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Orioles Notes: Rice, Kim, Walker, Givens

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Earlier this morning, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko downplayed the Orioles’ reported interest in outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, but that’s far from the only Orioles chatter that’s circulating this morning. Here’s the latest out of Baltimore…

  • Orioles director of Major League administration Ned Rice has been hired away by the Phillies, reports Kubatko, who notes that Rice will serve as an assistant of sorts to president Andy MacPhail. Rich Dubroff of CSNMidAtlantic.com writes (near the bottom of his column) that Rice will be an assistant GM with the Phillies. With his new organization, Rice will be reunited with MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak, both of whom he knows well from the trio’s days in the Baltimore front office last decade.
  • Kubatko also hears that a move from left field to right field for Korean signee Hyun Soo Kim is out of the question due to concerns over his arm. Additionally, he notes that Kim’s contract does not allow him to be optioned to the Minors without his consent, and the contract also allows Kim to become a free agent after his two years are up. Per Kubatko, Kim could have received a longer contract worth a larger guaranteed sum by remaining in Korea, but his desire to play in the Majors outweighed the immediate financial opportunities in his home country. (Additionally, I’d note that with two strong years in the Majors — or even two competent years — Kim would be poised to earn significantly more than he could make in Korea.)
  • First base prospect Christian Walker tells Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun that he can’t help but follow the club’s pursuit of free agent Chris Davis and wonder about how either outcome would impact his future with the organization. Still, Walker tells Encina that his primary focus is on preparing for the 2016 campaign and returning to the Majors, where he’s received a small taste of 31 plate appearances. Walker, 24, has an impressive .292/.360/.488 batting line at the Double-A level but has struggled a bit more in Triple-A, batting .257/.327/.424. Walker, as Encina notes, fell out of Baseball America’s Top 10 Orioles prospects this season. He came in at No. 17 on Fangraphs’ recent breakdown of the Orioles’ prospects.
  • In another column, Kubatko reminds that the Orioles left right-hander Mychal Givens off their 40-man roster last winter, leaving him unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft. Any club could’ve had Givens, he notes, and the Orioles are fortunate to have retained his promising arm. Givens, a converted shortstop, struggled with his control in 2014 but had a breakout year in 2015 when he recorded a 1.73 ERA with 12.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 57 1/3 innings at Double-A. Givens, 25, made his big league debut last season in Baltimore and posted strikingly similar numbers: a 1.80 ERA with 11.4 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in 30 innings. A change in arm slot and more experience on the mound helped the former infielder take his game to a new level, Kubaatko writes. http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2015/12/givens-not-assuming-hes-in-bullpen-in-2016.htmlGivens tells Kubatko that he’s not merely assuming that he’s won a spot in the 2016 ’pen — though I’d wager that’s a safe assumption.

Latest On Yoenis Cespedes’ Market

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DEC. 30: Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that after checking around with the Orioles in light of their connection to Cespedes, he doesn’t get the sense that any deal is close. Kubatko writes that a team source indicated no chance of the Orioles going near MLBTR’s projected $140MM price tag on Cespedes, and another source told Kubatko that a contract proposal hasn’t even been presented to ownership at this time. Pitching remains the Orioles’ primary focus at this time, according to Kubatko.

DEC. 29: The Orioles and White Sox are emerging as the favorites to land outfielder Yoenis Cespedes “for now,” reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). According to Sanchez, the Giants and Angels are also “in the mix,” and the Rangers are monitoring the situation (though Sanchez’s implication seems to be that they’re relatively far removed from a serious pursuit).

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports linked the ChiSox to Cespedes earlier this morning while reporting that the club was actively seeking an outfield upgrade. Per Rosenthal, longtime division rival Alex Gordon is still on the Sox’ radar as well as the team searches for a superior corner option — presumably, an upgrade over Avisail Garcia. Either Garcia or Melky Cabrera would be logical candidates to lose playing time in the event of an outfield acquisition for the Sox, though the team could try to find a taker for some of Adam LaRoche’s contract and move Cabrera to DH instead. Cabrera, though, batted a solid .288/.330/.449 with 11 homers from June 1 through season’s end after initially struggling with his new team in 2015, so he’s probably still in the team’s plans. (The $29MM owed to him from 2016-17 undoubtedly plays a role in that picture as well.)

