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AL Central Notes: Tigers, Zobrist, Park, Robinson

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Early indications are that the Tigers are more focused on second-tier free agents than the top of the market, sources tell ESPN’s Buster Olney (Twitter link). That would seem to preclude, at least for the time being, notions of a reunion with either David Price or Yoenis Cespedes, even though both could conceivably fit onto the roster. The question for the Tigers, as I noted in my recent Offseason Outlook on Detroit, is whether a top free agent would fit into the club’s long-term payroll capacity. Justin Verlander’s resurgence has lessened the need to seek a top-flight arm, meaning names like Ian Kennedy, Scott Kazmir, Jeff Samardzija, Wei-Yin Chen and Yovani Gallardo could be more plausible targets for first-year GM Al Avila, who has previously stated a preference to add a pair of starters this winter.

Here’s more from the AL Central as the offseason gets underway…

  • Ben Zobrist tells MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan that Alex Gordon should be the Royals’ top priority this offseason due to Gordon’s status as face of the franchise, but adds that he would love to return to Kansas City (Twitter link). Kansas City picked up Zobrist from the A’s in exchange for lefty Sean Manaea and right-hander Aaron Brooks prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. Zobrist, like Gordon, figures to be one of the more in-demand free agents this winter due to his versatility and track record of above-average offense. Gordon declined his player option with the Royals earlier tonight.
  • The Twins have interest in a reunion with fleet-footed center fielder Shane Robinson, a source tells Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Robinson recently elected free agency after being outrighted by the Twins, who presumably would like to bring him back on a minor league pact. The 31-year-old somewhat improbably cracked Minnesota’s Opening Day roster in 2015 and spent the entire season serving as a fourth outfielder, late-inning defensive replacement and pinch-runner. The former Cardinal hit .250/.299/.322 in 197 plate appearances and graded out quite well by measure of Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating (+3 and +2.7, respectively, in just 458 innings).
  • Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that the Twins have scouted Korean first baseman Byung-ho Park extensively, with one club official calling him a “good run producer.” It’s somewhat difficult to see where Park would fit into Minnesota’s crowded corner scene, where Trevor Plouffe, Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano are all likely to rotate throughout third base, first base and DH (though Mauer wouldn’t see time at third). Park was posted earlier this week after hitting 105 homers over the past two seasons in KBO. Bids on the 29-year-old are due Friday.

Royals’ Decline Mutual Options On Rios, Guthrie

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Fresh off of their World Series triumph, the Royals will open their offseason by bidding adieu to outfielder Alex Rios and righty Jeremy Guthrie. The players officially became free agents today, per an MLBPA press release.

As had been expected, Kansas City declined its mutual options over both, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Start tweets. Rios’s option was valued at $12.5MM, with a $1.5MM buyout, while Guthrie will receive a $3.2MM buyout on a $10MM option.

Rios, 34, had a down year after joining the Royals last winter as a free agent. He slashed just .255/.287/.353 in 411 plate appearances, swiping nine bases and contributing four home runs.

Guthrie, on the other hand, came to the Royals via trade and then re-signed before the 2013 season. His deal was restructured last January to defer some of his 2014 salary back to the end of the end of the deal, with the mutual option and buyout accomplishing the task. The 36-year-old struggled to a 5.95 ERA in 148 1/3 innings this year, allowing a league-high 29 home runs in the process. That performance eliminated any possibility that the mutual option would be exercised.

Free Agent Notes: Leake, Yankees, Young, Iwakuma

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The Giants have yet to talk contract with free agent righty Mike Leake, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter links). That doesn’t mean that he won’t be a target, of course, but Schulman explains that it does suggest he’ll be fully testing the market before making a decision. Generally, says Schulman, San Francisco has indicated it will be more tight-lipped about its pursuit of pitching than it was last offseason, when the club openly chased Jon Lester.

Here are some more notes as the free agent market begins to take shape:

  • While the Yankees might not go after the biggest free agent names, the club could be active in the second base market, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch writes. New York has a variety of in-house options to be considered there, of course, but will also look at players such as Daniel Murphy, Ben Zobrist, and Howie Kendrick, per the report.
  • It remains to be seen how active the Yankees will be, but adding to the rotation figures to be one area of focus. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes (in a broader notes column) that Jeff Samardzija and Wei-Yin Chen are two names that have come up in internal discussions.
  • The Royals have interest in a reunion with righty Chris Young, Heyman adds. The 36-year-old delivered plenty of value to the club after signing late in the offseason last year, of course, though he’ll figure to draw wider interest after contributing 123 1/3 frames of 3.06 ERA pitching in a swingman capacity.
  • New Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has made clear that bringing back Hisashi Iwakuma is a priority for the club, and Bob Dutton of the Seattle Times explains that his status will be important for determining the rest of the club’s winter. Re-signing the veteran would allow the team to approach the rest of the rotation market with patience while focusing elsewhere. If not, Seattle may be forced to spend more in adding another starter.

