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AL East Notes: O’Day, Rays, Capuano

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Michael Saunders’ recovery from a torn meniscus is “kind of a miracle,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told reporters, including Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star.  Saunders is already back to baseball activities in camp less than two weeks after deciding to have the injured cartilage removed completely.  It was originally thought that the injury would sideline Saunders for the first half of the season, but he now has a shot at the Opening Day lineup and, at worst, should be back on the field by mid-April.  Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • Orioles right-hander Darren O’Day said the club has yet to discuss a new contract with him, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports.  While O’Day said he’d enjoy staying in Baltimore, he also noted that team will have a lot of other business to handle, as O’Day is one of 11 Orioles who will be free agents after the season.
  • “Pitching and defense is how we build this team and it’s going to be the way we continue to succeed,” Rays GM Matt Silverman told Steve Phillips and Todd Hollandsworth of MLB Network Radio interview (audio link), though Silverman also believes the lineup is “much more balanced…and much more formidable 1-through-9.”  This balance, Silverman feels, will help Tampa string together more big innings and have more luck scoring runs.  “A lot of it [the scoring problems] had to do with situational stuff and things that not necessarily were flukish, but things that we thought would revert back to the mean.  We put a lot of guys on base, we just didn’t get them home,” Silverman said.
  • Phillips and Hollandsworth also interviewed Evan Longoria during their visit to the Rays’ camp (audio link), and the third baseman said that he’s hoping to finish his career in a Tampa Bay uniform.  Longoria’s contract with the club runs through 2022, which would be his age-36 season, plus the Rays have a club option on his services for 2023.  While Longoria expressed his desire to be a one-franchise guy, he did hint that this would be contingent on the Rays continuing to be a winner.  “From the beginning, I really wanted to be one of…those rare guys who get to spend their whole career in one place,” Longoria said.  “I’ve been lucky enough to be on good teams and that’s really what makes guys want to stay places….For as long as that’s happening, I’m happy being here.”
  • Estimates on how long Chris Capuano will be sidelined with his strained right quad range from “at least the first week or two of the season” (as the southpaw told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) to all of April.  Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters, including ESPN New York’s Andrew Marchand that Capuano “is not going to do anything, at least for a couple of weeks. Nothing. The problem is we are so early in the process, you are almost going to have to start over.”

Offseason In Review: Tampa Bay Rays

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After watching Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon depart, and then overhauling their roster this offseason, the Rays will rely on a strong young rotation to remain competitive in the AL East.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Trades And Claims

Notable Losses

Needs Addressed

It was already going to be a transformative winter for the Rays with longtime team executive Matt Silverman taking over for Friedman as the team’s top baseball decision-maker, yet the club’s chain of command was further shaken up when Maddon exercised an out clause in his contract and left to manage the Cubs.  (The Rays’ tampering charge against Chicago is still unsettled.)  After a lengthy search for a new manager, Kevin Cash was hired to lead this new era of Rays history.  Though Cash has only a couple of years as a scout and two years as the Indians’ bullpen coach on his post-playing resume, he was considered by many to be a top managerial prospect, and in fact was almost hired by the Rangers earlier in the offseason.

The 37-year-old Cash is currently the youngest manager/head coach in any of the four major sports, which perhaps exemplifies the Rays’ overall offseason youth movement.  Tampa’s farm system was in need of rebuilding following several years of unproductive drafts, and thus almost all of the Rays’ moves this winter brought them back at least one pre-arbitration prospect in return.  Of all that young talent, Daniel Robertson is probably the best long-term prospect, and he looks to be Tampa Bay’s shortstop of the future.

