Brian Cashman On Yankees’ Deadline Interest In Marcus Stroman
Considering the bevy of rumors linking Marcus Stroman to the Yankees before July’s trade deadline, it wasn’t a surprise rebuilding Toronto sent the right-hander to New York during the summer. It was, however, unexpected that Stroman ended up with the Mets instead of the Yankees. It turns out the Yankees’ interest in Stroman – although real – wasn’t especially high, general manager Brian Cashman reveals to Yahoo Sports’ Wallace Matthews in a quality piece profiling the longtime executive.
“We were interested in Stroman but we didn’t think he would be a difference-maker,” Cashman said. “We felt he would be in our bullpen in the postseason.”
That’s an eyebrow-raising quote in regards to Stroman, who was plenty effective in the Yankees’ division – the American League East – from 2014-18. Despite Stroman’s successful track record, his remaining year and a half of affordable team control and the Yankees’ apparent need for starters, they held firm when the Jays “were demanding” outfielder Clint Frazier in a package for the hurler, Matthews reports. Frazier drew plenty of rumored interest from around the league before the deadline, at which point he was languishing in the minors, but he stayed put. While Frazier’s latest recall didn’t come until rosters expanded at the beginning of this month, he has picked up some starts of late as the Yankees’ outfield deals with injuries to Aaron Hicks and Mike Tauchman.
Whether the Yankees were right to seemingly prioritize Frazier over Stroman is up for debate. No matter which side you’re on there, it’s hard to have complete confidence in the AL East winners’ rotation – something they didn’t address at the deadline – as the playoffs approach. The Yankees just lost Domingo German for the season because of a domestic violence investigation (though Cashman obviously couldn’t have foreseen that), and CC Sabathia will end his illustrious career in the bullpen after a rough, injury-plagued regular season as a starter. Sabathia’s fellow aged lefty, J.A. Happ, has joined him in struggling for most of this year, but Happ has rounded back to form lately. Even better than Happ’s recent success? Ace Luis Severino just debuted last week after a season-long battle with injuries, and James Paxton has been on a roll since mid-August.
In the event the Yankees need four starters in a postseason series, Severino, Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka (who hasn’t been great in 2019) and Happ will present their four best traditional options. While there’s a strong case that Stroman’s preferable to at least one member of that quartet, the Yankees didn’t regard him as enough of an upgrade to surrender significant young talent for him over the summer.
AL East Notes: Moreland, Jays, Hays
First baseman Mitch Moreland‘s time with the Red Sox is on the verge of ending, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe suggests. The soon-to-be free agent is likely on his way out of Boston in favor of a “younger and cheaper” option, per Abraham, who lists Michael Chavis and prospect Bobby Dalbec as immediate possibilities. While Moreland’s position, age (34) and production won’t lead to a particularly lucrative trip to free agency, he’s not fretting about the open market right now. “It was bad the last two times I went into free agency and I came out of it with a job,” Moreland told Abraham. “I’m not really worried about it yet. I just want to enjoy this last week with these guys. It’s a great group. I’ll worry about the rest when I get there.” Moreland, who has earned $18.5MM on a pair of deals with the Red Sox since 2017, is finishing up an injury-limited year. He owns a .246/.325/.502 line with 18 home runs in 317 plate appearances thus far.
- Blue Jays outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is out for the rest of the year with appendicitis, manager Charlie Montoyo told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet and other reporters. While Gurriel struggled during a truncated second half (he just came back from a month-long absence because of a strained left quad), this will go down as an encouraging season for the 25-year-old. Gurriel slashed .277/.327/.541 line and swatted 20 homers in 343 PA, and he acquitted himself decently in his first experience as a major league outfielder (minus-2 Defensive Runs Saved, plus-0.3 Ultimate Zone Rating).
- Third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., yet another young Blue Jays building block, surprised over the weekend when he suggested via an interpreter he has never lifted weights. It turns out that isn’t the case, though. Guerrero clarified his prior remarks on Monday, telling Alexis Brudnicki of MLB.com and other media through an interpreter: “They wrote that I never lifted weights before. That sounds like ‘before’ — never even in the Dominican, the States, with the team, and that wasn’t what I was saying. I was very clear, and I said that I never lifted weights in the offseason in Dominican Republic. I did a lot of other things, conditioning things, but weights at the gym, never did it before” (Sportsnet’s Arash Madani, whom Guerrero made his comments to last week, has the full transcript of their original conversation). Guerrero went on to state that he’ll add a weight program to his regimen this offseason in order to better prepare for the grind of a 162-game schedule. The 20-year-old has played in a professional-high 133 games between the majors and minors this season, including 120 with Toronto.
