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Mark Teixeira Out For Season With Fractured Leg

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Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will not return this season after tests showed that he has a fracture in his right shin, GM Brian Cashman told reporters including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). It’s expected that he’ll require three months to recover, Jack Curry of the YES Network adds on Twitter, meaning that he should be ready to go for the spring.

The loss of the 35-year-old puts a dent in New York’s efforts to keep pace with the Blue Jays in the AL East. He had rebounded from two straight marginal seasons with an excellent .255/.357/.548 batting line and 31 home runs in 462 plate appearances. The switch hitter has been out since fouling a ball off of his shin on August 17th, but it seems the significance of the injury was only just detected.

Replacing that level of production is nearly impossible, of course, but 22-year-old Greg Bird has been solid in his first 94 big league plate appearances. Bird, who hits from the left side, owns a .241/.319/.458 slash with five long balls. He has been relied upon heavily in Teixeira’s absence, appearing in every single game since the veteran went down.

While Bird figures to hold down the position in the long run, assuming he can build upon a promising start to his major league career, the Yanks will no doubt give Teixeira every opportunity to retake the position next spring. Next year will be the last of the eight-year, $180MM deal he signed before the 2009 season. New York owes him $22.5MM for the 2016 campaign. Both players could conceivably share time in the field, with the other taking swings from the DH slot, though veterans Carlos Beltran and (especially) Alex Rodriguez factor heavily in that role.

Reactions To And Effects Of Ruben Amaro’s Dismissal

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The Phillies made a move that many felt to be inevitable yesterday when they announced that Ruben Amaro Jr.’s contract would not be extended, and assistant GM Scott Proefrock would become interim GM immediately as the team began its search for a new full-time general manager. Plenty has already been written about the decision and what it means for the Phillies’ future, and here are some early reactions and aftereffects in the wake of the fifth front-office shakeup we’ve seen in about two months’ time…

  • Amaro’s firing was “only a matter of time,” writes ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, but he did well to position his successor for a quick turnaround with recent trades of Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, Chase Utley and others. Crasnick lists former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto, former Cubs GM Jim Hendry and current Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo as potential candidates, also noting that former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington isn’t likely to pursue any GM opening at present, thus removing him from consideration. President-to-be Andy MacPhail told Crasnick that he isn’t limiting himself to targeting a specific “type” of GM (e.g. a young, analytically savvy candidate or a more traditional, scouting-based GM). Said MacPhail to Crasnick: “Let’s look at a wide spectrum of candidates. You might be surprised.”
  • MacPhail said at yesterday’s press conference (via MLB.com’s Paul Hagen) that while he will, of course, have a role in roster decisions and general baseball operations — “…let’s face it, I’m not here for my marketing acumen,” he joked — any GM he hires will have a good deal of power. “I’ve had GMs under me before,” said MacPhail. “If you talk to them, I think they feel like they had a fair amount of autonomy, which I think is important to them to be able to do their job. They can’t be in short pants running back to the president every time they have to make a decision. … They should keep me apprised, but that is a balance I’m going to have to strike.”
  • MacPhail feels that it would be ideal to have a new GM in place by the time the Phillies hold their organizational meetings on Oct. 26, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, but he admitted that said timeline may be a bit “ambitious.” Hiring an outside-the-box thinker is key to the hire, whether he comes from an analytical background or scouting background, writes Salisbury, though if the selection is of the latter variety, MacPhail will look to add to his analytics department in other ways. Proefrock, who has worked for MacPhail in the past (with the Orioles) will receive some consideration for the full-time position, per Salisbury, but Angels assistant GM Matt Klentak could be the early favorite. Klentak, whose name has been mentioned in connection with the Phillies’ presumed GM vacancy in the past, was the Orioles’ director of baseball ops while MacPhail served as president. Also named by Salisbury are Dipoto, Picollo, Hendry, Yankees AGM Billy Eppler, Giants scouting director John Barr and Angels pro scouting director Hal Morris.
  • Partial owner John Middleton offered his take at yesterday’s presser as well, Salisbury notes, stating that he wants MacPhail to find a young version of himself. “And I say that because, 30 years ago, a very young Andy MacPhail was a general manager, a newly minted general manger at that,” said Middleton. “This guy was sitting in an office in Minneapolis and he was playing with mathematical, statistical, analytical tools. And he was using them to try to figure out how he could make better evaluations and therefore better personnel decisions. Andy was constantly pushing himself to get better.” (Salisbury has a second piece with further, more in-depth quotes from the press conference for those interested.)
  • Interim manager Pete Mackanin has a good chance at returning in 2016, sans the “interim” label, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “I would encourage everybody not to make any assumptions about what’s happening today to have any domino impact on the manager,” said MacPhail. “…I know the tradition is that the GM picks his manager. I’ll just go full disclosure here, if that happens, and it takes you a while to find a GM and then he gets consumed the first month or two with a manager and coaching staff, look how much of the offseason we’ve lost. That’s a high price to pay.” MacPhail said the best way to measure a manager is by the energy, effort and enthusiasm he gets out of whatever talent is provided to him, and Mackanin has shined in that area thus far.
  • MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that he expects to see Dan Jennings’ name connected to the Phillies’ GM opening if he does not return to his former post as Marlins general manager following the season.

