NL Notes: Cubs, Mets, Nunez, Pirates
Checking in on the National League…
- The Cubs are “still looking to add depth” to their pitching staff, general manager Jed Hoyer tells Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. “That’s an annual thing you think about. You prepare for injuries even if some years you go unscathed,” he continued. Starting depth does appear to be an issue at the moment for the Cubs, who lack battle-tested options beyond their current projected rotation of Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, Jon Lester, Tyler Chatwood and Mike Montgomery. Of the other healthy starting possibilities on their 40-man roster, only Eddie Butler brings significant experience in the majors, though he hasn’t been particularly successful. Of course, the Cubs would help their cause quite a bit by signing Yu Darvish (who remains on their radar) or bringing in another high-profile starter via free agency or trade.
- The Mets are reportedly interested in free agent infielder Eduardo Nunez, but Mike Puma of the New York Post wonders (on Twitter) if the organization’s hitting philosophy may ultimately prevent a signing from occurring. The club “emphasizes selectivity,” Puma points out, and that’s not the case with Nunez. Among hitters with at least 400 plate appearances last year, he had the seventh-lowest walk percentage (3.7) and the 14th-highest chase rate (39.6 percent).
- Left-hander Josh Smoker went from the Mets to the Pirates in a trade this week, and it didn’t surprise the reliever that he ended up in Pittsburgh (via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). “I kind of had a feeling that Pittsburgh might have some interest because in the past I had heard rumblings that Pittsburgh had always had a little bit of interest in me,” Smoker said. “I know it’s a team that needs some left-handers, too.” Indeed, Smoker became just the fourth southpaw on the Bucs’ 40-man roster. While Smoker has only managed a 5.02 ERA across 71 2/3 career innings, he’s hopeful renowned Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage will be able to help him break out with his new team. After the trade, Smoker discussed Searage with his friend, former Pirates reliever Matt Capps, who offered praise for the pitching guru.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Free Agents, Yelich, Jays, Lynn, Astros, Cards
This week in baseball blogs…
- Athletics Nation argues that this winter’s top free agents need to lower their asking prices.
- Big Three Sports writes about the effects that a home park change will have on new Brewer Christian Yelich.
- Jays From the Couch wants Toronto to sign Lance Lynn.
- Astros County has an interesting idea for Houston’s rotation.
- Musings Of A Baseball Addict takes an in-depth look at Eric Hosmer.
- STL Hat Trick discusses the Cardinals’ offseason with Craig Mish of Sirius XM.
- The Junkball Daily reveals which pitcher benefited from the friendliest strike zone from 2014-17.
- Know Hitter makes four trade proposals involving the Marlins.
- Camden Depot still sees hope for the 2018 Orioles.
- The Point of Pittsburgh regards the Pirates and Blue Jays as logical trade partners.
- Bronx To Bushville explores why the Brewers haven’t traded Domingo Santana.
- The K Zone shares interviews with five top 100 prospects.
- Chin Music Baseball lists seven relievers with a lot to prove this year.
- The Giants Cove expects an interesting NL wild-card race in 2018.
- East Village Times wonders if the Padres should sign a free agent starter.
- The Loop Sports examines the future of the Cubs’ rotation.
- Outfield Fly Rule advocates for higher wages for minor leaguers.
- Baseball Takes contends that the Orioles do a poor job evaluating pitching.
- The 3rd Man In profiles and interviews left-hander Konnor Pilkington, one of the top pitching prospects in this year’s draft class.
- Pinstriped Prospects ranks the Yankees’ top 75 prospects.
- Moiderer’s Row focuses on the state of the AL East.
- Pirates Breakdown explains how the slow market is affecting the Bucs.
- Mets Daddy proposes a trade that would send Asdrubal Cabrera to the Marlins for Starlin Castro.
- Rox Pile names four important camp battles to watch for the Rockies.
- Motor City Bengals predicts the Tigers’ 2018 lineup.
- Dodgers Way projects the club’s bullpen.
