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NL Central Notes: McCutchen, Brewers, Greene, Reds

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Andrew McCutchen’s NL Player Of The Month-winning performance in June ended over a year of frustration at the plate for the longtime Pirates star, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes.  The hot streak also reinvigorated trade speculation about McCutchen’s future, and he reiterated to Crasnick that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh.  Bucs GM Neal Huntington stated that the team isn’t shopping McCutchen but, thanks to the Pirates’ struggles in the standings and their payroll limitations, all options must be kept open:

“We anticipate Andrew continuing to be a Pirate until something changes — whether it’s through free agency or someone coming in [with an offer] that we believe can help this organization over the big picture,” Huntington said.  “That’s the hard reality. We’ll listen on anybody. We have to. It doesn’t mean we’re looking to move him or actively engage. There’s active and passive engagement, and we’ll always be open for passive engagement if somebody wants to come to us.”

Here’s more from around the NL Central…

  • Brewers GM David Stearns spoke to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters about his team’s deadline plans, largely reiterating his statement from May about the Brewers’ improved play not throwing off their overall long-term rebuilding strategy.  While the club will “certainly explore every avenue” to improve the roster,  Stearns implied that the Brew Crew will pursue controllable players over rentals st the trade deadline.  “I never want to say never, but if there’s going to be an acquisition cost, it needs to be an acquisition that’s going to be here for more than one year.  Players that have multiple years of control are naturally better fits,” Stearns said.
  • Pitchers like Jose Quintana and Sonny Gray would fit as upgrades on multi-year contracts, though Stearns downplayed reports of the Brewers’ interest in the two hurlers.  “I think this time of year, we along with all 29 other teams, do background work on a number of different players.  That’s natural.  It’s league-wide and across the board,” Stearns said.
  • Talks between the Reds and second overall draft pick Hunter Greene came right down to the wire yesterday, as president of baseball ops Dick Williams tells Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer and other reporters.  Both sides expressed worry that a deal couldn’t be reached before Friday’s 5pm deadline, and it was apparently a matter of seconds before a final agreement was reached, Williams said.  There was pressure in both camps, as Greene faced either a year in limbo or three years away from re-entering the draft if he chose to attend UCLA, while the Reds didn’t want to face the stiff penalties that would’ve been imposed on them for exceeding their draft bonus pool.  In the end, Greene signed for a record-setting $7.23MM bonus.

Central Notes: Thames, Turner, Tigers

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After three years in Korea, Eric Thames is back in the big leagues with the Brewers on a three-year, $16MM deal the team hopes will make him a better deal than former first baseman Chris Carter, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. Carter, of course, hit 41 home runs last season but struck out 206 times and contributed little defensively, making him a potentially poor value if the Brewers had taken him to arbitration. Thames hit 124 home runs in 1,634 plate appearances in his three seasons overseas. “We expect a productive Major League player,” says Brewers GM David Stearns. “That can take shape in a variety of ways. With a signing like this, there’s a fairly wide variance of potential outcomes, and we think there’s a lot of upside there.” Stearns notes that one difference between the Majors and the KBO is that big-league pitchers are likely to throw Thames more fastballs than KBO pitchers did. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

  • Catcher Stuart Turner faces an uphill battle as he attempts to make the Reds’ roster, writes MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.  Stuart, who the Reds selected from the Twins in the last Rule 5 Draft, at least has the advantage of already being on the Reds’ 40-man roster, as Sheldon points out. But with two big-league catchers in front of him in Devin Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart, Stuart will have to make the team as a third catcher (unless, of course, someone gets hurt, a possibility that’s perhaps worth keeping in mind given Mesoraco’s injury history). Turner also spent the last two seasons in Double-A, so the big leagues would be a big jump for him. “We get a six-to-seven week look at him to see if he’s ready to handle what would be a year of big league service time,” says Reds manager Bryan Price. “He’d have to play. I just don’t think we’re in a place to carry a player just to keep him.”
  • The possibility of rebuilding, or something like it, lingers in the minds of some veteran Tigers players, MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery writes. When the offseason began, the possibility that the team would trade veterans was seemingly on the table. The team kept its core of older players, but those older stars are now aware that they or their teammates could be headed elsewhere if the team doesn’t succeed. “We’ve got a chance to play one more year together,” says Miguel Cabrera. “We know we didn’t go to the playoffs the last two years, but I think if we stay together, if we stay healthy, we’ve got a chance to compete every day.” Cabrera, of course, is under contract through at least 2023. But J.D. Martinez and Francisco Rodriguez will be free agents after the season, Justin Upton can out of his deal next winter as well, Ian Kinsler only has one more year and an option left on his contract, and Victor Martinez is only signed through 2018.