The Orioles have a clear need for additional help in the outfield corners, as Adam Jones currently projects to be flanked MLB newcomer Hyun-soo Kim and Nolan Reimold. While Kim, one of the top hitters in the Korea Baseball Organization over the past several years, could emerge as a viable everyday option, he’s untested and figures to have some form of adjustment period even if he does prove to be a quality Major Leaguer. Adding Cespedes to the mix would lessen the need for immediate production from Kim, who could perhaps be eased into MLB a bit more, as countryman Jung Ho Kang was with the Pirates in 2015.

For Baltimore, adding Cespedes would unquestionably require a franchise-record contract (though the same could be said of the White Sox), as Jones’ six-year, $85.5MM deal is the largest in club history at this time. Baltimore has made a strong effort to retain slugger Chris Davis this offseason, reportedly offering $150MM over a seven-year term. Cespedes’ ultimate price tag could approach that point, though many predictions, including MLBTR’s six-year, $140MM projection from early November, have him falling shy of that mark. An earnest pursuit of Cespedes would at the very least clash with previous reports pertaining to the Orioles, which indicated that the team was only interested in spending this type of money on Davis and would not re-allocate the funds to another top-tier free agent were Davis to ultimately sign elsewhere. While the extent of their willingness to spend may be somewhat uncertain,it seems unlikely that the Orioles would be able to sign both Cespedes and Davis. In other words, if Baltimore does indeed bring Cespedes into the fold, it would probably spell the end of Davis’ tenure with the Birds. Should that prove to be the case, the Orioles can deploy trade acquisition Mark Trumbo at first base in 2016, giving the club a wealth of right-handed pop between Cespedes, Trumbo, Jones and Manny Machado.

The Angels have long been connected to corner outfield upgrades, and GM Billy Eppler has said he believes owner Arte Moreno will approve a luxury tax penalty for the right player. The rest of the team’s moves this winter, however, would seem to indicate a strong preference to remain underneath that $189MM barrier, however, as the additions of free agents Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry as well as trade pickups Yunel Escobar and Andrelton Simmons have all been of the lower-cost variety (financially speaking).

As for the Giants, they’ve been more than willing to spend this offseason, adding both Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto to their rotation after a strong pursuit of Zack Greinke came up short and giving Brandon Crawford a $75MM extension. The three players received a combined $285MM in guaranteed money from the Giants, and GM Bobby Evans recently said on MLB Network Radio that he still hopes to add a left fielder, thereby shifting Gregor Blanco into a valuable fourth outfield role. Evans emphasized the trade market in that interview, though one wouldn’t expect a GM to openly broadcast his desire to spend top dollar on a free-agent upgrade, either.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12-29-15

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Orioles and veteran infielder Paul Janish have agreed to a minor league contract with an invite to big league Spring Training, reports MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. The 33-year-old defensive specialist will return to the same organization with which he spent the entire 2015 campaign, where he’ll again serve as infield depth. Per Kubatko, the Orioles love Janish’s glove and consider his defense to be at least on par with starting shortstop J.J. Hardy, and while he may begin the season with Triple-A Norfolk, there’s a good chance that the O’s will ultimately select his contract due to his defensive prowess, as they did in 2015. Janish batted .235/.313/.272 in 344 minor league plate appearances with the Orioles last season before hitting .286/.278/.371 in 36 Major League plate appearances after being moved up to the bigs. Janish can provide strong defense at three positions and drew interest from the Astros as well, as Kubatko adds that Houston was a finalist before Janish elected to return to Baltimore.

Quick Hits: Strauss, Tigers, Castellanos, Martinez

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Joe Strauss, who covered the Braves, Orioles and Cardinals over three decades as a reporter and columnist for several news outlets, passed away today at age 54 due to complications from a battle with leukemia.  Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko are just a few of the many peers who paid tribute to Strauss with chronicles of his outstanding career and remembrances of their friend and colleague.  Countless news items from Strauss appeared on this website’s pages over the years, and all of us on the MLB Trade Rumors staff send our condolences to Strauss’ friends and family.

