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Field Staff Notes: Padres, Nationals, Brewers

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Here’s the latest on some managerial and coaching situations from around the league:

  • As the Padres gear up for a managerial search, GM A.J. Preller says he’s planning to “cast a wider net” over the coming weeks, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports. “I think the baseball operations group is ready to talk to the best and brightest we can find in the baseball world,” he said, continuing on to note that there would be few limits as the search gets underway. “We are going to interview people from all spectrums … from all experience levels. You look at some of the more experienced managers in the Major Leagues and they come from all different backgrounds.”
  • The Nationals, meanwhile, appear likely to seek experience in a new hire. As Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com notes, despite the appeal of all-time great Cal Ripken Jr., the Nats may be fearful of another inexperienced manager. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post also discusses some possible options to step in.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo spoke with reporters today about the decision to part with Williams and the process of finding his replacement, and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post has the transcript. Rizzo said that he’ll look at “a group of people with diverse backgrounds, diverse experiences, and diverse skill sets” and will be sure to include those with time spent as skippers — which, he noted, was not the case in the last hiring process. “We feel that where we’re at in our timetable, our time frame of winning a championship, we would lean toward someone who has some type of managerial experience at the major league level,” said Rizzo. “But again, we’re gonna be open minded and look for the best candidate that we can that allows us to win a championship here in the very near future.”
  • The Brewers will part with all but two of their current coaches, per a team announcement. Only hitting coach Darnell Coles and third base coach Ed Sedar will stay on for manager Craig Counsell’s 2016 staff. He’ll have a chance to pick his own lieutenants now, in concert with new GM David Stearns. One likely target is Pat Murphy, who won’t stay on as Padres’ skipper, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets. Milwaukee had tried to hire him earlier this year when Counsell took the reins.

Heyman’s Latest: Nats, Managers/GMs, Kennedy, Martinez, Beltre, Desmond

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While Matt Williams is all but certain to be let go following the season, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports in his latest Inside Baseball column, a source close to the situation tells him that Nationals GM/president of baseball ops Mike Rizzo “isn’t going anywhere.” The ill-fated acquisition of Jonathan Papelbon and Rizzo’s backing of Williams has led to some speculation about his job, but Heyman indicates that Washington’s top decision-maker is safe. Heyman focuses on the Nats in a lengthy intro to his column, also notably reporting that the “ship has sailed” on the Cubs’ interest in Papelbon, making them an unlikely destination in a trade this winter. The Nats will try to unload Papelbon, though finding a trade partner in the wake of recent drama surrounding him will prove exceptionally difficult. Heyman also notes that Tyler Clippard and Gerardo Parra were Rizzo’s top two deadline priorities, but he didn’t have authorization to increase payroll, and thus turned to Papelbon, as the Phillies were willing to include money in the deal.

