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Athletics Likely To Try To Deal For Starting Pitching

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The Athletics are likely to try to make a deal for starting pitching, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Another option might be to stretch out Drew Pomeranz and move him into their rotation.

The Athletics have gotten great results from Sonny Gray, Scott Kazmir and Jesse Chavez this offseason, but haven’t done as well with Dan Straily, Tommy Milone and Josh Lindblom. They’ve also lost Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin, both of whom have had Tommy John surgery. Slusser suggests that the A’s could perhaps trade a big-league position player, maybe someone like catcher John Jaso, for a pitcher.

Early May is not prime trading season, of course, and most significant trades don’t occur until later in the summer. The A’s currently lead the Rangers by two games in the AL West.

A.J. Griffin Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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WEDNESDAY: Griffin’s surgery took place today, according to the Athletics’ official Twitter feed.

TUESDAY: Griffin will, in fact, have Tommy John surgery, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.

FRIDAY 7:12pm: “No decision on the next course of treatment will be finalized” until Dr. Mehlhoff sees Griffin on Tuesday, A’s assistant GM David Forst tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).

6:28pm: Athletics righty A.J. Griffin will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, a source tells Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com.  An elbow issue first cropped up for the 26-year-old pitcher in March, and word came from A’s manager Bob Melvin this week that Griffin would visit Houston-area specialist Dr. Thomas Mehlhoff on Tuesday for a second opinion.

Griffin provided 200 innings of 3.83 ball as a member of the A’s rotation last year.  The A’s had already lost Jarrod Parker to Tommy John in March.  The A’s seemed to have a surplus of starting pitching when they reached an agreement with Scott Kazmir in December, but attrition has taken its toll.  Nonetheless, Oakland’s 2.74 rotation ERA ranks first in the American League this year.  The group is comprised of Kazmir, Sonny Gray, Dan Straily, Tommy Milone, and the surprising Jesse Chavez.  The A’s may still be compelled to add to their starting pitching depth as the summer wears on.

In an ESPN article today, Jayson Stark addressed this year’s Tommy John epidemic, of which Griffin appears to be the 17th victim.

AL West Notes: Arencibia, Baker, Astros, Johnson

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MLBTR is pleased to report that the missing portion of our archives that was lost when switching to WordPress following our DDoS attack has been restored. Previously, posts from mid-March through mid-April weren’t viewable, but everything is up to speed now. So, if you missed the details on Joel Hanrahan’s audition for 20 teams, Sean Doolittle’s contract extension, or George Springer’s promotion to the Majors, all of that info is once again available. Speaking of Doolittle and Springer, here are some notes pertaining to their division…

  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wonders how much longer the Rangers can carry J.P. Arencibia on their roster. The 28-year-old is hitting jus .094/.171/.156 without a homer this season, leading Grant to believe that Texas could be talking with the Padres about one of their catchers. San Diego is reportedly in active trade talks regarding Nick Hundley.
  • Rangers right-hander Scott Baker is pitching well in Triple-A (2.81 ERA in 32 innings) and has received interest from several other teams as his May 1 opt-out date approaches, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter links). Baker would only opt out of his current deal if it led to a Major League opportunity with another club, he adds. Baker’s former club, the Twins, isn’t interested in a reunion, according to reports from this past weekend.
  • The Houston Chronicle’s David Barron reports that United States Bankruptcy Judge Mavin Isgur will rule within two weeks whether he has subject matter jurisdiction to hear Astros owner Jim Crane’s lawsuit against Comcast, NBC Universal and former owner Drayton McLane. Comcast took the case federal last November because of its ties to CSN Houston’s own bankruptcy case, though Crane would like it to remain a matter for the state courts.
  • Athletics righty Jim Johnson pitched poorly enough to open the season that he lost his role as closer, but scouts expressed to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle this weekend that Johnson looks much better than he did early in the season. One scout on Sunday told Slusser that Johnson’s sinker is as good as anyone in the game right now. With Doolittle and Gregerson failing to run with the closer’s role, Johnson could find himself back in the ninth. Fantasy baseball players can, of course, keep up with Johnson’s status and other closer-related news by following MLBTR’s @closernews on Twitter.

