Quick Hits: Mets, Indians, Rockies, Dodgers
Durability is the main reason the Mets should re-sign impending free agent Bartolo Colon, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The right-hander will be 44 next season, but he still led the Mets in starts (33) and innings pitched (191 2/3) this year. Colon hasn’t thrown fewer than 190 1/3 frames in a season since 2012, and he’s one of just 14 pitchers to make 30-plus starts in each of the past four campaigns, notes Sherman. It also helps that Colon remains highly effective, having logged a 3.43 ERA to go with 6.01 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9 this year. If they let Colon go, the Mets will have plenty of other rotation options on hand in Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman, though injuries or inexperience are concerns with certain members of the group. Whether it’s with the Mets or someone else, Colon should be in line for a raise over the $7.25MM he made this year.
Here’s more from around the majors:
- An important reinforcement could be on the way for the Indians, who will have a chance to sweep the Red Sox on Sunday to advance to the ALCS. Injured right-hander Danny Salazar threw a 35-pitch bullpen session in Arizona on Friday and is hoping to come back from a month-long absence if the Indians advance, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Salazar started in all 25 of his regular-season appearances before succumbing to a forearm strain in early September, but he’ll work out of the bullpen in the event of a return. As of now, Salazar is only throwing fastballs and changeups because his curveball was his main source of discomfort, per Bastian.
- With Walt Weiss gone and the Rockies in search of a new manager, the team parted with multiple members of his coaching staff Saturday, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Colorado let go of bench coach Tom Runnells, hitting coach Blake Doyle, first base coach Eric Young, and catching coach/defensive coordinator Rene Lachemann. Pitching coach Steve Foster, bullpen coach Darren Holmes and third base coach Stu Cole are still with the team, but it’s unknown if they’ll keep their jobs.
- Nationals outfielder Chris Heisey didn’t enjoy his one-year stint with the Dodgers, he told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Heisey joined the club prior to the 2015 season and then spent the year shuffling between Triple-A Oklahoma City and LA. The Dodgers optioned Heisey five times, recalled him five times, and also released and re-signed him. “On the personal side, they may not realize the toll it may take on a player’s confidence when he’s going up and down, taken off the roster, put back on the roster, in my case released and signed back,” said Heisey. “It was a crazy year. I made some good friends there, so it wasn’t all bad. But it was tough.” Heisey collected 72 plate appearances as a Dodger and another 262 in OKC. The 31-year-old then signed a minor league with the Nationals during the offseason, but all 155 of his PAs since have come with Washington. “I think this year has been a lot better in that regard — being comfortable, being with the same guys all year, competing at the highest level and not having to go back and forth and say goodbye to my family so many different times. That was one of the harder parts,” added Heisey, whose Nats dropped the first game of the NLDS to the Dodgers on Friday.
Eric Sogard Elects Free Agency
Second baseman Eric Sogard was among the many players the Athletics outrighted off their 40-man roster earlier this week. That may have ended Sogard’s tenure with the organization, as the 30-year-old has elected free agency in lieu of an assignment to Triple-A Nashville, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
Sogard, whom the Padres chose in the second round of the 2007 draft, joined the A’s in 2010 in a trade that also sent Kevin Kouzmanoff to Oakland. Sogard garnered minimal major league experience over his first three seasons with the A’s, but his playing time picked up in earnest in 2013. Between then and 2015, Sogard amassed 1,140 plate appearances and batted a below-average .247/.305/.315. On the plus side, Sogard graded well on the base paths and in the field during that span, per FanGraphs, and he showed off some versatility by spending time at shortstop and third base.
Injuries were the main story during the 2016 campaign for Sogard, who began the year on the disabled list with a shoulder problem and then underwent season-ending knee surgery in April. Sogard made $1.5MM this year and was scheduled to go through arbitration for the third and final time during the offseason. He’ll instead hit free agency a year early.
Alex Anthopoulos Turns Down Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks contacted Dodgers vice president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos about their vacant general manager position, but the 39-year-old told Arizona he’s not interested, reports FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman. Anthopoulos is content in Los Angeles, per Heyman, who notes that the former Blue Jays GM’s two young children just started school in the area.
