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East Notes: Denbo, Hicks/Ellsbury, Vlad Jr., Red Sox

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Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel takes a look at Derek Jeter’s first hire in Miami: former Yankees executive Gary Denbo. The Marlins’ new player development and scouting guru is known for working hard to make something out of all of the players in farm system. His attention to detail and willingness to grind could pay dividends for a club that will need to grow quite a lot of talent to make up for what is initially projected to be quite a low payroll.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • Of course, sometimes finding value in players that didn’t quite pan out for other organizations can deliver huge dividends. That has been the case for the Yankees and Aaron Hicks, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Indeed, he seems now to have displaced Jacoby Ellsbury in center — so much so that Sherman expects the Yanks to “tell teams in the offseason to make their best offer on the veteran.” The article goes on to discuss what kind of trade situations might make sense for Ellsbury, who does have quite a bit of salary left to go as well as no-trade protection.
  • Top Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is tackling some goals and having fun at the Dominican winter league, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. In particular, the young phenom has been tasked with expanding his range and improving his footwork at the hot corner. It seems that Toronto is interested, too, in exposing Guerrero to the bright lights and relatively high stakes of playing against strong competition in his home nation.
  • After interviewing Ron Gardenhire today, the Red Sox are “still deciding” whether to sit down with any other candidates, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski informs Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Alex Cora and Brad Ausmus are the other two names under consideration at present. You can catch up on prior developments in the search right here.

How Can The Nationals Improve Behind The Plate?

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Nationals catchers Matt Wieters and Jose Lobaton combined for some highly visible lapses in the team’s cringe-inducing Game 5 NLDS loss. That helped to illuminate a problem that was largely masked as the team coasted to the NL East title after addressing the easier-to-spot problem of late-inning bullpen woes.

Make no mistake about it, though: the Nats suffered throughout the season from the poor work of Wieters and Lobaton. By measure of wins above replacement, the pair cost their team something in the range of one to one-and-a-half victories over the course of the season. It doesn’t take much argument to establish that the Nats’ tandem — along with little-used youngsters Pedro Severino and Raudy Read — made up the worst catching unit in all of baseball in 2017.

It’s plenty arguable that the catching position represents the organization’s biggest need this winter. Adam Eaton will be back in the outfield mix, covering for the loss of Jayson Werth in left while Michael Taylor, Brian Goodwin, and perhaps eventually Victor Robles handle things up the middle. The four infielders are established beyond any doubt. While some pitching additions will surely be considered, it’s also plausible to imagine the club mostly holding pat; remember, mid-season additions Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson are still under contract.

On the face of things, a general path to a solution behind the plate isn’t too hard to decipher. There’s even a clear opening since Lobaton is going to reach the open market and will surely be allowed to depart after a dreadful year at the plate. But it may not be quite so simple as getting a new and better catcher. Let’s take a closer look at the remaining options, assuming Lobaton rides off into the sunset.

Wieters was signed to be a heavily-used regular after late-in-the-offseason negotiations culminated between the team and agent Scott Boras — the influential agent who seems especially to have the ear of Nats’ ownership. Wieters ultimately bumped Derek Norris out of the picture after receiving a $21MM guarantee over two years. He gained the right to an opt-out opportunity after the first season, suggesting that the sides contemplated the possibility of a quality campaign that might set the stage for greater earnings.

Needless to say, things didn’t go as hoped. The former Orioles stalwart did not present any major health problems and appeared in 123 games, but produced only a .225/.288/.344 batting line with ten home runs. Wieters doesn’t run well. Perhaps there’s reason to think Wieters can at least rebound somewhat as a hitter; his .118 isolated slugging mark and 8.3% HR/FB rate were at levels not seen since he first cracked the majors, though that’s also true of his modest 27.4% hard-hit rate in 2017. Of equal concern, though, is Wieters’s glovework. While he is one of those players that carries an aura of veteran reliability, and perhaps is rightly valued for his handling of the staff, he does not excel behind the dish in the ways that are susceptible of measurement. For instance, Wieters rates as one of the game’s least-effective pitch framers and cut down just a quarter of the runners to attempt steals against him in his first season in D.C.