Some highlights from the rest of the lengthy but informative column…

  • In running down current GM vacancies as well as potential managerial openings, Heyman notes a number of likelihoods. Billy Eppler is expected to be offered the Angels’ GM position, he hears, but the Halos may go with the increasingly popular two-executive format, meaning Josh Byrnes could be hired as president to work above Eppler. Torey Lovullo’s name could surface as a candidate for the Padres, especially given CEO Mike Dee’s ties to Boston. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto could have a tough time with Lloyd McClendon, whom one Mariners person described as even more old-school than Mike Scioscia, and Heyman hears that former Rangers bench coach/Angels front office assistant Tim Bogar could get a look.
  • The Indians will be looking for third basemen this winter and could seek upgrades in center field and right field as well.
  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich is said to be a believer in young right-hander Eddie Butler, a former Top 100 prospect that has struggled mightily in the Majors. Others in the organization aren’t as sold on him.
  • The Tigers will be looking for a closer and at least one setup man this winter, and they could show interest in the Reds’ Aroldis Chapman on the trade market (though he strikes me as a questionable fit with just one year until free agency). Detroit will also be seeking rotation upgrades on the free agent market, and a few players of early interest are Scott Kazmir, Ian Kennedy and Jeff Samardzija. Trades for rotation help are also possible, though Detroit wants to hold onto Daniel Norris and Michael Fulmer.
  • Cuban outfield prospect Eddy Julio Martinez recently worked out for the Royals and had an impressive showing. The Dodgers and Giants remain interested as well, he adds. It’s worth also pointing out that each of those three clubs has already spent heavily enough on international free agents to incur maximum penalties, so the only further repercussion they’d face is further luxury taxation.
  • The Brewers will target rotation help this offseason, and Heyman calls Kennedy a “possibility.” To me, that’d seem like more of the same from recent winters, when Milwaukee added Matt Garza and Kyle Lohse — a pair of mid-range upgrades. Unlike those winters, however, they’re not close enough to contention this time around for me to see the logic in offering Kennedy a four-year deal, especially since he’ll probably end up with a qualifying offer attached to his name. On another Brewers’ note, Heyman writes that the team should listen on Jean Segura, given Orlando Arcia’s emergence in the minors, though I’m not sure Segura is teeming with trade value following another poor season.
  • Samardzija could be a target for the Yankees, who employ former Cubs GM Jim Hendry in their front office. Hendry was Chicago’s general manager when the team initially signed Samardzija and remains a believer in the right-hander.
  • The D-Backs, Nationals, Tigers, Cubs, Rangers, Yankees and maybe the Braves will all show interest if the Padres decide to move Craig Kimbrel this winter.
  • Adrian Beltre will need to undergo surgery to repair a severe thumb sprain through which he’s been playing for quite some time following the Rangers’ season.
  • There’s “no chance” that Ian Desmond would accept a one-year qualifying offer, writes Heyman, who presumes that the Nationals will make the offer. Though Desmond’s struggled this year, it shouldn’t be expected that any prime-aged player who isn’t coming off a major injury would accept the offer, in my view. Detractors will state that said player can’t find a similar average annual value on a multi-year deal, and while that may be true, locking in a more sizable payday once free agency is an option tends to be a greater priority. Heyman lists the Mariners, White Sox and Mets as speculative possibilities to enter the shortstop market. Desmond won’t top $100MM, like many once expected, but even with a QO in tow, he’ll be able to handily top $16MM, even at a lower AAV. And, if the offers don’t materialize, he can always sign a one-year deal at or near that rate later in the offseason.

Central Notes: Stearns, Counsell, Indians, Machado

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Freshly appointed Brewers general manager David Stearns held court with the media at Petco Park today, and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel runs down a number of the topics addressed by Stearns. Perhaps most notably, Stearns characterized his first impressions of manager Craig Counsell as positive. Building a relationship with Counsell is one of the first things on Stearns’ to-do list as GM. “It’s an enormous relationship, and it needs to be a relationship that has mutual respect and mutual trust,” said Stearns of the manager-GM dynamic. “So far, we’ve gotten along very well. … Throughout the entire industry, Craig has a very positive reputation. It was also clear that he was held in high regard within the organization and up through ownership.”

A bit more from Stearns and the game’s Central divisions…

  • Also high on Stearns’ agenda is deciding on an assistant GM and an organizational structure, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Via Haudricourt, Stearns spoke about the characteristics he’d seek in an AGM. “Ultimately, you’re going to want one who complements your skill set and helps you run the front office from a variety of different aspects,” he explained. Stearns said he’s spoken to a number of baseball ops executives that pre-date him, presumably including Ash, but has yet to come to any firm personnel decisions. “I’ve had conversations with a number of them and I think a number of them will stay,” he added.
  • The Indians will have a number of roster decisions to make following the season, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Gavin Floyd, Ryan Raburn, Mike Aviles and Ryan Webb can all become free agents, and each has expressed an interest in remaining with Cleveland. Raburn could be retained via his $3.5MM club option, as the team will decide between that sum and a $1MM buyout. Hoynes also notes that Cleveland has as many as six, if not seven arbitration eligible players (depending on Jeff Manship’s Super Two eligibility). Closer Cody Allen, in particular, could be in line for a multi-year deal, per Hoynes, though that comment seemed to be speculative.
  • Though adding some additional positions to his repertoire would help Dixon Machado’s chances of making the Tigers’ roster in 2015, the team has no plans to play him anywhere but shortstop, manager Brad Ausmus told MLive.com’s James Schmehl. The Tigers view Machado as a pure shortstop, though that complicates his path to playing time in the Majors due to the presence of Jose Iglesias. Nonetheless, Ausmus was firm in his belief: “Just a shortstop, at this point. I don’t know that I’d put Machado in the (Andrew) Romine category. Although he played third base a couple of games in Toledo, I wouldn’t throw him into a utility role.” Machado, the Tigers’ No. 14 prospect, per MLB.com, hit .286/.375/.404 across two levels in 2014 but has struggled in both Triple-A and the Majors this year. Scouting reports on the 23-year-old rave about his glove but wonder if he’ll hit enough to be a regular in the Majors.

