Heyman’s Latest: Mattingly, Red Sox, Ozuna, Heyward, Giants, Storen
The Marlins have interviewed at least five candidates for their managerial opening, but they put their search on hold to wait to see what the future held for Don Mattingly, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Heyman also looks at the Dodgers‘ upcoming managerial search, noting that former Padres manager Bud Black, current Dodgers third base coach/former Brewers skipper Ron Roenicke and current Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach could factor into L.A.’s search for a replacement in addition to early favorite Gabe Kapler. Here are some more highlights from the column…
- The Braves will pursue bullpen upgrades this winter after their relief corps struggled tremendously in 2015. Presumably, the club could be in the mix for some short-term upgrades that could be flipped come the trade deadline, though I’ll point out that the Braves will probably be better off in 2016 with the returns of Shae Simmons, Chris Withrow and perhaps Daniel Winkler from Tommy John surgery.
- While the Red Sox are more willing to trade prospects under president Dave Dombrowski than they were under former GM Ben Cherington, the club is said to consider infielder Yoan Moncada, outfielder Andrew Benintendi and right-hander Anderson Espinoza off-limits as it looks to upgrade its pitching staff on the trade market.
- The White Sox are on the lookout for third base help and will also pursue upgrades behind the plate. Chicago wound up designating Conor Gillaspie, its primary third baseman from 2013 through the first half of 2015, for assignment this summer and trading him to the Angels. Tyler Flowers had a poor second half, although as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes noted in his Offseason Outlook on the ChiSox, Flowers has worked hard to become an excellent pitch framer, so he does bring some value to the table in that increasingly important element of the game.
- Some feel that the Reds are going to blow things up and go for a full-on rebuild this winter, though Heyman writes that Brandon Phillips is said to have negative trade value. Considering the fact that Phillips had a decent rebound season at the plate and is still a sound defender whose contract no longer is too burdensome, I wonder if that’s a universal sentiment. While he’s not a bargain, Phillips seems to be at least reasonably priced.
- The Cardinals will try to re-sign Jason Heyward, but while they could go “a bit beyond” Matt Holliday’s franchise-record $120MM guarantee, Heyward’s camp will insist on topping Jacoby Ellsbury’s $153MM sum and inching as close to $200MM as they can get.
- The Indians still have interest in Marcell Ozuna, as they reportedly did prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. I mentioned in my Offseason Outlook for Cleveland that a pursuit of Ozuna would make some sense and speculated on a potential match sending Trevor Bauer to Miami. Heyman notes that the Marlins are looking for a frontline pitcher to pair with Jose Fernandez, but history shows us they’re not likely to spend on a top-tier free agent.
- The Astros, too, are looking for bullpen upgrades. Houston pursued top-end relief talent prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, with GM Jeff Luhnow candidly telling the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich that he’d like to pursue a “flamethrower.”
- The Twins are expected to pursue a reunion with A.J. Pierzynski, as many have speculated on recently (myself included). Heyman notes that the Braves will probably try to bring Pierzynski back as well. Minnesota also wants Torii Hunter back, but in a reduced role.
- Starting pitching will be a focus for the Giants, who are interested in Zack Greinke and Mike Leake, Heyman writes. They will also exercise their $5.5MM club option on Nori Aoki, so long as he continues to progress from late-season head injuries that stemmed from being hit in the head by a pair of pitches. San Francisco will decline Marlon Byrd‘s $8MM option.
- The Nationals will try to trade both Drew Storen and Jonathan Papelbon this winter, though the latter, of course won’t have much of a market due to his personality issues. Storen’s an expensive but talented option, and Heyman opines that he “absolutely has to go.” While I wouldn’t go that far, I’ll admit that it does seem like a change of scenery would be best for all parties involved. I’d imagine a number of teams — the Tigers, Cubs, Astros, Red Sox, Yankees and Rangers, to name a few — would have interest in Storen. Papelbon’s $11MM salary strikes me as nearly impossible to move unless the Nats eat the majority of the deal or take on an even more undesirable contract.
