Blue Jays Notes: Giles, Japanese FAs, Gurriel, Hernandez
While Blue Jays reliever Ken Giles looks like an obvious offseason trade candidate, general manager Ross Atkins indicated Tuesday it’s not a sure thing the team will deal him. “We’ve been really focused on acquiring players. We really haven’t engaged on trading players away much at all,” Atkins said in regards to Giles (per Jon Morosi of MLB.com). The flamethrowing Giles may have been out of Toronto by now had he been healthy at the July 31 deadline, but elbow issues helped prevent a trade from coming together. The 29-year-old was utterly brilliant in 2019, though, as he recorded a 1.87 ERA/2.27 FIP with 14.09 K/9, 2.89 BB/9 and 23 saves on 24 tries over 53 innings. Giles is now going into his final season of arbitration, in which he’s projected to make an affordable $8.4MM.
Here’s more on Toronto, all of which comes courtesy of Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4)
- The Blue Jays have interest in Japanese free agents (or soon-to-be free agents) Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Shogo Akiyama and Ryosuke Kikuchi, Atkins revealed. Tsutsugo’s a 27-year-old corner outfielder who has smacked 205 home runs in exactly 4,000 plate appearances in Nippon Professional Baseball. The Yokohama DeNA BayStars intend to post him by Dec. 5. Akiyama will try to parlay a strong nine-year run with the Seibu Lions of NPB into a major league contract. The 31-year-old center fielder, who won’t be subjected to the posting system, may have the highest upside of the three when it comes to earning power, as MLBTR projects he’ll rake in a two-year, $6MM guarantee this offseason. Kikuchi, a member of NPB’s Hiroshima Carp, will be posted after eight seasons with the club. The 29-year-old second baseman has not been an offensive standout in Japan, but he has thrived defensively.
- Toronto’s at least considering using outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez in the infield next season, per Atkins. Gurriel began his career as a middle infielder, but he struggled enough there that the team shifted him to left field in 2019. That experiment paid off, though it’s reportedly possible Gurriel could be an offseason trade chip for the club. As for Hernandez, although the .230/.306/.472 line he put up in 464 plate appearances this year doesn’t look great, he did go on a second-half tear and finish with 26 home runs. But Hernandez had difficulty in center field, where he accounted for minus-7 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-7.7 Ultimate Zone Rating. Going forward, he might see time at first and/or second, Atkins suggested. Toronto looks to be in fine shape at the keystone, where Cavan Biggio enjoyed a terrific rookie season, though first is a question mark. Justin Smoak‘s a free agent, and Rowdy Tellez didn’t have an especially successful year.
GM/Coaching Notes: Pirates, Cubs, Mets, Tigers, ChiSox
Blue Jays vice president of baseball operations Ben Cherington and Brewers assistant general manager Matt Arnold will get second interviews this week for the Pirates’ GM vacancy, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network and reporter Robert Murray. Cherington and Arnold are reportedly two of three finalists to take over in Pittsburgh. Pirates assistant GM Kevan Graves seems to be competing with them, as Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets that he also appears likely to receive another interview. Meanwhile, even though the Pirates technically don’t have a GM right now, they’re also carrying on their search for a manager. Twins bench coach Derek Shelton has been particularly impressive to the club thus far, Heyman relays.
More staff news from around baseball…
- Cubs first base coach Will Venable has been popular in managerial searches in recent weeks. The Cubs discussed their job with Venable prior to their David Ross hiring, and he also sat down with the Giants in regards to their position before they selected Gabe Kapler. Now that Venable’s not going to land a managerial job this offseason (unless Pittsburgh pursues him), the former major league outfielder will stay where he is. He’ll be one of the Cubs’ base coaches in 2020, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score tweets. The Cubs have at least one opening for those positions, as third base coach Brian Butterfield left to take the same role with the Angels.
- The Mets are closing in on a deal to retain hitting coach Chili Davis, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The former big league slugger is fresh off his first year with the Mets, whose offense made strides on his watch. Davis helped the club to the majors’ 13th-most runs and its seventh-highest wRC+ (104).
- The Tigers have hired Josh Paul as their quality control coach, the team announced. Paul served as the the Angels’ bench coach over the previous three years, but the Halos fired him after this season. The 44-year-old Paul was previously a major league catcher and then a well-regarded assistant in the Yankees organization.
- Nationals assistant hitting coach Joe Dillon is a legitimate candidate to become the Phillies’ hitting coach, Heyman suggests. Dillon has been working under Nats hitting coach Kevin Long, who’s a favorite of new Phillies manager Joe Girardi, as Heyman points out. Long was the Yankees’ hitting coach for part of Girardi’s tenure as their manager. Dillon, meanwhile, is an ex-major league infielder/outfielder who has two years’ experience as a coach at the game’s highest level.
- Scott Coolbaugh is the White Sox‘s new assistant hitting coach, the club announced. Coolbaugh was the Orioles’ hitting coach from 2015-18 and the Dodgers’ Triple-A hitting coach this season. He’ll team with White Sox new HC Frank Menechino in his new role.
Latest On Mets’ Bench Coach Position
11:21pm: Giants third base coach Ron Wotus has also interviewed for the Mets’ bench coach position, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic tweets. Wotus remains in the running for the job, per Baggarly. San Francisco has been the lone stop for the 58-year-old Wotus since his MLB coaching career began in 1998, and the Giants did consider him for their managerial vacancy this fall. However, now that the Giants have hired Gabe Kapler as their manager, it’s unclear if Wotus will remain part of their staff.
7:30pm: The Mets have their new manager in former major league slugger Carlos Beltran, a first-time skipper who brings zero coaching experience to the table. The fact that Beltran’s a neophyte makes it all the more important for the Mets to find an experienced bench coach capable of helping him learn the ropes. They’ve got at least two names on their radar in Fredi Gonzalez and Jerry Narron, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.
The Mets have already spoken with Gonzalez, who’s likely to have a formal interview with the club after the GM meetings, according to Puma. The 55-year-old Gonzalez is a former major league manager who oversaw the Marlins from 2007-10 and the Braves from 2011-16. More recently, Gonzalez was the Marlins’ bench coach over the previous three seasons, but he stepped down from that post a month ago.
Narron, 63, left the Diamondbacks in late October after they chose to replace him as their bench coach. He served in that role for two-plus years before the D-backs decided to give the job to Luis Urueta, though their hope was that Narron would remain a part of their coaching staff. He’s now a free agent, however, and is well-known for managing the Rangers from 2001-02 and the Reds from 2005-07.
Cubs Interested In Re-Signing Brandon Morrow
Injuries have victimized free-agent reliever Brandon Morrow over the past year and a half, which recently forced the Cubs to buy him out for $3MM in lieu of exercising a $12MM option for 2020. However, that doesn’t mean the Cubs are uninterested in keeping Morrow in the fold. On the contrary, the club’s considering trying to bring the right-handed Morrow back on a minor-league deal, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Morrow, for his part, seems open to returning to the Cubs. Agent Joel Wolfe told Wittenmyer that “Brandon feels a certain sense of loyalty and obligation back to the Cubs to stay with them if they want him on a minor-league contract or something like that. He signed with the Cubs because he thought they were the best organization out there for him, and he still believes that.”
Morrow, then fresh off a stellar season with the Dodgers, joined the Cubs on a two-year, $21MM guarantee entering 2018. The Cubs’ decision looked brilliant at first, as Morrow pumped high-90s heat and fired 30 2/3 innings of 1.47 ERA/2.97 FIP ball with 9.1 K/9, 2.64 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent groundball rate over the 2018 season’s initial few months. Unfortunately, though, Morrow hasn’t taken a major league mound since July 15 of that year because of various injuries.
Back, biceps and elbow issues have been the latest problems during an injury-laden career for Morrow, once a promising starter who reinvented himself as an effective reliever before health troubles reared their head again during his Cubs tenure. Morrow has undergone two elbow surgeries since last November, including one at the end of this season, though he has progressed well enough that he should be ready for spring training, according to Wolfe.
If Morrow does regain health by next year, he’ll have a chance to emerge as a low-cost steal for the Cubs or some other team. In the Cubs’ case, they could clearly use bullpen help – especially with Steve Cishek, Brandon Kintzler, Pedro Strop and David Phelps among their free agents. However, it’s up in the air how much money the luxury tax-minded Cubs plan on spending as they work to improve their relief corps (and their roster as a whole) after falling short of expectations in 2019. If they’re on the hunt for potential bargains, a reunion with Morrow would seemingly make sense.
Latest On Blue Jays, Matt Shoemaker
Blue Jays right-hander Matt Shoemaker seems open to signing a multiyear deal with the club, but the two sides haven’t made progress in contract talks, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. There’s a hesitance on the team’s part to give Shoemaker two guaranteed years or even one with a vesting option including performance-based escalators, Nicholson-Smith reports.
While Toronto’s reluctant to commit to Shoemaker, that doesn’t necessarily mean his time with the team is up. The Blue Jays could still welcome back Shoemaker in 2020, his last arbitration-eligible season, on what MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects would be a reasonable $3.5MM salary (the same amount he collected this season). The Jays have preferred to cut that down to $3MM with a club option for 2021, but Shoemaker hasn’t bit, Nicholson-Smith relays. Should no compromise come together by the Dec. 2 non-tender deadline, the team could cut ties with Shoemaker.
A former Angel, with whom he endured multiple injury-limited seasons, Shoemaker joined the Jays in free agency last winter and then got off to an encouraging start. He took the ball five times and amassed 28 2/3 innings of 1.57 ERA/3.95 FIP pitching with 7.53 K/9, 2.83 BB/9 and a 51.4 percent groundball rate before an injury cut him down yet again. Shoemaker tore his left ACL in late April and didn’t pitch for the rest of the season, though he does seem to be progressing well in his recovery.
Whether the Jays bring back Shoemaker could inform their offseason plans to some degree. Even though the club doesn’t look as if it’ll contend for a playoff spot in 2020, it nonetheless seems likely to push for rotation help in the next few months. The Jays already acquired one starter – former Brewer Chase Anderson – and it’s doubtful he’ll be the last one they trade for or sign prior to next year.
Giants Hire Gabe Kapler As Manager
The Giants have hired Gabe Kapler as their new manager, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group was among those to report. Kapler will take over for longtime Giants skipper Bruce Bochy, who exited after a resoundingly successful 13-year run in which he helped the club to three World Series titles. He’ll receive a three-year contract, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports California.
President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi issued a glowing assessment of Kapler, saying: “Our top priority in the next manager was to find someone who can build strong relationships with our players, coaches, front office and fans, and someone who has the drive and desire to win.”
Zaidi continued: “After an exhaustive and comprehensive search, we are delighted to welcome Gabe Kapler as the next manager of the San Francisco Giants. In my personal experience in working with Gabe, there is no one who works harder and is more committed to getting the best out of the people around him. This was also echoed in the feedback we received around the baseball community. I look forward to working with Gabe to help return the Giants to its winning tradition.”
The 44-year-old Kapler was among several candidates the Zaidi-led Giants spoke to in regards to their managerial position in recent weeks. Over the past several days, though, the search narrowed to Kapler, Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro. Espada looked like the favorite to assume the role just this past weekend, but he’ll instead lose out to Kapler, who already comes with managerial experience at the major league level.
Kapler’s on the heels of a two-year reign atop Philadelphia’s dugout, though the former outfielder’s initial run as a big league skipper didn’t go all that well. The Phillies finished 80-82 in Kapler’s first year and then went a similar 81-81 this season, despite numerous winter splashes designed to get the club back to the playoffs. In both seasons, the Phillies started well before fizzling over the summer.
While Kapler didn’t succeed in Philly, he’ll now enter into a San Francisco role where he already has a relationship with its chief baseball decision-maker. Kapler went into the interview process knowing Zaidi from the pair’s days with the Dodgers. Kapler was the Dodgers’ director of player development from 2015-17, during which Zaidi was their general manager. Over his time in Los Angeles, Kapler developed a reputation as someone open to analytics, which helped him land the job with the Phillies and likely factored into the Giants’ call to name him as Bochy’s successor.
While Kapler’s coming off a year at the helm of a team that had playoff aspirations, he’s now stepping into a job where patience is likely in order. The Giants are a few weeks removed from wrapping up their third straight sub-.500 season, so their roster is undoubtedly rife with flaws. Aging veterans such as catcher Buster Posey, first baseman Brandon Belt, shortstop Brandon Crawford, third baseman Evan Longoria (Kapler’s teammate in Tampa Bay), and right-handers Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto continue to eat up a significant amount of the Giants’ payroll. Furthermore, the club’s lacking premium young talent at the major league level, and high-end starter Madison Bumgarner and outstanding closer Will Smith could depart in free agency.
Kapler’s now part of a brain trust that includes Zaidi and Scott Harris, whom the Giants just hired as their GM. The group could make announcements in regards to Kapler’s coaching staff as early as Wednesday, according to Zaidi (via Pavlovic). San Francisco has already lost a couple of Bochy’s former assistants, Hensley Meulens and Matt Herges, to other teams.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rays Reportedly Front-Runners For Howie Kendrick
Free-agent infielder Howe Kendrick may be close to parlaying a brilliant 2019 campaign with the World Series-winning Nationals into a contract with a different club. The Rays are the front-runners to sign Kendrick, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Meanwhile, Cincinnati – another team that has been connected to Kendrick early this offseason – doesn’t seem likely to sign him, a source told Nightengale.
The 36-year-old Kendrick is well-equipped for an American League team like the Rays, with whom he’d be able to primarily serve as a first baseman/designated hitter. He’s also still versatile enough defensively to see time at second and third base. Beyond that, Kendrick’s ability to rake adds to his appeal as a free agent – one who MLBTR predicts will land a two-year, $12MM contract.
Kendrick has been a quality hitter since his career began in 2006, but he’s now on the heels of his best offensive campaign yet. While Kendrick was only a part-time player with the Nationals in 2019, he hit a jaw-dropping .344/.395/.572 with 17 home runs over 370 plate appearances. And Statcast was even more impressed with Kendrick, evidenced by an expected weighted on-base average (.419) that ranked fourth in the majors and outdid a fantastic .400 real wOBA. Once the regular season ended, Kendrick’s heroics carried into the playoffs, where he swatted a pair of home runs (one versus the Dodgers and another against the Astros) that helped the Cinderella Nationals to a championship.
While Kendrick is still clearly capable of helping just about anyone’s offense, Cincy doesn’t look like the best fit for him. The majority of Kendrick’s playing time this season came at first base, where the Reds already have Joey Votto entrenched as their starter. He also saw a decent amount of time at third base, but the Reds are committed to the big-hitting Eugenio Suarez there. Kendrick can also play second, where the Reds don’t have an established starter, though it doesn’t seem he’s a consistent option there at this point in his career. He logged just 23 games at the keystone in 2019.
Cole Hamels Drawing Significant Interest
Free-agent left-hander Cole Hamels has indicated he’s open to signing a one-year deal, but that doesn’t mean the veteran is nearing the end of his career. On the contrary, agent John Boggs told Jon Morosi of MLB.com that the soon-to-be 36-year-old Hamels aims to pitch “at least five more seasons” in the majors.
Whether Hamels has another half-decade left in him is up for debate. What’s not debatable? Hamels is one of the best, most accomplished starters on this year’s open market. Unsurprisingly, there has been plenty of interest in the former Phillie, Ranger and Cub. Thirteen teams have already reached out in regards to Hamels, according to Boggs. The identities of those clubs are unclear, though Hamels has made it known his preference is to sign with a contender. It’s also worth noting Hamels is from San Diego, and though the Padres are mired in a painfully long playoff drought, he seems open to signing with his hometown team.