In sum, the Nationals’ 2018 payroll is all but certain to be saddled with a $10.5MM allocation to a catcher that likely won’t be worthy of regular playing time. That’s not to say that Wieters isn’t worthy of a roster spot, but it’s also anyone’s guess as to how things would go if he is bumped into a reserve role. Though Wieters is by all accounts a pro’s pro, he’s also accustomed to handling the bulk of the action. Complicating matters somewhat, the switch-hitting backstop is better against left-handed pitching, which negates his chief advantage at this stage — namely, the fact that he can face left-handed pitching with the platoon advantage.

Perhaps any such concerns with transitioning Wieters into a lesser role wouldn’t be as severe if Severino had shown more this year. The club no doubt hoped the well-regarded defender would stake a claim to a significant MLB role as soon as 2017. Instead, he was limited by injury this year and scuffled to a .248/.297/.342 batting line in his second attempt at Triple-A. While the 24-year-old could yet push his way into the picture, and remains an important depth piece, it’s hard to imagine that he’d be trusted for what should at least be a heavily-used second catcher’s slot on the 2018 ballclub.

So, what options do the Nats have? Purely based upon recent performance, Wieters simply ought to be relegated to reserve duties with the team adding a quality replacement. Depending upon the team’s payroll allotment, there may or may not be much room to add; the org is already staring at something approaching $160MM as a starting point once arb bumps for Anthony Rendon, Tanner Roark, and Taylor are factored in.

But the Nats arguably should at least take a long, hard look at top free agents Jonathan Lucroy and Welington Castillo. (The latter, who replaced Wieters in Baltimore, is likely to decline his player option and hit the open market.) Neither is likely to be prohibitively expensive, though that also reflects the concerns that each brings to the table. I covered Lucroy’s free-agent case in some depth recently. While Castillo was quite productive at the plate in 2017, and has generally been at least an average hitter for his position ever since cracking the majors, he also is a poorly-rated framer that has bounced around the league in recent years despite his solid offensive profile and generally low cost.

The trade market doesn’t necessarily offer much more promise, unfortunately — serving as yet another reminder of how thin the position remains leaguewide. J.T. Realmuto of the Marlins is perhaps the only quality option that might reasonably be available, though he’ll surely come with  a huge sticker price. It’s conceivable that veteran Francisco Cervelli could be had, but the Pirates need him and he has been injured. The Phillies could market Cameron Rupp, though it’s far from clear that he’d be the upgrade the Nationals seek. Likewise, taking a chance on the Reds’ Devin Mesoraco wouldn’t deliver much in the way of certainty.

It’s certainly possible that the Nationals will not be able to land a regular option for what’s deemed a palatable price. But even in that case, adding a pure reserve and hoping for the best from Wieters seems ill-advised. Washington might consider setting up more of an even timeshare between Wieters and another veteran. The left-handed-hitting Alex Avila could be an interesting fit; he showed plenty of bat in the first half of the season and would allow Wieters to spend the bulk of his time facing lefty pitching. Miguel Montero is another southpaw-swinging option, though he didn’t exactly distinguish himself at the plate after an inglorious mid-season departure from the Cubs. Among the other open-market options are right-handed hitters Chris Iannetta, Nick Hundley, and Rene Rivera, each of whom will be entering at least his age-34 season.

Ultimately, for a club without any other truly pressing needs, it’s arguable that a bold pursuit of Realmuto is warranted. Harper and Daniel Murphy are entering their final seasons of control, after all, and it goes without saying that there’s a sense of urgency given the team’s postseason heartbreaks. But that might cost an uncomfortable amount of prospect capital (or accepting a large amount of Miami’s unwanted payroll). How do you see things?