For 2015, however, the youngster best positioned to help the club immediately is Steven Souza.  Ranked as the 37th-best prospect in the sport by Baseball America, Souza received just 26 plate appearances for the Nationals last season but is best known for his spectacular catch to clinch Jordan Zimmermann’s no-hitter.  Tampa Bay’s outfield mix includes Desmond Jennings playing mostly in left field, with Souza and Brandon Guyer (both right-handed hitters) sharing time with Kevin Kiermaier and David DeJesus (both left-handed hitters). Souza and Kiermaier will be given every opportunity to step up as everyday options.

The Rays overhauled their catching situation by releasing Jose Molina (eating his $2.75MM 2015 salary in the process) and trading Ryan Hanigan as part of their big three-team deal with the Padres and Nationals.  The newly-acquired Rene Rivera figures to see much of the time behind the plate, and while the veteran is better known for his excellent pitch-framing than his bat, Rivera posted a .252/.319/.432 line over 329 PAs in San Diego last season.

John Jaso will notably not be an option at catcher due to his concussion history, as the Rays will instead use him mostly at DH with perhaps some time at first base or even in left.  Jaso will essentially replace Matt Joyce’s role in Tampa’s lineup — the left-handed power source in need of a platoon partner due to struggles against lefties.MLB: Tampa Bay Rays-Photo Day

As usual, the Rays weren’t big players in free agency, with Asdrubal Cabrera’s one-year, $7.5MM deal accounting for almost all of their free agent spending.  He’ll add a veteran presence to the middle infield, though it remains to be seen where he’ll start. Going by his below-average career defensive metrics (-10.6 UZR/150 at shortstop, -2.5 UZR/150 at second base), Cabrera would be a better fit at the keystone.  With Cabrera filling one MI spot, Nick Franklin and Logan Forsythe will battle for playing time at the other, with two post-hype prospects (Hak-Ju Lee and 2008 first overall pick Tim Beckham) and minor league signee Alexi Casilla also in the hunt for playing time.

Despite losing two very versatile options in Ben Zobrist and Sean Rodriguez, the Rays have retained much of their signature infield flexibility.  Furthermore, with Cabrera only signed for one year, the team has left the door open for its younger infielders to establish themselves going into 2016.

Questions Remaining

Once the Rays underachieved over the first few months of the 2014 season, it was only a matter of time before they pared down last year’s team-record $76.87MM payroll.  David Price, the biggest piece, was moved at last year’s trade deadline. The cost-cutting continued with Yunel Escobar (owed $13MM in 2015-16), Hanigan ($8MM in 2015-16), Zobrist ($7.5MM in 2015), and Joel Peralta ($2.5MM in 2015) all traded along with players like Rodriguez, Joyce, Jeremy Hellickson and Cesar Ramos who were becoming more expensive in arbitration.  The Rays took a chance with an “unsustainable“ payroll in 2014 in order to take a shot at a World Series, and their big bet simply didn’t pay off.

Zobrist’s defensive versatility and still-potent bat made him a 5.7 fWAR player in 2014 — a total topped by only 11 other players in baseball.  Given how 26 other teams outscored the Rays last season, losing Zobrist and Joyce’s lefty power will only make it harder for Tampa Bay to score runs.  While Wil Myers had a major sophomore slump in the wake of his 2013 AL Rookie Of The Year campaign, trading him is a bold move.  Clearly the Rays weren’t totally sold on Myers’ potential, yet given his high ceiling and Tampa’s need for young talent, Myers could eventually turn into a regret if he breaks out in San Diego.

Perhaps the bigger issue for the Rays is that in order to get into contention, they’ll need several players coming off tough seasons to get back on track.  Evan Longoria tops the list, as despite playing in all 162 games and posting 23 homers and 83 runs, he contributed only a .253/.320/.404 slash line and a career-low 107 wRC+.  Longoria already carries an outsized role with the Rays given his big contract and face-of-the-franchise status, and the team is now counting on him to an even greater extent to make up for the lineup’s lack of pop.  If Longoria’s 2014 season was the first hint of a decline phase, his contract could quickly become an albatross for the low-revenue Rays.

