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AL East Notes: Yankees, Dickerson, Loney, Orioles

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The Yankees have done all of their offseason shopping on the trade market, and John Harper of the New York Daily News spoke to GM Brian Cashman, getting insight into each deal. Cashman said Aaron Hicks was identified early as a target due to age, athleticism and abilities versus left-handed pitching. The trade would’ve been difficult were it not for a “monster” year from Gary Sanchez. “We valued [John Ryan] Murphy highly but we knew it would take a lot to get Hicks,” said Cashman. “If Sanchez hadn’t had the year he had, we might not have been as willing to make that trade.” Cashman said that the Cubs initially asked about Brett Gardner when discussing Starlin Castro, but those overtures were rebuffed. He was also reluctant to give up right-hander Adam Warren, and the Cubs requested him for a month before Cashman caved. On the Aroldis Chapman front, Cashman said the Yankees never got close to acquiring him in July but circled back later this winter. The situation was difficult, considering Chapman’s domestic violence allegations, which Cashman said he discussed multiple times with ownership. He refutes the belief that he didn’t part with much to get Chapman, offering praise for Rookie Davis and stating that knee surgery is the only reason Eric Jagielo isn’t ranked among their top 10 prospects. Cashman also discussed the team’s stance on Andrew Miller earlier in the offseason and offered more quotes than we’ll get to in this brief recap. The entire piece is well worth a full read.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • Dave Cameron of Fangraphs believes that the Yankees are perhaps the most underrated team in Major League Baseball right now due to the extensive focus on their lack of free-agent expenditures. While New York isn’t likely to repeat its offensive success, Cameron notes that the strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates from the team’s pitching staff yielded an xFIP mark that dramatically outperformed the club’s ERA, and historically speaking, there’s reason to believe that the ERA will catch up with the peripherals next season, to some extent. Starlin Castro represents an upgrade at second base, and the Yankees have the game’s best bullpen, Cameron adds, so even with some offensive regression and questions in the rotation, there’s reason to believe they can match or exceed last season’s 87 wins.
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times spoke to Rays manager Kevin Cash as well as third baseman Evan Longoria about the addition of Corey Dickerson to the club’s lineup, and both had positive things to say. Cash spoke about how Dickerson will help to lengthen their lineup, and as Topkin notes, Dickerson is one of several offseason additions that will give Cash a better slate from which to choose when playing matchups. (The Rays have also added Brad Miller, Steve Pearce and Logan Morrison.) Notably, Topkin points out that the addition of Dickerson only further underscores the need to move James Loney and his $8MM salary, which would free first base for Pearce and Morrison and create more DH at-bats for Dickerson.
  • The much-expected addition of Yovani Gallardo to the Orioles’ rotation, if completed, would cause a crunch in the bullpen, observes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The Orioles have Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, Brian Matusz, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens and Dylan Bundy as “locks” to break camp in the ’pen, he writes, but adding Gallardo to the starting five would mean that both Vance Worley and T.J. McFarland would be competing for a spot in the bullpen. Without one spot remaining, one of the two would indeed seem to be left on the outside looking in, barring an injury of course.
  • Regarding Gallardo, MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli tweets that the ball is in the Orioles’ court at this point, adding that both parties seem to be optimistic about a deal being completed. Gallardo is reportedly said to be discussing a three-year deal, possibly one that includes an opt-out clause, with the Orioles.

Ike Davis Likely To Sign Minors Pact Soon; Yankees In Mix

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First baseman Ike Davis is on track to find a new destination in short order, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports on Twittter. It’s expected that he’ll have to settle for a minor league deal, per the report.

The Yankees are among the teams in the mix for Davis, who’ll turn 29 before the coming season. New York recently lost one left-handed bench bat option in Greg Bird, and Davis could fill a similar niche for the coming season if the club decides to carry such a player as a complement to Mark Teixeira at first and Alex Rodriguez in the DH role.

It isn’t clear what other organizations may have interest, though it’s possible to imagine the Brewers, Astros, Orioles, Rockies, and Rays giving some consideration to a player like Davis for depth, flexibility, and competition. It’s been a quiet winter for Davis, who was non-tendered at offseason’s outset by the Athletics after projecting to command a $3.8MM payday in his final season of arbitration eligibility.

Davis disappointed in his only season in Oakland, putting up a .229/.301/.350 slash with just three home runs in 239 plate appearances. He had at least produced at a slightly above-average rate in his prior year, most of which was spent with the Pirates, and has always been seen as an intriguing talent.

After all, in his age-23 through 25 campaigns — back when he was viewed as a potential long-term piece for the Mets — Davis ran up a .252/.336/.461 batting line and contributed 58 home runs over 1,334 plate appearances. It may be wishful thinking to hope for a return to that level of production, but he’s still fairly youthful and looks to be a worthwhile risk on a minors deal.

AL East Notes: Gallardo, Buchholz, Ortiz, Kendrick

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Russell Wilson’s history with baseball is well-documented, though the Orioles were the first team to make a play for the future Seahawks quarterback out of high school when they made him a 41st-round pick in the 2007 amateur draft.  As O’s scout Dean Albany tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski, Baltimore had Wilson graded as good enough to be picked within the top 10 rounds, and he only fell due to his commitment to play football at NC State.  The Orioles were impressed enough with Wilson that they offered him $350K to sign, a higher bonus than the O’s offered any draft pick that year except for Matt Wieters and Jake Arrieta.  Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • The Orioles are still weighing whether or not to sign Yovani Gallardo and surrender their first-round draft pick, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes.  Another “shift in thinking” has taken place within Baltimore’s front office, and now the club may no longer be as hesitant to give up its pick, though “plenty of folks in the industry say Gallardo isn’t worth the 14th selection” in June’s draft.  If Gallardo’s price tag has indeed fallen to a large extent, however, there could be enough value added to make the signing.  “It could be argued that [Gallardo] carries more value with them than other teams who still may be in the running,” Kubatko writes, due to Baltimore’s need for reliable starting pitching.  Kubatko also opines that he would be willing to give up the 14th overall pick, since the O’s have five other picks within the first 100 selections of the coming draft.
  • The Red Sox made a bet on Clay Buchholz’s high ceiling rather than Wade Miley’s durability, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes.  Buchholz has battled injuries and several ups-and-downs in performance over his career, though he’s looked like an elite starter when at his best.  Miley, by contrast, has been more consistent than brilliant over his four full seasons as a big league starter.  Speier points out that Miley’s reliability might’ve given him more trade value than Buchholz, which could’ve been the reason Miley was the one dealt, though choosing Buchholz over the lefty could prove to be a key choice of the Red Sox season.
  • It couldn’t hurt the Red Sox or David Ortiz if the two sides firmly outlined the star slugger’s role in his final season, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription required).  This would allow both parties to avoid a potentially awkward situation if Ortiz experienced a sudden decline and the Sox then had to consider benching the franchise legend in his farewell season in order to better help the team win games.  Olney uses Derek Jeter’s final season as a cautionary tale, as the Yankees still used Jeter as a starting shortstop and number-two hitter throughout the year despite his sub-replacement performance.
  • Several Yankees topics are discussed in a mailbag piece by Mike Axisa of the River Ave Blues blog, including the team’s second base situation.  Axisa would’ve preferred the Yankees had Howie Kendrick on a two-year, $20MM deal and Adam Warren still in the pitching mix rather than Starlin Castro and the first-rounder it would’ve cost New York to sign Kendrick.  That said, Axisa doesn’t blame the Yankees for making the move to acquire Castro earlier in the offseason since two months ago, it would’ve seemed far-fetched that Kendrick could’ve been had at such a relatively low cost.

Quick Hits: Bell, Linares, Puig, Jackson, Rays

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The big ticket free agents aren’t always the most important offseason additions, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Using the Steamer projection system, Cassavell takes a look at the six players he thinks will most affect their respective divisions. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Cubs center fielder Jason Heyward are obvious picks. Surprisingly, Cassavell finds Mike Napoli to be the big name in the AL Central while Wade Miley’s move to Seattle could be sneaky important.

Here are a few more notes from around the league:

  • Cuban veterans Alexei Bell and Yordanis Linares will hold workouts on February 15 and 16 in Baja California, tweets Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Bell, 32, was reported to have left Cuba on January 13 and could fit as a right fielder. Linares’ defection was reported last summer. The 26-year-old doesn’t have enough professional experience in the Serie Nacional to avoid international spending restrictions. Bell, however, can be signed by any team.
  • The White Sox should target Yasiel Puig, opines Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Chicago has shown curiosity about the Dodgers outfield depth and could obviously stand to improve in the outfield. Rumors have tied them to veteran lefty Andre Ethier who could provide a useful platoon bat. However, Puig represents a more definitive upgrade with a star ceiling. Unfortunately, young talent comes with a price. Merkin lists pitchers Carson Fulmer, Spencer Adams, and shortstop Tim Anderson as possible targets for the Dodgers. Trading any of that trio would be a bitter pill to swallow.
  • The Indians could be a fit for free agent outfielder Austin Jackson, suggest Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Center field depth would be useful considering that Michael Brantley will start the season on the disabled list. Lonnie Chisenhall, Rajai Davis, and Abraham Almonte figure to form the Opening Day outfield, and it’s not hard to see a way to improve upon that trio. At the very least, additional depth in case of injury would be valuable.
  • The Rays should consider three more offseason moves, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The bullpen could use additional depth – perhaps Tyler Clippard or Tommy Hunter. Either Desmond Jennings or Brandon Guyer can be traded. The team is deepest with them on the roster, but they may be expendable. Jennings’ health may make a trade difficult. Lastly, Ian Desmond looks more and more attractive as a buy low option. The Rays have to be willing to discard their 13th overall selection in the draft if they’re to sign Desmond.

Sherman’s Latest: Cespedes, Ramirez, Castro, Sano

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Several teams are gambling on successful position changes for core players, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. While it’s not uncommon for a team to sign a player like Jason Heyward and shift him to a new position for a couple seasons, these transitions don’t always go swimmingly. Sherman examines some of the biggest names to watch this season, and we’ll touch upon a few of them here.

  • The Mets were wary about committing to Yoenis Cespedes in part because of his shaky history in center field. As Sherman writes, Cespedes’ top defensive attribute is his arm. However, in center, range tends to be more valuable than arm strength.
  • Last season, the Padres attempted to shift Wil Myers from an outfield corner to center. His experience could serve as a chilling example for Mets fans. When he wasn’t battling injury, Myers graded out as an atrocious center fielder. This season, San Diego plans to shift Myers to first base. It’s yet another position at which he has limited experience. Interestingly, Myers has moved all over the field in his professional career – he started out as a catching prospect, and he also has experience at third base.
  • Another failed outfielder moving to first base, Hanley Ramirez, will be critical to the Red Sox success this season. Ramirez was a disaster in left field, but there is hope he can be more focused and healthier in an infield role. David Ortiz occupies the designated hitter role. He’s expected to retire after the season, meaning Ramirez could be shifted to a bat-only role after 2016.
  • The Yankees are taking a gamble of their own on Starlin Castro. The former Cubs shortstop hit much better after a shift to second base, but his defense still graded out as below average. Unlike Cespedes, Myers, or Ramirez, Castro looked merely below average rather than nightmarish. The Yankees hope that more experience at the position and smoother actions can lead to defensive improvement in 2016.
  • In an attempt to manage their corner infield and designated hitter surplus, the Twins are going to try prospect slugger Miguel Sano in the outfield. Sano, a third baseman by trade, doesn’t have professional experience in the outfield. However, his shift will allow the club to start Sano, Joe Mauer, Byung-ho Park, and Trevor Plouffe. In my opinion, the Twins might have been smarter to move Plouffe into the outfield. He has experience as a utility man and an established bat. Sano will now need to learn a new position while adjusting to major league pitching.

East Notes: Elway, DeShields, Castillo, Wheeler

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Legendary quarterback John Elway was nearly a Yankee, writes Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com. Ringolsby sat down with scout and former executive Gary Hughes to talk about some of the multi-sport athletes he’s recommended over his lengthy career. The Yankees selected Elway in the second round of the 1981 draft. Elway told Hughes he would play baseball professionally if the Baltimore Colts didn’t trade him. Ultimately, they did, and he chose football. Hughes insists that Elway had special talent and would have had a successful career in baseball.

  • While working with the Expos, Hughes was instrumental in the signing of Delino DeShields. The second baseman was committed to attending Villanova on a basketball scholarship but changed his mind after playing in rookie ball. When asked why he decided to forego his basketball scholarship, DeShields said, “if I am going to be any good, I have to concentrate on baseball.” Not only did DeShields have a successful 13 season career, his son recently broke out for the Rangers as a Rule 5 pick.
  • Rusney Castillo has been worth a decent 1.3 WAR in 329 career plate appearances, writes August Fagerstrom of FanGraphs.com. That’s roughly a league average outfield over a full season, although most of the production has come on defense. The Red Sox undoubtedly hope to get more offense out of their $72.5MM investment. Fagerstrom digs deeper to examine Castillo’s profile at the plate. His high ground ball rate generates a disheartening list of comparables – Christian Yelich, Joey Butler, and Jose Tabata are the only better than average hitters of the bunch. Supposed adjustments to his swing path will need to click for him to morph into a serious offensive threat.
  • The Mets are targeting a July 1 return for rehabbing pitcher Zack Wheeler, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Wheeler underwent Tommy John surgery last March. The procedure typically has a 15 month recovery period, and it’s no coincidence his 15-month anniversary is June 25. While some pitchers in the past have recovered from the surgery faster than the 15 month timeline, players and teams now believe the slower recovery period is best for long term outcomes.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Betts, Bogaerts, Porcello, Chavez

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There are several big-picture reasons for the Yankees’ lack of free agent spending this offseason, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan writes.  With a new collective bargaining agreement looming, the Yankees may be hesitant to commit millions more in player salaries until they know what the new luxury tax and revenue-sharing formulas will entail.  Sources tell Passan that the luxury tax limit is likely to be raised from $189MM and New York therefore has a better chance of getting under the new threshold to lower its yearly penalty rate.  Between cutting down on luxury tax payments and losing several huge contracts (Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, etc.) over the next two seasons, it could position the Yankees to splurge in the incredibly star-studded 2018-19 free agent market.  The crown jewel of this free agent class is Bryce Harper, who has long been considered a future Yankees target — “their future marriage is considered so inevitable by most in the sport,” Passan writes.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

  • The Red Sox may not be in a rush to sign Mookie Betts or Xander Bogaerts to extensions, the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes.  Even if Betts and Bogaerts continue to blossom into superstars, waiting another year to explore extensions might cost Boston only a couple of million dollars, a negligible amount for a big-market team.  The two players may themselves have reason to wait, as Speier cites the argument from Over the Monster’s Matt Collins that Betts and Bogaerts may want to see what the next CBA holds before committing to long-term deals.  Given the huge recent free agent contracts signed by players in their 20’s, Betts and Bogaerts also might not want to sign away any of their free agent years in an extension when a much larger score could await them down the road.
  • In a recent podcast interview with WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, Rick Porcello discussed the decision process that went into signing his four-year, $82.5MM extension with the Red Sox last offseason.  Without that contract, Porcello would’ve been a free agent this winter on the heels of a pretty shaky 2015 campaign.  Despite the righty’s struggles, Bradford notes that Porcello still could’ve found himself a healthy contract on the open market — Jeff Samardzija and Ian Kennedy both landed large multi-year deals despite coming off of rough seasons themselves, and Porcello is four years younger than either of those pitchers.
  • Jesse Chavez’s arbitration hearing with the Blue Jays took place Friday and a decision is expected today, according to the Associated Press.  Chavez is arguing for a $4MM salary in 2016 while the Jays countered with a $3.6MM offer.
  • Mark Trumbo is excited to be an Oriole, he tells MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, though he was surprised when the O’s acquired him from the Mariners since he didn’t know the club had interest.  Trumbo believes he’s a better first baseman than outfielder, though with Chris Davis now back at first for years to come in Baltimore, Trumbo says “it doesn’t matter to me one bit” where he slots into the lineup as long as it helps the team win.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/5/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Yankees added outfielder Jared Mitchell on a minor league pact, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Mitchell has been playing in the upper minors for quite some time after moving quickly upon being taken as the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft, but he’s yet to crack the majors. He spent most of last year with the Angels after breaking in with the White Sox, and owns a .213/.329/.338 batting line with 12 home runs and 10 stolen bases over 695 total plate appearances in parts of four seasons at Triple-A.
  • Meanwhile, the division-rival Rays are evidently working on a new pitching angle after adding converted catcher Jeff Howell on a minor league deal, as Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets (with an assist from Mick Reinhard of PennLive, on Twitter). He joins fellow knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa in the Tampa Bay organization, which has also recently added former big league knuckler Charlie Haeger to its instructional staff. Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see how this apparent experiment pans out.
  • The Rays also picked up righty Adam Reifer on a minors deal, per Eddy. The 29-year-old reliever owns a 4.35 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 over 176 total minor league frames.

Latest On Juan Uribe: Giants, Asking Price, Yankees

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Veteran third baseman Juan Uribe remains available in free agent as the market for infielders has continued to move slowly. He’s been a consistently productive player since turning around his fading career in 2013, putting up a .281/.329/.432 slash while averaging about a dozen home runs over 400 plate appearances annually since that time. And while defensive metrics didn’t view him as a huge contributor with the glove last year, as they had in the two prior seasons, Uribe factors as a positive in the field. Of course, he’s also closing in on 37 years of age.

Here’s the latest:

  • The Giants have had talks with Uribe’s camp, says Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter link). San Francisco obviously doesn’t have a starting role available, but could conceivably use Uribe at third, second, and even first. But the asking price remains too steep for San Francisco’s liking, Olney says.
  • As far as Uribe’s negotiating stance goes, Olney adds in another tweet that his reps are telling teams that they are willing to “discuss salaries at two different scales.” The ask would be higher if the team proposes to use him as a regular, as opposed to a bench piece. With the Indians said to be looking at Uribe as a fairly significant contributor, it isn’t clear exactly how this line of thinking will impact the ultimate results.
  • The Yankees ought to consider making a play for Uribe to occupy the roster spot that might have gone to injured youngster Greg Bird, Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests. New York hasn’t done so as of yet, Sherman notes, but ought to pursue a deal with the versatile defender. With Alex Rodriguez functioning as a bat-only player — a point which GM Brian Cashman made abundantly clear — Sherman suggests that flexibility is a higher need than another power hitter in the infield mix.

Free Agent Notes: Buehrle, Thornton, Mets, Torres

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Today represents the forty-year anniversary of the advent of modern free agency, as Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan explores. The piece includes some interesting quotes from some of those involved at the time.

As the market marches forward this winter, here’s the latest:

  • Free agent southpaw Mark Buehrle remains in a sort of holding pattern as he ponders retirement, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. The durable veteran is neither planning to sign for 2016 nor ruling out a “possible comeback down the road,” says Crasnick. That seems largely to confirm prior reports, but dangles the interesting possibility that Buehrle could take some time off and look to make a return in the future.
  • Lefty reliever Matt Thornton is among the solid players still looking for a deal, and he joined MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM to discuss his status (links to Twitter). The hard-throwing southpaw is getting on in years, but says he’s “not a typical 38-year-old” — a proposition that’s hard to dispute given that he still throws a 93.5 mph average heater (though that’s off a bit from recent years). Though Thornton said it’s been a “slow” market, he isn’t looking to settle. “I’m not taking an invite,” he said. “I’m getting a Major League deal or I need to look at myself and decide if I need to walk away.”
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson addressed reporters today at the press conference to re-introduce Yoenis Cespedes. He says the club is done with major league signings for the winter, as Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. That’s not too surprising, of course, as New York has already given out six MLB deals this winter.
  • One of those Mets signings left righty Carlos Torres without a roster spot, and he has drawn quite a lot of interest since he cleared waivers and hit the open market, NJ.com’s Brandon Kuty writes. The Yankees have reached out, as have several Asian clubs, per the report. Torres has been a sturdy pen presence in recent years despite tough results in 2015.
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