AL East Notes: Samardzija, Johnson, Kline
The Yankees are likely to pursue righty Jeff Samardzija in free agency, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. He’s viewed by the organization as a competitor who could be had at a nice price given his forgettable 2015 campaign. Of course, the 30-year-old could see interest from a variety of other clubs for the same reasons. He’ll be one of the more interesting players to watch in free agency.
Here are few more AL East notes:
- Red Sox lefty Brian Johnson made one big league start this year, but shortly after was shut down with elbow issues. But he’s back to throwing again, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports, and appears to be structurally sound. “They said my UCL [ulnar collateral ligament] was like I hadn’t even pitched,” Johnson said. “It was really, really good. It was nothing ligament-related.” The hope is that the 24-year-old will be ready for a normal spring. Given his strong results at Triple-A before the elbow difficulties arose, he remains an interesting near-future piece for a team that also has Eduardo Rodriguez and Henry Owens showing promise early in their big league careers.
- Another Orioles right-handed pitching prospect is dealing with early-career injury woes, as Branden Kline had Tommy John surgery yesterday, according to Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. A second-round draft pick in 2012, Kline missed much of the year as he attempted to avoid the procedure. He pitched to a 3.66 ERA over 39 1/3 Double-A innings on the year before being shut down.
NL Notes: Brewers, Reds, Span, Knorr
Brewers GM David Stearns says that his just-established front office is working on a flexible offseason plan that will allow the organization to tackle the winter’s always-changing trade and free agent markets, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. “Having a specified plan going into an offseason is always a little bit challenging because the dynamics of the offseason change consistently,” he said. “With every trade, every team’s needs change somewhat. With every signing, the market can change a little bit. But heading into the GM Meetings we should have a rough outline of what we’re looking to do as an organization. And then the period between the GM Meetings and the Winter Meetings, as the market begins to take shape, we should begin to really target specific areas.”
- While Stearns kept his cards close to the vest, he said that his new team — unlike the Astros, where he served as assistant GM — does not have the same need to “start[] from scratch” since Milwaukee has already begun a rebuilding phase. He (wisely) declined to commit to a contention timeline, but said he believes the “fan base recognizes that there’s patience needed.” As for how drastic the tear-down could be, Stearns said he’s open to continue dealing from the major league roster.
- The Reds face an interesting offseason, and MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon breaks things down. There are some scenarios where the club could stay in much the same form as it ended 2015, while welcoming back some injured players. Or, of course, a variety of veterans could end up being dealt.
- Outfielder Denard Span, who will soon become a free agent from the Nationals, tweeted today that recent X-rays showed positive news as he recovers from hip surgery. He obviously won’t have a chance to prove his health before hitting the market, but that’s obviously promising news. The 31-year-old has been highly productive over the last two years when he’s on the field, but missed time this year with the hip issue and offseason core muscle surgery. Though he’s one of only a few quality center field options on the free agent market, health concerns figure to hold down his earning power. It remains to be seen whether Washington will make Span a qualifying offer, which could also impact his market.
- Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr lost his job along with the entire rest of the team’s coaching staff this year, but he tells James Wagner of the Washington Post that he’s still interested in a chance at interviewing for the open managerial position — a possibility that GM Mike Rizzo expressly left open (while not exactly endorsing) in his recent comments to the press. “They would have to ask me to interview for it,” Knorr said. “I’d love to do it. I know all the players. I’ve been around them for four years now. I think I’d be really good for the job. I don’t know which direction they wanna go. I don’t know if they want the big name again or what. But I think I’m probably the most qualified for it.”
Cubs To Sign Eddy Julio Martinez
The Cubs have reached agreement with Cuban outfield prospect Eddy Julio Martinez, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports on Twitter. He’ll receive the $3MM bonus that he was reportedly seeking.
Martinez, 20, had been said to be in agreement with the Giants earlier in the week. The $2.5MM deal was said to be complete pending only a physical, with San Francisco GM Bobby Evans acknowledging it to the press. But things fell apart, apparently for financial reasons, as Sanchez reported that that the youngster was looking for a $3MM bonus.
Chicago swooped in to meet that asking price, adding him to an already-loaded class of international signings. The Cubs, like the Giants had previously committed to spending well past their overall pool allocation, meaning that they were already set to face a two-year ban on $300K+ signings. Adding Martinez did nothing to impact that, though the club will pay a 100% overage tax on his bonus.
We’ve heard some varying opinions on Martinez’s outlook over the last several months, but all agree that he is a legitimate prospect with a good hit tool and excellent speed. The questions are about his power potential and ability to handle center field in the long run. Read more on the BHSC client from Sanchez and Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required and recommended).
Tigers, J.D. Martinez Have Mutual Interest In Extension
Tigers GM Al Avila said today that the organization has interest in pursuing an extension with outfielder J.D. Martinez, as Chris Iott of MLive.com reports. He declined to discuss whether and to what extent the sides had already discussed that possibility.
“I don’t really want to get into our conversations with the players or their agents at this point,” said the newly-minted Detroit GM. “Usually we don’t make those comments. I can tell you we would have interest in something like that.”
Martinez, 28, is entering his second season of arbitration eligibility after earning $3MM last year. He’ll be looking for a big increase on that payout after a stellar campaign. MLBTR’s arbitration projections, via Matt Swartz, expect Martinez to receive nearly a $5MM raise this winter.
From his perspective, Martinez tells Iott, he has interest in a longer-term arrangement. But he said he’d let his representatives at RMG Baseball handle any contractual matters. “I would love to play in Detroit the rest of my career,” said Martinez. “But I leave the business part to my agent.”
That increasing earning power certainly has Martinez set up for a significant new contract. There aren’t many recent comps from power-hitting corner outfielders, but Adam Jones (six years, $85.5MM) and Alex Gordon (four years, $50MM) previously signed fairly large extensions when they were in the 4+ service class.
With 61 total home runs and a composite .304/.350/.543 batting line over the last two seasons, Martinez has out-produced all of this winter’s top free agents since he began his breakout. If he keeps that up, he’ll be in line for a massive free agent payday, and any extension would need to reflect that. All said, it seems that the initial interest is there to make a deal plausible, but both sides have plenty of ground to cover if something is to get done.
MLBTR Chat: Wieters, Yankees, Pads, Price, Cespedes
Outrighted: De Fratus, Pettibone, Kratz, Green
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Phillies announced that they’ve outrighted seven players from the 40-man roster. Right-hander Justin De Fratus, catcher Erik Kratz, infielder Chase d’Arnaud, outfielder Jordan Danks and lefties Adam Loewen and Ken Roberts were all outrighted off the roster. Additionally, right-hander Jonathan Pettibone was activated from the 60-day DL and outrighted. The 27-year-old De Fratus has been a regular member of the Philadelphia bullpen for the past three seasons but struggled to a 5.51 ERA in 80 innings this season. Pettibone, 25, tossed 100 1/3 solid innings for the Phils in 2013 but has struggled to recover from shoulder surgery. He threw just three innings last year and didn’t pitch in the Majors in 2015.
- The Angels announced today that infielder Grant Green has cleared outright waivers and will be assigned to Triple-A. Green, 28, was designated for assignment just before the end of the regular season. He was once a prized young player, and continues to perform in the upper minors, but has slashed just .249/.283/.335 over an even 300 career plate appearances. Notably, the move does not necessarily mean that Los Angeles will be able to stash Green in the minors. Now that he’s off of the 40-man, he’ll be eligible for minor league free agency.
White Sox Outright Adrian Nieto
The White Sox have outrighted catcher Adrian Nieto off the club’s 40-man roster, per a club announcement (h/t to Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com, on Twitter). After also losing Junior Guerra via waiver claim, the team has three open 40-man slots.
Nieto, 25, was taken from the Nationals in the pre-2014 Rule 5 draft. The White Sox carried him all year, even as he slashed .236/.296/.340 over 118 plate appearances. That earned the team permanent rights over the Cuban native.
Known as a defensively-gifted backstop who would need work at the plate, Nieto did not take much of a step forward in 2015. Optioned to Double-A to start the year, he put up a .207/.344/.316 slash line with five home runs over 315 plate appearances. Nieto did carry a strong 16.5% walk rate, but was retired 24.4% of the time via strikeout as well.
Brewers Claim Junior Guerra, Designate Nevin Ashley
The Brewers have claimed righty Junior Guerra off waivers from the White Sox, per a club announcement (hat tip to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, on Twitter). To create roster space, Milwaukee has designated catcher Nevin Ashley for assignment.
Today’s waiver claim marks the team’s first acquisition under the leadership of GM David Stearns. It’s not an obviously significant move at first glance, but it is interesting.
Guerra, 30, returned to a big league organization for the first time since 2008. In the interim, he played independent ball and threw in the Venezuelan winter league. Despite never before appearing above the High-A level, Guerra jumped into the upper minors and earned his first MLB call-up in Chicago.
