MLB, MLBPA In Last-Minute Negotiations On Expanded 2020 Playoffs
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association are in the midst of some eleventh-hour negotiations about expanding the playoffs for the 2020 season, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. An agreement would need to be in place before the first pitch of tomorrow’s Nationals/Yankees season opener. It’s not clear exactly when the two sides resumed their talks on an expanded postseason, which was a focal point of their failed negotiations in May and June, but Heyman suggests that there is “optimism” on both sides that an agreement will be reached.
During this summer’s return-to-play negotiations, which did not result in a deal (leading commissioner Rob Manfred to implement a 60-game season under their March arrangement), the league sought to expand the postseason format from 10 to 16 teams. The initial hope was for the change to take effect for both 2020 and 2021, but doing so would’ve required an agreement to be bargained with the players’ union. When that didn’t happen, the postseason status quo of 10 teams remained in place.
Since the 60-game season was implemented, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark has expressed a willingness to resume talks with Manfred’s office should the league push for renewed talks. Exactly what concessions the league is willing to make for the players remains unclear in this newly rebooted set of talks. But given the potential for upwards of $300MM in additional television revenue under an expanded postseason format, it’s hardly a surprise that MLB is seeking one last go at hammering out an agreement.
Pennsylvania Department Of Health Will Not Approve Blue Jays’ Use Of PNC Park
2:10pm: The Pennsylvania Department of Health has formally vetoed the Blue Jays’ Pittsburgh plan, per Will Graves of the Associated Press (Twitter thread). In a statement issued to the AP, Dr. Rachel Levine said the following: “To add travelers to this region for any reason, including for professional sports events, risks residents, visitors and members of both teams.”
2:00pm: With the Blue Jays unable to play their home games at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in 2020, the club thought it had worked out an arrangement to use Pittsburgh’s PNC Park as an alternate site. That deal, however, appears to be in jeopardy. ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that neither the Jays nor MLB have received the go-ahead from the Pennsylvania government yet, adding that the team is again exploring alternate sites. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that the deal with Pittsburgh is “falling apart.”
Exactly what this means for the Jays remains unclear. They’ve previously explored playing home games at their spring facility in Dunedin, Fla., but Florida’s rapid rise in Covid-19 cases has complicated that idea. The Jays have been working to upgrade their Triple-A facilities in Buffalo in order to bring the lighting and clubhouses up to MLB code, although the organization’s preference has been to be able to play its “home” games in an MLB park, general manager Ross Atkins stated this week. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has also been suggested as an alternative, and the fact that the Pittsburgh plan appears in danger of being scrapped entirely could push the Jays to look more closely into that possibility.
One more extreme possibility, per Olney, would be for the Jays to travel to the home city of every team they’re scheduled to play in 2020, but function as the “home” team on days where they’d been scheduled to host an opponent. With fans unlikely to attend games for much or all of the 2020 season, that may not be quite as detrimental as it would be playing in front of each opponent’s fans, although the aggressive travel and constant changes in scenery would likely make that an unpalatable last resort.
The Jays don’t have a “home” game scheduled until July 29 when they’d host the Nationals, which provides at least a bit of cushion as the team scrambles to find a suitable venue. The clock is ticking, though, and Pennsylvania’s rejection casts some doubt on whether other U.S. cities — particularly those already home to one franchise — will be more amenable to welcoming the Jays for the length of the season.
Cardinals Release Brett Cecil
The Cardinals announced Wednesday that they’ve released left-hander Brett Cecil. The veteran reliever was entering the final season of a four-year, $30.5MM deal that proved to be a substantial misstep. The Cardinals also placed infielder/outfielder Brad Miller on the 10-day IL due to bursitis in his right ankle.
From 2013-15, Cecil was quietly one of baseball’s best lefty relievers, pitching to a 2.67 ERA and an even better 2.54 FIP while averaging 11.5 strikeouts, 3.4 walks and 0.53 HR/9 with a 52.2 percent ground-ball rate in 168 1/3 innings. A triceps injury shortened his 2016 season, but Cecil still posted generally solid results in 36 2/3 frames — parlaying that excellent four-year run into the aforementioned Cardinals deal. The size of the contract was viewed as a surprise at the time, but most pundits had agreed that Cecil had a legitimate case at a lucrative three-year deal, and the four-year term was reflective of wide interest in his services in free agency.
Unfortunately for both the Cardinals and Cecil, things went south in a hurry. Cecil lost a mile off his fastball in his first season with the Cards — a year in which he pitched 67 2/3 frames with a respectable 3.88 ERA but diminished strikeout numbers. A shoulder strain and a foot injury limited Cecil to just 32 2/3 innings of 6.89 ERA ball in 2018. Few would’ve thought that with two years to go on the contract, Cecil had thrown his last pitch as a Cardinal, but he missed all of 2019 after undergoing surgery to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome and now won’t get the opportunity to bounce back in 2020 — at least not with the Cardinals.
