Chase Utley Seeks Playing-Time Assurance To Waive No-Trade
Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has drawn interest on the trade market after clearing revocable waivers, making him eligible to be dealt to any team. But he does possess full no-trade protection by way of ten-and-five rights, and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports that Utley will only authorize a deal if he receives certain assurances of playing time. (Links to Twitter.)
In part, it seems, that preference is motivated by the fact that Utley is planning to play in 2016, per the report. It’s likely that he’ll be looking for a new deal as a free agent. Utley’s deal includes a vesting option for next year, but he will almost certainly not meet the plate appearance threshold required for the option to vest. And it’s unlikely that Philadelphia or an acquiring team will pick up the club option (which has a floating value depending upon how much time he spends on the DL).
With a $2MM buyout on next year’s option and about $4.5MM to go the rest of the way in 2015, it’s expected that the Phillies will need to pay down a good portion of the contract to facilitate a trade. Of course, that’s strongly implied by the fact that Utley was not claimed on waivers.
Several clubs are reportedly interested in the veteran second baseman, who has turned things on at the plate since coming off the DL. Olney notes that the Cubs have had conversations about Utley with the Phils for some time. And he observes that Chicago would conceivably be able to slot Utley into a regular role, though one wonders whether the team would still prefer some kind of time-share. (It’s not clear exactly what kind of situation would hold appeal to the 36-year-old.)
The Giants, meanwhile, are also interested, but may have a harder time promising playing time. Incumbent Joe Panik is expected to return from the DL before the end of the regular season. While acknowledging his team’s interest, San Francisco GM Bobby Evans noted that it may be difficult to add a player of Utley’s stature for part-time work, as Carl Seward of the Bay Area News Group tweeted yesterday, seemingly hinting at the issue raised by Olney.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams polled readers earlier today about Utley’s likely destination. You can head over to the poll to participate.
Padres Sign Bud Norris; Designate Dale Thayer, Taylor Lindsey
The Padres have signed righty Bud Norris, according to a team announcement. San Diego also selected the contract of righty Colin Rea and designated reliever Dale Thayer and infielder Taylor Lindsey for assignment to create roster space, according to Scott Miller of Bleacher Nation (via Twitter) and MLB.com’s Corey Brock (Twitter link).
Norris, 30, was recently designated and released by the Orioles. He owns a 7.05 ERA over 66 1/3 innings on the year, with 6.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9. Baltimore will pay the balance of Norris’s $8.8MM salary on the year, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum for whatever time he spends on the Padres’ active roster.
Of course, the Friars will hope for more from Norris, who threw 342 frames over the past two seasons with much better results. Over that span, he permitted 3.92 earned runs per nine while averaging 7.5 K/9 versus 3.1 BB/9. He’ll look to regain some value before hitting free agency again after the season, but he’ll have to do so from the bullpen. Padres GM A.J. Preller confirmed that will be Norris’s role, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets, explaining: “We’re intrigued in a shorter role, to see how his stuff plays up for the rest of the year.”
San Diego will also see what it has in the 25-year-old Rea, who has steadily climbed the system after originally being selected in the 12th round. This year, he carries a 1.95 ERA across 101 2/3 innings in the upper minors, though he has not performed as well in his time at the Triple-A level (26 2/3 innings over six starts with 6.8 K/9 vs. 4.0 BB/9).
Thayer, 34, entered the season coming off of three straight strong campaigns in San Diego. Last year was his best: 65 1/3 innings with a 2.34 ERA and 8.5 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. While Thayer outperformed the expectations of ERA estimators over that span, he seemed at worst to be a steady middle reliever.
But this season has been different. Over 37 2/3 innings, Thayer has posted a 4.06 ERA that actually seems somewhat lucky in light of his peripherals. He has seen his strikeout rate drop to less than six per nine while allowing over three-and-a-half batters to reach for every nine innings pitched.
As for Lindsey, he came to San Diego as a key part of last year’s Huston Street deal. The 23-year-old former first-round pick has scuffled in the upper minors since joining the Padres organization. Splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A this year, Lindsey owns a .197/.294/.298 slash with four home runs and four steals over 272 plate appearances.
Chase Utley Clears Waivers
Phillies second baseman Chase Utley has cleared waivers, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. That means that he can now be freely traded, subject only to Utley’s full no-trade clause.
