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NL East Notes: Zobrist, Allard, Simmons

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Let’s take a quick look in at a few notes from the NL East:

  • Free agent utilityman extraordinaire Ben Zobrist has already been tied to just about every team in baseball, including the Nationals and Mets. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and MLB Network’s Tom Verducci see those NL East rivals as strong fits and real threats to add the veteran. (Links to Rosenthal’s Twitter account.) All indications are that Zobrist remains in very high demand with the open-market season in full swing.
  • Young Braves lefty Kolby Allard tweets that he’s only had one back surgery, contrary to reports suggesting he’d had two separate procedures. Regardless, what’s important here is the fact that Allard says he’s “recovering quickly” and expects to be ready for spring camp. The 18-year-old remains an intriguing player to watch as he enters his first full season of professional ball.
  • Some Braves fans have been left frustrated with the team’s front office. After all, one line of thinking goes, why trade a quality young shortstop in Andrelton Simmons if you are aiming for near-term competitiveness? While this has obviously been reported and commented on quite a bit, it’s well worth considering the comments of GM John Coppolella in full, and David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a complete transcript of his recent media session. Most interesting, perhaps, were Coppolella’s statements on the timing of the deal. With the Angels having many needs, he said, that club might have used its top pitching prospects in other deals had the Braves waited to act. He went on to reflect on some recent experiences in that regard: “We had a shot to trade a player this past season for a guy who’s now ranked as a top-50 prospect in the game, and that player [whom the Braves were going to trade] ended up getting hurt,” Coppolella explained. “And by the time we tried to make the trade, that prospect had shot up the charts and they wouldn’t even talk about the player.” The newly-minted GM also said that the Braves “made a strong run” to acquire Luis Severino from the Yankees, noting that he’s now “off-limits this year.”

Yankees Open To Trading Ivan Nova

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The Yankees have let other teams know that right-hander Ivan Nova is available in trades, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. However, the team isn’t keen on selling low on Nova and is rather marketing the 29-year-old as a pitcher in his prime who will be stronger and improved next season when he’s a year further removed from Tommy John surgery.

The market for Nova figures to be something of a mixed bag, but it’s hard to envision a team paying full price considering he’s a year removed from free agency and coming off a season that was cut short by recovery from his aforementioned surgery. Nova logged just 94 innings with an unsightly 5.07 ERA, averaging just 6.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 with a 49 percent ground-ball rate this past season. He did manage a 3.72 ERA through his first 58 innings before perhaps wearing down and yielding four or more runs in four of his final seven outings.

That season certainly didn’t bolster Nova’s trade stock, but teams could look to be opportunistic in acquiring an arm who delivered strong results in both 2011 and 2013 and also projects to earn a modest $4.4MM salary in 2016 (in the estimation of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz). In Nova’s peak season, 2013, he posted a 3.10 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 53.5 percent ground-ball rate in 139 1/3 innings of work. It should also be noted that for all of his struggles, Nova averaged 93 mph on his fastball in 2015 — the same mark he averaged in 2013 and a bit faster than his 2011 average.

Sherman notes that there are scenarios where the Yankees could package Nova with additional talent in order to acquire a starter with multiple years of control remaining, although that’s clearly a nebulous scenario with myriad possibilities. The Yankees are said to be very open-minded this winter, with outfielder Brett Gardner and closer Andrew Miller among the names who have been said to be available (though Miller would require a significant return). Both could conceivably net a controllable pitcher if packaged with Nova, though that’s just speculation on my behalf.

AL Notes: Iannetta, Gardner, Heyward, Orioles, Parra

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The Mariners signed Chris Iannetta to be the team’s primary backstop, GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (story link). Dipoto said that he sees Iannetta as a likely candidate to return to his prior levels of offensive performance. Meanwhile, the new GM explained that incumbent catcher Mike Zunino will have opportunities to earn time in a part-time role. “Mike comes in with an opportunity to win playing time,” Dipoto said. “A primary catcher is different from what I would consider an everyday player. There is no catcher who is going to go out and catch 162 games. Whether it be a time-share or a backup catcher, Mike is going to be in position to win some of that playing time. He’s still a young guy, and we need to get him back on track.”

