Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

Mitch Haniger To Miss 6-8 Weeks After Undergoing Core Surgery

By Mark Polishuk | January 23, 2020 at 1:26pm CDT

Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger underwent core surgery earlier this week, GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter links), MLB.com’s Greg Johns, and The Athletic’s Corey Brock. Haniger is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks, and the outfielder will miss some time at the start of the season after missing such a large chunk of Spring Training.

The procedure was necessitated by a setback while Haniger was already rehabbing from the surgery that ultimately cut short his 2019 season after just 63 games. Haniger didn’t play after June 6 after suffering a ruptured testicle, and Divish noted he was at risk of suffering from a hernia or another core injury “if Haniger pushed too much in his recovery and rehab.”

While Dipoto said that he didn’t think Haniger would miss too many of the Mariners’ early games, today’s news obviously isn’t a welcome one given how Haniger’s career has already been interrupted by this particularly brutal injury. The right fielder was becoming a breakout star in his first two seasons in Seattle, hitting .284/.361/.492 with 42 home runs over 1093 plate appearances in 2017-18. While Haniger’s 2019 production was down a bit from that level prior to his injury, he was still providing above-average offense (106 wRC+, 109 OPS+) in his abbreviated season.

Haniger’s surgery also almost surely ends any possibility that he might be a late-offseason trade candidate. The M’s received some significant trade interest in Haniger this past winter, with the Diamondbacks cited as one of the known suitors. Dipoto reportedly set a high asking price in trade talks, and wasn’t willing to settle for any sort of buy-low offer in the wake of Haniger’s injury.

Assuming no further setbacks and Haniger is indeed able to return by late April, the 29-year-old will have plenty of time to re-establish himself as a quality offensive and defensive performer. Haniger is set to earn $3.01MM in 2020, and with two more arbitration-eligible seasons to come, he’ll put himself in line for a nice raise if he returns to his 2017-18 form. Such a performance could also make Haniger a name to watch for the July trade deadline, if Dipoto and the Mariners still have their eyes set towards the future.

Cardinals Re-Sign Matt Wieters

By Mark Polishuk | January 22, 2020 at 2:34pm CDT

January 22: The Cardinals announced the signing. Their 40-man roster is full.

January 19: The Cardinals have agreed to a new contract with catcher Matt Wieters, as per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). The deal will pay Wieters $2MM in guaranteed money, with another $1MM in incentives available. Wieters is represented by the Boras Corporation.

The A’s and Rockies each showed interest in Wieters this winter, though the 33-year-old will return for his second year in St. Louis after hitting .214/.268/.435 with 11 home runs over 183 plate appearances for the Cards in 2019. It was a solid enough performance to earn a guaranteed deal for the coming season, as Wieters had to settle for a minor league pact last winter.

Wieters hasn’t been a consistent offensive force since his heyday with the Orioles, and Baseball Prospectus has graded him as one of the league’s worst pitch-framers for several seasons. Still, Wieters provides value as a switch-hitter and above-average pitch blocker, and he also gives the Cardinals some veteran catching depth behind Yadier Molina.

With Wieters back in the fold, the Cardinals can continue to allow the promising Andrew Knizner to develop at his own pace, though Knizner has already made his big league debut and hit .283/.362/.453 over 341 PA at the Triple-A level. Both Molina and Wieters are free agents after the coming season, so Knizner could potentially step in as the heir apparent, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see Molina continue in at least a time-share role since the longtime Cardinal has said he intends to play beyond the 2020 season.

MLBTR Chat Transcript: Marte, Braves, Castellanos, A’s, Mets

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2020 at 11:38am CDT

Click here to read the transcript of this morning’s live baseball chat

Blue Jays Have “Checked In” On Francisco Lindor, Had Interest in Didi Gregorius

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2020 at 8:54am CDT

Most of the Blue Jays’ offseason focus has been on obtaining starting pitching, with Travis Shaw standing out as the most significant addition to the position player mix. However, Toronto has also looked into some major upgrades to the everyday lineup, as Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports that the Jays had interest in Didi Gregorius before the free agent signed with Philadelphia. In terms of players still potentially available, the Jays have also “checked in” with the Indians about a trade for Francisco Lindor.

