Quick Hits: Nationals, Yankees, Mets
The Washington Nationals are facing a host of changes after missing the playoffs in their title-defense campaign. They laid off a number of front office employees, including scouts and minor league coaches, while 15 players from their 40-man roster are now free agents, writes Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. The goal for the Nats remains as ever, building for the playoffs with a veteran-laden roster to support their young stars.
- Dougherty notes a particular need for another heavy hitter in the middle of the order to help protect all-world outfielder Juan Soto. When World Series hero (and current free agent) Howie Kendrick went down with injury, the Nats didn’t have another bat capable of protecting Soto. An outfield corner spot seems the most likely place to find such a hitter, though they have a hole at first base as well, depending on the status of Mr. Nat Ryan Zimmerman, who opted out in 2020. The rest of the infield is relatively set with Trea Turner manning shortstop, Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia looking to establish themselves at third and second, and the duo of Starlin Castro and Josh Harrison providing the safety nets for those positions.
- The Yankees’ thinking on slugger Giancarlo Stanton has not changed in the weeks following their postseason elimination. The front office expects Stanton to spend most of his time at designated hitter in order to give him the best chance of staying healthy, per Erik Boland of Newsday. Though they think Stanton capable of playing the outfield, they’re paying him $29MM in 2021 for his bat to be in the lineup. If he could give them innings in the field, it would certainly help from a roster construction perspective, but his value proposition remains dependent on his offensive production.
- The Mets have shut down their minor league camps because of positive COVID-19 tests, per the Athletic’s Tim Britton (via Twitter). There were two positive tests, and further testing hasn’t revealed any further positives as of right now. These are the proper protocols for any positive tests. The Mets camp will wait a couple of days until they can confirm the containment of the virus.
Twins Notes: Cruz, Rosario, Pohlad On Payroll, Free Agency In 2021
Twins owner Jim Pohlad said recently that the revenue losses due to the pandemic in 2020 won’t be the impetus for payroll decision-making in 2021, per Phil Miller of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). Pohlad does admit to the uncertainty facing next season, especially concerning future fan attendance. Pohlad refers to an “uncertainty discount” in discussing the planning for next season, though what that means in practical terms is yet to be determined.
The Twins ran out an estimated luxury tax payroll of $158MM in 2020, though the actual number was more like $132MM, and their ultimate payout to players was closer to $45MM after prorating salaries, per Cot’s Contracts. The Twins have an estimated payroll of around $100MM for 18 players next season, which is very much an estimate, as it includes estimated arbitration totals that have an even wider range of potential outcomes than usual.
The Twins have shown a commitment to winning when they view their window of contention to be open, however, as it very much is right now (despite their playoff struggles). To that end, they are currently negotiating to bring back designated hitter Nelson Cruz, writes La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. Cruz is said to be looking for a two-year deal. He just wrapped a successful two-year, $26MM deal with the Twins in which he managed a 163 wRC+ with 57 home runs over 737 plate appearances in 173 games.
A re-do of the same contract for Cruz would absorb something close to 40% of the payroll available before matching last season’s total. There’s murky math there, at best, considering the lack of clarity around arbitration and Pohlad’s “uncertainty discount.” The point remains that the Twins would figure to be judicious in certain areas this winter. That could mean non-tendering someone like Eddie Rosario, Neal suggests. The thinking there is that if the Twins believe top prospect Alex Kirilloff is ready for an outfield corner – with Max Kepler locked into another outfield spot and Byron Buxton still two seasons from free agency – they could save something close to $10MM by non-tendering Rosario.
In terms of a potential headline-making move in free agency, per Neal, Pohlad said, “We could, but we don’t know what the market for such a player is going to be. In a sense there has been, in my view — and I’m not speaking for the players or the union — there has to be some degree of risk sharing here.” Speculatively speaking, that could mean contracts with heavy incentives, even ones depending on fan attendance, though that would certainly set a complex precedent for the MLBPA. Owners would be more likely to address the issue of financial security through larger negotiations with the MLBPA.