Dayton Moore Suggests He’s Not Interested In Leaving Royals

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Royals GM Dayton Moore has been mentioned repeatedly as a theoretical candidate to join the Braves’ front office. But he largely dismissed any such notion in comments today to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter link).

Moore, who has run Kansas City’s baseball operations since 2006, said that continuing on in that role is “doing what I’m supposed to be doing.” He also heaped praise upon Royals owner David Glass, saying he “adore[s] Mr. Glass and the opportunity he has given us.”

Needless to say, it doesn’t sound as if Moore has much interest in considering a new opportunity in Atlanta. The Braves are in need of a new GM after John Coppolella was forced to resign amidst an international signing scandal — the full fallout of which remains to be seen.

There were indications that Moore could at least consider the GM position — or, perhaps more likely, a move to replace Braves president of baseball operations John Hart at the apex of the baseball ops department — despite the success he has found with the Royals. (See here and here.) After all, Moore’s ties to the Braves run deep: he broke into pro ball with the organization and ascended to an assistant GM position there before leaving for K.C. And the Royals are entering what looks to be a transition phase after finally reaching the promised land in 2015.

Perhaps there’s still some room for a change of heart after today’s comments. But Moore surely said what he did for a reason — presumably, that ongoing speculation isn’t helpful as the Royals prepare for an important offseason. He was addressing the team’s future today, after all, when he announced that Dale Sveum will serve as bench coach while Mitch Maier will coach first for the organization next year. (Twitter links via Flanagan.)

Eduardo Rodriguez Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez has undergone a significant knee surgery, per a team announcement. Specifically, he had a patellofemoral ligament reconstruction performed on his right knee. The joint has been a source of problems for Rodriguez for some time, though he was able to turn in a mostly complete 2017 season.

Per the announcement, it is expected that Rodriguez will not be able to resume pitching for around six months. That would put him on course to be ready by mid-April of next year, though of course he’ll need some time to build up into full game condition. Accordingly, it seems clear he won’t be available for the club for some time early in the 2018 campaign.

That will leave Boston looking for options to fill out the rotation at the start of the year, though perhaps the club will feel confident enough in Rodriguez’s return that it will be happy with a shorter-term fill-in. The Sox are also hoping that Steven Wright will be back at full strength, potentially providing another option to join a rotation that’ll feature Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, and Drew Pomeranz. But there’s now rather clearly some cause for the team to pursue added depth — if not even to go ahead and add a full-time starter if a reasonable opportunity arises.

Rodriguez, 24, has steadily provided Boston with good innings over the past three seasons — when he has been available. While he has yet to take more than 24 starts in a given campaign, and hasn’t yet taken a final step to producing dominant results, Rodriguez is quite a valuable asset and still seems capable of more.

In 2017, Rodriguez threw a personal high of 137 1/3 innings, working to a solid 4.19 ERA. While he recorded 9.8 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9, he also surrendered 1.25 home runs per nine. ERA estimators all landed in range of his actual results, but perhaps there’s still another gear for a pitcher who has steadily increased his swinging-strike rate (most recently, 11.6%) and managed to produce despite a series of lower-body issues. Surprisingly, he has maintained rather pronounced reverse platoon splits in the majors; beyond getting healthy, then, perhaps the biggest challenge Rodriguez faces is to find a way to tamp down on the .270/.338/.447 batting line that southpaw swingers have put up against him.

Hanley Ramirez Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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2:43pm: Ramirez underwent an arthrocopy and debridement. It is not expected to prevent him from being ready for a full 2018 campaign.

12:50pm: Details remain unknown, but Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets that it’s believed to be a “relatively minor” surgery.

12:06pm: Red Sox first baseman/DH Hanley Ramirez underwent surgery today on his left shoulder, he announced. The details of the procedure, which comes as something of a surprise, are not yet known.

Shoulder issues plagued Ramirez throughout the season, but he had not previously given any indication that he was set to go under the knife, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com notes on Twitter. And president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said less than a week ago that he was not aware of any players who’d need surgery. (Of course, it was later announced that lefty Robby Scott underwent a procedure that very day.)

