Manfred On CBA, Red Sox-Padres Trade, Preller, Ortiz
Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in December, but commissioner Rob Manfred said Sunday that he expects a new CBA in place by the end of the postseason, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). “Both parties still have significant issues on the table,” added Manfred, but he doesn’t believe those concerns are enough for either side to rip up the agreement and start negotiations from scratch (via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, on Twitter).
Manfred, who’s in Boston on Sunday for Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz‘s final regular-season game, also addressed several other important topics:
- After acquiring left-hander Drew Pomeranz from the Padres for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza in July, questions arose in August over whether San Diego was completely honest about Pomeranz’s medical information. It turned out the Padres didn’t reveal that Pomeranz was taking anti-inflammatory medication for his elbow at the time of the deal. Then, when MLB handed Padres general manager A.J. Preller a 30-day suspension in September, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner expressed displeasure with the commissioner’s office, saying, “We felt that some wrong was committed and that it’s important to have a level playing field. The Padres didn’t play on it.” Interestingly, the league gave the Red Sox the opportunity to undo the trade in early August, Manfred revealed, but the non-waiver deadline had already passed by then. Moreover, there was no way for the league to compensate the Red Sox, the commissioner stated. As a result, Boston turned down the offer and kept Pomeranz (Twitter links via MacPherson and Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe). The 27-year-old has scuffled since the trade and is currently dealing with left forearm soreness.
- Whether the Padres fire Preller for his questionable practices is up to them, not the league, according to Manfred (via Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “I felt that that Mr. Preller behaved inappropriately in the situation. He behaved inappropriately to the detriment of two clubs,” said Manfred. “And I thought that a publicly announced suspension of 30 days, which is the longest suspension of a front-office person in 70 years, was a firm statement of our view on how he had behaved or, in this case, misbehaved.” As of Sept. 17, the Padres’ front office was reportedly split on Preller, who, in addition to crossing the Red Sox, didn’t disclose all available medical information in a July trade with the Marlins. As a result, the Preller-led Padres reversed part of what was a large transaction that centered on Andrew Cashner. Ultimately, the Padres re-acquired right-hander Colin Rea from Miami and sent pitching prospect Luis Castillo back to the Marlins. That came after Rea left his sole Marlins start with an elbow injury. Rea is now attempting to stave off Tommy John surgery.
- Ortiz was among 104 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003, but Manfred downplayed that. The list didn’t distinguish therapeutic use exemptions from PEDs, per Manfred, who called it “unfair” and “wrong” that the positive test might negatively affect Ortiz’s legacy (Twitter links via MacPherson and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe).
Red Sox Notes: DH, Ramirez, Kimbrel, Vazquez
The American League East-winning Red Sox are headed for the postseason, but designated hitter David Ortiz‘s illustrious career is also nearing an end. Ortiz will play his final regular-season game Sunday, and despite his age (40), he has been the top hitter in Boston’s major league-best offense this year. With the offseason approaching, the Red Sox will soon need to find a replacement for Ortiz, which is something their pro scouting department has been working on since August, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. “We’ll do all that coverage in August and September,” general manager Mike Hazen told Drellich. “You have a month-and-a-half to scout the major leagues before you switch gears (to prepare for the playoffs), and if you’re not advancing, then you do it for all September.” While the Red Sox are looking into free agent options to take over for Ortiz, they’ll also consider moving first baseman Hanley Ramirez to DH on at least a part-time basis, per Drellich. Ramirez has bounced back from a dreadful 2015, his first season with the BoSox, to post a .286/.360/.500 line with 29 home runs in 616 plate appearances this year. His time at first base has also gone better than last season’s disastrous experiment in left field, though advanced metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating still give him low marks.
