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Quick Hits: Roberts, Brewers, Harvey

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Some rumblings from around baseball as we get ready for the World Series to begin on Tuesday…

  • The Dodgers’ club option on Dave Roberts for 2019 is worth $1.1MM, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link).  The full financial terms of Roberts’ three-year contract aren’t known, though the manager is set to earn a nice payday should the club exercise its option as expected.  It is somewhat unusual that the Dodgers haven’t already locked Roberts up on a longer-term deal, though one would think that an extension is even more of an obvious bit of offseason business now that Roberts had led the team to its second consecutive World Series appearance.
  • The emergence of Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes in the postseason gives the Brewers two more potential options in what could be a very interesting pitching rotation next season, JR Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  Woodruff and Burnes were multi-inning relief weapons out of Milwaukee’s pen, with Woodruff starting a bullpen game in Game One of the NLDS and the unofficial starter for Game Five of the NLCS (when Wade Miley’s “start” lasted just one batter in a bit of trickery on the Brewers’ part).  With Woodruff and Burnes likely to be stretched out in Spring Training, they could add depth to a Milwaukee staff that has Jhoulys Chacin as the only sure thing, with Zach Davies, Freddy Peralta, Chase Anderson, Junior Guerra, and potentially a healthy Jimmy Nelson also in the mix.
  • Orioles pitching prospect Hunter Harvey will begin another throwing program in December, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes.  Chosen 22nd overall by the O’s in the 2013 draft, Harvey has tossed only 176 2/3 innings over his five pro seasons due to a number of arm problems, including Tommy John surgery in 2016.  This past season saw Harvey sidelined with shoulder, forearm, and elbow issues that limited him to 32 1/3 frames for Double-A Bowie.  The right-hander doesn’t turn 24 until December, and the Orioles are still hopeful that Harvey can develop into a solid Major League pitcher if he can shake the injury bug.

Central Notes: Schoop, Davidson, Cardinals

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Second baseman Jonathan Schoop has endured a dreadful couple months since the Brewers acquired him from the Orioles at the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Nevertheless, considering what the the Brewers gave up for Schoop, they’re “unlikely” to non-tender him in the offseason, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Schoop’s projected to earn $10.1MM in his final trip through arbitration, and that salary figures to help weigh down the 27-year-old’s trade value if Milwaukee tries to move him. Schoop was one of the game’s best second basemen in 2017, but his numbers dipped in the first half of this season with the Orioles and have gone in the tank in Milwaukee, with which he batted .202/.246/.331 in 134 regular-season plate appearances. And while the Brewers will advance to the World Series if they win Game 7 of the NLCS on Saturday, Schoop hasn’t been a factor in their playoff run, having gone hitless in seven at-bats. Unsurprisingly, Schoop’s not in the starting lineup for the Brewers’ series-deciding game against the Dodgers.

A bit more from the majors’ Central divisions…

  • Fresh off his second straight 20-home run season, one which featured unspectacular overall production (104 wRC+) across 496 plate appearances, White Sox DH/corner infielder Matt Davidson would like to do more pitching in 2019. Davidson, who chipped in three scoreless innings of one-hit ball as a reliever in 2018, will spend the offseason working to become a legitimate two-way player, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports. The White Sox have okayed Davidson’s plan and will be able to monitor his progress in the offseason, given that he lives close to their Arizona-based complex, according to Levine. Davidson was a high school pitcher, notes Levine, who writes that Chicago’s coaching staff sees “decent movement” in his 92 mph fastball. Should Davidson achieve his goal, the soon-to-be 28-year-old would work out of the bullpen – albeit not in high-leverage situations – as a way to help keep the team’s conventional relievers fresh, per Levine.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier this month that the Cardinals would seek left-handed relief help in the offseason. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak confirmed as much this week, saying (via Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com): “When you’re looking at last year versus this year, I do feel like we’re looking at more depth than we had a year ago at this time. I also recognize that I think the biggest Achilles’ [heel] right now in our bullpen is the left side.” The Cardinals shuffled through numerous southpaw relief options during the season, but none inspired much confidence, as Langosch details; moreover, they don’t seem to have a dominant lefty under control going into 2019, Langosch points out. Notably, MLBTR’s Jeff Todd took a look at the lefty relief market for the upcoming offseason earlier this week. That piece should be of particular interest to Cardinals fans in light of Mozeliak’s comments.

Zach Davies Replaces Gio Gonzalez On Brewers’ NLCS Roster

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The Brewers announced this morning that they’ve replaced left-hander Gio Gonzalez on their NLCS roster following yesterday’s ankle injury; righty Zach Davis will take his place. The move renders Gonzalez, a pending free agent, ineligible to pitch in the World Series should Milwaukee advance, as players removed from the roster mid-series are automatically ruled ineligible for the following round of postseason play.

Gonzalez suffered a high ankle sprain in the second inning of last night’s game against the Dodgers when fielding an infield single off the bat of Yasiel Puig (video link via MLB.com). His short start forced skipper Craig Counsell to go to his bullpen early, which proved to be all the more significant in a game that would go 12 innings and deplete the bullpen for each team. Adding Davies to the mix, then, will give the Brewers a fresh arm while simultaneously ending Gonzalez’s season.

Davies, 25, missed a good chunk of the 2018 season due to a rotator cuff issue in his right shoulder, but he returned to the Brewers in September and posted a 3.91 ERA and an 18-to-4 K/BB ratio in 23 innings down the stretch. His overall numbers in ’18 aren’t much to look at, but Davies entered the year with a career 3.91 ERA in 388 2/3 innings with 6.6 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 after being acquired from the Orioles in a 2015 trade that sent Gerardo Parra to Baltimore as a deadline rental.

The 33-year-old Gonzalez will reach free agency for the first time in his career this offseason. He’ll head into the open market coming off 171 innings of 4.21 ERA ball in the regular season, during which he averaged 7.8 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 and 0.89 HR/9 to go along with a 45.3 percent ground-ball rate. It’s the second pedestrian ERA for Gonzalez in the past three seasons, though his 2017 season was terrific in that regard (2.96), and his 2016 ERA (4.57) was heavily skewed by an uncharacteristic dip in strand rate.

Gonzalez has a solid track record over the years and was a fixture in the Nationals’ rotation for seven years after coming over in a trade from the Athletics. He’s lost about a mile off his average fastball since 2016 and turned in the worst full-season walk rate of his career in 2018 — neither of which figure to do his free-agent stock any favors. But Gonzalez has generally been a durable and dependable rotation piece since 2010, averaging 31.4 starts per season along the way. He’s only fallen shy of 30 starts once in that time (27 starts in 2014) and has posted solid run-prevention numbers with a knack for missing bats and limiting home runs.

Gonzalez’s swinging-strike and chase rates both improved substantially with the Brewers, albeit in a small sample of 25 1/3 innings, which could give interested parties some optimism in free agency this winter. At worst, the veteran southpaw should be viewed as a dependable source of 30+ starts, and if a team feels his 2018 control issues can be corrected (and/or that his improvement with the Brewers is sustainable), he could be seen as a step above that in terms of value.

NL West Notes: Dodgers, Braun, Rockies, Padres

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With the Dodgers and Brewers facing off in the NLCS, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy looks back to 2016 at the potential blockbuster deal between the two clubs that would’ve sent Ryan Braun to Los Angeles.  The rebuilding Brew Crew were exploring ways to get Braun’s big contract off the books, and the Dodgers were a natural trade partner, given their large payroll and the fact that they were one of six teams that Braun (a Southern California native) didn’t have on his no-trade list.  The most oft-cited version of the trade would’ve been Braun dealt to L.A. with Yasiel Puig, Brandon McCarthy, and two prospects going to the Brewers.  According to multiple sources, McCalvy reports that the Dodgers walked away from talks within the last half-hour before the August 31st deadline.

Imagining Braun as a Dodger (and, not to be overlooked, Puig as a Brewer) makes for a very interesting alternate-reality scenario, especially given the domino effect that that trade would’ve created on the Brewers’ and Dodgers’ subsequent moves over the last two seasons.  The deal will particularly loom large should either Braun or Puig end up being a deciding factor in the final three-plus games of the NLCS.

