Placed On Waivers: Chase Headley
We'll keep tabs on any notable players hitting the revocable waiver wire right here …
- The Padres have placed third baseman Chase Headley on waivers, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). One of last year's biggest breakout players, Headley has been the subject of repeated trade and extension rumors. He is playing on a $8.575MM contract this year, just under $2MM of which still remains to be paid, and will enter his final year of arbitration eligibility next season. Thus far in 2013, Headley has failed to live up to his big 2012 campaign. After missing time early in the year due to injury, Headley has managed only a .237/.328/.368 line in his 472 plate appearances to date. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old figures to appeal to a variety of clubs, though the Padres would surely require a substantial return to let him go.
For a reminder on how revocable trade waivers and August trades work, check out MLBTR's August trades primer.
Poll: Boldest Mid-Season Rebuilding Moves Of 2013
While it is often difficult to distinguish a rebuilding club from one that is not, each of the teams listed below could be — or, arguably, should be — considered to be in rebuilding mode on some level. While some entered the year hoping to contend, opportunities arose throughout the season to change course as post-season prospects dimmed. Among the available mechanisms of trades, draft picks, extensions, and signings (both free agent and international), there were many ways to act decisively with the future in mind.
I attempted to identify the boldest moves made by actual or potential rebuilders during the course of the 2013 season. (Feel free to disagree with my choices — including the omission of the Giants and Blue Jays — in the comments.) To participate in the poll, simply rank the following moves from best (1) to worst (10):
- Astros extend Jose Altuve — In the midst of yet another terrible season, and shedding payroll at such a pace that the team's highest-paid current player (Erik Bedard) makes just $1.1MM this year, the Astros finally made a significant, forward-looking commitment at the big league level when they extended Altuve. While the deal comes with relatively limited financial risk to the team, it is a relative mega-deal to the budget-conscious 'Stros, and constitutes an undeniable step towards building up (rather than tearing down) for GM Jeff Luhnow. While he is by all accounts a high-character player, Altuve has had his struggles and shown some limitations in 2013.
- Marlins retain Giancarlo Stanton — The decision not to deal the young, cost-controlled, slugging Stanton probably does not qualify as a major surprise, especially given his early-season struggles and status as the club's lone star (excepting the emerging Jose Fernandez). What was more eye-opening, however, was the team's apparent unwillingness even to listen to offers. Whether the team will take part in trade talks during the coming off-season remains to be seen, but it was at least arguable that Stanton would have brought the greatest return on a deadline deal.
- White Sox trade for Avisail Garcia — Dealing a solid veteran starting pitcher like Jake Peavy was not really terribly bold, in and of itself, for the cellar-dwelling Sox. But the nature of the deal — a creative, three-team affair that sent youth to Chicago from two contenders — certainly was. Most fascinating of all was the marquee return: Garcia, a polarizing, toolsy prospect that has his share of doubters. And the Sox didn't just acquire Garcia, they promptly plugged him into the everyday big league lineup. While GM Rick Hahn presumably could have added a safer, higher-floor player like Jose Iglesias, who the Red Sox gave up to the Tigers in the deal, they elected to aim for upside.
- Brewers sign and trade Francisco Rodriguez — While the Brewers entered the year with hopes of contending, and only promised to pay Rodriguez anything of significance if he made it to the majors, the club was already fading when it guaranteed him $2MM with a mid-May call-up. When K-Rod's excellent performance for Milwaukee failed to correspond with a like result from the rest of the club, GM Doug Melvin was able to parlay the one-time star reliever into Nick Delmonico, the Orioles' fourth-ranked prospect coming into the year.
- Cubs spend aggressively in international market — In the course of turning veterans into prospects and shedding salary, president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer also took an exceptionally aggressive approach to this year's international signing period. Dishing out nearly $8MM in bonuses for players including the top-ranked Eloy Jimenez, the Cubbies appear to have triggered the maximum penalties under the international signing system for spending past their bonus slot allocations, leaving the team on the hook for a hefty tax and unable to sign any qualifying international player for more than $250k next year.
