Tigers, J.D. Martinez Have Mutual Interest In Extension
Tigers GM Al Avila said today that the organization has interest in pursuing an extension with outfielder J.D. Martinez, as Chris Iott of MLive.com reports. He declined to discuss whether and to what extent the sides had already discussed that possibility.
“I don’t really want to get into our conversations with the players or their agents at this point,” said the newly-minted Detroit GM. “Usually we don’t make those comments. I can tell you we would have interest in something like that.”
Martinez, 28, is entering his second season of arbitration eligibility after earning $3MM last year. He’ll be looking for a big increase on that payout after a stellar campaign. MLBTR’s arbitration projections, via Matt Swartz, expect Martinez to receive nearly a $5MM raise this winter.
From his perspective, Martinez tells Iott, he has interest in a longer-term arrangement. But he said he’d let his representatives at RMG Baseball handle any contractual matters. “I would love to play in Detroit the rest of my career,” said Martinez. “But I leave the business part to my agent.”
That increasing earning power certainly has Martinez set up for a significant new contract. There aren’t many recent comps from power-hitting corner outfielders, but Adam Jones (six years, $85.5MM) and Alex Gordon (four years, $50MM) previously signed fairly large extensions when they were in the 4+ service class.
With 61 total home runs and a composite .304/.350/.543 batting line over the last two seasons, Martinez has out-produced all of this winter’s top free agents since he began his breakout. If he keeps that up, he’ll be in line for a massive free agent payday, and any extension would need to reflect that. All said, it seems that the initial interest is there to make a deal plausible, but both sides have plenty of ground to cover if something is to get done.
Eddy Julio Martinez Not Signing With Giants; Seeks $3MM Deal
TODAY: Martinez and his camp are “seeking a bonus closer to $3MM,” MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports.
YESTERDAY: Giants GM Bobby Evans acknowledged weekend reports of an agreement between his team and Cuban center fielder Eddy Julio Martinez yesterday and said the team was excited about the prospect of finalizing the deal, but ESPN’s Keith Law now reports that the Giants are not signing Martinez, who remains available as a free agent (Twitter links). It’s worth noting that while Evans confirmed an agreement, the team did not formally announce the signing. While that may lead to speculation of a physical issue, Law says there’s no injury in this instance. In fact, he adds that he watched Martinez take batting practice today and came away very impressed.
Martinez, 20, was believed to be in line for a signing bonus in excess of $10MM, but the reported agreement with the Giants was a $2.5MM signing bonus. One of the most talked-about and highly ranked free agents earlier in the summer, Martinez curiously went months with his name scarcely coming up in news and rumors before the agreement with the Giants was reported. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel chronicled the reasons for his falling stock in a chat with readers today, noting that teams were offering as much as $7MM earlier in the summer, but when Martinez’s camp wouldn’t bite on those offers, the teams moved on.
With Martinez back on the market, other teams that showed interest in him — the Dodgers, Cubs, Astros, Reds and Rangers were all intrigued, to varying extents — will again have the opportunity to strike a deal. Martinez reportedly switched agents in mid-September, hiring Rick Thurman and Rafael Nieves of the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Martinez is said to possess a powerful, compact swing and the ability to hit the ball to all fields in addition to base-stealing upside due to his above-average speed. However, some scouts feel that he’s more of a doubles hitter than a home run hitter, and not all are convinced that he can stick as a center fielder. MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez and Ben Badler of Baseball America each have scouting reports on Martinez (the latter requires a highly recommended subscription).
Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2016
As explained here, Matt Swartz and MLB Trade Rumors have developed an accurate model to project arbitration salaries. Many MLB teams and agencies reference our projections in their work. You won’t find anything else like this on the Internet! The number in parentheses next to each player is his Major League service time (Years.Days) through 2015 (172 days constitutes a full year of Major League service, per the collective bargaining agreement).
Service time data, the Super Two cutoff, and the 2016 MLB minimum salary are not yet official or known. We’re using 2.130 for the Super Two cutoff and $508K for the MLB minimum here. In general, if you see any inaccuracies or have questions, please leave a comment or contact us. Also, please note that we’ve fixed some errors from the original version of this post.
