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Duquette On Pitching Staff, Offseason, Chris Davis

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Orioles general manager Dan Duquette joined Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com on 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore last night following the conclusion of the regular season and discussed a number of topics pertaining to the Orioles’ offseason. As Mewleski writes in summarizing much of the conversation, Duquette believes fixing the team’s pitching staff is his “No. 1 priority in the offseason.”

While he stressed a need for improvement from members of the pitching staff that will be returning for the 2016 season, Duquette also added, “…we’re also going to need to add pitching depth from outside the organization.”

The Orioles have a number of free agents this season, with Wei-Yin Chen and Darren O’Day leading the way among departing pitchers. Chen was unquestionably Baltimore’s best starting pitcher this season, as evidenced by a 3.34 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and a 40.5 percent ground-ball rate across a career-best 191 1/3 innings. Orioles starters ranked 25th in baseball in 2015 with a 4.53 ERA, and removing Chen from the picture, the other Baltimore starters combined for an alarming 4.85 ERA.

Chen will receive and reject a qualifying offer, so the O’s will at least net a compensatory draft pick if he chooses to sign elsewhere this offseason. He’s clearly due for a considerably larger contract than his initial three-year, $11.388MM deal with the Orioles (which contained a since-exercised $4.75MM club option as well).

The hit to the bullpen is slightly more manageable, though that’s not to undersell O’Day’s value. The Orioles are simply better-equipped to lose an elite relief arm than they are a quality rotation piece; Zach Britton will reprise his role as closer, and he’ll be joined by a quality relief arm in Brad Brach. Brian Matusz, presumably, will return if today’s arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder goes smoothly. Still, the loss of O’Day would sting, as the 32-year-old has a combined 1.92 ERA in his four years with the Orioles.

Turning to the position player side of the equation, Baltimore is set to lose Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, Steve Pearce and Gerardo Parra. While Duquette made general comments about a desire to retain all of those players, he also specifically expressed a desire to retain Davis: “Chris Davis in particular had a really good year. … It’s no secret the club would like to have him to come back and we’re going to do what we can.”

Of course, the question with Davis, a Scott Boras client coming off a 47-homer season, is whether or not Baltimore can afford him. The Orioles’ current franchise-record contract is Adam Jones’ six-year, $85.5MM extension, but re-signing Davis would assuredly mean a new record-setting contract — one well in excess of $100MM. Duquette was asked by Melewski whether or not Davis could fit into the team’s payroll. “We have a very competitive market and we fund our payroll about in the middle and we have some flexibility in our payroll for next year. So, the answer to that question is I believe yes. I believe yes,” he replied. Duquette, though, went on to hedge the answer a bit, noting that a contract would have to have “a semblance of reason to it,” suggesting that the plan of attack won’t be to re-sign Davis at any and all costs.

It’s worth noting that there’s been some reported tension among the Orioles’ decision-makers, in part because of the failure to adequately replace Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, who departed via free agency last winter. That doesn’t ensure that Duquette and his staff will go to drastic measures to retain Davis, but it’s worth wondering if there will be increased pressure to avoid similar internal scrutiny this offseason.

AL Notes: Chen, Hamilton, Athletics, Walters

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Wei-Yin Chen’s start against the Yankees on Saturday was likely his last for the Orioles, Rich Dubroff of CSNmidatlantic.com notes. Chen is expected to depart via free agency. “I would be happy if I was given the chance to come back here,” says Chen. “But sometimes as a professional player, it’s inevitable that you have to change teams and adapt to a new environment. I don’t know where I will pitch next year, I just know I will do my best to pitch [in] each game.” Chen’s initial big-league contract, which covered the 2012-14 seasons, included a 2015 option, and ended up costing a total of about $16MM, was a success for the Orioles — Chen gave them more than 700 quality innings, posting an ERA+ at or better than league average in all four seasons. At age 30, he’s now in good position to cash in on the free agent market. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted in August, though, the qualifying offer the Orioles figure to extend could affect Chen’s value, particularly given the market’s strong group of pitchers. Here’s more from the American League.

