Orioles Rumors

AL East Notes: Bourn, Biagini, Shelton, Swihart

By Mark Polishuk | February 26, 2017 at 12:48pm CDT

It was on this day 82 years ago that the Yankees released franchise icon Babe Ruth, who immediately signed a $20K contract to join the Boston Braves for the 1935 season. Over 2084 games and 9199 plate appearances in a Yankee uniform, Ruth hit an astounding .349/.484/.711 with 659 home runs, literally transforming the sport of baseball along the way. Even in 1934, battling a number of injuries in his age-39 season, Ruth still posted a .985 OPS and 22 homers over 472 PA. Ruth played just 28 games for the Braves in 1935 before ending his incomparable career. Here’s some more from around the AL East…

Michael Bourn is expected to miss four weeks recovering from a broken finger, which MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko notes could actually help the Orioles’ chances of keeping Bourn in the organization. Bourn’s minor league deal with the O’s contained an opt-out date for March 27, so given his current injury timeline, he won’t have much chance to play before making his decision.
The early word out of the Blue Jays spring camp was that Joe Biagini was going to be stretched out as a starting pitcher, though manager John Gibbons told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) today that the team still intends to use Biagini as a reliever. With Mat Latos in the fold on a minor league deal, the Jays don’t have quite the same need for rotation depth as earlier in the offseason, so Biagini may only be stretched as far as three-inning stints for his spring outings. “It’s something we’re playing with because everyone’s intrigued by what he can do as a starter, but right now he’s so valuable to us in the bullpen,” Gibbons said. After Toronto picked him away from the Giants organization in last year’s Rule 5 draft, Biagini surprisingly emerged as a very good bullpen option for the Jays last season, posting a 3.06 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 3.26 K/BB rate over 67 2/3 innings.
In another piece from Nicholson-Smith, he looks at Derek Shelton’s new role as the Blue Jays’ quality control coach. The wide-ranging (and still-evolving) position will see Shelton work with players, coaches and the front office on everything from incorporating analytics to improving information-sharing between the various team departments. Shelton spent the last 12 seasons as hitting coach for the Rays and Indians before being hired by Toronto this winter, and he is one of only five quality control coaches currently employed by MLB teams.
With Blake Swihart facing a tough path to playing time as a catcher, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald wonders why the Red Sox didn’t experiment with Swihart at third base. Swihart has long been cited for his athletic ability and his potential to play all over the diamond, and the Sox are facing uncertainty at the hot corner as Pablo Sandoval attempts to revive his career. As president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski explained, however, the Red Sox have Rafael Devers as the top future prospect at third, and Swihart is more valuable as a long-term piece for Boston if he can stick behind the plate. “I think Blake has a chance to be, with the type of offensive capabilities and athletic capabilities he has, if he can make that transition on a permanent basis to catching, that’s a real plus for the organization….Then as we go into the future, if he can be our catcher for us, he can be our catcher for a lengthy time period,” Dombrowski said.

Orioles Release T.J. McFarland

By Mark Polishuk | February 26, 2017 at 12:33pm CDT

TODAY: The Orioles have officially released McFarland, as per a team announcement. The southpaw cleared release waivers and can now be signed by any club.

FEBRUARY 19: The Orioles have designated left-hander T.J. McFarland for assignment, as per a club press release. The move creates a 40-man roster spot for the newly-acquired Vidal Nuno.

McFarland, 27, posted a 6.93 ERA over 24 2/3 relief innings for the Orioles last season, despite recording a 60.2% grounder rate. Always an extreme groundball pitcher who didn’t miss many bats (a 60.7% career GBR, 5.67 career K/9), McFarland recorded just seven strikeouts in 2016, and issued more walks (10) than strikeouts.

McFarland avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $685K deal with the O’s for the coming season, and he still has two remaining years of arb-eligibility. The lefty is also out of options, and CSNBaltimore.com’s Rich Dubroff speculates that McFarland is likely to pass through waivers and potentially stay with the Orioles, if no longer on the 40-man roster. Though any number of teams are looking to add left-handed relief options, McFarland has only solid numbers (.280/.326/.395) against left-handed hitters over his career, so clubs may look for southpaws with more extreme splits.

