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AL East Notes: Atkins, Choi, Stewart, Arroyo

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The Blue Jays are having “active conversations” with general manager Ross Atkins about a contract extension, team president Mark Shapiro told Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi.  Atkins’ current deal with the Jays expires at the end of the season, Davidi writes, which means that the extension Atkins inked back in June 2019 was a two-year pact.  Since Shapiro’s own recent extension runs through the 2025 season, it’s fair to speculate whether Atkins’ next contract might have a similar term length.

The Jays have a 337-371 record since Atkins was hired in the 2015-16 offseason, a tenure that began with a postseason appearance in 2016, three down years as the Jays embarked on a rebuild, and then a return to the (expanded) playoffs in 2020.  With a wealth of homegrown young talent and some high-priced free agents — Hyun Jin Ryu, George Springer, Marcus Semien — on the roster, Toronto has the pieces in place to become a consistent contender, marking quite the franchise overhaul in the five-plus years of the Shapiro/Atkins regime.

More from around the AL East…

  • Ji-Man Choi has been sidelined with a knee problem, and Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that “we’re preparing as if he will not be ready for us by Opening Day.”  Choi was shut down for 10 days following a cortisone shot on March 13, but Cash said that the team will continue to take it easy with Choi even after that 10-day span is up, in order to prevent further re-aggravation of the knee.  The ever-deep Rays have Yoshi Tsutsugo available to take Choi’s spot as the primary first baseman against right-handed pitching, while Yandy Diaz and Mike Brosseau can cover the position when a lefty is on the mound.  In the likely event of Choi’s placement on the injured list, Cash wasn’t yet sure if the Rays would replace Choi on the roster with another position player, or another pitcher for additional bullpen help.
  • Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart is also in danger of missing the start of the season, as a bad hamstring has kept him out of a proper Spring Training game since March 5.  Stewart has been working out with the team, but manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other media that he won’t put Stewart into a game until the outfielder is fully healthy, so “it’s becoming more and more challenging” to envision a scenario where Stewart avoids the IL.  The former first-round pick has shown some solid pop over his brief MLB career, with 14 homers (and a .224/.334/.433 slash line) over 301 career plate appearances from 2018-20.
  • After signing Enrique Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez in the offseason, the Red Sox might have another super-utilityman on hand in Christian Arroyo, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) that Arroyo had recently asked about getting some work as a left fielder.  Over his 85 career big league games and 445 games in the minors, Arroyo has played a lot of third base, second base, and shortstop, but no outfield work.  Adding another position surely can’t hurt Arroyo going forward, whether to carve a future niche for himself as an even more versatile player, or just as a short-term method of earning extra playing time for the Sox this year.

NL Notes: Realmuto, Padres, Nola, Rockies, Reds, Delmonico

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Initially expected to make his Spring Training debut as a designated hitter this afternoon, J.T. Realmuto wound up scratched from the lineup. It seems there’s no cause for alarm, with Phillies manager Joe Girardi saying the star catcher just had some general body soreness after working in a simulated game yesterday (via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). The Phillies continue to hope Realmuto will be available on Opening Day, with Girardi reiterating to MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) that “the important day (in his recovery) is April 1.” Realmuto suffered a fracture in his right thumb last month.

More from the National League:

  • Like Realmuto, Padres catcher Austin Nola is recovering from a broken digit (in his case, a fractured left middle finger). Nola will test his ability to grip a bat in the next couple days, says manager Jayce Tingler, who expressed some optimism the backstop could be ready for Opening Day (via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). It seems the more likely outcome is a brief injured list stint, as Acee notes the typical timeline for a return from similar injuries is four-to-six weeks. Nola suffered his break March 13, a little less than three weeks before the season opener. If the 31-year-old indeed hits the IL, the Padres would open with a Víctor Caratini/Luis Campusano catching tandem.
  • Rockies reliever Tyler Kinley has been sidelined the past two weeks with left oblique soreness, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Kinley is scheduled to throw a simulated game tomorrow but manager Bud Black acknowledged a season-opening injured list stint is a possibility. Bullpen mate Scott Oberg looks likely to be on the Opening Day roster, Black says (via Saunders). That’s welcome news, as the quality right-hander missed the entire 2020 season due to recurring blood clots in his throwing arm. Oberg underwent thoracic outlet surgery last September.
  • Nicky Delmonico went to high school with Reds centerfielder Nick Senzel, and they may have a chance to be teammates in Cincinnati. Delmonico is 6-for-17 in Spring Training after signing a minor league deal. That performance, as well as his ability to play first base, has the Reds considering selecting the non-roster invitee’s contract, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Shogo Akiyama will start the year on the injured list, and with first baseman Joey Votto uncertain for Opening Day after contracting COVID-19, Delmonico’s particular brand of versatility may fit the bill. In four seasons with the White Sox, Delmonico owns a .224/.312/.384 triple slash line across 574 plate appearances with a 24.0 percent strikeout rate and solid 9.8 percent walk rate.