- After a couple injury-ravaged years, it appears outfield prospect Austin Hays is working his way into the Orioles’ season-opening plans for 2020. Hays has only played a couple weeks in the majors this year, but he has made the most of it, as Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com writes. Indeed, with a .314/.364/.627 line and four home runs in 55 PA since his Sept. 7 call-up, the 24-year-old is “making a really strong case that he can play here,” manager Brandon Hyde told Melewski. It’s not just Hays’ marvelous late-season offensive production that has turned heads, though, as Hyde noted “he’s shown us that he can play center field defense.”
Latest On Royals’ Managerial Opening
A managerial job somewhat surprisingly opened Monday when Ned Yost announced he’s retiring from his post in Kansas City after a decade at the helm. The Royals will spend the coming weeks attempting to fill the position for the first time since before the 2010 season. Although ex-Cardinals skipper and current Royals special advisor Mike Matheny looks like a candidate for the opening, he’s not the only member of the organization who will garner consideration for the role. Two of Yost’s assistants, bench coach Dale Sveum and quality control and catching coach Pedro Grifol, “are definitely in the running,” per Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com.
The 55-year-old Sveum is about to wrap up his sixth season on Yost’s staff and his second in his current role. He also has two full seasons of managerial experience at the major league level, having overseen the Cubs from 2012-13. The Cubs put up an unsightly 127-197 record during Sveum’s tenure, though those rosters weren’t exactly loaded with talent. He’d face the same non-contending problem in KC, at least initially, as the club has sewn up its second straight 100-loss season.
Grifol, who will turn 50 in November, has spent seven years with the Royals – including the past in the job he has now. While Grifol has only managed in the low minors (with the Seattle organization from 2003-05 and in ’12), he was among those who interviewed for the Baltimore job that ultimately went to Brandon Hyde last offseason.
Padres, Kirby Yates Reportedly Discussing Extension
No one knows who will manage the Padres in 2020, but that individual is in line to inherit one of baseball’s elite closers. The late-blooming Kirby Yates went on an unexpected tear in 2018 and has been even better this season, his age-32 campaign, with a stunning 1.19 ERA/1.31 FIP and 14.98 K/9 against 1.93 BB/9 against 60 2/3 innings. Considering those numbers, it’s no surprise Yates has been almost automatic in save situations, having converted a major league-leading 41 of 44 opportunities.
The utter dominance Yates has exhibited since San Diego claimed him off waivers from the Angels in 2017 has been enough to convince the Padres that they should keep him around for the long haul. The Padres “have begun discussing a contract” with the right-hander’s representatives at Beverly Hills Sports Council, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. It’s unclear whether the sides have made progress in the early stages of their talks, but Yates made it known to Acee that he’s prioritizing his family, the team’s chances of winning and how he’s “going to be valued” as he looks ahead.
“As you get older, you start realizing that if you want to win a World Series you’re running out of time to do it,” said Yates. “I’m going to be 33 years old next year. I want to win a World Series. I’ve never been in a playoff run. I’ve never been in a game in September when games matter going down the stretch being a guy you rely on to make the playoff push. That’s very important to me.”
At 70-86, the Padres have already clinched their ninth straight sub-.500 season and their 13th consecutive year without a playoff berth. With those damning results in mind, no one would blame a championship-oriented player for being reluctant to sign an extension with the club. However, the Padres have enough young talent that they could perhaps be an offseason away from pushing for relevance (that’s likely their front office’s hope at, least). And Yates may have difficulty passing on a sizable multiyear guarantee if one is presented. After all, as Acee points out, he hasn’t been in position to sign a big contract to this point. Yates entered the professional ranks as a 26th-round pick almost a decade and a half ago, going to the Red Sox in 2005, and bounced around a few other organizations before coming into his own in San Diego.
If general manager A.J. Preller doesn’t succeed in locking up Yates, he’ll be on track to play out his final season of arbitration control in 2020. Yates has earned a career-high $3,062,500 salary this year, and with saves being such an important factor in arbitration, his 2019 performance ought to help him to a notable raise if he goes through the process again.
Ben Zobrist On Future Plans
Longtime utilityman extraordinaire Ben Zobrist may be in his last week with the Cubs, but these won’t necessarily be the final days of his major league career. Zobrist, a pending free agent who will turn 39 next May, believes he’s physically capable of continuing his career in 2020, per Tom Musick of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“I feel like I can keep up,” Zobrist said.
However, that’s only one part of the equation, Musick notes, writing that “the mental grind, as well as outside interests and family commitments” all figure to play a role in whether Zobrist will keep going next season. The family aspect seems especially notable in Zobrist’s case, as he has spent most of this season on the restricted list while dealing with a divorce.