AL East Notes: Yankees Injuries, Sox Front Office, Orioles

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The Yankees are becoming increasingly concerned that Mark Teixeira may not return for the regular season or the playoffs, writes Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News. Asked if he’s beginning to wonder that Teixeira’s entire 2015 season is over, GM Brian Cashman replied, “I do wonder. It’s been a long time and he’s still having issues. I can’t predict what’s going to happen here. There is a lot of time left . . . between now and the end of the season. I just don’t know.” Meanwhile, the Daily News’ Andy Martino writes that the loss of Nathan Eovaldi is already hurting the Yanks, as it’s forced right-hander Adam Warren into the rotation, thereby taking a fairly established right-handed arm out of the bullpen against the right-heavy Blue Jays. Manager Joe Girardi has talked about the possibility of using Eovaldi as a reliever in the postseason, should the Yankees reach the ALDS, but there’s no guarantee that the 25-year-old will even be healthy enough for that.

A few more notes from the AL East…

  • Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said after announcing three internal promotions that he’s not yet begun to interview GM candidates, writes WEEI.com’s John Tomase. However, Dombrowski did say he’s compiled a list of candidates to whom he’d like to speak. For now, Dombrowski wants to wait to interview external candidates, as some of his targets are with teams that are in pennant races.
  • Dombrowski also spoke about the value of continuity, per Tomase, emphasizing that he’s been impressed by the employees with whom he’s met since joining the organization. “I think continuity is extremely important assuming you have good people,” said Dombrowski. “…I’ve met with a lot of good people and I’ve been very impressed with them. Doesn’t mean we’re not going to have some changes, but I can tell you right now when I’ve met with them, there’s not anybody I’ve said, ‘Oh that’s a full time employee we’re dismissing.”
  • Dombrowski spoke with Tomase’s colleague, Rob Bradford, about the art of trading and how he came to earn such a strong reputation in that regard. One of the keys, Dombrowski explained, is not being afraid to give up talent. Many executives will shy away from giving up quality players, but Dombrowski says he recognizes that in order to acquire quality talent, he must as well be willing to part with such talent. Dombrowski’s also as honest and up-front as he can be with trade partners, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos tells Bradford. Asked what it’s like to deal with Dombrowski in trade talks, Anthopoulos replied, “The best. The absolute best. As honest as they come.” A recent example, Bradford notes, is the David Price trade; Dombrowski made it clear from the moment talks initiated that there was no deal if Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd weren’t in the trade, and Anthopoulos, respecting his honest nature, knew better than to waste precious time trying to talk him down from said demand.
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn’t expecting any changes to be made on his coaching staff this offseason, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Showalter has had some changes to his staff each season with the O’s, Kubatko notes, but there don’t appear to be plans for major shifts. Pitching coach Dave Wallace, bullpen coach Dom Chiti and first base coach Wayne Kirby are all up for new contracts this winter.
  • Showalter also briefly discussed the potential for Christian Walker to play a role with the team in September and in 2016, though when asked if that may be due to a potential vacancy at first next year, Showalter would only joke that Walker’s not having as strong a season as current first baseman Chris Davis. A big season from Double-A first baseman Trey Mancini gives the team depth at the position, Showalter notes, adding how impressed he’s been by game footage of Mancini that he’s seen.
  • From my vantage point, it’s tough to envision a scenario in which Davis is back in Baltimore. Adam Jones’ $85.5MM contract stands as the biggest in franchise history at this juncture, and Davis’ second 40-homer season in three years has positioned him for a contract worth in excess of $100MM. While the O’s could always break the bank to retain him, they’ll also be facing huge arbitration raises for Manny Machado, Zach Britton and Chris Tillman, to say nothing of built-in raises for Jones, J.J. Hardy and Ubaldo Jimenez. Plus, given the potential holes they’ll face in the outfield and the need to bolster the rotation, a potentially exorbitant investment in the Scott-Boras-represented Davis seems like a luxury more than a priority.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/9/15