- Phillies extend Chase Utley — Are the Phils rebuilding? GM Ruben Amaro Jr. certainly doesn't seem to think so. Rather than pursuing a trade of the veteran second baseman Utley, who surely would have brought back a sizeable return, the club instead gave him a two-year, $27MM extension with a series of playing-time-triggered vesting options thereafter. While few have questioned that the price was fair, Amaro has come under fire for pressing ahead with an aging, injury-prone veteran core. Certainly, the move was a bold one, but was it wise?
- Padres trade for Ian Kennedy — With his club fading from contention, GM Josh Byrnes did not simply dump veterans for young, unproven prospects. Instead, he executed a fascinating intra-division deal to bring in the once-excellent Kennedy from the Diamondbacks. If Kennedy can revive his career in San Diego, this could be the steal of the trade season.
- Angels trade for Grant Green — Another intra-division stunner went down in the AL West, as the disappointing Angels dealt the struggling, but historically solid Alberto Callaspo for young infielder Grant Green. With a host of big contracts on the books, GM Jerry Dipoto was not really in a position to blow up the roster completely. Instead, he acquired a cheap, cost-controlled, high-upside, big-league ready bat in Green, but also gave up the affordable and steady Callaspo for a player with major defensive questions.
- Twins draft and sign Kohl Stewart — After three college players went off the board, GM Terry Ryan nabbed high-school hurler Stewart with the fourth overall pick. Continuing the team's acccumulation of high-upside ballplayers, many of whom have responded in a big way to aggressive promotions in the Minnesota farm system, the Twins declined to play it safe by taking Stewart.
- Mariners, Mets, Rockies do not sell — Approaching the trade deadline without much prospect of post-season berths, and with productive (and, in some cases, highly-paid) veterans on the books, these teams could have acted to move salary and acquire minor-league talent. Instead, none made a significant move at the deadline. While each team certainly faced a multitude of considerations regarding multiple potential trade chips, it seems that they adopted a general resolve not to simply get what they could for their most desirable veterans. Contributing to a generally uneventful deadline period, the decisions of the Mariners, Mets, and Rockies to hold pat might be characterized as bold inaction.
(Click here to view the results.)
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Quick Hits: Jordan, Johnson, Manuel, Soriano, Baez
Let's have a look at a few stray notes before calling it an evening …
- Nationals starter Taylor Jordan will be shut down for the year after throwing a combined 142 innings in his first full year back from Tommy John surgery, reports James Wagner of the Washington Post. (For some reason, we've yet to hear of any outrage over the decision.) The 24-year-old emerged this season and became one of the few nice surprises for the sputtering Nats. With a 3.66 ERA over 51 2/3 innings, Jordan has certainly established himself as a viable rotation option for next year, which could impact the Nationals' off-season shopping plans. While Jordan registered only by 5.1 K/9 (against 1.9 BB/9), his FIP (3.48) and xFIP (3.79) backed up his solid results.
- With Orioles closer Jim Johnson continuing to struggle to finish games, CSN Baltimore's Rich Dubroff writes that he is increasingly becoming a non-tender candidate. Earning $6.5MM this year, Johnson should see a multi-million dollar raise through arbitration if the O's decide to hold onto him. (He does have 39 saves, best in baseball, to go with his league-worst 9 blown.) The team has a younger, cheaper option in Tommy Hunter who could step into the role, though Dubroff wonders if he can take on save chances with the same frequency as has Johnson.
- Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details of the Phillies' firing of manager Charlie Manuel. The Phils' front office knew it was moving on without Manuel for months, says Gelb, but finally decided to pull the trigger now in order to have a look at his anticipated replacement, Ryne Sandberg.
