Contreras: No Extension Talks Yet With Cubs
The Cubs have a decision to make regarding Willson Contreras, who’s heading into his final season of club control. Contreras is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for an arbitration salary in the $8.7MM range this year. Amidst an organizational reboot, the Chicago front office finds themselves in something of an awkward spot with their longtime catcher.
Chicago signed Yan Gomes, perhaps the best catcher in this year’s free agent class, to a two-year contract in November. That seemed to position Contreras as one of the likeliest trade candidates around the league on-paper, but there’s been no real indication the Cubs have shopped him. That could indicate they’re not looking to move on from Contreras, although they’ve also not yet broached the topic of extending the relationship.
Speaking with reporters (including Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic) yesterday, the 29-year-old backstop said the organization and his reps at Octagon haven’t discussed a potential long-term deal. “No, there haven’t been any talks. I’m good with it” he said. “They know what they’re doing, they know what’s best for the team. I’m here because I love my team. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen.” Contreras went on to indicate he’d be willing to have those discussions. “I’m always open. You know me, I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on having a good year, having fun with my team and trying to win.”
The Cubs stripped down a good portion of the 2016 World Series winning club at last summer’s trade deadline, moving Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Báez. Those departures kicked off what one might consider a new era of Cubs baseball, but president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer maintained there were no plans for a full rebuild. Hoyer, GM Carter Hawkins and the rest of the front office have largely backed up those assertions this winter. In addition to Gomes, they also signed Marcus Stroman to a three-year deal, added Andrelton Simmons on a one-year pact and claimed Wade Miley off waivers. They don’t seem done, as Hoyer told reporters (including Jesse Rogers of ESPN) this morning they’re still on the hunt for pitching help.
Even in the event the Cubs are trying to hang around the periphery of contention this season, there’s a case to be made for moving Contreras. Gomes is a capable #1 catcher in his own right; getting both players regular reps probably involves Contreras seeing a lot of time at designated hitter. He’s a good hitter, particularly in comparison to his peers at catcher, but he’s not the kind of elite bat for whom teams have been inclined to set aside the DH role.
Contreras has been an above-average hitter by measure of wRC+ in each of his six career seasons. Going back to the start of 2020, he owns a .239/.345/.429 line, numbers that check in nine percentage points above the league average. That’s markedly better than the .230/.307/.392 figure put up by catchers around the league, but it’s not elite middle-of-the-order output overall. Defensively, Contreras has typically been adept at throwing out attempted base-stealers, although he struggled in that regard last season. His pitch framing metrics, per Statcast, have checked in right around the league average over the past two years after he struggled mightily in that regard early in his career.
All told, the Cubs have to decide whether they view Contreras as a potential long-term building block. Recent free agent pickups notwithstanding, they’ve pared back payroll over the past twelve months. With only around $72MM in guaranteed commitments on the books in 2023 (per Jason Martinez of Roster Resource), the flexibility should be there for Chicago if they want to make a run at an extension.
Yet if the Gomes signing signaled a changing of the guard behind the plate on the North Side, Contreras could find himself switching uniforms over the coming weeks. If he doesn’t sign an extension, he’d be on track to hit free agency as one of next winter’s top available catchers — part of a group that could also include Gary Sánchez, Mike Zunino, Christian Vázquez and Max Stassi.
Orioles Notes: Infield, Rotation, Hall
Orioles general manager Mike Elias spoke to reporters today, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, about the team and their future plans for roster construction. (Links from Twitter)
Broadly speaking, Elias said it’s unlikely that the club will be doling out any multi-year contracts. That’s hardly surprising given the state of the franchise. The club has had five straight miserable seasons, finishing in the AL East basement in four of those, only narrowly avoiding the same fate in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Last year, they finished 52-110, tied with the Diamondbacks for the worst record in baseball, while their four division rivals each each won at least 91 games. As the club has been firmly committed to the rebuilding process in recent years, they remarkably haven’t given out a multi-year deal since they signed Alex Cobb four years ago.
