Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

NL Notes: Wieck, Gomes, Dodgers, Phillies

By Mark Polishuk | January 22, 2022 at 10:52am CDT

Brad Wieck has been limited to 59 2/3 innings over his four big league seasons, as the Cubs left-hander has been hampered by a series of concerning health problems. After being treated for testicular cancer in 2019, Wieck has faced heart issues in each of the last two years — a cardiac ablation in 2020, and then surgery last year to address an atrial fibrillation. “I’ve had to deal with a lot in my career, but it’s one more thing that’s made me who I am,” Wieck told Mark Gonzales of The Daily Herald. “I take pride in what’s made me, and all I can do is continue to work.”

The good news is that Wieck was cleared for baseball activity, and said “as of now, I feel great” as he ramps up for the 2022 season with a series of bullpen sessions. Despite a 14.1% walk rate last season, Wieck didn’t allow a single earned run over 17 innings of work, and the southpaw has an impressive 35.9% strikeout rate over his brief MLB career. In a Cubs bullpen that is lacking in surefire options, Wieck certainly looks like a candidate to win a job, and perhaps serve as the Cubs’ top left-handed reliever.

More from around the National League….

Multiple teams have approached Brandon Gomes with interview requests over his five years with the Dodgers, but Gomes consistently turned down those other opportunities to remain in Los Angeles. Speaking with Jack Harris of The L.A. Times and other reporters, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman noted that Gomes was being sought after for several different roles, and “there aren’t a lot of people that you can say that about, that really are qualified to do so many different things.” This versatility will continue to apply to Gomes’ new position as the Dodgers’ general manager, as Friedman said that Gomes’ specific day-to-day duties will evolve and “we’ll figure out what makes the most sense at any given time.”
“Given their roster construction, no team wants the designated hitter in the National League in 2022 as much as the Phillies,” NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman writes. The Phillies aren’t a strong defensive team, and they have several veterans who battled injuries in 2021 and could benefit from the partial off-day provided by a DH spot. However, the universal DH might also lessen the chances of a reunion between the Phils and Brad Miller, as Miller will have even more job opportunities open to him in free agency should the 14 other NL teams all have need for extra position player depth.

CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys Re-Sign Dylan Covey, Ryan Bollinger

By Mark Polishuk | January 22, 2022 at 8:41am CDT

Last month, the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League announced that right-hander Dylan Covey and left-hander Ryan Bollinger had signed new contracts with the team for the 2022 season. (Hat tip to CPBL Stats.) Both pitchers will be entering their second season with the Monkeys, and for Bollinger, 2022 will be his fourth year of CPBL action.

Covey posted a 6.57 ERA over 264 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Red Sox from 2017-20, officially beginning his MLB career after Chicago selected him away from the A’s in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft. The righty’s grounder-heavy arsenal didn’t translate well against Major League batters, as Covey had only a 15.4% career strikeout rate, and the long ball (18.4% home run rate) also plagued him.

While that strikeout rate only marginally improved in Covey’s first CPBL season, the overall numbers were much better, as he posted a 4.01 ERA over 58 1/3 innings with the Monkeys. As noted by CPBL Stats, Covey joined the Taoyuan-based team in midseason and got off to a slow start, but posted a minuscule 0.58 ERA over his final five outings of the season.

Though Bollinger has been pitching in the CPBL for three seasons, he has only seen action in two of those years, as foot injuries kept him from appearing in even a single game in 2020. Moving from the Fubon Guardians to the Monkeys last year, Bollinger had a nice rebound, posting a 2.80 ERA and 24.73% strikeout rate over 106 innings for the Rakuten squad.

Bollinger (who turns 31 in February) was a 47th-round pick for the Phillies back in 2009, drafted as a first baseman but quickly transitioning to pitching. He never actually played in Philadelphia’s farm system, as Bollinger moved onto a well-traveled pro career that has included stops with several independent teams, the Australian Baseball League, and the CPBL. The southpaw pitched in the affiliated minors with the White Sox from 2011-13 and with the Yankees in 2018, plus he signed a minor league deal with the Padres in the 2018-19 offseason but was released at the end of Spring Training.