A couple more notes on the Red Sox, who will face the Indians in the ALDS:
- Closer Craig Kimbrel has scuffled over the past week, but manager John Farrell said Saturday that he isn’t considering flipping him and red-hot setup man Koji Uehara for the playoffs. “At this moment, no,” Farrell told Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. The Red Sox will instead focus on fixing a flaw in Kimbrel’s delivery that has caused the longtime late-game ace to move “a little side-to-side,” per Farrell. “You get into some bad habits when you get a little rotational. I felt like tonight I was a little better,” said Kimbrel after taking the loss, 4-3, to Toronto on Saturday. Kimbrel walked a batter, threw a wild pitch and yielded the deciding run in the ninth inning. The 28-year-old has allowed at least one earned run in three of his previous four outings, but he hadn’t surrendered any in a 16-appearance streak that spanned from Aug. 13 to Sept. 22.
- Although catcher Christian Vazquez has totaled just eight at-bats since the All-Star break, the 26-year-old might crack the ALDS roster as Boston’s backup to Sandy Leon, per Chris Smith of MassLive.com. Of the Red Sox’s reserve backstop options (Ryan Hanigan and Bryan Holaday are the others), Vazquez could stand the best chance of countering Cleveland’s base-stealing prowess. The Indians rank fourth in the majors in steals (134) and third in FanGraphs’ BsR metric, while the strong-armed Vasquez has thrown out 41 percent of baserunners between Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket this season. Hanigan has helped prevent 7-of-25 runners from stealing this year, while Holaday has stymied a more impressive 8-of-22.
Lourdes Gurriel Setting Up Private Workouts With MLB Clubs
Free agent infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who hosted a showcase attended by roughly two-thirds of the league earlier this month, is setting up private workouts with “about a half-dozen” clubs, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Currently known to have a private audition in the works are the Red Sox, Cardinals, Astros and Marlins, according to Heyman.
Gurriel, the younger brother of Astros infielder Yulieksi Gurriel, was declared a free agent in early August and is considered one of the better all-around prospects on the international market. He’s currently subject to international bonus pools, but that’ll change next month on Oct. 19 when Gurriel turns 23. At that point, he’ll be free to sign with any MLB club for any amount, so the Red Sox will have a shot at him even though they’re currently restricted in their signings of players that are subject to international bonus restrictions (i.e. players that are under 23 and/or have fewer than five years of professional experience).
Gurriel is a career .277/.362/.426 hitter in just under 1100 plate appearances in Cuba’s top professional league, although those numbers include some lackluster stats from his years as a teenager. Gurriel batted .308/.388/.466 as a 20-year-old in the 2014-15 season, and he was even more impressive as a 21-year-old in the 2015-16 season, hitting .344/.407/.560 with 10 homers in 245 plate appearances. Gurriel is primarily a shortstop but is also said to be capable of sliding over to third base, second base or the outfield. At 6’4″ and 205 pounds, it certainly seems possible that Gurriel will eventually have to move off of shortstop, given his size relative to his peers at that position.
Drew Pomeranz Won’t Start Again This Season
Red Sox left-hander Drew Pomeranz won’t make another start this season, manager John Farrell told reporters, including WEEI’s Rob Bradford. Pomeranz has been feeling some soreness in his left forearm and has also pitched a career-high 169 1/3 innings this season whilst splitting the year between San Diego and Boston. Farrell stated that Pomeranz came out of his last start “a little more sore” but emphasized that the lefty isn’t being shut down and will hopefully make a bullpen appearance before season’s end. If Pomeranz is deemed healthy enough, he could be a bullpen option in the postseason, but his status for the playoffs remains unclear, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.
The news on Pomeranz is magnified by the fact that the Red Sox were reportedly unhappy with the lack of medical information disclosed by the Padres prior to the trade that sent Pomeranz to Boston in exchange for top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza. Major League Baseball has already suspended San Diego general manager A.J. Preller for 30 days, without pay, due to the fact that the Padres withheld medical information in the Pomeranz trade. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets that Red Sox officials declined comment about the specifics of what was withheld today in the wake of Farrell’s announcement, but it was “very clear” that the officials to whom he spoke are angry.
Bradford tweets that in spite of this recent development, the Pomeranz case will remain closed. Reports at the time of Preller’s suspension indicated that the White Sox, among other teams, were “enraged” with the Padres and felt that they were knowingly deceived, but based on Bradford’s tweet, it doesn’t appear that there will be any further action taken against San Diego. The 27-year-old Pomeranz pitched to a 2.47 ERA in 102 innings with the Padres this year, but his performance has slipped with the BoSox, as he’s worked to a more pedestrian 4.68 ERA in 67 1/3 innings. Boston controls him via arbitration for another two seasons beyond the current campaign.
