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Brewers Exercise Adam Lind’s Option

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The Brewers have exercised their option on first baseman Adam Lind, the club announced. He’ll receive $8MM for the 2016 season.

That move has long been expected, as Lind is fresh off of a strong campaign in his first year in Milwaukee after coming over in exchange for Marco Estrada. All told, it’s been a nice career stretch for Lind, who owns a .291/.364/.478 slash in 1,411 pate appearances over that span.

Though Lind’s contract is on the books for now in Milwaukee, he could end up as a trade candidate. His name has come up often as a first base/DH option for teams that would prefer to avoid long commitment. While he’s limited against southpaws, the left-handed hitter has been rather consistently devastating to righties.

Outrighted: Schafer, Hellweg, Jimenez, Moreno, Santos

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Here are the day’s outright assignments:

  • As teams continue paring back their 40-man rosters in anticipation of a busy offseason, the Brewers were the latest to announce a group of outrights. Righty Johnny Hellweg, lefty Cesar Jimenez, catcher Juan Centeno, first baseman Matt Clark, and outfielder Logan Schafer all lost their roster spots. Hellweg hasn’t seen the big leagues since his first-ever MLB action back in 2013, and he struggled badly with his control in the minors this year. Jimenez, a late-season waiver claimee, was projected to earn $1MM in arbitration. He’s had solid results, and greatly improved his K:BB ratio this year, but will presumably look for another opportunity elsewhere. Centeno has received only spot duty in the majors over the last three seasons and is mostly a light-hitting depth piece. Clark has been quite productive in the upper minors in recent seasons, but did not get another trip to the show after a brief stint in 2014. As for the 29-year-old Schafer, he has produced a meager .212/.286/.319 batting line in 646 career plate appearances in Milwaukee, most of them coming over the last three years.
  • The Yankees announced that they’ve reinstated right-handers Sergio Santos and Diego Moreno from the 60-day disabled list and outrighted each. The veteran Santos has already elected free agency and will look to latch on with a new club this winter. The former White Sox/Blue Jays closer posted a 4.96 ERA with an 18-to-7 K/BB ratio in 16 1/3 innings between the Dodgers and Yankees this season. Moreno, meanwhile, acquired four years ago in the trade that initially sent A.J. Burnett to the Pirates, made his MLB debut in 2015 but yielded six runs in 10 1/3 innings. The 28-year-old has enough minor league service time to elect free agency as well.

Coaching Notes: Hickey, Butcher, Murphy, Tigers

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The Rays have signed pitching coach Jim Hickey to a three-year extension, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Hickey’s previous deal ran through the 2016 campaign, but Topkin writes that, presumably, the new deal replaces that one and offers Hickey a raise. Under Hickey, the Rays have continually turned out one of the best pitching units in all of Major League Baseball despite a huge amount of turnover due to the team’s payroll constraints and difficulty retaining players as they become more expensive via arbitration and free agency.

A few more notes on some prominent coaching positions throughout the Majors…

  • The Diamondbacks have hired Mike Butcher as their new pitching coach, according to a team press release. Butcher has spent the past nine seasons as Mike Scioscia’s pitching coach in Anaheim, but the Angels announced recently that he would not return for a 10th season. Butcher will replace Mike Harkey, who was fired by the D-Backs following the 2015 campaign.
  • Pat Murphy, who served as the Padres’ interim manager following Bud Black’s dismissal in San Diego, will become the Brewers’ bench coach, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Murphy will join manager Craig Counsell in Milwaukee, whom he coached more than 20 years ago at Notre Dame. Milwaukee had interest in adding Murphy to its coaching staff prior to his hiring in San Diego, Lin notes. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt said earlier this month that adding Murphy to the coaching staff was a strong possibility for the Brewers.
  • The Tigers have narrowed their search for a pitching coach to a handful of candidates, including recently reassigned Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty, reports MLive.com’s Chris Iott. McCatty has previously served as Detroit’s pitching coach, and he’s joined among the finalists by former Tigers pitcher A.J. Sager, Iott hears. Detroit is closing in on a decision, per Iott.