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Here are today’s minor moves:

  • The Yankees announced that outfielder Tyler Austin has been outrighted to Double-A. Recently designated for assignment, the 24-year-old has not progressed as hoped since rating as a top-100 prospect entering the 2013 season. Austin earned his first crack at the Triple-A level this year, but slashed just .235/.309/.311 with four home runs and eight stolen bases over 299 plate appearances.

Front Office Notes: Jennings, Brooks, Eppler, Nationals

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Dan Jennings has a standing offer from the Marlins to return to the GM seat, but has not yet informed the team whether he will accept, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Miami seemingly expects that Jennings will slot back in at that role, unless he is able to land a job elsewhere with more conclusive decisionmaking authority. As the Fish continue their front office maneuvering, the club has hired Marc DelPiano as VP of player development, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports on Twitter.

Here’s more on some front office and managerial situations around the league …

  • The Brewers are set to interview Pirates director of player personnel Tyrone Brooks for the open GM position in Milwaukee, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. We have heard some chatter about possible names to watch for the Brewers, but it appears that Brooks is the first reported candidate to receive an interview. Brooks has held his current role in Pittsburgh for about four years, overseeing an impressive delivery of young talent onto the big league roster. He gave an interesting interview with MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch back when he received that promotion, acknowledging at the time that he ultimately hoped to keep climbing the front office ladder.
  • Both the Mariners and Angels have been given permission to interview Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Eppler has long been considered a top general manager candidate, and interviewed with several teams in the past, so it’s no surprise to hear his name linked to multiple openings.
  • The Nationals have dropped two straight to the Mets in hard-to-believe fashion, squandering an opportunity to re-start the division race in the season’s final weeks. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post encapsulates the situation well in his piece on the frustrating turn of events. Despite the obvious cause for disappointment, GM Mike Rizzo says there is no consideration to making a late-season change at manager. “Matt Williams is our manager,” said Rizzo, “and he’s going to lead us through this stretch. I’ve always supported him. We’re not going to talk about 2016 while 2015 is ongoing.” Rizzo himself is not believed to have any job security issues, says Svrluga, though he adds that the team’s ownership can be “opaque” in its decisionmaking.

Nathan Eovaldi Out Four Weeks Due To Elbow Inflammation

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Nathan Eovaldi’s regular season is over, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. The right-hander will miss the next four weeks due to inflammation in his right elbow — an injury for which he’s already received a platelet-rich plasma injection. Eovaldi won’t throw for two weeks following that injection.

Asked if Eovaldi would be available to pitch in the postseason, general manager Brian Cashman expressed some uncertainty. “Until he goes through a successful rehab, you can’t automatically assume anything,” the GM explained. “…He has been a nice asset for us. We’ve just got to give it a time out now and make sure that we put him in a position to be that asset again. Hopefully it will be this year.”

Losing Eovaldi, even for a relatively short spell, is a substantial hit for the Yankees, who are locked in a tight race with the Blue Jays for the AL East crown. The team does have the depth to replace Eovaldi, as it can turn to a five-man rotation consisting of Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Luis Severino, Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia. However, Sabathia has struggled all season long, and Nova has suffered through poor results over his past handful of starts (6.21 ERA in six outings) in his return from Tommy John surgery. Eovaldi, on the other hand, has a solid, if unspectacular 3.67 ERA in the season’s second half. He’s been much tougher to hit and upped his K/9 rate in the second half (6.5 to 8.0), but he’s also seen his control take a turn for the worse.

Acquired this offseason in the Martin Prado trade with the Marlins, Eovaldi has delivered a 4.20 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a career-best 52.2 percent ground-ball rate. He’s due for a raise on his $3.3MM salary this offseason and can be controlled through the 2017 campaign via the arbitration process.

