Marlins Exploring Trade Market For Pitching
The Marlins are exploring possible trade options to bolster their pitching, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Miami is concerned about the rotation and, ideally, they’d like to add another starter. However, they could also use a bit more help in the bullpen and they wouldn’t be opposed to an upgrade there either.
Miami has seen some rocky performances from its starters this spring and the front office is starting to worry about the durability of the rotation. No. 2 starter Mat Latos dealt with a left knee injury last season and had his elbow scoped in mid-October, so Miami is concerned about how he will hold up. Meanwhile, Henderson Alvarez (left knee) and Jarred Cosart (blister) dealt with some less serious issues in March.
As for the bullpen, the Marlins’ depth took a hit this week when they learned that Aaron Crow will likely need season-ending Tommy John surgery. Preston Claiborne will also be out for at least a month with a right shoulder injury. Even if the bullpen is not as high of a priority for the Marlins at this time, it sounds like they’re very much open to adding some reinforcements there.
If the Marlins choose to stand pat, Frisaro notes that they have some viable in-house options. Miami hopes that right-handed reliever Nick Masset, who was cut recently, agrees to join the club’s Triple-A affiliate, according to the MLB.com scribe. For starting depth, the Marlins could turn to long relievers David Phelps and Brad Hand, though that would likely weaken the pen.
Indians Discussing Extension With Carlos Carrasco
The Indians are close to locking up one big rotation piece in Corey Kluber, and the team is also discussing an extension with another in righty Carlos Carrasco, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Carrasco just recently celebrated his 28th birthday and was arbitration-eligible for the first time this past winter, avoiding a hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $2.337MM contract for the 2015 season.
A multi-year deal would represent a stunningly quick career resurrection for Carrasco, who posted a 5.29 ERA over his first four seasons (238 1/3 IP) with the Tribe and struggled last April, losing his starting job and even getting designated for assignment last summer. The right-hander turned things around in the bullpen with a 2.30 ERA over 43 relief innings and then returned to the rotation with astonishing results. Over his last 10 starts of 2014, Carrasco was arguably the best pitcher in baseball, posting a 1.30 ERA and 78 strikeouts (against just 11 walks) over 69 innings.
Given Carrasco’s rocky career numbers and notable injury history (he missed all of 2012 recovering from Tommy John surgery), it’s difficult to project exactly what an extension might look like for the ACES client. From the Tribe’s perspective, they’re obviously looking to gain cost certainty on Carrasco’s future now and potentially gain a front-of-the-rotation arm at a discount price over a free agent year or two if he performs anything close to the level of his last 10 starts.
It’s possible Carrasco could want to strike while the iron is hot and gain financial security, even if he might be leaving money on the table. Conversely, a full season of solid pitching would earn Carrasco a big arbitration raise next winter and line him up nicely for either an even richer extension with Cleveland or as a free agent following the 2017 season.
Diamondbacks Release Cody Ross
The Diamondbacks have released outfielder Cody Ross the team announced via Twitter. The club owes him $8.5MM for this season and a $1MM buyout for his 2016 option, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Any team that acquires him will not be responsible for any amount above the major league minimum.
Ross has fallen into a reserve role over the last few years, mostly due to various injuries. Last year was one of his worst with a .252/.306/.322 line in 219 plate appearances. The right-handed hitter has always possessed notable platoon splits. He’s below average at the dish against fellow righties, but he’s hit .294/.360/.557 in 1,109 plate appearances against southpaws. He’s a reasonable target for any team looking for an inexpensive, Jonny Gomes-type talent.
Royals Extend Yordano Ventura
7:34pm: Per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter), Ventura’s two $12MM options could reach $16MM due to escalators.
4:51pm: The Royals and right-hander Yordano Ventura have agreed to a five-year contract extension that contains club option years for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the team announced. The deal will pay Ventura $23MM over the five guaranteed years, while each option year is worth $12MM (with a $1MM buyout) with escalators based on Cy Young Award voting finishes. All told, Ventura stands to earn at least $47MM if his contract reaches the full seven seasons. Ventura is represented by Relativity Baseball.