Zobrist got off to an uncharacteristically poor start this year before his off-field situation kept him away for most of May and all of June, July and August. Despite the Cubs’ September slide, though, they’ve gotten something resembling vintage Zobrist during his return this month. The switch-hitter has slashed .296/.377/.426 in 61 September plate appearances, which should make for an opportune bounce-back effort if he does take aim at another guaranteed contract over the winter.
As things stand, Zobrist’s on the cusp of wrapping up a four-year, $56MM free-agent payday that has largely worked in the Cubs’ favor. The former Ray, Athletic and Royal has given the Cubs a pair of highly productive campaigns, including a 2016 season in which he played an instrumental role in the franchise’s first World Series title since 1908. Still, it’s undetermined whether the Cubs will make an earnest attempt to bring back the aging Zobrist (or several of their other players) during what looks increasingly likely to be an offseason of notable changes.
Having slashed .263/.356/.321 with almost no power (.058 ISO, one home run) in 160 trips to the plate this year, Zobrist probably won’t be in line for anything better than a cheap one-year deal in his next trip to the market. But Zobrist still has a discerning eye that helps him reach base, evidenced by his almost identical K:BB ratio (21:20), he remains versatile enough to man the keystone and the corner outfield, and he’s a well-respected veteran. With those factors in mind, Zobrist should be able to find a job – whether in Chicago or elsewhere – in the coming months.
J.T. Realmuto To Undergo MRI On Knee
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto is dealing with a right knee issue that will require an MRI, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. Realmuto felt a “popping” in the back of his knee during the Phillies’ blowout loss to the Indians on Sunday, though the belief is that he’s not battling a significant injury, Zolecki writes.
The Phillies are just about done in the National League, where they’re six games back of a wild-card spot as the final week of the season begins. Considering the franchise oversaw an ultra-aggressive winter but is now days away from increasing its playoff drought to eight years, it’s fair to say this season has been a letdown for Philly. However, last offseason’s trade for Realmuto – previously a star with the division-rival Marlins – has been anything but a disappointment. Realmuto has been the game’s premier catcher for the second straight year, having parlayed quality offense, terrific base running and defensive virtuosity into 5.6 fWAR/4.3 bWAR through 593 plate appearances.
The Phillies have seemingly little to play for at this point, which figures to increase their cautiousness in regards to Realmuto’s health. He’s slated to enter his final season of arbitration control in 2020, but the Phillies have made it clear that they want to extend the franchise backstop before a potential trip to free agency in another year-plus. Realmuto’s future is one of the key issues general manager Matt Klentak & Co. will address in the offseason.
MLBTR Poll: Joe Maddon’s Future
To say Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s stint with the franchise has been a success would be a massive understatement. Since the Cubs hired the former Tampa Bay skipper in November 2014, they’ve amassed a sterling regular-season record of 469-335 and made the playoffs four consecutive times. Undoubtedly, though, the greatest triumph during Maddon’s days atop the Cubs’ dugout has been the World Series title they won in 2016, ending a 108-year drought for the North Siders. It’s likely Maddon will always be a beloved Cubs figure as a result of that victory and the rest of his accomplishments with the organization, but after a half-decade, the 65-year-old’s tenure may be winding down.
Although he’s in the last year of his contract, Maddon said just last month that he expects to manage the Cubs again in 2020. However, that was before a late-season collapse by Chicago, which led the NL Central race by two games over Milwaukee at the time of Maddon’s comments. Now, not only are the Cubs out of contention in the division with a week left in the season, but they’re very likely to miss the playoffs for the first time during the Maddon era. At 82-74, they’re seven games back of the archrival Cardinals in the Central and four behind the Brewers and Nationals in the wild-card hunt. With the season on the line, the Cubs have dropped six straight games, all but knocking themselves out of the race in the process.
Thanks in large part to their recent skid, the Cubs have gone a dismal 9-12 in September. It would surely be unfair to solely blame Maddon for that – they’ve dealt with injuries to the likes of Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Cole Hamels, after all, and big-money closer Craig Kimbrel can’t seem to buy a save – but the Cubs could nonetheless elect to go in a different direction at manager. Barring a last-second surge (plus a horrible finish for the Brewers or Nats), president of baseball operations Theo Epstein at least figures to seriously make over the Cubs’ roster during the offseason. Do you expect a change in the dugout to accompany that?
(Poll link for app users)
Will Joe Maddon manage the Cubs in 2020?
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No 76% (9,040)
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Yes 24% (2,921)
Total votes: 11,961
MLBTR Chat Transcript: 9/23/19
Click here to read a transcript of Monday’s chat with Connor Byrne.