Added To 40-Man Rosters: O’Brien, Stauffer, Hill, Baron, Ramirez

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With Triple-A seasons coming to a close, there’s been another wave of players whose contracts of have been selected to their respective teams’ 40-man rosters. Here’s a list of today’s 40-man moves…

  • The D-Backs announced that they’ve selected the contract of slugging prospect Peter O’Brien. The catcher-turned-outfielder was the key piece that Arizona picked up from the Yankees in last summer’s Martin Prado swap. The 25-year-old O’Brien batted .284/.332/.551 and belted 26 homers this season for Triple-A Reno. The knock on O’Brien has long been his lack of a true position. Arizona seemed to be of the belief that he could remain behind the plate, but that’s no longer the case, as he’s been shifted to the outfield. That thinking led the D-Backs to leave their catching vacancy largely unaddressed this winter, although the midseason acquisition of Welington Castillo has certainly shored things up on that front. Evan Marshall was moved to the 60-day DL to accommodate O’Brien’s addition.
  • The Mets have selected Tim Stauffer’s contract, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. Stauffer, who can serve in a long relief capacity for manager Terry Collins, began the season with the Twins after signing a one-year, $2.2MM contract as a free agent. The longtime Padres hurler got off to a dreadful start in Minneapolis, though, posting a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings before being released. Stauffer went to indy ball, pitching 16 innings for the Sugar Land Skeeters before the Mets signed him to a minor league deal. He notched a 2.48 ERA in eight Triple-A starts for the Mets.
  • The Red Sox have selected Rich Hill’s contract, as first reported by Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). The 35-year-old spent parts of three seasons in Boston from 2010-12 and had a 2.83 ERA in 54 innings between the Triple-A affiliates for the Red Sox and Yankees. He also had a brief stop in indy ball this season, pitching well in 11 frames for the Long Island Ducks.
  • The Mariners announced that they’ve selected the contracts of catcher Steven Baron and right-hander J.C. Ramirez. Baron, 24, hit .265/.334/.361 between Double-A and Triple-A this season, catching 28 percent of opposing base stealers. As for Ramirez, the 27-year-old has a strong 2.72 ERA at the Triple-A level this season and also worked to a 4.11 ERA in 15 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks. Seattle picked him up from the D-Backs in exchange for cash considerations in late July. Charlie Furbush was transferred to the 60-day DL in order to clear room for one of the two additions.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Nats, Fredi, Eovaldi, Samardzija

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Let’s take a look at some of the latest news and notes from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

  • Contrary to reports at the time, the Nationals never contacted Dave Dombrowski during his brief open market run earlier this year, says Rosenthal. That only serves to reinforce the notion that GM (and president of baseball operations) Mike Rizzo is not in jeopardy — barring some as-yet unknown conflict between him and ownership. Manager Matt Williams is another matter, of course, and Rosenthal notes that it will be interesting to see how the organization proceeds in assessing its options given Rizzo’s very public support for the man he hired to lead the club on the field.
  • There are some rumblings that Braves players are “frustrated” with skipper Fredi Gonzalez, per the report. Gonzalez has seen his share of replacement rumors, but is under contract through next year. Rosenthal suggests the club may be looking ahead at a new manager for 2017, but queries whether an earlier move should be considered.
  • The Yankees are holding their breath on Nathan Eovaldi’s elbow, as noted earlier today. Rosenthal notes that the team was aware there was some risk given the relatively young age at which the now-25-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery. Interestingly, he adds that one motivating factor in acquiring Eovaldi was that New York noticed significant splits between the righty’s work with poorly-rated framer Jarrod Saltalamacchia (4.85 ERA last year) and the well-regarded Jeff Mathis (3.58 ERA).
  • Rosenthal also takes an initial look at valuing free agent-to-be Jeff Samardzija of the White Sox. The 30-year-old might be left looking to match James Shields (four years, $75MM) after his uninspiring campaign. Shields obviously had a much more consistent record of quality results, of course, but was significantly older and had accumulated nearly 1,000 more innings when he hit the market. (Note: if you’re interested in reading more on Samardzija’s market situation, check out the lengthy analysis from MLBTR’s Steve Adams in a recent edition of the MLBTR Mailbag.)