Moving from what they won’t do to what they might do, Elias said that the club is still looking to add to their shortstop competition. As the roster currently stands, Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo would likely be the frontrunners for the position. However, each of them has only around 100 games of MLB experience, making it fairly sensible for the club to consider a more seasoned option. Leaving aside Carlos Correa and Trevor Story, some shortstop-capable options on the free agent market include Jonathan Villar, Matt Duffy and Ronald Torreyes.
Elias also added that they could add another pitcher to their starting rotation. The market for starters has been red hot for the entire offseason, both before and after the lockout, with some of the best remaining options being Tyler Anderson, Johnny Cueto and Michael Pineda. There would certainly be room for another arm of that caliber in Baltimore, given that John Means and Jordan Lyles are the only names currently on the depth chart with more than two years of MLB service time. Younger pitchers like Bruce Zimmermann, Keegan Akin, Zac Lowther and Dean Kremer will likely be competing for spots at the back end.
However, there is hope for the future of the rotation, as Elias had this to say about prospect D.L. Hall: “We may see him in the big leagues this year and we may see him quick.” The club’s first round selection in the 2017 draft, Hall has put up impressive numbers in the minors, though he was sidelined this year due to a stress reaction in his elbow, making his last appearance on June 12th. Despite that, he’s still highly regarded by prospect evaluators, being ranked the #72 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, #52 by Baseball America and #27 by FanGraphs. After throwing just 31 2/3 innings in Double-A last year, the fact that Elias is so bullish about his debut is surely encouraging news for Orioles fans.
Orioles To Sign Conner Greene To Minors Deal
The Orioles are signing right-handed pitcher Conner Greene to a minor league deal, per Robert Murray of FanSided. Greene will be a non-roster invitee in the Orioles’ spring camp.
Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2013, Greene started to garner some attention from prospect evaluators as he made his way up the minor league ranks. In 2016, Baseball America ranked him as the second-best prospect in Toronto’s system, though he fell to #5 and #16 in the next two seasons as he struggled to succeed in the upper levels of the minors.
In 2018, he was sent to the Cardinals as part of the Randal Grichuk trade, but was designated for assignment after just one season in the Cards’ system. He was claimed by the Royals but they, too, cut him loose after just one year.
The Orioles signed him to a minor league deal prior to the 2021 season. Greene eventually had his contract selected, got claimed off waivers by the Dodgers and re-claimed by the Orioles. In between those stints on the waiver wire, he managed to throw 25 1/3 MLB innings between the two clubs, putting up an ERA of 7.11, along with mediocre strikeout and walk rates of 21.5% and 9.9%. His numbers in 28 Triple-A innings were somehow worse, as he had a 7.39 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate. The Orioles outrighted him at the end of the season.
Despite the lack of results, Greene continues to intrigue teams due to his stuff, with his fastball landing in the 86th percentile of MLB hurlers in terms of velocity and 70th percentile in terms of spin. He’s also still young (turning 27 in a few weeks), has less than a year of MLB service time and one option year remaining. For a team that seems destined for another year in the basement of the AL East, there’s little harm in taking a chance on Greene and seeing if he can harness his talents into better outcomes. If he succeeds, they could keep him around for years to come.
Tigers Sign Chase Anderson, Ryan Lavarnway To Minor League Deals
The Tigers have signed Chase Anderson to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to big league Spring Training, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. Additionally, veteran backstop Ryan Lavarnway announced on Instagram he has signed with Detroit. Jason Beck of MLB.com tweets that’s also a minors deal with an NRI to MLB camp.
Anderson, 34, has been a durable member of big league rotations dating back to 2014. Never an overpowering arm, Anderson nevertheless outperformed his peripherals for a few seasons with the D-Backs and Brewers. The changeup specialist threw plenty of strikes and generally avoided hard contact en route to an ERA right around 4.00 for much of his early career. He even posted a 2.74 mark over 141 1/3 innings with the Brew Crew in 2017 and remained a solid starter through 2019.