According to Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, the deal breaks down as follows: Ventura receives a $1MM signing bonus and earns $750K this season, $1MM in 2016, $3.25MM in 2017, $6.25MM in 2018 and $9.75MM in 2019. The extension covers Ventura’s two remaining pre-arbitration seasons and his three arb years while giving the Royals control over his first two free agent seasons. Gaining those extra years of control over a very promising 23-year-old is a nice score for the team. Under GM Dayton Moore, the Royals have also locked up Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar, Billy Butler and Joakim Soria to pre-arb extensions.
Ventura is the latest notable Relativity client with between 1-2 years of service time to sign an extension, joining the likes of Julio Teheran, Andrelton Simmons, Paul Goldschmidt and Madison Bumgarner. Among recent extensions for pitchers with comparable service times, Ventura’s deal is less expensive than the deals signed by Bumgarner ($35MM over five seasons with two club options) and Jose Quintana ($26MM/five years with two club options). Teheran’s deal ($32.4MM) was also pricier, though the Braves righty signed for six guaranteed years and only one club option.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2008, Ventura drew a lot of attention as he moved through Kansas City’s farm system and entered the 2014 season ranked as one of the top pitching prospects in the game. Ventura made three starts for K.C. in 2013 and then posted a 3.20 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.30 K/BB rate over 180 IP for the Royals last season, also notching a 3.20 ERA over 25 1/3 postseason innings.
As Passan noted in his original report, Ventura dealt with soreness in both his elbow and shoulder last season, and between his 97mph fastball and relatively slight (6’0, 180 pounds), there have long been concerns that the right-hander could eventually be a health risk. From this perspective, it’s easy to see why Ventura would’ve opted to take a big guaranteed payday now rather than risk potential injury issues through his arbitration years. The Royals are betting that this deal will turn into a bargain for them if Ventura stays healthy and productive, though if not, the $23MM guarantee isn’t too much of a payroll albatross even for a mid-market club.
CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman (all Twitter links) reported that the agreement had been finalized pending a physical, and that the deal was worth $23MM. Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reported yesterday that the two sides were close working out an extension for five years and at least one option year. MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan had the details of the option years and that the extension would supercede Ventura’s previous 2015 contract.
Photo courtesy of Peter Aiken/USA Today Sports Images
Padres’ Maybin, Phillies’ Revere Both “Available” For Trades
The list of players “available…in final days of spring” on the trade market includes Padres center fielder Cameron Maybin and Phillies outfielder Ben Revere, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter). It is difficult to move higher salaries at this time of the season, Rosenthal notes, which would seem to indicate a tougher market for the pricier Maybin, though Revere isn’t an inexpensive asset himself.
Maybin signed a five-year, $25MM extension with San Diego in March 2012 but has yet to deliver on the contract, hitting just .235/.297/.336 over 890 plate appearances over the last three seasons. This stretch of Maybin’s career has also been marred by injuries and a 25-game suspension for amphetamine usage in 2014.
His struggles were already hurting his playing time in San Diego even before the Padres added Justin Upton, Matt Kemp and Wil Myers this offseason. It’s not surprising that the Padres are having a difficult time shopping Maybin given his expendable role on the team and hefty remaining contract — Maybin (who celebrates his 28th birthday today) is owed $7MM this season, $8MM in 2016 and the Padres hold a $9MM club option on his services for 2017 that can be bought out for $1MM. The Padres would surely have to eat a big chunk of that contract to make a deal work, or take on another big contract in return.
Revere, meanwhile, is a bit younger (he turns 27 in May) and cheaper (owed $4.1MM in 2015) than Maybin and was a much more productive player in 2014. Revere collected a league-leading 184 hits while going 49-for-57 in stolen base attempts and slashing .306/.325/.361 over 626 PA. This still added up to only a 92 wRC+ for Revere, however, due to his lack of walks and near-total lack of power, and he has also been a below-average defender over the last two seasons according to both the Defensive Runs Saved and UZR/150 metrics.
With Revere’s limitations in mind, it makes sense that the Phillies would explore a trade now since he’ll only get more expensive over his two final seasons of arbitration eligibility. The Phillies drew some trade interest in Revere early in the offseason though no firmer details were ever revealed about the depth of that interest or which teams were involved.