It might be fair to characterize the Jays’ interest in Lindor as perhaps due diligence at this point. As Davidi put it, “any sane front office” would naturally ask Cleveland about an All-Star player who has been the subject of trade rumors for months. It doesn’t appear as though a Lindor trade (with the Jays or anyone) is happening any time soon, as both Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and manager Terry Francona have each recently indicated that Lindor isn’t being shopped. While things could still change on that front, of course, the possibility of a Lindor deal decreased when the Tribe dealt Corey Kluber to the Rangers, thus lessening Cleveland’s payroll commitments for the 2020 season.

The multi-positional ability of young shortstop Bo Bichette and, in particular, incumbent second baseman Cavan Biggio factored into Toronto’s pursuits. Both players expressed a willingness to change positions if it helps the team, and Biggio might end up playing a super-utility role regardless of who else the Jays might add.

Interestingly, Bichette wouldn’t have been changing positions had Gregorius been signed, as the Jays planned to use Gregorius as a second baseman. GM Ross Atkins and president Mark Shapiro gave Bichette a heads-up about the Gregorius pursuit, with Bichette saying, “It was presented to me as, ’We’re going after Didi, don’t worry, we’ve already told him you’re our shortstop.’ I’d imagine that’s probably a reason why he didn’t come here.”

After also receiving interest from such teams as the Brewers, Giants, and Reds, Gregorius signed a one-year, $14MM contract with the Phillies to become their new regular shortstop. (Gregorius himself displaced an incumbent shortstop in Jean Segura, who will now handle second base duties in Philadelphia.) Toronto’s plan to deploy Gregorius at second base both indicates the club’s confidence in Bichette’s ability to handle the shortstop position and also some likely trepidation about Gregorius’ defensive ability going forward. After coming back from Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2018, Gregorius’ glovework drew dire grades from the Defensive Runs Saved (-11) and infield outs above average (-13) metrics.

Cardinals Notes: Ozuna, Ravelo, Wieters, CarMar, Reyes

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2020 at 7:14am CDT

Some tidbits from the Cardinals as the team holds its Winter Warm-Up fan event this weekend…

