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Camp Battles: The Indians’ Outfield

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For a team that has averaged 95 wins a year over the last four seasons, the Indians have consistently taken a mix-and-match approach to their outfield amidst this run of success.  Of course, having star infielders (i.e. Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, Jose Ramirez) and a seemingly neverending pipeline of starting talent can allow a club to put less of a focus on its outfielders, and Cleveland would’ve ideally hoped that more of its highly-regarded outfield prospects would have taken the leap to everyday status by this point.  Still, the Tribe is now entering a fifth season of outfield uncertainty, and hoping that at least one of its question marks can enjoy a true breakout campaign.

Let’s begin with the one everyday lock in Oscar Mercado, though Mercado’s actual position on a game-by-game basis could be in flux.  The 25-year-old is coming off a solid rookie season that saw him perform decently well at the plate (95 wRC+, 96 OPS+) and impressively well with the glove in 698 2/3 innings in center field — +6 Outs Above Average, +5.8 UZR/150, +9 Defensive Runs Saved.  It’s safe to assume that Mercado will get the lion’s share of time in center again in 2020, though his ability to play all three positions will allow manager Terry Francona to shift other players into the outfield based on matchups.

Those other players?  It’s quite a long list:

  • Delino DeShields: Depending on your defensive metric of choice, DeShields was either slightly behind (UZR/150, DRS) Mercado in defensive value last season, or ahead (Statcast ranked DeShields tied for fifth among all outfielders in baseball with +12 OAA in 2019), plus DeShields has a longer track record of outstanding glovework.  It stands to reason that DeShields will handle center when Mercado is used in the corners, though it remains to be seen if DeShields will hit enough to move beyond mere fourth-outfielder duty.  The 27-year-old hit only .246/.326/.342 over 1936 career plate appearances with the Rangers, though it’s possible the change of scenery from Texas to Cleveland could help.
  • Domingo Santana: Signed to a one-year MLB contract (with a 2021 club option) earlier this week, Santana is decidedly not an option in center field, and even the corner outfield might be a stretch for a player who posted some of the worst defensive numbers of any player in baseball.  If Santana does indeed end up being used mostly as a designated hitter, the fact that he was signed at all could hint at the Tribe’s belief that…
  • Franmil Reyes is capable of better things as a right fielder after two seasons of mediocre fielding.  Acquired as part of the three-team Trevor Bauer blockbuster last summer, Reyes hit .249/.310/.512 with 37 home runs over 548 PA between the Padres and Indians in 2019.  The power is already there and the overall hitting potential has shown some flashes of improvement, and though Cleveland used Reyes almost exclusively at DH after the trade, the team surely hopes that they can get at least a couple of seasons’ worth of passable fielding work from Reyes to maximize his overall roster value (even if a mostly-DH role is ultimately in his future).
  • Jordan Luplow: Among all qualified hitters in 2019, only J.D. Martinez and Alex Bregman had a higher wRC+ against left-handed pitching than Luplow, who crushed southpaws to the tune of a .320/.439/.742 slash line and 198 wRC+ over 155 PA.  Even with other big righty bats like Santana and Reyes on hand, Luplow’s incredible splits will ensure that he’ll at least see platoon action, and Luplow has the added defensive edge of being able to play the corners decently well (and could even handle center field in a pinch).  If Luplow is to play a larger role, he’ll have to greatly improve his desultory .596 career OPS over 225 PA against right-handed pitching.
  • Greg Allen: The switch-hitting Allen offers a bit of balance to all of these right-handed hitters, though he hasn’t much from either side of the plate over 586 Major League plate appearances.  Allen can technically play all three outfield positions, though his glovework in the corners is much more highly regarded than his performance in center field.  Assuming at least one of the left-handed bats remaining on this listing emerges, Allen may find himself beginning the 2020 season in the minors.
  • Tyler Naquin: He likely won’t factor into the Opening Day picture, as much as Naquin is making excellent progress after suffering a torn ACL at the end of August.  Still, Naquin looks on pace to return on the shorter end of his original seven-to-nine month recovery period, which adds another left-handed bat to the Indians’ mix.  2019 was shaping up as easily Naquin’s best season since his 2016 rookie year, so a post-hype breakout might yet be in the cards for Naquin if he can get healthy.
  • Jake Bauers: Acquired as part of last offseason’s three-team deal that brought Carlos Santana back to Cleveland, Bauers’ first year with the Tribe was a disaster, as he posted an overall sub-replacement season (-0.4 fWAR) while struggling at both the plate and in the field.  Bauers is still only 24 years old and is a former top-100 prospect, so it’s clearly far too early for the Indians to give up on him, but he’ll be on a much shorter leash than last season.
  • Bradley Zimmer: Speaking of former top prospects, Zimmer missed almost all of the 2018-19 seasons due to shoulder surgery.  MLB.com ranked Zimmer as the 22nd-best prospect in baseball entering the 2017 campaign, but a forgettable rookie season and then his extended injury absence turned Zimmer from building block to afterthought.  He could be the biggest wild card of any player on this list, assuming Zimmer is healthy.
  • Daniel Johnson: A part of the three-player package the Indians received from the Nationals in the November 2018 Yan Gomes trade, Johnson’s first season in Cleveland’s farm system was a successful one, as he hit .290/.361/.507 over 547 combined PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  MLB.com’s scouting report notes that Johnson’s strong throwing arm and overall defense alone could earn him steady work as a fourth outfielder at the big league level, so if he can manage to hit as well, there’s certainly room for Johnson gain playing time with the Tribe.

