Tigers To Use Anibal Sanchez In Relief; Shopping Mike Pelfrey
The Tigers appear to be waving the white flag with a pair of longtime starters set to rake in sizable paydays this year. Right-hander Anibal Sanchez will open the season as a long reliever, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Meanwhile, the team is shopping fellow righty Mike Pelfrey, and it’s willing to eat his $8MM salary, tweets Fenech.
Sanchez is entering what should be the last year of his contract, though the Tigers will still have to pay a $5MM buyout for 2018 if they don’t exercise his $16MM club option. In 2017, the 33-year-old will collect $16MM as part of the five-year, $80MM deal the Tigers awarded him in 2012. Sanchez had established himself as a terrific starter at that time, as he combined for a 3.75 ERA, 7.59 K/9, 3.31 BB/9 and a 44.5 percent ground-ball rate over 869 innings with the Marlins and Tigers. While his quality pitching continued through 2014, he has since posted a 5.42 ERA in 310 1/3 frames. A bloated home run-to-fly ball rate and drops in grounders, velocity and swinging strikes are among the prime culprits for Sanchez’s recent decline. To his credit, he did generate infield pop-ups at a 14.2 percent rate the past two years and log decent strikeout and walk rates of 7.92 and 2.96 per nine.
The bullpen isn’t totally foreign to Sanchez, who totaled nine of his 11 career relief appearances last season. Left-hander Matt Boyd, whom the Tigers acquired from the Blue Jays in 2015 as part of a deal centering on David Price, will take over for Sanchez and join Justin Verlander, Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris and Jordan Zimmermann in Detroit’s rotation. The 26-year-old Boyd owns a 5.64 ERA and 5.43 FIP in 154 2/3 big league innings, but his repertoire provides reason for hope, as FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan explained earlier this month.
As for Pelfrey, 33, his two-year, $16MM contract has been a head-scratcher since the Tigers signed him to it an offseason ago. Pelfrey was OK at times with the Mets and Twins from 2007-14, but the former top prospect has never been either a high-strikeout or low-walk hurler in the majors. He spent most of last season in the rotation (22 starts in 24 appearances) and registered a 5.07 ERA, 4.24 K/9 and 3.48 BB/9 in 119 innings. If he makes the Tigers this year, he’ll work from the bullpen. The Tigers ate reliever Mark Lowe‘s $5.5MM over the weekend after a lousy 2016, though, so it’s possible they’ll also release Pelfrey if a taker isn’t found via trade.
AL Notes: Orioles, Indians, Tigers, Red Sox
Orioles scout Todd Frohwirth passed away Sunday at the age of 54, the team confirmed. Frohwirth had worked as a scout with the club since 2003, and he was previously a reliever with the O’s from 1991-93. He also pitched for the Phillies and Angels during his career, which spanned from 1987-96. Orioles legend Jim Palmer tweeted Sunday that Frohwirth “could light up a room,” and the team announced it will honor him with a moment of silence before its game Monday. MLBTR joins those around the baseball world in extending our condolences to Frohwirth’s family, friends and organization.
- Outfielder Austin Jackson will open the season on the Indians’ 25-man roster, tweets Ryan Lewis of Ohio.com. Jackson presumably would have opted out of his minor league contract Sunday had the Tribe cut him, but he’ll instead earn a $1.5MM salary as a major leaguer and potentially collect $4MM in incentives. The Indians have three left-handed-hitting starting outfielders in Michael Brantley, Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall, so Jackson and Brandon Guyer will offer variety off the bench as righty-swingers. It’s also worth mentioning that the 30-year-old Jackson has typically been a capable fielder in center, where he has played almost exclusively and totaled 41 Defensive Runs Saved and a 6.9 Ultimate Zone Rating .
- The Tigers reassigned Anthony Gose to minor league camp Sunday, and while the 26-year-old will continue to work as an outfielder, he”ll also try his hand as a pitcher, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News was among those to report. Gose, who possessed a mid-90s fastball as a left-handed high school hurler but chose to give up pitching, approached the Tigers with the idea. They’re intrigued, per manager Brad Ausmus. “(Sean) Doolittle in Oakland did it and he was in the big leagues a couple of years later,” Ausmus said, referring to Doolittle’s successful transition from first base and the outfield to the mound. “It’s going to take some time. He’s going to have to be a sponge and catch up on experience fast. But we feel it’s worth investigating.”
- The Red Sox are likely to put their plan to use Hanley Ramirez at first base against lefties on hold, at least to begin the season, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. A right shoulder issue has prevented Ramirez from playing the field in spring training games, and manager John Farrell noted that time’s running out in the exhibition schedule. “I’m still hopeful but recognizing where we are on the calendar,” he said. Ramirez is well enough to hit, so he’ll be the full-time DH as long as he’s unable to line up in the field, though it’s unclear if anyone will platoon with first baseman Mitch Moreland in the meantime. If healthy, Ramirez would’ve relegated the lefty-swinging Moreland to the bench versus southpaws. With Moreland and third baseman Pablo Sandoval, the Red Sox have two prominent corner infielders who struggle against lefties.
Tigers Place Mark Lowe On Release Waivers
The Tigers have placed reliever Mark Lowe on unconditional release waivers, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com (Twitter link). The right-hander is due a $5.5MM salary this year, so he’ll likely clear waivers and become a free agent.
Lowe had to compete for a roster spot with Detroit this spring, which wasn’t the outcome the team envisioned when it inked him to a two-year, $11MM guarantee in December 2015. But Lowe then endured a disastrous 2016, when his average fastball velocity dropped from 95.5 mph in 2015 to 92.4 mph. Thanks in part to his less effective heater, Lowe registered a 7.11 ERA in 49 1/3 innings and saw his home run-to-fly ball ratio go from 8.9 percent in 2015 to 17.9 percent last season. Lowe also experienced a significant drop in swinging-strike rate (14.1 percent in 2015 to 10 percent) and nearly doubled his walk rate (1.96 per nine to 3.83).
Lowe was excellent two seasons ago with Seattle and Toronto, where he combined for career bests in ERA (1.96) and K/9 (9.98) across 55 frames, which led to his Detroit payday. The 33-year-old hasn’t been particularly consistent during his career, however, as he has posted subpar production in several campaigns. All told, though, Lowe’s output has been passable – despite having recorded a below-average ground-ball rate (39.8 percent), he has combined for a 4.22 ERA, 8.21 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 385 2/3 innings with six teams.
J.D. Martinez To Open Season On DL
Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez has been diagnosed with a sprain of the lisfranc ligament in his right foot, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports (Twitter links). He is not expected to re-start baseball activities for at least three to four weeks and will require a cast for seven to ten days.
That’s obviously not the best news for the Tigers, though it’s clearly preferable to a more significant injury. Martinez had been subjected to a stress CT scan to ensure the problem was limited to his ligament. As things stand, it seems he won’t miss too much time early so long as his rehab progresses smoothly.
Detroit is in something of an odd position entering the season: the organization announced its intentions to begin adding youth and trimming payroll costs, but only ended up dealing one veteran (Cameron Maybin) over the winter. As it stands, then, the club remains a plausible contender in the AL Central and continues to carry a variety of expensive players.
Among the core pieces of the current MLB roster, Martinez features as the most obvious potential trade candidate — at least, that is, if the Tigers aren’t in contention at the trade deadline. Martinez, 29, will be a free agent after the year, so Detroit will only be able to secure value in return if it deals him or makes him a qualifying offer at season’s end. (The organization has shown no inclination to engage in extension talks with Martinez this spring.)
Since coming to the Tigers, Martinez has turned himself into one of the game’s premier sluggers. He owns a .299/.357/.540 batting line with 83 home runs over the past three seasons. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently rated Martinez sixth among pending free agents.
Any lost time from Martinez will cost Detroit on the field, though it’s possible his absence could alleviate some immediate roster pressures. The club has been weighing how to handle several out-of-options position players, including outfielders Tyler Collins and Steven Moya as well as infielder Dixon Machado. It’s now plausible to imagine all three cracking the Opening Day roster, though all three have struggled this spring and Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource currently projects Machado to hit the waiver wire.
Detroit will now need to make decisions on need of filling two outfield jobs. In center, Collins could platoon with Mikie Mahtook or JaCoby Jones. With an impressive spring, Alex Presley may now be positioned take over in right, though he has yet to nail down a steady role in the big leagues despite plenty of opportunities over the past seven seasons. And the decision in right could depend upon how the club feels about affording chances to Moya, who was once viewed as a significant prospect.
Yankees Not Interested In Zack Cozart, Jose Iglesias
While the suddenly shortstop-needy Yankees have interest in acquiring the Diamondbacks’ Nick Ahmed, they’re not eyeing either the Reds’ Zack Cozart or the Tigers’ Jose Iglesias. In the wake of the shoulder injury Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius suffered Saturday, Cincinnati gauged the Bombers’ interest in Cozart, and Detroit did the same with Iglesias. The Yankees turned down both teams’ overtures, reports George A. King III of the New York Post.
It’s unclear what the Reds and Tigers would have wanted in return for their shortstops, neither of whom carry ultra-cheap price tags. Iglesias is set to rake in $4.1MM this year, his penultimate season of team control, while Cozart will collect $5.325MM and then become a free agent next winter. Given that Gregorius could only miss the first month of the season, it likely wouldn’t make sense for the Yankees to add a somewhat expensive stopgap at short.
The rebuilding Reds have been trying to move the 31-year-old Cozart since at least last summer, when a near-trade with the Mariners fell through. Cozart has been a terrific defender since debuting in earnest in 2012 (54 Defensive Runs Saved, 42.2 Ultimate Zone Rating), and he has recently offered respectable production at the plate. Over the previous two seasons, Cozart combined to slash .254/.308/.435 with 25 home runs in 722 plate appearances. It’s somewhat surprising, then, that Cincinnati hasn’t been able to find a taker for Cozart, though many teams are set at shortstop, as FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes. By ridding themselves of Cozart, the Reds would be able to turn to a full-time middle infield consisting of the 22-year-old Jose Peraza and the 23-year-old Dilson Herrera, the latter of whom will begin the season at the Triple-A level.
Unlike the Reds, the Tigers aren’t rebuilding, making it an eye-opener that they’d dangle their starting shortstop prior to Opening Day. Iglesias, 27, has been a roughly average player dating back to his first full season, 2013, having accounted for 5.6 fWAR in 1,359 plate appearances since then. The light-hitting Iglesias is coming off his worst offensive season (.255/.306/.336 in 513 PAs), but he made up for it with his defensive chops (three DRS, 11.6 UZR) en route to a career-high 2.1 fWAR. If it were to deal Iglesias sometime this year, Detroit would presumably hand shortstop to a potentially similar player in prospect Dixon Machado. MLB.com describes the 25-year-old as “a defensive wizard who has improved enough physically and with the bat to be a big league regular.” Offensively, Machado hasn’t lit it up at the Triple-A level, where he has slashed .264/.331/.344 in 1,136 PAs, and has only taken 91 trips to the plate in the majors on account of Iglesias’ presence.
As for the Yankees, barring an Ahmed acquisition or a change of heart on Cozart or Iglesias, they’ll go into Opening Day with one of Starlin Castro, Tyler Wade, Ronald Torreyes, Pete Kozma or Ruben Tejada as Gregorious’ temporary replacement. If it’s Castro, who’s the Yankees’ starting second baseman, other members of the shortstop candidates group or utilityman Rob Refsnyder could fill in at the keystone.
AL Central Notes: Carrasco, Tigers, Martinez, Anderson
While the image of father and son playing catch is a core part of baseball lore, it doesn’t always happen quite that way. Indians starter Carlos Carrasco penned an interesting post at the Player’s Tribune detailing how he got started in the game as a youngster — urged on by his mother. Carrasco traces his path — including a pizza binge driven by his still-developing English language skills — on the way to becoming a top-quality big leaguer with a nice contract. The culmination isn’t just his on-field success, though; it’s about his own young family and recent achievement of U.S. citizenship.
That story is well worth a full read. Here’s more out of the American League Central:
- Tigers skipper Brad Ausmus strongly suggested today that the club will go with its existing options in center field, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports on Twitter. While we’ve heard ongoing suggestions that Detroit is still looking at alternatives, Ausmus says he’s “90-something percent sure” an outside addition won’t be made that alters the regular duties up the middle.
- In other Tigers news, slugger J.D. Martinez projected optimism in discussing his sprained right foot, as Beck reports (links to Twitter). While he’s being tested “to rule out other things,” Martinez says he believes it’s nothing more than a ligament sprain. Assuming that is indeed the case, there’s still the question of a recovery timeline, though it seems likely that’ll be dictated by how Martinez feels. Progress is slow, he says, but “it’s going in the right direction” and he is now able to put weight on the injured foot.
- White Sox GM Rick Hahn discussed the team’s newly minted extension with shortstop Tim Anderson, as MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports. He emphasized “the cost certainty and the added control” achieved in the unusually early agreement, noting that doubling down with long-term deals for Chris Sale and Adam Eaton functioned to enhance the value of those players when they were dealt in December. Of course, the hope now is that Anderson will be a core player for a contending team in Chicago. If he can build off of a promising 2016 season, the Sox can perhaps check an important box at a reasonable cost for years to come. “[C]ertainly if you have a number of players outperforming what they’re paid, it makes more free money available to go out and augment the roster,” said Hahn. “That’s certainly the intent.”
Quick Hits: Martinez, Spangenberg, Ethier
There has been little information available today about Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez, who at last check underwent an MRI for a foot sprain. Now MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that Martinez will undergo a stress CT scan in Charlotte on Friday. Martinez rolled his ankle, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes, while making a catch against the Marlins on Saturday. He underwent initial tests later in the weekend, but the Tigers have not yet released them. X-rays have indicated he didn’t break any bones, but ligament damage is a possibility. Obviously, a significant injury would be a big blow to the Tigers’ offense. Martinez batted .307/.373/.535 with 22 homers in 517 plate appearances last season. Here’s more from around the league.
- The Padres are aiming to get 2B/3B Cory Spangenberg time in the outfield, writes MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Spangenberg missed most of the 2016 season due to a quad injury, and as he works his way back onto the Padres’ roster, the team wants him to become more versatile. Outfielders Alex Dickerson, Manuel Margot and Collin Cowgill are hurt, potentially creating opportunities for Spangenberg. The team would also like to get his left-handed bat into the lineup against righties.
- Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier has a stiff back and will have an MRI today, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. Ethier himself does not seem particularly worried about the situation and says the team simply wants more information so that it knows how to treat him, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Nonetheless, Ethier has already missed time due to back and hip issues this spring, and he collected just 26 plate appearances last season thanks to a broken tibia.
Injury Notes: Red Sox, Tigers, A’s, Padres
The Red Sox‘s rotation will already be without left-hander David Price to begin the season, and fellow southpaw Drew Pomeranz could join him on the shelf. Pomeranz left his start Sunday after two innings with tightness in his left triceps, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal was among those to report. Pomeranz doesn’t believe it’s a serious injury, but considering he dealt with forearm stiffness late last season and then had a stem cell injection, Boston “must be wary,” opines Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. Injuries have been the story of Pomeranz’s tenure with the Red Sox, who acquired him from the Padres last July for high-end pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza. The Sox then complained that the Padres withheld medical information on Pomeranz, leading Major League Baseball to suspend Friars general manager A.J. Preller for a month. The league also gave Boston a chance to undo the trade, but the team turned down the offer, in part because the trade deadline had already passed.
For the Red Sox, beginning the season without both Price and Pomeranz would force them to slot Kyle Kendrick into their rotation. The 32-year-old last pitched in the majors in 2015, when he started in all 27 of his appearances with the Rockies and posted a 6.32 ERA in 142 1/3 innings. Kendrick joined Boston in January on a minor league deal, which includes opt-outs on June 15 and Aug. 15.
More injury news:
- Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez went for an MRI on his mid-right foot sprain on Sunday, but the team didn’t release the results. Instead, it sent Martinez to see a foot specialist for a second opinion, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. The Tigers could find out Martinez’s fate as early as Sunday, said manager Brad Ausmus; although Martinez doesn’t have any broken bones, ligament damage is a possibility, notes Fenech. That could be disastrous for both team and player – Martinez is an integral part of Detroit’s lineup, and he’s entering a contract year. Based on potential earning power, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes ranks Martinez as the sixth-best player who’s scheduled to hit the open market next winter.
- Hoping to make a quicker-than-expected return from a lat strain, Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray will head to Chicago on Monday to visit Dr. Anthony Romeo, a latissimus dorsi expert, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gray’s goal is to receive clearance to begin throwing again. The A’s shut down Gray for three weeks on March 9, but if his visit to Chicago yields good news, he could make his season debut in the middle of April instead of at the end, per Slusser.
- Padres lefty Christian Friedrich has been dealing with “overall soreness from the shoulder down through the triceps through the elbow” this spring, manager Andy Green told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Consequently, Friedrich could have difficulty making good on his effort to crack the Padres’ rotation. Friedrich led the Padres in starts (23) last year, when he logged a 4.80 ERA, 6.96 K/9, 3.62 BB/9 and a 44.9 percent ground-ball rate over 129 1/3 innings.
- Outfielder Jaff Decker‘s spring bid to win a roster spot with the Athletics could be in jeopardy on account of an oblique strain, writes Slusser. Decker has been competing with Alejandro De Aza to serve as Oakland’s fifth outfielder (if the team carries one), but the former’s attempt might go for naught if the injury keeps him out for more than a few days. “It’s unfortunate: He was having a good camp, he was impressing,” manager Bob Melvin said of Decker, who has hit .304/.407/.408 in 23 spring at-bats. “There’s still a spot to be won out there whatever potentially the 25th spot is, the 12th or 13th spot as far as the position players go.”
Olney’s Latest: Machado, Harper, Tigers, Jays, Giants
Given that Orioles third baseman Manny Machado and Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper are scheduled to reach free agency after the 2018 season, high-payroll teams will spend the next two years deciding the more worthy target, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. With that in mind, Olney polled seven evaluators on which potential $400MM player they’d prefer to sign. Six chose Machado, whom the evaluators regard as a more well-rounded player. “Harper gets credit and gets a huge part of his reputation for how far he hits home runs, but they still only count for one run,” one evaluator told Olney. “Machado is an entire field hitter who hits to the situation. He can hammer majestic homers, but can also do other things to help a team win.”
More from Olney:
- If the Tigers don’t begin the season well, there’s a sense around the majors that they could consider moving the likes of second baseman Ian Kinsler and outfielder J.D. Martinez. Both veterans came up in offseason trade rumors and aren’t under team control for much longer. The 34-year-old Kinsler is controllable for the next two seasons at $21MM, including a $10MM option for 2018. Martinez, 30 in August, will make $11.75MM this year and then become a free agent during the winter. Notably, the slugger suffered a foot injury Saturday and will undergo an MRI on Sunday.
- The Blue Jays “are said to be” in the market for outfield help, per Olney. Toronto is set in center (Kevin Pillar) and right (Jose Bautista), but left is questionable with Steve Pearce, Melvin Upton Jr., Ezequiel Carrera and Dalton Pompey as its in-house options. The top free agent outfielder left on the board is Angel Pagan, whom the Jays are reportedly unlikely to sign. They do have interest in free agent utilityman Kelly Johnson, though he’s primarily an infielder.
- Free agent catcher Derek Norris has a reputation of “sometimes clashing with pitchers,” according to Olney, who notes the 28-year-old will have to overcome that as he searches for his next employer. There are reportedly “about a half-dozen teams” interested in Norris, whom the Nationals released this week after they weren’t able to find a taker in a trade. An acquiring club would have had to take on his $4.2MM salary, of course, whereas signing him should come at a cheaper price.
- There’s concern in Giants camp regarding the play of center fielder Denard Span, who’s not hitting or, to some evaluators, moving well. The 33-year-old fared decently at the plate in 2016 (.266/.331/.381 in 637 trips); however, he’s coming off back-to-back subpar campaigns in the field, during which he combined for minus-17 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-13 Ultimate Zone Rating. The Giants owe Span $22MM over the next three years, including a $4MM buyout for 2019.
AL Notes: JD Martinez, Ackley, Kopech, Red Sox, Pineda
Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez suffered a sprain in his mid-right foot while making a catch on Saturday and left the game after just an inning. (Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press has the details.) X-rays were negative and Martinez will be re-evaluated on Sunday before the club decides that any further tests are necessary. He was seen on crutches and left the ballpark in a walking boot, though Martinez told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that “it’s good that I’m able to move on it.” Needless to say, losing Martinez for any extended length of time would jeopardize both the Tigers’ lineup and Martinez’s chances at a big free agent contract next offseason as one of the top players on the open market.
Here’s more from around the American League…
- Dustin Ackley has an opt-out date near the end of Spring Training in his minor league deal with the Angels, the utilityman tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, though he hasn’t decided whether he’ll exercise the clause or remain with the Halos’ Triple-A club. Ackley’s choice is complicated by the fact that he has yet to play the field this spring as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery. The veteran tells Fletcher that he can play first base and swing more or less normally, though he isn’t yet able to handle the throwing involved with second base or the outfield. Ackley hopes he can “at least give them [the Angels] some games defensively before camp is over.”
- Michael Kopech was one of the major pieces the White Sox acquired in the Chris Sale trade, and Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago opines that Kopech could follow Sale’s career trajectory by breaking into the bigs as a reliever. The White Sox eased Sale into the majors by using him out of the bullpen in his first two seasons before unleashing him into the rotation, where Sale emerged as one of baseball’s best starters. Kopech only turns 21 in April and has yet to pitch above high-A ball, though if he continues to impress in the minors, Chicago may be tempted to get him to the big leagues by 2018 as a reliever.
- The Red Sox face a number of pressing questions as they head into the season, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes, including some injury concerns for key arms like David Price, Drew Pomeranz and Tyler Thornburg. If these pitchers have to miss time in April, that could be particularly difficult for the club given that Boston faces a tough schedule over the first six weeks, including a lot of division games and tough inter-league matchups against the Cubs, Cardinals and Pirates. As Gammons notes, this could add up to a slow start for the Red Sox, which will only add to the pressure for a team that is expected to challenge for a World Series.
- Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda has already experienced a lot of ups and downs in his career, in no small part due to his struggles with the language barrier, as ESPN’s Andrew Marchand details. Pineda came to MLB with little formal education and virtually no knowledge of English or American culture, which led to some inevitable growing pains (such as Pineda’s infamous suspension for using pine tar in April 2014). The piece is well worth a full read, as it chronicles Pineda’s rise to the majors and the problems that he and many other foreign-born players face upon being thrust into the pressurized environment of pro baseball.