Some more from the NL West…

  • The Rockies head into the offseason with a lot of position player questions, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes, perhaps most notably at second base and in the outfield, as DJ LeMahieu, Gerardo Parra, and Carlos Gonzalez are all free agents.  The Rockies might want to move on to younger outfield options than Parra or Gonzalez, while “there’s no indication Colorado will attempt to re-sign” LeMahieu, which could open the door for prospects Garrett Hampson or Brendan Rodgers at the keystone.  The team needs to upgrade its middling offense in general, with catcher being another position of need in that regard.  Due to Jake McGee’s struggles, Saunders also predicts the Rockies will have to add another left-handed reliever to the bullpen.
  • With the Padres facing some tough decisions about 40-man roster placements in advance of December’s Rule 5 draft, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune breaks down the current players on the roster and the several minor league candidates to see who is likeliest to make the eventual 40-man slate.  Quite a bit of this conjecture is up in the air, of course, as Acee notes that “there is almost no player the Padres wouldn’t at least consider in trade offerings,” so even the Major League roster could look quite different by the time the Rule 5 draft rolls around.
  • If you feel like weighing in on a question about one of the NL West’s biggest stars, vote in this MLBTR Poll about whether or not the Diamondbacks will trade Paul Goldschmidt this offseason.

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/8/18

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post:

  • The Brewers have released right-hander Hiram Burgos, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 31-year-old debuted in the majors in Milwaukee back in 2013, but hasn’t been back since. Now 31 years of age, Burgos will presumably end up with another organization for the first time in his professional career. He had re-signed with the club entering the year but was never able to get on the bump for game action. In parts of six seasons at Triple-A, Burgos owns a 4.43 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 361 2/3 frames.

Quick Hits: Counsell, Brantley, Britton, Yankees, O’s

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After being shut out in the first two games of the NLDS, the Braves not only posted a crooked number on the scoreboard in Game Three, but staved off elimination entirely with a 6-5 win over the Dodgers.  Ronald Acuna continued to make history, as the 20-year-old rookie sensation become the youngest player ever to hit a grand slam in postseason action.  Game Four is set for Monday in Atlanta at 3:30pm CT.

As we look forward to three playoff games tomorrow, here are some items from three teams still active in the postseason…

  • The Brewers made Craig Counsell’s continued employment as manager a requirement for any general manager candidate in 2015, owner Mark Attanasio told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  “We interviewed seven or eight candidates, and I told all of them that Craig was going to be the manager,” Attanasio said.  “So, that would have disqualified a candidate if they had a problem with that….That was a precondition to the job.”  Counsell has paid off his employer’s faith by leading the Brewers into the NLCS, and quickly impressing observers along the way — eventual new GM David Stearns, the Brewers’ roster, and fans in Counsell’s home state of Wisconsin.
  • Two shoulder surgeries and a right ankle injury limited Michael Brantley to just 101 total games in 2016 and 2017, limiting his productivity and sidelining him for all of the Indians’ run to Game Seven of the 2016 World Series.  That long recovery period has made this season all the more special for the outfielder, who rebounded to hit .309/.364/.468 and 17 homers over 631 plate appearances and 143 games while helping the Tribe reach the postseason.  “When you go through basically almost a two-year rehab, you don’t always know that you’re going to come back,” Brantley told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.  “Every day that I’m there to be with my teammates, that I’m healthy enough to be in that lineup, where I can joke around and know that I’m going out to left field to play with these guys, I’m very appreciative.  I don’t take it for granted.”  Monday, however, could mark Brantley’s last game in a Cleveland uniform if the Tribe is swept by the Astros, as Brantley will be a free agent at season’s end.
  • “There’s a gigantic difference in how we use analytics here compared to Baltimore,” Yankees reliever Zach Britton told Fangraphs’ David Laurila.  After coming to New York from the Orioles in a trade deadline swap, Britton was presented with lots of personally-focused data.  “I’d never been exposed to that amount of information,” Britton said.  “And it’s not just ’Here’s a stack of stuff to look over.’ …. I don’t want to get into specifics, but some of it is how my ball moves, both my sinker and my slider, compared to different hitters’ swings. It kind of opens your eyes to things you maybe didn’t think of when you didn’t have that information.”  The Orioles are known to be looking for a more analytically-minded figure in their new general manager, though the team has a long way to go to catch up to the Yankees, who are known to have one of baseball’s best information departments.  If Britton’s comments sound similar to Justin Verlander’s reaction to joining the Astros last season, it isn’t a surprise, as Britton noted that “If you look at the teams in the postseason, most are well-known for their analytics departments, especially the Astros.”