AL Notes: Cano, Tigers, A’s, Baker

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Robinson Cano will be making his first trip to the Bronx since signing his ten-year, $240MM contract when the Mariners open a series against the Yankees on Tuesday. Cano explained the differences between Seattle and New York to Newsday’s Anthony Rieber. “Here it’s more relaxed. It’s not as intense as New York,” Cano said. “In New York, when the game is over, everyone is looking at what’s wrong. Here we don’t have that.” Cano is hopeful there won’t be many Bronx cheers from the Yankee faithful upon his return. “They understand that this is a business and I don’t have anything against the fans, the team, anybody. I can tell you I’m excited to go back and be able to see guys that I played with for a long time. Be able to see [Derek] Jeter play in his last year. Just looking forward to going back.” 

In other news and notes from the American League:

  • The Tigers may start to see additional dividends from the Doug Fister trade, reports Chris Iott of mlive.com. Left-hander Robbie Ray, acquired from the Nationals in that December deal, is a leading candidate to replace the injured Anibal Sanchez in the rotation. Ray has posted a 1.93 ERA, 6.2 K/9, and 1.9 BB/9 in his four starts for Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers have yet to decide who will fill in for Sanchez; but, if Ray is their choice, they will need to create roster space since the 22-year-old isn’t on the 40-man roster.  
  • The A’s bullpen has had mixed result this season and the coaching staff is trying to navigate the fine line between a closer-by-committee and the comfort provided by having well-defined roles, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser.
  • The Twins were called this weekend about the prospects of signing right-hander Scott Baker, but have no interest, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com. Baker is currently pitching for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate (2.77 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 2.1 BB/9 in 26 innings covering four starts), but has a May 1st opt-out date.

AL West Notes: Griffin, Figueroa, Mariners, Doolittle

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Athletics right-hander A.J. Griffin’s elbow hasn’t responded well after being shut down for a month, and the 26-year-old will seek a second opinion from Dr. Thomas Mehlhoff, who performed Tommy John surgery on Oakland’s Fernando Rodriguez, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Griffin has been out with flexor tendinitis, which is often a precursor to Tommy John, Slusser points out. She goes on to write that the loss of both Griffin and Jarrod Parker for the season would likely lead the A’s to actively seeking starting pitching on this summer’s trade market, even if they were merely looking for a back-of-the-rotation innings eater to provide some stability.

More out of the AL West…

  • While Griffin is another potential victim of the Tommy John epidemic, Rangers left-hander Pedro Figueroa can definitively add his name to that list. The team told reporters today, including FOX Sports Southwest’s Anthony Andro, that Figueroa has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and damage to his flexor tendon, and he will likely undergo Tommy John within the next week (Twitter link).
  • Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune conducted a Q&A in which he answered many of his Twitter followers’ questions, and within the article noted that the Mariners are still looking to add a bat to improve their lineup. The team has “never stopped looking” for a bat, he writes, before cautioning that they don’t appear to have much interest in Kendrys Morales. Dutton also touches on the team’s payroll, Hisashi Iwakuma’s health status and Abraham Almonte’s role with the club.
  • The San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea compares Sean Doolittle’s recent five-year contract extension to previous deals of five-plus years for relievers, noting that Doolittle’s contract has little precedent. Shea concludes that the deal works for both sides and doesn’t carry as much risk as other contracts for a pitcher would, as Doolittle is a converted first baseman that has only been pitching for about three years.

Quick Hits: Int’l Scouting, Morales, Olt, Taveras, Pitching Tandems

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Scouting pitching in the Dominican is a challenging endeavor on many levels, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America. Players are incented to light up radar guns (or, for hitters, launch home runs) in non-game situations due to a “showcase mindset” that pervades the baseball environment. Here are more notes from around the game:

  • Baseball executives believe it an increasing likelihood that Kendrys Morales will wait to sign until after the June 5-7 amateur draft, reports CBSSports.com’s  Jon Heyman. If he does so, then a signing club would not lose a draft pick and his former club (the Mariners) would not gain a compensatory choice. Morales has had discussions since the start of the season — Heyman says the Orioles are believed to have had “serious talks” — but apparently nothing is close. In addition to Baltimore and Seattle, says Heyman, possible landing spots could hypothetically include the Brewers and even the Athletics.
  • Cubs third baseman Mike Olt, 25, has done enough in the early going to earn a chance at additional playing time, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Though his on-base and strikeout numbers are less than promising, Olt has blasted four home runs in 48 plate appearances. Olt, of course, came over in last year’s Matt Garza trade as something of a buy-low prospect, after eye issues contributed to a rough season at Triple-A in 2013 (.201/.303/.381, with 15 home runs and 132 strikeouts, in 432 plate appearances).
  • Outfielder Willy Taveras is eyeing a comeback, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The 32-year-old, who last played in the bigs in 2010, is playing in Mexico at present. Best known for his wheels — he led the league in stolen bases (68) in 2008 — Taveras has swiped seven bags in seven attempts in his first 18 games in the Mexican League, Rosenthal notes. In 279 plate appearances at Triple-A last year with the Royals, Taveras slashed .239/.308/.340 and stole 11 bases.
  • With a young staff, the Astros have made the league’s most extensive use of true long relief, writes Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. GM Jeff Luhnow says that the club’s minor league use of a true tandem system is “more of a development thing,” with the big league club’s employment of long men more a “cousin” deployed for “high-pitch count guys.” Looking ahead, though, Luhnow says he “would not be surprised if clubs started to think about some unique solutions to help prevent injuries” noting that “we’re certainly one of them.” Notably, given his organization’s upper-minor tandems, Luhnow observed:“you do it at Triple-A — what’s the difference doing it at the big leagues?” Athletics assistant GM Farhan Zaidi was even more bullish on the possibility of tandem starters appearing in MLB. “I can absolutely see it happening,” he said. “We actually talked about doing it a few years ago when we had pitching depth that wasn’t unlike what the Astros have now. The reason I think it could still happen is overwhelming evidence that limiting the exposure of pitchers to a third time through the lineup is really advantageous.” The full piece includes many more interesting observations from these executives, and is well worth a read.

A’s Reject 10-Year Lease Offer From Coliseum Authority

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The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority announced yesterday that it had extended an offer for a new 10-year lease to the A’s (hat tip: John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle on Twitter). However, as MLB.com’s Alex Espinoza writes that the Athletics promptly declined the lease offer to remain in O.co Coliseum. Via Espionza, the A’s issued the following statement:

“The A’s received the Oakland-Alameda County Authority’s proposal earlier this afternoon. While the proposal was for 10 years, it did not address all of our issues. Consequently, we cannot accept the terms of the offer. We have tried to negotiate in good faith for the past several months. As the Authority knows, it is still our preference not to negotiate this agreement through the media.”

Oakland’s current lease runs through the 2015 season, and there has been no shortage of media coverage surrounding the unsatisfactory conditions of O.co Coliseum. For one, it’s baseball’s only remaining shared facility, but that’s hardly the biggest problem. The A’s have also had to deal with flooding on the field and sewage leaks in the clubhouses, among a host of other issues. Still, A’s owner Lew Wolff recently said that he would like to extend his lease in the Coliseum.

The Athletics’ stadium situation has long been a cause for debate in the game, as the team has made its desire for a new park very clear, citing the dilapidated nature of the Coliseum. There’s been talk of a move to San Jose, but the Giants claim that such a move would further infringe on their territorial rights.

The city of San Jose, unsurprisingly, would welcome the move and the economic boost it would provide, as evidenced by the lawsuit it filed against Major League Baseball last June. However, a report this past December revealed that the commissioner’s office declined Oakland’s most recent relocation proposal the day before that lawsuit was filed. At the time, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the move itself wasn’t outright rejected, but rather that specific proposal (MLB cited a need for more information). More than two years have passed since commissioner Bud Selig said that he was prioritizing the stadium resolution, and it’s been more than five years since Selig formed a special committee to investigate the situation.

Athletics Claim Andy Parrino

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The Athletics announced, via Twitter, that they’ve claimed infielder Andy Parrino off waivers from the Rangers and assigned him to Triple-A Sacramento.

Parrino, 28, was with the A’s last year but found himself claimed off waivers by the Rangers in early March. The back-and-forth is reminiscent of the Adam Rosales shuffling of 2013, in which the Rangers claimed Rosales off waivers from Oakland only for the A’s to claim him back. Shortly after, the Rangers again claimed Rosales off waivers from Oakland.

Parrino is a career .186/.295/.242 hitter with a homer and two steals in 229 plate appearances. He’s seen big league action at second base, shortstop, third base and both corner outfield positions. The switch-hitter has a solid .265/.346/.380 batting line in 922 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Athletics Extend Sean Doolittle

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The Athletics have signed left-handed reliever Sean Doolittle to a five-year contract extension with a pair of options, the club announced (via Twitter). The deal covers the current season and runs through 2018, after which time Oakland will have a pair of options for the 2019 and 2020 campaigns. Doolittle is represented by Jason Cook.