- While the Yankees' acquisition of Alfonso Soriano drew a lot of criticism at the time, it is hard to complain about the performance he's put up since arriving in the Bronx. Depending upon how one works the statistics, in fact, his recent run is downright historic. In just 19 games with his new/old club, Soriano has racked up an outstanding 1.5 WAR (according to Baseball-Reference). Of course, the naysayers' concerns related more to the rest of the Yankees' team, and its reasonable prospects for the playoffs, than to Soriano himself. Sure enough, New York's playoff odds have continued to fall since the deal was consummated.
- Cubs' shortstop Javier Baez continues to tear the cover off of the ball as he ascends the minor-league ranks, making the 20-year-old a dark-horse candidate to earn a big league roster spot next year. As Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald writes, there are many good reasons (cost, control, and development among them) for the Cubs to be hesitant. Nevertheless, manager Dale Sveum noted, “when you have that kind of numbers and power, sometimes you do force the issue. It’s not in the plans right now, but we’ve all seen it happen.”
Latest On Alex Rodriguez Suspension
Alex Rodriguez's newly retained attorney, Joseph Tacopina, has issued fighting words regarding the club's medical treatment of its embattled third baseman. As the New York Times' Steve Eder reports, Tacopina claims that the club put Rodriguez in the lineup late last year despite knowing of tear in the labrum of his hip — failing to advise Rodriguez of that fact and hoping to shorten his playing career. The allegations are presumably intended to form the basis for a defense against Rodriguez's historic PED suspension, which Rodriguez has appealed.
According to Eder, the Rodriguez rep further alleged that the Yankees were "working in conjunction" with Major League Baseball to put him out of the game and avoid paying the remainder of his massive contract. (MLB executive vice president Robert Manfred called this charge a "red herring," explaining that the suspension had no impact on Rodriguez's contract beyond lost pay for the suspension itself.) Claiming that confidentiality concerns prevented him from denying PED use by Rodriguez, Tacopina did insist that no suspension was warranted.
Yankees president Randy Levine responded with equal force, saying that "each and every one of these allegations is specious and completely false." Levine warned that, "if they continue, all parties will be held accountable." He said that the club was willing to disprove the alleged mistreatment by releasing Rodriguez's health records, if the three-time MVP would consent.
As CBS Sports' Jon Heyman further reports, Levine also invoked other aspects of Rodriguez's medical history, such as his alleged treatment in early 2009 by disgraced physician Anthony Galea. "The only medical issue we can't confirm is [Rodriguez's] treatment by Dr. Anthony Galea," said Levine. "We didn't authorize it. Since [Rodriguez] has put his condition into play, he should release his records with Galea."
Two other factual disputes have also arisen. First, Tacopina says that Levine told Rodriguez surgeon Bryan Kelly that "I don't ever want to see him on the field again." Levine denied that claim, offering to release transcripts of communications with the surgeon, while Kelly has declined comment. Second, the parties offered competing characterizations of emails exchanged between Rodriguez and Levine, with Tacopina calling them "very damaging" and Levine saying the correspondence would demonstrate only his support for Rodriguez.
With Rodriguez's grievance proceeding still in the preliminary stages, the issues at play could be destined to multiply and become more complicated. As I explored a few weeks ago, in the context of examining possible legal action by a team against PED users, unauthorized medical treatment involving PEDs could conceivably form an independent basis for a team to pursue relief against a player. Should Rodriguez seek to deploy medical mistreatment as a defense or even an affirmative claim of his own, he would potentially open himself to charges that his PED use — or other undisclosed, unauthorized treatment — constituted a violation of his contract's medical provisions.
Braves Release Blake DeWitt
The Braves have released infielder Blake DeWitt, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Presumably, the club's signing of Tyler Greene earlier today left DeWitt without a roster spot.
Since signing a minor league deal with the Braves in the off-season, DeWitt has seen little playing time at any level due to a lower-back injury. He was brought up briefly early in the year, registering a double and sacrifice in four plate appearances for Atlanta. DeWitt's career line in the bigs — most of it accrued with the Dodgers and Cubs — stands at .257/.324/.381 over 1,247 plate appearances. The 27-year-old was a first-round choice of the Dodgers back in 2004.
Miguel Tejada To Be Suspended For 105 Games
1:25pm: Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that Tejada did file an appeal, but he ultimately lost and will serve the entirety of the 105-game ban.
12:56pm: Royals infielder Miguel Tejada will be suspended for 105 games by MLB for the use of the banned amphetamine Adderall, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports. Passan explains that, as Tejada had already tested positive in the past, two more recent positive tests provided the basis for the suspension, which is the third-longest in MLB history. (The second positive test resulted in a 25-game ban, with the third adding an additional 80 games.)
Tejada has elected not to appeal the suspension. Already on the 60-day DL, his suspension will nevertheless be applied over this season's 41 remaining games. Passan says that the 39-year-old former MVP is expected to retire rather than sit out the 64 additional games at the beginning of next year.
After failing to make a big-league appearance in 2012, Tejada signed a minor league deal with the Royals this past off-season. Appearing primarily at second and third, Tejada had posted a reasonably productive .288/.317/.378 line over 167 plate appearances for the Royals this season.
Abreu To Be Represented By Praver Shapiro
After defecting from his native Cuba, first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu has chosen Barry Praver and Bart Hernandez of Praver Shapiro Sports Management to represent him, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The agency represents such high-profile Cuban defectors as Adeiny Hechavarria, Livan Hernandez, Yunesky Maya, and Jorge Soler.
The first order of business for Abreu's agents will surely be to secure free agent status for the slugging righty. Passan further reports that Abreu will put on a September showcase for big league clubs. He also estimates (on Twitter) that bidding will likely land Abreu the largest contract ever for a Cuban ballplayer, and could result in a guarantee in excess of $60MM.
AL Notes: Reynolds, Green, Callaspo
We'll begin a quiet morning in baseball with a few links from the American League …
- Mark Reynolds started his Yankee tenure with a bang, ripping a two-run homer, going two-for-five, and adding another RBI on the evening. As Mark Feinsand and Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News report, Reynolds and his new teammates and manager all seemed pleased with his signing after the game. The Yanks will hope that Reynolds catches one of his patented hot streaks down the stretch this year.
- The Angels' acquisition of young second baseman Grant Green in exchange for Alberto Callaspo is looking better and better in the eyes of MLB.com's Lyle Spencer (via Twitter). Spencer says that Green evidently has the kind of talent that it is worth taking a chance on. After an underwhelming (0-for-15) stint with the Athletics earlier this year, Green has been on fire early in his Angels tenure. In his 36 plate appearances with the Halos, Green has posted a .433/.528/.500 triple-slash.
- For his part, Callaspo's .229/.308/.371 line since joining the A's corresponds to the OPS+ mark (92) he put up in Anaheim this year. With his defensive metrics trending down, Callaspo seems unlikely to put up more than one win above replacement this season (whether measured by Fangraphs or Baseball Reference) for the first time since he became a regular. He will earn $4.875MM next season before becoming a free agent the following year.
AL Notes: Hanson, Ellsbury, Reynolds, Konerko
Let's have a look around the American League:
- Angels starter Tommy Hanson has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Jason Vargas, tweets MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. Hanson came to the team last November in a deal that sent reliever Jordan Walden to the Braves. While Walden has prospered in Atlanta, Hanson sports an unsightly 5.59 ERA over 67 2/3 innings and has seen his strikeout rate fall from a career-high 9.8 K/9 to 6.9 K/9 this season. Hanson received $3.725MM in 2013, his first year of arbitration eligibility. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted in late May that Hanson was not a likely non-tender candidate, but could price himself into a trade. At this stage, while he won't likely command a major raise, it is reasonable to ask whether Hanson will be tendered a contract by the Angels.