While multiple clubs have shown interest in the veteran, it comes as no surprise that he went unclaimed on revocable waivers. Though Utley’s 2016 option is no longer likely to vest, he is still owed just over $4.5MM for the rest of the season.
Philadelphia has already moved many of its veteran players, but several still remain. In addition to Utley, the Phils still employ first baseman Ryan Howard, catcher Carlos Ruiz, righty Aaron Harang, and outfielder Jeff Francoeur. All have seen their names arise in trade rumors at some point in recent months.
Despite his struggles this year, Utley remains an interesting player for contenders to consider. The highly-respected veteran has been hitting well since returning from a lengthy DL stint, and the removal of the complication of the vesting option makes him a much more marketable asset. While his current slash line still stands at a meager .190/.262/.294, he’s produced at a solidly above-average clip (or better) for each of the past ten seasons.
Then, of course, there’s the fact that several teams are dealing with injuries or performance issues at the second base position. The Giants, Cubs, Angels, Dodgers, and Yankees have all been connected to the 36-year-old in some regard, and he’s shown a willingness to consider waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal. While Philadelphia will obviously need to pay down some of his salary to make something happen, most of the roadblocks appear to have been cleared at this point.
Anthopoulos: Stroman Could Return In September
The Blue Jays’ deadline pickups of David Price, Troy Tulowitzki, Ben Revere, LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe have provided a jolt to an already-strong roster, but there could be one more major addition on the way, as GM Alex Anthopoulos said on TSN 1040 radio in Vancouver today that there’s a possibility that Marcus Stroman could return to the rotation in September (audio link, with Stroman comments beginning near 11:50 mark).
“Right now, he’ll be stretched out to start,” said Anthpoulos. “We’ll see how many innings we can get out of him assuming no setbacks. Minor league season’s over on the seventh of September, and we’ll see how much he’s built up by then, and hopefully no setbacks at all. I know there’s been talk about reliever/starter. If he’s totally healthy, our plan is to bring him back as a starter.”
Clearly, that’s a very quick recovery from a serious injury — Stroman tore his ACL in Spring Training — but Stroman tweeted yesterday that Dr. James Andrews was “stunned” by the progress in his recovery, adding that he’s “shattering” his projected timetable to return. Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweeted earlier today that Stroman told him that he felt “unbelievable” during a mound session today.
Anthopoulos stressed that Stroman’s career comes first, and if there are any setbacks, the team will shut him down for the season. However, given the nature of expanded rosters in September, the team could continue to stretch out Stroman to get to the point where he could make a start and be backed by a larger-than-usual bullpen. “Is he up to four innings at that time? Five innings? Three innings?” Anthopoulos asked rhetorically when explaining that the specific plan is dependent on Stoman’s progress. “If he looks like the Marcus from a year ago, and his stuff’s good, his command is good, everything looks good … If he’s close, if he’s a 70-pitch outing or 80, he could make a start at the big league level.”
Anthopoulos does not specify whether or not Stroman would be an option for the Blue Jays in a theoretical playoff run, though one would imagine that if he’s healthy and looks to be one of the team’s best options, that could be in the cards.
The Blue Jays’ rotation has improved since the beginning of the season due not only to the addition of Price, but also to the brilliant work of Marco Estrada since transitioning from the bullpen and the dramatically improved performances of R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle in the summer months. Adding Stroman to the mix would not only deepen the unit down the stretch, but would introduce an interesting new element to the club’s hypothetical postseason staff.
Doug Melvin To Assume Advisory Role; Brewers Begin Search For New GM
The Brewers announced today that longtime GM Doug Melvin will move to an advisory position within the organization, and the team will begin hunting for a new GM immediately (Twitter link). Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that it was Melvin’s decision to begin the transition now as opposed to after the season. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports (on Twitter) that the Brewers have hired executive search firm Korn Ferry to organize the team’s pursuit of a new general manager. The priority, according to McCalvy, will be to target younger candidates with knowledge of analytics.
