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Major Leaguers Discuss Astros’ Sign-Stealing Scandal

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It has been a tumultuous few weeks for the Astros, whose well-documented sign-stealing scandal has owned headlines over the past month. As a result, the club had to let go of its eminently successful GM-manager tandem of Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch after Major League Baseball suspended them for a year apiece.

Since Luhnow and Hinch lost their jobs, Astros players have been accused of wearing buzzers under their jerseys last season in order to identify which pitches were coming. The league didn’t find any evidence that occurred, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone – whose team lost to the Astros in the 2019 ALCS – didn’t dismiss it Wednesday. Boone instead noted that it’s “certainly one of those great unknowns,” per Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated. Hinch also addressed the matter, stating that he has “never seen any such device used in baseball. I am not aware of any such device existing or being utilized with the Astros, the players, or any other team.”

Regardless of whether Hinch is telling the truth, it’s up in the air whether he or Luhnow will work in MLB again. Houston has already replaced the two with Dusty Baker and James Click, respectively. Baker, owner Jim Crane and Astros players will address reporters at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, the first day of media availability at spring training, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It’s unclear exactly what the Astros will say, but odds are they’ll take a regretful tone for their wrongdoing. Crane, after all, revealed a few weeks ago that the Astros would “apologize for what happened, ask forgiveness and move forward,” as Jeff Passan of ESPN relays.

Former Astros Marwin Gonzalez, Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, Joe Musgrove and Max Stassi – all members of the franchise’s 2017 World Series-winning club – have already apologized for the team’s past misdeeds. Nevertheless, there are multiple major leaguers who have voiced disgust toward the Astros this week.

Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney – now teammates with Stassi – ripped into his division rivals, saying (via Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times): “They sure as [heck] need to do more than what they already did. That was terrible. I understand they are going to go get their (stuff) in order and they are going to have their thing to say, and they are going to hide behind the commissioner’s report and whatever. But I don’t think that’s good enough.”

Meanwhile, Phillies reliever David Robertson opined (per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia), “It’s a disgrace what they’ve done and they’re going to have to live with it and everyone knows.”

Robertson was a member of the Yankees in 2017, when the Astros defeated them in a seven-game ALCS to advance to the World Series. The typically reliable righty had a disastrous Game 6 during that series, yielding four earned runs on four hits while failing to record an out in a 7-1 loss. Robertson suggested to Salisbury that there was foul play involved in that dominant Houston performance.

“I got roughed up in Game 6,” he said. “And I felt like in that game I threw as well as I’ve ever thrown in my entire life. I had some pitches that got hit that I was a little shocked by and some pitches that didn’t get swung at that I was a little shocked by. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about what we know now. But it all comes together now and, you know, I’m upset about it, that’s for sure.”

Athletics righty Mike Fiers, an Astro from 2015-17, was instrumental in bringing Houston’s methods to light back in November. But Fiers isn’t the only member of the Athletics who knew something was wrong. GM David Forst and manager Bob Melvin, whose club finished second to the Astros in the AL West in each of the prior two seasons, informed Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that the A’s complained to the league about their sign-stealing rivals. However, MLB did not take action against the Astros at that point. Had Fiers not eventually gone public with his complaints, it’s possible nothing would have been done.

Martin Prado Retires

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Longtime major leaguer Martin Prado has officially called it a career, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Heyman first reported back in November that Prado was likely to retire.

Now 36 years old, the Venezuela-born Prado began his professional career when he signed with the Braves in 2001. He debuted with the Braves in 2006, and two years later, he started to establish himself as an effective big leaguer. During his Braves heyday from 2008-12, Prado slashed .296/.346/.438 with 51 home runs, 30 stolen bases and 13.2 fWAR in 2,688 plate appearances, garnering time all over the infield and in left field along the way. He also earned his lone All-Star nod (2010) during his run in Atlanta.

Although Prado was rather productive as a Brave, they dealt him to the Diamondbacks prior to the 2013 season in a large trade that sent outfielder Justin Upton to Atlanta. The Diamondbacks quickly locked up Prado to a four-year, $40MM contract, though he only lasted a little more than a season in their uniform. They sent him to the Yankees in July 2014, but his time in New York was also fleeting. After just a few months as a Yankee, they shipped him to the Marlins ahead of the 2015 campaign.

Prado found a multiyear home in Miami, where he finished his career. He was a highly productive member of the Marlins’ roster during his first two seasons with the club, earning yet another $40MM guarantee (this time for three years) in September 2016. However, thanks in part to various injuries, Prado was unable to live up to the payday. He appeared in just 195 of a possible 486 regular-season games from 2017-19, during which he struggled to a .241/.276/.313 line and totaled only five homers in 616 trips to the plate.

Although his time in the majors didn’t end with a flourish, Prado enjoyed a much better career than most. He’ll wrap it up as a lifetime .287/.335/.412 batter with 100 HRs, 40 steals and 20.8 fWAR in 5,861 PA. Prado also earned just over $89MM in MLB, according to Baseball-Reference. MLBTR congratulates Prado for his accomplishments and wishes him well in retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Details On Mets’ Pursuit Of Mookie Betts

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Mookie Metts? It didn’t come to fruition, but the Mets did make an effort in December to acquire superstar outfielder Mookie Betts from Boston. The Red Sox ended up trading him to the Dodgers earlier this week.

One reason talks between the Mets and Red Sox broke down? The Mets weren’t open to moving infielder/outfielder Jeff McNeil for just a year of control over Betts, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (they also wouldn’t give him to the Indians for shortstop Francisco Lindor). However, the Red Sox regarded McNeil as “integral” to a potential trade package, according to Sherman. Understandably, the Mets weren’t going to part with the versatile, inexpensive 27-year-old after he was one of the majors’ most effective offensive players from 2018-19.

While the Mets weren’t willing to surrender McNeil for Betts, they did offer packages centered on outfielder Brandon Nimmo and infielder/outfielder J.D. Davis (quality, affordable players in their own right), per Sherman. Those deals also would have included one of the Mets’ infield prospects in either Andres Gimenez or Ronny Mauricio, two top-100 farmhands. It seems the Mets, reluctant to absorb all of Betts’ $27MM salary, also would have tried to include one of their highly paid, unwanted veterans in outfielder Yoenis Cespedes or infielder Jed Lowrie in order to somewhat offset the money they’d have taken on had a deal with Boston gone through.

Considering that getting under the $208MM luxury-tax threshold was one of the main causes for the Red Sox’s decision to unload Betts (and left-hander David Price with him), adding Cespedes or Lowrie wouldn’t have been palatable for them. They wound up accepting the Dodgers’ offer of outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects – infielder Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong – saving a total of $75MM in the process.

Meanwhile, although the Mets went big-game hunting for Betts, their outfield appears as if it’ll enter 2020 with mostly the same cast. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, even though none of the team’s current options can rival Betts. However, to their credit, McNeil, Nimmo, Davis, Michael Conforto and Dominic Smith all had good seasons a year ago. It’s anyone’s guess what the Mets will get from Cespedes after injuries shelved him for the vast majority of the prior three seasons, but he’s back on a reduced salary and has always produced when healthy.

Latest On Yankees’ Rotation

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The Yankees’ rotation looked set when the month of February started, but the back surgery left-hander James Paxton recently underwent threw a wrench in their plans. They’re now lacking an obvious answer after Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ. The team will give plenty of hurlers chances to emerge as its No. 5 during spring training, though, as Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays.

General manager Brian Cashman on Wednesday named five pitchers – Luis Cessa, Deivi Garcia, Jonathan Loaisiga, Michael King and Jordan Montgomery – as candidates to take the last spot in New York’s rotation. The leader may be the 27-year-old Montgomery, who had an impressive rookie campaign in 2017 but hasn’t been much of a factor since then because of injury troubles. Montgomery underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2018 after throwing a mere 27 1/3 innings that year, though he did make a late-season return to a major league mound in 2019. Manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Montgomery’s now “in a good place” with respect to his health.

As for Montgomery’s competition, Cessa and Loaisiga have each garnered a decent amount of experience at the game’s highest level. Cessa’s heater checks in around 95 mph, but it hasn’t led to great results in the majors. He’s the owner of a 4.50 ERA/4.98 FIP with 7.37 K/9 and 2.91 BB/9 in 232 career innings. Most of his work (67 of 86 appearances) has come as a reliever. Cessa is out of minor league options, so he could end up in another organization if he doesn’t make the Yankees this spring.