One bit of good news for the Indians in sorting out all these players is that they don’t face any specific roster crunch, as Santana is the only one of these players who no longer has a minor league option.  That affords Francona and the front office the opportunity to freely evaluate these players during Spring Training without feeling forced into a tough roster choice based on team control.  Given the sheer number of outfielders on hand, it also wouldn’t be entirely shocking if the Tribe dealt away from this surplus.  If a few of these names really stand out during camp, Cleveland might feel comfortable enough in its depth to consider one of the other players expendable if another outfield-needy team came calling with an interesting trade offer.

AL East Notes: Lucroy, Rays, Blue Jays

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As Yankees righty Luis Severino gets some unwelcome news on his birthday, here’s the latest from around the AL East…

  • Ron Roenicke was Jonathan Lucroy’s manager with the Brewers for over four seasons, and with Roenicke now serving as the Red Sox interim manager, he was the motivating factor in convincing Jonathan Lucroy to sign with Boston.  “He called me and he wanted me to come.  It was a big one,” Lucroy told reporters, including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and MLB.com’s Ian Browne.  “He’s like, you’ll get an opportunity to come here and make the team.  Right now, that’s all you can ask for with a guy in my position.”  Lucroy signed a minor league contract with the Sox after a pretty quiet stint in free agency, as Cotillo notes that Lucroy “negotiated with a few clubs who backed out of deals at the last minute.”  This isn’t to say that Lucroy is surprised at how his trip through the free agent market went, given his struggles over the last three seasons: “Analytically, I’ve been terrible.  Seriously. I’m not trying to make excuses.  I’m not surprised I didn’t get a big league offer.”  Now, Lucroy is reunited with his old skipper and will compete with Kevin Plawecki for the backup catching position.
  • The Rays are known for cycling different players through a position rather than having a set everyday starter, and MLB.com’s Juan Toribio examines how the club will juggle its many third base options.  Yandy Diaz, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Joey Wendle, Daniel Robertson, Nate Lowe, and Mike Brosseau could all factor into Tampa Bay’s choices at the hot corner, while also being rotated around to other positions on the diamond.  Diaz is expected to get the majority of playing time, while Tsutsugo’s readiness at third base is perhaps the biggest wild card in the mix, as he hasn’t played the position since 2014 as a member of the Yokohama BayStars.
  • The Blue Jays face some interesting decisions with their bench mix, as the Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm observes that slugger Rowdy Tellez might not make the Opening Day roster.  Since minor league signing Joe Panik “is almost a sure bet to be included on the roster” as a utilityman and outfielders Derek Fisher and Anthony Alford are both out of options, this trio might have the advantage over Tellez, who is defensively limited to only first base.  Tellez has shown some strong power (25 homers, .475 slugging percentage) over 482 MLB plate appearances, though is somewhat one-dimensional at the plate, as evidenced by his .241 career average and .299 OBP.  Fisher and Alford will both need to perform well this spring to block Tellez, however, and Chisholm notes that Brandon Drury also isn’t a lock for the roster, as the Blue Jays could opt to cut Drury and just go with Panik as the primary utility player.  Since Drury was an arbitration-eligible player, releasing him before Opening Day would leave the Jays on the hook for just a small portion of his $2.05MM salary.  If Drury was released, Chisholm speculates Toronto could potentially put those savings towards signing another veteran player who might become available as teams trim their rosters in advance of the season opener.

