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AL West Notes: Baker, Astros, Rangers, A’s

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Dusty Baker is taking a wait-and-see attitude towards continuing to manage into the 2022 season, telling reporters (including The Associated Press) that it “Depends how I feel. Depends on how the team feels about me….You never know what changes are going to come about in life.”  Hired last January in the wake of A.J. Hinch’s sudden firing, Baker guided the Astros to a wild card berth and then an unexpected run to Game Seven of the ALCS, falling just shy of the franchise’s third AL pennant in four seasons.

Baker is the first manager in baseball history to lead five different franchises to the postseason, adding yet another plaudit to a managerial career that has now stretched to 23 seasons.  Last June, Houston exercised its club option on Baker for the 2021 season, though it remains unknown if an extension could be in the offing (Baker made no allusion to any negotiations during his media session).  Baker also turns 72 in June, so he could potentially decide to retire after one more year in the dugout.

More from the AL West…

  • Also from Baker, he told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters that the Astros are focusing on adding pitching, with “our bullpen probably first.  That’s a premium area right now, and then maybe you go to position players and you go to a starter, not necessarily in that order.”  Recent reports linked the Astros to the Liam Hendriks market, which would arguably be the biggest possible addition any team could make to their bullpen this winter.
  • The Rangers have been one of the offseason’s busiest teams to date, and GM Chris Young told reporters (including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson) that the club still has more items on its shopping list.  The Rangers are looking to add starting pitching, catching, and third base help, with the latter position perhaps being the most interesting considering Elvis Andrus and Nick Solak are already on hand as internal candidates.  Both are defensively suspect at the hot corner, however — Solak has limited career playing time at third base, and Andrus has never played anywhere other than shortstop over his 12-year career.  Gold Glove winner Isiah Kiner-Falefa will be moving from third base to take over Andrus’ former spot at shortstop.
  • Since the Athletics reportedly don’t have much available to spend this offseason, their chances of making any notable free agent additions or even re-signing some of their own free agents don’t seem great, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser writes as part of a reader mailbag.  Signing a player like Ha-Seong Kim seems very unlikely given Kim’s expected price tag, and while the A’s have had some talks with Tommy La Stella’s camp, Slusser would “be surprised” if a reunion actually takes place since La Stella should have enough suitors to take him out of Oakland’s price range.  In terms of possible returns, Yusmeiro Petit or Joakim Soria might be the likeliest candidates among the Athletics’ free agents, and Mike Fiers could also be re-signed since the A’s might want some rotation depth or perhaps a swingman.
  • In other AL West news from earlier today, the Angels and Mariners each signed new relievers, while the Rangers swung a trade with the Reds.

Blue Jays Notes: Kim, Ryu, Schwarber, Fiers

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Korean infielder Ha-Seong Kim appears to be one of many possible Blue Jays targets this offseason, and another Jays star might have done a bit of recruiting, as Daniel Kim of South Korea’s KBS reports (Twitter links) that Kim and Toronto ace Hyun Jin Ryu recently had dinner.  Ryu didn’t get into details of the meeting but said in an interview with KBS that he would be “happy to play on a same team with Kim.”  Kim requested the meeting himself, and while it’s probably safe to assume playing for the Jays came up at some point, it’s only natural that Kim would want to speak with a veteran player who has already made the move from the KBO to the majors.

Asked about the meeting, Jays assistant GM Joe Sheehan declined to discuss specifics but told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (Twitter link) that Ryu “being a big player in the KBO’s history is really good.”  The Jays are known to be exploring the infield market and Sheehan gave a favorable review of Kim’s KBO track record when asked by Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter link).

More from north of the border…

  • The Jays, Angels, and Yankees all have interest in former Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports.  Schwarber was non-tendered by the Cubs last week following a season that saw him hit only .188/.308/.393 with 11 home runs over 224 PA.  Since Schwarber is a defensively-shaky left fielder, he would seem like a curious fit for all three teams, who already have the left field and DH positions accounted for, barring a trade to open up space.  Looking at Toronto specifically, there could be room for Schwarber if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ends up spending more time at third base, though it still seems like something of an imperfect match.
  • The Blue Jays also have interest in right-hander Mike Fiers, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter).  Fiers posted a 4.58 ERA, 2.31 K/BB rate, and 5.64 K/9 over 59 innings with the Athletics last season.  The 35-year-old has been a durable back-of-the-rotation type for much of his career, and would perhaps bring more stability (if not necessarily upside) to a Jays rotation mix that has Ryu in front of Robbie Ray, Ross Stripling, Tanner Roark, and a wealth of younger arms headlined by Nate Pearson.

Athletics, Astros Name Starters For First Two Games Of ALDS

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The Oakland A’s will switch up their starting rotation heading into their ALDS series with the Houston Astros. Chris Bassitt – who started the 2nd game of the wild card series – will take the hill in the series opener, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com (via Twitter).

It would be easy to confuse Bassitt for a fungible back-end rotation type, but he’s been a consistent performer for Oakland over the years. This season represented a breakout of sorts for the 31-year-old, who went 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA/3.59 FIP over 11 starts in the regular season. He went 7 innings, giving up just 1 earned run to keep the A’s season alive in game 2 of the wild card round against the White Sox.

Lefty Sean Manaea will look for postseason redemption when he gets the ball in game 2, per Gallegos. Manaea – Gallegos reminds us – gave up 3 home runs over just two innings last season in a wild card game loss to the Rays. He’ll be familiar with his surroundings at Dodger Stadium, as his last start came in that very park a little under two weeks ago. For the year, Manaea went 4-3 with a 4.50 ERA/3.71 FIP in 11 starts.

Manaea is one of a number of southpaws the A’s could throw at the Astros, who as a team marked a 94 wRC+ against lefties in 2020 versus 102 wRC+ against right-handers. Alex Bregman crushed lefties in 2020 for a 166 wRC+, but each of Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, and Kyle Tucker performed markedly better versus right-handers this season.

After Bassitt and Manaea, the A’s could go in a number of different directions, which will likely depend on the results of the first two games. Frankie Montas, Jesus Luzardo, Mike Minor, and Mike Fiers could all be possibilities to start games 3 through 5. That group gives the A’s a slight advantage over the Astros when it comes to their rotations, writes MLB.com’s Andrew Simon.

It would be quite the showdown for Fiers to get a start late in this series. Fiers, of course, famously outed the Astros in the sign-stealing scandal that rocked the baseball world last winter. The Astros and A’s already have enough to fight about given the early-season altercation between Ramon Laureano and Astros’ hitting coach Alex Cintron, which led to suspensions for the involved parties.

All that said, Fiers may very well not be the best option for the A’s. Though he started the deciding third game of the wild card series, he lasted just 1 2/3 innings. In prior seasons, he’s been passed over for key postseason starts both with the Astros and the Athletics. Luzardo is certain to land higher on the pecking order than Fiers, though he could be utilized out of the bullpen as he was in 2019. The same can be said for Montas, who came out of the bullpen for a two-inning stint against the White Sox.

On the other side, manager Dusty Baker announced Lance McCullers Jr. and Framber Valdez as the starters for games 1 and 2, respectively, per the Athletic’s Jake Kaplan and others. The only real surprise here is that Zack Greinke would then be held out until game 3. Greinke is less likely than others to show up out of the bullpen the way Valdez did in game 1 of the wild card series. Still, with a 5-game series in 5 days, there figures to be less opportunity for that sort of roster manipulation. There will be a game 3, and no matter how the first two games of the series go, the Astros figure to feel pretty good with a rested Greinke ready to go in game 3. Baker, to be clear, has not named his game 3 starter.

Mike Fiers Exits With Right Arm Nerve Irritation

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9:31 pm: The club has announced that Fiers was pulled with “right arm nerve irritation”. As Slusser points out, that descriptor can foreshadow a wide range of possible outcomes and recovery timetables; Brett Anderson was sidelined briefly last year with left arm irritation, while Andrew Triggs required surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome (link).

8:52 pm: Athletics starter Mike Fiers set Twitter ablaze twice on Saturday. Initially, it was the veteran’s flamboyant, swirl-shaped facial hair that drew attention; however, by the second inning of tonight’s game with the Rangers, eyes were on Fiers for far more troublesome reasons, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle points out (link). After issuing a balk placed Danny Santana at second base, Fiers was visited on the mound by manager Bob Melvin and a trainer; Fiers rubbed his arm several times during the mound visit. Melvin left the righty in the game, but Fiers proceeded to serve up a home run and a walk while throwing his fastball 3-5 mph below normal velocity. Melvin then pulled Fiers from the game.

Oakland fans will hope that this is just a case of late-season dead arm for the 34-year-old Fiers. Their staff, of course, has already been something of a carousel in 2019, while Fiers has been a source of consistency.

Fiers entered Saturday with a 14-4 record buttressed and 3.97 ERA in 30 starts–numbers recorded in the first season of a two-year, $14.1MM deal signed with Oakland this past offseason. 2019’s version of Fiers certainly hasn’t been an overpowering one, as he’s logged just a 6.14 K/9 rate in 170.0 innings this year, but he’s managed free passes (2.65 BB/9) and, as he did last year, far outpitched his fielding-independent estimators (5.11 FIP). Oakland has recently been using a six-man rotation frontlined by the impressive return of starter Sean Manaea.

Athletics Sign Mike Fiers

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7:31PM: Fiers will earn $14.1MM in total, according to Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (Twitter link).  The deal breaks down as $6MM in 2019, and $8.1MM in 2020.

Dec. 24, 1:02PM: The A’s have announced the deal (via Twitter).

Dec. 22:The Oakland Athletics are close to re-signing Michael Fiers, per the MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Fiers will earn between $14MM and $15MM over a two-year span (Twitter links). The deal is pending a physical.

The dollar amount makes sense for both sides, considering Fiers was non-tendered by the A’s at season’s end while being projected to earn $9.7MM through arbitration. With this agreement, the A’s save themselves a couple million on their 2019 payroll while getting a second season of control, and Fiers gets more guaranteed money.

Fiers came to Oakland in August in exchange for two PTBNL, who turned into LHP Logan Shore and RHP Nolan Blackwood. He then contributed reliable innings for the A’s down the stretch as they struggled to keep rotation arms healthy en route to a surprising 97-win season. Pitching in the spacious arenas of Detroit and Oakland last season, Fiers tallied his best year as a pro: a 12-8 record with a 3.56 ERA across 172 innings.

Fiers threw more sliders than ever in 2018, a pitch he has steadily woven into his repertoire since 2015. The increase in slider usage corresponded with a similar decrease in sinker usage, leading to elevated launch angles and more flyballs (43.2 FB%) – all of which could signal sustainability for Fiers’ 2018 success. His peripherals don’t scream drastic transformation, though he did lower his walk rate to a career-low 1.94 BB/9.

Morosi recently reported Fiers was being courted by the Reds, Nationals, Rangers and Giants, all of whom would have been a poorer fit for Fiers, save perhaps the Giants, given his past home run issues. The Oakland Coliseum seems a good fit for the 33-year-old, who is at his best when keeping the ball in the air, but at his worst when unable to keep the ball in the yard.

Fiers ill join an unstable cadre of rotation arms in Oakland, with Daniel Mengden, Frankie Montas, Aaron Brooks, Paul Blackburn and Chris Bassitt being the in-house options for what’s sure to be another ragtag crew.

Pitcher Notes: Fiers, Sanchez, Brewers, Claudio

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Free agent starter Mike Fiers is being courted by multiple clubs, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter). Among those with interest are the Reds, Giants, Rangers and Nationals, none of whom should surprise given their collective desire for more pitching. Fiers, 33, had his best year as a pro in 2018, working to a 12-8 record with a 3.56 ERA across 30 starts for Detroit and Oakland. His peripherals don’t scream drastic transformation, though he did lower his walk rate to a career-low 1.94 BB/9. He also threw more sliders, a pitch he has steadily worked into his repertoire since 2015, which could signal sustainability for Fiers’ 2018 success. Park factors for Comerica Park and the Oakland Coliseum definitely worked in his favor, so it’s fair to wonder how his stuff will fare in the bandboxes of Cincinnati, Texas, and Washington, especially considering increased use of his slider corresponded with a similar decrease in sinker usage, leading to elevated launch angles and more flyballs (43.2 FB%). Fiers has been homer prone in the past, though it’s a delicate balancing act for the righty, as he has generally been more effective when keeping the ball in the air – a strategy that obviously holds more water in Oakland than it would in, say, Cincinnati.

  • The opposite can be said of Anibal Sanchez, coming off a surprising comeback with the Atlanta Braves driven in part by a return to the wormburning ways of his early career. His groundball rate (45 GB%) returned to career levels after dipping below 40% for a two-year stretch that just so happened to produce career-high ERAs. Atlanta has interest in bringing the righty back for 2019, per Morosi (via Twitter), but they’re not the only club with interest. Given their similar price points, Sanchez and Fiers likely share suitors, though the Reds and Nationals have shown the most interest in Sanchez thus far. A year and a half older than Fiers, Sanchez will be 35 by Opening Day.
  • It’s a little surprising not to see the Milwaukee Brewers listed as pursuers for the starters above, but a slow burn winter isn’t uncommon for the Brew Crew. They have made one notable move, sending a Competitive Balance draft pick to Texas for funky left-hander Alex Claudio. Interestingly, Claudio’s sidelong delivery may be more than an incidental quirk for the Brewers, per Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs. The Brewers now boast a relatively substantial stable of minor leaguers who rely on deception and unique throwing motions, enough of a sample to presume an organizational focus, or at least curiosity. Given the stirring ascendancy of Josh Hader, himself a non-traditional thrower, it’s interesting to see the Brewers potentially exploring a system-wide extrapolation of Hader’s success. From a player valuation standpoint, the one-for-one swap with Texas is noteworthy because of what it means about Milwaukee’s evaluation of college hurlers. The pick being sent to Texas likely lands somewhere in the 40s, where advanced college relievers are often available. Meanwhile, Claudio’s price is rising as a first-time arbitration player. One view supposes the cost-conscious Brewers must view the prospects available in that spot as less-than. The other view, of course, is that this deal is not a wholesale denunciation of the draft class, rather Milwaukee just likes Claudio and views his major league experience as present-day value for a team with legitimate pennant aspirations in 2019.