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Angels and Yankees make for a good match on outfielder Brett Gardner, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times opines (Twitter links). Though Los Angeles would rather add a slugger in left, the team also needs an OBP threat at the top of the lineup and has the asset (starting pitching) that the Yanks are after. It probably doesn’t hurt that new Halos GM Billy Eppler just came over from New York. Of course, it remains to be see what kind of pitching asset New York GM Brian Cashman hopes to find, and what kind of value Eppler places on Gardner.
  • Meanwhile, the Angels could still dabble at the top of the free agent market, says Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, who writes that the Halos “aren’t ruling out a pursuit” of Jason Heyward. That match makes sense on paper, of course, given the need and the club’s large budget. Of course, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez explained to me on last week’s MLBTR Podcast, the club’s ability to land a player of that magnitude will depend on the payroll levels approved by owner Arte Moreno.
  • With so many needs, the Orioles are giving serious consideration to utilizing Trey Mancini at first base next year (assuming that Chris Davis departs in free agency), ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes (links to Twitter). The 23-year-old had a huge year at the High-A and Double-A levels last year. Though he feasted on opposing southpaws, he was quite good against right-handed pitching as well. Of course, leaping into the majors could be a big ask. But as Crasnick notes, there are limits to the teams other options. It lacks top-level system depth to trade from and is understandably uninterested in swapping young, MLB-level players such as Kevin Gausman and Jonathan Schoop, he says.
  • The Orioles have interest in a new deal with free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra, Crasnick also tweets. But Baltimore isn’t looking to go past two years with Parra, who was a trade deadline acquisition. From my perspective, that stance makes a reunion unlikely.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/23/15

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Here are the day’s minor signings from around the league…

  • Infielder Steve Tolleson is headed to the Orioles on a minor league deal, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Tolleson will receive an invitation to major league camp. The 32-year-old owns a .245/.299/.372 slash in 363 career plate appearances in the bigs.
  • Shortstop Hak-Ju Lee is joining the Giants on a minor league deal, Matt Eddy reported as part of a slew of signings. (See his Twitter feed for these and more.) Formerly a top prospect with the Rays, the 25-year-old suffered a serious knee injury and has not hit much since at the Triple-A level. Among other deals, San Francisco also brought back lefty Ricky Romero, per Eddy.
  • The Diamondbacks have added righty Kyle Drabek on a minors deal, according to Eddy. He joins outfielder Kyle Jensen and third baseman Carlos Rivero as Arizona minor league free agent signees. Once one of the game’s best-regarded pitching prospects with the Blue Jays, the 27-year-old Drabek did not live up to his promise in Toronto. But he did toss a solid 137 1/3 innings last year at Triple-A for the White Sox, working to a 3.47 ERA with 5.5 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.
  • The White Sox have signed righty Phillippe Aumont to a minor league pact, Josh Norris of Baseball America tweets. The former Phillies prospect lost his 40-man roster spot last year. He did put up a 3.14 ERA after moving back into the rotation at Triple-A, but continued to demonstrate serious control problems with 6.8 BB/9.

Earlier Transactions

  • The Blue Jays have signed first baseman Casey Kotchman, second baseman David Adams and shortstop Jiovanni Mier to minor league contract with invitations to Major League Spring Training, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The 32-year-old Kotchman comes with far and away the most big league experience, having served as an everyday first baseman (or close to it) with the Angels, Braves, Red Sox, Mariners, Rays and Indians from 2007-12. However, Kotchman hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013 and hasn’t experienced much in the way of success since his career year with the 2011 Rays. He’s a lifetime .260/.326/.385 hitter in the Majors. Adams, meanwhile, was once a promising second base prospect with the Yankees but never received a consistent chance in the Majors (in part, due to injuries). The now-28-year-old did receive 152 PAs in New York in 2013 but batted just .193/.252/.286 in that short stint. Mier, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick and top 100 prospect, but his bat has never really come around. He’s now 25 years of age and is a career .239/.333/.340 hitter in the minors.

Details On Jay Bruce’s No-Trade Clause

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Last week, Reds outfielder Jay Bruce had an opportunity to update his limited no-trade clause by changing the list of eight teams that he can block deals to.  However, the 28-year-old decided to stand pat and keep the same clubs on his veto list, as Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com writes.  Bruce can block any proposed deal that would send him to the Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Marlins, A’s, or Twins.

That mix of small and large-market teams presumably shields Bruce from destinations he may prefer not to play in while affording him leverage if a big-spending AL East club were to come calling.  Of course, the Orioles are the one AL East club that is not on the block list and they have become the most recent team to be linked to the Cincinnati outfielder.  There isn’t any “momentum” toward a trade at this time, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, but it seems that the talks are at least active.

Bruce, 29 in April, will earn $12.5MM in 2016 and can be controlled for the following year with a $13MM option — or be bought out for $1MM.  The Reds are willing to listen on everybody and GM Walt Jocketty said that he would “probably” be open to moving Bruce and Aroldis Chapman, despite his previous reluctance to do so.  Bruce slashed .226/.294/.434 in 2015, numbers that were well below his best offensive work from 2010-2013.

Quick Hits: Fernandez, Marlins, Rizzo, Orioles

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The Astros haven’t been linked to David Price in free agent rumors, but that hasn’t stopped Dallas Keuchel from acting as a recruiter.  “The baseball fan in me definitely would like to see [a rotation] upgrade but that’s not in my control.  I know I’ve made pitches to David Price — it’s just the baseball fan in me at the end of the day,” Keuchel tells Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle.  “I just play. … I think (the bosses) know that we’re in a good position.”  While Price may be a bit too expensive for the Astros, the team has certainly been connected to several other free agent arms as Houston looks to back up Keuchel with another first-rate starter.  Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • Two Marlins sources say that Jose Fernandez’s attitude is becoming a problem, with teammates annoyed that Fernandez “has become more entitled and cocky” due to perceived favoritism from owner Jeffrey Loria.  Despite this issue, the team isn’t planning on trading Fernandez, though the Marlins know they’ll have a hard time retaining him once he hits free agency after the 2018 season.
  • Also from Jackson, he reports that the Marlins have reached out to John Lackey, Scott Kazmir and Tim Lincecum, among other available starting pitchers.  This is the first time we’ve heard of Miami’s interest in Lackey, though the veteran right-hander has been getting plenty of attention from several other clubs.
  • If the Marlins change course on Fernandez and decide that a trade is necessary, the Dodgers, Red Sox, Royals, Twins and Astros could all be particularly good fits to acquire the star righty, ESPN’s David Schoenfield writes.
  • Earlier this week, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told reporters (including the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes) that he’ll be looking to add a left-handed hitter to help balance out the Nats’ lineup.  Starting pitching isn’t necessarily a big need, as Tanner Roark and Joe Ross look set to fill out the rotation behind Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez, so while starting pitching isn’t necessarily a big need, Rizzo didn’t quite close the door on the subject.  “I’m happy sliding Tanner and Joe in the rotation.  With that said, you can never have enough good starting pitching,” Rizzo said.
  • The Orioles haven’t swung any blockbuster trades under Dan Duquette’s watch, and CSNMidAtlantic.com’s Rich Dubroff doesn’t expect that to change this winter.  Part of the issue this offseason is that the O’s don’t have much to offer in the way of prospects; Dubroff lists some of the notable minor league arms the Orioles have dealt in recent years, particularly three young starters traded within the last year just to address their right field hole (in the form of Travis Snider and then Gerardo Parra).  As I noted in my Orioles Offseason Outlook piece, Baltimore has so many departing free agents that Duquette will need to be more aggressive than usual with trades or signings in order to keep the team competitive.
  • The Yankees “fixate on high strikeout rates, low walk rates and high groundball percentages” for their starting pitchers, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman writes.  With this model in mind, Sherman looks at ten pitchers that could be targeted by the Yankees in trade talks, though some will be harder to acquire than others since New York isn’t intending to deal top prospects like Aaron Judge.

Cafardo’s Latest: Giants, Braves, Gordon, Chapman

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Here’s the latest from The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo…

  • The Braves are one of multiple teams who have asked the Giants about Joe Panik and Matt Duffy in trade talks but San Francisco isn’t interesting in dealing either young infielder.  Panik and Duffy may have come up in discussions with the Braves over pitching, as Cafardo reports the Giants have discussed Julio Teheran and Shelby Miller.
  • Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon is generating “a ton of interest” and Miami is at least listening.  It would take a controllable, front-of-the-rotation arm to really get the Marlins’ attention, however, and it “seems unlikely” that Gordon would go anywhere.  I have to agree that dealing Gordon would be a stunning move even for the Marlins; if anything, the club is far more likely to extend him, as has been noted in recent reports.
  • The Reds and Red Sox discussed a trade for Aroldis Chapman, but Cincinnati wanted more from Boston than the Sox eventually sent to the Padres to land Craig Kimbrel.  That would represent a stunningly high asking price for a closer who is only under contract through the 2016 season.  Kimbrel, by contrast, is owed $25MM through the 2017 season and Boston has a $13MM club option on his services for 2018.
  • Andrew Miller is “atop” the Astros’ list of closer targets and Mark Melancon is also under consideration.  We’d already heard about Houston’s interest in acquiring a top reliever earlier today, with Miller’s name included with the likes of Chapman, Brad Boxberger and Ken Giles.
  • Speaking of Melancon, the Pirates closer tells Cafardo that he’s keeping an open mind about trade speculation.  “I love the Pirates. I love our group of guys and would love to stay here, but I also understand the business of it.  Every organization has a different business plan, and if the Pirates feel they need to deal me, then I understand that. Our people haven’t said a word to me about the possibility, so until that changes, I’m assuming I’m starting the year with the Pirates.”
  • The Twins are another team looking for relief help and they’ve also received a lot of interest about third baseman Trevor Plouffe.  There has been speculation that Plouffe could be moved to make way for Miguel Sano at third base, especially if the Twins come to an agreement with Byung-Ho Park.
  • Though Brett Gardner’s name has surfaced in trade talks, it’s “not a slam dunk” that the Yankees would part with him since he’s a clubhouse leader.  As CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman did yesterday, Cafardo also downplays the idea of a Gardner-for-Starlin Castro trade, noting that the Yankees would only trade Gardner if they got a starting pitcher back.
  • Five general managers told Cafardo that they wouldn’t take Hanley Ramirez in a trade even if the Red Sox covered at least half of Ramirez’s remaining salary.  Ramirez is owed $66MM through 2018 and he has a $22MM vesting option for 2019, so even at a reduced rate, that’s still a hefty price for a player coming off such a rough season on and off the field.
  • Cafardo feels the Cubs and Giants have the best chance at signing John Lackey, who wants to remain in the National League.  The Cardinals have also “kept their toes in the water” for his services.  The Red Sox have checked in on Lackey but are more focused on landing an ace starter.
  • John Boggs, Trevor Cahill’s agent, said his client looks to be a starter again “but he would accept a bullpen spot if he doesn’t secure a starting job.”

AL Notes: Yankees, K-Rod, Athletics

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The dwindling relief market could work in the Yankees’ favor, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. The Braves and Dodgers have recently been linked to Darren O’Day, and if O’Day signs with one of those teams, the best late-inning option available on the free agent market will be Joakim Soria, who doesn’t appear likely to be cheap. The lack of capable and reasonably priced late-inning relievers could increase the trade value of Andrew Miller, who the Yankees could potentially use as a trade chip to bolster their rotation. Here are more quick notes from the American League.

  • The Tigers pursued a number of potential upgrades for their bullpen before completing their deal for Francisco Rodriguez, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. They asked about Aroldis Chapman, Miller and Brad Boxberger, but any of those three relievers would have cost too much in prospects. They also had discussions with free agent Joakim Soria, but it appears he’ll get a three-year deal. Darren O’Day, meanwhile, seems likely to get four. So the Tigers approached the Brewers. Rodriguez was a good fit for them in that what’s left of his contract amounts to one year plus an option ($7.5MM for 2016, some of it deferred, and $6MM or a $2MM buyout for 2017), and the prospect cost (infielder Javier Betancourt plus a player to be named) wasn’t prohibitive.
  • The Athletics also had interest in K-Rod, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes. They balked, however, at the $9.5MM financial commitment. They have, of course, addressed their bullpen to some degree (while also shedding salary) with their trade of Jesse Chavez to the Blue Jays for Liam Hendriks.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Friday

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Tonight at 8:00pm ET is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster and thereby protect them from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. In other words: there will be a significant amount of 40-man roster moves made over the course of the next 13 or so hours. Six clubs already made moves to protect prospects from the Rule 5 yesterday, and each of the remaining 24 clubs should make moves today as well.

In brief: players drafted/signed at 18 years of age or younger must be added to the 40-man roster within five years of signing or be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Players drafted/signed at 19 or older must be added within four years. Those interested in all of the specifics can refer to articles from MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America. Perhaps of greater interest is that Mayo lists all of the prospects from MLB.com’s Top 100 list and from their organizational Top 30 lists that much be protected in advance of tonight’s deadline, while Cooper provides brief write-ups on each player that has been protected (and will continue to do so as additions are made).

Here are today’s additions to the 40-man roster. You can check out Baseball America’s coverage to learn more about the individual players listed below …

Earlier Updates

Rays Claim Chase Whitley From Yankees

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The Rays have claimed right-hander Chase Whitley off waivers from the Yankees, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Whitley, 26, underwent Tommy John surgery in May after having thrown 19 1/3 useful innings for the Yankees early in the season. The former 15th-rounder posted a 4.19 ERA with a 16-to-5 K/BB ratio across four starts in the Yankees’ rotation before falling to injury.

Given the timing of his operation, Whitley won’t be ready to open the season on the Rays’ roster, so he’ll presumably land on the 60-day DL to begin next season (assuming he survives the winter on the 40-man roster). He’ll provide the Rays with an MLB-ready pitching option once healthy, however, replenishing some depth lost by Tampa Bay following the trade of Nate Karns. Whitley has a career 2.89 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 196 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level.

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