Dodgers Rumors

NL West Notes: Solarte, Casilla, Seager, Nakaushiro

By Mark Polishuk | March 5, 2017 at 8:11pm CDT

Yangervis Solarte enjoyed a very good season for the Padres in 2016 despite dealing with unimaginable tragedy off the field. Yuliette Solarte, Yangervis’ wife, was diagnosed with liver cancer in late 2015 and passed away last September at age 31. As the infielder tells Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Solarte was prepared to skip last year’s Spring Training to spend time with his wife and their three daughters, but Yuliette urged him to focus on baseball in order to continue providing for their family’s future. Yuliette saw her husband secure his first life-changing payday last spring in the form of a $3.15MM brand contract with Fantex, and Solarte gained even more financial security by signing a two-year extension with the Padres this past January. Sanders’ touching piece is well worth a full read, chronicling the couple’s life together, Solarte’s journey to the big leagues and Yuliette’s battle after her heartbreaking diagnosis.

Here’s more from around the NL West…

Santiago Casilla is happy to be back in the Athletics organization after not being offered a contract by the Giants this last winter, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. A reunion between Casilla and the Giants never seemed likely given how Casilla became a virtual afterthought for the team after he was removed from the closer’s job in September, and the two sides didn’t do much in the way of offseason negotiating.
Corey Seager has missed the Dodgers’ last two games and will miss Monday’s game as well due to a minor back injury suffered while turning a double play on Friday. Both Seager and manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times) that the injury isn’t considered serious, and the team isn’t even sending Seager in for tests. Seager has seen little action on the field during Spring Training as he was previously sidelined with a shin injury, though it sounds like the Dodgers are simply playing it safe with their young star.
Lefty Yuhei Nakaushiro was one of the first cuts from the Diamondbacks’ spring camp but manager Torey Lovullo told reporters (including MLB.com’s Chris Gabel) that the Japanese southpaw isn’t far off from his big league debut. “Instead of putting pressure on himself [in big league camp] and every third day getting a look, we felt like he could go down to player development. The last thing we said to him is that he’s very close,” Lovullo said. “We will see him at some point during the year. We know that. We feel very comfortable with that.” The 27-year-old signed a minor league deal with Arizona last winter and posted very strong numbers in his first taste of North American baseball; Nakaushiro rose from rookie ball to Triple-A, posting a combined 1.23 ERA, 12.3 K/9 and 3.08 K/BB rate over 29 1/3 combined innings.

NL Notes: Nationals, Dodgers, Mets

By Connor Byrne | March 5, 2017 at 10:53am CDT

There’s a belief across baseball that the Nationals’ affinity for deferring money in contracts has somewhat hindered their pursuit of talent in free agency and could negatively affect them down the line as they attempt to avoid the luxury tax, according to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post. “They’re unique. They’re the only team that operates like this,” an agent told Svrluga, who adds that team ownership won’t comment on its methods. The Nats are set to pay their newest addition, reliever Joe Blanton, $4MM on a one-year deal, but he’ll collect that money through 2019. Among far more expensive examples, starters Max Scherzer (signed through 2021) and Stephen Strasburg (2023) will be on the franchise’s books and through 2028 and 2030, respectively.

More from Washington and two other NL cities:

Dodgers right-hander Brandon McCarthy has long been a control artist, which makes it rather startling that he walked 26 batters in an injury-shortened, 40-inning 2016. McCarthy returned from 2015 Tommy John surgery and also dealt with a hip issue, but it was a case of the yips that led to his spike in walks – including 15 over 8 1/3 innings (three starts) from Aug. 2-13 – as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. “I think most of it was mechanical,” McCarthy said. “Usually, if you get the shanks in golf, something has gone wrong physically in your swing, and you lose your mental feel for what you are trying to do. It becomes sort of a self-fulfilling thing. I think that was really the extent of it.” McCarthy made a late-season mechanical adjustment and is optimistic the issue is behind him. The 33-year-old is now entering the penultimate season of a four-year, $48MM contract, but he’d have no qualms about retiring and leaving money on the table if he were to lose his desire to pitch. “The day where the motivation is not there to come in and do it, I have no problems ‘Gil Meche-ing it’ and just walking home and leaving it,” said McCarthy, referring to then-Royal Gil Meche’s decision to retire in 2011 and abandon a guaranteed $12MM. (For more on players who have battled the yips, check out FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik’s piece from earlier this week.)
The Mets are doubling down on last year’s roster, writes the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who notes that they’re likely to open the season with 25 players who were on their team in 2016. “It doesn’t feel it’s stale, it feels as if we have consolidated our gains,” general manager Sandy Alderson said of the club’s roster, which managed 87 wins and a playoff berth last season despite myriad injuries. Of the 55 players the Mets invited to camp, just three weren’t in the organization a year ago, and the only newcomer who has much of a chance to make the team is left-hander Tom Gorzelanny, per Sherman.
The Nationals are doing their due diligence on Eric Gagne as the former star closer looks to emerge from his yearslong retirement and return to the majors. Nats special assistant De Jon Watson was on hand at Dodgers camp Saturday to watch Gagne throw, relays Shaikin, who tweets that the right-hander topped out at 91 mph. Now 41, Gagne averaged just over 92 mph on his fastball in 2008, his latest major league action.

Mariners Acquire Chase De Jong, Designate Mike Freeman

By Steve Adams | March 1, 2017 at 7:03pm CDT

The Mariners announced that they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Chase De Jong from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league infielder Drew Jackson and minor league right-hander Aneurys Zabala. To clear room for De Jong on the 40-man roster, the Mariners designated infielder Mike Freeman for assignment.

De Jong, 23, was the Blue Jays’ second-round pick back 2012 but was traded to Los Angeles alongside second baseman Tim Locastro in a swap that sent international bonus money to the Blue Jays.

The former No. 81 overall pick has raised his profile since joining the Dodgers organization and is coming off an impressive 2016 campaign that saw him reach Triple-A for the first time. De Jong tossed just 5 1/3 innings in Triple-A (allowing one run and striking out eight against one walk) but also delivered an excellent campaign at the Double-A level. With Tulsa, the righty logged 141 2/3 innings with a 2.86 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 38.3 percent ground-ball rate.

Last offseason, Baseball America ranked De Jong 16th among Dodgers farmhands, praising his feel for a solid-average curveball. That scouting report noted that his 88-92 mph fastball, which can top out at 94 mph, is a bit straight. He also sports a fringe-average changeup, per BA, and could eventually surface in the Majors as a back-of-the-rotation arm.

De Jong will give the Mariners another upper-level arm to provide depth beyond a rotation that projects to include Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Drew Smyly, James Paxton and Yovani Gallardo. De Jong will join Dillon Overton, Rob Whalen, Ariel Miranda and Cody Martin — each of whom has been acquired by Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto in the past calendar year — as an upper level depth option. De Jong is merely the latest trade acquisition for the game’s most active general manager, as Dipoto is now up to 14 trades this offseason and 40 total since being tabbed as the Seattle GM following the 2015 season (hat tip: MLB.com’s Greg Johns, on Twitter).

[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners Depth Chart and Los Angeles Dodgers Depth Chart]

As for the Dodgers’ return, the 23-year-old Jackson rated 12th among Mariners’ farmhands, per MLB.com, and ranked 18th among Seattle prospects in the eyes of ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required/recommended). The 2015 fifth-rounder spent last year at the Class-A Advanced level, where he batted .258/.332/.345 with six homers and 16 steals in 596 plate appearances. Jackson swiped 47 bags in Class-A a year prior, and the scouting reports from both MLB.com and from Law praise his speed, throwing arm and defensive prowess. His power is a question, though, as Jackson has just eight long balls in 862 pro plate appearances. Law noted that Jackson lacks power and hits the ball on the ground with regularity.

Baseball America was more bullish on Jackson this winter, ranking him seventh among Mariners prospects and calling him a potential everyday shortstop, though they too note that he’s routinely graded as a “fringe-average hitter with below-average pop.” Still, Jackson’s “double-plus” speed and arm create plenty of hope in BA’s scouting report (subscription required/recommended to read in its entirety).

Zabala, 20, spent the 2016 season in the Rookie-level Arizona League, pitching to a 2.88 ERA with a 28-to-15 K/BB ratio in 25 innings. He’s been used out of the bullpen exclusively in each of the past two years, and Law notes that he reached 99 mph in 2016. MLB.com rates him 22nd among M’s farmhands and puts a hefty 75 grade on his fastball, though he receives 40-grade control from that report. Zabala’s curveball draws praise from each report, though it’s not regarded nearly as well as his fastball. Low-level arms with this type of velocity are becoming more common in today’s game, but he makes for a nice long-term lottery ticket of sorts to add to a deep Dodgers farm system.

Losing his roster spot in all of this is the 29-year-old Freeman, who made his Major League debut in 2016 but received just 24 plate appearances between the D-backs and Mariners. Seattle claimed Freeman off waivers from Arizona shortly after the non-waiver trade deadline. In 503 Triple-A plate appearances last year, the former 11th-round draft pick hit .314/.285/.419 with four homers, 23 doubles and six triples. Those numbers, tallied across 104 games, bear a striking resemblance to the second baseman/outfielder’s career marks in 298 contests: .314/.376/.424.

The latest Mariners trade leaves Seattle with a full 40-man roster but does create an opening on the 40-man for the Dodgers, should they wish to make another move in the coming days. Alternatively, the Dodgers could simply keep the spot open to create the flexibility for some waiver activity throughout the remainder of Spring Training.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pitcher Notes: Hellickson, Urias, Straily, May

By Connor Byrne | February 26, 2017 at 5:00pm CDT

Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson’s November decision to accept the Phillies’ qualifying offer in lieu of testing free agency came as a surprise, but he believes it was the correct choice. “I feel like I made the right decision,” Hellickson told Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com earlier this month. “And seeing how it all went down, I definitely feel like I made the right decision.” Only three free agent starters – Rich Hill ($48MM), Ivan Nova ($26MM) and Edinson Volquez ($22MM) – ended up scoring deals worth more than Hellickson’s $17.2MM qualifying offer during the winter, and each did so via two- or three-year deals. Hellickson was actually eager to join them in a weak market before receiving advice from his agent, Scott Boras “The first few days I was set on declining it,” Hellickson said of the QO. “There really wasn’t too much stress involved. But then after hearing from Scott after the (GM Meetings), I didn’t know what I was going to do.” Ultimately, the market developed as Boras expected it to, per Hellickson, who added that he’s content in Philly and “glad” the Marlins’ attempt to acquire him last summer failed.

The latest on a few other pitchers:

While the possibility of the Dodgers stashing Julio Urias in extended spring training to begin the year has come up, they’re now “leaning toward” having the left-hander open the season in their rotation, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. In that scenario, the 20-year-old wunderkind would make shorter starts to tamp down his workload, per Gurnick. Including postseason play, Urias tossed a career-high 127 2/3 innings between the majors and minors last year.
Marlins righty Dan Straily enjoyed perhaps the best season of his career last year, when the then-Red totaled 191 1/3 frames of 3.76 ERA ball with 7.62 K/9 and 3.43 BB/9, and he attributes much of his 2016 success to analytics, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. One of Straily’s friends, a banking analytics specialist who “loves baseball,” helped the 28-year-old determine “which are the best pitches to throw against certain hitters.” Straily also studied one pitcher per division with similar velocity, spin rate and spin angles. “Now going into the game, there’s not a lot of guesswork,” Straily told Jackson. “I have a plan. I had a big change in terms of pitch selection more than anything else. I threw way more changeups last year. Just mixing speeds a lot more; not being predictable.”
After working mostly as a reliever from 2015-16, including all of last season, Twins righty Trevor May is ready to leave the bullpen behind and win a starting job this spring. “I think I have a little bit of a chip, being unclear about knowing what I was going to be doing the last two years,” May, 27, told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “It wasn’t ideal for me or the vision I had for myself of my career. I’m going at it at 100 percent. There’s no, ’Oh, I could fall back to the bullpen.'” May, who has logged a 5.61 ERA (3.85 FIP), 8.17 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 126 2/3 career innings as a starter, is competing against several other candidates for a rotation spot, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams detailed Friday.

NL West: Padres, Ryu, Desmond

By Jeff Todd | February 24, 2017 at 4:52pm CDT

Here’s the latest out of the National League West:

The Padres are “open-minded” to quite a bit of experimentation in the way they deploy their roster in 2017, as manager Andy Green explains and Bryce Miller of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Beyond the quirk of carrying Christian Bethancourt as a catcher, outfielder, and relief pitcher, San Diego will look for other ways of taking advantage of creativity. “I think a lot of teams come in with more established options at different spots,” Green explains. “We’re going to be open-minded to see who rises up and wins the respective jobs and be opportunistic to put guys in positions to succeed that might run different than what other clubs would do.” Just how far the Pads go in tweaking baseball convention remains to be seen; while it won’t likely make much of a difference in their postseason outlook, some new approaches could conceivably pave the way for future change in San Diego as well as other organizations.
The Dodgers are seeing signs of life from lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, with pitching coach Rick Honeycutt telling reporters — including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (links to Twitter) — that the Korean hurler is ready to throw in a game situation. It’s unclear whether that’ll be a sim game or a Cactus League contest, but it seems the former is more likely. “No negatives to me,” Honeycutt said of Ryu’s showing thus far. “It’s been impressive.” The 29-year-old is looking to return to the excellent form he showed during his first two years with the Dodgers. He has missed all of the past two seasons (except for one ill-fated outing last year) due to persistent shoulder problems.
While many have panned the Rockies’ large expenditure on Ian Desmond, in large part due to the fact that he’s slated to shift from being an up-the-middle defender to a first baseman, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports identifies some reasons to support the move. Manager Bud Black says the team was focused less on position than it was the desire to “go get a baseball player who is good.” While Desmond was targeted as a first baseman from the get-go, per the report, GM Jeff Bridich notes that “there is absolutely the potential” he’ll change positions in the future. And Desmond himself is embracing the challenge of yet another new position much as he did his move to the outfield last year, saying he likes the Rockies’ “creativity to use my athleticism.” Of course, those statements don’t necessarily counteract the core criticisms of the deal, though they do suggest that the team is looking to be creative and flexible in building out a roster — now and in the future.

Heyman’s Latest: Villar, Lucroy, Tigers Veterans, Utley, Weaver, Lincecum, Clevenger

By Jeff Todd | February 23, 2017 at 1:43pm CDT

After grading every team’s offseason, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag provided a bevy of information on a variety of situations around the league in his latest notes post. Some is mostly of historical interest, and there’s lots more in the article, but these are some of the highlights with transactional ties:

The Brewers “floated” an extension offer to infielder Jonathan Villar, says Heyman, but he wasn’t interested. The club’s initial offer, at least, would only have guaranteed him around $20MM. While Villar had a relatively undistinguished career before landing in Milwaukee, he was rather excellent last year and hasn’t yet turned 26. On the other hand, he won’t reach arbitration eligibility until next fall and still has to prove he can repeat that effort. Though Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio may have been willing to green-light pursuit of Matt Wieters, it seems that the front office wasn’t enthusiastic about that possibility.
While the Rangers haven’t yet opened extension talks with catcher Jonathan Lucroy, it’s still expected that a deal will at least be explored. GM Jon Daniels has acknowledged as much, though it’s unclear just when the discussions will get underway. If nothing comes together, Lucroy promises to be one of the game’s most widely pursued free agents next winter. Texas, of course, is also chatting with starter Yu Darvish and second baseman Rougned Odor.
The Dodgers explored a deal with the Tigers involving star righty Justin Verlander, per Heyman, who notes that “nothing got close.” Verlander’s hefty salary obligations were considered a barrier, though it seems his no-trade protection may not have been. The veteran righty has suggested he’d be amenable to consider a swap, and his relationship with Kate Upton would likely make Los Angeles an appealing destination. While the Dodgers have a quite a few starters on hand, it’ll be interesting to see whether the pursuit of the resurgent Verlander is rejoined at some point.
Speaking of the Tigers, the organization evidently considered quite a few other deals before largely holding pat. The Mets “seriously discussed” giving up Michael Conforto for the final season of control over star slugger J.D. Martinez, but ultimately backed down. While the Astros reportedly checked in on Miguel Cabrera, they were asking for “more than half of the $150 million remaining on Cabrera’s contract” to be paid by Detroit and apparently never offered enough for the front office to bring a deal to ownership. And both the Twins and Padres made inquiries on shortstop Jose Iglesias, but clearly nothing developed with either team.
Though the Indians had real interest in Chase Utley, the team’s offer was shy of the ultimately successful bid from the Dodgers. Still, it seems that Cleveland very nearly landed him before L.A. “stepped in late,” per Heyman.
While the Reds have said they are done adding to their MLB roster, Heyman suggests the organization could make a play for some of the veteran pitchers still available. Cincinnati may even have outbid the Padres for Jered Weaver, who earned $3MM, though it’s not clear whether the club ever did so.
Veteran righty Tim Lincecum is drawing some interest as he prepares for a showcase, according to Heyman, though surely he won’t draw as much intrigue as he did last year. It’s unclear what’s next for catcher Steve Clevenger, who has attempted to rehabilitate his image in an interview with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. His former team, the Orioles, at least considered offering him a minor-league pact, but ultimately decided against it.

Los Angeles Notes: Bellinger, Gagne, Angels, Shoemaker

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | February 22, 2017 at 10:34pm CDT

Dodgers top prospect Cody Bellinger is now being represented by agent Scott Boras, reports Robert Murray of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). While the highly touted Bellinger has yet to make his big league debut, he checked in among the game’s top 30 overall prospects in the estimation of ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 6), Baseball America (No. 7), MLB.com (No. 12), Baseball Prospectus (No. 26). Bellinger joins Dodgers superstar Corey Seager and another high-ceiling talent, Julio Urias, among young Dodgers represented by the Boras Corporation — as can be seen in MLBTR’s Agency Database, which houses representation info on more than 2,500 Major League and minor league players.

A few more notes on the Dodgers and Halos…

Former closer Eric Gagne turned some heads with the news that he’s attempting a surprise comeback. Though he hasn’t thrown in the bigs since way back in 2008, Gagne has already pitched in the presence of the Dodgers front office and is readying to showcase for other organizations, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). He’ll be repped by Scott Leventhal of All Bases Covered Sports Management, who tells Heyman that his client is willing to showcase for teams “on back-to-back days,” presumably to show his readiness to handle a reasonably significant workload at 41 years of age.
While it seems that the Angels’ first base situation is ripe for a platoon, Maria Guardado of MLB.com writes, GM Billy Eppler is planning to watch the candidates closely this spring to see how the playing time should be divvied up. “It’s not something that we have to decide until the very end,” he said. “I’m very pragmatic with decisions. I like to wait until the 11th hour all the time, so we’ll just see how it goes. You’ll see plenty of Luis Valbuena, C.J. Cron and Jefry Marte, and a little sprinkle of Matt Thaiss early on. You’ll see all those guys, but ultimately we’ll save that decision for the last possible minute.” While there was some chatter at the time of Valbuena’s signing that Cron could be on the trade block, that never seemed terribly realistic given the relative lack of demand for limited sluggers and the Halos’ own roster needs with Albert Pujols working back from foot surgery.
Angels righty Matt Shoemaker pitched off a mound for the first time since suffering a truly terrifying skull fracture last September, writes Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times. The 30-year-old underwent emergency surgery to halt bleeding in his skull after he was struck in the head by a 105-mph liner off the bat of Kyle Seager late last season. Shoemaker has been using a carbon-fiber headguard in an effort to protect him in the event of similar instances in the future, Moura notes, though he may experiment with other types of headgear during Spring Training games as well.
Moura also notes in his column that potential closer Cam Bedrosian is a bit behind schedule as he battles a groin strain that he suffered on Tuesday. While not a significant cause for concern, Bedrosian’s general health is a key factor for the Halos this season after the righty’s season was cut short by a finger injury and then a blood clot in his right arm which required surgical repair. Prior to his injury, the 25-year-old was somewhat quietly one of baseball’s most dominant relievers in 2016, pitching to a 1.12 ERA with a 51-to-14 K/BB ratio in 40 1/3 innings. Bedrosian will compete with Huston Street and Andrew Bailey for the closer’s role with the Halos, as MLBTR’s Jason Martinez recently outlined when breaking down the Angels’ upcoming spring training battles.

West Notes: Angels, Dodgers, Mariners, Diamondbacks

By Connor Byrne | February 21, 2017 at 6:22pm CDT

Angels right-hander Ricky Nolasco hasn’t eclipsed the 200-inning plateau since 2011, but he’s motivated to log at least 202 1/3 frames this year, writes Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times. That would give Nolasco 400 innings from 2016-17, meaning his $13MM club option for 2018 would vest; otherwise he could end up with a $1MM buyout next offseason. “It’s a big deal to me,” Nolasco told Moura. “I know what’s at stake — something that, obviously, I want to get to, no matter what happens. When I first signed that contract with the Twins, I thought, ‘Well, as long as I stay healthy, this is a five-year deal.’ It’s kind of been on my mind since day one.” Nolasco came close to 200 innings last year, when he combined for 197 2/3 with the Twins and Angels, and Halos general manager Billy Eppler is rooting for him to surpass the mark this season. “I hope Ricky takes the ball every fifth day and does his thing and goes deep in games and wins a lot of ballgames,” said Eppler. Manager Mike Scioscia, meanwhile, stated that he doesn’t “even want to hear about” Nolasco’s contract, adding that “he’s gonna pitch, and hopefully pitch well.”

NL Notes: Sosa, Norris, Wieters, Magic, Ichiro

By Jeff Todd | February 21, 2017 at 1:53pm CDT

The Cubs’ rocky relationship with former star Sammy Sosa — or, perhaps, the lack thereof — has been well documented. But Sosa himself hasn’t been much willing to discuss it, until participating in a chat with MLBTR contributor Chuck Wasserstrom at his personal blog. Sosa admits to some mishandling of the end of his tenure with the Cubs, saying: “My intention was to finish my career in Chicago. … The only thing we cannot do is turn back time. We can’t do that. But hey, we have to move forward. I understand I made a mistake. I regret it, definitely, but I have to move on.” There’s quite a bit of interesting information for Cubbies fans to digest; you’ll want to give the interview a full read.

Here’s more from the National League:

Nationals manager Dusty Baker strongly hinted that the club will look to find a taker for catcher Derek Norris after agreeing to terms with Matt Wieters, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets. “There’s always someone looking for a front line catcher,” the veteran skipper said of Norris. The addition of Wieters creates an immediate glut at the catching position for the Nats, who also employ reserve Jose Lobaton and prospect Pedro Severino. While the immediate speculation turned to the youthful Severino, who’d be a much more likely candidate to help the Nats address another need at the major league level than is Norris, he still has options and likely maintains an important place in the team’s long-term picture at the catching position.
Over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron opines that the Nationals’ deal with Wieters doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. While the price is reasonable enough, says Cameron, it’s just not clear that Wieters represents a significant enough upgrade over Norris to make it worthwhile. I’d note that the maneuvering could make greater sense if Washington were instead considering parting with Lobaton, whose switch-hitting capabilities aren’t as useful with a fellow two-sided hitter joining the mix, though the above-cited comments from Baker suggest that’s not the likely outcome.
In his own look at the Wieters move, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests that the signing was largely driven by the special relationship between agent Scott Boras and the Nationals’ ownership group. As discussed in our post on the deal, Boras and the Nats have linked up on a variety of contracts in recent years, often coming to fruition when the super agent sits down with principal owner Ted Lerner. As Rosenthal puts it, “Nats ownership … operates to its own rhythm, with Boras frequently calling out the beats.”
NBA legend and part Dodgers owner Magic Johnson has taken over as the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, and you can find all the details at MLBTR’s sister site, Hoops Rumors. Despite his new duties, Johnson’s role with the baseball organization won’t change, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). “Whenever we need Magic, he’s been available,” says Dodgers president & CEO Stan Kasten. “That won’t change.”
Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki suffered a bruised knee in a collision with fellow outfielder Brandon Barnes today, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports (links to Twitter), though it was perhaps notable for reasons other than the actual injury. The ageless Ichiro is expected only to miss a few days, but did require — incredibly — the very first training-room treatment of his 16-year MLB career. Teammates used the opportunity not only to mark that occasion, but also to have some fun at Barnes’ expense. A note, signed by Ichiro, was left at his emptied locker informing him that he had been cut loose and wishing him good luck in Korea.

West Notes: Romo, Hahn, M’s, D-Backs

By Jeff Todd | February 21, 2017 at 11:12am CDT

Newly minted Dodgers righty Sergio Romo discussed his interesting journey to joining his hometown team with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Personal trials and the strain of an increasingly high-profile role in the Giants bullpen put a strain on the veteran hurler, he tells Rosenthal. He credits several former teammates, including lefty Javier Lopez, with helping him to find his footing once again. Also of note, Rosenthal says that Romo “reject[ed] a higher offer from the Rays” to head to Los Angeles, due in part to the ability to live closer to his family.

Here’s more from out west:

Righty Jesse Hahn is set to receive the Athletics’ first start this spring, as Susan Slusser notes on Twitter. That’s a solid indication that he’s under serious consideration for the fifth starters’ role, she notes. The 27-year-old is looking to bounce back after a rough 2016 campaign in which he pitched to a 6.02 ERA with just 4.5 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 in his 46 1/3 MLB innings. Hahn had generated quality results in his first two MLB campaigns, which occurred on both sides of a trade that sent him to Oakland from the Padres in exchange for catcher Derek Norris. But elbow troubles interrupted his 2015 campaign, and he has yet to get back on track.
Mariners president Kevin Mather issued a statement to MLB.com in advance of the 2017 campaign, expressing high hopes for the organization. While any executive would express an intention to win a championship, his words seem to carry a certain set of expectations for the near term. “It is time to play October baseball in Seattle,” writes Mather. “Our fans deserve playoff baseball, and I’m not just talking about a Wild Card Game. Once in the playoffs, our goal is to win the World Series. Period. And having said that, we don’t want to win just one.”
New Diamondbacks exec Amiel Sawdaye — whose title is senior VP and assistant GM — spoke with David Laurila of Fangraphs about the organization’s new approach. Sawdaye is only one of several key figures in Arizona with deep ties to the Red Sox, so it’s not surprising to learn that Boston’s approach will be reflected. He describes the intended decisionmaking process as “more of a flat hierarchy.” Sawdaye emphasized, though, that the D-Backs had strong player development and scouting units, good young front office people, and a “decent infrastructure” for analytics already in place. There are several other topics covered in the interesting chat, including the Jean Segura trade and the team’s possibilities for 2017.
Jorge De La Rosa is among the players competing for a role with the Diamondbacks this spring, and as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert notes, he’s hoping to finally crack the big league roster there in his third stint with the organization. Of course, De La Rosa had only previously actually suited up for a few minor-league outings as an 18-year-old; his second run with Arizona only lasted a few days. Now 35, the veteran southpaw will be looking for a chance to pitch against his former club, the division-rival Rockies. “I have always liked this team, and I like the talent we have here,” says De La Rosa of the D-Backs. “I know we can do some really good things. That’s why I chose to be here.”

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