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Latest On Oakland’s Stadium Situation

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The city of Oakland released a 3,500-page environmental report related to the Athletics’ planned waterfront ballpark project, per a report from Sarah Ravani and Roland Li of the San Francisco Chronicle. This is a mandatory step towards actualization of the project, with A’s president Dave Kaval calling it an “enormous accomplishment.” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf remarked, “Releasing the final environmental impact report is a major milestone on our path to build a new waterfront ballpark district.”

The next steps will be that the city’s Planning Commission will now review the report and vote whether to recommend approval, with that vote coming on January 19. Then City Council will decide about whether to approve the project or not in February.

The project appears to be quite ambitious, including much more than just a ballpark in its scope. It also includes “3,000 units of housing, 1.5 million square feet of offices, 270,000 square feet of retail space, a 3,500-person performance venue, up to 400 hotel rooms and 8,900 parking spaces,” per the report. Kaval says that the inability to develop such a dynamic project is what caused the Warriors and Raiders to depart Oakland, leaving the Athletics’ as the only major sports franchise in the city.

The ability for the city and the team to reach some kind of satisfactory agreement has broad implications for both the team and the league. The club has been looking into the possibility of following the Raiders by moving from Oakland to Las Vegas, going so far as to make an offer on a piece of land that could act as their future home. The current stadium lease in Oakland runs through 2024. As for the league, it has been reported in the past that Commissioner Rob Manfred would like to resolve the ongoing stadium sagas of both the Athletics and Rays before considering the addition of expansion franchises.

The developments of this scenario will also have impacts for some players. For instance, agent Scott Boras said in July that extension negotiations between the team and his client, Matt Chapman, would wait until the stadium situation is resolved. That may end up being a moot point if Chapman is dealt as part of the club’s anticipated post-lockout selloff, but a trade is certainly not guaranteed.

Despite the release of the environmental report marking a step forward in the process, there are still obstacles ahead. As detailed in the article from Ravani and Li, there are still many elements to be negotiated between the team and the city, such as the financing structure and affordable housing, as well as opposition from a group called the East Oakland Stadium Alliance. Even if all of these issues are overcome and the project goes forward, the ribbon isn’t going to be cut anytime soon, as the piece says that construction “could take eight years or more.”

Guardians Prospect Andres Meléndez Passes Away

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Guardians minor league catcher Andrés Meléndez passed away on Thursday at age 20, the team announced.  No specific details have been released about Meléndez’s passing, though he died “suddenly,” as per the club’s statement.

“Meléndez is remembered by his teammates and friends as a positive, respectful and thoughtful young man with a beautiful smile who had a profound impact on others,” the Guardians said in their statement.  “He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, loved ones, teammates and those who knew him.”

A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Meléndez was an international signing for the Brewers in July 2017.  He spent his first two pro seasons in Milwaukee’s farm system before Cleveland acquired him in the November 2019 trade that sent infielder Mark Mathias to the Brewers.

Meléndez didn’t play in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, but he returned to the field in impressive fashion in 2021, hitting .247/.367/.431 with eight home runs over 289 plate appearances for A-level Lynchburg.  Known for his strong throwing arm, Meléndez threw out 33.7% (61/181) of all baserunners trying to steal during his career.

MLB Trade Rumors sends our condolences to Meléndez’s family and friends.

Freddy Galvis Agrees To Two-Year Deal With NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

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TODAY: Galvis’ deal could pay him up to $6MM, according to reports out of Japan (hat tip to The Associated Press).

DEC. 12: Galvis has agreed to a two-year contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).

DEC. 4: Infielder Freddy Galvis appears to be close to a move overseas, as reports from Yahoo Japan indicate that Galvis is nearing a contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Should the move be finalized, it would count as a bit of a surprise.  While there hadn’t been much buzz about Galvis’ free agent market to date, he was widely expected to generate interest either for either contending or non-contending teams that were looking for a lower-cost middle infield option.

Instead, a move to Japan indicates that perhaps Galvis was worried about being caught up in a signing crunch that may take place for mid-to-lower tier free agents once the lockout ends.  The sheer volume of players looking for jobs may force some to settle for smaller guaranteed salaries or even minor league contracts.  If the Hawks are offering more security in the form of a multi-year contract and a guaranteed salary, taking such a deal would allow Galvis to sidestep the lockout entirely and instead focus only on his on-field preparations for 2022 (albeit in a whole new country and new league).

