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Brock Holt

Blue Jays Have Interest In Brock Holt

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The Blue Jays are among the clubs with interest in free-agent infielder/outfielder Brock Holt, tweets MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. Holt was reported to be of interest to the Reds last week as well.

Toronto has been bringing in some veteran infield depth on minor league pacts in recent weeks, inking both Joe Panik and Ruben Tejada. Holt, however, would surely command a guaranteed deal after a strong finish to his seven-year tenure with the Red Sox. The 31-year-old tallied 662 plate appearances with Boston in 2018-19, hitting at a .286/.366/.407 clip with 10 homers, 32 doubles, four triples and eight stolen bases.

The starting infield in Toronto is full, with Travis Shaw at first base and a trio of second-generation youngsters — second baseman Cavan Biggio, shortstop Bo Bichette and third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — set to round out the quartet. Holt has ample experience at all four infield spots and across the outfield, though. He could not only capably back up any of that infield bunch, helping to safeguard against injury, but would also give the Jays a veteran fallback in the event that someone from that talented but still relatively inexperienced group takes a step back and finds himself in Triple-A.

At present, the top backup option on the infield is Brandon Drury, though he’s coming off a second consecutive poor showing, having batted just .218/.262/.380 in 447 plate appearances. Holt would give the Jays a left-handed bench option to pair with the right-handed-hitting Drury, thereby presenting manager Charlie Montoyo with defensive and lineup versatility. Toronto currently projects to a $107MM payroll, which is nearly $60MM shy of its franchise-record level of expenditure.

Reds Interested In Brock Holt

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The Reds are among the teams with interest in free-agent utilityman Brock Holt, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The report comes just one day after Cincinnati president of baseball operations Dick Williams indicated that his club may not yet be done adding pieces prior to the season.

The 31-year-old Holt landed on MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents heading into the offseason after putting together a solid campaign in the last season of a seven-year run with the Red Sox. An eye injury (scratched cornea) kept Holt off the field for several weeks early in the season, but he returned to post a quality .297/.369/.402 slash through 295 trips to the plate. That output aligned closely with what Holt managed to produce a year prior, and his combined .286/.366/.407 slash in 662 plate appearances dating back to 2018 marked a decidedly above-average output.

Holt’s strong showing of late is all the more valuable when factoring in his defensive versatility. He’s been primarily a second baseman over the past two seasons (914 innings) but has also seen time at third base (57 innings), shortstop (186 innings), first base (61 innings), left field (50 innings) and right field (107 innings). Holt has brief experience in center field as well but hasn’t lined up there since 2015. Not only is he versatile, but Holt has racked up +9 Outs Above Average playing around the infield over the past two seasons, per Statcast.

For the Reds, it’s unlikely that Holt would be viewed as a starter at any one position, but he’d give them a nice backup option for any of Joey Votto, Mike Moustakas, Freddy Galvis or Eugenio Suarez. His ability to play virtually any position on the diamond is all the more appealing to an NL skipper who’ll be making frequent double-switches, too. And Holt provides a particularly nice safety net in the event of an injury to Suarez; in an extended absence for Cincinnati’s excellent third baseman, Moustakas could slide over to his natural position at the hot corner with Holt stepping in for regular reps at his own best position, second base.

From a payroll vantage point, the Reds could surely work what would figure to be a modest salary for Holt into the mix. Cincinnati is currently projected to open the year at roughly $128MM, per Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez, with only $148MM in luxury obligations. That’s only marginally higher than the roughly $126.5MM payroll with which they opened the 2018 season, and ownership has shown increased aggression and a willingness to move payroll forward.

It’s been a relatively quiet winter with regards to Holt and the rumor circuit, although with most of the top options now off the free-agent market, several clubs should have interest in bolstering their infield mix with a player who boasts this level of versatility.

Red Sox Notes & Rumors: JBJ, Mookie, Porcello, Holt, Front Office

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The Red Sox are “actively” attempting to trade center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. The Mets had been among the teams in on Bradley, per Abraham, but they addressed their need in center field last week with the addition of Jake Marisnick from the Astros. Bradley’s a fine player who has generally performed well with the Red Sox, but moving him (and his projected $11MM salary for 2020, his last year of team control) would help the team shave payroll in an effort to get under the $208MM luxury tax next season. Newly minted chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Monday that it remains a goal for the franchise to spend below the threshold in 2020, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com.

