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AL West Notes: Furbush, Sogard, Guthrie, Rangers, Stassi

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There’s growing concern among Mariners brass about the health of left-hander Charlie Furbush’s shoulder, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Furbush’s 2015 season ended in July due to biceps tendinitis and a minor tear in his rotator cuff, and it was decided then that he would pursue a non-surgical rehab route. Now, however, he feels continued tightness in the shoulder the day after throwing sessions. Furbush will play catch on Tuesday, but manager Scott Servais voiced some concern about Furbush’s availability for Opening Day. Dutton reports that Mike Montgomery could be the beneficiary of the situation, as the out-of-options starter is being converted to a bullpen role and will vie for a relief job with the Mariners over the remainder of Spring Training.

Here’s more from the AL West…

  • A numbers crunch on the Athletics’ roster could leave versatile infielder Eric Sogard without a roster spot, as Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area writes. Sogard is the second-longest tenured member of the roster, but the addition of Chris Coghlan, whom the A’s plan to use all over the diamond in a Ben Zobrist type of role, makes it tougher to carry the defensively gifted Sogard. GM David Forst didn’t rule out a trade of some kind to alleviate a perceived roster logjam at the time of adding Coghlan, Stiglich notes, though Sogard also has minor league options remaining, so he could be sent down and begin the season at Triple-A.
  • Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie can opt out of his minor league deal with the Rangers on March 28 if he’s not going to make the Opening Day roster, reports MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. The veteran righty could be the “safe bet” to win the club’s fifth starter job right now, per Sullivan, although both A.J. Griffin and Cesar Ramos have looked sharp as well, he notes. Chi Chi Gonzalez, Nick Tepesch and Nick Martinez are all vying for the spot, too, as are righties Anthony Ranaudo and Phil Klein, though Sullivan notes that the latter two are at the back of the pack.
  • Astros catcher Max Stassi flew to Houston yesterday to have an injury in to the hamate in his left wrist examined by a hand specialist, writes Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. Stassi, who turns 25 tomorrow, entered Spring Training as the favorite to back up Jason Castro behind the plate, though this injury certainly clouds the likelihood of that scenario playing out. Manager A.J. Hinch voiced confidence in Alfredo Gonzalez, the lone alternative on Houston’s 40-man roster, as well as non-roster invitees Tyler Heineman and Roberto Pena, praising each catcher’s defensive abilities. Designated hitter Evan Gattis has plenty of experience at catcher as well, of course, but he got a late start to Spring Training due to surgery to repair a hernia.

AL West Notes: Weaver, McCullers, Gray, Beltre, Fielder

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Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver has been diagnosed with mild degenerative changes in his cervical spine, tweets Mike Digiovanna of the L.A. Times. The cervical portion of the spine includes the upper back and neck. Weaver will still be bumped from his next scheduled start, but he’s not expected to be shut down (tweet). The soft-tossing righty averaged just 83 mph with his fastball last season and was throwing even softer in his spring work. He’s scheduled to see a spine specialist to decide next steps.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • An MRI has revealed no damage in Lance McCullers sore right shoulder, writes Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros’ starter threw a career high 164 innings last season, and the club has plans to limit his innings. Carefully addressing this current injury seems like a good way to manage McCuller innings while looking after his health. As such, he may not open the season on the big league roster.
  • “Everyone” inquired about Athletics ace Sonny Gray this winter, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The Red Sox were apparently the first to pick up the phones on the day after the World Series ended. No deals were close per Heyman. Oakland leadership has been vocal about holding onto Gray, although the club is also known to be very open minded about looking for roster upgrades.
  • While there is a gap in talks between the Rangers and Adrian Beltre, it’s thought that the two sides are motivated to find a middle ground, tweets Heyman. Beltre, soon-to-be 37, is in the final year of his current contract with Texas. Heyman speculates that the Angels could be a top suitor for Beltre if he reaches the open market. If an extension isn’t reached soon, Beltre’s performance this season could be the difference between a moderate one-year deal and a sizable multi-year offer.
  • The Rangers tried to sign Austin Jackson for about $4MM before pivoting to Ian Desmond, tweets Heyman. Texas’ need was in left field with Jackson preferring to remain an up-the-middle player. He ultimately signed with the White Sox for $5MM.
  • Slugger Prince Fielder has been diagnosed with sleep apnea, writes Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. He will use a mask and breathing apparatus to combat the disorder. The player and club are hopeful that better rest will translate to a more successful season. Fielder does not plan to undergo the painful and complicated jaw reconstructive surgery used to cure sleep apnea. Mike Napoli underwent that particular procedure prior to the 2015 season.

