Yankees Rumors

Front Office Notes: Jennings, Anthopoulos, Klentak, Cherington, Chavez

By Jeff Todd | October 27, 2015 at 3:31pm CDT

The Marlins’ front office arrangement remains unresolved, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. Dan Jennings isn’t listed on the team’s official website and hasn’t been working as the team’s general manager, per the report. It’s not yet clear where things are headed, but as Morosi notes, Jennings is under contract for the next three years in Miami.

Here’s more from the NL East:

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays now face an increasingly interesting situation with their own general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. The crux of the matter isn’t money, says Davidi, who writes that Anthopoulos “is believed to have a strong extension offer on the table.” Instead, it’s a matter of resolving the authority structure between Anthopoulos and new president Mark Shapiro. Per Davidi, working that out is the key; if that can’t be done, a departure is “a real possibility.”
The Phillies finally installed a new baseball operations leader by hiring Matt Klentak, and the organization now seems largely set up to begin moving back toward contention in earnest. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, the organization’s newly accessible leader, owner John Middleton, wants to make the team a consistent presence at the top of the standings. He acknowledged that the Phils “didn’t recognize early enough and act upon that recognition that the window had closed.” Now, the work to open a new window will start with a new philosophy. “The word that [president Andy MacPhail] has talked about and the word [Klentak] has talked about today is ’discipline,'” Middleton said. “So I think you’re right. I think you have to have a goal and you have to have a road map to achieve it, and you have to be disciplined to know where you are on that road and therefore use that to dictate your decisions and what you do. That’s what I think is going to be the key to success. The other part of this is being objective about yourself and your performances.”
Of course, the Phillies’ front office decisionmaking process is an important matter in and of itself, even after the hiring, and CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury lays out where things stand in that regard. MacPhail said that he will vest substantial authority in Klentak, even though his job is also baseball-focused, and both men emphasized that they are looking for balance in all regards (including, notably, between analytics and scouting in player assessment). Klentak also noted that he sees a big opportunity in the club’s worst-in-baseball finish last year. “There’s a really strong foundation of players in this organization, some of whom are in the big leagues and some of whom are coming,” he said. “I think that, coupled with the first pick in the draft, the largest international bonus pool this year, the first priority in the waiver period, the first pick in the Rule 5 draft, etc., creates some inherent advantages at least in the short term that are incredible. And I think if we do our jobs right, we will turn this into a winner and it’s going to be fun for a long time.”
Former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington has joined Columbia University’s Sports Management Program as an “executive in residence,” according to a press release. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes, the move isn’t as surprising as it might seem at first glance.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees tried to hire Cherington following his resignation from the division-rival Red Sox in August. “I reached out to him,” Cashman told Sherman. “I have a lot of respect for him, his integrity and how he did his job.” Sherman notes that Cherington could have conceivably become an assistant GM when Billy Eppler left to go become the Angels’ GM, but Eppler’s responsibilities go to top scout Tim Naehring, as has been previously reported. Cherington will eventually join a front office, but for the time being, his role at Columbia makes sense, as his wife and children were living in suburban New York even while he was Boston’s GM.
In another interesting GM transition, former Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has taken the unusual step of moving to the Red Sox as their first base coach, and Tim Britton of the Providence Journal delves into the reasoning for the move. As manager John Farrell noted, both men have some similarities in having moved from the front office to the field, though obviously the skipper made that move much earlier in his post-playing career. “I guess it’s unusual but for me, I’ve always had an itch to be back on the field,” Amaro said. “It’s always been something I’ve thought about quite a bit, and I was afforded a wonderful opportunity…. Had it not been the Red Sox, frankly I probably would not be doing this.”
The Angels have added former big league third baseman Eric Chavez as a special assistant, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported earlier today in his latest notes column. Chavez had served in that capacity last year for the Yankees, working there with new Halos GM Billy Eppler. It sounds as if the 37-year-old will have wide-ranging job responsibilities, including working with the club’s younger players and performing various scouting-related functions.