Ramirez, who’ll turn 34 in December, is owed $22MM next year. If he takes at least 497 plate appearances and passes a physical, he’d also trigger a $22MM vesting option for the 2019 campaign, though odds are the club won’t allow that to happen unless Ramirez is playing well enough that the extra year doesn’t seem like a burden.

Boston will hope that Ramirez can bounce back from another rough season. He was productive in 2016, but otherwise has given the organization below-average offensive work since joining the organization before the ’15 campaign.

This year, Ramirez managed only a .242/.320/.429 slash with 23 home runs over 553 trips to the plate. He did not show significant erosion in plate discipline, with a typical 9.2% walk rate and a slightly elevated 21.0% strikeout rate. And perhaps there’s some hope that a reversal in fortune on batted balls will help Ramirez make up lost ground. After all, he managed only a .272 BABIP, well below his career .322 measure, despite a batted-ball mix that mostly mirrors those of recent seasons.

Ramirez was signed for his bat, and perhaps it can still come alive with a healthy shoulder. If not, he won’t hold much function for the Red Sox. Though he once ran well, Ramirez racked up -5.3 runs on the bases in 2017 by Fangraphs’ BsR measure. And at this point, the former shortstop is only an option at DH or first base. He wasn’t able to play the field much at all this year due to the shoulder problem, but perhaps there’ll be greater availability in the future.

Regardless of Ramirez’s availability, the Red Sox will likely look for more pop over the offseason to come. But HanRam’s outlook matters, too. If he’s healthy and capable of lining up at first base, perhaps the team would have greater positional flexibility in adding a bat. At this point, though, it seems likely that the Boston organization will assume it needs to add a player capable of playing first in 2018. Indeed, it’s even possible to imagine pursuit of multiple hitters, depending upon the post-surgical prognosis.

AL East Notes: Sox Payroll, Chili, Yanks’ Rotation, McKinney, O’s

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Whatever the Red Sox may prefer, the odds are that the organization will again go over the luxury tax line in 2018, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explains. Indeed, with a hefty arbitration class set to land on top of an already robust set of guaranteed contracts, the team will enter the offseason without much hope of improving unless it’s willing to exceed the $197MM luxury tax line. Of course, the club reset its luxury tax status by staying under the 2017 mark, which reduces the penalty for going back over (but would also begin a new climb upward in the escalating tax scheme).

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • As the Red Sox continue looking into candidates for the team’s open managerial position, the team is allowing its coaches to look into their own alternatives. Well-regarded hitting coach Chili Davis is set to visit with the Padres, per Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter links). San Diego parted ways with hitting coach Alan Zinter, leaving the club looking at alternatives. Of course, it’s still also possible that a new Boston manager would prefer to keep Davis or certain other members of the staff, but the staff is now free to make its own decisions at this stage.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post posits a scenario in which the Yankees can obtain quite a strong rotation next year without any massive new investments. Of course, doing so would depend not only upon achieving some notable strokes of good market luck but also upon the organization getting the best versions of some pitchers that have had their ups and downs. Most interestingly, Sherman says the “general sense” is that Masahiro Tanaka will not opt out of the three years and $67MM left on his deal. While that’s hardly cheap and still carries obvious risk, it seems like an appealing price tag for a pitcher of his pedigree, given his late-season rebound. Sherman’s most optimistic version of a 2018 staff also includes Shohei Otani, whose destination is anyone’s guess at this stage. All things considered, though, the Yanks’ roation situation does seem much better than might have been anticipated entering the year, due largely to the surge of Luis Severino and emergence of Jordan Montgomery.
  • Meanwhile, the Yankees are trying prospect Billy McKinney out at first base in the Arizona Fall League, Bill Mitchell writes for Baseball America, though he’ll also continue primarily to be an outfielder. As Mitchell notes, McKinney showed better than ever after finally reaching the Triple-A level midway through the 2017 season. The 23-year-old slashed .306/.336/.541 with ten home runs in his 224 plate appearances there, though he also walked just four percent of the time (well below his usual rate) and carried a .353 batting average on balls in play that likely reflects both good contact and some fortune. It’ll be interesting to see when and how McKinney is utilized at the MLB level, but he could factor into the team’s depth considerations for the season to come or potentially be dangled as a trade candidate.
  • Though the Orioles will obviously need to bring in some new players if they hope for a return to contention, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports writes that the team also must receive improvements from within if it hopes to compete. Consistent production from key players was elusive in 2017, which failed to create a base of output sufficient to maintain a winning record. Even with expectations of some bounceback performances, though, the roster will surely be in need of supplementation; MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently broke down the possibilities.