AL Notes: Yankees, Bourn, Zunino

By charliewilmoth | February 25, 2017 at 4:03pm CDT

Analytics plays an increasingly important role in player acquisition decisions, but team chemistry might be even more important now than it once was, Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff. It’s especially important not to introduce a problem player into the mix, Cashman says. “20 years ago, you can bring anybody in and survive that,” he opines. “Now I don’t think it’s as easy — with social media, TMZ and stuff like that. Because you’re too busy instead of talking about the game and the results and the competition, you’re too busy talking about something that’s going on off the field or not game-related constantly. It’s a pain. It’s a problem.” There are, however, still unknowns in determining what sorts of players can become problems — Cashman says that, for example, one can’t know beforehand which players will suddenly become less interested in the game after setting themselves up for life with a big contract. Here’s more from the American League.

Orioles outfielder Michael Bourn has a broken ring finger on his right hand and will miss the next four weeks, Roch Kubatko of MASN writes ( Twitter links). Bourn injured the finger yesterday while catching a football as part of a team workout. Bourn, of course, recently signed a minor-league deal to return to the Orioles, and he stood a decent chance of making their Opening Day roster. It remains to be seen how Bourn’s injury will affect his chances of making the team, and how his situation will be impacted by his opt-out, which allows him to leave the Orioles in late March if he isn’t added to their big-league roster.
Former No. 3 overall pick Mike Zunino’s big-league career hasn’t gone as anticipated, with a .195/.262/.370 through 1,247 career plate appearances in the Majors. Zunino’s downward spiral even included a demotion to Triple-A Tacoma last season. He remains upbeat about his future, and now says the demotion actually helped him, as Larry Stone of the Seattle Times writes. “[I]t was exactly what I needed at the time,” says Zunino. “You never want to take a step backwards, but sometimes that can let you take two steps forward. It really felt that way. Being able to go down to Triple-A, be able to have some success and being called back up, you feel that sense that you earned your way back up.” In Seattle, Zunino says, he had a number of coaches giving him hitting advice, whereas in Tacoma he worked only with that affiliate’s hitting coach, Scott Brosius, who helped him re-think his approach. This year, Brosius is on the Mariners’ big-league coaching staff, and Zunino thinks he’ll also benefit from the presence of veteran backup Carlos Ruiz, who the M’s acquired in a trade this winter.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/25/17

By charliewilmoth | February 25, 2017 at 2:12pm CDT

Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

The Orioles have re-signed shortstop Paul Janish to a minor-league deal with a Spring Training invite, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com tweets. Incumbent O’s shortstop J.J. Hardy has had back issues lately, but Buck Showalter told reporters, including MASN’s Roch Kubatko (via Twitter), that Janish’s re-signing is not related to Hardy’s status. The 34-year-old Janish appeared in 14 games with the Orioles in each of the past two seasons, but has spent most of the last two years with Triple-A Norfolk, where he batted .248/.333/.280 in 2016.
Orioles lefty T.J. McFarland has cleared outright waivers and been placed on release waivers, Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The Orioles designated McFarland for assignment when they officially acquired Vidal Nuno from the Dodgers. The Orioles remain interested in McFarland but would like to re-sign him for less than the $685K they would have had to pay him after settling with him for that sum in January, Kubatko tweets. McFarland has just over three years of service time and would have been eligible for arbitration had he and the Orioles not settled. The reliever is coming off a disappointing season in which he posted a 6.93 ERA with ten walks and just seven strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings in the big leagues.

Braves Claim Christian Walker From Orioles

By charliewilmoth | February 25, 2017 at 1:18pm CDT

The Braves have claimed 1B/OF Christian Walker from the Orioles, the Orioles have announced. The O’s designated Walker for assignment last week when they acquired Richard Bleier from the Yankees.

Walker was once a well-regarded prospect in the Orioles’ system, winning the team’s minor league player of the year award after a strong 2014 season spent mostly at Double-A Bowie. He has since struggled to get much traction at Triple-A Norfolk, however, batting a decent but modest .264/.321/.437 there last season. Walker had little chance at a roster spot with the Orioles once the team re-signed Mark Trumbo this past winter.

Walker does, however, have an option remaining, and he’s relatively young, at 25. While his Triple-A numbers haven’t been impressive, they also haven’t been horrific, so it seems possible he could yet emerge as a viable big-leaguer with a bit of improvement. If he does, his ability to play both first base and left field should give the Braves or some other organization at least a couple ways to use him. The Braves, of course, have Freddie Freeman at first, but it’s possible to see Walker helping the team out as a backup and in the outfield (where he could potentially serve as a right-handed caddy for Nick Markakis) at some point this season.

Heyman’s Latest: Villar, Lucroy, Tigers Veterans, Utley, Weaver, Lincecum, Clevenger

By Jeff Todd | February 23, 2017 at 1:43pm CDT

After grading every team’s offseason, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag provided a bevy of information on a variety of situations around the league in his latest notes post. Some is mostly of historical interest, and there’s lots more in the article, but these are some of the highlights with transactional ties:

The Brewers “floated” an extension offer to infielder Jonathan Villar, says Heyman, but he wasn’t interested. The club’s initial offer, at least, would only have guaranteed him around $20MM. While Villar had a relatively undistinguished career before landing in Milwaukee, he was rather excellent last year and hasn’t yet turned 26. On the other hand, he won’t reach arbitration eligibility until next fall and still has to prove he can repeat that effort. Though Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio may have been willing to green-light pursuit of Matt Wieters, it seems that the front office wasn’t enthusiastic about that possibility.
While the Rangers haven’t yet opened extension talks with catcher Jonathan Lucroy, it’s still expected that a deal will at least be explored. GM Jon Daniels has acknowledged as much, though it’s unclear just when the discussions will get underway. If nothing comes together, Lucroy promises to be one of the game’s most widely pursued free agents next winter. Texas, of course, is also chatting with starter Yu Darvish and second baseman Rougned Odor.
The Dodgers explored a deal with the Tigers involving star righty Justin Verlander, per Heyman, who notes that “nothing got close.” Verlander’s hefty salary obligations were considered a barrier, though it seems his no-trade protection may not have been. The veteran righty has suggested he’d be amenable to consider a swap, and his relationship with Kate Upton would likely make Los Angeles an appealing destination. While the Dodgers have a quite a few starters on hand, it’ll be interesting to see whether the pursuit of the resurgent Verlander is rejoined at some point.
Speaking of the Tigers, the organization evidently considered quite a few other deals before largely holding pat. The Mets “seriously discussed” giving up Michael Conforto for the final season of control over star slugger J.D. Martinez, but ultimately backed down. While the Astros reportedly checked in on Miguel Cabrera, they were asking for “more than half of the $150 million remaining on Cabrera’s contract” to be paid by Detroit and apparently never offered enough for the front office to bring a deal to ownership. And both the Twins and Padres made inquiries on shortstop Jose Iglesias, but clearly nothing developed with either team.
Though the Indians had real interest in Chase Utley, the team’s offer was shy of the ultimately successful bid from the Dodgers. Still, it seems that Cleveland very nearly landed him before L.A. “stepped in late,” per Heyman.
While the Reds have said they are done adding to their MLB roster, Heyman suggests the organization could make a play for some of the veteran pitchers still available. Cincinnati may even have outbid the Padres for Jered Weaver, who earned $3MM, though it’s not clear whether the club ever did so.
Veteran righty Tim Lincecum is drawing some interest as he prepares for a showcase, according to Heyman, though surely he won’t draw as much intrigue as he did last year. It’s unclear what’s next for catcher Steve Clevenger, who has attempted to rehabilitate his image in an interview with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. His former team, the Orioles, at least considered offering him a minor-league pact, but ultimately decided against it.

AL Notes: Romney, Brantley, Hamilton, O’s, Frazier, Red Sox

By Jeff Todd | February 23, 2017 at 12:20pm CDT

After moving on from a potential effort to buy the Marlins, Mitt Romney and his family are eyeing the purchase of a share of the Yankees, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. In this case, though, the high-profile politician and businessman would only be looking at obtaining a small portion of the franchise’s highly valuable ownership stake.

Here’s more from the American League:

There’s ongoing concern in the Indians organization regarding the health of outfielder Michael Brantley, Heyman futher reports. Though Cleveland is expressing at least some degree of optimism publicly, the most important steps remain to be taken. Hopes that Brantley could be ready to take the field on Opening Day “have waned just a tad,” says Heyman, though clearly the most important issue isn’t so much when he’s ready as it is ensuring that there isn’t another major setback when he does return to action.
It seems that Josh Hamilton will be able to resume his quest to crack the Rangers roster, as he T.R. Sullivan was among those to tweet that a knee exam yesterday revealed no new structural damage. For the time being, it seems, the discomfort will slow him down somewhat, though presumably he’ll be back in action as soon as the oft-injured joint allows.
The Orioles continue to receive positive signs on two key pitchers who are dealing with some early-spring health questions, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter links). Though Zach Britton still has “a little discomfort in [his] left side,” he says it’s getting better. And starter Chris Tillman says that his right shoulder “feels great” as he continues to throw long toss. It’s not yet clear when the two hurlers will get back on the mound.
White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier, meanwhile, is dealing with what he describes as a minor oblique issue, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports. Frazier, who is considered day-to-day for the time being, says he’ll likely just sit for a few days while the tightness hopefully subsides. “It’s something I’ve dealt with before,” says Frazier, who remains a potential trade chip in his final year of team control. “But at the same time, from what I’ve heard they’re not anything to mess with. So let’s take a couple days and see how it is after a couple days and go from there.”
As the Red Sox have moved to cash in prospect assets for talented major leaguers since the arrival of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, the remaining young players have seemingly taken on added importance to the club’s future. As Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes, the Sox refused to part with third baseman Rafael Devers in the deal that ultimately netted Chris Sale. He and first baseman Sam Travis — who missed a significant chunk of 2016 due to knee surgery — aren’t expected to head north with the club out of camp, but could play a major role not long from now. As Dombrowski observes: “The best clubs are constantly breaking in young players on a consistent basis, year in, year out. And you also need it from a cost basis perspective.”

Orioles Re-Sign Michael Bourn

By Jeff Todd | February 22, 2017 at 5:17pm CDT

FEB. 22: Bourn’s deal also comes with up to $3.5MM worth of incentives based on plate appearances, reports Crasnick (Twitter link). In total, the contract can max out at $5.5MM with enough playing time.

FEB. 20: The Orioles have reached agreement on a contract with outfielder Michael Bourn, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com first reported (via Twitter). It’s a minor-league pact that comes with a camp invite, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. Bourn would earn $2MM if he cracks the MLB roster, per Heyman.

Bourn, who is a client of Lagardere Sports, will have a chance to opt out of his deal if he isn’t added to the 40-man late in camp, though there’s a bit of discord on the date. ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) has it as March 25th, while Kubatko tweets that it’s actually the 27th. Regardless, the veteran will be able to seek greener pastures if the team decides not to commit to him.

At 34 years of age, Bourn is no longer the player he once was when starring in center field for the Braves. But he showed that there’s still some gas left in the tank during his stint late last year with the O’s, earning plaudits from the Baltimore front office and field staff.

Over 55 plate appearances in Baltimore, Bourn slashed .283/.358/.435 and drew six walks against nine strikeouts. Those numbers compared favorably to his best full seasons in the majors, when he was rarely much more than a league-average hitter but nonetheless added significant value with the glove and on the bases.

Of course, that’s rather a small sample, and the broader recent picture isn’t as favorable. Bourn’s offensive production has lagged since he signed on with the Indians in advance of the 2013 season, and he has struggled in particular over the last two seasons.

Even if it would be optimistic to expect Bourn’s late-2016 work at the plate to carry over, there’s reason to hope he can make a strong contribution. The veteran still rates well on the bases, and rates as at least a roughly average fielder. While the O’s already have two lefty platoon outfielders penciled into their roster, Seth Smith and Hyun Soo Kim, neither is capable of playing center. Bourn figures to compete with Joey Rickard and minor-league signees Craig Gentry and Logan Schafer for a bench spot in camp.

Injury Notes: Elbow Therapy, Hamilton, Britton, Cishek, Wright, Wheeler, Braves, Gibson

By Jeff Todd | February 22, 2017 at 10:09am CDT

With elbow health continuing to generate headlines, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports takes a look at the variety of new treatments — generally grouped under the header of orthobiologics — that pitchers, teams, and medical professionals have turned to in an effort to avoid the necessity of going under the knife. Stem-cell therapy and platelet-rich plasma treatments are now increasingly being deployed throughout the game, though it remains to be seen whether they’ll prove effective. You’ll certainly want to give this piece a full read to understand the state of the science. Those interested in the general subject will also want to read up on the surgical alternatives to the traditional Tommy John approach to torn ulnar collateral ligaments, as we recently discussed here.

Here’s the latest on some injury and health matters around the league:

Veteran Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton is headed for a visit with his surgeon after feeling pain in his recently repaired left knee, as Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report on Twitter. It’s unclear as yet how serious a concern the latest knee issue is, though it’s far from the first time that Hamilton has dealt with problems in that joint. The 35-year-old, who last appeared in 2015, is in camp on a minor-league deal. He has been expected to compete for a reserve role as a left-handed-hitting option in the corner outfield, at first base, or in the DH slot.
There’s promising news on Orioles closer Zach Britton’s potential oblique issues, which came to light yesterday. He told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (links to Twitter), that he’s not overly concerned with the issue and would still be available to throw were it the regular season. Britton’s comments largely echo those made yesterday by manager Buck Showalter, serving to further reduce the volume on the alarm bells. The key southpaw adds that he finds it encouraging that he has not experienced any pain while throwing.
Mariners righty Steve Cishek has picked up a ball for the first time since his hip surgery last fall, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports. For now, he’ll only throw lightly off of flat ground every other day, though hopefully he’ll ramp up from there. “It felt pretty good, surprisingly,” said Cishek. “There’s some discomfort, but the joint has to get used to that motion again. I was surprised how good it actually felt.”
Likewise, Mets third baseman David Wright is only beginning to throw the ball, though in his case too it represents an important first step. As Mike Puma of the New York Post reports, manager Terry Collins says it’s likely that Wright won’t take to the field until the middle of March as he continues to work back slowly from serious back and neck issues. Wright is expected to receive opportunities to hit, likely on the minor-league side of camp, in the interim. New York is understandably taking a cautious approach to the veteran. While it still seems unlikely he’ll be ready for Opening Day, the hope may be that he can return to strength in time for MLB action in a relatively early stage of the coming season.
Mets righty Zack Wheeler is back on the bump and was able to throw thirty pitches today without incident, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News tweets. He, too, will surely be handled with kid gloves after a slower-than-hoped return from Tommy John surgery and some elbow discomfort earlier this month. It’s a good sign that Wheeler has been able to return to the mound relatively swiftly, though it remains anyone’s guess just how much the club will get from him in 2017.
There’s some cautious optimism in Braves camp about the health of lefty Paco Rodriguez, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Though Rodriguez “has understandably shown occasional signs of rust” as he works back from his own TJ procedure, writes Bowman, the health signs have been encouraging. Atlanta agreed to a $637,500 salary with Rodriguez to avoid arbitration, seemingly leveraging the possibility of a non-tender to secure a deal that fell below MLBTR’s projection of $900K.
Likewise, Braves righty Dan Winkler is attempting a return, though in his case it’s from a somewhat scarier elbow fracture, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains. The 27-year-old, who had already battled back from Tommy John surgery, faced a much different recovery process after his second procedure. Now, he’s working on refining his delivery to avoid future problems. Because of the time he’s missed, the 2014 Rule 5 draftee still must stay on Atlanta’s active roster for about two months in order for the organization to take full control of his rights.
Twins righty Kyle Gibson is also seeking to make mechanical changes this spring, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. The 29-year-old, who’s set to earn $2.9MM through arbitration, is seeking to tamp down persistent shoulder problems. As Berardino writes, a new training regimen has been designed in order “to teach Gibson’s arm to pronate properly at the end of his delivery” and thus “keep the humerus from rubbing on the shoulder’s connective tissues.”

East Notes: Wieters, Rays, Mets, Phillies, Orioles

By Connor Byrne | February 21, 2017 at 8:01pm CDT

The offer the Rays made to catcher Matt Wieters before he agreed to join the Nationals on Tuesday fell well short of Washington’s $21MM guaranteed proposal, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays were willing to hand Wieters $6MM in guarantees and give him a chance to exceed the $10MM mark via incentives on a one-year contract. While Tampa Bay would have been happy to reel in Wieters at that price, it’s not too broken up about losing out on his services, per Topkin. As the Rays await the return of injured free agent signing Wilson Ramos, they’ll be “very content” with Curt Casali, Luke Maile and Jesus Sucre as their top options at catcher, manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday.

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