Padres Notes: Strahm, Coaches, Front Office
Reliever Matt Strahm will undergo surgery on his right knee next week, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter link), and the southpaw is expected to be recovered for by Spring Training. Strahm is looking to fix his right patellar tendon, three years after undergoing a procedure on his left patellar tendon. The right knee issues bothered Strahm throughout the season, Acee said, and led to an injured list stint in September.
Despite the injury, Strahm still had some effective bottom-line stats over 20 2/3 relief innings, posting a 2.61 ERA and 3.75 K/BB rate. With the caveat of a small sample size, the left-hander also posted a career-low (6.5 K/9) strikeout rate, and the lack of missed bats led to some unimpressive ERA predictors (4.93 FIP, 5.01 xFIP, 4.24 SIERA). It’s possible that between these numbers and any uncertainty over his knee situation, the Padres could look to non-tender Strahm, who is projected to earn between $1.6MM-$1.9MM in his second trip through the arbitration process. On the other hand, the Padres might prefer to retain a member of their bullpen considering Trevor Rosenthal and Kirby Yates could depart in free agency, and Luis Perdomo will miss 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
The latest from San Diego…
- In another tweet from Acee, the Padres aren’t planning to make any changes to their coaching staff. One potential exception could be Skip Schumaker, if Schumaker receives any consideration for any of the managerial openings around baseball. Schumaker worked in San Diego’s front office for two seasons before becoming a first base coach in 2018-19 and then serving under skipper Jayce Tingler in an “associate manager” position. Schumaker was a candidate for the Mets’ managerial job last winter prior to New York’s (short-lived) hiring of Carlos Beltran.
- The Padres won’t be renewing the contracts of 25 employees in the baseball operations department, the club announced today. Most of the 25 employees were offered severance packages. According to The Athletic’s Dennis Lin (Twitter link), many of the employees let go were in player development roles related to the Padres’ farm system, indicating “continued uncertainty about the minor leagues.” It isn’t yet known if there will be any sort of normal minor league season in 2021, and even if there is, several minor league franchises are expected to be contracted as part of a more uniform, MLB-operated farm system.
Blue Jays Notes: Pitching, Defense, Pearson, Kirk
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Wednesday the club will prioritize improving its strike throwing and defense this offseason, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. Although Toronto earned a playoff spot in 2020, its pitching staff ranked 28th in the majors in walks per nine innings (4.29), helping lead to a middling 4.63 ERA/4.73 FIP. The Blue Jays now have multiple openings in their starting staff, which could see Matt Shoemaker, Taijuan Walker and Robbie Ray leave in free agency. Defensively, the Jays ended up 20th in UZR (minus-6) and 29th in DRS (minus-39), so it’s also understandable that Atkins wants to address that aspect of the team.
Here’s more on the up-and-coming Jays…
- The Blue Jays promoted hyped right-handed prospect Nate Pearson in late July, but he ultimately went through an adverse rookie campaign. The 24-year-old threw 18 innings of 6.00 ERA/7.50 FIP ball, owing in part to elbow problems. Although Pearson didn’t experience the success or endure the workload the Jays were hoping for this year, they’re optimistic about him going forward (via Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star). “What I think it means is that he made progress this year, even though he had the injury and had the setback. He made his major-league debut, he showed he can get major-league hitters out, and he will better because of that in his progression next year,” said Atkins. Toronto will monitor Pearson’s innings in 2021, though he should still be an important part of its rotation.
- More from Chisholm, who writes that Toronto could hand the catching reins to Alejandro Kirk sometime in 2021, though he’s not a lock to begin the season with the big club. Atkins called the 21-year-old Kirk’s process “very, very mature,” but he’ll need a “very productive” winter to earn a season-opening spot with the Blue Jays. Kirk, who hadn’t played above High-A ball, was hugely impressive during his brief MLB debut in 2020, slashing .375/.400/.583 with a home run in 25 plate appearances. Primary catcher Danny Jansen batted .183/.313/.358 with six homers across 147 PA.