  • As part of their complex deal to acquire him in April, the Rangers control Josh Hamilton’s rights through 2017, with the Angels taking on most of his salary. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers’ obligation going forward is extremely minimal — they’ll pay Hamilton nothing in 2016 and only $2MM in 2017. Hamilton has played a small role on the 2015 Rangers, batting .247/.287/.407 in 174 plate appearances.
  • Billy Burns and Mark Canha both unexpectedly played key roles for the Athletics this year, John Hickey of Bay Area News Group writes. Burns thought he would spend most of the year with the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, while Canha thought he’d be with the Marlins’ Triple-A team in New Orleans. Instead, Burns started about three-quarters of Oakland’s games in center field and hit .295/.333/.394, also stealing 26 bases. Canha, meanwhile, headed to the A’s in the Rule 5 Draft and batted .249/.308/.413. Their emergences have been bright spots in what has otherwise been a lost year for the Athletics.
  • The Indians have announced that infielder/outfielder Zach Walters had shoulder surgery on Friday to fix a labral tear. He’ll be out five to six months, and the team hopes he’ll be ready for the start of the 2016 season. The Indians acquired Walters for Asdrubal Cabrera in 2014 after a hot half-season at Triple-A Syracuse, but he hasn’t been able to maintain the power-hitting pace he set then, either in the minors or the big leagues. He spent most of this season with Triple-A Columbus, batting .249/.310/.416 in 379 plate appearances.

Rosenthal On Eppler, Cherington, Orioles, Black

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video on FOX Sports:

  • Nothing is official, and it’s hard to tell what Angels owner Arte Moreno might be thinking, but the Yankees still believe assistant GM Billy Eppler will get the open GM job in Anaheim. One possible reason the Angels haven’t yet made the announcement is that they might have to face the Yankees in the AL Wild Card matchup.
  • Former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington isn’t likely to try to get a GM job this offseason, but perhaps the Phillies job could be appealing to him, since he and Phillies owner John Middleton both went to Amherst. If Cherington takes a GM job, he’ll want to work with someone he trusts.
  • The Orioles have extended bench coach John Russell’s contract, but have not done the same for their other coaches, and it looks like changes could be afoot. Pitching coach Dave Wallace appears most likely to head elsewhere (and other teams are already inquiring about his availability). Any potential coaching changes could lead to disagreements between GM Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter.
  • The Marlins and Nationals could be potential landing spots for manager Bud Black, and the Braves might also become a possibility at some point, given that he once worked as an assistant to current Braves exec John Hart. The Dodgers might also come into play if they part ways with Don Mattingly.

East Notes: Staub, O’Day, Hanley

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Former MLB star Rusty Staub suffered a medical emergency on a recent flight home from Ireland, the Mets have announced (via ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin on Twitter). That emergency was a heart attack, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. The flight was diverted back to Ireland, and Staub is currently in a hospital there. His prognosis is good. Staub, an outfielder and first baseman also known as “Le Grand Orange,” was a key figure in the early years of both the Expos and Mets. After spending his first several years in the big leagues with the Houston Colt .45’s / Astros, he was traded to the Expos in time for their first season in 1969, and he became the franchise’s first star, hitting 29 homers in his first season in Montreal. The Expos later traded him to New York, where he was a key figure on the Mets’ early-’70s teams. He then played several seasons in Detroit before heading briefly back to Montreal and on to Texas before returning to the Mets for his last several years in the league. In 23 seasons, Staub won six All-Star berths and hit 292 homers. Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • Reliever and impending free agent Darren O’Day says he would like to re-sign with the Orioles, CSNmidatlantic.com’s Rich Dubroff tweets. The team has reportedly expressed interest in a reunion as well. O’Day will be 33 later this month, perhaps somewhat limiting his earnings potential on the open market, but he’s had a string of excellent seasons for the Orioles and is now finishing what’s been arguably his best year in the bigs — he currently has a 1.54 ERA, 11.3 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 64 1/3 innings. In a recent Free Agent Stock Watch piece on O’Day, MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted that O’Day could well command a three-year contract this offseason, perhaps similar to Luke Gregerson’s deal with the Astros.
  • Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski hopes Hanley Ramirez will return for 2016 as a more “athletic” player, MLB.com’s Ian Browne writes. Ramirez was bigger than usual in 2015 and was trying to hit for more power. “I did hear that he came in bigger just for the simple fact he was thinking, ’I’m going to be a left fielder or maybe a power guy,'” says Dombrowski. “Sometimes that extra weight doesn’t always translate into what you’re trying to accomplish.” Even though Ramirez will play next season at first base, Dombrowski says the Red Sox aren’t concerned about his home run totals. Ramirez’s first year in Boston was, of course, a very poor one — he hit 19 home runs but produced just a .291 OBP, and he struggled horribly with the transition from the infield to left field. He’s been out since August 26 due to shoulder trouble.