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Moustakas, Nelson, Cubs, Chavez

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Third baseman Mike Moustakas “could see himself” staying with the Brewers, Jon Heyman of Fancred writes. “I like it here,” Moustakas said. “The team is together. The coaching staff is together. The training staff is together. We have a good time here every single day.” Moustakas, who joined Milwaukee via trade with Kansas City in July, has been a key part of the Brewers’ two playoff wins so far. He also offered respectable production between the two teams during the regular season, combining for 2.5 rWAR/2.4 fWAR with a .251/.315/.439 line (105 wRC+) and 28 home runs in 635 plate appearances. But it’s unknown whether that’ll lead the Brewers and Moustakas to exercise their $15MM mutual option for 2019; if not, it’s anyone’s guess whether the 30-year-old would garner much of a raise over his 2018 salary on the open market. Moustakas made his first trip to free agency last offseason, a frustrating winter in which he sat without a team until March. The lack of interest in Moustakas enabled the Royals to re-sign him for a surprisingly low sum ($6.5MM guaranteed and, as Heyman points out, $8.7MM with incentives). Looking ahead to 2019, the Brewers will have a full infield under control – which could make Moustakas’ stay with them a short one – though a few of those players (e.g., Eric Thames, Jonathan Schoop and Hernan Perez) logged uninspiring production during the regular campaign.

More on Milwaukee and the club it dethroned en route to a National League Central title:

  • The Brewers haven’t received any contributions this year from injured right-hander Jimmy Nelson – nor will they as they continue a potential march to a World Series – but that figures to change in 2019. Nelson, down since September 2017 with shoulder issues, has completed his “formal rehab,” general manager David Stearns said Saturday (via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). “He has returned to pitching. That is a great thing to say.” Nelson pitched like a front-line starter a year ago, notching a 3.49 ERA/3.05 FIP in 175 1/3 innings, and his absence has made the Brewers’ success this season all the more impressive. The 29-year-old will enter his penultimate season of arbitration control in 2019.
  • After Colorado eliminated Chicago from the playoffs Tuesday, Cubs reliever Jesse Chavez reportedly declared to teammates, “If I’m not wearing this [uniform] next year, I’m done.” Whether the pending free agent, 35, still feels that way is unclear, but he did tell Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required), “I’m open-minded to anything,” with regard to a potential role on next year’s Cubs. Joining the Cubs, who acquired him from the Rangers in July, enabled Chavez to participate in the playoffs for the first time in his long career, Mooney notes. “This has been one of my favorite places to come since I broke into the league,” Chavez said to Mooney, and he went on to laud the Cubs’ “atmosphere, the history, the culture, the clubhouse, the stands, the fans.” That’s important, Mooney opines, writing that “Wrigley Field is not for everyone and you have to recognize who can handle it.” Chavez proved capable of handling it in 2018, as the right-hander recorded a microscopic 1.15 ERA with tremendous strikeout and walk rates (9.7 K/9, 1.2 BB/9) in 39 innings after Chicago picked him up.

Agency News: Gausman, Stroman, Pina

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Here’s the latest in player representation news.  For more details on agents and clients, be sure to check out the MLBTR Agency Database, which contains representation info on more than 2,500 Major League and minor league players. If you see a notable error or omission, please let us know: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com

  • Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman will continue to be represented by agent Brodie Scoffield, who recently left the Legacy Agency, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  Both 27-year-old hurlers will be entering into their third year of the arbitration process, and, as Super Two players, are also arb-eligible in the 2019-20 offseason.  Gausman earned $5.6MM in 2018, and turned in a solid season (3.92 ERA, 2.96 K/BB rate, 7.3 K/9) over 183 2/3 innings with the Orioles and Braves, with better numbers and a smaller homer rate after being dealt to Atlanta at the July trade deadline.  Stroman earned $6.5MM this year after losing an arbitration hearing to the Blue Jays in February, but will only be in line for a modest raise on that figure after a disappointing, injury-shortened 2018 campaign.
  • Brewers catcher Manny Pina is now being represented by Peter and Ed Greenberg of the Legacy Agency, Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  The 31-year-old Pina will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason and looking to earn a raise after becoming Milwaukee’s first-choice catcher over the last two seasons.  Pina has hit a respectable .266/.317/.410 over 696 PA, while delivering strong ratings for his blocking behind the plate, and his ability to throw out baserunners (catching 41 of 108 runners trying to steal on him in 2017-18).