East Notes: Eovaldi, Gee, Black, Phils, Parra

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The Yankees will shut down righty Nate Eovaldi for at least two weeks with elbow inflammation, as WFAN’s Sweeny Murti reports on Twitter. While New York will obviously hope that amount of rest will be sufficient, ESPNNewYork.com’s Andrew Marchand tweets that it’s possible Eovaldi won’t return this year. That would be a significant blow to the Yankees, as the righty has generated solid reviews from ERA estimators and increasingly achieved the results to match. Added in the winter trade that sent Martin Prado to the Marlins, Eovaldi can be controlled for two more seasons via arbitration.

Here are a few more notes from the eastern divisions:

  • With the Triple-A season now concluded, the Mets have apparently elected not to bring back righties Dillon Gee and Vic Black, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com notes (Twitter links). The 29-year-old Gee had long seemed like an obvious September call-up after previously being outrighted, but it seems the relationship has soured somewhat. Because he accepted an outright assignment, Rubin notes, Gee can elect free agency at the end of the year. If he doesn’t, of course, he’s almost certain at this point to be released or non-tendered by the club. As for Black, if he was not worth a 40-man spot now, it’s hard to imagine that the Mets will give him one later this fall to keep him from becoming a minor league free agent.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. explains that he is not yet focused on next summer’s draft, but nevertheless has some ideas about the team’s intentions, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. Philadelphia is not worried about whether or not it lands the top overall pick, says Amaro, and won’t adjust its big league decisions based on any such considerations. As for the draft itself, Amaro offered some general thoughts. “There is some pretty good pitching up top,” he said. “I think we’re going to be pitching intensive. Obviously, we always try to take the best player, but I think our mindset is probably pitching.”
  • Orioles outfielder Gerardo Parra may be able to land a free agent deal in the mold of that of Nick Markakis, opines Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com, but his current team should not value him that highly. As I noted in a recent look at Parra’s free agent case, a four-year deal certainly seems plausible for the still-youthful veteran, though it’s certainly possible too that he could settle for three or take a slightly lower AAV than did Markakis. I tend to agree that Baltimore will not and should not be the team to give out that kind of contract, though that assessment depends upon the team’s still-unclear strategic direction.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/7/15

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Righties Brandon Kintzler and Preston Guilmet were outrighted off of the 40-man roster by the Brewers, the club announced. As Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel explains, the 31-year-old Kintzler has dealt with injuries after serving as a reliable bullpen piece in recent seasons. Over the last two years, he contributed 135 1/3 innings of 2.93 ERA pitching with 5.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9. Guilmet, 28, has bounced around quite a bit on the waiver wire and ultimately saw action in four teams’ systems this year. While he struggled in limited big league action, Guilmet worked to a 2.19 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 in his 49 1/3 Triple-A frames. Milwaukee also selected the contract of catcher Nevin Ashley, who will see his first big league action at 31 years of age after putting up a solid .306/.374/.442 batting line in 381 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
  • Also outrighted today was righty Jake Buchanan of the Astros, per a club announcement. Recently designated for assignment, the 25-year-old Buchanan owns a 4.06 ERA over his 44 1/3 innings with Houston since the start of 2014. He has struck out 5.1 and walked 3.2 batters per nine in that span.
  • The Yankees announced that they have once again selected the contract of left-hander Chris Capuano. This should be the final 40-man transaction of the season for Capuano, whose tumultuous season has seen him jettisoned from the 40-man roster numerous times. Capuano was, in fact, designated for assignment four times within one calendar month from late July through late August, though the DFA roller coaster should be over for him thanks to expanded September rosters. The 37-year-old veteran has struggled with the Yankees in 2015, totaling a 7.71 ERA in 35 innings. He posted a solid 4.25 mark in 65 2/3 innings for the Yankees last season but has seen his control take a step back, among other issues, in 2015. To clear room for Capuano on the 40-man roster, lefty Jacob Lindgren was activated from the minor league DL, recalled to the Majors and placed on the 60-day disabled list.
  • The Giants announced that they’ve transferred Tim Lincecum to the 60-day disabled list to clear a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Brett Bochy, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A. Bochy, 28, has just 3 1/3 innings of big league experience — all of which came in 2014. He’s spent the 2015 campaign at Triple-A, where he’s recorded an impressive 2.95 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 58 innings of relief. He is the son of Giants manager Bruce Bochy.
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