Zachary Links | MLB Trade Rumors

Cubs Designate Tsuyoshi Wada For Assignment

By Zachary Links | October 11, 2015 at 11:44am CDT

The Cubs announced that they have designated Tsuyoshi Wada for assignment, as Carrie Muskat of MLB.com tweets. The move will help create room for Taylor Teagarden on the 40-man roster.

Wada, 34 (35 in February), is set to hit the open market this offseason. Signed to a one-year, $4MM deal with Chicago in 2015, Wada only made seven starts and one relief appearance this past season. Overall, he posted a 3.62 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. In the year prior, the left-hander made 13 starts and pitched his way to a 3.25 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. Following a distinguished nine-year career in Japan, Wada signed a two-year, $8.15MM deal with the Orioles in December 2011, though he never threw as much as a pitch for the O’s thanks to Tommy John surgery.

Teagarden will not join the Cubs’ playoff roster, but he could be called upon in the event of an injury.

Cafardo On Cherington, Indians, Lackey

By Zachary Links | October 11, 2015 at 10:39am CDT

The game is getting younger, but we saw plenty of older players make a difference in 2015, as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes. The list of impact vets starts off with Red Sox slugger David Ortiz who posted a .273/.360/.553 slash line with 37 homers, earning Cafardo’s “Old Guy of the Year” award. Twins outfielder Torii Hunter was another older player who made his mark this year, though he may have had a stronger impact on his team off the field rather than on it. That type of veteran leadership can be valuable for a younger team, Cafardo argues, and he hears from people within the Astros that they’ll be seeking a “older, Raul Ibanez type” in the winter.

Here’s more from today’s column..

Despite some speculation to the contrary, former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says that he has not interviewed for the Phillies’ GM role. Cafardo writes that he seems “content to sit out the year and regroup. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports recently noted that Cherington isn’t likely to try to get a GM job this offseason, but the Phillies job could be appealing to him, since he and Phillies owner John Middleton both went to Amherst. If Cherington does take a GM job, he’ll want it to be with people that he trusts.
Cafardo hears that the Indians will continue to try and move a starting pitcher for a hitter this offseason. Cleveland seemed more willing to move Danny Salazar than Carlos Carrasco later in the season, Cafardo says, and The Boston Globe scribe identifies the 25-year-old as a potential trade chip.
One major league source tells Cafardo that Cardinals pitcher John Lackey could be a fit for the Cubs next season as a free agent. After all, Theo Epstein signed Lackey as a free agent in Boston and the veteran hurler is close with Jon Lester. Lackey, who turns 37 in a few weeks, pitched to a 2.77 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 33 regular season starts.
Cafardo cautions us not to expect Xander Bogaerts and the Red Sox to work out an extension this winter. Agent Scott Boras isn’t one to do team-friendly deals and Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tends to wait later in the arbitration process to discuss new deals.
D’Backs Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa offered up a strong endorsement of ex-Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, who is looking to repackage himself as a manager. “Ruben is a very smart baseball man,” La Russa said. “There’s no doubt in my mind he could be a very good major league manager. He’s an ex-player who understands the game.”
Tim Naehring, one of the Yankees’ top pro scouts, is a possibility to replace Billy Eppler as assistant GM in New York. Brian Cashman adviser Jim Hendry and former big league outfielder Kevin Reese are other potential candidates for the role.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Gibson, Padres, Fulmer

By Zachary Links | October 11, 2015 at 8:56am CDT

On this date in 2005, the Pirates hired Jim Tracy as manager to replace the recently-fired Lloyd McClendon, as Leo Panetta of NationalPastime.com writes. Of course, it was just days ago that McClendon was dismissed from his most recetn job with the Mariners.

Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..

Redbird Rants interviewed Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson.
Fueled By Sports has some ideas to remake the Padres again.
Legends On Deck asks if Michael Fulmer is an elite pitching prospect.
Blue Jays Plus spoke with former World Series hero Ed Sprague.
Camden Depot explained how horizontal trajectory affects BABIP.
Yankees Unscripted says the Bombers misused Adam Warren.
Inside The ’Zona discussed Archie Bradley.
Kingdome Of Seattle Sports wrote about what new M’s GM Jerry Dipoto’s first priorities should be.
Pinstriped Prospects ran down the farm hands that debuted for the Bombers.
A’s Farm broke down Oakland’s contingent in the AFL.
Outside Pitch discussed the importance of Yoenis Cespedes.
Notes From The Sally scouted Ozzie Albies.
When Sid Slid looked at the pros and cons of Atlanta’s strong finish.
Baseball Hot Corner talked Jake Arrieta.

Please send submissions to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.

MLBTR Originals

By Zachary Links | October 4, 2015 at 5:50pm CDT

A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:

In the most recent edition of the MLBTR Mailbag, Steve Adams fielded questions on Carlos Beltran’s Hall of Fame credentials, managers who could get canned, the Tigers’ late-inning needs, and more. You can submit questions for the mailbag at any time throughout the week via email – mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com.
Mark Polishuk ran down three major offseason needs for the White Sox.
If you missed out on this week’s chat with Steve, you can get caught up with the transcript.
Recently, MLB Trade Rumors launched a brand new official Instagram account:@TradeRumorsMLB. Each day, we’re sharing conversation-inspiring images about the hottest topics in baseball. From there, we invite you to give us a like, weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section, and even share the link with a friend. So, what are you waiting for? If you don’t have an Instagram account, this is the perfect excuse to sign up and get one. Follow us on Instagram today!
On Sunday morning, we ran down the best blog posts from around the web in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Biddle, Nats, Williams

By Zachary Links | October 4, 2015 at 4:15pm CDT

The Phillies haven’t won much in 2015, but they have won the race to the bottom, as Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. For the first time since 1998, the Phillies will pick No. 1 in the amateur draft and while there isn’t a slam-dunk top choice, it never hurts to have the top pick. The Phillies will also get the largest bonus pool in the international signing period, which will aid them in the long term.

Kaplan notes that this will be the first No. 1 pick for incoming Phillies president Andy MacPhail. The highest he ever drafted was No. 2 when he was with the Cubs in 2001 – he used that selection to take right-hander Mark Prior.

Here’s more out of the NL East..

Phillies interim GM Scott Proefrock announced that former top prospect Jesse Biddle has suffered a torn UCL, as Kaplan tweets. The left-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery on October 14th. Biddle was rated as the No. 71 prospect in the country by Baseball America prior to the 2014 season, but his struggles through multiple levels of the Phillies’ farm system knocked him out of the top 100. Things weren’t much better this year for the 23-year-old (soon-to-be 24), as he pitched to a 4.95 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 24 outings between Double-A and Triple-A.
Despite talk that he’ll be ousted as Nationals manager, Matt Williams says that no one in the front office has talked to him about his job status, as Bill Ladson of MLB.com writes. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com recently reported that Williams is all but certain to be fired after the season while a source says that GM/president of baseball ops Mike Rizzo is safe.
Rizzo says that the front office will meet tomorrow and that decisions will be made “sooner rather than later,” as Mark Zuckerman of CSNmidatlantic.com tweets. The GM added that he doesn’t “want anybody twisting in the wind.”

AL East Notes: Buehrle, Blue Jays, Red Sox

By Zachary Links | October 4, 2015 at 2:53pm CDT

On Saturday night, Indians pitcher Corey Kluber gave the Red Sox a reminder of what they’re missing, Timothy Britton of The Providence Journal writes. The reigning AL Cy Young winner is the type of frontline pitcher that Boston will seek this winter and interim manager Torey Lovullo fully understands how important a strong ace is to a ball club.

“When a pitcher of his caliber starts working, getting in a rhythm, and has that special day going, it’s going to be a long day for the offense,” Lovullo said. “He was feeling very good and wasn’t throwing any pitch in the middle of the zone.”

Here’s more from the AL East..

Mark Buehrle’s short start against the Rays today could wind up being his last, an MLB source tells Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM (on Twitter). While the Blue Jays are advancing to the playoffs, Buehrle is not expected to be a part of the team’s postseason roster. Buehrle, 37 in March, tried to go two innings today in order to notch his 15th straight year of 200 innings pitched. However, a rough start and bad defensive play led to Buehrle getting the hook before the end of the first. Heading into today’s game, Buehrle owned a 3.82 ERA with 4.1 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9. Since August 1st, however, the veteran has posted a 4.92 ERA and a ghastly 5.67 ERA across his last five outings.
Matt Silverman overhauled the Rays after taking over last year but he expects things to go a little bit differently this winter, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. “We are champing at the bit for a ’normal’ offseason during which we can focus all our efforts on advancing the organization,” Silverman said. “One byproduct from last offseason was the emergence of many new thoughts and ideas, and now is the time to fully explore them.”
John Farrell’s battle with cancer has forged an even stronger bond between him and Lovullo, as Gordon Edes of ESPN.com writes.
On Sunday morning the Red Sox announced that Farrell will be back as manager in 2016. Lovullo, meanwhile, will return as bench coach for 2016 and will not pursue any managerial openings this winter.

Marlins Rumors: Cueto, Leake, Cespedes

By Zachary Links | October 4, 2015 at 1:48pm CDT

In his Sunday column, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has a number of noteworthy Marlins items. Here’s a look at some of the highlights..

