Jeff Todd | MLB Trade Rumors

Former Yankees GM Gene “Stick” Michael Passes Away

By Jeff Todd | September 7, 2017 at 11:48am CDT

Longtime Yankees stalwart Gene “Stick” Michael has passed away, the New York Post reports. Michael, who served the organization in a variety of capacities over several decades, was 79 years of age.

Michael was long a key figure around Yankee Stadium, playing and managing the Bronx Bombers before eventually moving over to the operations side. Following a stint as the Cubs’ manager, he took the reins as Yankees’ general manager before the 1991 season, with the club still reeling from consecutive sub-.500 finishes and disciplinary action against owner George Steinbrenner.

Though the Yanks took a few years to resume their winning ways, they finally returned to the postseason in 1995 — Michael’s last season as the GM. While he did not get to oversee the full blossoming of the roster he built from the GM seat, Michael remained in the organization in a scouting and advisory role.

Of course, many of the players installed during Michael’s tenure ended up leading the Yankees back to glory. As the Post notes, Michael was at the helm when the team gathered together the entire “Cour Four” — Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada — that would go on to win the World Series in four of five seasons between 1996 and 2000.

Beyond his renown as a baseball man, Michael was seen as a passionate and caring figure on a personal level — as today’s outpouring of grief suggests and as Joel Sherman of the New York Post captures in a column. MLBTR joins those around the game in extending its best wishes to his family and friends.

Notable Recent Late-Season Extensions

By Jeff Todd | September 7, 2017 at 10:21am CDT

September isn’t usually a terribly active month on the trade front, as players acquired after August 31 are not eligible to join an acquiring club’s postseason roster. However, in recent years, we have seen some notable extensions hammered out in the final full month of the regular season (or shortly thereafter in early October). While most such agreements represent short-term arrangements with veterans, every now and again there’s a more significant pact to be found. Could we see one go down in the next week and change? Here’s a look back at some notable late-season extensions over the past six seasons…

2016

Marlins sign Martin Prado to a three-year, $40MM extension. — This is one of the biggest deals we have seen at this stage of the season. The steady veteran had a long history of quality performance — solidly above-average hitting with good glovework — and had settled in as a leader in Miami. Of course, the contract also didn’t seem to represent much of a discount for a low-power player who was already 32 years of age. Prado has struggled with injuries quite a bit in 2017, slashing just .250/.279/.357 over 147 plate appearances, which makes the backloaded deal look like a suboptimal investment.
Braves sign Jim Johnson to a two-year, $10MM extension. — This early October deal set the Braves’ offseason course, as the club would go on to invest in several other veteran hurlers. Then 33, Johnson was wrapping up quite a strong season at the time of the extension, as he contributed 64 2/3 frames of 3.06 ERA ball with 9.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 along with a 55.0% groundball rate. Johnson was expected to function as Atlanta’s closer, keeping a veteran arm to the back of the pen while tamping down the arbitration earning power of younger pitchers. While he has maintained his surge in strikeouts, though, Johnson has allowed more walks, hits, home runs, and earned runs (5.81 ERA) thus far in 2017.

2015

Marlins sign Ichiro Suzuki to a one-year, $2MM extension with a club option. — The Fish pushed a 41-year-old Ichiro harder than had been expected in 2015, and he responded with a less-than-useful campaign. But he was still valued as a bench presence, and it didn’t hurt that 2016 promised a run at 3,000 hits. Ichiro not only passed that milestone, but thrived in a more limited role that year, providing solid baserunning and glovework as well as a sturdy .291/.354/.376 batting line in 365 plate appearances. The Marlins ended up repeating the contractual move late in 2016, picking up the option and adding another option year. He hasn’t been nearly as productive at the plate in 2017, however.

2014

Rockies sign Jorge De La Rosa to a two-year, $25MM extension. — De La Rosa saw a strong uptick in his fastball velocity in 2014, his second full season back from Tommy John surgery. With an average of 92.3 mph on his heater versus 91.1 mph in 2013, De La Rosa pitched to a 4.26 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent ground-ball rate in 160 2/3 innings of work at the time of the signing. In 2015, the hurler pitched to a similar 4.17 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9, but his productivity fell off in the second year of the contract — which proved to be the end of his tenure in Colorado.

