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AL East Notes: Red Sox, Masterson, Rays, De Aza

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The Red Sox are likely done adding to their Major League roster for the 2015 season, GM Ben Cherington told reporters, including John Tomase of WEEI.com, yesterday. “I would expect the group we have for spring training is in place and I would be surprised if there were any additions,” said Cherington. “I couldn’™t completely rule out a non-roster deal with someone, but we feel good about where we are with our position player and pitching group, so this is probably the group you’™ll see when we take the field in Fort Myers.” As Tomase notes, Cherington again ruled out the possibility of signing James Shields or making a significant run at Cole Hamels, as Tomase’s WEEI colleague Rob Bradford noted last month. Boston has added Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson and Wade Miley to its rotation this offseason, with Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez joining the lineup.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • Masterson told Bradford earlier this week that he was surprised to be completely pain-free in a pre-Spring Training bullpen session. As Masterson explains, after he tore an oblique muscle last winter he did not have any scar tissue removed, which likely resulted in the pain he felt in his early spring bullpens. “I just figured I needed to loosen up, but it never did. Coming in right now compared to last year? It’™s huge.” Masterson feels that early pain trickled down into his knee and hips, serving as a significant detriment to his 2014 numbers. Boston gave Masterson a one-year, $9.5MM contract this offseason with the belief that he can bounce back to his 2013 form and help lead their revamped rotation.
  • While the Cubs insist that there was no tampering at play in their hiring of manager Joe Maddon, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that the Rays insist that they do have evidence to the contrary. Maddon signed a five-year deal with the Cubs in early November, just 10 days after opting out of his deal with the Rays (though word that an agreement had been reached broke just seven days after his opt-out).
  • The Orioles and Alejandro De Aza are headed for an arbitration hearing, GM Dan Duquette conceded today in an appearance on 105.7 The Fan radio (h/t: MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). Duquette said that he felt the team made a “very, very strong” offer to De Aza shortly before figures were exchanged, but no agreement was reached. De Aza filed for a $5.65MM salary, while the team came back with a flat $5MM offer, as can be seen in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

James Shields Rumors: Thursday

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The market for James Shields is picking up steam, to say the least, with multiple reports indicating that he could decide upon a team before this weekend comes to a close. As of yesterday, the Marlins were still said to be in talks for Shields, with the Cubs “kicking the tires.” The Padres were indirectly connected to Shields, as reports had them seeking a top-end starter, though Shields was not mentioned by name.

Here are today’s Shields-related items…

  • “The Padres…have to be considered favorites for” Shields, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets.  The fact that Shields lives in San Diego could indeed give the Padres the edge, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes.
  • While the Padres are indeed “among the favorites” for Shields, Heyman reports that “a few other teams, including at least one surprise” are in contact with Shields’ camp.  A person connected to the Cubs tells Heyman that Chicago could get involved in Shields’ market if his price falls significantly; the Cubs’ interest in Shields was first reported yesterday.
  • The Blue Jays are “kicking the tires” on Shields, which is a surprise to Heyman given their payroll limitations.  This isn’t the first time Toronto has been linked to Shields, though it remains to be seen if the Jays can create the financial space to sign Shields even at a lowered price tag.

Earlier Updates

  • The Dodgers are currently focused on international stars Yoan Moncada and Hector Olivera and not Shields, tweets Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons. Many have speculated that the Dodgers could make a play based not only on their deep pockets but on the presence of former Rays GM Andrew Friedman atop the new L.A. baseball operations department.
  • Multiple sources have told Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald that they do not expect the Marlins to sign Shields. One source characterized the chances as “zero percent.” For what it’s worth, others have also reported the chances as “zero,” only to have rumors of talks between the two sides resurface. Ultimately, however, it seems that the Fish are long shots. Shields’ reported desire to play for a team on the West Coast and the Marlins’ limited payroll are both detrimental factors.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has been told by sources in recent weeks that the Cardinals “are not a team with interest.” As Goold outlines, the Cardinals may be wary not only of forfeiting a draft pick but of forfeiting the portion of their draft bonus pool that would go along with it. Based on last year’s slot figures, signing Shields would cost St. Louis 28.3 percent of its bonus pool.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Thursday

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There are still nearly 30 players whose arbitration cases need to be settled, and as our Arbitration Tracker shows, the Royals (four remaining cases) and Pirates (three) have the most work ahead of them. We’ll run down today’s minor arbitration settlements here, with all projections coming courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…

  • The Cubs and right-hander Pedro Strop avoided a hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $2.525MM deal, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The agreement falls slightly above both Swartz’s $2.4MM projection and the midpoint between the Cubs’ $2MM offer and Strop’s $3MM counter. Strop was the last of the Cubs’ eight arbitration-eligible players to agree to a contract for 2015. This is the second of four arb years for Strop as a Super Two player. The Legacy Agency client has pitched very well since coming to Chicago in July 2013, and Strop posted a 2.21 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 2.84 K/BB rate over 61 relief innings last season.

NL Notes: Toussaint, Castillo, Wood, Minor, Kendrick

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Diamondbacks right-hander Touki Toussaint, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2014 draft, has hired Rick Thurman and Nate Heisler of the Beverly Hills Sports Council as his new agents, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). The 18-year-old struggled greatly in his pro debut last year but still ranked as the D-Backs’ No. 5 prospect, per Baseball America and Fangraphs, and No. 98 overall in the game, per MLB.com. Toussaint’s change has been reflected in the MLBTR Agency Database, which contains agent information for more than 2,000 Major League and Minor League players. Agents, if you see any errors or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Here are some more notes from around the Senior Circuit…

  • David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com expects the Cubs to move Welington Castillo and possibly Travis Wood before the team heads to Arizona for Spring Training (Twitter link). The Phillies are one of multiple teams that have shown interest, according to Kaplan. Castillo has been displaced as a starter with the addition of Miguel Montero, and the team has also added David Ross as a backup option as well. Wood figures to battle for the team’s fifth starter spot, as Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks are the likely front four in the rotation. The Cubs also have Tsuyoshi Wada and Felix Doubront as options for the fifth spot.
  • Mike Minor and the Braves have an arbitration hearing set for Feb. 19, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That’s just one day before pitchers and catchers are slated to report to Spring Training. Minor filed for a $5.6MM salary, while the team countered at $5.1MM, as can be seen in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.
  • Kyle Kendrick tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that he had interest from multiple teams before signing with the Rockies. Though it’s clearly not a favorable environment for a pitcher, Kendrick praised the Rockies’ offense and defense as reasons to sign with the team.

Minor Moves: Herrera, Dominguez, Vasquez, Feliciano

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Brewers announced earlier this week that utility player Elian Herrera has been outrighted to Triple-A and will be in Major League Spring Training as a non-roster invite. Herrera was designated for assignment after the Brewers added Neal Cotts on a one-year deal. The 30-year-old batted .274/.288/.341 in 140 plate appearances with the Brew Crew in 2014.
  • The Giants released the recently designated Chris Dominguez, according to the team’s transactions page. Designated to clear a roster spot for Ryan Vogelsong, the 28-year-old Dominguez made his big league debut in 2014, collecting one hit in 17 at-bats, although the one hit was memorable — a two-run homer. Dominguez hit .274/.307/.460 with 21 homers in Triple-A last season.
  • The Phillies signed lefty Anthony Vasquez, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Vasquez is still trying to work his way back to the big leagues after remarkably surviving a ruptured blood vessel in his brain that required emergency surgery. He spent last year in the upper minors with the Orioles, working to a 4.95 ERA over 123 2/3 frames (including 19 starts) with 6.7 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9.
  • Southpaw reliever Pedro Feliciano is nearing a minor league deal with the Cubs that would include a spring invite and a $700K salary if he makes the big league team, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Heyman adds on Twitter that the deal is done, noting that it includes some incentives. The 38-year-old led the league in appearances for three straight years with the Mets (2008-10), but rotator cuff issues ensued and Feliciano has only tossed 11 1/3 big league frames since. He struggled with preventing runs last year at Triple-A with the Cardinals organization, though he still was able to generate better than eight strikeouts per nine innings.

An earlier version of this post incorrectly cited Heyman as reporting that Vasquez had received a big league camp invite.

Cubs Claim Drake Britton, Designate Gonzalez Germen

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The Cubs have claimed lefty Drake Britton off waivers from the Red Sox, the club announced. Fellow reliever Gonzalez Germen has been designated to clear roster space.

Britton, 25, has been productive at the big league level over the past two seasons in fairly limited action. In 27 2/3 total frames, he owns a 2.93 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. He did have a rough go of things at Triple-A Pawtucket last year, however, posting 58 1/3 innings of 5.86 ERA ball.

The game of musical roster spots continues for Germen, who has now been on four 40-man lists since mid-December. The 27-year-old righty should have a decent chance at earning a big league bullpen slot once he does settle in somewhere for camp.

Yoan Moncada Market Notes

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With the evening’s news that prized young Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada is free to sign, additional information has begun to roll in. It isn’t hard to see why he has generated so much attention. As Ben Badler of Baseball America explains, Moncada may not have quite the certainty of an otherwise generally comparable prospect such as Corey Seager, but could reasonably be valued in the same range as — and, indeed, ahead of — a young player as heralded as Miguel Sano. That would make Moncada one of the best dozen or so pre-MLB properties in the game.

Here’s the latest:

  • Moncada is expected to sign soon, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, although he does have workouts scheduled with individual teams through the middle of this month. The list of teams he has already worked out for does not appear to have been expanded upon from prior reports, with Sanchez noting (via Twitter) that the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Rays, Tigers, and Brewers have all had private looks.
  • With Moncada now eligible to sign, and a long stretch remaining before the July 2 market flips over, Badler tweets that the Cubs and Rangers are probably out of the mix. Moncada could still theoretically wait to sign with one of those teams — each of which is currently prohibited from paying all but relatively small international signing bonuses for blowing their allotment in past seasons — but that seems rather unlikely.
  • Some clubs believe the Dodgers are a “strong favorite” to add Moncada, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. Los Angeles has made no secret of its intention to pursue the talented 19-year-old.
  • Another expected front-runner, the Red Sox, have remained fairly tight-lipped about Moncada, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski confirmed that his club had expressed interest and held a workout for Moncada, but otherwise would only acknowledge that Moncada is a talented player, as James Schmehl of MLive.com reports.

Quick Hits: Betemit, Prospects, Cuba, Indians

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Free agent infielder Wilson Betemit has received a 50-game suspension after testing positive for amphetamine usage, the league announced. Betemit, who turned 33 in November, is currently a minor league free agent. He struggled through 453 plate appearances with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate last year but is a lifetime .267/.332/.442 hitter in the Majors.

Here are some more notes around the game:

  • The latest top-100 prospect list is out, with MLB.com’s team providing its view of the game’s best young talent in both a list and articles from prospect gurus Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis. MLB.com still sees Byron Buxton of the Twins as the game’s best prospect, placing him above Kris Bryant of the Cubs by a narrow margin.
  • That sort of prospect ranking could increasingly become populated by Cuban ballplayers if changes in diplomatic relations go as far as might be imagined. MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez provides an interesting take on that possibility, providing some quotes from notable Cuban ballplayers who are in Puerto Rico for the Caribbean Series.
  • Of course, some of the very best players never receive the recognition of a top prospect. According to Sahadev Sharma, in a piece for FOX Sports, the Indians have been notably excellent at trading for (and developing) high-level big league talent that came unadorned with significant prospect pedigree. Among the team’s recent finds are Carlos Santana, Michael Brantley, Carlos Carrasco, Corey Kluber, and Yan Gomes. That handful of players led the way for Cleveland last year, accounting for a remarkable 24.8 fWAR.

Quick Hits: Workman, Ogando, Rockies, Loria

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Twins outfielder Byron Buxton is the top prospect in baseball, per MLB.com’s top 100 prospects. The Cubs have two prospects in the top five – Kris Bryant (second) and Addison Russell (fifth). The Dodgers have three in the top 13 – Corey Seager (seventh), Julio Urias (eighth), and Joc Pederson (13th). The Cubs and Twins are the two teams with five prospects in the top 50. Here’s more news from around the league.

Minor Moves: Hendrickson, Baxter, Perez

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Orioles have agreed to terms with Mark Hendrickson on a deal that includes a Spring Training invite, Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com tweets. The deal is presumably of the minor-league variety. The tall lefty last pitched in the big leagues with Baltimore in 2011, and he’s now 40 and has a 5.03 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in parts of 10 big-league seasons. He is, however, coming off a good season with the independent York Revolution, posting a 1.54 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 52 2/3 innings of relief. The O’s also reportedly have interest in hiring Hendrickson as a coach when he’s done playing.
  • The Cubs have signed corner outfielder Mike Baxter, Matt Eddy of Baseball America writes. Baxter, best known for his stints with the Mets in 2012 and 2013, has a career .225/.331/.342 line in parts of five seasons. He spent most of 2014 with the Dodgers’ Triple-A Albuquerque affiliate, batting .289/.365/.439.
  • The Rangers have signed lefty Juan Perez, Eddy writes. The 36-year-old Perez did not pitch in 2014, but he was effective coming out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen the previous year, posting a 3.69 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 31 2/3 innings with a fastball that reached into the mid-90s. Before that, Perez had pitched in brief stints with the Pirates, Phillies and Brewers.
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