AL West Notes: Mariners Coaches, Ibanez, Angels, Astros

By Steve Adams | October 26, 2015 at 3:17pm CDT

The Mariners announced today that Angels special assistant Tim Bogar has been hired as the bench coach to serve under newly minted manager Scott Servais (as Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reported would happen last week). Seattle also announced that Mel Stottlemyre Jr. has been named the club’s new pitching coach. Edgar Martinez will return as the team’s hitting coach, and Chris Woodward will once again handle first base coach duties in Seattle. That leaves openings at third base coach and bullpen coach, and Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets that two names under consideration are Padres bench coach Dave Roberts and former big league catcher Dan Wilson, who has been Seattle’s minor league catching coordinator for the past three seasons.

A bit more from the AL West…

Dutton also tweets that the Mariners have spoken to Raul Ibanez about either a front office role or a position on the coaching staff. Ibanez, of course, played for the Mariners from 1996-2000 and then again from 2004-08 before returning for one final stint in 2013. He’s also familiar with GM Jerry Dipoto, though, as Dipoto signed Ibanez to a low-risk one-year deal for the 2014 season. That move didn’t work out, however, as Ibanez was unable to recreate the production he showed in his final season with the Mariners when he blasted 29 homers as a 41-year-old.
Angels GM Billy Eppler acknowledged that the hires of Servais, Bogar and Matt Klentak, who was announced as the new Phillies GM this morning, has taken a toll on the front office, writes MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. “That’s no doubt going to be felt throughout a number of departments,” said Eppler. Per Gonzalez, Eppler is keeping an open mind and talking to a wide variety of candidates for the club’s coaching staff and front office. Among those who are possibilities to fill the role of assistant GM to Eppler are Hal Morris and Kevin Reese. Morris is presently the Angels’ director of pro scouting, while Reese holds that same title with Eppler’s former organization, the Yankees.
Within his column, Gonzalez notes that Rangers pitching coach is soliciting offers from other clubs and could be a candidate to fill the Angels’ vacancy at that post. As was reported recently, Maddux’s contract expires at the end of this month. He’s been invited back by Texas but appears to be testing the waters to see what sort of interest other clubs may have.
The Astros’ payroll will likely increase in 2016, writes MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart, though that will be in large part due to arbitration raises for Dallas Keuchel, Jason Castro, Evan Gattis and Chris Carter. The Astros will try to add another starting pitcher to what was a top-heavy rotation in 2015, he adds. McTaggart also notes that Carter’s tremendous late-season surge complicates the team’s decision on whether not he should be tendered a contract, though it may also have helped to create a trade market for Carter’s services.

AL East Notes: Greinke, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays

By Zachary Links | October 25, 2015 at 4:38pm CDT

Zack Greinke would fit the bill for the Red Sox this winter, but Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald wonders if Boston would be the best place for him. One source close to the pitcher speculated that Greinke “definitely wouldn’t want any more stress or additional media attention,” though that was only his assumption and not something he heard directly from the former Cy Young Award winner. One can’t help but speculate if Greinke, who has been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and clinical depression, may prefer to pitch in a market with less pressure than Boston.

Here’s more out of the AL East..

Tim Naehring has been “one of Brian Cashman’s most trusted advisors on players the Yankees look to trade for or sign as free agents,” George A. King III of the New York Post writes. In fact, King adds that the sight of Naehring at a game often leads outsiders to conclude that the Bombers have interest in at least one of the players on the field. On Saturday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Naehring would fill the vacancy left by former assistant GM Billy Eppler, though he will not take on that title.
All of the deadline deals made by Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos ended up working out, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com writes. David Price proved to be the frontline starter the Blue Jays needed, Mark Lowe gave Toronto a boost in the bullpen, Ben Revere solved the team’s defensive woes in left field, and Troy Tulowitzki gave the club another dangerous bat when healthy.
The Blue Jays could solve their rotation puzzle by plugging Roberto Osuna or Aaron Sanchez into the starting five, but they’d be better served to try and re-sign Price and Marco Estrada, Chisholm writes. Still, a reunion won’t come cheap, especially when it comes to Price. Earlier today, one AL GM told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he could see Estrada attracting attention from “six or seven teams” who could offer up a “four- or five-year deal in the $12MM-$15MM [per year] range.”

