Heyman’s Latest: Slow Starters, Dodgers, Braun, O’s, Tigers
FanRag’s Jon Heyman tackles a number of slow-starting teams in the intro to his weekly notes columns, getting the opinions of rival scouts and executives on the slow starts from the Cardinals, Giants, Blue Jays and Rangers. Heyman spoke to Giants GM Bobby Evans on his club’s issues in left field, with Evans conceding, “We don’t have a true left fielder. We’re going to have to mix and match.” Heyman notes that veteran infielder Aaron Hill is expected to get some looks in left field. San Francisco elected to move on from Angel Pagan this offseason and entered the year with a platoon of Jarrett Parker and Chris Marrero in left field, but Parker will now miss significant time following a broken clavicle. And it appears to be too late to turn back to Pagan, who told El Vocero yesterday that he’s planning to sit out the 2017 season to spend time with his wife and children.
Here are some highlights from Heyman’s National League and American League roundups…
- There’s “no evidence of any real trade talk” between the Brewers and Dodgers involving Ryan Braun, per Heyman. He notes that the Brewers may feel a slight sense of urgency due to the fact that Braun will achieve 10-and-5 rights on May 24 (thus allowing him full veto power over any trade). The improved production out of Yasiel Puig could make Braun a less appealing target, as Puig himself has the ability to be a dynamic weapon against lefties if he can return to form. Even if Braun does ultimately reach 1o-and-5 status, Heyman notes that the Dodgers are said to be his preferred destination in a trade, so he could very well approve the deal after that point.
- Also of note to Dodgers fans, Los Angeles showed interest in right-hander Brad Ziegler this offseason and were willing to discuss something in the range of $12MM over two years. Ziegler, instead, signed with the Marlins for two years and a total of $16MM. To this point, he’s yielded just one run with a 6-to-1 K/BB ratio and a ridiculous 81 percent ground-ball rate through his first eight innings.
- Multiple teams inquired with the Brewers about right-hander Wily Peralta this spring, but Milwaukee clearly didn’t find an offer to its liking. “We’re very comfortable having him as part of our rotation,” GM David Stearns tells Heyman. The 27-year-old Peralta has a 2.65 ERA through his first three starts, though his strong work dates back further than Opening Day. While Peralta’s 2016 numbers look pedestrian at best, he posted a 2.92 ERA through 61 1/3 innings after being recalled from a Triple-A demotion early last August. In his past 13 MLB starts, Peralta has a 2.86 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 51.2 percent ground-ball rate. He’s controllable for two seasons beyond the 2017 campaign, and it’s easy to envision him emerging as a trade candidate this summer if he continues to perform anywhere near that level.
- J.J. Hardy‘s lengthy injury history will make the Orioles unlikely to pick up his $14MM club option at season’s end. However, Heyman adds that even if the O’s do move on from Hardy, they’re not likely to displace Manny Machado from third base given his excellence (and, presumably, his comfort level) at the hot corner. Rather, the team figures to shop for a shortstop next offseason. The 2017-18 free agent crop at shortstop figures to be headlined by Zack Cozart, with alternative options including Eduardo Nunez, Alcides Escobar and Danny Espinosa. Baltimore could, of course, turn to the trade market for some shortstop help as well. Ryan Mountcastle is the team’s top-regarded minor league shortstop, but the 20-year-old former first-rounder opened the season in Class-A Advanced and many scouting reports question his ability to remain at short in the long run.
- The Tigers are planning to be “extra cautious” with right fielder J.D. Martinez as he returns from a foot injury, Heyman writes. However, there’s little chance of the Tigers pursuing him as a free agent this offseason due to the fact that the team still intends to trim down its long-term payroll outlook. Re-signing Martinez, who ranked sixth on MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings earlier today, could require another sizable commitment of five or more years if Martinez has a typical season at the plate.
Phillies Came Closest To Landing Jay Bruce Over The Winter
Though by all accounts he has done nothing but go about his business as a professional, outfielder Jay Bruce has had an eventful tenure with the Mets since arriving last summer via trade. While the club picked up his option last fall, it reportedly dangled him in trade talks once Yoenis Cespedes returned in free agency.
Among the teams that inquired about Bruce, it was the rebuilding Phillies who came closest to acquiring him over the recent offseason, Marc Carig of Newsday reports. It’s not known what got in the way of a deal, though perhaps New York wanted some kind of prospect return or Philadelphia wasn’t willing to take on his entire $13MM salary.
