Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Indians Release Billy Hamilton
TODAY: The Indians announced that Hamilton has been released.
MARCH 11: The Indians have informed veteran outfielder Billy Hamilton, who is in camp with them on a minor league deal, that he will not make the Opening Day roster, manager Terry Francona announced to reporters this morning (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Mandy Bell). The organization made the decision quickly and will “attempt to help him land” with another club, per Francona.
Hamilton always faced an uphill battle in making the Indians’ roster, given the presence of Eddie Rosario, Oscar Mercado, Josh Naylor, Jordan Luplow, Bradley Zimmer, Daniel Johnson, Amed Rosario and Jake Bauers on the 40-man roster. But Cleveland’s outfield picture got even more crowded not two weeks after Hamilton inked his deal with the club on Feb. 12, as the Indians wound up claiming Harold Ramirez off waivers from the Marlins.
It’s not clear whether Cleveland will quickly release Hamilton or simply try to find a nominal trade that could send him to another club with more of a need in the outfield. Either way, it seems likely Hamilton will be with another club before too long.
The 30-year-old speedster was a fixture in the Reds’ outfield from 2013-18 but has begun to bounce around the league in journeyman fashion since that time. He split the 2019 season between the Royals and the Braves before spending time with the Giants, Mets and Cubs organizations in 2020. (He did not appear in the Majors with San Francisco.) Hamilton remains one of the game’s fastest players and most gifted outfield defenders, but he’s batted just .237/.294/.317 across his past four seasons in a total of 1578 plate appearances.
Nick Markakis Retires
Veteran outfielder Nick Markakis is calling it a career after 15 seasons at the Major League level, he tells David O’Brien and Dan Connolly of The Athletic. The 37-year-old says he made up his mind shortly after the postseason ended and did not pursue any opportunities this winter. “My No. 1 decision and my main focus on this is obviously my kids and my family,” Markakis said, adding that he’s both fortunate and thankful to have been able to play the game as long as he has.
The seventh overall pick back in 2003, Markakis spent fewer than three years in the minors before debuting as a 22-year-old and never looking back. He hit .291/.351/.448 in 147 games and finished sixth in 2006 American League Rookie of the Year voting with the Orioles, setting the stage for a nine-year run of strong play with the organization which originally drafted him.
Baltimore signed Markakis to a six-year, $66MM extension that covered the 2009-14 seasons, keeping him with the O’s for three would-be free agent seasons. Markakis helped the Orioles to playoff berths in 2012 and in 2014, and in total he posted a strong .290/.358/.435 slash through 5966 plate appearances as an Oriole, winning two Gold Gloves along the way.
Free agency took Markakis to his native Georgia, however, as he inked a four-year, $44MM contract to join an up-and-coming Braves club as their primary right fielder. He spent his next (and final) six seasons in Atlanta, batting a combined .283/.357/.402 and making his lone All-Star appearance with the ’18 Braves — a season in which he also took home a Silver Slugger Award and his third career Gold Glove.
Markakis was a workhorse both in Baltimore and Atlanta, averaging 151 games played from his 2006 debut up through the 2019 season. His only two injuries of note were a fractured hamate bone 2012 and a fractured wrist in 2019. He played in all 162 games of the 2018 season — one of seven seasons in which the ultra-durable Markakis played at least 160 games.
All in all, Markakis will wrap up his career as a .288/.357/.423 batter over the life of 9321 plate appearances. He racked up 2388 hits along the way, including 189 home runs, 514 doubles and 22 triples to go along with 66 steals, 1046 runs batted in and 1119 runs scored. Always somewhat of an under-the-radar star, Markakis derived much of his value from strong on-base percentages and terrific defense for much of his career — one that was valued at 28.7 wins above replacement by FanGraphs and 34 WAR by Baseball-Reference. Markakis earned more than $120MM over 15 seasons in the big leagues and will be remembered as a beloved member of two franchises.