Though he only tossed four big league innings, he averaged 94.1 mph with his fastball. Guerra obviously showed enough in the minors to draw Milwaukee’s attention. Over 83 1/3 frames — most of them at the Triple-A level, and including 11 starts — he pitched to a 3.13 ERA with 11.3 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9.
As for Ashley, the 31-year-old also made his MLB debut this year, registering two base hits in limited action. He earned that brief promotion with a solid year at Triple-A, putting up a productive .306/.374/.442 batting line over 381 plate appearances. That represents the sixth season in which Ashley has seen time at the highest level of the minors, where he’s slashed .259/.339/.391 over 1,161 turns at bat.
AL West Notes: Astros, Daniels, Mariners, Angels
Making it into the postseason and then advancing to the divisional round has “brought a measure of validation” to the Astros‘ all-out rebuild, Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal writes. “Your work speaks for itself,” said GM Jeff Luhnow after last night’s win. “There’s always critics along the way if you’re trying to do something different or something unique. But we had confidence that we were on the right path, and I think the results are starting to show.” As Costa rightly notes, it’s important to bear in mind that “many of the most promising young players acquired by Luhnow haven’t even reached the majors yet.” The true measure of the Houston project, I’d suggest, is in how lengthy and fruitful an overall contention window it creates (with all the economic benefits that would be expected to come with that).
- Of course, Houston did not manage to hang on to its division lead, and the Rangers‘ surprising surge to the top of the West is every bit as validating to its general manager, writes Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Engel praises Jon Daniels for a series of moves that helped the club wade through its significant injury and performance issues of 2015. Certainly, it’s impossible to argue with the results, particularly since they came as Daniels and company were simultaneously making various future-oriented decisions.
- Left in the wake of the those two division leaders were a trio of disappointing teams. Whatever other issues were involved, the Mariners never recovered from a single disastrous homestand in late May and early June, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. They’ve turned the baseball operations department over to Jerry Dipoto, of course.
- As for the Angels, who parted ways with Dipoto in mid-season and fell just short of qualifying for post-season play, new GM Billy Eppler faces a lengthier to-do list than Dipoto did last winter, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. Another middle-of-the-order bat, preferably left-handed, might be the biggest need, while a resolution at third base is also critical. Fletcher also says that the club could look to bolster its output at second base and catcher, while contemplating the addition of a top-end arm. The piece goes on to talk about possible trade chips, theoretical trade and free agent targets, and other contractual matters.
AL East Notes: Yankees’ Needs, Blue Jays, Anthopoulos
The Yankees’ offseason officially kicks off today after getting bounced from the post-season last night. Here’s the latest out of New York and the rest of the AL East:
- GM Brian Cashman acknowledged the evident fact that the Yankees weren’t quite “good enough” this year, as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes. While things turned out better than many expected, says Heyman, there’s still plenty that will need to get done heading into 2016. Adding a significant starter is at the top of that list, he writes, though the team could also stand to fill out its relief corps. Otherwise, New York needs to keep plugging away at developing its young talent and focus in on a solution at second base, in Heyman’s estimation.
- Also taking a look at the Yankees‘ offseason needs is Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider link). His priority list is somewhat different, especially at the top. For Bowden, adding a big, right-handed bat is the most important need.
- The Blue Jays are now the only AL East club left standing, but the offseason could only be days away if they fail to advance. Baseball teams are always looking ahead, of course, and Toronto is no different, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes. GM Alex Anthopoulos says he’s “already stressed out of [his] mind” dealing with playoff pressure, but has already begun working on possible winter moves. “We have a sense from July conversations of who might be available in trade, but there’ll be another wave of players that no one’s expecting as we talk to clubs that we’ll get a sense of. That can be exciting,” Anthopoulos said. “The off-season can come up fast on you, so you don’t end up shutting it down.”
- One notable factor in the Blue Jays‘ success this year was the durability of its pitching. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes, the organization changed its approach to handling arms after the 2013 season, switching out of an innings-based system. “Generally speaking, we try to watch our players, we don’t treat everybody the same, which is maybe what we did early on,” Anthopoulos explained. He went on to say that he is “pleased with the results” of the club’s experimentation, though he wasn’t too interested in sharing the details. As Davidi writes, subtle reductions of stress and careful monitoring of effort that goes beyond innings thrown appears to be at the base of the effort. There’s a ton of information in the piece, so you’ll want to give it a full read.