The past couple seasons have been tough for the University of Oklahoma product. Despite career-best strikeout and swinging strike rates with the Blue Jays in 2020, he was tagged for a 7.22 ERA in 33 2/3 innings, allowing a staggering 11 longballs in that time. The Phillies rolled the dice on a bounceback, guaranteeing Anderson $4MM in hopes he’d right the ship. He continued to struggle in Philadelphia, though, working 48 innings of 6.75 ERA ball.
Philadelphia released Anderson in late August. He caught on with the Rangers on a minor league deal but didn’t get another look at the highest level. He’ll take another crack at it this spring with Detroit, which has an uncertain group at the back of the rotation. At present, Tyler Alexander looks the favorite for the #5 starter’s job behind Casey Mize, Eduardo Rodríguez, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning. Alex Faedo and Joey Wentz are the top depth options, but neither has yet appeared in the majors. Of course, Detroit could still add to the rotation over the next three weeks.
A quintessential third catcher, Lavarnway has appeared in the big leagues in ten of the past eleven seasons. He has tallied 486 cumulative plate appearances, hitting .217/.272/.345 with nine home runs. The righty-hitting backstop played in nine games with Cleveland last season. He spent more time with their top affiliate in Columbus, posting a .260/.338/.520 mark in 199 Triple-A plate appearances.
Guardians Hire Neal Huntington As Special Assistant
The Guardians have hired former Pirates general manager Neal Huntington as special assistant, baseball projects, reports Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic.
This is something of a homecoming for Huntington, as he spent about a decade working for the club, then known as the Indians, as part of his ascent to becoming a GM. He got his feet wet with the Expos, working as assistant director of player development in 1995, jumping to Cleveland in 1998, becoming assistant director of minor league operations, then director of player development, assistant general manager and special assistant to the general manager.
In 2007, the Pirates hired him to be their general manager, at a time when the club hadn’t made the playoffs since 1992. With Huntington at the helm, the club eventually managed to break that streak, finishing second in the NL Central and qualifying for the Wild Card game in three straight years, beginning in 2013. Unfortunately, that was the peak of the team’s success during Huntington’s time, as they faded in subsequent seasons, which included his most infamous transaction, sending Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Shane Baz to the Rays in exchange for Chris Archer. The club went on a firing spree in 2019, with Huntington being one of the casualties, along with the team’s president, manager and a few coaches, as the franchise underwent a massive overhaul. Ben Cherington was hired as the club’s new GM to undertake a total rebuild that is still ongoing, with the club finishing in the basement of the division the past three years.
Huntington now returns to an organization where he got his first sizable taste of front office work, though surely in a role that will be less forward-facing than his job in Pittsburgh.
Rangers To Sign Dan Winkler To Minor League Deal
The Rangers are signing reliever Dan Winkler to a minor league contract, pending a physical, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter links). Presumably, the right-hander will get a look in big league Spring Training once the deal’s finalized.
Winkler ranked third among Cubs relievers in innings last season, tossing 39 2/3 frames over 47 outings. The 32-year-old didn’t get particularly strong results, though, due in large part to control woes. Winkler walked 15.8% of batters faced while striking out a personal-low 21.1% of opponents. That led to a 5.22 ERA, even as opposing hitters managed only a .255 batting average on balls in play against him. The Cubs designated him for assignment in late August, and he elected minor league free agency after passing through waivers unclaimed.
It was the third consecutive season of mediocre strikeout and walk numbers for Winkler, who has posted an ERA near 5.00 in two of the past three campaigns. He did have an excellent 2018 season with the Braves, however, a year in which he worked 60 1/3 frames of 3.43 ERA ball with a 27.1% strikeout rate and a 7.8% walk percentage. Winkler’s control has been spotty aside from that year, but he’s maintained a fastball in the 93-94 MPH range and typically generated swinging strikes at an average or better clip.