Injury Notes: Dodgers, Bellinger, Giants, Ramos
It’s a rest and recovery day around baseball now that the World Series matchup is set. We’re a day away from the final 4-to-7 games of baseball! But before the action kicks off, let’s take a quick moment to check on a couple of injury notes…
- Cody Bellinger expects to be fine for the World Series after popping his shoulder out of its socket while celebrating his 7th-inning home run, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Bellinger stayed in the game and did not appear to be limited in the field – nor did he appear concerned as he mimed the injury from the grass in center. The shoulder was “sore, but functional,” per DiComo, who also notes that Bellinger has dealt with this injury more than a few times over his career. Said Bellinger, “I’m going to maybe use my left arm. I’ve never dislocated that one.” Granted, Bellinger was riding high in that particular moment, having hit the game-winning home run to take his team into the World Series, but especially given his familiarity with this type of injury, it seems extremely unlikely to threaten his availability next week.
- Giants prospect Heliot Ramos injured his oblique during instructional league play, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Ramos should be good to go for spring training, with the only real concern stemming from the fact that he suffered a similar injury back in February. Ramos is the Giants presumptive centerfielder of the future, who could theoretically compete to make the major league roster as soon as next season. Their first round pick (19th overall) in the 2017 draft, the 21-year-old raked to the tune of .306/.385/.500 in High-A in 2019. Along with Joey Bart and Marco Luciano, Ramos forms part of a strong core of Giants positional prospects hoping to make an impact on the next strain of San Francisco playoff teams. Ramos made it as high as Double-A in 2019, a level he would have theoretically repeated at least to start the 2020 season (had there been one).
Quick Hits: Pitching Coaches, Baseball Ops Vacancies, Orioles, Phillies, Yankees
Chris Holt is the leading in-house candidate to take over the Orioles’ vacant pitching coach position, per MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. Holt came to the Orioles from the Astros as the minor league coordinator, but he’s since been promoted to Director of Pitching. A further step up into the ML dugout would be a natural progression for Holt, who has drawn compliments, per Trezza, for “fluency in analytics and ability to communicate that information to players, amongst other skills.” Doug Brocail was the pitching coach in 2020, but he is not returning to manager Brandon Hyde’s staff. The Orioles have made the protection and development of their young pitching one of the hallmarks of the current regime, and promoting Holt now could signal a readiness for some of those prospects to begin making an impact at the major league level. Let’s check in on some other coaching and front office rumblings from around the league…
- The Phillies are now looking to fill their pitching coach spot yet again following Bryan Price’s retirement. Price spent just one season in the role, leaving manager Joe Girardi with a significant leadership void to fill. A former catcher himself, Girardi no doubt will take a leading role in finding the right voice to speak to his hurlers, and a number of names are popping up already, such as Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey and internal candidates Dave Lundquist, Rafael Chaves, and Jim Gott, tweets Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- This would seem to be a key decision for the future of the Phillies and Girardi, as they’ve long lacked stability in this department. Next season will mark the 5th different pitching coach in the past 5 seasons, notes Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Phillies host of talented hurlers have largely disappointed, as the group of Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin, Vince Velasquez, and Nick Pivetta (now with the Red Sox) have looked like the core of a potential rotation at times, but even augmenting this group with outside additions like Jake Arrieta and Zack Wheeler hasn’t gotten the Phillies where to want to be, record-wise. Phillies pitchers have ranked 14th in the majors in fWAR over the past 5 seasons.
- Tim Naehring has been a popular name for baseball ops openings around baseball like the Phillies and Marlins, but he’s unlikely to leave his role with the Yankees, per Andy Martino of the SNY Network (via Twitter). Connections to Derek Jeter in Miami and Girardi in Philly draw straight lines to Naehring, who is a VP of Baseball Operations in New York. But the role he is in now apparently works for Naehring, and those obvious contacts may be pumping up the possibility of a change.
NL Notes: Kemp, Reds, Susana, Mets, Dodgers
Matt Kemp stated last February that he was hoping to add four or five more seasons onto his career, and with the 2020 campaign and Kemp’s 15th MLB season now in the books, nothing has changed about his future plans. “That’s always been one of my goals, is to at least play until I was 40 years old,” Kemp said in an interview on the Power Alley show on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM. Kemp is still focused on capturing that elusive World Series ring, and “as long as I can continue to help a team win and do some great things in the game of baseball, I’m going to continue to do this thing until I can’t do it any more.”
