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Reds Release Junichi Tazawa, Chris Volstad, Felix Jorge

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The Reds recently released a trio of hurlers, Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America reports. Righties Junichi Tazawa, Chris Volstad, and Felix Jorge were all cut loose before the coronavirus-related roster freeze went into effect.

Each of these pitchers had joined the Cincinnati organization on minor-league deals. It was unlikely in each case that they’d earn a roster spot out of camp.

Tazawa, once a highly productive reliever, failed to crack the majors last year. The nine-year MLB veteran came to the Reds late last season after he was cut free from the Cubs. He had received one spring outing but obviously didn’t show enough to impress the Reds’ brass.

Volstad is another 33-year-old righty with significant MLB action under his belt. He was looking for a comeback after not appearing in the 2019 season. Volstad carries a 5.00 ERA in 772 1/3 career MLB innings.

The 26-year-old Jorge has only minimal experience at the game’s highest level. He has battled health issues over the past two campaigns. Back in 2017, the last time he completed a substantial number of innings, he worked to a 3.68 ERA in 149 upper-minors innings while also earning a brief call-up.

Latest News & Notes On Coronavirus & Baseball

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We’re all pining for the return of baseball. It’d be nice to watch, especially in these trying times. More than anything, though, the start of play would mean that we’ve achieved some amount of control over the spread of the coronavirus — and, perhaps, that there’d be an end in sight to the suffering it has wrought. In the meantime, we join all those around the world in honoring the brave health care professionals, first responders, logistical employees, and others who are doing everything they can to sustain us.

  • The unfolding tragedy is particularly acute in New York, the present American epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis. Baseball is an afterthought. Any hope of playing it will depend upon addressing the broader public health need, as Yankees reliever Zack Britton acknowledges (via MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, on Twitter). “At the end of the day,” he says of talk regarding the scheduling of the 2020 season, “it doesn’t matter until the virus gets under control and cities and people are able just to go back to everyday life, let alone being able to go and watch baseball or us play baseball.” Getting to a point where the spread is manageable seems an obvious prerequisite for sports, even if played without fans. But the league and union are rightly thinking ahead and trying to plan to move back online as soon as possible. Britton says the sides have already begun considering potential neutral sites to stage games, potentially providing alternative venues that could be utilized as needed. The unnamed locations would have the sorts of playing, lodging, and other facilities required to make play possible.
  • We’ve seen many MLB players pitch in financially and otherwise. They’re also quite understandably thinking of the needs of their families. Veteran Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka has headed back to his native Japan with his wife and child while waiting for baseball to resume, Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reports. Tanaka says he felt in “danger” in Florida, where the virus is a growing threat. He also chose against returning to the home he maintains in New York. (There is at least a touch of baseball-specific news on the Yankees’ pitching staff, as we covered here yesterday.)
  • Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has revealed that one employee of the team has tested positive for COVID-19, as Mark Saxon of The Athletic tweets. The unnamed employee was not on hand at the club’s spring facility during camp; rather, he or she was stationed in St. Louis. MLBTR extends its best wishes for a quick and full recovery. Fortunately, that seems to be just what occurred for legendary former Cardinals and Angels outfielder Jim Edmonds. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes, Edmonds ended up in the hospital for pneumonia and ultimately tested positive for COVID-19. But he’s thankfully already on the mend.
  • It’s always worth highlighting the good acts that take place in times of crisis. As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, the Rays have initiated some assistance to local charity Feeding Tampa Bay, promising $100K and another $150K in matching funds to help spur a food drive. The Feeding Tampa Bay executive director calls it a “tremendous gift.” Meanwhile Rockies first baseman Daniel Murphy is the latest veteran player to make a sizable financial commitment. He’s giving $100K to a “family assistance fund” to assist minor-leaguers who support children or other family members. More on that initiative here.

Prospect Faceoff: Franco v. Lux

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Yesterday’s prospect faceoff post featured two fairly similar youngsters: upper-level left-handed hurlers MacKenzie Gore and Jesus Luzardo. Today, we’ll examine another duo with a lot of commonalities … but they won’t be quite so closely situated.

