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Rosenthal’s Latest: Realmuto, Moustakas, Machado, Donaldson

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The Mets made repeated inquiries on Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto during the offseason, says Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic in a video tweet. They also asked the Marlins about Starlin Castro. However, at that point in the winter, the club had just traded Christian Yelich to the Brewers, and they had also unloaded the contracts of Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna; they weren’t looking to cut any more salary at that moment in time. While the Mets are prepared to roll with Tomas Nido and Jose Lobaton for now, Rosenthal suggests that the club could attempt to revisit Realmuto discussions at some point.

More from Rosenthal…

  • Although it’s early, Rosenthal suggests that Mike Moustakas looks like a hot trade candidate, citing his physical condition and low salary as selling points for the Royals third baseman. According to GM Dayton Moore, Moustakas is “running as well as he ever has.” Rosenthal figures that Kansas city will be among the most active trade deadline sellers in July, and could also dangle southpaw Danny Duffy, second baseman Whit Merrifield and closer Kelvin Herrera.
  • The shifting power structure of Orioles ownership might affect the way the club approaches a potential Manny Machado trade, should they end up willing to deal him. Peter Angelos was always opposed to making trades with the division-rival Yankees, but the younger Angelos’ might not place such a restriction on the concept. There are a number of other reasons to throw cold water on the idea of a Machado-to-Yankees swap, as Rosenthal notes, such as the presence of Brandon Drury and the Yankees’ possible focus on pitching. Still, the idea seems more plausible now that Peter Angelos’ sons are more active in the running of the club.
  • One rival executive estimates that there are “tens of millions” of dollars riding on the health of Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson’s shoulder. Rosenthal posits that the former AL MVP will be much less valuable as a free agent if there are questions surrounding his ability to play third base; much of his value lies in his defensive prowess. Being viewed as a first base/DH type for the bulk of his remaining career could eliminate some NL teams as suitors, and it doesn’t help that Donaldson is about to turn 33.

Orioles Place Jonathan Schoop On 10-Day DL, Recall Alex Cobb

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3:42PM: Schoop’s injury is a Grade 1 strain, manager Buck Showalter told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters, which is the least-serious type of oblique strain.

11:07AM: The Orioles announced that second baseman Jonathan Schoop has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a right oblique strain.  In a corresponding move, Alex Cobb was recalled from Double-A to take Schoop’s place on the roster, and Cobb will start this afternoon’s game in Boston.

Schoop suffered the injury last night during a swinging strikeout, and was removed from the game in the seventh inning.  He underwent an MRI this morning, and the results were apparently such that the Orioles felt it necessary for Schoop to take some time off to recover.  The severity of his oblique strain isn’t known, though since similar injuries have generally resulted in players missing at least a couple of weeks of action, the O’s could be without the slugger until the start of May.

Tim Beckham is Baltimore’s starting second baseman today, with Danny Valencia stepping in to take Beckham’s usual spot at third base.  Engelb Vielma was added to the 25-man roster a few days ago for further infield depth, so the O’s could get by with Valencia and Vielma filling in for Schoop on a short-term basis.  Ruben Tejada and Luis Sardinas are veteran infield options both on the farm, while top prospect Ryan Mountcastle is himself on the minor league DL recovering from a fractured right hand.

Over the long term, of course, Schoop’s absence is a big loss for an Orioles lineup that has had a lot of problems generating offense.  Schoop himself has contributed to these struggles, posting just a .230/.266/.344 slash line and one home run over his first 65 plate appearances of this young season, though he is coming off a breakout 2017 campaign that saw him hit 32 homers and finish 12 in AL MVP voting.  The O’s have been hit hard by the injury bug this year, with Schoop joining Mark Trumbo, Zach Britton, and Colby Rasmus on the DL.

Some type of roster move was expected today so the Orioles could create room for Cobb, as the right-hander will make his first start in the black-and-orange.  Cobb didn’t officially sign his four-year, $57MM deal until March 21, so he needed some extra preparation time in the minors to fully get ready for the season.

