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Angels Sign Ben Revere

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The Angels have officially agreed to a one-year, $4MM contract with free-agent outfielder Ben Revere, as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney first reported (Twitter links). There are also incentives in the deal based upon plate appearances that could boost its final value by up to $2.25MM, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag adds (Twitter links). Los Angeles has designated first baseman Ji-Man Choi for assignment to create roster space, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter.

Aug 3, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Ben Revere against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

With Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun entrenched as everyday options in center and right, it seems likely that Revere will mostly share time with Cameron Maybin in left field. The Maybin-Revere pairing figures to represent a higher-grade version of last year’s left-field platoon; while they’ll cost a combined $13MM, both are youthful players who won’t come with any future obligations.

[RELATED: Updated Angels Depth Chart]

Of course, there’s a reason that the fleet-footed Revere was available for such a limited commitment. Though he has been a heavily utilized player for the better part of the last six seasons, and offers quite a lot of versatility, Revere is coming off of a 2016 season which was the worst of his career at the plate.

Revere came to the Nationals last winter after playing in over 150 games in each of the two prior seasons — over which he carried a solid .306/.333/.369 batting line. He also swiped a combined eighty bags and rated as one of the game’s most valuable overall baserunners.

But things simply never took in D.C. After an oblique injury slowed him at the start of the season, Revere ultimately hit just .217/.260/.300 over 375 plate appearances. Though he continued to display excellent contact ability (34:18 K/BB ratio), his BABIP plummeted by about a hundred points (to .234) and drug his average down with it. And while Revere did steal 14 bases, he delivered only average value on the bases.

Given the struggles, Revere’s projected $6.3MM arbitration salary proved too rich for the Nats, who non-tendered him. Now, he’ll join fellow former Nationals Danny Espinosa and Yunel Escobar (each of whom was acquired via trade) as important role players in Los Angeles.

For the Halos, Revere appears to represent a solid value that solidifies an excellent outfield and adds flexibility for skipper Mike Scioscia. If he can return to being even a marginal offensive presence, Revere figures to represent at least a strong fourth outfielder who won’t cost quite as much as many similar players. While he carries neutral platoon splits, the left-handed-hitting Revere represents a natural platoon mate for Maybin and is plenty capable of spelling Trout at times up the middle.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Revere, Braves, Bird, Ross

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Free agent center fielder Ben Revere is reportedly likely to sign in the near future (as MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko first relayed earlier today), and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that the Blue Jays won’t be his landing spot. That crosses the Blue Jays and Orioles (per Kubatko) off the list for Revere — two teams that could conceivably be in the market for a left-handed-hitting outfielder with some speed. Multiple teams still make some degree of sense for Revere, with the Giants, Mariners, Rangers, Angels and Tigers all striking me as on-paper fits (though that list is purely speculative). Non-tendered by the Nats this offseason, Revere logged a dismal .217/.260/.300 batting line in 375 plate appearances in 2016, but he’d batted .305 or better in each of the three prior seasons.

  • Braves president of baseball operations John Hart spoke with MLB.com’s Hal Bodley about the parallels between the rebuild he’s helped to architect in Atlanta and the one that he led in Cleveland back in the early to mid-90s. Hart also discussed the team’s decision to promote Dansby Swanson this past summer and the decision to add a trio of veteran starters — Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, Jaime Garcia — this winter despite the team’s bulk of young pitching. “We didn’t want to stand in the way of our young pitchers, so we went with guys who I think are going to give us innings,” said Hart of adding three starters on one-year commitments. “I think this gives us a more competitive ballclub going into the new park. I don’t think this deviates from the plan we have.”
  • The Yankees “appear content” with Matt Holliday serving as the major offensive addition to their roster this winter, writes MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, which increases the importance of Greg Bird to the team’s 2017 roster. Bird is the early favorite to serve as manager Joe Girardi’s everyday first baseman next year, and GM Brian Cashman said that getting a look at Bird in the Arizona Fall League was important. “All we care about is him having a full healthy Fall League, which he’s done,” said Cashman. “It checks the box and we’ll be looking forward to seeing him in Spring Training. All reports are, he looks good.” Bird and Tyler Austin could compete for time at first base and may eventually settle into a platoon, while the outfield could see Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks in a similar spring battle for playing time, Hoch writes.
  • Nationals right-hander Joe Ross missed significant time with a shoulder injury in 2016, but MLB.com’s Jamal Collier writes that the 23-year-old’s arm is back to health. Ross took a few weeks off to rest his shoulder, and it’s now full strength as Ross progresses through his typical offseason routine. As Collier points out, the trades of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez magnify the importance of getting a healthy season out of Ross. Notably, Ross said he’s tinkering with some potential mechanical alterations to his delivery and throwing program in an effort to stay healthier next year.