Anthopoulos previously spurned the Twins, who wanted to meet with him regarding their open president of baseball operations position, so his decision to reject the Diamondbacks isn’t necessarily a shot at them as much as a desire to remain in LA. Regardless, Heyman doesn’t expect the D-backs to have difficulty finding a successor to Dave Stewart. Although multiple executives across baseball have expressed concerns about Arizona’s recent lack of front office stability, someone with interest in the position told Heyman that it’s “BS,” noting that “only 30 of these jobs” exist.
Since the Diamondbacks parted with Stewart on Monday, ex-Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, MLB senior vice president Kim Ng, fellow league executive Peter Woodfork, and Brewers VP of scouting Ray Montgomery have all emerged as outside candidates to replace him. In-house options include assistant GM Bryan Minniti and farm director Mike Bell.
AL East Notes: Jays, Liriano, Red Sox, Dombrowski
There is no timetable for the return of Blue Jays left-hander Francisco Liriano, who suffered a concussion in the club’s 5-3 win over Texas on Friday, per team trainer George Poulis (via Jeff Blair of Sportsnet). The injury is the result of an eighth-inning Carlos Gomez line drive that struck the back of Liriano’s head and knocked him out of the game after he retired one batter and allowed two earned runs, two hits and a walk. The Jays could drop Liriano from their ALDS roster and get him back for the ALCS if they ultimately close out the Rangers, whom they lead 2-0 in the best-of-five series. Liriano would first have to pass Major League Baseball’s concussion protocol, however.
Now the latest from Boston:
- In an expansive interview with Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski expressed confidence about the club’s long-term outlook. The Red Sox are “pretty solidified” from a position player perspective, said Dombrowski, though he acknowledged that trying to replace what retiring designated hitter David Ortiz has brought to the table as a producer and leader will be nearly impossible. Dombrowski also noted that the Sox have five starting pitchers – David Price, Rick Porcello, Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz – under control for the next couple years. It remains to be seen where that will leave Clay Buchholz, who will attempt to keep the Red Sox alive when he starts Game 3 of the ALDS in Cleveland on Sunday. The Red Sox will have a decision to make after the season on Buchholz’s $13.5MM club option. Buchholz spent time in the bullpen this year, and Dombrowski doesn’t seem worried about his group of relievers going forward. “The bullpen, we’ve got (Craig) Kimbrel set up and some other good arms out there. We’re going to lose some bullpen guys, but that’s not quite as big an area [to fill],” added Dombrowski. Koji Uehara, Brad Ziegler, Junichi Tazawa, all of whom have experienced success in Boston, are each scheduled to hit the open market after the season.
- The Red Sox finished third in the AL in wins and first in run differential during the regular season, but with the team facing a sweep, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald wonders if Dombrowski did enough to bolster the roster over the summer. In-season trade pickups Pomeranz, Fernando Abad and Aaron Hill haven’t contributed as much as Boston hoped they would since acquiring them, with Abad having missed the cut for Boston’s ALDS roster. Drellich asked Dombrowski if he should have made more significant summer deals, but the executive is content with the moves he made. “No, I’m comfortable with what we did, sure,” he said. “I don’t know what you mean ‘bigger.’ We led the league in runs scored, we were one of the best in pitching.”
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Yanks, Bucs, Freeman, Brewers, Jays, O’s
This week in the baseball blogosphere…
- Outside Pitch MLB examines the possibility of a Yankees–Pirates trade involving center fielder Andrew McCutchen.
- MLB451 predicts the postseason.
- Wayniac Nation explains why Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman deserves NL MVP consideration.
- BaseballDocs puts together a couple potential Brewers–Dodgers trades featuring outfielders Ryan Braun and Yasiel Puig.
- Now On Deck has an offseason plan for the Orioles.
- Clutchlings revisits the 2012 Blue Jays–Mets deal that sent R.A. Dickey to Toronto and Noah Syndergaard to New York.
- Chin Music Baseball lists six non-playoff teams that will be under pressure to compete next year.
- Brew Crew Fever grades the Brewers’ season.
- The Point of Pittsburgh projects salary figures for the Pirates’ arbitration-eligible players.
- Camden Depot names the five biggest surprises of the Orioles’ season.
- Jays From the Couch likes Toronto in an underdog role.
- Yanks Go Yard breaks down the Yankees’ platoon options for 2017.