Tyler Clippard Shut Down Six Weeks With Capsule Sprain

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Diamondbacks right-hander Tyler Clippard has a capsule sprain in his throwing shoulder, he told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). He won’t throw for six weeks.

That rules Clippard out for at least all of April. Quite likely, the 36-year-old will be sidelined deep into May even in a best case scenario, as he’ll need some time to build arm strength back after the layoff. It’s a tough blow to a D-Backs’ bullpen that expected to regularly feature Clippard in a set-up capacity. The 11-year veteran signed a $2.25MM contract with Arizona over the offseason.

It’s also completely unfamiliar territory for Clippard, who has incredibly never gone on the injured list during his MLB career. Other than the 2020 shortened season (when he pitched in nearly half the Twins’ games), Clippard has thrown 60+ innings out of the bullpen every year since 2009. That streak will now come to an end, although there remains hope he’ll be able to log some rather significant work in the late spring and summer.

Royals Reassign Bobby Witt Jr. To Minors

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The Royals are reassigning top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. to the minor leagues, report Ken Rosenthal and Alec Lewis of the Athletic (Twitter link). He is likely to start the season at Double-A, per Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter).

That’s hardly a surprise, given that Witt has yet to play a single game above rookie ball since being drafted out of high school in 2019. Some speculation had arisen that Witt could be a major league option right out of the gate after the 20-year-old impressed during spring training. General manager Dayton Moore even left that door open earlier this week, but a minor-league assignment always seemed the most likely outcome.

With Adalberto Mondesi entrenched at shortstop, any chance Witt had at making the team likely involved moving him (or Mondesi) to second base. Instead, it seems Kansas City will turn to Nicky Lopez and/or non-roster invitee Hanser Alberto at the keystone.

Witt, the second overall pick in that 2019 draft, is universally regarded by public prospect evaluators as a top thirty farmhand in the sport. He draws plenty of praise for his power and defensive ability. If Witt performs well in the minors, he might more realistically emerge as a big league option later in the year. By demoting Witt, the Royals also ensure he won’t accrue a full year of MLB service time in 2021, keeping him under team control through at least 2027. In this case, though, there’s a rather justifiable on-field argument for keeping Witt off the MLB roster on Opening Day.

White Sox Claim Nik Turley

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The White Sox claimed southpaw Nik Turley off waivers from the A’s, Scott Merkin of MLB.com was among those to note (Twitter link). Right-hander Jimmy Cordero has been placed on the 60-day injured list to create 40-man roster space.

Turley, 31, tossed 21.2 relief innings of 4.98 ERA/4.82 SIERA ball with the Pirates in 2020. The A’s acquired him from Pittsburgh for cash considerations in January. Oakland evidently didn’t plan on carrying the out-of-options Turley on the active roster to begin the season, so they placed him on waivers. Turley will have to break camp with the Sox or else again be offered to other clubs.

Cordero underwent Tommy John surgery this week. He’ll miss the entire 2021 season.

Pirates Sign Steven Wright

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The Pirates announced the signing of right-hander Steven Wright to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. The deal reunites the former Red Sox hurler with Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington, who led the Boston front office from 2011-15.

Wright worked mostly as a swingman for the Red Sox from 2013-19. He peaked in 2016, tossing 156.2 innings of 3.33 ERA ball en route to an All-Star selection. A knuckleballer, Wright unsurprisingly has never gotten many strikeouts but has induced plenty of weak contact throughout his major career.

The 36-year-old hasn’t pitched much over the past few years. Various injuries and a pair of suspensions (fifteen games for domestic violence in 2018, then eighty games for performance-enhancing drugs in 2019) have kept him to 84 MLB innings since the start of the 2017 season. Wright hasn’t pitched since undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2019.