Poll: Should The Nationals Retain Dusty Baker?

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It goes without saying that the Nationals’ 2017 season ended in bitter disappointment, as the organization once again failed to make it out of the NLDS despite cruising to its fourth NL East title in the past six campaigns. The exit, in a wild and mistake-filled Game 5 loss, was yet stranger and more baffling than the previous ones — which, surely, is saying something.

While manager Dusty Baker has received quite a lot of criticism, both this year and in the past, he clearly did not deserve all the blame. Despite some questionable high-leverage personnel moves — everyone’s favorite area to nitpick — Baker was not the direct cause of the major on-field failures that led to the Nats’ demise. And he has also guided the club successfully over the course of the regular season, particularly in light of the disarray that existed when he took over following the inglorious exit of Matt Williams. At the same time, Baker obviously hasn’t yet guided the Nationals out of their postseason malaise, continuing his own uninspiring track record in October.

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post discusses some key considerations at play regarding Baker. Of particular note: there was at least some level of discord between the skipper and club ownership over the way mid-season extension talks played out. That certainly follows a hard-to-deny trend of managerial tensions over the years. At the same time, there’s a need to chart a course for a critical offseason and 2018 campaign — rather than allowing any uncertainty to linger — while also perhaps attempting to find some stability in the dugout for the first time since the franchise landed in D.C. You’ll certainly want to give Svrluga’s piece a full read for all the nuance at play here.

No matter what, it seems prudent for the team to act relatively quickly and decisively. Making a change away from Baker would be a decision fraught with risk, including from inside the clubhouse. Negotiating with him may or may not be straightforward, and itself comes with some risk of a collapse (given the track record of ownership with managerial dealings). Several other teams are already deep into searches for new skippers, which could take several possible alternatives off the table.

Needless to say, there are many variables still at play. But the essential question remains whether the Nationals wish to retain Baker. Should they?

An Early Look At The Cardinals’ Search For A Closer

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As the Cardinals made a late push at a postseason spot this year, it seemed the club had finally sorted things out in the ninth inning — and done so for 2018 as well. Trevor Rosenthal, once the team’s lock-down closer, had rediscovered and even improved upon his former form.

The sense of certainty did not lost long. The grim UCL reaper came for the powerful righty in late August, knocking him out for most or all of the 2018 campaign. Whatever hope Rosenthal may have of returning late in the season to come, it likely won’t be sufficient for the team to tender him a contract at the projected rate of $7.9MM.

Seung-hwan Oh had taken over closing duties for Rosenthal when he faltered in 2016, but Oh himself stumbled last year and is in any event now a free agent. Brett Cecil rebounded from an ugly start to his time in St. Louis, especially in the peripherals, but was never really given a look in that role. Tyler Lyons turned in an exciting season but made way for Juan Nicasio, who was acquired despite the fact that he was not eligible for the postseason. And young flamethrower Sandy Alcantara continues to show eye-popping talent, but likely won’t be entrusted with such a key role early in 2018 after exhibiting some walk issues during his first MLB stint last year.