The pursuit of Bruce, who’ll be a free agent at year’s end, certainly fits within the Phillies’ recent operating philosophy of adding short-term veteran pieces to boost the club in the near term (and provide possible trade chips) without clogging up future balance sheets. The Phils ended up adding two such outfielders, Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders. Presumably, the club wouldn’t have signed the latter, who was not added until mid-January, had it managed to acquire Bruce.
Other organizations that at least expressed interest, Carig notes, were the Giants and Orioles. But clearly neither of those clubs was willing to push the envelope to add Bruce, who struggled to a .219/.294/.391 slash line over his 187 plate appearances with the Mets in 2016. In the end, the Mets held onto the slugger.
As it turns out, the lack of sufficient interest may have worked to the Mets’ advantage. Though the presence of Bruce on the roster along with Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto has continued to create something of a logjam, the 30-year-old Bruce is more than making up for that with a highly productive start to the year. Through 62 plate appearances, he’s hitting a robust .309/.387/.673 with six long balls.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out over the course of the season. Bruce is a notoriously streaky hitter, though the Mets will be glad to ride things out for the time being. Conforto is clamoring for more playing time with a great start in limited action. And Granderson is scuffling quite a bit early, though of the three he’s the choice to line up in center field (where he could begin to cede time to Juan Lagares). Tough choices could be required if other roster needs arise, or if the team determines that Conforto needs to play more regularly, though it remains plausible to imagine all three players sticking with the Mets for the full season. And if Bruce is able to maintain anything like his current production, it’ll be interesting to see whether the organization considers a qualifying offer after the season.
Mychal Givens Changes Agents
Orioles reliever Mychal Givens has changed his representation, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Excel Sports will now represent the right-hander.
Givens, 26, began his career as a shortstop after being selected in the second round of the 2009 draft. But he moved to the mound when his bat failed to develop.
That has proven to be a worthwhile change for both player and team, as Givens now rates as a high-quality bullpen arm with a mid-nineties fastball and quality slider. Since reaching the bigs in 2015, he owns a 2.67 ERA with 11.3 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 over 111 1/3 frames.
Givens is off to a strong start in the results department through 6 2/3 innings in 2017, though his swinging-strike rate presently sits at just 4.9% after reaching 14.9% in 2016. He has allowed far more contact on pitches out of the zone (85.7%) than in his two prior years (when he sat below 60%), but perhaps that’ll prove to be little more than a small-sample blip.
Givens entered the current season with 1.069 years of MLB service on his ledger, meaning he will not be able to qualify for arbitration next year as a Super Two. Instead, his first of three seasons of arb eligibility will begin in 2019 — his age-29 campaign.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Blue Jays, Donaldson, Braun, Orioles
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal shares some news from around baseball in his latest notes column…
- Josh Donaldson is expected to spend 2-4 weeks on the DL recovering from a calf injury. Though the Blue Jays are in dire need of Donaldson’s bat, I would suspect the team would err on the side of caution and keep Donaldson out of action until he has completely healed, given that the third baseman has been bothered by this injury dating back to Spring Training.
- With the Blue Jays off to a 2-10 start, Rosenthal figures the team will likely be dealing veterans at the July trade deadline but “a major deconstruction would be a tough sell” to fans. A complete rebuild would erase most or all of the gains made in ticket sales and TV ratings during the last two years, when the Jays twice reached the postseason. Rosenthal believes the Jays could use “a strategic re-set” and still aim to contend in 2018. If Toronto does sell at the deadline, they could limit themselves to trading players who will be free agents after 2017 (such as Marco Estrada, Jose Bautista or Francisco Liriano). The tougher calls, of course, would be on deciding to trade Donaldson or J.A. Happ, who are under contract through the 2018 season.
- Ryan Braun will gain 10-and-5 rights on May 14, according to Rosenthal, not on May 24 as previous reports have suggested. No matter the date that the Brewers slugger can gain full no-trade control, however, Rosenthal echoes earlier reports that suggest little will change with Braun’s trade status once he becomes a 10-and-5 player.
- The Orioles‘ lack of international spending is “an ownership decision,” Rosenthal hears from Baltimore executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette. Ben Badler pulled no punches in criticizing the Orioles’ meager spending on international amateur free agents in a piece for Baseball America earlier this week, and Rosenthal adds that the O’s have also spent the least of any team on amateur draft signings over the last three years. While Duquette notes that several homegrown prospects are currently on Baltimore’s MLB roster, Rosenthal points out that with so many big names (i.e. Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zach Britton) slated for free agency after 2018, the O’s are lacking in young depth to fill what could be several significant roster holes.