Revere had been penciled in as Philadelphia’s regular left fielder this season, as Rule 5 Draft pick Odubel Herrera has won the center field job after an impressive spring camp. The Phillies’ outfield mix includes the likes of Grady Sizemore, Darin Ruf, the injured Domonic Brown, and veterans Jeff Francoeur and Jordan Danks also in camp, leaving the club with some unremarkable replacement options should Revere be dealt.
Royals In Advanced Extension Talks With Yordano Ventura
SATURDAY: Talks between the two sides are “at the finish line,” Passan reports (via Twitter). Ventura will receive $22MM in guaranteed money in the deal. One version of the contract that was discussed was a five-year deal with two club option years, which would’ve given the Royals control over another of Ventura’s free agent seasons. MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (Twitter links) reports that the five guaranteed years and two option years is indeed the structure of Ventura’s extension. The contract would begin in 2015 and a source tells Flanagan that it should be completed within 48 hours.
FRIDAY: The Royals are in negotiations with young righty Yordano Ventura about a five-year extension that would include an option for a sixth season, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports. The deal currently being contemplated by the two sides would guarantee Ventura over $20MM.
A new contract along these lines would be a fascinating study in risk and reward for both the club and the Relativity Baseball client. In spite of his excellence at a young age and significant arbitration earning capacity, the 23-year-old seems to profile as something of an injury risk. In addition to drawing frequent remarks on the velocity that comes out of his small frame, Ventura had a few minor arm issues crop up last year.
Ventura will enter the 2015 season with just over one full year of big league service, meaning he projects to reach arbitration eligibility in 2017 and free agency in 2020. While he is at an early position on the service curve, Ventura has already established himself as the type of productive arm worthy of investment: last year, he tossed 183 innings of 3.20 ERA ball with 7.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 and a 47.6% groundball rate. ERA estimators indicate that his ERA may be somewhat lower than his real production, but they still credit him as an above-average starter in his first full season in the big leagues.
One significant question, assuming a deal along the lines of that reported does in fact get done, is when the contract kicks in. A five-year guarantee with a sixth-year option would give Kansas City control over one free agent season if it begins with the 2015 campaign.
Diamondbacks Still Trying To Trade Aaron Hill
The Diamondbacks are still attempting to find a taker for second baseman Aaron Hill, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Arizona has indicated that it will not finalize its Opening Day roster until tomorrow, which could be due in part to efforts to move Hill.
It appears that Hill will start the season on the bench if he is not moved, as manager Chip Hale tells reporters that Chris Owings will start at second with Nick Ahmed taking over at short (via Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic, on Twitter). Needless to say, it appears that the club would be pleased to find a taker for some of Hill’s $12MM salary.
Of course, the 33-year-old Hill has long been the subject of trade speculation, but it has bee hard to find a believer in his bat after a rough .244/.287/.367 campaign last year. Hill had put up two straight highly productive seasons at the plate before that time, at least when healthy, but did not help his cause with a .189/.232/.208 slash over 53 spring at-bats.
Ervin Santana Suspended 80 Games For PED Use
3:57pm: The Twins have announced that Pelfrey, not May or top prospect Alex Meyer, will step into the rotation.
3:53pm: Via the MLBPA, Santana has apologized and denied ever knowingly taking a banned substance:
“This is unexpected news for me and my family. I am issuing this statement so the public knows where I stand. First, my deepest apologies to my family, fans, colleagues, teammates and my current employer the Minnesota Twins. I am very disappointed that I tested positive for a performance enhancing drug. I am frustrated that I can’t pinpoint how the substance in question entered my body. I would never knowingly take anything illegal to enhance my performance. What I can guarantee is I never knowingly took anything illegal to enhance my performance. That’s just not me, never has been and never will.”
3:38pm: Twins right-hander Ervin Santana has been suspended 80 games after testing positive for the performance enhancing drug Stanozolol, the league announced.
Clearly, this move is devastating news for a Twins team that committed $54MM — a franchise-record for free agent spending — to Santana on a four-year deal this past offseason. Santana was signed to bring stability to a Twins rotation that has been among the league’s worst in each of the past four seasons. The team has issued the following statement regarding Santana’s suspension:
“We were disappointed to learn of the suspension of Ervin Santana for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. We fully support Major League Baseball’s policy and its efforts to eliminate performance enhancing substances from our game. Per the protocol outlined in the Joint Drug Program, the Minnesota Twins will not comment further on this matter.”
