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C.J. Cron

AL East Notes: Estrada, Judge, Rays, Pirates

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Marco Estrada threw a gem for the Blue Jays on Saturday, allowing one earned run and just one hit while walking two and striking out four over seven innings against the Mariners.  As Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi notes, “the outing is sure to renew [trade] interest in” Estrada’s services, as the right-hander spent most of July on the disabled list recovering from a glute strain and a minor blister issue.  It has been an inconsistent 2018 season for Estrada, though he was turning things around to the tune of a 2.35 ERA over five June starts before his injury problems cropped up.  Had Estrada stayed healthy, he almost surely would’ve joined J.A. Happ, Seunghwan Oh, and other veterans moved by the Jays as the team looks to rebuild for 2019 and beyond.  Toronto will continue to be a team to watch in the August trade market, given the presence of Estrada, Josh Donaldson, and others that could be enticing trade candidates if they can be worked through the waiver process.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • Yankees slugger Aaron Judge gave reporters (including ESPN.com’s Coley Harvey) an update on his recovery from a chip fracture in his wrist, saying that he is still feeling some pain, though “some of the range of motion is coming back,” and he has been able to make short-range throws of up to five feet.  Judge was originally estimated to miss roughly three weeks, and while that timeline hasn’t officially changed yet, he has yet to begin taking dry swings.  On the plus side, Judge is participating in conditioning and running drills so he’ll theoretically be able to make a quick return once his wrist is ready.
  • The Rays were one of baseball’s busiest teams during trade deadline season, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times provides a recap on all of the club’s dealings.  With salaries always a concern in Tampa, the Rays now have only a bit over $8MM committed to their 2019 payroll, all owed to Kevin Kiermaier via the outfielder’s multi-year contract.  Topkin calculates that between the minimum salary players, Kiermaier, and arbitration-eligibles Tommy Pham and Matt Duffy (but not C.J. Cron), the Rays may have approximately $25MM in payroll for 2019.  Even if the Rays won’t approach even their modest $70MM payroll from the start of this season, they’ll still have some room to spend on upgrades this winter.  In regards to Cron, Topkin thinks his home run total could push his arbitration number beyond the Rays’ comfort zone, so the first baseman could potentially be a trade candidate or maybe even a non-tender candidate despite his solid season.
  • Also from Topkin’s piece, the player to be named later acquired by the Rays from the Pirates in the Chris Archer trade still isn’t known, and the mystery prospect may not change organizations until the minor league season ends.  Indeed, Pirates GM Neal Huntington said today during his radio show (hat tip to MLB.com’s Adam Berry) that “nothing’s imminent” about the players to be named later involved in the Archer trade and also in the trade with the Rangers for Keone Kela.

Angels, Rays Complete C.J. Cron Trade

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The Angels have acquired infielder Luis Rengifo from the Rays, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He becomes the player named later in the deal that sent first baseman C.J. Cron to Tampa Bay about a month ago.

Rengifo, 21, joined the Mariners organization in 2014 as an international signee from Venezuela. He went to the Rays in a multi-player swap last August. Rengifo spent last year at the Class A level, where he posted a .250/.316/.397 batting line with a dozen home runs and 34 steals over 554 plate appearances.

Rays Acquire C.J. Cron, Designate Corey Dickerson

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The Rays have acquired first baseman C.J. Cron from the Angels for a player to be named later, both teams annonuced.  In a surprising corresponding move, Tampa also announced that outfielder Corey Dickerson has been designated for assignment to create roster space.

Cron had been noted as a potential trade candidate for much of the winter, especially after the Angels signed Shohei Ohtani and Zack Cozart.  Ohtani’s presence in the DH mix meant more planned first base time for Albert Pujols, and Cozart’s installation as the everyday third baseman left Luis Valbuena floating between third and first.  With Cron’s departure, the Halos can now use Pujols at DH and Valbuena at first base, with Pujols shifting to first a couple of times per week to give Ohtani a chance to hit.  Jefry Marte is also on hand as inexpensive corner infield depth.

“With the construction of our roster and the personnel we have in place for this upcoming season, we have to place a premium on flexibility and maneuverability within our position player group,” Angels GM Billy Eppler told reporters, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.  Cron is only a first baseman and was out of options, leaving him the odd man out on a three-man Angels bench (necessitated by the likelihood of the team carrying 13 pitchers).

Never quite a regular in the Angels lineup over his four MLB seasons, Cron has hit .262/.307/.449 with 59 homers over 1475 career plate appearances.  As per Fangraphs’ wRC+ metric, Cron has created seven percent more runs (107 wRC+) than the average hitter over that same stretch, despite a lack of on-base ability.  He is also something of a reverse-splits hitter from the right side of the plate, with a career .772 OPS against right-handers and only a .716 OPS against southpaws.

[Updated Angels and Rays depth charts at Roster Resource]

These splits make Cron a something less-than-ideal platoon partner with Brad Miller, the Rays’ incumbent first baseman, given the left-handed Miller’s struggles against same-sided pitching.  Cron could receive regular duty as either a first baseman or a designated hitter, though the Rays would have to be confident that Cron’s 2017 season (the worst of his career) was just an aberration due to foot injuries.  Cron did increase his hard-hit ball rate to a career-best 35.8% last season, though his main issue was simply making putting the bat on the ball at all, as evidenced lowered contact rates and a career-worst 25.7% strikeout rate.

Perhaps the bigger headline here is that the Rays are prepared to entirely cut ties with Dickerson, who made the AL All-Star team just last summer.  Dickerson hit .282/.325/.490 with 27 homers over 629 PA in 2017, though the large majority of that damage came in the first half of the season.  Dickerson posted a .903 OPS in 370 PA before the break, and only a .690 OPS in 259 PA after the break.  That dropoff notwithstanding, Dickerson was a 2.6 fWAR player last season, posted respectable defensive numbers in left field (+4.5 UZR/150, -1 Defensive Runs Saved), is still just 28 years old and is under team control for two more seasons.

As always with the Rays, financial elements played a key role.  It was widely expected that the Rays were going to cut payroll this winter, with Dickerson and the team’s other priciest arbitration-eligible players standing out as the likeliest candidates to be traded.  (Not to mention the Rays moving their biggest contract in Evan Longoria.)  Dickerson is slated to earn $5.95MM in 2018 after avoiding arbitration with the team, while Cron is set to earn $2.3MM in 2018 and has two more arb-eligible years before reaching free agency after the 2020 season.

Dickerson’s salary is not guaranteed since he is an arbitration-eligible player, so the Rays would only owe him 30 days’ worth of termination pay if he ends up being released after the 10-day DFA period.  A team that claims Dickerson or works out a trade with the Rays during the next 10 days would take on his full $5.95MM salary.  If the Rays were willing to go to this extent to unload Dickerson’s salary, it wouldn’t be a shock to see other players (perhaps Miller or Adeiny Hechevarria, not more valuable trade chips like Jake Odorizzi or Alex Colome) also let go before their arbitration salaries become guaranteed.

Under normal circumstances, you’d think Dickerson would draw a lot of interest from several teams, though his market could be somewhat muted given the large number of power bats still available on the free agent market.  One can assume the Rays have been shopping Dickerson for much of the winter and couldn’t find any takers, though it’s possible any interested teams could also swoop in now they could simply claim him without having to give up anything in return.  A team could also hope that nobody else acquires Dickerson over the 10 days in the hopes of signing him to a cheaper contract.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: American League

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The deadline for MLB teams to exchange salary arbitration figures with their arbitration-eligible players is today at 1pm ET. As such, there will be a veritable flood of arb agreements piling up in the next few hours — especially in light of a more universal approach to the “file and trial” method for teams. (That is to say, those teams will no longer negotiate one-year deals after arb figures are exchanged and will instead head to a hearing with those players, barring an agreemenr on a multi-year deal.)

Note that you can keep an eye on all of today’s deals using MLBTR’s 2018 Arbitration Tracker, which can be filtered to show only the results of the team you follow and is also sortable by service time and dollar value of the agreement. All projections that are referenced come from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s annual compilation of projected arbitration salarie

American League West

  • The Astros and Evan Gattis agreed to a $6.7MM deal for 2018, per FanRag’s Robert Murray (Twitter link). A free agent next season, Gattis lands within $100K of his $6.6MM projection. The club also has deals (for values unknown) with starters Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr., and Brad Peacock, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Rangers agreed to a $1.05MM deal with infielder Jurickson Profar, tweets Murray. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, meanwhile, tweets that lefty Jake Diekman landed a $2.7125MM deal and righty Keone Kela will earn $1.2MM. Profar had been projected at $1.1MM and is controllable another three seasons. Diekman, a free agent next winter, was projected at $2.8MM. And Kela, still controlled for three more years, matched his $1.2MM projection on the dot.
  • The Athletics and closer Blake Treinen agreed to a $2.15MM deal for next year, tweets Murray. The A’s can control Treinen for another three years. He was projected at $2.3MM. Shortstop Marcus Semien has settled for $3.125MM, Heyman tweets; his $3.2MM projection was nearly spot-on. Oakland has announced that it has avoided arbitration with Liam Hendriks and Josh Phegley as well, but their salaries have yet to be reported.
  • The Angels have a one-year, $7.3MM agreement in place with right-hander Garrett Richards, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Richards, a free agent next offseason, tops his $7MM projection by a margin of $300K. The Halos have also avoided arb with first baseman C.J. Cron ($2.3MM) and left-hander Tyler Skaggs ($1.875MM), tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Cron’s total falls a ways shy of his $2.8MM projection, while Skaggs comes in just $25K south of his $1.9MM projection. Both are controllable through the 2020 season. Lastly, Murray tweets that Matt Shoemaker agreed to a $4.125MM deal. He’s controlled through 2020 and projected at $4.4MM. Fletcher also tweets that the club has agreed with righty J.C. Ramirez ($1.9MM salary vs. $2.6MM projection) and lefty Jose Alvarez ($1.05MM salary vs. $1.1MM projection). Finally, righty Cam Bedrosian has agreed at $1.1MM, Flecher tweets, which represents a payday close to his projection of $1.2MM.
  • Left-hander James Paxton will earn $4.9MM with the Mariners in 2018, tweets Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Murray tweets that the Mariners and David Phelps agreed to a $5.55MM deal. Paxton, controlled through 2020, projected to earn $5.6MM, while Phelps was pegged at $5.8MM. He’s a free agent next winter. Righty Erasmo Ramirez took a $4.2MM deal, MLB.com’s Greg Johns reports. That’s half a million shy of what the model suggested. Fellow right-hander Nick Vincent also has an agreement, but the terms aren’t yet known.

American League Central

  • New lefty Luis Avilan has agreed to a $2.45MM deal with the White Sox, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports via Twitter. The recent trade acquisition came with a projected $2.3MM price tag. Fellow southpaw Carlos Rodon will receive $2.3MM, a bit of a bump over the $2MM he projected to receive. Also, utilityman Leury Garcia gets $1.175MM, which is just $25K short of his projected value.
  • The Royals and righty Nate Karns agreed to a $1.375MM deal for 2018, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports (on Twitter). That lands within $25K of his $1.4MM projection for the coming season. Kansas City controls Karns through 2020. Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (via Twitter) that Kelvin Herrera will earn $7.9375MM in 2018, landing a bit shy of his $8.3MM projection. Herrera is a free agent next winter.
  • The Indians have a $5MM agreement with righty Danny Salazar, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. He had projected to earn just $200K more, this falls right in line with expectations. Cleveland also agreed with Lonnie Chisenhall on a $5.5875MM deal, tweets Nightengale. The third baseman-turned-outfielder, who was projected to earn $5.8MM, will be a free agent following the 2018 season.
  • Trevor May has a $650K agreement with the Twins for the 2018 season, according to Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. May, who missed the entire season due to Tommy John surgery (and did some writing for MLBTR during his rehab process), had been projected at $600K. The Twins also agreed to a $1MM deal with infielder Ehire Adrianza, per La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. Meanwhile, righty Ryan Pressly has agreed to a $1.6MM deal, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Both deals are identical matches with their projections. Adrianza has three years of team control remaining, while Pressly has two. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that outfielder Robbie Grossman settled at $2MM, leaving him $400K shy of his projection. Grossman is controlled for another three seasons.
  • Tigers third baseman/outfielder Nick Castellanos will earn $6.05MM, per Heyman (via Twitter). He had projected at a much heftier $7.6MM in his second-to-last season of arb eligibility. MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports (Twitter links) that the Tigers and right-handed reliever Alex Wilson settled at $1.925MM, while fellow righty Shane Greene will earn $1.95MM. Wilson was projected to earn $2.1MM, while Greene was at $1.7MM. Wilson is controlled through 2019, while Greene is under control through 2020.

American League East

  • The Yankees have knocked out some of their biggest arb cases, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links). Shortstop Didi Gregorius receives $8.25MM and righty Sonny Gray checks in at $6.5MM. The former had projected to earn $9.0MM while the algorithm was just $100K high on the latter.Backstop Austin Romine will earn $1.1MM, Heyman also tweets, which is also $100K below the projection. Righty Adam Warren and the Yankees have a $3.315MM deal, per Murray (Twitter link). This is Warren’s final season of eligibility before hitting the open market next winter. He’d been projected at $3.1MM. Meanwhile, fellow right-hander Dellin Betances has agreed to a $5.1MM deal, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). That’s just $100K more than Betances had sought last year, when he took his case to a hearing that he ultimately lost. But it’s quite a bit more than the $4.4MM he projected to receive after a subpar season in which he played at a $3MM salary.
  • The Red Sox have agreed to pay $8.5MM to southpaw Drew Pomeranz, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). That’s short of the $9.1MM that had been projected after Pomeranz turned in a productive 2017 season. Boston and Jackie Bradley Jr. settled at $6.1MM, tweets Murray. That’s a bit north of the $5.9MM at which he’d been projected for the upcoming season. Bradley Jr., a Super Two player, has another three seasons of club control remaining. Nightengale tweets that righty Joe Kelly ($3.6MM projection) agreed to a $3.825MM deal. He’ll be a free agent next winter. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez ($2.375MM salary vs. $2.7MM projection) and righty Brandon Workman ($835K salary vs. $900K projection) are two other Sox hurlers that have agreed to terms, Speier reports (Twitter links). On the position player side, catcher Sandy Leon falls a bit under his projection $1.95MM (via Speier, on Twitter) while utilityman Brock Holt just beats expectations at $2.225MM (per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, on Twitter). The team also agreed with shortstop Xander Bogaerts for $7.05MM, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston tweets, which comes in a bit shy of his $7.6MM projection. Boston also announced agreement with backstop Christian Vazquez, who’ll earn $1.425MM, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne (via Twitter). That’s just under the projection of $1.5MM.
  • The Blue Jays and righty Aaron Sanchez agreed to a $2.7MM deal for 2018, according to Nightengale (Twitter link). That crushes his $1.9MM projection, which was likely suppressed due Sanchez’s lack of innings (just 36) in 2017. He’s under Jays control through 2020. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, meanwhile, tweets that second baseman Devon Travis will make $1.45MM next year, falling a bit shy of his $1.7MM forecast. Other Toronto players agreeing to terms include Kevin Pillar ($3.25MM vs. $4.0MM projection) and Dominic Leone ($1.085MM vs. $1.2MM projection), MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm tweets.
  • The Rays and closer Alex Colome settled at $5.3M, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (on Twitter). He’d been projected at $5.5MM and is controllable for three more years. They also settled at $5.95MM with outfielder/DH Corey Dickerson ($6.4MM projection) and $4.5MM with infielder Brad Miller ($4.4MM projection), per Murray (all Twitter links). Steven Souza, according to Murray will earn $3.55MM, placing him right in line with his $3.6MM projection. Dickerson and Miller are controlled through 2019. Souza is controlled through 2020.

Quick Hits: Greinke, Cron, Hughes, Allen, Miller

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“It’s possible this is the Diamondbacks’ last, best chance to get real value for [Zack] Greinke,” Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes in a piece detailing the team’s difficult position this winter.  With Greinke still owed $138.5MM through 2021 and taking up an inordinately large piece of Arizona’s payroll, the D’Backs are hard-pressed to to augment a roster that made a surprise run to the NLDS last year.  Dealing Greinke may be the better long-term move, though it would hurt the team’s chances of capitalizing on its sudden contender status.  Greinke had a down year in 2016 and just turned 34 in October, so it isn’t quite clear if his big 2017 season represented a return to form or perhaps a last hurrah before he begins to decline.  The Yankees, Rangers, and Phillies have all checked in on Greinke this winter, so there’s certainly interest if Greinke was made available, though GM Mike Hazen will have a tough needle to thread in finding an acceptable trade match in both salary coverage and MLB-ready talent coming back to Arizona.

Here’s more from around baseball…

  • C.J. Cron has been the subject of trade speculation, though if the Angels do try to deal the first baseman, MLB.com’s Maria Guardado doesn’t expect it to happen prior to Spring Training.  Los Angeles will want to see if Albert Pujols is a viable option to regularly play first base, as the plan is for Pujols to spend time in the field so Shohei Ohtani can get some DH at-bats.  Pujols’ history of foot problems, however, means that Cron (and Luis Valbuena) could be necessary depth pieces for the Halos.
  • While the Reds were looking for one-year deals for relievers, they were comfortable enough with Jared Hughes’ track record to sign the righty to a two-year deal, general manager Dick Williams tells Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Williams feels Hughes adds some needed veteran experience to a Reds bullpen that struggled badly in 2017, and the GM didn’t close the door on his team acquiring another veteran reliever before the winter is over.
  • The Indians will face a tall order in trying to extend Cody Allen or Andrew Miller before either reliever hits free agency next winter, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes as part of a reader mailbag.  Allen is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, while Miller is finishing up the four-year, $36MM deal he originally signed with the Yankees in December 2014.  Given the large contracts that relievers have been landing this offseason, a smaller-payroll team like Cleveland doesn’t seem like a candidate to re-sign either pitcher, nor to spend the big money it would take to get Allen or Miller to forego the open market and ink an extension.

Angels Option C.J. Cron To Triple-A

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The Angels announced on Monday that they’ve optioned first baseman/designated hitter C.J. Cron to Triple-A Salt Lake and recalled infielder Nolan Fontana in his place.

Entering the season, Cron was a popular trade candidate once the Angels signed Luis Valbuena, as it was reported that Valbuena would spend quite a bit of time at first base. The 27-year-old Cron, though, injured his left foot late in Spring Training and has hit poorly in 90 plate appearances since being activated: .232/.281/.305 with just one homer (a grand slam in yesterday’s game).

[Related: Updated Los Angeles Angels depth chart]

Slow start notwithstanding, Cron’s demotion comes as a mild surprise. He spent the entire 2016 season on the Angels’ Major League roster and hasn’t been optioned to the minors since early June of the 2015 campaign. And from the time of his recall from that most recent Triple-A stint through the end of the 2016 season, Cron slashed an impressive .281/.325/.481 with 31 long balls over the life of 735 Major League plate appearances. While that’s not quite elite production, it’s considerably better than the league average (121 wRC+).

From a service time vantage point, however, the move isn’t likely to impact Cron one way or another. He entered the year with two years, 110 days of Major League service time, meaning he needed just 62 days in the Majors to reach his third full year of service, thereby keeping him on track to reach free agency following the 2020 season. While he hasn’t quite reached the requisite 62 days, he needs just 12 more days of service time in order to do so. Even if Cron were to spend the bulk of the season in Triple-A, he’d still accrue those final 12 days as a September call-up, so the only real way this would delay his free agency would be if he were to incur a season-ending injury in the minors and finish out the year on the disabled list.

With Cron in the minors and Yunel Escobar on the disabled list, it seems likely that Valbuena will spend a considerable amount of time at third base, with Jefry Marte handling duties at first base. Albert Pujols could see a bit of action at first as well, though he’s played in the field just twice in 40 games this season, so the team doesn’t appear to view him as a regular option there.

Angels Place C.J. Cron On DL

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The Angels have placed first baseman C.J. Cron on the disabled list with a foot injury, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Lefty starter Tyler Skaggs also appears likely to head to the DL with oblique trouble. Both players left yesterday’s game against the Rangers — Cron fouled a ball off his foot, while Skaggs told the team he felt a “pinch” in his right side (as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register explains). The Angels have promoted righties Jose Valdez and Daniel Wright, evidently to take the place of Cron and Skaggs on their active roster.

Cron was off to a poor start to his season, batting just .233/.277/.267 while showing little of the power he demonstrated while hitting 16 home runs in each of the last two years. Luis Valbuena is currently several games into a rehab assignment after beginning his season on the DL with a hamstring strain, and he appears likely to take most of the playing time at first should Cron be out for a significant duration.

Skaggs, of course, has had his fair share of injuries, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014 and dealing with biceps tendinitis last season. Yesterday, though, he told reporters he was not worried about his current oblique issue. “I am not very concerned,” he said, via Fletcher. “We haven’t talked about an MRI or anything. We’ll take it day to day. … This is a small bump in the road.” Of course, the existence of the 10-day DL would allow the Angels to remove Skaggs from their active roster for only a brief period of time, meaning that it would not necessarily indicate a serious problem if the Angels were to place him there. Skaggs has posted a 3.99 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings so far this season.

Rays Rumors: Ramirez, First Base, Bullpen

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The Rays’ one-year deal with Colby Rasmus is expected to be announced either today or tomorrow, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times in his latest column. As he notes, the Rays will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. While there are some straightforward avenues to doing so — righties Ryan Garton and Eddie Gamboa are possible casualties, as is recently claimed outfielder Jason Coats — Topkin adds that trading right-hander Erasmo Ramirez also represents a potential means of clearing a 40-man spot for Rasmus.

The 26-year-old Ramirez has a 3.76 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 254 innings with Tampa Bay over the past two seasons and agreed to a $3.125MM salary to avoid arbitration earlier this winter. He’s controlled through 2019 via arbitration. Ramirez may not be a premium trade chip, but three years of control over someone that could either serve as a multi-inning reliever or a back-end option in the rotation certainly carries some value in a thin market for arms. The pitching-rich Rays have the depth to part with Ramirez, should an offer to their liking materialize.

The column is stuffed with rumors and informed speculation regarding the Rays’ roster and is well worth a full look, but here are a couple of other highlights…