AL Notes: Kluber, Richards, Sandoval, Castellanos
As if the Indians needed another rotation injury question mark, ace Corey Kluber left yesterday’s contest with a groin strain. Fortunately, the matter does not appear to be of major concern, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports. Kluber was pulled mostly for precautionary reasons — with the division already in hand, Cleveland has little reason to push him. Instead, manager Terry Francona suggested, the aim is “to get him healthy” with the postseason beckoning.
Here’s more from the American League:
- Angels righty Garrett Richards will test his stem-cell-bolstered elbow out against live batters for the first time tomorrow, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Richards is brimming with confidence in a joint that once seemed certain to cost him all of the 2017 season after already taking most of 2016. Now, he says, “I feel like I could go pitch in a game right now.” Assuming the one-inning simulated game goes well, Richards will throw two instructional league innings and begin ramping up his innings before shutting things back down for what he hopes will largely be a normal winter.
- While a postseason return to the Red Sox for Pablo Sandoval seems rather implausible, manager John Farrell said it isn’t off the table entirely in an appearance on MLB Network on Sirius XM (Twitter link). “He’s done a very good job in rehab,” Farrell said of Sandoval. “In the event of an injury he could be part of the conversation.” Turning to the 30-year-old third baseman, who has only appeared in three games this year and struggled badly ever since coming to Boston, would obviously be something of a last-ditch move. But it’s also quite promising to see that Sandoval is even drawing this kind of consideration, as it suggests that the team is optimistic in his progress — and could perhaps yet receive from value from his sizable contract.
- Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos is ready for an intrasquad game as he continues to work back from a broken bone in his hand, as MLB.com’s Kyle Beery reports. The 24-year-old may yet make it back by the end of the regular season, skipper Brad Ausmus said, which would represent a nice addition if the team is still pushing for a Wild Card spot. Castellanos has broken out this year with a .286/.331/.500 batting line and 18 home runs over 432 plate appearances, which has not only firmly planted him in the team’s plans for the coming seasons but has also set him up nicely for his first season of arbitration eligibility.
Quick Hits: Britton, Harper, Ramos, Bregman, McCullers, Rasmus, Abad
Orioles closer Zach Britton has turned in a season to remember, and it’s not all that surprising given his recent excellence. Still, it wasn’t long ago that such a showing seemed highly improbable, as Danny Knobler of Bleacher Report writes. Britton was no lock to make the O’s roster out of camp in 2014, but the refinement of his unbelievable power sinker that year has turned the southpaw into arguably the game’s most dominant reliever. Knobler takes an interesting look at Britton’s transformation as a pitcher, as well as his earlier path toward the majors.
Here are a few more stray notes from around the game:
- Nationals star Bryce Harper suffered a thumb injury that caused some concern, but manager Dusty Baker said tonight that X-rays were negative, as Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter links). Washington is suddenly facing a variety of significant health concerns as it readies for the NLDS, though at least in Harper’s case the prognosis seems promising. Catcher Wilson Ramos is a new concern after leaving tonight’s game following a play at the plate. He’s due for an MRI tomorrow, the results of which could have huge implications for both the team and his coming run through free agency.
- Burgeoning Astros infielder Alex Bregman could be back sooner than expected after a “leap forward” in his recovery from a hamstring strain, MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart reports. Indeed, he could appear as soon as this week. While the timetable isn’t quite as promising for righty Lance McCullers Jr., he might be ready to go for the postseason if Houston can sneak in. Meanwhile, there’s said to be little chance that outfielder Colby Rasmus will return to uniform before qualifying for free agency.
- It’s possible that Red Sox deadline addition Fernando Abad won’t even crack the team’s postseason roster, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. The veteran southpaw has largely been quite good against opposing lefties since coming to Boston, but he has still coughed nine earned runs with a dozen strikeouts and eight walks in his 12 2/3 innings of work. Though nothing has been decided, manager John Farrell did acknowledge that the club is assessing both Abad and rookie lefty Robby Scott for the postseason pen. Scott, 27, has just six MLB appearances on his ledger, though he has yet to allow a run.
AL East Notes: Trumbo, Red Sox, Bautista, Encarnacion
The latest column from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports focuses on the league-wide home run surge in 2016. MLB is on pace to set a new record for the most homers in a season on a per-plate-appearance basis. Passan profiles players either experiencing shocking levels of power output (e.g. Brian Dozier, Freddy Galvis) or enjoying a significant rebound in the power department, led by Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo. Acquired in a salary dump with the Mariners, Trumbo’s one-dimensional nature created virtually no trade market for him, Passan notes, and while his power spike will improve his stock this offseason, the one-dimensional questions will still exist. Trumbo is one of baseball’s worst defensive outfielders and has a below-average OBP because he walks less than the prototypical slugger. Still, a much older Nelson Cruz parlayed a 40-homer season into a four-year, $57MM contract, Passan notes, and he came with similar defensive question marks. I’d imagine that a team hoping to put Trumbo at first base wouldn’t be as concerned with his glove, but the combination of his defensive reputation, lack of OBP and a the presence of a qualifying offer will all be working against him.
More from the AL East…
- The Red Sox won’t have a late-inning baserunning specialist this postseason as they have in each of their recent World Series runs, writes WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. Boston has previously leaned on Dave Roberts, Joey Gathright and Quintin Berry to serve as a bench weapon late in postseason contests — deploying each with great success in base-stealing situations. The Sox reached out to Berry once again this season following his release from the Angels, but Berry elected to sign with the division-rival Blue Jays, who ultimately released him on Sept. 7 — after the postseason eligibility deadline. There was also some hope that Yoan Moncada could fill the role, but he’s committed a few baserunning blunders that have led the Sox to question whether he’s capable of handling such a stage, Bradford points out.
- There are more teams in the league that believe Edwin Encarnacion can still play a passable first base on an everyday basis than there are teams that believe Jose Bautista can still be an everyday right fielder, per Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair. Certainly, both Blue Jays sluggers will garner interest from American League clubs this winter given the fact that either could spend some time at DH in future seasons, but Blair also notes that there are “at least a couple” of NL teams that view Encarnacion as a viable first base option. Encarnacion, who will turn 34 this offseason, has seen considerably more time at DH than first base in the past two seasons, though it doesn’t sound as if he’ll be viewed strictly in that light this winter. Bautista, meanwhile, will turn 36 in October and has missed time with a knee sprain this season. Both Defensive Runs Saved (-9) and Ultimate Zone Rating (-5) are pessimistic about his defense.
Pablo Sandoval Could Return This Season
Red Sox manager John Farrell says third baseman Pablo Sandoval is “well ahead of schedule” in his rehab and could potentially be an option for the Red Sox next month, as Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports (Twitter links). Farrell seems to be suggesting that the Sox would likely treat Sandoval as an option only in the case of an injury to another player, such as current third baseman Travis Shaw.
In May, Sandoval had shoulder surgery and appeared likely to be out for the season. Since then, though, he’s reportedly lost 22 pounds, as WEEI’s Rob Bradford tweeted last month. Sandoval is currently playing DH in Red Sox instructs.
Sandoval, of course, had a miserable first season in Boston in 2015, batting just .245/.292/.366 while also struggling defensively. This year, he’s collected just seven plate appearances and doesn’t have a hit. Given his previous struggles, the length of time he’s been away and the approaching end of the regular season, it would be quite a story if Sandoval were to contribute this season, even in the playoffs. That possibility seems unlikely, to say the least.
Still, it bodes well for Sandoval that he’s progressed quickly enough that the Red Sox are open to the possibility of an early return. He still has three years and $58MM remaining on his contract, so there’s still time for the team to recoup a bit of value from the $95MM investment in Sandoval they made in the 2014-15 offseason.