Jarrod Parker Diagnosed With Re-Fractured Right Elbow

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MARCH 12: Parker and his agent are consulting with other doctors before deciding on how to proceed, tweets John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’s expected to be in camp with the A’s on Monday, Shea notes, so we could learn more about the injury then.

MARCH 11: Athletics righty Jarrod Parker received devastating news today, with the team announcing that he has been diagnosed with a re-fracture of the medial epicondyle in his right elbow (via John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group, on Twitter). That’s the same injury that most recently shelved the once-promising starter, who has also battled through two Tommy John procedures.

Needless to say, it’s a terrible setback for the 27-year-old, who was hoping to return as a reliever. He left the mound in obvious pain yesterday, though hopes were that it was only an unrelated elbow issue.

Parker was still working back to strength after his most recent surgery, which took place in May of 2015, so there’s a long and uncertain road ahead if he chooses to keep trying to make it back to the majors. It’s not yet clear how he’ll proceed — no doubt, he’s not yet ready to commit to a decision — but the particular fracture was already considered an unusual and largely unprecedented injury to recover from.

After the Diamondbacks made him the ninth overall pick in the 2007 draft, selecting him out of high school, Parker rose quickly and cracked the majors at 22 years of age. He went to Oakland as the key piece in the Trevor Cahill deal after a brief debut in Arizona, plugging right into the A’s rotation after four quality starts at Triple-A. Ultimately, Parker provided 378 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA pitching over 2012-13.

Unfortunately, it’s now been quite a while since we’ve seen Parker in action at the major league level. Since the end of that 2013 campaign, in fact, he has made just four minor league appearances.

Despite that, Parker has been accruing major league service time while on the DL and has managed to build up some fairly significant earnings based on his prior efforts. He made $850K in arbitration last year and agreed to the same sum this time around — half of which, notably, is said to be guaranteed. Parker will be entering his final season of arb control in 2017 before qualifying for free agency, and some creative contract work may be needed if he and the team decide to keep trying.

AL West Notes: Weaver, Parker, Hill, Mariners’ Bullpen

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Angels right-hander Jered Weaver experienced tightness in his neck this morning and underwent an MRI that is being described as precautionary, tweets MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. While a fair number of players have undergone such tests and checked out just fine early in spring, there’s been some added concern surrounding Weaver given the fact that his fastball didn’t top 80 mph in his second spring outing, during which he served up three homers and yielded a total of five runs on six hits and a walk without a strikeout in 2 2/3 innings. Pedro Moura of the L.A. Times was among the reporters to speak to Weaver following yesterday’s start, with Weaver telling the media, “I wake up every day hoping this is the day that it’s going to click, and it just hasn’t happened yet.” Weaver voiced confidence that he can retire hitters even with diminished velocity, but after averaging 83-84 mph on his heater last season, the former ace’s velocity figures to be an ongoing point of intrigue. Weaver is earning $20MM in the final season of a five-year, $85MM contract in 2016.

Elsewhere in the AL West…

  • Jarrod Parker’s uphill battle to return from a pair of Tommy John surgeries and a fractured epicondyle in his right elbow appears to have hit a snag, per Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee. The Athletics right-hander, facing live hitters for the first time today, left the mound “yelling in pain” after throwing a pitch, Kawahara tweets. Pitching coach Curt Young, somewhat surprisingly, told Kawahara (Twitter link) that he “thinks” Parker will be OK, though he declined to go into any detail. A bullpen role for Parker had been the club’s preference for Parker, club sources told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, but Young did term the incident a “setback,” and the A’s have announced the injury as a “lateral elbow impingement,” via John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Parker is headed for an MRI, per Hickey. MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets that this injury is less severe than his previous maladies, as he currently has range of motion in his elbow.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at the improbable (and that adjective is underselling the story) comeback of left-hander Rich Hill, who signed a one-year, $6MM contract with the Athletics this offseason on the heels of four brilliant September starts in Boston. Hill was granted his release from a minor league deal with the Nationals this past June and began working on throwing over the top for the first time after years of working more from a side-arm angle. Hill told his agent that he wanted an opportunity to start, and, finding no opportunities even with a Triple-A club, took to the independent Atlantic League to find a spot in the rotation. Hill parlayed that into a spot in the Red Sox’ Triple-A rotation and only received a call-up in September when Steven Wright suffered an injury. Four starts and a 1.55 ERA (with a 36-to-5 K/BB ratio in 29 innings) later, Hill says he received interest from 20 teams as a free agent and actually turned down an offer for more money than the $6MM he landed from the A’s.
  • Mariners relievers Evan Scribner and Ryan Cook are likely ticketed for the disabled list to begin the 2016 season, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Each right-hander is dealing with a strained lat muscle in his back, per GM Jerry Dipoto, who said the news was actually better than he’d been expecting.
  • The outlook on Mariners lefty Danny Hultzen, however, is considerably less favorable, Dutton notes. The former No. 2 overall pick is again on the shelf due to shoulder pain, and manager Scott Servais said he “[doesn’t] see” when Hultzen could get into a game. Hultzen has been working exclusively as a reliever, but he experienced a setback recently, per Servais. One anonymous club official simply told Dutton that Hultzen’s status is “not good.” Dutton writes that the slew of injuries makes it easier for Joel Peralta to make the roster out of Spring Training, also reporting that Peralta is able to elect free agency late in camp if he is informed that he will not make the roster.

AL West Notes: Astros, Parker, A’s, Angels

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The Astros’ first-base situation is one of the more fluid among contenders league-wide, but Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes that the competition is off to a compelling start. Possible options such as A.J. Reed, Tyler White, Jon Singleton, and Matt Duffy are among the players who have begun making their case for major league jobs, and Drellich explains that it won’t be long before the team will begin to make its choices. “The at-bats are going to start to dry up with the competition,” said manager A.J. Hinch, who added that he’ll begin to give more playing time to the most likely candidates in the middle of March.

Here’s some more camp news out of the AL West:

  • Athletics righty Jarrod Parker is going to be limited to bullpen duty as he tries to work back from an elbow fracture (not to mention his two prior Tommy John procedures), Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 27-year-old, who hasn’t seen MLB action since 2013, will likely trim his offerings down to a fastball-change combination. He’s currently building up his arm strength in bullpen sessions, and says that he’s just taking things one step at a time. “Expectations are not in my vocabulary anymore,” said Parker. “I just go day to day and try to be in tune, see how I feel, give what I’ve got that day and not try to reach.”
  • The Athletics have received good signs on the injury front from catcher Stephen Vogt and righty Jesse Hahn, as Slusser further reports. Vogt, who isn’t far removed from an elbow procedure, hit two home runs today and says he was glad to be able to “trust the elbow” and “take full swings and not feel any pain.” And Hahn, who was limited last year with a concerning forearm strain, looked good in his two innings and says he feels healthy. Likewise, outfielder Coco Crisp looks to be in good form after an injury-riddled 2015 season, manager Bob Melvin told reporters including John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).
  • Over in Angels camp, the left field situation remains an interesting one to watch, and MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes that 24-year-old Rafael Ortega is a player who has impressed early. Of course, the organization still seems set to go with a platoon of Daniel Nava and Craig Gentry to open the season. As Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports, they have taken a long and winding road to this point.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Cahill, Davis, Judge

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Yesterday, we heard about several Cubs free agent signees who took less money to play in Chicago. Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter) illuminates a few of the teams that missed out. We know the Orioles were in on Dexter Fowler as well as the Nationals and Cardinals interest in Jason Heyward. Ben Zobrist turned down better offers from the Nationals and Mets while Trevor Cahill declined to join the Pirates on a stronger offer. Of course, the details of those hypothetical deals are unknown. For example, the Nationals probably made heavy use of deferred money in their offers, reducing the present day value of their proposals. Heyman also has some contract details for reserve clause signees (on Twitter).