Offseason Outlook: San Francisco Giants
The Giants have money to spend on a pitching-heavy free agent market. But what else can they do to set up another even-year World Series run?
Guaranteed Contracts
- Buster Posey, C: $130MM through 2021 (including buyout of 2022 club option)
- Hunter Pence, OF: $55.5MM through 2018
- Matt Cain, SP: $47.5MM through 2017 (including buyout of 2018 club option)
- Madison Bumgarner, SP: $22.75MM through 2017 (including buyout of 2018 club option; club also has 2019 option)
- Angel Pagan, OF: $11.25MM through 2016
- Jake Peavy, SP: $13MM through 2016
- Sergio Romo, RP: $9MM through 2016
- Santiago Casilla, RP: $6.5MM through 2016
- Javier Lopez, RP: $5MM through 2016
- Gregor Blanco, OF: $3.9MM through 2016
Arbitration Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections by MLB Trade Rumors)
- Yusmeiro Petit (5.016) – $2.4MM
- Brandon Belt (4.128) – $6.2MM
- Brandon Crawford (4.094) – $5.7MM
- Hector Sanchez (3.113) – $900K
- George Kontos (2.171) – $1.0MM
- Non-tender candidates: Sanchez
Contract Options
- Marlon Byrd, OF: $8MM club option (no buyout)
- Nori Aoki, OF: $5.5MM club option ($700K buyout)
Free Agents
Jeremy Affeldt, Alejandro De Aza, Tim Hudson, Mike Leake, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelsong
The 2015 Giants didn’t quite match the World Series run of their predecessors, but that grand finish in 2014 came from an outfit that won only 88 regular season games. This year’s unit took home 84 victories, and was slightly better by measures such as BaseRuns and Pythagorean win-loss.
Importantly, GM Bobby Evans and his staff were able to stay in contention even without having made any large financial commitments before the season. The Giants reportedly tried for, but lost out on, players like Pablo Sandoval, James Shields, and Jon Lester. Instead, the club added older, short-term options: Jake Peavy, Sergio Romo, Nori Aoki, Ryan Vogelsong, and Casey McGehee.
As a result of that relatively quiet offseason a year ago, the Giants now have ample future spending capacity to deploy this winter. The team has a fair amount of cash on the books already for next year (about $120MM, before arb) and 2017 (~$73MM, pre-arb), but little thereafter. And this is an organization that pushed its Opening Day payroll over $170MM last year.
As they begin to utilize that financial flexibility, the Giants will surely look first at the rotation. Beyond the excellent Madison Bumgarner and righties Jake Peavy and Matt Cain, the starting staff is unsettled. Chris Heston is still in the mix after an up-and-down rookie year, and the organization hopes it will be able to turn to some young arms (including Clayton Blackburn, Tyler Beede, Kyle Crick, Ty Blach, and Chris Stratton) in the near future. But that group of pitchers is in need of supplementation. Bringing back Tim Lincecum on a low-risk contract won’t be enough, though he and the solid Yusmeiro Petit could be useful as swingmen. Peavy and Cain have just one and two years, respectively, left on their deals. And it would probably be overly optimistic to expect those upper-minors pitchers all to work out — let alone to do so in the near term.
The Giants will find a free agent market loaded with starting pitching options. Mike Leake, who spent the last several months in San Francisco after a deadline deal, appears to be at the top of the team’s list. He’ll be expensive, though more because he’s young enough to command a lengthy commitment than due to his expected annual salary. If that match-up falls through, Japan’s Kenta Maeda might offer a similar cost and age proposition. Though San Francisco has not been one of the more notably active teams in acquiring MLB-ready talent from Asia, its location on the west coast makes it a plausible destination (at least in theory).