AL East Notes: Gibbons, Yankees, Kelly, Uehara
More from the AL East…
- With such little certainty in their rotation heading into the 2017 season, the Yankees need to focus on starting pitching this winter, opines ESPN’s Buster Olney (Insider subscription required). Olney surmises that the Yankees have the financial firepower to add via free agency and should target left-hander Rich Hill as a high-upside addition to the staff. While Hill doesn’t come with much in the way of certainty himself, adding him would allow the team to enter the season with a high-upside mix of rotation arms and conserve its prospect depth and make a midseason pitching acquisition at a time when a greater number of targets will be available.
- Joe Kelly is demonstrating the potential to be a shutdown reliever for the Red Sox and could develop into a late-inning weapon in that role next season, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. MacPherson spoke to Red Sox pitching analyst (and former big league pitcher) Brian Bannister about Kelly, with Bannister noting that Kelly has one of the best spin rates of any pitcher in baseball on his curveball. “As a reliever, he can showcase that much more often,” said Bannister of Kelly, who has all but cut out his changeup and slider since moving to the bullpen. “It’s as impressive of a curveball as you’ll see out of anybody. It’s just a matter of finding out how far that can take him.” Kelly would like another chance at starting, however, according to MacPherson, though the Red Sox have yet to have the necessary conversations to determine if they’ll give him that chance.
- Sticking with the Boston ‘pen, the Globe’s Nick Cafardo writes that the return of Koji Uehara has helped to stabilize what was once a weak point for the Red Sox and turn it into a strength. Uehara’s return, paired with Kelly’s emergence, has allowed Robbie Ross Jr. and Brad Ziegler to be used in more specialized high-leverage roles. Uehara’s strong work late in the season makes it imperative that the Sox try to re-sign him this winter, Cafardo opines, despite the fact that he’ll pitch next season at age 42.
Pitcher Injury Notes: Wendelken, Matz, Kazmir, Salazar, Wright, Solis
Athletics righty J.B. Wendelken is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery, as Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com reports. The 23-year-old, who came over as part of last winter’s Brett Lawrie trade, had received scattered major league work in Oakland, allowing 14 earned runs with a dozen strikeouts and nine walks over 12 2/3 innings. He showed more promise at Triple-A, with a 4.11 ERA and 12.7 K/9 in his 46 frames, but he also experienced control problems (5.1 BB/9) for the first time in his professional career.
Here are some more pitching health notes:
- The Mets plan to put lefty Steven Matz on the hill tomorrow after he showed well in a bullpen session yesterday, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. “He looked very good,” said manager Terry Collins. “He looked nice and easy.” New York’s most recent attempt to ease a starter back into the rotation did not end well, and the team is certainly hoping for a smoother transition this time around. If he can stay healthy, Matz would represent a key asset over the final ten days of the regular season as well as a hopeful postseason berth beyond that.
- While their own rotation health situation is generally on the upswing, the Dodgers will be looking to see whether southpaw Scott Kazmir can hold up in a major league start, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The 32-year-old last appeared a month ago and carries a 4.59 ERA in 135 1/3 innings on the year. He’ll follow Brett Anderson, who goes today, as the team looks to assess its options for the playoffs.
- Also facing postseason roster decisions with a key arm are the Indians, who are hoping that righty Danny Salazar can return — albeit as a reliever, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Salazar is still not ready for mound work, but has begun rebuilding arm strength in hopes that he can be ready for a possible relief role in the ALDS. For now, it’s still a measured process. “If he starts to feel real good, they can speed it up,” said manager Terry Francona.
- It’s unclear whether the Red Sox will give serious consideration to using right-hander Steven Wright in the postseason, if he’s able to return, but there’s some hope that he’ll soon present that option. As Scott Lauber of ESPN.com tweets, Wright is set to meet up with the team and may be ready for a pen session as he continues to test his balky shoulder.
- It’s also not apparent what plans the Nationals may have for left-handed reliever Sammy Solis, who has been sidelined with his own shoulder troubles. But it seems he’s now making forward progress, as Dan Kolko of MASN tweets that Solis felt good after a 25-pitch session on the mound. He could soon face hitters, which might pave the way for a return to the majors right at the end of the regular season, conceivably making him a playoff option.