- A’s Farm offers updates on Oakland’s stadium plans and the team’s youth movement.
- Everything Bluebirds is worried about the Blue Jays’ lack of starting pitching depth.
- Rotisserie Duck uses Major League Equivalents to evaluate prospects.
- Call to the Pen (links: 1, 2) opines that MLB should force Fred Wilpon to sell the Mets, and writes about the No. 2 spot in the Phillies’ rotation.
- NY Yankees Digest debates the five greatest Yankees of all-time.
- The Runner Sports (links: 1, 2) asks if the slow offseason will lead to a strike, and
profiles Astros prospect Jack Mayfield. - Jays Journal highlights Toronto vets who have plenty to prove.
- Great Britain Baseball celebrates its first Hall of Famer by examining Trevor Hoffman’s coaching stint for Britain during the WBC qualifiers.
- Extra Innings UK reveals the comprehensive schedule of 2018 international baseball tournaments.
- District On Deck makes five predictions on first-year Nationals manager Dave Martinez’s style.
- Puckett’s Pond ranks the five best corner infield pairs in Twins history.
Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com
AL East Notes: Rays, Odorizzi, Orioles, Jay, Yanks
Entering the offseason, Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi looked like a shoo-in to end up elsewhere via trade, but the lack of action across the majors this offseason has played a role in preventing that, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Although the soon-to-be 28-year-old Odorizzi says he’s “still happy” to be in Tampa Bay, he’s cognizant that a trade could come together in the next few weeks – especially considering all the pitchers the low-spending Rays have dealt in the past. “There’s always that unsureness, especially with us and when people get to where I’m at in contract status and years left remaining (until free agency), this is typically the time (to be traded),” Odorizzi said. “We saw (Jeremy Hellickson), David (Price), (Drew) Smyly, (Matt) Garza, like everybody who gets to that point. We know it’s a pretty strong reality of how things go.” The Rays will “almost certainly” trade Odorizzi at some point, according to Topkin, and, as the player himself pointed out, it figures to occur soon given his dwindling team control. He’s in his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility and will earn between $6.05MM and $6.3MM, depending on what the panel decides.
More from Tampa Bay and two other AL East cities:
- Along with the previously reported Carlos Gonzalez and Jarrod Dyson, the Orioles have interest in free agent outfielder Jon Jay, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Signing any of the three would give the Orioles a much-needed lefty-swinging outfielder to join a group that currently includes four righties (Adam Jones, Trey Mancini, Austin Hays and Joey Rickard) and a switch-hitter (Anthony Santander). Jay, who’ll turn 33 in March, has offered average to slightly above-average offense throughout his career, and he has typically held his own against both lefty and righty pitchers. In 433 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2017, he hit .296/.374/.375 – good for a 101 wRC+.
- The Yankees have been on the hunt for starting pitching help throughout the offseason, though they haven’t made any significant moves on that front aside from re-signing CC Sabathia. Although the Yankees have a full rotation on paper with Sabathia, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray and Jordan Montgomery, Sabathia would like to see them add to it. “It is what it is, (but) you always need more,” Sabathia said to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. “It’s a long season. You never know what’s going to happen. The more arms we got, the better.” As Kuty notes, the Yankees’ talented rotation does come with questions, namely in the form of durability/workload concerns regarding everyone in the quintet.
- Joining the Rays this week on a minor league pact was an easy decision for righty Ryan Weber, details Topkin, who adds that the 27-year-old told his agent to immediately take their offer. Weber was eager to accept the Rays’ proposal because he’s a local product who still lives in the area. “This is where I first saw a big-league game, telling my parents I’m going to be out there one day,” he said of the Rays’ home ballpark, Tropicana Field. “So to actually have a chance to play for the Rays, that’s cool. That’s pretty cool.” As a member of the Mariners last season, arm problems limited Weber to just seven appearances between the majors and minors, but he’s now “100 percent.”
AL Notes: Red Sox, O’s, Schoop, A’s, Maxwell, Twins
With so many teams unwilling to spend big money this offseason, the Red Sox are an outlier, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston writes. The BoSox have no fear of blowing past the $197MM luxury tax threshold, which Drellich posits puts them in a powerful position. And if they land J.D. Martinez (as expected), he argues that it could finally begin to break up the logjam atop the free agent market. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed Friday that Boston’s still seeking both a power bat (Martinez fits that description) and a left-handed reliever, per Drellich. Dombrowski also acknowledged that this has been an “unusual” winter, one that hasn’t necessarily been ideal for the sport. “I don’t think it’s a good situation that we’re sitting here on Feb. 2, there’s 110 free agents. I don’t think that’s good for the game, necessarily,” he said. “Does a change of system make it happen? I don’t know, we just got a new basic agreement a year ago. So, both sides agreed to that and were willing to sign it. … I don’t think you can only look at this winter time, I think then you have to look at the future, then you can analyze that.”
A few more notes from the American League…
- Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop will have his arbitration hearing Feb. 8, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. After enjoying a career season in 2017, the 26-year-old requested a $9MM salary, while the Orioles offered $7.5MM. There has reportedly been some discord between the two sides in salary negotiations, which could bode poorly for the Orioles’ chances of keeping Schoop past 2019 – his final year of arb eligibility.
- Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell has a Feb. 12 settlement conference in Phoenix stemming from his October arrest on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The fact there’s a conference opens the door for a plea deal with the state of Arizona, Slusser notes, and the expectation is that they will come to an agreement prior to spring training. If no deal is reached, Maxwell is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 9, which was pushed back from the original date of April 10, according to Slusser.
- Minnesota’s unexpected return to the playoffs in 2017 helped the club land free agent reliever Zach Duke this winter, as the left-hander spurned other teams for the Twins’ $2MM deal (via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). “I had a couple offers out there, but after examining rosters, the way teams are put together, atmosphere, and talking to people I knew that had been in certain places, the Twins just made sense,” Duke explained. “This team is on the edge of being really good for a while and has the same type of feel as the Astros with a bunch of really good young position players, but maybe a pitcher or two away.” After undergoing Tommy John surgery as a member of the Cardinals in October 2016, Duke didn’t debut last season until July, and he only recorded 18 1/3 innings on the year. Heading into 2018, the soon-to-be 35-year-old is confident he’ll return to his pre-surgery effectiveness.
NL Notes: D-backs, Mets, Cards, A. Reyes
Thanks in part to the signing of catcher Alex Avila to a two-year, $8.25MM deal this week, the Diamondbacks are on track to run a franchise-record payroll in 2018 (upward of $120MM), as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes. They may not be done adding, either, as general manager Mike Hazen informed Piecoro that the Diamondbacks still have financial flexibility and are seeking another outfielder. “We’re still very much involved in both,” Hazen said of free agency and the trade market. “We have enough balls in the air, we could be a couple of yesses away from something getting done in any direction. We’re not close on anything just yet.” With A.J. Pollock being the only natural center fielder on the D-backs’ 40-man roster, they could pick up someone capable of handling that spot, Piecoro reports.
More from the NL:
- The Mets plan to continue with a timeshare at catcher consisting of Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki in 2018, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. Although there may be an upgrade available in free agency (past Mets target Jonathan Lucroy, to be specific), GM Sandy Alderson is inclined to stick with with his in-house tandem. “At that position, I think it would be difficult for us to find a pair that we like appreciably better,” he said. “I think we’ve been generally happy with our catching play.” The 28-year-old d’Arnaud and Plawecki, 26, represent a pair of former top 100 prospects who haven’t delivered as hoped in the majors (injury woes are partly to blame in the former’s case), but they each posted passable offensive numbers a season ago. D’Arnaud also graded as one of the majors’ top pitch framers in 2017, per Baseball Prospectus (though StatCorner saw things differently).
- As he continues working back from February 2017 Tommy John surgery, Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes is in Jupiter Fla., throwing off a mound and facing hitters in live batting practice sessions, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com relays. The Cardinals are hopeful Reyes will be able to return to game action by May 1, according to Langosch. The highly touted 23-year-old figures to fill a bullpen role upon coming back, but the Cards continue to regard him as a long-term starter, per Langosch.
- Former Mets manager Terry Collins is now working as a special assistant to Alderson, and he explained what some of his new role will entail to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. “I will be another set of eyes, and one of the things is to make sure the instruction at the minor league level is efficient,” revealed Collins, a former minor league manager. “We have to make sure, when they call up a player, he’s ready. I think I still have something to give to the game.” On whether he’d like to manage in the majors again, the 68-year-old Collins said, “I would, but I don’t think with the new era of stuff that would happen.”
Rangers Notes: Andrus, Darvish, Choo, Outfield
Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus will be able to opt out of his contract next offseason, which would mean leaving a guaranteed four years and $58MM on the table. The Rangers are bracing for that to happen, though general manager Jon Daniels has had brief talks regarding an opt-out-preventing deal with Andrus’ agent, Scott Boras, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. For his part, the 29-year-old Andrus told Wilson and other reporters that he doesn’t view the upcoming season “as a free-agent [year],” and that he’d like to stay with Texas for the rest of his career. Andrus has been a member of the Rangers organization since coming over in a blockbuster trade with the Braves in 2007. He’s currently fresh off arguably his top season, in which he posted a career-best 4.1 fWAR – thanks in part to a personal-high home run total (20; Andrus entered the year with just 35 from 2009-16).
More from Arlington:
- For a large portion of his career, Andrus has been teammates with right-hander Yu Darvish, who ranks as this offseason’s most prominent free agent. While the Rangers and Darvish would like to reunite, it doesn’t sound as if it’s going to happen. When discussing the 31-year-old with MLB Network Radio on Friday (Twitter link), Daniels said that the Rangers “have maintained contact with Darvish,” but “it’s very unlikely” they’ll sign “any upper-end pitchers.” At the very least, that would seem to rule out Darvish and Jake Arrieta, while Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn could also be too expensive for a team with limited financial wiggle room. The Rangers are reportedly aiming to spend around $155MM in 2018, and they already have approximately $144MM in commitments.
- The Rangers have also shown interest this offseason in outfielders – including their own free agent, Carlos Gomez, and newly signed Brewer Lorenzo Cain – but Daniels seems content to stick with his in-house options. Texas “talked about Cain” before he went to Milwaukee, Daniels acknowledged to MLB Network Radio, but “it’s not likely at this point” the team will pick up a veteran outfielder. The Rangers are bullish on Drew Robinson, according to Daniels, who’d like to give chances to him and fellow young outfielders Delino DeShields, Nomar Mazara and Willie Calhoun. As far as playing time goes, adding a vet to put ahead of those four “would be a little counterproductive,” Daniels noted.
- Texas already has a highly experienced outfielder in Shin-Soo Choo, who Daniels suggested will see plenty of time at designated hitter this season. That was the case in 2017, when Choo appeared in 75 games in the outfield and 65 at DH. Metrics have pegged Choo as a minus defender for most of his career, which doesn’t figure to change during a year in which he’ll turn 36, but he’d still like to factor into the outfield mix. “I’m healthy, my legs feel good, I can play the outfield,” he said (via T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com). “I can still catch a fly ball. I can play the field and help this team.” Choo added that he’ll discuss his role with manager Jeff Banister in spring training.
Marlins’ J.T. Realmuto Still Hoping For Trade
Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto requested a trade out of Miami in December, owing to a lack of desire to play for a franchise that’s in the midst of a monumental teardown. At the time, the Marlins had already traded three of their top players – Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon. Nearly two months later, Realmuto remains on the Marlins’ roster, though they parted with yet another star (Christian Yelich) last week. Unsurprisingly, then, Realmuto continues to hope for a trade prior to the season, his agent, Jeff Berry of CAA Baseball, told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
“No matter how his arbitration hearing turned out, J.T.’s preference remains the same,” said Berry. “He would like to be traded to another organization before spring training so he has an opportunity to compete for a championship.”