More from Boston…

  • Like Bradley, fellow Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts is going into his final season of arbitration control. Betts, who’s projected to make a whopping $27.7MM in 2020, has made it known in the past that he intends to test free agency next winter. However, that hasn’t stopped the Red Sox from being in touch with Betts “multiple” times in regards to a long-term contract, according to Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe. This is setting up as a fascinating offseason for the 27-year-old Betts, a one-time AL MVP who looks like an extension candidate and perhaps a trade candidate.
  • Right-hander Rick Porcello and utility player Brock Holt are among the Red Sox’s most prominent free agents. Even though a report Sunday suggested the Red Sox are at least interested in a reunion with Porcello, Abraham downplays the possibility he or Holt will be back with the club next season. The Red Sox have simply kept tabs on Porcello and Holt, and they’re not “actively involved with” those two or any of their other free agents.
  • The Red Sox announced extensions for key front office personnel Raquel Ferreira, Eddie Romero and Zack Scott on Monday. Each received multiyear deals, and they’ll all hold the title of Executive Vice President/Assistant General Manager. Those duties will come with “expanded responsibilities within the baseball operations department,” per the team. Those three, along with now-GM Brian O’Halloran, helped steer the ship in Boston between the end of president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski’s run in early September and the hiring of Bloom just under two months later.

East Notes: Mets, Ramos, BoSox, Holt, Rays, Braves

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The latest on a few East Coast clubs…

  • The Mets have reportedly shown interest in free-agent catcher Robinson Chirinos, but a union between the two sides doesn’t look realistic. Chirinos a starting-caliber catcher, after all, and the Mets already have a somewhat expensive No. 1 backstop in Wilson Ramos, who’s slated to earn $10.75MM through 2020 (including a $1.5MM buyout for ’21). While Ramos didn’t have a great year in 2019, his first as a Met, the team’s “committed to” him heading into next season, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. The 32-year-old Ramos was subpar behind the plate this season, evidenced by a 15 percent caught-stealing rate and a low ranking in Baseball Prospectus’ Framing Runs Above Average metric, but he did turn in another fine offensive campaign. Barring an unexpected turn, it seems he’ll start again next year for New York, though the team could bring in someone who – unlike Chirinos – is suited for a backup role.
  • The Red Sox reached out to free-agent utilityman Brock Holt about a new deal after the season, but there haven’t been discussions since they hired Chaim Bloom as their chief baseball officer Oct. 28, Holt told Barstool Sports’ Section 10 podcast (hat tip to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com). Although other teams have contacted Holt, he revealed there’s “nothing serious” brewing between him and any clubs. MLBTR predicts a two-year, $8MM contract for the versatile Holt, who’s coming off back-to-back solid seasons at the plate. The 31-year-old batted .297/.369/.402 in 295 PA in 2019, which is looking more and more like his last season as a member of the Red Sox.
  • The Rays made the decision to designate third baseman Matt Duffy for assignment Thursday after failing to find a trade partner for the 28-year-old, according to general manager Erik Neander (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). But moving on from the oft-injured Duffy was a tough call for the Rays, per Neander, who stated: “Wish that his health and his time with us would have gone different in that regard and we could have had him on the field more. He really is a special player and there’s the obvious stuff you can measure in how he impacts a game. His intangibles, his leadership, his influence on a younger impressionable clubhouse like we have is worth a lot.” Despite the respect the organization has for Duffy, Neander noted the Rays are happier with their current third basemen (including No. 1 option Yandy Diaz).
  • Much like his previous deal with the Rangers, the two-year, $14MM contract reliever Chris Martin signed with the Braves gives him the opportunity to become a free agent at the end of it, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Martin will only have three-plus years’ service time then, meaning he’d remain eligible for arbitration under normal circumstances, but there’s language built into the pact that will allow him to return to the open market when it expires.

East Notes: Acuna Jr., BoSox, Betts, Yanks, Hicks

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The Braves announced Wednesday that they’ve shut banged up outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. down for the rest of the regular season. Hip tightness and a left groin strain have troubled Acuna of late, but the NL East-winning Braves expect the superstar to be fine by the time the NLDS begins next week. The Braves, who are locked into the NL’s No. 2 seed, don’t have anything of substance to play for over the final few days of the season. However, it’s still a shame for the 21-year-old Acuna that he won’t have an opportunity at a 40-40 campaign. Acuna’s outstanding regular season will end with 41 home runs, 37 steals, a .280/.365/.518 line and 5.5 fWAR over 715 plate appearances.

Moving over to the AL East…

  • Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts has made it known that he plans to become a free agent after 2020, his final season of arbitration control. The 2018 AL MVP told Rob Bradford of WEEI that he’s taking a business-minded approach instead of one driven by emotions because of his upbringing. “Fans and media get caught up in emotions and that’s just not how I was raised and that’s just not what my point of view with my agents is,” said Betts. “We take emotions out of it and we focus on the business part. Of course, I love it here. This is all I know. But you also have to take that emotional side out of it and get to what is actually real.” Betts further explained to Bradford that a business-first mindset has steered him right in the past, specifically when he signed with the Red Sox as a fifth-round pick in 2011 and when he brushed off a possible contract extension before the 2017 season in order to reach arbitration during the ensuing winter.
  • Utility player Brock Holt, one of Betts’ Red Sox teammates, may be in his final days with the club. The pending free agent told Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald that he has loved playing for the Red Sox, who acquired him back in 2013. At the same time, though, he finds the idea of a potential trip to free agency “exciting.” That’s understandable coming from Holt, who boasts a respectable track record of production. Injuries have limited him to 83 games this season, but the 31-year-old has batted a solid .303/.379/.414 during that 280-PA span.
  • Although he hasn’t played since Aug. 3, injured Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks continues to hold out hope that he’ll be able to return during the postseason, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Hicks, who’s dealing with a right flexor tendon issue, has begun to throw from 120 feet. He hasn’t progressed to throwing to bases, though, and there won’t be any chance of a comeback until that happens.

AL East Notes: Kiermaier, Holt, Pearson

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Some items from around the AL East…

  • The Rays would “really would like to avoid” an injured list placement for Kevin Kiermaier, manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters, though Kiermaier is still “in a significant amount of pain” following a collision with the outfield wall on Sunday.  Kiermaier hasn’t taken the field since suffering the left rib cage contusion, though Cash was hopeful that the center fielder would be able to return on Friday.  Kiermaier already spent ten days on the IL earlier this season due to a sprained left thumb, though 2019 has thus far been a relatively healthy season for the injury-plagued outfielder.  His 109 games played is already the second-highest total of his seven-year career.
  • Super-utilityman Brock Holt is enjoying the best season of his eight-year career, leaving MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo to wonder if the Red Sox will be able to affordably re-sign Holt in free agency this offseason.  Despite missing over seven weeks due to shoulder and eye injuries, Holt has hit .320/.393/.455 over 206 plate appearances, playing mostly as a second baseman to help the Sox fill the void left by the injured Dustin Pedroia.  Cotillo thinks the 31-year-old could find a three-year deal worth $27MM-$30MM on the open market, though “that might take a market rebound and some teams rewarding Holt for trending upward this season.”  While Boston has a lot of money coming off the books this winter, the club still has roughly $159.35MM in projected salary commitments (as per Roster Resource) and that’s not counting big raises due to arbitration-eligible players like Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. Andrew Benintendi, or Eduardo Rodriguez.  The Red Sox have Marco Hernandez on hand as a possible heir apparent utility infielder, should they choose to let Holt go and spend elsewhere.  For his part, Holt stated last spring that he “would love to stay here for the rest of my career.”
  • In a radio interview on the Fan 590’s Good Show today, Blue Jays pitching prospect Nate Pearson said that he doesn’t think he’ll be making this MLB debut this season.  “[The Blue Jays] haven’t really talked to me about anything,” Pearson said. “I’m just assuming I’m going home if we don’t make the [Triple-A] playoffs and just taking some time off. That’s all I really have planned right now.”  Pearson has been dominant in working his way up the Jays’ minor league ladder this season, with an overall 2.05 ERA, 10.6 K/9, and 4.75 K/BB rate in 96 2/3 combined innings at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels.  This performance has elevated Pearson’s already-high prospect stock, as he placed 14th and 15th on midseason top-100 prospect lists from MLB.com and Baseball America, respectively.  Since Pearson has made only two Triple-A starts and missed almost all of 2018 due to injuries, the Jays are being cautious in bringing along the prized right-hander (plus, service time considerations are likely in mind).  Given Pearson’s ability, however, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pearson in the big leagues before the halfway point of the 2020 season.

Red Sox Activate Brock Holt, Move Dustin Pedroia To 60-Day IL

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The Red Sox have activated infielder Brock Holt from the 10-day injured list and transferred second baseman Dustin Pedroia to the 60-day IL, per a club announcement. The team also optioned left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez to Double-A Portland.

Holt’s back after eye and shoulder injuries caused a nearly two-month absence. Since Holt went to the IL on April 6, the Red Sox have seen rookie Michael Chavis emerge at the former’s main position (second base). However, Chavis will concede the keystone to Holt on Monday and line up at first.

Given his defensive versatility, playing time shouldn’t be hard to come by for Holt. The 30-year-old has seen significant action at several positions during his career, and he also enjoyed one of his most productive offensive seasons in 2018. As part of the franchise’s latest title-winning team, Holt batted .277/.362/.411 (109 wRC+) with seven home runs and steals apiece in 367 plate appearances.

Pedroia’s ongoing left knee issues have made Holt all the more valuable to the Red Sox, who have gone without the former for all but nine games since last season. Pedroia didn’t debut until April 9 this year, and he ended up back on the IL eight days later. The 35-year-old had been rehabbing his knee in the minors, but he suffered a setback on Friday. Now, because the Red Sox shifted him to the 60-day IL, Pedroia won’t be able to return for at least another few weeks. That could prove to be an overly optimistic forecast, though.

Red Sox Notes: Price, Pedroia, Holt, Eovaldi

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Red Sox left-hander David Price exited his start in Houston on Saturday after facing just three hitters, according to reporters. Price was “laboring” during his abbreviated outing and saw his fastball top out around 90 mph, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic tweets. It’s a notable decline for Price, who entered the start averaging 92.4 mph on his fastball. Furthermore, this was just Price’s second game since he missed two weeks on account of elbow inflammation. [UPDATE: The Red Sox announced that Price left because of flu-like symptoms.]

Here’s more out of Boston, courtesy of Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (links here):

  • The Red Sox are shutting down injured second baseman Dustin Pedroia after he suffered a setback during a Double-A rehab game Friday. Boston will reevaluate Pedroia, whose oft-problematic left knee sent him to the injured list April 18, on Monday. Manager Alex Cora admitted this is “another red flag” for the 35-year-old Pedroia, who appeared in a meager three games during the Red Sox’s World Series-winning 2018 campaign and has only played in six this season. He remains a ways off from potentially factoring back into Boston’s lineup, Cotillo observes. If there’s a silver lining to Pedroia’s absence, it’s the emergence of second baseman Michael Chavis, a 23-year-old rookie who has taken the position and run with it so far.
  • While Pedroia’s nowhere close to returning, Boston’s position player group will add depth Sunday when injured utility player Brock Holt comes off the IL. Eye and shoulder issues have kept Holt out of the major league mix since April 5 and limited him to six games and 19 plate appearances. But the 30-year-old is only a season removed from slashing .277/.362/.411 (109 wRC+) and totaling 1.4 fWAR over 367 PA, a span in which he lined up all over the diamond (primarily second).
  • Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi is “coming along quickly” in his recovery from late-April elbow surgery, Cotillo writes. Eovaldi threw a bullpen session Saturday, his second since going under the knife, and could either throw a multi-inning sim game or embark on a rehab assignment next, per Cotillo. One of Boston’s second-half heroes in 2018, the 29-year-old Eovaldi got off to a rough start this season even before surgery, managing a 6.00 ERA/6.99 FIP with 6.86 K/9 and 4.71 BB/9 in 21 innings (four starts). Eovaldi’s in the first season of a four-year, $67.5MM contract, making his early 2019 struggles all the more alarming.

Red Sox Exploring Possibility Of Using Michael Chavis In Outfield

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When injuries pushed the Red Sox to promote top prospect Michael Chavis earlier this season, the length of time for which he’d stick in the Majors was uncertain. Dustin Pedroia, Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez all represented veteran options at second base — a position which Chavis was and is still learning — and the promotion of any prospect never comes with a guarantee of permanence.

But Chavis has burst onto the scene in Boston, hitting at a .293/.423/.638 clip with six long balls through his first 71 plate appearances. His 26.8 percent strikeout rate and 14.9 percent swinging-strike rate are higher than the organization would prefer, but Chavis has also already drawn a dozen walks, demonstrating some selectivity at the plate.

