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Astros Notes: Altuve, Gage, McCullers

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Dana Brown’s first few weeks with the Astros has already seen the new general manager sign Cristian Javier to a five-year, $64MM contract extension, and more long-term deals seem to be on Brown’s radar in the near future.  Jose Altuve was one of several players cited by Brown as extension candidates, with the new GM making the particular point that the longtime second baseman “should be in Houston for life.”  This is music to Altuve’s ears, who told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters that “it’s really good to hear that” from Brown.  “I hope to retire here, so I think we’re on the same page.”

Altuve has become a franchise icon over his 12 seasons with Houston, and has already signed one big-money extension with the club — a seven-year, $163.5MM deal that runs through the 2024 season.  A new contract could overwrite the last year or two of that previous deal, of course, or the Astros might simply look to tack a few more seasons onto Altuve’s existing pact.  2025 is Altuve’s age-35 season, yet there isn’t any sign of slowing down, considering that Altuve’s 164 wRC+ in 2022 was the best of his career.

More from the defending World Series champs….

  • The Astros claimed Matt Gage off waivers from the Blue Jays earlier this week, and Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi adds some interesting details behind the transaction.  Gage will receive a split contract with a $770K salary in the majors and $170K in the minors, and the Astros included a $125K signing bonus.  The bonus was included in order to convince Gage to join the team, because Gage had the right to reject Houston’s claim and test free agency since the Jays placed him on release waivers rather than standard outright waivers.  Before offering the signing bonus, Brown first had to contact the league office to confirm that the unusual tactic was allowed in release waiver situations.
  • Manager Dusty Baker gave a positive update on Lance McCullers Jr. yesterday following the news that the righty had been temporarily shut down due to arm soreness.  Baker and Brown made similar statements today to FOX 26’s Mark Berman (Twitter links) and other reporters, with Brown noting that he is “not alarmed at all” by the “day-to-day” nature of McCullers’ issue.

AL Notes: Twins, LeMahieu, Means

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Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters, including Dan Hayes of The Athletic, that right-handed prospect Jordan Balazovic will miss the start of Spring Training due to a broken jaw stemming from “an altercation away from the field.” A source with the team indicated to Hayes that Balazovic suffered the injury following a verbal altercation last Saturday, though Balazovic did not retaliate physically. Balazovic underwent surgery and is currently unavailable, though he could begin to play catch in seven to 10 days.

Balazovic came into the 2022 season viewed as a consensus top 100 prospect but struggled mightily with injuries and ineffectiveness last year. He was out until May 1 last year with a knee injury and then struggled to a 7.68 ERA in 72 2/3 minor league innings last year while pitching almost exclusively at the Triple-A level. Now it appears his 2023 is off to a rocky start of its own. Fortunately for Minnesota, the club has an impressive amount of starting pitching depth, with Pablo Lopez, Tyler Mahle, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Kenta Maeda, and Bailey Ober all capable big league starters even with Chris Paddack set to spend most of the 2023 season on the injured list.

Elsewhere around the AL…

  • Sticking with the Twins, center fielder Byron Buxton and first baseman Alex Kirilloff are both in places the club is comfortable with health-wise at this point in the spring, according to Hayes. Buxton is fully recovered from last year’s knee surgery and is playing without limitations, while Kirilloff, Falvey notes, is behind most other hitters as the organization plans on taking things slowly with him following his second wrist surgery, which Hayes notes was particularly intensive. Both figure to be part of the Twins Opening Day lineup if healthy, though the Twins acquired Michael A. Taylor earlier this offseason in part as insurance in center if Buxton continues to struggle to stay healthy, while rumors of the clubs interest in a veteran, right-handed complement to Kirilloff at first base have percolated throughout the offseason.
  • Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu talked with reporters this morning, including Erik Boland of Newsday Sports and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. LeMahieu noted that he is at “100 percent” as he enters camp this spring, able to play with no limitations. In addition, LeMahieu says he’s excited to play in a utility role for the Yankees this season. With Anthony Rizzo at first base and Gleyber Torres at second, while Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa all expected to mix and match at shortstop and with Josh Donaldson at third base, at least until top prospect Anthony Volpe is ready to contribute, LeMahieu figures to pick up playing time at each of first base, second base, and third base this season. LeMahieu played second base almost exclusively prior to signing with the Yankees ahead of the 2019 season, but since then has moved around the infield more often, racking up 872 innings of work at first base and 1,171 innings at third base in a Yankees uniform.
  • While Orioles left-hander John Means won’t factor into the Baltimore Opening Day rotation, he certainly seems to be on the right track to have an impact on the club at some point this season. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASN, that means will begin throwing off a half mound sometime in the coming week. Means has had the look of a solid mid-rotation starter since taking on a full-time role in 2019, pitching to a 3.72 ERA (124 ERA+) in 353 1/3 innings over that time while earning an All Star appearance and finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting for his 2019 season, where he posted a 3.60 ERA (131 ERA+) in 155 innings of work. Whenever Means is ready to return, he’ll be a welcome addition to a rotation that saw Kyle Gibson replace outgoing veteran righty Jordan Lyles and added lefty Cole Irvin in a trade with Oakland this offseason.

Injury Notes: Marquez, Kopech, White

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German Marquez suffered a left hamstring injury during conditioning drills, though Rockies manager Bud Black told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other reporters that Marquez was able to do some light running on Friday and play catch.  The injury seems minor enough that Marquez expressed hope that he could still pitch for his native Venezuela during the second round of the World Baseball Classic, though Marquez will be sidelined for the first round of WBC play.

The right-hander is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 campaign that saw him post a 4.95 ERA over 181 2/3 innings and some of the worst hard-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball.  Any kind of delay in his spring work won’t help in Marquez’s rebound efforts, and a pitching-thin team like Colorado certainly can’t afford seeing its ace miss any time.  However, the injury may have taken place early enough that Marquez’s Opening Day status may not be in question — as Black put it, “we’re fortunate in a lot of ways, and German realizes this, that it’s the middle of February and not the middle of March.”

More on other injury situations around the sport…

  • Both Michael Kopech and White Sox manager Pedro Grifol think the right-hander is going to be ready for Opening Day, as they updated reporters (including the Associated Press) about Kopech’s status following an injury-marred end to his season.  Kopech spent time on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation and a left knee strain, and his season came to an early end when he underwent surgery to fix a tear in his right meniscus.  After an offseason of rehab work, Kopech is now “at a point where the knee’s feeling better, the shoulder’s feeling better.  But it’s just kind of smoothing things out and getting back to 100 percent.” With Kopech tossing only 119 1/3 innings in 2022, his first full season as a starting pitcher ended up being somewhat limited, though he overcame some very shaky metrics to post a 3.54 ERA.
  • Mitch White told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson that he had a slight shoulder impingement in January that somewhat delayed his usual offseason routine, but the Blue Jays righty is now feeling “great.”  White is close to starting to throw side sessions, and that might provide a clearer picture of whether or not White is fully ready as camp opens.  Entering his first full season with Toronto, White struggled to a 7.74 ERA over 43 innings with the Blue Jays after being traded from the Dodgers, but White still enters camp in competition for the Jays’ fifth starter role.

AL West Notes: Maldonado, deGrom, Bleday

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Martin Maldonado played through a sports hernia and a broken hand for the latter part of the 2022 season, toughing it out to remain on the field and help the Astros win a championship.  As a result, Maldonado admitted that he “felt a little sad” that the Astros looked at Willson Contreras and other available catchers this offseason.  “We just won the World Series and I felt like I sacrificed my whole body playing through injuries for the team….But I understand the business,” Maldonado told The Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome and other reporters.  “I know as an owner, as a front office, they’re going to try to always get the best position players available and help the team get better. Willson was the best free-agent catcher out there.”

Maldonado has rarely hit much over his 12 MLB seasons, but he is beloved within the Astros clubhouse for his defense and ability to work with pitchers.  A new addition doesn’t appear to be coming for now, leaving Maldonado atop Houston’s depth chart and youngsters Korey Lee and Yainer Diaz competing for the backup catching job.  Maldonado’s health situation certainly spurred the Astros’ acquisition of Christian Vazquez at the trade deadline, but if Houston has any lingering feelings that an upgrade is necessary behind the plate, they’re certainly still a team to watch on the trade market throughout the season.

More from around the AL West…

  • Given Jacob deGrom’s injury history, a seemingly minor four-day shutdown due to side pain was cause for concern amongst Rangers fans, but the newly-signed ace is now “feeling really good,” as Texas GM Chris Young told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and other reporters.  “He’s made a lot of improvement….And he was throwing before he got here, so I think he will catch back up quickly.  He was sort of ahead of schedule to where he’s been in the past.”  DeGrom is expected to throw off a mound on Monday or Tuesday, and is slated to play catch and take part in fielding drills in the interim.
  • Last weekend’s trade that sent JJ Bleday from the Marlins to the Athletics was “a blindside” to the outfielder, Bleday told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle).  But, Bleday is now ready for his “exciting opportunity” in Oakland, and how he is planning to establish himself as a big leaguer after an underwhelming rookie season.  Bleday hit only .167/.277/.309 over his first 238 plate appearances in the Show, and said “the jump from Triple-A to the big leagues was definitely bigger than I anticipated.  There were some things in the big leagues I was doing mechanically that I probably shouldn’t have been.  You’re really unaware of it but you have no time to work on that stuff because you’re playing every single day….It’s a relentless league.”  After an offseason of prep, Bleday is now looking to keep his hands high at the plate and put an emphasis on hitting fastballs.  It wasn’t long ago that Bleday was a consensus top-50 prospect, so a breakout might come in his new environment if Bleday can adjust to MLB fastballs and continue his ability to draw walks.

NL East Notes: Mets, Britton, Rizzo, Nationals, Fried

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The Mets are “unlikely” to sign Zack Britton, a source tells MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, though New York was one of six teams in attendance at Britton’s showcase earlier this week.  Brooks Raley is the only left-hander slated for a role in the Mets’ bullpen, so Britton would’ve added some southpaw depth that seems necessary on paper.  However, DiComo writes that the Mets like the flexibility offered by having relievers available with minor league options, since it allows the club to shuttle fresh arms back and forth from the minors when necessary.

Britton and the Mets were seen as a logical match for much of the offseason, both due to the Mets’ needs for left-handed relief help and the past history between Britton and manager Buck Showalter from their time with the Orioles.  With multiple teams (even beyond the teams who had scouts at his showcase) still showing interest in Britton, the two-time All-Star seems bound to land somewhere in what will essentially be a comeback year after two injury-marred seasons.

More from the NL East…

  • Nationals president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo is only under contract through the 2023 season, and there hasn’t been any indication that the two sides have discussed an extension.  (Understandably so, given how the organization is mourning the recent passing of owner Ted Lerner.)  Even if an extension doesn’t come, Rizzo isn’t worried, as he told Andrew Golden of the Washington Post that “it’s not the first time, won’t be the last time, I’m on a lame-duck contract.  It doesn’t affect me….I was an area scout.  I worked on 20 one-year contracts in a row, so I’m no stranger to limited security.  My work will be my résumé, and we’ll see how it goes on from there.”  Rizzo is one of the longer-serving executives in baseball, having led the Nationals’ front office since 2009.  Between Lerner’s passing, the seemingly stalled efforts to sell the team, and the Nationals’ ongoing rebuild, Rizzo’s status is only one of many major issues facing the organization.
  • “There’s no anger, animosity or anything” for Max Fried in the aftermath of losing his arbitration hearing with the Braves, the ace told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman).  Fried will now earn $13.5MM in 2023, and he’ll have one more year of arb eligibility remaining before he can become a free agent in the 2024-25 offseason.  An extension would naturally change that timeline, and while Fried seemed to imply that a longer-term deal hadn’t yet been broached, “we’ve been able to have some good communication.  I really love my time here and I love the team.  So if [an extension] is something that comes to the table, it’s something we’ll talk about.”  Atlanta’s flurry of recent extension has put a lot of longer-term commitments on the team’s books, though a lot of money might be coming off the books next winter depending on how many (or any) club options the Braves choose to exercise.  As Bowman notes, however, Fried’s closer proximity and the high cost of free agent pitching would seemingly require the Braves to offer a contract with a club-record average annual value in order to keep Fried off the market.

Cubs Notes: Thompson, Alzolay, Hendricks, Hoerner

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Keegan Thompson and Adbert Alzolay aren’t part of the competition to be the Cubs’ fifth starter, as manager David Ross told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune) that the two right-handers will be working out of the bullpen.  Thompson has pitched as a reliever for 38 of his 61 career games in the majors, with significantly more success out of the pen — the righty has a 1.95 ERA over 73 2/3 bullpen innings, as opposed to a 4.94 ERA over 94 2/3 frames as a starter.  Alzolay has started 27 of his 45 career games, but worked exclusively as a reliever in his limited action last year, as Alzolay missed most of 2022 recovering from a shoulder strain.

Thompson also missed close to a month last season due to lower back tightness, so health concerns might have also been some factor in the Cubs’ decision.  However, the team might simply be more excited by the idea of what Thompson or Alzolay could deliver as relief pitchers, particularly since the rotation has been bolstered by the addition of Jameson Taillon and the re-signing of Drew Smyly.  Chicago hasn’t spent much on the bullpen in recent years, preferring to add veterans on one-year deals (i.e. this winter’s signings of Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger) and seeing what is available in terms of in-house options.  Of course, this doesn’t mean that Thompson or Alzolay couldn’t still get at least some usage as a starter in 2023, or that the door is closed on either righty as a potential starting candidate down the road.

More from Wrigleyville….

  • Speaking of the starting rotation, Kyle Hendricks will return to his usual spot in the starting five when he is healthy, as the veteran continues to manage a capsular tear in his throwing shoulder.  Hendricks told Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times that he is roughly a month behind in his usual offseason training routine, though he will throw off a mound in a loose bullpen session on Friday.  This puts Hendricks slightly ahead of his projected rehab schedule, as Hendricks was initially thinking he wouldn’t have any mound work until March 1.
  • Contract extensions haven’t been a big part of the Cubs’ business over the last three seasons, as the team tried to squeeze another title out of its 2016 championship core before pivoting into a rebuild.  Now that the Cubs are aiming to contend again in 2023, talks have taken place with Nico Hoerner about a possibly long-term deal, though the second baseman didn’t give reporters (such as The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma or MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) or other reporters any updates about the status of the negotiations.  Hoerner doesn’t have any “hard deadline” on getting a deal complete, and that “we’ll just continue to work things through” while he is primarily focusing on his Spring Training prep.  As to his future in Chicago, Hoerner said “I love coming to work here every day.  There are so many boxes that are checked being a part of this organization.  They’ve done nothing but right by me.”  Hoerner has two remaining arbitration-eligible years remaining, and he is eligible for free agency in the 2025-26 offseason.

Pitching Notes: Bello, Bautista, Severino, McCullers

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With pitchers and catchers having now reported to their respective spring training sites, there’s a fair bit of news around the health of a number of pitchers around the sport.

Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello will take the weekend off throwing, and hopes to be able to throw again Monday, per Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal. Bello apparently felt tightness in his forearm this week. Any time tightness and forearm are mentioned in the same sentence regarding a young pitcher there’s a fair bit of concern, but Bello says he believes it’s due to throwing a higher number of breaking balls of late.

In any case, he’ll be shutdown temporarily and the Red Sox and Bello will be hoping he’s good to go next week. Bello figures to compete for a spot in the Red Sox’ starting rotation this year. The 23-year-old made 11 solid starts (and two relief appearances) last season, working to a 4.71 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate.

Here’s a few other injury tidbits from around the sport:

  • Orioles closer Felix Bautista told reporters, including Jake Rill of MLB.com, that he expects to be ready for opening day. Bautista has spent the winter rehabbing left knee and right shoulder injuries, and has thrown four bullpen sessions since January. He’s believes he’ll be ready to get into spring matches around March 15, and will need four or five spring innings to get up to speed. Bautista was dominant for the Orioles during his rookie year last season, pitching to a 2.19 ERA across 65 2/3 innings, striking out batters at a quality 34.8% clip.
  • Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. has been shut down temporarily following him experiencing some soreness in his throwing arm (via Mark Berman of Fox 26). There’s always a bit of concern there particularly given McCullers’ injury history, but manager Dusty Baker gave reporters a promising outlook “he’s just getting treatment. He’s feeling pretty good. He’s feeling better.” McCullers is into his eighth season with the Astros. A forearm strain suffered in 2021 limited him to just eight starts in 2022, but he still worked to an impressive 2.27 ERA in those handful of appearances.
  • Yankees starter Luis Severino is entering his walk year, so naturally hoping for a strong, and healthy, campaign. After missing the bulk of three-straight seasons, Severino returned to make 19 starts last year, working to a 3.18 ERA. A lat strain sidelined him for two months of the season, but the Yankees were unsurprisingly happy to exercise the $15MM club option they held over the 28-year-old ahead of the 2023 season. While the significant injury history won’t help, a full season of ~30 starts of his typically excellent output could set Severino up for a big payday next winter. “Health is always the question with him. I feel like he’s done everything he needs to this offseason. He’s been around Tampa. He’s been at the complex. He’s getting his work in. Physically, he looks like he’s in a good spot. I think everything we’ve wanted out of him this offseason, he’s answered the bell. He’s ready to go this year. We feel good about the way he’s reported,” pitching coach Matt Blake told Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. The Yankees are depending even more so on a healthy season from Severino after the news that Frankie Montas will miss the majority of the year as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Twins Notes: Kirilloff, Winder, Sands, Payroll

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With Spring Training getting starting this week, that means updates are rolling in on various players and their health, or lack thereof, as well as details on teams and their plans for the season ahead. Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey provided a couple of updates to reporters, including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter links).

“No setbacks, no concern,” Falvey said of first baseman/outfielder Alex Kirilloff. “AK has been in a great spot. Our strength guys said [the wrist is] probably in as good of a spot as they’ve seen him coming into camp, where he’s at. The early returns on swinging are very positive.”

The health of Kirilloff’s right wrist has been an ongoing concern for the past couple of years, seemingly preventing him from reaching his potential. Ranked as one of the top prospects in the game as he was coming up through the minors, he has thus far hit .251/.295/.398 for a wRC+ of 91 in the majors. That’s come in 387 plate appearances over the past two seasons, each of which ended in wrist surgery for Kirilloff.

The club has plenty of outfielders but it seems Kirilloff has a path to regular playing time at first base. The Twins declined an option on Miguel Sanó and traded Luis Arraez to the Marlins, in addition to trading Gio Urshela to the Angels in order to have José Miranda take over at third base. Those moves have left Kirilloff atop the depth chart at the cold corner and the club will be hoping that better health can help him produce at a level more like his minor league work. Since reaching Double-A in 2019, he’s hit .305/.378/.484 at the top two levels of the minor leagues for a wRC+ of 143.

Turning to the pitching staff, the club had some success turning a starter into a reliever last year with Griffin Jax. He had mostly started coming into last year but worked exclusively in relief in 2022. He ended up posting a 3.36 ERA over 65 appearances with a 26.9% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate. However, no such plans are currently in place for other members of the staff right now, with Falvey stating that pitchers like Josh Winder and Cole Sands will be built up as starters this spring.

The Twins seem to have a strong rotation on paper, with Pablo López, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle likely taking the top five spots, with Chris Paddack potentially returning from Tommy John surgery and joining them at some point as well. That will leave pitchers like Sands, Winder, Bailey Ober and others likely squeezed down to Triple-A. Though that’s plenty of arms in theory, most of them have injury concerns. Maeda missed all of 2022 while recovery from an internal brace procedure and each of Gray, Ryan and Mahle dealt with various injuries that kept them below 150 innings on the year. López got to 180 frames last year but he’s been hampered by his health in the past, never previously reaching 115 innings in a major league season.

With all of those question marks, it makes sense that the club would want to maintain some starting depth as they plan out the season ahead, especially after those injuries seemed to play a role in the club fading in the second half last year. Winder posted a 4.70 ERA in his first 67 MLB innings last year but with a subpar 16.4% strikeout rate. Sands, meanwhile, had a 5.87 ERA in his debut last year but in a smaller sample of 30 2/3 innings. Since they both have options, they can head to Triple-A and wait for their next opportunity to arise.

Turning to the bigger picture, Dan Hayes of The Athletic recently spoke to Joe Pohlad, who is taking on a more meaningful role with the club these days. It was reported in November that club chairman Jim Pohlad would be ceding responsibilities to his nephew Joe going forward. Some have wondered if that switch would lead to changes in the ways the team is run, with the younger Pohlad perhaps giving a small bit of insight into that. “I think that there are a number of factors that you need to consider,” Pohlad said in response to a question about the club’s payroll getting into the $180-200MM range. “I don’t think something like that is ever out of the question. I really don’t.”

The Twins have yet to get near that level of spending, with their franchise high payroll being last year’s $134MM figure, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. It seems likely that they will set a new record this year, with Roster Resource currently pegging their spending at $154MM. That’s a nice jump but it would still require another one to get into that proposed range. Despite generally being in the middle of the pack in terms of spending, the club has made some surprising splashes of late, including giving a huge extension to Byron Buxton and twice being the surprising victors of the Carlos Correa free agent frenzy. Though it doesn’t seem like there are any imminent plans to hit the gas pedal and really ramp up spending, it appears that there’s at least some hope for more aggression going forward.

Reds Notes: Antone, Santillan, Senzel

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Reds reliever Tejay Antone announced last week he’d miss the start of the season after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection to address a flexor strain in his forearm. He didn’t provide many more specifics but implied he could be sidelined by the All-Star Break. While that’s potentially still on the table, manager David Bell only indicated today that Antone would be out at least through the end of April (via Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer).

Antone’s coming off a lost 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery towards the tail end of the ’21 campaign. That was the second such procedure of his career, with injuries conspiring to rob the Reds of arguably their best reliever. Before his surgery, the former fifth-round draftee had pitched 33 2/3 innings of 2.14 ERA ball with a 32.8% strikeout rate.

Getting him back as quickly as possible will be crucial for a Cincinnati club that didn’t make any MLB additions to its bullpen this offseason. The Reds’ relief corps was a bottom ten unit by both ERA and strikeout/walk rate differential last season. The expected returns of Antone and Lucas Sims from surgery rehabs would’ve reinstalled a pair of high-leverage options. Sims is on track for full spring participation, Bell informed reporters today, but Antone’s loss subtracts one of the highest-upside hurlers from the mix.

Cincinnati might also be without Tony Santillan to start the season, Bell indicated. The 6’3″ righty didn’t pitch in last year’s second half on account of a lower back injury. That apparently carried into his offseason, and Santillan is behind schedule in his throwing program. A former second-round pick and once one of the more intriguing pitching prospects in the Reds’ system, he’s settled in as a reliever at the MLB level. Santillan came out of the bullpen 21 times last year, allowing 14 runs in 19 2/3 innings.