GM James Click: Astros Under No Spending Restrictions

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The Astros sent out some mixed messages about how much the club was willing to spend this offseason, though newly-hired general manager James Click told the Houston Chronicle’s Brian T. Smith (Twitter link) and other reporters that Astros owner Jim Crane didn’t put any restrictions on future expenditures, and gave the front office the go-ahead to spend if necessary.

Houston’s projected Competitive Balance Tax payroll sits at roughly $231.5MM (as per Roster Resource), a number that is already over the second penalty level of $228MM.  Since the Astros have never before exceeded even the first luxury tax threshold, they will be taxed at the “first-timer” rate of 20% on every dollar spent above the $208MM threshold, as well as an additional 12% surtax for everything spent between the $228MM and $248MM.  Using Roster Resource’s $231.5MM projection, the Astros currently face a tax bill of $5.1MM.

Such a relatively small sum should hardly be a major impediment to roster-building, as Crane said last fall that while he would ideally “prefer not to” pay any luxury tax bills, “we may win the World Series, so you never know.”  A one-time overage might not be too much to swallow, especially since a lot of salary could come off the books after the 2020 season since George Springer, Michael Brantley, Yuli Gurriel, and Josh Reddick are all free agents.  Looking even further ahead, Houston has only $42MM in committed payroll beyond the 2021 season

Of course, the major x-factor here is how the emotional calculus has changed for Crane now that his franchise has been implicated in one of the biggest controversies in baseball history.  Given how Crane so clearly wishes to turn the page on the sign-stealing scandal, he might figure the best way to do so is by fielding another World Series contender in 2020, to “prove” that the Astros can win in an untainted fashion (though it will surely take more than a single year for the Astros to regain trust around the game).

With all of this in mind, it is somewhat difficult to view any potential Astros moves from a pure baseball perspective, not to mention the fact that Click might wait until he has actually settled into his new job before making any big transactions.  In the short term, however, discussing contract extensions with Springer or any of the other pending free agents would seem like a logical step to take now that Spring Training is underway.  In terms of new additions, Click could wait to spend until closer to the trade deadline, when he could more clearly access what final pieces might be required to put Houston over the top in a pennant race.

AL Central Notes: Abreu, Maybin, Zimmer

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Heading into free agency last fall, Jose Abreu made no secret that he wanted to remain with the White Sox, and he told reporters (including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune) that he didn’t even talk to any other clubs during his brief time on the open market.  “My family is good in Chicago.  They love Chicago,” Abreu said.  “They are really grateful and good and happy with the White Sox organization, just the way that the organization has treated them….For us, it didn’t make sense to look around to other places.”  The Marlins were the only other team known to have have interest in Abreu last November, though it appears that interest didn’t manifest itself into any early negotiation with Abreu’s representatives.