Cafardo On Murphy, Price, Davis, Cueto

By Zachary Links | October 25, 2015 at 11:11am CDT

In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe spoke with eight major league officials about the players trending up and trending down as free agency approaches. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the list of players trending in the right direction starts with Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy.

“Obviously, he’s not going to be as hot as he’s been in the postseason, but he plays positions where his power plays well,” an American League GM told Cafardo. “There are teams like the Dodgers and Yankees who need a second baseman. Others, like the Angels, need a third baseman, where he also plays. He’s going to be sought-after and get a five-year deal at around $75MM. Maybe more.”

Murphy, who can also play at first base, would also have appeal for the attractive to the Orioles, Astros, Padres, and Tigers, Cafardo writes.

Here’s more from today’s column..

The feeling is that a seven-year, $210MM deal for David Price would be fair, Cafardo writes, though some are concerned that Price won’t live up to that kind of deal unless he goes somewhere that he’s comfortable. The incumbent Blue Jays could be that place, but the Dodgers, Cardinals, and Cubs are also listed as possibilities. Price, 30, pitched to a 2.45 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 32 regular season starts for the Tigers and Blue Jays this past season.
The group of eight anonymous scouts, managers, and GMs polled by Cafardo would not want to give Orioles bopper Chris Davis more than a five-year deal. Of course, a team out there very well could. “In the heat of the negotiations and fearing someone else will get him, this will likely get beyond what everybody wants. Scott Boras is the agent, so we may be looking at seven years,” one scout remarked. Recently, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes profiled the two-time home run king and estimated that he’ll be in line for a six-year, $144MM pact.
Johnny Cueto had a rough second half after being traded to the Royals and one National League GM told Cafardo that a “few teams have scratched him off their list.” Still, that GM estimates that Cueto can net a Jon Lester-type $155MM deal. Recently, we learned that the Red Sox are mulling a serious push for Cueto. The Marlins also like Cueto, but financial constraints will probably hold them back in that pursuit.
One GM told Cafardo that he wouldn’t give Royals outfielder Alex Gordon anything more than a three-year deal at $36MM-$38MM. In addition to KC, Cafardo recently listed the Indians, Orioles, Mets, Tigers, and possibly the Red Sox as potential fits.
Nationals hurler Jordan Zimmermann didn’t have a great season, but he was listed by Cafardo as a player whose arrow is pointing upwards. One NL scout praised Zimmermann’s work ethic and toughness. At the end of the regular season, Zimmermann sounded like a player who knows that he’ll be changing teams.
One AL GM envisions Blue Jays pitcher Marco Estrada attracting attention from “six or seven teams” who could offer up a “four- or five-year deal in the $12MM-$15MM [per year] range.” Last month, MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk checked in on Estrada’s free agent stock. The right-hander posted a 3.13 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 across 28 starts and six relief appearances in 2015.
Cafardo’s panel indicated that Scott Kazmir could get a three-year deal this offseason, but at a reduced rate because of his struggles with the Astros down the stretch. The group of eight officials sees Kazmir getting $10-$12MM AAV over a three year period. The Tigers are among the clubs with interest in the veteran left-hander, though Kazmir has also expressed a desire to return to Houston.
At least two teams have their top advisers and scouts looking at Rich Hill’s last four starts with the Red Sox to see if his emergence in 2015 is for real. One AL scout who has done his homework on the left-hander praised the hurler for his confidence.
Cafardo identified the Braves, Dodgers, Rays, Astros, and Mariners as teams that could have interest in Orioles catcher Matt Wieters. Of course, his market will be impacted by whether or not he receives a qualifying offer. The Rangers will be among the teams with interest, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, but only if he does come with a QO attached. In a recent MLBTR poll, 60% of readers said that the O’s should give Wieters a QO.