Cecil had been throwing during Summer Camp with the Cardinals and was even trying out a new sidearm delivery that he hoped would help him to regain his effectiveness. Cecil turned 34 earlier this month, so it’s not as though he’s too old for a bounceback effort to be plausible. That said, it’s been a half decade since he was last an elite reliever and more than two full seasons have passed since he was last serviceable. The hope is obviously that he can bounce back, but it seems unlikely that another club will sign him and immediately test him out in the high-leverage situations in which he once excelled.
The Cardinals had been set to pay Cecil a $7MM salary in the final season of that four-year pact. Prorated, that came out to just shy of $2.6MM — a sum they’ll still owe to the lefty even after cutting him loose. Any club can sign Cecil at this point, and he’d only be owed the prorated league minimum for any time spent on another club’s Major League roster. That sum would be subtracted from what the Cardinals owe Cecil, but regardless of how the year plays out, they’re on the hook for the vast majority of what he’s owed.
As for Miller, he inked a one-year, $2MM deal with the Cards late in the offseason and was expected to fill an infield/outfield utility role — perhaps also seeing some time at designated hitter against right-handed opponents. There’s no timetable for his recovery just yet.
Dodgers Finalizing Extension With Mookie Betts
1:21pm: The new portion of Betts’ contract, once finalized, will guarantee him around 12 years and $350MM on top of this year’s $27MM salary, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link).
The structuring of the deal is in many ways semantics, but it’s worth noting that in terms of new money, Betts’ extension may not top the new money promised to Trout on his prior long-term deal. Referencing the Betts deal as a 13-year, $380MM contract may skew things such that it appears Betts has set a new record, but by that logic, Trout’s contract should be referred to as a 12-year, $426.5MM deal (i.e. the sum of his preexisting two years and $66.5MM and his 10-year, $360MM extension).
If the deal indeed lands Betts in the $380MM range over 13 years, including his 2020 salary, his contract then boils down to the second-richest ever promised to a big league player (whether looking at total guarantee or new money promised on an extension).
11:54am: Betts will top Trout’s deal if the contract is completed, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).
It’s expected that the deal will actually cover twelve additional seasons, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The total forward-looking guarantee would top $380MM, Passan adds, including Betts’s salary for the 2020 season. (It’s not clear whether that tally includes Betts’s full $27MM or only the pro-rated portion thereof.)
10:42am: In a stunning development that would mark a massive shift in a moribund player market, the Dodgers appear to be closing in on a long-term extension with recently acquired star Mookie Betts. WEEI.com’s Lou Merloni hears that the sides are nearing agreement even as Betts prepares to don the Dodger blue for the first time tomorrow. Joel Sherman tweets that talks are indeed “quite real.”
If completed, the contract would cover a ten-year term and guarantee Betts somewhere in the neighborhood of $350MM to $400MM, according to the report. It sounds as if it would come in right near, if not over, the ten-year, $360MM Mike Trout pact that currently stands as the largest-ever MLB contract.
The Dodgers paid a significant price in prospects and took on a lot of salary (both for Betts and David Price) in order to secure just one season from the 27-year-old. It always seemed the team had designs on a lengthier relationship, though it wasn’t at all clear that vows would be exchanged before Betts hit the open market.
Until the paperwork is complete, Betts stands as the obvious top talent of the 2020-21 free agent class. As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes explained in his pre-pandemic power rankings, Betts, who is represented by VC Sports Group, seemed situated to “reasonably seek a ten-year term with an average annual value in the $36-40MM range.”
Betts would have represented one of the most interesting-ever free agent cases. Recent market swings and upcoming collective bargaining negotiations provided a fascinating backdrop for the bidding on such a youthful, high-quality player. And then the coronavirus came along, overlaying broad uncertainty onto the situation.
It seems that both the Dodgers and Betts saw a path to limit the risk by striking a bargain now. They’ve certainly had time to get to know one another under trying circumstances over the past several months, even if Betts hasn’t yet recorded any stats for the storied ballclub.
Hunter Dozier Tests Positive For COVID-19
Royals outfielder Hunter Dozier will open the season on the coronavirus-specific injured list. The club announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
This is obviously quite disappointing (and rather worrisome) news to receive, particularly on the eve of Opening Day. Dozier will be sidelined until he’s able to clear the virus from his system and register two positive tests. He says he is experiencing some symptoms. Hopefully, he’s able to make a swift and full recovery.