All said, it’s rather clear that the Cardinals will be looking for an outside acquisition to secure late-inning victories. The team’s leadership largely acknowledges as much, as Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Looking around the rest of baseball, it’s hard to identify any other team with such an evident need in the 9th. Among hopeful contenders, there are a few other clubs with potential openings — the Cubs, Twins, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Angels, especially — though some of those organizations may well look to internal options. Other organizations will consider adding high-leverage relievers, even if they already have ninth-inning options penciled in, so there is other competition. But the need for an established closer is more acute in St. Louis than anywhere else.

As the Cards begin mapping out an offseason strategy, here are some of the names they might be weighing:

Free Agents

Despite expressing a general aversion to “pay[ing] retail for closers,” GM Mike Girsch acknowledges a need to “evaluate the brand-name closers in the market.”

  • Wade Davis has emerged as the top target, as he carried a 2.30 ERA through the regular season and has come up big thus far in the postseason. Davis is still pumping mid-nineties heat, even if it isn’t quite at his peak, and set a career high with a 15.4% swinging-strike rate.
  • Greg Holland did not quite hold his edge for the entirety of a bounceback season, though surely his extensive absence also played a role. Holland also drew swings and misses on more than 15% of the pitches he threw despite a more significant velocity drop than Davis has experienced to this point. Though he got he job done for most of the year at altitude, Holland did end with a less-than-dominant 3.61 ERA.
  • Addison Reed stepped into the closer’s role for the Mets before his mid-season trade to the Red Sox and has plenty of high-leverage experience in his career. He has yet to reach 29 years of age and, unlike the prior two names on this list, brings elite control to the table and also set a personal best with a 13.7% swinging-strike rate. There’s certainly a case to be made that Reed represents a more palatable long-term investment and can be trusted to handle the ninth.
  • Juan Nicasio, as noted, ended up taking a surprising route to Cards late in the season. He ended up saving four games in 11 strong innings. Over the course of the year, Nicasio led the National League with 76 appearances and carried a 2.61 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. While the converted starter has relatively minimal experience in the late innings, he might represent a more budget-friendly possibility.

There are other free agents with ample late-inning experience, including Steve Cishek, Luke Gregerson, Pat Neshek, Koji Uehara, and Sergio Romo. Those and others could obviously be considered by the Cards, but likely wouldn’t be added with closing duties in mind.

One-Year Rentals

The Cards will surely also look into trade possibilities. With Alcantara and other good arms on the rise, though, perhaps the focus will be on shoring things up for 2018 rather than securing a longer-term piece (at a much higher price, no doubt).

  • Kelvin Herrera could represent an interesting target. The Royals dealt Davis away last year for a talented player (Jorge Soler) who had fallen out of favor with his contending team. St. Louis has quite a few intriguing assets (Aledmys Diaz, first and foremost) that could fit a similar description. Herrera is just 27 years old but will be entering his final season of arb control at a projected $8.3MM. He’s also coming off of a tepid 2017 season in which he managed only a 4.25 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 while permitting a sudden jump in home runs (1.37 per nine on a 14.5% HR/FB rate). Herrera is still throwing pure heat but did slip to an 11.5% swinging-strike rate. And some late-season forearm issues are a bit concerning from the perspective of an acquiring organization.
  • Zach Britton might also be a one-year bounceback target, though he could be in line for a $12.2MM payday and had some fairly worrying health and performance issues in 2017. Plus, the O’s presently insist they aren’t interested in dealing him. There’s still time for that stance to change, however, and the Cards would be one of many teams that could dream on a revived Britton. Teammate Brad Brach is also a quality late-inning arm and is set to earn just $5.2MM, though as with Britton it remains unclear whether he’ll truly be available at any kind of reasonable price.

Multi-Year Assets

While price tags figure to remain high for sought-after young relievers, there are quite a few interesting names to consider.