Morosi’s Latest: Bumgarner, Realmuto, Padres, Yankees, Gray, Fiers, Graveman, Jays, Happ

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Madison Bumgarner has been an oft-mentioned trade candidate this offseason, and the Giants are reportedly open to at least discussing their longtime ace.  As the Winter Meetings begin, however, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi tweets that San Francisco isn’t close to a Bumgarner trade.  It remains to be seen if the Giants will actually go ahead with dealing the southpaw, as the team seems to still be weighing its rebuild-or-reload options under new GM Farhan Zaidi.  Morosi has previously mentioned the Phillies, Braves, and Brewers as three teams interested in Bumgarner if a trade were to develop, though his latest tweet adds the Yankees to that list as well.  Bumgarner is only under contract through the 2019 season, and even though his numbers have been solid but less than ace-like over the last two years, he would still provide a notable boost to any rotation.

Here’s more from Morosi’s Twitter feed…

  • The Padres have a “genuine interest” in acquiring J.T. Realmuto, while the Yankees aren’t in serious talks with the Marlins about the All-Star catcher.  Yankees GM Brian Cashman was quick to deny rumors about his team’s interest in Realmuto last week, and New York already has Gary Sanchez behind the plate for the foreseeable future (though some rumors indicated that Sanchez would’ve gone back to Miami as part of a Realmuto swap).  San Diego, meanwhile, has its own established catcher in defensive whiz Austin Hedges, plus one of the game’s top prospects in Francisco Mejia behind the plate.  It’s fair to speculate if Mejia could potentially head back to the Marlins as part of a package for Realmuto, and the Padres certainly have the overall prospect depth that Miami is demanding for Realmuto’s services.  Since Realmuto is controlled only through the 2020 season, his acquisition would indicate that the Padres and GM A.J. Preller are perhaps ready to end their rebuilding process and begin to compete by at least 2020, if not even next season.
  • Speaking of the Padres and Yankees, the two teams continue to discuss a potential Sonny Gray trade.  Morosi noted on the continued talks between the two sides earlier this week, and rumors of the Padres’ interest in Gray date back to last month.  Pitcher-friendly Petco Park would seemingly be an ideal place for Gray to rebound from his rough stint in the Bronx, especially since Gray’s drastic home/road splits from 2018 already indicated that his struggles were particularly contained to Yankee Stadium.
  • Mike Fiers and Kendall Graveman are two names on the Blue Jays’ list of pitching targets.  With an inexperienced starting five projected for 2019, the Jays were known to be looking at rotation help this winter — particularly if, as Morosi notes, the team decides to trade Aaron Sanchez or Marcus Stroman as part of its rebuilding efforts.  Fiers and Graveman were both recently non-tendered by the A’s, and fit Toronto’s need for short-term additions are a relatively low cost.  Fiers was in this same position last winter, as he signed a one-year deal with the Tigers and turned in solid numbers both before and after a midseason trade to Oakland.  Graveman would likely be pursued for a two-year deal with a low salary in the first year, as the right-hander is likely miss all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery.  Graveman was originally drafted by the Jays in 2013 (when Alex Anthopoulos was GM) and traded to the A’s in November 2014 as part of the four-player package that brought Josh Donaldson to Toronto.
  • With Patrick Corbin and Nathan Eovaldi off the board, “J.A. Happ is viewed as the next key domino in the pitching marketplace,” Morosi writes.  Happ has received interest from as many as 10 teams, as his age (36) would seemingly make him more amendable to a short-term contract, thus widening his market beyond that of a younger pitcher like Dallas Keuchel, whose desire for a longer-term and more expensive contract limits his list of suitors.  It stands to reason that many of the same teams interested in both Happ and Keuchel, to say nothing of other free agent arms like Yusei Kikuchi or Charlie Morton, so it stands to reason that we could see something of a run on starting pitching if Happ or any of those names were to sign in the near future.

Athletics Non-Tender Mike Fiers, Kendall Graveman, Cory Gearrin

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The Athletics have non-tendered a trio of right-handed pitchers, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. Starters Mike Fiers and Kendall Graveman will be sent to free agency along with reliever Cory Gearrin.

It had been widely expected that Fiers would return to Oakland. After all, the A’s certainly need arms and he was quite successful in 2018 on both sides of the trade that sent him out west from the Tigers. He ended the season with a 3.56 ERA in 172 innings.

Still, Fiers projected to earn a hefty $9.7MM salary. And the results came in spite of some rough underlying stats. Fiers checked in with 7.3 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9, but coughed up 32 home runs — the same tally he allowed in the prior campaign. All of the major ERA estimators value him as a 4+ performer over each of the past four campaigns.

Graveman, meanwhile, is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and will likely miss most or all of the 2019 campaign. But he’s an interesting pitcher who should draw plenty of looks on the market. Gearrin, too, seems like a prime target as a steady veteran reliever. The A’s simply preferred not to pay their salaries, which were projected at $2.5MM and $2.4MM, respectively.

Tigers, Athletics Complete Mike Fiers Trade

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The Tigers and Athletics have announced the completion of the mid-season trade that sent starter Mike Fiers to Oakland. Righty Logan Shore will head to the Tigers in the deal, making him the second player to be named later.

About one month back, the sides announced the first PTBNL: young righty Nolan Blackwood. In the meantime, Fiers has continued mostly to pile up good innings for the A’s.

Shore, a 2016 second-rounder, is a rather notable prospect to be on the move. The 23-year-old turned in four strong outings at the High-A level before bumping up to Double-A. He has struggled to a 5.50 ERA there in 13 starts, but still seems to be a quality asset to add to the Detroit system. He’s just over two years removed from being selected in the second round of the 2016 draft and, in 2017, turned in a 3.68 ERA with an exceptional 87-to-16 K/BB ratio in 80 2/3 innings of work.

At last look, Shore sat in the No. 14 spot on the MLB.com ranking of the A’s farm. He’s known more for “pitchability than stuff,” as that outlet puts it, so he’s valued more for his floor than his ceiling. Of course, even a perceived floor requires health, and that’s one area that has been a problem in Shore’s brief time as a professional; he was slowed by a lat issue earlier this season and had a pair of trips to the disabled list last year in an otherwise encouraging campaign.

As for Fiers, the 33-year-old has been quite a boon for an otherwise injury-ravaged Athletics pitching staff. He’s taken the mound eight times since donning the green and gold, pitching to a sterling 3.09 ERA with 44 punchouts against just 10 walks in 43 2/3 innings of work. He’s still been far too homer-prone in that time (10 homers allowed), but Fiers has generally been one of Oakland’s most effective starters since joining the team. Oakland can control him through the 2019 season via arbitration.

Tigers Acquire Nolan Blackwood From Athletics

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4:24pm: Detroit hasn’t decided yet whether it’ll take the other PTBNL or cash to complete the trade, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.

3:48pm: The Tigers have acquired right-hander Nolan Blackwood from the Athletics, per an announcement from Detroit. Blackwood’s one of the two players to be named later in the teams’ Mike Fiers trade from earlier this month.

The 23-year-old Blackwood had been with the A’s since they used a 14th-round pick on him in 2016. He ended up ascending to the Double-A level this year with Oakland, pitching to a 4.08 ERA/3.51 FIP with 8.15 K/9, 2.72 BB/9 and an excellent 62.5 percent groundball rate in 53 innings (39 appearances). Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com ranked Blackwood as the A’s 30th-best prospect prior to his departure from the organization, noting that the 6-foot-5 sidearmer has quality stuff, including a 91 to 93 mph fastball with “heavy sink,” and “tremendous deception.”

Fiers, meanwhile, has been terrific for the A’s thus far, having thrown 11 1/3 innings of three-run ball with 13 strikeouts against zero walks in two starts since the surging AL West title contenders added him on Aug. 6. But with the Tigers in a rebuild and well out of contention, it didn’t make sense for them to keep the 33-year-old Fiers through the season. Now, at Fiers’ expense, Detroit has picked up at least one promising prospect in Blackwood. He’ll join a Tigers farm system that Baseball America ranks as the majors’ 14th-best group (subscription required).

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