Glance up at the top ten list of most prospect rankings and you’ll see two middle infielders: Wander Franco of the Rays and Gavin Lux of the Dodgers. MLB.com and Fangraphs rank them 1-2. They share many attributes beyond position and lofty prospect standing. But these two players also present completely different propositions.

Franco is more or less universally considered the game’s very best prospect. But he also just turned 19 on March 1st and hasn’t yet played above the High-A level. In his two A-ball stops last year, the switch-hitter carried a collective .327/.398/.487 batting line with nine long balls over 495 plate appearances. He swiped 18 bags but was also gunned down 14 times.

This is not a complete product. There are some questions as to whether Franco will stick at shortstop, though he has thus far proven capable. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that his power is still more a projection than a present skill. But the scouts see the potential in his actions at the plate. And Franco seems quite likely to maximize whatever raw power he ends up with given his exceptional plate discipline and contact ability. Franco recorded 56 walks against just 35 strikeouts last year while driving the ball around the yard. Though he hardly carries a big frame, Franco is said to carry immense wrist strength and bat speed. And his command of the zone will make him awfully tough to pitch to.

Do you feel like you need some precedent to believe a player can convert plate discipline and less-than-imposing physical stature? How about Lux? He didn’t put a single ball over the fence in 253 rookie ball plate appearances, then managed only seven dingers in 501 trips to the dish at the Class A level. But last year, Lux produced 26 long balls in his 523 upper-minors plate appearances.

Lux never quite matched Franco’s ludicrous K/BB numbers. But he’s not easy to retire on strikes, knows how to draw a walk, and features a blend of power and average. Last year’s minor-league slash line: .347/.421/.607. That’ll play, particularly for a guy known as a quality baserunner and fielder. What of the notorious PCL offensive inflation? Lux exploded with a 188 wRC+ in Triple-A, so the numbers stand out even against a high mean. While Lux may end up playing second base with the powerhouse Dodgers, he’s generally considered capable of holding down shortstop in the majors.

And here’s the thing about Lux: he has already reached and shown he can hang at the game’s highest level. He didn’t exactly take the league by storm when he arrived late in 2019. But Lux produced a .240/.305/.400 slash in 82 plate appearances. And he was trusted with a postseason roster spot. It remains to be seen whether Lux will be a perennial All-Star or something less, but when it comes to getting value from a guy, he’s about as sure a thing as a prospect can be.

In this case, there’s probably not much question that Franco has the loftier ceiling. And we have seen players shoot up from the lower minors into the majors rather quickly, so he may not be far off from a debut if he terrorizes the upper minors as expected. But there’s inherently much more risk in such a player than in Lux, who’s ready to slot in as a MLB regular as soon as this season finally gets underway. Particularly if you’re somewhat risk-averse and/or need immediate contributions in the majors, perhaps Lux is actually the better bet.

Which prospect would you prefer to have? (Poll link for app users.)

GM Trade History: Blue Jays’ Ross Atkins

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It’s not always fair to judge baseball operations leaders for free agent signings.  In many cases, the biggest contracts are negotiated to varying extents by ownership.  The same can hold true of major extensions.  It’s just tough to know from the outside.

There’s obviously involvement from above in trade scenarios as well.  But, when it comes to exchanging rights to some players for others, it stands to reason the role of the general manager is all the more clear.

In any event, for what it’s worth, it seemed an opportune moment to take a look back at the trade track records of some of the general managers around the game. We’ve already covered the Diamondbacks’ Mike Hazen, former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, the Brewers’ David Stearns, the Angels’ Billy Eppler, the Rockies’ Jeff Bridich, the White Sox’ Rick Hahn, the Tigers’ Al Avila, the Braves’ Alex Anthopoulos, and the Padres’ A.J. Preller. We’ll now turn our focus to Ross Atkins of the Blue Jays, who followed Jays president Mark Shapiro in moving to the Toronto organization from Cleveland. (Deals are in chronological order and exclude minor moves; full details at transaction link).

2015-16 Offseason

2016 Season

2017 Season

2017-18 Offseason

2018 Season

2018-19 Offseason

2019 Season

2019-20 Offseason

—

How do you grade the overall work on the trade market? (Poll link for app users.)