  • Brad Hand is earning a reasonable $3.8MM in his second-to-last season of arb control. Though the  Padres’ 27-year-old only just stepped into the closer’s role in the middle of 2017, that change didn’t seem to bother the breakout reliever, who worked to a 2.16 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over a healthy 79 1/3 frames. Hand can work deep and deliver top-line results, though his status as one of the game’s best southpaws will no doubt also lead to broad interest.
  • Raisel Iglesias continues to dominate and is still 27 years old. The Reds hurler will earn $4.5MM this year, as his contract calls for, and will likely opt into arbitration beginning in 2018 — when his salary figures to ramp up quite a bit. Still, with control through 2021, Iglesias has huge value. Plus, he may yet be on the come, as he boosted both his average fastball velo and swinging-strike rate in 2017.
  • Alex Colome will take home a projected $5.5MM from the Rays with two more years of control remaining. It’s still not clear what kind of course Tampa Bay will take this winter; though it seems more likely than not that the team will keep trying to contend, it’s still possible that Colome will be shopped around a bit. The 28-year-old failed to sustain his 2016 breakout, though, tallying a 3.24 ERA with a pedestrian 7.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings.
  • Arodys Vizcaino has had plenty of ups and downs for the Braves, who may prefer simply to hold onto him rather than trying to secure what may not be an exciting return. But Vizcaino did manage a 2.83 ERA last year while closing 14 games, so could hold appeal. He is slated to earn something in the realm of $3.7MM and can also be tendered arbitration for 2019, so there’s also somewhat less contractual upside than with some of the other pitchers discussed here — perhaps lowering the ask on Viz. In his favor? A blistering 98 mph heater and career-best 14.7% swinging-strike rate. Beyond questions about his ability to reliably handle closing duties for a full season, we’ll also need to wait to see what course the Braves take once their current front-office mess is resolved.
  • Dellin Betances could be an intriguing buy-low target if the Yankees decide to move on. While he has often been absurdly dominant, Betances showed a concerning loss of the strike zone down the stretch and into the postseason. But his overwhelming stuff and upside are undeniable. With a projected $4.4MM arb salary and another year of control, he’d draw big interest despite the struggles. Of course, there’s also good reason for New York to hold and hope for a rebound, and the risk may be too great for a team like the Cards to trust the ninth to Betances coming out of camp.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has also reported that the Cards have some interest in right-hander Yoshihisa Hirano — the longtime closer for Japan’s Orix Buffaloes. It seems unlikely that a big league club would sign the free agent and immediately hand him the keys to the ninth inning, though if he impresses early in his MLB tenure he could emerge as a closing option, as Oh did in his 2016 debut campaign.

There are a few other young names that could conceivably enter the mix here — most notably Roberto Osuna of the Blue Jays, Edwin Diaz of the Mariners, and perhaps the Phillies’ Hector Neris. But all indications are that there’s no significant likelihood of these players being moved; Toronto and Seattle insist they will try again to contend, while the Phils probably won’t have much motivation to part with a pre-arb relief talent as their competitive window begins to re-open.

Diamondbacks Outright Steve Hathaway

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The Diamondbacks have outrighted lefty Steve Hathaway off of the 40-man roster, per a club announcement. He was first reinstated from the 60-day DL.

Shoulder issues kept the 27-year-old Hathaway out for all but one appearance this year. That made for a disappointing campaign for the former 14th-rounder, who cracked the majors last year despite opening the season with just 56 low-minors relief appearances under his belt.

Hathaway obviously piqued the D-Backs’ interest in 2016, when he threw 45 innings of 2.60 ERA ball in stops at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. Though he managed only 7.8 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 along the way, that effort earned Hathaway a first shot at the big leagues. Through 14 2/3 innings spread over 24 appearances, he surrendered eight earned runs on 18 hits while recording 15 strikeouts against six walks.

2017-18 Offseason Outlook Series

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Here at MLBTR, we have been hard at work on our annual Offseason Outlook series.  This post will be updated to include links to all the completed articles, and will be available under MLBTR Features on the right-hand sidebar on the desktop version of the site.

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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