Mets Announce Full Coaching Staff

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2022 at 10:58pm CDT

The Mets have officially announced their 2022 coaching staff, with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner as the only returning member of the last year’s coaching corps. Many of the new hires had already been reported in recent weeks, with hitting coach Eric Chavez, first base coach Wayne Kirby, third base coach Joey Cora, and bench coach Glenn Sherlock all joining forces on Buck Showalter’s staff for the veteran manager’s first year in the Mets dugout.

Joining this group are two other coaches, one a newcomer to the Mets organization and the other a familiar face. Jeremy Barnes will become the assistant hitting coach, receiving a promotion from his previous role as New York’s director of player initiatives. Craig Bjornson will act as bullpen coach, coming to Queens after most recently working three seasons as the Red Sox bullpen coach.

Phillies fans may remember Barnes as a member of the Philadelphia farm system from 2009-12, after Barnes was selected in the 11th round of the 2009 draft. Barnes then moved on to play the next three seasons in independent baseball and in the Australian Baseball League, remaining in Australia for two more years to work for ACT Baseball after his playing career was over. From there, Barnes returned to North America and spent four years working in the Astros’ farm system as a hitting coach and as a minor league hitting coordinator.

Bjornson also has ties to the Astros, working as Houston’s bullpen coach in five of six seasons from 2012-17. Before his time with the Red Sox and Astros, Bjornson spent 13 seasons as a minor league pitching coach with four different organizations.

With Showalter’s staff now complete, the group represents an interesting mix of old-school experience and newer-school approaches. Bjornson, Kirby, Cora, and Sherlock are all seasoned big league coaches, while this will be Barnes’ first time on a Major League staff and Chavez’s first coaching gig of any kind. Even Hefner is still relatively new to the coaching world, as the 35-year-old has been the Mets’ pitching coach for the last two seasons and a Twins assistant pitching coach in 2019.

Quick Hits: Assistant GMs, Kjerstad, 2022 Draft

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2022 at 1:57pm CDT

There’s plenty of ambition to be found within baseball’s front offices, and yet for an increasing number of executives, remaining in a secondary role is a nice place to be, The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli and Eno Sarris write. Whether in an assistant GM role or as a general manager working under a president of baseball operations, these “top lieutenant” positions tend to involve more job security, increased pay in recent years as teams try to prevent other clubs from poaching employees, and a lot less public pressure than being the head of a baseball ops department. As one former GM put it, “there’s so much scrutiny on it that people are like, ’Screw it, I’m happy making a nice living and can be around my kids and go out to dinner without being recognized.’ ”

On the other hand, if there is relatively less movement amongst front office personnel, that can also lead to a stagnation of hiring practices. This makes it harder for minority candidates to get opportunities for a notable front office position, let alone consideration for a PBO or GM job. As White Sox executive VP Kenny Williams has observed, teams are increasingly hiring front office personnel lacking in baseball-related experience, and yet that same lack of experience is often cited as a reason why women or minority candidates aren’t given promotions to larger roles.

Poll: What Is The Rays’ Future In Tampa Bay?

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2022 at 10:28am CDT

The Rays’ plan of splitting home games between Tampa Bay and Montreal led to quite a bit of debate and controversy since the club first floated the concept in 2019, though after the Rays asked the league for formal approval of the plan in November, the MLB Executive Council officially rejected the two-city proposal yesterday.

Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg said the team’s immediate next step is to again revisit the idea of a new ballpark in the Tampa Bay area, even though multiple attempts at such a project have fallen short over the years. Tampa mayor Jane Castor recently said that her office would be open to any idea that would keep the Rays in town, yet while the city would also be willing to explore alternate ways of funding a ballpark, Castor drew the line at using taxpayer funds, saying “the community’s appetite to pay for a stadium has left the train station.”

In short, it looks like the Rays may essentially be back at square one, given how Sternburg stressed that his organization had been so fully committed to the Tampa/Montreal plan. In fact, Sternburg is still a believer in the two-city idea for not just the Rays, but for teams in both Major League Baseball and beyond, stating that “Partial seasons are going to be the wave of the future in professional sports.”

