MLBTR Originals
A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:
- In a special piece for MLBTR, Bradley Woodrum looked into which players have increased likelihood of having to undergo Tommy John surgery. From Derick Velazquez in January to Lance Lynn in November, there were 112 ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries requiring reconstructive surgery. Once a career-killer, UCL injuries have become a much more survivable injury, but they’re still obviously something to be avoided. We highly recommend that you read Woodrum’s in-depth article.
- In the latest edition of the MLBTR Mailbag, Steve Adams and Charlie Wilmoth were asked whether teams could organize a sign-and-trade deal involving a qualifying offer player. In addition to that, they touched on Khris Davis, Mark Melancon, Andrelton Simmons, Austin Jackson, and more.
- If you’ve listened to the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast before, we’d love your feedback. Please help us out and take this brief ten-question survey. A new episode of the podcast is released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
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Efren Navarro Elects Free Agency
The Orioles announced that Efren Navarro was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. The outfielder subsequently refused the assignment and elected free agency.
Navarro, 29, was designated for assignment by the Angels in January and later traded to the Orioles. Navarro has seen Major League action with the Angels in four of the past five seasons, totaling a .246/.303/.324 batting line in 280 plate appearances. He’s hit just one home run in that time, though he’s shown a bit more pop in the minors, where he is a .316/.378/.449 hitter with 32 home runs in 2344 plate appearances at Triple-A. Navarro didn’t hit much with the Angels, but he’s posted solid walk and strikeout rates (7.5 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively). He’s also graded out reasonably well in both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved at first base and in left field in his small samples of work at each position.
Navarro was slated to join the competition for corner outfield playing time in Baltimore but he’ll now seek an opportunity elsewhere.
Blue Jays To Sign Rafael Soriano
The Blue Jays announced that they have signed right-hander Rafael Soriano. The reliever is represented by Octagon, as shown in the MLBTR Agency Database. Soriano will earn $750K if he makes the major league roster, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
Soriano, 36, was said to be pitching well in the Dominican League and drew attention from a few MLB teams. The veteran missed most of the 2015 season, not signing until June and then dealing with shoulder troubles, and the Cubs released him in early September. Prior to that, however, he had two relatively successful seasons as the Nationals’ closer and was terrific in ninth-inning work for the Yankees in 2012.
Soriano has a 2.89 ERA, 9.1 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9 in 14 seasons spent with the Mariners, Braves, Rays, Yankees, Nationals, and Cubs. Prior to the 2015 season, Soriano was drawing interest from the Blue Jays, but ultimately did not sign with them. Now, he’ll try and crack the roster in Toronto for 2016.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bautista, Jansen, Teixeira
Here’s our weekly look around the baseball blogosphere:
- Jays From The Couch says Jose Bautista is in a stare-down with the Blue Jays.
- L.A. Dodger Report says the Dodgers should lock-up Kenley Jansen.
- The Bronx Bomber Blog says Mark Teixeira and Greg Bird can coexist.
- Wayniac Nation wonders if Miami can make the playoffs.
- Baseball Hot Corner is counting down the top 300 moments in MLB history.
- Redbird Rants made some preseason roster predictions.
- The Runner Sports discussed Colin Moran.
- Philliedelphia says Jimmy Rollins is confident after taking a minors deal.
- Sports Heaven wonders if the Brewers have made the right moves.
- Pirates Breakdown showed how the Bucs have hammered relievers.
- Think Blue PC projected Triple-A OKC’s rotation.
- Chin Music Baseball delved into Pablo Sandoval‘s weight issues.
- Gardy Goes Yardy projected Mark Teixeira‘s next five seasons.
- Bucs Raise It says the ’16 Pirates can be like the ’15 Mets.
- Dynasty Digest sees big things from Justin Verlander.
- Clubhouse Corner ran down some AL East call-up candidates.
- BBA is ready for the “zombie Cardinals.”
- Outside Pitch MLB says the Jay Bruce trade talk could start up again.
- Chris Zantow remembered a dark day in Brewers history.
- Baseball Essential ponders the Orioles’ new right field options.
- Pinstriped Prospects looked at the Bombers’ farm system.
- Motor City Bengals says Miguel Cabrera should be at first base.
- Brew Crew Ball caught up with Brewers prospect Gentry Fortuno.