It’s not at all inconceivable, though, that the club could pursue an even higher-end arm, whether or not it gets Leake. Remember, the team reportedly was willing to pay Lester $168MM over seven years. David Price could well be a target, and even if he proves too costly, the market includes a variety of other top-of-the-rotation options. Zack Greinke is the consensus second-best pitcher, and the Giants have previously been connected with Jordan Zimmermann. If San Francisco doesn’t go that route, or if it adds such a pitcher but misses on Leake, there are a variety mid-tier arms (like Ian Kennedy and Yovani Gallardo) as well as a host of bounce-back veterans (such as Doug Fister, Mat Latos, and Kyle Lohse) who could theoretically be considered as well. It’s difficult to prognosticate what direction San Francisco will take — we’ve seen the club pursue high-cost arms and short-term veterans in recent years — but there will be no shortages of possibilities.
San Francisco also could seek to add some depth to its pen, which will lose Jeremy Affeldt to retirement. The bulk of the unit should return, with Romo, Santiago Casilla, and Javier Lopez serving as a veteran core, accompanied by Petit, George Kontos and newer arms like Hunter Strickland and Josh Osich. A veteran pitcher or two — possibly including Lincecum, if he returns but doesn’t crack the rotation in the spring — probably wouldn’t hurt, but there’s not much work to do here.
There’s even less need for repair in the infield, where the Giants thrived in 2015. Matt Duffy made the loss of Sandoval seem like a blessing by putting up nearly five wins at a fraction of the cost. Brandon Crawford (shortstop), Joe Panik (second), Brandon Belt (first), and Buster Posey (catcher) rounded out what might’ve been the best infield in baseball. Then again, Panik dealt with back issues, while Belt had both a concussion and meniscus surgery late in the year, so they’ll need to get back to full health. Meanwhile, Duffy will need to prove that he isn’t a one-year wonder, and Crawford will look to maintain his ascendancy.
The outfield has some questions. While the situation looks straightforward at first glance, it may not be. Hunter Pence is a lock in right, and will hope for better health than he experienced last year. Gregor Blanco has been outstanding in a fourth outfielder role and will be back as well. Then, there’s center field, where Angel Pagan seemingly remains in line for regular duty.
It would be easy enough to say “add a left fielder” and call it a day, but it isn’t quite that simple. For one thing, Pagan had a wreck of a 2015 season and continues to deal with persistent injury issues. While Blanco has spent a good bit of time in center over his career, defensive metrics have always preferred him in the corner — especially the last two seasons. So, there’s an argument to be made that the Giants ought to consider adding a center field-capable player, whether as an upgrade or a platoon mate/back-up plan.
Even if the Giants simply look to add a left fielder, with the idea of continuing to use Blanco as an all-over-the-outfield sub, they face a tough decision on Nori Aoki‘s option. That looks like a cheap pick-up, but his concussion issues could be problematic. And there are other options. The Giants hold a $8MM option over deadline acquisition Marlon Byrd. While that seems a bit too expensive, the team has expressed some interest in retaining both Byrd and Alejandro De Aza, who was also added over the summer. All of those players have their merit for San Francisco, but it’s also arguable that the club should look for more impact out of that roster spot. On the other hand, such short-term options hold increased appeal given that corner outfield prospects Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson are now near or at big league readiness.
In terms of targets, it’s really anyone’s guess for the reasons noted above. The market has a number of high-end options (e.g., Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon) and several shorter-term candidates with track records in center (such as Dexter Fowler, Colby Rasmus, Gerardo Parra, and Austin Jackson). And there is one free agent who might answer several of the team’s needs: Ben Zobrist. While the same can be said of many other clubs, and though the refrain has become tiresome, it nevertheless remains true that he’d offer a regular solution in the corner outfield in addition to providing coverage for the infield, where relative inexperience and injury questions are a factor despite the stellar 2015 performance.
Of course, it’s always possible to upgrade the bench, and that’s arguably more pressing with some injury questions surrounding multiple key regulars. Adding a reserve corner infielder/outfielder who can provide some pop might make sense, depending on how the team proceeds in left field, but the Giants have at least three important pieces covered. In addition to the aforementioned Blanco, 25-year-old Kelby Tomlinson impressed in his rookie year, and could serve a super-utility role.
