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Sandoval To San Diego? Dombrowski's Red Sox Operating Differently

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On the notion of the Padres trading right-hander James Shields to the Red Sox for benched third baseman Pablo Sandoval, one scout told Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, “James Shields is not good in Fenway Park in his career. Some people think he’s a National League pitcher at this point of his career. But it’s one fewer year (on his contract) than Sandoval. I think Sandoval would be better off outside of Boston. I think he’s been eaten whole there. That trade actually would make some sense.” Both players are coming off down seasons, albeit Shields was easily the more valuable of the two in 2015. Shields, 34, exceeded the 200-inning barrier for the ninth straight year and set a career high with a 9.61 K/9, but he also logged personal worsts in BB/9 (3.6) and FIP (4.45) to accompany a mediocre 3.91 ERA. Sandoval is a half-decade younger (29), though that plus is offset by a well-known weight problem and the fact that he had the worst fWAR in baseball in 2015 (-2.0). Moreover, the two carry undesirable financial commitments. Shields is due $60MM over the next three years, though he can opt out and become a free agent after next season. That would mean leaving $44MM on the table, however. Sandoval, meanwhile, is owed $70MM through 2019. Both players’ deals have expensive club options at the end that their respective teams surely won’t exercise, which will lead to buyouts ($2MM for Shields in 2019, $5MM for Sandoval in 2020).

  • With president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski in charge, the Red Sox are a meritocracy when it comes to putting together a roster, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes. That was evident in the team’s decision to relegate Sandoval, whom it signed just a year ago, in favor of Travis Shaw at the hot corner. The Dombrowski-led Red Sox began the trend of valuing performance over contract when they elected last summer to end the short-lived, disastrous experiment of Hanley Ramirez in left field, Speier notes. “My focus is on the guys that are in uniform, not what’s attached to them or what their contract states,” manager John Farrell said. “We’re all about evaluating and what’s best for our team.”

Red Sox Name Travis Shaw As Starting Third Baseman, Pablo Sandoval To Bench

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Red Sox manager John Farrell informed media members today that Travis Shaw has won the starting third base job.  The move relegates Pablo Sandoval, still owed $75MM on his contract through the 2019 season, to a bench role.

While the Sox have openly stated all spring that roster spots will be determined by performance, it’s still eye-opening to see Sandoval go from vaunted offseason signing to backup in the span of just one year.  Sandoval struggled badly in his first season in Boston, hitting just .245/.292/.366 over 505 plate appearances and posting terrible defensive numbers (-21.9 UZR/150, minus-11 Defensive Runs Saved) at the hot corner.

Farrell noted (hat tip to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald) that Shaw’s defense clinched the decision, which makes sense given that both players hit well during Spring Training — Shaw has an .898 OPS over 58 spring PA, while Sandoval has an .848 OPS over 39 PA.  Sandoval also missed some dealing with a bad back, which looks like it cost him valuable playing time.

Though Sandoval was recently scouted by the Padres, there hasn’t been much trade chatter about the veteran third baseman, which isn’t exactly surprising given his big contract and poor season.  The Panda is just one of multiple payroll albatrosses on Boston’s payroll; between Sandoval, Rusney Castillo and Allen Craig, the Red Sox have almost $38MM tied up in players who aren’t expected to be everyday players (or, in Craig’s case, even in the majors).  That’s not counting Hanley Ramirez, who also heavily underachieved in his first year in Boston and is owed $66MM through 2018 with another $22MM available in a vesting option for 2019.  If the Red Sox were to trade Sandoval or any of these players, they would very likely have to eat more of the salary owed or take on another bad contract to facilitate a deal.

Shaw, meanwhile, is under team control through the 2021 season and has made a semi-out of nowhere ascent to a Major League starting lineup.  A ninth-round draft pick in 2011, Shaw was a decently well-regarded prospect (Baseball America ranked him as the 19th best prospect in the Red Sox system prior to 2015, and 26th prior to 2014) who made a large impression in his rookie season, hitting .270/.327/.487 over his first 248 PA in the bigs.  Shaw is a first baseman by trade but has appeared in 104 games at third in the minors and eight games at the position last season with the Sox.

