NL West Notes: Murphy, Streich, Upton, Vogelsong, Anderson
Padres interim skipper Pat Murphy tells Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he is grateful for the chance to take the helm, even if he doesn’t end up keeping the seat for next year. The industry expectation is that San Diego will search for a new manager, says Lin, though the club has yet to make its direction clear. Murphy covers the full scope of his career in the interesting interview, concluding with a pitch for a full shot at running the Pads’ dugout: “I’m certain I can do it,” he says. “I’d love the opportunity to go to spring training and try to change the culture and create a dynamic that leads the Padres into great success in the future.”
Here’s more from San Diego and the rest of the NL West:
- Padres righty Seth Streich, who came to San Diego along with catcher Derek Norris in last winter’s trade with the Athletics, recently underwent Tommy John surgery, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports on Twitter. Streich had already missed this season due to shoulder surgery — as the club expected when it acquired him — but the new procedure will bump out his recovery window by at least another year.
- It remains to be seen whether outfielder Justin Upton will play again for the Padres this year, tweets Brock. As Brock had reported previously, Upton had suffered a scary-looking collision with the outfield wall. It’s obviously good news that the injury seems minor, but it could well spell the end of the pending free agent’s tenure in San Diego.
- Ryan Vogelsong says he’s committed to pitching next year, but doubts it will be with the Giants, as Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News reports. “The last month, not getting a lot of time on the mound, I’m probably not high on the priority list – which is something hate to say, as much as I love it here and love everybody in the clubhouse,” said Vogelsong. While he declined to shut the door on a return, he explained that his usage “pretty much puts the writing on the wall.” The 38-year-old continued: “I really don’t have any expectations now other than I want to play and I’d like a chance to start and I still feel I can take the ball for 32 starts in a season. We’ll see where the wind blows me. Physically I feel as good as I have. My arm feels good. I still feel I have a lot to offer to somebody, and we’ll see who that is.”
- Dodgers lefty Brett Anderson had a strong outing tonight to cap a nice year, and was rewarded for it. By topping 180 innings, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group was among those to note, Anderson moved past two bonus milestones (175 and 180 innings) in his contract. All told, after adding $750K this evening on top of already-earned payouts, the 27-year-old has tacked on $2.4MM to the $10MM guarantee he received as a free agent. Even better, a healthy and productive season has Anderson set up nicely for his return to the open market this winter.
Latest On Angels’ GM Search
Here’s the latest on the Angels’ hunt for a new GM.
- Mariners farm director Chris Gwynn interviewed last weekend for the job, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets. Gwynn, Tony’s younger brother, played parts of ten seasons with the Dodgers, Royals and Padres as an outfielder, then worked in the Padres’ scouting department for over a decade before taking his current position with the Mariners.
- Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler still appears to be the front-runner, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes (Twitter links). The decision might not be officially announced, however, until after the Yankees are eliminated from the postseason. In any case, the Angels seem to be down to a small number of candidates. (In addition to Eppler and Gwynn, other names that have been connected to the position include Rangers assistant Thad Levine, former Diamondbacks and Padres GM Josh Byrnes, former Padres and Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers, Blue Jays assistant Tony LaCava, Indians vice president of player personnel Ross Atkins, Angels director of pro scouting Hal Morris, and current Angels assistants Matt Klentak and Scott Servais.)
- Regardless of who it is, the team will likely wait until after the season is over to announce their choice, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
Quick Hits: Heyward, Red Sox, Utley, Reds
Jason Heyward‘s well-rounded game might best be appreciated by the “data-driven organization” that has watched him all season, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. This might be why the Cardinals could go into team-record contract territory to re-sign Heyward this winter, and the club is indeed interested in bringing him back “though they recognize it might take another team (or more) to help frame negotiations.” Goold writes that the Cards are open to the idea of including an opt-out clause in Heyward’s deal, which would allow the 26-year-old to potentially return to the open market in four or five seasons and score another big contract.
Here’s the latest from around baseball as we head into the last week of the regular season…
- Heyward, for his part, tells Goold that how the Cardinals view players “is ideal for a player like myself….I’m trying to do anything to win and people see that. That’s what they care about. They’re not looking at overall statistics. There are a few (teams) that would fit me, and here is one of them. That stands out. For me, it stands out especially.”
- Dave Dombrowski has retained many members of the Red Sox front office staff, which Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes was contrary to the public perception that Dombrowski was going to “blow up the organization” and restaff it with past colleagues. Instead, Dombrowski has made a few changes (perhaps most notably the hiring of Frank Wren as a senior VP of baseball ops) but has mostly kept the well-regarded Sox personnel in place. Promoting Mike Hazen from assistant GM to general manager underscores this continuity.
- Chase Utley has been getting some time at third base for the Dodgers, which JP Hoornstra of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin notes both helps the Dodgers depth-wise and could help the veteran continue his career as a utility infielder in future seasons.
