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Athletics Sign Phil Coke To Minor League Deal

By charliewilmoth | June 27, 2015 at 1:58pm CDT

The Athletics have signed lefty Phil Coke to a minor league deal with a July 10 opt-out, according to Class A+ Stockton Ports broadcaster Zack Bayrouty (on Twitter). Coke has been assigned to Stockton. He is a client of Full Circle Sports Management.

Earlier this week, Coke declined an optional assignment and became a free agent after 2 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays. Previously this season, he had pitched for the Cubs, who released him in late May.

The opt-out in Coke’s new deal suggests both he and the A’s think he has a shot to get back to the big leagues quickly. Coke has struggled to a 5.68 ERA in the big leagues this season, but with reasonable strikeout and walk numbers (12 strikeouts and five walks in 12 2/3 innings) and a strong 59.0 ground ball percentage that suggests the 32-year-old might have more gas left in his tank. For his career, much of which he’s spent with the Yankees and Tigers, Coke has a 4.20 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Johan Santana Ends 2015 Comeback Bid

By Steve Adams | June 27, 2015 at 12:55pm CDT

Two-time American League Cy Young winner Johan Santana has ended his bid for a comeback this season, reports ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. The longtime Twins and Mets hurler will again attempt a comeback in the 2016 season, Rubin adds.

The 36-year-old Santana signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays this offseason in hopes of returning to a Major League mound for the first time since the 2012 season. Santana was recovering from an Achilles injury that cut short his 2014 comeback attempt, and lately he’s been slowed by an infection in his toe. Because of that, he felt he would not have sufficient time to ramp up and get into Major League shape by the time the issue had healed.

A pair of major shoulder surgeries has significantly shortened the career of Santana, who was unquestionably one of the most dominant — and arguably the most dominant — pitchers in the game for a period of time in the mid-2000s. From 2004-10, Santana posted a 2.87 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9, averaging 216 innings per season. His ERA+ over that stretch was a remarkable 151, indicating that he was 51 percent better than the league-average pitcher in that stretch. Santana totaled three straight seasons worth seven or more wins above replacement and, in the estimation of many, should have won three consecutive Cy Young Awards. (He won in ’04 and ’06, but Bartolo Colon took home first-place honors in ’05, largely on the strength of his 21 wins, as Santana was superior in most other categories.)

Ryne Sandberg Resigns As Phillies Manager

By Jeff Todd | June 26, 2015 at 6:42pm CDT

Ryne Sandberg has resigned his role as the manager of the Phillies, he announced today. The Hall-of-Fame second baseman was hired late in the 2013 season after Charlie Manuel lost his job. He’ll be replaced on an interim basis by Pete Mackanin.

“With some leadership roles coming up, I think it was important for me not to be in the way,” said Sandberg, “but to allow the organization to go forward.” He explained that he “felt it was better now than later” that he hand over his role, citing the “accumulation of … losses” as the major factor in his decision.

Sandberg went on to reiterate that he was making the move now in part due to the team’s apparent decision to make changes in the front office, apparently alluding to the reportedly pending hiring of Andy MacPhail. “With some changes at the top looming,” he said, “I did not want to be in the way of anything happening and the progress going forward.”

GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and president Pat Gillick indicated that the move came as a surprise. While Mackanin will take over for the time being, the front office decisionmakers indicated that the process of filling the vacancy in the long term is still in the early stages. When asked when the upper-level changes would go through and who would decide on a new manager, Gillick declined to comment.

Discussing the matter on the broadcast of the team’s game tonight, Amaro said that the decision came “out of the blue” from the organization’s perspective. He said that he and others tried “to push [Sandberg] to stay with us,” but that he felt the outgoing skipper “had made up his mind.”

Expectations for the club were obviously quite low coming into the year, and it has not been pretty. The Phillies sit at 26-48 entering today’s action. It would be impossible to lay all (or even much) of the blame at Sandberg’s feet for the results, of course, as the organization all but declared itself in the early stages of rebuilding over the winter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sandy Alderson Discusses Trade Market

By Jeff Todd | June 26, 2015 at 6:18pm CDT

Mets GM Sandy Alderson discussed a variety of roster matters with reporters today, including Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com, who provides a recap of the talk. Alderson left the impression that the club remains interested in bolstering its struggling offense, but that he has yet see a sufficiently impactful and reasonably priced deal to be made.