West Notes: D’Backs, Padres, Sandoval

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When Dave Stewart transitioned from being a successful agent to becoming the GM of the Diamondbacks, he left his agency behind.  However, the firm – Sports Management Partners – stayed in the family, as Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic writes.  Initially, the plan was for former big-leaguer Dave Henderson to take over SMP, but the firm was left in limbo after his untimely passing, which led to Lonnie Murray taking on Stewart’s roster of clients.

Of course, there are obvious conflict of interest concerns, particularly with SMP clients Chris Herrmann and Enrique Burgos competing for roster spots in Arizona.  While the MLBPA has been aware of Murray managing SMP, the commissioner’s office apparently did not know Stewart’s wife was representing players until very recently.  For the full story, we highly recommend reading Piecoro’s article.

Here’s more from the West divisions:

  • The Padres reportedly sent a scout to watch Pablo Sandoval, but San Diego GM A.J. Preller downplayed the possibility of anything brewing with the Red Sox.  “Our pro scouts work really hard to look at all 30 clubs. … That’s the nature of what goes on,” Preller said (Twitter link via Dennis Lin of U-T San Diego).  In a twist that surprised many this month, Sandoval is currently competing with Travis Shaw for Boston’s third base job.
  • Yasmany Tomas got a $68.5MM deal when he signed with the Diamondbacks, but making the jump was still tough decision for the outfielder as he had to leave one of his children behind, USA Today’s Jorge L. Ortiz writes.  “Here you have everything, but in some ways you don’t have anything,’’ Tomas said. “There are times we may be at home and we’re down because we don’t have relatives or neighbors we can talk to and say, ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ In Cuba you always find people out, during the day or night. Money is not everything. You can have all the money in the world and not be happy.’’
  • The Rangers traded for Bryan Holaday on Tuesday night in a deal that should strengthen their catching situation behind Robinson Chirinos.  The Tigers got right-hander Myles Jaye and catcher Bobby Wilson in the deal.
  • On Tuesday night, the Angels acquired right-hander Chris Jones from the Orioles in exchange for minor league outfielder Natanael Delgado and infielder Erick Salcedo.

Red Sox Notes: Castillo, Holt, Bradley Jr, Betts

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The Red Sox intend to use Brock Holt as their primary option in left field against left-handed pitching, Ian Browne of MLB.com tweets. That means that high-priced Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo will be battling with Chris Young for playing time against righties. While both could certainly be in the lineup at the same time, manager John Farrell suggested that he sees both Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts as more or less everyday options, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. That certainly could leave few options for Castillo, who is looking to make good on the big contract he signed as a free agent out of Cuba.

Padres Reportedly Scouting Pablo Sandoval

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The Padres have sent a scout to watch Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. It’s far from clear whether that is an indication of serious interest, of course, let alone whether the scout is watching more than just Sandoval. Regardless, it’s the latest hint that there could be some remaining trade chatter to be held between these organizations, who already struck a significant swap early in the offseason.

Red Sox Release David Murphy

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The Red Sox have released outfielder David Murphy, the club announced.  Murphy opted out of his minor league deal with the team yesterday, and the Sox had 48 hours to either release him or add him to the 25-man roster.

Murphy, 34, was signed last month to add some left-handed hitting depth to Boston’s outfield.  Murphy’s chance at a roster spot, however, seemed to diminish as the Red Sox seemed to prefer two internal lefty-swingers (Brock Holt and Travis Shaw), and Murphy has no interest in a Triple-A assignment, hinting that he’d consider retiring before going back to the minors.

As Murphy’s release wasn’t unexpected, the Orioles and other teams have already been rumored to be interested in the veteran.  Baltimore has been linked to such left-handed hitting outfield options as Murphy and the Pirates’ Matt Joyce since the O’s already seem disenchanted with Hyun Soo Kim.  Murphy hit .283/.318/.421 with 10 homers over 391 plate appearances with the Angels and Indians last season.  This is just my opinion, but a reunion with either of those teams wouldn’t be out of the question since both L.A. and Cleveland have unsettled outfields.

Red Sox Release Carlos Marmol

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The Red Sox have released veteran reliever Carlos Marmol, who was in camp on a minor league deal.  The Sox announced the release along with several other roster moves this morning (hat tip to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald).

Marmol was looking to return to the big leagues for the first time since 2014, though his career-long control problems resurfaced in Boston’s spring camp.  Though Marmol only pitched four spring innings, he walked seven batters (to go with five strikeouts) while posting a 6.75 ERA.  At age 33, the question of whether Marmol has thrown his last Major League pitch has to be asked, though his track record and still-tantalizing ability to miss bats may get him another minors deal with another team.

The former Cubs closer has long been defined by his high strikeout and walk totals, posting an 11.6 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 over his 577 career innings with the Cubs, Dodgers and Marlins from 2006-2014.  He spent most of the 2015 season pitching for the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate.

With this morning’s flurry of moves, Boston now has 27 players in its Major League camp as the Sox prepare to get down to 25 men for Opening Day.

Injury Concerns A Reason For Carson Smith Trade?

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  • There has been some speculation that Carson Smith’s potential as an injury risk could’ve been a reason the Mariners dealt the reliever to the Red Sox this winter, Fangraphs’ David Laurila writes.  Smith is on the DL with a strain of his flexor mass muscle and it isn’t known when he’ll return, though the injury isn’t thought to be too serious.  The red flags for Smith are his unusual delivery and his heavy use of the slider — only four pitchers (minimum 60 innings) threw a higher percentage of sliders than Smith did in 2015.  “I’ve heard that my whole life, but throwing from a lower arm slot is something that’s come natural for me,” Smith told Laurila.  “I’ve found ways to manage it, whether it’s the weight room, the trainer’s room, or on the field.”  MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum recently cited Smith as a slightly above-average risk for Tommy John surgery as a part of his larger study to predict which pitchers will require TJ procedure in the future.
  • In other AL East news from earlier today, David Murphy opted out of his minor league contract with the Red Sox and is already drawing interest from the Orioles and other clubs….the Orioles have discussed releasing Hyun Soo Kim from his two-year contract.

David Murphy Opts Out Of Red Sox Contract

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Outfielder David Murphy has opted out of his minor league deal with the Red Sox, according to several media members (including Tim Britton of the Providence Journal).  The club now has 48 hours to either release the veteran or add him to the 25-man roster.

The move doesn’t come as a surprise, as there has already been speculation about other teams (namely the Orioles) that would be interested in Murphy if he was hit the open market.  The 34-year-old hit .283/.318/.421 with 10 homers over 391 PA with the Angels and Indians last season, and he has a career .795 OPS against right-handed pitching, making Murphy a solid candidate for any club looking for left-handed bench depth or a platoon role.  Murphy has hinted that he would consider retiring rather than take a minor league job at this stage of his career, though this could be a moot point if there is a solid market for his services.

If Boston puts Murphy on its Opening Day roster, he’ll receive a $2MM base salary for 2016 as per the teams of his minors contract with the team.  It’s not out of the question that Murphy remains with the Sox, though the team has a number of outfield options to weigh.  Even if Rusney Castillo is sent down to Triple-A, the Red Sox could use Brock Holt or Travis Shaw as the left-handed hitting side of a platoon with Chris Young in left field, rather than retain Murphy.

Orioles Eyeing David Murphy

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Red Sox outfielder David Murphy can opt-out of his contract with the Red Sox today.  If he does, he might not be unemployed for long.  Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe expects Murphy to get calls from multiple teams and he hears from one major league source that the Orioles are among the clubs with interest.  Cafardo adds that Murphy is “likely” to exercise his opt-out clause today.

Murphy, 34, inked a minor league deal with Boston in late February, bringing him back to the organization that drafted him in the first-round of the 2003 draft.  The veteran’s big league journey took him to Texas for parts of seven seasons before he inked a two-year, $12.5MM contract with the Tribe.  That deal didn’t quite go as planned and last season, the Indians shipped Murphy to the Angels.  Between the two stops, he posted a combined .283/.318/.421 slash line with 10 home runs.

So far this spring, Murphy has looked solid and he feels as though he’s done enough to make a big league team.

“I feel I’ve had a decent camp and shown the Red Sox what I can do,” Murphy said. “I just want to end up in a major league uniform.”

By the same token, Murphy says that he would rather retire than play the 2016 season in the minors.  For his career, Murphy owns a .274/.333/.432 big league slash line over ten seasons with the Red Sox, Rangers, Indians, and Angels.

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