Marcell Ozuna continues to linger as a possibility to rejoin the team, though Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears from a source that the Cardinals will “have to up their offer for him to return.” Ozuna recently hinted that the Cards and Rangers were his two top suitors, and reports from earlier this month suggested that the Reds were also still in the mix. That said, there have also been rumblings that the Rangers’ top outfield (and first base) target might be Nicholas Castellanos rather than Ozuna, and it remains to be seen if Cincinnati will further add to its rather crowded outfield after signing Shogo Akiyama. The Cardinals themselves have quite a few outfield options to juggle, of course, and between that depth and potentially the lack of a strong bidding war for Ozuna’s services, the club may not see a reason yet to offer him a larger contract.
Reports from last week indicated that Rangel Ravelo was receiving interest from a KBO League team, though Cardinals president John Mozeliak told Goold and other media members that a trade was apparently very close to fruition. Trading Ravelo to South Korea would have lessened the outfield surplus, though St. Louis instead addressed that issue by dealing Jose Martinez and Randy Arozarena to the Rays as part of a swap that involved four players and two draft picks. As Mozeliak put it, “that’s when I took the toothpaste and tried to jam it back in the tube” in terms of walking back the Ravelo trade with the unnamed KBO team. Since Ravelo is still somewhat buried on the Cardinals’ long list of outfield candidates, one wonders if those trade talks could be revisited (assuming the Korean team is still interested) should the Cards make another addition, such as perhaps an Ozuna signing.
Mozeliak told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) that he is “hopeful” that Matt Wieters will return as the St. Louis backup catcher. As of last week, the Athletics were also known to have interest in Wieters’ services, though Mozeliak said that “I’m hoping we’ll get Wieters done, I really am. Still need to dot i’s and cross the t’s on that.” Wieters hit .214/.268/.435 with 11 home runs over 183 plate appearances for the Cards last season, with positive grades as a pitch-blocker from Baseball Prospectus even while ranking near the bottom of the league in framing. The fact that Mozeliak directly mentioned Wieters perhaps hints at a deal being close, Rogers noted, as the executive rarely names specific targets.
“It feels great to be a starter again,” Carlos Martinez told reporters (including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Rick Hummel) at the Winter Warm-Up event. Martinez has pitched well as the Cardinals’ closer in each of the last two seasons, and the right-hander said he prefers to start, though he likes both starting and relieving — “Whatever situation they put me in, I’m going to help the team.” Shoulder problems necessitated Martinez’s shift to the bullpen, though he is now eager to get back to the rotation after claiming “100 percent” health following a minor shoulder surgery and a PRP injection in October. The St. Louis rotation already features Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, Dakota Hudson, and newly-signed Kwang-Hyun Kim, though needless to say, Martinez won’t have any trouble regaining a slot if he returns to his 2015-17 form.
Alex Reyes is another Cardinals pitcher that sees himself eventually as a starter, though for now, the young righty is just happy to finally be healthy. “Mentally, I think what helped the most is just not being around rehab, rehab, rehab. It’s been three years of strictly rehab for me…I thought it was huge for me to be able to be with my family,” Reyes told Rogers and other reporters. Once considered one of the sport’s top prospects, Reyes has been limited to just seven MLB innings over the last three seasons due to Tommy John surgery, lat muscle surgery, a broken finger on his non-throwing hand, and a pec injury. If Reyes can finally stay on the field, he will likely be pitching out of the Cards’ bullpen as the team gets him re-acclimated to a regular pitching schedule.

Managerial Rumors: Baker, Rojas, Collins, Red Sox

By Mark Polishuk | January 16, 2020 at 8:30pm CDT

The Astros’ sign-stealing scandal has sent shockwaves around the baseball world, including the sudden creation of three managerial vacancies in less than four days. With A.J. Hinch, Alex Cora, and now Carlos Beltran out of work, the Astros, Red Sox, and Mets are all looking for new managers less than a month before the start of Spring Training. Here’s the latest on the three openings…

Though Dusty Baker had expressed interest in the Astros job, the longtime skipper tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle that he has been yet to be contacted by the organization. Such names as Buck Showalter and John Gibbons have already been interviewed by the team, though Baker isn’t necessarily counting on a future call, saying “I’m thinking that if they really needed or wanted you, there’s a good chance somebody would have stepped up by now.” As for other Astros candidates, Rome lists bench coach Joe Espada as a potential hire, though notes that the team might prefer to bring in an outside manager without any links to the controversy engulfing the franchise.
The Mets are considering quality control coach Luis Rojas, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter). Rojas seems like a logical candidate, as he received two interviews when the team was doing its initial search for a new skipper last fall, though Rojas wasn’t among the reported finalists for the job. Installing a familiar face from the current staff might be preferable to bringing someone in from outside the organization at this late stage of the offseason, though Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen told reporters (including The Athletic’s Tim Britton) that internal and external candidates are under consideration, as the club so recently did background on a number of managerial candidates before Beltran was hired.
One known quantity that doesn’t appear to be on the Mets’ radar for now is former manager Terry Collins, as SNY’s Andy Martino (Twitter link) writes. Collins has worked as a special assistant in New York’s front office since leaving the dugout after the 2017 season.
Cora’s firing leaves the Red Sox with what as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe simply describes as “a devastating mess,” as a managerial vacancy adds yet another layer of complication to what has already been a challenging offseason for newly-hired Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. If an outside hire is indeed explored, it will take time away from Bloom when he could be focusing on a trade market that could be opening up, as many of the top free agents have now been signed. Promoting from within carries its own set of difficulty, however, since the Red Sox organization that is facing its own league investigation over alleged use of electronic sign-stealing. It already seemed like the Red Sox were somewhat stuck in limbo waiting for the fallout of this investigation, as well as waiting for the trade market to blossom so that some larger salaries could be moved off the payroll (though both Bloom and principal owner John Henry have denied that avoiding the Competitive Balance Tax is a chief offseason priority).

Astros To Interview Will Venable

By Mark Polishuk | January 16, 2020 at 7:25pm CDT

Cubs third base coach Will Venable will interview for the Astros’ managerial opening on Friday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports (Twitter links). The Cubs granted Houston permission to speak to Venable about the position.

Mark Berman of FOX 26 first reported yesterday that Venable being considered by the Astros, and Venable brings a different profile than the two candidates who have already interviewed for the position. Whereas Buck Showalter and John Gibbons have combined to manage over 4500 MLB games, the 37-year-old Venable would be a first-time skipper. After wrapping up his nine-year playing career in 2016, Venable took on a new role as a special assistant to Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein in 2017 and then worked two seasons as Chicago’s first base coach.

Venable emerged as a managerial candidate earlier this winter when he was interviewed by the Giants and by the Cubs themselves for their dugout openings. While he didn’t get the big hire, Venable is slated to move into a new role in 2020, as he will move across the diamond to work as a third base coach.

As per the names on Berman’s list, Houston is taking a broad approach to its search, considering both veteran names and candidates without any managerial experience (i.e. Venable, Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Dodgers special advisor Raul Ibanez). It’s hard to predict how the organization might be leaning, both because the search is still in its early stages and due to the lingering cloud of controversy hanging over the Astros due to the sign-stealing scandal that led to the firings of former manager A.J. Hinch and former GM Jeff Luhnow.

Braves Sign Adeiny Hechavarria

By Mark Polishuk | January 16, 2020 at 5:15pm CDT

The Braves have signed shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to a one-year contract worth $1MM, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports (Twitter link). The club has officially announced the deal.

Hechavarria returns to Atlanta after first joining the team on a free agent deal midway through August 2019. Acquired to help fill holes in an injury-plagued Braves infield, the usually light-hitting Hechavarria went on perhaps the biggest offensive tear of his career, hitting .328/.400/.639 with four homers over 70 regular-season plate appearances.

It’s probably safe to assume that unexpected power surge won’t continue, and that Hechavarria will go back to being a glove-first backup to starting shortstop Dansby Swanson, though Hechavarria has increasingly been deployed at second and third base over the last two seasons. Last year marked the first time since 2014 that Hechavarria’s shortstop defense garnered negative grades from both the UZR/150 (-7.2) and Defensive Runs Saved (-2) metrics, though that was from a sample of size of only 182 innings at shortstop, as Hechavarria actually spent more time as a second baseman in 2019.

A veteran of eight Major League seasons, Hechavarria has a .253/.290/.352 career slash line over 3225 PA with seven different teams, playing mostly with the Marlins as their everyday shortstop from 2013-17.

NL Notes: Giants, Zimmerman, Reds

By Mark Polishuk | January 16, 2020 at 5:02pm CDT

The Giants finalized their coaching staff with today’s announcements that Alyssa Nakken and Mark Hallberg have been hired as Major League assistant coaches. Nakken becomes the first woman to ever hold a coaching position on a big league team, after working for the Giants in various organizational roles since 2014. Hallberg, a former Diamondbacks minor leaguer, has coached in the Cape Cod League and spent the last two seasons as a coach and manager with the Giants’ short-season A-ball team.