Melvin, 63, became Milwaukee’s general manager nearly 13 years ago and prior to that spent eight years as GM of the Rangers. He was the GM in Texas for the team’s first three postseason appearances and helped to construct a pair of playoff teams during his Brewers tenure as well, including a 96-win team that made it to Game 6 of the NLCS against the Cardinals in 2011
As one would expect with such a lengthy tenure at the top of the team’s baseball operations hierarchy, Melvin made a number of notable transactions in his time with the Brewers, including a handful of high-profile trades. In 2008, Melvin acquired CC Sabathia from the Indians in a rental deal that sent Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson to Cleveland. He swung another deal for an ace in the 2010-11 offseason, landing Zack Greinke from the Royals in exchange for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress (who has, of course, made his way back to the Brewers).
Melvin ultimately traded Greinke away a season and a half later, acquiring Jean Segura, Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena in exchange. He’s also architected extensions for Carlos Gomez (three years, $24MM), Ryan Braun (eight years, $45MM, followed by an additional five years, $105MM), Jonathan Lucroy (five years, $11MM) and, in a less successful decision, Rickie Weeks (four years, $38.5MM).
Melvin’s recent transactions have been something of a mixed bag. The Adam Lind-for-Marco Estrada swap has benefited both parties, and the re-signing of Francisco Rodriguez has, to this point, been a solid move. Kyle Lohse made good on the first two years of his three-year, $33MM contract and justified the expenditure despite a poor 2015 season. However, the Matt Garza contract currently looks like a misstep, and recent seasons have seen Cain, Escobar and Odorizzi emerge as very valuable pieces.
This summer, Melvin drew praise for the return for Gomez and Mike Fiers — a four-player package that brought Brett Phillips, Josh Hader, Domingo Santana and Adrian Houser to Milwaukee. He also landed a nice piece from the Orioles when trading Gerardo Parra to Baltimore: right-hander Zach Davies.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Chase Utley Placed On Revocable Waivers
10:24pm: Morosi clarifies that Utley was actually placed on waivers on Sunday (via Twitter). That means that his claim period will expire tomorrow.
11:32am: The Phillies placed second baseman Chase Utley on revocable trade waivers on Saturday, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). That waiver period would expire today if Utley goes unclaimed, at which point he’d be eligible to be traded to any team. (For those who are unfamiliar with revocable waivers, MLBTR has already posted a more in-depth look at how August trades work.) Utley, of course, still has 10-and-5 rights and could veto any trade of which he does not approve.
The 36-year-old Utley was activated from the disabled list after a lengthy absence due to a sprained right ankle. He batted just .179/.257/.275 in 65 games before landing on the DL, though he’s given interested teams at least a flicker of reason for optimism; Utley has four hits (three doubles) in 10 plate appearances since being activated and also went 6-for-11 in a brief, three-game rehab assignment in the minors.
That minuscule sample size does little to mask the reasons that make it difficult to trade Utley. In addition to his dismal first-half production and no-trade protection, Utley is also an expensive asset. He’s earning $15MM this season, of which about $4.59MM remains. The Phillies would almost certainly have to include some form of cash considerations in order to facilitate a deal.
Utley’s injury may have helped the Phillies improve their chances of trading him in another way, though, as he’s still 241 plate appearances shy of triggering a $15MM vesting option for the 2016 season. With about two thirds of the season in the books, Utley would need to average 4.6 to 4.7 plate appearances per game to trigger the option — an unattainable rate even if he were to play every day.
Utley has been connected to a number of teams despite his struggles. The Giants are the most recent team that have been linked to him, but the Cubs, Angels, Dodgers and Yankees have also been tied to Utley in various media reports. He’s yet to firmly indicate that he would approve a trade, but he did recently say he would “definitely listen” to a proposed trade scenario if approached by the Phillies’ front office “out of respect” for the team.
Dodgers Promote Jose Peraza
The Dodgers have promoted top infield prospect Jose Peraza, who will make his big-league debut while starting at second base tonight, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Regular Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick left Sunday’s game after injuring himself while running the bases. He had an MRI on his hamstring today, and the team has announced that it has placed him on the 15-day DL. Manager Don Mattingly said yesterday that he expected Kendrick to miss significant time.
The 21-year-old Peraza only recently joined the Dodgers organization, having arrived from the Braves in the massive three-team Mat Latos / Hector Olivera deal. He was hitting .302/.327/.398 in 469 Triple-A plate appearances this year.
MLB.com ranks Peraza the No. 29 prospect in the game, praising his excellent speed — Peraza has little power and doesn’t walk much but has been an effective offensive player in the minors thanks largely to his ability to run out hits and to his baserunning. He has 204 stolen bases in the equivalent of about three full seasons’ worth of minor league plate appearances. Baseball America ranked Peraza the No. 54 prospect in baseball heading into the season.