2013

Padres sign Will Venable to a two-year, $8.5MM extension. — Venable had a breakout season in terms of his power production in 2013, so the Padres moved to lock in his remaining arbitration salaries, as further 20-homer/20-steal seasons would cause the price to soar. Unfortunately for the team, Venable’s decision to opt for security looks wise, in hindsight, as he batted just .224/.288/.325 in the first year of the deal and .248/.325/.356 in 2015. Venable ended up moving to the Rangers in an August waiver trade and saw only minimal MLB time from that point forward. He ultimately hung up his spikes and took a front-office gig with the Cubs in 2017.
Marlins sign Greg Dobbs to a one-year, $1.75MM extension. — This extension drew plenty of public scrutiny, as Dobbs’ on-field performance in 2013 (.228/.303/.300) didn’t warrant the deal. It was eventually reported that owner Jeffrey Loria negotiated the deal without consulting former president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest. The Dobbs extension would be one of many stories that were referenced when describing the rift between Loria and Beinfest at the time of Beinfest’s dismissal.
Giants sign Hunter Pence to a five-year, $90MM extension. — The most notable of any extension in this post, Pence was positioned to be one of the top free agents in the 2013-14 class, but he took what looked to be market value at the time to remain in San Francisco. As it turns out, the market for outfield bats was more aggressive than many had thought, with Jacoby Ellsbury and Shin-Soo Choo landing seven-year deals worth $153MM and $131MM, respectively. In the first season of his deal, Pence hit .277/.332/.445 with 20 homers. While he largely continued that output over the next two seasons of the pact, injuries sapped his playing time and Pence hit a wall in 2017 (his age-34 campaign).

2012

Padres sign Chris Denorfia to a two-year, $4.25MM extension. — Denorfia’s strong season led former GM Josh Byrnes to lock in his final arb years with this modest extension, and Denorfia made the deal look like a good one in 2013 by hitting a solid .279/.337/.395 with a career-high 10 homers and excellent numbers against lefties. His production fell off in the contract’s second year, but the Padres’ triumvirate of interim GMs were still able to flip him to Seattle for outfielder Abraham Almonte and minor league righty Stephen Kohlscheen.
Rangers sign Colby Lewis to a one-year, $2MM extension. — Lewis went down for the season in mid-July back in 2012, but he’d been enjoying a strong season and was expected to return for the 2013 campaign, making a $2MM salary a potential bargain for Texas. Unfortunately for the Rangers, Lewis had multiple setbacks and wasn’t able to take the hill the following season, but it’s not hard to see why they were interested in the low-risk deal; Lewis had turned in a 3.93 ERA over his previous 506 1/3 innings with the Rangers.

2011

Cardinals sign Chris Carpenter to a two-year, $21MM extension. — Carpenter led the league in innings pitched in 2011 and had been generally excellent over the previous three seasons, prompting quite a bit of praise for this deal. He, in fact, restructured his contract and took what most expected to be less money in the long run, giving up a $15MM club option in favor of this two-year deal. Of course, Carpenter would sadly throw just 17 more innings in his career before injuries forced him to retire. While it looked good at the time, this deal didn’t pan out.
Mets sign Tim Byrdak to a one-year, $1MM extension. — While the extension wasn’t particularly memorable and didn’t have a large impact on the 2012 Mets, Byrdak fired 30 2/3 innings of 4.40 ERA ball and was a strong weapon against lefties, making him worth his modest salary.
Cardinals sign Lance Berkman to a one-year, $12MM extension. — After a huge rebound campaign in 2011, Big Puma was rewarded with this contract, but he totaled just 97 plate appearances the following season due to knee injuries. He wasn’t able to recover with the Rangers in 2013 and retired following that season, putting an end to an excellent career.
Marlins sign Omar Infante to a two-year, $8MM extension. — This contract paid dividends in the sense that Infante was largely excellent for the Marlins over the next half-season before being dealt to the Tigers along with Anibal Sanchez. That trade netted former top prospect Jacob Turner, catcher Rob Brantly and lefty Brian Flynn — a respectable haul at the time but one that now looks lackluster. Miami dealt Turner to the Cubs for a pair of low-level relievers last season, and Brantly was passed over in favor of Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
White Sox sign Sergio Santos to a three-year, $8.25MM extension. — Signed at the end of a breakout season as the White Sox closer, Santos found himself traded to the Blue Jays for pitching prospect Nestor Molina that offseason. Molina didn’t do much and was outrighted by the ChiSox in 2014, but they probably feel fortunate not to have had to pay Santos the money he was guaranteed, as shoulder injuries led to a 5.23 ERA and just 51 innings pitched over the life of his three guaranteed years with Toronto.