In more fortunate health news, center fielder Nick Senzel appears to be mostly ready to go for camp. The 27-year-old told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic he feels good and has recovered from offseason toe surgery (Twitter link). While he indicated he might be built up a little more slowly than most players, it seems he’s on track for Opening Day. Senzel still looks the favorite for regular center field reps, though the Reds added a potential alternative with the acquisition of Will Benson from the Guardians last week. A former second overall pick, Senzel will be looking for a breakout year after hitting .240/.303/.360 through his first 273 MLB games.

Marlins Notes: Gurriel, First Base, Rotation, Sanchez

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The Marlins were one of the teams known to have interest in free agent first baseman Yuli Gurriel earlier this offseason. Some reports painted Miami as the favorite to land the longtime Astros infielder, though the Fish subsequently backed off their pursuit. According to Craig Mish and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Miami had made Gurriel a one-year offer worth a bit more than $2MM this winter. After a week without getting a definitive response from the former batting champion’s camp, the Fish took that proposal off the table.

Gurriel was reportedly seeking a deal in the $3MM range at one point. Whether that’s still the case isn’t known, but he continues to linger alongside Luke Voit, Miguel Sanó and Mike Moustakas as the most accomplished remaining free agent first base options. Gurriel reportedly drew some interest, the extent of which is unclear, from the Twins. Houston brass has also praised his presence in the clubhouse over the last seven years, though Astros general manager Dana Brown indicated last week there might not be room on the roster after Houston brought in José Abreu to play first base.

Meanwhile, Jackson writes that Miami could look to bring in a different first baseman on a minor league contract with a Spring Training invitation. Garrett Cooper is in line for the starting job. He’s a quality hitter but has only twice reached 400 plate appearances in a season thanks to a lengthy injury history. Cooper has had injured list stints in all five years since the Marlins acquired him from the Yankees over the 2017-18 offseason. Miami has Luis Arraez as an alternative first base option but plans to give him more consistent run at second base.

The Fish made a more significant acquisition on the other side of the ball over the weekend, bringing in reliever A.J. Puk in a trade that sent outfielder JJ Bleday to Oakland. Puk jumps into the late-inning mix, while Miami’s ample rotation depth could lead to a camp battle for starts. Sandy Alcantara headlines the staff, with Jesús Luzardo, Trevor Rogers, Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera and offseason signee Johnny Cueto all options for the rotation. While it’s possible one member of that group starts the year in the bullpen, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. indicated today the team could carry them all in the rotation (link via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald).

While the pitching coach didn’t commit to any roles at this stage of the winter, he noted that general manager Kim Ng and manager Skip Schumaker have discussed the potential for a six-man starting staff. Doing so early in the season could help manage workloads to ease into the year. Of course, it’s unlikely all six hurlers will stay healthy and perform well from Opening Day through year’s end, so injuries either in Spring Training or during the season are likely to sort things out.

On the other side of the equation, the Marlins could eventually welcome another talented young starter back from a laundry list of recent injuries. Sixto Sánchez hasn’t thrown a big league pitch in two years thanks to shoulder issues that required multiple surgeries. The most recent of those procedures came last fall. Sánchez told reporters last week he feels about 85% and has thrown a handful of bullpen sessions.

Stottlemyre declined to specify a timetable for Sánchez’s return to a big league mound but indicated the team continues to view him as a starting pitcher. The veteran coach expressed a desire to get the 24-year-old to rebuild a workload against live hitters. Once one of the sport’s top pitching prospects and the centerpiece of the J.T. Realmuto trade, Sánchez has seven MLB starts to date. He worked to a 3.46 ERA with an excellent 58% grounder rate over 39 innings during the shortened 2020 schedule.

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