Quick Hits: Mets, Melvin, Nationals, Lucroy, Dunning

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The Mets will interview former Rangers and Brewers GM Doug Melvin about their open general manager’s position sometime in the next week or two, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.  Melvin, who has been a senior advisor for Milwaukee since being moved out of the GM role in August 2015, was first linked to the Mets by Fancred’s Jon Heyman back in August.  With Mets owner Fred Wilpon reportedly looking to hire a seasoned executive with a scouting background, Melvin’s 30 years of front office experience would certainly seem to make him a solid candidate, though COO Jeff Wilpon is seemingly more keen on a more analytical mind in New York’s baseball ops department.  Up to a dozen “serious candidates” are reportedly under consideration for the Mets’ GM job, however, so Melvin still faces tough competition.

Some more from around the baseball world as we prepare for the AL Wild Card game….

  • The Nationals are parting ways with assistant GM Bob Miller, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) reports that the Nats didn’t renew Miller’s contract.  Miller has worked in Washington for the last four seasons, and has longstanding ties with Nats GM Mike Rizzo when the two worked together with in Diamondbacks organization.  Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link) describes Miller as Rizzo’s “right-hand man” in the front office and the team’s “rules guru,” also crediting Miller with the trade that brought Trea Turner and Joe Ross to the Nationals.
  • Jonathan Lucroy didn’t contribute much at the plate for the Athletics this season, but the signing of the veteran catcher has become a major move in Oakland’s run to the AL wild card game, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  Thanks to an up-and-down 2017 season, a dropoff in his framing numbers, and perhaps just the overall chilled free agent market, Lucroy had to settle for a one-year, $6.5MM deal from the A’s in March.  Catcher became a need for the A’s once Bruce Maxwell fell out of favor with the team, and Lucroy’s veteran knowledge became particularly important given the number of young arms that ended up on the roster due to injuries and a focus on the bullpen.  “I don’t even know the numbers of starters that we’ve gone through with unfortunate injuries,” closer Blake Treinen said.  “And then the amount of arms that we had in the bullpen through September, trying to keep hitters off balance, knowing what everybody has, trying to read their stuff on that day.  [Lucroy has] been pretty solid, to say the least, for us back there, and it’s a good luxury to have.”  Lucroy’s mediocre offensive numbers will limit his free agent market and keep him in Oakland’s price range, so it will be interesting to see if the A’s could pursue a reunion with the catcher in free agency this winter.
  • White Sox pitching prospect Dane Dunning’s season was cut short by an elbow sprain, but after rehabbing the injury, Dunning tells The Athletic’s James Fegan (subscription required) that he is hopeful of avoiding surgery altogether.  Dunning may even get a few instruction league innings under his belt just to test his arm before the offseason.  The 29th overall pick of the 2016 draft, Dunning came to Chicago as part of the trade that sent Adam Eaton to the Nationals, and his prospect stock has since been on the rise.  He cracked the preseason top-100 prospect lists from Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, and MLB.com prior to 2018, and then posted a 2.71 ERA, 3.85 K/BB rate, and 10.4 K/9 over 86 1/3 combined innings at A-ball and Double-A this season.

Giants Notes: GM Search, Pence, Hundley, Holland

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Some items out of San Francisco…

  • Royals assistant GM Scott Sharp, Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold, and Blue Jays VP of baseball operations Ben Cherington have all been linked to the Giants’ general manager position, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  Going into more detail on Cherington, Cafardo believes Cherington’s use of both traditional scouting and modern analytics makes him an ideal all-around candidate for both the Giants and Mets jobs, as Cherington is reportedly also under consideration in New York.
  • Hunter Pence may have played his last game in a Giants uniform on Sunday, but the veteran outfielder tells reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area) that he isn’t ready to retire.  In fact, he said he plans to “reinvent myself” after two unproductive seasons; Pence intends to overhaul his swing this offseason, and is planning a winter ball stint in Mexico or the Dominican Republic.  “I feel strong, I feel healthy, I feel fast. I’m going to work on flexibility and changing my swing completely.  I want to still play. It’s uncertain — hopefully I can find an opportunity, and I’m going to look for it,” Pence said.
  • Free agents Derek Holland and Nick Hundley are both hoping to return to the Giants in 2019, the duo told reporters (including NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic).  Holland signed a minor league deal last February but will command a much more significant commitment this winter after posting a 3.57 ERA, 8.9 K/9, and 2.52 K/BB rate over 171 1/3 innings.  He’d be a nice addition to the Giants’ rotation if the price is right, given how many lingering injury questions remain within the team’s pitching staff.  Hundley has spent the last two years with the Giants as Buster Posey’s backup, and Pavlovic notes that the team would prefer a veteran backup presence behind the plate given that Posey will be recovering from hip surgery.
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