Quick Hits: Mattingly, Royals, Mets, Murphy, Sveum

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The Marlins have announced a press conference for tomorrow morning in which they’re expected to introduce manager Don Mattingly, reports Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Mattingly, 54, has agreed to a four-year deal with Miami. The financial terms remain unknown. We profiled the hire more fully last week.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Royals and Mets could look different when they meet to open the 2016 season, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Both clubs are expected to lose several key contributors to free agency including Alex Gordon, Ben Zobrist, Johnny Cueto, Greg Holland, Chris Young, Daniel Murphy, and Yoenis Cespedes. Three of those seven players were midseason mercenary acquisitions, but the Royals organization will certainly feel the loss of Gordon if he signs elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Mets are more likely to extend Murphy a qualifying offer after his huge NLCS performance.
  • Much has been written about the Royals offensive approach, but more credit belongs to hitting coach Dale Sveum, writes David Laurila of FanGraphs. Sveum took over the role last May and transformed the team’s offensive profile. As you might expect, he’s a proponent of aggressive hitting with an emphasis on balls in play. When the Cubs fired Sveum in 2013, Royals manager Ned Yost “waited like two minutes” before offering him a job.
  • The Padres have re-signed pitching coach Darren Balsley, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock. Balsley was originally hired under Bruce Bochy’s regime and has been with the franchise for 13 seasons. He considered following Bud Black to the Nationals, but he opted to remain in San Diego. “There were a lot of opportunities to go elsewhere, but I let it be known to [general manager A.J. Preller] that this is where I wanted to stay,” Balsley told Brock. The longtime Padres coach explained that while he wasn’t born in San Diego, he was raised in the city and grew up rooting for the team. “I can’t personally think of a better job. My alliance is to the team,” said Balsley. New Padres skipper Andy Green met with Balsley over the weekend, and Balsley explained to Brock that the two meshed quickly.

Pirates Notes: Analytics, Walker, Alvarez, Park

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Much like every other team, the Pirates are striving to adjust to a pitcher friendly era, writes Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Pitchers have benefited greatly from the inflow of data. They’ve learned about specific hitters tendencies, strengths, and weakness in ways that weren’t available in the past. Now hitters are beginning to get more of that same information about pitchers. Per Pirates GM Neal Huntington, “So much of the advance work gave an advantage to pitchers in identifying hitters’ weaknesses…We…have worked hard to try to capitalize on how to give our hitters some advantage back.”

Here’s more from the Pirates as they gear up for free agency:

  • Pittsburgh hopes to improve their offense over the offseason, writes Sawchik in a separate article. Sawchik suggests that power could be a priority. Interestingly, the club has tough decisions to make on Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker. Both players are non-tender candidates – Alvarez is projected to earn $8.1MM via arbitration while Walker is pegged for a $10.7MM payday. However, they’ve also accounted for 84 of the club’s 296 home runs in the last two seasons (28%). If power is truly a priority, then it will be hard to replace their production for less money. It’s trendy to look to the Royals as an example, but they’re probably a great model for the Pirates. Pittsburgh has focused on pure hitters in the draft rather than power, and their cavernous ball park plays similarly to Kauffman Stadium. Perhaps aggression and athleticism are better traits to target.
  • Byung-ho Park of the Nexen Heroes will be posted tomorrow, but he’s unlikely to join the Pirates, writes John Perrotto of Today’s Knuckleball. Obviously, the Pirates have already received great value from fellow KBO import Jung-ho Kang. That’s part of the reason Pittsburgh won’t win the bidding for his services. Kang provided a successful use case for transition from the KBO to the majors. Teams should be willing to bet more upon Park’s success. With Michael Morse under contract for 2016 and top prospect Josh Bell lurking at Triple-A, the club also has some solid in-house first basemen.

Heyman’s Latest: Davis, Zobrist, Zunino

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports takes a look at Pete Rose’s chances for reinstatement in his latest Inside Baseball column. The short version: he has no chance. Heyman has a lot to say on the topic, but it all boils down to a conservative mindset among baseball’s decision makers. While Rose, 74, is relatively harmless, the commissioner’s office won’t take the tiny risk associated with reinstatement. Commissioner Rob Manfred granted Rose a hearing in September and is expected to issue a ruling before the end of the year.