List Of 2016 Super Two Qualifiers

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Presented below is the list of players who have qualified for Super Two status for arbitration purposes this year. (Service time in parentheses.) As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently tweeted, the service time cutoff is 2.130. You can find arbitration salary projections for these players right here.

Click here to read more about how the Super Two concept works. Note that, as the link shows, the originally projected service time cutoff moved down as things played out over the course of the season. That brought some notable names into early arbitration qualification — namely, Calhoun and Rendon — which could have a big impact on their earning power in potential extension scenarios.

It’s also important to bear in mind that several of the players listed above have already agreed to long-term extensions: Gyorko, Lagares, and Archer. Notably, the size of the guarantee provided by Archer’s contract is dependent upon his Super Two status. By reaching it (as had been expected), he keeps a $25.5MM overall guarantee. That total would have been reduced to $20MM otherwise.

That contract structure reflects the importance of reaching Super Two status. Doing so not only bumps a player’s salary a year early, but sets a higher floor for future paydays.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Cherington, Schwarber

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The Brewers have told other teams that they’re open to hearing offers for anyone on their roster, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports in his latest Insider-only column.  As Olney notes, this could make Jonathan Lucroy a potential trade candidate this winter, though obviously, “only in the right deal.”  Lucroy’s name was mentioned in several trade rumors last summer since Milwaukee fell out of the pennant race so soon, though the Crew reportedly had no interest in dealing the catcher.  New GM David Stearns could have a different perspective, however.  In his recent Brewers Offseason Outlook piece, MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth speculated about a possibly Lucroy trade, and also suggested that the club might wait for a midseason deal to allow Lucroy to rebuild some value after an injury-plagued and subpar 2015 campaign.

Here’s some more from the NL Central…

  • Also from Olney’s post, he reports that the Pirates are in “informal discussions” with Ben Cherington about a possible front office job.  Since stepping down as Boston’s general manager last summer, Cherington reportedly declined opportunities to interview for both the Mariners and Phillies GM jobs out of a desire to take some time away from the game.  It’s fair to speculate that a position working under his friend Neal Huntington could be more attractive to Cherington than a return to the full-time grind of a GM position.
  • Could the Cubs shop Kyle Schwarber this offseason?  Grantland’s Ben Lindbergh explores the possibility, noting that the defensively-challenged Schwarber would be a good fit as an American League DH.  The Rays and Indians are two clubs with a hole at DH and the young arms to offer the Cubs, who are openly looking to add pitching.  While scouts are mixed at best about Schwarber’s ability to play catcher or left field over the long term, a trade may be unlikely given Schwarber’s already-impressive hitting potential.  “He’s not attainable now,” one AL scout tells Lindbergh.  “He still has a chance to hit .285 with 40 bombs. They’d be insane to trade that.”  I tend to agree with the AL scout; Chicago would need a massive return to even consider moving Schwarber’s bat.
  • Jason McLeod, Cubs senior VP of player development and amateur scouting, spoke to Fangraphs’ David Laurila about a couple of Cardinals players who were well-liked by the Cubs and Red Sox when McLeod was running the drafts for those clubs in 2012 and 2008, respectively.  “A lot of the teams that passed up on Michael Wacha, us included, probably kicked themselves,” McLeod said.  St. Louis took Wacha with the 19th overall pick of the first round, while the Cubs (picking sixth) instead chose Albert Almora, who is a well-regarded 21-year-old prospect but has yet to play beyond the Double-A level.  For Boston in 2008, Lance Lynn was “a guy we liked quite a bit; he was high up on our board.”  The Sox instead took Casey Kelly with the 30th overall pick, leaving Lynn to be drafted by the Cards 39th overall.
  • Also from Laurila’s piece, he cites the Reds’ trade of Mat Latos to the Marlins for Anthony DeSclafani (and minor league Chad Wallach) as perhaps “the best under-the-radar trade of last offseason.”  DeSclafani posted a 4.05 ERA, 2.75 K/BB rate and 7.4 K/9 over 184 2/3 innings in his rookie season, and looks to have solidly earned himself a spot in Cincinnati rotation.