Quick Hits: Bautista, Revere, Holaday, Smith

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Jose Bautista has been speculatively linked to the Rays as a possible free agent target, though if Tampa Bay does make a move, MLB.com’s Bill Chastain notes that it might not come until late in the offseason.  The Rays have past used the tactic of coming in late with an offer to a veteran free agent (i.e. Asdrubal Cabrera, Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon) who is running short on options, so the Rays can land the player at a price that fits their limited budget.  Bautista’s market is still pretty unclear as we approach Christmas, with the first-round draft pick attached to him via the qualifying offer seemingly acting as a deterrent to many clubs.  The Rays’ top pick is protected so they would only have to surrender their competitive-balance round selection to sign Bautista — maybe an acceptable risk for a Tampa club that wants to compete in 2017, Chastain notes.

Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • Ben Revere could sign as soon as tomorrow, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports (Twitter links).  The mystery team isn’t the Orioles, Kubatko notes, though the O’s like the outfielder and checked in on him more than once this offseason.  Revere is hoping to bounce back after an injury-marred and mediocre 2016 season that saw him get non-tendered by the Nationals earlier this month.
  • Catcher Bryan Holaday can earn $850K in the majors under his new minor-league pact with the Phillies, Crasnick recently tweeted.  That lands just shy of MLBTR’s $900K arbitration projection for the 29-year-old, though of course he’ll need to earn a roster spot to get it.  Holaday seems to have a solid shot at taking over reserve duties behind presumptive Philadelphia starter Cameron Rupp, though he may need to hold off some younger challengers (and any additional veterans who may be added) in camp.
  • Former Padres and Tigers GM Randy Smith has been hired by the Nippon-Ham Fighters’ front office, according to a Kyodo News report.  Smith will be a senior advisor to Fighters general manager Hiroshi Yoshimura (a former member of Detroit’s front office when Smith ran the club) and the Fighters’ Major League scouting director.

AL Notes: Chapman, Yankees, Encarnacion, Astros, Tigers

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The Yankees believe that the Marlins’ unexpected pursuit of Aroldis Chapman — Miami reportedly offered Chapman a five-year deal worth $87MM — forced New York to spend about $10-15MM more than they would otherwise have had to offer in order to finalize the deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Sherman also adds that the Yankees are still hoping to add a starting pitcher and multiple relievers (one of the left-handed variety), though the Cashman said earlier this week that he doesn’t anticipate adding a free-agent starter due to the high asking prices around the league (via Sherman’s colleague George A. King III).

More from around the American League…

  • In an interesting read for Yankees fans (or for any fan, really), Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues examines the decision to re-sign Chapman from a variety of angles. Axisa questions whether the Yankees, who currently look to be a ways behind Boston in terms of expected 2017 performance, did the right thing in “paying a lot of money now to buy Chapman for the future” and notes the possibility that Chapman will be opting out of his deal just as the bulk of New York’s vaunted young talent is solidifying itself at the big league level. The move also flies somewhat in the face of the desire to get below the luxury tax threshold, Axisa observes, and there are of course ongoing public relations considerations due to last October’s domestic violence allegations.
  • Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that many in the industry still consider the Rangers to be the most logical landing spot for free agent Edwin Encarnacion. Texas reportedly feels that it doesn’t have the financial means to fit Encarnacion into the budget, but GM Jon Daniels and his staff have certainly made some creative value plays for free agents whose markets have crumbled a bit in the past.
  • The Astros prefer not to move upper-level prospects in their search for rotation upgrades, GM Jeff Luhnow tells MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Houston has been asked about top prospect Francis Martes on numerous occasions, McTaggart writes, though Luhnow downplayed the possibility of dealing the right-hander. “The players we’re staying away from are the players that are probably going to start the year on the big league club and are key parts of the 2017 plan,” said the Houston GM. “Martes is a very valuable player, and very valuable players that are close to the big leagues get asked about a lot. That’s no different with him. It would take something significant for us to move him.” McTaggart also notes that outfield prospect Kyle Tucker is “generally considered untouchable.”
  • The Tigers aren’t pursuing an Andrew McCutchen trade tweets MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. They’ve also yet to get involved with the recently non-tendered Ben Revere, tweets MLB.com’s Jason Beck. Detroit has a clear question mark in center field at the moment, but the team is also well-known to be striving to shed payroll and get younger. With that in mind, a pursuit of McCutchen never would’ve made much sense for GM Al Avila’s club, though Revere could be a low-cost option that would have plenty of surplus value in the event of a rebound from last year’s disastrous season.

Outfield Notes: Fowler, Dyson, Soler, Herrera, Revere

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The latest in outfielder rumors…

  • The Blue Jays have offered Dexter Fowler a deal in the neighborhood of four years and $60MM, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports.  This falls short of the $18MM in average annual value that Fowler and his representatives are seeking, though it isn’t such an insurmountable gap that it would rule the Jays out of the running for the free agent outfielder.  The Cardinals continue to be interested in Fowler, Heyman notes, while the Giants and Nationals have also been linked to him in past reports and several other teams are speculative matches for Fowler in all three outfield positions.
  • Royals outfielder Jarrod Dyson is another Cardinals target, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  Dyson has the benefit of coming at a much lower financial or trade cost than Fowler or Royals teammate Lorenzo Cain, plus he would be a good fit for a St. Louis team that has defensive upgrades as a stated offseason goal.
  • The Royals like Jorge Soler, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine tweets.  Rated as one of the game’s best prospects just two years ago, Soler has shown only a few glimpses of his potential at the MLB level and doesn’t have a clear path to regular playing time within the very crowded Cubs outfield.  The Cubs shopped Soler last offseason, and Levine speculates that a deal could be worked out involving K.C. closer Wade Davis, as Chicago is one of several teams interested in Davis.
  • There is some speculation that the Phillies would be open to trading Odubel Herrera, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets.  It would surely take quite a bit to make a deal happen, as Herrera has gone from Rule 5 pick to an everyday contributor for Philadelphia who has hit .291/.353/.419 and 23 homers over his two big league seasons.
  • With the Angels looking for a fourth outfielder who preferably hits from the left side of the plate, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register speculates that Ben Revere could be a good fit.  Revere had a brutal 2016 season and was non-tendered by the Nationals, but Fletcher notes that he has been an Angels target in the past and could be a potential bounce-back candidate.

Notable 2016 Non-Tenders

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Yesterday was the deadline for teams to decide whether to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players, and they cut loose a number of intriguing players, adding to the free agent market at a number of key positions. Here’s a look at the most important non-tenders.