It’s concerning also that Dozier has been active with his teammates this week. He has obviously been isolated since receiving the test results, but it’s hypothetically possible he could’ve transmitted the virus to others in the organization before that time. It isn’t yet known if any other personnel came into such close contact with Dozier that isolation will be required.
Dozier, who’ll soon turn 29, entered 2020 hoping to build on a breakout effort last year. The first-round pick finally made good on his original promise, turning in a .279/.348/.522 batting line with 26 home runs and a league-leading ten triples over 586 plate appearances. While he benefited from a lofty .339 BABIP, Dozier backed it up with excellent exit velocity and sprint speed.
The news will dent Dozier’s earning abilities after the season, when he’ll qualify for arbitration for the first time. And it’ll hurt the Royals’ hopes for a surprise run in 2020. The added opportunity will open the door for a variety of other players for at least a few weeks. The newly acquired Franchy Cordero should be in line for significant action, with players such as Bubba Starling and Brett Phillips perhaps also seeing increased chances.
Braves Sign Jhoulys Chacin
The Braves announced that they’ve signed right-hander Jhoulys Chacin to a one-year, Major League contract. The 32-year-old Chacin, who was cut loose by the Twins recently, also spent part of the 2016 season with Atlanta. Chacin is represented by Rep 1 Baseball.
Chacin stumbled through the worst season of his career in 2019, recording a 6.01 ERA and serving up an average of 2.2 homers per nine innings pitched. The long ball has never been an Achilles heel for Chacin, though, and he’s only a year removed from a strong showing in Milwaukee (3.50 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 in 192 2/3 innings). In fact, from 2013-18, Chacin notched a 3.96 ERA/4.02 FIP in 804 1/3 innings.
In recent weeks, the Braves have seen veteran Felix Hernandez opt out of the 2020 season, while it’s become increasingly clear that Cole Hamels won’t be ready for the season opener. Hamels has been plagued by shoulder and triceps issues since the original Spring Training, and while he’s on a throwing program, he’s also likely to begin the year on the injured list.
Youngsters Mike Soroka and Max Fried project to lead the Atlanta rotation, with inconsistent-but-clearly-talented names like Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb to follow. Kyle Wright might’ve been the favorite for the fifth spot, but Chacin gives the Braves a viable alternative with a good bit of big league success if they’d prefer to add some experience to the starting staff. If not, he can join Josh Tomlin as another multi-inning relief option on which manager Brian Snitker can lean.
Rays Trade Dylan Covey To Red Sox
The Red Sox announced Tuesday that they’ve acquired right-hander Dylan Covey from the Rays. Covey is not on the 40-man roster but has been added to Boston’s 60-man player pool. In a corresponding move, left-hander Bobby Poyner was dropped from the 60-man pool but will remain in the organization, the club further announced.
It’s a straight depth pickup for the Red Sox, who since last season ended lost Chris Sale to Tommy John surgery, traded David Price to the Dodgers and seen March signee Collin McHugh opt out of the 2020 season. Meanwhile, expected Opening Day starter Eduardo Rodriguez is currently working back from a bout with the coronavirus, which he said made him “feel 100 years old” and question whether he’d be ready to open the season. With so much uncertainty on the staff, the Sox have brought in both Zack Godley and Covey to add some options.
Covey, 28, has pitched 250 1/3 innings in the big leagues but has never cemented himself as a consistent contributor. He got out to a sharp start with the ChiSox in 2018, tossing 40 1/3 innings with a 2.90 ERA and a 35-to-16 K/BB ratio, but his results quickly went south and haven’t rebounded since despite several opportunities. All told, he has a career 6.54 ERA and 5.56 FIP in the big leagues.
That said, there’s still clearly some intrigue surrounding the righty. Covey was a first-round pick of the Brewers back in 2011 but didn’t sign, and he went in the fourth round to the A’s three years later. The Sox stuck with him for three years before cutting ties, and Covey lasted all of 12 days as a free agent this offseason before the Rays scooped him up. His deal with the Rays also contained a clause that allowed him to opt out if a 40-man opportunity arose with another club, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (hence today’s move), so it seems the Red Sox could soon select Covey to the big league roster.
Collin McHugh Opts Out Of 2020 Season
Red Sox right-hander Collin McHugh has announced his intention to opt out of the 2020 season, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com. Per Browne, McHugh said that his arm hasn’t recovered as well as he’d hoped after an elbow procedure in December.
As such, McHugh expected to spend a portion of the season on the injured list, and manager Ron Roenicke relayed (video courtesy of Rob Bradford of WEEI) that McHugh felt it best to spend that time at home with family during the pandemic. McHugh will be removed from the Boston 60-man player pool and 40-man roster.