Loaisiga can throw even harder than Cessa (96-97 mph), and he’s a former top-100 prospect, but his MLB production hasn’t been special, either. While Loaisiga recorded a tremendous strikeout rate of 11.18 per nine in his first 56 1/3 innings as a Yankee from 2018-19, he walked almost five per nine and only registered a 4.79 ERA/4.33 FIP. Moreover, the right-hander dealt with shoulder problems last season.

Neither Garcia nor King has appeared in the majors yet, but there’s plenty of promise in the two cases. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked the 20-year-old Garcia as the game’s 42nd-best prospect Wednesday, calling the 5-foot-10, 163-pounder  “a diminutive firecracker righty with a beautiful curveball.” However, because of his size, there are questions about Garcia’s durability. He also didn’t put up great numbers last year as an extremely young Triple-A pitcher, as he managed a subpar 5.40 ERA/5.77 FIP with 10.13 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 over 40 innings at the level.

King, 24, racked up a combined 62 2/3 innings in Triple-A from 2018-19, pitching to a sterling 2.30 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in that span. He even made a one-appearance MLB debut last season, and currently ranks as the Yankees’ 19th-best prospect at MLB.com.

Considering how volatile the back end of most teams’ rotations are, it’s entirely possible (maybe even likely) that more than one of the above hurlers will start games for the Yankees as they await Paxton’s return. The World Series hopefuls figure to get Paxton back early in the summer, so those who wind up filling his spot could be on borrowed time in that role.

MLBTR Poll: A 14-Team Postseason

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Major League Baseball’s playoff format last underwent seismic changes entering 2012, when it expanded the postseason to allow four wild-card teams into the tournament instead of two. Things have stayed the same since then, but further adjustments may be in the offing.

Beginning in 2022, the first season after the current collective bargaining agreement expires, commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB could add two more playoff qualifiers per league. That means almost half of the sport (14 of 30 teams) would have some chance of reaching the World Series when the fall rolls around. But that’s not all – MLB would hand the No. 1 team in each league a first-round bye, the higher-seeded teams that don’t have byes would select their first-round opponents and those clubs would play three-game series in one city.

On one hand, an expanded playoff setup would likely encourage more teams to make an effort to compete. There are arguably too many franchises that haven’t pushed hard enough to grab playoff spots in recent years. It could also increase television ratings and ticket sales, as clubs that might normally be out of the race late in the season would have more realistic shots at getting to October. Those are all good things from the league’s perspective.

On the other hand, there’s a case that a 14-team postseason would reward mediocrity and further water down the playoffs. In most cases, these six and seven seeds aren’t going to be juggernauts. Back in 2017, for example, the Royals and Rays would have made the tourney with 80-82 records. It’s extremely unlikely, but imagine a sub-.500 team going on a magical run in the fall and winning the whole thing. That would perhaps make a mockery of the six-month regular season. Although, of course, we don’t know how these potential changes would affect the regular campaign. It’s possible the schedule would switch to fewer than 162 games (a total that has been in place for both leagues since 1962) in order to accommodate a longer postseason.

All said, there are pros and cons to an increased group of playoff teams. Where do you stand on the subject?

(Poll link for app users)

Do you support the proposed playoff changes?
No 76.77% (12,171 votes)
Yes 23.23% (3,683 votes)
Total Votes: 15,854

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/11/20

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Checking in on the latest minor moves from around the game…

  • The Rangers announced the signing of right-hander Taylor Jungmann to a minor league contract on Tuesday. The agreement does not include an invitation to major league spring training. Now 30 years old, Jungmann was a first-round pick (No. 12) of the Brewers in 2011, though he only produced middling results with the club from 2015-17. During that 146 2/3-inning span, the Texas native posted a 4.54 ERA/4.32 FIP with 7.73 K/9, 3.99 BB/9 and a 46.1 percent groundball rate. Jungmann left the organization before the 2018 campaign to pursue a job in Japan, where he pitched for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball during the previous two seasons. Jungmann recorded a 4.86 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 70 1/3 frames as a member of the Giants.