NL Central Links: Lopez, Price, Ricketts, Bryant

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Right-hander Jorge Lopez will make his Major League debut tonight when he starts for the Brewers, and MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy has the story on how Lopez has already dealt with serious adversity on his path to the Show.  Lopez’s two-year-old son, Mikael, has spent much of his life in hospitals since being born prematurely, and doctors still don’t have a clear diagnosis for young Mikael’s health issues.  There has been some recent progress, however, and the family’s medical bills will be partly alleviated by the $40K Lopez will earn for his two-week stint in the bigs.  Lopez was Milwaukee’s second-round draft pick in 2011 and the 22-year-old posted a 2.26 ERA, 2.63 K/BB rate and 8.6 K/9 over 143 1/3 innings at Double-A Biloxi this season.

Here’s some more news from the NL Central…

  • The Reds are considering keeping Bryan Price as manager for 2016, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports.  Price has long been on the hot seat given the Reds’ rough season and a profanity-laden tirade to reporters back in April, though he may keep his job since the Reds were hampered by injuries and trade deadline deals that saw Johnny Cueto, Marlon Byrd and Mike Leake leave town.  Changes could be made to the coaching staff, however, with pitching coach Jeff Pico in particular a candidate to be replaced.  Rosenthal wonders if Price’s future employment could hinge in part on how he reacts if asked to replace some coaches.  No decision will be made on any managerial or coaching changes until after Cincinnati’s season is over.
  • The Cubs’ on-field success and added revenues from attendance and TV ratings doesn’t necessarily mean the team’s payroll will greatly rise, chairman Tom Ricketts told reporters (including CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney) yesterday.  “Theo [Epstein] will have some resources this offseason,” Ricketts said.  “But I don’t know how (much). And I’m not sure he’ll find something he wants to do with ‘em. It’s up to him….Obviously, winning helps the payroll analysis, (but) it’s not about payroll anymore.  The fact is, the correlation between the dollars you spend and the wins you get on the field is going down every single year.  So in order to have sustainable success, you can’t count on money. You have to count on young talent. You’ve seen what we’ve done. We’ve gone out and built the best facilities in baseball. We’ve scouted well. We’ve drafted well. I think we’re developing well.“
  • In another piece from Mooney, he notes that Kris Bryant’s versatility could be a great help to the Cubs in their offseason plans.  The rookie played at four positions (first, third, center field and right field) on Monday night and he’s also played six games in left field this season.  Bryant has an above-average UZR/150 at every position he’s played, though obviously the sample sizes are too limited (except for his 1177 1/3 innings at third base) to declare that he can adequately handle any of these spots around the field.  Still, Mooney opines that Bryant could potentially handle a position like center field on a short-term basis for a year if the Cubs need a bridge between Dexter Fowler and a prospect like Albert Almora.

Reactions To And Details On Red Sox’ Promotion Of Mike Hazen

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Roughly six weeks after the Red Sox hired Dave Dombrowski to serve as their new president of baseball operations, prompting GM Ben Cherington to resign, the Red Sox named Cherington’s top lieutenant — assistant GM Mike Hazen — as their new general manager. Hazen’s promotion was officially announced at a press conference yesterday. Here are some takeaways from the conference as well as reactions to the Sox’ decision to stay in house as opposed to selecting someone outside the organization…