There never seemed much chance that Abreu and the White Sox would part ways, given how GM Rick Hahn repeatedly spoke during the season about how much the team valued Abreu’s contributions on the field and in the Sox clubhouse.  After Chicago extended a one-year, $17.8MM qualifying offer to Abreu, the first baseman ensured his continued stay on the South Side by accepting the offer, and then worked out a contract extension in November that runs through the 2022 season.

The latest from around the AL Central….

  • While Abreu more or less sidestepped free agency entirely, the market wasn’t as kind to Cameron Maybin, who told the Detroit News’ Chris McCosky and other reporters that he received mostly minor league offers before finally landing a Major League deal from the Tigers.  Maybin rebounded from a pair of subpar years to hit .285/.364/.494 with 11 home runs over 269 PA with the Yankees last season, but still found the process of obtaining a guaranteed contract to be “frustrating….I thought it would be easier to get a big-league job.  I do feel like I’m a big-league talent, like I am big-league caliber.”  Still, Maybin is happy to be back in Detroit for his third stint as a Tiger, and is eager to serve as a veteran mentor to a young team and prove that his 2019 performance wasn’t a fluke.  Though Maybin turns 33 in April, “honestly, with my athleticism, I feel like I can play for another five years.  Especially with this swing change.”
  • Kyle Zimmer was given a fourth minor league option by the league, the Royals right-hander told MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan.  Players usually only have three option years, though a fourth option can sometimes be granted under certain circumstances — like, in Zimmer’s case, a wide range of injuries that have limited to just 341 total professional innings since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2012 draft.  Zimmer was finally healthy in 2019 and made his MLB debut, making 15 relief appearances for Kansas City and posting a 10.80 ERA over 18 1/3 innings.  With this fourth option year to work with, the Royals can now opt to start Zimmer in the minors to begin the season rather than potentially be forced into exposing him to waivers as an out-of-options player if they didn’t have a 26-man roster spot for him.

Rob Manfred Addresses Astros Scandal

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In an interview with ESPN’s Karl Ravech and during a press conference at the Braves’ Spring Training camp earlier today, commissioner Rob Manfred discussed a number of topics surrounding the game, but the bulk of attention was directly on the ongoing fallout from the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

Asked by Ravech why no Astros players were suspended or fined as part of the league’s investigation, Manfred said that “in a perfect world it would have happened.  We ended up where we ended up in pursuit of really, I think, the most important goal of getting the facts and getting them out there for people to know it.”

Players were given immunity so that the league could freely acquire information on the details of the now-infamous sign-stealing process, which involved Astros players alerting (using signals ranging from whistling to banging a trash can) teammates at the plate as to what pitches were coming, after the Astros used real-time video technology to observe rival catchers’ signs.  Such use of available video was forbade in a memo sent from the Commissioner’s Office to teams in 2017, but Manfred said Astros players weren’t made aware of the seriousness of the offense.

“The memorandum went to the general manager, and then nothing was done from the GM down,” Manfred said. “So we knew if we had disciplined the players in all likelihood we were going to have grievances and grievances that we were going to lose on the basis that we never properly informed them of the rules.  Given those two things, No. 1, I knew where, or I’m certain where the responsibilities should lay in the first instance and given the fact we didn’t think we could make discipline stick with the players, we made the decision we made.”

Since the league’s ruling on the Astros’ punishment last month, Major League Baseball has faced widespread criticism from both fans and rival players about not only a seeming lack of discipline directed towards Houston players, but also at the franchise itself.  While the Astros were fined $5MM and lost four draft picks, the fact that the organization wasn’t formally stripped of its 2017 World Series title has not sat well with many around the sport.

As Manfred told the Associated Press and other journalists, the league considered such a singular measure but decided against taking the championship away from the Astros.

“First of all, it had never happened in baseball,” Manfred said.  “I am a precedent guy.  The 2017 World Series will always be looked at as different, whether not you put an asterisk or ask for the trophy back.  Once you go down that road as for changing the result on the field, I just don’t know where you stop.”