The 33-year-old appeared to be making progress towards a return to action, but that progress seems to have stagnated recently, preventing McHugh from throwing live batting practice and ramping up into intrasquad game action.
McHugh signed on with the Red Sox in March, agreeing to an incentive-laden contract that only guaranteed him $650K for the season, but that would have allowed him to earn up to $3.625MM based on innings pitched and time spent on the active roster.
Interestingly, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe notes, McHugh already received the entirety of his guaranteed salary for the season through the preseason advance; by opting out the season, he is forfeiting only pay from those incentives, which were far-fetched given the injury.
With McHugh choosing to sit this season out, he’ll once again enter free agency in the coming winter, hopefully at full health and ready to contribute to a Major League club. Interested teams won’t have data and footage from 2020 to rely on, and they’ll have to weigh whether to deploy McHugh as a starter or reliever. Speculatively, a contract similar to the one he signed last winter sounds feasible.
McHugh has spent the last six years of his career with the Astros, toggling between a role in the bullpen and in the starting rotation. He has succeeded in both roles in the past, though last year he faltered as a starter, shifting to relief before injury prevented him from playing in the last third of the season. He posted a mediocre 4.70 ERA in 35 games—8 starts. 2018, on the other hand, was McHugh’s best as a pro, as he excelled in a full-time relief role, notching a 1.99 ERA while striking out 94 batters in 72 1/3 innings of work.
From a baseball perspective, the loss of McHugh will no doubt make a dent in the depth of the Boston pitching staff, which was already looking thin. Nathan Eovaldi will start on Opening Day, but beyond him, there are a bunch of question marks. Free agent signing Martin Perez is probably next in line, with Ryan Weber, Brian Johnson, and Matt Hall all in the mix. Eduardo Rodriguez, back in Red Sox camp after contracting the coronavirus, will hopefully join the rotation in short order, and Zack Godley might find himself thrust into a bigger role.
McHugh is one of many players who have chosen to spend this season on the sidelines amidst the pandemic, joining the likes of David Price, Buster Posey, Ryan Zimmerman, among others. An ongoing list of players opting out can be found here.
New App For Youth Baseball Coaches: Baseball Force Out Teacher
Hi! I’m Tim Dierkes, the owner of MLB Trade Rumors. If you’ll indulge me for a minute, I want to talk about an app I’ve created for youth baseball and softball coaches that has nothing to do with MLB or rumors.
How many times have you observed this scene in a youth baseball or softball game?
An infielder makes an amazing stop on a ground ball. It’s the highlight of the kid’s budding career to date. And then…NOOOOOO!!! Why did you throw it to THAT base? Or…why did you think you could just step on THAT base??! We’ve been over this in practice!
Fundamentals are crucial to understanding and playing baseball or softball. Chief among them: where are the force outs? Our new Baseball Force Out Teacher app for iPhones and iPads is the perfect at-home supplement to any player or watcher’s education.
The eight different baserunner scenarios are randomly presented, and this fun game-like app drills home the correct answers to one crucial question: Where are the force outs? Simply play it over and over until force outs are second nature! Most kids have a little bit of time on their hands currently.
Plus, if you’re a coach looking to freestyle or elaborate on infield scenarios, the app has a handy whiteboard feature.
Padres’ Trey Wingenter Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Padres reliever Trey Wingenter underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Friday, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The procedure will force Wingenter to miss all of the 2020 season and likely the majority of 2021.
Wingenter’s surgery represents a blow to the depth of the San Diego bullpen, which will already be without lefty Jose Castillo for the next six or so weeks. Flamethrower Andres Munoz also fell victim to Tommy John surgery in March.
That said, the Friars’ bullpen should still be a strong unit, with the acquisitions of Drew Pomeranz, Emilio Pagan, and Pierce Johnson strengthening the supporting cast behind Kirby Yates. The trade for Tim Hill is looking like a timely move, and Gerardo Reyes, Javy Guerra, and Cal Quantrill are on board as depth options.
Wingenter, 26, was a core piece in the Padres’ bullpen last year, appearing in 51 games. He’s a strikeout specialist, averaging 12.7 K/9 in his first 70 career innings. Despite that, he ran a high 5.65 ERA last year, in part due to high walk numbers, and perhaps due to some bad luck: although the ERA is inarguably unimpressive, he managed a solid 3.61 FIP last year, indicating that Wingenter’s talent is deserving of a better mark.
Unfortunately, further development to the righty’s game will have to wait until late next season, at best. Without a doubt, it’s an untimely procedure for a young pitcher who looks to be coming into his own at the Major League level.