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AL East Notes: Pomeranz, Davis, Valencia, Arroyo

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The results of Red Sox lefty Drew Pomeranz’ recent MRI showed a flexor strain, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports on Twitter. Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com says that Pomeranz describes the strain as “mild” and isn’t too worried about it. Mastrodonato later tweeted that every player who had a flexor strain last season missed at least six weeks, with one exception – Pomeranz. Last year’s injury caused him to spend 10 days on the DL. It should be strongly noted that all of this is simply one year’s worth of statistics, and we’ve yet to hear any announcement on Boston’s plans for their starter. Pomeranz pitched to a 3.32 ERA across 30 starts last season for the Red Sox, striking out just over a batter per inning while posting a 43.2% ground ball rate. He’s slated to become a free agent following the 2018 season.

Elsewhere in the American League’s Eastern Division…

  • Speaking of injuries, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis had an MRI on his right forearm, but it turns out that there’s no structural damage. Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun was first with the news on Twitter. Manager Buck Showalter had previously described the concern with Davis as a “flexor mass” issue (via Dan Connolly of baltimorebaseball.com). The Orioles will be hoping that Davis can stay healthy and bounce back this year after a rough 2017 season during which he homered 26 times but struck out in a whopping 37.2% of his plate appearances en route to a more pedestrian performance overall. He’ll enter the 2018 season at the age of 32; it’s the third year of a seven-year contract with Baltimore that guarantees him a total of $161MM.
  • In other Orioles news, the recently-signed Danny Valencia has no plans to go to the minors if the team opts not to add him to the major league roster, according to a piece by Rich Dubroff of pressboxonline.com. “I have nothing to prove down there,” Valencia said. “I’ve been a productive big leaguer… Obviously, you want to be in the big leagues and I think it’ll all work out.” Valencia had been reasonably productive for the Blue Jays and A’s across the 2015-2016 seasons, posting 3.2 fWAR while hammering 35 homers during that span. It’s tough to peg the value of his performance as a Mariner last year, however, as formulas like bWAR, fWAR and WARP varied greatly in their outputs.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times details the story of how new Rays infielder Christian Arroyo was raised by a single mother. Kim Arroyo worked ten-hour shifts on the casino floor at Hard Rock in order to support her son. But as he grew up, she still managed to find the time to play catch with him and throw batting practice. Kim says she had lots of help from family and friends, but Christian made clear the wealth of credit his mother deserves for what she did for him, and the values she instilled in him while she was raising him. “She did everything she could to make sure we never were struggling, and I never knew we were,” he said.

AL East Notes: Swisher, Gomez, Orioles

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Although the always-energetic Nick Swisher never made it back to the majors after signing a minors pact with the Yankees in 2016, he’ll end up contributing to the team in a different way. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com writes in the second half of a piece for MLB.com. “Swish” will now serve as a special advisor to GM Brian Cashman. Though the terms of that job are typically pretty broad, Cashman envisions Swisher spending a lot of his time with minor leaguers in the organization. “He had a huge impact on that crew in Scranton when he was playing with [Aaron] Judge, [Greg] Bird, [Gary] Sanchez and all those guys,” said Cashman. “He brought the joy of playing the game on a daily basis, and it was infectious throughout that locker room. The opportunity to bring him into the fold and sprinkle him throughout our farm system was attractive.” On the field, Swisher was a .249/.351/.447 lifetime hitter; his playing career came to an abrupt end after a pair of rough seasons spent with the Indians and Braves from 2014-2015.

Other items out of the AL East…

  • Rays outfielder Carlos Gomez is being met with a lot of excitement from his new teammates, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In particular, Denard Span says that, “you’d rather have him on your team than playing against him. Because he’s a headache when you’re playing against him.” There are a lot of reasons for that, Topkin writes. Gomez likes to “mix it up” with bat flips and sometimes even instigates brawls. He’s also the type to play hard in every moment of every game, according to new teammate Kevin Kiermaier. “He’s a guy who just loves baseball,” says Kiermaier. “Every time he takes the field, it doesn’t matter if you’re up eight runs or down eight, he’s going to go and play with that intensity.” One of the most interesting points Topkin makes about Gomez is that he can be a little bit misunderstood. Although he appears animated and aggressive, Rays reliever Sergio Romo describes him as someone who “always means well” and that some of the things he’s done have simply taken the wrong way on occasion. Gomez is set to replace the recently-traded Steven Souza Jr. in the Rays’ outfield this season.
  • Looking for a bit of insight into how players are cut from major league spring training camp? Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun helps shed some light on the subject by way of some words from Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Notably, Showalter is committed to spending time meeting with players prior to cuts. “I’m not going to rush through anything,” he said. “I want to hear from them as much as I want to tell them [some things], because I don’t want a month or two or three months to pass, and all of a sudden our success depends on them being able to come up and do something and we didn’t have those proper conversations.” Showalter also believes player feedback is an equally important part of those conversations.