In regards to Astros players, Manfred told Ravech that the outrage directed at the team has served as a measure of additional punishment unto itself.  “I think if you watch the players, watch their faces when they have to deal with this issue publicly, they have paid a price,” Manfred said.  “To think they’re skipping down the road into spring training, happy, that’s just a mischaracterization of where we are.”

The early response to Manfred’s comments have not been positive, with particular criticism directed towards his rather flippant description of the Commissioner’s Trophy (as Manfred told Ravech, “The idea of an asterisk or asking for a piece of metal back seems like a futile act“).  As much as the league and the Astros would like to put the incident behind them, that outcome doesn’t seem possible in the near future given the amount of attention that several of the game’s biggest stars continue to focus on the situation.  It also doesn’t help that Astros management and players continue to dig themselves into deeper public relations holes on a near-daily basis, whether it’s giving non-specific apologies during awkward press conferences, being unduly outraged at being accused of different methods of cheating during the 2017-19 span, and all the while insisting that the 2017 World Series was legitimately won.

The heated comments between the Astros and rival players has troubled Manfred, particularly statements from such pitchers as Ross Stripling and Mike Clevinger that Astros players might be hit by pitches as retaliation.  Manfred met with several MLB managers today, and told reporters at Sunday’s press event that, “I hope that I made it extremely clear to them that retaliation in-game by throwing at a batter intentionally will not be tolerated, whether it’s Houston or anybody else.  It’s dangerous and it is not helpful to the current situation.”

In addition, Manfred told Ravech that the league is preparing “a memorandum about intentionally throwing at batters.  It’s really dangerous.  Completely independent from the Astros investigation, we’ll be issuing a memorandum on hit by pitches which will increase the disciplinary ramifications of that type of behavior.  I think that will be a tool for dealing with whatever flows from the Houston situation.”

If the Astros controversy wasn’t enough, there’s also the other ongoing league investigation into another championship team’s alleged improper use of video equipment, namely the 2018 Red Sox.  Manfred said that he hopes that investigation will be concluded within two weeks’ time.  It isn’t known what punishment could await the Boston organization, though as with the Astros case, Red Sox players were also given immunity in exchange for their insight on the matter.

NL East Notes: Realmuto, Neris, Lowrie, Adams, Braves

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The arbitration hearings for Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto and reliever Hector Neris are coming up this week, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury reports, with Realmuto’s case being heard on Wednesday and Neris on Friday.  Once Realmuto’s case has been decided, Phils GM Matt Klentak said “we’ll come to the table and see if we can find common ground on a long-term deal.  I hope that we can.  It would be nice to have some resolution prior to Opening Day….If we can’t, we could always continue those talks during the season or even into free agency if we can.”

I recently explored what an extension might look like for Realmuto, and the pros and cons that both he and the team will be weighing in trying to work out a deal.  Both sides have expressed mutual interest in an extension dating back to the end of last season, and Realmuto continued to be optimistic that a multi-year agreement can be reached.  “I could see myself staying in Philly and playing my entire career here,” Realmuto told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark.  “Also being one year away from free agency, that wouldn’t be a bad thing for me either, but I don’t think it will get to that.  I think the Phillies and myself could line up pretty well.”