Winkler will have to earn a big league roster spot, but he should have a good opportunity to do so in Texas. Rangers relievers ranked in the bottom ten in both ERA (4.80) and SIERA (4.48) last year. Joe Barlow, Spencer Patton, Brett Martin and perhaps Josh Sborz looked to have carved out season-opening roles, but the rest of the unit seems unsettled. Brandon Workman, Matt Bush, Justin Anderson and Jesús Tinoco are among the other players who’ll be in camp as non-roster invitees.
MLB Requiring Coaches To Be Up To Date On COVID-19 Vaccinations In Spring Training
Major League Baseball is requiring all coaches to be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations in order to access restricted areas and to have in-person contact with players in Spring Training, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. Any staff member who hasn’t yet been fully vaccinated must at least receive one dose of the Pfizer/Moderna two-dose vaccines and have their second appointment scheduled. Those who are not fully vaccinated or elect not to get a booster shot once they become eligible would forfeit their field access unless granted an exemption by their team.
As Rosenthal notes, this isn’t unprecedented. MLB required this for non-playing personnel to participate in the postseason last September. He adds that MLB has not yet decided whether this policy will carry over into the regular season.
One coach, who said they are fully vaccinated, nevertheless expressed frustration about the mandate when speaking with Rosenthal. “There are some that are not happy about the mandated booster. They feel if the players don’t have to, why us?,” the coach said. “I’m not anti-vax. I just don’t like people saying if you don’t do this, you’re fired … MLB put this on us right after the lockout. Calculated. They could’ve told us months ago.”
Players are not required to be vaccinated. That would need to be collectively bargained with the MLB Players Association. However, unvaccinated players will probably be unable to cross the Canadian border to partake in games held at the Rogers Centre. They will not be paid nor will they accrue service time for games missed on account of vaccination status.
Seiya Suzuki Weighing Interest From Several Teams
6:41pm: Suzuki and his reps are expected to meet with Cubs brass tonight, reports Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic (Twitter link).
4:45pm: Suzuki himself shot down rumors of a decision having been made, via Instagram story. “There are several reports that I’ve made my decision, but none of that is true,” writes Suzuki.
2:28pm: Suzuki has not chosen a team yet, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, who says six to seven teams remain under consideration. Jon Heyman of MLB Network names the Padres, Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, Mariners, and Cubs as some of the teams still involved.
TODAY, 1:43pm: “It appears Seiya Suzuki’s decision is not far away,” tweets Acee.
YESTERDAY, 11:53pm: The Padres are known to be making a push for Seiya Suzuki, and the outfielder worked out in front of Padres executives at Petco Park this weekend, The Athletic’s Dennis Lin reports (Twitter link). Suzuki’s time in San Diego also included a visit with Padres righty Yu Darvish and Darvish’s family.
Now that the lockout is over, Suzuki is finally free to partake in normal free-agent recruitment tours, which are particularly key for players coming to Major League Baseball for the first time. Lin notes that it isn’t known if Suzuki visited any other teams this weekend or what his other travel plans may entail, though given the number of teams interested in Suzuki, he could have quite a few stops to make before his posting period is up. Suzuki now has 17 of his 30 posting days remaining, as the lockout interrupted this process and kept Suzuki from any contract with big league clubs.
Suzuki has seemingly become an increasingly important figure in the Padres’ roster-building efforts, as Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune said earlier today that obtaining Suzuki was part of a “Plan A” scenario for the team. That outline included signing Suzuki and Nelson Cruz, and then trading one of Eric Hosmer or Wil Myers to open up payroll space, though one element of that plan has now been scuttled since Cruz signed with the Nationals.
With Cruz now off the board, it could only intensify the Padres’ pursuit of Suzuki. Since Cruz is limited to DH duty, adding Suzuki would arguably be a better fit for San Diego anyway given the team’s needs in the outfield. Suzuki could be easily slotted right into the Padres’ right field spot, as Myers (if he isn’t traded) could be moved across the grass to fill San Diego’s left field vacancy.