  • Via the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier (Twitter link), Dombrowski said yesterday that a list of about 30 general manager candidates was compiled early in the search. However, somewhat surprisingly, only two candidates — Hazen and Astros director of player development Quinton McCracken — were formally interviewed.
  • In a full column, Speier writes that Hazen had the opportunity to pursue advancement with another organization six years ago but elected to remain with the Red Sox. When Jed Hoyer left Boston to become GM of the Padres, he offered Hazen, who was then Boston’s director of player development, the opportunity to be an assistant GM in San Diego. Hazen, a Massachusetts native, spoke yesterday about the decision to remain in Boston due to a passion for the Red Sox. The ability to impact a team for which he grew up cheering trumped the notion of climbing the front-office ladder in a new organization.
  • Speier also spoke to Hazen’s Princeton baseball coach, Scott Bradley, at length about the way in which Hazen broke into the front office game; Bradley introduced Hazen to Peter Gammons after Hazen’s minor league career ended, and after doing some work scouting the Cape Cod League, an impressed Gammons put him in touch with Indians GM Mark Shapiro, encouraging Shapiro to hire him as an intern. Shapiro made the hire, and within a month contacted Bradley and Gammons to profess what a special career he believed Hazen to have in front of him.
  • Gammons recalls the story from his own end (Twitter links from Gammons), explaining that Bradley initially called him seeking an opportunity for Hazen, whom he described as the best leader he’d ever coached. Gammons set up the scouting internship and promised to send Hazen’s reports to GMs around the league, and Shapiro “immediately hired Mike” after being impressed by his work. Gammons considers Hazen one of the most honest people in the game and adds that Dombrowski won’t ever get anything other than what Hazen truly believes in terms of feedback.
  • The promotion of Hazen is a vote of continuity for the Red Sox, writes the Providence Journal’s Tim Britton. Twenty-two members of the current front office piled in the back of yesterday’s press conference to applaud Hazen, and as Britton notes, his ascension to GM all but ensures that there won’t be a mass exodus of front office talent from the pre-existing regime. Dombrowski is quoted as speaking highly of Hazen and the baseball ops staff that he inherited upon being hired. Hazen will have Dombrowski’s ear on all baseball ops decisions, especially early on as Dombrowski familiarizes himself with the system. Britton reports that Hazen interviewed for the Angels’ GM opening last week as well, and Speier noted in the above-linked piece that the Brewers had sought permission to interview him also.
  • Though McCracken wasn’t hired as Boston’s GM, Dombrowski told reporters that he was thoroughly impressed with his interview. Per the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich, Dombrowski sees a bright future for McCracken: “Quinton McCracken is going to be a general manager. There is no doubt in my mind. He’s got a lot of great qualities.” Dombrowski also cited his experience in the game and the fact that many GM candidates seek final authority over baseball operations decisions — something the Sox wouldn’t be offering, given Dombrowski’s role as president — as reasons that only two candidates were interviewed.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes that Hazen’s honesty and personality make him well-suited to fill the sometimes-difficult role of being a GM that works underneath a president. Hazen’s former Princeton coach spoke to Lauber as well, explaining why that’s the case. “I think Mike will be his own person, but he’s also such a team guy that he will work really, really well with Dave in that regard,” said Bradley. “Too many people in those types of (GM) positions in baseball avoid really difficult conversations. I think that’s Mike’s strength. That’s who he is.”
  • Dombrowski will be faced with an offseason of trying to clean up some missteps by the Red Sox — most notably the signings of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, writes ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes. Ramirez, as was announced yesterday, won’t play again this offseason due to a shoulder injury, of which the origin is unknown. Edes points out that in a way, Dombrowski and Hazen wouldn’t be in this spot were it not for those signings, as Cherington’s job probably wouldn’t have been in danger had neither player been signed to his ill-fated contract. Dombrowski gave a diplomatic answer when asked about Ramirez, as Edes notes, stating that he’d be the team’s first baseman in 2016. That could, clearly, change depending on the course of the offseason.
  • Cherington texted the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato and expressed praise and congratulations for his former assistant (Twitter link). “Mike is very deserving and ready to be a GM and I think the Red Sox made a smart choice,” said Cherington.

NL Central Notes: Counsell, Happ, Marshall, Wainwright

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If newly minted Brewers GM David Stearns elects to keep Craig Counsell in the manager’s role, the two appear to be a very good fit with one another on the surface, writes David Laurila of Fangraphs. Laurila spoke to Counsell recently about how his time working in the Brewers’ front office gave him an appreciation of analytics and how his years working with Doug Melvin have made him receptive to input from the front office. “Part of what working in the office did for me was provide a lot of exposure to the analytics side,” said Counsell. “That was valuable, because every day it plays a part in your decision-making. You’re challenged by what your eyes are telling you, you’re challenged by what the information is telling you, and you strike a balance. That’s managing. … [A] great thing about working in the front office was that it gave me a different perspective. You see the game differently. When you’re in the forest every day, you always don’t see it.” The entire interview is well worth a read, as Counsell offers an insightful, forward-thinking take on the evolving role of a manager and the incorporation of data and analytical information into his job.