It isn’t yet known why the Executive Council vetoed the Rays’ idea, though the simple answer could be that there were too many logistical hurdles to make such a two-city concept work. However, just to be purely speculative, it is possible that the league took issue with splitting games between Tampa and Montreal specifically, rather than necessarily vetoing a two-city concept entirely. With more and more cities increasingly reluctant to commit much or any taxpayer dollars towards building new stadium projects, categorically ruling out a “sister city” plan or other creative ideas wouldn’t be logical for MLB, as the league obviously wants all of its teams in revenue-generating ballpark situations.

Maybe the Executive Council could’ve taken a different view of the plan if the Rays had pitched sharing Tampa and a more nearby city like Orlando, rather than a city 1500 miles away and in a different country. In the bigger picture, the Council might also have balked at one team covering two distinct markets, especially since Montreal has often been mentioned as a possible landing spot for an expansion team, or for any other existing teams who might eventually look to switch cities.

In any event, the only option that seems certain is that the Rays don’t see Tropicana Field as a long-term option. The team’s lease at the stadium expires following the 2027 season, and unless the Rays sign a one- or two-year extension to give Tampa or St. Petersburg more time to finish a new ballpark, there is virtually no chance the Rays will still be calling the much-maligned Trop home come Opening Day 2028.

Where does MLBTR’s readership think the Rays will eventually wind up after the 2027 season?

(poll link for app users)

Where will the Rays be playing after the 2027 season?

A different city outside of the Tampa/St. Pete area 68.50% (7,113 votes)

A new ballpark in the Tampa/St. Pete area 28.04% (2,912 votes)

Splitting home games between Tampa/St. Pete and another city 2.27% (236 votes)

Splitting home games between two cities outside of the Tampa Bay region 1.18% (123 votes)

Total Votes: 10,384

NL Central Notes: Haudricourt, Pirates, Flaherty, Cardinals

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2022 at 8:46am CDT

Veteran sportswriter Tom Haudricourt announced his retirement yesterday, as the longtime Brewers beat writer for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will be officially stepping away within the next month or two. Haudricourt has been with the Journal Sentinel for the last 36 years, following an eight-year stint with The Richmond Times Dispatch that launched his baseball career when Haudricourt covered the Braves’ former Richmond-based Triple-A affiliate.

Both Milwaukee fans and MLBTR’s readers have become very familiar with Haudricourt over the years, as he has broken countless transactions and news items related to the Brewers and the greater baseball world as a whole. In addition to his work on the beat, Haudricourt has also authored several books on the Brewers, and regularly contributed to Baseball America’s coverage of Milwaukee’s farm system. We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Haudricourt all the best in his retirement, and congratulate him on a terrific career.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Zauzmer, Mets, Lefkowitz, Braves

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2022 at 2:36pm CDT

Earlier this offseason, the Mets denied the Phillies’ request to interview baseball analytics director Ben Zauzmer about Philadelphia’s assistant GM opening, SNY’s Andy Martino writes. The Phillies instead went with another young executive for the role, hiring 27-year-old Anirudh Kilambi away from the Rays.

Like Kilambi, Zauzmer is also young (29), has a background in analytics, and already has amassed an impressive resume early in his career in baseball. Zauzmer joined the Mets only last year after a six-year stint in the Dodgers’ analytics department, but quickly established himself as an important figure in New York’s front office. This resulted in Zauzmer getting an assistant GM job with the Mets themselves, as the team announced the promotion in late December.

Guardians Name Joe Torres As Assistant Pitching Coach

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2022 at 1:00pm CDT

The Guardians officially announced their 2022 full coaching staff, with Joe Torres joining the mix as an assistant pitching coach. Torres fills the role left open when Ruben Niebla left the Guardians in October to become the Padres’ new pitching coach.

The 10th overall pick of the 2000 draft, Torres pitched 13 seasons in the Angels (his original team), White Sox, Dodgers, Rangers, and Rockies farm systems, plus a year in independent ball. Moving into coaching after his playing career was over, Torres has spent the last five seasons with Cleveland, working as a pitching coach with their rookie ball, low-A and high-A affiliates before working as the organization’s minor league pitching coordinator for the last two seasons.

The 39-year-old Bronx native now takes his first job on a Major League staff, joining pitching coach Carl Willis and bullpen coach Brian Sweeney as the Guardians’ pitching braintrust. Torres and new hitting coach Chris Valaika are the only new members to join a largely stable Cleveland staff under returning manager Terry Francona.

