Stanton, ace right-hander Luis Severino has seldom been available of late. Severino missed nearly all of last season as a result of injuries to his shoulder and lat, and he’ll sit out the entire 2020 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery this week. The Yankees, expecting Severino to remain the force he was from 2017-18, signed him to a four-year, $40MM extension before 2019. They’ve gotten pretty much nothing from that contract so far, though Bradford William Davis of the Daily News opines that there shouldn’t be any regret on the Yankees’ part for giving Severino the deal. Indeed, he was one of the best pitchers in the game at the time, then coming off two straight seasons of 190-plus innings, so durability wasn’t a question at that point. And as someone who won’t turn 27 until next February, there’s still time for Severino to make good on his reasonably priced pact.
If the injury troubles that have limited Judge and Stanton since last season continue, it could open up playing time for outfielder Clint Frazier. Formerly a touted prospect, the 25-year-old racked up a career-high 245 major league plate appearances and hit .267/.317/.489 with 12 home runs last season, but he spent mid-June through the start of September in the minors to work on his defense. Although Frazier has long been a rumored trade candidate, he remains with the club, and he’s now vying for an everyday spot in its lineup, as Spencer Fordin of MLB.com writes. As Fordin details, Frazier has made a mechanical change at the plate – an approach he credits ex-teammate Matt Holliday for – and is hoping it helps him break through as a full-time major leaguer. “A lot of times, people have talked about my bat speed, but I never really felt like it was always there,” Frazier said. “I felt like I was trying to shoot a gun with it on safety. There were things stopping it along the way and I didn’t feel like I wanted it to. I feel like this move is giving me my best chance.”

Mets, Others Have Shown Interest In Russell Martin

By Connor Byrne | February 27, 2020 at 7:14pm CDT

It’s already known that the Athletics have checked in on free-agent catcher Russell Martin. Add the Mets “and a few other teams” to the list, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported two weeks ago, Martin has turned down offers since last season to deal with a “family matter,” but the 37-year-old does intend to continue his career in 2020.

It’s unknown how recent the Mets’ interest in Martin was, but it does look as if the team could use a competent veteran to team with starter Wilson Ramos. Martin happens to be far and away the best backstop remaining in free agency, where available players at his position are all but nonexistent at this point. Martin appeared in a career-low 83 games with the Dodgers in 2019, but he posted 1.2 fWAR with a .220/.337/.330 line and an above-average 12 percent walk rate in 249 plate appearances. He also kept up his eminently useful ways behind the late, where he finished both 17th among all catchers in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric and as a pitch framer.

Mets backup Tomas Nido was similarly impressive as a defender last season (19th in FRAA and as a framer), but his offense doesn’t compare to even that of an aging Martin. The 25-year-old Nido has basically been unplayable as a hitter since he began garnering a decent chunk of playing time two seasons ago, having batted .182/.219/.286 in 234 trips to the plate dating back to 2018.

Behind Ramos and Nido, the most established option in the New York organization is non-roster invitee Rene Rivera, who – despite having earned the trust of prominent right-hander Noah Syndergaard in the past – has never been much of an offensive threat in the majors. He also hasn’t seen much time in the bigs over the past couple years. The Mets’ backup catcher situation looks ripe for an upgrade, then, and Martin may be the one to provide it.

Latest On Nolan Arenado, Rockies

By Connor Byrne | February 27, 2020 at 6:54pm CDT

It has been an awkward few months between the Rockies and franchise player Nolan Arenado. Although the superstar third baseman signed a club-record extension worth $234MM over seven years almost exactly 12 months ago (Feb. 26, 2019), there’s already friction between the two sides.

Arenado has frequented trade rumors and felt “disrespected” by the Rockies over the fact that they’ve done almost nothing to improve since a 71-win showing last year. Rockies bigwigs “felt assaulted” as a result of that revelation from Arenado, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports writes. And when Arenado met with owner Dick Monfort and general manager Jeff Bridich during the offseason, the two organizational higher-ups took offense when the player questioned how much they want to win.

Had Arenado known the Rockies wouldn’t make a legitimate effort to better themselves, he may have turned down the extension, played out last season and tested the free-agent waters this past winter.

“Of course, I look back,’’ Arenado told Nightengale of his decision to stay in Colorado for the long haul. “I’m human, man.’’

Bridich, the executive responsible for constructing the Rockies’ roster, said last week that he expects to sit down with the disgruntled Arenado sometime this spring in an effort to repair their frayed relationship. That hasn’t happened thus far, though, per Nightengale. The two aren’t even speaking at all right now, according to Nightengale, who adds that Arenado’s only “nodding [Bridich’s] way when they’ve cross paths.”

Despite his unhappiness with those running the franchise, Arenado’s not going to serve as a behind-the-scenes distraction or put in any less effort if he stays with the Rockies, as he stated a couple weeks ago. It continues to appear less and less likely he’ll wind up on the move before the season starts in a month, but Nightengale reports that the Rockies are expected to put him back on the block before the July 31 trade deadline.

Between now and the deadline, the hope for both sides is that the Rockies will return to their playoff-caliber ways of 2017-18, thus negating the desire for a trade. If not, though, Arenado told Nightengale: “Then, the whole organization has to look at themselves and say, ‘Ok, what’s the next step?’ I guarantee I’ll be part of that conversation.’’

8 AL West Pitchers Looking For Bounce-Back Years

By Connor Byrne | February 27, 2020 at 12:42am CDT

Our preseason series exploring potential bounce-back candidates for 2020 began with a look at several AL West hitters hoping to rebound. Let’s stay in the division and focus on a group of talented pitchers who want to put disappointing seasons behind them…

Corey Kluber, RHP, Rangers: Kluber was the Rangers’ highest-profile offseason pickup and someone who’s now near the front of a revamped rotation, but the Indians decided the 33-year-old was expendable in the wake of a truncated 2019. In a limited number of innings (35 2/3), Kluber came nowhere near his two-time Cy Young form, notching a 5.80 ERA/4.06 FIP, and didn’t pitch past May 1 as a result of a broken forearm. Kluber did strike out almost 10 batters per nine when he was healthy enough to take the mound, but he offset that with some of the worst walk (3.79 BB/9), groundball (40 percent) and average fastball velocity (91.6 mph) marks of his career. With the Rangers holding an $18MM option or a $1MM buyout over him for 2021, this is an especially pivotal season for Kluber.

Jose Leclerc, RHP, Rangers: Leclerc was an absolute force during a breakout 2018, but his run prevention numbers took noticeable steps backward because of control problems. He lost his job as the Rangers’ closer at one point early in the year and wound up with a 4.33 ERA and 5.11 BB/9 in 68 2/3 innings. However, the 26-year-old did get a lot better after a terrible May, and he also concluded with 13.11 K/9 and a career-high 96.8 mph average fastball velocity (1.5 mph better than he recorded during his dream ’18).

Andrew Heaney, LHP, Angels: Considering their lack of high-end pitching additions in the offseason, it’s particularly important for the the Angels to get a healthy and better version of Heaney in 2020. Injuries victimized Heaney last year, holding him to 95 1/3 innings of 4.91 ERA/4.63 FIP ball. He also struggled to induce grounders (33.6 percent), which helped lead to an 18.3 percent home run-to-fly ball rate. But Heaney did log 11.14 K/9 against 2.83 BB/9 with a personal-best average fastball velocity (92.5 mph) and a career-high swinging-strike rate (14.1 percent).

Lou Trivino, RHP, Athletics: Trivino had an outstanding rookie year from the A’s bullpen in 2018, but with the clear exception of his 97 mph-plus velocity, just about everything went downhill last season. Fewer strikeouts and more walks meant far more runs against, with Trivino’s ERA/FIP shooting from the twos and threes to 5.25/4.53 over 60 frames during a year that ended early because of rib issues. And Trivino wasn’t as lucky as he was a rookie, as his batting average on balls in play and strand rate each went the wrong way. On a more encouraging note, the 28-year-old did rank near the top of the majors in a few notable Statcast categories, including average exit velocity against (85.5 mph).

Joakim Soria, RHP, Athletics: Soria was another A’s reliever who may not have produced as the team hoped he would have in 2019. The A’s signed Soria to a two-year, $15MM deal in December 2018 after a terrific season between the White Sox and Brewers, but for the most part, he couldn’t match what he did then. That’s not to say Soria was bad – he still posted a 4.30 ERA/3.62 FIP with 10.3 K/9 and 2.61 BB/9, and his mean fastball velocity remained in the 93 mph range. Also, as with Trivino, Soria was something of a Statcast favorite, mostly earning good marks in that area.