Latest On The Orioles’ Ownership/Front Office Dynamic

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“Virtually every level of the [Orioles] organization is in flux,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes in his latest subscription-only piece, as he describes how John and Lou Angelos (the sons of owner Peter Angelos) are taking an increasingly larger role in the team’s regular operations.  The elder Angelos “is less involved than at any point in his” 25 years of owning the team, Rosenthal notes, and it could mark significant changes in how the O’s do business in the coming seasons.  Most directly, the changes could impact executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter, both of whom are in the final years of their contracts.

Despite the Orioles’ success in Duquette’s tenure, there has long been speculation surrounding his future in Baltimore, particularly after the Blue Jays made a strong push to lure Duquette away in the 2014-15 offseason.  Duquette “is frustrated by his loss of power,” Rosenthal writes, as Lou Angelos, Showalter, and VP of baseball ops Brady Anderson also have significant voices within the team’s front office.  Anderson, in fact, “was the point man” in Baltimore’s signings of Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner, and Chris Tillman this offseason.

It isn’t clear what direction the Orioles will take if Duquette did leave after the season.  Anderson may prefer to remain in his somewhat undefined role (which hasn’t always pleased some past players and coaches) rather than become an official general manager, while it’s also possible Showalter could move into a front office role rather than continue in the dugout.  Sources within the organization aren’t sure if Showalter would prefer to keep managing or shift to a baseball operations position, though he could conceivably do both in some capacity — a GM would be hired to handle day-to-day business while Showalter acted as the de facto front office head while still managing the team.

Of course, much could also depend on the direction of the Orioles’ season, as the team could look to trade one or more of its prominent free agents (i.e. Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton, Brad Brach) if it falls out of contention.  A total rebuild seems unlikely, as Cobb just signed for four seasons and the O’s would still have a core group that includes Jonathan Schoop, Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Trey Mancini, and older veterans like Chris Davis.

Though John and Lou Angelos have been involved in a wide variety of the Orioles’ operations, “concerns exist in the industry about their ability to run a franchise” since Peter Angelos carried such a dominant role in the team’s business, Rosenthal writes. There are some indications, however, that the Angelos brothers’ influence is helping the franchise act in a more efficient way.  For instance, since the owner’s approval is no longer constantly required, some of the decision-making process has gone from “painstakingly slow” to “more streamlined.”  Some in the front office feel that the new direction will lead to the Orioles spending more on young talent pipelines such as the international signing process, which the O’s have (somewhat notoriously) almost entirely avoided in recent years — sources tell Rosenthal that “Peter Angelos never found anyone he trusted to run the international department.”

Orioles Return Rule 5 Pick Nestor Cortes To Yankees

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The Orioles have returned Rule 5 selection Nestor Cortes to the Yankees, per a club announcement. The southpaw was designated for assignment recently.

Cortes took a spot on the Opening Day roster but coughed up four runs on ten hits and four walks in his 4 2/3 innings to begin the season. That led the O’s to part with the second of their three Rule 5 picks this season. Only righty Pedro Araujo remains among this year’s picks.

The Yanks will pay $50K to their division rivals to take back the rights to Cortes, who will not need to be added to the 40-man roster. He will try to pick back up where he left off in an impressive 2017 season, when he spent most of the season in the upper minors and ended with a 2.06 ERA over 104 2/3 total innings.

AL East Notes: Poyner, Walden, Rays, Jones

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The Red Sox announced this morning that left-hander Bobby Poyner has been placed on the 10-day DL due to a strained left hamstring incurred in last night’s game. He’ll be replaced on the 25-man roster by righty Marcus Walden, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket for his second stint with the Red Sox in the young season. Poyner, 25, surprised many by forcing his way onto the Opening Day roster with a terrific Spring Training effort, and he’s done nothing to make that decision look questionable through his first seven innings. The former 14th-rounder has allowed just a run on eight hits and a walk with eight strikeouts through those seven frames in his MLB debut, and his absence will leave Brian Johnson as the lone southpaw in Boston’s bullpen. As for Walden, the 29-year-old made his big league debut with five innings of two-run ball spread across three relief appearances earlier this season. Just three years ago, Walden was pitching on the independent circuit in search of a return to affiliated ball.