New York’s head baseball decisionmaker said that the trade market remains “thin” at present. While the club is “somewhat aggressive” and is even “prepared to overpay” for the right player, in his words, that does not mean that there are any available options worth reaching for.

“You get to the point where you’re prepared, based on the short term, to maybe do a little more than you’d otherwise do,” said Alderson. “But there still has to be something out there that’s attractive that you really believe is going to help your team.”

Alderson noted that the club’s recent stretch of poor play — the reaction to which he termed “panic city” — is not necessarily indicative of its outlook or its needs the rest of the way. Despite having fallen back to .500, he indicated that the Mets may be amenable to pursuing a rental and are not just looking for a starting-caliber player.

“We’re not looking at somebody who is going to be a starter for us the rest of the season necessarily,” Alderson explained. “But it has to be somebody who fits that we think can actually help us either short term or a little bit longer term. But right now, I think, there’s less of an emphasis in our minds in the trade market on the long term.”

Regardless of what moves ultimately become available to New York, Alderson indicated that the organization was not likely to pursue multiple trades. “I’ve talked about having money available at the deadline,” he said. “But we’re not going to be making two, three, four, five moves. So we’ve got to be sure — not sure, but we’ve got to be at least somewhat confident — that what we’re going to do here is going to help us.”

Further to that point, Alderson stressed that the Mets would need to effect an improvement from within, first and foremost: “[T]he bottom line, at least for the time being, until something breaks, we need to get the job done with what we have.”

Certainly, New York hopes that the impending return of infielder Daniel Murphy will provide a boost to the offense, a point that Alderson noted. But the absences of Travis d’Arnaud and David Wright, along with the meager offensive output of players such as Michael Cuddyer, Juan Lagares, and Dilson Herrera, would seem to present a broader challenge.

All said, the ballclub’s all-in batting production ranks 25th in the game. And it is far from clear what can be done to bolster things from the outside — particularly if, as Alderson suggests, the Mets aren’t in the market at multiple positions.

Where could the club theoretically look to make a move? The New York outfield is filled with big contracts, first base is ably manned by Lucas Duda, and catcher is accounted for by d’Arnaud (when he finally returns to full health). That leaves the other three infield positions as the most plausible targets for an upgrade, with the team’s various internal options capable of shifting around depending upon the precise acquisition.

A move at short would therefore appear to make the most sense, as Murphy is generally believed to be best suited defensively at third while Wilmer Flores is already reportedly headed to second. But the market looks to be short of reasonably available talent at that position — at least, that is, unless the Mets are willing to make a truly significant acquisition.

Astros Recall Jon Singleton, Place Chad Qualls On DL

By Steve Adams | June 26, 2015 at 1:51pm CDT

The Astros announced today that setup man Chad Qualls has been placed on the 15-day DL (retroactive to June 25) with a pinched nerve in his neck. To fill his spot on the roster, Houston recalled first baseman Jon Singleton.

The 23-year-old Singleton was the subject of a good deal of controversy in 2014, as many felt that the five-year, $10MM extension (plus three club options) that he signed with Houston was far too team-friendly of a deal. At the time, Singleton was a much-ballyhooed prospect who had obliterated Triple-A pitching at a .267/.397/.544 pace.

Singleton, however, struggled tremendously at the Major League level in 2014, hitting just .168/.285/.335 with an alarming 134 strikeouts in 362 trips to the plate (37 percent). The offseason acquisitions of Evan Gattis and Colby Rasmus, along with Chris Carter’s presence on the roster, created a crowded corner outfield/first base/DH scenario on the Astros’ roster in Spring Training, so when Singleton struggled in March, it wasn’t surprising to see him head back to Triple-A.

Singleton’s 2015 season at Triple-A looks an awful lot like his 2014 season at the level. He’s batted .280/.387/.553 with 17 homers and 17 doubles thus far with the Astros’ new Triple-A affiliate in Fresno. Now, Singleton will hope for better results at the Major League level than he experienced last year.

It’s entirely possible that this will merely represent a short-term promotion for Singleton. But, it also seems short-sighted not to consider the possibility that the former Top 30 prospect hits well enough to force Houston to keep him on the roster. Carter, after all, has struggled in terms of hitting for average, though he sports a .321 OBP and plenty of power. And Gattis has seen his already questionable OBP dip to .262, although he, like Carter, is showing excellent pop as well.