Yoan Moncada Changes Agencies

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White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada has changed representation and is now a client of Movement Management Group, as agent Alex Cotto posted on Instagram (hat tip to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN).

Still just 24 years old, Moncada already has one lucrative payday under his belt. The Cuba native joined the Red Sox on a $31.5MM signing bonus in March 2015. Moncada changed Sox shortly after when Boston traded him to Chicago in a blockbuster centered on left-hander Chris Sale in December 2016.

It took a little while for Moncada to live up to the considerable hype he generated as a prospect, but he now looks like one of the most valuable players in the game. He broke out last year, his first full season at third after moving from second, slashing .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs and 10 stole bases over 559 plate appearances. Just 14 position players outdid Moncada’s 5.7 fWAR.

Judging by their aggressive moves this offseason, the long-struggling White Sox expect to contend for a playoff berth in 2020. Moncada’s a key piece of that puzzle, and with that in mind, he’s someone they could try to extend. No matter what, he’s in line to remain one of their most integral players for the foreseeable future. The switch-hitter still has another pre-arbitration campaign left and won’t become eligible to reach free agency until after the 2023 campaign.

Moncada’s change in representation will be reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which contains agent info on thousands of Major League and Minor League players. If you see any errors or omissions within, please let us know: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Latest On Astros’ Sign-Stealing Scandal

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The Astros’ sign-stealing scandal has been the dominant story in baseball over the past several weeks, though it didn’t come as a revelation to many throughout the game. A scout from another team told Barry Svrluga and Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post: “It was a big open secret, really big. Throughout baseball, throughout the scouting community, for several years, not just starting in 2017. I would say probably 2016, maybe earlier, through [2019], things were going on that were blatantly against the rules.”

If true, it further calls into question the Astros’ accomplishments in recent years. They amassed 100-plus victories in each of the past three campaigns, won the World Series in 2017 and took home the American League pennant a season ago. GM Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were suspended for a year apiece last month and lost their jobs as a result of their complicity in stealing signs during the team’s title-winning season. Luhnow, it seems, was a key part of a scheme called “Codebreaker” that the team used from 2017-18.

It’s possible neither Luhnow nor Hinch will work in the majors again as a result of their wrongdoing. That would’ve sounded ridiculous last fall when the Astros were the toast of the AL and vying for a World Series against the Nationals. The Nats upended the Astros in seven games, but Washington entered the Fall Classic wary of Houston’s shenanigans.

“It was amazing, once [it was assured] we were playing the Astros, how many people were coming out of the woodwork to let us know what they were doing,” one member of the Nationals told Svrluga and Sheinin.

Second baseman Brian Dozier, a National last season and a 2018 member of the Dodgers (whom the Astros took down in the 2017 World Series), received advance warning from his ex-LA teammates that Houston was behaving unethically. “Several” members of the Dodgers informed Dozier before last year’s World Series that the Astros were stealing signs, according to Svrluga and Sheinin. Meanwhile, former Astros and Nationals reliever Tony Sipp told Nats ace Max Scherzer to worry about Houston’s stealing of signs. The Nationals ended up overcoming it by using wristbands and multiple signs, as Svrluga and Sheinin explain in their piece.

The Astros advanced to the 2019 World Series by defeating the Yankees in the ALCS for the second time in three years. Like the Nationals, the Yankees suspected something was amiss.

“We’re so focused on them cheating, we’re forgetting we have to just go out and play,” one Yankees official said before the series, which the Astros ultimately won in six games.

Outfielder Carlos Beltran and catcher Brian McCann, both now retired from playing, are in the unique position of having suited up for the Astros and Yankees recently. Beltran even worked for the Yankees as a special advisor last season, and he informed “low level” New York officials of Houston’s cheating, per Ken Rosenthal, Evan Drellich and Marc Carig of The Athletic (subscription link). Beltran then became the Mets’ manager this past fall, only to lose his job last month as a result of the Astros’ violations.

While Beltran initially denied any knowledge of the Astros’ misdeeds, the 42-year-old potential Hall of Famer was apparently an important figure in them. McCann asked him to stop, two members of the 2017 Astros told The Athletic, but Beltran “steamrolled everybody.” At that point, he was one of the most accomplished individuals on the roster and someone whom younger players (and even Hinch) were basically reluctant to cross.

Beltran was part of commissioner Rob Manfred’s investigation into the Astros, but the latter elected against punishing any of the players from the 2017 club. However, if Beltran really was so instrumental in the Astros’ crimes, it’s hard to imagine him working in MLB again. He may even have less of a chance to get into Cooperstown. Regardless, this latest news on the Astros is yet another black mark on an organization that has taken a beating this winter.

Athletics Considering Free-Agent Catchers

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The Athletics used a slew of catchers in 2019, but almost all of them are now out of the organization. Josh Phegley, Chris Herrmann, Nick Hundley, Beau Taylor and Dustin Garneau are gone. Sean Murphy’s the lone member of last season’s group still remaining, and the promising 25-year-old figures to get the most playing time among Athletics catchers in the upcoming campaign. There’s no battle-tested backup on the roster, but the A’s are monitoring the free-agent market for backstops, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

There’s at least some chance that Russell Martin, a longtime Dodger, will remain in California. Oakland “checked in with” him earlier in the offseason, Slusser writes. Should the team wind up signing Martin, the 36-year-old would make for quite a mentor for Murphy.

Martin, who debuted in 2006, has been one of the game’s most successful catchers in recent memory on the field and a well-regarded locker room presence off it. While Martin’s production has tailed off in the past couple seasons, he still turned in 1.2 fWAR with a .220/.337/.330 line in 249 plate appearances last year. Behind the plate, Martin threw out just 18 percent of would-be base stealers, though Baseball Prospectus did assign him above-average marks for his overall work as a defender.

Martin’s likely the most appealing catcher left in a free-agent market that has shrunk to almost nothing at his position. Fellow ex-star Jonathan Lucroy, a former Athletic, is also out there. He has engaged in “conversations with a few teams,” per Slusser, though it’s unclear if the A’s are among them.

Of course, Oakland could just decide to stick with in-house choices at catcher, where it has two options besides Murphy on its 40-man roster. The club acquired Austin Allen, who’s penciled in as its backup, from the Padres in December. The Athletics also have Jonah Heim, a 24-year-old who raked in Triple-A ball in 2019. Additionally, they picked up veteran Carlos Perez earlier this winter, though he’s not on their 40-man.

Willson Contreras Discusses Trade Rumors, Future

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With the Cubs fresh off a letdown of a season and perhaps seeking to shake up their core, catcher Willson Contreras was the subject of trade speculation at the beginning of the winter. Contreras hasn’t gone anywhere, though, and now looks likely to begin the 2020 campaign as a member of the Cubs – the only organization he has known since signing out of Venezuela in 2009.

The 27-year-old Contreras discussed trade buzz centering on him Monday, saying (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times): “This past winter, the trade rumors were more consistent than the year before, and I was aware of it. I was trying to not pay attention to it, but it was impossible. Every time I was on social media, a new article was coming out about me being traded. Now that I’m here, I feel blessed once again. I’m happy to be here. I love this organization and my teammates. I’m really excited to have another great 2020 season with all my team.”

At last check, the Cubs weren’t pleased with the offers they’d gotten for Contreras. He’s one of the most valuable catchers in the game, and there weren’t many high-end backstops available in free agency, so they understandably held out for a sizable return. To this point, though, no club has presented a proposal acceptable enough for the Cubs.

Now, it appears Contreras will at least start the upcoming campaign as a Cub. And despite the rumors that have surrounded him, Contreras is open to remaining a Cub for the long haul. Contereras, who batted .272/.355/.533 with 24 home runs in 409 plate appearances last season, is willing to discuss a long-term deal with the team. He said Monday that he’s “always going to be open about talking to the Cubs about an extension.”

There haven’t been any extension talks between Contreras and the Cubs this offseason, according to Wittenmyer. However, Chicago’s not under immediate pressure to lock up the two-time All-Star. Contreras is under control via arbitration for the next three seasons, and he’ll make $4.5MM in 2020. That salary’s a bargain relative to what he brings to the table.

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