Phillies Notes: Jean Segura, Payroll, Bryce Harper
The Phillies came up short in their quest to win their third World Series title, ending a roller-coaster of a season with hot streaks, cold streaks, a managerial replacement, and an injury to their star player. Despite all this tumult, Philadelphia danced their way to their first playoff appearance since 2011 and their first World Series berth since 2009, defeating the Cardinals, Braves, and Padres en route to the Fall Classic.
As the franchise pivots to off-season mode, they will have a few questions to answer starting with Jean Segura. Previously discussed in MLBTR’s 2022-23 Free Agent Series, Segura headlines a relatively weak second-base free agent class, and the Phillies currently hold a $17MM club option with a $1MM buyout on the veteran’s 2023 service. On the heels of a solid 2022 season which saw him post a .277/.336/386 slash line, the Phillies may opt to save money and use a combination of Edmundo Sosa and Bryson Stott to man second base, having rumored interest in long-time Red Sox Xander Bogaerts.
For his part, Segura has expressed a desire to remain in Philadelphia, having told the media, “to be honest, there’s nothing more special than playing in front of Phillies fans…It’s just a pleasure to be able to play in front of those amazing fans,” reports Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation. Segura went on to add that he “would love to finish my career in Philadelphia.”
The Phillies currently have an estimated 2023 Payroll of $161MM, per Roster Resource. After having spent $242MM this past season, the club is expected to continue to add to their core of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber along with younger players such as Rhys Hoskins, Alec Bohm, and Stott.
For his part, Harper is sure that President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski and owner John Middleton are going to add to the team, telling reporters that “we’re gonna be the same team but with some more pieces to make us that much better,” per NBC Sports Philadelphia. Manager Rob Thomson shares a similar sentiment, telling reporters after the game that the Phillies roster is “sustainable,” going on to explain that Philadelphia has “a good group of veteran guys, and our system is starting to get loaded up with very good arms at the end of the minor league system,” per Maria McIlwain of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Harper, despite being diagnosed with a tear in his right UCL in early May, slashed a strong .286/.364/.514 with 18 homers, earning his first trip to the All-Star game in a Phillies uniform. He missed additional time during the season, initially landing on the 10-day IL in late June with a fractured left thumb before being shifted to the 60-day IL in mid-August. Nevertheless, due to the introduction of the universal DH, the Phillies were able to use Harper in a DH-only fashion, salvaging a season from their star player. This rule change helped the Phillies reach the postseason, in which Harper slashed an outlandish .349/.414/.746 with 6 homers in 63 at-bats.
Now that the 2022 season is officially over, Harper’s rehabilitation plan will likely come to light in the upcoming days. Position players that have recently suffered damage to their UCL include Dodgers’ infielder Max Muncy at the end of the 2021 season and Rangers’ shortstop Corey Seager at the start of the 2018 season. Muncy opted not to undergo surgery and said that the recovery was not as quick as he had hoped and that six months after the injury, he wasn’t fully recovered. In contrast, Seager underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the season before returning for the 2020 season. Harper and the Phillies have not indicated which route he will take, but, depending on the severity of the injury, the start of his 2023 season may be delayed.
NL West Notes: Nimmo, Rockies, Padres, Lawlar
Brandon Nimmo is “on the Rockies’ preliminary wish list” heading into the offseason, according to Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. Given how the Rockies somewhat unexpectedly splurged on Kris Bryant last winter, they shouldn’t be ruled out of making another splashy move, though it will indeed take a big commitment to win a bidding war for Nimmo’s services. As observed by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco in his recent Rockies-focused Offseason Outlook entry, Colorado is already close to its club-record payroll high, so the Rox may have to go well beyond their usual financial comfort zone to add Nimmo or any other notable free agent (unless they created some payroll space with trades and non-tenders). The Rockies might at least have a geographical advantage if Nimmo wants to play closer to home, as Denver is less than two hours away from Nimmo’s hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Signing Nimmo would immediately solidify the center field position for the Rockies, bring some left-handed balance to a mostly right-handed lineup, and give the club some more offensive pop. While Nimmo has had trouble staying off the injured list during his career, he has always been productive when healthy, and answered some questions about his durability by playing in 151 games with the Mets in 2022. Nimmo hit .274/.367/.433 over 673 plate appearances, with 16 homers and a league-best seven triples — his 134 wRC+ was higher than any Rockies player with at least 100 PA last season.
More from around the NL West…
- The Padres surpassed the luxury tax threshold in each of the last two seasons, though it doesn’t seem like the team is planning to curb its spending any time soon. “We’re good, and we have to protect that and enhance it,” club chairman Peter Seidler told reporters (including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Naturally, neither Seidler or president of baseball operations A.J. Preller gave any concrete numbers about offseason spending plans, and Preller noted that the Padres have had the financial flexibility “for the things are going to come up through the season. Sometimes that calls for players and free agency trades, players of different caliber and different dollar amounts.” As Acee notes, San Diego already has around $187MM projected for next season’s payroll, and plenty of holes to fill on a roster that might lose some key players to free agency.
- Diamondbacks star prospect Jordan Lawlar will need 6-8 weeks of recovery time after suffering a fractured left scapula last week during Arizona Fall League play. A wayward pitch from Orioles prospect Nick Richmond “just hit [Lawlar] in the wrong spot,” D’Backs farm director Josh Barfield told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. However, Barfield said the injury won’t require surgery or be too much of a setback for Lawlar’s offseason prep, even though it will end Lawlar’s excellent AFL showing. The sixth overall pick of the 2021 draft, Lawlar just turned 20 years old back in July but has already made his Double-A debut. Assuming good health and continued progress, it might not be out of the question that Lawlar makes his Major League debut late in the 2023 season, though the Diamondbacks don’t want to rush things with a player who has only 102 total minor league games on his resume.
Cubs Injury Notes: Canario, Davis, Amaya
Cubs outfield prospect Alexander Canario suffered a badly fractured ankle and a dislocated shoulder during a Dominican Winter League game on Thursday, according to multiple sources (including reporter Arturo Bisono). While trying to beat out a grounder, Canario awkwardly stepped on the bag and then fell to the ground in obvious pain.
It would seem like Canario will face a substantial amount of recovery time, though no timeline has yet been announced by the Cubs. This is the second notable shoulder injury of Canario’s short career, as he also had surgery to fix a torn labrum in November 2020. Between the canceled 2020 minor league season and then the recovery from his surgery, it isn’t surprising that Canario had modest numbers in 2021, playing with both the Giants’ A-ball affiliate and the Cubs’ high-A team.
Acquired from San Francisco as part of the Kris Bryant trade in 2021, the 22-year-old Canario hit .252/.343/.556 with 37 homers and 23 steals (from 26 chances) over 534 combined plate appearances at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels last season. This excellent performance sent Canario within the top 10 of Chicago prospects, as per both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. It also put Canario on the radar of several rival teams scouting the Cubs as possible trade partners, according to The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma, but Canario’s status as a trade chip or as a possible difference-maker in Wrigleyville is now on hold until his recovers.
Brennen Davis has also been sidelined by injury, as lower back tightness limited him to just five games in the Arizona Fall League before the Cubs shut him down. Sharma writes that the club hadn’t determined the nature of this new injury, but it doesn’t seem similar to the problem (a vascular formation on his sciatic nerve) that required Davis to undergo back surgery in June.
A consensus pick as Chicago’s second-best prospect and a top-50 prospect in all of baseball, Davis has hit .255/.363/.444 over 906 professional PA since being selected in the second round of the 2018 draft. Multiple injuries have slowed Davis’ progress, as beyond his back surgery, Davis has also had to recover from a concussion and broken nose (after being hit by a pitch during Spring Training), as well as finger injuries in 2019.
Despite all these setbacks, Davis was still moving up the minor league ladder and playing well, before his back problems led to a down year in 2022 and a probable promotion to the majors. Sharma notes that the Cubs are still expected to place Davis on the 40-man roster this winter, since even with the back concerns, he would surely be taken in the Rule 5 Draft.
Miguel Amaya was placed on the 40-man back in November 2019, yet the catching prospect has barely played in the following three years. Beyond the canceled 2020 minors season, Amaya was limited to 23 games in 2021 and then 40 games in 2022 due largely to a forearm strain that resulted in Tommy John surgery. Once Amaya made it back this season, he was limited to DH duty, and then his path back to catching was halted when he suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot in mid-September.
“My offseason focus is to be the best version of me for 2023, and whatever happens, happens,” Amaya told Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I just want to be healthy to show everyone who Miguel Amaya is and just have fun and play the baseball I know.”
Amaya has been limited to shoulder and elbow exercises while his foot heals, and while he hasn’t much recent contact with Willson Contreras, Amaya also cited the veteran catcher as an important mentor during his development. In theory, Amaya might’ve already established himself as Contreras’ replacement if healthy, as Contreras is headed into free agency this winter. A top-100 prospect prior to his Tommy John surgery, Amaya might be a factor for the big league roster later in 2023, though he has only 51 games at the Double-A level and nothing in Triple-A.
NL East Notes: Dombrowski, Phillies, Duquette, Diaz, Mets, Ibanez
Dave Dombrowski’s contract as the Phillies‘ president of baseball operations runs through the 2024 season, and it contains a special clause that would allow him to leave if offered a job with an expansion team in Nashville. However, in the wake of the Phils’ run to the NL pennant, there is obvious interest in keeping him in Philadelphia for many years to come, and an extension looks to be in the works. “There’s not a chance that we’ll let him get away,” managing partner John Middleton told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
Before Dombrowski finally agreed to speak with the Phillies in the 2020-21 offseason, Nightengale reports that the team had narrowed it search for a new front office boss down to Twins GM Thad Levine and former Orioles/Red Sox GM Dan Duquette. Levine was known to be a top candidate at the time of the search, but Duquette wasn’t previously known to be on the Phillies’ radar at all. Since parting ways with the Orioles after the 2018 season, Duquette was linked to the Pirates’ GM search before Pittsburgh hired Ben Cherington.
More from around the NL East…
- Edwin Diaz is one of several prominent Mets players slated for free agency, but the Mets “believe they have the best chance to keep” Diaz of anyone in that top-tier group, The New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes. Re-signing Diaz might well cost the Mets the largest contract ever given to a relief pitcher, but Diaz’s case for such a deal is pretty sound, considering his excellent performance. Since an increasing number of teams are reluctant to pay top dollar for relievers, this could give the Mets something of an advantage in keeping the All-Star in the fold.
- Also from Heyman, he reports that Raul Ibanez spoke with the Marlins about their managerial vacancy, though Ibanez took himself out of the hunt “due to family considerations.” Ibanez has spent the last two seasons working with MLB as a senior VP of on-field operations, and previously worked as a special assistant in the Dodgers organization after retiring from his playing career. Though he doesn’t have any managing or coaching experience, the widely-respected Ibanez has surfaced as a managerial candidate in the past, though he has consistently declined interviews. Talking with the Marlins perhaps represents some softening on Ibanez’s stance, though since he lives in Miami, it is possible he saw this specific job as a unique opportunity. The Marlins announced Skip Schumaker as their new skipper on Tuesday.
Cardinals Recently Met With Nolan Arenado; Team Also Planning To Pursue Catching Help
It’s been a Cardinals-heavy day in the news, with the team agreeing to re-sign Adam Wainwright for what will be his 18th Major League season. St. Louis also announced that a trio of coaches will not return for the 2023 season — one day after losing bench coach Skip Schumaker, who’ll become the new Marlins manager. Beyond that pair of headlines, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak held court with the Cardinals beat, revealing in an extensive press conference that he recently met in person with Nolan Arenado about the third baseman’s looming opt-out (link via Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat). Beyond that, Mozeliak pledged that the Cardinals’ payroll will increase and unsurprisingly acknowledged he’ll be on the lookout for a successor to Yadier Molina this offseason.
Chief among those details is the team’s recent meeting with Arenado, who can opt out of the remaining five years and $144MM on his contract this winter. Mozeliak indicated there’s a sense of optimism regarding a resolution on that front, though there’s nothing official between the two parties just yet.
A year ago, that opt-out provision was far from a lock to come into play. Arenado chose to forego an opt-out clause last winter, when he could’ve returned to the market and sought a larger guarantee than the six years and $179MM he had remaining on the contract. Arenado was coming off a strong season but far from his best year, having batted .255/.312/.494 in his first season following a trade from the Rockies.
One year can make quite a difference, however. A sensational 2022 campaign has Arenado among the front-runners for National League MVP honors (alongside teammate Paul Goldschmidt), and with $144MM remaining on the deal, an opt-out now looks far likelier. The nine-time Gold Glove winner and five-time Platinum Glover turned in a sensational .293/.358/.533 batting line with 30 home runs, 42 doubles, a triple, a career-low 11.6% strikeout rate and his typical brand of elite defense at the hot corner. Despite the fact that he’ll turn 32 next April, Arenado suddenly has an easy case to eclipse the remaining money on his contract.
Granted, it’s rare for players of this age to secure contracts of more than five years in length, although exceptions are often made for the game’s top stars. One need only look to this past March, when Freddie Freeman inked a six-year deal with the Dodgers — one that, as will be the case with Arenado, begins in his age-32 season. Even if the market were to draw a hard line at five years for Arenado, there’d surely be a greater annual value than his current $28.8MM waiting for him in free agency. Annual salaries in excess of $30MM have become increasingly common, and Arenado himself at one point held the record for position player AAV ($32.5MM). That AAV took a hit when the Cardinals tacked on an additional year and $15MM at the time of the trade — but also granted Arenado a second opt-out opportunity.
Since Arenado signed his extension, Anthony Rendon ($35MM), Mike Trout ($36MM), Carlos Correa ($35.1MM), Corey Seager ($32.5MM) Francisco Lindor ($34.1MM) have all inked deals with annual salaries equal to or in excess of Arenado’s original AAV (to say nothing of Gerrit Cole’s $36MM annual value with the Yankees and Max Scherzer’s $43.33MM with the Mets). On the heels of such a brilliant season, Arenado could well find an AAV in the mid-30s over a five- or six-year term.
Understandably, the Cardinals appear to have little interest in allowing things to reach that point. Arenado’s opt-out decision is due five days after the World Series draws to a close, but the Cardinals can spend the interim trying to persuade him to stay. Tacking on an additional year or perhaps restructuring the deal to pay him at an annual rate more commensurate with the sport’s top hitters could well be in play over the next couple weeks.
All of that dovetails with Mozeliak’s comments about a forthcoming payroll hike. The Cardinals already have $105MM in guaranteed salary between Arenado, Goldschmidt, Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Giovanny Gallegos, Paul DeJong and Drew VerHagen (though the Rockies are reportedly covering $21MM of Arenado’s 2023 salary under the terms of the trade). Whatever salary Wainwright agreed to will add to that figure, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects just shy of $40MM in salary for the team’s 11 arbitration-eligible players. There are some non-tender candidates within — Mozeliak mentioned Alex Reyes’ name when discussing looming 40-man roster decisions, per Jones — but the majority of that arbitration class is a lock to return.
That gives the Cardinals more than $150MM on the books before even factoring in a slate of pre-arbitration players to round out the payroll. Jones notes that last year’s payroll, following trade deadline acquisitions, clocked in around $170MM. Extending or restructuring Arenado’s contract won’t necessarily impact the 2023 payroll on its own — he’s owed $35MM and the Rockies are paying that $21MM to the Cardinals even if Arenado were to opt out — but there are clearly other needs to consider.
Catching help, as Mozeliak acknowledged, figures to be among the most critical needs. Molina, a franchise icon, has played the final game of his Major League career, but the win-now Cardinals unsurprisingly aren’t content to merely hand the reins over to Andrew Knizner or prospect Ivan Herrera. Jones notes that the team will likely be looking for a starting-caliber option and not a part-time player.
The free-agent market has a handful of starting options, headlined by longtime division rival Willson Contreras but also including Christian Vazquez and Omar Narvaez. On the trade market, Oakland’s Sean Murphy will be available as the A’s continue their rebuild, and the Blue Jays have a surplus at backstop with Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and Gabriel Moreno all on the 40-man roster and capable of shouldering a starter’s workload at the MLB level. Other options, of course, will emerge.
With Wainwright back, the rotation doesn’t figure to be a dire need, though depth could be pursued. The Cards will have Wainwright, Mikolas, Matz, Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery as the likely top five, with Dakota Hudson, Matthew Liberatore, Zack Thompson and Jake Woodford serving as depth. Mozeliak and his staff will still likely be on the hunt for upgrades at some combination of shortstop, outfield and designated hitter, however, as the Cardinals look to inject more force into the lineup. Bullpen help is a near-annual need for every contending club.
For the time being, now that Wainwright’s status has been resolved, all roads will point to Arenado. Whether he and the Cardinals are able to reach a middle ground will not only shape the long-term outlook of the organization as we know it but also the very fabric of the 2022-23 offseason. If Arenado were to reach free agency, he’d join the likes of Aaron Judge, Trea Turner and Correa atop another star-studded open market.
Quick Hits: Reds, Wheeler, Morel, Rays Ballpark
The Reds had a longstanding interest in Zack Wheeler as both a trade target and then when the righty entered free agency in the 2019-20 offseason. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer recently revisited that free agent pursuit, which ended when the Phillies signed Wheeler to a five-year, $118MM contract. According to Nightengale, the Reds were also willing to spend beyond $100MM to sign Wheeler, but they may have been undone by geography more than just dollars. Wheeler prioritized staying on the East Coast and closer to his wife’s home state of New Jersey, giving the Phils the edge over both the Reds and the White Sox (who reportedly offered more than $118MM).
Needless to say, signing Wheeler would’ve changed the entire trajectory of recent Reds history, not to mention the Phillies’ last three seasons and their current berth in the 2022 World Series. As Nightengale notes, the Reds went on to sign Nick Castellanos (for $64MM over four years) and Shogo Akiyama ($21MM over three years) after Wheeler left the market, and it isn’t known if either of those deals could’ve or would’ve still happened if Cincinnati had made its big investment in Wheeler’s contract.
More from around the baseball world…
- Christopher Morel had a solid rookie season, hitting .235/.308/.433 with 16 home runs over 425 plate appearances for the Cubs. Beyond his contributions at the plate, Morel also started games as a second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, center fielder, and left fielder. ‘There’s not many guys in the big leagues that can do what he does, the consistency he’s shown at times in each position,’’ Cubs assistant coach Jonathan Mota told Maddie Lee of the Chicago-Sun Times. A super-utility role would make Morel a valuable commodity on the roster, and both Morel and the Cubs seem committed to continuing his prep work at multiple positions going forward.
- Tampa-area businessman Darryl Shaw recently bought 25 acres of waterfront land in the Ybor City neighborhood, and as John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times explains, Shaw tried in the past to work with the Rays in other ventures in the Ybor area. Shaw’s new land purchase might therefore revive the idea of a new Rays ballpark in downtown Tampa, though Romano notes that this could be a long shot for a variety of reasons, including a lack of committed civic funding and the Rays’ increased interest in a new park (and accompanying “baseball village” infrastructure) built on the grounds of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Any number of proposals involving Tampa, St. Pete, and even Montreal have been floated over the years as the Rays look for a new home, and it remains to be seen if any answer can be found before the club’s lease at the Trop expires after the 2027 season. Rays team president Matt Silverman said that “city and county officials on both sides of the bay seem to appreciate the value of baseball and are focused on finding a solution. The discussions are going on simultaneously in a parallel, non-competitive, non-adversarial way. Everyone understands time is of the essence.”
Marlins Interview Astros’ Oz Ocampo For Assistant GM Position
The Miami Marlins have interviewed Astros executive Oz Ocampo for an Assistant General Manager position, reports MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link).
With Derek Jeter’s surprise departure as the Marlins’ CEO back in February, and manager Don Mattingly’s announcement that he would not be returning to the Marlins for the 2023 season, General Manager Kim Ng has been tasked with both rebuilding the Marlins’ organization and roster. Miami currently has two other Assistant GMs — Daniel Greenlee, who joined the organization in 2017, and Brian Chattin, who has been with the organization for over a decade.
Ocampo began his baseball career as a scout for the Cardinals in the Dominican Republic. He then worked directly for the league in an International Baseball Operations role before joining the Astros and helping to develop their international scouting and player development pipeline, signing four key pitchers currently on the Astros’ roster: Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia, and Jose Urquidy. He then left the Astros and joined the Pirates in a special assistant role before returning to Houston this past offseason.
A Breakout Reliever In The Desert: Joe Mantiply
Amidst a rebuild, the Arizona Diamondbacks are finally seeing the fruits of their labor. Led by promising starters Zac Gallen, 2.54 ERA in 184 innings, and Merrill Kelly, 3.37 ERA in 200 1/3 innings, and backed offensively by a quartet of promising young outfield talent, Alek Thomas, Daulton Varsho, Jake McCarthy, and Corbin Carroll, the D-Backs are quickly re-entering a competitive window.
However, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen is still falling flat. After signing Mark Melancon to a 2-year, $12MM contract ($5MM mutual option for the 2024 season, $2MM buyout) and Ian Kennedy to a 1-year, $4.5MM contract ($4MM club option for the 2023 season, $250K buyout), the D-Backs’ pen posted the sixth-highest ERA (4.58), the eighth-most blown saves (27), the lowest strikeout rate (19.7%), and allowed the third-highest batting average (.254). Veterans Melancon and Kennedy did not fare much better. Melancon pitched to a 4.66 ERA in 56 innings with a paltry 14.2% strikeout rate and a career-worst 43.2% ground ball rate, while Kennedy pitched to a 5.36 ERA in 50 1/3 innings with a weak 19.0% strikeout rate and an extremely low 24.4% groundball rate.
However, the breakout of lefty journeyman Joe Mantiply was a bright spot among an otherwise weak bullpen performance. Mantiply, a former 27th-round pick from Virginia Tech by the Tigers in 2013, reached the majors for a quick stint in 2016, before shuffling around various minor league teams and undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018. He signed a minor league deal with Arizona in 2020, making another short appearance in 2020 before eventually joining the team in a more long-term fashion during the 2021 season, in which he pitched 39 2/3 innings to a 3.40 ERA with opponents hitting a strong .292/.358/.448 against him.
In the 2022 season Mantiply, who is controllable through the 2026 season, improved his 2021 numbers. Pitching to a low 2.85 ERA in 60 innings with a solid 25.1% strikeout rate, a sparkling 2.5% walk rate, and missing hitters’ barrels (99th percentile for Chase Rate, 94th percentile for Barrel %), the 31-year-old earned a trip to the All-Star game in his second full season. Left-handed hitters have found limited success against Mantiply, slashing a poor .247/.297/.282 against him, while righties are hitting a slightly better .260/.272/.404. The unsightly .252 combined average may be cause for concern, however, Mantiply is tied for the 27th lowest Hard Hit%, among relievers to pitch 50+ innings, and is in the 89th percentile for Average Exit Velocity.
The Diamondbacks will likely look to address their bullpen again this offseason, but with a high-leverage lefty reliever in Mantiply, they will have one less bullpen spot to fill.
AL Central Notes: Maddon, White Sox, Hedges, Guardians, Twins
As the White Sox continue to hunt for a new manager, one prominent name yet to be involved in the mix is Joe Maddon. The former Rays/Cubs/Angels skipper told the Cubs Talk podcast (on NBC Sports Chicago, hat tip to Tim Stebbins) that “I’ve not heard from [the White Sox] at all,” though Maddon would “of course…be interested” in chatting with the team. Maddon has yet to be publicly linked to any of the open managerial vacancies this winter, though he has remained in the news due to a publicity tour for his upcoming book.