Latest On Allegations Against Yasiel Puig
As outfielder Yasiel Puig remains unsigned and hopeful of a return to Major League Baseball, the sexual assault allegations brought forth against him earlier this offseason continue to cloud his market. Both Andy McCullough of The Athletic and John Barr of ESPN looked at the situation and the allegations in depth this week. McCullough spoke to Puig’s agent Rachel Luba, and Barr interviewed both the alleged victim and her brother. Luba declined to comment on the ongoing litigation when asked by The Athletic, choosing instead to focus on the outfielder’s baseball resume and desire to return to the game.
No police reports or criminal charges have been filed against Puig, although he is the subject of a civil suit filed by his accuser. The report from Barr is the first indication that the league has looked into the matter, although a full investigation has yet to take place. As Barr details, the league informed the plaintiff and her attorney that further investigation would not be possible because she has yet to provide her name. She tells Barr that she prefers to keep her identity out of public reporting on the matter because she runs an L.A.-area business wherein she works with other professional athletes. For the purposes of the suit against Puig and her interview with Barr, she is referenced only as “Jane Roe.”
The alleged incident, which is said to have occurred when Puig followed the woman into a bathroom at a 2018 Lakers game, is detailed at length in the linked reports from ESPN and The Athletic. Barr notes that court filings also detail a series of text messages from Puig to his accuser in the days after the Lakers game in question, wherein Puig sought to arrange a private meeting between the two. The woman tells Barr she does not recall when she gave Puig her number but that it would not have been unusual to do so for business purposes.
McCullough and colleagues Ken Rosenthal and Katie Strang note that Puig’s camp has filed a motion to have the suit dismissed, taking the position that publicizing the lawsuit while remaining anonymous seeks only to “convict Mr. Puig in the court of public opinion, before Mr. Puig even has an opportunity to defend himself.” The plaintiff’s attorney calls that motion a “thinly veiled attempt by Defendant Puig to humiliate, harass, and punish” her client and pressure the woman into dropping the charges.
There’s no indication at this point as to when a judge will rule on on the suit or the motion to dismiss, although Barr writes that the suit itself is enough to dissuade many clubs from showing legitimate interest in Puig. The 30-year-old Puig has been a lightning rod for controversy even before these allegations surfaced in November, and one front office executive tells Barr that teams simply do not “want the headache” associated with signing him.
Puig has twice been arrested for reckless driving in the past, and he has drawn team-issued discipline at times in the past for being late to the field — though Luba contends that was due to an undiagnosed case of ADHD which is now being treated. Puig has not played in a Major League game since the conclusion of the 2019 season, as a reported one-year agreement with the Braves last winter fell through when Puig tested positive for Covid-19.
Miles Mikolas Shut Down For Seven To Ten Days
March 12: Mikolas won’t throw for the next seven to ten days, Mozeliak tells Goold. An MRI taken of his right shoulder did not reveal any structural issues but did show some inflammation. Mikolas will undergo further testing in the coming days once the inflammation subsides a bit.
March 11: Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas has been slowed by shoulder troubles thus far this spring, but the club received generally positive results after a wave of imaging yesterday, it seems. Manager Mike Shildt told reporters this morning that Wednesday’s wave of tests did not reveal any structural damage in Mikolas’ shoulder or elsewhere in his arm (Twitter link via Rob Rains of StlSportsPage.com). Shildt described the results as “favorable,” but he’ll also be backed off his throwing program for the time being.
It’s unclear at this point just when Mikolas will be ready to return to the mound. The Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold wrote yesterday that the club does not expect Mikolas to be ready to begin the regular season in the rotation, which would create some uncertainty at the back of the rotation early in the year. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak has already indicated that touted but oft-injured righty Alex Reyes will be used as a multi-inning piece out of the bullpen, with a target of around 100 innings hopefully on the docket.
At present, the Cardinals’ top three options are set with Jack Flaherty, Adam Wainwright and Kwang Hyun Kim all locked in. Righty Carlos Martinez has oscillated between starter and reliever over the course of his five-year contract extension, but given this year’s $11MM salary and the growing need for starters, it seems likely he’ll open the year in the rotation as well.