The original version of this post was written by Steve Adams and Zach Links and ran in September 2015.

Latest On Marlins’ Ownership Transition

By Jeff Todd | September 7, 2017 at 8:05am CDT

Even as would-be Marlins owners Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter begin digging into operational details, the prospective ownership team is still working to finalize the deal reached with current owner Jeffrey Loria in early August. Things still seem to be on course, though the process is far from over.

Indeed, the league intends to take a close look at the arrangement, Charlie Gasparino and Brian Schwartz of FOX Business write, peeking into the pocketbooks of the proposed investor group members and assessing the deal’s structure (in particular, it’s mix of debt and equity). MLB is hoping to ensure that the new ownership group is equipped to engineer a turnaround for a cash-strapped organization.

That effort could take “months” to resolve, per the report. MLB does hope to wrap things up by the time the World Series ends, though. That’s an important time marker, since the offseason kicks into gear immediately thereafter.

That process is already underway. Sherman has already met with MLB owners. Jeter will have his turn to do so within the week, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag, as he will present his ideas for running the club to the ownership committee that will assess the deal.

There are no shortage of questions facing the Marlins this winter; the club has had its moments, but still sits five games under .500 and lacks a clear path to contention in 2018. Superstar Giancarlo Stanton and other core players could — some would say should — be dangled in trade over the coming offseason.

Needless to say, Sherman and Jeter will have quite a lot to tackle in assessing the ballclub and implementing a plan. Even if the approval process goes smoothly, there likely won’t be much of a grace period before the new ownership group begins making tough decisions — including, but not limited to, player transactions.

In order to hit the ground running, the owners-to-be have begun assessing the club’s operations. As Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes, Sherman and Jeter met earlier this week with “various department heads” within the organization, including but not limited to baseball operations. Those sit-downs will presumably help the incoming duo sort out a strategy for revamping the organization once the deal is finalized.

NL Central Notes: Nicasio, Baez, Cards’ Outfield

By Jeff Todd | September 6, 2017 at 11:17pm CDT

The National League Central division race is the only one in baseball with at least three teams within five games of first place. As we watch to see how things shake out down the stretch, here’s the latest:

