Tigers To Sign Casey McGehee
The Tigers have agreed to a minor league contract with third baseman Casey McGehee, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The 33-year-old McGehee is represented by Meister Sports Management.
There were rumblings earlier in the week about Detroit possibly signing another veteran infielder, and in McGehee, the Tigers have added depth at third base. The hot corner is arguably the team’s least-settled position given how former top prospect Nick Castellanos has delivered sub-replacement numbers both offensively and (especially) defensively over two full seasons in the bigs. Offseason acquisition Mike Aviles has the inside track on the utility infield job due to his ability to play all around the diamond, while Andrew Romine and Tommy Field are also in the mix for playing time.
McGehee won NL Comeback Player Of The Year honors in 2014 following a solid season with the Marlins, though that performance was somewhat checkered by a poor second half and an overall .335 BABIP. He was dealt to San Francisco last winter and was the Giants’ de facto replacement for Pablo Sandoval at third but McGehee struggled badly and eventually lost his job to Matt Duffy. He ended up re-signing with the Marlins after being designated for assignment in June, and overall, McGehee hit .198/.264/.274 with two homers over 258 plate appearances last season.
AL Central Notes: Molitor, Royals, Minor, Fulmer, Greene, Tribe
The Twins haven’t had any talks with Paul Molitor about a contract extension, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Molitor exceeded expectations in his first year as a Major League manager, leading the Twins to a surprising 83-79 record. There isn’t necessarily a lot of urgency to get a new deal done — not only is Molitor still under contract through the 2017 campaign, “the expectation at this point is that” the Twins will give Molitor “every opportunity to” continue managing, Berardino writes, especially as long as Terry Ryan is the GM. Here’s some more from around the AL Central…
- The Twins will likely wait to see how their bullpen situation develops in Spring Training before checking out any free agent relievers, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets.
- Given how Ned Yost, Dayton Moore and J.J. Piccolo all have ties to the Braves, it’s maybe no surprise that the Royals have picked up so many former Atlanta pitchers as reclamation projects, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes. Kris Medlen proved to be a very sound investment for K.C. last winter and now Peter Moylan and Mike Minor have both joined the Royals this offseason looking to re-establish their value. The ties between the pitchers themselves also played a role — Medlen and Moylan trained and rehabbed together in 2014 when both were recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- Minor said that pitching at Kauffman Stadium and the Royals‘ offer of two guaranteed years were big reasons he signed with the team, the lefty tells Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).
- Shane Greene‘s first season with the Tigers was riddled with injuries, including a scary situation involving an aneurysm that caused blood clots in his fingers, ESPN’s Katie Strang writes. Greene underwent shoulder surgery to address the problem in August, and while the blood clots have yet to dissolve (which may not happen for years), Greene said he’s feeling much better and is looking forward to competing for a spot in Detroit’s rotation.
- Michael Fulmer drew heavy interest in trade talks this offseason, Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press reports, though the Tigers didn’t bite on dealing the highly-touted young righty. It’s no surprise that GM Al Avila was keen to keep Fulmer, given that the right-hander was the centerpiece of the trade package received last summer for Yoenis Cespedes.
- “The Indians are always sneaky about” working on contract extensions, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes, so it wouldn’t surprise him if the Tribe inks at least one player to a multi-year deal this spring. Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer make sense as possible extension candidates since both become arbitration-eligible next winter, and Hoynes also thinks the Tribe could extend Cody Allen.
- Hoynes’ mailbag piece covers several other Indians-related topics, including Hoynes’ belief that the Tribe won’t exercise their $12MM club option on Carlos Santana for the 2017 season. I tend to agree, unless Santana rebounds from something of a down year in 2015.
Moreno: “It Has Never Been About” Luxury Tax
The Angels have taken quite a bit of flak for a seeming unwillingness to exceed the luxury tax threshold, but owner Arte Moreno strongly denied to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez that he is firmly against exceeding that $189MM threshold. “It has never been about that,” Moreno told Gonzalez. “It has never been with the threshold. …We have a budget, and every year, I’ve overspent our budget.” Moreno says that his operating budget has typically been in the $140-150MM range, but he’s consistently exceeded that mark to the point where he suggested to Gonzalez that the team is barely avoiding debt. Moreno, though, seemingly conceded to the fact that the possibility of exceeding the tax barrier played some role in the club’s offseason, as Gonzalez goes on to mention that the owner “wasn’t confident that the Angels would be able to comfortably get back under the threshold given their potential holes,” which prompted them to pass on high-profile free agents. It would seem, then, that his assertion is that while he wasn’t entirely resistant to the notion of exceeding, the proper situation didn’t present itself this winter. The Angels do have a record payroll for the 2016 season, Gonzalez points out, even with a Craig Gentry/Daniel Nava platoon in left field and Johnny Giavotella/Cliff Pennington in line for most of the second base at-bats. Just as importantly, though, he adds that the Angels are about $2MM shy of the luxury tax threshold at present. Notably, Moreno denied an interview to the Los Angeles Times, as Pedro Moura writes.
A bit more from Gonzalez’s column and several more Angels notes on an evening with plenty of news coming out of Anaheim…
- Regarding the possibility of eventually looking to trade Mike Trout — a notion that stemmed from a fairly innocuous comment in Keith Law’s farm system rankings at ESPN — Moreno shot down the possibility in definitive fashion. “One hundred percent we are not trading Mike Trout,” Moreno told Gonzalez. “…It’s not even in the thought process.” Honestly, it’s fairly surprising to me that this even reached the point where the owner felt the need to comment, but Moreno’s firm denial merits a brief mention.
- While the Angels didn’t make the big deadline splash that many fans were hoping for this past July, it wasn’t for lack of trying, Gonzalez tweets. According to Gonzalez, the Halos “tried hard” to pry Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers, but Detroit wouldn’t budge on its asking price of Sean Newcomb. Eventually, the two sides scrapped the talks and, of course, Cespedes was traded to the Mets for right-handers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa. Newcomb was later traded alongside right-hander Chris Ellis and shortstop Erick Aybar to bring Andrelton Simmons to the Halos. For those wondering why the Angels didn’t make a run at Cespedes this winter, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register got the sense that Cespedes preferred the East Coast and didn’t want to sign with the Angels, who would’ve had to drastically overpay in order to sign him (links to Twitter).
- Another interesting note from Fletcher, who writes in a full column that left-hander Hector Santiago said his agent called him in November to inform him that he was on the verge of being traded to the Orioles. A deal (clearly) never came to fruition. The Orioles are known to have been seeking rotation help all winter, and Santiago was an oft-speculated trade candidate when the Angels were seeking ways in which to bolster their outfield situation. Specific parameters of the apparent near-deal aren’t known, though if the agent and player are being informed that something is close, that would signify rather advanced discussions.
- Also within that piece, Fletcher writes that setup man Joe Smith would like to remain with the Halos beyond the expiration of his contract at season’s end, although there have been no extension talks between the two sides. “I would love to (re-sign) but there were a few more important things this winter to be keeping our eye on,” said Smith.
- Former Angels GM and current Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto discussed his relationship with Moreno and manager Mike Scioscia candidly in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link). Dipoto praised Moreno’s willingness to spend and called Scioscia a likely Hall of Famer, but he admitted that there were challenges. “There were times where it was very difficult to the job that I was asked to do, but that was because I was caught in between, perhaps, two different dynamics,” said Dipoto. “And I would say the same of them. I had some different ideas that maybe they weren’t as comfortable with…” Dipoto went on to say that Mariners ownership has been more receptive to his ideas. “…And, as importantly, I have a manager now in Scott Servais who I do see eye-to-eye with,” Dipoto continued. “We have discussed every move, we have disagreed on many ideas as we’ve gone through this offseason, but in a really productive way. And, fair or unfair, that was not always the case with Mike. … Healthy disagreement is a good thing, and sometimes in Anaheim as you saw played out nationally multiple times over the four years, it wasn’t quite as healthy.”
- Scioscia was made aware of Dipoto’s comments, Moura notes in his aforementioned column, though the longtime Halos skipper didn’t seem to take much umbrage with anything that was said. “I think there were certainly times that you are not going to agree on everything,” Scioscia explained. “I think there were times when the communication was there, maybe times where it wasn’t what it could have been. But I’m not looking back.” Scioscia said he operated similarly under former GMs Bill Stoneman and Tony Reagins. “I think you have to have that free-flowing of ideas,” he continued. “I think at times, we did.”
AL Central Notes: Jackson, Sox, Minor, Tigers, Twins
Following their reported signing of Juan Uribe to a one-year deal, the Indians “seem to be considering” a run at free agent outfielder Austin Jackson, tweets Jon Heyman. Cleveland has a well-documented need in the outfield that has yet to be addressed — as Jeff Todd and I discussed on this week’s MLBTR Podcast. Jackson would add some stability to the picture at a potentially bargain rate at this juncture of the offseason and on the heels of a pair of so-so seasons at the plate. Heyman notes that there are other possibilities for Jackson, though, citing the White Sox, Angels, Brewers and “maybe” the Rangers, noting that Texas may not want to spend the money. It’s unclear whether Heyman was merely speculating on that last grouping of teams, though given the Angels’ reluctance to spend on free agents this winter and Texas GM Jon Daniels’ recent comments suggesting the payroll isn’t likely to grow much more, Jackson could be a stretch for either club.
Here’s more on the AL Central…
- Heyman also tweets that the White Sox appear to be open to one more outfield addition — one that can handle playing some center field. Austin Jackson, of course, would fit the bill in that regard, he notes, as would Dexter Fowler, if the Sox are willing to spend more. Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score also writes that the Sox are interested in adding to their outfield depth and are indeed considering Fowler. However, Fowler is said to be one of Baltimore’s top targets, and the O’s reportedly “expect” that they’ll be able to land both Fowler and free-agent right-hander Yovani Gallardo.
- Left-hander Mike Minor, who inked a two-year contract with the Royals earlier today, will be unavailable for the first six weeks to two months of the regular season, general manager Dayton Moore told reporters, including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). That Minor will be sidelined for some time to open the season isn’t unexpected, as the former Braves hurler is recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
- The Tigers are reportedly set on adding relief arms to their Spring Training mix after adding Bobby Parnell on a minor league pact, but MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that the team could yet bring in another player on a minor league deal — likely an infielder. The infield market has been largely picked clean, though a few recognizable names such as Alberto Callaspo, Jonathan Herrera and Dan Uggla have yet to sign this offseason.
- Twins skipper Paul Molitor tells reporters, including MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link) that heading into Spring Training, he’s considering Kurt Suzuki his starting catcher and trade acquisition John Ryan Murphy the backup. Of course, it’d be somewhat surprising to see a manager promise a starting role to a just-acquired, inexperienced option with a seasoned veteran in house. Suzuki probably will get the nod on Opening Day, and I can imagine him getting some more time early in the year as Murphy learns a new pitching staff and acclimates to his new organization. However, barring a return to 2014 form for Suzuki, it seems likely that Murphy will at least work his way into a larger role than that of a traditional backup catcher, as Minnesota’s hope is that he can develop into its primary catcher beyond the 2016 campaign. It’s worth noting, too, that Suzuki has a $6MM option that will vest at 485 plate appearances. He’s averaged 491 PAs as the clear No. 1 catcher in the past two seasons, and the Twins probably would prefer to avoid that option vesting — especially if Suzuki’s production more closely resembles 2015 than 2014.
AL Central Notes: Harrell, Uribe, Freese, Stammen, Hunter
Here’s the latest out of the AL Central:
- The Tigers were said to be looking around at depth arms to bring into camp, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (Twitter links), with former big leaguer Lucas Harrell among those under consideration. But the team’s addition of righty Bobby Parnell likely rounds out the organization’s pitching moves heading into camp, per Beck. It seems that the 30-year-old Harrell will look to catch on with another club. He spent last year pitching in Korea, racking up 171 2/3 innings of 4.93 ERA pitching with 7.9 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9.
- Third base remains an area of focus for the Indians with camp opening, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports. Cleveland is still monitoring the free agent market, with both Juan Uribe and David Freese potentially under consideration. As Bastian notes, Giovanny Urshela showed the ability to man the hot corner last year, but failed to demonstrate a similar readiness at the plate.
- Meanwhile, the Indians don’t appear to be expecting either Craig Stammen or Tommy Hunter to be ready for Opening Day, manager Terry Francona told reporters including Bastian (Twitter links). It seems that Stammen may actually be slightly ahead in his timeline than Hunter. Of course, he’ll still need to earn a roster spot since he signed a minor league deal.
Tigers, Bobby Parnell Agree To Minors Deal
The Tigers and former Mets closer Bobby Parnell have agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, reports Lynn Henning of the Detroit News (via Twitter). Parnell, a client of ACES, will compete for a spot in the bullpen alongside locks such as Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Lowe, Justin Wilson, Alex Wilson and presumably Blaine Hardy.
Parnell, 31, enjoyed an excellent run at the back of the Mets’ bullpen from 2010-13, registering a 2.79 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 55.4 percent ground-ball rate in 213 innings of work. Parnell ultimately landed in the closer’s role for New York, saving 22 games once he took over the job in 2013 — a season in which he recorded a career-best 2.16 ERA. However, that campaign was cut short by a herniated disk in Parnell’s neck, and the following season was wiped out entirely (aside from one lone inning) due to Tommy John surgery. Parnell returned to the Mets in 2015, but his velocity (93 mph average fastball) was down significantly from its peak of 97.2 mph in 2011, and his control was nowhere to be found. Parnell walked more batters (17) than he struck out (13) in 24 innings last year, en route to an unsightly and uncharacteristic 6.38 ERA. He landed on the disabled list with what was termed right shoulder tendinitis in mid-August and didn’t pitch again for the remainder of the season.
AL Central Notes: Park, Smith, Indians, Brantley, Tigers
Nine different Twins talent evaluators saw Byung-ho Park in person before the team submitted its $12.85MM bid earlier this offseason, Minnesota vice president of personnel Mike Radcliff tells David Dorsey of the News-Press Media Group. Radcliff himself was among those who watched Park personally in South Korea, having been to Korea in four of the past six seasons, per Dorsey. “It’s a different style,” said Radcliff of Korean baseball. “They swing hard and often over there. There’s a transition. … But we think his swing is Americanized, if you will. He has less movement in his body, from head to toe. He will see velocities he hasn’t seen much of before. But we think the transition will be good, if you will. There just aren’t too many situations to compare him to.”
Here’s more on the Twins and their division…
- The Twins continue to poke around the trade market for left-handed relief help and like Brewers left-hander Will Smith quite a bit, reports 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson in his latest podcast (audio link, with Twins talk firing up around the 37:45 mark). There’s certainly no indication that Milwaukee is looking to move Smith, although as this winter’s Ken Giles trade showed, moving a controllable relief arm can certainly bolster a farm system in a hurry. The Twins have no shortage of minor league talent that could entice the Brewers, though GM Terry Ryan recently spoke about a number of in-house options that intrigue him as lefty options in the bullpen, calling out Taylor Rogers and J.T. Chargois by name.
- The Indians have shuffled their Latin American Operations department, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. After an “amicable” split between the organization and former Latin American director Ramon Pena, the Indians have promoted Koby Perez to that post and made a series of subsequent promotions. Previously, Pena had overseen all Latin American scouting, player development and operations, but those responsibilities will be spread out among different officials now, Hoynes continues. Hoynes spoke to Cleveland president of baseball operations about the team’s approach in Latin America and how the Indians plan to leverage their player development resources in that sphere.
- Indians outfielder Michael Brantley has begun taking no-contact swings, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Brantley, who underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder back in November and was said to have a recovery timeline of five to six months, reported to camp early and will need to progress to hitting off a tee and eventually taking batting practice before he’s ready for in-game action, Bastian writes. Bastian spoke to GM Mike Chernoff and hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo about Brantley’s progress and the possibility of a swifter-than-expected return. “…knowing him and his makeup and how hard he works, and our training staff, how diligent they are, I’m pleased, but I wouldn’t say I’m surprised [by his progress],” said Van Burkleo.
- Right-hander Michael Fulmer, the key piece received by the Tigers in July’s Yoenis Cespedes trade, is viewed by the organization as a starter but could factor into the team’s bullpen in 2016, writes Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey are locks for the rotation, with lefty Daniel Norris favored to land the fifth spot, but manager Brad Ausmus was open to the idea of Fulmer in a relief role this year. “Realistically, if he were to make the club, he would probably be a reliever,” Ausmus told Fenech. “If he were not to make the club, he would probably be a starter. … You have enough time in spring training that even if he’s coming out of the pen right now in big league camp, there will be a point where if you think he’s going to be a starter in Toledo, we can make the switch and get his innings up before the start of the season.”
AL Central Notes: Sano, Indians, Gurriel, Tigers
On this day in 2005, the Twins signed Johan Santana to a four-year, $39.75MM extension in the wake of the southpaw’s Cy Young Award season. The deal not only gave the small-market Twins some cost certainty through Santana’s arbitration seasons and his first free agent year, it also proved to be a nice bargain as Santana put up sterling numbers from 2005-07 (including another Cy Young in 2006). He didn’t finish out that deal in a Twins uniform, however, as Santana was traded to the Mets in February 2008. Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…
- The Twins‘ signing of Miguel Sano is chronicled by Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a transaction that the team hopes will not only help the Major League roster if and when Sano becomes a star slugger, but one that also cemented the Twins as players on the international market. Minnesota encountered several obstacles in its pursuit of Sano, including a lengthy investigation into his age and the team’s willingness to go beyond its international spending comfort zone to land a prospect that seemingly everyone in the Twins organization believed was an elite talent.
- The Indians have scouted Yulieski and Lourdes Gurriel and will check in on the two Cuban stars, though Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer doesn’t think the Tribe has the money it will take to land either player. Hoynes also addressed several other Tribe-related topics as part of this mailbag piece.
- The Tigers like drafting hard-throwing college pitchers, yet as ESPN’s Keith Law tells George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press, nobody who fits that description is likely to be available when the club makes the ninth overall pick in June. Law suggests that the Tigers could opt for a high school pitcher instead (such as Forrest Whitley or Greg Veliz) or they could possibly go for position player talent instead with Puerto Rican shortstop Delvin Perez.
Central Notes: Brewers, Tigers, Mauer
Former Brewers GM Doug Melvin says he’s sleeping better in the six months since he ceded the team’s GM job to David Stearns, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes. Now a senior advisor, Melvin has continued to work in player development with the Brewers, but he’s also taken more time for himself. “It’s like the difference between a coach and a manager. When you’re a coach, you have your certain responsibilities. You’re available. But when you’re the manager, you feel responsible to 25 players, plus the coaches and the trainers and everybody,” says Melvin. As a GM, he says, “[you feel a total responsibility. Pro scouting, amateur scouting, international scouting, player development, the Major League team — there’s always something to think about.” Here’s more from the Central divisions.
- Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is the closest thing the game has to a modern-day George Steinbrenner, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. After adding Justin Upton and Jordan Zimmermann this offseason, the Tigers have four players signed to nine-figure contracts. Of course, the ends of those kinds of contracts can create roster flexibility issues of the sort the Yankees have dealt with in recent years, and Sherman notes that the Tigers already have $122MM committed for the 2018 season for Upton, Zimmermann, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander and Victor Martinez.
- Twins star Joe Mauer says lingering concussion symptoms caused him to have blurred vision while hitting the past two seasons, Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press writes. The vision issues were caused by sunlight, Mauer says he will try hitting with sunglasses in an effort to improve his ability to pick up pitches. “If you’re just a little off, you’re fouling off pitches you should be driving into the gap,” says Mauer. “In the big leagues, you don’t get too many more opportunities to see good ones to hit.” Mauer adds that he does not want his concussion issues to be an “excuse” for his performance the last two seasons, in which he’s seen a dramatic decline in offense. (He’s hit .270/348/.376 the last two years, compared to a previous career average of .323/.405/.468.) Mauer is still signed for the next three years at $23MM per season, so he could provide a big long-term boost to the Twins if he were to get back on track.
Tigers, J.D. Martinez Agree To Two-Year Extension
7:30pm: Martinez will receive $6.75MM this year and $11.75MM for the following campaign, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
7:07pm: The Tigers have reportedly bought out the remaining arbitration eligibility of outfielder J.D. Martinez. The RMG Baseball client is said to have a deal in place for two years and $18.5MM.
Martinez, 28, has long been said to be discussing a long-term pact with Detroit, but it appears that the sides have settled on a deal to avoid an arbitration hearing this year and lock in a salary for 2017 as well. As MLBTR’s Matt Swartz explained earlier this winter, Martinez had an interesting arbitration case. He projected at $7.8MM and filed at $8MM, with the team countering at $6MM.
Obviously, the two-year arrangement won’t buy up any free agent years. But it will get the breakout star a guaranteed contract for both of the next two seasons. And the Tigers could well stand to save some money. Martinez was projected at a $4.8MM raise from his 2015 salary, and anything approaching his numbers from last season would have set him up for yet more in his final year of arb eligibility.
It remains to be seen whether this contract will set the stage for future talks — or, instead, represent a compromise agreement that lines Martinez up for the open market. We’ve seen several recent examples of arb-only extensions for prominent players, in large part as a mechanism to help resolve the initial year’s arbitration disagreement. Lorenzo Cain and the Royals did the same back in January.
In several other instances, new deals were never reached. Players such as Todd Frazier (Reds), Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann (Nationals) were either traded or allowed to reach free agency. While further negotiations are hardly out of the question in Martinez’s case, the salary agreement does remove one major motivator for further talks.
Martinez looks to be a bargain at that rate — as would be expected given the way the arb system works. He’s been nothing short of outstanding since coming to the Tigers as a minor league free agent before the 2014 campaign. Martinez owns a composite .296/.350/.543 slash and has hit 61 home runs over 1,137 plate appearances for Detroit. It’s fair to note, too, that Martinez received positive marks in right field last year from both UZR and DRS.
Robert Murray of Baseball Essential first noted “unconfirmed rumblings” of a two-year, $18.5MM deal on Twitter. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation confirmed the deal, years, and dollars (Twitter links).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.