  • Tyson Ross, Padres. San Diego cut Ross and five other players loose on Friday, adding a big name to a thin starting pitching market. Ross missed most of the 2016 season due to injury and had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in October, which figured to require a four- to six-month recovery period. He also wouldn’t have been cheap for 2017, making a projected $9.6MM. Nonetheless, Ross would be an interesting free agent even if there weren’t so little good starting pitching available. In 2015, he pitched 196 innings, with a 3.26 ERA, 3.9 BB/9 and an outstanding 9.7 K/9. He also has a career 56% ground ball rate.
  • Chris Carter, Brewers. Milwaukee designated their first baseman for assignment last week, then officially non-tendered him yesterday. It isn’t typical to see a home run champ non-tendered, but Carter’s consistently high strikeout totals, consistently low batting average and lack of defensive value made him a tricky case, especially since those factors would have been weighted less heavily by the arbitration process than his gaudy home-run totals. We examined the Brewers’ case for non-tendering Carter back in October.
  • Welington Castillo and Rubby De La Rosa, Diamondbacks. That the Snakes would non-tender a consistently productive starting catcher like Castillo rated as one of the tender deadline’s bigger surprises. Castillo batted a fine .264/.322/.423 in 2016 and looks like a strong addition to a rather thin free agent market for backstops. De La Rosa, too, is worth watching this winter — health concerns surely played a role in the Diamondbacks’ decision to cut him loose, and Tommy John surgery could be a possibility at some point after his recent stem cell treatment on his elbow. but De La Rosa’s blistering fastball, solid ground-ball ability and 9.6 K/9 in 2016 make him an intriguing free agent, particularly if teams are optimistic about his health.
  • Ben Revere, Nationals. Washington’s decision to non-tender Revere (who we projected would make $6.3MM through the arbitration process this winter) came as no surprise after he hit just .217/.260/.300 while struggling with an oblique injury in 2016. Still, Revere had batted at least .294 in each of the four previous seasons, stealing 142 bases in that span. He’s also just 28. Teams interested in outfield help could, therefore, view him as a candidate to contribute next season.
  • Seth Maness, Cardinals. St. Louis’ decision to non-tender Maness was surely due in large part to his health, as he had UCL surgery in August. He was, however, consistently productive as a sort of ground ball specialist in parts of four seasons with the Cardinals, producing a lifetime 3.19 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and 59.4 GB%. The Cards portray their decision to non-tender him as mostly a roster issue, as the addition of John Gant in the recent Jaime Garcia trade gave them additional bullpen help, and rookie Matt Bowman emerged in 2016 as a ground ball specialist in his own right.
  • Jeff Manship, Indians. The 31-year-old righty produced an 0.92 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 for Cleveland in a terrific 2015 season and helped again in 2016, with a 3.12 ERA. He had long pitched mostly in the minor leagues before that, though, and his 4.6 BB/9 last season didn’t portend a high degree of future success.
  • Vance Worley, Orioles. Worley’s teams seemingly continue to view him as a marginal player even as he remains consistently useful. In 2016, pitched 86 2/3 innings for Baltimore, generally pitching out of the bullpen but also making four starts. He produced a 3.53 ERA and a 48.1% ground ball rate, although his peripherals (5.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9) headed in the wrong direction. He still looks like a credible long reliever, though, and his ability to start also helps.
  • Jeff Locke, Pirates. The Bucs’ decision to part ways with Locke was likely an easy one after he produced a miseable 5.44 ERA, 5.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 2016, ultimately losing his job in the rotation. Still, Locke has logged at least 127 1/3 innings in each of the last four seasons and could help a team in search of rotation depth this winter.

2016-17 National League Non-Tenders

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The deadline to tender 2017 contracts to players is tonight at 8pm ET. We’ll keep track of the day’s non-tenders in the National League in this post (all referenced arbitration projections courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)…

  • Departing the Rockies’ 40-man are righty Matt Carasiti and infielder/outfielder Stephen Cardullo, the club announced. Neither was eligible for arbitration.
  • The Braves non-tendered righty Chris Withrow, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
  • The Pirates non-tendered lefty Jeff Locke, as had been increasingly expected, as Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Catcher Eric Fryer was also dropped; he was not eligible for arbitration.
  • The Cubs non-tendered four pre-arb players to clear 40-man space, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. Lefty Gerardo Concepcion and righties Zac Rosscup, Conor Mullee, and Christian Villanueva were all taken off the roster.
  • Righty Louis Coleman was not tendered a contract by the Dodgers, per a team announcement.
  • The Reds have non-tendered three players, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Catcher Ramon Cabrera, righty Keyvius Sampson, and outfielder Gabriel Guerrero were all dropped from the roster.
  • As expected, outfielder Ben Revere has been non-tendered by the Nationals. (The non-tender was first reported by the TalkNats blog on Twitter.) The club’s other eligible players — including shortstop Danny Espinosa — have been offered contracts. Revere projected to earn $6.3MM despite an abysmal 2016 campaign, his first in D.C. The 28-year-old still offers speed and defense, but will need to improve quite a bit upon his .217/.260/.300 slash. He has been a near-average bat in prior years, so there’s reason for some optimism, but at that rate it proved too costly.
  • The Cardinals have cut ties with righty Seth Maness rather than tendering him a contract, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets. St. Louis has tendered all its remaining players with arb eligibility. While Maness, 28, has been a steady pen presence for the Cards, he underwent surgery on his UCL in mid-August. He did manage to avoid a full ligament replacement, and comes with another year of control, but evidently the price was too high for the Cards to roll the dice. Maness had projected to receive a $1.6MM salary and would have commanded at least that again in 2018.