Indians Option Oscar Mercado

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The Indians are optioning outfielder Oscar Mercado, per various reporters (including Zack Meisel of the Athletic). That’s a bit of a surprise, since Mercado had been a candidate to take on a role in Cleveland’s uncertain outfield mix.

After a productive rookie showing in 2019, Mercado opened the 2020 season as the Indians’ center fielder. The speedster fell flat, though, hitting just .128/.174/.174 with a single home run over 93 plate appearances. Those struggles got Mercado sent to the alternate training site in mid-August; Bradley Zimmer and the since-departed Delino DeShields Jr. and Greg Allen garnered playing time at the position down the stretch.

Today’s Mercado demotion seems to pave the way for Zimmer to pick up the bulk of the playing time in center in the season’s early going. The 28-year-old Zimmer has just a .224/.300/.349 line in 510 MLB plate appearances. Shortstop Amed Rosario has also gotten some work in the grass in Spring Training and seems likely to get reps in center in the regular season. Prospect Daniel Johnson could be an option at some point, but he was also optioned out earlier this week. Jake Bauers, Jordan Luplow, Josh Naylor, Harold Ramírez, Franmil Reyes and Eddie Rosario are all on the 40-man roster, but everyone in that group fits better in the corner outfield.

In other Indians’ news, Rule 5 draftee Trevor Stephan will make the Opening Day roster, Mandy Bell of MLB.com was among those to note. The 25-year-old righty was selected out of the Yankees’ organization. He’ll need to stick on the active roster (or on the MLB injured list) all season or else be placed on waivers, then offered back to New York.

This Date In Transactions History: Tim Anderson Extension

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Today marks the four-year anniversary of the White Sox locking up their franchise shortstop. On March 21, 2017, the South Siders agreed to a six-year extension that guaranteed Tim Anderson $25MM. Via a pair of club options, the deal pushed Chicago’s club control over Anderson to the end of the 2024 season.

It was easy to see the appeal for the White Sox in betting on Anderson long-term. He was a former first-round pick and top 100 prospect, so one could envision him as a core piece of the future. Anderson had also held his own as a 23-year-old the year prior. The young shortstop made his MLB debut in June 2016 and hit a decent .283/.306/.432 over 431 plate appearances down the stretch.

There’s also the reality that early-career extensions tend to carry ample upside with little downside for teams. With the MLB salary structure designed to underpay players early in their careers, extensions for those players often tack on extra years of team control at rates well below what the player would’ve made in free agency if they perform at a high level. Meanwhile, the figures are typically low enough the team can paper over the deal if the player busts.

Still, this contract represented something of a show of faith on the White Sox’s part. Anderson had yet to accrue a full year of MLB service, so he would’ve been controllable through 2022 regardless. His strikeout and walk rates had been well worse than the league average in 2016, so a wait-and-see approach would’ve been reasonable, particularly with the organization embarking on a rebuild. Instead, Chicago placed a bet on Anderson’s long-term development. As Jeff Todd examined for MLBTR, the guarantee set a new high-water mark at that time for a player with less than one year of major league service.

The White Sox are now in position to be handsomely rewarded for that decision. After making the playoffs in 2020, Chicago looks well-positioned to continue to contend over the next few seasons. Anderson is a central reason for that. He has hit a stellar .331/.357/.514 (133 wRC+) over the past two seasons, finishing seventh in American League MVP voting in 2020.

While he has never drawn many walks, Anderson has improved in virtually every other regard since his rookie season. He’s cut his strikeout rate in recent years while hitting for more power and reliably posting high batting averages on balls in play. Anderson will play out the next two seasons on respective guaranteed salaries of $7.25MM and $9.5MM. Barring an unexpected drop in performance or injury, the White Sox should have little hesitancy excising the 2023-24 options (valued at $12.5MM and $14MM, respectively) and keeping Anderson in Chicago for the first half of this decade.

Brewers Notes: Infield, McKinney, Lauer, Cain, Williams

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The most likely scenario for the Brewers at shortstop is turning back to Orlando Arcia while giving third base to Travis Shaw, per the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Luis Urías, meanwhile, could begin the year in Triple-A. Urías has been hampered by a left hamstring injury, which could account for a potential early-season demotion. The Brewers were hopeful the former top prospect would show enough to claim a starting job in the infield this spring, going so far as auditioning Arcia at different spots around the diamond. If Urías isn’t totally full speed, the Brewers can use his minor league options as a means of keeping Daniel Robertson and Billy McKinney, each of whom they’d have to expose to waivers if they don’t start the season on the roster. McKinney wasn’t a lock to stay in Milwaukee, but he has done his part with a strong spring, writes Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal. The Brewers don’t have an outright need for McKinney, although it helps that the left-handed outfielder can play first base as well.