Berry mentioned Realmuto’s arb hearing, which he lost. As a result, the 26-year-old will make $2.9MM this year instead of the $3.5MM he requested. That fairly negligible difference isn’t going to affect Realmuto’s value, however, as it’s an extremely small price to pay for one of baseball’s best backstops. Realmuto’s also under arbitration control through 2019 and ’20, so he figures to give either the Marlins or another team a reasonably priced solution behind the plate for the next three years.
In talks with the Nationals and other clubs, the Marlins unsurprisingly “have been holding out for multiple high-end prospects,” Jackson writes. While slashing payroll has been a prime objective for the franchise this offseason, trading the cheap Realmuto would be more of a farm system-bolstering maneuver than anything. The Marlins, to their credit, have made headway in restocking the lower levels this offseason. Thanks to the trades they’ve made since December, they’ve climbed from 30th to 19th in Baseball America’s organizational rankings (subscription required and recommended). Miami still has plenty of work to do to turn its system into a strength, though, and moving Realmuto would further help the team achieve that.
Tony Clark, Agents On Slow-Moving Offseason
Player agent Brodie Van Wagenen took aim at MLB owners on Friday regarding this year’s historically slow-moving open market. Reactions to the lack of free agent activity this winter have continued to pour in since, including from MLBPA executive director Tony Clark.
“For decades free agency has been the cornerstone of baseball’s economic system & has benefited Players and the game alike,” Clark said. “Each time it has been attacked, Players, their representatives & the Association have united to defend it. That will never change.”
Clark’s remarks come at a time of growing unrest from the players, many of whom have voiced their displeasure with the fact that owners aren’t opening their checkbooks for free agents this winter. One prominent example is Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who, despite signing a five-year, $80MM contract a winter ago, recently raised the idea of the players going on strike when the current collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2021. His teammate Rich Hill, who also received a big payday last offseason (three years, $48MM), told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe last week that “how the free agent market has been going has been disconcerting this offseason and a lot of players are concerned about it.” Hill called the situation “really bad” and noted that “players just want what’s fair.”
As FanGraphs’ Craig Edwards pointed out Friday, the majors’ cumulative payroll is almost sure to stagnate or decrease compared to 2017, even though all 30 owners received a $50MM payout this year from MLB’s sale of BAMTech to Disney. To this point of the offseason, only two of MLBTR’s top 10 free agents – the Brewers’ Lorenzo Cain (five years, $80MM) and the Rockies’ Wade Davis (three years, $52MM) – have found teams. Of MLBTR’s pre-offseason top 50 free agents, nearly half are currently unsigned, which is staggering given that the market opened three months ago and spring training is only a few weeks away.
Like their fellow agent Van Wagenen, Seth Levinson of ACES and Joshua Kusnick of Double Diamond Sports Management spoke out against the current state of affairs Friday. In a statement of his own (via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic), Levinson offered:
“There is a bond that exists between Clubs and its fan base. The integrity of that time-honored relationship is predicated upon the good faith effort of the Club to compete to the best of its ability. The CBA which defines the relationship between Clubs and Players is a good faith effort to create and assure that there is a competitive balance among all Clubs so that the greater good and best interests of the game are served.
“There may be legitimate reasons for the problems that players have encountered in this market. That said, there is no Industry in this country where competing businesses act in virtually an identical manner. It is disconcerting, and disheartening for Clubs that are awash in revenue and or are fully capable of improving its product to choose to do otherwise. Jerry Dipoto so eloquently made the point that there may be more Clubs competing for the 1st pick in the June Amateur Draft than for the World Series.”
As Van Wagenen and Levinson did, Kusnick (via Twitter) suggested that collusion is at play, saying “it is impossible” for him to believe that all 30 teams are suddenly evaluating players the same. He went on to reveal that he has six major league free agents who are currently seeking minors deals, contending that the freeze at the top of the market is preventing teams from showing much interest in lesser FAs.
“It really does trickle down to A-ball, and I have never dealt with anything like this in 15 years,” continued Kusnick, who added that “ownership has historically attempted to subvert the players’ ability to earn the maximum amount of dollars for their services. And just because we have enjoyed an unprecedented stretch of labor peace that has benefited both sides does not mean the players are oblivious to the realities that this market has presented. The MLBPA and players have been tested before but have never broken. It will not happen this time either.”
Kusnick closed with “those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it,” which could be a warning toward owners that players will strike again – as they most recently did in 1994-95 – if necessary. The game’s latest work stoppage resulted in the loss of an entire season two-plus decades ago, and we may be headed down a similar road within the next few years if the league and the union don’t start finding common ground by then. With commissioner Rob Manfred pushing to implement pace-of-play changes that most players are less than thrilled with, the relationship between the sides is seemingly on the verge of getting even worse.
J.T. Realmuto Loses Arbitration Case
Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto has lost his arbitration case against the Marlins, Jon Heyman of FanRag tweets. Realmuto was seeking a $3.5MM salary for 2018, but he’ll earn $2.9MM instead. The CAA Sports client is the first player to lose an arb hearing this offseason, as teammate Justin Bour, Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts and Diamondbacks righty Shelby Miller won theirs earlier this week.
It’s unclear whether Realmuto will collect his 2018 salary from the Marlins or another club, given that the 26-year-old stands out as the rebuilding team’s most valuable trade chip. Realmuto has drawn significant interest this winter from the NL East rival Nationals, who have a glaring need behind the plate and a willingness to deal a couple of their top prospects to address it.
Regardless of which uniform he wears this year, Realmuto figures to continue as one of the game’s most valuable backstops. In 2017, his third season, he accumulated upward of 3.5 fWAR for the second straight campaign. Realmuto slashed a solid .278/.332/.451 with 17 home runs in a career-high 579 plate appearances, though his work behind the plate only drew mixed reviews. While Realmuto earned negative marks as a pitch framer from Baseball Prospectus between 2015-16, he was well above average in that department last year, according to BP. Conversely, StatCorner ranked him one of the game’s worst framers in 2017.
The validity of framing metrics may be somewhat up for debate, but it’s clear Realmuto is eminently valuable – particularly at such a low salary and with three years of control remaining. The fact that the arbitration cases for him and Bour are now settled leaves the Marlins with righty Dan Straily as their only arb-eligible player whose 2018 salary isn’t yet determined, as MLBTR’s Arb Tracker shows.
Justin Bour Wins Arbitration Case Over Marlins
Marlins first baseman Justin Bour has won his arbitration case over the Marlins, according to his agent, Marc J. Kligman of Total Care Sports Management (Twitter link). Bour will earn $3.4MM in 2018, his first year of arbitration eligibility, beating out the $3MM salary the Marlins proposed. MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected a $3.5MM award for Bour at the outset of the offseason.
The victory for the 29-year-old Bour comes on the heels of a career season in which he slashed a robust .289/.366/.536 with 25 home runs and a .247 ISO in 429 plate appearances. While the lefty-swinging Bour struggled versus same-handed pitchers from 2014-16, he turned it around against them last year and established himself as an everyday first baseman.
Overall, Bour has been a significant offensive threat during parts of four major league seasons, having batted .273/.346/.489 across 1,279 PAs. However, he has never played more than 129 games in an individual campaign, and injuries helped limit him to a combined 198 contests from 2016-17 (108 last year).
Should Bour stay healthy in 2018, he’ll be one of the few consistent forces in a Miami lineup that, compared to prior years, looks depleted. The club has traded away its previous starting outfield – Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich – in cost-cutting moves this offseason, leaving Bour and catcher J.T. Realmuto as its offensive centerpieces. It’s possible Realmuto will also find himself in another uniform by the start of the season, given the plethora of trade rumors surrounding him this winter. Bour, on the other hand, seems likely to remain a Marlin.