Red Sox Sign Taylor Cole To Minor League Deal

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2022 at 11:20am CDT

The Red Sox announced that Taylor Cole has been signed to a minor league contract, with the right-hander receiving a non-roster invitation to Spring Training. Since Cole began the offseason as a minor league free agent, he is eligible to sign during the lockout.

Cole posted a 2.08 ERA over 8 2/3 innings in the Dominican Winter League, which marked his first action of any kind since he pitched for the Angels in 2019. Beyond the canceled minor league season and postponed MLB season in 2020, Cole was also set back by shoulder problems that forced him to undergo surgery in August 2020. He didn’t pitch at all last season while recovering, until finally returning to the mound this winter to audition for scouts in the Dominican.

Cole posted a 4.97 ERA over 88 2/3 career innings with the Blue Jays and Angels from 2017-19, with a 23.9% strikeout rate and a 49.4% grounder rate. The righty had some bigger strikeout totals during his minor league career, and his grounder-heavy attack did a generally good job of avoiding the long ball until the homer-heavy 2019 Triple-A season, as Cole surrendered five home runs over 23 1/3 total innings with Anaheim’s Triple-A and high-A affiliates.

He hasn’t yet had a chance to rebound from that rough 2019 campaign, but the Red Sox clearly saw enough in the DWL to take the low-risk move of inviting Cole to their spring camp. Cole has worked as both a starter and reliever during his career, thus perhaps lining up as a swingman or long relief option as Boston looks to cover innings and create flexibility within its pitching staff.

Carlos Correa Had Pre-Lockout Asking Price Of At Least $330MM

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2022 at 10:41am CDT

It wasn’t any secret that Carlos Correa was looking to score big in free agency, and the shortstop set a very high asking price prior to the lockout. According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter), Correa was asking for at least a $330MM contract, with an overall range of $330MM to $350MM. It is unclear whether or not this pause in the baseball offseason could impact Correa’s demands, or if his position atop the free agent market will keep him relatively immune to the lockout’s effects on the market as a whole, even though teams will have less time to negotiate prior to the start of the season.

Correa was clearly targeting a pair of other recent mega-deals for shortstops — the ten-year, $325MM pact Corey Seager signed with the Rangers just prior to the lockout, and the ten-year, $341MM extension Francisco Lindor signed with the Mets last spring. (Lindor’s contract also stands as the third-richest baseball contract ever, behind the Mike Trout and Mookie Betts extensions.) Prior to the offseason, MLB Trade Rumors projected Correa to land ten years and $320MM as the winter’s top free agent deal, though with Seager already topping that price, it stands to reason that Correa would set his sights even higher.

With Seager, Marcus Semien, and Javier Baez already landing new contracts within an extremely loaded free agent shortstop market, Correa and Trevor Story are the top shortstops remaining, and a great deal of speculation remains over whether either player will land. The uncertainty around Story mainly focuses on his comparatively average 2021 season and questions about his production away from Coors Field, while with Correa, the primary question may be which team is willing to step up and meet his contract demands.

The Rangers and Tigers have already made their big shortstop signings, though Detroit (a big pre-winter favorite to land Correa) is perhaps still a candidate if the Tigers looked to pair up both Correa and Baez within the infield. Other teams like the Dodgers, Braves, Cubs, Red Sox, Astros, and Yankees had also been in touch with Correa before the lockout, and it is always possible that a new suitor or two could emerge amidst the transactional frenzy that is sure to ensue when the lockout ends. Depending on what happens in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, an altered set of financial rules could very well bring more teams into the mix for Correa’s services.

Since Correa just hired the Boras Corporation as his new representatives yesterday, it’s probably safe to assume that he isn’t now willing to settle for a discount, given Scott Boras’ penchant for wanting top dollar for his clients. Just within this shortstop market alone, Boras represented both Seager and Semien as they combined for $500MM from the Rangers. Between deferrals, opt-out clauses, “swellopts,” and other contractual language, Boras has used any number of creative tactics over the years to get his clients their desired salary, while also making teams feel more comfortable about their financial outlay.

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