The Cards have plenty of depth options in their ranks. Righty Daniel Ponce de Leon has fared better as a reliever in his limited big league career to this point, but he does have 20 serviceable MLB starts under his belt. Fellow right-hander John Gant was used exclusively out of the ’pen in 2019-20 but also made 19 starts for the Cardinals in 2018 and threw well in that showing. Lefty Genesis Cabrera has been used primarily as a reliever in the Majors over the past two seasons but has almost exclusively started as a minor leaguer. Prospects Johan Oviedo and Jake Woodford both made their Major League debuts in 2020 as well.
It wouldn’t be a shock if the Cardinals looked into some additional starting options — they reportedly had some degree of interest in Jake Odorizzi — though the in-house depth they have should be able to hold things down as long as Mikolas isn’t in line for a significant absence. If the Cardinals do want to add some veteran depth, there are still a few free agents of note on the market, including Rick Porcello, Trevor Cahill and Homer Bailey. Others could hit the market in the coming weeks as veterans exercise opt-out provisions in non-roster deals around the league, and at least a handful of depth options figure to hit waivers as teams continue to inch closer to setting Opening Day rosters.
Indians Trade Mike Freeman To Reds
Indians manager Terry Francona announced this morning that Cleveland has traded veteran infielder Mike Freeman to the Reds (Twitter link via Mandy Bell of MLB.com). Cincinnati sent cash to Cleveland to complete the minor swap, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic tweets. Freeman was in camp with Cleveland as a non-roster invitee, so he won’t go onto Cincinnati’s 40-man roster at this time.
The 33-year-old Freeman spent the past two seasons with Cleveland, working as a utilityman and posting a combined .270/.352/.377 batting line through 256 trips to the plate. He’s spent time at all four infield spots and in both outfield corners during that time, although the bulk of his work has come as a second baseman and third baseman. Freeman doesn’t offer much power and has a fairly limited MLB track record, but he’s a career .304/.369/.418 hitter with quality strikeout and walk rates in parts of six Triple-A seasons.
Freeman had been vying for a bench spot in Cleveland, and he’ll give the Reds another option as they try to sort out who will get playing time at shortstop this year. He has 1901 career innings at the position between the minors and the big leagues, although he hasn’t played there on a semi-regular basis since his 2018 run with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate.
Still, Freeman at the very least gives the Reds a possible bench option who can handle the position. At the moment, the favorites for playing time at shortstop appear to be Kyle Farmer, Kyle Holder and non-roster veteran Dee Strange-Gordon. In the long run, the hope is that top prospect Jose Garcia can handle the spot, but the 22-year-old looked overmatched in his first taste of MLB action last year, hitting just .194/.206/.194 in 68 plate appearances.
Over in Cleveland, Freeman’s departure lends a bit of clarity to the infield mix. Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario are vying for starting reps at shortstop, and if Gimenez wins out that would seemingly push Rosario into an infield/outfield role off the bench. Yu Chang could join him as a utility piece off the bench. If the club decides to send Gimenez to the minors to begin the year, Rosario would likely take the reins at short, with Chang serving as the primary backup around the infield.
Latest On Maikel Franco
Free agent third baseman Maikel Franco is likely to choose his next club either today or tomorrow, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The former Phillies and Royals slugger has been connected to both the Mets and the Orioles over the past week, and Heyman now adds that the Braves are among the teams “in the mix” for Franco.
While Franco has been connected to three clubs over the past week now, there have been indicators that not every rumored club is a serious player for his services. The Athletic’s Tim Britton reported that although the Mets indeed checked in on Franco at one point, they also don’t believe a deal will come together at this time. Meanwhile, in the days since the Orioles were first tied to Franco, Baltimore general manager Mike Elias has publicly stated that he does not foresee any free-agent additions for his team (link via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko).