Blue Jays “Making Push” For Kyle Schwarber
The Blue Jays are “making a big push” for Kyle Schwarber, tweets Jon Heyman of the MLB Network. Marly Rivera of ESPN reported (on Twitter) this evening the Jays had interest in the lefty-hitting outfielder. Heyman adds that multiple teams remain in the mix but puts Toronto among the frontrunners for his services.
Toronto has been tied to a few marquee bats, as reports suggest they’re at least on the periphery of the Freddie Freeman market. Presumably, a Schwarber deal would take the Jays out of the running for the 2020 NL MVP, but he’d be a notable boon to their offense himself.
Schwarber, who turned 29 last week, is coming off a career-best season. Non-tendered by the Cubs last winter, he signed a $10MM deal with the Nationals. The Indiana University product hit .253/.340/.570 with 25 home runs across 303 plate appearances with Washington. That included an unreal 16-homer month of June that had made Schwarber the league’s hottest hitter before he suffered a severe hamstring strain in early July.
He spent the next six weeks on the injured list, during which time the Nationals fell out of contention. The Red Sox acquired Schwarber in a deadline deal despite his injury, with plans to have him rotate between first base and left field for the stretch run. He returned in mid-July and picked up right where he’d left off pre-injury, popping seven homers with a .291/.435/.522 line in 41 games with Boston. (The midseason trade also made him ineligible to receive a qualifying offer).
Between the two clubs, Schwarber posted a .266/.374/.554 line with 32 homers over 471 plate appearances. That production was 45 percentage points above the league average, by measure of wRC+. As he has throughout his career, Schwarber was a bit prone to strikeouts (27%), but he also drew walks at an elite 13.6% clip and posted top-of-the-scale power production. He ranked in the 90th percentile or better in terms of average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard contact percentage. It was the kind of middle-of-the-order output many expected from Schwarber when he was drafted fourth overall and ranked as one of the sport’s top offensive prospects.
The corner outfield market is robust, with Kris Bryant, Nick Castellanos, Seiya Suzuki and Michael Conforto all joining Schwarber in the ranks of the unsigned. Freeman and Anthony Rizzo are the top options at first base, leaving plenty of possibilities for clubs in search of an upgrade to the middle of the lineup.
In addition to their search for a big-ticket bat, the Jays have been looking for infield and bullpen help. Héctor Gómez of Z 101 reported over the weekend (on Twitter) that Toronto was looking into a reunion with versatile infielder Jonathan Villar. The switch-hitter played briefly with the Jays late in 2020 and struggled, but he bounced back with a decent .249/.322/.416 showing over 505 plate appearances for the Mets last season. The Jays could use some help at either of second or third base (with Cavan Biggio taking the other position), and Villar may be the top option remaining in free agency.
On the relief front, the Jays have checked in with closer Kenley Jansen, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The market for the longtime Dodger has been fairly quiet to this point, but he’s arguably the best remaining late-game option. The typically excellent Jansen tossed 69 innings with a 2.22 ERA last season, punching out an elite 30.9% of opponents.
White Sox Sign Nick Ciuffo To Minor League Deal
The White Sox announced this afternoon they’ve signed catcher Nick Ciuffo to a minor league contract and invited him to big league Spring Training. The 27-year-old elected minor league free agency after being outrighted off the Orioles’ roster at the start of the offseason.
Ciuffo’s a former first-round draftee of the Rays (21st overall in 2013) who was regarded as one of the more promising prospects in a deep Tampa Bay farm system for a while. He’s struggled offensively throughout his career, however, and his prospect pedigree diminished as he moved towards the upper levels. He did make it to the big leagues in 2018 and he’s seen some major league time in three of the past four seasons.
The lefty-hitting backstop has tallied 56 MLB plate appearances, including six over two games with Baltimore last season. He’s a .240/.291/.370 hitter in 453 trips to the plate at the minors’ top level. The White Sox have Zack Collins and Seby Zavala as backup options behind Yasmani Grandal on the 40-man roster.