New Dodgers TV Deal Announced

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While the 2020 season remains paused, many Dodgers fans can now at least look forward to catching their team in action when MLB resumes play. An agreement has at long last been reached that will bring Dodgers games back to many televisions in Southern California, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports (Twitter link) and has now been announced.

The 2013 creation of the Spectrum SportsNet LA network — jointly owned by the Dodgers and Charter Communications — promised more content, but came with a catch. Carriage fees agreements were not forthcoming between SportsNet LA and TV providers such as Direct TV and Dish Network. That left an effective blackout for large swaths of the market.

Now, SportsNet LA has a deal in place with AT&T to carry Dodgers games on Direct TV and other AT&T-owned outlets. Other major providers still don’t have deals in place with SportsNet LA, so the situation hasn’t yet improved for all fans. But many will now be able to watch games as before. And perhaps this agreement is cause for optimism that bargains can be struck with the other providers as well.

The timing is obviously interesting, with the Dodgers staring at a major loss of revenue in 2020. With an increasing likelihood that MLB will stage contests without fans for at least part of a truncated season, it’s all the more important for the team to deliver its media content to fans. Whether the coronavirus pandemic specifically prompted this agreement isn’t known. No doubt we’ll learn more as further details emerge.

Prospect Faceoff: Gore v. Luzardo

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It’s easy to dream on top prospects. Such players have not only exhibited great play and immense talent, but have been hyped up yet further by those who judge young players for a living. We tend to see the “top-of-the-rotation” (!!!) and ignore the “potential” … with its implicit acknowledgement of a downside scenario.

This is nothing new to MLBTR readers. All fans have tales of prospect heartbreak — the would-be great ones that weren’t. It’s usually not too tough to diagnose where things went wrong after the fact … but how about predicting in advance? Here’s your chance.

Today, we’ll take a brief look at two of the top pitching prospects in baseball — southpaws Jesus Luzardo (Athletics) and MacKenzie Gore (Padres) — and give you a chance to prognosticate.

We should note at the outset that prospect watchers have a clear preference for Gore. But it’s awfully close. Fangraphs ranks Gore third and Luzardo sixth among all prospects. MLB.com has them five and twelve. Baseball Prospectus: five and nine. Baseball America: six and nine.

Then again … Luzardo is the one that has already reached the majors. It was only a brief showing, but he sure did impress. In a dozen innings, he racked up 16 strikeouts while allowing just two earned runs on five hits and three walks. Luzardo generated an excellent 14.6% swinging-strike rate. He pumped 97 mph heat and showed a balanced, four-pitch arsenal. And he did all this at just 21 years of age (he turned 22 at the end of September) in the same season in which he worked back from a shoulder and lat injuries.

There doesn’t seem to be much of a ceiling on Luzardo. You might worry about the health risks, but the A’s were also surely exercising ample caution. Luzardo had already extended to over 100 frames in 2018. And he seems to have come through just fine. He was absurdly dominant in Cactus League action this spring. Luzardo carried a roughly 50 percent groundball rate in his minor-league career, so that’s another strength.

Whereas Luzardo was a third-round pick in 2016, Gore was the third overall choice in the ensuing draft. Does that added pedigree explain the fact that he’s seen as the better prospect? On the health front, Gore has had some blister problems, though like Luzardo he also passed the century mark in innings pitched in his second full professional season.

In terms of track record … well, Gore just hasn’t gone as far quite yet. That’s no surprise: he’s a year younger and a season behind. Gore annihilated High-A hitters last year, working to a ridiculous 1.02 ERA in 15 starts. But he did run into at least some headwind after a promotion to Double-A. Through 21 2/3 innings over five outings, Gore surrendered 4.15 earned runs per nine innings on twenty hits (three of which left the yard) with a 25:8 K/BB ratio.

Prospect watchers are looking at quite a bit more than short-sample results. And they see a future ace in Gore. Though he’s still fine-tuning some of his offerings and doesn’t throw quite as hard as Luzardo, Gore carries a highly promising four-pitch mix and is said to possess exceptional athleticism and command. If he can finish honing those offerings and figure out just how to use them, he could carve up MLB hitters for years to come.

