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Red Sox GM Cherington On Drew Signing

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If the offseason felt long to you, imagine how Stephen Drew must have felt.  Today, the shortstop’s extended spring officially came to a close when the Red Sox announced that they signed him to a one-year deal, reportedly worth the prorated portion of the $14.1MM qualifying offer ($10.1MM).  The Red Sox, who had a significant need on the left side of the infield and didn’t have to forfeit a pick to sign their own free agent, have been regarded as a frontrunner for months, but there wasn’t a lot of foreshadowing in recent days.  On a conference call this afternoon, I asked General Manager Ben Cherington when the talks got more serious between him and agent Scott Boras.

“I would say that talks picked up over the weekend and into the early part of the week,” the GM said. “We know Stephen well.  He did a great job for us last year and he’s a very good Major League shortstop and a good teammate and does a lot of good things that we value…We have a high degree of respect for Stephen, what he can do on the field, and what he can do for our team.  We’re happy to have him back on the team.”

The signing of Drew will have a reverb effect for other Red Sox players.  Xander Bogaerts, who was charged with manning shortstop in 2014, will shift over to third base, bumping the injured Will Middlebrooks out of the starting lineup.  Drew’s arrival also backs things up for well-regarded third base prospect Garin Cecchini.  When it comes to Bogaerts, Cherington says that after this season, his future could still very well be at shortstop.

“We believe that he can play shortstop well, things have stabilized there.  I know he made a couple of errors last night but we believed last year and during Spring Training that he can play shortstop, we still believe that.  This move with Stephen is not in any way about a lack of belief that Xander can play short,” Cherington said.  “Xander’s ability to play short and third base allowed us to consider different options and alternatives.  Stephen just happened to be the one we pursued.”

When asked if Drew’s arrival could signal some sort of position change for Middlebrooks, Cherington was non-committal and said that his main focus was getting the 25-year-old healthy.

As for Drew himself, Cherington confirmed that he’ll be on the Major League roster tonight but won’t be in the lineup against the Blue Jays.  Drew will ultimately have a stint in the minors to warm up to big league action, but because of “administrative steps” that need to take place, there’s not an exact timetable for that just yet.

Presumably, Cherington is referring to the fact that Drew needs to pass through optional waivers, which take 48 hours, as the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported earlier this afternoon (Twitter link).  Cafardo noted that Drew has consented to head to the minors to pick up 25 at-bats before playing with the big league club.

Quick Hits: Mets, Feliciano, Drew, Rays

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Saul Katz is denying reports that he wants to share his stake in the Mets but a baseball exec tells Josh Kosman of the New York Post that he wanted to do even more.  Katz, according to the exec, tried to get Fred Wilpon to join in so that they could sell majority control.  Wilpon said no in part because he wants to turn the team over to his son, Jeff.  Here’s more from around the league..

  • The Cardinals are close to a minor league deal with free agent left-hander Pedro Feliciano, a source tells Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (on Twitter).  Steve Nations of KSDK Sports reported yesterday that St. Louis was giving the 37-year-old a hard look.  Feliciano has seen time in nine MLB campaigns, returning to the bigs for 25 appearances (but just 11 1/3 innings) with the Mets last year, putting up a 3.97 ERA. His career mark stands at 3.33 earned per nine over 383 2/3 innings.
  • Signing Stephen Drew would help the Red Sox’s cause, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.  Drew, he argues, would give Boston some much needed competition by moving Xander Boegarts over to third where he’d fight Will Middlebrooks for playing time.  The Red Sox are the one team that can sign Drew without surrendering a draft pick, but that window closes once the draft begins on June 5.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times looks back to reassess the Rays’ offseason decisions.  The three-team deal that brought Ryan Hanigan to Tampa Bay was still worthwhile, Topkin argues, despite having to eat the $5.5MM owed to Heath Bell.   Meanwhile, the deal sending left-hander Alex Torres and right-hander Jesse Hahn to San Diego doesn’t look as good right now.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Towers, Rogers, Joba

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On this date in 2004, at the age of 40, southpaw Randy Johnson became the oldest pitcher to ever throw a perfect game when the Diamondbacks beat the Braves, 2-0. Johnson joined Cy Young, Jim Bunning, Hideo Nomo, and Nolan Ryan as the only hurlers to throw no-hitters in both leagues.  Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.

Cafardo On Lee, Yankees, Maeda, Lackey

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In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discusses the rash of injuries to pitchers.  Some are suggesting that MLB lower the mound, which would reduce stress on the shoulder and elbow by reducing some of the downward force.  Red Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves has a different idea. “You have to stop shrinking the strike zone,” he said. “It has to be expanded. It’s incredible what you’re asking of pitchers nowadays. You expect them to throw the baseball into this tiny box. Do you know how much stress that puts on a pitcher’s arm? Just remembering when I pitched, the strike zone is so tiny compared to back then. It’s impossible to think that you make a pitcher hit that tiny box and not have it affect the health of a pitcher over time.”  Here’s more from today’s column..