More buzz from around the NL East…

  • Jed Lowrie’s first season with the Mets saw him limited to eight plate appearances and nine games due to a variety of leg problems, and these injury concerns appear to still be an issue heading into the 2020 campaign.  Lowrie wore a brace on his left leg during his first day in Spring Training camp, and told reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News) that the brace “alleviates my symptoms and makes me feel like myself.”  Aside from saying that his left knee was the main cause of his leg problems, Lowrie didn’t provide much detail on his condition, saying that he was planning to participate in camp exercises with an eye towards being ready for Opening Day.  It remains to be seen how (or even if) Lowrie will be deployed by the Mets this season, as he’ll be fighting for playing time within their crowded infield and might yet still end up on another team, if the Mets can find a taker for his contract.
  • Matt Adams might be the latest name to join the Mets’ outfield picture, as the veteran tells Newsday’s Tim Healey that he is working out as a left fielder.  Adams appeared in 34 games as a left fielder in 2017-18 but left field is “still a fairly new position for me, so the more reps the better,” he said.  “I think just getting with the coaching staff and seeing how I can incorporate both — get my work in at first base, get work in in the outfield and get more comfortable out there.”  Adams signed a minor league deal with the Mets last month, and since his natural first base position is blocked by Pete Alonso, any positional flexibility can only help Adams’ chances of winning a spot on the 26-man roster.
  • Tyler Flowers is entering his fifth season behind the plate for the Braves, set to again participate in another timeshare, this time with the newly-signed Travis d’Arnaud.  The club’s strategy of more or less splitting the playing time between two catchers every season is a sound one, Flowers tells Steve Hummer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as “It has been a good way to balance starts and kind of keep both catchers fresh.”  Relying on a more traditional starter/backup allotment of playing time would make things tough on an everyday catcher since “It’s extremely difficult to start 120 [games] in Atlanta.  With the conditions, it makes it almost impossible.  I have a more difficult time than most with the heat and sweating and cramping, so I know it would be a challenge for me.”

Javier Baez: Extension Talks With Cubs Have Been “Up And Down”

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While almost all of the Cubs’ star players have been mentioned as speculative trade chips this offseason, Javier Baez has just about the one exception, as there has been more focus on the possibility that he will remain in Chicago over the long term.  The Cubs and Baez’s representatives at Wasserman began talks about a multi-year extension back in November, and Baez provided something of an update to reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times and ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers) today, saying the negotiations had “been up and down” between the two sides.

“It’s business.  It’s really tough,” Baez said.  “I’ll let them work that out, and if it works, great.  If not, we have another year.”

Most major extensions aren’t settled until Spring Training has already begun (i.e. last year’s flurry of multi-year deals around the sport), so it could be that the Baez talks still start to ramp up as we approach Opening Day.  Most players prefer to have negotiations settled before the season begins to avoid distractions, and Baez didn’t entirely close the door on talks extending into the season.  “It depends on my agency and how they want to do it.  But I do want to be focused on baseball,” the shortstop said.

At the very least, Baez’s salary for the 2020 season has already been decided, as he and the Cubs avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $10MM deal.  This was Baez’s second arb-eligible year, and he is schedule for one final trip through the arbitration process next winter before hitting free agency following the 2021 season.  Teammate Kris Bryant, notably, is under the same amount of team control, though he has been the subject of multiple trade rumors due to both his higher salary ($18.6MM in 2020) and Cubs ownership’s desire to avoid luxury tax payments, as well as the perception that Bryant (who is represented by Scott Boras) will be harder to sign to a long-term deal.

Baez is also 11 months younger than Bryant and is one of the sport’s better defenders at a premium position, making him perhaps a more attractive option for an extension than Bryant just in pure baseball terms, as much as money is obviously clearly a major factor in the Cubs’ decision-making.  From Baez’s perspective, “I wish and hope we both stay here.  Obviously, we want to keep everyone here because we have pretty much the team that won [the 2016 World Series].  We’ve got a lot of talent, and pretty much everyone is close to the same age.”

That said, Baez noted that personnel decisions are “up to [the team], to be honest,” and “It’s the business side….We’ve got to understand that and keep moving forward.”

Despite all of the buzz surrounding the Cubs all winter, the team hasn’t created many ripples in terms of actual moves, as Chicago has spent little on MLB free agents while also not moving in the other direction and unloading a star player (i.e. Bryant, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, etc.) in order to free up payroll space.  Extending Baez would help lessen the negativity that many Chicago fans have expressed about the team’s relative lack of action both this offseason and last, though it could also be the case that the Cubs still want to get one notable contract off the books before locking up Baez and expanding his current luxury tax number.