The Marlins like impending free agents Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, but they’ll be out of Miami’s price range unless Jeffrey Loria is really willing to loosen the purse strings. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently dropped Cueto to eighth in his 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings.
If the Marlins deal Marcell Ozuna – and owner Jeffrey Loria reportedly is open to doing that – they’ll need a replacement in center field. The Marlins like Mets impending free agent Yoenis Cespedes, Jackson hears, but he’d probably be out of their price range. Cespedes is reportedly seeking at least six years on his free agent deal. The most recent version of Tim Dierkes’ 2016 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings has Cespedes as the No. 5 free agent on the market and Miami surely isn’t alone in its interest.
There is “no thought” to the Marlins trading Christian Yelich, who has been tearing it up since the All-Star break. Yelich inked a $49.75MM, seven-year deal with Miami back in March. In April, MLBTR spoke with Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill and agent Joe Longo for an inside look at how the pact came together.
Jackson hears that “there’s some internal sentiment” to trying to upgrade at closer, though that might not be realistic due to the team’s financial situation. In that event, Miami would use closer A.J. Ramos and Carter Capps as set-up men. Ramos, who has struggled with location issues at times this year, owns a 2.30 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 this season.
Henderson Alvarez is expected to be tendered unless he has a setback in recovery before the early-December deadline, Jackson writes. That echoes a report from last month which indicated that Miami was leaning towards tendering an offer to the pitcher. The 25-year-old underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder in late July, ending his season prematurely. He was Miami’s Opening Day starter, but wound up finishing the 2015 season with just 22 1/3 innings, four starts, and a dismal 6.45 ERA under his belt.

Giants, Eddy Julio Martinez Agree To $2.5MM Deal

By Zachary Links | October 4, 2015 at 12:32pm CDT

The Giants and highly-touted center field prospect Eddy Julio Martinez have reached agreement on a $2.5MM pact, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (on Twitter).

Martinez, regarded by some as the top free agent on this year’s international market, has flown under the radar of late after generating quite a bit of buzz late in the spring and early this summer. It was written on multiple occasions that the 20-year-old center fielder was expected to command a bonus in excess of $10MM, but he will reportedly sign a deal worth only 25% of that. The Giants have already spent heavily enough on international free agents to incur the maximum penalties, so the only further repercussion they’ll face with the Martinez deal is further luxury taxation. Their high-priced class includes $6MM shortstop Lucius Fox, who is also rated as one of this year’s top international players.

The Dodgers, Reds, Cubs, Astros and Rangers were also linked to Martinez at various times. As Sanchez noted in his free scouting report, Martinez has a compact and powerful stroke plus the ability to hit home runs to all fields. His speed gives him base-stealing upside, and he should be able to remain in center field thanks to good range in the gaps and an accurate throwing arm. Baseball America’s Ben Badler (subscription only) is less bullish, suggesting Martinez’s power leads more to doubles than home runs and noting that not all scouts believe he’ll stick as a starter in center field.

Latest On Angels GM Search

By Zachary Links | October 4, 2015 at 11:37am CDT

11:37am: The Angels will only be hiring one GM, not a GM plus a senior baseball executive, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Eppler is the most likely choice for the job, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register hears.

8:58am: Internal candidates Hal Morris, Matt Klentak, and Scott Servais are no longer in the running for the Angels’ GM job, sources tell Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava has also been taken out of consideration.

Now that the field has been narrowed down, it appears that the shortlist is comprised of Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler and Dodgers exec Josh Byrnes, per DiGiovanna (link). The Yankees believe that Eppler will get the gig, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears rumblings that Byrnes could actually be installed as the president to work above Eppler.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the trio of Angels internal candidates who have apparently been ruled out, as well as LaCava. Klentak has been linked to high-profile GM jobs in the past, including the recent Red Sox and Phillies vacancies. Servais, a former major leaguer turned assistant GM, could be lured to Seattle by newly installed Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. LaCava, meanwhile, has been strongly considered for GM openings in the past and he even (reportedly) turned down an offer to become the Orioles’ GM back in 2011.

John Farrell To Return As Red Sox Manager In 2016

By Zachary Links | October 4, 2015 at 11:00am CDT

The Red Sox announced that John Farrell will be back as manager in 2016. Torey Lovullo, meanwhile, will return as bench coach for 2016.

Lovullo has inked a two-year contract extension with the club taking him through the 2017 season. Surprisingly, Lovullo has “waived the right to pursue any major league managerial openings in the 2015/16 offseason” as per the terms of his deal. Lovullo has long been considered a managerial candidate in the majors and many expected him to be a hot candidate once again this winter.

The good news within the press release is that Farrell has completed chemotherapy treatments in Boston. Ostensibly, the announcement that he will return to managing if given a clean bill of health is another positive sign for his recovery. The 53-year-old Farrell has served as the team’s manager dating back to 2013 — a season that saw the former Red Sox pitching coach win a World Series title in his return to Boston. He’s compiled a 218-220 record in the regular season while serving as Boston’s skipper and has also managed the Blue Jays at the Major League level.

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