- Two sources tell Rosenthal that Duquette wasn’t happy with how the Orioles‘ medical staff handled Chris Tillman‘s shoulder injury. Duquette didn’t specifically comment on this report to Rosenthal, only saying that “We probably could have done a better job getting him back….I’m not sure we rushed him. I’m just disappointed he didn’t start the season with us. We had plenty of time to work with him. The shoulder was bothering him at the end of last year.” Tillman and the O’s are targeting a return date of early May for the right-hander to make his season debut.
Pitching Injury Notes: Graveman, Lugo, Tillman, Ross
Athletics right-hander Kendall Graveman has been placed on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to this past Saturday, due to a strained right shoulder, per a club announcement. Catcher Bruce Maxwell has been recalled from Triple-A to fill Graveman’s spot on the 25-man roster. While A’s fans are undoubtedly disheartened to see the 26-year-old Graveman land on the shelf, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that there are no indications that the injury is severe. Slusser notes that she’d be surprised to see Graveman miss more than one start, so it seems that Oakland is merely taking advantage of the shortened minimum stay on the DL to help keep the roster full while Graveman recovers.
A few more injury notes from around the game…
- Mets righty Seth Lugo is set to begin a throwing program after taking two weeks off, per The Record’s Matt Ehalt (Twitter link). Lugo, who is hoping to avoid surgery after being diagnosed with a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, will begin his program by throwing from 60 feet. Ehalt adds. Lugo and southpaw Steven Matz are both presently on the DL for the Mets, which has considerably thinned out the club’s rotation depth.
- Chris Tillman was able to make his first rehab start yesterday, appearing with the Orioles‘ Double-A affiliate, as Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports. Though he says he is still having trouble getting his problematic shoulder loose, he says he’s “good to go” once he’s able to do so. Tillman suggested he is learning to deal with the constraints of the balky joint, though how that’ll work out at the game’s highest level is anyone’s guess. The righty sat in the upper eighties with his fastball yesterday, though he did top out at 91 — which is where he typically works. So long as he’s able to rebound from this first outing, Tillman will continue to increase his pitch count in further rehab starts.
- The back issues that have slowed the rehab progress of Rangers‘ righty Tyson Ross are still hanging around, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter. Since he has yet to return to the mound, it now seems that his early-May target to return to the majors will move back by at least a week or two. Ross had seemed to be nearing a full recovery from thoracic outlet surgery when the seemingly minor back issue cropped up.
Angels Acquire Parker Bridwell, Move Huston Street To 60-Day DL
6:59pm: Street was not able to stay on track due to a “mild shoulder impingement,” GM Billy Eppler tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter).
5:51pm: The Angels have acquired righty Parker Bridwell from the Orioles, per club announcements. Cash considerations or a player to be named later will go to Baltimore in return.
To open a 40-man spot, the Halos have bumped righty Huston Street to the 60-day DL. That suggests his lat strain isn’t progressing quite as hoped. At the time of his injury, about six weeks back, it was suggested that it was at least possible Street would be throwing in three or four weeks. With today’s DL swap, he won’t be eligible to return until about two months of the season have elapsed.
Bridwell, who was recently designated for assignment, will head to Double-A upon landing in his new organization. The 25-year-old reached the majors briefly last year, but evidently didn’t factor very heavily in the O’s plans.
A starter for most of his career, Bridwell spent much of 2016 functioning as a multi-inning reliever (he logged 87 total innings last year over 33 appearances). Over 83 2/3 minor-league innings, including an AFL stint, Bridwell pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/17/17
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Orioles announced that right-hander Jason Garcia has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Double-A Bowie, thus removing him from the 40-man roster but keeping him in the organization. The 24-year-old righty was designated for assignment last week. Garcia was Baltimore’s Rule 5 Draft pick prior to the 2015 season but struggled in the Majors that year and in Double-A last season. While Garcia logged a respectable 4.25 ERA in 29 2/3 innings with the 2015 Orioles, he also posted an ugly 22-to-17 K/BB ratio that season. In 142 innings of Double-A work, he’s limped to a 4.82 ERA with 5.6 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9. The right-hander is still fairly young, generates ground-balls at about a 46 percent clip and averages better than 93 mph on his fastball, so there’s still plenty to like in his overall skill set, though it seems clear that some additional development is needed.
Orioles Place Zach Britton On 10-Day DL
The Orioles have placed superstar closer Zach Britton on the 10-day disabled list with a left forearm strain, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Right-hander Stefan Crichton will take Britton’s roster spot, per Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com (Twitter links).
[RELATED: Updated Orioles Depth Chart]
The Orioles are unsure if Britton will return from the DL when he’s first eligible, according to manager Buck Showalter. While forearm injuries are scary for pitchers, Showalter is optimistic that the left-hander’s absence won’t be lengthy.