“I don’t feel that there are any imminent additions at this time coming from the free agent market.” Elias said as recently as Wednesday. “That could change, but I don’t see anything kind of barreling down the pike here right this second.” Certainly, that doesn’t rule out the possibility that Franco could land there, but it does throw some cold water on the possibility.
Turning to the latest rumored fit, the Braves make some sense as a potential landing spot for Franco, although they’ve already added veteran corner infielder Jake Lamb to the third base competition. Lamb signed a one-year, $1MM contract earlier in the spring, and while the deal isn’t fully guaranteed, it did place him on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. That gives the Braves three possible options already, as Lamb joins holdovers Austin Riley and Johan Camargo in the mix for playing time.
Riley excited fans and the organization alike with a huge first month in the big leagues back in 2019, he’s struggled since that point. Over his past 380 Major League plate appearances, Riley has posted a .211/.274/.387 slash with a 31.1 percent strikeout rate. Add in last year’s postseason numbers, and the overall line dips to .207/.270/.371 in a sample of 429 trips to the plate. Camargo, meanwhile, turned in an impressive 2018 effort but has posted a dismal .222/.267/.378 slash in 375 plate appearances since. As for Lamb, his 2018-19 seasons were ruined by shoulder injuries, and he got out to a miserable start in 2020 as well. After being cut loose in Arizona and landing in Oakland, however, he looked like the Lamb of old in 13 games down the stretch with the A’s.
Riley is a former top prospect who won’t turn 24 until next month, so there’s still quite a bit of upside in the former No. 41 overall draft pick. Lamb gives the Braves upside as well. He belted 59 home runs from 2016-17 in Arizona and made the 2017 All-Star team. Camargo, at the very least, is a strong defender at the hot corner and a switch-hitter at the plate.
Franco could still fit into the mix, particularly if he’s open to a minor league pact. It’s also possible that the Braves aren’t thrilled with Lamb’s slow start this spring — he’s 1-for-12 with a walk and a HBP — and could look to pivot. Lamb could be cut from his non-guaranteed deal prior to Opening Day for $161K or $242K, depending on the point at which the club makes the move, although 14 plate appearances would be an extraordinarily brief audition.
Baltimore represents the cleanest and most obvious fit of the three teams rumored to be in the mix for Franco. Incumbent Rio Ruiz hasn’t hit much over the past two seasons and is out to a slow start in camp. He also has a pair of minor league options remaining. Prospect Rylan Bannon figures to eventually get a look in 2021, but he’s only played 20 games of Triple-A ball and could potentially benefit from some additional development time.
Franco was at least a mildly surprising non-tender by the Royals back in December, as he’d turned in a solid 2020 season and drawn public praise from both his manager and general manager. Appearing in all 60 games for Kansas City, the former top prospect posted a .278/.321/.457 batting line with eight homers, 16 doubles and improved defensive marks at the hot corner. The Royals, however, cut him loose and moved Hunter Dozier back to third base, opting instead to add several players to their outfield mix.
AL West Notes: Correa, France, Athletics
Astros shortstop Carlos Correa projects as one of the top free agents on next year’s market, though both he and the team have made clear that they hope to hammer out an extension before he reaches the market. Correa told reporters today that those talks have yet to begin, noting that the finger injury to Framber Valdez and the front office’s subsequent negotiations with free agents may have delayed the beginning of talks (Twitter link, with video, via Mark Berman of FOX 26). Correa was understanding of that and remains motivated to talk contract, though as is often the case with extension candidates, he placed a firm Opening Day deadline on any talks for a new deal. Houston GM James Click said in late February that the Astros “want to have some conversations” with Correa’s camp to see if the two sides can align on a deal to keep him long term.
Astros fans may also be interested to hear skipper Dusty Baker talk of Correa as a potential leadoff candidate in 2021. Correa hit leadoff today and told reporters he’s excited for the possibility of taking on that challenge (video link via Berman). Leadoff duties have traditionally been George Springer’s department in Houston, of course, but his departure creates a vacancy atop the lineup.