Pohlad’s actions during the pandemic might lend a little more credence to his comments than the average owner, as the Twins have been one of the few franchises not to make any layoffs during this time. As Neal points out in his article, which is well worth a full read, Pohlad’s varied portfolio allowed the Twins to weather the storm better than most. Still, credit the Twins owner for committing to the continued employment of his staff during this difficult time.
AL East Notes: Morton, Zunino, Walker, Red Sox, Yolmer
Charlie Morton “wasn’t surprised” that the Rays declined to exercise their $15MM club option on his services, but the veteran right-hander told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that the team’s decision “doesn’t mean we won’t try to work something out. If there’s mutual interest, the next step is gauging what that looks like.” Rays GM Erik Neander indicated yesterday that the team indeed hoped to bring Morton back for a third season. If an acceptable deal can’t be worked out with the Rays or another club, Morton reiterated to Topkin that he’ll gauge whether he wants to keep playing, weighing such “typical factors” as his health, playing for a contender, and “does it make sense financially and geographically?”
The Rays declined options on both Morton and (at $4.5MM) catcher Mike Zunino yesterday. Jet Sports Management represents both players, and agent B.B. Abbott told Topkin in a separate piece that there aren’t any hard feelings about the contractual decisions. “Their first choice was to be in Tampa, and it probably still is their first choice,” Abbott said, but now that Morton and Zunino are on the open market, “they owe it to themselves to see what’s out there.”
More from the AL East…
- Taijuan Walker figures to get a lot of attention in free agency this winter, but there is mutual interest between Walker and the Blue Jays in a return to Toronto’s rotation, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes. Acquired in a trade from the Mariners in late August, Walker posted excellent numbers (1.37 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 2.27 K/BB rate) in his six starts in a Jays uniform. Beyond the on-field results, Walker was also impressed by both the Jays’ long-term potential as contenders, and how the club treats its players. “They have really good staff, coaches, training staff. For me, it’s all about comfort and people,” Walker said. “Being connected and having that family, and that’s what it felt like.” Once one of baseball’s most highly-touted pitching prospects, injuries cost Walker virtually all of the 2018 and 2019 seasons but he has somewhat revived his stock after his solid 2020 performance.
- While the Red Sox have interviewed several candidates to be their next manager, “the managerial search appears to be centered on determining if Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora can work well together,” the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham writes. Of course, Cora was already Boston’s manager when Bloom was hired as the club’s chief baseball officer last October, though Cora’s firing and subsequent one-year suspension are undoubtedly considerations for Red Sox ownership and the front office in deciding whether or not to bring Cora back. While Cora’s return has been widely speculated, Abraham isn’t sure a rehire “is automatic,” opining that Cora could potentially wait to see if another high-profile job (perhaps with the Mets) becomes available.
- Now that Yolmer Sanchez has been claimed on waivers, the Orioles have some extra depth as they consider other infield moves, as MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski writes. No decision has yet been made about Jose Iglesias‘ $3.5MM club option, and with Sanchez now on hand as a second base candidate, the O’s could potentially non-tender Hanser Alberto, who is projected to earn between $2.3MM and $4.1MM in arbitration (depending on how arb salaries are calculated this winter). Sanchez is himself eligible for arbitration, however, and his projected $6.2MM arb figure last winter was the chief reason why the White Sox non-tendered him last November.
Minor MLB Transactions: 10/29/20
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Rockies have outrighted RHP Joe Harvey, per a team announcement. This is the second offseason in a row that Colorado has outrighted Harvey, whom the club acquired from the Yankees prior to the 2019 trade deadline. The 28-year-old owns a 2.93 ERA with 11.0 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 over 89 innings in Triple-A ball, but he hasn’t seen a significant amount of action in the majors so far. Through 21 1/3 innings as a Yankee and Rockie, Harvey has notched a 4.22 ERA/5.51 FIP with 8.02 K/9, 5.48 BB/9 and a 44.4 percent groundball rate. Harvey threw just three innings in 2020, though he didn’t allow a run or a walk in that stretch.
