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NL West Notes: Giants, Turner, Padres, Hoffman, Mathis

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With the trade deadline approaching, the bottom-feeding Giants may soon have to “take some bold, big-picture steps,” writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. One potential problem for the Giants, if they end up selling, is that they might not have any players they could deal who would do much to restock their mediocre farm system, notes Crasnick. And even if they do try to move trade candidates such as Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, there are roadblocks in the way. Cueto has the ability to opt out of his contract at season’s end, of course, and neither that nor his relatively unspectacular output this year are doing his trade value any favors. Samardzija, meanwhile, has a 21-team no-trade clause, making it likely he’ll remain in San Francisco.

A look at the rest of the National League West:

  • Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, on the disabled list since May 19 on account of a hamstring strain, could rejoin the team by the end of the week, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Turner will begin a rehab assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga tonight. As they continue to await Turner’s return, the Dodgers are likely to recall utilityman Mike Freeman from Triple-A, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Freeman, whom Los Angeles claimed off waivers from Seattle on May 26, would join Logan Forsythe and Enrique Hernandez in giving the Turner-less Dodgers another third base-capable option.
  • The Padres’ attempt to turn Christian Bethancourt into a viable pitcher probably isn’t going to pan out, observes Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The 25-year-old catcher/outfielder struggled mightily as a major league reliever this season before the Padres outrighted him in late April, and the experiment hasn’t gone much better in the minors. Across 10 1/3 innings with Triple-A El Paso, Bethancourt has given up 13 earned runs on 15 hits and 12 walks, with just five strikeouts. Bethancourt’s Triple-A woes have come in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, leading Lin to wonder if the Padres would’ve been better off sending him to Double-A to develop.
  • Like Bethancourt, Padres catcher Luis Torrens has fared poorly this season. Nevertheless, the club hasn’t considered jettisoning the Rule 5 pick, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Torrens, a former Yankees farmhand and one of an unprecedented three Rule 5 selections on the Padres’ roster, has collected a mere five hits (four singles and a double) and two walks in 41 plate appearances. Still, San Diego remains bullish on Torrens, particularly as a defender, suggests Cassavell.
  • A lack of self-awareness kept Rockies right-hander Jeff Hoffman in the minors to begin the season, manager Bud Black told Nick Groke of the Denver Post. “You have to critically evaluate your performance,” Black said. “Was that a good pitch? Was that located well? Was that pitch truly where I intended it to be? Was the homer I gave up a good piece of hitting?” Hoffman seems to have improved in that aspect, as Black noted that the 24-year-old has “come a long way in a short amount of time in a lot of areas.” Ranked as Baseball America’s 27th-best prospect, Hoffman has produced spectacular results this year over 20 2/3 innings in Colorado (2.61 ERA, 11.32 K/9, .87 BB/9), and has made a case to stay in the team’s rotation even when the injured Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson return.
  • Thanks to his pitch-framing skills, Diamondbacks catcher Jeff Mathis has emerged as an important offseason signing, opines Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs. The light-hitting Mathis, whom the Diamondbacks added on a two-year, $4MM deal, has been a sizable upgrade behind the plate over predecessor Welington Castillo, as Sawchik details. The change in backstops seems to be benefiting right-hander Zack Greinke, who has pitched to Mathis in all 12 of his starts this year and bounced back from a pedestrian 2016.

Rockies Notes: Bullpen, Rotation, Dahl

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Just last year, the Rockies’ bullpen ranked in baseball’s bottom third, coming in 21st in baseball with a 2.2 fWAR. So far this year, their relievers are the best in the game using that same metric, with a 1.4 fWAR and a 2.80 ERA that’s remarkable considering the context in which they pitch. The Denver Post’s Nick Groke explains the bullpen’s transformation, beginning with the signings of Greg Holland and Mike Dunn last winter. “Greg Holland and Mike Dunn have been fabulous for the mentality of the bullpen,” says manager Bud Black. “They have made a marked difference with the professionalism of that group. There’s no doubt they have set the standard.” So far, the pair have combined for 11 1/3 scoreless innings, and Dunn has performed very well despite his signing receiving lukewarm reviews from commentators. As Groke points out, Holland and Dunn look like far better gambles so far than Chad Qualls and Jason Motte were in 2015-16 (Qualls is currently hurt; the Rockies recently released Motte, and he signed a minor-league deal with the Braves.) Of course, it’s very early in the season.

