Marlins Re-Sign Ichiro Suzuki
1:58pm: The deal also includes a $2MM option for 2017, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
12:20pm: The Marlins have announced the re-signing of outfielder Ichiro Suzuki today, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro first reported on Twitter. The John Boggs client will receive a $2MM guarantee, per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
A reunion had largely been expected, and it seems that the sides chose to accomplish that by reaching agreement before the likely future Hall-of-Famer hit the open market. It’s not uncommon to see late-career veterans reach extension agreements of this kind when a mutually agreeable situation is at hand.
The club will probably look to give the 41-year-old somewhat less action in 2016 than he did this past season. With Giancarlo Stanton injured and Marcell Ozuna spending time in the minors, Ichiro ended up taking 438 plate appearances and playing in all but nine of the team’s games. That greater-than-anticipated usage did, however, allow the Japanese great to rack up some additional hits, leaving him just 65 shy of the 3,000-hit mark at season’s end.
Miami obviously likes Ichiro’s presence, and his milestone pursuit is not without its appeal. And he still rates as at least a league-average defender and baserunner. But things did not go so well on the offensive side of the equation, as he slashed an anemic .229/.282/.279 on the year for 2015.
That represents a drop off from an already-downward trend, as Ichiro has been consistently below average with the bat since the start of 2011. He was at least serviceable in 2014, earning him a one-year deal with a $2MM base guarantee and a variety of incentives. The Fish will hope that he can return to that level of offensive production (87 wRC+), though that could be the best-case scenario at this point.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Phillies Notes: GM, Giles, Asche, Biddle, Staff
The Phillies’ offseason needs begin with a new general manager, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com writes. President Andy MacPhail is running the search himself and giving little in the way of clues, though Salisbury cites Matt Klentak, Kim Ng, Thad Levine, and Ben Cherington as names that have arisen in industry chatter.
Here’s more from Philadelphia:
- While the Phillies won’t pursue top-end starters, they figure to add a few veteran arms, possibly of the mid-rotation variety, Salisbury adds. Otherwise, the offseason will presumably remain future-oriented. Nevertheless, Salisbury says that the team’s biggest remaining trade chip may be a relatively young player: closer Ken Giles. As CSN’s Corey Seidman wrote this summer, there’s real merit to the idea given the organization’s broader needs, the volatility of relievers, and Giles’s excellent early-career numbers. I’d certainly agree that the organization should be open to the concept. The pre-2012 Andrew Bailey trade, which netted the A’s Josh Reddick, is one example of such a deal that worked out for the sending team.
- Another at-least-theoretical trade candidate is Cody Asche. Per Salisbury, the 25-year-old drew interest from the Marlins and Brewers this summer. While his value isn’t exactly on the upswing, Asche might be worth more to another organization that could give him a longer look at third base.
- Lefty Jesse Biddle is heading in for Tommy John surgery, Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Long considered a top-100 prospect, Biddle has not performed well in the upper minors over the last two seasons. He’s averaged about five earned runs per nine at Double-A and Triple-A since the start of 2014, and continues to struggle to limit free passes even as his strikeout rate has fallen. Biddle struck out only 6.4 batters per nine in 2015, by far the lowest rate of his minor league career.
- Now-permanent manager Pete Mackanin will have a few staff changes heading into 2016, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. The team will part ways with bullpen coach Rod Nichols and third base coach John Mizerock, though it will offer contract renewals to bench coach Larry Bowa, hitting coach Steve Henderson, pitching coach Bob McClure, and first-base coach Juan Samuel. Mackanin explained that the team is “going to look at a lot of candidates” in filling out its coaching ranks.
Marlins Rumors: Cueto, Leake, Cespedes
In his Sunday column, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has a number of noteworthy Marlins items. Here’s a look at some of the highlights..
- The Marlins like impending free agents Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, but they’ll be out of Miami’s price range unless Jeffrey Loria is really willing to loosen the purse strings. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently dropped Cueto to eighth in his 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings.
- If the Marlins deal Marcell Ozuna – and owner Jeffrey Loria reportedly is open to doing that – they’ll need a replacement in center field. The Marlins like Mets impending free agent Yoenis Cespedes, Jackson hears, but he’d probably be out of their price range. Cespedes is reportedly seeking at least six years on his free agent deal. The most recent version of Tim Dierkes’ 2016 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings has Cespedes as the No. 5 free agent on the market and Miami surely isn’t alone in its interest.
- There is “no thought” to the Marlins trading Christian Yelich, who has been tearing it up since the All-Star break. Yelich inked a $49.75MM, seven-year deal with Miami back in March. In April, MLBTR spoke with Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill and agent Joe Longo for an inside look at how the pact came together.
- Jackson hears that “there’s some internal sentiment” to trying to upgrade at closer, though that might not be realistic due to the team’s financial situation. In that event, Miami would use closer A.J. Ramos and Carter Capps as set-up men. Ramos, who has struggled with location issues at times this year, owns a 2.30 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 this season.
- Henderson Alvarez is expected to be tendered unless he has a setback in recovery before the early-December deadline, Jackson writes. That echoes a report from last month which indicated that Miami was leaning towards tendering an offer to the pitcher. The 25-year-old underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder in late July, ending his season prematurely. He was Miami’s Opening Day starter, but wound up finishing the 2015 season with just 22 1/3 innings, four starts, and a dismal 6.45 ERA under his belt.
NL East Notes: Scherzer, Harang, Pierzynski, Matz, Ichiro
Nationals ace Max Scherzer has completed his second no-hitter of the season. The Mets fell victim to an utterly dominating outing. Scherzer fanned 17 hitters. The only base runner reached via error. The win actually has some postseason implications too. The Dodgers are now just one win away from securing home field advantage against New York. Scherzer no-hit the Pirates earlier this year. He struck out 10 in that contest. This was also the second time the Mets were no-hit (Chris Heston).
- Phillies starter Aaron Harang has yet to decide if he’ll play in 2016, tweets Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Harang, 37, posted a 4.86 ERA with 5.72 K/9 and 2.70 BB/9 over 166 and 2/3 innings. Through his first 11 starts, he had a 2.02 ERA and 3.10 FIP, but injuries soon sapped his production. Harang will consult with his family in San Diego before making a decision.
- Newly minted Phillies president Andy MacPhail is part of a long baseball tradition, writes Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer. His father, former baseball executive Lee MacPhail once described his son as decisive, adding “he never second-guesses himself.” The Phillies will hope that decisiveness results in a rapid turnaround after a miserable season. If you’re looking to learn more about the MacPhail dynasty, Fitzpatrick provides a thorough background.
- Against all odds, Nationals infielder Dan Uggla won a roster spot in Spring Training and never gave it up, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Uggla didn’t earn much playing time with the Nationals. Including two plate appearances today, he’s hit .183/.298/.300 in 141 plate appearances. Uggla believes his vision and health are back to where they were in his Marlins days. While it’s unclear if Uggla will find a guaranteed contract this offseason, multiple sources with Washington praised his clubhouse presence.
- The Braves hope to re-sign catcher A.J. Pierzynski, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The soon-to-be 39-year-old had a remarkably productive season after signing a one-year, $2MM contract over the offseason. He’s hit .300/.339/.430 with nine home runs. Pierzynski figures to receive some attention in free agency, but teams may be wary of his age and reputation.
- Mets starter Steven Matz is starting to build a reputation as injury prone, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Personally, it seems too soon to worry over seemingly minor injuries – even if they are poorly timed. However, one rival executive wondered “is he one of those guys where there is always going to be an issue?” For now, the Mets have to decide if and how they want to use him in the postseason. However, it’s possible the club could use him as trade bait over the offseason given their rotation strength. His trade value will be at a low point if rival clubs view him as an injury risk.
- Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki aims to play 10 more years, writes David Waldstein of the New York Times. The former Mariners star has played in 150 games for Miami due to a serious of injuries in the outfield. He’s posted a .233/.286/.284 line over 431 plate appearances. Advanced defensive measures look favorably upon his performance in the outfield. While another 10 years feels like a stretch, Ichiro should receive ample opportunity to reach 3,000 hits. He’s currently 65 shy.
Marlins Front Office To Undergo “Significant Changes”
2:22pm: As has been previously reported, the Marlins have offered Jennings a spot in their front office. He’s still deciding what to do, however, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes. “From a standpoint of if I’m asked to go back upstairs, then there are conversations that are going to have to take place because I want to understand where things are, because I’ve been removed for 4 1/2 months,” says Jennings. “There’s catch-up that I have to be involved in and conversations that need to take place so that I’m up to speed as to how things have evolved in the front office.”
12:02pm: The Marlins have talked to Rays director of player personnel Matt Arnold about a front office job, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
10:12am: There will be “significant changes” in the Marlins’ front office, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Current assistant GM Mike Berger will take over a role similar to that of GM, although it’s unknown at this point what his actual title will be. It’s not clear what role, if any, current manager and former full-time GM Dan Jennings will occupy. Lately, owner Jeffrey Loria has reportedly listened to Berger and others more closely than Jennings. Also, the Marlins recently fired pro scout Mickey White and reassigned vice president of player personnel Craig Weissmann, both close associates of Jennings.
The Marlins are also currently interviewing candidates for their managerial job. It had previously been reported that they had offered Jennings a job in their front office, although perhaps he’ll go elsewhere, with the Phillies being one possibility.
It has, of course, been a disappointing season in Miami. The Marlins acquired Mat Latos, Martin Prado, Dee Gordon, Dan Haren, Michael Morse, Ichiro Suzuki and others last winter in an attempt to contend, but they struggled out of the gate, fired manager Mike Redmond, and have slouched to a 69-90 season so far amidst injuries to key players like Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez.
Rosenthal On Eppler, Cherington, Orioles, Black
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video on FOX Sports:
- Nothing is official, and it’s hard to tell what Angels owner Arte Moreno might be thinking, but the Yankees still believe assistant GM Billy Eppler will get the open GM job in Anaheim. One possible reason the Angels haven’t yet made the announcement is that they might have to face the Yankees in the AL Wild Card matchup.
- Former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington isn’t likely to try to get a GM job this offseason, but perhaps the Phillies job could be appealing to him, since he and Phillies owner John Middleton both went to Amherst. If Cherington takes a GM job, he’ll want to work with someone he trusts.
- The Orioles have extended bench coach John Russell’s contract, but have not done the same for their other coaches, and it looks like changes could be afoot. Pitching coach Dave Wallace appears most likely to head elsewhere (and other teams are already inquiring about his availability). Any potential coaching changes could lead to disagreements between GM Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter.
- The Marlins and Nationals could be potential landing spots for manager Bud Black, and the Braves might also become a possibility at some point, given that he once worked as an assistant to current Braves exec John Hart. The Dodgers might also come into play if they part ways with Don Mattingly.
AL East Notes: Jones, Davis, Stanton, Bogaerts
Orioles star Adam Jones continued to express his feelings on an important offseason for the organization, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. The highly-respected veteran said that he thinks re-signing Chris Davis is “probably the highest priority” for the organization this winter. Skipper Buck Showalter addressed the subject in a less direct manner. “We’d like to keep everybody, obviously,” he said. “I think everybody shares that. Let’s see where it goes. We all have our own personal feelings about it. You can probably guess what mine are. Some things you reach for because, let’s be frank, it makes your job easier. But you also know what your job description is.”
Here’s more from the AL East:
- The Orioles “briefly” pursued extension talks with Davis and his representatives at the Boras Corporation, per Connolly. But despite stated interest from both sides in an ongoing relationship, those discussions never gained much traction.
- Looking even further back into “what-if” transactional history, the Red Sox had a legitimate chance a few years ago to land Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins, according to ESPNBoston.com’s Gordon Edes. But Miami was insistent that any deal would have to include shortstop Xander Bogaerts, and that proved a sticking point that prevented further progress.
- The Red Sox have obviously received exactly what they hoped for when they placed a high value on Bogaerts. As he turns 23 today, the shortstop is putting the finishing touches on an outstanding season in which he’s been worth about 4.5 to 5 wins above replacement. The same holds true, of course, of the versatile Mookie Betts. (He’ll reach 23 years of age within the week.) Those performances raise the possibility of extension talks, says Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, who analyzes the history of similarly-situated young players as well as that of new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
Latest On Marlins’ Managerial Hunt
The Marlins are continuing to look around at new managerial candidates even as current skipper Dan Jennings finishes out the season. Of course, the former GM has reportedly been offered a chance to return to the front office after the year. Regardless of what happens there, Miami owner Jeffrey Loria and his staff are reportedly aiming to find a new hire with previous experience as a big league skipper, and the names they’ve been connected with reflect that predilection.
Here’s the latest:
- Bo Porter has interviewed for the Marlins’ managerial post, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The former Astros skipper has been the Braves’ third base coach this season and held that role for the Marlins over 2007 to 2009. Porter also has spent time with the Nationals and Diamondbacks in recent years. While he never meshed in Houston, Porter had been one of the more highly-regarded, younger coaches in the game prior to taking that gig and is still just 43 years of age.
- Manny Acta is the only other candidate to have interviewed, at least so far as has been reported. He, too, has experience as a MLB skipper — with the Nationals and Indians — despite being a fairly youthful candidate at 46 years of age. Acta’s ability to communicate in both Spanish and English is also said to represent an important factor.
- The hiring effort is expected to be “extensive,” per Heyman, which seems to suggest that multiple other names could arise. Veteran skipper Dusty Baker has reportedly drawn interest from Miami, though we’ve yet to hear indication that he has been brought in for an interview.
NL East Notes: Nats, Harper, Marlins
Though both the Braves and Nationals collapsed over the last few months of the season, Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution still feels Washington is in the better position going forward. The Nats will lose some big pieces in free agency this winter but they “can fix a lot with a manager who can take charge of the clubhouse and a few leaders on the roster. They have more proven major-league talent than the Braves,” Schultz writes. Here’s some more from around the division…
- Bryce Harper wasn’t in the Nationals‘ lineup on Monday, an absence GM Mike Rizzo confirmed was due to the outfielder’s part in the dugout fracas with Jonathan Papelbon during Sunday’s game. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post has quotes from both Rizzo and Harper about the situation, and she also expresses some incredulity that Harper was punished for essentially acting in self-defense.
- The Papelbon incident doesn’t exactly help the Nationals‘ chances of keeping Harper on a long-term contract, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post writes. Boswell’s piece examines the many changes that will come to the Nats this winter due to free agent departures and other moves, leaving remaining veterans like Ryan Zimmerman dismayed that the likes of Ian Desmond or Jordan Zimmermann could depart, though Zimmerman is still optimistic. “Sometimes, shaking things up is what’s necessary. If every single person from this team came back, would I like our chances if we did it all again next year? Yes. But that’s not going to happen….But some really, really good things are coming to this team. ‘Mix up’ could be positive,” Zimmerman said.
- The Marlins have played well in September, a performance MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro attributes to the clubhouse putting the season’s discord and drama behind them. “Basically, the players united together. They were tired of losing. Tired of the internal bickering….So they responded by staying loose, having fun, and the wins followed,” Frisaro writes. The leadership of Martin Prado and Jeff Mathis played a big part in this attitude shift, and Mathis’ teammates would love to see the veteran catcher brought back in free agency this winter. Frisaro thinks the Marlins need to build on this, rather than create even more distrust by having another roster shakeup.
- In other NL East news on MLBTR, check out this collection of Phillies Notes from earlier today.
NL East Notes: Nationals, Desmond, Bour, Harvey
Here’s the latest from around the NL East…
- Ian Desmond hinted that he is likely entering his last week in a Nationals uniform, as the free agent shortstop told the Washington Post’s James Wagner that “I know that there’s a new chapter looming” in his career. It was a frustrating year for both the team and Desmond personally, as he has hit only .232/.285/.381 over 619 PA in his walk year. “If anything weighed on me, it was the fact that this was most likely going to be my last ride and I really wanted to go out with a bang, not personally but as far as a team,” Desmond said. “I probably, at certain times, tried to do too much but I’m a trier, man. I wanna win. I’m extremely passionate about my teammates and this organization and winning.” Desmond did say that he’s “open for whatever” in free agency and spoke of his pride in being a part of the first generation of Nationals baseball, so it’s perhaps not completely out of the question that he could re-sign with Washington.
- Marlins rookie first baseman Justin Bour is making a strong case for an everyday job in 2016, FOX Sports Florida’s Christina De Nicola writes. Bour had a .266/.326/.474 slash line and 21 homers in 420 plate appearances heading into today’s action, and he’s been particularly hot down the stretch, posting an .887 OPS in 94 September PA. The left-handed hitting Bour has only a .597 OPS in limited at-bats against southpaws, but at worst he seems to have earned himself at least the lion’s share of a platoon for next year.
- Matt Harvey threw 92 pitches over 6 2/3 innings on Saturday, and the Mets ace reportedly told manager Terry Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen that he wants to make regular starts down the stretch, John Harper of the New York Daily News writes. “When he came to me last week he said, ‘I want to pitch. I want to stay out there. I want to throw 100 pitches and I want to do it twice (before the end of the season),’ ” Collins described. “He said, ‘We’re going to win this thing and I’m going to pitch in the playoffs, and I’ve got to be ready. And I’m not ready.’ ” Harvey has now thrown 183 2/3 innings in his first season back after Tommy John surgery. Ironically, since the Mets have now clinched the division, this might be the ideal time to shut Harvey down until the playoffs, though this innings-limit controversy may yet have a few more twists and turns.