David Price Shut Down For Season, Will Undergo Minor Surgery
Sunday: Manager Alex Cora told reporters, including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter), that Price will indeed undergo surgery to have the cyst removed next week. The procedure is not expected to be extensive, adds Cotillo (on Twitter). Price is on track to have a normal spring training in 2020.
Wednesday, 4:04pm: Price has officially been shut down for the season, Cora revealed in a radio appearance on WEEI’s Ordway, Merloni and Fauria today (Twitter link).
Wednesday, 1:03am: It appears injured Red Sox left-hander David Price‘s season will come to an early end. The Red Sox are “most likely” to shut him down for the rest of 2019, manager Alex Cora told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com and other reporters.
This is anything but a shocking development, as Price’s left wrist continues to trouble him and the Red Sox have nothing of significance to play for at this point. At 9 1/2 games back of a wild-card spot with the regular season nearing a conclusion, the reigning World Series winners won’t have a chance to defend their crown in the playoffs this year.
The fact that Boston hasn’t had Price at full strength is among the reasons this will go in the books as a disappointing season for the club. Price, who has made only two starts since the beginning of August, will wind up with 107 1/3 innings of 4.28 ERA/3.63 FIP pitching on the year. He missed a couple weeks in May with a case of elbow tendinitis, and then hit the IL again last month because of a cyst in his wrist. While Price underwent a cortisone shot then in hopes of alleviating the issue, the 34-year-old still hasn’t found relief.
Price may have to undergo surgery before next season, which will be the fifth of the seven-year, $217MM contract the Red Sox gave him going into 2016. There’s still $96MM remaining on the deal, a pact Price signed when he was amid a long run as an elite workhorse. Although he’s a six-time 200-inning hurler (including in his first year with the Red Sox), Price has only averaged 119 frames per season dating back to 2017.
West Notes: Lyles, Astros, Turner, Pence, A’s
Right-hander Jordan Lyles has been terrific for the Brewers since they acquired him from the Pirates prior to the July trade deadline, but he almost ended up elsewhere before Milwaukee grabbed him. The Astros showed “strong interest” in Lyles leading up to the deadline, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports in a subscription piece delving into his late-season turnaround. Lyles was a first-round pick (38th overall) of the Astros in 2008, but he was unsuccessful as a major leaguer in Houston from 2011-13. The Astros then traded Lyles to the Rockies in a deal for outfielder Dexter Fowler. Lyles has struggled with a few other teams since then, and it’s anyone’s guess whether he’d have thrived this summer had Houston gotten him instead of Milwaukee.
After losing out on Lyles, the Astros still made a couple starting pitching additions at the deadline, landing ace Zack Greinke and another righty in Aaron Sanchez. The Greinke pickup has gone swimmingly thus far, though Sanchez fell somewhat flat before suffering a season-ending injury that might also keep him out for some portion of 2020. Considering Sanchez’s situation, not to mention the pending free agencies of starters Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley, perhaps they’ll circle back to Lyles if he hits the open market in the offseason.
Let’s check in on a few other teams from the majors’ West divisions…
- A lower back strain has shelved Rangers designated hitter/outfielder Hunter Pence since Aug. 23, and though the club’s eliminated from postseason contention, he still hopes to play again this year, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com relays. Regardless of if Pence makes it back, the Rangers will have an offseason decision on whether to re-sign the soon-to-be free agent. The 36-year-old Pence, who has revived his career in Texas, said last week he’d “love” to return to the club. However, manager Chris Woodward expressed some doubt over how Pence would fit on the roster going forward. GM Jon Daniels took a similar tone Friday, telling Sullivan: “He was extremely productive on the field, and he was [a] really valuable member of the clubhouse that you would love to have back. On the other hand, how many at-bats are we going to have for a corner outfielder-DH. On the surface, as we are currently constructed, not a lot. Things could change. That’s the reality.”
- Third baseman Justin Turner will slot back into the Dodgers’ starting lineup Saturday and Sunday, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. He won’t play a full game in either case, though, according to manager Dave Roberts. A sprained left ankle has kept Turner out dating back to Sept. 7, but he’ll now have time to tune up before the Dodgers begin a potential run to the World Series in October.
- Athletics reliever Lou Trivino hasn’t pitched since Sept. 14 because of left oblique and rib soreness. It turns out Trivino suffered the injuries when he slipped in his shower, he told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday. Trivino does expect to pitch again this season, which wasn’t going according to plan for him even before his at-home accident. While the 27-year-old largely stymied opposing hitters as a rookie in 2018, he has only managed a 5.25 ERA/4.53 FIP with 8.55 K/9 and 4.65 BB/9 in 60 innings this season.