  • With Brad Miller likely to move to second base, the Rays are poised to pounce on an over-saturated market for first basemen. A right-handed hitter is most likely, and Topkin again connects the Rays to slugger Chris Carter. Mike Napoli will still probably receive a more lucrative contract than the Rays care to offer, he notes. Topkin also lists one intriguing trade option: Angels slugger C.J. Cron. The 27-year-old Cron looks like he’ll lose some playing time with the Halos to the newly signed Luis Valbuena, and Cron would give the Rays an affordable option that’s controlled through 2020. Notably, Topkin adds that the Rays have likely checked in on virtually every available option, and he doesn’t portray a Cron trade as a strong possibility but rather as one of many options.
  • The Rays are “likely” to add a veteran reliever as well, per Topkin. He goes on to note that out-bidding others on a top remaining option seems unlikely but second-tier names like Fernando Salas, Joe Smith, Tom Wilhelmsen and former Ray J.P. Howell make sense in St. Petersburg.
  • As it stands, the Rays currently project to have Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger, Danny Farquhar, Shawn Tolleson and Ramirez in their ’pen as right-handers alongside lefties Xavier Cedeno and Enny Romero. Rule 5 pick Kevin Gadea, too, is in the mix for a spot in the relief corps depending on his spring performance. From my vantage point, the Rays seem fairly well-stocked in terms of right-handed relief (barring a trade of Ramirez), but an upgrade over Romero as the team’s second lefty would be beneficial. Romero struggled to a 5.91 ERA while displaying significant control issues and a susceptibility to home runs last season. The only lefty reliever on the 40-man roster outside of Cedeno and Romero is 21-year-old Jose Alvarado, who hasn’t pitched above Class-A Advanced. Dana Eveland and Justin Marks will both be in camp as non-roster invitees.

Valbuena Likely To Get Significant Playing Time At First Base With Angels

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Newly signed infielder Luis Valbuena, whose two-year deal with the Angels was officially announced yesterday, is likely to spend a good chunk of time playing first base in 2017, general manager Billy Eppler told reporters on a conference call yesterday (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times). As Fletcher points out, that indicates that C.J. Cron, previously the presumptive starter at first base, will have to fight for playing time in the upcoming season.

“I like the power and the selectivity…” Eppler said of Valbuena, who has posted a .199 isolated power mark (slugging percentage minus batting average) and an 11.5 percent walk rate over the past three seasons. “…He knows he’ll be in the lineup very regularly and the entire time against a right-handed pitcher.”

Eppler’s comments do suggest that there’s the possibility of a platoon between Valbuena and Cron. Valbuena is just a .206/.299/.335 hitter against left-handers in that previously mentioned 2014-16 stretch, but he’s posted a much more robust .253/.344/.473 batting line against right-handers in that same time. Cron, however, isn’t the most natural fit as a platoon partner. While his .252/.289/.409 career batting line against left-handed pitching is better than Valbuena’s output against southpaws, Cron has typically fared better against right-handers since debuting in 2014. (He did carry more traditional platoon splits in the minors, so perhaps there’s some yet-untapped potential against lefties in Cron’s bat.)

Naturally, though, Eppler’s comments will lead to speculation about the possibility of Cron eventually becoming a trade candidate. Eppler said playing time will sort itself out “organically,” (via Fletcher) and Shaikin notes that the GM said he’ll wait until getting through Spring Training before determining whether to trade from his potential first base surplus. The Halos, after all, don’t know exactly what to expect from Albert Pujols, who underwent foot surgery in early December in an effort to alleviate plantar fasciitis.

Recovery time for Pujols was listed at four months in the press release announcing that operation, suggesting that there’s a chance Pujols won’t be ready to begin the season. Eppler cautioned that there’s been no change in Pujols’ recovery that led to the Valbuena addition; rather, Shaikin writes that Eppler said he’s been in contact with Valbuena’s camp since November. However, if Pujols does incur any type of notable setback, the Angels could comfortably rely upon Valbuena, Cron and Jefry Marte to cover the at-bats between first base and designated hitter.

Now is hardly the best time to be marketing Cron (or any player that is limited to first base/DH) anyhow, as the free-agent market still offers plenty of options in that regard. Cron, though, could conceivably present an intriguing option for a team like the Rays (who are rumored to be looking at first basemen such as Chris Carter and Mike Napoli), as he has not yet reached arbitration and be controlled for another four seasons before reaching free agency.

Though he’s not an elite slugger, Cron did take a step forward in 2016, hitting .278/.325/.467 (all career-highs) with 16 home runs in 445 plate appearances. Adjusting for his pitcher-friendly home park, stats like wRC+ (115) and OPS+ (117) pegged him at 15 to 17 percent better than a league-average hitter.

With enough playing time, Cron seemingly has the ability to hit 20 to 25 home runs in a season while providing strong all-around value at the plate. The Angels, though, were set to enter the season with an extremely right-handed lineup, with Kole Calhoun as the only pure lefty penciled into the lineup. Second baseman Danny Espinosa is a switch-hitter but is far better from the right side of the plate, and fourth outfielder Ben Revere would bring a left-handed option to the table as well. Valbuena balances out the lineup and could replace Yunel Escobar at third base in 2018 when he’s a free agent if Cron is retained all season. (Alternatively, the Halos could look to move Escobar at some point and install Valbuena at the hot corner, where he’s spent most of his MLB career, though that’s speculation on my behalf.)

AL Notes: Angels, Indians, Bautista, Astros

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Angels first baseman C.J. Cron has come up as a possible trade candidate in the wake of the team’s agreement with free agent Luis Valbuena on Thursday, but the Halos’ decision to add another corner infielder has more to do with Albert Pujols’ uncertain status, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Pujols could miss the beginning of next season as a result of December foot surgery. In the meantime, the Angels will play the lefty-swinging Valbuena against right-handed pitching and deploy him at Pujols’ positions – designated hitter and first base – as well as third base, writes Rosenthal. When Pujols returns, the club could take advantage of the fact that Cron and Jefrey Marte have minor league options remaining and send either to Triple-A Salt Lake City, Rosenthal notes. Looking ahead a year, third baseman Yunel Escobar could depart in free agency next winter. That would enable Valbuena to take over at the hot corner on a full-time basis in 2018.

More from the American League:

  • Right fielder Jose Bautista, who brought an end to a drawn-out saga when he re-signed with the Blue Jays earlier this week, didn’t seriously consider joining the Indians, reports Terry Pluto of cleveland.com. The Indians inquired about Bautista, but it doesn’t seem as if either side was gung-ho about a union. After all, manager Terry Francona declared that the Tribe’s pursuit of Bautista in free agency – which may have included a bid – was overstated.
  • While the Astros committed a guaranteed $14MM to Charlie Morton earlier this offseason, the right-hander isn’t a lock to win a spot in their rotation, general manager Jeff Luhnow suggested to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (Twitter link). Luhnow does expect Morton to end up in the Astros’ starting five, but he’s only “softly” part of the rotation for now. The Astros have been pushing to add a front-line starter all winter, and picking one up could relegate Morton to a bullpen role. As of now, in addition to established starters Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers, Collin McHugh, Mike Fiers and Morton, the team has intriguing young options – including Joe Musgrove and Francis Martes  – knocking on the door.
  • Once regarded as key building blocks for the Astros, first baseman A.J. Reed and third baseman Colin Moran are long shots to crack the big league roster this year after rough seasons, writes Jake Kaplan of Baseball America (subscription required/recommended). Reed, whom BA ranked as baseball’s 11th-best prospect a year ago, got his first taste of major league action in 2016 and batted a weak .164/.270/.262 with a 34 percent strikeout rate in 141 plate appearances. The soon-to-be 24-year-old did rake at Triple-A Fresno (.291/.368/.556 in 296 PAs), though he’s now behind $47.5MM man Yulieski Gurriel and Marwin Gonzalez on the Astros’ first base depth chart. With Carlos Beltran and Evan Gattis also on hand, Reed  stands even less of a chance to garner at-bats as a DH. Moran, the sixth overall pick in the 2013 draft, didn’t help his cause in Fresno – .259/.329/.368 in 511 trips to the plate – and the emergence of Alex Bregman in Houston only added to his problems. Bregman looks like the Astros’ long-term solution at third, putting the 24-year-old Moran’s future in question.

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