This isn’t exactly the next Trout v. Harper debate. But it’s interesting to look at these two lefties. Luzardo arguably has a smidge more certainty having already shown his stuff at the game’s highest level. Evaluators credit Gore with a bit loftier ceiling, but he has a bit more finishing work left to do.

Which do you think will have the better career?  (Poll link for app users.)

MLB Cancels 2020 London Series

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Major League Baseball has officially announced the cancellation of the 2020 London Series. The Cubs and Cardinals had been scheduled to play a two-game UK set in mid-June.

This hardly rates as a surprise given the coronavirus crisis that has engulfed the world. Putting on MLB contests, with or without fans in attendance, will be hard enough to pull off in North America. There was little reason to attempt play across the pond when it’s quite likely a live audience wouldn’t even be permitted.

One might have expected the league to postpone the London series rather than cancelling it outright. But even a move to a later point in 2020 would’ve come with immense challenges: added logistics, difficulties of international travel, and conflict with a highly condensed schedule.

In the long run, MLB surely hopes to resume play in London. The league was able to do so in 2019. It has also held regular season contests in Tokyo, Sydney, and Monterrey over the years.

2020 Season Increasingly Likely To Begin Without Crowds

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What began as a backup plan has increasingly turned into an apparent inevitability as the coronavirus pandemic continues to grow. If MLB is able to get a 2020 season off the ground at all, it’s likely to be played initially in empty stadiums, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Just days ago, reporting indicated that the league and union contemplated a return with fans on hand. But that came with a caveat: the agreement gave commissioner Rob Manfred flexibility to launch the season sans spectators (and/or at neutral sites) if circumstances warrant.

As Sherman explains, there’s a growing belief within the game that Manfred will indeed have to find creative solutions to re-start play. The logistics inherent to staging a typical ballgame — stadium workers, public transportation, fans packing stands, etc. — are wholly incompatible with social distancing measures.

Flexibility will surely be the name of the game. Toronto has already announced restrictions that would seem to preclude a typical MLB contest through June 30. Other cities (and/or states and federal governments) will extend or add limitations on gatherings. Even if attendance becomes possible in some jurisdictions, uniformity is unlikely for some time.

Even playing without fans could prove challenging. Consider the difficulties facing Asian leagues that are attempting that feat at present, with halting progress. But it’s surely better than nothing. As Sherman explains, both the league and the players recognize their common interest in getting some revenue flowing again. And we could all stand to see new ballgames, even if only on a screen.

Sherman also highlights another factor at play: the role of the minor leagues. That’s important in its own right, particularly given the typically meager wages paid to minor-league players and the broader battle between MLB and MiLB over the future of the farm system. All of the logistical challenges facing the majors will be multiplied — and without the same revenue potential to support herculean efforts to stage games.

The issue also ties into a key element of a potentially jam-packed regular season: the need for extra MLB players. As Sherman explains, we might see 30-man active rosters. But there’ll be a need for constant supplementation — just as ever, but perhaps even moreso now with the possibility of a shortened second Spring Training and condensed schedule. Developing prospects, keeping depth players available, and managing the 40-man roster for the short and long-term will be more complicated than ever. And it’ll all take place without the underlying structure of a typical minor-league season, at least for some time.

Perhaps some creative solutions will help make this all possible. Sherman floats the concept of upper-minors players participating in some sort of modified instructional league format, where they’d prepare to join the MLB roster as needed. I’ll go ahead and float my own idea: the temporary addition of a few 40-man roster spots that could be used on veteran players. That way, teams could field rosters without forcing up youngsters prematurely or risking prospects to open needed roster space. And it would limit the amount of roster churn — in particular, players moving between different organizations — which could be an important tactic for helping to limit the possibility of disease transmission.

Manfred will face innumerable foreseeable difficulties. Beyond that, there’s broad uncertainty — in all directions. Perhaps some as-yet-unknown development will ultimately brighten the outlook. For now, we can only wait, hope, and do our part to ease the burden on public health systems and our own communities.