- A reader asked John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter) if the Reds might pursue Alfredo Simon as a free agent innings eater. Fay doesn’t see the team going down that path, but he thinks that they could consider Bronson Arroyo, another former Red, in a similar role. After missing all of 2015 recovering from Tommy John surgery, Arroyo will likely have his 2016 option bought out by the Dodgers and he’ll be available on the open market.
West Notes: Anderson, Ausmus, Byrnes
Dodgers starter Brett Anderson has reached another performance bonus threshold tonight, tweets Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Anderson will earn another $350K for throwing 170 innings. He’s triggered $1.65MM in bonuses in addition to his $10MM base salary.
Here’s more on Anderson and baseball’s western divisions:
- Anderson would like to return to L.A. next season, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN. The club is also reportedly interested in re-signing the southpaw. Anderson is in the midst of a rough outing at Coors Field tonight, but that’s hardly an uncommon occurrence. Including his performance through three innings this evening, Anderson has a 3.77 ERA, 5.87 K/9, 2.41 BB/9, and a 66% ground ball rate over 171.2 innings. He’s just four innings short of his career high (set in 2009). Between improved health and success, Anderson should be a popular target this offseason. The 27-year-old could potentially use Brandon McCarthy‘s four-year, $48MM contract as a comparable. McCarthy was entering his age 31 season when he signed that deal, but he was arguably coming off a stronger platform season. MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth also considers McCarthy and Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano as possible precedents.
- Josh Byrnes is a top candidate for a role in the Angels front office, confirms Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via tweet). However, Los Angeles is not looking to hire a president of baseball operations. Whoever they sign will be the GM. You can learn more about Byrnes and the other Angels’ GM candidates here.
- If the Tigers hadn’t retained manager Brad Ausmus, he would have been a top candidate for the Padres opening, writes Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Ausmus debuted with the Padres way back in 1993. He played in parts of four seasons for San Diego before later moving on to the Tigers, Astros, and Dodgers. While it’s a moot point now, it seems likely that Ausmus would have landed somewhere on both feet.
Josh Byrnes A Candidate For Top Jobs With Angels
Former Diamondbacks and Padres GM Josh Byrnes is a candidate for GM or president of baseball operations with the Angels, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. Byrnes currently serves as vice president of baseball operations for the Dodgers.
Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler is reportedly the favorite for the Angels GM job. Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine and Angels director of pro scouting Hal Morris have also been connected to the position, however, along with Blue Jays assistant GM Tony La Cava, Indians vice president of player personnel Ross Atkins, and Angels assistant GMs Matt Klentak and Scott Servais. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets that the Angels currently plan to hire one executive, not two, so if they were to hire Byrnes as president of baseball operations, it would appear they would not hire a GM.
Yesterday, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman mentioned another name in connection with the GM job: that of Kevin Towers, who ironically replaced Byrnes as Diamondbacks GM after Byrnes was fired in 2010. Two years later, Byrnes then headed to San Diego to take the GM job Towers had once occupied.
Dodgers Release Mat Latos
SEPTEMBER 25: The Dodgers have announced that they’ve released Latos.
SEPTEMBER 17: The Dodgers have designated righty Mat Latos for assignment, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. His 40-man spot will be used for the activation of reliever Carlos Frias from the 60-day DL.
Latos, 27, was acquired from the Marlins at the trade deadline in a complicated, three-team deal. That move also brought several other pieces to Los Angeles, with the bulk of the assets (featuring lefty Alex Wood and infielder prospect Jose Peraza) coming from the Braves.
It was certainly a calculated to risk to add Latos, who has an excellent track record but had dealt with injuries and performance issues in recent years. He had shown improved velocity and results in the run-up to the deadline, suggesting that his still-youthful arm could have some punch left down the stretch.
Needless to say, Latos did not perform to expectations for the Dodgers. He surrendered 18 earned runs over just 24 1/3 innings, though he did manage a fairly typical 18:6 strkeout-to-walk ratio.
It is hard to see any other teams having interest in the righty for the rest of the season, given his recent struggles and the fact that he wouldn’t be eligible to pitch for a new club in the postseason. But he’ll still probably draw plenty of interest as a buy-low arm when he hits free agency in a few months. Latos will hit the market in advance of his age-28 season, and organizations will no doubt recall that he averaged about 200 frames of sub-3.30 ERA pitching annually over the 2010-2013 seasons.
NL West Notes: Anderson, Padres, Gray, De La Rosa, Weiss
As Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register recently pointed out on Twitter, Brett Anderson has accumulated enough innings that he’s reached the incentive portion of his one-year contract with the Dodgers. The left-hander’s deal calls for a $10MM base, but Anderson received an extra $300K for reaching both 150 and 155 innings, and he received an additional $350K upon reaching 160 and 165 innings. Currently sitting at 168 2/3 innings, Anderson will receive another $350K for reaching 170 and 175 innings, and he’ll earn $400K for every five innings he amasses beyond that point, up to 200. Obviously, he won’t reach the 200 inning maximum given the limited amount of time left this season, but Anderson’s already secured an additional $1.3MM and could conceivably earn an additional $1.5MM or so before season’s end, making for a very hefty payday.
More from the NL West…
- The Padres have shuffled their scouting department, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock. Logan White, hired last winter to be the team’s director of pro scouting and serve as a senior adviser to general manager A.J. Preller will now focus on amateur and international scouting in addition to his role as a senior adviser. In his place, west coast regional scouting supervisor Pete DeYoung will be promoted to director of pro scouting. DeYoung’s promotion creates another opportunity, and area scout Josh Emmerick will move up the ladder into DeYoung’s former position. Brock’s column details several other changes further down the line in San Diego’s scouting department as well.
- Rockies pitchers Jon Gray and Jorge De La Rosa are done for the season, manager Walt Weiss told reporters, including MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (Twitter links). Gray’s shutdown was planned, per Weiss, as he’s hit his innings limit for the season. The former No. 3 overall pick posted a 4.33 ERA in 114 2/3 innings while pitching in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League. His struggles weren’t aided by moving to Coors Field midseason, as Gray totaled a 5.53 ERA in his 40 1/3 innings at the Major League level. All told, he’s pitched 155 innings this season — a notable increase from the 124 1/3 he tossed in 2014. As for De La Rosa, he was scratched from his most recent start due to tendinitis in his Achilles tendon, and the club apparently won’t risk further aggravation of the issue. The 34-year-old made 26 starts and tallied a 4.17 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 in 2015 — the first season of a two-year, $25MM extension he inked with Colorado last August.
- Weiss acknowledged to Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post that his job security with the Rockies is uncertain. “Hey, it’s a legitimate question,” Weiss told Kiszla upon being asked how he’d sell the front office and ownership on retaining him for the 2016 season. “because you’ve got to defend what you’re doing if you haven’t won. … We haven’t won yet, but I feel like there’s a foundation of respect and trust in the clubhouse with this coaching staff. Guys on this team feel the need to show up and compete every day. … I don’t expect people to give that a whole lot of credence. But, for me, when I look in the mirror after every game, that’s what me and the staff hang our hat on.” The Rox have lost 271 games in Weiss’ three seasons as manager, though as Kiszla notes, that’s hardly something for which Weiss can be faulted. Weiss has had little help in terms of pitching talent, among a slew of other problems. Kiszla notes that if the front office — or perhaps, ownership — believes contending in the near future is possible, though, Weiss could land on the chopping block due to his teams’ poor performances over the years.
Vesting Options Update
With the regular season nearing its end, we have some clarity on several vesting clauses around the game. Let’s take a look at where things stand …
- Chase Utley, Dodgers: There’s no chance that Utley’s $15MM option — the first of three in succession — will vest. (He’d need 110 plate appearances over the final two weeks of the season to reach 500.) Instead, Utley will become subject to a team option — the value of which floats between $5MM and $11MM based upon days spent on the DL. The precise details have yet to be reported, so it’s not yet clear how much it would cost Los Angeles to control the veteran. Neither is it known whether the team would have interest; Utley has a mediocre .200/.296/.347 slash over 108 plate appearances with the Dodgers.
- Jonathan Papelbon, Nationals: This one was taken care of as part of the deal that sent Papelbon to D.C. from the Phillies. Papelbon helped facilitate the swap by agreeing to take $11MM to throw next year for the Nats. He was already likely to reach the requirements for his option to vest at $13MM, but that agreement greased the wheels on a move he desperately wanted and removed any doubt as to his payday.
- David Ortiz, Red Sox: Big Papi has blown well past the 425 plate appearances he needed for his 2016 option to vest, though he’ll also need to pass an offseason physical. The question now is the value of the option. It has already reached $15MM, but would go higher if he makes his 600th trip to the dish. In that case, it will go to $16MM (or, if it’s more than that, the value of the qualifying offer). Ortiz has earned it, with another huge season and successful run at 500 career home runs.
- Joaquin Benoit, Padres: Benoit needed to finish 55 games for to his $8MM option to vest. That can’t happen, so it’ll turn into a team option. It’s a fair sum for a reliever, but Benoit continues to put up strong results at 38 years of age.
- Marlon Byrd, Giants: The 38-year-old sits at 502 plate appearances. He needs 48 more the rest of the way to reach 550 total, which, in combination with those accumulated last year, would be sufficient for his $8MM option to vest for 2016. With 13 games left, it’s still possible that he could reach the needed total, but that’ll depend heavily on playing time — and San Francisco may well not wish to be on the hook for that kind of cash.
- Santiago Casilla, Giants: As MLBTR reported, Casilla needs 55 games finished for his $7.5MM option to vest for 2016. The situation is somewhat similar to Byrd’s. With 49 finished games in the bank so far, it’s still possible — but, perhaps, unlikely — for Casilla to reach the necessary tally.
- Nori Aoki, Giants: Due to injuries, the outfielder is stalled well shy of the 550 plate appearances he needed to turn a $5.5MM club option into one of the mutual variety. That could still be an appealing price tag for a player who performed well when healthy.
- Jonny Gomes, Royals: Gomes needs 325 plate appearances for a $3MM club option for 2016 to become guaranteed. He only has 246, and hasn’t been used much in Kansas City, so that’s not happening.
We already know that Cliff Lee won’t achieve the innings totals required for his 2016 option to vest, as the Phillies southpaw hasn’t pitched all season and is attempting to recover from a torn left flexor tendon without undergoing surgery. Brandon League also hasn’t pitched this season and has been released by the Dodgers, so he won’t reach the games-finished total required to allow his 2016 player option to vest.
Quick Hits: Turner, Beane, Cumpton, Reed
Justin Turner‘s rise is one of the game’s underplayed stories. Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports writes that the minor league free agent-turned-star is loving life with the Dodgers. The picture painted is one of a player whose success and positivity have fed more of the same. As I explained recently, Turner looks to be a possible extension candidate this winter.
Here are some more stray notes from around the league:
- If the Athletics follow through on their reported plans to promote Billy Beane, he’ll take a position akin to that of Tony La Russa’s with the D’backs, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains (Twitter links). Club president Michael Crowley will remain in his current role, says Rosenthal. It’s still somewhat unclear exactly how day-to-day responsibilities would change from the present arrangement, but the GM title is reportedly likely to go to assistant GM David Forst.
- Pirates‘ right-hander Brandon Cumpton entered the 2014 season as the organization’s 11th-best prospect, in the eyes of Baseball America, but has seen injuries derail his career since. After undergoing Tommy John surgery already in 2015, Cumpton has now had a “right shoulder subacromial decompression” procedure performed, as Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (Twitter links). In addition to raising concerns in another area of his arm, that will bump his recovery time to 13-15 months away.
- Though some Astros fans want to see the team give a late-season call-up to fast-rising prospect A.J. Reed, that’s almost certainly not going to happen, writes Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Reed has had an excellent season, but only reached Double-A for the second half and does not need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason.
NL Notes: Lackey, D’Backs, Kimbrel, Colletti
MLBTR has learned the full details of the incentives clause negotiated last winter between the Cardinals and righty John Lackey. (Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has already reported major elements of the clause.) The provision calls for $400K payouts to Lackey for reaching each of five innings tallies. His first milestone was 100 innings, with successive markers every 25 innings thereafter. When Lackey reached 200 frames last night, he maxed out the bonus at a total of $2MM (on top of the league minimum salary that was already called for in his deal).
Here are some more notes from the National League:
- The Diamondbacks face several contract questions regarding pitchers even before considering outside additions, as Zach Buchanan of AZCentral Sports writes. Whether to tender Jeremy Hellickson and Jhoulys Chacin, exercise a club option over Josh Collmenter, and pursue a reunion with free agent-to-be David Hernandez are among the matters that Arizona will need to address. Chief baseball officer Tony La Russa discussed all four pitchers with Buchanan. Most interestingly, perhaps, is the situation regarding Chacin. La Russa says that he has “seen enough from Chacin” to know that he’d be “in the competition” for the club next year. The 27-year-old looked good at Triple-A this year and has put together three nice outings for Arizona. Because of his limited MLB time this year, he is arb-eligible. Chacin had agreed to a $5.5MM deal with the Rockies before he was released in the spring before signing successive minor league deals with the Indians and D’Backs. My guess would be that the club will look to work something out with him before the tender deadline.
- Padres closer Craig Kimbrel says it’s been a frustrating first season in San Diego, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Kimbrel says that he expects the club to improve next year, citing the assembly of new faces as one factor that may have slowed down the Pads this year. Of course, as Lin writes, it’s certainly plausible to imagine a scenario where Kimbrel is dealt elsewhere to address other areas of needs or re-build the farm system.
- Former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who now works with the organization as an adviser, is “right in the middle of everything, but nowhere near anything,” Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times writes. But as Plaschke points out, Colletti — who says it’s been “a different kind of year” — was responsible for bringing in many of the team’s key pieces. That includes not only players like Clayton Kershaw and Zach Grienke, but youngsters such as Joc Pederson and Corey Seager. All said, the piece suggests, Colletti’s nine-year tenure as the head of the organization’s baseball operations department was probably more successful than many have acknowledged.