Koji Uehara Out For Season With Fractured Wrist
Red Sox closer Koji Uehara will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a fractured wrist, the club announced. The team had expressed optimism after the right-hander was struck by a batted ball on Friday night, but further tests apparently revealed a significant injury.
Boston adds that Uehara, 40, “is expected to make a full recovery,” and the team will need him to do just that. He is already under contract for 2016, the back half of the two-year, $18MM deal he signed just before free agency opened following the 2014 campaign.
Despite cracking forty years at the start of the season, and losing about a tick on his average fastball velocity, Uehara has remained one of the league’s most reliably dominant bullpen arms. Through 40 1/3 innings, he owns a 2.23 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9. While that represents a slight decline on the strikeout side and nearly a doubling of the absurdly low walk rate he carried over his first two years with the Red Sox, Uehara still generated a swinging strike rate (18.6%) commensurate with recent seasons.
While the news is disappointing, it seemingly comes at a manageable time. The Red Sox bypassed the chance to trade Uehara at the deadline despite being out of contention, but will have plenty of time to bring him back to health before next season. Of course, it remains to be seen what kind of recovery timeline will be required, not to mention how the somewhat unusual injury could impact the aging-but-excellent veteran.
Jose Fernandez To DL With Right Bicep Strain
SUNDAY: Fernandez is suffering from a right bicep strain, Spencer reports, and the righty will be placed on the DL. There’s a chance Fernandez could return to pitch in 2015, as the Marlins were relieved that the injury showed no damage to his shoulder and wasn’t something that would require surgery.
SATURDAY: Marlins ace Jose Fernandez is dealing with stiffness in his right shoulder and has returned to Miami to see a doctor, the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer reports (Twitter links). The nature and severity of the injury are unclear. “Let’s see what it is before we speculate on something,” says Marlins manager Dan Jennings.
Another significant injury to Fernandez would be yet another blow to what’s turned into an awful season for the Marlins, whose 43-67 record is tied with the Phillies for worst in the big leagues. The 23-year-old Fernandez has only pitched 43 innings this season after missing much of the last two seasons due to injury. That injury was an elbow problem that required Tommy John surgery, so his current shoulder issue would appear to be a somewhat, or completely, different issue.
Fernandez has been brilliant in those 43 innings, posting a 2.30 ERA, 11.1 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9. He pitched five innings yesterday against the Braves, striking out six batters and walking one while allowing two runs. He was removed after 76 pitches, including 38 thrown in the fourth inning, although there were no reported indications of any injury at that time.
James Shields Clears Waivers
Padres righty James Shields has cleared revocable trade waivers, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (via Twitter). This means that Shields is now free to be dealt to any team. As Olney notes, it’s no surprise that Shields cleared waivers, as he is one of “lots of big-contract players” who are going unclaimed, as is often the case during the August waiver period.
Shields figured heavily in several trade rumors prior to the July 31 deadline, though he and several other Padres veterans stayed put as general manager A.J. Preller chose to stand pat in the hope that his team could make a late charge. This hope has yet to pan out, as San Diego is 2-7 in August. Dealing free agents like Justin Upton or Ian Kennedy now will be much more difficult for the Padres given the waiver process, not to mention moving controllable young pieces like Tyson Ross.
Shields is an interesting case, however, as high-payroll teams in need of starting pitching could still conceivably make a move for the veteran right-hander. Shields is owed roughly $2.25MM for the remainder of this season, and then $21MM in each of the next three seasons, plus a $16MM club option (with a $2MM buyout) for 2019. He can also opt out of his deal following the 2016 season, meaning that some teams could make a move thinking they’d only be committed to Shields for little over a year. Then again, Shields will turn 35 in December 2016, so he’s probably just likely to stick with his current deal since teams may be hesitant to pay a pitcher more than $43MM guaranteed for his age-35 and age-36 seasons.
Had a team claimed Shields, the Padres could’ve simply let him walk and the claiming team would’ve had to absorb his entire salary. San Diego is now free to explore trades that could see them offer to cover some of Shields’ guarantee in exchange for better prospects, or perhaps (as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggested this morning) Shields could be moved for another high-priced player like Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval.