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Angels Could Pursue Yoenis Cespedes

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The Angels might make a run at free agent Yoenis Cespedes, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets. Cespedes would, of course, provide an outfield solution for the Angels, who have been trying to find a third outfielder to start alongside Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun.

A left-handed hitter might be a better fit, given the Angels’ heavily right-handed lineup. Obviously, though, Cespedes’ bat would have an impact for any team, regardless of handedness. He hit .291/.328/.542 last season and was one of the keys to the Mets’ unexpected run to the playoffs, hitting 17 home runs in 249 regular season plate appearances for New York after a midseason trade. While his average seems fairly likely to drop next season, his power has been undeniable in four seasons in the Majors. He’s also very helpful in the field, where his arm is a tremendous asset.

As Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes, Cespedes did not hit well in the playoffs, and there are questions about his motivation and coachability. Still, the 30-year-old appears likely to fetch a nine-figure contract. Last month, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted Cespedes would sign with the Angels for $140MM.

Angels In Talks With David Freese

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The Angels and third baseman David Freese are said to be “making progress” in talks on a new contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register adds (via Twitter) that GM Billy Eppler acknowledged yesterday that the two sides have continued to talk but wouldn’t specify how close the two sides were to an agreement.

Freese, 32, has spent the past two seasons as the Halos’ everyday third baseman after coming over from the Cardinals alongside right-hander Fernando Salas in a trade that sent Randal Grichuk and Peter Bourjos to St. Louis. Eppler and his staff decided against extending a one-year, $15.8MM qualifying offer to Freese, though the team reportedly considered tendering the QO due to Freese’s solid production and what looks to be a barren market at third base.

Freese would fill a notable void with a familiar face for those in the clubhouse. Over the past two seasons, he’s been a steadily productive player at the hot corner in Anaheim, batting a combined .258/.322/.401 with 24 homers in 981 plate appearances. Those numbers don’t jump off the page (or screen, in this instance), but when paired with respectable defense at third base (in the estimation of Ultimate Zone Rating, anyhow), that’s made Freese about a two-win player per year.

Outside of Freese, the free-agent market at third base contains Korean slugger Jae-gyun Hwang, who is currently posted for MLB clubs (bids are due at 5pm ET today) and possibly Daniel Murphy. However, Hwang is obviously an unproven commodity in the Major Leagues, and Murphy has considerably more experience at second base than at third base (even though some scouts feel he’s better suited to play third than second). Trades are another avenue for teams like the Angels that have glaring holes at third base, though one target in whom the Halos were said to have interest, Trevor Plouffe, may not on the market after all, per Twins GM Terry Ryan.

Padres, Angels, Dodgers Showing Most Interest In Utley

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The Padres, Angels and Dodgers are showing the most interest in second baseman Chase Utley, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark. Utley has told friends that his preference is to play in his native California, Stark hears, adding that the Los Angeles area native now resides in northern California but still has family in the southern portion of the state.

Some believe that the Padres’ interest could be a precursor to a trade of some kind, Stark writes, as the team has internal second base options in the form of Jedd Gyorko and Jose Pirela. (Additionally, I’d list Cory Spangenberg, Yangervis Solarte and recently acquired Carlos Asuaje in that mix.) Given the depth of options the Padres have at second, the Utley connection is perhaps a bit surprising, but Stark nonetheless characterizes the team’s interest as “strong.”

The Angels, he notes, could look to use Utley both at second base and designated hitter next season depending on matchups. Johnny Giavotella manned second for most of the 2015 season in Anaheim while batting .272/.318/.375 and delivering suspect defense. Of course, Utley himself is coming off a mere .212/.286/.343 batting line between the Phillies and Dodgers. And, at 37 (later this month), it might not be wise to count on plus defense from the veteran, though metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved pegged him as only slightly below average and much preferred his work to that of the younger Giavotella.

Stark writes that the Dodgers could use Utley as a short-term stopgap to prospect Jose Peraza — a former Top 100 prospect with the Braves that debuted with the Dodgers in 2015 but received just 25 plate appearances in the Majors. Peraza has considerable speed, but his combined .293/.316/.378 line between the Triple-A affiliates for L.A. and Atlanta wasn’t as impressive as his work at the lower levels in the minors. Then again, he’s also still just 21 years of age, making him significantly younger than the bulk of his competition in Triple-A.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Dodgers have more interest in Utley than they do in Ben Zobrist, which would seem to mesh with the notion that a short-term bridge to Peraza is the preferred route for the team. An outside addition isn’t necessarily needed at all, thanks to the presence of Enrique Hernandez, although adding Utley in a stopgap capacity would allow the Dodgers to continue leveraging Hernandez’s versatility in somewhat of a super-utility capacity.

Angels Notes: Luxury Tax, Skaggs, Wilson, Calhoun, Heyward

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With the Angels sitting only $22MM underneath the $189MM luxury tax threshold and holes to fill at second base, third base and in left field, owner Arte Moreno may have no choice but to incur luxury tax penalties for just the second time since purchasing the team in 2003, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times. When asked about the possibility, general manager Billy Eppler sounded open to the concept. “There are scenarios where you can see it being reasonable, and there are scenarios where you can see it not being worth it,” Eppler told DiGiovanna and other reporters. “Undetermined is probably the best way to put it,” added Eppler, who said scenarios which put the team over the luxury tax will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Eppler did admit that he’s had a wide number of trade and free-agent discussions in his search for an outfield upgrade, including names at the top of the market. While he declined to discuss specifics, players such as Jason Heyward, Alex Gordon, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes are all available in free agency, and the former two would give Anaheim a much-needed left-handed bat to help balance out the lineup.

A few more notes on the Halos…

  • Tyler Skaggs recently threw a 90-pitch bullpen session in Arizona, Eppler also told DiGiovanna today. The GM said the plan for Skaggs, who missed the entire 2015 season recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in late 2014, is to “let him roll” in Spring Training, indicating that he won’t have much in the way of limitations placed on him. Eppler added that C.J. Wilson is expected to be “unrestricted” in Spring Training as well. The 35-year-old Wilson underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow in August. DiGiovanna points out that Wilson could become a trade candidate in Spring Training if he can demonstrate his health on the mound.
  • If the Halos do make a run at Heyward, fellow Gold Glove right fielder Kole Calhoun won’t complain one bit about moving across the diamond to left field, he told MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. “If our team is going to get better, and that’s the way we’re going to get better, I’m all for it,” Calhoun said to Gonzalez when asked about a possible shift to left. Calhoun did go on to discuss the difficulties of such a switch, elaborating on the difficulty of essentially being forced to read swing paths and calculate routes in reverse. Gonzalez speculates that Heyward is the best fit among the potential free-agent outfielders for Anaheim, though he noted he’ll also be the most expensive of the bunch.
  • It should also be noted that both DiGiovanna and Gonzalez note that Eppler expressed satisfaction with the Angels’ rotation and bullpen, so if further additions are made to the club, expect it to be on the position-player side of the equation. As Gonzalez writes, Eppler and the Angels will head into the Winter Meetings without a set target in mind. Rather, they’ll entertain a wide variety of scenarios to address multiple holes, but Eppler would only state that the goal “is to walk out the door with more information than you walked in with.”
  • Though he notes that any club in baseball could use a star-caliber outfielder set to enter his age-26 season, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello lays out a case for his belief that the Angels need Heyward more than any other club in the Majors. The Halos’ left fielders were collectively the least-productive unit at the position in 2015, and they have at least three pitchers in their rotation — Jered Weaver, Andrew Heaney and Hector Santiago — who were among the top 25 in fly-ball percentage for starting pitchers, making Heyward’s glove all the more valuable to them. (Matt Shoemaker, too, was in the top 25 he notes, though Shoemaker isn’t necessarily guaranteed a rotation spot.) Also, with a poor farm system that was thinned out further with the acquisition of Andrelton Simmons, the Angels probably can’t add an elite talent by way of trade. It’s a well-reasoned case and well worth a full read.

Free Agent Notes: Utley, Victorino, Cubs, Rangers, Giants, Non-Tenders

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Both the Angels and Dodgers have ongoing interest in free agent Chase Utley, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets. A source tells Stark that the veteran would like to play in his native California, and it seems he’ll have options to do just that. Utley has been consistently linked to the Dodgers since they declined his $15MM option, and agent Joel Wolfe recently went on-record to state that five or six teams have expressed interest in Utley as a “mostly everyday infielder.” From my vantage point, the Angels have a clearer path to regular (or near-regular) at-bats for Utley. The Dodgers have multiple infield options, including Enrique Hernandez and Jose Peraza.

A few more notes on the free-agent market…

  • Another former Phillies stalwart, Shane Victorino, is telling clubs that he intends to return to switch hitting in advance of the 2016 season, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. “I am finding out that not switch-hitting and not doing things from both sides of the plate had lots to do with the way my body has felt,” Victorino told Rosenthal. “Going back and doing things from both sides is such a good thing for my body now that I can physically do it again.”
  • Within that same piece, Rosenthal notes that the Cubs are “busy” looking for a center fielder but are faced with relatively limited options. Dexter Fowler is a possibility for the Cubs but is currently exploring the open market. Signing Jason Heyward to play center field is an option, but the team would then need to address its rotation in a cost-effective manner by trading a young bat such as Jorge Soler or Javier Baez. If Soler ends up being the price to bolster the rotation, then the outfield would, of course, remain an issue.
  • The Rangers still love Mike Napoli, tweets MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, but general manager Jon Daniels indicated today that his club may not have the “right spot” to fit Napoli into the mix next season. Sullivan’s Seattle counterpart, Greg Johns, however, tweets that Napoli could potentially be of interest to the Mariners, who have a need at first base after trading both Logan Morrison and Mark Trumbo this offseason. Napoli struggled for much of the season in Boston but was reinvigorated by a return to the Lone Star State, hitting .295/.396/.513 in 91 plate appearances with the Rangers. His cumulative .278/.391/.563 line against lefties last year indicates that Napoli, at the very least, is still a highly potent platoon option.
  • Sticking with former Rangers, right-hander Colby Lewis tells Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram that Dr. Keith Meister gave him a “thumbs up” on his left knee (links to Twitter). Lewis has been working out and expects to be 100 percent for Spring Training. Many teams have contacted his agents at Octagon, says Lewis, though he remains hopeful that the Rangers will be interested after his latest knee exam. There’s some interest on both sides, according to Wilson.
  • The Giants consider Jeff Samardzija and Mike Leake fallback plans in the event that they’re unable to lure Zack Greinke away from L.A., tweets Rosenthal. John Lackey, too, is a consideration for San Francisco. There’s no word yet on a decision from Greinke, who is said to be choosing between the Dodgers and Giants.
  • In the wake of yesterday’s tender deadline, MLB.com’s Zachary Finkelstein identified five non-tendered players that are still worthy of roster spots and can be potential bargains for clubs in 2016 (and, in some cases, beyond). Henderson Alvarez tops the list and is followed by Pedro Alvarez, Chris Carter, Tyler Flowers and Neftali Feliz. Alvarez’s youth and track record, the power of Alvarez and Carter, the pitch-framing abilities of Flowers and still-strong velocity plus a nice finish for Feliz give some elements of value to each, he writes.

Angels Non-Tender Cesar Ramos

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The Angels announced tonight that they have non-tendered left-handed reliever Cesar Ramos. The move comes as something of a surprise, considering Ramos’ reasonable $1.7MM projected salary and strong results out of the Halos’ bullpen in 2015. Ramos will join a class of free-agent left-handed relievers that is fronted by Tony Sipp and Antonio Bastardo.

Ramos, 31, logged a 2.75 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate in 52 1/3 innings with the Angels in 2015. That translated to a sound 3.02 FIP, although SIERA (3.56) and xFIP (3.79) were a bit less bullish on Ramos due to a lack of strikeouts and a perhaps unsustainable 4.4 percent homer-to-flyball rate. MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez wrote recently that Ramos was viewed as a non-tender candidate because he also typically worked in low-leverage situations — often in mop-up duty.

Ramos didn’t dominate lefties, but same-handed batters weren’t able to show any semblance of power against him, batting .274/.346/.316 in 109 plate appearances. He held his own against right-handed pitching as well, yielding a .284/.324/.382 batting line in 112 PAs. Certainly, Ramos wasn’t an overpowering bullpen arm, but he has a track record of solid performance, having worked to a 3.49 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 across the past five seasons/276 innings.

With just over five years of service time, Ramos has only one year of club control remaining, so any team that signs him won’t receive the benefit of multiple years of control. Neverthelss, he’s a seemingly useful bullpen piece that should find his way into a big league bullpen in 2016.

Indians Acquire Collin Cowgill, Designate Nick Hagadone

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The Indians have acquired outfielder Collin Cowgill from the Angels in exchange for cash considerations and designated left-hander Nick Hagadone for assignment, per a club announcement. MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reported (via Twitter) that Cowgill was headed to Cleveland just before the trade was announced.

Cowgill, 30 next May, gives the Indians a strong defensive option in the outfield corners, though he comes with a light bat. The right-handed hitter comes to Cleveland with a .236/.299/.334 batting line in 745 trips to the plate as a Major Leaguer and a .188/.233/.290 line in just 74 PAs last season in Anaheim. However, Cowgill is a standout left/right fielder in the eyes of defensive metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved and also has the ability to play center field. Cowgill has saved 28 runs in 1336 innings of corner defense, per DRS. UZR agrees, pegging him at +25 runs in that time. He’s average to below-average in center, per those same metrics, but he’s played just 370 innings there in his career.

Hagadone’s removal from the 40-man roster isn’t entirely unexpected, as the lefty reliever underwent elbow surgery in late July that was projected to sideline him for six to nine months. He was projected to receive just $700K in arbitration, but the Indians probably didn’t want to commit the dollars nor the roster spot to Hagadone without knowing when he could return to the mound. He also has a fairly spotty track record as a Major Leaguer; while he worked to a sound 3.55 ERA with a 55-to-18 K/BB ratio in 50 2/3 innings from 2014-15, his big league work prior to that point amounted to a 5.59 ERA in 67 2/3 innings.

Per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said that he has interest in keeping Hagadone in the organization despite removing him from the 40-man roster (Twitter link).

Free Agent Notes: Fowler, Zobrist, Leake, Venable, Relievers

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The Mets have some level of interest in Dexter Fowler as a center field option, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). However, Ben Zobrist remains the team’s top priority in free agency. Recent reports have indicated that the Mets won’t go to four years on Zobrist, and that will probably need to change in order to sign him, as Yahoo’s Jeff Passan said last night the price tag is currently believed to be around $60MM over four years. Should the Mets lose out on Zobrist, they could look to upgrade in center field, where Juan Lagares had a down season in 2015 — the first of a four-year contract extension. Lagares’ contract is affordable enough that he could be moved to a reserve role without it being an overpay.

A few more notes from around the free-agent market…

  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick delivers a slew of news pertaining to Zobrist (Twitter links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Per Crasnick, the Nationals, Giants and Dodgers are all in the mix for Zobrist as well. The Cubs and Cardinals like Zobrist but don’t have as many at-bats to offer as the other clubs. The Royals are probably priced out on Zobrist, and while the Angels inquired earlier this offseason, there’s been no recent discussion between the two sides. Additionally, Zobrist’s preference is to play for a contender, making the Braves a tough fit even though they do have some level of interest. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press hears (Twitter link) that about 11 clubs are in the mix for Zobrist, to some extent, but the Twins aren’t among them (which is no surprise given their glut of outfielders and Brian Dozier’s presence at second base).
  • Crasnick hears the same that Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has recently suggested — that having fallen short on David Price, the Cardinals could turn their attention to Mike Leake on the free agent market. Leake won’t cost near the same amount that the Cardinals were willing to go on Price, but he’d be a strong option to replace the injured Lance Lynn in their rotation in 2016 and would provide value for another four years or so beyond that point.
  • Also from Crasnick, both the Indians and Orioles have expressed interest in free-agent outfielder Will Venable. While the 32-year-old Venable is coming off a down season split between San Diego and Texas, he has historically been a productive bat for the Friars and has posted solid numbers away from the spacious Petco Park over the life of his career. Venable is also capable of playing all three outfield positions.
  • A pair of notes on relievers: Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald hears that the Red Sox are no longer in the market for right-hander Joakim Soria (Twitter link). Having spent an enormous amount in terms of dollars and prospects to acquire Price and Craig Kimbrel, it’s perhaps logical that the Sox wouldn’t spend so heavily. Additionally, Crasnick spoke to an agent who said that the Blue Jays are looking for an impact (Twitter link), power arm for their bullpen but are trying to land such a piece for “dollar store prices,” suggesting that the team isn’t keen on shelling out a significant multi-year deal.

Angels Sign Rafael Ortega To Major League Deal

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The Angels announced tonight that they’ve signed outfielder Rafael Ortega to a one-year, Major League contract (Twitter link).

Ortega, 24, is a left-handed-hitting center fielder that once ranked as one of the Rockies’ top prospects but has had his career slowed by injury. Baseball America rated him 15th among Colorado farmhands prior to the 2013 season, calling him a true center fielder with a plus arm and plus speed. BA noted that he needs to be careful not to fall in love with swinging for the fences after a home run, though he does have surprising pop for someone with a 5’11”, 160-pound frame.

Ortega was once again healthy in 2015 and enjoyed a strong campaign with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, where he batted .286/.367/.378 with a pair of homers and 17 stolen bases in 502 plate appearances. Ortega, it would seem, can compete for the fourth outfielder’s job in Anaheim and serve as either a lefty bench bat and late-inning defensive replacement or valuable depth at the Triple-A level. He received a brief taste of the Majors as a 21-year-old back in 2012 but hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since that time.

Red Sox Shopping Hanley Ramirez

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There’s “talk in the front office” that new Red Sox baseball chief Dave Dombrowski is trying to move Hanley Ramirez, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.  Cafardo adds that the Mariners, Orioles, and Angels “seem to be the targets” of DD’s campaign to relocate the pricey veteran after he turned in a massively disappointing season in 2015.  It’s not immediately clear if those three clubs have interest, however.

Of course, trading Ramirez is probably easier said than done.  Just last week, five general managers told Cafardo that they wouldn’t take on Ramirez even if the Red Sox picked up the tab on half of his remaining salary.  Ramirez is owed $66MM through 2018 and he has a $22MM vesting option for 2019, so even at a reduced rate, that’s still a hefty price for a player coming off such a rough season on and off the field.

For their part, the Sox say that they’re still committed to Ramirez playing first base for them in 2016.     They’re also hopeful that the soon-to-be 32-year-old can bounce back by dropping some weight.  Ramirez was officially listed at 225 pounds this season but he was apparently tipping the scales at 240 pounds.  All in all, Ramirez’s first year in Boston was dreadful.  Despite hitting 19 home runs, he produced just a .291 OBP, and he struggled horribly with the transition from the infield to left field.  At the time of his signing, Ramirez was coming off of a year in which he posted a .283/.369/.448 slash line with 13 homers for the Dodgers with a .300/.373/.500 slash line for his career.

On a related note, Cafardo hears that the Red Sox have discussed free agent slugger Chris Davis internally.  However, that would only be doable if the Red Sox were able to move Ramirez.  Also, the Red Sox would have to weigh their desire to add Davis’ bat against their need for a frontline starter.

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