Minor MLB Transactions: 10/27/20
The latest minor moves from around the game…
- The Yankees announced that they have outrighted catcher Wynston Sawyer to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The team selected Sawyer’s contract in the middle of September, but he didn’t end up seeing any major league time in 2020. In his most recent professional action in 2019, Sawyer – an eighth-round pick of the Orioles in 2010 – batted .260/.333/.409 with two home runs in 171 plate appearances with the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate. The 28-year-old joined the Yankees on a minor league contract in February.
- The Mariners have re-signed outfielder Connor Lien to a minors deal, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. Lien, 26, was a 12th-round pick of the Braves in 2012 who, to this point, has played his entire professional career with the franchise. He divided the most recent minor league season in 2019 between Double-A and Triple-A, where he combined to hit .211/.314/.441 with 11 homers over 246 trips to the plate.
East Notes: Phillies, Andujar, Marlins
Let’s check in on a few East Coast clubs…
- The Phillies will not retain bullpen coach Jim Gott, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Gott held the role for three years, but the Phillies elected not to renew the former big league right-hander’s contract. The move comes on the heels of a disastrous season for the Phillies’ bullpen, which posted a bloated 7.06 ERA en route to a last-place finish in the league. The unit’s struggles played a major part in the Phillies’ failure to earn a playoff berth. Now, with Gott gone and pitching coach Bryan Price having retired, that aspect of Philly’s coaching staff is in for a shakeup.
- After a second straight abbreviated season, Yankees third baseman/outfielder Miguel Andujar will report to the Dominican Winter League, Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes tweets. Andujar looked like a budding star as a rookie in 2018, but he has played just 33 games since then, owing in part to a serious shoulder injury he suffered in his second season. While Andujar did come back this year, he was unable to unseat Gio Urshela as the Yankees’ No. 1 option at third base. Andujar wound up slumping to a .242/.277/.355 line with one home run in 65 plate appearances.
- The Yankees have lost a pair of minor league coaches to the Marlins, as George A. King III of the New York Post reports that Tommy Phelps and Phil Plantier are headed to Miami. Phelps would have been the Yankees’ Triple-A pitching coach had a minor league season taken place, while Plantier was in line to serve as their hitting coach. Phelps will now work as the Marlins’ assistant pitching coordinator, though Plantier’s role is unclear. These hirings continue a deep Yankees connection for the Marlins, who are co-owned by Derek Jeter, managed by Don Mattingly, and employ Gary Denbo as their director of player development and scouting.
NL Notes: Mets, Giants, Joc, Nationals
A few items from the National League…
- With the Mets likely to change hands soon, current owners Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon held a Zoom call Monday “to award employees who had reached milestones for service,” Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes. Jeff Wilpon, who thanked longstanding employees during that call, plans on leaving the organization when Steve Cohen takes over as the new owner, Andy Martino of SNY tweets.
- With Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson due to reach free agency shortly, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders if he would be a good fit for the rival Giants. San Francisco’s president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi, was previously in LA’s front office, so he’s familiar with Pederson. While Pederson should come at a reasonable price after a down regular season, Giants outfielders did hit well this year. With that in mind, it’s up in the air how much Zaidi & Co. will prioritize that area of the roster during the winter.
- Nationals right-handed pitching prospect Jake Irvin underwent Tommy John surgery last week, Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com tweets. He’s likely to miss the entirety of the 2021 season as a result. The 23-year-old Irvin, whom MLB.com rates as the Nationals’ 21st-best prospect, threw 128 1/3 innings of 3.79 ERA/4.13 FIP ball during his Single-A debut in 2019.
Quick Hits: Keller, Straily, Lotte Giants, Neris, Red Sox
Brad Keller posted a 2.47 ERA, 2.06 K/BB rate, 5.76 K/9, and 52.8% grounder rate over 54 2/3 innings this season, as the 25-year-old continues to establish himself as a front-of-the-rotation option for the Royals. Keller was aided this season by an improved slider that essentially looked more like his fastball and moved like a curveball, as the right-hander told Fangraphs’ David Laurila. The first step was remaking a slider delivery that initially left Keller unable to “see the plate because my front arm was covering the catcher….I was constantly pulling off on everything, yanking my front side. I needed to clean that up and keep my shoulders more square.”
Working on advice from Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred during the league shutdown, Keller fixed his delivery and turned his slider into a prominent part of his arsenal. 38.2% of his pitches were sliders in 2020, well up from a 31.2% usage in 2019 and a 26.2% usage in 2018. As per Fangraphs’ pitch value and slider runs above average (wSL) metrics, Keller had the third-most effective slider of any pitcher in baseball, behind only Dinelson Lamet and Zach Plesac.
More from around baseball as the Dodgers sit a game away from a championship…
- Dan Straily‘s first season in Korea was a success, and the right-hander tells Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News that he has yet to make a decision about a potential second season with the KBO League’s Lotte Giants. Before anything, Straily wants to return to the United States to see his family for the first time in nine months, as COVID-19 travel restrictions kept him in South Korea. “I want to be with my wife when the decision starts coming up and my agent starts talking to the team about this,” Straily said. After inking a one-year, $1MM contract with the Lotte Giants last winter, Straily posted a 2.50 ERA with 205 strikeouts over 194 2/3 innings, becoming arguably the league’s top pitcher and a popular figure with fans. It was a solid rebound season after a tough 2019 for Straily that saw him allow 22 homers over only 47 2/3 innings with the Orioles, resulting in a 9.82 ERA.
- The Phillies hold a $7MM club option on Hector Neris for 2021, which the team could see as an acceptable price tag for a reliever who has been generally solid over parts of seven MLB seasons. However, in an offseason where the Phillies are dealing with revenue losses and trying to get under the luxury tax threshold, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman sees Neris as a possible extension candidate. Seidman floats the possibility of a two-year contract worth $9MM-$10MM, which seems like a good number from the Phils’ perspective, though it remains to be seen if Neris or his agents would accept such an offer. The team has some leverage in the sense that Neris probably wouldn’t like to test the very uncertain 2020-21 free agent market, yet Neris might also have confidence that the Phillies wouldn’t actually decline his option since the Phils are in such dire need of bullpen help.
- Chaim Bloom’s first year in charge of the Red Sox front office was a tumultuous one, and the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier looked beyond the unprecedented events (the pandemic’s effect on the season and the Mookie Betts trade) to examine patterns about how Bloom will shepherd the team going forward. The Sox mostly targeted controllable players, and the sheer volume of transactions was also different, as the 2020 club had the most roster turnover of any Red Sox team of the past decade. “It goes back to being more open-minded and willing to be more aggressive with the bottom end of our 40-man roster,” assistant GM Eddie Romero said. “The 40-man roster became more of a living document. It was a daily conversation. It required daily upkeep.”
Quick Hits: LeMahieu, Angels, Dombrowski, Pino, Crawford
Don’t count on a reunion between DJ LeMahieu and the Rockies. Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post recently contacted “those close to LeMahieu” to gauge the chances of the free agent returning to his former team, and “was told that while [LeMahieu is] keeping his options open, he doesn’t see the Rockies as a good fit for him.” LeMahieu spent seven seasons with the Rox from 2012-18, a stretch that saw him make three All-Star appearances, win two Gold Gloves, and capture the 2016 NL batting title.
After leaving Coors Field to sign with the Yankees in the 2018-19 offseason, however, LeMahieu hit another level, posting MVP-type numbers over his two seasons in the Bronx. It’s certainly possible that LeMahieu simply remains in New York, though several teams are bound to inquire about his services — that is to say, teams with more available payroll and perhaps closer to immediate contention than the Rockies.
As we await tomorrow’s Game 3 of the World Series, some more from around the baseball world…
- Multiple reports linked Dave Dombrowski was a favorite to take over the Angels‘ front office, though after almost a month, there hasn’t been much new information on that front. In fact, in an appearance on Jon Heyman’s Big Time Baseball podcast (audio link), USA Today’s Bob Nightengale believes Dombrowski will “absolutely not” end up in Anaheim. Both Heyman and Nightengale think Dombrowski might remain in Nashville, where he is part of a group vying to bring an expansion team to the Music City, with Nightengale opining that the Phillies could also potentially be a fit for Dombrowski as a win-now team. As for the Angels’ job, Nightengale thinks their search is “wide open“at this point. Earlier reports have suggested that the Angels are just beginning their search, and Nightengale thinks a new front office boss might not be in place until close to Thanksgiving.