Then there’s Andrew Susac, a very promising young backstop who could free Posey to spend more time at first. It’s certainly appealing to imagine a scenario where Susac, Posey, and Belt all play significant innings for San Francisco, but that may be hard to work out in practice without a DH — unless Belt spends more time in the outfield. While the current situation probably does not make for a serious roster crunch just yet, particularly as the team may prefer to wait another year to see how everything progresses, Susac could be a major trade piece for San Francisco if they look to add an arm through the trade market.
All said, there may not be a ton of pieces to add for the Giants. But deciding precisely which ones to pursue, and how to re-arrange the team’s in-house options to make that happen, won’t be easy.
Further Details On Eddy Julio Martinez’s Deal With Cubs
Cuban center fielder Eddy Julio Martinez‘s $3MM signing bonus from the Cubs has generated quite a bit of controversy, as reports prior to that signing indicated that he’d reached a $2.5MM deal with the Giants. San Francisco GM Bobby Evans had acknowledged the agreement, but Martinez soon after the fact was said no longer to be signing with the Giants.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle sheds some light on the scenario. As has been previously reported, Martinez hired U.S.-based agents at the Beverly Hills Sports Council to represent him, but he also was already employing local agents (or “buscones”) from the Dominican Republic — at least two more, per Schulman. Martinez’s family hired BHSC to conclude negotiations once his buscones had agreed to a deal with a team.
The Giants received a signed offer sheet from Martinez’s agents at BHSC, and the story was picked up by the media, and the Giants, according to Schulman, believed that the Cubs saw the report and upped their offer to Martinez’s buscones at the last minute. A source tells Schulman that when the Giants met with Martinez’s buscones to collect a signature from Martinez himself in the Dominican Republic, San Francisco was informed that Martinez would not be signing after all.
Schulman writes that those familiar with the Cubs’ side of the story reject the notion of upping their offer based on media reports, saying the Cubs had been speaking to Martinez’s buscones for quite some time, and the buscones stayed in contact with Chicago after BHSC took over talks with the Giants. In the end, Major League Baseball concluded that the player’s signature was final, as opposed to an offer sheet signed by Martinez’s U.S. agents. The league also cleared the Cubs of any wrongdoing in the scenario.
While the entire situation undoubtedly seems shady from the outside, it’s not unprecedented. The Giants themselves even benefited from a similar situation this year, as MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports (links to Twitter). San Francisco’s top international signing was Bahamian shortstop Lucius Fox, who received a $6MM signing bonus (which cost the Giants $12MM after luxury tax considerations). However, the Dodgers believed they had a deal with Fox right up until the international signing period kicked off on July 2 and were “stunned” to learn that he would instead sign with the Giants.
Per Sanchez, Fox’s father played a large role in the decision to sign with the Giants over the Dodgers, and Martinez’s father was involved in the Giants/Cubs situation as well. Schulman hears that the Giants acquired Fox’s signature by sending a team representative to his 18th birthday party.
Evans referred to the international prospect scene as the “wild wild West” when speaking to Schulman about the situation, adding: “Without an international draft, a player remains an international free agent until he signs a contract. That’s why, when deals get reported early, it’s not an advantage to the club making the deal.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 10/19/15
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:
- Outfielder Jason Pridie has been given his release by the Athletics in order to pursue an opportunity playing in Japan, Oakland announced. The 32-year-old has seen action in seven big league seasons, but has exceeded ten plate appearances in only one of those — 2011, when he slashed .231/.309/.370 in 236 turns at bat for the Mets. But Pridie had a big year at Triple-A in 2015, putting up a .310/.380/.515 line with 20 home runs and 20 steals over 540 plate appearances.
- The Athletics also announced that 28-year-old catcher Bryan Anderson has been outrighted to Triple-A. Not unlike Pridie, Anderson has seen action in five MLB seasons but accumulated just 77 total plate appearances in that span. He struggled badly offensively at the Triple-A level this year, slashing a meager .202/.273/.288 in 322 trips to the plate.