There are a few more details available on the strange circumstances that led to the Cardinals acquiring reliever Juan Nicasio from the Phillies earlier today– but without the ability to utilize him in the postseason. A team other than the Cards won the claim for Nicasio when the Pirates put him on trade waivers in August (only to pull him back when no deal was reached), per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Rather, it may actually have been yet another NL Central rival — the Cubs — that had the highest-priority claim on Nicasio last month, per Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — which would mean the Cards bypassed a shot at adding him at that time. In any event, St. Louis did place a successful claim this time around, when the Phillies ran him through trade waivers after acquiring him via outright waivers on the last day of August, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets.
Javier Baez’s elevated play in the place of the injured Addison Russell has been a boon for the Cubs, writes ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers. Manager Joe Maddon feels that Baez’s status as a part-time player earlier in his career has been to his benefit. “If he had [played 30 games in a row] two years ago, he would have buried himself,” the skipper tells Rogers. “…I don’t think he would have made the same adjustments at the plate. You would have seen a lot more mistakes on defense. … You would not have seen the same baserunning.” Since taking over as the starting shortstop, Baez is hitting .292/.350/.522 with seven homers — albeit with a 28% strikeout rate (par for the course for the free-swinger) and a .366 BABIP (which isn’t entirely sustainable). Eventually, Chicago will have to sort out playing time for both Russell and Baez, though that likely falls into the “good problem to have” category for the Cubs.
Looking further out into the future for the Cardinals, the team faces a potentially interesting slate of questions — and possibilities — involving its outfield in the coming offseason. As Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, picking and choosing between the many existing options carries plenty of risk, but also perhaps could open some intriguing avenues to shoring up other needs. “The question is balancing future projection on performance relative to playing time,” says president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. “Clearly you’ve seen some exciting things from really everybody involved. But at some point we’re going to have to decide who we think our top three outfielders are.” While players such as Harrison Bader, Jose Martinez, and Magneuris Sierra don’t have much experience, all occupy 40-man spots and are arguably ready for a full shot at the majors. Tyler O’Neill is pushing for his own opportunity and will need to be added to the MLB roster. With high-priced free agent Dexter Fowler and breakout star Tommy Pham seemingly unlikely to go anywhere, that could leave the Cards considering deals involving still-youthful, former top prospects Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty.

AL Notes: Astros, Salazar, Profar, Travis

By Jeff Todd | September 6, 2017 at 9:13pm CDT

The Astros have reallocated resources away from traditional scouting roles to newer methods of assessing talent, most notably eliminating eight positions recently. It’s a move that could signal yet another stage of development in the now-ensconced analytical revolution, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic explores in detail through conversations with numerous key industry figures (subscription required and recommended). Houston is one of a few teams drawing back on the live-game player analysis of pro scouting. That said, per Rosenthal, other clubs have increased their staff sizes, making for a multitude of approaches around the game. The piece is essential reading for baseball fans.

Here are some more notes from the American League:

Danny Salazar’s first start upon returning from the disabled list lasted just two-third of an inning and put his spot in the Indians’ postseason rotation in question, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Trevor Bauer, like staff aces Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, is pitching well right now, Hoynes observes, and right-handers Mike Clevinger and Josh Tomlin have also been throwing better (should a fourth starter be needed). Hoynes wonders if the Indians could again use Salazar as a bullpen piece in the playoffs, noting that the righty did at least display strong velocity in his otherwise ugly outing.
With the Rangers foregoing an opportunity to bring up Jurickson Profar this month, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News examines how the one-time uber prospect fell entirely out of the club’s plans. If Texas can’t even find a use for him with expanded rosters, it only stands to reason that the team will elect to move on over the winter — even if that means taking far less in return than once would have seemed reasonable. As Grant notes, that’s particularly true given that Profar will be out of options. Surely some other team will offer something to take a shot on a player who is still just 24 years of age and won’t command much of a raise on his $1.05MM arbitration salary. Notably, too, given his minimal MLB time this year — and the Rangers’ decision not to activate him in September — Profar will be controllable through arbitration for three more seasons.
While Devon Travis has mostly been excellent for the Blue Jays when healthy, he has also appeared in only 213 games over the past three years while dealing with a variety of injuries. That has led to some suggestions that he might be best off moving off of second base to the outfield, though GM Ross Atkins (via MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, on Twitter) doesn’t sound wholly convinced of the idea. Atkins suggested some openness, but emphasized that it could be explored “more in the context of versatility” rather than that of improving durability. The GM made clear that he thinks Travis is most valuable as the team’s everyday second baseman and also stressed that there’s no real “research” showing that shifting onto the grass would really help keep Travis on the field.

Dodgers Designate Fabio Castillo

By Jeff Todd | September 6, 2017 at 6:19pm CDT

The Dodgers have designated righty Fabio Castillo for assignment, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. A 40-man roster spot was needed for the team’s activation of top pitching prospect Walker Buehler.