Quick Hits: Cespedes, Cubs, Allison

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Mets GM Sandy Alderson traded for Yoenis Cespedes because he believed the club needed another hitter, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Alderson originally focused on Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez and Reds outfielder Jay Bruce because they came with additional club control. However, the Gomez deal was nixed after the Mets reviewed his physical, and the Reds pulled Bruce off the trade block on July 31. Alderson preferred Justin Upton of the Padres, but they refused to back down from demands for pitcher Michael Fulmer, shortstop Amed Rosario, and others. While Alderson still preferred a higher OBP hitter, Cespedes had the best acquisition cost. Per Alderson, if the Mets didn’t acquire a top bat, “people will point to the fact that we were not all in.”

  • The Cubs will be a trendy pick to win the National League next season, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. However, Theo Epstein and crew have a difficult road ahead of them. Within their own division, they’ll have to compete with the always successful Cardinals and recently excellent Pirates. The Mets formidable pitching staff will return next year, the Giants have a way of appearing every even year, and the Dodgers spend the most money in baseball. Unexpected opponents could also jump to the forefront. As Epstein admits, “We have to put ourselves in a position where we have a chance to be great. So we can win the division and not have to go through the coin flip of being in the wild-card game. I’m not saying you can always get there. Some things are beyond your control.” To be great, the club probably needs to add an ace. A veteran to help stabilize the young lineup could also be useful.
  • The Mariners have promoted Tom Allison to head of both professional and amateur scouting, tweets John Manuel of Baseball America. Allison had previously served as Seattle’s head of pro scouting so the promotion is an expansion of duties. Per Manuel, Allison had a strong run as an amateur scout with the Diamondbacks from 2007 through 2010. He also worked with the Mets and Brewers in a scouting capacity from 1996 through 2006.

NL Central Notes: Cubs, Cards, Reds, Brewers

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As the Cubs head into the offseason, the team is expected to look at reviving many of the summer trade deadline talks that never came to fruition, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. As president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said yesterday, Chicago is after pitching. The team could rejoin its pursuit of pitchers such as Tyson Ross of the Padres, Julio Teheran of the Braves, and Carlos Carrasco of the Indians, per Wittenmyer. Interestingly, he adds that the Cubs are rather enamored of Indians converted outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, who rather suddenly became an outstanding right fielder last year after moving off of third base. Wittenmyer says it wouldn’t be surprising to see Javier Baez, Starlin Castro, or Jorge Soler (or any two of them) moved for pitching this winter, adding that Atlanta is “especially high on Soler.”

Here are some more notes out of the NL Central:

  • The Cardinals could see some turnover this winter, and MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch takes a look at the overall roster situation. She notes that the organization may not be able to strike as quickly as it has in past offseasons if it makes Jason Heyward a priority, as his market may take a bit longer to come into focus. New reserve options at catcher and the middle infield could be pursued, and bullpen additions — possibly including a re-signing of Carlos Villanueva — appear likely.
  • Meanwhile, the Cardinals will maintain the same coaching staff for 2016, Langosch reports. The whole group had been invited back, and reached new agreements in short order. Serving under manager Mike Matheny once again will be bench coach David Bell, first base coach Chris Maloney, third base coach Jose Oquendo, pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, hitting coach John Mabry, assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller, and bullpen coach Blaise Ilsley.
  • The Reds have announced some coaching staff changes for 2016, with Mark Riggins taking over as the pitching coach and Tony Jaramillo joining the staff as assistant hitting coach. Per the club, Jim Riggleman will remain the bench coach under skipper Bryan Price, while Don Long (hitting), Billy Hatcher (third base), Freddie Benavides (first base), Mack Jenkins (bullpen), and Mike Stefanski (catching) all return.
  • In an inter-division switch, the Brewers have hired away Derek Johnson from the Cubs to serve as their pitching coach, David Kaplan of CSN Chicago and ESPN Chicago reports on Twitter. Johnson had served as the minor league pitching coordinator in Chicago after a lengthy stint at Vanderbilt University’s outstanding baseball program.