- Blue Jays Musings is ready to enjoy Bautista.
- Jays Journal ID’d five Blue Jays storylines to watch.
Please send submissions to Zach Links at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Pirates, Gerrit Cole Haven’t Talked Multi-Year Extension
Over the weekend, Bucs ace Gerrit Cole made it known that he was unhappy about having his salary renewed for $541K. As it turns out, the Pirates haven’t talked to him about a more significant raise, either. The Pirates have not approached Cole about a multi-year extension, either in this year or in previous years, sources tell Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter).
[RELATED: Andrew McCutchen Wants To Spend Rest Of His Career With Pirates]
Cole, 25, turned in his best season yet for the Pirates in 2015. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft posted a 2.60 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 across 32 starts, earning his first All-Star nod and some votes for the NL Cy Young Award. Despite cementing himself as one of the game’s brightest young arms over the last three years, the team has not come to Cole to discuss a new, long-term pact that would buy out his arb years or add team control past the 2019 season.
The Pirates have, in recent years, been amongst the game’s most aggressive teams in pursuing early-career extensions. One has to wonder if the Pirates have been warded off by agent Scott Boras when it comes to discussing a new deal with their top pitcher, but it’s not as though Boras has never done a deal involving free agent years. As MLBTR’s Extension Tracker shows, Boras has negotiated deals involving free agent years with notable clients including Jered Weaver, Elvis Andrus, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Gonzalez, Carlos Pena, and Ryan Madson.
From the outside, one would imagine that Cole and outfielder Gregory Polanco represent the Pirates’ top extension priorities. In the past, the Pirates have had extension talks with Polanco and the two sides were reportedly close on reaching a deal. Even though those discussions seem to have been tabled, it’s evident that Pittsburgh is still in the business of working out multi-year extensions with its young talent. To date, however, that group does not include Cole.
NL Central Notes: Brewers, Reds, Bruce
Nine Brewers players will compete for the center field job, as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes. Newcomers Keon Broxton, Ramon Flores, Rymer Liriano, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Alex Presley, and Eric Young Jr. will vie for the opportunity alongside holdover such as Shane Peterson and top prospects Michael Reed and Brett Phillips over the course of Spring Training.
“It’s the center field job, and then it’s kind of the roster puzzle that you’re trying to figure out,” manager Craig Counsell said. “They’re related, certainly. There’s a number of players, and to go through all the scenarios now seems like a waste of time. You let it go, and it kind of narrows itself a little bit, and roster decisions become a little more clear, and the make-up of the roster starts to make sense. Other pieces might affect that. So, there’s a lot of moving parts on it. There’s a number of players who have an opportunity there.”
While we wait to see how the competition plays out, here’s more out of the NL Central:
- The Reds are being very cost conscious right now and GM Dick Williams says the motivation is to improve the team in the long run, as Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes. “We’re not saving to create a profit, we’re saving to invest in the future, for sure,” Williams said. “We’ve got the biggest amateur signing pool this year, when you combine domestic and international. We want to take full advantage of it. Obviously, there’s a lot of operational investments we’ll make as well. I talked about investing in the analytics and sports science. We’ll be investing in personnel, scouting personnel, new player development initiatives. I’ll be talking a lot about that over the course of this year as we roll things out, but we’ll put that money [to] work for sure.”
- Williams says nothing is close on the Reds possibly trading Jay Bruce or signing Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, as John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Rodriguez had previously been reported to have agreed to a bonus-pool-shattering $6MM agreement with the Reds, but president of baseball ops Walt Jocketty shot down those rumors shortly after they broke, and there’s been little in terms of new developments between the Reds and Rodriguez’s camp over the past month.
- After just one year in MLB, Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang is already setting an example for Korean players making the transition to the states, as Adam Berry of MLB.com writes. Kang, a teammate of new Twins DH Byung Ho Park in Korea, has helped to forge a path for Park and countryman Hyun Soo Kim, Berry writes. Kim, a longtime friend of Kang, explained to Berry that Kang’s success has instilled a sense of responsibility in him, stating that he has to carry on the example set by Kang in 2015 to show that elite Korean players can succeed in Major League Baseball.