Front Office Notes: Amaro, Benedict, Naehring

By charliewilmoth | October 24, 2015 at 5:25pm CDT

UPDATE: Amaro is one of a small group of finalists for the position, tweets Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. However, a final decision has not been reached according to his sources.

Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro seems to have found a new job — he’ll serve as the Red Sox’ first base coach, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. This is somewhat surprising news. Amaro played for eight years as an outfielder in the big leagues, but he’s never served as a coach, and the path from GM to first base coach is seldom traveled. (Amaro did briefly play with current Red Sox manager John Farrell on the 1995 Indians, which might partially explain why he’s now turning up on the Red Sox’ staff.) Amaro became an assistant GM for the Phillies right after his playing career ended, then advanced to become GM before being fired last month. His father, Ruben Amaro Sr., was once a first base coach with the Phillies. Here are a couple additional notes on front offices.

The loss of special assistant Jim Benedict to the Marlins is a significant one for the Pirates, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Benedict has been a key part of the Pirates’ very successful pitching program, and his ability to blend old-school scouting and new-school tools is rare. The Bucs’ ability to cheaply acquire struggling pitchers like Francisco Liriano, J.A. Happ and Edinson Volquez and help them improve has been key to the team’s recent success, and it remains to be seen how losing Benedict will affect them. Sawchik also notes that Benedict will take on an expanded role with the Marlins, helping with the draft and with evaluations of potential acquisitions as well as working with pitchers already in the organization.
With former assistant GM Billy Eppler taking over as GM of the Angels, the Yankees have promoted Tim Naehring to take over his role, although not his title, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. (Cafardo first tweeted that Naehring would receive a significant promotion.) Naehring had previously been a scout with the Yankees.

AL Notes: Loup, Rays Stadium, Greene, Ackley

By Jeff Todd | October 23, 2015 at 9:11pm CDT

As the Blue Jays battle to stay alive in the ALCS, they’ll finally be able to turn to lefty Aaron Loup if the need arises. He’s been sporadically absent over the post-season, creating challenges for the team’s pen, but it turns out that much more important matters have arisen. His wife went into labor much earlier than expected, giving birth to a premature baby boy on Wednesday, as Jays play-by-play man Mike Wilner tweeted earlier this evening. Fortunately, Loup’s son is in stable condition. MLBTR extends its congratulations and very best wishes to Loup’s young family.

Here are some notes from the American League:

There was some important news yesterday regarding the Rays’ efforts to land a new stadium, as Charlie Frago and Tony Marrero of the Tampa Bay Times reported. After long and tough negotiations, the St. Petersburg City Council approved a deal to let the club seek new stadium sites in surrounding counties. Tampa Bay would still be required to pay significant break-up fees to get out of its lease at Tropicana Field, with some saying the cost will be too high for the Rays to participate, so the path to keeping the team in the area remains to be cleared.
The Tigers face some tough questions with righty Shane Greene, who was an important trade acquisition last winter. As Chris Iott of MLive.com writes, the team expects to give him a shot to earn a spot with the club, but it’s not yet clear whether he’ll make the rotation. Greene had surgery on his shoulder, though it was for an “arterial issue” rather than some structural concern, and is set to be ready for the spring. But it was his rough season before that which leads to concern over his long-term outlook. “I can tell you right now that [Greene] is a starting pitcher,” said GM Al Avila. “But we feel that he can also go into the bullpen if we needed him to or because we think it’s the best thing for him and organization.” Something of the opposite is true of Alex Wilson, who Avila says will remain in the pen despite a history of starting in the minors.
Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog takes a close look at the Yankees’ options with Dustin Ackley, writing that the deadline acquisition could take the bulk of the time at second base — being spelled frequently or occasionally against left-handed pitching — or end up in more of a super-utility role. Jennings also discusses the idea of replacing Ackley with a better version of himself — presumably, Ben Zobrist — while also utilizing youngsters Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela more heavily.

AL East Notes: Gardner, Orioles, Red Sox, Moore

By Steve Adams | October 22, 2015 at 7:44pm CDT

In his latest Yankees Inbox column, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tackles a number of topics, perhaps most notably the possibility of a Brett Gardner trade this winter. Hoch notes that a deal is at least possible, as it might be one of the only ways in which the Yankees can creatively gain some flexibility this winter. With Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran locked into the other two outfield spots and Alex Rodriguez blocking Beltran from DH at-bats, there’s little room to make changes on the roster. While Hoch says that “initial indications” are that it won’t be a big-spending winter for the Yankees, moving Gardner could give the team both roster and financial flexibility. Within his column, Hoch also touches on the 2016 plans for Greg Bird and notes that the Yankees aren’t simply going to hand the second base job to Rob Refsnyder in 2016 as they feel he’s still developing from a defensive standpoint.

New York Notes: Murphy, Cespedes, Tanaka, Wheeler

By Steve Adams | October 21, 2015 at 8:45am CDT

While some have said the Mets to be undecided on whether or not they’ll make a qualifying offer to Daniel Murphy, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that following a Herculean postseason performance, the Mets are now planning on offering the one-year, $15.8MM sum to their second baseman. Murphy homered in his fifth straight postseason game last night, tying an MLB record, and he figures to have a nice shot at a four-year deal on the open market with or without the offer. The Mets, of course, will receive a compensatory draft pick if he signs elsewhere after rejecting the qualifying offer. With Dilson Herrera and Wilmer Flores both in the organization, it still seems unlikely that they’ll make a serious push to re-sign Murphy at full market value. (Mets fans may also be interested in the intro to Heyman’s column, where he breaks down the roster and examines how each member was acquired by either former GM Omar Minaya or present GM Sandy Alderson.)

A few more notes from the Big Apple…

From that same piece, Heyman writes that the early belief is that the Yankees won’t be making a run at free-agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes this offseason. That’s not exactly a surprise considering their full outfield — Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran are all under contracts in 2016 — though the possibility that the team could move the final year of Beltran’s contract and pursue outfield upgrades has been kicked around by pundits already. MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently examined the possibility of moving an outfielder in his Yankees Offseason Outlook.
Masahiro Tanaka underwent elbow surgery to remove a bone spur yesterday, and GM Brian Cashman told reporters that the timing of the operation is ideal, as Tanaka’s total rehab process will take about three months (Twitter link via Tyler Kepner of the New York Times). That timeline should give the Yankees’ ace ample time to recover prior to Spring Training of 2016.
Another injured New York hurler, the Mets’ Zack Wheeler, is hoping to be ready to return to the big league rotation early next June, he said in a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link). A returning Wheeler would, theoretically, join Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and/or Jon Niese in an outstanding rotation. Of course, injuries or trades could alter that outlook in the next eight to nine months. Wheeler himself was already said to be involved in trade talks for both Carlos Gomez and Jay Bruce in July.

Masahiro Tanaka Has Bone Spur Removed

By Jeff Todd | October 20, 2015 at 3:53pm CDT

Yankees righty Masahiro Tanaka underwent a procedure today to have a bone spur removed from his right elbow. The spur was present before Tanaka joined the Yankees in advance of the 2014 season, the team said.

Importantly, it appears that there has been no change in the status of Tanaka’s right ulnar collateral ligament. Tanaka has been pitching through a partially torn UCL for some time now, but still has yet to require Tommy John surgery.