Tampa Bay also needs rebound years from James Loney and Grant Balfour, both of whom disappointed after signing expensive multi-year contracts last winter.  Loney produced only 0.9 fWAR over 651 PA, while Balfour struggled to a 4.91 ERA and 5.9 BB/9 and lost the closer’s job in June.  Both players could also be midseason trade candidates if they return to form and the Rays are out of the race.

Deal Of Note

Of all the Rays’ trades this winter, the Joyce-for-Kevin Jepsen swap was the only one that saw Tampa receive only Major League talent back in return.  Jepsen enjoyed the best season of his seven-year career in 2014, posting a 2.63 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 3.26 K/BB rate over 65 bullpen innings for the Angels.  The right-hander has been a solid relief option in two of the last three years (injuries hampered him in 2013) and at worst, he projects to be a good setup option for the Rays.

I say “at worst” since the back of the Tampa Bay bullpen is somewhat in flux right now, as Jake McGee is sidelined until late April due to elbow surgery.  McGee will certainly figure to get first crack at the closer’s job when he’s healthy given his outstanding 2014 season, and until he’s back, Brad Boxberger is likely the top choice as interim closer.  If McGee has a setback or Boxberger regresses a bit from his own excellent 2014 form (he allowed a .227 BABIP last year), then Jepsen figures to get the call ahead of Balfour, though Jepsen only has five career MLB saves.  All in all, a solid reliever like Jepsen was a good return for the Rays in exchange for a somewhat limited player in Joyce, who brings little defensive value and struggles against southpaws.

Overview

Taken as a whole, Silverman’s very busy offseason almost breaks down as a series of one-for-one replacements.  The Rays have a new veteran middle infielder (Cabrera for Escobar), a slugging lefty bat (Jaso for Joyce), a solid righty reliever (Jepsen for Peralta), a touted young outfielder (Souza for Myers) and a defensive ace at catcher (Rivera for Hanigan/Molina).  The irreplaceable piece is Zobrist, of course, though if Franklin or Forsythe step up at second and Longoria and Loney get hitting again, that will help fill the void.

Another internal replacement should come in the form of Matt Moore, who is slated to return from Tommy John surgery in late June or early July.  With Moore on the way back, the Rays felt comfortable in dealing Hellickson and using Nathan Karns, Burch Smith or Alex Colome as the fifth starter until Moore is healthy.

If Moore is able to rediscover his 2013 form, that will only help a Tampa rotation that could already be the best in the AL East.  Alex Cobb, Chris Archer, Drew Smyly and Jake Odorizzi comprise the Rays’ top four, and given the limitations on offense, Tampa Bay will need this quartet to live up to their considerable potential to give them a fighting chance of getting back to the postseason.

A lot of things went wrong for the Rays in 2014, but despite their many changes, it wouldn’t be a total shock if they got back over the .500 mark.  There are just so many questions up and down the roster about young players and possibly-declining veterans, however, that it seems 2015 may be more about rebuilding than the beginning of a new stretch of winning Rays baseball.

Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan/USA Today Sports Images

Quick Hits: Vogelsong, Royals, Lee, Erasmo

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Ryan Vogelsong seemed to be on the verge of signing with the Astros before he eventually rejoined the Giants, and the righty hinted that there was something unusual about how negotiations broke down with Houston.  According to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, the issue was that after agreeing to sign Vogelsong to a one-year, $4MM deal, the Astros wanted to pay Vogelsong less after viewing the results of his physical.  Both Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and Vogelsong’s agent Dave Meier declined to comment to Heyman about the situation.