More from the AL East…

  • Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal spoke to multiple Rays officials and players about the team’s unconventional pitching staff in 2018. Tampa Bay opened the year with just three starters in its rotation and a plan to patch together the would-be fourth and fifth spots in their rotation with an ongoing series of bullpen days. While some have questioned the wisdom of the decision, Diamond notes that the bullpen days thus far haven’t been the team’s downfall; rather, shaky performances from Chris Archer, Blake Snell and Jake Faria have hampered the Rays’ results. “If we occupy the wake of both the Yankees and Boston and our behavior is aligned with theirs, we’re never going to step out and pass them — ever,” one anonymous official tells Diamond. GM Erik Neander, meanwhile, acknowledges that his team’s plan may not pan out but assures that quite a bit of thinking went into the matter. As for the Rays’ players, Chris Archer and rookie left-hander Ryan Yarbrough were among those to voice their support of the system to Diamond.
  • Orioles center fielder Adam Jones sat down with Bill Ladson of MLB.com for a Q&A in which the two discussed his impending free agency and the possibility of a midseason trade if things don’t go well in Baltimore. Asked what it would take for him to stay in Baltimore, Jones suggests his focus in free agency will be winning in the long term. Baltimore’s offseason signings of Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb to multi-year deals “showed that we are going to make a commitment to pitching,” Jones noted in praising the front office. The longtime O’s cornerstone did note that his family lives on the West Coast, though he emphasized that he wasn’t so much voicing a preference to head west as acknowledging that he has alternatives if things don’t work out in Baltimore. Regarding a potential trade, Jones pointed out that he has 10-and-5 rights which would allow him to the right to refuse any deal and said it’d have to be a decision he made with his wife. Jones adds that he hopes to play until age 40, and he also talks with Ladson about his love for the city of Baltimore, his post-playing plans and the times in which he’s had to deal with racism throughout his career. The conversation is well worth a full read.

Injury Notes: Price, Shoemaker, Ervin, Trumbo, Yankees

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Red Sox left-hander David Price exited tonight’s game after one inning for what the team called “precautionary” reasons due to a “sensation” in his left hand (Twitter link via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). It was a night to forget for the lefty, who was hammered for four runs on three hits (one homer) and a pair of walks in his lone inning before being replaced by rookie southpaw Bobby Poyner. Elbow problems cost Price a substantial portion of the 2017 season, but he’d kicked off the 2018 campaign with a pair of scoreless, seven-inning gems against the Rays. Presumably, the Sox will have further updates on his condition after tonight’s game and/or tomorrow morning.

Some more injury news from around baseball…

  • The Angels announced tonight that right-hander Matt Shoemaker has been shut down for “a few weeks.” Shoemaker, on the DL for a forearm strain, underwent an EMG and a “nerve conduction study,” though the tests revealed no nerve irritation, per the announcement. Shoemaker is “treatment only” at this time as he awaits further testing. The Halos’ pitching staff has been hammered by injuries over the past couple of seasons, and they’ve already lost right-hander J.C. Ramirez for the season, as he’s likely to undergo Tommy John surgery to repair ligament damage in his right elbow. The Angels are on the verge of getting Andrew Heaney back, but they’ve already had to turn to 21-year-old prospect Jaime Barria, who is making his big league debut tonight. At present, it seems as if the Angels will deploy Shohei Ohtani, Garrett Richards, Tyler Skaggs and Heaney in their rotation moving forward, with righties Barria, Parker Bridwell and Nick Tropeano on hand as additional options. However, the loss of Ramirez and now an absence of undetermined length for Shoemaker, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Angels keep an eye out for some pitching depth.
  • Right-hander Ervin Santana has been cleared to begin a throwing program, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Twins’ top starter, Santana has yet to pitch in 2018 after undergoing surgery to repair his right middle finger back in February. At last check, skipper Paul Molitor conceded that Santana was “a bit” behind schedule, though the start of a throwing program is a positive step for the 35-year-old. Berardino notes that Santana could require as much as six weeks to get back up to speed, however, so it seems as through the Twins will be without his contributions until at least mid-May.
  • The Orioles have halted Mark Trumbo’s rehab assignment, manager Buck Showalter told reporters, including Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. While Showalter wouldn’t state that Trumbo had a setback, he did reveal that Trumbo “wasn’t quite comfortable” going full speed in the first game of a rehab stint with Double-A Bowie. The team didn’t provide a new timeline for Trumbo. Pedro Alvarez and Danny Valencia figure to continue platooning at the DH spot in his absence.
  • It appears as though Aaron Hicks has completed his rehab assignment. The outfielder tells reporters that he’s excited to rejoin the Yankees tomorrow (Twitter link Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune). Hicks walked and doubled in his second Triple-A rehab game tonight. He’s been out for two weeks with an intercostal strain that he suffered in the season opener. Meanwhile, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweeted yesterday that Jacoby Ellsbury will be shut down for 72 hours after receiving a cortisone shot in his ailing hip, so it seems the Yankees will likely have an update on him later this week once he attempts to resume baseball activities.

