Cubs Notes: Baez, NLCS Roster, Zastryzny
Heading into the 2011 draft, the Cubs were set on Javier Baez with the ninth overall pick, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes. Rosenthal reports of a pre-draft conversation between then-Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken (now a special assistant with the Diamondbacks) and Padres exec Jason McLeod (now with the Cubs). The Padres wanted to take Francisco Lindor with the tenth overall pick and were curious about whether the Cubs would be selecting him. Wilken told McLeod that Baez was a “no-doubter” if he was still on the board when the Cubs picked. McLeod wasn’t as convinced: “I remember calling Jed after the game and saying, ‘This guy may be Manny Ramirez, or he might never get out of Double A!’ We weren’t convicted on the hit tool at the time and probably could have done a better job getting to know him personally.” In fairness to McLeod, Baez has struggled to control the strike zone in his young career, although he’s made up for that with defense and power. Either pick would have turned out just fine, of course, as both are now emerging young players who have already made noise in this year’s playoffs. The Indians ultimately took Lindor with the eighth pick; the Cubs took Baez at No. 9, as promised, and the Padres selected Cory Spangenberg at No. 10. Here’s more out of Chicago.
- Cubs GM Jed Hoyer says the process by which the team sets its NLCS roster will involve a “lot of yelling,” as Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic writes. That roster will be announced this morning. “The first one to get to this point was a lot of back and forth. This will obviously be a quicker meeting with less time to make the decision,” says Hoyer. It’s just one decision, whether we want to do 12 or 11 [pitchers]. A lot of that will depend on the opponent.” Sharma outlines the decisions in play this time, suggesting that infielder Tommy La Stella, outfielder Matt Szczur, lefty Rob Zastryzny and others could be on the bubble.
- Since they’re facing the Dodgers (whose collection of left-handed hitters includes Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Chase Utley, Andre Ethier, Joc Pederson, Josh Reddick and Andrew Toles), the Cubs seem likely to add Zastryzny, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune writes. Gonzales notes that the rookie left-hander has already faced the Dodgers once in his brief MLB career, throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings against them in a strong outing April 27. “I looked at their lineup. I watched (Game 5 of the NL Division Series),” says Zastryzny. “I have thrown against them before.”
Bo Porter Among Additional Possible Rockies Managerial Candidates
Former Astros skipper and current Braves special assistant Bo Porter is receiving at least some consideration for the Rockies’ open managerial position, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. The report identifies a number of other possibilities on a growing list of names who appear to be on Colorado’s radar.
Another former Astros’ manager, current Indians bench coach Brad Mills, has also come up. His Cleveland staff mate, first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr., is another name to watch. Obviously, neither of those possible candidates can be pursued in earnest at present, with the Indians just opening play in the ALCS.
Two other bench coaches who could draw interest from the Rockies are Dave Martinez of the Cubs, who also is busy with his current position, and Ron Wotus of the Giants. We heard earlier today that Wotus had received contact from a team with a managerial opening. Given that the Diamondbacks — the other team with an opening — haven’t yet resolved their front office situation, it seems reasonable to suspect that it was the Rockies who came calling.
Today’s report significantly expands the group of names tied in some way to the Rockies’ top dugout post. Last we checked in, the scuttlebutt was that former Brewers skipper Ron Roenicke (most recently of the Angels), former Padres manager Bud Black (ditto), Red Sox bench coach Torey Lovullo, Braves first base coach Eddie Perez, and Rockies Triple-A skipper Glenallen Hill had some form of connection to the gig — though in some cases, the reporting involved interest on their behalf rather than the team’s.
All told, that slate largely represents a “who’s who” of skippers-to-be around the game. Those that haven’t yet taken managerial jobs at the major league level have at least interviewed for jobs with other organizations.
Still, the Rockies aren’t just looking to plug in an experienced hand. According to Harding, Colorado hopes to find someone “who will apply statistics and other research into managing and coaching, and who are adept at various methods for creating team chemistry.” In that regard, certainly, the organization seems to be participating in a near-universal trend leaguewide.
David Ross 99% Certain He Will Retire
Cubs catcher David Ross is still 99.9% certain he will retire at the end of the season, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers tweets. Ross indicated last November that he would likely retire after the 2016 season, although that was before a strong campaign in which he batted .229/.338/.446 in 205 plate appearances while playing his usual strong defense.
The 39-year-old Ross explained his thought process in some detail last week, as Rogers described at the time. “I just don’t want to be that weak link,” said Ross. “I don’t want to be the guy that holds everyone up. I want no regrets on my end.”
Ross did go on to say that he might consider continuing to play if the Cubs “blew [his] socks off,” although he seemed to be at least half-joking. He listed not being able to play with outfielder and fellow catcher Kyle Schwarber, who missed almost the entire season due to a knee injury, as one of his regrets about leaving the game behind.
For now, Ross appears to be concentrating on winning a World Series with the Cubs. “People ask, ‘Where does my retirement stuff rank?’ Winning a World Series is way better than that. It’s an amazing thing to dog pile out there while no one else can do that,” he said last week.
Ross has played parts of 15 seasons in the Majors, suiting up with the Dodgers, Pirates, Padres, Reds, Braves and Red Sox before signing a two-year, $5MM deal with the Cubs prior to the 2015 season. He’s collected just 2,644 plate appearances in his career, since he’s generally played as a backup, and batted .229/.316/.423. He won a World Series as a member of the Red Sox in 2013.
NL Notes: Mets, Cubs, Fowler, Marlins
Mets left-hander Steven Matz underwent successful surgery to repair a “massive” bone spur in his elbow on Tuesday, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com was among those to report. Matz, who hasn’t pitched since Aug. 14, also received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his left shoulder. The 25-year-old should be at full health by spring training, according to the club. Despite dealing with injuries, Matz logged a 3.40 ERA, 8.77 K/9, 2.11 BB/9 and 51.1 percent ground-ball rate in 132 1/3 innings as a rookie.
More regarding New York and two other National League clubs:
- Cubs president Theo Epstein revisited the team’s late-February re-signing of center fielder Dexter Fowler, telling Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, “It wasn’t like we swooped in at the last minute and stole him from Baltimore.” It appeared that way at first, as Fowler reportedly had a three-year, $33MM agreement in place with the Orioles. But Fowler told Sullivan, “I actually didn’t know where the report came from. That thing is still a mystery to me. But the right people knew what the deal was.” The Cubs actually kept in contact with Fowler all along, and Epstein even offered to call other teams to vouch for Fowler during his unemployed stint. “I wanted the best for Dexter,” said Epstein. “I kept getting updates, and then when we got into spring training, I told (agent Casey Close) ‘No promises, but look, if it ends up he’s looking at any one-year scenario, stay in touch because we might be able to make a trade or do some things that would put him back in play for us.” After Fowler’s deal with the Orioles didn’t materialize, Epstein cleared $4.8MM in salary by trading fellow outfielder Chris Coghlan to the A’s (the Cubs re-acquired Coghlan in June). Epstein then brought back Fowler on a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2017. At $8MM ($13MM if either side declines the option), Fowler was a bargain for the Cubs during the regular season – he hit .276/.393/.447 with 13 homers and 13 steals and accounted for 4.8 fWAR in 551 plate appearances – and will now attempt to help the NL Central champions to their first World Series title since 1908.
- Former Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez is a candidate to return to the team as its third base coach, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Gonzalez was previously the Marlins’ third base coach from 1999-2000, and he took over as their manager in 2007. The Marlins went 276-279 before Gonzalez’s ouster in June 2010 and finished over .500 in two of his three full seasons. Gonzalez then worked as the Braves’ manager from 2011 until his firing this past May. Atlanta compiled a 434-413 record under Gonzalez and made two playoff trips.
- In further Mets injury news, first-round draft pick Anthony Kay underwent Tommy John surgery Tuesday, per MetsBlog. The left-hander from the University of Connecticut went 31st overall in this year’s draft and joined the Mets for a below-slot deal amid elbow concerns. The 21-year-old southpaw will now miss all of next season and could lose some of the 2018 campaign, too.
Cubs Extend Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod
FRIDAY: The Cubs have now announced the Hoyer and McLeod contracts, which run through 2021.
“Jed and Jason are simply the best at what they do and have played fundamentally important leadership roles in helping the Cubs build a healthy and thriving organization,” said Epstein. “We feel honored to have the stability and support that we enjoy throughout Baseball Operations and look forward to many years of working together in Chicago.”
WEDNESDAY, 8:13pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman reports that Epstein’s deal actually guarantees him a bit less than $50MM, but it can exceed the $50MM threshold based on incentives. ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers tweets that both Hoyer’s deal also goes through 2021, and Heyman tweets the same regarding McLeod.
3:12pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Epstein’s contract is believed to be worth more than $50MM in total, which would make him the highest-paid baseball executive on record. Additionally, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that both Hoyer and McLeod have received extensions with the Cubs as well (Twitter link).
3:06pm: The Cubs announced this afternoon that president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has signed a five-year contract extension that will run from 2017-21. Epstein had been in the final season of his current contract and was widely expected to receive an extension to keep him in his current position atop Chicago’s baseball operations hierarchy. In the press release announcing the extension, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts offered the following statement:
“In the five years under Theo’s leadership, he has brought in a strong executive team and acquired and developed some of the best players in the game. Now, the results are on the field. My family and I have no doubt that we have moved closer to our goal of delivering Cubs fans the World Series Championship they deserve.”
Ricketts also added that the extension “ensures the baseball operations team assembled by Epstein will continue its remarkable tenure of building a consistent championship contender.”
Epstein, 42, has been at his current post with the Cubs since Oct. 2011. While the early stages of his tenure were mired with losing clubs, he, alongside general manager Jed Hoyer, senior vice president of player development Jason McLeod and the rest of the Chicago front office have taken the Cubs from a cellar-dwelling team to a powerhouse that will finish with the best record in baseball this season after finishing with 97 wins a year ago.
The Cubs appear poised not only for success in 2015-16, but for the foreseeable future, as the core of Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester, among others, are all controlled through at least the 2020 campaign. While certainly not all of those players are locks to remain productive — specifically Lester, who will be 36 by the time his current contract expires — the Cubs have the payroll capacity to supplement that enviable core group of players as needed.
While the Epstein/Hoyer/McLeod regime has had the occasional misstep (see: Edwin Jackson and, so far anyway, Jason Heyward), the Epstein-led Cubs have been largely successful in their moves, be they free-agent signings, trades or draft selections. Since Oct. 2011, the Cubs have acquired Hendricks and Christian Villanueva in exchange for half a season of Ryan Dempster; acquired Carl Edwards and Justin Grimm for half a season of Matt Garza; acquired Addison Russell in exchange for a year-and-a-half of Jeff Samardzija and a half season of Jason Hammel (whom they later re-signed with solid results); and, of course, most notoriously, acquired 2015 NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta and setup man Pedro Strop in exchange for a half season of Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger.
The team has also picked up Hector Rondon in the Rule 5 Draft and made a number of savvy free-agent additions including Hammel (twice), Lester, John Lackey, Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler (after initially acquiring him for Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily) and David Ross. Beyond that, the Cubs have drafted well, landing Bryant and Schwarber as well as top prospects such as Ian Happ and Albert Almora. Chicago has also been active on the international front, outbidding the competition for Jorge Soler and spending aggressively on prospects such as Eloy Jimenez and Gleyber Torres, the latter of whom was used as the centerpiece of the trade that brought Aroldis Chapman to Chicago this past summer.
McLeod has been an oft-rumored candidate to join another organization in a higher role and was recently one of the prime candidates for the Twins as they search for a new president of baseball operations. And Hoyer, conceivably, could have drawn interest elsewhere for a team willing to bestow the president title upon an experience general manager. While the length of the extensions for Hoyer and McLeod aren’t yet known, the trio of extension ensures that the same brain trust that architected the current Cubs roster will be in place for several years to come.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NL Central Notes: Cubs, Feliz, McCutchen, Marte, Brewers
While the Cubs have locked down the top three leaders in their baseball operations department by agreeing to extensions with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, general manager Jed Hoyer and senior vice president of player development Jason McLeod, the team’s front office could still see a number of executives poached by other clubs in the coming years, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Scouting director Jared Porter and assistant GM Shiraz Rehman were both mentioned in connection with the Twins recently, and both figure to come up in future front office searches. “Porter will be a GM and soon,” writes Passan, who also lists director of player development Jaron Madison and director of baseball operations Scott Harris as rising stars within the field.
A bit more from the NL Central…
- Neftali Feliz isn’t likely to get back on the mound for the Pirates this season, manager Clint Hurdle told reporters, including Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Feliz, signed as a free agent last winter, enjoyed a nice rebound campaign with the Buccos in 2016, pitching to a 3.52 ERA with 10.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 37.9 percent ground-ball rate in 53 2/3 innings of work while playing on a modest $3.9MM salary. The specific nature of the arm injury that has plagued Feliz since early September remains somewhat murky, though he was reportedly cleared of elbow or shoulder troubles earlier this month. Assuming there are no major medical concerns, he’ll become yet another pitcher to significantly boost his stock in a brief stint with the Pirates, as he’ll enter the open market with an ERA nearly three runs lower and a K/9 rate that’s nearly three whiffs higher than he did a year ago.
