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NL Central Notes: Butler, Price, DeJong

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Let’s take a look in at the latest notes from around the National League’s Central division:

  • The Cubs have placed long reliever Eddie Butler on the 10-day DL with a groin strain. He turned in four strong appearances to open the year but has been knocked around in his last two and now owns a 4.30 ERA over 14 2/3 innings, with ten strikeouts against five walks. There’s no reason at this point to believe that Butler will be sidelined long. Fellow righty Luke Farrell received the call to take the open active roster spot. He, too, ought to be able to give the team innings in some volume when needed, as he’s stretched out to start.
  • C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic breaks down the Reds’ firing of skipper Bryan Price in a subscription piece. As Rosecrans observes, it is in some regard actually more surprising that Price lasted this long, despite never overseeing a winning product, than that he was fired so early in the current season. Of course, the struggles during his tenure have hardly all been his fault, and it may be that the long-rebuilding team finally felt this was the time to make a statement. There were some internal hopes of improvement entering the year, making it all the harder to stomach an ugly start to the season. GM Dick Williams explained that “now was the right time to do something about” the fact that the team’s offseason work had gone so far south. At the same time, he acknowledged that “this is an organizational disappointment,” not something that falls only at the feet of Price and his staff. It’s certainly hard to escape that conclusion; as I documented in breaking down the Reds’ offseason just yesterday, Price was not exactly given a compelling roster to work with this year or in the past.
  • Fresh off an offseason extension, Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong has continued to carry above-average overall offensive numbers in his sophomore campaign, due mostly to a healthy .477 slugging percentage. But as Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch observes, DeJong is also exhibiting a worrying rise in strikeouts. Indeed, a league-leading thirty of his seventy plate appearances have ended with a K thus far. And DeJong has drawn only four walks, leaving him with a .286 OBP on the young season. As Frederickson notes, the 24-year-od is showing much greater selectivity thus far in 2018 than he did last year, but he’s also swinging and missing at rates typically procured only by elite relief pitchers. Much like young Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, DeJong still needs to show he can get on base consistently enough to be a compelling offensive player.

Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins

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The Reds announced this morning that they’ve fired manager Bryan Price and pitching coach Mack Jenkins. Bench coach Jim Riggleman will assume managerial duties on an interim basis, while Triple-A skipper Pat Kelly will take over Riggleman’s duties as bench coach. Double-A pitching coach Danny Darwin has been added to the Major League coaching staff as well. The Reds will conduct a search for a permanent managerial replacement “later in the year,” the team added.

Bryan Price | David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Entering the season, Price was widely speculated to be on the hot seat. The 55-year-old former Reds pitching coach was entering his fifth season as manager in Cincinnati, but the Reds had opted only to exercise his 2018 club option rather than extend him to a longer team deal.

That decision came on the heels of four consecutive losing seasons, and while one can hardly blame the manager for not piling up wins on a clearly rebuilding club, Cincinnati also didn’t seem to demonstrably improve under Price’s watch. The Reds won 76 games in his first season as skipper back in 2014, and since that time they’ve won 64, 68 and 68 games in the respective seasons to follow.

This year’s Reds have been all the more disastrous, opening the year with a 3-15 record with a -46 run differential that easily ranks as the worst in the Majors. The Cincinnati front office clearly felt it was time for a new voice to guide the club, though it’s fair to question why that decision wasn’t simply made before exercising Price’s option, as not much has changed since last September. It’s also worth pointing out that Cincinnati hired former Red Sox and Blue Jays manager John Farrell in a scouting capacity this past offseason, and he’ll almost certainly join the list of managerial candidates when the Reds begin searching (if he doesn’t already top their list).

As for Jenkins, he took over for former pitching coach Mark Riggins back in July 2016, but Reds hurlers haven’t improved much, if any, under his tutelage. The Reds, to be sure, have had their share of meaningful injuries in recent seasons — perhaps none more notable than Anthony DeSclafani, who has not pitched since 2016 — but that doesn’t explain the general lack of development among the team’s more promising young arms. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd wrote last September:

By measure of fWAR, at least, the 2016-17 Reds hurlers have turned in a two-year stretch of futility that is orders of magnitude worse than any other organization of the past two decades, falling well shy of the dreadful 2004-05 Royals and 2002-03 Devil Rays units.