  • Baseball executives think they’ll have their eyes on Cliff Lee if the Phillies fall out of the race.  The Yankees would have plenty of competition for Lee, perhaps even from the Red Sox, who have long coveted him, especially given his past relationship with John Farrell. The Red Sox also have more to give than the Yankees in terms of prospects. Lee, 35, will earn $25MM this season and next, and has a $27.5MM option for 2016, which vests with 200 innings in 2015 or 400 innings in 2014-15.
  • It’s expected that teams that missed out on Masahiro Tanaka will bid for Hiroshima Toyo Carp standout Kenta Maeda.  The Red Sox have scouted Maeda quite a bit and he’s garnering attention, even though he is not as accomplished as Tanaka.
  • Cafardo asked four GMs if they would rework John Lackey’s 2015 salary at the major league minimum if they were running the Red Sox. Three said no, that Lackey had agreed to play for the minimum in a sixth year if he lost a year to Tommy John surgery. The consensus was Lackey would be even more motivated to have a big year if he was playing for another big contract.
  • The Phillies didn’t have any suitors for Jonathan Papelbon over the offseason, but now that he’s pitched through some difficulty he may have a market.  The Phillies may not get a whole lot for him, however.

Free Agent Notes: Burres, Carbonell, Coffey, Feliciano

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Three clubs were willing to offer major league deals to Kyle Farnsworth, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Farnsworth chose the Astros in part because he could see high leverage chances and due to his relationship with manager Bo Porter. Here are some notes on a few other players who are still looking for their next professional opportunity:

  • Brian Burres, who has been throwing well this year in the independent Atlantic League, has recently received interest from a few clubs, MLBTR has learned. The 33-year-old southpaw carries a 1.80 ERA through 20 innings, striking out 6.3 and walking 1.8 batters per nine. Burress has 358 1/3 MLB innings under his belt; he last saw MLB time in 2011 with the Pirates.
  • The Yankees and Mariners are two of the five finalists to sign Cuban outfielder Daniel Carbonell, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. The Twins attended Carbonell’s most recent showcase, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, and are “monitoring” him. Carbonell, 23, was declared a free agent back in April.
  • The Phillies are in on Todd Coffey, a source tells Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish (via Twitter).  The Orioles, meanwhile, are likely out on Coffey after signing Heath Bell (link).  Coffey has multiple offers in hand and could decide soon, according to sources.
  • Lefty Pedro Feliciano is getting a hard look from the Cardinals, according to Steve Nations of KSDK Sports. Feliciano threw live BP to Cards minor leaguers yesterday, and will appear in a simulated game today in hopes of convincing the St. Louis brass to give him a minor league deal. The 37-year-old has seen time in nine MLB campaigns, returning to the bigs for 25 appearances (but just 11 1/3 innings) with the Mets last year, putting up a 3.97 ERA. His career mark stands at 3.33 earned per nine over 383 2/3 frames.

D’Backs Hire Tony La Russa To Oversee Operations

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5:34pm: LaRussa receives a multi-year deal, reports Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona (Twitter link). The club had been exploring the possibility of a change in the baseball ops department for about a month.

5:16pm: Team president and CEO Derrick Hall says that Arizona interviewed several other candidates, some of whom would have occupied a similar role to that now handed to LaRussa and others who would have taken over at general manager, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).

While that certainly raises some additional doubt as to Towers’ situation, Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes on Twitter that LaRussa is expected to exercise patience in determining the path forward and will likely not take action on Towers and/or Gibson until late in the season.

In terms of what LaRussa’s role will be, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (Twitter link) analogizes it to that of Theo Epstein with the Cubs, noting that it has some crossover with the former position of Nolan Ryan with the Rangers. Hall says that LaRussa will have “final say” over “any decisions that will be made from the personnel side,” tweets Steve Berthiaume of MLB.com.

11:40am: The Diamondbacks announced that they have appointed Tony La Russa as their Chief Baseball Officer.  La Russa will report to team president & CEO Derrick Hall and oversee the entire baseball operations department.

“The entire organization is obviously frustrated with the results on the field and we are looking to improve,” Hall said in the press release. “Tony brings us a wealth of knowledge, experience and success, and will work closely with [General Manager Kevin Towers] and [manager Kirk Gibson] in evaluating our current state to determine the future of our baseball operations. He is excited and enthusiastic about the challenge, and we are fortunate to have this Hall of Famer on board and a part of the team.”

After an active offseason, the Diamondbacks find themselves at the bottom of the NL West with a 16-28 record, putting them 11.5 games behind the first-place Giants.  As a big league manager, La Russa won three World Series titles, six League Championships, 12 division titles, and was a four-time Manager of the Year.  He was previously working as a Special Assistant to Commissioner Bud Selig.

It remains to be seen how La Russa’s arrival will impact Towers and Gibson.  Towers has been Arizona’s GM since September of 2010.  Gibson was appointed interim manager in July 2010 and was promoted to the permanent role after the season.

Minor Moves: Nanita, Wilson, Marinez, Robertson, Meek

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Today’s minor moves …

  • The Blue Jays have loaned veteran minor-leaguer Ricardo Nanita to Los Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League, according to the International League transactions page. The 32-year-old outfielder has seen time at or above the Double-A level in every season since 2006, but has yet to crack the bigs in spite of a .315/.364/.463 line through 1,133 plate appearances at Triple-A. Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star profiled Nanita and his dreams of making the Show this spring, but he received only 17 opportunities to swing the bat this year for Buffalo.
  • Outfielder Mike Wilson has been released by the Reds, according to the International League transactions page. Wilson was slashing .205/.293/.364 in 99 plate appearances at Triple-A. The 30-year-old, who received a brief call-up in 2011 with the Mariners, has (like Nanita) spent parts of six seasons at the highest level of the minors.
  • Jhan Marinez, a 25-year-old righty, was released by the Tigers (also via the International League transactions page). Marinez, who has tossed 5 1/3 MLB innings in two brief stints, had worked to a disappointing 8.84 ERA in 18 1/3 frames at Triple-A Toledo, racking up 21 strikeouts but also 21 free passes on the year.
  • The Tigers have granted Nate Robertson his release, a team official told James Schmehl of MLive.com.   Robertson signed a minor league deal with Detroit a little over two months ago. Even though he was a mainstay in the Tigers’ rotation from 2004-2008, Robertson has been out of the major leagues since 2010. There was some hope that the 36-year-old, who has reinvented himself as a sidearming reliever, could fill the second lefty role in the Tigers’ pen.  However, he struggled with command for much of the season in Triple-A Toledo.
  • The Orioles announced that right-hander Evan Meek has cleared optional waivers and been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.  Meek was designated off of the 25-man roster yesterday but kept on the 40-man, but he could not be sent down without passing through revocable optional waivers first.  Through 11 2/3 big league innings, he has allowed nine earned runs and struck out nine against six free passes. Over 184 1/3 career innings, most of them with the Pirates, Meek has a 3.56 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Cubs Rumors: Samardzija, Soriano, Burnett

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The Cubs figure to be rather active this summer with plenty of arms that can be used as trade chips.   Ace Jeff Samardzija is obviously the biggest name in the group, but there’s also Jason Hammel, Nate Schierholtz, and Jose Veras.  Here’s more on Samardzija and other items out of Wrigley..

  • After netting what was generally considered to be the best package of the trade season in the Matt Garza trade last season, the bar figures to be very high for Samardzija, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required).  At the time Garza was traded, he was about ten weeks from qualifying for free agency. Samardzija, on the other hand, won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2015 season.  Samardzija also doesn’t have the injury history that Garza had.
  • Yankees veteran Alfonso Soriano understands Samardzija’s desire to win now, writes Jason Rubinstein of the New York Daily News.  Soriano, of course, left the Cubs last season via a July 26 trade after Chicago went into full rebuilding mode.
  • Free agent right hander Alex Burnett, who last pitched in the majors for the Cubs,  will throw for teams today in hopes of landing a deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.  Over 177 major league appearances, mostly with the Twins, Burnett owns a 4.70 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Rodriguez, Germano

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We’ll keep track of today’s outright assignments here..

  • Athletics first baseman Daric Barton cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento, according to Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter).  Barton, 28, has yet to repeat his outstanding 2010 campaign, when he played in 159 games and put up a .273/.393/.405 line while leading the league with 110 walks.
  • The Marlins announced that they have outrighted Henry Rodriguez to Triple-A New Orleans. Rodriguez, designated for assignment on Wednesday, displayed what have become typical command problems for him in 2014, walking five batters in just 1 2/3 innings pitched for the Fish.
  • The Rangers have outrighted Justin Germano to Triple-A Round Rock, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  Texas designated the right-hander for assignment on Wednesday to make room on the roster for Scott Baker.  Germano appeared in just two games for the Rangers, yielding seven runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. The veteran swingman has seen time in the Major Leagues in each of the past five seasons and owns a career 5.40 ERA in 330 innings pitched.

Astros Sign Kyle Farnsworth

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10:50am: Farnsworth can earn up to $1.2MM with the Astros if he hits all of his performance bonuses, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

10:38am: Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) confirms that it’s a big league deal.

10:24am: The Astros have signed Kyle Farnsworth, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (on Twitter).

Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter) cautioned everyone not to be surprised if the Astros wound up signing Farnsworth.  Houston, after all, is the team with the greatest need for the veteran as they have the highest bullpen ERA in the majors.

The Mets outrighted Farnsworth this week before his advance consent clause was set to lapse.  Had the Mets kept Farnsworth, they would have been on the hook for $750K for the rest of the season.  Rather than accept the assignment, the Barry Meister client elected free agency.

Prior to his release, Farnsworth, 38, served as the Mets’ closer at times and carried a 3.18 ERA through 17 innings. The veteran righty sports a 5.29 K/9 against 3.18 BB/9 to go with a 35.2% groundball rate on the year. That strikeout rate falls well below his career average of 8.80 K/9, continuing a precipitous decline in that mark in recent years. Over 977 career MLB innings, Farnsworth has a 4.24 ERA.

To make room for Farnsworth on the roster, Houston has optioned Paul Clemens to Triple-A.

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