More out of Milwaukee:

  • It has been a tough Spring Training for Eric Lauer, note Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Over five innings between three appearances, the left-hander has issued seven walks and given up three home runs. The Brewers optioned Lauer to Triple-A Nashville Friday, taking him out of the mix for a season-opening rotation spot. Acquired from the Padres as part of the deal that also brought in Urías and sent out Trent Grisham and Zach Davies, Lauer suffered through a brutal first season in Milwaukee. He allowed sixteen runs in eleven innings last year, issuing nine walks while striking out twelve.
  • Lorenzo Cain and Devin Williams made their Cactus League debuts in last night’s game against the Reds, Haudricourt and Rosiak were among those to relay. Cain, delayed by a quad injury early in camp, took three plate appearances and played some center field. He’ll rest today but expects to be back in the lineup tomorrow. The Brewers have proceeded cautiously with Williams, who missed their playoff series last year with a shoulder injury. The reigning NL Reliever of the Year says he’ll have “three or four” more tune-up appearances before Opening Day, per Haudricourt and Rosiak.

Jonathan India And The Reds’ Grand Experiment

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Jonathan India’s impressive play is forcing the Reds (and Eugenio Suarez) to pivot. The 24-year-old infielder is looking more-and-more likely to make the roster, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. It wasn’t the plan to break camp with India at the keystone, but the former No. 5 overall pick of the 2018 draft has forced the issue by hitting .333/.474/.633 this spring. To make room, the Reds will need to pull off the unorthodox move of shifting their third baseman up the defensive spectrum – again.

Last year it was free agent signee Mike Moustakas continuing an experiment begun in Milwaukee and sliding to second base from the hot corner – which was occupied by Suarez. At the benefit of Moustakas’ 109 wRC+ bat, they weathered the storm of passable, if uninspired defense at second (-3 DRS, 0.0 UZR, 0 OAA). Now, Moustakas may return to the hot corner.

Meanwhile, Suarez, now 15 pounds lighter, will slide to shortstop where he began his Major League career with the Tigers back in 2014. He hasn’t played more than a dozen innings up the middle since 2015, however. Since the Reds began trying out Suarez at shortstop just a few days ago, the experiment has quickly become more strategy than gimmick. Defensive metrics frowned upon Suarez’s glovework last he tried to captain the infield (-12 DRS, -10.4 UZR in 96 games in 2016), but in fairness, his bat has the potential to justify the sacrifice. Even in a down year, Suarez was four percent better than average at the plate in 2020. Of course, to make this experiment worthwhile, he’ll need to be closer to the 134 wRC+ hitter he was in 2018-19.

Beyond India’s impressive spring, the Reds may also be attempting to cover for a relative dearth of proven shortstops on the roster. If not Suarez, the top contenders are Kyle Farmer, a 30-year-old former catcher with 10 career starts at short, and Dee Strange-Gordon, 33 in April, who owns an unimpressive 80 wRC+ over 2,131 plate appearances dating back through 2016 and hasn’t started more than seven games at shortstop since 2013. Even then, when he was still in his athletic prime, defensive metrics weren’t kind to his glovework. As of now, it’s not even clear if the non-roster invitee will be added to the 40-man roster. Jose Garcia, 22, might be the long-term solution, but the consensus is that he overreached in 2020 – evidenced by a .194/.206/.194 line in 68 PA – and needs more seasoning in the minors.

If India indeed gets the nod at second, as seems likely, it could be argued that the Reds will have third basemen at five positions around the diamond: both India and likely centerfielder Nick Senzel were drafted as third basemen, Suarez has spent five consecutive seasons at third, Moustakas will be positioned at third, and right fielder Nicholas Castellanos spent the first four years of his career as a third baseman with the Tigers. Essentially, if a player on the Reds throws right-handed, it’s safe to assume he was, at some point, a third baseman. Given their experience in this niche, whether or not you’re a believer, it’s hard to argue that the Reds don’t know what they’re doing.

Whether the offense has enough gravity to overcome their defensive shortcomings will be fascinating to track throughout a full 162-game season. If the Reds pull it off, they’ll have identified an unlikely market advantage during an era known for innovation: the ability to transition third basemen up the defensive spectrum.

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