The 36-year-old Kemp was an All-Star as recently as 2018, though he endured an injury-shortened 2019 season that led to minor league deals in 2020 with both the Marlins and Rockies, the latter coming in June. Kemp hit .239/.326/.419 with six homers over 132 plate appearances for Colorado, working primarily as a DH and pinch-hitter and only playing left field in one of his 43 games. It remains to be seen if the Rockies or another team will give Kemp another chance at extending his career, though his prospects at another contract would definitely get a boost if the National League fully adopts the designated hitter.
More from around the NL…
- Shortstop was a big problem area for the Reds last season, and since Jose Garcia struggled badly during over 68 PA in his rookie season, he looks to still be a season or two away from being a big league contributor. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic (subscription required) looks at some of the possibilities available to the Reds on the offseason shortstop market, though it remains to be seen if Cincinnati will have the payroll flexibility to pursue top free agents like Didi Gregorius or Marcus Semien. Rosecrans also notes that the Reds have also scouted Ha-Seong Kim of the Korea Baseball Organization, who wouldn’t necessarily carry quite as large a price tag, though several teams are expected to check into Kim’s services when he is posted.
- Speaking of international talent, Dominican right-hander Jarlin Susana is an intriguing (and unattached) prospect heading into the January 15 international signing period. Baseball America’s Ben Badler has more on the 16-year-old Susana, who is 6’5″, 195 pounds, and hit 96mph during a showcase for scouts earlier this week. Susana also has “a sharp breaking ball” along with that fastball, which usually clocks in the “the low-to-mid 90s.” Many of the top prospects in the 2020-21 international class have already unofficially agreed to deals with teams, though Susana isn’t yet linked to anyone, making him an interesting option for clubs with available bonus pool space. The Mets and Dodgers were among the teams who had evaluators in attendance at Susana’s showcase.
NL West Notes: Taylor, Padres, Myers, Giants, Luciano
The Dodgers may not have a key player available for today’s Game 6 against the Braves, as Chris Taylor suffered an ankle injury in last night’s game. Taylor suffered the injury while chasing down a Freddie Freeman double in the eighth inning of Game 5, and Taylor managed to finish the inning before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Taylor would undergo tests to determine the severity of the problem.
It hasn’t been a great postseason for Taylor, who has hit only .161/.257/.226 over 35 plate appearances during Los Angeles’ playoff run. Still, Taylor’s regular-season performance and his versatility (he has been used as a second baseman and left fielder this October) make him a valuable roster asset, and it’s not like Taylor hasn’t had success in the playoffs — he was the 2017 NLCS MVP. If Taylor can’t play in Game 6, the Dodgers could turn to Max Muncy or Enrique Hernandez to play second base. The Dodgers would also be reduced to a three-man bench, as they used 15 of their 28 roster spots for the NLCS on pitchers. [UPDATE: Taylor isn’t in the Game 6 lineup, but Roberts told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters that Taylor is available off the bench and is “moving around much better today. It’s better than he expected.”]
More from around the NL West…
- Several Padres-related topics are addressed by The Athletic’s Dennis Lin as part of a reader mailbag piece, with a particular focus on San Diego’s offseason plans. Lin doesn’t think the Padres will make a play for Trevor Bauer this winter, and re-signing Jurickson Profar could be difficult since his asking price may be beyond the Friars’ comfort zone. “The team isn’t interested in paying handsomely for a secondary option,” Lin writes, though Profar ended up being essentially an everyday player in 2020.
- Of course, more regular playing time could emerge for a player like Profar if the Padres were to trade Wil Myers. Lin figures San Diego will again look into trades for Myers, whose once-negligible trade value has been boosted by an outstanding 2020 season (.288/.353/.606 with 15 homers in 218 PA). The $41MM that Myers is owed through the 2022 season may still make a trade hard to complete, though naturally the Padres wouldn’t mind keeping Myers if he keeps producing as he did this year. At the outskirts of the Padres’ roster, Lin thinks Francisco Mejia, Joey Lucchesi and Trey Wingenter could also be trade candidates.
- In a Giants mailbag, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle believes shortstop Marco Luciano is the Giants’ only truly “untouchable” prospect in trade talks. This doesn’t mean that other highly-touted youngsters like Joey Bart or Heliot Ramos are anywhere near being available, but rather that San Francisco perceives Luciano as “the main driver for a winning era.” Luciano emerged as a favorite of top-100 prospect lists (ranked 14th by Fangraphs, 17th by Baseball America, 29th by MLB.com) after a big breakout in last year’s Arizona Fall League, though the 19-year-old has only one official year of pro ball under his belt. It remains to be seen if he’ll stay at shortstop or move to third base or the outfield in the future, but the 19-year-old Luciano’s batting potential has already drawn raves.
