Jeff Todd | MLB Trade Rumors

AL Notes: Yanks, Machado, Didi, Romo, Cole

By Jeff Todd | February 11, 2019 at 11:35pm CDT

The Yankees still aren’t pushing the market for Manny Machado, and probably never will, but also shouldn’t be counted out. That’s the word from Andy Martino of SNY.tv, who reports that the New York org is still keeping tabs on Machado in hopes that a golden opportunity will emerge. The Yanks aren’t interested in utilizing him at short, but would instead plan to put Machado at third while pushing Miguel Andujar across the diamond in the even of a signing. Of course, Martino cautions that it still seems unlikely that anything will come together.

It’s interesting that the Yankees evidently wouldn’t see Machado as a factor at shortstop. That lends greater credence to the idea that the team really is committed not only to allowing Troy Tulowitzki to take the job there to open the season, but also to paying a big arbitration salary to Didi Gregorius in hopes that he’ll return in relatively short order (and in good form) from Tommy John surgery. As Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports, Gregorius has now begun his throwing program. There’s still a long road ahead, but he seems to be on track to make his anticipated summer return.
In addition to the Blue Jays, the Twins and Rangers are looking into signing veteran righty Sergio Romo, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter). The Minnesota and Texas organizations, though, only seem to be considering minor-league offers. (Toronto’s offer level isn’t clear.) It’s a bit surprising to hear of such limited interest in the 35-year-old, who still gets plenty of swings and misses and comes with ample late-inning (and opening) experience.
The Astros battled Gerrit Cole in front of an arbitration panel today, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Obviously, that indicates that the sides were unable to agree to a last-minute deal. The outcome is expected later this week. As MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker shows, there’s just over $2MM at stake, as Cole is seeking $13.5MM and the club prefers to pay $11.425MM.

Athletics Not Giving Up Hope Of Landing Kyler Murray

By Jeff Todd | February 11, 2019 at 10:18pm CDT

The Athletics were hit with the news today that top 2018 draft choice Kyler Murray intends to pursue a career in the NFL. While that seemed to all but resolve the question of which sport he’d pursue, the Oakland organization may not be ready to concede the matter.

According to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link), the A’s still intend to engage with Murray’s camp as his NFL draft journey begins. As Rosenthal notes, the club still can beat any offer that a football team makes, at least in theory, by dangling a guaranteed MLB contract on top of the MLB draft bonus money that Murray presently stands to sacrifice.

Though the Heisman Trophy winner is now going to turn his full attention to football, his draft prospects remain up in the air. It’s certainly possible Murray will end up being taken lower than some pundits expect. Regardless where he goes, his earnings will be capped by the NFL draft slotting system, so the Oakland org will at least have a chance to submit a final, higher bid.

Realistically, there’s sure to be a limit as to how much cash the A’s will put up to keep Murray off the gridiron. The team clearly values his future, particularly since there’s no compensation for losing him, but Murray is also a long way from being a big league contributor. There’s risk in any prospect, but he’s seen a particularly boom-or-bust player given his relative lack of polish on the diamond.

It’ll certainly be fascinating, for a variety of reasons, to see how high the Oakland organization will ultimately bid for Murray, if it does indeed attempt to woo him back. Perhaps he won’t even entertain another baseball offer if he receives a good enough opportunity with the right NFL franchise. For the time being, there’s still some uncertainty to the matter — at least, that is, from the A’s perspective.

A.J. Ellis Reportedly Set To Join Padres In Baseball Ops Role

By Jeff Todd | February 11, 2019 at 7:11pm CDT

The Padres have agreed to hire A.J. Ellis as a special assistant to GM A.J. Preller’s baseball operations department, according to MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell (via Twitter).

Ellis’s precise role remains to be seen, but it obviously will not be as a uniformed player. He’ll wrap up his playing career after spending parts of eleven seasons in the majors.

It’s at least a bit of a surprise to see Ellis hang up his spikes now. After all, he turned in 183 plate appearances of .272/.378/.344 hitting last year for the San Diego organization. As ever, he compensated for a lack of power with outstanding plate discipline and contact ability.

In his 2,303 total plate appearances in the big leagues, Ellis managed only 44 long balls and a .113 isolated power mark, but walked at a hefty 12.2% rate. He managed to be nearly a league-average overall offensive producer by carrying a 5.5% swinging-strike rate and offering at pitches out of the zone at less than a twenty percent clip. (Check the 2018 leaderboards in SwStr and O-Swing% and you’ll see how notable those figures are.)

Ellis finished out his career with the Phillies, Marlins, and Friars, but he will be remembered best for his longstanding tenure with the Dodgers — and, in particular, his relationship with the great Clayton Kershaw. The two shared the field for 829 total innings, even though most of Ellis’s nine seasons in Los Angeles came in a reserve role. When the end came for Ellis in L.A. in the middle of the 2016 season, the two friends were moved to tears. Ellis also had a rather notable run of postseason success for the Dodgers, turning in a .365/.450/.615 slash in 61 total plate appearances, though he never had a chance to play in a World Series.

Twins Optimistic Of Reaching Extensions

By Jeff Todd | February 11, 2019 at 5:31pm CDT

It seems the Twins are optimistic of reaching terms with one or more of their young core players. According to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune, it’s even possible that some new contracts could be wrapped up and announced “by the end of the week.”

It’s still unclear precisely which players the Twins are pursuing, and which of those are likely to put pen to paper. There is no shortage of conceivable candidates. Jose Berrios and Eddie Rosario both stand out as the most obviously appealing targets, but a variety of others could also make sense under the right circumstances.

For his part, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey acknowledged that the club has real interest in extensions this spring. As in most cases, he suggested, the team’s interest is twofold. “Having those guys under control for longer than what they presently are would be a good thing, in our minds,” said Falvey. Likewise, he added, “it’s helpful to know you are going to be able to plan out a number of years with a lot of young players.”

The first deal to hit the books will, remarkably, represent the Twins’ first post-2019 player commitment. While the organization reportedly put a few multi-year offers on the table over the winter, it has yet to spill ink on its pristine future balance sheets. That has been cause for no little consternation from some fans, as the club seems to have quite a bit of unallocated spending capacity in 2019 and beyond.

Setting aside the question whether the organization is doing enough to boost its present roster, it’ll be interesting to see how aggressive it ends up being in reaching new deals with existing players. Falvey did clearly specify a desire to expand control rights, but that’ll likely cost a pretty penny in some cases — particularly, those of Berrios and Rosario, who turned in strong 2018 seasons after reportedly rebuffing prior extension efforts from the Twins.

Latest On Ryan Madson

By Jeff Todd | February 9, 2019 at 12:32am CDT

There had been indications of late that veteran reliever Ryan Madson could be closing in on a deal. Now, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (in a notes post; subscription link), there’s reason to wonder whether he’ll sign at all.

Madson, 38, is said to be “thinking about not playing” in the 2019 campaign. Whether that is due to personal considerations or displeasure with the offers he has received is not clear, but it seems it’s not entirely certain that he’ll be back for a 14th MLB campaign.

If Madson does decide to throw, moreover, it’ll only be in the right circumstances. Rosenthal’s source says that Madson is expected to be “extremely picky” about where he signs. Again, it’s hard to know just what to make of that, since we don’t know what precise factors are driving the decisionmaking.

From the outside, it would be a surprise if multiple teams weren’t interested in giving the Southern California native a MLB roster spot and at least some guaranteed money. He still has a big fastball and compelling peripherals, even if he never was able to get the results to line up in 2018. And Madson put it all together in a compelling 2017 campaign in which he worked to a 1.83 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 59 innings.

No matter where things go from here, it has been quite a momentous late-career push for Madson, who made himself into a star closer in his age-30 season before injuries intervened. He ultimately missed three full MLB campaigns (2012-14), but has been even better since returning. In 239 2/3 innings since his 2015 return, Madson owns a 3.19 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.

NL Notes: D-Backs, Wheeler, Wacha, Dunn

By Jeff Todd | February 8, 2019 at 11:03pm CDT

The Diamondbacks’ interesting offseason reflects GM Mike Hazen’s self-described effort to “thread the needle,” Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes in an excellent look at the Arizona organization and its top baseball executive. Despite trading away franchise cornerstone Paul Goldschmidt in what could turn out to be a highly consequential trade, the Snakes will enter the season with intentions of trying to contend — albeit with a realistic outlook and, it seems fair to presume, backup plans should things go south. Hazen says he’s committed to trying to put a winner on the field whenever possible, making clear he has no regret for pushing in chips at last summer’s trade deadline. It’s an interesting article that’s well worth a full read.

Diamondbacks Sign Ricky Nolasco, Marc Rzepczynski

By Jeff Todd | February 8, 2019 at 6:01pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have announced deals with two veteran hurlers. Both right-hander Ricky Nolasco and southpaw Marc Rzepczynski are slated to appear in MLB camp as non-roster invitees after signing minor-league pacts.

If he’s able to crack the roster, Rzepczysnki would earn at a $1.5MM rate, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). His deal also includes a $500K incentives package.

Another pair of former MLB relievers is also joining the Arizona organization, albeit without camp invites. Righty Michael Kohn and lefty Lucas Luetge also have minors deals in place. Bob Nightengale of USA Today first tweeted Kohn’s deal.

Nolasco will be looking to break back into the majors after sitting out the 2018 season. He did make 33 starts in the 2017 campaign, and spent camp last year with the Royals, so he hasn’t been on the sidelines for all that long.

Even ignoring the absence, it has been some times since the 36-year-old was effective. Nolasco’s strong 2013 season earned him a four-year deal with the Twins, but he carries a 4.99 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in the 575 innings he has thrown since that time.

The 33-year-old Rzepczynski did see MLB action last year, though he was knocked around in both the majors and minors in stints with the Mariners and Indians organizations. At his best, Rzepczynski is an exceedingly tough assignment for opposing left-handed hitters, who have hit just .227/.296/.305 against him in his career.

Kohn and Luetge are each even deeper comeback candidates. Neither has seen the majors since 2015 and neither played in the affiliated ranks at all in 2018.

Indians To Sign Alex Wilson

By Jeff Todd | February 8, 2019 at 5:52pm CDT

The Indians have agreed to terms with reliever Alex Wilson, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The right-hander receives a minor-league deal with an invitation to MLB Spring Training.

Wilson will need to earn his way onto the Indians roster this spring. If he can do so, he would stand to earn $1.25MM for the 2019 season. The deal also includes a $750K incentives package.

The 32-year-old Wilson was a perennial contributor to the Tigers bullpen over the prior four seasons. All told, through parts of six MLB campaigns, he carries a 3.23 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 along with a 44.8% groundball rate. The bottom-line numbers were similar last year, when Wilson ran a 3.36 ERA in his 61 2/3 frames while boosting his groundball rate to 49.2%.

Any team would certainly love to have a durable, low-3 reliever in its pen. The issue with Wilson is whether that sort of performance can really be anticipated moving forward. The Detroit organization obviously wasn’t optimistic, as it non-tendered him rather than paying a projected $2.8MM salary. And the rest of the league declined to come forward with a 40-man spot before the start of camp.

Wilson sits in range of 93 mph with his four-seam and two-seam fastballs. He throws breaking balls as well but relies most heavily on cutter/slider offering. Wilson’s hard-to-classify main pitch was more effective than ever last year even as he boosted its usage to the point that he utilized it in half of the pitches he delivered.

To date, Wilson has maxed out that arsenal and done just enough to get outs, even without a swing-and-miss offering or sustained, elite groundball production. He doesn’t issue many walks and has historically not outperformed Statcast’s expectations (career .317 wOBA-against vs. .314 xwOBA-against), but ERA estimators haven’t been enthused (career 3.81 FIP, 4.39 xFIP, 4.14 SIERA).

Those interested in learning more about where Wilson has been and where he might be headed would do well to check out this lengthy look from SB Nation’s Brandon Day.

Nationals Designate Trevor Gott, Announce Signing Of Jeremy Hellickson

By Jeff Todd | February 8, 2019 at 4:39pm CDT

The Nationals announced this evening that they have designated righty reliever Trevor Gott for assignment. His roster spot will go to starter Jeremy Hellickson, whose previously reported signing is now official.

Gott arrived in D.C. in the pre-2016 swap that sent Yunel Escobar to the Angels. At the time, Gott was coming off of a debut campaign in which he turned in 47 2/3 innings of 3.02 ERA ball. While he had managed only 5.1 K/9 to go with 3.0 BB/9, Gott also maintained a hefty 57.2% groundball rate.

It came as a bit of a surprise, then, when Gott opened the ensuing season in the minors. He ultimately received little in the way of MLB opportunities over the next two seasons, before finally getting a longer look in 2018.

Unfortunately, Gott faltered in his most recent opportunity at the game’s highest level. His heavy sinker again generated loads of worm-burners (57.1% groundball rate), but he could muster only a 5.6% swinging-strike rate and ultimately allowed a dozen earned runs in 19 innings of work.

The Nationals evidently did not believe that Gott was going to turn the corner. He did post an impressive 38:8 K/BB ratio in his 29 1/3 Triple-A appearances last year, but has simply not been able to induce swings and misses in the majors. Other teams may well contemplate a claim, though, as Gott still possesses a live arm and is only 26 years old.

Farhan Zaidi Discusses Giants’ Interest In Bryce Harper

By Jeff Todd | February 8, 2019 at 4:33pm CDT

Newly appointed Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said today that the organization shares “mutual interest'” with free agent star Bryce Harper, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to report.

Zaidi acknowledged that he, CEO Larry Baer, and skipper Bruce Bochy recently sat down with Harper, Harper’s wife Kayla, and agent Scott Boras. There was no sense playing dumb on the subject. As Zaidi amusingly noted, Baer was “made in the casino” by an eagle-eyed fan during the visit to Las Vegas.

The mere fact of the visit itself largely made the point already, but it’s notable that the Giants are publicly discussing their ongoing interest. Zaidi called it a “good conversation over a few hours,” while Bochy labeled it “a great meeting” and heaped praise upon Harper.

While the seeming lack of widespread interest in the 26-year-old Harper (along with the similarly situated Manny Machado) has thus far been the story of the offseason, Zaidi did not drop any hints that the Giants were only swooping in to see if the price had dropped. That may have been part of the thinking, to be sure, but the top San Francisco baseball decisionmaker said that Harper has “a lot of suitors and a lot of interest” from around the game.

Pavlovic offers some other items of note as well, reporting that the initial meeting “lasted much longer than the Giants anticipated.” As Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio tweeted previously, Zaidi also met afterward with Boras on the latter’s private jet. (No word on whether Zaidi first tried to board the wrong aircraft.) While Zaidi acknowledged that Harper could make a decision in short order, the San Francisco organization has yet to formally put a contract in front of him. It stands to reason that it’ll do so in short order. It’s hard to know at this point how likely it is that Harper will choose to head to San Francisco, but it seems the organization is at minimum a viable suitor at this late stage of the process.

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