A few more notes from the league’s toughest division…

  • In the final minutes leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, J.A. Happ had heard nothing about a trade, writes MLB.com’s Jack Etkin, leading to a very surprised reaction from the lefty when he learned after the deadline had passed that he’d been dealt to the Pirates in a last-minute swap. Happ’s trade didn’t make too many headlines, but he’s been a vital component to the Pirates’ stretch drive, Etkin notes, pitching to a brilliant 2.28 ERA in nine starts with Pittsburgh. Happ appears to be yet another triumph for vaunted Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage, as his ERA, along with his 10.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 rates, rank as the best work of his career. Happ, however, is just happy to have the opportunity to contribute to a playoff push — a sensation he hasn’t had since 2008-09 with the Phillies. “You come in and kind of realize what this team’s doing and what they’re capable of,” Happ said. “It’s been a lot of fun. It feels good to contribute.”
  • Sean Marshall’s career has been dramatically altered by shoulder surgeries, but the 33-year-old Reds left-hander tells C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he still hopes to play beyond the 2015 season. Marshall, who thought the surgery he underwent in May (his second shoulder operation) could be career-ending, now hopes to pitch for the Reds before the season comes to a close. He’s dropped his arm angle about four to six inches, he estimates. “I want to keep playing,” Marshall tells Rosecrans. “I’m not ready to hang ’em up yet. I still feel great.”
  • Adam Wainwright threw 25 pitches to teammates yesterday, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, the injured Cardinals ace, who hopes to return for the postseason as a reliever, said he still feels “a hair off,” even though he considers his pitches to be “game-ready.” The next step for Wainwright is a simulated game without a screen (he threw from behind a screen Wednesday) so that he can field his position. Manager Mike Matheny wouldn’t offer any definitive take on whether or not Wainwright would pitch in the playoffs, stating that the decision would come down to what’s best for the team. He did, however, note that he’s a firm believer that, come the postseason, experience is an important factor.

Podcast: Adam McCalvy Breaks Down The Brewers

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MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy joins host Jeff Todd to break down all the recent changes in the Brewers organization, including the hiring of David Stearns as the team’s new general manager and the trade deadline deals that came before. There’s been a lot of movement in Milwaukee already, and that could set the stage for a busy winter.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

Quick Hits: GMs, Data, Prospects

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ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick takes an interesting look at the changing general managerial landscape around the league. The Brewers just hired thirty-year-old David Stearns to take the helm, of course, and Crasnick notes that several other young, analytically-minded executives are in the hunt for other GM positions. As he explains, however, there is more nuance both to the more youthful newcomers and the more established GM candidates on the market. While there is a cyclical element to front office hiring, says Crasnick, it’s also true that the job has changed significantly, with baseball operations departments growing in size and diversity of functions. Then, there’s the fact that team ownership is increasingly savvy and data-driven as the amount of money involved has skyrocketed. (Crasnick quotes one executive who notes that many owners are very hands-on: “They’ll see something on the MLB Trade Rumors site and call you and say, ’Why didn’t we know about this?'”) You’ll want to give the piece a full read.

Here are a few more stray notes from around the game:

  • While the use of data in baseball is a given at this point, that doesn’t mean it isn’t continuing to evolve. Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal sat down recently with two key figures in analytics, A’s GM Billy Beane and noted sabermetrician Bill James, for a compelling chat. Both agreed that, while teams often work on fascinating projects behind closed doors, the analytical work done in the public realm still offers the greatest capacity for knowledge advancement because it is subject to broad scrutiny and capable of being built up from a gathering of many minds. Of course, as Beane notes, an increasing number of the people who might once have written in public fora are now employed by teams.
  • If you feel it’s been too long since the last exciting new Cuban player popped up on the radar, then check out this piece from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. He highlights a 16-year-old known as Lazarito — full name: Lazaro Robersy Armenteros Arango — who has impressive skills and a rising profile. Lazarito is currently in Haiti, where he’s preparing to showcase his talents and continuing the process of achieving free agency. While he still has a lot to prove, Lazarito already stands out in one regard: he’s much younger than most Cuban prospects that are attempting to move into MLB organizations.
  • Baseball America is running through the top prospects in each of the minor leagues. It’s an ongoing process, but now would be a good time to take a peek if you’re interested in seeing how recent draft picks and rising international youngsters are progressing, as BA is most of the way through its Rookie ball ratings. Among the players placing highly are Brewers prospects Trent Clark and Gilbert Lara, Brendan Rodgers of the Rockies, and Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker.