- Pirates Breakdown delves into recent budget-related comments by general manager Neal Huntington.
- Halo Headquarters identifies some Angels prospects who could make big league impacts in 2017.
- Dan Grant of Same Page Team touches on Blue Jays–Rangers, Orioles manager Buck Showalter’s avoidance of superstar closer Zach Britton in the AL wild-card game, and the Toronto fan who threw a beer can at O’s outfielder Hyun Soo Kim. Everything Bluebirds also blasts that fan for his moronic act.
- All Sports With Steve argues that Major League Baseball should extend the wild-card round to three games.
- DieHard NYY doesn’t want the Yankees to trade catcher Brian McCann.
- The Runner Sports looks back on the Astrodome’s role as a shelter during Hurricane Katrina.
Please send submissions to ZachBBWI @gmail.com
Tigers Exercise Brad Ausmus’ Option
TODAY: Detroit has formally announced that Ausmus will be back next season. The press release makes no mention of any additional contract years, so it doesn’t seem that he has received any longer-term assurances.
YESTERDAY: The Tigers will exercise manager Brad Ausmus’ option for 2017, reports Chris McCosky of the Detroit News (Twitter link). Under Ausmus, the Tigers have gone 250-234 – including 86-75 in 2016 – with one playoff appearance in three seasons.
Detroit fell 2.5 games short of an American League wild-card spot this year, and there have been questions over the past several months regarding Ausmus’ job security. Ausmus seemed frustrated with his status over the weekend, telling reporters to “ask whoever’s managing next year” when they inquired about how the Tigers plan to use reliever Bruce Rondon in 2017. Ausmus also said he has “kind of been an interim manager for like two years.” Nevertheless, the former big league catcher expressed a desire to continue as Detroit’s skipper.
“It’s going to be between me and Al,” he said, referring to general manager Al Avila. “If Al thinks he would rather have someone else, I would respect his decision. If Al would like me to do it, I would love to do it. But to speculate over it is a waste of time.”
Avila was scheduled to meet with Ausmus sometime this week to discuss the latter’s job. It now appears Ausmus will get another chance with a Detroit team that has gone back-to-back years without a playoff berth.
Cardinals, Carlos Martinez Interested In Extension
The Cardinals and right-hander Carlos Martinez have mutual interest in a contract extension, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The two sides plan to discuss a deal in the coming months and could reach an agreement by next season, per Goold, who notes that the Cardinals have previously signed the likes of Adam Wainwright, Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina and Kolten Wong to extensions during spring training.
Martinez is currently on track to make his first trip through arbitration during the offseason, which means the Cardinals’ days of paying him a relative pittance are over. As a result, there’s less incentive for him to sign a team-friendly extension. He’ll also be eligible for arbitration after the next two seasons and is scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the 2019 campaign.A long-term deal would require the Cardinals to buy out free agent years for Martinez, thereby increasing his price tag.
The Cardinals signed Martinez as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2010, and after spending a couple seasons as primarily a reliever in the majors, the 25-year-old served as a front-line starter over the past two campaigns. Martinez logged a 3.04 ERA, 8.02 K/9, 3.23 BB/9 and 56.4 percent ground-ball rate over a career-high 195 1/3 innings in 2016, and he was similarly effective last year. In 2015, his first season as a full-time starter, Martinez earned an All-Star nod and posted a 3.01 ERA and 54.5 percent ground rate to complement a 9.22 K/9 and 3.13 BB/9 in 179 2/3 frames. Wins also matter to arbitrators and agents, and Martinez has racked up 30 victories against just 16 losses since last season.
Among starters who have signed extensions over the past year-plus, the Indians’ Corey Kluber is a potential comparable for Martinez solely in terms of production. Kluber was entering his age-29 season at the time (April 2015) and still hadn’t reached arbitration eligibility, but his output from 2013-14 was similar to Martinez’s from 2015-16. In the two years before his extension, Kluber went 29-14 with a 2.98 ERA and 9.52 K/9 against 1.97 BB/9 over 383 innings. That led to a five-year extension worth $38.5MM in guarantees. As a younger starter who’s closer to free agency than Kluber was, Martinez could certainly have a case for a richer deal.
