Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Athletics “Closing In” On Mark Kotsay As Manager?

By | at

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

By | at

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

By | at

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

By | at

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

By | at

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

By | at

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.

Justin Verlander’s 2023 Player Option Reportedly Conditional On Reaching Innings Threshold

By | at

Justin Verlander’s deal to return to the Astros became official this week. The contract guarantees him a $25MM salary in 2022 and reportedly contains a matching $25MM player option for the 2023 season. However, the Associated Press reports that Verlander’s option is conditional on him reaching 130 innings pitched next season.

Verlander should have a strong chance of reaching that tally. He’s no doubt locked into the Astros’ rotation, and he eclipsed 130 frames every year between 2006-19. The workhorse shattered that mark in every year other than 2015, surpassing 200 frames on twelve separate occasions. So long as he remains healthy, Verlander shouldn’t have any problem getting to 130 innings and at least giving himself the option of picking up some extra financial security.

That health caveat is an important one for any pitcher, though, and that’s particularly true in Verlander’s case. He’s thrown just six innings over the past two seasons on account of a 2020 elbow injury that necessitated Tommy John surgery. Verlander’s expected to be at full strength to start next year, and the Houston front office was clearly confident enough in his health to put a $25MM salary on the table. Yet requiring an innings threshold to vest the 2023 player option affords the team some cover in case the 38-year-old Verlander (39 in February) suffers another injury next season.

The terms of Verlander’s deal were reportedly agreed upon in mid-November, but the signing wasn’t finalized until this week. Some observers may have wondered whether concerns about Verlander’s surgically-repaired elbow could’ve been the cause for the delay, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Buster Olney of ESPN wrote this week that the lag between the reported agreement and the finalization of the deal was due to some sort of administrative hold-up on the part of Major League Baseball.

KBO’s Samsung Lions Re-Sign Jose Pirela, David Buchanan

By | at

The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization announced yesterday that they’ve re-signed former big leaguers José Pirela and David Buchanan. Pirela will be guaranteed $800K, with an additional $400K in available incentives; Buchanan is guaranteed $1.2MM, with $500K possible in incentives (via Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net).

Pirela, 32, suited up in the majors each season from 2014-19. The right-handed hitter spent his first two seasons with the Yankees, then logged three-plus years with the Padres and had a brief stop with the Phillies. He posted a .257/.308/.392 line in just more than 300 MLB games before making the jump to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball over the 2019-20 offseason.

After a year with the Hiroshima Carp, Pirela moved to South Korea last winter. He hooked on with the Lions and hit a strong .284/.357/.490 with 28 home runs over 616 plate appearances. That showing impressed the Daegu-based club enough they’ll bring him back for a second season.

Buchanan spent two seasons in the big leagues, serving as a member of the Phillies’ rotation from 2014-15. The righty tossed 192 1/3 innings of 5.01 ERA ball in Philadelphia before heading to Japan in advance of the 2017 campaign. After three seasons with the Yakult Swallows, the Georgia native signed with the Lions for 2020.

He’s spent the past two seasons in the Samsung rotation, tossing 348 innings in Korea’s top league. Buchanan has an impressive 3.21 ERA in that time, striking out 19.1% of opponents while walking only 7.2% of batters faced.

Cardinals Expected To Prioritize Bullpen Help After Lockout

By | at

The Cardinals have made one big addition to the pitching staff this offseason, signing starter Steven Matz to a four-year deal. They’ve not done much to address the bullpen yet, though, with the re-signing of T.J. McFarland the only big league move in the later innings.

Adding to the bullpen figures to be a priority for the St. Louis front office coming out of the lockout. As part of a reader mailbag, Katie Woo of the Athletic writes that the Cardinals are likely to pursue free agent relief help on major league contracts once the transactions freeze is lifted.

As is the case every offseason, there are a decent number of bullpen options in free agency from which to choose. Raisel Iglesias and Kendall Graveman, arguably the top relievers available this winter, have already signed. Each landed a deal of at least three years in length, and Woo suggests the Cardinals are likely to look into one-year or two-year offers.

Kenley Jansen, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin, Joe Kelly and Collin McHugh are among the top unsigned relievers. The Cardinals are plenty familiar with Kelly, a former Cards’ draftee who spent his first two and a half MLB seasons in St. Louis. Meanwhile, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote last month that the Cardinals were “intrigued” by Tepera, who has been quietly excellent over the past couple seasons with the two Chicago clubs.

Adding some veteran stability to the bullpen could allow the Cards more freedom with in-house options like Alex Reyes, Jordan Hicks and Génesis Cabrera. All three have worked in relief over the past few seasons, but the front office has seemingly left the door open for each to compete for a rotation spot (or at least a hybrid, swingman type role) in 2022. Some or all of that trio will eventually remain in a single-inning role, but bringing in an established veteran capable of working alongside Giovanny Gallegos in high-leverage spots could ease the pressure to have Reyes, Hicks and Cabrera all available in the late innings.

In other potential areas for an upgrade, Woo suggests the front office could look externally for some offensive help if the designated hitter comes to the National League in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement. As things currently stand, Juan Yepez and Lars Nootbaar might be the favorites for DH playing time among the in-house options, at least until top prospect Nolan Gorman is ready for everyday MLB run.

Nelson Cruz is the top bat-only free agent available, but St. Louis could address the position by adding a bat-first utilityman capable of rotating through DH and other positions on the diamond. Speculatively speaking, old friend Brad Miller — or another player of his ilk — could be a viable target. An offensive-minded utilityman could assume a good chunk of the DH at-bats early in the season while retaining enough flexibility to contribute in other ways if Gorman, Nootbaar or Yepez prove worthy of everyday playing time.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top