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Heyman’s Latest: Royals, Cain, Russell, Bryant, Sanchez

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Here’s the latest from FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman…

  • The Royals don’t appear to be in extension talks with any of their pending free agents (Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas), Heyman reports, and with no progress, all four are expected to reach free agency after the season.  K.C. hasn’t given up on the idea of re-signing “one or two” of the quartet, with Hosmer seemingly their top priority.  If Hosmer can’t be re-signed, the Royals would then try to bring back “a couple of the others, at least in theory.”
  • Cain reportedly asked for a six-year deal at some point in talks, though there haven’t been any recent discussions between Cain and the Royals.  Cain will be the oldest of the four free agents (he turns 31 in April) and is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw him limited to 103 games due to hamstring and wrist problems.
  • Despite Cain’s rough 2016 season, some sources close to the center fielder “express surprise he’s even still” with the Royals.  Previous reports over the winter linked Cain to such clubs as the Rangers, Mets, Dodgers and Cardinals in trade rumors, and Heyman adds that the Rockies and Nationals also spoke to Kansas City about Cain’s services.  Washington, of course, went on to acquire a younger and more controllable outfield addition in Adam Eaton at a very significant prospect cost.  Colorado’s interest in Cain is rather unusual given that the Rockies were already overloaded with outfielders (Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, David Dahl and Gerardo Parra) even before signing Ian Desmond and converting him to first base.  Depending on when the talks between Colorado and K.C. took place, the Rockies could’ve considered acquiring Cain and then perhaps converting Gonzalez to first base, rather than signing Desmond.  Blackmon and Gonzalez were also the subject of several trade rumors this winter, so the Rockies could’ve been looking at Cain as a replacement if they’d moved one of their internal pieces.
  • The Cubs and Addison Russell agreed to a one-year, $644K deal for the 2017 season, Heyman reports in a separate piece.  (For specifics on the pre-arbitration process, check out these MLBTR posts from Zach Links in 2014 and Jeff Todd in 2015, respectively.)  The agreement gives Russell a nice bump above the $535K minimum salary, a year before he becomes eligible for salary arbitration.  Russell hit .238/.321/.417 with 21 homers over 598 PA for the World Series champs last season, a below-average offensive performance as per the wRC+ metric (95) that was more than made up for on defense — Russell posted 19 Defensive Runs Saved and a +14.3 UZR/150 over 1262 2/3 innings at shortstop last season.
  • The Cubs are still in talks with Kris Bryant, who is also entering his last pre-arbitration year.  It’s probably no surprise that negotiations with Bryant and his agent Scott Boras are taking a bit longer than usual given Bryant’s outstanding track record over his young career.  Heyman suggests Bryant could approach the record contract given to a pre-arb player (the $1MM between Mike Trout and the Angels prior to the 2014 season).
  • The Yankees agreed to a 2017 contract with catcher Gary Sanchez, Heyman tweets.  Financial terms aren’t known, though Heyman specifies that the two sides reached an agreement and that a renewal wasn’t necessary, which would indicate that Sanchez will also be earning beyond the minimum salary.  Sanchez exploded onto the scene in 2016, hitting .299/.376/.657 with 20 homers over just 229 plate appearances.

AL West Notes: Hamilton, Bailey, Mariners, Devenski

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Some news and notes from around the AL West…

  • Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Monday, the club told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).  Hamilton underwent two surgical procedures on that same knee last year and has been bothered by soreness in the same joint this spring.  According to assistant GM Mike Daly, the Rangers still “feel good that Josh is going to play,” and haven’t had any talks with the veteran about his future with the organization.  Texas re-signed Hamilton to a minor league deal over the winter as the former AL MVP is attempting to revive his career after several injury-plagued down years, plus a lost 2016 that saw him play in just one minor league game.
  • Andrew Bailey “never seriously considered leaving” the Angels in free agency this winter, the veteran reliever tells Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times.  “I feel like, with where I’m at in my career and what I’ve been through, signing early and getting something done and focusing on getting ready for this year was more important to me than chasing something else,” Bailey said.  Amusing, he didn’t actually realize he was headed for free agency until last September, as Bailey believed he was still arbitration-eligible; he just barely passed the required six years of service time to hit the open market.  The righty pitched well after signing a minor league deal with the Angels last August, and showed signs of recovery from several injury-plagued years by tossing 43 2/3 innings in 2016.
  • The Mariners were counting on their “big three” of James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen to anchor their rotation for years to come, though as Larry Stone of the Seattle Times observes, only Paxton is still on the M’s roster.  Walker was dealt to the Diamondbacks in November as part of the multi-player deal that brought Jean Segura to the M’s while Hultzen is simply trying to resume his career in the wake of multiple arm injuries.
  • Chris Devenski’s surprising rise from unheralded prospect to a major weapon out of the Astros bullpen gives Houston some pitching flexibility, ESPN’s Mark Simon writes.  The ’Stros could utilize Devenski as one of their many setup options, a multi-inning fireman like Andrew Miller or potentially even as starting depth in the back end of the rotation.  Over 108 1/3 innings as a rookie last season, Devenski posted a very impressive 2.16 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 5.2 K/BB rate.

AL East Notes: Bourn, Biagini, Shelton, Swihart

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It was on this day 82 years ago that the Yankees released franchise icon Babe Ruth, who immediately signed a $20K contract to join the Boston Braves for the 1935 season.  Over 2084 games and 9199 plate appearances in a Yankee uniform, Ruth hit an astounding .349/.484/.711 with 659 home runs, literally transforming the sport of baseball along the way.  Even in 1934, battling a number of injuries in his age-39 season, Ruth still posted a .985 OPS and 22 homers over 472 PA.  Ruth played just 28 games for the Braves in 1935 before ending his incomparable career.  Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • Michael Bourn is expected to miss four weeks recovering from a broken finger, which MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko notes could actually help the Orioles’ chances of keeping Bourn in the organization.  Bourn’s minor league deal with the O’s contained an opt-out date for March 27, so given his current injury timeline, he won’t have much chance to play before making his decision.
  • The early word out of the Blue Jays spring camp was that Joe Biagini was going to be stretched out as a starting pitcher, though manager John Gibbons told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) today that the team still intends to use Biagini as a reliever.  With Mat Latos in the fold on a minor league deal, the Jays don’t have quite the same need for rotation depth as earlier in the offseason, so Biagini may only be stretched as far as three-inning stints for his spring outings.  “It’s something we’re playing with because everyone’s intrigued by what he can do as a starter, but right now he’s so valuable to us in the bullpen,” Gibbons said.  After Toronto picked him away from the Giants organization in last year’s Rule 5 draft, Biagini surprisingly emerged as a very good bullpen option for the Jays last season, posting a 3.06 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 3.26 K/BB rate over 67 2/3 innings.
  • In another piece from Nicholson-Smith, he looks at Derek Shelton’s new role as the Blue Jays’ quality control coach.  The wide-ranging (and still-evolving) position will see Shelton work with players, coaches and the front office on everything from incorporating analytics to improving information-sharing between the various team departments.  Shelton spent the last 12 seasons as hitting coach for the Rays and Indians before being hired by Toronto this winter, and he is one of only five quality control coaches currently employed by MLB teams.
  • With Blake Swihart facing a tough path to playing time as a catcher, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald wonders why the Red Sox didn’t experiment with Swihart at third base.  Swihart has long been cited for his athletic ability and his potential to play all over the diamond, and the Sox are facing uncertainty at the hot corner as Pablo Sandoval attempts to revive his career.  As president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski explained, however, the Red Sox have Rafael Devers as the top future prospect at third, and Swihart is more valuable as a long-term piece for Boston if he can stick behind the plate.  “I think Blake has a chance to be, with the type of offensive capabilities and athletic capabilities he has, if he can make that transition on a permanent basis to catching, that’s a real plus for the organization….Then as we go into the future, if he can be our catcher for us, he can be our catcher for a lengthy time period,” Dombrowski said.

Orioles Release T.J. McFarland

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TODAY: The Orioles have officially released McFarland, as per a team announcement.  The southpaw cleared release waivers and can now be signed by any club.

FEBRUARY 19: The Orioles have designated left-hander T.J. McFarland for assignment, as per a club press release.  The move creates a 40-man roster spot for the newly-acquired Vidal Nuno.

McFarland, 27, posted a 6.93 ERA over 24 2/3 relief innings for the Orioles last season, despite recording a 60.2% grounder rate.  Always an extreme groundball pitcher who didn’t miss many bats (a 60.7% career GBR, 5.67 career K/9), McFarland recorded just seven strikeouts in 2016, and issued more walks (10) than strikeouts.

McFarland avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $685K deal with the O’s for the coming season, and he still has two remaining years of arb-eligibility.  The lefty is also out of options, and CSNBaltimore.com’s Rich Dubroff speculates that McFarland is likely to pass through waivers and potentially stay with the Orioles, if no longer on the 40-man roster.  Though any number of teams are looking to add left-handed relief options, McFarland has only solid numbers (.280/.326/.395) against left-handed hitters over his career, so clubs may look for southpaws with more extreme splits.

NL Central Notes: Villar, LeMahieu, Cubs, Pirates

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Here’s the latest from around the NL Central…

  • As recent extension talks would seem to indicate, the Brewers have earmarked Jonathan Villar as a long-term part of their future, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  In turning down the extension (reportedly a three-year deal over his arbitration seasons worth in the range of $20MM), Villar is showing confidence that he can match his 2016 breakout year and put himself in line for a bigger payday down the road.  Haudricourt notes that Villar and the Brewers have yet to agree on a dollar figure for his 2017 contract.  While this has no bearing on Villar’s status since the Brewers control him through 2020, it can be seen as a sign of good negotiating faith if a club rewards a pre-arbitration player with a salary well above the league minimum in the wake of a good season.  (For more on pre-arb salaries, check out this piece from MLBTR’s Jeff Todd from March 2015.)
  • The December 2011 trade that sent DJ LeMahieu and Tyler Colvin from the Cubs to the Rockies in exchange for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers is revisited by Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.  It was the first deal made by Theo Epstein’s front office in Chicago and, in hindsight, one of the rare misses for the Cubs in the Epstein era.  “Sometimes, you show up somewhere and you can make a mistake in your first off-season by not being as familiar as you should be with a player, because you haven’t seen him yourself in person,” Epstein said.  “We felt like there were good bat-to-ball skills there [with LeMahieu], and sound defense. From the reports, we weren’t sold on his bat speed, didn’t think there’d be a lot of power. But he’s certainly proving us wrong. The bat-to-ball is really elite, and he’s made himself into one of the better defensive second basemen in the league.”  LeMahieu, of course, developed into a regular for the Rockies at second and enjoyed a breakout year in 2016, hitting .348/.416/.495 and winning the NL batting title.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington hopes to continues in his job for years to come, and tells Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that still enjoys working within a medium-payroll framework.   “I’ve only lived in small markets. I thrive on that. I love the challenge of working with a group that has to be creative and innovative and more efficient,” Huntington said.  “And while the margin for error is a challenge at times, I don’t wake up and think about (a big-market job) because that’s not energy spent on my family and spent on finding the best way to do the job here.”  Huntington is entering the last guaranteed year of his contract, with the Bucs holding a club option on his services for 2018.
  • In other NL Central news from earlier today on MLBTR, the Cardinals are interested in top Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert.

MLBTR Originals

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The past week’s original content from the MLBTR staff…

  • The recent controversy over Dellin Betances’ arbitration hearing with the Yankees led MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to explore how baseball’s arbitration system values saves over every other metric when it comes to evaluating reliever performance.
  • The Nationals’ signing of Matt Wieters gives Washington a surplus behind the plate, and the team is now reportedly trying to deal Derek Norris.  Steve Adams looks at some of the potential trade partners who could match up with the Nats in a Norris swap.
  • Speaking of the Wieters signing, Jeff Todd polled MLBTR readers about the Nationals’ somewhat surprising move.  Over 39.3% of readers felt the Nats made a necessary upgrade at catcher, though significant portions of voters felt the signing only made sense if Washington can trade another catcher for a closer (27.78% of voters) or that the team should’ve just stuck with the Norris/Jose Lobaton tandem (25.98%).
  • In another reader poll, Jeff surveyed the readership about several major names (including Yadier Molina, Jake Arrieta, Masahiro Tanaka, Yu Darvish and Jonathan Lucroy), who could potentially be extension candidates with their respective clubs during Spring Training.
  • MLBTR’s Camp Battles series continued, as we explore what positions are up for grabs at spring camps around baseball.  Jeff looked at the Giants, Mariners and Royals, Steve covered the Tigers and Twins, Connor Byrne broke down the Yankees, Charlie Wilmoth wrote about the Pirates and Jason Martinez examined the Brewers.

Cardinals Interested In Cuban Prospect Luis Robert

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The Cardinals have been scouting Cuban outfielder Luis Robert, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, as the team had evaluators at Robert’s recent workout in the Dominican Republic.  It was reported last month that Robert left Cuba in November to pursue a career in Major League Baseball and he has since established residency in Haiti, as per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez.

As one scout tells Goold, the “floodgates have opened” on the Cardinals’ international signing processes.  The Cards have already far exceeded their spending pool limit for the 2016-17 July 2 international signing period, and also added such non-pool players as the recently-signed Jose Adolis Garcia.  It’s no surprise, therefore, that St. Louis is exploring yet another highly-touted star in Robert while they still can.

Robert has yet to be declared a free agent by MLB, and if that designation comes before June 15, the Cards still have a chance at landing the 19-year-old outfielder, who is subject to pool limits due to his age.  If Robert isn’t a free agent by June 15, however, then he will become part of the next international signing class that opens on July 2.  That would take the Cardinals (as well as the Astros, Athletics, Braves, Cubs, Dodgers, Nationals, Padres, Reds and Royals) out of the running for Robert’s services, as they would be limited to spending no more than $300K on any international prospect as punishment for exceeding their pool number.

Needless to say, Robert will command far beyond that $300K figure given the eye-popping early reports on his talent.  One NL international scouting director tells Sanchez that Robert is second only to Shohei Otani on the list of best international talents in baseball, describing the 19-year-old as “a five-tool guy that can be in the big leagues soon.”  An international scouting director for an AL team goes even further, calling Robert “the best player on the planet, and that’s no exaggeration.”

Eight teams (the Cubs, Dodgers and Royals, as well as the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees) are currently under the $300K limit for past excesses of the spending cap, with the latter five teams regaining their full spending eligibility on July 2.  So Robert would have a larger market for his services if he is named a free agent sooner rather than later, not to mention the fact that he is likely to score a bigger contract while the old international signing rules are still in place.  The new rules, as negotiated in the new collective bargaining agreement, place a stricter signing cap on international players and go into effect for the coming July 2 class.

White Sox, Nationals Were Close To David Robertson Trade, Now In “Stalemate”

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FEB. 21: Chicago would trade Robertson and possibly eat some of his salary if the Nationals were to give up catcher Pedro Severino, according to Phil Rogers of MLB.com (Twitter links). Both MLB.com and Baseball America rank the 23-year-old Severino as one of the Nats’ top 10 prospects. As written below, Washington isn’t eager to deal more young talent; unsurprisingly, then, it would rather move Derek Norris than Severino, per Rogers.

FEB. 12: The White Sox and Nationals seemed to be closing in on a trade that would’ve sent David Robertson to Washington last week, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and Jose L. Ortiz report.  According to a Nats official, however, “the two sides have hit a stalemate and no trade is imminent.”  The Sox, for their part, continue to feel “optimistic” that a trade will be finalized.

It isn’t known what caused this holdup in talks, though earlier this week, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that Nationals ownership didn’t want to absorb the $25MM owed to Robertson over the next two seasons, nor did the front office want to give up quality minor leaguers.  The Nats already surrendered several top prospects to the White Sox earlier this offseason as part of the trade that brought Adam Eaton to Washington; the Nats tried to include Robertson along with Eaton as part of that trade package but were unsuccessful.

On the surface, one could argue that the White Sox could be asking for too much in demanding that the Nationals (or other suitors for Robertson) pay a big price in both prospects and in taking on the closer’s entire contract.  That said, Chicago has already scored a massive influx of young talent in the Eaton trade and in dealing Chris Sale to the Red Sox — Yoan Moncada, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Michael Kopech are all ranked within the top 32 on Baseball America’s 2017 listing of the top 100 prospects in baseball.  Between these deals and the asking price for Jose Quintana, White Sox GM Rick Hahn has clearly put a premium on his top trade chips as part of his effort to bring a “critical mass” of talent into Chicago’s organization.

Unless Robertson gets injured or has a dip in form, the Sox can also bide their time and wait until the trade deadline to find a suitable return for the closer.  Given the Nationals’ uncertainty at the back of their bullpen, Washington may not have that luxury.  As Nightengale and Ortiz point out, however, the Nats could make do with Blake Treinen or Shawn Kelley as closer for now and then pursue another ninth-inning option later in the season, as they did in acquiring Mark Melancon from the Pirates at last summer’s deadline.

Yankees To Sign Jon Niese

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7:55pm: Niese can earn a $1.25MM base salary if he cracks the roster, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (Twitter links). The deal also includes $750K in potential incentives, with separate packages that would allow him to earn to that amount whether he’s functioning as a starter or reliever. Manager Joe Girardi says that Niese will enter camp battling for a pen role, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch notes on Twitter.

5:26pm: The Yankees are poised to sign left-hander Jon Niese to a minor league contract, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (Twitter link).  The deal will become official when Niese passes a physical.  Niese is represented by O’Connell Sports Management.