Here are some notes from around the game as we head into a new week…

  • The Tigers have been getting calls about Nick Castellanos, Tony Paul of the Detroit News reports.  Castellanos was a 2010 first-rounder and a former top prospect, though he’s underwhelmed both offensively and defensively in two full Major League seasons, posting negative fWAR totals in both 2014 and 2015.  These struggles notwithstanding, it’s probably unlikely that Detroit would move Castellanos since he’s only 23 and under team control through the 2019 season.
  • Also from Paul, he guesses that once J.D. Martinez and the Tigers get talking about an extension, the negotiations will be in the neighborhood of a four-year, $60MM deal.  This contract could be backloaded, which would allow the team to pursue more upgrades now and pay Martinez his biggest salaries later once other large contracts have come off the books.  Martinez is entering his age-28 season now and has two remaining years of arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency, so under Paul’s projected extension, Martinez would reach the open market as a 32-year-old having given up two free agent years.  The $60MM number may be a little conservative, in my view, given how first-rate hitting is at a premium.
  • While the Tigers aren’t shy about spending, Paul doesn’t think the team will stray too far (if at all) over the luxury tax limit, so landing a top outfield name like Yoenis Cespedes or Alex Gordon is probably unrealistic.  Detroit could move another big contract like Ian Kinsler to make payroll space, though Paul points out that the team would just be creating a new hole at second base to solve a hole in left field.  The Tigers could instead save any payroll room for a trade deadline addition.
  • At the Winter Meetings, Orioles manager Buck Showalter told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko that the club was willing to surrender its first round draft pick (14th overall) to sign the right qualifying offer free agent but it wouldn’t be without great consideration.  “It would have to be something that really fits. But we would if we had to,” Showalter said.  “But one of our big days is going to be…in June, we got seven picks in the first 100 in the draft. I don’t know if we’ve ever had that. This is big for us. We can solidify our already strong system.”  An interesting wrinkle to Showalter’s statement is that the O’s are actually guaranteed to have only five picks within the first 91 selections.  They would only receive those two other picks if QO free agents Wei-Yin Chen and Chris Davis both signed elsewhere.  Since Showalter’s statement was made during the Meetings, it would’ve come roughly around the time that Baltimore pulled its $150MM offer to Davis off the table, so the manager’s words could be interpreted as a hint that the O’s could be prepared to move on from the first baseman (though the two sides have since continued to talk).

Quick Hits: Ruth, Davis, Nationals, Yankees

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It was on this day in 1919 that probably the single most influential trade in baseball history was settled, as Red Sox owner Harry Frazee agreed to sell Babe Ruth to the Yankees for a price of $100K (plus a $350K loan from Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert that included Fenway Park’s mortgage put up as collateral).  The trade was officially announced a week later once Ruth had agreed to a new contract.  The rest, as they say, was history.  Ruth’s presence began the Yankees’ historic dominance and “cursed” the Red Sox to a World Series drought that lasted until 2004.

Here’s more from around baseball…

  • The latest subscription-only column from ESPN’s Buster Olney lists the top roster holes left on contending teams, with the Dodgers’ rotation leading the way followed by the Orioles’ need for a power hitter.  Since the O’s pulled their $150MM offer to Chris Davis, some within the organization are asking if that offer should be put back onto the table if Davis revisits talks, given that no other teams are seemingly jumping in to pay Davis $150MM or more.
  • Also from Olney’s column, he wonders if signing Daniel Murphy could make the Nationals more likely to sign another qualifying offer free agent.  The Nats surrendered their first-rounder to sign Murphy, so they’d only be giving up a second-rounder for another QO player.  I’d add that the Nats’ decision could be made even easier by the fact that they at least one and probably two bonus sandwich round picks from their own QO free agents (Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond).  Olney suggests that Dexter Fowler could be the best fit for Washington among the remaining qualifying offer free agents, with Wei-Yin Chen and Ian Kennedy also possibilities as Scott Boras clients.
  • The Phillies serve as a cautionary tale to the Yankees, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, as a team that fell apart due to a thin farm system and little production from veterans on big contracts.  With New York already committing millions to aging veterans, the club is trying to manage the tricky task of getting younger while still remaining a contender, even if that means eschewing adding another big contract in free agency this winter.

AL Notes: Rays, Orioles, Twins

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On December 16th, the Orioles agreed to sign Korean outfielder Hyun-soo Kim to a two-year, $7MM deal.  However, the pact wasn’t officially announced until one week later on December 23rd.  The culprit? – the Orioles’ notoriously thorough physical.  Luckily for both sides, however, Kim was never in any real danger of not passing the exam.