Doolittle

Doolittle’s contract is complicated, to say the least, as it is heavily dependent on whether or not Doolittle, who entered the season with one year, 122 days of Major League service time, qualifies as a Super Two player after the season (last year’s cutoff was exactly 1.122). Should he miss Super Two status, Doolittle is guaranteed a total of $10.5MM with club options valued at $6MM in 2019 and $6.5MM in 2020 — both with a $500K buyout. Under that scenario, Doolittle will receive $750K in 2015, $1.55MM in 2016, $2.6MM in 2017 and $4.35MM in 2018.

Should he qualify as a Super Two player, Doolittle will earn $1.4MM in 2015, $2.45MM in 2016, $3.65MM in 2017 and $5MM in 2018. In addition to the Super Two conditions, Doolittle’s contract also contains incentives based on games finished that could boost the deal’s value to $30MM. Should he finish 100 games between 2018-19, his 2020 option will become a mutual option. Additionally, Doolittle also received a $150K signing bonus and a $600K salary for 2014 — neither of which is impacted by his Super Two status.

Doolittle, 27, is entering his third year of MLB action and came into the year with 1.122 years of MLB service. Take with the 41st-overall pick out of the University of Virginia (where he was a two-way player) back in 2007, Doolittle started his professional career as a first baseman. He switched to the hill after knee problems, and wasted little time in getting to the bigs.

Since cracking the A’s pen in 2012, Doolittle has thrown 125 innings of 3.10 ERA ball. The fireballing southpaw has racked up 9.3 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 over that stretch, though he has averaged only a 32.7% ground-ball rate. (Advanced metrics have pegged his big league time at 2.56 FIP, 3.41 xFIP, and 2.76 SIERA.) Primarily a fastball pitcher, Doolittle has gone to his curve more frequently this year. Given his late turn back to pitching, it could be that the A’s see more room for him to grow; Doolittle was a starter in college.

While it is hard to pass any judgment on the extension without knowing its financial terms, it is obviously a surprisingly lengthy pact for a reliever. Obviously, the possibility of Doolittle driving up his arbitration cost by accumulating saves could be a consideration here. It would be surprising if Oakland did not achieve a significant discount in return for guaranteeing future salary for a reliever with such little service time.

Regardless how much it is worth, this contract lands in relatively uncharted territory. MLBTR’s Extension Tracker reveals only three reliever extensions of four-year durations, and none that have gone to five. Of course, given that the 2014 season is already underway, it is probably best to view Doolittle’s new deal as a four-year pact. Of those prior deals, two were for established closers (Craig Kimbrel and Joe Nathan) with significantly more service time and very different situations. The other — the four-year, $8.025MM deal (plus two options) signed by Manny Corpas and the Rockies when he had 1.076 years of service — appears to be the only clear comparable. (Corpas was coming off of a 19-save, 2.08 ERA campaign in his age-24 season.)

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the general contract parameters and conditional increases, and the Associated Press chipped in the year-to-year specifics.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Steve Adams contributed to this post.

West Notes: Padres, A’s, Angels

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Jason Lane, a 37-year-old converted outfielder pitching at the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, is turning heads early in the season after posting a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings. Jeff Sanders of U-T San Diego suggests that Lane could be an option for the big league club if the Padres need to add depth later in the year. “If you took away the age factor, I think people would be really fired up about him,” Padres Farm Director Randy Smith said. “But for us, age is irrelevant because his arm is fresh.” Here’s more out of baseball’s Western divisions …

  • Sean Doolittle’s five-year deal with the Athletics is out of step with Billy Beane’s traditional approach to relief pitching, SBNation’s Steven Goldman says, adding that it’s generally advisable not to go long-term with relievers. However, Doolittle does have his merits, Goldman says, noting his lack of a platoon split and relatively fresh arm. Ultimately, the move may be aimed at saving on arbitration costs if Doolittle starts racking up saves for the A’s as the team’s closer, his article notes. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd offered the same theory in his writeup of the Doolittle deal.
  • Albert Pujols doesn’t want to distract his Angels teammates as he nears 500 career home runs, but tells MLB.com that he’s “pretty sure I’m going to be pretty emotional about” reaching the milestone. As MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez notes, Pujols is at 498 total homers after adding his sixth of the season today.
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