The 2018 Reds staff hasn’t done anything to correct that tailspin. Cincinnati’s 5.42 ERA, 4.64 xFIP and 4.91 SIERA marks all rank second-worst in the Majors, while their 5.26 FIP as a collective unit is the highest mark of any team in baseball. Cincinnati pitchers rank near the bottom of the league in strikeout percentage and have also posted one of the highest walk percentages of any team in baseball this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Cashner, Rangers, Moore, Giants, Reds

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The latest rumblings from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link)…

  • Impending free agent right-hander Andrew Cashner told Rosenthal that he hasn’t discussed a new deal with the Rangers and expects to test free agency in the offseason. Cashner also expressed confidence that his production this season should lead to plenty of interest on the open market. The 30-year-old owns an excellent 3.19 ERA and a solid 48.1 percent groundball rate through 146 2/3 innings, though he ranks second last among starters in strikeouts per nine innings (4.79) and third from the bottom in swinging-strike percentage (5.7). While Cashner has been a mixed bag this year, he had a worse 2016 between San Diego and Miami but still landed a $10MM guarantee in the offseason.
  • It’s a safe bet that the Giants will exercise left-hander Matt Moore’s $9MM option for 2018 and retain his $10MM option for 2018 in the offseason, says Rosenthal. Although the 28-year-old Moore has recorded the NL’s highest ERA (5.31) through 162 2/3 innings this season, the Giants would rather bet on a bounce-back 2018 at a reasonable cost than subtract from their pitching depth. Buying Moore out would cost the Giants $1MM next year and $750K in 2019.
  • Reds manager Bryan Price will return next season, but his future beyond then is in question, per Rosenthal, who adds that the club could cut the cord if it doesn’t make legitimate progress in 2018. The Reds have gone just 269-359 in three-plus years under Price and are currently one loss away from guaranteeing their fourth straight sub-.500 season during his reign. There hasn’t been much pressure on Price to this point, though, given Cincinnati’s rebuilding status and its lack of pitching.

Reds Exercise Bryan Price’s 2018 Option

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Sept. 4: Price confirmed to reporters today that his 2018 option has been exercised by the team (Twitter links via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). “It’s a good thing, I think, for all of us because we’d like to see this thing through to the other side,” said the skipper.

Sept. 2: Manager Bryan Price will remain at the helm of the Reds in 2018, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Thanks to a clause in the contract Price signed last year, the Reds were required to inform him by Saturday whether they’d exercise his 2018 club option. However, the team actually assured him in July that he’d return, per Rosecrans, who adds that Price’s entire coaching staff will likely be invited back.

Next season will be the ninth in Cincinnati for Price, who served as predecessor Dusty Baker’s pitching coach from 2010-13 before taking over as the club’s manager. The Reds have gone just 276-355 in three-plus seasons under Price, haven’t won more than 76 games in an individual year during his reign and rank among the majors’ worst teams in 2017 with a 58-77 mark. That isn’t to suggest Price has been at fault, though, as the Reds are in the midst of a rebuild and have been devoid of pitching during his tenure. This year’s Reds entered Saturday last in the sport in ERA (5.29) and pitching fWAR (2.5). To put the latter figure in perspective, 34 big league starters and four relievers have posted an equal or better fWAR than the combined total of the 29 pitchers the Reds have used in 2017.

Given their woes on the mound, it’s no surprise that the Reds are toward the bottom of the standings yet again. There have been some bright spots this year, however, including the continued brilliance of first baseman Joey Votto and breakouts from young starter Luis Castillo, relief ace Raisel Iglesias and third baseman Eugenio Suarez.

The performance of a manager is difficult to quantify, meaning it’s unclear how much the 55-year-old Price has positively or negatively impacted any of the Reds’ players. Regardless, he and his staff have shown enough to general manager Dick Williams to warrant at least another year in the dugout.

Injury Notes: Thornburg, Price, Sanchez, Wright, Turner, Mesoraco

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Here’s the latest on some injury situations from around the game:

  • Red Sox righty Tyler Thornburg has yet to progress to the point that he’s able to take the mound, manager John Farrell said today (via Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com, on Twitter). It’s not clear whether he’s making much progress, but it seems he is still long tossing in an effort to rebuild lost shoulder strength. At present, it seems as if there’s no clear timeline for the reliever to appear in the majors for the first time with his new team.
  • Meanwhile, the Red Sox seem to be slowing the rehab pace of lefty David Price, as Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. It’s not believed to be related to any setbacks, but plans of letting Price face live hitters appear to be on hold for at least another week, per the report.
  • The Yankees are still taking it slow with catcher Gary Sanchez, but there are some indications of progress, as Laura Albanese of Newsday writes. Sanchez, who is dealing with a biceps strain, was able to throw and take some dry cuts. He reported no issues, but the club isn’t planning to speed up his timeline, with manager Joe Girardi suggesting the original plan of a four-week absence hasn’t changed.
  • In another corner of New York, the Mets are seeing some good signs from third baseman David Wright. As David Lennon of Newsday tweets. Wright was able to field balls and play catch today, though he hasn’t yet begun making throws from third base. The veteran is working back from a shoulder impingement (which was suffered as he recovered from a neck issue that arose while dealing with a serious back issue).
  • Trea Turner could be back at shortstop for the Nationals sooner rather than later. As Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets, Turner played in extended spring action and was even able to swipe a bag. That’s certainly promising news, particularly given that Turner is on the DL owing to a hamstring strain.
  • After catching full games on consecutive days, Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco seems about ready to be activated, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. It seems the club will wait to see how Mesoraco feels before making a call, though manager Bryan Price also hinted there’s more to the evaluation. “This is kind of the point in time where we’ll re-assess what he needs for any type of finishing touches or polish before he’s activated,” Price said of the backstop, who is working back from hip and shoulder surgeries. Mesoraco has struggled at the plate in limited action thus far.

Pitching Notes: Kela, Gomez, Felix, Arroyo

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As was reported recently, the Rangers have no interest in trading recently demoted power righty Keone Kela, who was optioned owing to his negative impact in the clubhouse. Both Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram provide further detail on what went wrong, and you’ll want to check out those pieces for the full rundown. All said, it seems there’s plenty of space for Kela to work back into good standing with the organization, though it’s anyone’s guess how long he’ll be shelved in the minors and what it will take for him to return.

Here are a few more pitching notes from around the game:

  • The Phillies took home an Opening Day win after Jeanmar Gomez shut the door in the ninth, but the closer role seems far from settled. As Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice reports, manager Pete Mackanin acknowledged after the game that he’s “concerned” with Gomez — who gave up a two-run home run and, in the skipper’s assessment, is struggling to work down in the zone. It seems the club will stick with him for now, but Mackanin suggested continue to evaluate and won’t hesitate to pull Gomez if he’s struggling.
  • Long-time staff ace Felix Hernandez left his start yesterday for the Mariners with groin tightness, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). But the expectation is that he won’t miss any time; the veteran righty says he’ll be ready for his next scheduled outing “for sure.” He did miss time last season with a calf strain that proved worse than initially suggested, though of course there’s no reason to believe this new injury will follow a similar course.
  • Veteran hurler Bronson Arroyo is on track to return to the majors, as Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes. After a sim game on Sunday resulted in “very, very positive reports,” in the words of manager Bryan Price, it seems Arroyo is slated to make his first MLB outing of the year on Saturday. Arroyo has battled injury ever since going he required Tommy John surgery in the middle of 2014, but has remarkably positioned himself to make it back to the hill at 40 years of age.

Reds To Retain Bryan Price For 2017

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The Reds have announced that skipper Bryan Price will return as the team’s manager for the 2017 season. His new deal includes a club option for 2018, as MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets.

Per the team, all of the coaches have also been offered contracts as well. At this point, it seems, it’s not yet clear whether any will choose instead to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Price had originally been signed to a three-year deal upon taking over the staff. That pact was set to expire just days from now, at the end of the 2016 season. Price had previously served as the Cincinnati pitching coach under then-skipper Dusty Baker before taking the helm when his predecessor was fired.

Clearly, the 54-year-old Price isn’t being retained for delivering wins. The rebuilding Reds have compiled an awful 207-276 record over his three seasons in the dugout. Still, it would be hard to blame him for failing to deliver results with the rosters he has been handed.

The organization evidently felt that Price has succeeded in other areas of importance. Certainly, he has overseen some bright spots in spite of the general difficulties. And the club’s brass has suggested that the win-loss record wouldn’t determine Price’s fate, with his ability to oversee growth from the team’s young players representing the top priority. Though it was reported recently that a final decision hadn’t been made, the Walt Jocketty-Dick Williams front office duo evidently decided since that time to entrust the club to Price for at least one more run.

Heyman’s Latest: Dodgers, McCann, Napoli, Ichiro, Colon, Price

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The Dodgers intend to pursue reunions with at least four prominent free agents, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Excellent third baseman Justin Turner, relief ace Kenley Jansen, late-breaking lefty Rich Hill, and veteran second baseman Chase Utley would all hold interest to Los Angeles, per the report, though age considerations and the presence of internal alternatives could limit the club’s willingness to top the market for those players. The 28-year-old Jansen may be the highest priority among this group, Heyman suggests. While the Dodgers haven’t exactly broken the bank on relief arms under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, it seems Jansen could warrant an exception given his unbelievable performance level. All said, Heyman suggests it would be surprising if L.A. doesn’t bring back at least two of those four players.

Here are some more of Heyman’s latest notes, from his weekly column:

  • The Braves and Yankees have tabled any talks pertaining to catcher Brian McCann until the offseason, which may not bode well for New York’s chances to trade him to Atlanta. Heyman writes that the Braves have interest in Matt Wieters, Jason Castro and top free agent catcher Wilson Ramos, whom they’d love to snatch away from the division-rival Nationals. Atlanta is willing to pay half of the remaining $34MM McCann is owed from 2017-18. They’re also looking to add a rotation piece for 2017 and beyond, if not two, as a number of their top-ranked minor league arms are still a ways off from the Majors (which, of course, could make them appealing trade chips in an offseason where the free agent market is devoid of talented starters).
  • Mike Napoli, who is enjoying a rebound season at the plate with the Indians, has said he’d like to remain in Cleveland, though the two sides aren’t engaged in talks. Napoli’s defense and baserunning have torpedoed his WAR totals, but he’s batted a well-above-average .259/.345/.494 with 29 home runs in his first season with Cleveland. His bat should draw plenty of interest this winter despite the fact that he’ll turn 35 on Halloween.
  • Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki hopes to play again in 2017 and would like to stay in Miami, per the report. With his club option valued at only $2MM, that may be a fairly easy pick-up for the organization. Playing in his age-42 season in 2016, Ichiro has compiled a useful .294/.365/.366 batting line over 296 plate appearances, continues to rate as an average or better fielder and overall baserunner, and has even cracked double-digit stolen bases for the 16th-straight season.
  • Another aging veteran who intends to continue his career, says Heyman, is Mets righty Bartolo Colon. It’s not yet clear how his market will develop — we don’t know what level of interest New York will have, or whether the 43-year-old will be looking for multiple years — but there certainly ought to be ample interest given that Colon has provided 158 2/3 innings of 3.35 ERA pitching thus far in 2016. Even if the peripherals don’t quite line up with those bottom-line results, he’ll be among the more durable and effective pitchers available on a forthcoming seller’s market for starters.
  • There’s no sense that the Reds are interested in making a change at manager, Heyman says. Skipper Bryan Price’s contract does expire after the year, but with some positive signs in the second half — excluding a current four-game skid, at least — it seems he could be retained.

Heyman’s Latest: Managers, White Sox, Yunel, Dodgers, Puig, Norris, Rangers

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Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports kicks off his weekly Inside Baseball column with a look at the job security of a number of managers, noting that Mets skipper Terry Collins, D-backs manager Chip Hale and White Sox manager Robin Ventura could all be on the hot seat, while Braves interim manager Brian Snitker doesn’t seem especially likely to shed the interim label and keep his post. Other names mentioned include Mike Scioscia (Angels), Brad Ausmus (Tigers), Kevin Cash (Rays), Paul Molitor (Twins), Bryan Price (Reds) and Walt Weiss (Rockies), but none from that group seems to be eminently in danger of losing his job even at season’s end, per Heyman.

Some highlights from the lengthy column…

  • White Sox GM Rick Hahn was far more in favor of a deadline sale than owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Heyman writes, but the Sox ultimately held onto nearly all of their tradeable assets, with the exception of left-hander Zach Duke, suggesting that Hahn ultimately wasn’t given the go-ahead to operate as he might’ve wished. The Sox haven’t put Chris Sale on trade waivers yet, Heyman notes, though that decision is a moot point. He’d be claimed by the first team available — the Twins, as things currently stand — and pulled back off waivers. Chicago had interest in Gary Sanchez when the Yankees were looking at Sale, he adds, though that’s not much of a surprise. Catcher has long been a weak spot in Chicago, and Sanchez is among the more highly regarded prospects in all of baseball.
  • There wasn’t much chatter pertaining to Yunel Escobar prior to the non-waiver trade deadline (and there’s been less in August), but Heyman writes that Escobar did draw interest in July. However, the Angels like what he’s been able to give to the club offensively, batting .316/.365/.397 in 474 plate appearances. I’m not sure I see the logic behind not being willing to move Escobar but trading a similarly priced and very arguably more valuable asset with the same amount of club control (Hector Santiago) for what amounted to an injured prospect, but perhaps the Halos simply didn’t receive an offer to their liking for Escobar.
  • The Dodgers “love” Rich Hill and were planning to pursue him last winter until Brett Anderson accepted the team’s qualifying offer, per Heyman. Those two don’t seem like they should’ve been mutually exclusive — the Dodgers went out and signed Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir following Anderson’s acceptance of the QO, after all — but perhaps the Dodgers either couldn’t guarantee a rotation spot or didn’t find the notion of two starters with such recent injury woes to be palatable. Either way, if the Dodgers are as fond of Hill as Heyman indicates, it seems likely that they’ll be in the mix to re-sign him come the offseason.
  • One executive from a non-Dodgers club opined to Heyman that no team will claim Yasiel Puig if and when he’s placed on revocable waivers and added, “…if they do, they’re going to get him.” Furthermore, Heyman writes that it isn’t likely that Puig will rejoin the Dodgers at any point this season, as he has “turned off” many of his teammates. It seems difficult to fathom that the Dodgers wouldn’t bring him back in the month of September when rosters expand, but we’ll find out in just a few weeks — if Puig isn’t dealt first.
  • The Padres have yet to put Derek Norris on trade waivers, and Heyman calls him a more likely offseason trade candidate. The Indians showed mild interest but ultimately decided that their internal options were preferable to Norris, who is once again struggling tremendously following a strong showing at the plate from May 1 through the All-Star break. Heyman also notes that the Padres are interested enough in Puig to at least be thinking about it and points out the connection between pro scouting director Logan White and Puig. White was the Dodgers VP of amateur scouting prior to his Padres gig and was one of the execs that recommended Puig to his colleagues.
  • The Rangers weren’t able to swing a deal for any of the big-name starters they pursued, but that’s in part due to the asking prices they received. The Rays asked the Rangers for Jurickson Profar and other pieces in exchange for Matt Moore, while Rougned Odor’s name was suggested by the Rays in Chris Archer talks and by the White Sox in talks for Chris Sale.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Archer, Chapman, CarGo, Rangers, Managers

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While the Rays are fielding some calls on righty Chris Archer, the kinds of offers coming through the line have been good only for “comedic value,” a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The report certainly suggests that Tampa Bay isn’t interested in the kind of buy-low offers it is apparently receiving. The young righty hasn’t quite been himself this year, but remains quite talented and controlled at a very cheap rate.

Here’s more from Rosenthal:

  • The Yankees are discussing the possibility of trying to extend closer Aroldis Chapman, according to Rosenthal. Talks to this point are just internal and haven’t been raised with Chapman’s representatives, but the club isn’t set on selling off big league assets over the next few weeks. Team president Randy Levine maintained to Rosenthal that the Yankees like their team and won’t make a call on trading away veterans until much closer to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
  • Carlos Gonzalez is perhaps the best player among current trade candidates, but the Rockies don’t feel the need to get out from underneath his contract in the same manner they did with Troy Tulowitzki, so he’s far from a lock to be moved. CarGo is batting an excellent .318/.367/.557 this season, and it’s interesting to note that over the past 365 days, he’s hitting .304/.354/.592 with a hefty 46 homers in 156 games played. His $17MM salary in 2016 and $20MM salary in 2017 are both reasonable sums for that level of production.
  • The Rangers were in on Drew Pomeranz before his trade to the Red Sox, and they’re in on Rich Hill now that Pomeranz is off the market. The Rangers could also use an upgrade behind the plate, writes Rosenthal, who notes that Jonathan Lucroy would be preferable to Derek Norris, but the latter of the two is available as well. The Rangers, though, “probably do not view” any of the available trade candidates as worthy players to surrender top-tier young talent like Jurickson Profar or Joey Gallo.
  • Some within the industry have told Rosenthal that Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale “could be in imminent danger” of losing his job, but D-backs sources denied the notion when asked, he continues. Rosenthal lists Bryan Price and Walt Weiss as skippers that are safe for now but may be seeking new employment come season’s end, and he notes that Robin Ventura, Brad Ausmus, John Farrell and Terry Collins could all be in the same boat if their clubs finish the season poorly.

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