 

Offseason Outlook: Milwaukee Brewers

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After a 68-94 season, new Brewers GM David Stearns and newly minted assistant GM Matt Arnold (formerly of the Rays) will be tasked with continuing the team’s rebuild.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections by MLB Trade Rumors)

Contract Options

Free Agents

Stearns, who the Brewers hired last month, is 30, has an Ivy League background and was previously an assistant GM with the analytically-savvy Astros, so it certainly seems like he’ll be a new-school GM. And if he were to trade most of the rest of his veterans and go with a young, inexpensive roster, just as Jeff Luhnow did in Houston, that wouldn’t be surprising.

In fact, if he did, he would only be continuing what the Brewers have already started. Many of their key in-season moves in 2015 (in which they dealt free-agents-to-be Gerardo Parra, Aramis Ramirez and Jonathan Broxton to new teams) merely acknowledged that they weren’t contenders that year, but the trade of Carlos Gomez (who was signed through 2016) and Mike Fiers (controllable through 2019) to the Astros before Stearns’ hire strongly suggested they were already rebuilding. Which, of course, made sense. The Brewers’ season had gone horribly to that point, their competition in the NL Central was fierce, and there wasn’t reason to think things would get much better in the short term.

If Stearns were to pursue a full-scale rebuild, then, it would simply continue a process that began last summer, as he suggested last week. “The Brewers’ organization really began that transitional period in the middle of this year,” said Stearns. “When [owner] Jim Crane bought the Astros and Jeff Luhnow took over … [t]hey were starting from scratch. I don’t see us as starting from scratch.”

USATSI_8606052_154513410_lowresStearns’ biggest deals to continue to rebuild the team don’t need to happen this offseason, but if they do, his top trade chip will be catcher Jonathan Lucroy. The 29-year-old is coming off a down season marked by a broken toe and concussion issues, but he was a viable MVP candidate in 2014 thanks to not only his offense but his work with the Brewers’ pitchers. Additionally, he’s signed to a very team-friendly contract that will pay him just $9.25MM in the next two seasons combined. Last year, Lucroy wanted to discuss another extension with the Brewers, but the team said no, presumably wanting to take advantage of his very favorable existing contract and avoid signing him further into his thirties.

While the Brewers have also previously sounded reluctant to deal Lucroy, and Stearns himself recently described Lucroy as a reason to expect the Brewers to improve in 2016, Stearns seems likely to try to get something for his asset at some point. The question is whether Stearns wants to gamble on Lucroy restoring his trade value by staying healthy for the first few months of the season. Keeping Lucroy around for a few months would also allow the Brewers to play much of the 2016 season with one of their most marketable players still in tow. If they do elect to deal him this winter, though, the Nationals, Angels, Twins and perhaps Braves (who reportedly would have interest in Lucroy if he were available) could be potential trade partners.

There are a few additional veterans the Brewers could deal. First baseman Adam Lind, whose $8MM option the Brewers will likely exercise, remains a plus hitter signed to a reasonable contract; he should be able to bring back a decent prospect or two. The Pirates would be a good fit if the two teams can agree to a trade within the NL Central, and the Mariners might also be a possibility. The Brewers could also get good value for relievers Francisco Rodriguez and Will Smith. K-Rod is still just 33 and was quietly terrific last season, and Smith was one of baseball’s best lefty relievers, dominating batters on both sides of the plate and posting a ridiculous 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings. If the Brewers don’t get offers they like, they could also wait and trade either pitcher in July.