- 16-year-old Cuban outfielder Luis Pino worked out for scouts this week in the Dominican Republic, and ESPN.com’s Enrique Rojas (Spanish language link) reports that the Athletics and Rays are the favorites to land Pino when the international signing window opens on January 15. The Giants, Cubs, White Sox, Red Sox and Padres have also shown interest in Pino, who seems likely to command a bonus of $1MM or more.
- Longtime Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2020, rebounding from a down year both offensively and defensively in 2019. As NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic notes, Crawford’s return to form solidified the Giants’ shortstop situation, and the team can now be more confident that Crawford can still be a productive player as he heads into his age-34 campaign. 2021 will also be the final year of Crawford’s contract with San Francisco, however, and the Giants have a star shortstop prospect in Marco Luciano coming down the pipeline. Luciano could potentially be ready for a regular role by 2022, so it remains to be seen if Crawford will only be a bridge to Luciano or if the veteran could potentially still land another deal to stay in the orange and black.
NL Central Notes: Betts, Brewers, Venable, Tigers, Pirates
Could Mookie Betts have blossomed to stardom in a Brewers uniform? It could have been a reality if former Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin had had his way, as he tried to acquire Betts from the Red Sox in 2013 in exchange for closer Francisco Rodriguez, according to MLB.com’s Adam Berry and Adam McCalvy. As a fifth-round pick for Boston in the 2011 draft, “Mookie sort of went under the radar if you went by the so-called MLB Pipeline or whatever. I don’t think at the time he was in their top 10-15 prospects,” Melvin said. Both the Brewers’ analytics and scouting departments agreed on Betts’ potential, however, so the pitch was made to then-Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington, who wisely declined the offer.
Betts was already in the midst of a big season at the A-ball levels in 2013, and Cherington recalls that by season’s end, Betts’ “name was the first one” mentioned by other clubs in trade negotiations. “Doug Melvin was the first to ask, so I always give Doug credit. He was the first one to ask for him,” Cherington said.
While Milwaukee fans take a moment to sigh ruefully, let’s look at some other items from around the NL Central…
- Cubs third base coach Will Venable spoke with the Tigers about their managerial vacancy, NBC Sports Chicago’s Gordon Wittenmyer reports. Venable was first cited as a potential candidate for the Tigers job back in September, and Venable has also recently interviewed with the Red Sox about their managerial job. Beyond the Red Sox and Tigers, “other clubs also have sought the Cubs’ permission to talk with Venable about other, non-managerial openings in their organizations,” Wittenmyer writes. A veteran of nine MLB seasons, Venable has spent the last three years in Wrigleyville as a special assistant to Theo Epstein, as well as a first base and third base coach. This is the second straight winter that Venable has been a popular candidate, as the Cubs considered him for their own manager’s job last offseason, and the Astros and Giants also interviewed him for their managerial openings.
- The Pirates have 19 players eligible for arbitration this offseason, the most of any team in baseball. At least some of those names won’t be back in Pittsburgh in 2021, as The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel thinks as many as six players could be non-tendered and several others are trade candidates. Interestingly, Biertempfel cites Trevor Williams as a potential non-tender, on the heels of a season that saw Williams get off to a good start but then struggle to finish with a 6.18 ERA over 55 1/3 innings, with a league-high 15 homers allowed. Williams received some trade interest from at least one team (the Blue Jays) back in August, so it’s possible Toronto or another club could have some talks with the Pirates before the non-tender deadline. Williams had a pair of solid seasons in 2017-18 and is entering his age-29 season with two years of team control remaining. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Williams to earn between $3.2MM and $4.6MM through the arbitration process this winter.