Orioles Designate Nestor Cortes

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The Orioles have designated lefty Nestor Cortes for assignment, per a club announcement. The team promoted righty Yefry Ramirez to take his place on the active roster.

Cortes was taken from the Yankees in the 2017 Rule 5 draft. If he clears waivers, he’ll be offered back to the New York organization for a $50K sum, which the Yankees will all but assuredly pay. Regardless, the O’s have opened an additional 40-man spot for the time being.

The 23-year-old Cortes was one of two Rule 5 picks the O’s made back in December and one of three players with Rule 5 restrictions to crack the Opening Day roster. Baltimore also selected Pedro Araujo out of the Cubs organization, and outfielder Anthony Santander still comes with Rule 5 status for the first 44 days of the 2018 season after spending the bulk of the 2017 season on the disabled list.

Cortes appeared in four games for the Orioles and was tagged for four runs on 10 hits and four walks with three strikeouts through 4 2/3 innings of relief. Last year with the Yankees, he logged an impressive 2.06 ERA in 104 total innings between Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A, while averaging a strikeout per inning and just 2.8 walks per nine frames.

AL East Notes: Rasmus, Drury, Rays

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Some items from around the AL East…

  • The Orioles placed outfielder Colby Rasmus on the 10-day DL due to a left hip flexor strain, the team announced prior to today’s game.  Right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis was called up from Triple-A to take Rasmus’ spot on the active roster.  Rasmus has battled hip problems in the past, and the latest injury apparently was caused several days ago when he was hit in the hip with a cleat.  This could account for Rasmus’ slow start to the year, as he has just two hits in his first 23 plate appearances for the O’s.  Rasmus’ injury will cost Baltimore one of the few left-handed bats in their lineup; switch-hitter Anthony Santander is now likely to get more playing time in right field against right-handed pitching.
  • Brandon Drury has been bothered with migraines and blurred vision since early in Spring Training, the Yankees third baseman told reporters (including the New York Post’s Zach Braziller).  Drury was placed on the 10-day DL due to the problem, which led him to be removed from Friday night’s game against the Orioles.  This newest issue seems to be the latest manifestation of an ongoing problem for Drury, as he told the team last night that he has been dealing with similar symptoms for the last six years.  This came as news to the Yankees, according to GM Brian Cashman — Drury was known to have suffered a migraine while playing for the Diamondbacks in 2016, though an MRI at the time came back clean.  Cashman said that Drury will receive “an entire assessment” on Monday: “All I care about is finding out what’s going on.  He’s in a great city and we’ll give him the best medical care that New York City has to offer.  I can’t say what my level of concern is at this point.”
  • The Rays’ plan to use a three-man rotation and frequent “bullpen days” to fill the remaining starts has already run into obstacles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Nathan Eovaldi’s injury thinned the rotation from a four-man unit down to just three regular starters, and any lack of effectiveness from the established rotation members creates a ripple effect of usage for the rest of the week.  Topkin’s piece was written prior to today’s game, though it represents a perfect example — starter Jake Faria lasted just 1 2/3 innings in a 10-3 loss to the Red Sox, forcing the bullpen to eat a lot of innings.  (Infielder Daniel Robertson was even called in for an inning of mop-up work.)  The lack of flexibility has also impacted how the Rays use their short and long relievers.  Topkin feels that making multi-inning reliever Yonny Chirinos into a full-time starter would help add more stability to the pitching situation.

AL East Notes: Machado, Cobb, Ellsbury, Sabathia, McKay

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Faced with questions about his free agent plans next winter, Orioles shortstop Manny Machado mostly declined to offer much insight — and didn’t take the bait when asked about playing in New York. As Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun was among those to report, though, Machado did reiterate that he is only interested in signing as a shortstop, which is certainly notable given that he has just moved back to his accustomed position after lining up at third to this point in his MLB career. His decision to press for a return to short wasn’t about future financial considerations, Machado added. Rather, he says that’s “just where my heart is and has always been.”

Here’s more from Baltimore and the rest of the AL East:

  • Orioles righty Alex Cobb is now planning to take another outing in extended spring training on Monday, as Meoli further reports. While there had been some suggestion he might be activated at the end of the weekend, it seems Cobb prefers to continue a measured build-up before going at full bore. The Baltimore rotation could use an early season shot in the arm, which is why Cobb was signed in the first place, though clearly there’s little sense in rushing him onto the mound with a long season (and three more seasons under contract) still ahead.
  • The Yankees may be cool again, but they are dealing with some hip issues in the season’s early going. Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is now slated to visit a specialist to address a problem that arose while he was already on the DL, as Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports (Twitter  links). And veteran lefty CC Sabathia is slated for an MRI on his right hip after leaving his start early today with some soreness. The Yankees aren’t yet in desperate straights from an injury perspective, but have already endured enough dents and dings that they have had to dip into much of their best depth options already. Starting pitching is perhaps the area the team can least afford to endure any major losses, though at this point there’s no reason at all to think Sabathia will miss time.
  • While it wasn’t clear just how hard the Rays and Brendan McKay would push for the recent first-rounder to make it to the majors as a two-way player, that certainly seems to be the current intention. As Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes, though, plenty of uncertainty still remains. McKay impressed more on the hill than at the plate in his 2017 short-season debut, though as Topkin rightly notes, the real test will come in performing both functions in full-season ball. His dual developmental course has already required some attentive scheduling and — given that it is largely unprecedented — is likely to trigger some novel questions over the years to come. The piece is well worth a full read, not only for Rays fans but for anyone who’d like to learn more about this interesting experiment as it really gets underway.

AL East Notes: JDM, Red Sox, Cobb, Gausman, Hicks

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In an interesting look back at recent history, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com explores the Red Sox’ decision-making process on finding a big bat over the just-concluded offseason. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says the organization zeroed in from the outset on J.D. Martinez, despite knowing it could take a big salary to get a deal done. Giancarlo Stanton’s no-trade rights mostly took him out of consideration, says Dombrowski, while Marcell Ozuna came with too high a prospect price tag — reflecting his value as an outfielder, not just a DH, which was the Sox’ primary need.

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • Red Sox top prospects Jay Groome and Michael Chavis will open the season on the disabled list, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Groome, 19, is dealing with a mild flexor strain that is similar to the injury that hampered him in 2017, though farm director Ben Crockett tells Speier that the injury isn’t serious in nature, calling it “pretty mild overall” and noting that Groome has already been symptom-free for “several days.” Chavis, 22, is dealing with an oblique strain that he suffered back in February. He’s begun swinging a bat, however, and could get into extended spring games next week.
  • Alex Cobb is nearing readiness to join the Orioles, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. It seems likely he’ll take the ball on Monday, though that won’t be finalized until the weekend. Baltimore skipper Buck Showalter said the club is mostly allowing Cobb to drive the process while understandably preferring to “err on the side of caution.” Trusting the veteran hurler but maintaining a conservative approach seems wise given Cobb’s health history and the team’s $57MM investment.
  • Orioles fans will certainly also want to check out this lengthy chat between righty Kevin Gausman and the Sun’s Jon Meoli. The talented 27-year-old has not quite turned the corner to being a front-line starter, despite showing hints of it at times. He’s now entering an important season in which he’ll try to bounce back from a messy 2017 showing in advance of his final two arb-eligible campaigns. Likewise, VP of baseball ops Brady Anderson recently joined the podcast of MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. He discussed how his history as a player helped spur his current career, as he began his post-playing involvement in the game by helping his former teammates. Though he’s hardly the only former player with a prominent executive role, Anderson is somewhat unusual in that he still gets down on the field quite a bit.
  • Aaron Hicks is confident that he can return to the active roster in time for the Yankees’ upcoming series against the Red Sox, which begins next Tuesday, writes MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Beyond that, while recently claimed Trayce Thompson is initially reporting to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, skipper Aaron Boone tells Hoch that the optional assignment “doesn’t mean he won’t become an option very soon.”
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