- In a second piece from the Post-Gazette, Stephen J. Nesbitt writes that while Andrew McCutchen‘s defensive ratings in center field have plummeted — his -26 DRS mark is the worst of any fielder at any position in baseball, and his -14.4 UZR is third-worst — Pirates manager Clint Hurdle isn’t ready to flip McCutchen and standout defensive left fielder Starling Marte. “I know that there are probably going to be plays that Marte can make in center field that maybe Andrew doesn’t make,” said Hurdle, “[but] there are plays Marte makes in left field that nobody can make. That’s the other point. Everybody in the street talks to me about center field. Marte makes plays in left that I don’t know if any other left fielder in the game can make.”
- The Brewers have made some changes in their scouting department, and Baseball America’s John Manuel has details on the promotions and hirings. Noted scouting director Ray Montgomery is being moved up the ladder to vice president of scouting and will now be the organization’s lead talent evaluator, whereas assistant scouting director Tod Johnson will shed the “assistant” from his title. Pro scouting director Zack Minasian will now serve as a special advisor to the scouting department. “Scouting will always be an integral aspect of our focus on acquiring and developing young talent, and we are confident that today’s moves will enhance those efforts to be among the best in the industry,” said GM David Stearns in a statement.
Quick Hits: Scully, Trumbo, Yankees, Urshela, Cardinals
Vin Scully’s final game behind the mic at Dodger Stadium was a memorable one, as the Dodgers clinched the NL West with a 4-3 win over the Rockies, fueled by a 10th-inning walkoff homer from Charlie Culberson. The legendary announcer has already said he won’t be calling any Dodger postseason action, so the final three games of Scully’s 67-year career will come on September 30-October 2, when the Dodgers head to San Francisco for the last three games of the regular season.
Some stray items from around baseball…
- 2016 is quietly on pace to be one of the biggest home run seasons in the game’s history, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan writes in his weekly “Ten Degrees” column. Hitters are on pace for the second-highest single-season homer total ever, behind only the 2000 season. With power on the rise and more readily available than in recent seasons, Passan notes that Mark Trumbo‘s free agent stock could be hampered. Teams will look harder at Trumbo’s lack of defense or OBP if homers are no longer seen as quite a rare commodity.
- The Yankees have been rumored to be interested in a reunion with Aroldis Chapman, and the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff notes that Dellin Betances‘ recent struggles could exacerbate the Yankees’ need for another big bullpen arm. Betances has only “struggled” since August 1 (3.48 ERA and a 32:9 K/BB rate in 20 2/3 innings) by his high standards, though fatigue could be an issue given how much Betances has pitched both this season and over the last three years on the whole. Signing Chapman in free agency and moving Betances back to a setup role would again give the Yankees an elite end-game pairing, if not quite the uniquely great trio they had earlier in the season with Andrew Miller also in the mix.
- As part of a reader mailbag piece, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer opined that the Indians probably aren’t likely to shop Giovanny Urshela this season now that Jose Ramirez looks like an answer at third base. Urshela is a gifted defender but he has posted just a .608 OPS over his 288 career PA in the majors and a .269/.302/.402 career slash line over eight minor league seasons. Other teams may not be willing to give up much in a trade for a player who has shown so little at the plate.
- The Cubs completely rebuilt their roster from scratch to become a powerhouse team both this season and potentially for years to come, though Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon that such an extensive rebuild would be unlikely for his club. “They were able to do so without being overly concerned about how they finished for a couple years….I’ve always said St. Louis has been a place that demands winning,” Mozeliak said. “[Owner Bill] DeWitt Jr. and myself, we’re not ever looking at a season where we want to take a timeout or two and try to reshuffle the deck.” Mozeliak implied that the Cards would only explore such a strategy if their minor league system totally dried up, which doesn’t seem like an impending issue given how well St. Louis has drafted and developed young players over the last two decades.
Latest On Twins’ Front Office Search
9:34pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter) that while Mets assistant GM John Ricco has recently been linked to the Twins’ job, Ricco is no longer in the running at this point. Berardino adds to that report, tweeting that Ricco was never under heavy consideration.
9:28am: The Twins appear to be homing in on a handful of possibilities for their open president of baseball operations position, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Though the team could still conduct interviews with additional executives, it may be that the slate of candidates is already set, he adds on Twitter.
One outside option who has impressed, per Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter link), is Cubs vice president of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod. He is “well-regarded” and “well-positioned” in the Twins’ search after impressing in his early interactions with Minnesota’s top brass, according to the report.
McLeod obviously isn’t the only highly-regarded young executive under consideration. Prior reports have suggested that Rays AGM Chaim Bloom, Indians AGM Derek Falvey, and Royals AGM J.J. Picollo are also in the discussion.
Then, there’s sitting Twins interim GM Rob Antony, who rounds out the five names known to be in the hunt. Per Berardino, he’s the only internal candidate who will receive an interview. The club did consider VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff, scouting director Deron Johnson, and special assistant (and former Reds GM) Wayne Krivsky, but elected not to hold meetings with them.
Central Notes: Epstein, Arrieta, Abreu, Indians, Vogelsong
ESPN.com’s Wright Thompson provides a worthwhile profile of Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein. While it’s mostly an interesting look at the veteran executive, the piece also contains an intriguing look behind the scenes in the Cubbies’ front office and a few bits of information on the team’s recent maneuvering.
Here’s more from the central divisions:
- The Cubs are aware of, but not particularly concerned over, a decline in Jake Arrieta‘s fastball velocity (and recent predilection for surrendering long balls), ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers writes. Skipper Joe Maddon suggested that Arrieta was looking to dial in his command in exchange for some velo, and noted that Arrieta’s exceptional movement made him difficult to hit regardless. As for the bigger heater, Maddon says that he “really believe[s] it’s in there” for the postseason.
- Across town, White Sox slugger Jose Abreu says that the difference between his club and the Royals is less about talent than it is “desire,” as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago tweets. Abreu took responsibility for that assessment, saying that he needed to improve his on-field approach and help lead the team in that regard. It’s certainly an interesting and candid observation from a player of Abreu’s stature.
- With Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar sidelined, the Indians are considering utilizing a three-prong postseason rotation mix, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets. Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer would take the ball as traditional starters, with Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger piggybacking to make for a third rotation piece. That approach may be necessary given the team’s sudden and stunning lack of depth in what had been a huge area of strength, but it seems like the organization will be forced to push its two best remaining starters rather hard.
- The Pirates aren’t willing to commit at this point to giving righty Ryan Vogelsong another start, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. GM Neal Huntington says that the team is weighing his recent span of four awful outings against the quality showing that Vogelsong had made immediately upon returning from his injury. “Ryan feels there’s a mechanical adjustment that he can and will make moving forward,” Huntington said. “It’s hard to walk away from his first stretch of starts for us.” While that won’t have much of an impact on the Bucs’ fortunes this year, continued opportunity to work from the rotation could impact Vogelsong’s upcoming free agent case.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/19/16
Here are the day’s minor moves, each coming courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…
- The Rays have outrighted Tyler Sturdevant to Triple-A Durham. The right-handed reliever was designated for assignment last week despite a solid 3.93 earned run average and a 14-to-6 K/BB ratio in 18 1/3 innings. That small sample represented the first Major League work of the 30-year-old Sturdevant’s career. The former Indians farmhand signed a minors pact with the Rays last offseason and had a nice run with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.66 ERA with 11.2 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 39 1/3 frames. Set to turn 31 this December, Sturdevant can again opt for minor league free agency this winter.
- Lefty reliever Jack Leathersich will forgo minor league free agency and re-up with the Cubs on a minors pact for the 2017 season. The former Mets reliever had a successful debut in 2015 when he posted a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings, but Tommy John surgery derailed his rookie campaign. The Cubs picked him up on waivers this past November, but he wound up being removed from the 40-man roster and re-signing a minors deal with Chicago. The 26-year-old Leathersich made it back to a minor league mound this year and tossed 23 1/3 innings of 1.93 ERA ball with a hefty 34 strikeouts, though he also issued 13 walks and hit a batter as well. Control has never been a strong point for Leathersich, but he’ll work on reining in the walks as he hopes to bring his career 15.0 K/9 rate back to the Majors at some point next season.
- Eddy’s post contains several players from teams all throughout the league that elected to skip minor league free agency and sign 2017 deals with their 2016 organizations, though Leathersich is the only one of the bunch with MLB experience under his belt.