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Pirates offer to Cahill was to pitch as a starter, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. However, rumors of a two-year offer may have been exaggerated. Cahill himself claims to be unaware of any two-year proposals. In my opinion, Cahill was smart to remain in Chicago as a reliever. His skill set plays particularly well out of the bullpen and could set up a strong multi-year offer in free agency next winter.
  • New Athletics outfielder Khris Davis is happy with his new ball club, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The former Brewer saw the writing on the wall when Milwaukee dealt away several veterans in the last calendar year. Davis, originally picked in the 2009 draft, was the second-to-last player from that draft class with the club. The Brewers still have Scooter Gennett penciled in to play second base.
  • When Yankees prospects Aaron Judge and Jorge Mateo homered earlier today, they offered a glimpse of the future, writes Wallace Matthews of ESPN. The pair rank first and second in the Yankees farm system. Judge, 23, has a shot to contribute to the club in 2016 while Mateo, 20,  is a little way off. Judge is a power hitting outfielder who hit 20 home runs in 540 plate appearances last season.  Mateo is a speedy shortstop with 82 stolen bases in 2015 (500 plate appearances).

Beane: Athletics “Exploring” Extension With Josh Reddick

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Athletics president of baseball operations Billy Beane says that his organization is “exploring” a new deal with outfielder Josh Reddick, as Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM tweets. Last we heard, late in February, the sides had not engaged in talks about an extension.

As things stand, Reddick is set to reach free agency after this season. He is playing on a $6.575MM salary in his final arbitration campaign. Reddick has also made clear that he doesn’t wish to continue talks into the season, so there are only a few weeks to try to nail down a pact.

The 29-year-old has accumulated a lengthy track record of solid production at the plate, compiling a .255/.317/.441 slash line with 83 homers since the start of 2011. Other than an off 2013, he’s been a fairly consistent contributor when healthy.

A significant piece of Reddick’s value has come from his glove; at times, he has registered as an elite defender, per leading defensive metrics UZR and DRS. He has trailed off more recently, although that could conceivably be a sample blip or off year rather than a trend.

Both sides have previously expressed interest in continuing the relationship into the future, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll see eye to eye with Reddick nearing the open market. He’s a difficult free agent to predict at this point, but could conceivably earn a big payday with a strong all-around 2016 season. Meanwhile, Oakland could choose instead to dangle a qualifying offer after the season or even put Reddick on the block this summer if things don’t break right.

A’s Notes: Coghlan, Crisp, Gray

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With the current focus on teams “tanking” seasons, ESPN’s Buster Olney (Insider subscription required) observes that the Athletics’ run over the last two decades is all the more remarkable since the team has never entirely torn things down to rebuild.  Last season was the first time since 1997 that Oakland won fewer than 74 games, and even in the wake of 2015’s disappointment, the A’s still made offseason moves with an eye on returning to contention in 2016.  Here’s some more from the Athletics’ camp…

  • Chris Coghlan is looking forward to his new role as a super-utility man, the newly-acquired Athletic told reporters (including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle).  “When I was younger, my ego, I was like, ‘I want to play one position,’ but as you grow, to be able to play different positions really helps the team, so I’ve learned to embrace it….Zo [Ben Zobrist] set the bar.  There were people before, but Zo made it sexy and and cool to be the utility guy.  Before, it meant you aren’t an everyday guy.  Now it’s the cool thing.  So mad props to him,” Coghlan said.
  • Despite the numerous injuries that have set back his career, Coco Crisp tells CSNBayArea.com’s Joe Stiglich that he has no plans on retiring.  “Really, who wants to stop playing? It’s been everybody’s dream for so long.” Crisp said.  “I do enjoy my family, my kids, and I want to be there for them.  And I also want them to be able to see their father, (when they’re) at an older age, play ball.  And experience some of the joys of being a ballplayer’s kid.”  Crisp said he would love to keep playing in Oakland past this season, the last guaranteed year on his contract.  Crisp has a $13MM vesting option for 2017 based on amassing either 130 games played or 550 plate appearances this year, though either threshold will be hard to achieve given both his injury history and the Athletics’ logjam of outfield/DH options.
  • In a piece about young pitchers who are good extension candidates, Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards highlights Sonny Gray’s case for a multi-year deal.  Trade rumors have often swirled around Gray since it has been assumed that the A’s can’t afford him once he hits free agency after the 2019 season, and Edwards notes that an extension wouldn’t make sense if Oakland plans on dealing Gray within the next year (the star righty becomes arbitration-eligible next winter).  In the short term, however, Edwards argues that a Gray extension helps the Athletics continue to stay competitive and also retains Gray’s trade value.  In this case, both the A’s and potential trade suitors would be gaining cost certainty on Gray through his arb years.