Here’s a look at the American League, including some discussion on what the O’s might do next:

  • In a recent mailbag, a reader asked Bill Chastain of MLB.com if Rene Rivera will still be in the Rays’ plans for the 2016 season.  Rivera had a disappointing first season at the plate in Tampa Bay after coming over via trade, but the Rays are hopeful that he can turn that around while maintaining his solid defense.  The Rays could keep Rivera, Curt Casali, and Hank Conger in ’16, or they might opt to trade one of the three to clear out the surplus.  Keeping all three wouldn’t be a crazy notion as Casali and Conger can provide offense where Rivera cannot.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com wonders where the Orioles’ next left-handed hitter will come from.  Chris Davis, of course, would satisfy that need, but Baltimore has made it clear that it will not wait around for him.  Other alternatives could include signing a left-handed DH like Pedro Alvarez or really opening up the checkbook to ink Alex Gordon.  Meanwhile, the O’s are also expected to take a peek at the available second-tier starters.
  • The Twins were on a mission to keep Mason Melotakis’ recovery under wraps in an effort to keep him away from interested teams in the Rule 5 draft, as Phil Miller writes for Baseball America (sub. req’d).  Ultimately, however, the Twins put him on the 40-man roster rather than risk losing him.

Int’l Notes: Navarro, Kim, Orioles

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The Padres and other clubs had their eye on Japanese standout Nobuhiro Matsuda, but earlier this week the veteran third baseman decided to stay put.  Even though Matsuda had the opportunity to ink a major league deal, he couldn’t turn down a massive four-year deal worth $20-25MM from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.  There was talk that the 32-year-old might have been able to net a multi-year guarantee from an MLB club, but it’s hard to imagine that any team would have given him a deal of that size.

Matsuda is staying overseas, but we have some news on other international talent that will be coming stateside.  Here’s the latest:

  • Contract talks have broken off between second baseman Yamaico Navarro and Korea’s Samsung Lions, a league source tells Yonhap News.  “It’s highly unlikely we will retain Navarro,” the official said. “Unless there’s a dramatic turn of events, we will go our separate ways.”  Navarro hit 31 homers, stole 25 bases, and posted a slash line of .308/.417/.552 in 2014.  This past season, Navarro belted 48 home runs  (good for second in the KBO), notched 22 steals, and posted a .287/.393/.596 line.   It’s not immediately clear if Navarro will set his sights on an MLB return, but if he does, one has to imagine that he will garner some interest.  For what it’s worth, the Lions have concerns about the 28-year-old’s work ethic, according to the report.
  • New Orioles outfielder Hyun-soo Kim thanked Pirates infielder Jung-ho Kang for blazing a trail for him to come stateside.  “I am proud of having signed a major league deal as a Korean player,” Kim said, according to Yonhap News. “I will try not to ruin the groundwork that Jung-ho has laid. I feel some pressure in that regard.”  Kim has put up a big .318/.406/.488 slash in the offensively robust KBO, and last year had his best-ever showing.  Not only did he slash .326/.438/.541, but Kim also banged a career-best 28 home runs.  And, unlike some other KBO players who have moved over to MLB, Kim has displayed tremendous plate discipline.  Last year, he struck out only 63 times while drawing 101 walks.
  • On Friday morning, we learned that Cuban sensation Lazaro Armenteros will be holding a showcase for MLB clubs on January 8th.

Quick Hits: Cespedes, Iwakuma, Payrolls, Gordon, Orioles

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We at MLB Trade Rumors tip our caps to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, who announced today that he is leaving the newspaper after a decade of fine work covering the Orioles.  Connolly’s name is a familiar one to MLBTR readers, as he has been a long-time source for Orioles information — just last week, in fact, Connolly broke the news that the O’s had agreed to sign Hyun-soo Kim.  We wish Dan all the best in his post-Sun endeavors and selfishly hope he keeps writing about baseball in some capacity in the future.

Onto some stocking-stuffer news items as we head into the birthday of Hall-of-Famers Rickey Henderson, Nellie Fox and Pud Galvin, a.k.a. Christmas Day…

  • Yoenis Cespedes’ market has been somewhat slow to develop, though “the Tigers appear to be sitting back waiting for” the free agent outfielder, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  Cespedes’ asking price may also be dropping as the offseason rolls along.  Detroit, Cespedes’ former team, has been linked to the slugger on the rumor mill but Tigers GM Al Avila said during the Winter Meetings that his team was out on both Cespedes and Alex Gordon.  That stance could change, of course, if Cespedes could be had at a lower price, though that feeling undoubtedly applies to more teams than just the Tigers.  The Angels, Orioles, Royals and Giants have also been rumored to have some level of interest in Cespedes this offseason.  Tim Dierkes predicted Cespedes for a six-year, $140MM contract while ranking him sixth on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list.
  • The Mariners’ somewhat unique re-signing of Hisashi Iwakuma and his first contact with the M’s is chronicled by Fangraphs’ Tony Blengino, who was working as a special assistant to the GM in Seattle when Iwakuma was first signed by the club.  Injury concerns have plagued Iwakuma throughout his career — in Japan, possibly scuttling an agreement to join the A’s in 2011, during his stint as a Mariner and a red-flag physical that caused the Dodgers to back away from a three-year agreement.  Blengino also provides some interesting background into how teams approach physicals, as “there’s a fine line between being ’hurt’ and ’injured,’ and an MRI can find damage in just about any shoulder or elbow….It all comes down to the injury risk, in conjunction with the anticipated player production and dollar investment.”
  • A club’s payroll figures consists of far more than just the salaries of the 25-man roster, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times illustrates using the Mariners as an example.
  • Alex Gordon checks the boxes of everything the Royals would want in a franchise player, yet as Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star writes, the financial realities of a mid-market franchise make it unrealistic or even unwise for the Royals to splurge and re-sign the outfielder.  As was reported yesterday, there may be “no chance” of a reunion between the two sides if the Royals’ best offer is only four years and between $48MM-$52MM, a dollar figure Gordon may end up doubling on the open market.
  • Hyun-soo Kim had a “follow up” to his first physical with the Orioles that caused a delay in the club’s official announcement of their contract with the Korean outfielder, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports.  Despite the delay, “Kim never was in real danger of failing his physical,” so it appears the O’s were just being cautious.
  • In a separate item from Kubatko, he provides “non-update updates” on several bits of Orioles offseason business, noting that there haven’t been any new developments in the team’s talks with free agents like Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen, Yovani Gallardo or Scott Kazmir.

Orioles Notes: Davis, Berry, Worley

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Earlier this week we learned that the Orioles are among the clubs that have checked in on free agent pitcher Mat Latos.  Latos, 28, is likely seeking a one-year deal to re-establish his value, unlike hurlers like Scott Kazmir, Yovani Gallardo, Ian Kennedy, and Wei-Yin Chen who would all probably require a multi-year commitment.  That could be right up the O’s alley as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun doesn’t believe that the Orioles will go beyond three years in their efforts to land a free-agent starting pitcher.

Here’s more out of Baltimore:

  • Hot Stove season typically slows down during the holidays, and that could be a good thing for the Orioles and Chris Davis, Encina writes.  There hasn’t been much progress between the two sides heading into Christmas, but it’s pretty obvious that there’s strong mutual interest in a reunion.  Perhaps in 2016, when we’re a little bit closer to spring training, the two sides will find a way to meet in the middle.
  • More from Encina, who notes that the Orioles did not want to lose left-hander Tim Berry.  On Wednesday, the Marlins claimed the southpaw, despite a forgettable 2015 season.  Baltimore did not want to jettison Berry from the organization – it only wanted to create space on the 40-man roster for other moves.  Berry was one of the Orioles’ top left-handed pitching prospects only two years ago and Miami apparently did not lose sight of that.
  • New Orioles right-hander Vance Worley is looking for a new beginning in Baltimore, as Encina writes.  “I heard they have a really good clubhouse and a really good atmosphere and that’s the chemistry you need for winning, so I’m looking forward to coming over and being a part of it. … Just looking for a fresh start and looking forward to coming over and helping this team out,” said the pitcher.  Worley went on to say that he hopes to return to the starting rotation in 2016.

Marlins Claim Tim Berry

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The Marlins have claimed lefty Tim Berry off waivers from the Orioles, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.

As Cotillo notes, Berry used to rate as a top-ten organizational prospect in Baltimore. But the O’s had him repeat Double-A despite good run prevention numbers in 2014, and the 24-year-old did not respond well. Miami will look to get Berry headed back in the right direction after a forgettable 2015 campaign in which he posted a 7.32 ERA over 82 1/3 innings, with 6.2 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9.

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