- The Mariners could try to lure Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to Seattle, writes FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The M's have a shade over $33MM on the books for next season, a young core of low-cost regulars already in the stable, and a hole in the middle of the outfield. A return to the Pacific Northwest for the Oregonian Ellsbury could make sense for both sides, Rosenthal suggests. In the midst of a nice bounce-back season at the age of 29, Ellsbury looks to have a strong hold on the number two spot in Dierkes's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings.
- The Orioles have discussed bringing back Mark Reynolds and will continue to do so, says manager Buck Showalter. As MASN's Roch Kubatko tweets, Showalter did note that "we like our roster." Reynolds would cost nothing more than a roster spot and the league minimum salary, however, since he was placed on release waivers by the Indians earlier today.
- This could be the last season for White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, writes Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald. Konerko has suffered through a down year (for himself and his team), has an expiring contract, and has dealt with lower back issues. Gregor notes that Konerko has previously indicated no interest in holding on "just to chase some numbers," and guesses that he'll ultimately decide to hang it up this fall.
NL East Notes: Nationals, Zimmerman, Halladay, Abreu
While first baseman Freddie Freeman has had an outstanding campaign for the Braves, Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says that shortstop Andrelton Simmons has been the team's most valuable contributor. While Fangraphs values the two at the same level in terms of WAR, notes Bradley, Baseball Reference pegs Simmons as worth over a win more than Freeman. Regardless, the team will control both players at reasonable rates for the foreseeable future, with Freeman set to reach arbitration for the first time next year and Simmons not arb-eligible until 2016. Here are a few notes from around the rest of the National League East:
- The Esmailyn Gonzalez saga is not yet over for the Nationals, reports the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore. In a lawsuit against the team's insurance company, the Nats have leveled the charge that former big-leaguer Jose Rijo received a $300k kick-back from the ill-fated $1.4MM signing bonus given to the supposedly 16-year-old Gonzalez (who, it was later learned, was actually four years older and named Carlos David Alvarez Lugo).
- More importantly for the team going forward is the long-term defensive position of third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Once a plus fielder, Zimmerman's throwing has deteriorated to the point that UZR rates him at a troubling 15 runs below average thus far in 2013. With even manager Davey Johnson implying that Zimmerman's "mental" issues could force a move across the diamond, MLB.com's Bill Ladson says he thinks the club could make the shift during the coming off-season.
- In addition to dampening the value of Zimmerman's long-term extension, of course, such a move would have wide-ranging considerations and repercussions for the Nats. In addition to raising the question of what would happen with first baseman Adam LaRoche, who is under contract for next season, the team would have to move rookie Anthony Rendon back to his natural position at third. The resulting void at second would presumably be filled by a free agent or one of the team's less-than-certain internal options (including Danny Espinosa, Steve Lombardozzi, and Jeff Kobernus).
- Roy Halladay could be starting for the Phillies sooner than expected, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says that, if all goes well, Halladay could only take two rehab starts in the minors before rejoining the big club. With Halladay set to become a free agent, it will be fascinating to see how he bounces back from shoulder surgery (and generally poor results over 2012-13) before hitting the open market.
- If and when apparent Cuban defector Jose Dariel Abreu is made a free agent, he is expected to command a substantial contract from a MLB club. Based on scouting reports and other contracts given to international free agents, ESPN's Jim Bowden suggests that the big slugger could land a deal in the six-year, $54MM range. (For a detailed discussion of Abreu's prospect value, check out this recent podcast from Baseball America's Ben Badler and John Manuel.)
- As an "early guess," Bowden places the Marlins atop the list of Abreu pursuers. Reasoning that the club would be willing to overpay for a Cuban star after missing out on Yoenis Cespedes, Bowden writes that Miami is "expected to go all out on Abreu."
- In addition to a host of other possible landing spots, Bowden says that the Nationals could also be in on Abreu. He opines that the club would not find it difficult to deal first baseman Adam LaRoche to clear a spot.