AL Notes: Encarnacion, Coghlan, Trout

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Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion reiterates that remains open to an extension, but is setting an Opening Day deadline so that talks do not become a distraction, according to various reporters (including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm). Via Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi (on Twitter), Encarnacion would like to finish his career in Toronto. “I love this team, I love this city,” he says. “But it (doesn’t) depend on me. It depends what they’re thinking.” It was reported earlier this month that the Blue Jays would explore extensions with Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, both of whom are eligible for free agency after the season. The 33-year-old Encarnacion has hit 34 or more homers in each of the last four years, and in response to a question about what figure he might have in mind for a new contract, he says (via Chisholm) the only number he’s thinking of right now is 40, for the number of dingers he’d like to hit this season. Here’s more from the American League.

  • GM David Forst says the Athletics see new acquisition Chris Coghlan as a “[Ben] Zobrist-type guy,” via a video from the Bay Area News Group’s John Hickey (on Twitter). Forst mentions that Coghlan has played second and third base in the past, along with left field and center field. Of course, Coghlan has mostly been a left fielder in his career, but it sounds like the Athletics could be preparing for him to take on a slightly different role this season. He did appear in 15 games at second base with the Cubs in 2015.
  • Angels star Mike Trout hopes to steal more bases in 2016, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times writes. “I gotta get my confidence back,” says Trout, referring to his base-stealing. Trout led the AL with 49 steals in 2012, but that number dropped to 11 (against seven caught stealings) in 2015. Trout is, obviously, plenty valuable whether he steals bases or not, and Moura notes that much of the Angels’ brain trust isn’t concerned about whether Trout racks up big base-stealing totals.

Athletics Acquire Chris Coghlan From Cubs For Aaron Brooks

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The Cubs have traded outfielder Chris Coghlan to the Athletics for pitcher Aaron Brooks, the Cubs announced via press release.

Coghlan, 30, won the Rookie of the Year award in 2009. Last season, he hit .250/.341/.443 in 503 plate appearances. The lefty hitter was mostly used against right-handed pitching. He has fairly substantial career platoon splits.

Owed $4.8MM in his final season of club control, Coghlan will add more depth to the A’s outfield. Khris Davis, Josh Reddick, and Billy Burns are penciled in as the starters with Coco Crisp, Mark Canha, and Sam Fuld in the mix too. Given his success against right-handed pitching, Coghlan could platoon with Canha as the team’s designated hitter. He also has experience at second and third base.

Brooks, 25, was acquired by the A’s late last season in the Ben Zobrist trade. He made nine starts for the A’s in 11 appearances with forgettable results. His 6.71 ERA was a sight worse than his 6.18 K/9 and 2.47 BB/9. The righty will likely serve as bullpen and rotation depth for the Cubs.

Interestingly, Coghlan appeared to be the Cubs fourth outfielder. Now Arismendy Alcantara and Matt Szczur are the top backup outfielders on the depth chart. Of course, that also overlooks Javier Baez who is expected to be used in a super utility role. The trade could indicate confidence in Baez’s conversion.

It’s possible the Cubs are narrowing on a free agent outfield acquisition. Top available names include Austin Jackson, David DeJesus, and Shane Victorino. Ian Desmond could also be viewed as an option.

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