Orioles Sign Danny Valencia To Minor League Deal

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SATURDAY, 8:18am: The signing is now official.

FRIDAY, 10:44am: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Valencia’s deal comes with a $1.2MM base salary and an additional $3MM worth of possible incentives.

10:20am: The Orioles have agreed to a minor league contract with corner infielder/outfielder Danny Valencia, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). Valencia is represented by the MVP Sports Group. He’ll take his physical tomorrow, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link).

The 33-year-old Valencia spent the 2017 season with the Mariners, for whom he logged a .256/.314/.411 slash with 15 home runs in an even 500 plate appearances. Valencia spent the vast majority of his time in the field at first base but also logged 51 innings in right field and another seven at his original position, third base.

Baltimore’s bench is anything but set at present, so Valencia could impress in camp and seize a spot as a right-handed-hitting complement to first baseman Chris Davis. His experience at all four corner spots would bring some versatility to O’s, who currently don’t have an established utility option on the roster. While Valencia isn’t a shortstop — a position at which most utility infielders are adept — the O’s have both Manny Machado and Tim Beckham as options there, which could lessen the need for that skill in a utilityman. Baltimore also has waiver pickup Engelb Vielma on the 40-man roster, and he’ll be among the names with whom Valencia is competing for a job.

This marks the second go-around for Valencia with the O’s. He also spent the 2013 season in Baltimore, hitting .304/.335/.553 with 14 homers in 170 trips to the plate. A veteran of eight Major League seasons, Valencia is a lifetime .269/.317/.427 hitter in the big leagues. He’s particularly strong against left-handed opponents, against whom he’s slashed .313/.370/.493 in 994 career PAs.

Latest On The Top Remaining Free Agent Starters

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The Nationals reportedly remain open to adding to their roster before the season begins, and while they’ve been oft-linked to top remaining free agent Jake Arrieta, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports that the Nats “haven’t engaged with Arrieta’s camp recently.” The Nationals, it seems (much like the rest of baseball), would be likelier to jump into the fray if Arrieta’s price drops.

Castillo does note that at least three other clubs have made recent inquiries with Arrieta’s agent, Scott Boras. One of those is likely the Phillies, who are reported to have an ongoing dialogue with Boras regarding Arrieta. However, most reports out of Philadelphia suggest that the Phils are loath to go beyond three years for the former NL Cy Yong winner, who will pitch this season at age 32 and has displayed some signs of decline in recent years — most notably a loss of velocity and worsened K/BB rates.

Alternatives for the Nats, Phillies and other clubs searching for rotation upgrades are still on the market in the form of Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn, who both remain unsigned. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com writes, however, that the Phils are even less likely to sign Cobb or Lynn to a long-term deal than they are Arrieta (and again reports that the Phils don’t want to go past three years for Arrieta). Even a contract in the vicinity of Tyler Chatwood’s three-year, $38MM pact with the Cubs could be too rich for the Phillies’ tastes when it comes to Lynn and Cobb, Zolecki writes.

It seems that virtually every club in need of rotation help is awaiting the asking price on the top three starters to drop. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden tweets that both Cobb and Lynn are still seeking guarantees worth more than $50MM. (It’s worth pointing out that the manner in which that report frames draft compensation is inaccurate; the draft/international penalty for signing any of Arrieta, Cobb or Lynn is not tied to that $50MM figure, but a deal of $50MM or more would improve the compensation for the teams losing those players.)

The Orioles, Brewers, Phillies and Twins all hold varying levels of interest in Cobb and/or Lynn, Bowden notes, but not at the current asking price. The Twins’ level of interest in Lynn doesn’t appear to be especially high at this point, though. While Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN walks back a recent report a bit by tweeting that Minnesota’s offer to Lynn was for more than the $12MM he initially reported, he adds that it was nonetheless well shy of anything his camp considered and that there are no current talks between the two sides.