Here’s more from the column:

  • Orioles owner Peter Angelos is making a push to re-sign first baseman Chris Davis. The slugger is entering his age 30 season after posting 13 WAR and 126 home runs over the last three seasons. Davis hit .262/.361/.562 last year with 47 home runs. However, he’s sandwiched two superstar campaigns around a replacement level 2014, making him a high risk, high reward target in free agency. Heyman does not expect Davis to sign before talking with other clubs.
  • The Royals are unlikely to re-sign Ben Zobrist. The club acquired him to fill in for the injured Alex Gordon, then used him to replace injured Omar Infante. The club’s former second baseman will be back and presumably healthy next season. Zobrist’s defensive profile at second base also leaves something to be desired.
  • Marlins manager Don Mattingly hopes to bring pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and coach Tim Wallach with him from the Dodgers. However, L.A. hopes to keep both coaches. Honeycutt is a long standing member of the Dodgers’ coaching staff, but Wallach may search for a new job if he’s passed over for the open manager job.
  • Scouts are worried that Mike Zunino may have to overcome a psychological hurdle. He was widely viewed as unready for a promotion to the majors in 2013, and the Mariners have allowed him to scuffle through the last three campaigns. His biggest issue is a 32 percent strikeout rate which has led to a .193/.252/.353 triple-slash.

East Notes: DePodesta, Mets, Red Sox

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Here’s a look at the AL and NL East:

  • Mets exec Paul DePodesta told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times that has has been contacted for about “half a dozen” GM vacancies since leaving the Dodgers.  However, the Mets’ vice president of player development and amateur scouting says that he only agreed to an interview once, only to later pull his name from consideration.  If he gets interest again this winter, there’s no guarantee that DePodesta will bite.  “It has never been about the title, especially after having it,” DePodesta said. “At some point, I aspired to that. I got there. Maybe it wasn’t all I expected it to be. I took a step back and said I wanted to do what I really enjoy. What I have here has been great. It satisfies what I’m looking for.”
  • Each of the previous three times Dave Dombrowski took over a franchise, he did so with something of a clean slate to work from, but that’s not necessarily the case this time, Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal writes.  The Red Sox already have several large payroll commitments with $150MM+ in guarantees on the books, a far cry from what he had with the expansion Marlins in 1991, the Expos in ’98, and the Tigers in 2002.  One key issue facing Boston is that they owe more than $50MM apiece to Rusney Castillo, Dustin Pedroia, Rick Porcello, Hanley Ramirez, and Pablo Sandoval, and all five players come with pretty serious question marks.
  • Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald wonders if the Red Sox should copy the Royals’ playbook, even though they have more purchasing power than KC.  Still, the Royals have managed to stock up on frontline starting pitchers with varying methods and with a strong bullpen behind them.  Silverman feels that finding a No. 1 pitcher needs to be Boston’s No. 1 priority, though they need to put a great deal of effort into bolstering their relievers as well.

Royals To Non-Tender Greg Holland

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The Royals will not tender an offer to injured reliever Greg Holland, sources tell Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise after Holland underwent Tommy John surgery in late September.  Heyman adds that the Royals would be happy to consider a two-year deal for Holland, as they did for Kris Medlen.

Holland was set to earn $11.3MM via arbitration, according to MLBTR and Matt Swartz’s projection model.  Even before Holland’s injury, there were questions as to whether the Royals would be able to retain the 29-year-old (30 next month).  When the former closer suffered a “significant” tear in his UCL, the decision unfortunately became much easier for KC.  Holland will miss most, if not all of the 2016 season.

The Royals were said to have asked Holland to get the elbow checked out on multiple occasions this season, but Holland’s preference was always to pitch through the discomfort. Ultimately, though, his September struggles became too significant, and with his fastball dropping from the mid 90s to the high 80s, Holland had no choice but to get checked out.

To this point in his career, the two-time All-Star has a 2.42 ERA with 12.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 145 saves in 319 2/3 innings. All of those innings came as a member of the Royals, who selected Holland in the 10th round of the 2007 draft.  It’s still possible that the Royals and Holland could work out a new deal, but Kansas City will have to compete with everybody else if that’s their intention.  Holland and newly hired agent Scott Boras can be expected to scout the market for the best opportunity.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Royals, Morales, Gordon, Zobrist, Cuba

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The Rockies should look at the Royals’ model of success, opines Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Both teams are mid-market clubs so they share the same constraints. In today’s game, that often means they can’t compete for top or even mid-tier free agents. Royals GM Dayton Moore told Saunders “You have to continually make the transition with two or three impact players [from the farm system], every single year. That means a position player, a starter and a bullpen piece.” Additionally, bold trades like the swap of Troy Tulowitzki are necessary too. The Rockies received Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, and Jesus Tinoco in the deal. While Reyes is the most recognizable name, the trade was all about the three pitching prospects. Colorado absolutely must solve their rotation woes if they want to field a consistently good club.

