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Erik Gonzalez

Erik Gonzalez Out 10 To 12 Weeks Following Surgery

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April 25: The Pirates expect Gonzalez to miss the next 10 to 12 weeks of action following today’s surgery, per MLB.com’s Adam Berry (Twitter link).

April 24: The Pirates announced to reporters Wednesday that shortstop Erik Gonzalez will undergo surgery to “repair and internally fixate” his fractured left clavicle (Twitter link via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). A timeline for his recovery won’t be known until Gonzalez actually undergoes the procedure, but he was already placed on the 60-day injured list over the weekend, so the length of his absence will be substantial.

Acquired from the Indians in the offseason trade that sent Jordan Luplow and Max Moroff to Cleveland, Gonzalez was named the Pirates’ Opening Day shortstop midway through Spring Training. However, the former Cleveland utilityman didn’t acquit himself well in an everyday role, as he batted just .216/.298/.294 over the life of 59 plate appearances. In his absence, rookie Cole Tucker has emerged as an option at the position and is now in line for a long-term audition.

Gonzalez sustained his injury last Friday when he was involved in an ugly collision with center fielder Starling Marte, who has also been placed on the injured list. The outlook on Marte is better, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets that he’s been cleared to begin light baseball activities.

When Gonzalez eventually returns to the Pirates, it now looks likely that he’ll hold a utility role similar to the one he had with the Indians in 2016-18. The Buccos can control Gonzalez through the 2022 season, and he’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason.

Pirates Select Bryan Reynolds, Recall Cole Tucker, Place Starling Marte On 10-Day IL

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1:45 pm: Per a team release, Marte will hit the 10-day IL with an “abdominal wall contusion,” while Gonzalez will be placed on the 60-day IL with a fractured left clavicle.

11:57 am:The Pirates have recalled shortstop Cole Tucker and selected the contract of outfielder Bryan Reynolds, adding both to the 25-man roster, the team announced. Reynolds will take the final remaining spot on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster. There has been no corresponding roster moves announced, but it’s been widely speculated that Starling Marte and Erik Gonzalez may both be headed to the IL after their collision in last night’s ballgame.

Fangraphs puts Tucker and Reynolds as the #5 and #9 ranked prospects, respectively. Both will be making their major league debuts after strong showings in Spring Training this year. Tucker, 22, hit .259/.333/.356 in Double-A last year, but he’s torn his way through the Arizona Fall League, Spring Training, and his first thirteen games with Triple-A Indianapolis so far this season, where he was hitting a robust .333/.415/.579 in 66 plate appearances.

Reynolds, you may remember, joined the Pirates as part of the Andrew McCutchen trade. As MLB.com’s Adam Berry points out (via Twitter), the Pirates 25-man roster is now populated by the Pirates’ returns from the McCutchen and Gerrit Cole trades, with Michael Feliz being the only piece from either deal not currently in Pittsburgh. Kyle Crick recently returned from the injured list, Jason Martin is hitting .333/.391/.429 in limited playing time in left, Colin Moran platoons at third, and Joe Musgrove ably holds down a rotation spot for the Pirates.

Pirates Name Gonzalez, Kang Starters At Shortstop, Third Base

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The Pirates have settled on Erik Gonzalez and Jung Ho Kang as their starters at shortstop and third base, respectively, to open the 2019 season, general manger Neal Huntington revealed to reporters Monday (Twitter links via Adam Berry of MLB.com).

Gonzalez’s primary competition for the shortstop role had been Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer, the latter of whom was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis this morning, per a team press release. Newman, it seems, will still have the opportunity to compete for a utility role with the club, though he could land in Indianapolis as well if the Buccos decide he requires everyday at-bats. Kang, meanwhile, beat out Colin Moran for the role of primary third baseman. Moran will see some time at first base as well, which could afford him a bit more playing time.

The 25-year-old Gonzalez came to the Pirates in the offseason trade that sent Jordan Luplow and Max Moroff to the Indians. Gonzalez had to make the club one way or another, given that he’s out of minor league options, though it wasn’t set in stone that he’d break camp as the regular shortstop. The organization’s confidence in his glove, it seems, ultimately helped to sway the decision, as neither Gonzalez (.233/.303/.367 in 33 PAs) nor Newman (.276/.290/.448 in 30 PAs) has had a particularly impactful spring at the plate.

Kang, 32 on Opening Day, returned to the Pirates in September after missing all of the 2017 season and most of the 2018 campaign due to DUI arrests in his native South Korea, which prevented him from securing a work visa. He’ll likely bring a steadier glove to the hot corner than Moran displayed in 2018 (-8 Defensive Runs Saved, -6.6 UZR), and Kang has also connected on five spring home runs, although he’s also struck out 13 times in 31 trips to the plate. Moran is hitting .214/.303/.357 in his own tiny sample of 32 PAs.

Neither decision comes with permanence, of course. Gonzalez is a mere .263/.292/.389 hitter in 275 Major League plate appearances with Cleveland, and if he’s unable to improve on that paltry OBP, his bat will be enough of a liability that it’d eventually merit contemplation of a switch. This will, however, be his first chance at regular playing time, as he was limited to a utility role with the Indians given the presence of more established players such as Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez.

Kang, meanwhile, appeared in only three big league games last season — his first MLB action since 2016. He’s on a one-year, $3MM contract with the Pittsburgh organization, so he’ll have a bit of a leash early in the season but isn’t compensated such that the organization would shy away from moving on if he isn’t providing value.

NL Central Notes: Kratz, Wacha, Pirates

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The Brewers are facing a decision on veteran catcher Erik Kratz, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel details. With Yasmani Grandal and Manny Pina ahead of Kratz on the depth chart, Kratz’s days with the organization seem numbered. The 38-year-old is out of minor league options, and the Brewers only plan to carry two catchers on the roster to open the season. A move to either trade Kratz or attempt to pass him through outright waivers seems inevitable, and president of baseball ops David Stearns was candid about Kratz’s roster status. “We’ve tried to keep him posted on what’s going on,” said Stearns. “…It’s a balance between trying to preserve your injury insurance and trying to assess the market and what’s out there. We’ll continue to balance that, but I imagine that resolution will happen close to the end of camp.” Stearns added that he Brewers are “sensitive to do right by the player” in searching for other opportunities, while Kratz himself had nothing but praise for the professionalism with which the organization has handled the situation.

More on the NL Central…

  • Michael Wacha is very cognizant of the fact that this could be his final Spring Training with the Cardinals, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A free agent after the season, Wacha has already watched the Cardinals extend teammate Miles Mikolas (on a four-year, $68MM deal). Wacha called the contract “awesome” for Mikolas adding that his teammate is a “stud pitcher and great off the field.” As far as his own contract status, however, Wacha stressed the importance of not getting caught up in that sort of thing with the season approaching. The 2012 first-rounder was limited to 84 1/3 innings last season due to an oblique injury, but he was sharp when on the field, working to a 3.20 ERA with 7.6 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.96 HR/9 and a 43.2 percent grounder rate. He’ll be the youngest established starter available in free agency next winter, so a healthy season is particularly crucial.
  • Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette breaks down the Pirates’ shortstop battle between Erik Gonzalez and 2015 first-rounder Kevin Newman. Gonzalez, acquired from the Indians this offseason, is out of minor league options, so he’ll break camp with the club whether it’s as a starter at short or as a versatile utility piece. However, if Gonzalez beats out Newman for the starting role, it seems likelier that Newman would head to Triple-A for regular at-bats. Pablo Reyes and Cole Tucker are both in the mix as well, although Tucker has yet to even play a game in Triple-A and would seem like a long shot at this juncture. If neither Newman nor Tucker breaks camp with the team, Reyes could also be in line to earn a bench role as a utility piece. It’s a roster battle with numerous layers, which Brink discusses with GM Neal Huntington as well as several of the players involved.

Pirates Notes: Galvis, Gonzalez, Payroll, Free Agency, Taillon

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The latest out of Pittsburgh…

  • The Pirates have been connected to free-agent shortstop Freddy Galvis this winter, though general manager Neal Huntington suggested Saturday that a deal between the two sides won’t come together. “We feel like we got a young Freddy Galvis. His name is Erik Gonzalez,” said Huntington, who added the Pirates are optimistic Gonzalez and fellow middle infielder Kevin Newman will “be as good if not better than what Freddy Galvis or any of the others who are out there right now or any of the players we can get in a trade right now” (via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). The 27-year-old Gonzalez didn’t provide much at the plate in Cleveland from 2016-18, but Pittsburgh was excited to acquire him in November, and he’s now the favorite to serve as its Opening Day shortstop. Pirates scouts were “beating the table” to get Gonzalez, who they believe will be “’above average. Dynamic. Very good. More range than anybody you’ve had at short maybe some you have managed,'” manager Clint Hurdle said.
  • Gonzalez is one of a slew of cheap players for the budget-conscious Bucs, who are poised to enter the season with an outlay under $75MM, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates. Huntington defended the Pirates’ low-payroll ways Saturday, telling Adamski, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and others that they’ve succeeded in the past in spite of their financial disadvantages and adding: “Spending gives you a larger margin for error and what GM wouldn’t want a larger margin for error?” It does not guarantee you anything other than you spent money. The upgrade is not guaranteed.” And though the Pirates haven’t closed the door on making further additions on the open market, where they’ve picked up Lonnie Chisenhall, Jordan Lyles and Jung Ho Kang this winter, Huntington seemingly isn’t a big fan of taking that route. Free agency’s a “losing game,” according to Huntington. “When you sign a free agent, you have automatically outbid everybody else to get him 95, 99 percent of the time. You have theoretically overpaid to get that free agent.”
  • Pittsburgh is far from the only team eschewing sizable free-agent contracts this offseason, which Pirates right-hander and union representative Jameson Taillon spoke about Saturday. Taillon’s fellow players are “pretty riled up and pretty upset” about the current state of affairs, revealed Taillon, who was present for the union’s recent board meetings, Brink reports. While Taillon conceded that players are hard to sympathize with because many are earning millions of dollars, he pointed out that “the owners are making money too, and they’re making way more than we are.” The players, mindful of that fact, may be more inclined to go to arbitration rather than accept what often end up as team-friendly extensions during their arb-eligible years, Taillon contended. Taillon’s words are the latest indication that the players and owners could be in for an ugly labor war when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2021.

Indians Acquire Jordan Luplow, Max Moroff In Five-Player Trade With Pirates

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The Indians announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired outfielder Jordan Luplow and infielder Max Moroff from the Pirates in exchange for utility man Erik Gonzalez and minor league right-handers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza. The Pirates, too, have issued a press release announcing the move.

Jordan Luplow | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

In Luplow, Cleveland adds an outfield option to a perilously thin mix. The 2014 third-rounder has yet to find success in the big leagues, but he’s raked to the tune of a .300/.378/.479 slash with 15 homers and 11 steals in 539 Triple-A plate appearances across the past two seasons. Luplow won’t turn 26 until next September, so there’s still plenty of time for him to carry that Triple-A productivity over to the big league level.

[Related: Updated Cleveland Indians depth chart and Pittsburgh Pirates depth chart]

From a defensive standpoint, Luplow has played all three positions in the Majors, albeit just 14 innings in center, and drawn generally positive reviews. In 382 2/3 innings of outfield work as a Major Leaguer, he’s posted +4 Defensive Runs Saved, a 3.1 Ultimate Zone Rating and an even mark in Statcast’s Outs Above Average. Luplow still has a minor league option remaining, so he can be sent to the minors without being exposed to waivers if he doesn’t crack the roster out of Spring Training next year.

Moroff, also 25, has had similar struggles to this point in his young Major League career, hitting .193/.293/.331 in a tiny sample of 209 plate appearances. Like Luplow, he’s fared better in Triple-A, where he’s a .233/.363/.399 hitter in 1045 plate appearances. He joins the Indians with more than 2700 minor league innings at second base, 1900-plus innings at shortstop and 601 innings at the Triple-A level.

In Gonzalez, the Pirates will acquire a versatile infield option who’s had more big league success than Moroff to this point, though he’s yet to truly thrive at the plate. Gonzalez hit .265/.301/.375 in 143 PAs this past season and is a career .267/.306/.406 hitter in Triple-A. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll jump right into the mix for playing time with the Pirates in 2019 — a sentiment that was emphasized by general manager Neal Huntington in a press release announcing today’s trade.

“Erik Gonzalez is an athletic middle infielder who plays solid defense and has the potential to be a productive hitter at the major league level,” said Huntington. “He gives us another quality option to play shortstop or in the middle of our infield this year and into the future.”

Thomas, 19, spent this past season pitching for the Indians’ Rookie-level affiliate in Arizona, though he pitched just 19 2/3 innings in total. Overall, he’s totaled 58 professional innings since signing out of the Bahamas as a 16-year-old, and he’s posted a 5.28 ERA with a 61-to-43 K/BB ratio in that time. The bottom-line results are rough, but Thomas did land 30th on MLB.com’s ranking of the Indians’ prospects, with Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo writing that the projectable righty should add velocity to what is already a 92-95 mph fastball. He also draws praise for his athleticism and a potentially above-average curve, but he’s still several years away from being anywhere near big league ready. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen was a bit more bullish, ranking him 26th in what he tweets is a “very deep” Cleveland system.

Mendoza is also 19 and also spent the most recent season pitching for the Indians’ Rookie affiliate in the Arizona League. He worked to a 4.58 ERA in 37 1/3 innings with 37 strikeouts against 20 walks. Longenhagen tweets that Mendoza is another “projection arm,” crediting him for two above-average secondary offerings and an 87-90 mph heater that figures to tick upwards as his 6’5″ frame fills out.

The swap also opens a spot on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, as they’re dealing two big leaguers for Gonzalez and a pair of right-handers who are years from needing 40-man protection. The trade, then, gives them a potential upgrade in terms of utility infielder while also giving the front office some additional flexibility in advance of next Tuesday’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft.

AL Central Notes: Molitor, Mauer, Iglesias, Rajai

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Though the Twins have offered recently dismissed manager Paul Molitor a new position with a “likely” focus on player development (per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes), USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Molitor’s preference is to continue coaching or managing at the big league level. The 62-year-old isn’t likely to accept the new role within the Twins organization, per Nightengale, who notes that Molitor is still owed a total of $3.2MM through 2020 as part of last October’s contract extension. There are several other managerial openings around the league — Orioles, Angels, Blue Jays, Reds — for which Molitor could potentially emerge as a candidate if he does indeed rebuff the Twins’ latest offer. He also has experience as a big league hitting coach, and both the D-backs and Pirates have announced they’ll be looking for a new voice in that role.

More from the AL Central…

  • The decision to move on from Molitor caught Twins cornerstone Joe Mauer by surprise, writes La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Mauer, like Molitor, is a St. Paul native (the two even attended the same high school — St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall) and spoke about his relationship with the Hall of Famer, who had spent four seasons as the manager in Minnesota. Mauer is mulling retirement after an emotional sendoff from his hometown organization — the only team he’s ever known — and said that Molitor’s dismissal will factor into the calculus. “There are many factors that will go into my decision going forward, and Paul’s absence as our manager is another thing I will be adding to my list of things to consider,” said Mauer. “He’s been an incredible leader and role model and will be greatly missed by all who have played under him.”
  • Jose Iglesias bid farewell to the Tigers organization on Instagram today, and Evan Woodbery of MLive.com writes that it’s become increasingly apparent that the Tigers aren’t likely to pursue a reunion. Manager Ron Gardenhire bluntly indicated that the team is “looking for cheaper and inexpensive” as it looks to fill its middle infield voids. A return for Iglesias certainly doesn’t seem impossible — Woodbery notes that trade interest in him has been nonexistent over the past two seasons, which doesn’t bode well for free agency — but it doesn’t sound as if he’ll be an immediate priority for the club. Woodbery adds that Dixon Machado isn’t likely to be in the team’s plans, either; he elected free agency yesterday after being removed from the Tigers’ 40-man roster several months ago.
  • The Indians’ final roster spot for the American League Division Series will go to Rajai Davis, manager Terry Francona told reporters today (link via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian). The decision came down to the veteran Davis versus infielder Erik Gonzalez, but Francona indicated that the potential to utilize Davis as a late-inning baserunning threat ultimately outweighed the desire to have a true backup option at shortstop. The 37-year-old Davis didn’t hit much this season — .224/.278/.281 in 216 plate appearances — but he still managed to swipe 21 bases in a very limited role.

Central Notes: Brewers, Hader, Indians, JDM, Reds

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Although Brewers left-hander Josh Hader worked through the minor league ranks as a starting pitching prospect, he has served exclusively as a reliever since making his MLB debut last year. That’s OK with Hader, who has emerged as one of the game’s most dominant bullpen weapons during his 57 1/3-inning career. “I like the idea of coming out of the bullpen and attacking hitters,” he told Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “That plays to my strengths a little bit better.” Hader added that “being able to come in 1-2 innings every other day, that keeps me in shape and keeps my pitches more intact” (Twitter links). It’s hard to argue with the results – a 2.04 ERA with 14.13 K/9 against 3.92 BB/9. The 24-year-old is averaging upward of 20 strikeouts per nine early this season, thanks in part to his five-K performance against the Mets over two perfect innings on Saturday. Hader earned the first save of his career in that outing.

More from the Central divisions…

  • With Gio Urshela nearing a return from the disabled list, it’s likely the Indians will soon have to decide between him and fellow out-of-options infielder Erik Gonzalez, Ben Weinrib of MLB.com writes. Attempting to send either Urshela or Gonzalez to the minors would leave that player exposed to waivers. Cleveland has been able to put off an Urshela-Gonzalez choice since last month because of the right hamstring strain the former suffered, but he started a rehab assignment Friday and is on track to come back within the next couple weeks. If the Indians make this call based on career offensive production, the edge goes to Gonzalez. While he’s only a .250/.275/.386 hitter in 139 plate appearances, that easily outdoes Urshela’s .225/.273/.314 line in 453 PAs.
  • More on the Indians, who tried to bolster their World Series chances last year with a J.D. Martinez deadline addition. They were in on the slugging outfielder before the division-rival Tigers shipped him to Arizona in mid-July, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports. The Indians ultimately ended up getting fellow outfielder Jay Bruce a couple weeks later in a deal with the Mets, and while he was effective in Cleveland, Martinez was otherworldly in regular-season action with Arizona. Still, the Martinez-less Indians managed a ridiculous 22 consecutive victories from late August through mid-September en route to a 102-win campaign. Further, it’s anyone’s guess whether Martinez would’ve made a bigger difference in their five-game ALDS loss to the Yankees than Bruce, who slashed .278/.333/.667 with two home runs in 18 at-bats. Martinez, now with the Red Sox, ended his short D-backs career with a .267/.313/.467 line and a homer in 15 ABs in their four-game NLDS loss to the Dodgers.
  • Reds outfielder Scott Schebler, on the DL retroactive to April 6 with a right elbow injury, is slated to play in a Triple-A rehab game Sunday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relays. If that goes well, it’s possible Schebler will rejoin the Reds on Monday, according to manager Bryan Price. Meanwhile, reliever David Hernandez is getting close to embarking on his own rehab assignment, per Sheldon. The Reds signed Hernandez to a two-year deal in free agency, but right shoulder inflammation has kept him from debuting with the club.

AL Central Notes: Mauer, Hochevar, Indians, ChiSox

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On the heels of a bounceback 2017 season in which he posted a strong .305/.384/.417 slash line and finished as a finalist in AL Gold Glove voting, Joe Mauer tells MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that he believes he can continue playing beyond the 2018 season — the final year on his eight-year, $184MM contract. Mauer adds that he cannot envision himself donning a uniform other than that of his hometown Twins, with whom he’s spent his entire professional career since being the No. 1 overall pick back in the 2001 draft.

“As long as I’m contributing and having fun and physically able to do that, I want to go as long as I can,” says Mauer. “Sometimes, that decision is made for you, but if it’s up to me, I’d like to play as long as I can because I enjoy to go out and compete.” The former AL MVP says his future with the team isn’t something he’s focusing on with the season approaching. Mauer went through a rough patch as concussions and lingering effects of back surgery dampened his production for a few years, but both OPS+ and wRC+ pegged his bat at 16 percent better than the league average in 2017 to go along with solid defense.

Elsewhere in the AL Central…

  • Another former No. 1 overall pick, right-hander Luke Hochevar, is eyeing a big league comeback after sitting out the 2017 season following thoracic outlet surgery, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. The recovery rate from TOS has been spotty in recent years, though, and agent Scott Boras tells Dodd that Hochevar had some complications in his rehab that leave his timeline back to the mound somewhat murky. Medical experts have told Boras and Hochevar that they believe the right-hander will eventually be able to make a recovery and return to pitching, but Boras says the nerve issues his client has faced are “extended” relative to other pitchers that have gone through the TOS process. The now-34-year-old Hochevar posted a 2.96 ERA with 9.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in three seasons out of the Kansas City bullpen after converting to a reliever when his career had stalled out as a starter. He hasn’t appeared in the Majors since July 24, 2016.
  • The Indians will face decisions on a trio of out-of-options players this spring, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and southpaw Ryan Merritt figures to face the toughest path of them all. While Erik Gonzalez and Giovanny Urshela are both out of options as well, they’re vying for a presently vacant utility infield job; Merritt, on the other hand, is faced with a full rotation and a bullpen that, at best, has one open spot. While it’s certainly possible that an injury creates a more obvious spot for Merritt to break camp with the big league club, there’s also the possibility that he’s exposed to waivers or traded at some point, given the overall strength of the Indians’ pitching staff. The 26-year-old Merritt etched his place in Cleveland sports lore when he blanked the Blue Jays over 4 1/3 innings in a spot start during the 2016 ALCS, and he has a 1.71 ERA in 31 2/3 MLB innings in his career. But, he’s also struck out just 13 hitters in the Majors and averages just 87 mph on his fastball. Merritt has a career 3.48 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 in 289 1/3 Triple-A frames.
  • White Sox GM Rick Hahn spoke with the media at the team’s Spring Training facility today (links via The Athletic’s James Fegan and the Sun-Times’ Daryl Van Schouwen) and downplayed the possibility of adding a player to the 25-man roster. Hahn acknowledged having conversations with all 29 other clubs as teams still try to set their rosters in a slow-moving offseason, but said that the Sox are “preparing right now [to] choose the 25 from the group that’s in camp.” Asked about the potential of bringing in a designated hitter option (e.g. Corey Dickerson), Hahn spoke of the trickle-down effect such a move would make in evaluating longer-term assets. “[W]hat does that do to Matt Davidson or Nicky Delmonico or Daniel Palka or Casey Gillaspie or guys who conceivably might be picking up at-bats if we stay with the current roster?” Hahn asked rhetorically. “We’re at a stage right now when we talk about development over the course of this year, it’s important for us to know what we have in these guys at the end of this season.”

AL Central Notes: Alvarez, Gonzalez, White Sox, Balester

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Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…

  • The Twins’ reported interest in Pedro Alvarez has been “overstated,” a team source tells 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link).  FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported earlier this week that Minnesota at least held some internal discussion about signing the slugger, who would join Joe Mauer and Kennys Vargas in the first base/DH mix.  Wolfson believes the Twins could sign Alvarez only if he could be had on an inexpensive one-year deal.
  • Several teams have asked about Indians infielder Erik Gonzalez, though Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer hears from one team source that Gonzalez “is a real possibility” for a utility infield role for the Tribe.  Gonzalez, 25, has a .274/.316/.395 slash line over 2986 career plate appearances in Cleveland’s minor league system, and he got his first taste of MLB action last season in the form of 21 games for the Tribe.  While he has spent the bulk of his career as a shortstop, Gonzalez also has significant experience at second and third base, plus some time at first, center field and right field.  MLBPipeline.com ranks Gonzalez as the eighth-best prospect in Cleveland’s system, praising his defensive work at short and his above-average speed.  As Pluto notes, Gonzalez would appear to offer more upside than veteran Michael Martinez, who could be the top competition for a utility infield job.
  • “Critical mass” is what White Sox GM Rick Hahn hopes to achieve in terms of stockpiling young talent during the team’s rebuild, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes.  The Sox want to add as many good minor leaguers as possible both to give them options now and in the future as depth.  “The last few years we’ve had a very top-heavy roster and the reason we haven’t won had nothing to do with the quality players at the top end of that roster,” Hahn said. “When the time comes that we are in a position to contend again, we are going to be approaching that with ideally a much deeper, more thoroughly balanced roster than what we had.  It had to do with what was going on with not just one through 25, but one through 35 or 40.  So now as we approach this, we have to build that organizational quality depth, not just insurance policies, but real high-caliber depth.”
  • Collin Balester took a short break from baseball last summer in the wake of a disappointing stint in South Korea, and the righty tells Anthony Fenech of the Detroit News that he is now healthy and looking forward to continuing his career in the Tigers farm system.  Balester said he was at something of a low point last year and even questioned his future in the game.  His spirits rose, however, after he began throwing last November without any elbow issues, and Balester then contacted the Tigers about a minor league deal (which he signed in December).

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