- The Giants have outrighted catcher Jackson Williams, infielder Nick Noonan and righty Brett Bochy, according to the MLB.com transactions page (and as MLBTR has confirmed). The 29-year-old Williams collected 14 plate appearances after being promoted in early September. He spent most of the year at Double-A Richmond, where he hit .228/.312/.279. Noonan, too, was a September call-up. He spent the first several months of the season with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate before the Giants signed him in August and sent him to Triple-A Sacramento. For the season, the 26-year-old hit .263/.310/.338 in 339 plate appearances in the minors, mostly playing shortstop. He’s already cleared waivers and elected free agency. Bochy, the son of Giants manager Bruce, got a cup of coffee in the big leagues for the second consecutive year in 2015. The 28-year-old spent most of the season in Sacramento, posting a 4.19 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 58 innings of relief.
Eddy Julio Martinez To Sign With Cubs
Cuban center fielder Eddy Julio Martinez‘s free agency has been surrounded by controversy, but the 20-year-old has officially signed with the Cubs, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy.
Expectations for Martinez were high heading into this year’s international free agency period, with some outlets estimating that he’d sign a $10MM+ bonus. Martinez rumors went quiet for an extended period of time, though, before it was reported that he’d hired new representation and is now represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council. Martinez agreed to a $2.5MM signing bonus with the Giants — an agreement which GM Bobby Evans publicly acknowledged — but it was soon reported that Martinez wouldn’t sign with the Giants and instead sought a $3MM bonus.
That bonus materialized shortly thereafter, as the Cubs swooped in and reached a reported agreement. However, it was soon revealed that that Major League Baseball was determining whether or not the Giants’ agreement was binding. At the heart of the issue was that Martinez had multiple agents negotiating on his behalf, with his BHSC reps striking the deal with the Giants via a series of texts and emails. Martinez was also employing multiple “buscones,” or street agents, who brokered the deal with the Cubs. Had the agreement with the Giants been ruled to be binding, it would have superseded Martinez’s larger agreement with the Cubs.
That, clearly, was not the case though, as Eddy and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez have both reported today that Martinez will go to the Cubs. He’ll add to an impressive crop of international talent signed by the Cubs, who spent $8.65MM on July 2. That means they’ll be taxed at 100 percent on their $3MM signing of Martinez, meaning they effectively paid $6MM to secure his services.
Barry Zito Announces Retirement
Left-hander Barry Zito officially announced his retirement from baseball today in an honest, insightful column for the Players Tribune. The 37-year-old spent his entire 15-year Major League career in the Bay Area, suiting up only for the Athletics and Giants.
Zito debuted with Oakland as a 22-year-old in 2000 just barely one year after being selected ninth overall in the 1999 draft. His rookie season yielded 92 2/3 innings of a 2.72 ERA and a sixth-place finish in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Over the next several seasons, Zito would use his signature curveball to establish himself as one of Oakland’s “Big Three” alongside fellow hurlers Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder — a formidable trio that kept Oakland in contention throughout much of the early 2000s. Zito took home AL Cy Young honors in 2002 with an excellent season that saw him post a 23-5 record to go along with a 2.75 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 229 1/3 innings of work. An absolute workhorse for the A’s throughout his tenure there, Zito started 34 or 35 games each year from 2001-06 and averaged 223 innings per regular season in that time.
Following the 2006 season, Zito signed what was, at the time, one of the largest contracts in baseball history — a seven-year, $126MM contract with the Giants. As he explains in the column announcing today’s decision, that move came with plenty of mixed emotions. Zito described his baseball career as being “full of euphoric highs and devastating lows,” and many of the lows came in a 2008 season that saw him post a 5.15 ERA in 180 innings while leading the NL with 17 losses. Writes Zito:
The year 2008 was the toughest of my life so far. I was being told by strangers in public places just how terrible I was — my own fans in San Francisco yelling obscenities to my face while I was in the dugout. I even found myself ringing my mother at times because I was literally losing my mind and needed five minutes of solace with someone who understood me. But that year taught me something: If there was still a reason to smile at certain points throughout those painful days, and if everything I thought had defined me as a person was crumbling down and yet I was still standing, then maybe what I thought defined me truly did not. I came to realize that I was defining myself through my achievements on the field and through the opinions of other people. In reality, that was just the surface of who I really was.
Zito’s tenure with the Giants was certainly less productive than his time with the A’s, but he still contributed to World Series Championships in both 2010 and 2012. While it wasn’t as the front-of-the-rotation type of arm he was early on in his career, Zito still delivered a 4.15 ERA in each season, logging 199 1/3 innings in 2010 and 184 2/3 innings in 2012. He also turned in a dominant effort with the Giants trailing the Cardinals 3-1 in the 2012 NLCS and, after San Francisco rallied back to take the series from St. Louis, he started Game 1 of the World Series. Zito took home a victory after 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, which helped set the tone for a decisive sweep of the American League champion Tigers.
Zito returned to baseball — signing a minor league deal with Oakland — in 2015 after taking a year off in 2014. Though he spent the majority of the season pitching with Triple-A Nashville, Zito received a late-September call-up where he was given the opportunity to make the start against the Giants and his former teammate and “Big Three” member Hudson. (Hudson has also stated his intention to retire following the season.) The excellent gesture from a pair of non-contending clubs made for an emotional scene, with Mulder appearing as well. All three received a thunderous ovation from the Bay Area faithful — a fitting tribute to a group of players that made an unforgettable impact on baseball in that region.
All told, Zito will retire with a 165-143 record, a 4.04 ERA and 1885 strikeouts in 2576 2/3 innings at the Major League level. Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs value his career at 33.5 and 30.5 wins above replacement, respectively, and he earned more than $137MM in his playing career.
As he explained further in his column, Zito is “very excited to be a ‘rookie’ all over again” in the field of songwriting, and he looks forward to a seeing where his music career will take him. We at MLBTR congratulate Barry on an excellent, memorable career and wish him the best of luck in his new career path and in his post-playing days.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Heyman’s Latest: Greinke, Mattingly, QOs, Gordon, Anderson, Hunter
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports kicks off Friday morning with a pair of columns — the first being a piece on Zack Greinke‘s opt-out status and the second being his weekly Inside Baseball column. Heyman writes in the first piece that Greinke will indeed opt out of the remaining three years and $71MM on his Dodgers contract, as has been widely anticipated for the better part of a year. One general manager suggested to Heyman that Greinke will receive, “at minimum,” multiple offers of $125MM over the next five seasons. That GM wagered a guess at the winning bid: $150MM over five years. Heyman notes that while many teams — the Cubs, Giants, Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, D-Backs and Rangers, among others — will be in the mix for Greinke this winter, the right-hander enjoyed 2015 with the Dodgers more than he enjoyed his first two seasons, and L.A. will attempt to bring him back. Per Heyman, Greinke didn’t mesh with Josh Beckett and Hanley Ramirez in previous years but had nothing but positive feelings about the 2015 campaign.
Onto some highlights from his second column…
- There’s no certainty on the job status of Don Mattingly right now despite three consecutive division titles, Heyman writes. Mattingly is well-liked by the new Dodgers front office on a personal level, and the team is pleased with how he handled Andre Ethier‘s shift to a part-time role, A.J. Ellis‘ shift to a backup role in favor of Yasmani Grandal, and the emergence of Corey Seager over Jimmy Rollins late in the year. Mattingly’s people-managing skills are valued by the Dodgers, even if his in-game tactics aren’t quite as strong. Heyman notes that with the Dodgers unconvinced of Mattingly as their long-term option, they may allow him to interview with other clubs, and both the Nationals and Marlins would show interest.
- The Orioles are believed to be hesitant to make a qualifying offer to Matt Wieters and will only do so if they’re convinced that he won’t take it. (I can’t imagine a Scott Boras client that plays a premium position in the midst of his prime age doing so under any circumstances.) The White Sox will make a QO to Jeff Samardzija, who will not accept it, as has been suggested multiple times over the past couple of months.
- Colby Rasmus, on the other hand, is not expected to receive a $15.8MM qualifying offer from the Astros despite 25 regular-season homers and a strong postseason showing. Heyman writes that Alex Gordon will be “a name to keep an eye on” in connection with the Astros this offseason, as the team may look to inject its lineup with more on-base percentage and batting average than the 2015 crop. They’ll also look for more steady production at first and third base this winter after a season of boom-or-bust results from Luis Valbuena and Chris Carter.
- The Dodgers are set on making a qualifying offer to Howie Kendrick and are also planning on making a QO to Brett Anderson despite his injury history. The latter of the two drew some surprise when Heyman shared it with execs around the league, though as he points out, L.A. is in need of pitching. If Anderson accepts — again, a scenario I find unlikely given his age and strong 2015 results — he’d solidify a spot in the rotation behind Clayton Kershaw. And, I’ll point out, Anderson’s 2016 salary would then check in just $3.4MM north of the $12.4MM he earned in total after receiving a $10MM base salary and earning another $2.4MM worth of innings-based incentives this season.
- The Twins are willing to pay a premium to bring Torii Hunter back to their clubhouse if he’s willing to take a reduced role. Hunter, though, has been resistant to that idea in the past. He’s not yet decided whether or not he’ll return to the Majors for his age-41 season or call it a career.
- Other qualifying offer notes from Heyman throughout the column indicate that Padres people have suggested that they’ll make a QO to Ian Kennedy, though rival execs remain skeptical. Current expectation in the industry is that the Mets won’t make a qualifying offer to Daniel Murphy, and the same is true of the Nationals with regard to Denard Span, who suffered through an injury-shortened season. Kennedy and Murphy seem like easy calls to decline the qualifying offer to me, whereas Span is a tougher case due to his age and injuries, which included season-ending hip surgery. I can see a case for Span taking the $15.8MM payday — the initial contract extension he signed with the Twins, after all, was only for $16.5MM guaranteed, though that rose to $25MM after his 2016 option was exercised.
- The Nationals have received permission from the Giants to interview bench coach Ron Wotus to fill their managerial vacancy. Wotus has coached on the Giants’ Major League staff for the past 17 seasons and is a two-time Minor League Manager of the Year.
Latest On Eddy Julio Martinez, Cubs, Giants
TODAY: MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports some additional details on the situation. San Francisco’s claim to a signing is based upon “a series of texts and emails” that were exchanged with BHSC. The Giants filed paperwork with the league, per the report, but it appears that Martinez has yet to sign anything with the club. Chicago, meanwhile, struck its deal with Martinez’s Dominican representatives.
YESTERDAY: The controversy surrounding Cuban center fielder Eddy Julio Martinez is now in the hands of Major League Baseball officials, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. MLB is working to decide whether Martinez, 20, will become property of the Giants or Cubs and hopes to have a ruling by the end of the week, per Heyman.
One of the most sought-after prospects on this year’s international free agent market, Martinez agreed to a $2.5MM signing bonus with the Giants about two weeks ago. Giants general manager Bobby Evans publicly acknowledged the agreement, though the team never made an official announcement of the signing. Shortly after, ESPN’s Keith Law reported that Martinez would not be signing with the Giants and remained on the free agent market.
Following that unusual sequence of events, Martinez reportedly agreed to sign with the Cubs for a larger bonus of $3MM. However, since that time, Evans has come out and said that the Giants are still in the running for the highly touted Martinez.
According to Heyman, the heart of the issue here is that Martinez has multiple representatives negotiating on his behalf. While he is a client of MLBPA certified agents Rick Thurman and Rafael Nieves of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, Martinez also has multiple “buscones,” or “street agents” as Heyman terms them. Multiple people are laying claim to the role of agent for Martinez and, as such, there’s uncertainty regarding the validity of Martinez’s deal with the Giants.
It’s not known which parties negotiated which deal, but MLB is working to determine whether or not the agreement with the Giants was binding. That deal was struck before the agreement with the Cubs, and the Giants, according to Heyman, believed it to be binding at the time it was made.
Martinez, a right-handed hitting center fielder, draws praise for his power and speed, though some scouts believe his pop will only translate to doubles power in the end, and he’s more of a corner outfielder than a true center fielder. Those that are more bullish have likened his tools to those of Andruw Jones, though that’s a lofty comparison and obviously a best-case scenario as opposed to a likely outcome. Both the Giants and Cubs have already incurred the maximum penalty level for exceeding their allotted international bonus pools. That means that either would pay a 100 percent luxury tax on Martinez’s signing bonus, so he’d actually cost the Giants $5MM and the Cubs $6MM in total.
Managerial Notes: Nevin, Cora, Mariners, Marlins, Mattingly
There were a host of updates this morning on all four managerial openings around the league. Here’s the latest:
- Long-time big leaguer Phil Nevin, who most recently has served as the manager of the Diamondbacks‘ Triple-A affiliate, has drawn broad interest, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. Nevin has already interviewed with the Marlins and Nationals, as expected, and will also sit down with the Padres and Mariners. Nevin, 44, spent the most memorable stretch of his 12-year big league career in San Diego, where he racked up a .288/.359/.503 slash in over 3,000 plate appearances.
- The Padres will also interview long-time big leaguer Alex Cora, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Cora, who currently works as an analyst, has often been mentioned as a managerial candidate and served as a skipper in his native Puerto Rico. The 39-year-old spent parts of fourteen seasons in the majors, the last of those with the Nationals in 2011.
- The Marlins and Nationals will also interview Cora, according to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Like Nevin, it seems, he’ll be given a look by all the teams currently seeking new field leadership.
- Indeed, Cora is also expected to receive interest from the Mariners, according to ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden (Insider link). Other names that could be weighed in Seattle include Padres bench coach Dave Roberts, Rays third base coach Charlie Montoya, Angels special assistant Tim Bogar, and former big league skipper Bud Black, per the report. We’ve heard Bogar mentioned previously as a possible favorite, with a variety of other names that could be considered.
- The Nationals will not only take a look at Nevin and Cora, but will also interview Black this week, Nightengale tweets, which was widely expected. Washington also has interest in Giants bench coach Ron Wotus, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports.
- Bowden says to look for the Marlins to interview an “eclectic” mix of possibilities for their managerial vacancy — a description which could, it seems, be applied to many of the other openings. The club is giving indications that it will wait to make a decision until the Dodgers decide whether to retain Don Mattingly, as he’d be considered a strong candidate in Miami.
- You can keep track of all the latest developments for three of the above teams’ managerial situations at the following links: Marlins, Nationals, Padres. (We’ll start one for the Mariners in short order.)
Evans: Giants Still In Hunt For Eddy Julio Martinez
Despite multiple reports suggesting that free agent outfielder Eddy Julio Martinez had agreed to terms with the Cubs, Giants GM Bobby Evans indicated today that his team remains in the chase for the young Cuban. Evans made those comments in a podcast interview with Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News.
Martinez, of course, had initially been set to join the San Francisco organization — as Evans himself acknowledged — before that deal reportedly fell through. Reports suggested that Martinez was seeking a $3MM bonus, a $500K increase over what he had been said to be getting from the Giants. Just one day later, Martinez was said to have reached a contract with the Cubs at the higher amount.
“That’s probably going to be a great story here in the near future,” Evans said of the Martinez situation. He noted that he is still holding talks with the youngster’s agents at BHSC. When asked whether San Francisco still had a shot at landing Martinez, Evans responded: “I want to be careful not to be too presumptuous, but yeah, I think there’s still that chance.”
Needless to say, there’s an immense amount of uncertainty and a general lack of clarity regarding Martinez’s status. It remains unclear what kinds of motivations and factors are driving the unusual situation.