More from the division…
- Ty France may not have a set position with the Mariners, but the team plans to get him 500-plus plate appearances in 2020, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. As Divish notes, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto tried to pry France away from the Padres on multiple occasions before successfully landing him as part of the Austin Nola trade last summer. Manager Scott Servais spoke glowingly of France’s work so far this spring, and Divish suggests that France could get semi-regular work at designated hitter while also seeing occasional starts at third base, second base and first base to keep the Mariners’ infielders fresh. France is 8-for-13 with a pair of doubles, three homers, a walk and no strikeouts this spring. He batted .305/.368/.468 in 155 big league plate appearances last year and is a career .372/.454/.713 hitter in 458 Triple-A plate appearances (albeit in a supercharged Pacific Coast League offensive environment).
- The Athletics will continue to build up southpaw Cole Irvin as a starting pitcher in camp, writes Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle. Oakland acquired the lefty from the Phillies in exchange for cash over the winter, and although the bulk of his work in the Majors has come out of the ’pen, the A’s plan to continue building him up to serve as a possible depth option behind their current rotation. Only three of Irvin’s 19 Major League appearances with the Phils were starts, but 41 of his 43 career appearances in Triple-A came out of the rotation. The 27-year-old carries a 3.07 ERA at that level, and while his 18.8 percent strikeout rate is a good ways shy of average, his 4.7 percent walk rate is excellent.
Angels’ Gerardo Reyes, Brendan McCurry To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Angels right-handers Gerardo Reyes and Brendan McCurry will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2021 season, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Reyes was already known to be dealing with a UCL sprain and was recently removed from the 40-man roster. McCurry, a former Astros and Athletics farmhand, signed a minor league deal with a spring training invite over the winter.
Reyes, 27, came to the Halos in the August trade that sent veteran catcher Jason Castro to the Padres. He appeared in one game this spring but departed early. The righty didn’t pitch in the Majors for the Padres or Angels last season but did log 26 frames with San Diego in ’19. He was knocked around for a 7.62 ERA in that time, but Reyes also showed a blistering heater that averaged 97 mph while punching out 32.5 percent of opponents (against a passable 9.4 percent walk rate).
Reyes has kept his ERA at 3.57 or better in every minor league stop since 2017, steadily increasing his strikeout rate along the way. A second straight season without pitching in a conventional game setting won’t do him any favors, but he’ll give the Angels a potential power arm out of the ’pen in 2022 and beyond, assuming he successfully rehabs the injury.
McCurry, 29, has yet to make his big league debut but carries a career 4.03 ERA with quality 26.2 percent strikeout and 7.2 percent walk rates in 205 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. He’s slated to be a minor league free agent again next winter.
The Angels announced a few other injury updates, including a hip injection for righty Luke Bard that will slow his spring progression. He’s expected to be re-evaluated in 72 hours, tweets MLB.com’s Jack Harris.
Padres’ Jacob Nix Suffers Elbow Injury; Tommy John Surgery Possible
Padres righty Jacob Nix could require Tommy John surgery after sustaining another elbow injury, tweets Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Nix, once a touted draft prospect, had a UCL injury two years ago that he rehabbed after undergoing platelet-rich plasma treatment.
Now 25 years old, Nix made it to the big leagues with the Padres in 2018 and started nine games, during which time he was tagged for a grisly 7.02 ERA. He missed most of the 2019 season with that UCL injury and was removed from the 40-man roster that October — not long after being arrested on trespassing charges (to which he eventually pled guilty). Between the injury and the arrest, Nix unsurprisingly went unclaimed on waivers.
Nix didn’t pitch with the Padres in 2020 and was not part of their 60-man player pool. He hasn’t been on the mound in a game setting since making one appearance in the 2019 Arizona Fall League. With Tommy John surgery now once again back on the table as a possibility for the righty, Nix could be out of game action until the 2022 season, depending on the course of treatment for his latest injury. With clubs likely to cycle through a broad range of pitchers and a few injuries on the San Diego staff already, Nix at least had a chance to return to the big leagues if healthy.