For a White Sox team that is reportedly hoping to replace Tony La Russa with another experienced manager, Maddon would seem like an intriguing candidate on paper, given both his long and successful track record and his past Chicago ties. However, of the four candidates linked thus far to the Sox job, two (Ron Washington and Ozzie Guillen) have past experience managing in the majors, while the other two (Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol and Astros bench coach Joe Espada) would be first-time skippers at the MLB level.
More from around the AL Central…
- There is mutual interest between the Guardians and Austin Hedges in a reunion, Guards president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes and other reporters. Hedges is slated for free agency this winter, and was again one of the game’s stronger defensive catchers. For a Guardians team that has prioritized glovework and game-calling behind the plate, this has been enough to ensure regular playing time for Hedges, despite his lack of production as a hitter. Hedges has hit only .189/.247/.331 over 2001 career plate appearances with San Diego and Cleveland — his 54 wRC+ is the lowest of any player in baseball (minimum 2000 PA) since the start of the 2015 season. The Guardians have prospect Bo Naylor knocking on the door and another veteran catcher in Luke Maile until arbitration control, though Maile is a non-tender candidate. Hedges’ price tag shouldn’t be too prohibitive, which could allow Cleveland to create some competition in Spring Training and perhaps make Maile the odd man out even if he was tendered a contract.
- The Twins are looking for a new head trainer this offseason, once again looking to fill a position that has been a revolving door for the organization. As La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune points out, the Twins have already had three head trainers since 2016, and there has been plenty of other personnel turnover in the strength and conditioning departments. While it’s common for teams to regularly undergo some staffing changes, the lack of consistency stands out in regards to the Twins, given that they were buried by injuries throughout the season.
Injury Notes: Robertson, Benintendi, Means
Phillies right-hander David Robertson threw a bullpen session yesterday and went through fielding drills, tweets Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. That’s the first baseball activity for the veteran closer since sustaining a calf strain while celebrating Bryce Harper‘s home run during the team’s Wild Card win over the Cardinals. Robertson was left off the roster for the Phillies’ NLDS showdown with the Braves, but throwing off a mound and running through some fielding drills Monday at least opens the door for him to be reinstated for Philadelphia’s NLCS date with San Diego. The Phils will make a formal announcement on their NLCS roster by 10am PT this morning.
A few more injury items of note…
- Yankees outfielder Andrew Benintendi received an injection in his wrist this week after experiencing continued pain in his ailing right wrist, tweets MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Benintendi underwent surgery in early September after suffering a hamate fracture in his wrist and has not appeared in a game since. There’s been hope that, if the Yankees advance beyond today’s ALDS Game 5 against the Guardians, that he could potentially return for the ALCS, though the latest update on him casts plenty of doubt on that possibility. If the Yankees were to advance, they’d have to announce an ALCS roster by 10am CT tomorrow. Benintendi hit .304/.373/.399 with five home runs in 521 plate appearances prior to his injury — including a .254/.331/.404 output in 131 plate appearances with the Yankees (following a trade from the Royals).
- Orioles lefty John Means underwent Tommy John surgery back in late April, and just shy of six months later he’s resumed throwing. Means shared video his session yesterday, labeling it “day one” of his return to a throwing program. There’s still a long road back from this point, as Means isn’t throwing anywhere near 100% at this juncture and will have plenty of milestones to clear as he rehabs his new elbow ligament and eventually builds up strength to return to a Major League mound. An early summer return in 2023 would be a good outcome, though each pitcher’s recovery from Tommy John surgery varies. Means, who’s pitched to a 3.81 ERA in 356 2/3 innings since making his big league debut with the O’s, signed a two-year, $5.925MM deal covering the 2022 season and 2023 season but is under club control via arbitration through the 2024 campaign.