Reactions To Brewers’ Hiring Of David Stearns

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The Brewers wrapped up a fairly closely-held GM hiring process yesterday, officially announcing that the team would name David Stearns as its new general manager. Stearns is just thirty years old, but had most recently served as the top assistant to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and has a range of other experiences in the game.

Here are some reactions to the move:

  • Stearns will formally move into the position on October 5th, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. The GM-to-be said in his introduction that every team has the same basic “need to acquire, develop and keep controllable young talent — quality Major League talent.” Doing that, he said, involves “develop[ing] a process and a system that allows you to consistently generate that pipeline, even as you are competitive at the Major League level. There are a couple of teams that appear to be able to do that, and that’s certainly our goal here in Milwaukee.”
  • Joining the podcast of ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (starting at about 24:30), Stearns talked about some of the lessons he’s picked up along his journey through baseball thus far. He cited the organizational continuity of the Indians and the decisionmaking process of Luhnow’s Astros as two major takeaways.
  • Brewers’ pro scouting director Zack Minasian will be staying in his role, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but Stearns will assess and address the situations of other personnel after taking the helm.
  • The move drew rave reviews in the Brewers clubhouse, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets. The players he spoke with said they didn’t have any concern with Stearns’ young age.
  • Stearns covered broad ground as Houston’s sole assistant GM, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle explains. Many clubs employ multiple people at the AGM level, but the Astros relied on Stearns alone at that position. Drellich goes on to discuss several of the internal candidates to step into the void.
  • Luhnow spoke with the media about the loss of an important piece of the organization, as Drellich further reports. Houston’s chief baseball decisionmaker said that he’ll wait for the offseason to search for a replacement, looking inside and outside the organization while considering the possibility of utilizing multiple executives in an assistant GM capacity.
  • Writing for Baseball Prospectus, Jack Moore puts the Stearns hiring in the broader context of executive trends in Major League Baseball.

Injury Notes: Braun, Nelson, Eovaldi, Folty, Hanley

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Here’s the latest on several injury situations around the league:

  • Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun will undergo back surgery after the season, he told reporters including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. It’s not immediately clear what procedure he’ll need, but Braun indicated that he expects to be able to work through a short rehab and be ready in time for a full Spring Training. “We have to make sure we don’t allow [a setback] to happen,” said the 31-year-old. “We’ve known for a while that I’m going to have to have surgery, so we’ve been trying to battle through it. The danger is that if it gets worse, then the recovery time with the surgery could get a lot longer.”
  • The Brewers have decided to shut down righty Jimmy Nelson after he was struck in the head by a line drive in his most recent outing, per a club announcement. Skipper Craig Counsell told reporters today that Nelson’s neurologist felt there was too much risk to allow him to return to the mound at this point, as club play-by-play man Joe Block tweets. Hopefully, of course, rest and recuperation will put the 26-year-old back on track for a normal spring.
  • Things are not progressing well for Yankees righty Nathan Eovaldi, as Brendan Kuty of NJ.com reports. Eovaldi is still experiencing soreness in his pitching elbow despite a two-week layoff. At this point, Eovaldi may not have much chance of being ready for the start of the postseason and could ultimately be shut down entirely, GM Brian Cashman indicated.
  • The Braves announced that righty Mike Foltynewicz underwent surgery to remove “the anterior half of his first rib.” Foltynewicz had been on the DL with rib inflammation and was then hospitalized yesterday after experiencing blood clots in his right arm. Atlanta assistant GM John Coppolella explained that, “our first and foremost thoughts are just for his health and that he is okay,” as Kevin McAlpin of Braves Radio Net reports (links to Twitter). The two issues are unrelated, per Coppolella, who indicated that the club is still trying to get its arms around the situation. It seems a safe be that Foltynewicz, a key part of last year’s Evan Gattis trade, will not pitch again this year, though there are no indications that he’ll have any lingering issues.
  • Hanley Ramirez will wait until he’s completely pain free to be activated by the Red Sox, as MLB.com’s Ian Browne writes. The club has made clear that it won’t utilize Ramirez at the plate until he is ready and able to play the field. Boston is set to begin the experiment of moving the pricey veteran to first base. While a late-season return won’t have much bearing on the standings, getting a look at Ramirez at another new position could have ramifications for Boston’s offseason plans.
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