Castillo, 28, earned his first trip to the majors this year, though he made only two appearances over the weekend. He has spent most of the season pitching in the upper minors, working to a 4.04 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 91 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/6/17

By Jeff Todd | September 6, 2017 at 5:23pm CDT

We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves:

The Mariners have outrighted utilityman Shawn O’Malley to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He had previously been designated for assignment. As Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune notes on Twitter, that’s more or less a formality at this stage of the year, as O’Malley will be able to enter the open market at year’s end as a minor-league free agent. Of course, he’ll still be on hand if a need arises over the next three weeks. O’Malley, 29, has not appeared in the majors this year but did see 89 games of action for Seattle in 2016. The former fifth-round draft pick hit just .229/.299/.319 in his 232 plate appearances last year, though, and then missed a big chunk of time earlier this season owing to an appendectomy and shoulder problems. O’Malley has hit just .205/.250/282 in twenty games of action at Triple-A in the current campaign.
Also outrighted, per the Padres, was righty Kevin Quackenbush. He had entered the season on track to qualify for arbitration at season’s end, but only appeared in twenty contests while struggling to a 7.86 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9. Quackenbush is still just 28 and has had far more productive stints in the majors in the recent past. He also managed a 3.90 ERA in his 27 2/3 Triple-A frames. While his outlook with the Pads remains cloudy, then, he could receive a shot at earning a bullpen spot — in San Diego or elsewhere — in Spring Training next year.

Jake Arrieta Out 7-10 Days With Grade 1 Hamstring Strain

By Jeff Todd | September 5, 2017 at 9:25pm CDT

9:25pm: Arrieta told reporters after tonight’s game that the MRI revealed a Grade 1 strain of his right hamstring (video link via ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers). The right-hander will miss at least one start and possibly two with the ailment, but it doesn’t sound as if there’s any long-term risk.

Sept. 5, 7:00pm: Arrieta is very likely to miss his next start, per MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat, but there has yet to be any indication that he’ll require a lengthy absence from the mound. Arrieta underwent an MRI today, though the results from the test aren’t yet known. Arrieta said before tonight’s game that it was likely a cramp that caused him to exit.

Sept. 4, 6:33pm: For now, at least, it seems Arrieta may have dodged a significant injury. He thinks he may even be able to take his next start, Gonzales tweets, and might not even need an MRI.

4:35pm: There’s still no diagnosis, but Arrieta is receiving treatment to his right hamstring, the team announced (via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, on Twitter).

4:26pm: Cubs righty Jake Arrieta was pulled from his outing today in the third inning after seemingly suffering an injury to his right leg. He tried to throw a warm-up pitch after the issue arose, but was not able to carry on.

Needless to say, there’s no way of knowing at this point whether there’s any reason for long-term concern. The Cubs have only announced what was obvious to the naked eye: Arrieta left with “an apparent right leg injury.”

But at this stage of the season, even relatively minor injuries can be quite important. Arrieta, the National League’s Pitcher of the Month for August, is expected to help lead the rotation down the stretch and into the postseason.

Despite some iffy moments earlier this year, Arrieta currently owns a 3.36 ERA over 158 innings, with 153 strikeouts and 52 walks. That overall body of work — and his track record of durability — had also seemingly set him up for quite a lucrative foray into free agency at season’s end.

At this point, there’s not much the Cubs or Arrieta can do but wait and hope for the best. No matter the severity of the injury, the team can’t add an outside pitcher and utilize him the postseason; the deadline for doing so was August 31st.

While Chicago could in theory still acquire a starter just to help out during the month of September, there’s no real reason to do so. The Cubs had six quality options for the rotation, so won’t need to worry about depth.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Andrew Cashner

By Jeff Todd | September 5, 2017 at 8:40pm CDT

Andrew Cashner took a one-year, $10MM deal with the Rangers last winter — far shy of the kind of earning power that was anticipated a few years back, when Cashner seemed to be one of the better young pitchers in baseball. Still, that was a significant one-year payout and came with hopes for a bigger payday this winter.

Cashner has certainly made good on the deal from the Rangers’ perspective, as he has turned in 139 2/3 innings of 3.29 ERA pitching over 23 starts. That’s a great return on the team’s investment, helping to balance out the miss on Cashner’s former Padres teammate, Tyson Ross, who also joined the Texas staff in hopes of a turnaround.