 

Baseball Leagues In Korea, Japan Face Ongoing Coronavirus Challenges

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5:08pm: Although NPB had been pushing for an April 24 start, Sports Nippon in Japan reports that league officials are now questioning whether that’s a viable target date (English-language link via Tokyo-based baseball journalist Jim Allen). Half of the league’s team presidents met this morning and acknowledged that a later date is now likely necessary, although a specific timeframe has yet to be agreed upon. Allen notes that league officials have run simulations of scenarios that include May 8 and May 15 starts to the season.

Meanwhile, in a full column for Yonhap, Yoo reports that the KBO is contemplating weekly Monday doubleheaders as the league mulls season lengths of 124 games, 117 games and 108 games (all declines from the traditional 144-game length). Major League Baseball, of course, has discussed similar use of frequent doubleheaders in an effort to maximize the number of games possible in a shortened season of its own.

9:15am: With COVID-19 raging in the United States, it’s hard not to glance longingly across the Pacific. In Korea and Japan, authorities have seemingly gained control over the spread of the virus — so much so that their highly respected baseball leagues are working toward a resumption of play.

That’s not to say the effort is without challenges. Ramping up economic activity while holding back the tide of disease requires flexibility that’s flatly inconsistent with baseball’s typically regimented structure. Both the Korea Baseball Organization and Nippon Professional Baseball have had to adapt their plans on an ad hoc basis.

The KBO had been tracking toward an Opening Day about three weeks from today. That’s no longer on the table, as Yonhap’s Jeeho Yoo reports (Twitter links). Now, with teams still prevented from traveling away from their own facilities, April 21st is scheduled for the start of the preseason.

There’s still hope that the KBO campaign will get underway by early May, if not a bit sooner. But the league has seemingly scrapped plans to get in all 144 games. Per Yoo, teams expect to play as few as 108 contests.

For the time being, the Japanese schedule has not been altered further since initially being pushed back from March 20 to April 24. But the NPB has come across its own problems. Star Hanshin Tigers right-hander Shintaro Fujinami and two teammates have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Associated Press (Kyodo News was first to report on Fujinami). They are the first three professional baseball players in Japan to test positive for the illness.

There have been spectator-less exhibition contests taking place in Japan, but the Tigers canceled their farm team practice game Thursday in response to this news. They’ve also suspended all practice through April 1 and ordered their players and staff to self-quarantine. It’s obviously possible to imagine that this worrisome development could ultimately contribute to another delay for the league. More broadly, the news on the Hanshin players represents another grim reminder of what the world is up against and how challenging it is to carry on with pro sports or any other aspects of normal life at this time.

In other less-than-promising news out of Asia, China has halted attempts to resume professional sports, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. It seems the overarching concern lies in the potential for transmission between asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus. That decision and reasoning further underscore the remaining uncertainty in dealing with this disease. Even when progress is finally made in getting sports and other business activities back online, it’s all but certain that new hurdles will arise.

Just what this all means for Major League Baseball in 2020 is anyone’s guess, though it’s obviously not promising. But it’s important to bear in mind that the situation is evolving at an exceptionally rapid pace that largely defies prediction. Remarkably, it was less than three weeks ago that MLB halted Spring Training.

GM Trade History: Tigers’ Al Avila

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It’s not always fair to judge baseball operations leaders for free agent signings.  In many cases, the biggest contracts are negotiated to varying extents by ownership.  The same can hold true of major extensions.  It’s just tough to know from the outside.

There’s obviously involvement from above in trade scenarios as well.  But, when it comes to exchanging rights to some players for others, it stands to reason the role of the general manager is all the more clear.

In any event, for what it’s worth, it seemed an opportune moment to take a look back at the trade track records of some of the general managers around the game.  After covering the Diamondbacks’ Mike Hazen, former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, the Brewers’ David Stearns, the Angels’ Billy Eppler, the Rockies’ Jeff Bridich, and the White Sox’ Rick Hahn, let’s check out the work of Tigers GM Al Avila.  Since he took over for Dave Dombrowski in surprising fashion in August of 2015, here’s what Avila has done on the trade market (in chronological order and excluding minor deals; full details at transaction link.)

2015-16 Offseason

2016 Season

  • None

2016-17 Offseason

2017 Season

2017-18 Offseason

2018 Season

2018-19 Offseason

  • None

2019 Season

—

What do you think of Avila’s trade history? (Poll link for app users.)

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