Boston has already played him at second base, third base and first base, and the team is at least tinkering with the idea of using Chavis in the outfield, as MLB.com’s Ian Browne was among those to report. Chavis doesn’t have professional experience at any of the three outfield slots but he’s been working on tracking some fly-balls during batting practice. Manager Alex Cora was clear to state that Chavis isn’t yet working at learning the outfield. But, Cora added, “It’ll be good for him just to stand there and see the flight of the ball.”

It’s a notable for the Red Sox for a number of reasons. Keeping Chavis at the big league level would keep one of their hottest hitters in the lineup on a regular basis and could help to spell regulars at multiple spots. Furthermore, it’d create an interesting roster dilemma in the event that the Red Sox ever manage to get all of their infield options healthy. Chavis, to this point, has produced more offense than could be expected of either Holt or Nunez, both of whom would stand to lose playing time to him in an injury-free scenario. It’s not yet clear when Holt will return to the club, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets that following a recent painkilling injection in his shoulder, Holt is hopeful he’ll begin a new minor league rehab assignment soon. Nunez is currently healthy but has hit just .189/.200/.264 through a small sample of 56 PAs.

Pedroia, meanwhile, is already on a minor league rehab assignment. The veteran has long been one of the cornerstones of the franchise but has played in precisely nine games dating back to Opening Day 2018 due to injuries of his own. A return to form for Pedroia would give the Sox the cliched “good problem to have,” but at this point it’s hard to know what to expect from the 35-year-old.

From a service time vantage point, the decision to keep Chavis in the big leagues has its own ramifications. Chavis was promoted with enough time having lapsed that the Sox will control him for one more season than they would have had he broken camp with the club, but he lines up as a surefire Super Two player. Barring an early-career extension, that’d give Chavis a bite at his first seven-figure salary in 2022 rather than 2023, and his three subsequent arbitration salaries would be greater based on that early entry into the process.

Of course, even if Chavis sticks in the big leagues for the time being, he’s not immune to being optioned out later in the season. A prolonged slump could land him back in Pawtucket long enough to alter his arbitration or even his free-agent trajectory. But it’s plenty notable that he’s already impressed to the point where he’s forcing the issue and setting the Sox up for some tough decisions about playing time and potentially even roster spots.

East Notes: LeMahieu, Holt, Inciarte, Cano

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The Yankees announced today that an MRI showed inflammation in the right knee of infielder DJ LeMahieu. He suffered a contusion on Friday night and has been limited since. It’s a tough balance for the Yanks, who are already pressing numerous players into unexpectedly significant roles. While the preferred course might be to put LeMahieu on the shelf and bring in a replacement, the club is surely wary of keeping him out longer than needed and must also keep a close watch on 40-man roster pressures. It’s a tough spot — one that makes the club’s ongoing success all the more impressive (and frightening for the rest of the American League East).

Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:

  • Brock Holt’s path back to the majors has encountered another roadblock. The Red Sox utilityman is now dealing with a shoulder injury, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com was among those to report. Details aren’t yet known — he’s due for a medical exam tomorrow — but it seems Holt came down with the ailment recently. He has been working back after suffering a scratched cornea. Holt, 30, turned in a strong .277/.362/.411 slash in 367 plate appearances last year. His absence is amplified by the fact that both Dustin Pedroia and Eduardo Nunez are also on the injured list at the moment.
  • Braves outfielder Ender Inciarte left tonight’s game with a hamstring injury. Initial indications are that he is in good shape, skipper Brian Snitker told reporters including David O’Brien of The Athletic (Twitter link), but the true condition of the muscle will be more apparent tomorrow. It’s conceivable that a roster move will be needed. The club wouldn’t necessarily need to bring up an outfielder, though it’s already running out an eight-man bullpen. Adam Duvall surely wouldn’t mind an opportunity. He’s playing at Triple-A for the first time since 2015 and doesn’t seem to want to stay (.306/.388/.647 with seven home runs and 16:11 K/BB through 98 plate appearances).
  • It seems that Mets second baseman Robinson Cano has avoided a significant injury after being struck by a pitch on Sunday. X-rays on his hand were negative, so it seems the club needs only to wait for the swelling to subside before it’ll be able to slot him back in the lineup. Cano is off to a solid but hardly overwhelming start to his tenure with New York’s National League entrant. Through 108 plate appearances, he carries a .270/.324/.430 slash line with three home runs. UZR and DRS have soured on his glovework a bit in the early going, though it’s tough to put too much stock in a short-sample run of defensive metrics.

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