Blue Jays Notes: Bichette, Shoemaker, Vlad
Bo Bichette figures to be one of the centerpieces for the Blue Jays for the foreseeable future, but the budding superstar said on Sportsnet’s Good Show this week that a contract extension isn’t anything he’s thinking about at this time (audio clip).
“It’s been brought up and it’s definitely something I’m interested in, but at the same time I’m not going to sell myself short,” said Bichette. “We’ll see what happens. Right now, I’m not too worried about. I’ve still got a lot to prove in my career, and really the last thing on my mind is a contract extension.”
He’s only played in 75 games at the MLB level, but Bichette looks the part of an All-Star right now. The former top prospect has put together a .307/.347/549 slash with 16 home runs, 27 doubles, a triple and eight steals through his first 340 trips to the plate. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2022 season and is controlled all the way through 2025, however, so there’s ample time for the Jays to worry about financial matters down the road. Of course, the more Bichette established himself and the closer he inches to arbitration or free agency, the more the price tag on an extension will rise.
A couple more notes on the Jays…
- Right-hander Matt Shoemaker also joined The Good Show this week to chat about his time with the organization and his upcoming venture into free agency. The 34-year-old was dominant in five starts with the Blue Jays in 2019 before suffering a torn ACL that ended his season. He returned in 2020 with lesser results, but Shoemaker’s overall body of work in Toronto was solid: 11 starts, 57 1/3 frames, 3.14 ERA, 4.30 xFIP, 50-to-18 K/BB, 49.7 percent ground-ball rate. Home runs were a huge issue in 2020, but Shoemaker could represent a reasonably affordable piece of rotation depth and made clear that he’d love to return. “I just want to go to a team that’s just hungry, right?” said Shoemaker. “And the Jays are hungry, man. Like, we’ve got this really young team who just love the game, fiery players, really talented.”
- Toronto GM Ross Atkins said at season’s end that the Jays haven’t given up on the idea of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. being able to play some third base, even if he’s not a primary option there. The Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm makes a case against prioritizing versatility in this case and opines that Guerrero should simply be left to try to hone his craft at first base. Chisholm notes that defensive metrics and the eye test alike have panned Guerrero at both positions but likens Guerrero’s move across the diamond to the one made by Edwin Encarnacion several years ago — a move that eventually resulted in Encarnacion putting up some solid defensive marks at the less-demanding position. Guerrero still needs to develop better instincts at the spot, and getting regular reps at the spot should help.
AL Notes: Yankees, Voit, Orioles, Angels, GM Timeline
Luke Voit‘s plantar fasciitis is under control after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection, per the Athletic’s Lindsey Adler (via Twitter). Voit will be in a walking boot for a week or two, but the Yankees expect him to be healed by the end of that time. Voit didn’t miss any time to the issue, and he certainty didn’t appear to be overly affected while slashing .277/.338/.610 and leading the majors with 22 home runs.
While the Dodgers drub the Braves in game three of the NLDS, let’s stay in the junior circuit and check in on some non-playoff teams…
- The Baltimore Orioles laid off 11 workers and furloughed 35 more, per Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun. At present, those furloughed employees are set to return to work on February 1st to match the timeline for spring training. Teams all across MLB have laid off large portions of the their staff because of revenue lost to the coronavirus pandemic. No fans were allowed in Camden Yards for the 60-game season, very much complicating the revenue picture for the Orioles (as with other clubs) moving forward. Ruiz provides a quote from GM Mike Elias that sums up the 2020 season, saying: “Baseball teams do a lot of planning, looking ahead, and just all of that is just totally out of the window because of this event that came in and turned the world upside down.”
- Unsurprisingly, the Angels will not be filling their GM vacancy until after the World Series, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (via Twitter). The Angels aren’t particular close to finding their next hire, per Fletcher. It certainly makes sense that they might take some time. On the other hand, given how much work there is to be done in the offseason, some urgency to set a clear organizational direction prior to the impactful events of the offseason also makes sense. Eppler was hired in early October of 2015, though in that case, Jerry Dipoto, the previous GM, had stepped down in July.