Angels (6)
- Fernando Salas (5.048) – $2.2MM
- Cesar Ramos (5.003) – $1.7MM
- Hector Santiago (4.016) – $5.1MM
- Collin Cowgill (3.151) – $1.0MM
- Garrett Richards (3.148) – $6.8MM
- Kole Calhoun (2.130) – $3.6MM
Astros (8)
- Luis Valbuena (5.148) – $5.8MM
- Jason Castro (5.104) – $4.6MM
- Hank Conger (4.051) – $1.8MM
- Chris Carter (3.159) – $5.6MM
- Marwin Gonzalez (3.133) – $1.9MM
- Dallas Keuchel (3.089) – $6.4MM
- Josh Fields (3.000) – $800K
- Evan Gattis (3.000) – $3.4MM
Athletics (15)
- Ike Davis (5.155) – $3.8MM
- Sam Fuld (5.140) – $2.0MM
- Jesse Chavez (5.108) – $4.7MM
- Josh Reddick (5.050) – $7.0MM
- Craig Gentry (4.125) – $1.6MM
- Danny Valencia (4.118) – $3.4MM
- Fernando Abad (4.073) – $1.5MM
- Eric Sogard (4.064) – $1.7MM
- Brett Lawrie (4.055) – $3.9MM
- Felix Doubront (4.041) – $2.5MM
- Fernando Rodriguez (4.032) – $1.3MM
- Jarrod Parker (4.000) – $850K
- Drew Pomeranz (3.013) – $1.3MM
- A.J. Griffin (3.000) – $508K
- Evan Scribner (2.142) – $700K
Blue Jays (9)
- Brett Cecil (5.152) – $3.4MM
- Michael Saunders (5.138) – $2.9MM
- Justin Smoak (5.077) – $2.0MM
- Ben Revere (4.149) – $6.7MM
- Josh Thole (4.126) – $1.8MM
- Josh Donaldson (3.158) – $12.0MM
- Drew Hutchison (3.128) – $2.6MM
- Aaron Loup (3.083) – $900K
- Steve Delabar (3.008) – $700K
Braves (5)
- Mike Minor (4.138) – $5.6MM
- Pedro Ciriaco (3.049) – $800K
- Shelby Miller (3.030) – $4.9MM
- Arodys Vizcaino (2.168) – $1.1MM
- Chris Withrow (2.132) – $600K
Brewers (3)
- Jean Segura (3.065) – $3.2MM
- Wily Peralta (3.033) – $2.8MM
- Will Smith (2.155) – $1.2MM
Cardinals (7)
- Brandon Moss (5.160) – $7.9MM
- Peter Bourjos (5.062) – $1.8MM
- Steve Cishek (4.143) – $7.1MM
- Tony Cruz (4.105) – $1.0MM
- Trevor Rosenthal (3.058) – $6.5MM
- Matt Adams (3.033) – $1.5MM
- Seth Maness (2.154) – $1.2MM
Cubs (8)
- Clayton Richard (5.154) – $1.1MM
- Chris Coghlan (5.148) – $3.9MM
- Travis Wood (5.004) – $6.4MM
- Pedro Strop (4.156) – $4.7MM
- Jake Arrieta (4.145) – $10.4MM
- Ryan Cook (3.086) – $1.4MM
- Hector Rondon (3.000) – $3.6MM
- Justin Grimm (2.170) – $1.0MM
Diamondbacks (8)
- Daniel Hudson (5.117) – $2.0MM
- Josh Collmenter (5.000) – $2.8MM arbitration projection; has a $1.825MM club option.
- Matt Reynolds (4.046) – $800K
- Welington Castillo (4.009) – $3.6MM
- Patrick Corbin (3.105) – $2.3MM
- Randall Delgado (3.100) – $1.0MM
- Rubby De La Rosa (3.097) – $3.2MM
- A.J. Pollock (3.052) – $4.3MM
Dodgers (9)
- A.J. Ellis (5.151) – $4.5MM
- Kenley Jansen (5.073) – $11.4MM
- Justin Turner (5.045) – $5.3MM
- Juan Nicasio (4.084) – $3.1MM
- Yasmani Grandal (3.115) – $2.7MM
- Luis Avilan (3.077) – $1.1MM
- Joe Wieland (3.027) – $508K
- Scott Van Slyke (2.151) – $1.2MM
- Chris Hatcher (2.146) – $900K
Giants (4)
- Yusmeiro Petit (5.016) – $2.4MM
- Brandon Belt (4.128) – $6.2MM
- Hector Sanchez (3.113) – $900K
- George Kontos (2.171) – $1.0MM
Indians (7)
- Josh Tomlin (4.151) – $3.1MM
- Bryan Shaw (4.081) – $2.8MM
- Lonnie Chisenhall (3.158) – $3.0MM
- Zach McAllister (3.077) – $1.0MM
- Cody Allen (3.076) – $3.5MM
- Nick Hagadone (3.056) – $600K
- Jeff Manship (2.130) – $700K
Mariners (3)
- Mark Trumbo (5.027) – $9.1MM
- Charlie Furbush (4.121) – $1.7MM
- Anthony Bass (3.148) – $1.1MM
- Leonys Martin (3.063) – $3.75MM*
Marlins (9)
- Aaron Crow (5.000) – $1.975MM
- Henderson Alvarez (4.051) – $4.0MM
- David Phelps (3.156) – $2.5MM
- Dee Gordon (3.154) – $5.9MM
- Adeiny Hechavarria (3.060) – $2.3MM
- A.J. Ramos (3.030) – $2.8MM
- Tom Koehler (3.016) – $3.9MM
- Bryan Morris (3.011) – $1.1MM
- Carter Capps (3.007) – $800K
- Jose Fernandez (3.000) – $2.2MM
Mets (8)
- Ruben Tejada (4.171) – $2.5MM
- Lucas Duda (4.137) – $6.8MM
- Addison Reed (4.002) – $5.7MM
- Carlos Torres (3.114) – $800K
- Jenrry Mejia (3.085) – $2.6MM
- Matt Harvey (3.072) – $4.7MM
- Jeurys Familia (3.030) – $3.3MM
- Josh Edgin (3.015) – $600K
Nationals (9)
- Craig Stammen (5.160) – $2.4MM
- Drew Storen (5.140) – $8.8MM
- Stephen Strasburg (5.118) – $10.5MM
- Wilson Ramos (5.047) – $5.3MM
- Jose Lobaton (4.138) – $1.5MM
- Danny Espinosa (4.113) – $2.7MM
- Tyler Moore (3.018) – $1.0MM
- Anthony Rendon (2.130) – $2.5MM
Orioles (10)
- Brian Matusz (5.156) – $3.4MM
- Nolan Reimold (5.113) – $900K
- Paul Janish (4.156) – $600K
- Chris Tillman (4.113) – $6.2MM
- Miguel Gonzalez (4.095) – $4.9MM
- Ryan Flaherty (4.000) – $1.5MM
- Zach Britton (3.158) – $6.9MM
- Vance Worley (3.112) – $2.7MM
- Brad Brach (3.063) – $1.1MM
- Manny Machado (3.056) – $5.9MM
- David Lough (2.149) – $800K
Padres (8)
- Marc Rzepczynski (5.132) – $3.0MM
- Andrew Cashner (5.126) – $7.0MM
- Cory Luebke (5.033) – $5.25MM arbitration projection; has a $7.5MM club option with a $1.75MM buyout.
- Tyson Ross (4.126) – $10.0MM
- Yonder Alonso (4.116) – $2.5MM
- Derek Norris (3.102) – $3.4MM
- Will Middlebrooks (3.057) – $1.5MM
- Brett Wallace (3.003) – $1.1MM
Phillies (4)
- Jeremy Hellickson (5.045) – $6.6MM
- Andres Blanco (5.007) – $1.0MM
- Jeanmar Gomez (4.063) – $1.5MM
- Freddy Galvis (3.021) – $1.9MM
Pirates (9)
- Neil Walker (5.166) – $10.7MM
- Francisco Cervelli (5.146) – $2.5MM
- Mark Melancon (5.098) – $10.0MM
- Chris Stewart (5.091) – $1.6MM
- Pedro Alvarez (5.085) – $8.1MM
- Tony Watson (4.101) – $4.6MM
- Jared Hughes (3.162) – $2.2MM
- Jordy Mercer (3.095) – $1.8MM
- Jeff Locke (3.020) – $3.5MM
Rangers (10)
- Mitch Moreland (5.067) – $5.6MM
- Tom Wilhelmsen (4.089) – $3.0MM
- Chris Gimenez (3.163) – $1.0MM
- Shawn Tolleson (3.122) – $2.6MM
- Tanner Scheppers (3.111) – $800K
- Robinson Chirinos (3.103) – $1.4MM
- Jake Diekman (3.049) – $1.0MM
- Jurickson Profar (2.167) – $508K
- Nick Tepesch (2.136) – $508K
Rays (11)
- Logan Morrison (5.069) – $4.1MM
- Jake McGee (4.127) – $4.7MM
- Logan Forsythe (4.113) – $3.3MM
- Desmond Jennings (4.101) – $3.1MM
- Rene Rivera (4.082) – $1.6MM
- Alex Cobb (4.061) – $4.0MM
- J.P. Arencibia (4.052) – $1.4MM
- Daniel Nava (4.045) – $1.9MM
- Drew Smyly (3.154) – $3.9MM
- Brandon Gomes (3.082) – $900K
- Brandon Guyer (3.066) – $1.3MM
- Erasmo Ramirez (2.158) – $2.8MM
Red Sox (5)
- Junichi Tazawa (5.086) – $3.3MM
- Anthony Varvaro (3.121) – $700K
- Joe Kelly (3.101) – $3.2MM
- Robbie Ross (3.100) – $1.1MM
- Jean Machi (2.154) – $900K
Reds (4)
- Aroldis Chapman (5.034) – $12.9MM
- Zack Cozart (4.084) – $2.9MM
- Ryan Mattheus (3.123) – $1.3MM
- J.J. Hoover (3.102) – $$1.1MM
Rockies (9)
- John Axford (5.170) – $6.5MM
- Adam Ottavino (4.087) – $1.6MM
- Jordan Lyles (4.060) – $2.8MM
- Rex Brothers (3.131) – $1.5MM
- DJ LeMahieu (3.128) – $3.7MM
- Wilin Rosario (3.123) – $3.2MM
- Charlie Blackmon (3.102) – $4.5MM
- Brandon Barnes (3.024) – $1.2MM
- Nolan Arenado (2.155) – $6.6MM
Royals (8)
- Greg Holland (5.028) – $11.3MM
- Drew Butera (5.018) – $1.1MM
- Mike Moustakas (4.111) – $5.7MM
- Tim Collins (4.097) – $1.475MM
- Jarrod Dyson (4.088) – $1.7MM
- Danny Duffy (4.085) – $4.0MM
- Lorenzo Cain (4.074) – $6.1MM
- Louis Coleman (3.018) – $1.0MM
Tigers (5)
- Neftali Feliz (5.151) – $5.2MM
- Al Alburquerque (4.147) – $2.1MM
- J.D. Martinez (4.036) – $7.8MM
- Andrew Romine (3.049) – $700K
- Jose Iglesias (3.036) – $1.5MM
Twins (6)
- Kevin Jepsen (5.163) – $6.0MM
- Trevor Plouffe (4.162) – $7.7MM
- Eduardo Nunez (4.090) – $1.5MM
- Casey Fien (3.143) – $2.2MM
- Tommy Milone (3.143) – $4.5MM
- Eduardo Escobar (3.128) – $1.8MM
White Sox (5)
- Tyler Flowers (4.148) – $3.5MM
- Nate Jones (4.000) – $900K
- Jacob Turner (3.033) – $1.0MM
- Dan Jennings (2.171) – $700K
- Avisail Garcia (2.167) – $2.3MM
- Zach Putnam (2.135) – $800K
Yankees (7)
- Ivan Nova (5.024) – $4.4MM
- Michael Pineda (4.099) – $4.6MM
- Dustin Ackley (4.087) – $3.1MM
- Nate Eovaldi (4.013) – $5.7MM
- Adam Warren (3.036) – $1.5MM
- Justin Wilson (3.035) – $1.3MM
- Didi Gregorius (2.159) – $2.1MM
*Original projection ($1.6MM) updated to reflect prior season’s salary.
Indians Promote Chris Antonetti, Mike Chernoff
3:53pm: Bastian tweets that from an operational standpoint, little will change with the Indians. The new titles reflect the way in which the team has operated for several years, per Antonetti.
11:06am: The Indians have announced a widely-anticipated series of front office promotions. Chris Antonetti will move into the newly-minted position of president of baseball operations, with Mike Chernoff stepping into the general manager role.
To an extent, the move was precipitated by the departure of former president Mark Shapiro. But Antonetti will remain atop the baseball operations department rather than stepping into Shapiro’s broader, business-oriented role, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian notes on Twitter.
Antonetti, 41, served as the Indians’ GM for five years after a lengthy stint as Shapiro’s right-hand man. Among his most notable achievements are a series of appealing extensions, many of them with high-performing players that the organization acquired at a discount. Under Antonetti’s leadership, Cleveland has locked up Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, and Carlos Santana on the position player side as well as Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco among its pitchers.
The club that Antonetti compiled this year fell somewhat shy of expectations. After a 2013 playoff berth and 85-win campaign last year, the team’s array of excellent starters made it a popular pick to reach the post-season. Instead, the club landed at 81-80, though it did manage a late run at Wild Card relevance.
There’s still plenty to like about the team’s young talent, even if it didn’t reach its ceiling this season. In addition to those noted above, players such as Francisco Lindor, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer, and Cody Allen are all controlled for the foreseeable future.
Tasked with turning that impressive core into a consistent winner will be the 34-year-old Chernoff. The Princeton grad has been with the organization since 2003, but drew plenty of interest from other organizations that were seeking general managers. But he and the team rebuffed those overtures, preferring instead to structure this internal promotion.
Cleveland also announced that it would account for the upward movement of Chernoff with another internal move. Former director of baseball operations Derek Falvey will become the assistant GM in the new front office structure.
The front office combination has some flexibility to work with despite a generally meager spending capacity. The organization has yet to crack $90MM in Opening Day payroll, but has a decent bit of uncommitted potential cash over the next several seasons — even after committing future salary to the significant players listed above.
Marlins Re-Sign Ichiro Suzuki
1:58pm: The deal also includes a $2MM option for 2017, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
12:20pm: The Marlins have announced the re-signing of outfielder Ichiro Suzuki today, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro first reported on Twitter. The John Boggs client will receive a $2MM guarantee, per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
A reunion had largely been expected, and it seems that the sides chose to accomplish that by reaching agreement before the likely future Hall-of-Famer hit the open market. It’s not uncommon to see late-career veterans reach extension agreements of this kind when a mutually agreeable situation is at hand.
The club will probably look to give the 41-year-old somewhat less action in 2016 than he did this past season. With Giancarlo Stanton injured and Marcell Ozuna spending time in the minors, Ichiro ended up taking 438 plate appearances and playing in all but nine of the team’s games. That greater-than-anticipated usage did, however, allow the Japanese great to rack up some additional hits, leaving him just 65 shy of the 3,000-hit mark at season’s end.
Miami obviously likes Ichiro’s presence, and his milestone pursuit is not without its appeal. And he still rates as at least a league-average defender and baserunner. But things did not go so well on the offensive side of the equation, as he slashed an anemic .229/.282/.279 on the year for 2015.
That represents a drop off from an already-downward trend, as Ichiro has been consistently below average with the bat since the start of 2011. He was at least serviceable in 2014, earning him a one-year deal with a $2MM base guarantee and a variety of incentives. The Fish will hope that he can return to that level of offensive production (87 wRC+), though that could be the best-case scenario at this point.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dan Haren To Retire
OCTOBER 6: Haren has confirmed that he will, in fact, hang up his spikes, as ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers reports.