New York says in its announcement that the Japanese hurler will require “six weeks of exercise and strengthening, followed by a throwing program.” The club expects that he’ll be recovered in time for spring training.

Tanaka, who’ll soon turn 27, was not as dominating in 2015 as he was the year prior. Though he ended up showing a slight velocity increase, his strikeouts per nine dropped (from 9.3 K/9 to 8.1 K/9) and he struggled to limit the long ball (1.46 HR/9 and 16.9% HR/FB).

The Yankees will surely hope that this ends Tanaka’s elbow difficulties, at least temporarily. He’s a key piece of the team’s immediate and long-term outlook, with $111MM left on his contract through 2020 (unless he exercises an opt-out after the 2017 campaign).

AL East Notes: Chen, Britton, Murphy, Blue Jays

By Steve Adams | October 20, 2015 at 9:41am CDT

While many are anticipating that the Orioles will have difficulty in retaining their free agents, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com cautions against simply dismissing the possibility that Baltimore can find a way to retain some combination of Wei-Yin Chen, Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Darren O’Day. Of the four, Kubatko considers Chen the least likely to return, but he notes that the O’s had an organizational meeting last Friday which included managing partner Peter Angelos. One source later termed the meeting “productive” when speaking to Kubatko. The MASN scribe also hears from a source that Angelos wants to not only re-sign Chen but also is showing a willingness to add a free agent starter beyond the longtime Baltimore lefty. Of course, Kubatko also points out the possibility that Chen’s demotion to Class-A ball this season — a more or less procedural move that bought the Orioles some time to sort out a roster crunch — strained the relationship between player and team.

From my own vantage point, history hasn’t shown that the Orioles would be willing to spend at the necessary levels to sign Chen. A four-year deal is almost certainly there for him this winter, and he has a case for a fifth season at an annual rate in excess of the $12.5MM on Ubaldo Jimenez’s four-year deal with Baltimore. As Kubtako notes, Baltimore “shocked” many in the industry with that Jimenez contract; either a five-year deal or a significantly larger four-year pact for Chen strikes me as unlikely.

A few more items pertaining to the AL East…

Kubatko’s colleague, Steve Melewski, writes that fans who feel the Orioles should try Zach Britton back in the rotation are misguided. Britton would be unable to jump from about 70 innings per season to the 175 to 200 necessary out of the rotation, and more importantly, he’d almost certainly be less effective in the rotation. Moving to a starting role would make it more difficult for Britton to hold his velocity, and hitters would benefit from second and third looks at his incredible sinker. He’d also need to throw more secondary pitches than he presently does, and the move would further weaken a bullpen that will already be an area of need for Baltimore this winter.
Daniel Murphy signing with the Yankees is an unlikely scenario but can’t be completely ruled out, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Second base is the Yankees’ most uncertain position on the diamond at present, and while many believe Rob Refsnyder will get a long look next year, Murphy’s swing fits Yankee Stadium well. The Yankees are in the midst of their pro scouting meetings and beginning to plot a course for the offseason, so Murphy’s name figures to at least be mentioned. Feinsand spoke to a pair of sources that estimated Murphy can land a deal similar to Chase Headley’s four-year, $52MM contract on the heels of a big postseason performance.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks back on the trade that sent R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas to the Blue Jays in exchange for Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, John Buck and Wuilmer Becerra. While there were other pieces in the trade, the core of the trade — Dickey for Syndergaard/d’Arnaud — looks excellent for the Mets, in hindsight. Sherman spoke with Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, who explained the the team had a win-now approach back in that 2012 offseason, with the goal of maximizing the prime years of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Both d’Arnaud and Syndergaard were years from contributing, and Toronto felt it could get four years of control of a win-now pitcher to help its near-term playoff hopes. The Jays also talked to the Rays about James Shields and had interest in free agent Anibal Sanchez at the time, but Tampa Bay didn’t want to move Shields within the division and Sanchez preferred Detroit to Toronto, Sherman adds.

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