Those superficial results, however, don’t tell us all we need to know about Cashner’s interesting upcoming foray into free agency. While it’s tempting simply to assume that the notably talented right-hander has finally found health and figured things out, organizations — including the Rangers — will be looking at quite a bit more information in valuing the rights to his future production.

It’s hard not to raise an eyebrow at Cashner’s ugly K/BB numbers. He has recorded just 4.8 K/9 — second-lowest among all qualified starters — against 3.3 BB/9 on the year. He also sports a meager 5.7% swinging-strike rate that not only falls well below his career average but also ranks dead last among qualified starting pitchers.

The hurler has continued to maintain solid ground-ball numbers, with a 48.4% rate thus far in 2017. And perhaps there’s some indication of contact management in the .267 batting average on balls in play to which he has limited opposing hitters; while that’s surely a sign that there Cashner has benefited from some good fortune, the 28.2 percent hard-hit rate he’s allowed is the eighth-lowest in MLB. Cashner has tamped down on the homers that hurt him last year (8.3% HR/FB, 0.77 HR/9), though again it’s tough to see that as a fully sustainable skill.

Clearly, the underlying metrics paint quite a different picture than do the bottom-line results. Unsurprisingly, ERA estimators are not enthused with Cashner’s work this year. SIERA (5.41) and xFIP (5.16) have never before been this bearish on the right-hander, while FIP (4.42) only prefers his work this year to his more homer-prone 2016 (when he carried a 4.84 mark).

Beyond the matters of present and projected talent, long-term durability remains something of a question given that Cashner has missed some time with arm issues in the past. He’ll turn 31 in a few days, so he isn’t old, but he’s also not particularly young for a free-agent pitcher. Notably, too, Cashner’s velocity has trended downward. This year, he’s sitting at 94 mph with his four-seamer and 92.9 mph with his sinker — around one full tick below the prior year in both cases (and yet further behind his peak levels).

So, what might the market make of all this? It’s rather difficult to say, truthfully, since it’s hard to find pitchers with anything approaching this kind of profile. While bounceback hurlers such as Rich Hill and Scott Kazmir have scored three-year, $48MM contracts in recent years after returning from rough stretches, they did so after carrying good results and peripherals for one or more prior seasons.

Frankly, it’s hard to see Cashner commanding that sort of AAV. That’s particularly true given the relatively robust slate of mid- and back-of-the-rotation hurlers lined up on the market behind the biggest names. Cashner will be competing with pitchers such as Jeremy Hellickson, Marco Estrada, Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb, Jaime Garcia, Miguel Gonzalez, Tyler Chatwood, John Lackey, and a host of others.

Cashner’s inability to generate swings and misses makes a qualifying offer (reportedly set to be worth about $18.1MM) seem unlikely. Hellickson, after all, had a more impressive overall body of work in 2016 but still accepted a $17.2MM QO from the Phillies. Texas may not really want to chance that outcome in the hopes of securing the now-reduced draft compensation that could be available if he declines and signs elsewhere. Or, perhaps, if both team and player enjoy the current arrangement, the sides could pursue a multi-year arrangement during the exclusive negotiating window. (That’s how the Blue Jays got Estrada to stay for two years and $26MM two years ago.)

With or without compensation, Cashner seems more likely to receive offers in that $8MM to $12MM annual range, dependent upon the length of the term. We have seen quite a few solid but flawed arms land in that admittedly wide bucket — often scoring long-term commitments. Three-year pacts have gone to J.A. Happ ($36MM) and Ivan Nova ($26MM) — both of which have held up rather well thus far. Pitchers such as Ricky Nolasco and Brandon McCarthy have secured ~$12MM annually over four-year terms, though they had stronger free-agent cases based on their underlying metrics than Cashner. We’ve even seen some lower-AAV, longer-term deals, such as those landed by Phil Hughes (three years, $24MM) and Jason Vargas (four years, $32MM), which function as a reminder that the market can always create one-off contract scenarios.

