Camp Battles: Kansas City Royals
The Royals disappointed in 2016, and entered the winter with questions about how they’d manage payroll with several key players poised for free agency. It’s a bit of tightrope walk, but the organization continued to put resources into the MLB roster. Two positions, in particular, are ripe for competition: one which features several holdovers, and the other of which may be led by two new additions.
Here are the key camp battles for the Royals, who are the third entrant in MLBTR’s new Camp Battles series.
SECOND BASE
Whit Merrifield
Age: 28
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
Christian Colon
Age: 27
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’20 season
Options remaining: Out of options
Cheslor Cuthbert
Age: 24
Bats: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’21 season
Options remaining: Out of options
Raul Mondesi
Age: 21
Bats: S
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’22 season
Options remaining: 2
This is hardly an established group, but Kansas City elected to forego bringing in veteran competition — despite a market low on demand at the position — even as the organization signed a variety of hurlers to bolster its staff. It’s certainly a calculated gamble, but evidently the Royals front office remains confident that it can achieve value with the in-house options.
Merrifield appears to have the edge entering camp. He excelled in the field and on the bases in his debut last year, while hitting just enough (.283/.323/.392) to compile 1.7 fWAR in a half-season’s worth of games. If there’s another player who can stake a claim to the bulk of the time in camp, it may be Cuthbert. Despite his lack of time at second as a professional, the club has worked with him on learning the position, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star recently wrote. Cuthbert’s chief advantage comes in the power department; while his overall productivity largely mirrored that of Merrifield, he swatted a dozen long balls in 510 MLB plate appearances last year and added seven more at Triple-A.
The two other possibilities here are both limited in their offensive outlook. Colon struggled badly at the plate last year, slashing just .231/.294/.293, and may be best suited to utility work. Mondesi, who’s still just 21, was similarly unimpressive (.185/.231/.281) in similarly limited major league action, though he was much better in the minors (.268/.322/.469) and comes with a solid prospect pedigree. He’s also the only one of these players who can hit from the left side, though it’s reasonable to think the club will prefer he get some more seasoning in the upper minors.
Players such as Ramon Torres and Corey Toups are also in camp, but don’t appear to have much of a shot. The former hasn’t displayed much bat in the minors, and while the latter hit quite well last year at Double-A, that represents his only action to date in the upper minors.
Prediction: Merrifield opens the year with the lion’s share of the time.
STARTING ROTATION (ONE SPOT)
Travis Wood
Age: 30
Throws: L
Contract Status: 2 years, $12MM (plus $8MM mutual option; $1MM buyout)
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Chris Young
Age: 37
Throws: R
Contract Status: 1 year, $5.75MM (plus $8MM mutual option; $1.5MM buyout)
Options remaining: Can’t be optioned without consent
Nate Karns
Age: 29
Throws: R
Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration; projected to become a free agent after ’20 season
Options remaining: 1
The Royals are fairly locked in to their first four starters, with Jason Hammel essentially taking the spot that would’ve gone to dearly departed young righty Yordano Ventura. But there’s an open competition for the fifth and final rotation slot.
Kansas City obviously saw a need to bolster the depth, as the club added Wood late in the offseason after already dealing for Karns early on. The organization also has at least two other conceivable candidates in Mike Minor and Matt Strahm, though indications are that those two lefties will compete instead for bullpen jobs.
Wood says he signed with the Royals in part because he was promised a chance to compete for a rotation job, and he’s probably the favorite after landing a $12MM deal. But if he doesn’t grab the reins in camp — and/or some of the lefty pen options falter — it’s conceivable that the club could place him back in the relief role in which he thrived over the past two seasons.
It certainly seems possible that the other two chief candidates could overtake Wood in the competition. Young, after all, was inked last winter with the premise of working as a starter, and did leap to an 11.1% swinging-strike rate last year despite his unsightly 6.19 ERA (which came due to a reversal in his batted-ball fortunes from the prior two seasons). And Karns likely comes with the most upside, though it may work against him that he’s also an intriguing relief candidate and still has an option remaining.
Prediction: Wood earns the first crack at holding down the job.
Royals Discussing Extension With Eric Hosmer; No Talks With Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas
The Royals are discussing a contract extension with first baseman Eric Hosmer‘s representatives, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. Hosmer has set Opening Day as the deadline for negotiations, as he doesn’t want ongoing talks to distract him during the season. Should the two sides not reach an agreement by the Royals’ first game, Hosmer will test free agency after the season, though he did say he wants to remain in Kansas City.
“We are talking about certain extensions, stuff like that. But the way I see it right now, I just want to make it that far [to free agency]. And if I do make it that far without signing anything, I feel like I deserve that right to see what’s out on the market,” Hosmer said. “It’s not cutting this place out completely. It’s earning the right to see what else is out there, seeing my options, seeing what would be the best possible situation for me.”
Hosmer is far from the only Royals star scheduled to hit the open market next winter, though he appears to be the only one thus far contacted by the team about an extension. Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas both tell Rosenthal that they haven’t been in talks about a new deal. (It can be inferred that Alcides Escobar, another pending free agent, also hasn’t been in negotiations with the club. Escobar was described by Rosenthal as “less of a priority” than the other three, given how Raul Mondesi Jr. could step in as Kansas City’s shortstop of the future.) Since Spring Training has just begun, of course, it stands to reason that Royals GM Dayton Moore will at least touch base with these players about potentially remaining in K.C. beyond the 2017 campaign.
It could be that Hosmer drew the early attention from the Royals because his potential extension could be the most complicated. The club expects Hosmer and agent Scott Boras to seek a ten-year deal, owing to both Hosmer’s young age (he is entering his age-27 season), the number of big-market teams that could be looking for first base help next winter.
Most players prefer to avoid having extension talks drag into the season, and in Hosmer’s case, he has some extra financial security — he has already earned $29.75MM through his four seasons of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player, including a two-year extension and a $12.25MM deal for 2017 to avoid arbitration.
It should also be noted that Hosmer could use another full year to really establish himself as a player worthy of a mega-deal, as the first baseman has been rather inconsistent over his first six seasons. Hosmer posted fWARs of 3.2 in 2013 and 3.4 in the Royals’ championship season of 2015, though he sandwiched those strong years in between three years of (according to the fWAR calculation) not even replacement-level play. Hosmer posted a -1.7 fWAR in 2012, 0.0 in 2014 and -0.2 last season, when he hit .266/.328/.433 with 25 homers over 667 plate appearances. Despite that seemingly good slash line, Hosmer was barely above average in terms of runs created (101 wRC+) and he was rated as a below-average baserunner and defender. After mostly good grades in terms of Defensive Runs Saved and UZR/150 in the previous three years, Hosmer’s first base work took a tumble as per those two metrics in 2016 (minus-6 DRS, -6.1 UZR/150). Hosmer’s contact rate also declined last year, while he posted a career-worst 19.8% strikeout rate.
With so many key free agents, the coming offseason has been seen as a turning point for a Royals team that is trying to remain competitive while remaining fiscally responsible. This winter, Kansas City has dealt two pending free agents in Wade Davis and Jarrod Dyson while extending another (Danny Duffy). While the odds of re-signing everyone is next to impossible, Duffy’s extension would imply that K.C. also isn’t going to let everyone walk and go into a full rebuild, though one or two of the free agents could be moved at the trade deadline if the Royals aren’t in contention for a playoff berth.
AL Central Notes: Kelly, Twins, Royals
The Tigers have announced that they’ve hired former utilityman Don Kelly as a pro scout and assistant to player development. It would appear, then, that the 37-year-old Kelly, who played briefly for the Marlins in each of the last two seasons, has retired, or at least put his playing career on hold. He spent much of last season with Triple-A New Orleans, batting a modest .198/.284/.233. Kelly is best known for his six-year tenure with the Tigers from 2009 through 2014, during which he played mostly outfield, first and third while serving as one of Jim Leyland’s favored bench pieces. In nine years in the Majors, Kelly has batted .230/.294/.334. Here’s more from the AL Central divisions.
- Twins scouting director Sean Johnson plans to incorporate analytics into his team’s draft process, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. The Twins have the No. 1 overall pick in June. Exactly how they plan to use analytics to inform that pick is unclear, but Berardino’s piece still demonstrates what appears to be a change in outlook from the Twins’ mostly traditionalist front office under Terry Ryan. Johnson was with the Twins under Ryan, previously serving as their West Coast supervisor, but new Twins front office honchos Derek Falvey and Thad Levine appear to be emphasizing a different approach. “At the heart of it, it’s always going to be about our scouts: who they like, who they want to draft,” says Johnson. “And then you layer on different things to make sure you’re on the right track. It might be numbers or psychological testing. It could be a makeup call. There are numerous things we want to implement.” Still, Johnson adds, “Broadly speaking, we’re going to use more of the metrics. We’re going to have more of the numbers, but not to drive the guys we go evaluate and who we want.” In contrast, Johnson says the Twins didn’t even discuss the spin rate on Tyler Jay‘s well-regarded slider before selecting him sixth overall in 2015.
- The Royals plan to use Alex Gordon at all three outfield spots during Spring Training, and perhaps in the regular season also, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. “Every scenario is open,” says manager Ned Yost. “I’m going to move Gordy around. I’m going to play Gordy in right, Gordy in center. Just to see what we got.” Gordon has won four Gold Gloves as a left fielder, but it appears the Royals won’t be shy about experimenting, at least for now. The idea, it seems, is to see how best to utilitze Gordon along with new additions Jorge Soler and Brandon Moss, although Yost does note that he views Soler mostly as a right fielder. Moss played 58 games in left field for the Cardinals last season, although his defense there does not rate as highly as Gordon’s.
Royals To Re-Sign Peter Moylan
The Royals have struck a minor-league deal with righty Peter Moylan, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal comes with a $1MM salary if Moylan can crack the MLB roster, MLBTR’s Steve Adams tweets. It also includes $250K in available incentives, and allows Moylan to opt out on March 28th if he hasn’t been added to the 40-man.
Moylan, 38, surprisingly resurrected his MLB career in 2015 with the Braves after working back from Tommy John surgery. Signed partly as a pitching instructor, he ended up throwing 10 1/3 MLB frames, posting a 3.48 ERA and compiling eight strikeouts without a single walk.
After landing with the Royals on a minors deal, Moylan again surprised. In 44 2/3 innings, his most extensive major league action since 2010, he worked to a 3.43 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Though he doesn’t have much in the way of velocity, Moylan managed a solid 9.6% swinging-strike rate with his sinker-slider combo. Of course, he’s best limited to seeing opposing righties, as southpaws feasted on him last year.
Despite his contributions to Kansas City in 2016, Moylan will have to battle for a roster spot this spring. The Royals may need to stash some starters in the bullpen, and have already lined up a long list of former MLB hurlers to compete in camp with some of the team’s internal options. That includes Seth Maness, Bobby Parnell, Al Alburquerque, and Brandon League.
AL Central Notes: Cuthbert, Royals, Frazier, Gimenez
Though he lacks experience at the position, Cheslor Cuthbert will be in the mix for the Royals‘ second base job this spring, writes Rustin Dudd of the Kansas City Star. The 25-year-old Cuthbert is out of minor league options, so the Royals will need to carry him on the roster this season or risk losing him on waivers. Cuthbert worked out with Royals special assistant Rafael Belliard this offseason to familiarize himself with the new position, and he played about 15 games at second base in winter ball in his native Nicaragua as well, per Dodd. Even if he’s not a long-term answer at second, the Royals likely want to keep Cuthbert as a potential long-term option at third base. With Mike Moustakas slated to hit the open market next winter, Cuthbert could inherit the team’s everyday job at the hot corner as soon as 2018. Cuthbert hit .274/.318/.413 with a dozen homers and 28 doubles in 510 plate appearances last season as he played third base regularly in lieu of the injured Moustakas.
More from the AL Central…
- The Royals aren’t simply conceding that this will be their last year with free-agents-to-be such as Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. While it’s obviously not realistic to expect the Royals to re-sign each of those players — Rosenthal notes that the team may even prefer to replace Escobar with the younger Raul Mondesi — Kansas City executives feel there’s some hope of retaining some of their core pieces. The Royals have already locked up left-hander Danny Duffy (who was also on track for free agency next winter) on a new five-year, $65MM deal. Hosmer, Moustakas and Cain could all prove more expensive than that next offseason, depending on their 2017 performance, though with at least some from that group likely to sign elsewhere, the Royals will have some payroll flexibility. The Royals currently have about $104MM of payroll commitments to the 2018 roster, $78MM in 2019, $51MM in 2020 and $32MM in 2021.
- White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier tells reporters that the sprained finger, for which he was wearing a splint late last month, is healed (via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun Times). Frazier said that he’s been hitting every day, and it doesn’t seem as if he expects the issue to hamper him this season. Set to hit free agency next winter, Frazier declined to speak at length about his future. “Chicago is a nice place to play and I’d like to play here,” he said after noting that his focus is primarily on the upcoming season.
- Chris Gimenez‘s ties to Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey (formerly an assistant GM with the Indians) and general manager Thad Levine (formerly an assistant GM with the Rangers) made it an decision for the new Minnesota execs to sign him this offseason, writes Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Gimenez isn’t in camp as a mere depth option, either, as he’ll be given a legitimate chance to emerge from Spring Training as the backup to offseason addition Jason Castro. While Gimenez doesn’t come with a strong track record at the plate, he’s a solid defender that hits lefties well (.263/.358/.403 in his career), making him a nice on-paper fit with the left-handed-hitting Castro. Miller and Gimenez also discuss the catcher’s winding career, which has included seven organizations in the past nine seasons.
Central Notes: Arrieta, Nutting, Royals, Belisle
Cubs hurler Jake Arrieta still expects to talk to the team about an extension before free agency and believes a deal is possible, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. However, Arrieta noted that extension talks aren’t his No. 1 priority as he focuses on his health and on the team’s chances of replicating last year’s World Series victory. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein, too, said he planned to meet with Arrieta’s agent, Scott Boras, but as Wittenmyer explains, an extension still feels like a long shot. Boras has already compared Arrieta to right-hander Max Scherzer, who signed a seven-year, $210MM contract with the Nationals two winters ago. Wittenmyer writes that the Cubs aren’t likely to be open to a mega-deal — Jon Lester is just two years into his own $155MM pact — which could lead to Arrieta landing elsewhere in the long run. For the time being, Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago tweeted yesterday that there are no talks scheduled between Boras and the Cubs.
Here’s more from the game’s central divisions:
- Pirates owner Bob Nutting spoke with Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about a host of topics as he looks back on ten years in his current role. Nutting extolled the “transformation in every aspect of the organization” that has occurred in that time, describing the wide-ranging changes that have been undertaken. He also addressed concerns from some quarters with the team’s payroll, explaining that spending on MLB salaries isn’t the sole area where the organization is focused. “It’s how we’re drafting, it’s how we’re funding our international operations,” he said. “How we develop that talent, that broader picture of both investment in facilities, people and systems in our development system, which has completely transformed from what it had been and frankly what many other clubs are still doing. While the headline number of payroll is important, and we will invest there because we need to to win on the field, it’s also really important that that can’t be the sole metric that we use internally.” You’ll want to give the full interview a read to assess Nutting’s comments for yourself.
- While the Royals traded away several pending free agents, the club kept several others and obviously signaled its intention to compete with its overall offseason approach. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports, Kansas City is still holding out the possibility of finding a way to keep one or more of its remaining players who’ll hit the open market after the 2017 season. Whether that could mean extension talks this spring isn’t clear, but it seems that the Royals will at least consider some kind of play for Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and/or Lorenzo Cain.
- Righty reliever Matt Belisle landed with the Twins after a bounceback 2016 campaign, due in some part to lobbying efforts from a few noted former teammates. As Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes, LaTroy Hawkins and Michael Cuddyer didn’t exactly press the veteran to join the Minnesota organization, but their involvement in the process seemingly helped Belisle gain comfort with the idea of heading to the rebuilding club. “If Cuddy and LaTroy believed in it, I know I would too,” he explains.
AL Notes: Rodriguez, A’s Closer, Phegley, Adcock, O’s, Wood
Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was cleared for his first pen session of the spring after suffering a minor knee injury in winter ball action, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. There was added concern given the trouble Rodriguez experienced with the same joint last year, but he was able to throw 40 pitches without incident today. Boston has some depth in the staff, with Rodriguez slated to compete with Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright for the final two rotation jobs, though maintaining that depth will hinge in no small part upon the ability of the 24-year-old to stay healthy throughout the coming season.
Here are a few more notes from the American League:
- The Athletics may not go with a single closer in 2017, skipper Bob Melvin told reporters including MLB.com’s Jane Lee (Twitter link). Lefty Sean Doolittle and righty Ryan Madson have both handled the job in the recent past for Oakland, while the just-signed Santiago Casilla did the same for the cross-town Giants in recent years and John Axford also has spent plenty of time in the late innings. It’s perhaps imaginable that the less-experienced Ryan Dull could see some chances after a strong 2016.
- There was some good health news out of Athletics camp, as catcher Josh Phegley was cleared for full duty behind the plate, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Phegley had struggled with knee inflammation after undergoing surgery, causing him to miss the second half of the 2016 season, but a change in his stance will hopefully resolve that issue. Oakland is counting on a bounceback campaign from the 29-year-old.
- Righty Nate Adcock will not join Orioles camp as expected, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report on Twitter. The 28-year-old righty was hoping to make it back from Tommy John surgery, but now it’s unclear what his next steps will be.
- Meanwhile, the Orioles are still on the market for lefty relief help, Kubatko also tweets. At present, the team’s top two southpaw relievers (outside of closer Zach Britton) are Donnie Hart and T.J. McFarland. With the best remaining free agents all recently leaving the board, only two southpaws (Chris Capuano and Charlie Furbush) remain available among players who qualified for MLBTR’s list of available free agents.
- The Royals‘ signing of lefty Travis Wood was due in part to the unfortunate injury suffered by southpaw Brian Flynn, with GM Dayton Moore telling Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link) that club owner Dan Glass authorizing a payroll bump to make it happen. From Wood’s perspective, the chance to compete for a starting job played a big role in his decision to sign with Kansas City, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports via Twitter.
Royals Sign Travis Wood
FEBRUARY 15: Wood’s signing is official, with K.C. also announcing that the pact includes a mutual option for the 2019 season. He’ll earn $4MM in 2017 and $6.5MM in 2018, Heyman tweets. There’s a $1.5MM buyout on the option, which can be exercised at $8MM. Wood can also earn $1MM in incentives (either as a starter or as a reliever) in each year of the deal.
FEBRUARY 13, 5:07pm: Wood will receive a $12MM guarantee, per Heyman (via Twitter).
4:12pm: The Royals have agreed to a deal with free-agent lefty Travis Wood, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). The Frontline client will receive a two-year guarantee, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter link). Financial terms remain unreported.
[RELATED: Updated Royals Depth Chart]
Wood, 30, is expected to receive a chance to compete for a rotation job in Kansas City, though it seems he won’t be guaranteed a particular role entering camp. The organization recently signed righty Jason Hammel to take the spot that opened with the tragic death of Yordano Ventura. The staff already included Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, and Jason Vargas, and the Royals added Nate Karns to the mix earlier in the winter. Presumably, Wood and Karns will battle for the final rotation slot with veteran Chris Young, with the others heading to the bullpen. (In Karns’s case, he could also open at Triple-A.)
With this latest move, Royals GM Dayton Moore has perhaps largely completed an interesting offseason in which he sought to balance salary limitations, a large slate of core players on the brink of free agency, and the unimaginable loss of Ventura. Moore and his staff engineered deals that shipped out quality, short-term assets (Wade Davis and Jarrod Dyson) in exchange for controllable MLB players who come with upside but aren’t yet fully established (Jorge Soler and Karns). With the unexpected need to move on Hammel, the club has already driven its payroll right up to its record-setting 2016 level, and the signing of Wood will seemingly push it past that previous high-water mark.
Though he waited quite a while to sign, Wood drew strong interest throughout the winter. Clubs were seemingly intrigued by his ability to provide quality innings out of the pen or return to the rotation. Last year, he ran up a 2.95 ERA in his 61 frames for the Cubs — an exact match for his earned run average when working out of the pen in the prior year, when he made the transition after scuffling early as a starter. Of course, the real advance that Wood showed in 2015 was a leap in his swinging-strike (9.8%) and strikeout (10.6 K/9) rates. Both were easily career highs, but Wood fell back to typical numbers in his most recent season (6.5%; 6.9 K/9).
There’s little question that Wood was fortunate last year in the batted ball department, too, as opposing batters reached base on just .215 of the balls they put in play. And he still coughed up a few too many walks (3.5 BB/9) while generating a pedestrian groundball rate (37.4%). But there were some positives beyond the bottom-line results. In particular, as MLBTR’s Connor Byrne has noted, Wood exceeded his typically strong performance in generating infield pop-ups, posting one of the game’s best rates (17.8%). He also averaged just over 90 mph with his fastball, which is an unremarkable number in its own right but matched a career high for the soft-tossing southpaw. And Wood continued to baffle opposing lefties, who have compiled a paltry .206/.276/.316 slash against him over 949 total plate appearances.
Wood’s history as a starter likely contributed just as much to his value on the market. To be sure, it has been some time since he turned in a fully productive season out of the rotation, and his excellent 2013 season (exactly 200 innings of 3.11 ERA ball) looks more like an aberration than any kind of reasonable expectation going forward. But Wood has demonstrated an ability to churn out useful innings from the rotation, and seems to be a good bet to continue his strong health record over the two years of his new contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AL Central Notes: Strahm, Minor, Twins, White Sox
As the Royals sort out the new arms they have on hand, the team intends to utilize lefty Matt Strahm as a reliever in 2017, skipper Ned Yost told reporters, including Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. The same holds true of fellow southpaw Mike Minor. Strahm, 25, is one of the most highly regarded young arms in the Royals organization and was dominant out of the ‘pen in his 2016 debut. In 22 innings, he posted a sensational 1.23 ERA with a 30-to-11 K/BB ratio (one intentional walk) and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate while averaging 93.8 mph on his heater. Yost made clear that the Royals still view Strahm as a starter in the long run, but it looks as if he’ll reprise his late-inning role in 2017.
Minor, meanwhile, was once a key member of the Braves pitching staff but has missed the past two seasons due to shoulder troubles. He wasn’t able to take the hill for Kansas City in the first season of his two-year, $7.25MM pact with the Royals — though he did throw 34 2/3 innings in Triple-A — and will hope to return to health in 2017 as he looks to reestablish himself in the Majors.
A bit more from the division…
- The Twins are still talking to free agents, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey told reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger), but if they make an addition, it’s likelier to be on the pitching side of the equation. Bollinger notes that it’d be “a surprise” to see the team add a bat at this juncture. In a similar vein, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that the Twins attended Justin Masterson‘s workout earlier today. Masterson has an obvious tie to Minnesota, as he once starred in the Indians’ rotation while Falvey was working in the Cleveland front office. Injuries have derailed the past three seasons for Masterson, who spent the 2016 campaign with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate (4.97 ERA, 32 strikeouts, 26 walks in 54 1/3 innings).
- Bollinger also writes that longtime Twins closer Glen Perkins threw his first bullpen session since undergoing shoulder surgery last season. The left-hander hadn’t thrown off a mound since exiting his April 10 appearance in 2016, and he gave some Twins fans a bit of a scare when last Friday’s throwing session was pushed back. However, after working with the Twins’ training staff over the weekend, Perkins felt strong enough to throw a 15-pitch session earlier today and reported no issues after the fact. Perkins will be aiming to show display his health this spring in order to reclaim his spot in the ninth inning for Minnesota, though he’ll face some competition from righty Brandon Kintzler. The 32-year-old Kintzler filled in with aplomb following Perkins’ injury in 2016, logging a 3.15 ERA and picking up 19 saves in 54 1/3 innings.
- White Sox general manager Rick Hahn told reporters today that the Sox are open to trades but aren’t likely to make another addition to the roster, barring injuries (Twitter links via Colleen Kane of the Chicago Trib and Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago). Hahn said he’s had “extensive conversations on various fronts,” but at this point, “there’s nothing that’s gnawing at us or appealing enough to make us move.” The Sox will keep an open mind throughout the spring, though Hahn also noted some of the team’s focus will inevitably shift to prepping for the season as opposed to making deals. Hahn recently spoke with MLBTR contributor Brett Ballantini about his offseason rebuilding efforts in a two-part Q&A (Part 1, Part 2).
AL Injury Notes: Flynn, Tillman, Richards, Perkins, Smith, Cishek, Doubront
Royals lefty Brian Flynn is expected to miss eight weeks of action due to injuries suffered in a fall through the roof of his barn, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. A broken rib seems to be the main injury to the 26-year-old, who turned in 55 1/3 innings of 2.60 ERA ball last year for Kansas City. Though Flynn will clearly now be delayed, there’s no indication that there are any long-term concerns, and the organization’s recent signing of Travis Wood will help restore any lost early-season depth.
Here are some more injury situations developing around the American League:
- The Orioles may be without righty Chris Tillman to start the year, as the veteran starter undertook a PRP injection in his shoulder in December, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report (Twitter links). Tillman is said to be about three weeks behind, though he isn’t expected to miss significant time at this point. Still, there’s little chance he’ll be ready to take the ball on Opening Day, which would break a string of three-straight appearances in the first game of the season. It seems there’s no particular reason to worry about Tillman’s outlook for the season, though it’s fair to wonder whether the shoulder issue will gum up any attempts by the team to lock him up to a long-term deal this spring. Tillman is earning $10.05MM this season before hitting the open market.
- Angels righty Garrett Richards reported feeling normal after his pen session on Friday, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. That represents a positive start to the spring for a pitcher who once seemed destined for Tommy John surgery. Richards instead elected stem cell and PRP therapy, returning to the hill over the fall before taking his winter rest. The hope remains that he’ll be able to undertake a normal spring and open the season in the rotation. Meanwhile, the Halos are still waiting to see how first baseman Albert Pujols will progress in his return from foot surgery. The high-priced slugger expressed cautious optimism, but wasn’t willing to say for sure whether he’ll be ready by the start of the year, as Fletcher further reports.
- Twins lefty Glen Perkins felt good after a short, 15-pitch bullpen session, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets. He’s on track to take the hill again late this week. If you like, you can take a look at the former closer’s progress for yourself, as Berardino has uploaded a video of him throwing to YouTube.
- Red Sox right-hander Carson Smith is expected to throw off of a mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery on or around March 10th, as Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets. That would presumably set up Smith for a mid-season return; if he’s able to remain on track, he could provide a nice boost to the BoSox pen in advance of the trade deadline.
- It seems that Mariners righty Steve Cishek has a bit more to overcome than just the hip labrum tear that was previously reported, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). The reliever also needed a microfracture procedure, and now acknowledges that an Opening Day return is optimistic. Though Cishek is only just beginning light throwing, fellow relief candidate Tony Zych will soon progress to 120-foot throwing, Divish adds on Twitter.
- Athletics lefty Felix Doubront threw a pen for the first time today since his Tommy John surgery about ten months back, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. It’s not clear as yet what kind of timeline can be expected for the southpaw, though it’s certainly promising that he was deemed ready to get on the hill. Doubront re-signed with the A’s on a minor-league pact this offseason.