Yusei Kikuchi, LHP, Mariners: On the heels of an excellent tenure in his homeland of Japan, Kikuchi was a high-profile signing for the Mariners entering the 2019 campaign. They guaranteed Kikuchi $56MM on a contract that could max out at $109MM, but Year 1 of the deal probably didn’t go to the Mariners’ liking. In his first season in the majors, the 28-year-old recorded a 5.46 ERA/5.71 FIP – both among the worst in the game – across 161 2/3 innings. He relied primarily on a fastball-slider-curve mix, but all three of those offerings ranked among the least effective of their kind, per FanGraphs. Kikuchi did walk fewer than three hitters per nine, though his K/9 (6.46) placed sixth from the bottom out of 75 pitchers who accumulated at least 150 innings.

Carl Edwards Jr., RHP, Mariners: It wasn’t long ago that Edwards was a key component of the Cubs’ bullpen. As recently as 2018, he put up a 2.60 ERA/2.93 FIP with 11.6 K/9 across 52 innings, though that stellar production did come in spite of a 5.54 BB/9 and a lowly 28.9 percent groundball rate. Edwards found a way to dodge home runs then, as he gave them up on just 3.8 percent of the many fly balls he allowed, but he wasn’t able to do so during an abbreviated, shoulder injury-plagued 2019 in the majors. Edwards only totaled 17 innings between the Cubs and Padres (his other 17 2/3 frames came in Triple-A ball), and he gave up HRs 15 percent of the time en route to an abysmal 8.47 ERA/5.74 FIP. His control got worse along the way, as he surrendered almost seven walks per nine, and so did his strikeout rate. Edwards fanned a little over 10 hitters per nine, but his strikeout percentage fell almost six points from the prior year, while his swinging-strike rate dropped nearly 4 percent. Still, for $950K, you can’t fault the Mariners for rolling the dice.

Yoshihisa Hirano, RHP, Mariners: Hirano’s another low-cost bullpen flier for the Mariners, whom they inked for $1.6MM last month. No doubt, they’re hoping they get a version of Hirano closer to 2018 than ’19. The former Diamondback recorded a 2.44 ERA/3.69 FIP in his first year in the majors, but those numbers rose to 4.75 and 4.04, respectively, last season. Hirano also generated fewer ground balls, gave up more home runs and issued more walks, though he did see his K percentage go up almost 4 percent, finishing with 10.36 per nine. Like the Edwards signing, there’s little to no harm from the M’s perspective in taking a chance on a rebound.

West Notes: Shark, Lamb, Peacock

By Connor Byrne | February 26, 2020 at 11:23pm CDT

Let’s check in on a trio of teams from the game’s West divisions…

Giants right-hander Jeff Samardzija looks like a potential trade candidate for the club, considering they’re unlikely to contend in 2020 and he’s in the final year of his contract. Samardzija told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he hopes to remain with the Giants, though. “The way I look at it, you look to put yourself and the team in the best situation going forward,” he said. “Obviously, the best situation for us going forward would be in the playoff hunt, add talent at the (deadline) and make a run for it in the fall. That’s our No. 1 goal.” Shark added that he has “a lot of respect for this organization and what they’ve done for me, and I’ll give them everything I can as long as I’m here in their jersey.” Signed to a five-year, $90MM contract before the 2016 season, Samarzidja’s production has been up and down as a Giant. He prevented runs at a very good clip last year (3.52 ERA over 181 1/3 innings), but he also posted a career-worst 91.9 mph average fastball velocity and a below-average 4.59 FIP.
Diamondbacks corner infielder Jake Lamb hasn’t enjoyed a strong season since 2017, but the shoulder and quad injuries he dealt with from 2018-19 likely contributed to his woes. Lamb’s not giving himself a pass for his recent struggles, telling Zach Buchanan of The Athletic (subscription link): “The shoulder wasn’t why I was so bad last year. My swing was not good. I was steep, I was late.” However, Lamb admitted his shoulder tightness was on his mind in the past, and that’s no longer the case. He now may be in position to bounce back after turning in a .208/.315/.350 line in a combined 464 plate appearances during the previous two years. The Diamondbacks believe that’s the case, as Buchanan details; otherwise, they wouldn’t have tendered him for $5.515MM over the winter.
Astros righty Brad Peacock has been battling neck problems, but he believes he’ll be ready for the beginning of the season, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle relays. Peacock started throwing off flat ground this week, should move to the mound in early March and then anticipates appearing in “three or four” Grapefruit League games. Most of Peacock’s work last year came from the Astros’ rotation, but they’re set to use him out of their bullpen this season. The swingman did well in a full-time relief role back in 2018.

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