Here’s some more from around the baseball world…

  • The Royals are focused on winning now, which could change their handling of prospects Brandon Finnegan and Christian Colon, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes.  There is “a pretty healthy discussion going on within the Royals’ organization” about Finnegan, who could be a key left-handed bullpen weapon for K.C. this season, though such usage could also hurt his development as a future starter.  A similar argument could be made about Colon and whether he’d be better served playing every day at Triple-A or coming off the Royals’ bench as a utilityman.
  • Though he has a 2016 option that vests if he pitches 200 innings, Cliff Lee is entering his last guaranteed year under contract.  The Phillies southpaw told reporters (including David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News) that he’s hasn’t thought about what lies beyond the coming season.  “We’ll see what it brings,” Lee said.  “I definitely do not want to go out the way things happened last year, I don’t want that to be the way I finish my career, but at the same time I’m not going to sit there and try to fight that to get it done. I want to go out there and have fun and feel good and make it be a positive thing instead of it be a battle physically.”
  • Erasmo Ramirez is facing a roster crunch, as the out-of-options righty doesn’t appear to have a clear path to either a rotation or bullpen role with the Mariners, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes.  The M’s don’t want to lose Ramirez but Dutton hears from multiple rival officials that Seattle stands little chance of sneaking Ramirez through waivers and down to the minors.  The Mariners also don’t stand to get much of a return in a possible trade, as one rival exec rhetorically asks, “How much are you going to give up for a guy who is likely to be on waivers in a few weeks?”
  • The Giants will certainly monitor the market for right-handed hitting outfield bats in the wake of Hunter Pence’s injury, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi writes, though the club won’t jump to make a move.
  • Using 2014 attendance figures and Forbes’ evaluations of franchise values, Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards calculates each team’s “expected payroll” to see how clubs spend in relation to their markets.  The Tigers outspend their market by the most while the Yankees rank last, though Edwards explains that ranking is slightly misleading since luxury tax payments aren’t factored into the equation.
  • Besides division rivals or intra-market rivals, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron (writing for FOX Sports) looks at other pairs of teams that rarely seem to make trades with each other.
  • Injuries to several relievers could result in one or two young arms getting a shot in the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day bullpen, Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic writes.

No Extension Talks Between White Sox, Samardzija

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The possibility of a contract extension between Jeff Samardzija and the White Sox “hasn’t even been a topic of conversation,” the right-hander tells Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  “We haven’t come close to crossing that bridge. We’re all working on getting the team where we want. That’s our main goal.”  Like most players, Samardzija would prefer to avoid negotiations once the season begins, as those talks “can become a distraction.”

Samardzija is heading into his last year under contract and will be one of the most sought-after names on the open market next winter; Tim Dierkes currently has the righty ranked ninth in the initial edition of the MLBTR 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings.  Samardzija’s case is somewhat unique since, as Heyman notes, he’s already made a significant amount of money in his career.  This could mean Samardzija would prioritize choosing a comfortable situation and winning team over a suitor that simply offers the biggest salary.  On the other hand, Samardzija also said that “it’s nice to see guys getting compensated for their work” in reference to other pitchers landing expensive deals and hinted that he’s looking for a contract that will cover his “next six, seven years.”

This next contract could still be with the White Sox, as Samardzija made it known that he is very “excited” by the team’s offseason moves and their promise for 2015.  He said he is “on great terms” with the club and there is similar interest on Chicago’s side, though it isn’t known whether the Sox have even brought up the topic with Samardzija since acquiring him from the A’s in December.

“Whenever there’s a next deal with Jeff Samardzija, hopefully, it’s with the White Sox,” GM Rick Hahn said.  “The guy’s a competitor. He wants to win, and he’s a tireless worker who’s succeeded on the big stage. He’s a leader in the clubhouse, and a nice complement between Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.”

Given that Samardzija is only a year away from testing the market, however, it’s very unlikely that he would take an extension now unless the Sox greatly overpaid him — a move that, Heyman writes, would be very uncharacteristic of the club.  Along those same lines, it may be hard to see the White Sox spend the $100MM+ it will likely take to re-sign Samardzija next winter, though I’d argue that the team could indeed be suitors given how aggressive the Sox have been under Hahn.  Sale and Quintana are locked up on through (at least) 2018 and 2019 on what are looking like very team-friendly deals, which could Chicago to splurge on another front-of-the-rotation arm with a bigger price tag.