  • The Royals success in the middle of the free agent market may be the trait rival teams attempt to replicate this offseason, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. We’ve already heard about numerous ways other clubs hope to emulate the Royals with athleticism, defense, and an elite bullpen as oft cited details. However, the club also brought in eight productive free agents for just $35.875MM. With a deep and talented free agent pool this offseason, we may see clubs eschew top targets like Jason Heyward in favor of multiple additions (Sherman lists Gerardo Parra, Darren O’Day, and Marco Estrada as an example).
  • Kansas City did get lucky in one regard, per Sherman. Their top target for designated hitter was Torii Hunter. Had he signed with the Royals, they would not have pursued Kendrys Morales. Instead, the former Angel and Twin led the club with 22 home runs and 106 RBI.
  • Sherman also notes that the Royals hope to re-sign Alex Gordon and Ben Zobrist. The club will not pursue Johnny Cueto.
  • The U.S. government and Major League Baseball have been working on a new system for would-be Cuban defectors to reach America, writes Michael S. Schmidt and Julie Hirschfeld of the New York Times. Presently, Cuban players usually have to survive dangerous journeys in order to defect. Smugglers often take a large percentage the player’s initial contract as payment. While creating a transparent process for moving from the Serie Nacional to state-side professional baseball would solve a human rights issue, there are still barriers. Most notably, any payment to the Cuban government would violate the U.S. trade embargo with the island. Any typical compensation scheme would either directly or indirectly send money to the Cuban government.

Cafardo On Kapstein, Amaro, Mattingly, Zobrist, Kapler

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In his latest column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe discussed the role of former Red Sox advisor Jeremy Kapstein. Newly installed club president Dave Dombrowski did not extend Kapstein’s contract. The former player agent had worked with the Red Sox for 14 years as a senior advisor of baseball projects. Kapstein once represented a number of top players and was among the first to use statistics in arbitration cases. He’ll seek a new role elsewhere.

Here’s more from the column:

  • Freshly minted first base and outfield coach Ruben Amaro Jr. is already familiar with many of Boston’s outfielders. While with the Phillies, he pursued Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and prospect Manuel Margot in trade negotiations for Cole Hamels. Former Phillies closer Brad Lidge noted that Amaro was comfortable spending time in the clubhouse with players, so he should adjust well to his new role.
  • Don Mattingly is the Marlins eighth manager in the last six seasons. The last manager, Dan Jennings, was recently let go after he was told he would return to his former job as GM. The club owes him about $2MM. Mattingly is said to have agreed to a four-year deal although financial details have yet to be disclosed. Marlins fans may recall the four-year, $10MM contract signed by Ozzie Guillen prior to 2012. It serves as a warning to Mattingly that a long term of contract or high AAV will not ensure job security in Miami.
  • As reported earlier this week, Ben Cherington has joined the sports management program at Columbia University. That hasn’t stopped the Pirates from pursuing him for a front office role. Cafardo wonders if Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro might show interest too. In my opinion, the Blue Jays job might not be a fit since Cherington walked away from a similar situation in Boston.
  • One AL executive worries about Ben Zobrist’s age. “Ben is 35 years old. He keeps in great shape and does the job, but he’s not someone you’re going to devote big dollars to over a long-term deal.” Of course, his agent, Alan Nero, believes a three or four-year deal should be well within reach. Nero and the Royals have not discussed an extension.
  • The Orioles will bring back pitching coach Dave Wallace. According to a source, manager Buck Showalter asked him to stay. The Orioles pitching staff had a rough season after outperforming their peripherals for a few years. Free agent Wei-Yin Chen will be difficult to replace if he signs elsewhere. The club also has to carefully manage top prospect Dylan Bundy. He’s missed most of the last three seasons after making a couple relief appearances as a 19-year-old in 2012. He’ll be out of options.
  • Team sources label Gabe Kapler has the leading candidate for the Dodgers managerial job. Kapler “speaks the same language” as president Andrew Friedman and they have an established working relationship. While Kapler has not managed in the majors, he “drew rave reviews” while managing with the Red Sox Single-A affiliate.
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