Manfred On Playoffs, Rosters, HRs, Expansion, Fernandez
Major League Baseball’s wild-card game is in its fifth year, and it doesn’t sound as if it’s going away. Speaking to reporters before Tuesday’s single-elimination matchup between Toronto and Baltimore, commissioner Rob Manfred expressed support for the format. “In terms of the games themselves, I understand that baseball doesn’t usually have one-game knockouts, but I do believe these two games get our playoff season off to a really exciting start,” said Manfred. “I’ve gone to the wild card games, each of them, the last two seasons. The atmospheres in the ballparks are phenomenal, and I think it gives a great jump start to our playoff season.”
Manfred also touched on several other pertinent topics as the league and the players’ association continue working toward a new collective bargaining agreement. Here’s a roundup (courtesy of the Associated Press and Jim Caple of ESPN.com):
- For the first five months of the regular season, all major league teams play with a 25-man active roster. When Sept. 1 rolls around, that number increases to 40. September doesn’t quite resemble the rest of the regular season as a result, and Manfred isn’t a fan. “I don’t think 18 pitchers in a game is a good thing,” Manfred said of the increase in pitching changes that September brings. “I do believe in a reform of those rules, again protecting the benefits that are available to players, I’m not looking to take away service time or anything like that, but I do think it would make sense to get to a situation where we played out September games closer to the rules that we play with the rest of the year.”
- Home runs have skyrocketed across the majors in recent seasons, leading to questions about whether the ball is juiced. Manfred shot down that idea, saying, “We are absolutely convinced this issue is not driven by a difference in the baseball. My own view is the spike is related to the way the game is being played now, the way we are training hitters from a very young age. We have not been able to find any external cause that explains the spike in home runs.” Whatever the reason, batters hit nearly 1,500 more HRs this season than they did in 2014 (5,610 to 4,186), while the league’s homer-to-fly ball rate was at 9.5 percent two years ago compared to 12.8 percent in 2016.
- In terms of putting together a schedule, 32 teams would be better than the current total of 30, according to Manfred. However, he’s not on board with expansion until the stadium situations with the Athletics and Rays are figured out.
- Manfred left open the possibility of eventually introducing an award to honor former Marlins ace Jose Fernandez, who died in a boating accident Sept. 25. “I understand there’s some strong feelings on this topic,” Manfred stated. “It’s not the right time of year to be thinking about additional awards. But it’s an issue we’ll talk about during the offseason. Obviously, we recognize the significance of Jose in terms of his importance to the Marlins franchise, and the fact that he was symbolic of the next generation of players.”
- MLB has come out in support of the Save America’s Pastime Act, a piece of legislation that limits the pay and benefits of minor league players. When Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star (Twitter link) pressed Manfred on that Tuesday, the commissioner commented, “We’re not opposed to paying minor league players any particular wage. What we are opposed to is the imposition of administrative requirements in terms of keeping track of hours and overtime.” Manfred also referred to those requirements as “impractical” and wondered aloud whether extra batting practice or going to the gym would qualify as overtime. “For us it’s really not about the money so much as the burden that would be imposed,” he added.
NL Notes: Mets, Cubs, Fowler, Marlins
Mets left-hander Steven Matz underwent successful surgery to repair a “massive” bone spur in his elbow on Tuesday, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com was among those to report. Matz, who hasn’t pitched since Aug. 14, also received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his left shoulder. The 25-year-old should be at full health by spring training, according to the club. Despite dealing with injuries, Matz logged a 3.40 ERA, 8.77 K/9, 2.11 BB/9 and 51.1 percent ground-ball rate in 132 1/3 innings as a rookie.
More regarding New York and two other National League clubs:
- Cubs president Theo Epstein revisited the team’s late-February re-signing of center fielder Dexter Fowler, telling Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, “It wasn’t like we swooped in at the last minute and stole him from Baltimore.” It appeared that way at first, as Fowler reportedly had a three-year, $33MM agreement in place with the Orioles. But Fowler told Sullivan, “I actually didn’t know where the report came from. That thing is still a mystery to me. But the right people knew what the deal was.” The Cubs actually kept in contact with Fowler all along, and Epstein even offered to call other teams to vouch for Fowler during his unemployed stint. “I wanted the best for Dexter,” said Epstein. “I kept getting updates, and then when we got into spring training, I told (agent Casey Close) ‘No promises, but look, if it ends up he’s looking at any one-year scenario, stay in touch because we might be able to make a trade or do some things that would put him back in play for us.” After Fowler’s deal with the Orioles didn’t materialize, Epstein cleared $4.8MM in salary by trading fellow outfielder Chris Coghlan to the A’s (the Cubs re-acquired Coghlan in June). Epstein then brought back Fowler on a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2017. At $8MM ($13MM if either side declines the option), Fowler was a bargain for the Cubs during the regular season – he hit .276/.393/.447 with 13 homers and 13 steals and accounted for 4.8 fWAR in 551 plate appearances – and will now attempt to help the NL Central champions to their first World Series title since 1908.