Galvis hit .242/.302/.407 with 14 home runs over 394 combined plate appearances with the Orioles and Phillies in 2021.  After signing a one-year, $1.5MM deal with Baltimore last winter, he was dealt to the Phils at the trade deadline, despite still being on the injured list recovering from a right quad strain.  Galvis ended up missing close to two months of the regular season, and his 104 games played represents his lowest total (2020 excepted) since he played 43 games in 2014.

The 32-year-old Galvis has been an everyday player for most of the last seven seasons, playing as an every shortstop (with significant chunks of time as a second baseman and third baseman) with the Padres, Blue Jays, Reds, Orioles, and in two different stints in Philadelphia.  With a modest .246/.292/.387 slash line over 4238 PA, Galvis relied more on strong glovework and some decent baserunning over his career, though he has shown some power on occasion, including a 23-homer season in 2019.

Most of the headlines about the offseason shortstop market have naturally focused on the superstars available in free agency, with Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Javier Baez, and Chris Taylor already finding new teams.  Carlos Correa and Trevor Story remain among the big-ticket names, and some clubs might wait to see where those two sign before attention can fully turn to the next tier of available shortstops.  With Galvis perhaps gone to the Hawks, it creates more opportunity for the likes of Andrelton Simmons, Jose Iglesias, or Jonathan Villar to find regular jobs with MLB teams that either miss out on Correa/Story or couldn’t afford them in the first place.

Athletics “Closing In” On Mark Kotsay As Manager?

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Now that the Mets have hired Buck Showalter, the Athletics are the last team still looking for a new manager, but Oakland’s search may also be nearing an end.  According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, the team is “closing in on a managerial hire,” and the Athletics’ “focus appears to be on Mark Kotsay” as Bob Melvin’s successor.

Kotsay has been a member of Oakland’s staff for the last six seasons, working as the third base coach in 2021 after previously working as a quality control coach and bench coach.  He is one of three internal candidates known to be under consideration for the managerial vacancy, along with hitting coach Darren Bush and bullpen coach Marcus Jensen.  From outside the organization, the A’s had interest in Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, and Red Sox bench coach Will Venable (Espada and Quatraro were also finalists for the Mets job).

When Melvin left the A’s to become the Padres’ new manager, speculation immediately arose that Kotsay was a contender and perhaps even a favorite to become the Athletics’ new skipper.  Kotsay has previously been a managerial candidate for the Tigers, Giants, Pirates, Red Sox, and Astros over the last two-plus years, and he even received some consideration as the Padres’ interim manager back in 2015, after Bud Black was fired and when Kotsay was working as San Diego’s hitting coach.

Kotsay is probably best remembered by fans for his 17 seasons as a player with seven different teams from 1997-2013, including a stint with the A’s for four of those seasons.  While not quite as recently retired as some of the other players-turned-managers hired in recent years, Kotsay is still only 46 years old, and not all that far removed from his playing days.  He also brings some front office experience, as Kotsay worked as a special assistant with the Padres in 2014.

If the A’s did indeed hire Kotsay, it would provide some continuity for a roster that might look quite different come Opening Day.  The A’s are known to be open to trading several of their top players due to escalating arbitration costs, and while this doesn’t necessarily mean Oakland will embark on a fire sale or even abandon the hope of contending in 2022, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Billy Beane and company swing several deals once the lockout is over.  Depending on when exactly the lockout ends, this could lead to something of a frenzied situation in the Athletics’ Spring Training camp, which would only add to the challenge for a first-time skipper.  Neither Kotsay or any of the other five known candidates have ever managed at the MLB level.

Latest On Jameson Taillon

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After undergoing ankle surgery on October 28, Jameson Taillon isn’t yet sure about his recovery timeline, the Yankees right-hander told The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler.  Taillon’s procedure fixed a torn longus tendon in his right ankle, and since this “is such a rare injury for pitchers,” Taillon said he doesn’t know exactly how his offseason rehab will play out.

“We have a rough timeline of when I can start really playing catch, which would be sometime in like mid to late January,” Taillon said.  “But even the doctor was kind of like, ’You guys are the pitching experts.’  A typical offseason throwing progression would be like six to eight weeks of playing catch and then four weeks of bullpens.  So basically everything I’m doing is kind of a month behind, but I’m not really sure where that will leave us at the end.”

In the event that the “month behind” projection is accurate, Taillon would seem likely to miss some games at the start of the season, as he’d need some extra work to make up for the lost Spring Training time.  As he noted, however, everything seems quite fluid at this point, so it still be several weeks before Taillon or the Yankees know when exactly the righty might be ready to pitch.

The lockout prevents Taillon from communicating with team personnel, and “the Yankees’ strength department wrote out a program for me, but they don’t get to see me every day, so that side of it is kind of weird.”  That said, Taillon said he is continuing his recovery at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery, and has already been out of a walking boot for around 10 days.

Taillon also observed that his own past injury history has already made him quite familiar with rehab processes in general.  A right flexor tendon strain and a subsequent Tommy John surgery sidelined for all of 2020, and limited him to only 37 1/3 innings in 2019.  This was the second TJ surgery of Taillon’s career, and he also missed time in 2017 recovering from surgery for testicular cancer.

With this in mind, it was no small feat that Taillon was able to toss 144 1/3 innings for the Yankees last season, marking the second-highest workload of his five MLB seasons.  Taillon posted a 4.30 ERA/4.33 SIERA with an above-average 7.3% walk rate and some impressive spin rates on his fastball and curve, though his fastball velocity was slightly down (to 94mph) from the 95mph he averaged from 2016-18.  His hard-contact numbers were also down, and the result was ultimately what Taillon described as a “very up and down” season, as “it felt like my hot streak was really hot and my cold streak was really cold, which really isn’t like me.”

He remained healthy until his ankle issue arose in early September, though after a three-week absence, Taillon was able to return from the injured list and make two more appearances in key late-season games.  Over a pair of abbreviated starts, Taillon allowed one earned run in 5 2/3 IP, helping New York to two critical victories.

The Yankees are no strangers to pitching injuries, and while the club obviously hopes Taillon is ready sooner rather than later, the Bronx Bombers have some rotation depth on hand.  Beyond ace Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Nestor Cortes Jr., Luis Severino, and Domingo German are lined up for starts, swingman Michael King can help in both the rotation and the bullpen, and youngsters Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, and Deivi Garcia are all waiting in the wings.  The Yankees could also certainly still add to this group via trades or free agents once the lockout is over, and made one noteworthy push for a starter already this winter, reportedly offering Justin Verlander a one-year, $25MM deal before Verlander re-signed with the Astros.

AL Central Notes: Torkelson, Greene, Barnes, New Zealand, Tito

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Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson and center fielder Riley Greene are universally credited as being in the upper echelon of baseball prospects. In his latest piece for The Athletic, Cody Stavenhagen breaks down the odds of either Detroit player making the team’s Opening Day roster. Detroit officials have been cagey about handing either first round draftee a starting job, owing to recent injury concerns and asterisks next to both players’ dominant minor league campaigns (Torkelson, owner of .935 OPS last season, has seen his batting average drop with each minor league promotion; Greene, owner of a .921 OPS, struck out 153 times in 124 games). Asterisks aside, both players are clearly primed for Major League action soon, even if some extra seasoning is required before they assume their natural positions at the big league level. The possibility remains that Opening Day is pushed back while the minor league season starts as scheduled, giving top young talent a chance to refine their approaches in the minors and make the Opening Day team.

Some other notes from the AL Central…

  • One of Detroit’s less heralded minor league talents also has reason to believe he’ll be making an impact on the Tigers roster this year. Reliever Jacob Barnes, who signed a pre-lockout minors pact with the team, recently discussed with Evan Petzold of The Detroit Press why he eschewed offers from over a dozen other teams to sign with Detroit. Barnes believes the Tigers coaching staff can help him refine a pitch arsenal that has become inconsistent in the wake of injuries in recent seasons. With a fastball that can once again hit 98mph, the hope for both player and team is that Barnes can build on the form that led to droves of strikeouts and groundballs in his first three seasons as a Brewer.
  • One last Tigers note, of less prudence but more international intrigue than the others. Per MLB.com’s transaction page, the Tigers have signed 18-year-old Clayton Campbell out of New Zealand to a minor league deal. The young prospect is viewed as third baseman at this point, though he also has catching and pitching experience. As an international free agent, Campbell was exempt from any restrictions that would prevent a team from signing him to a minor league deal during the lockout. He’ll look to work his way through the Tigers’ minor league system and become the first New Zealand native to reach the Major Leagues.
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney has a piece of good news for Guardians fans, reporting that manager Terry Francona remains on track to return in good health next season. After a number of health woes the past few seasons, it certainly registers as a positive development to hear Francona is on the upswing. Cleveland brass, fans, and rivals alike know firsthand how impactful the 2-time World Series winner can be from the dugout, as he’s guided his club to a strong 753-601 record during his 9-year Cleveland tenure.

Examining Boston’s Catching Corps

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From the outside looking in, it would appear that the Red Sox catching situation is fairly well set. After all, they have $9.25MM committed to their incumbent backstop tandem of Christian Vazquez and Kevin Plawecki, each having been brought back on a guaranteed contract. Boston could have easily gotten out of the commitment to either player through the declination of a team option and non-tender, respectively, but their decision to bring the duo back suggests comfort with continuity.

There may be another move yet to make, however, writes Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com. To his point, Boston isn’t committed to either Vazquez or Plawecki beyond 2021. Connor Wong and Ronaldo Hernandez could play themselves into the big league picture, but while both are prospects, neither are blue-chippers. To prove the point, Cotillo reiterated that Boston had made a bid for Jacob Stallings before the Pirates dealt their backstop the Marlins.

Any ground-shifting move would have to come via the trade market, as the free agent crop of catchers has already been picked clean of prospective starters, as MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk explored not long ago. Yan Gomes, Manny Pina, Pedro Severino, and Roberto Perez signed with the Cubs, Braves, Brewers, and Pirates, respectively. Even backups Sandy Leon (Guardians) and Andrew Knapp (Reds) found new homes. That leaves veterans Robinson Chirinos, Kurt Suzuki, and Wilson Ramos as the most decorated options remaining, and those three haven’t been above-average starters behind the plate since 2019.

On the trade market, there are a number of teams with flexible catching rooms that might be willing to shake things up in the right deal. The Cubs’ Willson Contreras sounded none too happy about the Gomes signing, and he’s on the final year of his deal. The Yankees would move Gary Sanchez, but they, like the Red Sox, would need to upgrade if they were going to move him. Anyone with a long-term need at catcher should be in contact with the Blue Jays, though Toronto isn’t likely all that eager to send one of their young backstops (Alejandro Kirk, Gabriel Moreno) to a division rival. Reese McGuire might be a realistic target, if not for Boston, then maybe somewhere else where he could shake loose another starting-level masked man.

Looking elsewhere, Carson Kelly of the Diamondbacks brings the right blend of current ability and future team control, and with the Diamondbacks facing an uphill climb in the NL West, the right deal ought to be able to pry him loose. Still, the return there might smart more than Boston is willing to endure, given the high floor of their current group. The goal for Boston would be to raise the ceiling of their production from the catching spot, and while Kelly certainly qualifies in that regard, the value of the add could send Boston to track a different scent.

Another option could be MJ Melendez of the Royals. Salvador Perez is the past, present, and future of catching in Kansas City, and the Royals might figure to use Melendez’s trade value rather than let him grow into a part-time role.

Sean Murphy is the big fish on the trade market, and the A’s powerful catcher would indeed raise the ceiling in Boston while providing long-term stability. The Gold Glove catcher is under team control through 2025. Murphy, like everyone on Oakland’s roster, is available, but the question will come down to price point and valuation of the prospects in Boston’s system.