AL Notes: White Sox, Renteria, Indians, Blue Jays
As the Rays and Astros battle for the American League pennant, let’s check in on a trio of teams whose offseasons have already started:
- On the heels of their first postseason berth since 2008, the White Sox somewhat surprisingly parted ways with manager Rick Renteria yesterday. Jim Margalus of Sox Machine digs into the likely motivations behind that decision. To some extent, Renteria was the victim of circumstances, Margalus feels; when the former Cubs skipper took over on the South Side entering the 2017 season, the Sox were amidst a rebuild. Margalus opines those first few years of losing, while expected, made it easier for the front office to move on from Renteria now if they weren’t convinced the 58-year-old was best equipped to guide the contending club to postseason success. (Indeed, the front office was displeased when Renteria pushed back a bit against the use of data in his in-game decision-making, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Another factor working against Renteria, according to Margalus: the Tigers’ own vacancy, which could have spurred GM Rick Hahn to launch a managerial search this offseason rather than risk losing an ideal potential candidate to a division rival.
- Sticking with the AL Central, the Indians face an offseason rife with uncertainty. The catching situation will be particularly interesting, Zack Meisel of the Athletic observes. Cleveland holds a $5MM club option on starter Roberto Pérez, while backup Austin Hedges would be in line for a raise on his $3MM salary in arbitration. That combination might prove too pricey for the low-payroll Indians, Meisel points out. That would seem to hint at Hedges being non-tendered, but Cleveland clearly liked him enough to acquire him from the Padres just over a month ago as part of the return for Mike Clevinger. Pérez had a dismal 2020 but is only a year removed from performing as one of the league’s best catchers; it’s hard to envisioning the Indians declining his option based upon a poor 100 plate appearances, although perhaps Pérez becomes a trade candidate himself if the club is comfortable turning to Hedges as their top option.
- The Blue Jays acquired Ross Stripling from the Dodgers at this year’s trade deadline, but the right-hander struggled in 15.2 innings after the deal. Nevertheless, he’s likely to be a key piece of the Toronto pitching staff in 2021, Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic believes. GM Ross Atkins specifically mentioned Stripling when discussing the team’s pitching options, McGrath notes, suggesting there’s not much of a chance he’ll be non-tendered this offseason. That’s not surprising, as Stripling is likely only in line for a small raise on this season’s modest $2.1MM salary.
NL East Notes: Anderson, Braves, Mets
Some notes from the National League East:
- The Braves turned to rookie right-hander Ian Anderson in tonight’s NLCS Game 2. The 22-year-old certainly earned the assignment, having turning in a 1.95 ERA/2.54 FIP in his first six major league starts. The former 3rd overall pick is now one of the most promising young pitchers in baseball, but he wasn’t seen as a lock to go in the top ten leading up to the 2016 draft. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com looks back at Atlanta’s pre-draft process, crediting area scout Greg Mohrhardt for his steadfast belief in the New York high schooler. Mayo’s piece is worth a full perusal for Braves’ fans or those interested in a look behind the curtain at the process for evaluating top draft prospects.
- Homegrown players like Anderson are the backbone of the current Braves club. Nevertheless, Atlanta has done an excellent job of supplementing the roster in free agency, points out Nick Ashbourne of Sportsnet. The Braves’ one-year, $18MM deal with Marcell Ozuna was nothing short of a coup, as the 29-year-old was one of the top hitters in the National League this year. The Braves also hit on their two-year agreement with Travis d’Arnaud, who put together an elite season at the plate and has added a few key moments this postseason. Ashbourne runs through a few other instrumental additions that GM Alex Anthopolous and the rest of the front office have made to help push Atlanta to the NLCS.
- Mets‘ fans are hoping likely incoming owner Steve Cohen will green-light a higher payroll than has become customary under the Wilpon family. Precisely where spending on the roster will land remains to be seen, but Cohen is already taking steps to improve the franchise behind the scenes. He’s expected to invest heavily in building the organization’s analytics infrastructure, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Mets’ existing analytics and player development systems are “archaic,” hears Puma, who adds that the Wilpons never provided former (and probably future) baseball operations leader Sandy Alderson with the kinds of resources he desired to keep up with rival data-driven front offices around the league.