Signing Notes: Napoli, Melancon, Revere

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Some items about notable names on the open market….

  • Mike Napoli received some interest from the Mariners earlier this month, though one club official tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune that Napoli “doesn’t fit” into Seattle’s roster plans.  The M’s intend to give Dan Vogelbach and Ben Gamel a clear shot at the regular first base and right field jobs, with Danny Valencia the top choice to spell both against left-handed pitching.  Guillermo Heredia, Richie Shaffer and Taylor Motter are also in the mix as right-handed bats to platoon with Gamel or Seth Smith.  (Dutton’s piece was written before the Mariners acquired yet another right-handed hitting outfielder in Mitch Haniger from the D’Backs.)  With all of these platoon pieces on hand and Nelson Cruz getting the bulk of DH at-bats, there just isn’t room for Napoli.  Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto said earlier today that he is happy with his club’s position players and will now turn his focus to adding starting pitching.
  • Could Colorado native Mark Melancon return to his home state in a Rockies uniform?  Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post has serious doubts, as the Rockies have been burned on big pitching contracts in the past and the team would have to outbid several big-market teams in need of a closer to land Melancon’s services.  Making the signing, on the other hand, would show that the Rockies are serious about contending with their current core of talent, and Melancon would obviously be a big upgrade for a Colorado bullpen that struggled last year.
  • Ben Revere has long been considered a non-tender candidate, and Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com still thinks that will be the case, it isn’t out of the question that Revere returns to the Nationals.  Zuckerman points out that Revere was bothered by an oblique injury for much of the season, which likely contributed to his career-worst .217/.260/.300 slash line over 375 plate appearances.  While Revere could very well bounce back if fully healthy in 2017, I would guess that the Nats would only re-sign him for a backup role or even a minor league deal.

Nationals Notes: Turner, Zimmerman, Ramos, Melancon, Hernandez, Revere

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Nats GM Mike Rizzo spoke with the press today about the offseason to come, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. He expressed satisfaction with the “good, steady brand of baseball” that the club displayed, while acknowledging the disappointment of failing to advance in the playoffs. Rizzo wasn’t keen to offer up much in the way of details on the team’s planning, but did provide some insight. Here are the highlights from his press conference and a few more notes on the team:

  • Rizzo praised his roster’s versatility, suggesting that it allows “a lot of different directions to improve our ballclub.” Trea Turner, in particular, could occupy a middle infield role or play in center — leaving the Nats free to pursue a center fielder, shortstop, or perhaps even a corner outfielder (while moving Bryce Harper to center). As Rizzo put it, Turner’s presence “allows us to build around that, meaning that it gives us more options in the marketplace to improve the ballclub.”
  • One thing that won’t occur is a permanent move of Turner to second base, with Daniel Murphy taking over for Ryan Zimmerman at first. “No, Zim’s our first baseman going into this offseason and spring training,” Rizzo said. The veteran struggled to a .218/.272/.370 batting line this year, by far his worst as a big leaguer, but he made plenty of hard contact (34.7%) and may have been unfortunate to carry a .248 BABIP.
  • The Nats have some notable free agents, of course, including catcher Wilson Ramos and closer Mark Melancon. Rizzo wouldn’t commit to a strategy on the burly backstop, whose season ended with ACL surgery. The plan is to “do all the due diligence on the medicals” before making a call on issuing Ramos a qualifying offer and deciding whether to pursue him.
  • As for Melancon, Rizzo offered effusive praise for his work on the mound and presence in the clubhouse. Looking ahead, though, Rizzo suggested that he isn’t locked into Melancon or the other top relief options on the market. “It’s a broad, deep reliever market this year, and Mark is one of the elite relievers in the marketplace,” he said. “In a perfect world, you’d always like to have a guy that’s done it in the most competitive situations, but that’s not always possible. We’ve got a lot of options as far as guys with plus stuff and plus makeup, and it’s a deep relief market this year. So there’s different avenues to go and different routes that are attractive to us.” One possible internal candidate for ninth-inning duties, righty Shawn Kelley, is expected to be fully healthy after leaving the team’s final game with what looked to be a concerning injury, though it seems fair to expect the organization to pursue a closer regardless.
  • The Nationals’ decision to ink Cuban outfielder Yadiel Hernandez was somewhat uncharacteristic, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post explores. Washington has largely sat out the market for Cuban players, but chose to take a limited risk ($200K bonus without promising a MLB roster spot) on the 29-year-old. Hernandez was worth the risk, per VP of international ops Johnny DiPuglia, because “he’s a legit left-handed hitter who grinds at-bats” and is capable of playing center field. Depending upon how the offseason progresses, Hernandez could conceivably position himself as a depth or even a bench piece, though the team hasn’t staked much on that possibility. “We thought we’d take a chance on him,” said DiPuglia. “He’s got a profile for us. We’ll find out.”
  • One reason to add Hernandez? The fact that the team has an expensive decision to make on left-handed-hitting center fielder Ben Revere, who projects to earn $6.3MM in arbitration even after a dreadful campaign. Zuckerman looks at Revere’s 2016 season and the options for the Nats. From my perspective, there’s no real chance that the team will trust Revere with the regular job in center, making it hard to imagine that it will stake over $6MM on him. That’s especially true given the presence of Brian Goodwin, a former top prospect who made strides at Triple-A and showed well in his first taste of the majors.