As for Qualls, it’s not clear exactly when this injury began ailing him, but in late May, he went into somewhat of a tailspin after a strong start to the season. Qualls had a 2.93 ERA with an 18-to-3 K/BB ratio as recently as May 22. He struggled that evening, however, and since that time has yielded nine runs in 9 1/3 innings, surrendering 15 hits and four walks while striking out just five.

2016 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

By Tim Dierkes | June 25, 2015 at 11:59pm CDT

We’re about 45% of the way through the 2015 MLB season, and free agency looms for several of the game’s star players. It’s time for a new installment of the 2016 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings.

As a reminder, these rankings represent earning power in terms of total contract size, assuming everyone reaches the open market after this season and goes to the highest bidder. Here’s MLBTR’s full list of 2015-16 free agents.

1. Justin Upton. Upton hasn’t shown much power in the last month or so, but he still tops our list. He’ll need to pick the pace back up to exceed his career high of 31 home runs. The Padres’ playoff chances don’t look too promising, so Upton could become ineligible for a qualifying offer with a trade next month.

2. David Price. Price has been stellar in his seven starts since we last checked in, and his 2.42 ERA ranks fourth in the American League. He’ll turn 30 in August, and seems poised for a record megadeal. I’m not quite there yet, but I could see Price passing Upton on this list before the season is through.

3. Jason Heyward. With home runs in his last three games, Heyward reminded us that he does still have some pop in his bat. Here’s some cherry-picking: he’s hitting .304/.350/.489 since April 23rd. If this winds up being Heyward’s best offensive year since 2012, he could get $200MM.

4. Johnny Cueto. Cueto remains one of the best pitchers in the National League, but he went 13 days between starts in late May/early June due to a sore elbow. A May 26th MRI showed no structural damage. Cueto returned and looked fine in four starts, but then had his turn skipped earlier this week. The conspiracy theorist in me says the Reds are being a little cagey here, avoiding putting Cueto on the DL so far for the purpose of trade value. Still, it’s not as if suitors wouldn’t be fully aware of the state of Cueto’s elbow. What we know for sure: it’s not nothing. For now, Cueto’s free agent value takes a little dip.

5. Zack Greinke. It’s tough to move Greinke up this high, because his earning power is limited by his age. Greinke turns 32 in October, which may be too old for a six-year deal. Still, he leads all of baseball with a 1.70 ERA. Greinke will be a year older than Jon Lester was, but will have a better resume.

6. Alex Gordon. Gordon’s 2015 season looks a lot like his 2014, but with more walks and HBPs sprinkled in. He may not strike you as a superstar, but Gordon is probably the game’s best left fielder right now. One team might be willing to go well over $100MM for his perceived dependability.

7. Jordan Zimmermann. Zimmermann’s season, and free agent value, is still kind of up in the air. I’m not sure exactly what he is, though I know he’s not at the level of Price or Cueto. At 29, Zimmermann has youth on his side, but this year the strikeouts have been lacking and he’s allowed ten hits per nine innings. I wouldn’t want to go five or six years at $20MM+ for him. His market could be weird – his age should get him a better deal than James Shields, but he’s not going to be at the status Lester was.

8. Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes has been raking in the last month, and his 2.8 wins above replacement on the season ranks first among all free agent hitters. He’ll be just 30 in October, and could ascend a few more spots up these rankings with a strong second half. Bonus: he’s ineligible for a qualifying offer.

9. Ian Desmond. Desmond’s 2015 season has been a disaster so far. If he finishes the season as a replacement level player, how can a team place a value on him? One-year contracts have not been in vogue lately, even for free agents coming off disappointing seasons, but that might be best for Desmond.

10. Jeff Samardzija. The results haven’t been there for Samardzija, who sports a 4.53 ERA and has allowed 10.5 hits per nine innings. This month alone, he’s allowed 10+ hits in three different starts. But you have to wonder if Chicago’s defense has something to do with his .338 batting average on balls in play, and maybe he’d be a 3.50 ERA workhorse on a different team. A trade seems inevitable, giving Samardzija a chance at a midseason do-over.

Matt Wieters made his season debut on June 5th, having recovered from Tommy John surgery performed a year prior. The 29-year-old has looked good in a brief sample, serving as catcher in 11 of the Orioles’ 19 games. He’s definitely a free agent to monitor in the coming months. Wieters’ teammate and fellow impending free agent Chris Davis has also been playing well of late. On the pitching side, Yovani Gallardo, A.J. Burnett, and Scott Kazmir have been on a roll.

Mets To Promote Steven Matz

By Steve Adams | June 25, 2015 at 4:54pm CDT

The Mets will promote top prospect Steven Matz, who will be utilized as part of a six-man rotation, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links) first reported that the move was likely in the works.

The 24-year-old Matz entered the season ranked 33rd on the Top 100 lists of Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. He placed 65th on Fangraphs’ Top 200 and 66th on MLB.com’s Top 100.

Thus far in 2015, he has worked to a stellar 2.19 ERA with 94 strikeouts against 31 walks in 90 1/3 innings. Those numbers are all the more impressive when considering that Matz’s home park in Las Vegas is among the most hitter-friendly environments in all of minor league baseball.

Matz is said to throw 91 to 95 mph with his fastball and feature a sometimes-plus changeup and an above-average curveball. He’s the latest to emerge from an exceptionally talented crop of young Mets pitchers. The organization undoubtedly hopes that Matz will team with Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard to form an excellent rotation for the next few years.

Rumors of a Matz promotion began circulating earlier this month, with most indicators signaling that he’d be with the club by July. The team recently whittled its rotation from six members to five by designating Dillon Gee for assignment and eventually outrighting him to Las Vegas. For now, at least, it appears that Matz will work alongside Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, Jon Niese, and Bartolo Colon to form a six-man unit.

The preliminary reports led to some confusion, as Rubin tweeted that the Mets were being so tight-lipped that a trade seemed possible. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman, though, tweeted that no trade was brewing. And Mike Puma of the New York Post added ton Twitter that he was told the Mets have “absolutely nothing going on in trade talks at the moment.” Indeed, that seems to be the case.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Twins Promote Alex Meyer

By Steve Adams | June 25, 2015 at 1:45pm CDT

The Twins will promote right-hander Alex Meyer from Triple-A Rochester for tomorrow’s game, according to a team press release. The Twins’ long-term hope for the towering righty is that he can work out of the rotation, but he’ll presumably join the bullpen for the time being. Fellow righty Michael Tonkin was optioned to Triple-A yesterday.

Acquired from the Nationals in a straight-up swap for Denard Span, Meyer is a 6’9″ power arm that was selected with the 23rd pick of the 2011 draft. Entering the season, the Kentucky alum ranked as the No. 14 prospect in baseball on Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked Meyer 29th, and ESPN’s Keith Law ranked him 30th. Baseball America and Fangraphs were a bit less optimistic, ranking him 62nd and 71st, respectively.

Scouts have been split on Meyer for years, with some feeling that he’s a future closer and others feeling that he can end up at or near the front of a Major League rotation. Meyer can hit triple digits with his fastball and features what many describe as a “wipeout slider” as well, but he’s battled control problems at times in his career and has had some shoulder injuries that have slowed his development.

For all of Meyer’s acclaim, he got off to a dreadful start at Triple-A Rochester this season. In 39 1/3 innings over his first eight starts, Meyer posted a 7.09 ERA with 41 strikeouts against 24 walks. The Twins shifted him to the bullpen in hopes of getting him back on track, and the results have been nothing short of excellent. Since a shift to the ’pen, Meyer has pitched 17 innings and yielded just one earned run with a 20-to-6 K/BB ratio. That promise, coupled with a lack of reliable arms in the Minnesota ’pen, likely means that Meyer will work as a reliever with Minnesota in 2015, if he’s able to stay with the club long-term. A move back to the rotation later down the road, of course, probably shouldn’t be ruled out.

Because it’s late June, Meyer would only be able accumulate 102 days of big league service even if he stays in the Majors through season’s end. That will leave him well shy of Super Two designation and place him on track to reach free agency following the 2021 season (again, that is in the event that he remains at the big league level).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mets, Athletics Have Discussed Ben Zobrist

By Steve Adams | June 25, 2015 at 11:33am CDT

With the Mets’ offense floundering while key hitters David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Travis d’Arnaud are on the disabled list, the team has spoken to the Athletics about a potential Ben Zobrist trade, reports John Harper of the New York Daily News. Citing sources “on both sides,” Harper says that while there have been talks, there’s nothing to indicate that the talks are particularly advanced.

The Mets have dropped seven consecutive games and fallen under the .500 mark — a swift fall from the high that came along with an 11-game winning streak back in April. Still, as Harper notes, the team’s rotation is too good to remain idle and hope for improved performance and/or better health. Harper spoke to Alderson about the need to make a move, with the GM telling him, “It would be nice to do something if we could to improve this team and give it a psychological boost.” According to Harper, Alderson made it clear that he understands the urgency to make some kind of move to help the team.

Zobrist is the type of player in which the Mets are reportedly interested. Previous indications have been that the club is eyeing someone versatile — potentially someone that could play at third base while Wright is on the shelf and slide to another position when he returns to the club. (The Mets are hoping to have Wright back around the All-Star break.) Zobrist is highly versatile, having logged significant playing time in the Majors at second base, shortstop, left field and right field. Zobrist also has more brief exposure to third base, center field and first base. While he wouldn’t be an ideal candidate to step in at the hot corner for Wright, the team could use Murphy at third with Zobrist at second until Wright returns, then potentially use Zobrist at either shortstop or in a corner outfield slot.

Of course, all of that is relatively aggressive speculation, given the seemingly preliminary nature of the discussions between the two teams. In fact, previous reports have indicated that while the Mets do covet Zobrist, they also feel they’ll be outbid for his services. As Harper notes, it doesn’t help the Mets’ cause that one of their more marketable trade chips, right-hander Rafael Montero, has been sidelined for two months with a shoulder injury.

Zobrist underwent knee surgery earlier this year and struggled upon his return, but he’s hitting a solid .250/.335/.451 with five homers on the season after heating up recently. Defensive metrics are quite down on his work this year, though it’s fair to wonder how much that’s tied to the knee surgery, as he’s long graded out as a plus defensive player all around the diamond. If the knee is the reason for the defensive struggles, then it stands to reason that his glovework should improve along with his bat as he works his way back to full strength. Zobrist is owed $4.18MM through the end of the season, at which point he’s eligible for free agency.

Certainly, a Zobrist trade — with the Mets or any other team — isn’t likely to transpire in the near future. The A’s are still said to be pushing to get back into the race, and they’ve played better as of late, winning eight of their past 10 contests and 13 of 21 in June. Beyond that, we’re in the early stages of what looks to be a market skewed decisively in favor of sellers, so any significant trade made at this juncture would likely be very costly for the acquiring team.

Giants Could Pursue Outfield Acquisition

By Jeff Todd | June 24, 2015 at 6:34pm CDT

In the wake of Nori Aoki’s injury, the Giants have “added outfielder to [the team’s] list of trade targets,” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. No outside moves are imminent, however, and the club has announced that Travis Ishikawa will be recalled to take Aoki’s roster spot for the time being.

It remains unknown how long Aoki will miss, and that may not be clear until he is reevaluated in about two weeks. But the injury came at an inopportune time: Aoki has been excellent this year, and the club is still waiting for Hunter Pence to return to full health.

Ishikawa, of course, played an important role late in the year for last year’s club, and the Giants saw enough there to tender him a contract through arbitration (ultimately agreeing on a $1.1MM salary). He was ultimately outrighted after missing the early part of the season with a back injury. Over 149 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this year, Ishikawa has slashed .271/.342/.421 with four home runs.

San Francisco has some other options on the big league roster to flank Angel Pagan. Minor league signee Justin Maxwell has cooled after a nice start, but has already seen plenty of action. And Gregor Blanco is carrying a nice .283/.361/.417 line in his first 144 turns at bat on the season. Then, there’s first baseman Brandon Belt, who has recently spent a few games in left.

All said, it does not appear that the San Francisco front office will or must have much urgency, at least unless more serious news comes down on Pence and/or Aoki. Given the uncertainty in those players’ timelines, it would be foolish to speculate at this point as to what kind of acquisition (if any) the team could conceivably pursue this July. Certainly, a quick and impactful trade seems rather unlikely.

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