The only two other Brewers signed to significant contracts are Ryan Braun and Matt Garza. Braun did hit .285/.356/.498 in a resurgent 2015 season, but his contract (which was signed all the way back in 2011 but hasn’t even technically kicked in yet) is arguably already a problem due to the length of the commitment, his age (32 in November) and lack of defensive value. Since he’s still productive, the Brewers could conceivably trade him, but they might have to pay a significant portion of his contract or take on another big contract to do so. That’s probably an option worth pursuing, given the possibility that Braun could decline in the next couple years and become even trickier to trade.

Garza, meanwhile, is coming off a miserable 5.63 ERA season in which he left the team early after being removed from the rotation, and his peripheral numbers suggest only a modest rebound is in store. As MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy pointed out in a recent edition of the MLBTR Podcast, the Brewers still owe Garza $25MM, which means he’ll likely be back with the team in 2016. And besides Smith, the Brewers don’t have any arbitration-eligible players with much value, either — Wily Peralta and Jean Segura are both coming off mediocre seasons.

Many key players from the Brewers’ last winning team — Gomez, Fiers, Ramirez, Yovani Gallardo, Kyle Lohse, Zach Duke — are now gone, and others have torpedoed their trade value with disappointing performances. For Stearns, the Brewers’ relative lack of trade assets might actually be a blessing, at least in some respects. Perhaps the most important thing a GM can do in his first few months on the job is evaluate the organization he’s inherited, and right now, Stearns needs make sure he has the right coaches, scouts and front office personnel, and that he’s deploying them effectively. That process has already begun; the Brewers announced last week that they’re only keeping manager Craig Counsell, hitting coach Darnell Coles and third base coach Ed Sedar from their 2015 coaching staff, and earlier today the hiring of Arnold as AGM was announced.

With that in mind, then, Stearns’ offseason might not be that tumultuous, at least not from a player-acquisition standpoint. The Brewers already have young, or at least controllable, players at many positions, and they can use 2016 to find out which are likely to be helpful in the long term. A few, like left fielder Khris Davis and starting pitchers Jimmy Nelson and Taylor Jungmann, have already proven their value to the club. Davis quietly hit 27 homers in 440 plate appearances last year, and Nelson and Jungmann were among the Brewers’ best starting pitchers. Jungmann’s emergence was a pleasant surprise, given his sometimes underwhelming performances in the minors.

Elsewhere, Domingo Santana, one of the key acquisitions in the Gomez trade, will receive chances in the outfield, alongside Davis. Braun will occupy the other spot if the Brewers aren’t able to trade him. Eating some of his contract, dealing him in a Matt Kemp-style trade, and acquiring someone like Austin Jackson or Rajai Davis to play center field on a short-term basis might be a neat trick, though. Santana isn’t really a center fielder, so clearing space for him in a corner and getting a better defender to play in center would help the Brewers’ pitching staff. Dealing Braun would be franchise-changing from a branding perspective, of course, but it seems likely to happen at some point.

If the Brewers do deal Lind, their infield could feature some combination of Jason Rogers, Scooter Gennett, Segura, Luis Sardinas and Elian Herrera. The 27-year-old Rogers performed well as a rookie in 2015, while Gennett, Segura and Sardinas all struggled to varying degrees. Top prospect Orlando Arcia could make an impact at some point in 2016, however, potentially solidifying the shortstop position. In the meantime, the addition of a veteran could help stabilize the Brewers’ infield — Kelly Johnson, who bats left-handed and can play first, second and third, might be a good fit at a reasonable price. Assuming Lind is dealt, the Brewers could also acquire someone like Justin Morneau to platoon with Rogers.

Nelson, Jungmann and Garza will likely be back in the rotation, along with some combination of Ariel Pena, recent trade acquisition Zach Davies and Peralta. Several other young pitchers, including Jorge Lopez, Josh Hader and Adrian Houser, could also find playing time. That might be enough arms to get Milwaukee through the season, but but perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to acquire an innings eater to fill out the rotation anyway. Perhaps they could also sign a pitcher with the aim of trading him for extra talent at the deadline and replacing him with Lopez, Hader or Houser.

In the bullpen, even if the Brewers do trade Rodriguez and/or Smith, there will still be a fair number of interesting arms in Jeremy Jeffress, Corey Knebel, Michael Blazek, Tyler Thornburg and Yhonathan Barrios. It’s possible that the Brewers could add to that group, particularly if Smith is traded. Smith’s departure would leave the Brewers bullpen very heavily right-handed, and the team could look to the outside for lefty relief help or consider retaining the left-handed Cesar Jimenez.

The keys with any of these additions ought to be to supplement existing talent rather than blocking it. Players like Davis and Johnson would help the Brewers keep costs down, but they would also be helpful because of their versatility. Davis, for example, could easily move into a fourth-outfielder role if, say, top prospect Brett Phillips were to get off to a hot start at Triple-A and earn big-league playing time. (Davis or Jackson might also have trade value in July if that scenario were to unfold.) And Johnson could move to one of any number of positions, switching positions if one of the Brewers’ younger infielders proved he deserved regular playing time.

Of course, we’ve assumed here that it’s obvious what course Stearns will follow. Maybe it isn’t. Padres GM A.J. Preller, for example, had a scouting and player-development background and inherited an organization that, like the Brewers today, was a losing team with an improving farm system. Rather than building around that farm system, he dealt many of his top prospects in a surprising (and ultimately ill-advised) attempt to contend. Perhaps, then, Stearns has something unexpected up his sleeve, despite the Brewers’ situation and his own background in Houston. That would be a shock, however — it makes little sense to stop trading now that the Gomez/Fiers deal is done, and the Brewers finished a full 29 games behind the third-place finisher in the NL Central last year. The Padres’ attempt at contention sort of made sense in the right light, but for the Brewers, a radical deviation from their presumed plans would just seem crazy. There’s little left for Stearns to do, then, but to continue what the team started before he arrived.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Brewers Hire Matt Arnold As Assistant GM

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New Brewers GM David Stearns has decided on an assistant general manager, tabbing former Rays director of player personnel Matt Arnold as his top lieutenant. Milwaukee had announced yesterday that long-time assistant GM Gord Ash would not return in that role, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports, though he was offered another position in the organization.

“I am thrilled to bring Matt on board,” Stearns said in the release. “Matt has touched nearly every aspect of baseball operations during his impressive career. He has the ability to impact our organization across the entire baseball operations spectrum and will be an integral part of our operation.”

At 36 years of age, Arnold makes for another youthful addition to the Milwaukee front office, though he’s still a fair sight older than his new boss. (Stearns is just thirty.) Arnold had been with Tampa Bay since 2007. But several teams apparently sought out his services this winter, including the Marlins.

As Arnold explained when he was Tampa Bay’s director of pro scouting, in an interview with Tommy Rancel of SB Nation, his baseball background is firmly in the scouting arena. But he also has a degree in economics and is a believer in statistical analysis. “I think it’s important that we separate the two fields as we each make our own evaluations,” said Arnold back in 2009, ” but combine them in the final synthesis of information when making a decision.” 

Of course, Arnold’s exposure to the full scale of baseball decisionmaking has grown since that time. The Brewers’ announcement credits him with involvement in many aspects of Tampa Bay’s organization — including, interestingly, “the integration of science, biomechanics and human movement analysis within baseball operations at all levels.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/14/15

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Diamondbacks have announced that righty Kevin Munson has elected free agency after clearing outright waivers. Munson was designated and then outrighted earlier in the year. The former Rule 5 selection has shown promise at times, but scuffled through a 4.60 ERA campaign in 2015 while struggling badly with his command.
  • Likewise, catcher Nevin Ashley has elected free agency from the Brewers, per a team announcement. He, too, had cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment. It was a milestone season for the 31-year-old, who made it to the big leagues for the first time after ten seasons in the minors. That stint was short-lived, but Ashley impressed at Triple-A this year, slashing .306/.374/.442 in 381 plate appearances.
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