It is likely that the righty has already thrown his last pitch, though he said he would remain prepared in the event that the Cubs need him for the post-season. As Rogers notes, that seems unlikely barring an injury situation.
“If I don’t pitch in the postseason, that’s it,” Haren stated. “It’s been fun. Hopefully there’s a lot more games to go. … If my name is called, I’ll be ready.”
Even if he doesn’t get a playoff call, the veteran ended his career on a good note. Though he scuffled early upon his move to Chicago, Haren allowed just eight earned runs in 32 2/3 over his final six starts. All said, he tallied 187 1/3 innings of 3.60 ERA pitching on the year, making for a productive final campaign.
AUGUST 2: Newly-acquired Cubs righty Dan Haren is leaning towards ending his career once this season is over, Haren told reporters including MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. Upon being dealt to Chicago, Haren tweeted that he would wearing jersey #50 as a Cub, which was his number when he first broke into the big leagues “and it’ll probably be my last.”
Expanding on that tweet, Haren left himself a bit of wiggle room but “I would say right now the chances are this will probably be it. I don’t want to say this is it and pull a Brett Favre. That’s why I said ‘probably’ [on Twitter]. At least I leave myself a little way out. Chances are this is it. After the season, I’ll relax and see where I’m at. I definitely want to make a push to get to where this team wants to go.”
The decision isn’t a surprise, given that Haren considered retiring last offseason after being traded from the Dodgers to the Marlins. Haren has spoke openly about the difficulty of being away from his wife and children and his home in southern California, so it may be that an offer from a team in that region may be the only thing that changes Haren’s mind about retirement.
If this is indeed it for Haren, he’ll go out with an impressive 13-year stint in the majors that saw him make three All-Star teams and earn just under $81.5MM. Haren, who turns 35 in September, posted a 3.77 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 4.07 K/BB rate from 2003-2014 with the Cardinals, A’s, Diamondbacks, Angels, Nationals and Dodgers. He’s still pitching effectively this year (a 3.42 ERA in 129 innings for Miami), which is why the Cubs pursued him at the deadline to bolster the back end of their rotation.
Mike Scioscia To Return As Angels’ Manager In 2016
Angels skipper Mike Scioscia has played his intentions surrounding the opt-out clause in his contract close to the vest, but he announced today at the press conference to introduce new GM Billy Eppler that he will not exercise his out clause and will return to the Angels’ dugout in 2016 (Twitter link via the Orange County Register’s Pedro Moura).
Scioscia, the game’s longest-tenured manager, has been at his current post since 2000. The 56-year-old previously signed a 10-year, $50MM extension that covers the 2009-18 seasons, meaning he has three years and $15MM to go on his current deal. As recently as last night, Scioscia publicly refused comment on the possibility of an opt out.
As Angels manager, Scioscia has compiled a 1416-1176 record and captured one American League Championship and one World Series (2002). The Halos also have six American League West Division Championships under his watch, not including that historic 2002 season, when they entered the postseason as a Wild Card club.
Scioscia has seen his name in headlines often this season, as a dispute between him and Jerry Dipoto was ultimately said to be the final straw that pushed Dipoto to resign as the team’s GM. (Dipoto has since been hired as the new general manager of the division-rival Mariners.) Asked about any possible concerns working with Scioscia because of that rift, Eppler said the matter is a “non-issue, probably because of where I worked,” referring to his time with the Yankees (quote via MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, on Twitter).
MLB Trade Rumors Has A New Look
Did you know it’s been five years since we changed the look of the desktop version of MLB Trade Rumors? As the site approaches its ten-year anniversary, we decided it’s time for something new. Thousands of you have already previewed this new design, and the response was positive.
Most of the changes we’ve made apply to the desktop and tablet versions of MLBTR:
- More of an open, contemporary look
- New scroller up top with major headlines
- Arrows on the sides to easily navigate to our sites Hoops Rumors and Pro Football Rumors
- Search box is in a more prominent place; we’re working to improve the accuracy of its results
- Restructured navigation bar (Home, Teams, About, etc.)
- Load More Posts button at the bottom of the site, rather than Page 2, Page 3, etc.
- Sidebar: top/recent stories combined into one place with tabs
- For tablets, we’ve moved the sidebar stuff below the articles when you’re in portrait mode
What hasn’t changed, of course, is the core of the site. We’re still focused on bringing you the news and rumors as quickly as possible and providing context for all the information. And we’re sticking with one old-school quirk in our desktop design: full text of the latest articles, right on the homepage.
Please let us know your thoughts in the comments of this post, or contact us here or on Twitter. Thanks for reading MLB Trade Rumors.
Athletics Promote Billy Beane, David Forst
The Athletics announced this afternoon that they have promoted general manager Billy Beane to the role of executive vice president of baseball operations. Additionally, David Forst has been promoted from assistant general manager to the role of general manager, thus filling Beane’s previous title. The moves were not unexpected, as the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reported them to be likely back in early August.
By making this pair of promotions, the A’s gravitate toward the increasingly popular dual executive model — specifically, a president of baseball operations and a GM working beneath him — that is employed by the Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, Marlins, Giants and others.
Beane has been the Athletics’ top baseball decision-maker since 1998, whereas Forst has been with the organization in a variety of capacities (first as a scout) since 2000. The promotion ensures that Forst, for the time being, won’t seek other general manager vacancies elsewhere, as he’s now been promoted to the same role within the Oakland ranks. Forst has been mentioned as a GM-in-the-making previously, as has fellow AGM Dan Kantrovitz. The A’s lost one of their top assistants last offseason when Farhan Zaidi joined the Dodgers’ front office to serve as GM under president Andrew Friedman.
The 53-year-old Beane has a reputation as one of the game’s most aggressive GMs and has taken his fair share of heat recently due to last offseason’s trade of potential AL MVP Josh Donaldson and the team’s subsequent last-place finish in the AL West. He’s also, however, navigated the Athletics to eight playoff berths since taking over in ’98 despite notorious payroll constraints that limit his ability to retain star-caliber players and aggressively pursue upper-echelon free agents.
Beane and Forst further bolstered the Oakland farm system this summer by trading Scott Kazmir, Ben Zobrist and Tyler Clippard for minor league talent, and they’ll look to re-tool the Oakland roster this offseason in an effort to return to postseason play for what would be the fourth time in a five-year span.
CC Sabathia Checks Into Alcohol Rehab
Yankees lefty CC Sabathia released a statement today announcing that he has checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation program and will not be available for the postseason. His statement, via Yankees press release, is as follows:
Today I am checking myself into an alcohol rehabilitation center to receive the professional care and assistance needed to treat my disease. I love baseball and I love my teammates like brothers, and I am also fully aware that I am leaving at a time when we should all be coming together for one last push toward the World Series. It hurts me deeply to do this now, but I owe it to myself and to my family to get myself right. I want to take control of my disease, and I want to be a better man, father and player. As difficult as this decision is to share publicly, I don’t want to run and hide. But for now please respect my family’s need for privacy as we work through this challenge together. Being an adult means being accountable. Being a baseball player means that others look up to you. I want my kids — and others who may have become fans of mine over the years — to know that I am not too big of a man to ask for help. I want to hold my head up high, have a full heart and be the type of person again that I can be proud of. And that’s exactly what I am going to do. I am looking forward to being out on the field with my team next season playing the game that brings me so much happiness.
Clearly the decision comes at a difficult time, as the Yankees are presently preparing to embark on what they hope will be a lengthy postseason run. But, Sabathia’s admission of a problem and the need, on a human level, to seek help for his disease have understandably taken precedent.
It’s been a rough few seasons for Sabathia, who has seen his on-field production decline due, in large part, to knee issues that have required surgery. The longtime ace and former Cy Young winner has a 4.81 ERA across 424 1/3 innings in the past three seasons. He has one guaranteed year remaining on his contract in 2016, when he’ll earn $25MM, but he can also see a vesting option for the same amount kick in so long as he does not finish next year on the DL or spend significant time on the DL or in the bullpen due to left shoulder issues.