Santana had projected to slot in behind Phil Hughes in the Twins rotation, joining Kyle Gibson, Ricky Nolasco and Tommy Milone in the starting five. One might imagine that Mike Pelfrey, who had previously expressed disappointment in being moved to the bullpen, might get a chance to finally provide the Twins with some healthy innings in the rotation, although I’d imagine that prospect Trevor May will at least garner some consideration as well.
Santana is slated to earn $13.5MM this season, so the Twins will recover approximately half of that sum while he is on the restricted list without pay. Nonetheless, that’s hardly a silver lining for Minnesota. Left-handed reliever Aaron Thompson has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Santana’s roster spot, though no official announcement has been made as to who will step into the rotation in his stead.
MLB Rules That Cosart Did Not Bet On Baseball
Major League Baseball has announced that its investigation into a gambling-related matter with Jarred Cosart revealed that the Marlins right-hander did not bet on baseball. Cosart has, however, been fined for violating an MLB rule by placing bets on other sports through a book maker. The league’s official statement is as follows:
“Major League Baseball has completed its investigation into Jarred Cosart’s possible connection to sports-related gambling. The investigation did not reveal any evidence to suggest that Cosart, who fully cooperated with the investigation, bet on baseball. Cosart has received an undisclosed fine for violations of Major League Rule 21(d)(3) that were revealed during the investigation. Major League Rule 21(d)(3) prohibits players from placing bets with illegal book makers, or agents for illegal book makers. This rule is strictly enforced and applies to gambling with illegal bookmakers on any sport or event.”
Cosart himself has also issued a statement, via press release from the Major League Baseball Players Association:
“I have never, nor would I ever, bet on the great game of baseball. Major League Baseball conducted a thorough investigation, and I cooperated fully with them and their investigators throughout that process. I’m sorry for any distractions this may have caused the Marlins, my teammates, coaches, and our incredible fans. I’m glad to bring closure to this situation before Opening Day and I look forward to a great season.”
Giants Extend Sabean, Bochy; Sabean Promoted, Evans Named GM
The Giants announced today that the contracts of general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy have been extended through the 2019 season. Sabean’s extension, however, comes with a promotion, as he’s been named executive vice president of baseball operations. Meanwhile, assistant GM Bobby Evans has been promoted to senior vice president and general manager, while Jeremy Shelley has been named senior vice president and assistant GM (All links to Twitter).
That the Giants front office and primary on-field decision-maker are being rewarded in this capacity is hardly a surprise, considering the team’s recent results. This group of front office and on-field leaders has, of course, led the team to a trio of World Series victories in just five years, capturing baseball’s ultimate prize in the 2010, 2012 and 2014 seasons.
Reports of extensions for Sabean and Bochy surfaced yesterday, although at the time the specific length of each deal remained an unknown. Additionally, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area noted that a promotion could come with Sabean’s extension, meaning that Evans would become the new general manager.
Giants president and CEO Larry Baer offered the utmost praise for Bochy and Sabean in a statement in the accompanying press release:
“Brian and Bruce form the foundation on which all three Championship teams have been built. The strength and stability of Giants baseball is a direct reflection of the strength and stability of the partnership of these two men. My top priority this off season was to ensure that this partnership and our outstanding baseball organization remain intact for years to come.”
Sabean had been baseball’s longest tenured GM, having initially been promoted to the position in 1997. Bochy’s tenure has been shorter, though he’s still one of the longest-tenured managers in all of baseball, having been at his post since October of 2006. Sabean has twice been Baseball America’s Executive of the Year and has also been The Sporting News Executive of the Year, while Bochy is a two-time National League Manager of the Year.
As for Evans, the well-liked executive is entering his 22nd season with the Giants organization. He’s previously worked extensively in contract negotiations for the Giants (both in extensions and free agency), and he’s an integral part of the arbitration process and oversees the signing of the team’s top picks in each year’s draft. Baer offered the following kind words about his newly minted GM: “Bobby and I have worked together for more than two decades, and he has excelled at every aspect of his job. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to handle the daily activities of baseball operations.”
Per the club’s press release, Shelley joins John Barr and Dick Tidrow as assistant GMs in the restructured front office. Baer referred to Shelley as a “rising star” in the world of baseball operations, calling the promotion “well-deserved.”