More on the Rockies, who improved to an NL West-best 8-5 on Saturday:

  • With top starter Jon Gray set to miss at least a month with a foot injury, the Rockies figure to turn to one of Jeff Hoffman, German Marquez or Harrison Musgrave to fill the void, writes Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Veteran swingman Chris Rusin has more major league starting experience than any of them, but he isn’t in contention to reenter the Rockies’ rotation because they like the value he provides to their bullpen, Black indicated. The 24-year-old Hoffman and the 22-year-old Marquez are among the premier prospects in the game, with Baseball America ranking the former 36th and the latter 53rd, and the two garnered some big league experience last season. While the 25-year-old Musgrave hasn’t yet cracked the bigs, nor does he carry a high-end prospect pedigree, he did come close to winning a job with the Rockies during the spring, notes Harding.
  • Outfielder David Dahl, on the shelf since early March with a stress fracture in his ribcage, feels healthy enough to return, but the Rockies are taking a cautious approach with the 23-year-old, per Groke. Dahl won’t be able to swing a bat until at least next week, as the Rockies first want to see the results from the MRI bone scan he’ll undergo April 21. “Honestly, I’ve been saying I’m ready to play. But they said you can feel good, but it still might not be healed,” said Dahl. “They want to make sure the bone scan comes back and it shows it’s healed.” If the scan yields good news, it should put Dahl on track to make his 2017 debut in May.

NL West Notes: Hoffman, Norris, Hoover, Padres

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Some news and notes from around the NL West…

  • The Rockies optioned Jeff Hoffman to Triple-A today, with manager Bud Black telling reporters (including Nick Groke of the Denver Post) that Hoffman required “a little more refinement” and consistency.  “The fastball has velocity, but he has to locate the fastball,” Black said.  “The slider and curveball are very good pitches.  They are major league quality.  But he has to consistently get them into good spots.  The overall command of his pitches is something he needs to harness.”  Hoffman, one of the game’s top pitching prospects, posted a 4.88 ERA over his first 31 1/3 innings in the majors last season.  With Hoffman at Triple-A, rookies German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, and Antonio Senzatela are all competing for the last two spots in Colorado’s injury-thinned rotation.
  • The Rockies are one of the teams interested in catcher Derek Norris, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.  Colorado joins the Cardinals and Rays as teams known to have interest in the free agent catcher.  With Tom Murphy on the DL with a fractured forearm, the Rockies are a logical candidate to be exploring upgrades behind the plate.
  • J.J. Hoover is looking like a good bet to break camp with the Diamondbacks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes.  Hoover signed a minor league deal with the D’Backs in January that will pay him a $900K base salary if he cracks the big league roster, which seems like a distinct possibility given the righty’s solid spring numbers and Arizona’s wide-open bullpen competition.  Hoover posted solid numbers out of Cincinnati’s bullpen from 2012-15 before taking over as the Reds closer and suffering a disastrous 2016 season.
  • The top 50 international bonuses of 2016 are compiled by Baseball America’s Ben Badler, with the Padres’ $11MM bonus to Cuban lefty Adrian Morejon leading the way.  San Diego owns five of the top 12 entries and a league-leading 11 of the top 50 overall, which isn’t a surprise given the Padres’ tactic of blowing past their bonus pool limit to hoard as much young international talent as possible during this signing period.  As a result, the Padres will be limited to signings worth no more than $300K during the next two international signing periods.

Camp Battles: Colorado Rockies

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The Rockies made several moves this winter geared toward putting a contender on the field, but face a tall task to unseat the Dodgers and Giants as the leading team in the NL West. While there’s not a ton to sort out in camp, there are a few notable battles that could impact Colorado’s hopes.

Here are the key camp competitions for the Rockies, who are the second entrant in MLBTR’s new Camp Battles series.

CATCHER
Tony Wolters
Age: 24
Bats: L
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’21 season
Options remaining: 2

Tom Murphy
Age: 25
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2

Dustin Garneau
Age: 29
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2

After relying heavily on veteran Nick Hundley for the past two seasons, the Rox are set to hand off the field generalship to some much less experienced players. Wolters emerged after coming over through a waiver claim, providing solid defense behind the dish while adding value on the basepaths. He’s not much of a hitter — he posted a 75 wRC+ over 230 plate appearances and never did much more in the minors — but seems to have the trust of the organization.

Vying with each other to share time with Wolters, or possibly even take primary duties, are Murphy and Garneau. The former has shown quite a bit of bat in the upper minors and in his brief MLB time, though he’s still a work in progress behind the plate. The latter raked last year at Triple-A, but seems clearly third in line.

There’s still perhaps an outside chance that Colorado will make a move for Matt Wieters — if not some other veteran — before camp breaks. But if that doesn’t come to pass, the plan likely involves hoping that Murphy takes charge while leaning on Wolters to the extent necessary.

Prediction: Murphy is given every opportunity to win semi-regular time, but ends up in a time-share with Wolters.

CLOSER
Adam Ottavino
Age: 31
Throws: R
Contract Status: 2 years, $9.1MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent

Greg Holland
Age: 31
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $6MM with 2018 mutual option ($10MM or $1MM buyout)
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent

Jake McGee
Age: 30
Throws: L
Contract Status: 1 year, $5.9MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent

Mike Dunn
Age: 31
Throws: L
Contract Status: 3 years, $19MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent

Jason Motte
Age: 34
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $5MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent

These five veterans all have substantial late-inning experience, with most having handled the ninth inning for at least some significant stretch. The only one that hasn’t — Dunn — just signed a contract that includes incentives for games finished, though that hardly means he’s been promised a full-blown shot at the job.

Ottavino seems the obvious choice: he has been nails over the past two seasons, with a 1.93 ERA and 11.6 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. But he has managed only 37 1/3 total innings in that stretch, owing to Tommy John surgery, and his health will be monitored closely all year long. The veteran Holland is a wild card, as he’s returning from his own TJ procedure and has a long record of dominating from a closer’s role. McGee is looking to bounce back from a subpar 2016 campaign, while Motte could be turned to if he can rebound from his own struggles and the need arises. Unless Ottavino falters, though, it seems the job is likely his.

Prediction: Ottavino

STARTING ROTATION (ONE SPOT)
Jeff Hoffman
Age: 24
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 3

Jordan Lyles
Age: 26
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $3.175MM
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent

German Marquez
Age: 21
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2

Kyle Freeland
Age: 23
Throws: L
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 or ’23 season (not yet on 40-man)
Options remaining: 3

The Rockies finally have some hope in the starting staff, but the fifth slot remains undetermined as camp opens. Fortunately, there are a host of intriguing arms that figure to compete for the job, with the losers expected to remain on hand if a leak springs during the season.

Both Hoffman and Marquez struggled in their MLB debuts, but are seen as talented hurlers and obviously have caught the eye of GM Jeff Bridich. If neither grabs the reins in camp, though, it’s plenty possible that they’ll be left in Triple-A for added seasoning when the season opens. That could leave room for a comeback for Lyles, who struggled badly in 2016 and may otherwise end up in the bullpen. Though Freeland has only a dozen Triple-A starts under his belt, that’s more than Marquez, so he too could factor with a big spring — though going to him would require opening a 40-man spot.

Prediction: Hoffman

[RELATED: Colorado Rockies Depth Chart]

NL West Notes: Utley, Rockies, Pollock

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Chase Utley was one of many players this offseason — including Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner Rich Hill and Sergio Romo — to take less money to join or stay with the Dodgers, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register notes. The Dodgers already had players in Logan Forsythe and Turner who appear likely to take most of the at-bats at the positions Utley plays, but as Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman puts it, “You never say never with a guy like Chase,” who is well regarded in the clubhouse. Here’s more from the NL West.

  • Righty Jeff Hoffman, outfielder Gerardo Parra and catcher Tom Murphy top the list of Rockies who have much to prove in Spring Training, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. Hoffman is slated to compete with German Marquez for the Rockies’ fifth starter job and could provide the team with a jolt of upside if he lives up to the billing that made him one of the keys to the Troy Tulowitzki trade. Parra is coming off an extremely poor 2016 season in which he batted just .253/.271/.399 despite playing half his games in Coors Field; he’ll need to prove himself in the second year of the three-year, $27.5MM contract he signed with the team last January. And Murphy needs to show he can call a good game behind the dish so that he can Tony Wolters can make the Rockies’ catcher position an asset despite that duo’s lack of experience.
  • Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock is the game’s most underrated player, Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs writes. The broken elbow Pollock suffered in Spring Training in 2016 cost him most of the season, and since then he’s been under the radar, making him again underrated, as he was prior to his brilliant 2015 campaign. When healthy, Pollock is as well-rounded as they come — he hits and runs the bases well and is a terrific defender in center field. And unlike someone like Michael Brantley, the injury that limited Pollock last season shouldn’t be a major concern going forward.

Rockies To Promote Jeff Hoffman

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The Rockies are set to promote top prospect Jeff Hoffman to make his Major League debut against the Cubs, as Jason Lewis of CBS Albany first reported (on Twitter). MLB.com’s Thomas Harding tweets that an official announcement should be expected later this afternoon.

Jeff Hoffman

Hoffman, 23, was the ninth overall pick by the Blue Jays in the 2014 draft and may have gone first overall had he not required Tommy John surgery during his junior year at Eastern Carolina University. Colorado acquired him as the centerpiece player in last summer’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster with Toronto, and since that time he’s only added to his prospect status. Baseball Prospectus rated him 18th among all MLB prospects on their midseason Top 50, while MLB.com ranked him 41st, Baseball America pegged him 49th, and ESPN’s Keith Law had him as an honorable mention on the fringes of his own midseason Top 50.

While Hoffman’s numbers at Triple-A Albuquerque might not immediately stand out — 4.02 ERA, 8.9 H/9, 9.4 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 45.1 percent ground-ball rate — the Pacific Coast League is, generally speaking, quite a hitter-friendly environment. He draws praise for a fastball that flirts with 100 mph, a power breaking ball that has plus potential and a changeup that could eventually be a plus offering as well, per the above-linked reports. His 6’5″, 225-pound frame gives him the necessary size to be a starter moving forward, and he’s made 22 starts this season without showing any red flags in what is his first full season back from the aforementioned Tommy John operation.

The Rockies will hope that Hoffman can join emerging righty Jon Gray as a second power arm atop what looks to be a suddenly intriguing mix of young starters in Denver. Beyond that pair of hard-throwing righties, the Rox have received encouraging performances from left-hander Tyler Anderson and right-hander Tyler Chatwood (though Chatwood isn’t exactly a controllable piece, as he’s slated to hit free agency following the 2017 season and is presently on the DL with a back strain). Pitching, of course, has been Colorado’s Achilles heel for virtually the entire existence of the franchise, as general managers, scouts and other executives have struggled to determine ways to build a staff that can pitch effectively at altitude. While this influx of talent hasn’t demonstrated anything over the course of a full big league season together just yet, the promise offered by this collection of Rockies prospects is arguably greater than any in its franchise’s history.

It’s not immediately clear if Hoffman will be inserted into the rotation for the duration of the season, though one would imagine that could be unlikely if only to control his innings. (He’s already at 118 2/3 after tossing a combined 104 frames last year.) However, if Hoffman is in the bigs to stay, he’ll accrue just 44 days of Major League service time, thereby allowing him to reach free agency upon completion of the 2022 season and reach arbitration eligibility upon completion of the 2019 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Braves, Mets, Rockies

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The recent success of Braves right-hander Bud Norris could make him an attractive option to playoff contenders as the Aug. 1 trade deadline nears, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Norris dominated the Mets on Sunday over seven innings, surrendering just four hits while striking out eight. The 31-year-old lowered his ERA to 4.22 along the way and improved his strikeout and walk rates to 7.68 and 3.58, respectively, per nine innings. After a nightmarish April and a May spent in the bullpen, Norris has made six starts this month, allowing seven earned runs and collecting 29 strikeouts against eight walks over 29 1/3 innings. Norris is playing on an affordable salary ($2.5MM) this year and will be a free agent at season’s end. FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported earlier this week that multiple teams, including the NL East rival Marlins, are interested in Norris.

More from the National League:

  • Infielder Jose Reyes might be more than a 2016 stopgap for the Mets, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN.com. The contract Reyes, 33, inked with the Mets on Saturday also includes a team option at a league-minimum cost for 2017, according to Rubin. It’s worth noting that, thanks to third baseman David Wright’s injury troubles and second baseman Neil Walker’s status as a pending free agent, multiple positions in New York’s infield are unsettled beyond this season.
  • Rockies right-hander Eddie Butler has worked out of the rotation and bullpen this year, struggling in both roles, but the club isn’t bailing on his chances to serve as a long-term starting option. “For Eddie, his stuff is plus. You don’t want to give up on that,” manager Walt Weiss told Ben Weinrib of MLB.com. “We’ve seen him good as a starter. We’re not there yet where we’re going to give up on him as a starter.” A former high-end prospect, the 25-year-old Butler has racked up 42 1/3 innings as a starter this season and compiled a 6.54 ERA, 5.91 K/9 and 2.53 BB/9. Those numbers have contributed to his unimpressive career totals from the rotation (138 innings, 6.20 ERA, 4.89 K/9 and 3.98 BB/9).
  • The Rockies’ best current pitching prospect is righty Jeff Hoffman, whom they acquired from Toronto in the Troy Tulowitzki deal last year. Hoffman is faring well with Triple-A Alburquerque of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post details, but general manager Jeff Bridich told Groke that the Rockies aren’t going to rush the onetime Tommy John surgery recipient to the majors. For now, the 23-year-old Hoffman will continue sharpening his arsenal in Albuquerque. “He’s had all four pitches available to him and he’s using them,” Triple-A pitching coach Darryl Scott said. “He’s starting to recognize hitters. He’s coming into games now with a scouting report he put together, for a plan of attack. Not very many young pitchers take that step so early.”

Heyman’s Latest: Teheran, Ventura, CarGo, Lucroy, Myers, Turner

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Writing at todaysknuckleball.com, Jon Heyman breaks down the woes of the Dodgers and Angels. Both teams face difficult decisions over the summer. The Dodgers, at least, still seem positioned to contend and could play an interesting role on the trade market.

Here are more notes from the column:

  • Amidst the considerable amount of Julio Teheran chatter, one Braves source tells Heyman, “I don’t see the Braves trading Teheran.” That’s a less-definitive statement than the one Heyman received regarding Freddie Freeman, as a source told him the first baseman is “totally off limits,” which lines up with GM John Coppolella’s offseason comments. Heyman adds that the Braves have “tried to dangle” Erick Aybar in trade talks, but he has no value at this point and could simply end up being released, creating an opportunity for one of Atlanta’s top-tier shortstop prospects (Dansby Swanson and Ozhaino Albies).
  • Robin Ventura is on the hot seat with the White Sox, Heyman writes (adding more detail here). A team source tells him that there’s a feeling that “patience has been shown” and a change could benefit the team. Bench coach Rick Renteria, who formerly managed the Cubs, could succeed Ventura. Not that it’s particularly surprising, but Heyman adds that former skipper Ozzie Guillen wouldn’t be a candidate to return to his old post.
  • The Rockies haven’t yet started receiving calls asking about Carlos Gonzalez, but they’re expected to listen to offers despite hovering around .500 to this point of the season. GM Jeff Bridich tells Heyman that his current focus is on winning and adds that prized righty Jeff Hoffman, who headlined the prospects acquired in last July’s Troy Tulowitzki blockbuster, is “closer than he is far away.”
  • While Jonathan Lucroy is perhaps the most-cited trade candidate in baseball, GM David Stearns tells Heyman that an extension can’t be entirely ruled out. Heyman notes that if the Brewers are able to move Ryan Braun, they could look to reallocate some of those funds to locking up Lucroy, who is more open to an extension now that the Brewers are performing better than most pundits expected. There could, of course, be some level of gamesmanship there, as it would make sense for any team official to downplay a prime trade target’s availability.
  • The Padres are “open” to trading Wil Myers in the right scenario, says Heyman, but it still seems unlikely that’ll come to fruition. San Diego has received hits on Jon Jay and Derek Norris, though, and presumably the organization is more willing to part with those players.
  • There was talk of the Tigers pursuing Chris Davis over the winter, and Heyman says that was indeed the case. The club was considering an offer in the $180MM range for the slugger, per the report. Owner Mike Ilitch also pushed for Yoenis Cespedes over Justin Upton, but the club elected to grab the younger player. That choice is certainly up for debate after their respective starts.
  • The Phillies are obvious sellers, but most of their marketable assets reside on the pitching side of the equation. But the club sees infielder Andres Blanco as a plausible piece, with Freddy Galvis also potentially on the block. Blanco isn’t quite repeating his surprising 2015 season, but is hitting at around the league average rate and could be a useful utility piece.
  • With continued uncertainty surrounding Felix Hernandez, the Mariners are likely to explore the rotation market this summer. The club has received a nice boost from James Paxton of late, but many of its starters have long-term injury questions so it isn’t surprising to hear that the club is readying for an addition in that area.
  • Heyman also floats the idea that the Nationals could dangle top position player prospect Trea Turner in trade talks this summer. He wonders whether he could be the chip that lands a top-end reliever, citing Yankees hurler Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. From my perspective, that would be rather surprising: Turner has shown himself ready for a full crack at the big leagues and is widely considered one of the game’s twenty best prospects. Even if the Nats don’t make him the starter in 2016, he’s a critical part of the team’s middle infield depth right now and an important future piece.
  • Veteran outfielder Shane Victorino has rejected several opportunities to join teams on minor-league deals, says Heyman. Victorino is holding out for a shot to join a big league roster.

Jeff Bridich On Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman

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Here’s the latest from Rockies GM Jeff Bridich, via an interview with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post:

  • Bridich characterizes shortstop Jose Reyes’ situation as “day by day.” Reyes is suspended through May 31 under MLB’s domestic violence policy, and then he’ll likely begin a two-week rehab assignment. Bridich doesn’t dismiss the possibility that the team could deal Reyes, noting that “anything is possible.” (It doesn’t sound, however, like there will be significant trade interest in an expensive player who’s about to turn 33 and who’s coming off a .274/.310/.378 season and a domestic violence suspension. There has already been speculation that the Rockies could release Reyes once his suspension is complete.)
  • The team has no plans to rush pitching prospect Jeff Hoffman, Bridich says. “There are very specific things — not large, general things — but very specific things, that he needs to continue to work on. But that’s actually a good thing,” says the GM. Hoffman, the ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft and one of the team’s acquisitions in last year’s Troy Tulowitzki trade, has a 2.70 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 this season in hitter-friendly Triple-A Albuquerque.
  • The Rockies are hovering near .500, at 23-24, and are on the fringes of the NL West and NL Wild Card races at this early point in the season. But Bridich suggests the team’s position in the standings will not have a significant effect on their timelines for the promotions of Hoffman or other top prospects. “Jeff and some of the other players we think about as quality depth still are being challenged at Triple-A, and they have to meet those challenges to be ready for this level,” Bridich says.

Quick Hits: Rockies, Royals, Morales, Gordon, Zobrist, Cuba

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The Rockies should look at the Royals’ model of success, opines Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Both teams are mid-market clubs so they share the same constraints. In today’s game, that often means they can’t compete for top or even mid-tier free agents. Royals GM Dayton Moore told Saunders “You have to continually make the transition with two or three impact players [from the farm system], every single year. That means a position player, a starter and a bullpen piece.” Additionally, bold trades like the swap of Troy Tulowitzki are necessary too. The Rockies received Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, and Jesus Tinoco in the deal. While Reyes is the most recognizable name, the trade was all about the three pitching prospects. Colorado absolutely must solve their rotation woes if they want to field a consistently good club.

  • The Royals success in the middle of the free agent market may be the trait rival teams attempt to replicate this offseason, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. We’ve already heard about numerous ways other clubs hope to emulate the Royals with athleticism, defense, and an elite bullpen as oft cited details. However, the club also brought in eight productive free agents for just $35.875MM. With a deep and talented free agent pool this offseason, we may see clubs eschew top targets like Jason Heyward in favor of multiple additions (Sherman lists Gerardo Parra, Darren O’Day, and Marco Estrada as an example).
  • Kansas City did get lucky in one regard, per Sherman. Their top target for designated hitter was Torii Hunter. Had he signed with the Royals, they would not have pursued Kendrys Morales. Instead, the former Angel and Twin led the club with 22 home runs and 106 RBI.
  • Sherman also notes that the Royals hope to re-sign Alex Gordon and Ben Zobrist. The club will not pursue Johnny Cueto.
  • The U.S. government and Major League Baseball have been working on a new system for would-be Cuban defectors to reach America, writes Michael S. Schmidt and Julie Hirschfeld of the New York Times. Presently, Cuban players usually have to survive dangerous journeys in order to defect. Smugglers often take a large percentage the player’s initial contract as payment. While creating a transparent process for moving from the Serie Nacional to state-side professional baseball would solve a human rights issue, there are still barriers. Most notably, any payment to the Cuban government would violate the U.S. trade embargo with the island. Any typical compensation scheme would either directly or indirectly send money to the Cuban government.
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