AL East Notes: Castillo, Yoon, Hoffman, Yankees

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Rusney Castillo’s strained oblique may cause him to miss a bit of Spring Training time, yet the injury isn’t considered to be particularly serious.  Still, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford posits that this setback might convince the Red Sox to give Castillo some extra minor league preparation time at the start of the season and give the center field job to Mookie Betts.  Castillo told Bradford that he would be open to being in the minors if the team felt it necessary, and his long-term contract makes him secure about his role in Boston’s plans.  “Of course there is a degree of comfort in that that I’m going be here for a while,” Castillo said.  “At the same time, if you don’t want to be in the minor leagues ramp it up and work harder to not be there.”

Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • Orioles executive VP Dan Duquette spoke to reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) about the team’s release of Suk-min Yoon earlier today and Yoon’s subsequent return to the KBO’s Kia Tigers.  Duquette confirmed that Yoon gave up the $4.15MM still owed to him under the Orioles contract in order to make the deal happen.  “The good part of this is that this didn’t work, but we were able to correct the mistake, if you will, and we have that money available to invest in other players,” Duquette said.
  • After a tumultuous year that has included Tommy John surgery, being drafted by the Blue Jays and then mentioned in trade rumors to acquire Duquette as Toronto’s new team president, Jeff Hoffman tells Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi that he is looking forward to just “putting on a uniform again” once he’s finished his rehab work.  Hoffman provides a progress report on his recovery from his surgery last May.
  • After years of struggling to find reliable left-handed relievers, the Yankees look to have solved the problem with Andrew Miller, Chasen Shreve and Justin Wilson all in the fold, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.  Ironically, this comes at a time when there are only a few standout left-handed hitters amongst the Yankees’ AL East rivals, Sherman notes.

Hunter Pence To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Forearm Fracture

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Giants outfielder Hunter Pence has suffered a non-displaced ulnar fracture and will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks, the team announced.  Pence suffered the injury earlier today when he was hit by a pitch from Cubs righty Corey Black during a Spring Training game.  The fracture occurred just above Pence’s left wrist, so he was at least fortunate to avoid what could’ve been a more serious injury.

That said, Pence’s absence for some or all of April is clearly a setback for the Giants lineup.  Given how Pence’s time on the DL is expected to be relatively short, San Francisco will likely just use internal options like Gregor Blanco, Gary Brown or Justin Maxwell to fill Pence’s spot in right field.  (Or, one of those players could play in left, shifting Nori Aoki to RF.)

On the other hand, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Giants are “now looking for outfielders” and, in an earlier tweet, suggested that Allen Craig of the Red Sox could be “the perfect fit.”  I’m not sure if Craig, in particular, is a fit given his high salary and the fact that the Giants wouldn’t have a regular role for him once Pence returned.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the team add a veteran outfielder on a minor league deal just for the sake of a bit more depth, yet a major acquisition like Craig would seem unnecessary unless there are setbacks in Pence’s recovery.

The durable Pence has played in at least 154 games in each of the last seven seasons.  His DL stint will snap his streak of 383 consecutive games played, which has been the longest active iron-man streak of any MLB player.

Mariners Designate Ji-Man Choi For Assignment

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The Mariners have designated first baseman Ji-Man Choi for assignment, the team announced.  The move creates a 40-man roster spot for left-hander Edgar Olmos, who was returned to the M’s from the Rangers after Texas’ waiver claim on the southpaw was reversed.

Choi’s roster situation will likely be resolved by a trip to the 60-day disabled list, as he broke his right fibula during a Spring Training game on Wednesday.  He underwent surgery today and is expected to be out for four to six months.