AL East Notes: Davis, Orioles, Hill

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Orioles first baseman/outfielder Chris Davis said today that he was disappointed that the club never approached him to discuss a new contract during the season, as Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. The 29-year-old has frequently mentioned his interest in returning to Baltimore, though a recent report indicates that his representatives and the team did not progress very far when extension talks were last broached. Regardless, it seems as if the O’s would have a good shot at wooing back the league’s home run leader — if, that is, they are willing to play at (or at least near) the top of what figures to be a lively market for his services. Davis called the lack of contact “a little frustrating,” but said that he doesn’t “have hard feelings” as free agency nears.

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • This winter could be one of great change for the Orioles, and manager Buck Showalter notes that it may not come just from the players reaching free agency, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. The organization has a host of players set to qualify for arbitration, and not all of them are obvious tender candidates. “A lot of decisions,” Showalter said. “I’m sure our guys have it wired about the order in which those decisions need to be made.”
  • Red Sox lefty Rich Hill has spun an interesting storyline late in the season, allowing just five earned runs over 29 innings in which he owns an outstanding 36:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. (He was also quite good in Triple-A this year, though it should be noted that he carried a more typical 4.6 BB/9 walk rate.) The 35-year-old tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that he’s ready to hit the open market this winter with vigor. “I’ve never spoke like this before in the past because for me to be humble is extremely important,” he explained. “But in this part of the game you have to go out and stand up for yourself and that’s something I’m looking forward to doing in the offseason. It’s confidence. It’s going out there and saying, ’I can pitch for anybody, against anybody, anytime, anywhere.’ I feel very [full of conviction].” Hill says he is looking for a guaranteed big league deal and a legitimate shot to earn a rotation spot. It’s nearly impossible to gauge what kind of market he’ll have, but that is precisely what will make him so interesting to follow in free agency. The piece is well worth a read to see the veteran’s thoughts after an excellent and unexpected run in the Boston rotation.

AL East Notes: Jones, Davis, Stanton, Bogaerts

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Orioles star Adam Jones continued to express his feelings on an important offseason for the organization, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. The highly-respected veteran said that he thinks re-signing Chris Davis is “probably the highest priority” for the organization this winter. Skipper Buck Showalter addressed the subject in a less direct manner. “We’d like to keep everybody, obviously,” he said. “I think everybody shares that. Let’s see where it goes. We all have our own personal feelings about it. You can probably guess what mine are. Some things you reach for because, let’s be frank, it makes your job easier. But you also know what your job description is.”

Here’s more from the AL East:

  • The Orioles “briefly” pursued extension talks with Davis and his representatives at the Boras Corporation, per Connolly. But despite stated interest from both sides in an ongoing relationship, those discussions never gained much traction.
  • Looking even further back into “what-if” transactional history, the Red Sox had a legitimate chance a few years ago to land Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins, according to ESPNBoston.com’s Gordon Edes. But Miami was insistent that any deal would have to include shortstop Xander Bogaerts, and that proved a sticking point that prevented further progress.
  • The Red Sox have obviously received exactly what they hoped for when they placed a high value on Bogaerts. As he turns 23 today, the shortstop is putting the finishing touches on an outstanding season in which he’s been worth about 4.5 to 5 wins above replacement. The same holds true, of course, of the versatile Mookie Betts. (He’ll reach 23 years of age within the week.) Those performances raise the possibility of extension talks, says Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, who analyzes the history of similarly-situated young players as well as that of new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

J.J. Hardy Playing Through Torn Labrum In Left Shoulder

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J.J. Hardy has suffered through the worst season of his career at the plate, and Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reveals the probable reason for those struggles. Hardy said today that he has a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder that has hindered him at the plate all season.

Hardy opened the year on the disabled list due to what the team termed a left shoulder sprain, but Hardy has known all along that there’s actually a tear in the shoulder’s labrum. Asked about the possibility of offseason surgery to repair the issue, however, Hardy somewhat surprisingly said he will not correct the injury surgically. Rather, his plan is to rest the shoulder and then strengthen it. As Hardy explained, he’s gone through the process to repair a labral tear in his shoulder once previously (as a minor leaguer in 2004) and he doesn’t wish to repeat that difficult recovery process.

A renowned defensive shortstop, Hardy has, by all accounts, put together another sterling defensive campaign. As Encina notes, he’s made only three errors this season, and defensive metrics such as UZR/150 (+12.6 runs) and Defensive Runs Saved (+6) again praise Hardy’s glovework as considerably above average.

