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Injury Notes: Shoemaker, Cubs, Ozuna, Pineda, Villanueva

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Angels righty Matt Shoemaker underwent forearm surgery earlier this summer — an operation that repaired the pronator teres tendon and also decompressed a nerve in his right arm. While that sounded ominous and called the remainder of his season into question, Shoemaker has thrown a pair of simulated games recently and tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he’s aiming to return to the Angels in September. Shoemaker has been battling injuries for much of his career and has only pitched once in the Majors since last June. As he explains it, the tendon damage in his arm was not initially revealed on an MRI and was not detected during a 2017 operation because that surgery was performed a few inches away from the tendon damage. It took exploratory surgery for doctors to discover a “split tendon,” which Shoemaker believes to have been the root of his troubles.

Some more injury news from around the league…

  • The Cubs put Addison Russell on the disabled list today as a corresponding move for the activation of newly acquired Daniel Murphy. As MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes, the official announcement stated that a sprained left index finger was prompting the DL placement, but Russell has also been bothered by inflammation in his right shoulder. He’ll get some needed rest from the current DL stint, though there’s no indication that he’s expected to miss a prolonged period of time. There’s less certainty regarding closer Brandon Morrow, Muskat continues, explaining that the right-hander is headed for more tests on his ailing right biceps Friday and isn’t expected to return until September. Morrow has been sidelined since mid-July.
  • The Cardinals announced today that left fielder Marcell Ozuna has been placed on the disabled list due to inflammation in his right shoulder. It’s a tough loss for the Cards, even if it’s only an abbreviated stint, as Ozuna had hit safely in 22 of his past 27 games, batting a combined .315/.356/.532 with six homers, four doubles and a triple in that span of 118 plate appearances. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Ozuna’s shoulder has been problematic dating all the way back to last season. The Cardinals were aware of the issue when trading for him, Goold writes, and the team has tried to limit Ozuna’s throwing outside of a game setting throughout the season in order to lessen the stress on said shoulder.
  • Michael Pineda is slated to make two more starts for the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate before joining the big league club in September, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Signed to a two-year, $10MM deal that pays him $8MM in 2019, Pineda is in the final stages of recovering from 2017 Tommy John surgery and is expected to be an important piece in Minnesota’s rotation next season. Manager Paul Molitor wouldn’t rule out giving Pineda a start or two in September but said he doesn’t plan to get him too stretched out. Berardino suggests that Pineda won’t top 75 pitches in any appearance this year.
  • Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva has been diagnosed with a fractured finger and is headed to the 10-day disabled list, tweets AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Villanueva wasn’t in today’s lineup due to some swelling in his hand after taking a tough grounder yesterday, and further testing appears to have revealed the fracture. A corresponding move will be announced tomorrow. It’s not clear how long Villanueva will be out. The 27-year-old Villanueva has utterly demolished left-handed pitching this season, hitting at an absurd .336/.392/.736 clip with 14 home runs through 113 plate appearances when holding the platoon advantage. Unfortunately, he’s mustered a feeble .189/.255/.319 slash against right-handed opponents.

NL West Notes: Samardzija, Padres, Rockies

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Giants righty Jeff Samardzija held an interesting chat with MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. In large part, it’s a lengthy discussion of Samardzija’s multi-sport background and decision to pursue baseball professionally — which, he says, was driven more by interest than any considerations of the health implications of playing in the NFL. The San Francisco hurler likens the game of baseball to a “big painting you put together” and hints he could still have some masterpieces in his brush. He also suggests he’s not yet thinking about the end: “Where’s the end of the wick? Who knows? Let’s find out. That’s the fun of it all.”

More from the NL West:

  • As the Padres consider roster options, the club is looking to squeeze some added utility out of certain players. Infielder Christian Villanueva, in particular, will be tried out as a backup option at short, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell (via Twitter). The 26-year-old, who’s out of options, has played all of 14 innings at short as a professional. But after he posted a .296/.369/.528 slash at Triple-A last year, the Pads seem to be looking for ways to hang onto Villanueva.
  • In other Padres news, the organization is seeing promising signs from injured hurlers Robbie Erlin and Colin Rea, per Cassavell. The Tommy John recoverees are certainly interesting players to watch this spring, as both have shown their talent at times in the past. Erlin, it’s worth noting, is well ahead of Rea in the rehab process, though both are well over a year removed from their procedures. Both are part of a long list of pitching possibilities in Padres camp, as reflected in the current organizational depth chart over at Roster Resource.
  • It seems one area of focus this spring for the Rockies is finding a way to swipe a few more bags. As Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports, the club is particularly interested to see whether the fleet-footed Raimel Tapia can learn to translate his speed into stolen bases. Just as interesting as the efforts on the bases, it seems there’s at least some hope that Tapia could hold down a spot at the top of the lineup. That seems a bit of a questionable fit, as the young outfielder doesn’t walk much and is therefore quite reliant upon maintaining a lofty batting average on balls in play to get on base. While lineup construction is hardly the most consequential issue facing the Rox, it seems worth noting that second baseman DJ LeMahieu has led the club in OBP in each of the past two seasons and would seem to be a sensible fit in the leadoff spot.

NL Notes: Marlins, Dodgers, Phillies, Padres

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This weekend could go down as the the final time outfielders Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna take the field together for the Marlins, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald observes. While all three enjoy playing with one another, each realizes the organization is in flux, which might bring about the end of their successful partnership. “I think everyone is kind of aware of the situation,” said Yelich, the center fielder. “We really don’t know what’s going to happen, [but] we realize what the possibilities could be. Everybody knows that.” The only member of the trio who could block a trade is Stanton, he of 57 home runs in 2017 and a $295MM contract that runs through 2028 (or 2020, depending on an opt-out decision). The 27-year-old MVP candidate suggested that he wouldn’t be keen on embarking on a rebuild, something Miami might have to do in order to slash payroll and restock a weak farm system. “What else are you here for? I don’t do this just to show up. I’m here to try to win, get a ring,” the right fielder said (via Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). “There’s a point otherwise, but that’s your ultimate goal.”

More from the NL:

  • An ailing back continues to trouble the Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez, leading the club to shut him down for the year, manager Dave Roberts announced Wednesday (via Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times). Gonzalez played in just 71 games this season and batted a career-worst .242/.287/.355 for the NL’s top seed, though he did hit a home run Tuesday in what proved to be his last contest of 2017. The 35-year-old felt tightness in back on Wednesday, however, which forced the Dodgers to bring his season to a close prior to the playoffs. Regarding 2018, the final year of Gonzalez’s contract (in which he’ll make $21.5MM), he said: “My plan is to be an everyday player again and give it a go to have a really good season. Like I expected for this year.”
  • Phillies right-hander Clay Buchholz has been out of action since suffering a partial tear of the flexor pronator mass in his pitching arm on April 11, but the 33-year-old expects to be ready for spring training, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. He’ll start throwing Oct. 9, roughly a month before he’ll be eligible to depart Philadelphia as a free agent. “It’s my first go around with the whole free-agent deal,” Buchholz said of the upcoming offseason. “I’ll have to prove that I’m ready to go and I’m healthy, I’m sure. But I’m looking forward to it.” While Buchholz will go down as a failed on-field pickup for the Phillies, who acquired him from Boston last winter, he did mentor their young pitchers behind the scenes, as Zolecki details.
  • Third baseman Christian Villanueva has hit four homers in 10 games since the Padres selected his contract Sept. 18, putting him in position to compete for a 25-man spot next spring, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. The offseason minor league signing and former top 100 prospect with the Cubs will have an opportunity to win a starting job at second or third base in the spring, relays Cassavell, who notes that he could at least be a useful right-handed hitter off the bench. While Villaneuva, who was once part of trade involving Kyle Hendricks and Ryan Dempster, has slashed .333/.333/.778, his success has come over a minuscule amount of PAs (27). Manager Andy Green needs to see more, saying that “I don’t think you prove anything in September in such a short sample.”

Padres Designate Dusty Coleman, Jose Valdez

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The Padres have designated infielder Dusty Coleman and right-handed reliever Jose Valdez for assignment, according to an official announcement from the organization. The contracts of catcher Rocky Gale and infielder Christian Villanueva have been selected in a related move. The Padres have also recalled RHP Tim Melville, along with outfielders Travis Jankowski, Hunter Renfroe.

Valdez has thrown a combined 50 1/3 innings for the Tigers, Angels and Padres over the past three seasons, pitching to a 5.72 ERA. While that number may seem high, his 6.66 career FIP shows that he’s actually pitched even worse than that number indicates. He throws hard, averaging 96 MPH on his fastball and 86 MPH on his slider, but he gets hit hard as well; opponents have managed hard-hit balls against him in over 40% of their at-bats. That, combined with his 36% career ground ball rate and the fact that opposing hitters are able to pull the ball against him 41% of the time, has likely been the cause of a 4.00 HR/9 that’s done Valdez in. The 27 year-old right hander was originally signed as an international free agent by the Tigers in 2009.

Coleman, 30, was selected by the Athletics in the 28th round of the 2008 draft (844 overall). Though he garnered five official plate appearances with the Royals back in 2015, this season was his first extended stay in the majors. In 71 trips to the plate with the Padres, Coleman showed some power (4 HR, .227 ISO), but a crippling 46.5% strikeout rate held him back, leading him to a paltry .227 average and .268 OBP.

Gale is a light-hitting catcher who has only seen 17 innings behind the plate at the major-league level. He has spent his entire career in the Padres organization after being selected in the 24th round of the 2010 draft (724 overall). The 29 year-old hit .278/.325/.365 at Triple-A El Paso this season.

Villanueva was part of the 2012 trade between the Cubs and Rangers; he was sent from Texas along with Kyle Hendricks in exchange for Ryan Dempster. He missed the entire 2016 season after suffering a right fibular fracture during spring training, and was subsequently non-tendered that offseason. Since signing a minor-league deal with the Padres in the offseason, he has impressed with a .269/.369/.528 batting line at Triple-A. The 26 year-old third baseman will be getting his first taste of major-league action; he has spent eight years in the minor leagues after being signed as an international free agent by the Rangers in 2009.

Renfroe, a former top prospect, made his major-league debut last season. He burst onto the scene by clubbing four homers and two doubles in just 11 games, but struggled mightily with plate discipline this season (125 K’s against just 26 walks) before being demoted to Triple-A. After hitting over .500 over 61 PA in El Paso with almost as many walks as strikeouts, the Padres will hope he can sustain those skills with the MLB club.

Jankowski played 131 games with the Padres last season, but suffered a foot injury in April that has caused him to miss most of 2017. He’s known far more for his speed and defense in center field than he is for his bat. Both UZR and DRS have rated him well above average for in 148 career games in the majors, but he’s slugged just .305 across that time. Jankowski has been out since April with a foot injury.

Melville was claimed off waivers from the Twins back on August 26th. He’s spent time in the minors with five different organizations and has made three major league starts in his career, none of which lasted more than four innings. He does, however carry some pedigree. Though he fell to the fourth round in the 2008 draft, the Royals spent $1.25MM to sign him; well above slot. Melville has a big frame, standing at 6’5″ and weighing 210 pounds, so perhaps he can still reach the potential that Baseball Prospectus saw in him when he ranked #93 on their top prospects list back in 2012.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/28/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Cubs announced that left-hander Manny Parra has been signed to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to the team’s spring camp.  This is the second straight offseason that has seen Parra sign a minor league contract with the Cubs, though he didn’t pitch at all in 2016.  Originally a starter with the Brewers, the 34-year-old Parra posted a 3.91 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 2.9 K/BB rate over 115 relief innings for the Reds from 2013-15.
  • The Cubs signed right-hander Casey Kelly to a minor league deal, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (Twitter link).  Once considered one of the game’s better pitching prospects, Kelly has managed only a 6.39 ERA over 62 innings in the majors, though his career was interrupted by Tommy John surgery in 2013.  As Eddy notes, the signing reunites Kelly with Theo Epstein (who was the Red Sox GM when Kelly was drafted 30th overall by Boston in 2008) and Jed Hoyer (who was the Padres GM when Kelly was part of the trade package acquired for Adrian Gonzalez in December 2010).
  • Parra and Kelly were two of 24 non-roster invitees to the Cubs’ Spring Training camp, as announced yesterday by the club.  The list includes southpaw Gerardo Concepcion and righties Conor Mullee, Christian Villanueva and Zac Rosscup, who were all non-tendered by the Cubs in December to free up 40-man roster space.
  • The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Leonel Campos has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.  Campos was designated for assignment earlier this week when Toronto claimed Juan Graterol off waivers from the Angels.  Campos was himself claimed off waivers back in November following a season that saw him post a 5.73 ERA, 9.8 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9 over 22 relief innings for the Padres.  Control has been an issue for Campos throughout his entire pro career, as the righty also has a 5.0 BB/9 over 250 2/3 career minor league innings.
  • The Diamondbacks signed outfielder Jake Goebbert and catcher Willians Astudillo to minor league deals, Matt Eddy reports (Twitter link).  Goebbert has a solid .276/.363/.443 slash line over 3483 career minor league plate appearances, though he hasn’t been able to translate those results into much playing time in the bigs — his MLB resume consists of 115 PA with the Padres in 2014.  Goebbert spent 2016 with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate and struggled to the tune of a .661 OPS in 364 PA.  Astudillo, a 25-year-old catcher out of Venezuela, has hit .309/.348/.391 over 2026 minor league PA.  He spent his first six pro seasons in the Phillies system before moving to the Braves in 2016 and reaching the Double-A level for the first time.

Padres Re-Sign Brett Wallace, Sign Craig Stammen And Christian Villanueva

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The Padres have re-signed corner infielder Brett Wallace to what would appear to be a minor league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Wallace is a client of MVP Sports Group. The Padres also made a number of other signings, including righty Craig Stammen and corner infielder Christian Villanueva.

The 30-year-old Wallace collected 256 plate appearances with the Padres in 2016, batting a meager, .189/.309/.318. That showing plus Wallace’s below-average defense made him worth -0.8 fWAR last season. The Padres, perhaps unsurprisingly, outrighted Wallace last month rather than taking him through the arbitration process.

The 32-year-old Stammen spent parts of seven seasons on the Nationals’ staff (with a career 3.91 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9, with even better career numbers as a reliever) before struggling with injury issues in 2015. He signed a minor league deal with the Indians prior to the 2016 campaign but did not debut until late June and ended the season with Triple-A Columbus, finishing his season with a 3.62 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 across three minor league levels.

Villanueva, 25, was once a top prospect in the Cubs system, but they non-tendered him after he missed the entire 2016 campaign after breaking his leg in Spring Training. He batted .257/.314/.438 with 20 home runs in 536 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015.

2016-17 National League Non-Tenders

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The deadline to tender 2017 contracts to players is tonight at 8pm ET. We’ll keep track of the day’s non-tenders in the National League in this post (all referenced arbitration projections courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)…

  • Departing the Rockies’ 40-man are righty Matt Carasiti and infielder/outfielder Stephen Cardullo, the club announced. Neither was eligible for arbitration.
  • The Braves non-tendered righty Chris Withrow, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
  • The Pirates non-tendered lefty Jeff Locke, as had been increasingly expected, as Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Catcher Eric Fryer was also dropped; he was not eligible for arbitration.
  • The Cubs non-tendered four pre-arb players to clear 40-man space, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. Lefty Gerardo Concepcion and righties Zac Rosscup, Conor Mullee, and Christian Villanueva were all taken off the roster.
  • Righty Louis Coleman was not tendered a contract by the Dodgers, per a team announcement.
  • The Reds have non-tendered three players, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Catcher Ramon Cabrera, righty Keyvius Sampson, and outfielder Gabriel Guerrero were all dropped from the roster.
  • As expected, outfielder Ben Revere has been non-tendered by the Nationals. (The non-tender was first reported by the TalkNats blog on Twitter.) The club’s other eligible players — including shortstop Danny Espinosa — have been offered contracts. Revere projected to earn $6.3MM despite an abysmal 2016 campaign, his first in D.C. The 28-year-old still offers speed and defense, but will need to improve quite a bit upon his .217/.260/.300 slash. He has been a near-average bat in prior years, so there’s reason for some optimism, but at that rate it proved too costly.
  • The Cardinals have cut ties with righty Seth Maness rather than tendering him a contract, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch tweets. St. Louis has tendered all its remaining players with arb eligibility. While Maness, 28, has been a steady pen presence for the Cards, he underwent surgery on his UCL in mid-August. He did manage to avoid a full ligament replacement, and comes with another year of control, but evidently the price was too high for the Cards to roll the dice. Maness had projected to receive a $1.6MM salary and would have commanded at least that again in 2018.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/3/16

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves right here:

  • The Cubs announced that they’ve placed outfielder Matt Szczur on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring and selected the contract of outfielder Ryan Kalish to take his place on the active roster. In order to clear a spot for Kalish on the 40-man roster, the club has transferred infielder Christian Villanueva to the 60-day disabled list. Kalish, 28, was long a top-rated Red Sox prospect and is, as such, quite familiar to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer. Excellent production in the minors has earned Kalish his first taste of the Majors since 2014 (also with the Cubs). In 20 games (70 plate appearances) at the Triple-A level thus far, Kalish is batting a ridiculous .368/.471/.509 with four doubles, a pair of triples, three steals and more walks drawn (10) than strikeouts (nine).
  • The Mariners announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Steve Johnson from Triple-A Tacoma and placed right-hander Tony Zych on the 15-day DL with rotator cuff tendinitis. Johnson, 28, has a fair amount of big league experience — all coming with the Orioles between the 2012-15 seasons. In 59 1/3 innings at the big league level, he’s worked to a 4.25 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 5.5 BB/9. However, he’s posted a 20-to-2 K/BB ratio in 16 innings with Tacoma this season, so the Mariners will undoubtedly hope that they’ve helped iron out his longstanding control problems. Zych, meanwhile, had a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings this season and had punched out 19 batters against eight free passes (one intentional).

Earlier Moves

  • The Reds have purchased the contract of catcher Rafael Lopez from the Bridgeport Bluefish, the indy league club announced. He’ll head to Triple-A Louisville, providing another depth option for an organization that is filling in for injured MLB starter Devin Mesoraco. Lopez, 28, has only appeared briefly at the major league level. He spent last season at Triple-A in the Cubs and Angels systems, slashing .266/.339/.335 over 246 plate appearances.
  • Righty Matt Buschmann has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Diamondbacks, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports on Twitter. The 32-year-old was designated recently as Arizona continues to cycle through relief pitchers to keep its pen fresh. He surrendered only one earned run in his first 4 1/3  big league frames, but will for head back to Triple-A once again to wait for another shot. Buschmann had been working as a starter in the minors, as he has for much of his minor league career, but it remains to be seen what role he’ll take upon his return to Reno.

Central Notes: Cole, Perez, Brewers, Villanueva

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Pirates GM Neal Huntington tells Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the club “made a mistake” in determining ace Gerrit Cole’s 2016 salary upon their initial take. “Gerrit’s base salary a year ago plus his bonus took him above our scale,” Huntington explained. “We initially did not incorporate the bonus that he earned last year for making the All-Star team. We made that adjustment, took him above our scale. Gerrit agreed. Unhappy with that. We understand that, we can empathize with him. At the same time there is a system in place that is negotiated by the union and by Major League Baseball.” Over the weekend, Cole voiced some displeasure with his modest salary, although the scale and the system to which Huntington alluded aren’t uncommon. Many clubs use algorithms based on service time and performance to determine the salary of pre-arbitration players, and the Pirates are simply acting as they would with any of their pre-arbitration players by adhering to that scale. (ESPN’s Buster Olney opines that the team would be wise to make a small concession on Cole’s behalf, suggesting a fairly marginal increase to $750K as a means of good will to acknowledge Cole’s importance to the club.) For those interested in reading more on the topic, MLBTR’s Zach Links examined the means by which pre-arb salaries are determined a couple of years ago.

Here’s more from the game’s Central divisions…

  • There’s positive movement on the negotiation front between the Royals and catcher Salvador Perez, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. The sides have long been working toward a new deal for the backstop, who made good on his low-priced, early-career extension. It certainly will be interesting to see what kind of contractual arrangement is arrived at if something gets across the finish line.
  • The Brewers’ center field situation is as wide open as spring battles get, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel takes a look at where things stand. There are as many as nine plausible candidates to claim the Opening Day gig, with possible bench spots and minor league opportunities also at stake, so there’s plenty of intrigue to go around. Skipper Craig Counsell calls it a “roster puzzle” that needs to be solved, and Haudricourt provides plenty of preliminary clues in the interesting piece.
  • Cubs third base prospect Christian Villanueva suffered a broken right fibula during a Sunday workout and will miss several months recovering from the injury, reports MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. Villanueva, who was expected to have surgery today, according to Muskat, was injured upon landing after leaping for a ball in play, said manager Joe Maddon. “It’s just crazy,” said Maddon. “It’s really unfortunate. This kid came in, ready to go. … It’s a tough break, literally, for him — he’s such a good kid.” Villanueva ranked 26th on MLB.com’s list of Top 30 Cubs prospects, though he’s fallen off Baseball America’s version of that same list after multiple prior appearances.

Quick Hits: Pollock, Morales, Lester, Cubs

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The Diamondbacks announced today that outfielder A.J. Pollock underwent surgery to repair a right hand fracture and would not resume baseball activity for eight weeks. Pollock, 26, had been a rare bright spot on one of baseball’s most disappointing clubs, emerging with a .316/.366/.554 triple-slash with six home runs and eight stolen bases in 192 plate appearances. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Royals could enter the running to sign first baseman/DH Kendrys Morales to bolster a sagging offense, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. While no serious discussions have happened to date, the club is not ruling out the possibility, adds Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). According to Heyman, pursuit of Morales would require the Royals to move some salary off its books. Ticking through the team’s roster, the most obvious big-salary trade candidate (assuming, of course, that the team is looking to make a run) is DH Billy Butler, who earns $8.5MM this year and comes with a $12.5MM club option ($1MM buyout) for 2015. But his defensive limitations and serious struggles this year make it somewhat difficult to imagine that the team will be able to find a buyer willing to take on enough salary to make the switch-out plausible — especially since clubs looking at Butler would presumably also have interest in Morales. (Then, there’s the question whether Kansas City could both lock up Morales and dump Butler or another contract in early June.)
  • Meanwhile, the Yankees have made contact with Morales but are waiting to learn more on Mark Teixeira’s wrist re-aggravation before acting decisively, Heyman reports. Turning to analysis, Heyman writes that the Yankees have many reasons to pursue Morales strongly, whether or not they get good news on Teixeira in the coming days.
  • Informed of recent comments from Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino indicating that the club expects to re-engage him in extension talks, Jon Lester emphasized that he remains focused on the season at hand, reports Boston.com’s Maureen Mullen. “I think right now, obviously with us playing good baseball and us focused on what we need to do today, I think that’s where we need to stay,” he said. “The contract talks will come at the right time. … [T]hat time’ll come, whether it’s tomorrow, I don’t know. Whether it’s in the offseason, I don’t know. We’ll figure that out as we go.”
  • Carlos Villanueva of the Cubs says that he and fellow righty Jason Hammel hope to stay with the team but realize they could be traded, reports MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. “What’s happened here the last couple years, you can’t help but wonder if you’re going to be one of those guys, too,” he said. “When they sign here, they know. They know the direction this team is going.” Both pitchers, explained Villanueva, have played with multiple clubs and understand the business of the game. “In a perfect world, we could stay here and build around the young guys, and we could be part of the upswing of the team,” he said. “That could still happen — we’re still here, we’re going to make the most of it.”

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