 

NL East Notes: Blair, Revere, Herrera, Bonds

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Top prospect Aaron Blair, acquired by the Braves in the Shelby Miller blockbuster, is a “strong possibility” to step into the Atlanta rotation on Sunday, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. While Mike Foltynewicz is another alternative, O’Brien notes that the start aligns better with Blair’s pitching schedule, and Blair has simply outperformed Foltynewicz this season. The primary reason to go with Foltynewicz over Blair would seemingly be to prevent Blair from gaining service time in an effort to avoid Super Two status, but manager Fredi Gonzalez tells O’Brien that such factors aren’t typically a concern for the organization. “I’ve been lucky, ever since I’ve been here that (delaying arbitration clock, avoiding Super Two) has never come out of anybody’s mouth,” said Gonzalez. Blair, 23, was the 36th overall pick in the 2013 draft and has allowed just three runs on 10 hits and five walks with 22 strikeouts through his first 19 innings at Triple-A this season. He rated comfortably among baseball’s top 100 prospects in the eyes of ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 39), Baseball Prospectus (No. 43) MLB.com (No. 54) and Baseball America (No. 60).

More from the NL East…

  • Nationals center fielder Ben Revere is slowly progressing toward a return, writes MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman. Revere, who strained his oblique on Opening Day, has begun running in the outfield and taking light swings, he tells Zuckerman. Though he’s a left-handed hitter, Revere is currently taking right-handed swings, per his doctors’ recommendation, in order to protect his oblique. The fleet-footed 27-year-old is still several weeks away from a return, Zuckerman notes.
  • Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera tells Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com that he has made a concerted effort to improve his plate discipline this season as he looks to cut down on his strikeouts. “Too many for a little guy, you know?” Herrera asked rhetorically in reference to last year’s total of 129 punchouts. Herrera is still striking out at the same rate in 2016 (24 percent), but as Lawrence points out he’s also walked 15 times (22.7 percent) and leads the Majors with 5.03 pitches per plate appearance. The positive trends are strong indicators for one of the players that could be a part of the next contending version of the Phillies’ lineup, Lawrence adds.
  • Barry Bonds has excelled in his new role as the Marlins’ hitting coach, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Passan spoke to Marlins stars Dee Gordon and Giancarlo Stanton, each of whom offered praise for the first-year hitting coach. “I want to get better,” said Gordon. “So why not let him help me get better? That would be foolish and prideful of me to be that way. He’s only the best hitter ever.” Bonds has embraced 2015 hitting coach Frank Menechino (now his assistant hitting coach) and the knowledge of Marlins hitters that he brought to the table, and he’s a down-to-Earth approach in working to educate Marlins batters in the arts of swing mechanics and the mental approach to hitting. “We’re both aware that pitchers’ meetings are about us,” Stanton told Passan. “They want to get us out. We’re the ones they focus on not to beat the other team. How do you maneuver? How do you stay patient?”
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