MLBTR Originals
A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:
- All-Star Giants second baseman Joe Panik joined host Jeff Todd on this week’s edition of the MLBTR podcast. Panik discussed his offseason rehab from a back injury, the development of his power at the plate, and how his background as a finance major impacts how he follows contractual matters in baseball. He also shared fond memories of his time with retired teammates Jeremy Affeldt and Tim Hudson as well as a story of an influential conversation with teammate Hunter Pence early in his career. A new episode of the podcast is released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
- We’re now more than halfway through the month of February and David Freese finds himself still on the open market. Recently, MLBTR’s Steve Adams surveyed the market for the third baseman to try and find a fit. Freese has been a league-average or better bat throughout his career according to both OPS+ and wRC+, and he’s coming off a pair of seasons in Anaheim where he batted a combined .258/.322/.401 (106 OPS+, 108 wRC+). At the same time, there are reasons not to be so gung-ho about the veteran and many of the clubs with clear third base issues have taken care of that position already.
- In Tuesday’s chat, Steve fielded questions on the White Sox, Juan Uribe, the Khris Davis trade, and how to make the ideal mac and cheese.
- In the latest edition of the MLBTR Mailbag, Steve answered questions on the Cardinals, Braves, and the Orioles’ farm system.
- If you’re not already, you should be following MLB Trade Rumors on Instagram.
Nationals To Sign Juan Gutierrez
The Nationals will sign right-hander Juan Gutierrez to a minor league deal, according to MLBTR’s Steve Adams (on Twitter). The deal does not include an invite to Washington’s big league camp.
Gutierrez appeared in 114 games for the Royals, Angels and Giants over the 2013-14 seasons, posting a 4.08 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.47 K/BB rate over 119 relief innings. The 32-year-old was non-tendered by San Francisco following the 2014 season and re-signed with the team on a minor league deal, though he exercised a June 1 opt-out clause in his contract since he wasn’t on the Giants’ Major League roster. Gutierrez signed on with the Phillies and Nationals on minor league deals as well in 2015 but never cracked the bigs, ending up with a 3.98 ERA over 61 innings at the Triple-A level.
Tanner Scheppers To Miss Half Of Season
Rangers right-hander Tanner Scheppers has torn cartilage in his left knee and will miss at least the first half of the season, as The Associated Press writes. The veteran is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday.
Scheppers, 29, was a staple in the Rangers’ bullpen in 2013, pitching to a 1.88 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 across 76 appearances. However, injuries have slowed him down ever since. In 2014, Scheppers made only four starts and four relief appearances thanks to right elbow inflammation. In 2015, the reliever was hampered by his knee and a sprained right ankle, limiting him to only 42 outings and production that was not in line with his career best. In total, he posted a 5.63 ERA with 7. 5 K/9 and a sky-high 5.4 BB/9.
Scheppers was drafted by the Rangers in the first round (44th pick) of the 2009 amateur draft. He is not scheduled to reach arbitration until after the 2016 season and will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season.
AL East Notes: Dickey, Blue Jays, Orioles, Fowler
Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey revealed to reporters that he underwent surgery at the end of last year to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, as Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com tweets. Dickey was the subject of trade rumors over the winter but the club denied actively shopping him. It’s also not clear if the Blue Jays could have gotten much for the knuckleballer considering that he is entering his age-41 season, only under contract for 2016 and earning $12MM. News of Dickey’s knee surgery probably doesn’t do much to help his trade value going forward, either.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- Orioles veterans are happy to see the team continuing to make free-agent acquisitions, Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun writes. “He’s an awesome guy,” Hardy said of Yovani Gallardo, who was his teammate for a time. “Good pitcher. Obviously, you guys can see his numbers. He’s only had one losing season in, what is it, nine years? Great guy, great teammate. He’ll fit right in.” On Saturday night, the Orioles and Gallardo agreed to a three-year, $35MM deal with a $13MM club option for 2019.
- The Orioles haven’t landed Dexter Fowler yet, but Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com says the O’s might as well part with two picks in order to fill the 2016 team’s main holes in the rotation and outfield. Fowler would bring a capable leadoff hitter and table-setter with a healthy career on-base percentage and Melewski feels he would be well worth the draft pick compensation.
- After signing Gallardo, Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn’t sure what the corresponding 40-man move will be, but he says it won’t necessarily be a pitcher, as Rich Dubroff of CSNMidAtlantic tweets.