It’s the results at the plate that are a concern for Hardy and the Orioles, as the 33-year-old delivered just a .213/.246/.306 batting line and eight homers in the first season of a three-year, $40MM contract extension signed about one year ago. Per Encina, Hardy added that if the issue lingers into 2016, it’ll impact how long he envisions himself playing. He also missed time with a groin strain and a minor oblique issue this season and has dealt with a lengthy list of injuries over the course of his career.

Hardy’s struggles were just one of many factors in a disappointing season for the Orioles. The team’s rotation didn’t perform anywhere near expectation, and the club was left reeling from the losses of outfielders Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, as replacement options offered little in terms of offensive output. Matt Wieters spent a significant portion of the season on the DL and didn’t hit well upon activation, and Steve Pearce was unable to replicate his 2014 breakout. Wieters and Pearce will be joined by key contributors Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen and Darren O’Day in free agency, further clouding the future outlook for Baltimore.

AL Notes: Zito, Samardzija, Matusz, Red Sox

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A’s southpaw Barry Zito tossed four innings tonight in what could be his final Major League appearance, although the veteran lefty isn’t officially calling it a career yet, tweets MLB.com’s Jane Lee. Zito says that while he won’t yet announce his retirement, he does feel “complete” and is likes the idea of spending time with his family. If this is indeed it for Zito, the game had somewhat of a full-circle slant to it. As Melissa Lockard of OaklandClubhouse.com notes (via Twitter), Zito’s final start would be closed out by Sean Doolittle, whom the Athletics drafted with the compensation pick they earned upon Zito’s free agent departure.

A few more notes from the American League as Wednesday evening winds down…

  • Question marks surround Jeff Samardzija as he heads into free agency, writes ESPN Chicago’s Doug Padilla. The right-hander closed out the season with a pair of excellent starts, but that does little to erase the dismal August through which Samardzija suffered. Samardzija candidly said he’s not overly concerned with how much money he earns in free agency from a personal standpoint. Rather, his concern in contract negotiations has always been to preserve market value and set precedents for those who come after him. “I had enough money when I signed with the Cubs back in 2006,” said Samardzija, referring to the $10MM deal he signed with the Cubs to forgo his football career. “So, like I said before, for me it’s more about a professional thing and respecting the guys that came before me that have put us in this situation in this game. To make the money we make, and have the fun we have, and travel the way we travel, that needs to be continued by players that are coming behind me and current players. For me, that’s important.” Samardzija spoke highly of his time with the White Sox, saying the team has a number of great pieces in place that will help right the ship in future seasons and sounded open to a return.
  • Orioles lefty Brian Matusz will undergo surgery to repair the arthritic AC joint in right (non-throwing) shoulder on Monday, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The injury, Matusz told reporters (link), didn’t impact his performance but did force him to scale back his workouts. Encina notes that Matusz’s hope is that having the surgery immediately after the season will give him enough time to recover and enjoy a normal offseason before getting back into his preseason routine.
  • The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo covered a number of trade-related Red Sox topics in his latest mailbag piece. Within, Cafardo mentions that he recently spoke to one scout who feels the Sox should be willing to move left-hander Henry Owens if he were to bring back a more established arm (bear in mind, of course, that’s one scout’s take). Cafardo also writes about Deven Marrero’s future in Boston, or lack thereof, as he feels Marrero will ultimately end up as trade bait due to lack of a clear path to playing time and a glove that makes him capable of starting at shortstop elsewhere. Other offseason trade candidates he mentions include Clay Buchholz and Wade Miley.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Ripken, Red Sox, Deadline

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Nationals fans may not want to re-live the pain quite so soon, but Barry Svrluga recapped the Nats’ tumultuous 2015 season in a three-part series for the Washington Post.  The first entry focuses on the early-season hype as World Series favorites that was only slightly dimmed by several injuries and Ian Desmond’s struggles, while the second part looks at Bryce Harper’s superstar year and Stephen Strasburg’s frustration.  The third and final installment is perhaps the juiciest in terms of behind-the-scenes information, as Svrluga tracks the discord of the last two months (including the disastrous Jonathan Papelbon trade and the Nationals’ fall out of contention) and reports on a clubhouse confrontation between Jayson Werth and Matt Williams.  The entire series is a must-read look at how a seemingly can’t-miss team fell to pieces, to put it mildly.