“It’s cool for him to think about coming home to San Diego,” Boggs told Morosi. “More than anything, he wants to compete for a championship. The chance to win is what’s going to drive his decision-making.”
The Padres happen to be among a slew of teams in line to chase starting pitching this offseason. Hamels isn’t a top-end free agent like Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, nor is he even a second-tier type like Zack Wheeler, Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu or Jake Odorizzi, but he still looks capable of improving just about any team’s staff. While injuries limited Hamels to a mere 141 2/3 innings in 2019, he did give the Cubs a 3.81 ERA/4.09 FIP with 9.08 K/9, 3.56 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent groundball rate. Now, with no qualifying offer weighing him down, a large selection of teams seem to be zeroing in on the still-effective Hamels.
Ben Zobrist Undecided On Future
Longtime utilityman extraordinaire Ben Zobrist hasn’t decided whether he’ll continue his career in 2020, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic tweets. For now, though, Zobrist is working out in case he elects to sign a free-agent contract with a club.
The 38-year-old Zobrist has been among the majors’ most productive players over the past decade, but he’s now on the open market at what looks like an inopportune time. Zobrist was barely a factor for this year’s Cubs, as he missed a large portion of the season while dealing with a divorce. When he actually did take the field, the switch-hitting Zobrist batted a powerless .260/358/.313 with one home run over 176 plate appearances. But Zobrist’s typically high on-base percentage remained strong, and he collected almost as many walks (23) as strikeouts (24).
Thanks to Zobrist’s excellent track record and the positives he showed amid a rough 2019, there’s little doubt he’ll draw a decent amount of interest in free agency if he wishes to continue playing. That said, Zobrist has the disadvantage of being one of many flawed but capable free-agent second base types. Teams that don’t want to break the bank at the position could choose from Zobrist, Starlin Castro, Brian Dozier, Brock Holt, Howie Kendrick, Jason Kipnis and Jonathan Schoop, among others. Of course, unlike the majority of second basemen on this year’s market, Zobrist can play a respectable corner outfield. That should help Zobrist’s cause if he decides to continue his career next season.
Reds Interested In Marcell Ozuna
It’s been six years since the Reds have made the playoffs or even finished .500 in a season. President Dick Williams has made it no secret the team’s aiming to turn it around ASAP, though, which could set up for an active Reds winter. Improving a weak offense figures to be Cincinnati’s main focus over the coming months. The Reds’ outfield is one of multiple areas of concern, so it’s no surprise they seem to be looking to bolster that area of their roster. They’re among the teams interested in free agent Marcell Ozuna – arguably the top outfielder available – Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
For Ozuna to actually reach free agency, he’ll first have to reject the Cardinals’ $17.8MM qualifying offer by Thursday. That looks like a near certainty, however, and if it does happen and the Reds do sign Ozuna, they’d have to surrender their third-highest draft pick along with however much it could cost to win the bidding for him. MLBTR forecasts a three-year, $45MM contract for Ozuna, who has an extensive track record of quality production and, along with Nicholas Castellanos, looks like the best free-agent outfielder in this winter’s class. The 29-year-old Ozuna slashed .243/.330/.474 with 29 home runs, 12 steals and 2.6 fWAR across 549 plate appearances in 2019, during which he graded as a Statcast darling.
Whether the Reds get Ozuna or someone else, it’ll be an eye-opener if they don’t land at least one somewhat prominent outfielder this offseason. They’re stuck with a largely unproven group at the moment, as no one from the Nick Senzel–Aristides Aquino–Jesse Winker trio has established himself as a truly capable big league starter yet. Speculatively, if the Reds were to sign Ozuna, he could take over left field, leaving RF to a platoon consisting of the lefty-swinging Winker and the righty-hitting Aquino.