AL East Notes: Rays, Pedroia, JDM, Lee

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Rays owner Stuart Sternberg weighed in on the MLBPA’s grievance against the Rays and three other clubs regarding concerns over the reallocation of revenue-sharing funds, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The Rays, according to Sternberg, are “beyond” compliant with the rules. “We’re very judicious in how we spend our money, but it’s spent in a lot of forms, and payroll is one of them,” said Sternberg, going on to point out that the Rays’ Opening Day payroll in 2018 will be higher than it was in 2017. Of course, the Rays still rank near the bottom of the league in that regard, as they do every year. Chris Archer, the Rays’ union representative, also spoke with Topkin on the matter. “I have no clue what it costs to run the Dominican academy,” said Archer. “I know just from my perspective, not a whole lot has changed with the spring training facility, not a whole lot has changed at the Trop, and our payroll has not increased significantly.”

  • Veteran Red Sox star Dustin Pedroia had a bit more done to his knee than had previous been known, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. In addition to cartilage restoration work, Pedroia underwent a microfracture procedure to his tibia. Regardless, it seems that the hard-nosed veteran is progressing well given that he has now advanced to taking batting practice. Meanwhile, fellow infielder Marco Hernandez is still six weeks away from resuming baseball activities, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets. Hernandez underwent shoulder surgery last May and only just had screws removed, but at least he now seems to be in sight of returning to the field.
  • In other Red Sox coverage, Bradford discusses new signee J.D. Martinez’s unique relationship with his personal hitting coach. As it turns out, new Boston hitting coach Tim Hyers is well acquainted with Martinez’s guru Robert Van Scoyoc, who’ll be allowed to continue consulting with Martinez even though he has been hired by the Diamondbacks. It’s a deep and interesting look at how Martinez’s unique approach will fit with the organization.
  • Orioles hurler Chris Lee will miss at least a month with an oblique injury, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to tweet. The southpaw had been viewed as one of a variety of hurlers competing for one rotation spot, a long-relief role in the pen, and/or a place in the organizational depth chart. Instead, he’ll have to work back to health before he’s able to begin pressing for his first MLB opportunity. The 25-year-old reached Triple-A for the first time last year, pitching to a 5.11 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 over 116 1/3 innings.

Lee, Hays Set For MRIs

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  • The Orioles could be looking at an extended absence for pitching prospect Chris Lee, who pitched to one batter on Tuesday before exiting with an injury. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters after the game that Lee suffered a right oblique strain and is set for an MRI on Wednesday morning (link via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). Oblique strains often sideline players for a month or more, depending on the severity, and Showalter didn’t sound optimistic of a quick return. “There’s a pretty good pattern of the days it takes,” said the manager. “That’s one injury that pretty much runs its course. It isn’t earlier and it isn’t later.” Kubatko also notes that right fielder Austin Hays, who has been bothered by some lat soreness and was switched from right field to DH shortly before today’s game, will have an MRI on Wednesday as well. Lee wasn’t considered likely to make the Opening Day rotation, though Hays certainly projects as a possible impact piece for the O’s early in the 2018 season.

Injury Notes: Gurriel, Frazier, Gausman, Stroman, Thornburg, Eaton

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The Astros have shipped first baseman Yuli Gurriel to Houston so his injured hand can be evaluated, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). At this point, the situation is more or less a mystery, with no real indication how the issue arose or just what the club is concerned about. Clearly, though, the team’s training staff has found cause to get a closer look from a specialist.

Here’s more on some injury situations from around the game:

  • Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier has been diagnosed with a concussion, tweets MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Frazier made a leaping catch in yesterday’s Grapefruit League game against the Pirates and stumbled a bit before falling backwards and hitting his head against the base of the left-field wall (video link). Manager Aaron Boone said Frazier will be down for “a few days” and acknowledged the seemingly optimistic nature of that timeline. Frazier is far from a lock to make the Opening Day roster in New York with Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Jacoby Ellsbury all on the roster, but he remains a key potential long-term piece for the Yanks.
  • It seems that Orioles righty Kevin Gausman has largely shaken off a home-plate collision yesterday, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The young starter, who is a key factor in the team’s hopes for the coming season, says he “feel[s] pretty good” on the whole despite slamming into Tigers youngster Jeimer Candelario. For the time being, at least, Gausman is expected to take the ball for his next scheduled spring outing.
  • The outlook is at least a bit more worrisome for Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman. Per MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, shoulder inflammation is holding Stroman back. Though he has already been cleared by an MRI of structural concerns, Stroman will rest up in hopes of moving past a problem that has evidently been going on for a few weeks. The key Jays hurler says he’s hoping to be fully ramped up for “the very beginning of the start of the season,” even if it’s not Opening Day, though surely the organization will proceed with caution.
  • The Red Sox will welcome reliever Tyler Thornburg back to the hill for the first time since he underwent surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter. A bullpen session is just one of many steps back, of course, and Thornburg still has some hurdles to clear. He has yet to pitch competitively for the Boston organization (excepting brief spring action last year) since coming over in a trade in advance of the 2017 season.
  • Indications are that Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton is largely progressing well after a long layoff for a torn ACL. As Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes, though, Eaton has yet to appear in game action. That appears to be less a reflection of Eaton’s surgically repaired joint than it is a planned effort to build him up deliberately. “We’re going to take it and be methodical and do it right for the first time and make sure I’m overcooked, so to speak, before I go out there.” While it’s surely tempting to max out Eaton’s reps after a lost season, skipper Davey Martinez emphasized the primary goal is to have Eaton at full speed come Opening Day.
  • The rival Mets are reporting shoulder and back soreness for Yoenis Cespedes and Jacob deGrom, respectively, but those don’t seem to be real concerns at this point, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. However, the New York organization is likely to hold back first baseman Dominic Smith for a while after he was diagnosed with a strained quad. He already seemed to face a difficult task of cracking the Opening Day roster, so this setback is not likely to help the cause. (New reliever Anthony Swarzak just left his relief appearance with an apparent calf injury, as Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to tweet, though details are sparse at this time.)

Orioles Sign Pedro Alvarez To Minor League Deal

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Feb. 26: Baltimore has announced the signing.

Feb. 25, 10:30am: Alvarez will earn a $1MM salary and have a chance at $2MM in performance bonuses if he makes the Orioles, according to Rich Dubroff of PressBoxonline.com (Twitter link).

Opt-out opportunities are available on May 15th and July 15th, per Bob Nightengale USA Today (via Twitter).

8:26am: The Orioles have signed first baseman Pedro Alvarez to a minor league contract, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. The deal includes an invitation to big league camp.

This is the third straight year in which the Orioles have signed Alvarez, who performed well in 2016 (.249/.322/.504 with 22 home runs in 376 plate appearances) but was a non-factor at the big league level last season. The left-handed Alvarez totaled just 34 PAs with the Orioles and spent nearly all of the year at Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit an underwhelming .239/.294/.442 with 26 HRs in 595 PAs.

Alvarez tried to help his cause in 2017 by working in the outfield, but he’ll return to a first base/designated hitter role this year, per Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Orioles are already set at those spots with Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo, respectively, leaving little hope that Alvarez will crack their roster, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun notes on Twitter. As such, if the 31-year-old Alvarez remains with the organization into the season, he’s likely to function as minor league depth for the second straight campaign.

Earlier in his career, it would’ve been unimaginable for Alvarez to end up in a minor league role. The 2008 second overall pick was one of the top prospects in baseball with the Pirates, though he never developed into the offensive force he was supposed to become and has struggled in the field at both third and first base. Overall, Alvarez has slashed .238/.311/.449 (107 wRC+) with 154 home runs and 7.4 fWAR across 3,194 major league PAs.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/25/18

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Rounding up the latest minor league moves from around baseball…

  • The Orioles have outrighted Jaycob Brugman to Triple-A after the outfielder cleared waivers, as per a team announcement.  Baltimore designated Brugman for assignment earlier this week to create roster space for the newly re-signed Chris Tillman.  Brugman, acquired in a trade with the A’s back in November, will continue to compete for a big league job with the Orioles, though the O’s have further addressed their need for left-handed bats with the recent signings of Colby Rasmus and Pedro Alvarez.  The 26-year-old Brugman made his MLB debut last season, batting .266/.346/.343 over 162 plate appearances for Oakland.

Morosi: Orioles Monitoring Top Available Starters

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone suggested Sunday that they won’t sign either Lance Lynn or Alex Cobb, yet the team has “maintained contact with Lynn throughout the offseason,” Jon Morosi of MLB.com writes. The Yankees are monitoring the top available starters in general, according to Morosi, who hears that the Brewers, Phillies, Rangers, Orioles and Nationals are doing the same. The Angels, meanwhile, are open to signing the best free agent reliever, Greg Holland, if the price is right, per Morosi. The Halos’ bullpen has seemingly taken a step back since last year ended, having lost Yusmeiro Petit and Bud Norris to free agency and added only Jim Johnson. While Holland would help make up for those exits, he’s presumably not going to sign for cheap, and inking the qualifying offer recipient would cost the Angels their second-highest draft pick this year and $500K in international spending room.

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