Since joining Seattle’s farm system in 2010, Choi has a .304/.407/.492 slash line and 42 homers over 1470 minor league plate appearances.  Baseball America ranked Choi as the 25th-best prospect in the Mariners’ system prior to the 2014 season, but in April he was issued a 50-game suspension after testing positive for methandienone.

Hector Olivera May Have UCL Damage

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7:34pm: Sources from within Olivera’s camp say Olivera has passed four physicals with no issues and the report about the UCL injury is “absolutely not true,” Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports (all Twitter links).  Olivera’s representatives also deny that they have received any offers; since Olivera isn’t officially a free agent yet, he isn’t allowed to negotiate with MLB teams.

6:17pm: Olivera’s representatives were surprised by the report, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets.  To their knowledge, Olivera didn’t have any UCL damage and he “feels fine.”

6:08pm: Hector Olivera may have a damaged UCL in his throwing arm, sources tell Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan.  The extent of the damage is not known, but should Olivera have to undergo Tommy John surgery, the Cuban infielder would need six to nine months of recovery time, in all likelihood sidelining him for the entire 2015 season.

Olivera’s throwing arm didn’t raise any concerns during workouts for teams, Passan notes, though clubs were already conducting physicals on the infielder in order to be prepared for his eventual free agent clearance by Major League Baseball.

Olivera was reportedly looking for a six-year contract in the $70MM range from MLB teams, and at least five team executives told Peter Gammons that this was a realistic asking price.  Passan reports that Olivera had received at least one offer already that was north of $50MM.  Obviously this injury news will dampen Olivera’s market, and his hopes of a major payday could be scuttled altogether if he needs surgery.  The Dodgers, Braves, Mariners, A’s, Giants, Padres and Yankees were among the teams known to have an interest in Olivera’s services.

White Sox Release Tony Campana

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Here are today’s minor transactions from around baseball, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • The White Sox have released outfielder Tony Campana, according to the International League’s official transactions page.  Campana signed a minor league contract with Chicago in November, but suffered a torn ACL during training session last month and is expected to miss the entire 2015 season.

Orioles Release Suk-min Yoon

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6:07pm: The Orioles will save roughly $4.3MM in salary and expenses by releasing Yoon, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports (Twitter link).  Yoon’s camp first sought a release last month and gave up his remaining MLB salary to obtain it, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports (Twitter links).

5:22pm: The Orioles have released right-hander Suk-min Yoon, according to the team’s public relations department (via Twitter).  The move allows Yoon to sign a contract with the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization.  Yoon will earn $8.2MM over four years with the Tigers according to a Yonhap News report, which is the largest contract even given to a free agent by a KBO team.

News broke earlier today that Yoon and the Orioles were working towards ending their relationship after Yoon didn’t report to the team’s minor league Spring Training camp over the weekend.  Yoon was reportedly disappointed over not receiving an invitation to the Major League camp, which may have been the final straw between the two sides.

Yoon signed a three-year, $5.575MM deal with the Orioles in February 2014 that could’ve been worth as much as $13.075 if he’d reached all of his contract incentives.  Instead, Yoon spent the entire 2014 season at Triple-A Norfolk, posting a 5.74 ERA, 2.58 K/BB rate and 6.3 K/9 over 95 2/3 innings (18 of Yoon’s 23 appearances were starts).  He was outrighted off Baltimore’s 40-man roster last August.

Financial details of the transactions weren’t released, but the Orioles still owe Yoon $4.15MM through the end of the 2016 season.  It’s possible Yoon and agent Scott Boras could’ve waived the remaining salary to facilitate a release, or the Kia Tigers could’ve sent Baltimore some money, though this is just speculation on my part.

Yoon spent his first nine professional seasons with the Kia Tigers, posting a few outstanding seasons as a starter but also seeing significant time in the bullpen.  MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes profiled Yoon in October 2013, noting that there was some question about whether or not the righty would fit into North American baseball as a starter or a reliever.

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