Here’s some more from around the baseball world…

  • The Nationals’ drama has helped take some of the Beltway media focus off of a disappointing Orioles season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, as rumors continue to hint at tension between Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter.  There has been speculation that Showalter could take over the baseball operations department and Cal Ripken Jr. could become the new manager, but both Showalter and a Ripken spokesperson deny the rumor.  Sherman also hears from an Orioles employee that owner Peter Angelos wouldn’t want to hire Ripken since it could create an awkward future situation if Angelos had to fire the franchise icon.
  • The Red Sox have quietly been one of baseball’s best teams in the second half of the season, a hot stretch that gives the franchise a lot of hope for 2016, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes.  Speier recaps some of the key events of the last two months and focuses on how many of Boston’s young stars took a step forward in recent weeks.
  • This hot streak may have also had something to do with Hanley Ramirez playing less and less before eventually being shut down for the season, as Speier reports on tension between Ramirez and the coaching staff.  A source says that Ramirez was “ostracized” from his teammates partly due to this conflict stemming from Ramirez’s unwillingness to work on his left field defense.
  • Some major names with big contracts could potentially be dealt this offseason, former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd writes in a piece for MLB.com.  Of the five names O’Dowd lists (including Joey Votto, Robinson Cano, Matt Kemp and Werth), I would guess his old outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is the most likely trade candidate.
  • The Blue Jays were the big winners at the trade deadline, Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper writes in his recap of which teams helped themselves most on or prior to July 31st.  Most of Cooper’s “helped themselves” picks are playoff contenders, unsurprisingly, though it’s worth noting that the NL West-winning Dodgers lead the “not helping” category, having gained a negative bWAR from their deadline acquisitions.

AL East Notes: Rays, O’s, E-Rod, Porcello, Hanley

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Though the Rays are on pace for their second straight losing season, the team’s pitching depth gives them hope for a turn-around in 2016, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi will be joined in the rotation by the now-healthy Matt Moore and Drew Smyly.  The fifth spot will be contested between Erasmo Ramirez, Nate Karns or top prospect Blake Snell, with Alex Colome and Matt Andriese on hand as further depth options.  That’s not even counting Alex Cobb, who will be back from Tommy John surgery late next season.  While Tampa certainly may want to hang onto its pitching depth given the team’s recent injury issues, I would think the Rays may also considering dangling an arm or two as trade bait this winter to add some offensive help.

Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • Adam Jones plans to speak to owner Peter Angelos about the Orioles’ offseason plans, the outfielder tells the Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly.  It will be a challenging winter for the O’s with eight free agents, though Jones feels most of them would come back for the right offer since “it’s a great place to play.  I know they all like being here.”  If some leave, Jones notes that the silver lining is freed-up payroll space.  “It’s going to be exciting to see what goes on this offseason because I know when you have a lot of free agents that means you have a lot of money to spend,” Jones said.  “And so, hopefully, I can influence some officials to spend a little bit of that money.”
  • Last winter saw the Orioles also lose Nelson Cruz, Andrew Miller and Nick Markakis to free agency, and another free agent exodus could threaten this competitive chapter in O’s history, as closer Zach Britton notes to Connolly.  “If you look at it, our window was a three- to four-year window that everyone was talking about. ’OK, if we’re going to do it, now is the time.’ So, yeah, if we lose every single guy [to free agency], it’s going to be a real challenge to have to replace them,” Britton said.  “You have to do it through the draft, you’ve got to do it through trades or do it through signing free agents. We’ve got to do it somehow.”
  • Two of those free agents say they want to return to the Orioles.  Steve Pearce tells Connolly that “I’d love to be back. I’d love for everybody to be back,” while Matt Wieters tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski that he knows this could be his last few days in a Baltimore uniform.  “I’m trying to embrace it and enjoy this last bit of the season,” Wieters said. “I’ve been very fortunate being able to to be here as long as I have and would love to stay here. But that is all stuff that will be controlled and talked about in the offseason.”
  • There is “healthy skepticism” around baseball that the Red Sox will fully explore having Hanley Ramirez as a full-time first baseman next year, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.  This and the hefty $66MM still owed to Ramirez will make it difficult for the Sox to get any kind of decent return if they want to trade him.
  • Eduardo Rodriguez isn’t technically a homegrown prospect (the Red Sox acquired him from the Orioles last summer in the Andrew Miller trade), though CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam believes the young southpaw can be the first front-of-the-rotation arm produced from Boston’s farm system since Clay Buchholz.  Rodriguez, 22, has posted a 3.85 ERA, 2.65 K/BB rate and 7.2 K/9 over 121 2/3 IP for the Sox in his rookie season.
  • It’s been a trying year overall for Rick Porcello, but the right-hander tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that he’s learned some lessons from his first year with the Red Sox and is going into 2016 on a high note.  Porcello signed a four-year, $80MM contract with Boston prior to the season and became a target of fan ire after his early struggles, though he’s pitched well since coming back from a DL stint in August.
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