- Former Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez is a candidate to return to the team as its third base coach, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Gonzalez was previously the Marlins’ third base coach from 1999-2000, and he took over as their manager in 2007. The Marlins went 276-279 before Gonzalez’s ouster in June 2010 and finished over .500 in two of his three full seasons. Gonzalez then worked as the Braves’ manager from 2011 until his firing this past May. Atlanta compiled a 434-413 record under Gonzalez and made two playoff trips.
- In further Mets injury news, first-round draft pick Anthony Kay underwent Tommy John surgery Tuesday, per MetsBlog. The left-hander from the University of Connecticut went 31st overall in this year’s draft and joined the Mets for a below-slot deal amid elbow concerns. The 21-year-old southpaw will now miss all of next season and could lose some of the 2018 campaign, too.
Latest On Diamondbacks’ Front Office
With chief strategy officer Tony La Russa losing his hold on the Diamondbacks’ baseball department and Dave Stewart now out as general manager, the club is set for its fourth regime change in six-plus years. That lack of stability has some executives around the majors wary of working for the organization, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
“Do they give the next person a six-year contract and come hell or high water they’re not going to fire them?” one rival exec asked Piecoro. “Or have they demonstrated this is how they do business and if things don’t work out in 24 -36 months they’ll make more changes? Moving your family for that level of insecurity, juxtaposed to the security that some of us have — that’s a tough sell to the family.”
One potential GM candidate whose name has come up in other teams’ searches informed Piecoro his interest in taking over the Diamondbacks would be “zero” because of “some of the dysfunction up there.” Other executives Piecoro spoke to are also leery of the job, with some expressing concern over the personalities of owner Ken Kendrick and CEO Derrick Hall. The latter signed an eight-year contract extension in August, so any new hire(s) will have to coexist with him and Kendrick for the long haul. Despite that, Hall doesn’t expect the team to have difficulty finding executives willing to take the helm in Arizona.
In regards to GM jobs, Hall said Monday, “There’s only 30 of these. And they’re special jobs and there are a lot of qualified people out there who are looking for that opportunity. We’re hoping the next person is in that role for a long time and that will be expressed.”
Another rival executive backed Kendrick and Hall, saying, “Listen, you have to be skeptical with that amount of turnover. But absolutely, 100 percent, you can win there with those guys.”
In a move that could perhaps help scare off potential hires, Diamondbacks ownership reportedly blocked a trade that would have sent struggling right-hander Shelby Miller to Miami over the summer. Nevertheless, Hall is content with the organization’s decision-making structure.
“It’s very common with all 30 clubs, where if you’re going to have a large decision to make, a very big decision, an impactful decision, it’s going to go all the way up the flagpole and everybody is going to weigh in, whether it is the owner of any ballclub – the owner, president, GM, all opinions are going to be weighed at that time,” said Hall. “It’s a matter of allowing people to do their jobs but also weighing in when there’s a matter of extreme importance, which I think is not uncommon anywhere.”
Stewart didn’t speak negatively of either Kendrick or Hall after his dismissal. However, Stewart did reveal that he and Kendrick “were oil and water” in terms of their personalities. On whether the franchise was too quick to ax Stewart after hiring him in September 2014, Kendrick offered, “Since Dave Stewart was hired two years ago, there have been 16 general managers hired. Sixteeen. What does that tell you? It’s a tough business” (Twitter link via Piecoro).
Stewart’s successor could be someone with past Diamondbacks experience, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who points to Brewers scouting director Ray Montgomery as a “natural strong candidate” (Twitter link). The 47-year-old Montgomery was previously the D-backs’ scouting director from 2010-14.