Perhaps the most interesting analogy, all things considered, comes from Yovani Gallardo’s recent trip into free agency. At the time, he was coming off of a year in which he put up 184 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA pitching with a solid ground-ball rate but just 5.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. He was younger than Cashner by about a year, with a lengthier track record of performance and durability, though he also had shown a more significant velocity decrease before entering the market. Gallardo was initially able to secure a $35MM guarantee over three years, but he ultimately had to settle for a promise of $22MM with a third-year option after a shoulder issue came up in his physical. Hopefully, Cashner can avoid any medical complications; he may also not come with draft compensation, which surely impacted Gallardo (who didn’t sign until late February).

While it’s hardly a perfect comp, the experience of Gallardo suggests there are some limits — but also that there’s real earning potential — for pitchers who have managed to post a solid ERA despite underwhelming peripheral indicators. Just how Cashner’s market will shape up is hard to guess at the moment, but he’ll be an interesting player to watch this winter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pirates Announce Extensions Of Neal Huntington, Clint Hurdle

By Jeff Todd | September 5, 2017 at 1:07pm CDT

The Pirates have announced matching, four-year extensions for both GM Neal Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle. Both are now under contract through the 2021 season; salary terms are unreported.

Hurdle’s deal was reported yesterday, though Huntington’s situation remained unclear. As we covered at the time, both of these key organizational figures were entering an offseason of uncertainty, with the Bucs possessing team options for the 2018 campaign.

Rather than simply taking the one year already contemplated in their prior contracts, Pirates president Frank Coonelly decided to reward both Huntington and Hurdle with yet greater commitments, calling each “selfless leaders who have made us a far stronger organization, both on and off the field.” Both had previously worked for one or three-year terms.

Some fans will find some cause for consternation in the timing of the move. After all, the Bucs are again failing to play to expectations after a 2013-15 run of success that reinvigorated hopes and fan interest. And the club has drawn fairly persistent accusations of being unwilling to spend when necessary. Most recently, hackles raised with the club’s curious move at the end of August to dump the salary of quality reliever Juan Nicasio. (At least as public perceptions go, it probably doesn’t help that Nicasio was claimed by the cross-state-rival Phillies, who had even less reason to pay his salary at this stage of the year.)

Still, it’s hard not to credit the work of the Huntington-Hurdle duo. The former came over from the Indians organization in advance of the 2008 season; while it took some time, and awaited the arrival of Hurdle a few years later, the club finally broke its long-running losing streak. Utilizing creative methods worthy of a book, Huntington’s front office — with Hurdle chipping in from the clubhouse and dugout — managed to field a roster that won 280 and lost 206 games from 2013 through 2015.

While those teams never advanced in the postseason, and things haven’t gone as well since, that doesn’t necessarily fall entirely on the shoulders of the GM and manager. The team’s exciting trio of outfielders was seen as perhaps the game’s best entering 2016; for a variety of reasons, they’ve combined to put up just 12 WAR over the last two years. Unlike some other organizations that have emerged in recent seasons, too, the Bucs have continued to carry less than $100MM in Opening Day payroll.

While the team has just not quite gotten enough from a variety of spots on the roster, Huntington has done well in acquiring and re-signing Ivan Nova, getting Felipe Rivero for pending free agent Mark Melancon, and acquiring and then extending the solid David Freese (who has been especially important with the unexpected loss of Jung Ho Kang). Every recent move hasn’t been a winner — the signings of Daniel Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong, for example — though perhaps the most strident complaints have been about opportunities that may have been missed owing mostly to payroll constraints.

All told, the current roster still holds plenty of talented players on appealing contracts. But some of the organization’s biggest stars — McCutchen and Gerrit Cole, in particular — are nearing free-agent eligibility, posing major questions (fraught with complicated baseball and public relations elements) to the front office and ownership group. How the Bucs will navigate the potentially turbulent waters remains to be seen, but the helmsmen will remain the same — albeit now with significant contractual protection to weather any short-term disappointments.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect