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NL Notes: Chapman, Dodgers, Cubs, Reds

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Had their offseason attempt to acquire then-Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman not fallen through over his domestic violence issues, the Dodgers would have deployed the left-hander aggressively in a setup role, a club official told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That would have meant continuing with Kenley Jansen as the closer, which the Dodgers believe Chapman would have accepted after doing background work on him. Chapman ended up going to the Yankees, who shipped him to the Cubs in advance of this year’s non-waiver trade deadline. The flame-throwing 28-year-old could join the Dodgers in free agency during the offseason, notes Sherman, who writes that the team still has a high opinion of him. Los Angeles is also facing the potential departure of Jansen, who is set to join Chapman on the open market.

More from the National League:

  • The Ricketts family, owners of the Cubs, are considering launching their own regional sports network before the 2019 expiration of their local television rights agreements, according to Kathy Bergen and Robert Channick of the Boston Herald. PwC, a consulting firm, projects that media rights will become professional sports teams’ biggest source of direct revenue by 2018. With that in mind, the Cubs could try to follow in the footsteps of the Dodgers, who launched regional network SportsNet LA with Time Warner Cable on a 25-year, $8.35 billion deal in 2014. Some cable providers have been reluctant to carry the channel because of its higher premium, though, and that might make such a lucrative agreement unrealistic for the Cubs, per Bergen and Channick. If the Cubs do form their own network, it could be in a partnership with Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which currently carries 79 games per season and pays the team $500K for each.
  • Outgoing Reds president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer that the team’s rebuild will succeed “as long as everybody doesn’t get too impatient.” The Reds have won fewer than 76 games in three straight seasons – including 68 this year – but Jocketty informed Rosecrans that the face of the franchise, superstar first baseman Joey Votto, is on board with the club’s direction. “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with this club. I talk to guys like Joey (Votto) — Joey sees it, he’s excited about it. I’ve seen him more engaged with some of these young guys,” said Jocketty, who will transition to an advisory role as general manager Dick Williams takes control of the Reds’ baseball department.

Indy Ball Signings: 10/28/16

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Here are the day’s minor signings, featuring three independent league additions:

  • The Marlins added third baseman David Vidal on a minor league deal, per an announcement from the Somerset Patriots. Vidal, 27, never made it past Double-A with the Reds, but had a big year for Somerset in 2016. Over 370 plate appearances, he slashed .320/.413/.633 and added 26 long balls. Vidal also showed quality plate discipline, with 45 walks to go with 68 strikeouts.
  • First baseman Art Charles is heading to the Reds on a minors pact, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. He earned BA’s indy ball player of the year honors after washing out of the Phillies system. Charles posted a ridiculous .352/.461/.699 batting line with 29 homers in 436 plate appearances. J.J. Cooper of Baseball America recently took an interesting look at his journey.
  • The Brewers have purchased the contract of righty Chad Nading, the Wichita Wingnuts announced. Nading re-emerged in his age-28 season after a long layoff, throwing 39 1/3 innings of 1.83 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. The right-hander’s only affiliated experience came with the Padres’ rookie affiliate way back in 2010, when he coughed up nine earned runs on 13 hits in just 5 2/3 innings.

Reds Outright Caleb Cotham, Yorman Rodriguez, Hernan Iribarren

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The Reds announced today that right-hander Caleb Cotham, outfielder Yorman Rodriguez and infielder Hernan Iribarren have all been outrighted off the 40-man roster.

Of the three, Cotham, 29 next week, played the most notable role in 2016. The reliever was one of four players that Cincinnati acquired from the Yankees in exchange for Aroldis Chapman, but he was unable to provide much in the way of value prior to his removal from the roster. In 24 1/3 innings, Cotham yielded 20 earned runs on 32 hits and 12 walks with 21 strikeouts, resulting in a 7.40 earned run average. All of that work came in the first two months of the season, as some inflammation in his right shoulder landed Cotham on the 15-day disabled list, and he suffered a knee injury in the minors that ultimately ended his season.

Rodriguez, 24, has been one of the Reds’ top 20 prospects in each of the past eight offseasons, per Baseball America, but a hamstring injury cost him nearly all of the 2016 season. Rodriguez appeared in just 11 games, all coming at the Double-A level, and batted .346/.370/.385. He batted .269/.308/.429 in 85 Triple-A games last season and missed significant time with a calf injury. Baseball America’s report on him from last winter noted that he’s an above-average runner with a plus arm in right field but fringe-average power and a hit tool that’s average, at best. Rodriguez was a high-profile signing for Cincinnati back in 2008 when he received a $2.5MM bonus as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela, but he was never able to deliver on that investment.

Iribarren, 32, improbably returned to the Major Leagues after a six-year absence and hit well for the Reds in a limited role. The veteran utilityman slashed .311/.311/.444 with three triples in 45 plate appearances, while spending time in center field and right field as well as at second base. Iribarren has just 74 plate appearances in the Majors but has played parts of a dozen seasons in the minors and batted .300/.359/.393 while appearing at every position on the diamond except catcher. Iribarren has even thrown 11 2/3 innings with the Reds’ Triple-A team from 2014-16, somewhat remarkably yielding only one run on four hits and two walks. However, he’s also only struck out a pair of batters and hit three men as well.

Angels Claim Abel De Los Santos, Designate Brett Oberholtzer

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The Angels announced today that they’ve claimed right-hander Abel De Los Santos off outright waivers from the Reds and designated left-hander Brett Oberholtzer for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Cincinnati originally claimed the 23-year-old De Los Santos from the Nationals this past July, and the right-hander tossed 5 2/3 innings for the Reds in the final month of the season. That marked the second season which De Los Santos received a brief cup of coffee in the Majors, as he also pitched 1 2/3 innings with the Nationals in 2015. While De Los Santos has solid numbers at the minor league level, he’s been roughed up for eight runs on nine hits and five walks in his 7 1/3 big league innings. De Los Santos tossed 20 1/3 innings in Triple-A this season and logged a 3.54 ERA with a 26-to-13 K/BB ratio, and he has a lifetime 3.03 ERA in Double-A as well. He’ll give the Halos a depth option in a bullpen that faces some uncertainty heading into 2017.

As for Oberholtzer, his removal from the 40-man roster subtracts a rotation option for the Angels. The 27-year-old struggled mightily in 2016, though, pitching to a career-worst 5.89 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate in 70 innings between the Philies and Angels. The former Astros southpaw found himself traded to the Phillies last winter as part of the Ken Giles blockbuster, but wound up with the Angels following a waiver claim. Ultimately, his tenure in both Philadelphia and Anaheim proved to be brief.

In 324 innings as a Major Leaguer, Oberholtzer has a 4.36 ERA to go along with 6.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 39.3 percent ground-ball rate. If he clears waives, he can look for a new organization on the free agent market this winter.

NL Central Notes: Schwarber, Hernandez, Cardinals, Pirates

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Kyle Schwarber has been informed by doctors that he cannot play in the outfield during the World Series, as MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes. The young Cubs slugger, whose remarkable recovery from a torn ACL and LCL  has been one of the most notable narratives of the postseason, will be limited to a pinch-hitting role while the series is played under NL rules at Wrigley Field. “It’s not disappointing at all,” Schwarber said. “It was a long shot at the most. Obviously, I want to be out there with my teammates, but facts are facts. I just can’t physically do it. I’ll be ready any time during the game to be out there to pinch-hit.” Schwarber, of course, remains a threat for the Cubs even in that limited role. Despite the lengthy layoff, he went 3-for-7 with a double (which was nearly a home run) in the first two games of the World Series while serving as a DH in Cleveland.

More from the division…

  • Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper has posted a review of Reds righty Ariel Hernandez, who was just added to the club’s 40-man roster. He’d have been a sure Rule 5 pick otherwise, Cooper explains, because he delivers not only an upper-nineties heater but also a devastating curveball. Hernandez has taken a winding road to get to this point, nearly leaving the game and battling through persistent control problems until Cincinnati plucked him from the Diamondbacks last winter in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that commissioner Rob Manfred would not commit to any type of deadline regarding MLB’s investigation into the Cardinals’ unauthorized accessing of the Astros’ proprietary computer network, Ground Control. Manfred reiterated that the goal of the investigation is to be as thorough as possible and called the process “ongoing” but declined further comment. As Goold notes, though, the Cardinals are entering the offseason under the impression that they’ll be able to conduct business as usual. Nonetheless, it seems inevitable that the Cards will face some degree of penalization, with the loss of draft picks and/or significant international signing restrictions among the speculated means of league-imposed discipline.
  • The Pirates got away from their focus on ground-ball pitchers a bit in 2016, but manager Clint Hurdle tells MLB.com’s Adam Berry that keeping the ball on the ground will remain a “cornerstone” for the Pirates’ pitching staff moving forward. “We tried some outliers this year to attack it a different way,” said Hurdle of the team’s disappointing 2016 run. As Berry explains, the Pirates are likely to target a veteran starter to join the rotation alongside the likes of Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl this winter, and it would seemingly stand to reason that a pitcher who is proficient in inducing grounders would be the target.

Reds Designate John Lamb, Select Contract Of Ariel Hernandez

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The Reds announced today that they’ve designated left-hander John Lamb for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Ariel Hernandez. Lamb recently underwent his second back surgery in the past 10 months, giving him a chance to clear waivers.

Originally acquired from the Royals alongside Brandon Finnegan and Cody Reed (in exchange for Johnny Cueto), the 26-year-old Lamb has struggled in both of his two seasons with the Reds. Injuries have long plagued the once vaunted pitching prospect, as he also underwent Tommy John surgery as a minor leaguer. There was a time when both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus regarded Lamb as one of baseball’s top 20 prospects, but it’s now been five years since he received that distinction. In 119 2/3 innings as a Major Leaguer, all with the Reds, Lamb has a 6.17 ERA, although his 110-to-50 K/BB ratio is somewhat encouraging. Home runs have been Lamb’s primary downfall, as he’s yielded 1.65 HR/9 to this point in his big league career.

As for Hernandez, the 24-year-old Dominican righty was originally signed by the Giants but ultimately wound up pitching in independent ball in 2015 before the D-backs gave him another chance. While Hernandez posted just a 6.04 ERA in 22 1/3 innings in the Arizona system in 2015, the Reds saw something they liked and picked him up in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft and were rewarded for that show of faith. While Hernandez was old to be pitching in the Class-A Midwest League and Class-A Advanced Florida State League, the combined 2.18 ERA, 10.7 K/9 rate and 54.6 percent ground-ball rate he compiled are nonetheless impressive. Control appears to be an issue, as he did average 5.7 walks per nine innings. Scouting reports on the right-hander are scarce, though Baseball America did list him as a “rising” prospect in the Cincinnati system in July, noting that he’s still “way too wild” but possesses one of baseball’s best fastball/curveball combos and has drawn some 80 grades from scouts on both pitches (BA subscription required and recommended).

NL Central Notes: Schebler, Cora, Cardinals

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As the Cubs kick off their first World Series game in 71 years, here’s a look around the division at some of the teams that will be chasing them next season…

  • Scott Schebler appears to have the inside track on the Reds’ right field job next year, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes. The 26-year-old bounced back after some early struggles and showed enough promise to think he’s deserving of a larger opportunity. Acquired in last winter’s Todd Frazier trade, Schebler hit .265/.330/.432 in 282 plate appearances with the Reds, tallying nine homers and a dozen doubles in that limited exposure. MLBTR’s Jason Martinez looked at the subject in his recent piece previewing the Cincinnati offseason, suggesting that the organization give him a shot while also looking to bring in some competition. Top prospect Jesse Winker could eventually push for a corner outfield spot in the Majors as well, although the 23-year-old’s power numbers dipped in Triple-A this season.
  • The Pirates are set to name Joey Cora as their new third base coach, reports Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror (Twitter link). Cora managed Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate in Altoona this season and has several years of experience as a Major League bench coach and third base coach. He’ll replace Rick Sofield, who served as Pittsburgh’s third base coach from 2013-16 but was fired over the weekend, according to a club announcement. Cora, like his younger brother Alex, enjoyed a lengthy Major League career as an infielder and has previously been considered for managerial vacancies at the Major League level.
  • MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tackles a number of offseason questions in her latest Cardinals inbox piece, noting that despite a lackluster performance from the pitching staff this season, a significant addition seems unlikely. The free-agent market is, as has been well-documented, stunningly thin in terms of quality arms. And as far as the trade market is concerned, the team likely feels satisfied enough with its depth that it won’t feel compelled to meet the escalated asking prices that will perpetuate the trade market for rotation help. Langosch also looks at how the Cards stack up with the Rockies in potential trades and again emphasizes that the team is likely to focus on upgrading its up-the-middle defense this winter.

Reds’ John Lamb Undergoes Back Surgery

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The Reds announced to reporters today that left-hander John Lamb has surgery to repair a herniated lumbar disk in his back (via MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, on Twitter). A specific timeline for Lamb’s recovery isn’t clear, but the 26-year-old is not expected to be ready for the start of the 2017 season, per the announcement.

This will mark the second straight offseason in which Lamb, who was acquired in the July 2015 Johnny Cueto blockbuster with the Royals, has undergone back surgery. He opened the 2015 campaign on the DL following a back operation as well, though that procedure was apparently more minor, as it came in December 2015 and Lamb was sent on a rehab assignment in mid-April before making his 2016 debut on May 3.

Lamb was hardly a lock to break camp in the Cincinnati rotation after struggling to a 6.43 ERA through 70 innings with the Reds in 2016 and a 5.80 ERA in 49 2/3 inning following the trade in 2015. Those numbers represent the entirety of Lamb’s big league efforts to this point, so he’d have had to earn his spot on the roster with a big showing in Spring Training. However, there’s reason to believe that he could have done just that. The former fifth-round pick was once heralded as one of the best overall pitching prospects not only in the Royals’ minor league ranks but in all of Major League Baseball. Prior to the 2011 season (two and a half years after he was drafted), Baseball America rated Lamb as the No. 18 prospect in the game, while Baseball Prospectus ranked him an even more aggressive 11th overall. Tommy John surgery slowed his career along the way, however, costing Lamb nearly all of the 2011-12 seasons.

Lamb struggled in 29 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level in 2016 but tossed just 29 1/3 innings in his time there, so it’s tough to glean much of a meaningful impression from that stretch. He has a career ERA of 3.75 in 295 innings in Triple-A, though, including a brilliant stretch of 111 1/3 innings last season, during which he posted a 2.67 ERA with 9.5 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9.

If and when Lamb is ready to return from the disabled list in 2017, the Reds will quickly face a decision on him. The southpaw is out of minor league options, so if they’re going to activate him from the disabled list, he’ll need to be added directly to the active roster, as he can’t be sent to the minors without first being exposed to outright waivers.

Reds Agree To New 15-Year Television Contract

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The Reds and FOX Sports Ohio have agreed to a 15-year extension of the current television contract, which will now run through the 2032 season, reports Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Their current contract had been set to expire at the end of the 2017 campaign.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Reds COO Phil Castellini stated Wednesday that the extension will provide the Reds with a “nice increase” in their yearly rights fees, per Buchanan, which currently pay the team about $30MM annually. The contract also comes with an unspecified equity stake in the network for the Reds. However, Castellini also indicated that the Reds’ new television contract is still a small-market deal relative to monster contracts signed by other teams in recent years. The D-backs and Cardinals, for instance, each signed new television contracts that were valued at more than a billion dollars over the past three years (1.5 billion in Arizona’s case).

As Buchanan points out, though, the fact that Castellini somewhat downplayed the size of the deal doesn’t mean it can’t afford the team with a substantial increase. The Padres, he observes, play in the 28th-ranked U.S. television market but still landed a 20-year television contract worth one billion dollars back in 2012. The Reds, who play in the 34th-ranked market, likely fall shy of that deal but could still see a marked uptick in yearly television rights fees.

Castellini notes that the dip in the team’s attendance (and, subsequently, overall revenue) impacted the talks somewhat, but he stressed that all of the added revenue will go toward improving the on-field product. “…[A]s you all know, we budget this team to break even,” the COO explained. “We don’t pull any money out of the franchise. So we will continue to reinvest all topline revenues back into the product, and we define the product as player development, scouting and the major-league payroll, everything that goes into what (general manager) Dick (Williams) does to put the team on the field as well as the game-day experience at Great American Ball Park.”

Reds fans probably shouldn’t anticipate an immediate hike in the payroll, however. For starters, the team is still in the midst of a rebuilding effort that began in 2015, and it’s unlikely that they’ll make a large splash on the free-agent market (especially in a weak year for free agency). Secondly, as has been the case with other television contracts around the game, the increases in revenue are built in gradually as opposed to one mammoth leap in the first year of the deal. Specific details on the nature of those increases remains unclear, but it’s worth noting that the Reds haven’t exactly operated like many other small-market teams around the game. Cincinnati, for instance, averaged a $112.1MM payroll from 2013-15 and signed players like Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Homer Bailey to significant contract extensions (albeit with varying levels of success). The team has also been aggressive on the international market at times, signing Aroldis Chapman to a six-year, $30MM contract as a free agent that proved to be one of the game’s great bargains over the life of the pact. Likewise, Cincinnati inked right-hander Raisel Iglesias to a seven-year, $27MM contract that looks like a promising investment to this point as well. Currently, the Reds project to have an $88.5MM payroll on Opening Day next year, though that figure will of course change due to their offseason maneuverings.

Per Buchanan’s report, the Reds looked into the possibility of establishing and operating their own regional sports network, but it was deemed too difficult to get off the ground, specifically due to potential difficulties in negotiating distribution fees with cable providers and ensuring that the network would be accessible enough for fans.

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/18/16

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Here are the latest minor moves, via Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted:

  • The Braves re-signed catcher Blake Lalli after recently outrighting him. Lalli, 33, received a brief MLB cameo for the first time in quite a while, but hasn’t spend much time in the majors and figures to remain in the upper minors next year. He carries a .265/.316/.376 batting line over parts of five seasons at Triple-A.
  • Meanwhile, the Braves outrighted 26-year-old lefties Matt Marksberry and Andrew McKirahan as well as shortstop Daniel Castro. Marksberry has made 35 appearances over the last two seasons, posting a composite 5.06 ERA, though he was effective in 42 2/2 frames in the upper minors last year, carrying a 2.32 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. McKirahan spent the year recovering from Tommy John surgery. As for Castro, 23, the last two years have come with a fair amount of major league opportunities, but his bat hasn’t been up to the task. Over 239 total plate appearances, he has hit just .217/.250/.265.
  • The Pirates re-signed righty Casey Sadler to a minor league deal. Sadler, 26, made a nice spot start in 2016 but spent most of the year working at Triple-A. He wasn’t able to repeat his quality earned run numbers from the prior two seasons in the upper minors, pitching to a 4.22 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 over 81 frames in 13 starts.
  • Young Mexican third baseman/catcher Victor Ruiz is heading to the Reds from the Tijuana Toros, Cincinnati announced. Reds director of international scouting Tony Arias says that Ruiz has been on Cinci’s radar for some time, praising the youngster’s hitting ability, his “very good hands and a good throwing arm,” and also his “leadership and competitive qualities.”
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