There are other options that the Red Sox could explore (Cotillo suggests the Padres as a trade partner, for example), but at the end of the day, it seems most likely they will enter 2022 as they ended 2021, with Vazquez and Plawecki sharing catching duties while Hernandez and Wong await their turn. Combined, Vazquez and Plawecki posted 1.2 rWAR/1.0 fWAR in 2021, and with both catchers entering their age-31 season, there’s not much upside to mine (though catchers do tend to develop late). Still, if Boston likes the way they handle the pitching staff, that might be enough to keep this group in place for next season. Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom and GM Brian O’Halloran are going to continue to explore ways to raise the roof on the potential of their catching production, but an incremental rise in potential output probably doesn’t blow their hats off enough to push them from the incumbent duo.

Tayron Guerrero Signs With Chiba Lotte Marines

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Right-hander Tayron Guerrero has signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the NPB, per the team (via Twitter). The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

The 30-year-old out of Colombia last pitched in the Majors in 2019 with the Marlins. Prior to his run with the Marlins, he had debuted with the Padres, making just one two-inning outing in 2016. Signed as an amateur free agent back in 2009, Guerrero came up in the Padres system before being included in the 2016 deadline deal that brought Carter Capps, Luis Castillo, Jarred Cosart, and Josh Naylor to the Padres from the Marlins for Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea, and Guerrero. It wouldn’t be until 2018 that Guerrero would get significant run out of a big league bullpen.

Between 2018 and 2019, Guerrero would make 112 appearances for the Marlins totaling 104 innings. Cumulatively, he put up a 5.80 ERA/5.09 FIP, 22.9 percent strikeout rate, 13.6 percent walk rate, and 44.4 percent groundball rate. After the 2019 season Guerrero was claimed off waivers by the White Sox.

Guerrero spent last season in the White Sox system at Triple-A Charlotte. There, he appeared 18 times with a 6.63 ERA over 19 innings. In the NPB, Guerrero will have the chance to pitch professionally and establish value as a bullpen piece. Once upon a time, he had been a top-30 prospect in the Padres system, but control problems have largely kept him from establishing himself at the sport’s highest level.

Matt Andriese To Sign With NPB’s Yomiuri Giants

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Dec. 18: Andriese’s deal with the Yomiuri Giants is worth $2.1MM plus incentives, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). That’s notably the exact sum Andriese earned with the Red Sox last season.

Dec. 16: Right-handed pitcher Matt Andriese has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to Yahoo Japan. The 32-year-old elected free agency at the end of September after being designated for assignment by the Mariners.

Andriese first cracked the big leagues with the Rays and spent parts of four seasons there, from 2015 to 2018. His most extensive MLB action was 2016, where he appeared in 29 games, 19 of them starts, logging 127 2/3 innings with an ERA of 4.37. Since that time, he’s gradually seen more time out of the bullpen, having only made one start in the past three seasons as he’s bounced to the Diamondbacks, Angels, Red Sox and Mariners.

Moving to the bullpen has seen him rack up more strikeouts, but without improvement in real results. After posting a 19.8% strikeout rate from 2015-2017, it’s been 24% in the subsequent four campaigns. Despite that, his ERA has jumped from 4.35 in those first three seasons to 4.98 since, although some advanced metrics are a bit more optimistic. (3.70 SIERA and 3.87 xFIP, for instance.)

For 2021, Andriese signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox with a $2.1MM guarantee and was given a chance to earn a role in the starting rotation. He eventually made 26 appearances out of Boston’s bullpen, logging 37 1/3 innings and putting up an ERA of 6.03, despite his decent strikeout and walk rates. He hit the IL with hamstring tendinitis on July 10th and was eventually released in August. He latched on with the Mariners a few weeks later and appeared in eight games for them, throwing 11 innings with an ERA of 2.45. Despite that good stretch, he lost his roster spot in the waning days of the season and wound up electing free agency. He finished the year with a solid final line of 48 1/3 total innings, strikeout rate of 22.5% and walk rate of 5.9%. Despite the 5.21 ERA, he was treated much kinder by the advanced metrics, as evidenced by his 3.66 SIERA and 4.02 xFIP.

Due to finishing the season without a 40-man roster spot, he would have been eligible to sign a minor league deal with an MLB club, even during the ongoing lockout. However, he will instead opt for the greater certainty of a secured roster spot in Japan. If he can have better luck translating those underlying metrics into real results, he could be an interesting candidate to return to North America a year from now.

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