“We think it will manage itself if we take the right precautions,” said Showalter (via Melewski, on Twitter).
Showalter revealed that Britton first felt soreness during his appearance against the Blue Jays on Friday (Twitter link via Encina). Britton was surprisingly ordinary in that one-inning showing, in which he allowed three hits and his only earned run of the year thus far, but he still managed to convert his 53rd consecutive save opportunity.
While Britton is on the shelf, the Orioles could turn to right-hander Brad Brach as their top game-ending option. Brach has continued his dominant ways this year, while fellow relievers Mychal Givens and Donnie Hart have also pitched well. Veteran setup man Darren O’Day is on hand, as well, though he has gotten off to a poor start.
Orioles Acquire Paul Fry For Int’l Pool Slot, Designate Parker Bridwell
5:42pm: The teams have announced the deal, which sends an international signing bonus allocation — slot #105 of the 2016-17 period, which is worth $198K in spending capacity — to Seattle. Baltimore has designated righty Parker Bridwell to clear roster space.
5:25pm: The Orioles have acquired lefty Paul Fry from the Mariners, as Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline.com tweets. Fry, 24, was designated recently by Seattle.
Baltimore has continued to tweak its pitching mix of late, and now the organization has another optionable arm on hand. Fry spun 55 Triple-A frames of 2.78 ERA ball last year. Though he retired 10.6 batters per nine vi strikeout, he also permitted 5.1 free passes per nine on the year. Fry has yet to appear at the major league level.
AL East Notes: Donaldson, Betances, Orioles
Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson exited Thursday’s contest with what appears to be an aggravation of the calf injury that has plagued him on and off since early in Spring Training, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm writes. Donaldson doubled into the right field corner but came up lame after rounding first base and ultimately hobbled into second base. There’s no word on the extent of the injury just yet, but Donaldson began to walk off the field almost immediately after play had halted, and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that a trip to the disabled list is a possibility. The 2015 American League MVP missed a significant portion of Spring Training and had a brief flare-up of the injury this past weekend.
Elsewhere in the AL East…
- Prior to the arbitration hearing that led to a controversial string of comments from Yankees president Randy Levine, right-hander Dellin Betances was offered a two-year deal that would have guaranteed him between $8MM and $8.5MM, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in his latest AL Notes column. However, with Betances’ camp seeking as much as $5MM in arbitration, they elected to go on with the trial. Rejecting the deal seems reasonable, from my vantage point, as even after losing the trial Betances took home a $3MM figure for the 2017 season. Betances figures to earn more than $4MM next year in arbitration, so the downside in aiming high with the arbitration hearing was relatively minimal.
- Baseball America’s Ben Badler penned a harsh critique of the Orioles‘ paltry investments in international free agency, noting that the O’s spent just $260K on international talent this period and signed only five players. As Badler notes, it’s nothing new, as Baltimore has routinely eschewed significant investments on the international market — much to the detriment of the farm system. Badler points out that even the cash-strapped division-rival Rays spent more than $3MM on 36 international amateurs in 2016 despite being in the metaphorical penalty box for shattering their pool in a previous signing period (thus preventing them from spending more than $300K on a single player). “[O]wnership’s antiquated approach toward Latin America prevents the Orioles’ international scouts from having the resources they need to do their jobs,” Badler writes. Indeed, Baltimore’s total spending is a pittance relative to the rest of the league; on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Padres spent nearly $80MM on international amateurs during the current signing period alone. Notably, the O’s traded their top international bonus slot to the Brewers tonight to acquire recently designated reliever Damien Magnifico.
- The Orioles will turn to Alec Asher to start versus Toronto on Saturday, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. His selection to face a heavily right-handed lineup suggests that Baltimore plans to utilize its upper-level pitching depth on a case-by-case basis to fill Chris Tillman‘s spot in the rotation while Tillman is out, Encina adds. Manager Buck Showalter elaborated on that concept a bit, telling Encina: “We know that has potential to be a moving piece until Chris gets back. We can play a little matchup there until we know for sure when we’re going to get Chris back. … The good news is we have some guys to pick from, not only there, but potentially in Bowie, too.” The Orioles added Asher in a minor Spring Training trade and also picked up several other potential options, including Gabriel Ynoa (in a trade with the Mets) and Richard Bleier (in a trade with the Yankees). Lefty Jayson Aquino was also a consideration for this weekend’s start, Encina notes, but the glut of righties he’d have faced led the team to turn to Asher instead. Tillman figures to be out until early May, so there should be quite a few more spot starts up for grabs among this group.