Rays Notes: Montreal, Sternberg, Mets, Roster

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Conflicting reports have emerged about a potential sale within the Rays’ ownership group, as Montreal businessman Stephen Bronfman told Rejean Tremblay of Le Journal De Montreal (hat tip to Sportsnet.ca’s Ryan McKenna for the translation) that a Bronfman-led group of investors would buy a minority share of the Rays within a few months’ time.  This statement was denied by no less than Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg himself, who told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that “there’s nothing happening in months. No way.”

As Sternberg, Bronfman, and Major League Baseball continue to explore the possibility of the Rays splitting their home schedule between St. Petersburg and Montreal come the 2028 season, Sternberg said that Bronfman’s group “eventually, at a point, I would expect and believe they could and would become minority partners….I need some representation up there.”  A partial sale wouldn’t happen, however, until construction is actually in progress on a new stadium in Montreal, Sternberg stressed.  That ballpark is still very much in the conceptual stages, as land has yet to be secured and the city of Montreal has yet to approve any building.  Still, Bronfman and the Rays are hopeful of having their two-city idea green-lit by MLB by the end of the year.

Some more from Tampa…

  • Speaking of ownership, Topkin writes in a separate piece that neither Sternberg or Rays minority owner Randy Frankel were planning a bid to potentially buy the Mets.  After plans to sell the club to Steve Cohen fell through, the Wilpon and Katz families still intend to sell the Mets.  Frankel “was involved with a group that expressed interest in 2011” in purchasing the Mets, Topkin writes, while Sternberg is a Brooklyn native who was a Mets fan growing up.  Of course, a Sternberg bid for the Mets would also require him to sell the Rays to another buyer.
  • Assuming no major injuries, the Rays may only have three undecided roster spots to figure out by Opening Day, Topkin writes.  Michael Perez, Kevan Smith, and Chris Herrmann will be battling for the backup catcher position, one bullpen spot will be filled from a plethora of in-house arms, and it remains to be seen whether the Rays will use their 26th roster slot on another reliever or another infielder.  Yoshitomo Tsutsugo’s ability to handle third base could be a deciding factor, as if the newly-signed slugger is capable, the Rays could have enough extra infield depth between Tsutsugo and Joey Wendle to take on the extra reliever.  Whatever the team chooses to do with their 26-man Opening Day roster, of course, can be adjusted during the season — Topkin floats a scenario that would see the Rays start the season with the extra infielder, but then call up an pitcher for extra relief depth during a busy stretch of 30 games in 31 days between April 3 and May 3.

Tony Fernandez Passes Away

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Former five-time All-Star Tony Fernandez passed away Saturday night at age 57, according to Hector Gomez of Deportivo Z 101 (Twitter link).  Fernandez suffered a brain stroke while he was already in hospital receiving treatment for complications from kidney disease, and Fernandez was placed in an induced coma two weeks ago.

Fernandez appeared in part of 17 Major League seasons from 1983-2001, suiting up for seven different teams but making his biggest impact with the Blue Jays.  Over four separate stints with Toronto, Fernandez played 1450 of his 2158 MLB games in a Jays uniform, and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played, hits (1583), singles (1160), triples (72), and bWAR (37.5).  A switch-hitting offensive contributor who hit .288/.347/.399 over 8793 career plate appearances, Fernandez was even more highly regarded for his defense, winning four consecutive Gold Gloves at shortstop between 1986-89.

Though Fernandez was dealt to the Padres along with Fred McGriff in the blockbuster December 1990 trade that brought Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter to Toronto, Fernandez returned to the Jays in time to help his old club capture its second consecutive World Series title.  The Jays re-acquired Fernandez in a June 1993 deal with the Mets, and the shortstop hit .306/.361/.442 in 390 regular season PA with the Jays in 1993, and then .333/.423/.381 over 26 plate appearances during the 1993 World Series.  Fernandez also posted a 1.022 OPS over 34 PA during the ALCS and World Series for the Indians in 1997, during the Tribe’s run to Game Seven against the eventual world champion Marlins.

The MLB Trade Rumors staff sends our condolences and best wishes to Fernandez’s family, friends, and many fans.

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