A fixture in the Mets rotation from 2010-15, Niese is coming off a rough, injury-plagued 2016 campaign.  The Mets dealt Niese to the Pirates in a swap for Neil Walker last winter and the southpaw didn’t see much success in the black-and-gold, posting a 4.91 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.87 K/BB rate over 110 innings as a Pirate.  Niese was then dealt back to the Mets in August in exchange for Antonio Bastardo and pitched only 11 innings in his second stint with the Amazins before undergoing season-ending arthroscopic surgery on a torn left meniscus.  The Mets declined Niese’s $10MM option for 2017, instead paying him a $500K buyout.

[Updated Yankees roster at Roster Resource]

Thirteen teams attended a workout Niese held earlier this month to demonstrate his health in the wake of his knee injury, and the Marlins also expressed some interest in Niese earlier this winter.  Given his track record as a fairly steady and durable starter (3.86 ERA and 171 innings per year from 2010-15), it isn’t surprising that Niese drew a lot of looks as a potential bounce-back candidate.

Sherman reports that the Yankees see Niese as a candidate to both start or come out of the bullpen, and the 30-year-old could fill a need for New York in either department.  Luis Severino, Chad Green, Luis Cessa, Bryan Mitchell and Adam Warren will be in competition for the fourth and fifth spots in the Yankees’ rotation this season, and Niese adds a more experienced element to that battle.

If used as a reliever, Niese would join Tommy Layne as the top left-handed options out of the pen, with closer Aroldis Chapman obviously being saved for end-game scenarios.  The Yankees were linked to such notable lefty relievers as Boone Logan and Jerry Blevins earlier this offseason, though Niese comes at a lower price tag — both Logan and Blevins will earn $6.5MM in guaranteed money in 2017, with the potential for more if the Indians and Mets respectively exercise club options on each southpaw.

While Niese has never been much of a strikeout pitcher over his career, he does own an impressive 50.1% ground ball rate, which would serve him well pitching at Yankee Stadium.  Of course, Niese’s problems in 2016 were largely caused by the long ball, as he saw his home run rate spike to a whopping 22.1% last season.  While such a giant increase could’ve been an aberration, Niese’s home run rates have been on the rise in each of the last four seasons.

Quick Hits: Giants, Giolito, Peralta, Kinsler

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Here’s the latest from around baseball as we head into the new week…

  • The Giants may carry five outfielders on the 25-man roster in an effort to keep Hunter Pence and Denard Span fresh, MLB.com’s Chris Haft writes.  Giants skipper Bruce Bochy said the club may also carry four outfielders plus one bench player capable of backing up at both an infield position and an outfield spot.  Pence, Span, Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson are expected to be regulars in the San Francisco outfield this year, with Parker and Williamson platooning in left field (unless one wins the job outright).  Gorkys Hernandez, Mike Morse, Kyle Blanks, Kelby Tomlinson, Justin Ruggiano and Slade Heathcott are a few of the well-known names fighting for jobs in the Giants’ camp.
  • Lucas Giolito sees his trade to the White Sox as “an immediate breath of fresh air,” the young righty tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.  The highly-touted Giolito struggled in his MLB debut last season, posting a 6.75 ERA and walking 12 batters (against just 11 strikeouts) over 21 1/3 innings with the Nationals while being promoted and demoted multiple times.  “Every start was like I have to do well or I’m going to get sent down to Triple-A.  The team wanted to win, and if I wasn’t going to give them an opportunity to win, then they wouldn’t want me there.  It made sense,” Giolito said.  With the Sox in more of a rebuilding phase, Giolito is looking forward to getting more for an opportunity to properly acclimate himself to the majors.
  • Jhonny Peralta is fully healthy and fully prepared for a move to third base, the veteran Cardinals infielder tells MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch.  Bothered by a thumb injury for much of 2016, Peralta batted only .260/.307/.408 over 313 PA as he lost his starting shortstop job to Aledmys Diaz.  Peralta will now battle Jedd Gyorko for regular playing time at the hot corner while looking to re-establish himself before hitting free agency next winter.  Peralta, who turns 35 in May, is hopeful of continuing to play “for a couple more years.”
  • Offseason trade rumors ended up being “just talk” and thus of no concern to Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler, the Associated Press reports.  Kinsler and several other Tigers veterans were mentioned as potential trade candidates this winter, and Kinsler praised GM Al Avila for being straight-forward about what was happening.  “To be up front and honest is always the best way to act in my opinion. That’s the way that I like to approach people, and that’s the way he approached us as a whole, as a team.  Was it different? Absolutely, it was different. Most GMs would not do that,” Kinsler said.

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