The two new hires give San Francisco an unusually large 13-person coaching staff under new manager Gabe Kapler. Third base coach Ron Wotus is the only member of that group to return to the club from Bruce Bochy’s 2019 coaching staff.

Giants Sign Drew Smyly

By Mark Polishuk | January 16, 2020 at 4:16pm CDT

4:16PM: Baggarly has the full breakdown (Twitter link) of Smyly’s available bonuses, including the note that Smyly can receive his $250K roster bonus if he spends 130 days on the active roster, not only if he makes the Giants’ Opening Day roster. Up to $3MM in incentives are available to Smyly based on the number of starts he makes, with at least 12 starts required to unlock his bonuses. $1MM in bonus money is available to Smyly as a reliever — $250K for 25 games finished and another $250K for 35 games finished, and $125K for reaching the 45-, 50-, 55-, and 60-game thresholds in terms of relief appearances.

2:55PM: Smyly will earn $4MM in guaranteed money, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly tweets, and can also receive a $250K roster bonus. More bonus money is available based on the number of starts Smyly makes, and also (intriguingly) the number of games he finishes, though Baggarly notes that the Giants plan to use Smyly as a starting pitcher.

1:12PM: The Giants have signed left-hander Drew Smyly, as per an announcement on the team’s Twitter feed. Smyly, a Frontline client, has been signed to a one-year contract. Righty Trevor Oaks has been designated for assignment to create space on San Francisco’s roster.

Smyly becomes the second veteran pitching addition of the winter for the Giants, who also inked Kevin Gausman to a one-year deal back in December. The Giants’ rotation mix now consists of Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Gausman as the top three, with Smyly, Tyler Anderson, and younger arms such as Logan Webb, Dereck Rodriguez, Tyler Beede, and Shaun Anderson all vying for starts.

Smyly is the most experienced of the latter bunch with 684 1/3 Major League innings to his name, though the 30-year-old spent 2019 just trying to shake off the rust after missing all of the 2017-18 seasons due to Tommy John surgery. The southpaw posted an 8.42 ERA over 51 1/3 innings with the Rangers before being released, and then briefly caught on with the Brewers and Phillies on minor league contracts.

It was in Philadelphia that Smyly again appeared on a big league mound and somewhat stabilized his performance, posting a 4.45 ERA, 9.8 K/9, and 3.24 K/BB rate over 62 2/3 innings (over 12 starts). Smyly drastically reduced his walks and homers over the course of the season, though his 1.9 HR/9 as a Phillie was still troublingly high, if an improvement over his ungainly 3.2 HR/9 in Texas. To say nothing of possible changes to the baseball for the 2020 season, a move to a more pitcher-friendly environment like Oracle Park should help Smyly keep his home run issues in check.

Now more than two and a half years removed from his Tommy John procedure, Smyly will be looking to get what was once a quite promising career back on track. Smyly posted a 3.24 ERA over his first 395 MLB innings from 2012-15 with the Tigers and Rays, and was a major part of the trade package sent to Tampa Bay for David Price in the summer of 2014. After a somewhat shaky 2016 campaign, however, Smyly was traded from the Rays to the Mariners in the 2016-17 offseason, and ended up never throwing a pitch in a Seattle uniform due to injury.

The Giants’ offseason has been a pretty quiet one, as the team continues to straddle the line between a rebuild and a full push towards contention. The Smyly signing fits the pattern of short-term, fairly inexpensive signings that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has focused on (as well as a blizzard of waiver claims) since taking over San Francisco’s front office last winter. A bounce-back year from Smyly could make him a candidate to be flipped elsewhere at the trade deadline.

Oaks (who turns 27 in March) was claimed off waivers from the Royals in November. The groundball specialist made his MLB debut with 13 2/3 innings for Kansas City in 2018, though hip surgery sidelined him for the entire 2019 season. Oaks has a 3.26 ERA, 6.1 K/9, and 3.12 K/BB rate over 532 1/3 career minor league innings, starting 88 of 102 games.

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