NL Notes: CarGo, Phillies, Stearns, Brewers, Ross

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The Rockies still want to extend Carlos Gonzalez’s contract, GM Jeff Bridich tells ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden.  The two sides “are still far apart on a deal but they’re working on it,” Bowden writes, and Gonzalez is also believed to have interest in staying in Colorado.  This isn’t the first time we’ve heard rumblings about an extension between Gonzalez and the Rockies this winter, though as of last month, the club hadn’t yet extended a formal offer.  Here’s more from around the National League…

  • In an interview with Bowden and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link), Phillies president Andy MacPhail said his team’s next move is to try and add a left-handed hitter.  The Phils are known to be looking for another bat, with such lefty swingers as Brandon Moss, Michael Saunders and Jay Bruce mentioned as potential candidates.
  • The Brewers are still looking for relief pitching, GM David Stearns tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, exploring trade opportunities and both major league or minor league signings.  When asked if Milwaukee was favoring trades over signings (or vice versa), Stearns said “I don’t know that we have a firm preference. We have to explore all avenues.”  Stearns also noted that the Brewers are “active on a number of fronts” in regards to adding position players, though he also felt generally comfortable with the team’s pre-existing mix of everyday players and relievers.
  • Recent reports have cited the Nationals as one of the teams in pursuit of Tyson Ross, and they may have a recruiter on hand in Joe Ross, Tyson’s younger brother.  “I’ve been trying to get him over here,” Joe tells Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post, joking that Tyson “can come here as long as he doesn’t take my job.”  As Castillo notes, the younger Ross doesn’t appear to be in any danger of losing his rotation job following two solid seasons in the bigs, and Ross said he is feeling healthy after missing time last year due to shoulder soreness.

NL Central Notes: Cubs, Montero, Mozeliak, Stearns

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The Cubs’ celebration of their World Series win took them to the Saturday Night Live stage, as Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler and David Ross made two cameo appearances on last night’s show.  The players first appeared in a sketch as (of all things) dancers at a bachelorette party, and the trio returned later in the show to sing “Go Cubs Go” alongside SNL legend and Cubs superfan Bill Murray.  Since Fowler officially elected to become a free agent last evening (slightly before SNL went on the air), this may mark the last time we see the outfielder in a Cubs uniform.  Here’s the latest from Wrigleyville and elsewhere around the NL Central…

  • In a recent interview on ESPN 1000’s Waddle and Silvy Show (hat tip to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune), Miguel Montero admitted that he frustrated by his diminished playing time during the season and wished he had received more input from Joe Maddon about his role on the team.  Montero appeared in 86 games and hit .216/.327/.357 over 284 plate appearances, with Ross and Willson Contreras getting an increasingly large share of the catching workload throughout the year and in the postseason.  Though Montero is owed $14MM next season, he’ll likely still be limited to backup duties behind Contreras and possibly Kyle Schwarber if the Cubs still consider the slugger an option behind the plate.  As Gonzalez notes, Montero’s large salary will make him a tough sell on the trade market unless the Cubs are willing to eat some of the money.
  • Exercising Jaime Garcia’s club option gives the Cardinals rotation depth and some possible breathing room to make a trade, GM John Mozeliak tells Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  “As we look to the trade market as we get to the GM meetings, we want to be able to not have our hands tied.  For example, if we had not picked up the option, and all of a sudden we feel there’s a trade that might make sense for us that’s going to have to include a starter, then we’re left with having to backfill,” Mozeliak said.  “Given what Jaime was able to accomplish last year, clearly it didn’t end the way he would’ve liked it to, but he still ate a lot of valuable innings for us.  When I think about what’s out there on the free-agent market, I still think it’s an asset to have….And what if we have to move someone else? It would be nice to still have the depth in our rotation.”  Hochman figures the Cards will be more active on the trade market than in free agency this winter, and he thinks the team will look at upgrading the defense in the wake of club-wide defensive metrics ranging from middling to below-average.
  • Brewers GM David Stearns doesn’t expect as busy an offseason as last winter’s roster overhaul, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  “I think the amount of transactional volume that we had over the past 12 months was probably unprecedented.  It would be tough for me to imagine that we would see a similar-type volume,” Stearns said.  The GM also spoke of the importance of keeping a flexible 40-man roster, so the club has the opportunity to make additions if they unexpectedly arise.

Stearns, Counsell Break Down Brewers Heading Into 2017

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As was the case for many other teams who won’t be enjoying a postseason berth, Brewers GM David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell spoke with the media to break down the 2016 season and look ahead to the winter. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweeted the pertinent comments.

Despite a dismal record (73-89), Milwaukee had many bright spots this year. That means the coming offseason likely won’t see quite as much turnover as occurred last winter, Stearns suggests and McCalvy tweets. There also won’t be any turnover in the coaching staff, with Counsell and all his field staff set to return, per another McCalvy tweet. An extension for Counsell, whose contract runs through next season, is also a possibility, writes Mike Bauman of MLB.com.

“Craig has gotten the most out of this team, and I feel very good about that,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said of Counsell, who took the helm in May 2015 after the firing of Ron Roenicke.

In addition to the coaching staff, Chris Carter will likely be back, the Brewers’ GM suggested (via a Haudricourt tweet). His 41 home runs make him a rather easy choice to return as the team’s primary first baseman, though they’ll also drive a big increase in his arbitration earnings. Carter earned a $2.5MM base salary, with $500K in incentives also triggered, after joining the Brewers via free agency. He is controllable in 2018 as well.

Infielder Jonathan Villar’s position is unsettled, says Counsell, but he’ll certainly have a place after an immensely promising campaign (Twitter links via Haudricourt). The 25-year-old put up a .285/.369/.457 slash and contributed 19 home runs with 62 stolen bases. He led the majors in that last mark, though he also led the league in being caught 18 times on the bases. Counsell explains that the team pushed players’ limits on the bases this year, as McCalvy tweets, calling it a “necessary” step in driving the organization forward.

Fellow 25-year-old Hernan Perez wasn’t nearly as productive overall, but he provides value through his versatility, Counsell adds. He swiped 34 bags of his own while batting .272/.302/.428 over 430 plate appearances on the year. With solid glovework, Perez was worth an even two wins above replacement by measure of Baseball-Reference.com, and won’t even be arb-eligible until 2018.

There are, of course, some places to improve as Milwaukee builds back toward contention. As I advocated in assessing the team’s three chief needs, dealing star outfielder Ryan Braun at a peak in his value may well be a way to drive the rebuild forward. Stearns was understandably noncommittal on the point. “We’ll see what happens,” he said with regard to Braun (via Haudricourt, on Twitter).

Brewers Notes: Stearns, Rebuild, Counsell, Braun

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Here’s the latest out of Milwaukee…

  • Khris Davis and Jean Segura could have been building blocks for the Brewers rather than enjoying big seasons for the A’s and Diamondbacks, though GM David Stearns tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he doesn’t regret dealing the two players last winter to pick up younger talent.  “There are going to be times when you trade a player and he has a good year, and that’s OK,” Stearns said.  “These are challenging decisions but we make them with a great deal of confidence.  If we continue to follow this approach, we believe we’re going to amass the critical amount of talent at the major-league level that’s going to allow us to compete consistently.”  Both Stearns and owner Mark Attanasio said are committed to continuing the team’s rebuilding plan, and are pleased with the Brewers’ progress in 2016.
  • Attanasio hinted that manager Craig Counsell will receive a contract extension this winter.  Counsell’s original three-year deal expires at the end of the 2017 season.  Counsell has a 131-162 record as Milwaukee’s skipper, though wins and losses on a rebuilding team aren’t necessarily as important as how Counsell has handled several challenges in his first full season as manager — keeping the Brewers prepared and competitive amidst a losing season, preparing younger players getting their first shot in the bigs and handling the trade rumors swirling around Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Braun.  As it is somewhat unusual for a new GM to step into a job with a manager he didn’t originally hire, Attanasio said he has been impressed at how Counsell and Stearns have worked together.
  • Today was the Brewers’ last home game of the season, and it could potentially also be Braun’s last time wearing a Milwaukee uniform at Miller Park.  The slugger told reporters (including Haudricourt, via Twitter) that he didn’t think there was “a great chance” he would be traded this offseason, though there is a “higher chance” at a deal this winter than there has been in past years.  “On a day like today, it’s impossible not to think about it [a trade] at least a little bit. You try to stay focused,” Braun said.  Several teams were rumored to be interested in Braun around the trade deadline, and the Brewers and Dodgers seemingly came rather close on a potential deal that would’ve sent Braun to Los Angeles for a trade package including Yasiel Puig.  Braun will have quite a bit of control over his future, as his contract allows him to block trades to 23 teams every season.  The Dodgers were one of three teams (along with the Angels and Marlins) who weren’t included on his no-trade list in each of the last two years.

NL Central Notes: Schwarber, Brewers, Liriano

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Injured Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber probably isn’t going anywhere this summer, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein gave strong signals that he’s got little interest in seeing Schwarber return from his knee injury in another uniform. While there’s always plenty of posturing this time of year, Epstein certainly made clear that there’s a higher-than-usual barrier to a trade involving the catcher/outfielder.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • The Brewers are winding up for what looks to be an important trade deadline, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. Milwaukee has several notable names that rate amongst the top twenty trade candidates this summer, but few represent straightforward decisions. GM David Stearns says that “the calls have picked up over the last week to ten days,” though it’s “still largely informational.” Right now, the club is getting a feel for the teams it is looking to target in reaching agreements over the coming month. “You try to get a sense of what other clubs are doing, where you might have fits, so you can begin to do additional target work on certain target organizations,” says Stearns. “At this point, we feel well-prepared in terms of organizations we’re likely to have serious discussions with.”
  • Selling was never in the plans for the Pirates, but the club increasingly looks to be in a tough spot — in no small part due to the struggles of lefty Francisco Liriano, who owns a 5.33 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 on the year. Manager Clint Hurdle tells John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times that Liriano is still failing to command the ball with consistency. “Sometimes, it’s hard to pitch when you aren’t feeling the way you’ve felt when you’ve had success,” Hurdle said. “We’re going to continue to peel back the layers and try to push through this. We’ll continue to look at video. We’ll see if we can find some answers.” We have heard at least some suggestion that there’d be interest around the league in the talented lefty, who had turned in three-straight stellar campaigns heading into 2016. But he’s owed $13MM both this year and next, and surely any acquiring team would be looking for a buy-low opportunity.

Central Notes: Stearns, Braun, Pirates, Burnett, Shaw

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Here are some news items from both the NL and AL Central…

  • In an interview with Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link), Brewers GM David Stearns discussed that his team’s plan “at this stage [is to] acquire and develop the best young talent we possibly can,” and thus if teams come calling about Milwaukee’s young players, Stearns would want an “exceptionally high” return.  Stearns, however, didn’t exactly say that this makes a veteran player like Jonathan Lucroy or Ryan Braun more likely to dealt.  In fact, he noted that the possibility of trading Braun hasn’t been something that he’s had to seriously consider in his brief time as Milwaukee’s GM, and “there is no motivation for us to move…an elite-level player.”  That said, Stearns did say he’d already talked to both Braun and Lucroy about the trade rumors circling around both men and said he’d keep them appraised of any developments should they arise.  Stearns expects “active discussions” leading up to the trade deadline he said the Brewers “are in a situation where we need to be open-minded and we need to be open to any possibility.”
  • If the Cubs keep running away with the NL Central, ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required) feels the Pirates may focus on deadline acquisitions that can help them in 2017, as reaching the coin flip that is the Wild Card game isn’t worth giving up substantial talent for a short-term rental.
  • While the Pirates may have a need at catcher, both Clint Hurdle and Neal Huntington felt John Jaso’s past concussion history ruled him out of consideration for work behind the plate, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets.  Chris Stewart and the newly-acquired Erik Kratz look to handle the catching duties while Francisco Cervelli is on the disabled list.
  • It doesn’t appear that Sean Burnett will exercise his June 15 opt-out clause even he isn’t on the Twins’ Major League roster, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via Twitter).  Burnett signed a minor league contract with Minnesota in May, his fourth minors deal with as many clubs since November following prior agreements with the Braves, Dodgers and Nationals.  The veteran southpaw has a 2.66 ERA over 20 1/3 relief innings at Triple-A this season as he looks to return to the bigs for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2014.
  • Bryan Shaw had another tough outing on Saturday, leading Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer to wonder if the Indians need to look for a more reliable setup man at the deadline.  Shaw’s season has been a roller-coaster, going from a terrible April to lights-out in May and thus far shaky in June, all adding up to a 5.18 ERA, 9.25 K/9 and 3.33 BB/9 over 24 1/3 innings.  Shaw’s main problem has been the long ball, as his whopping 2.2 HR/9 is more than triple his career average prior to this season.

NL Notes: Stewart, Stearns, Perez, Cubs

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Here’s the latest from a few National League general managers as they prepare for the upcoming GM Meetings…

  • Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart would prefer to address his team’s pitching needs via free agency rather than dealing from his position player depth, he tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  “I’m kind of in the mode of if I can hold on to my depth, then I’d like to hold on to it,” Stewart said.  “I want to see if we can accomplish what we want to accomplish by dealing with these free agents. That’s probably my first choice. That’s probably the way I would want to do it.”  Stewart said he’s already contacted with agents for several pitchers the D’Backs are interested in, and hopes to have more such discussions during the GM Meetings.
  • The Diamondbacks’ first round draft pick (13th overall) isn’t protected but Stewart sounded open to giving up the pick to sign a qualifying offer free agent if “whoever we get is impactful enough that we would want to do that.”
  • While the D’Backs are aiming at free agents first, Brewers GM David Stearns said his team is (not surprisingly) planning to focus more on drafting and trades in this stage of the team-building process, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  “That doesn’t mean we’ll never be a player in free agency. It means we’ll have to be very selective and opportunistic about the times that we do invest in the free-agent market,” Stearns said.
  • The Brewers made several roster cuts over the last week, which Stearns said was a way to “create roster flexibility” for future acquisitions and free some 40-man space to protect minor leaguers from the Rule 5 draft next month.  Hernan Perez elected free agency after being outrighted, and Stearns said the Crew will try to re-sign the infielder.
  • Cubs GM Jed Hoyer believes teams could make some trades made during or just after the GM Meetings since the offseason is already heating up, he tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  “There’s probably going to be a little more urgency for teams. Given the fact there’s already been a trade, I think people realize that things could happen quickly. I think people are going to be ready to move quickly,” Hoyer said, referring to the six-player deal already swung between the Rays and Mariners on Thursday.  This doesn’t necessarily mean the Cubs themselves will be busy, though Hoyer has already had at least “exploratory” talks with all 29 other teams.
  • Hoyer expects to be asked about the Cubs’ position player depth in possible trades for pitching.  While the Cubs like their everyday and bench roster, “you can never say never,” the GM said.  “If something makes sense where we would trade out some surplus on the position-playing side for some pitching depth, that’s something we have to explore.”

Reactions To Brewers’ Hiring Of David Stearns

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The Brewers wrapped up a fairly closely-held GM hiring process yesterday, officially announcing that the team would name David Stearns as its new general manager. Stearns is just thirty years old, but had most recently served as the top assistant to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and has a range of other experiences in the game.

Here are some reactions to the move:

  • Stearns will formally move into the position on October 5th, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. The GM-to-be said in his introduction that every team has the same basic “need to acquire, develop and keep controllable young talent — quality Major League talent.” Doing that, he said, involves “develop[ing] a process and a system that allows you to consistently generate that pipeline, even as you are competitive at the Major League level. There are a couple of teams that appear to be able to do that, and that’s certainly our goal here in Milwaukee.”
  • Joining the podcast of ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (starting at about 24:30), Stearns talked about some of the lessons he’s picked up along his journey through baseball thus far. He cited the organizational continuity of the Indians and the decisionmaking process of Luhnow’s Astros as two major takeaways.
  • Brewers’ pro scouting director Zack Minasian will be staying in his role, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but Stearns will assess and address the situations of other personnel after taking the helm.
  • The move drew rave reviews in the Brewers clubhouse, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets. The players he spoke with said they didn’t have any concern with Stearns’ young age.
  • Stearns covered broad ground as Houston’s sole assistant GM, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle explains. Many clubs employ multiple people at the AGM level, but the Astros relied on Stearns alone at that position. Drellich goes on to discuss several of the internal candidates to step into the void.
  • Luhnow spoke with the media about the loss of an important piece of the organization, as Drellich further reports. Houston’s chief baseball decisionmaker said that he’ll wait for the offseason to search for a replacement, looking inside and outside the organization while considering the possibility of utilizing multiple executives in an assistant GM capacity.
  • Writing for Baseball Prospectus, Jack Moore puts the Stearns hiring in the broader context of executive trends in Major League Baseball.

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