Central Notes: Cubs, White Sox, Brewers, Pirates
The Cubs will welcome fans back to Wrigley Field in 2021, the team announced today. They have been approved by the city to fill the stadium to 20 percent capacity, beginning on opening day. “In coordination with MLB, top health experts and local officials, we developed a comprehensive plan that prioritizes the health and safety of our players, staff and fans,” said Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney. “Our goal is to create a safe, clean and friendly environment for everyone to enjoy Cubs baseball beginning Opening Day.” The Cubs will require masks for patrons two-years-old and above while hosting pod-style seating and practicing social distancing.
On the other side of town, the White Sox will be allowed up to 8,122 patrons per game while practicing social distancing, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). The Southsiders home opener will be on April 8th. That means every team except for the Blue Jays will have at least a limited number of fans in the seats this season, notes Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Now, the latest in roster news from the Central…
- The Brewers are facing a roster crunch at the end of the bench. It’s a side effect of the Jackie Bradley Jr. signing, writes MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Pablo Reyes and Derek Fisher have impressed manager Craig Counsell so far, notes McCalvy. Manny Pina and Avisail Garcia are locks to be a member of the bench, which probably only leaves two spots. Assuming Travis Shaw makes the roster, that puts one of Shaw, Orlando Arcia, and Luis Urias on the bench as well. Daniel Robertson has been viewed as a favorite to win that final bench spot, in part because the infielder is out of options. Daniel Vogelbach is also out of options and on the 40-man roster. The big first baseman brings a limited, though valuable skill-set as a power bat off the bench. Of those players on the 40-man roster, Fisher, Jace Pederson, and Billy McKinney are also out of options, giving the Brewers much to think about as we inch closer to April 1.
- Milwaukee may have a little bit of extra time to decide on that final roster spot, however. Lorenzo Cain hasn’t played in a week because of a quad issue, and there’s a chance he won’t be ready in time for opening day, per McCalvy (via Twitter). There’s still hope that he’ll be ready from the jump, but if not, the Brewers could roll with Bradley Jr. in center and Garcia in right, while taking the extra time to evaluate someone from their out-of-options pool.
- Pirates manager Derek Shelton won’t spend much time thinking about who might claim the closer role until the last few days of camp, per the Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel. Said Shelton, “We have a guy who we know can go to the back end and do it in Richie (Rodríguez), who did it last year, so I’m really not thinking about it.” That certainly sounds like Richard Rodriguez has the inside track on the job. There will certainly be enough bodies to choose from, as the Pirates plan to break camp with eight or nine relievers, notes Biertempfel. That said, there aren’t a lot of proven late-inning options to immediately wrench the role from Rodríguez. Kyle Crick is the most obvious challenger, with Chris Stratton perhaps snagging an opportunity or two after striking out close to 30 percent of hitters last season.
Nationals Will Make Extension Offers To Juan Soto, Trea Turner In Near Future
The Washington Nationals have famously fielded top-heavy rosters typically built around a core of strong starting pitching. Since Washington’s first playoff appearance in 2012, they’ve advanced to postseason play five times in nine years, always on the backs of their starting pitching. The starting pitching units on their playoff teams (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019) ranked 1st, 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 3rd in the Majors by FIP and 5th, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, and 1st by fWAR. Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Tanner Roark, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg each posted multiple 3.0+ fWAR seasons for Nats’ playoff teams, and Patrick Corbin is halfway there after a 4.7 fWAR season in 2019.
On the position player side, a core of Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth Ryan Zimmerman, and Ian Desmond added Anthony Rendon in 2014. They morphed by swapping Daniel Murphy and Trea Turner into the core group for Desmond and Werth by 2016. Before 2019, this unit faced their most monumental change yet, letting Harper leave for Philly as Juan Soto developed in his place. Rendon left after the title team in 2019, and it’s now been three years since Zimmerman aka “Mr. National” played a central role in the offense.
Present day, the Nats’ offensive core is a smaller unit than it’s been in year’s past, but it might be the strongest foundation of a Nationals team to date. Soto is one of the best offensive players in the game, compared today to Ted Williams by the Athletic’s Jayson Stark. Turner is one of the game’s most dynamic and underrated superstars.
Victor Robles certainly seemed like a key member of this core unit in 2019, and they hoped Carter Kieboom might step into Rendon’s place at the hot corner, but neither cemented their place in the inner circle during a rough 2020 season. The slow ascent of Kieboom and Robles has made Soto and Turner all the more important to the Nats’ future. Beyond their obvious talents, at 22 and 27 years old, they’re the youngest ties to the 2019 title team.
Starting pitching has been this team’s past, but Scherzer is 36, Strasburg is 32 and twice lost seasons to injury, and Corbin is 31. Their top prospects are a couple of power arms in Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli, and Cole Henry, Andry Lara, Jeremy De La Rosa, and Tim Cate provide some backing in that regard, but there’s much uncertainty in projecting arms. The Nationals future seems to lie in the hands of Soto, Turner, and to a lesser extent, Robles and Kieboom.
The clock is ticking, however, and the cost is rising. Turner will make $13MM this season with one more year of arbitration before free agency after 2022. Soto became arbitration eligible for this first time this winter as a Super Two player. He’ll make $8.5MM in 2021 with three more turns through arbitration before free agency after 2024. He’ll be just 26 years old.
The conversation inevitably turns to potential extensions, and there have been internal discussions about what it might cost to lock their two superstars into long-term deals. In fact, there will be long-term contract offers on the table in the near future, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter).
They’ve made offers in the past, however. Per MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato (via Twitter), GM Mike Rizzo said earlier today, “We’ve discussed internally with ownership about it. We’re in the midst of making decisions on what a timeframe would look like … We certainly have made & will make a long-term extension offer to both players sometime in the near future.”
Since the Braves extended Ronald Acuña Jr. to a well-below-market eight-year, $100MM extension, and the Padres extended Fernando Tatis to a 14-year $340MM extension, Soto might be the best young player without a long-term deal in place. Acuña signed his deal after winning Rookie of the Year with a 4.3 bWAR season in 111 games. Tatis signed after two years of service time and 7.0 bWAR through 143 total games. Soto has just 0.143 more service time than Tatis, but he’s begun the arbitration process, played in 313 games, won a World Series, and accrued 9.7 bWAR. How much will it cost to extend the next Ted Williams? That’s a difficult question, especially when he’s represented by Scott Boras.
If there’s any organization comfortable dealing with mega-agent Boras, it’s the Nationals, who have dealt with him over the years both to sign long-term deals in the case of Strasburg and Scherzer and to not sign those deals with Harper and Rendon. The Nats should have a pretty clear idea about what it would take to sign Soto – or if it’s even possible.
As for Turner, the CAA client might want to wait and see how next winter’s free agent market shakes out. One way or another, a market price will be set for star shortstops as Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, and Corey Seager all sign new contracts. If he does wait, 2021 could be a make-or-break season for Turner. While he’s flashed tremendous potential, he’s also dealt with injuries that have cut short some of his most productive seasons. He finished 7th in MVP voting during the shortened 2020 season.
Xander Bogaerts signed a six-year, $120MM extension in April 2019 with the Red Sox, which could be used as a comparison point. You can check MLBTR’s Extension Tracker to find your own comps. Bogaerts – a Boras client – signed after 5.046 days of service time at 26 years old with 759 games and 15.6 bWAR under his belt. Turner is at 4.135 days of service time right now. He’ll be in the territory of Bogaerts’ 5.046 service time days by the time he turns 28-years-old in June. At present, Turner has notched 541 games and 16.6 bWAR.
One thing we know about Washington and long-term deals is that money will have to be deferred. That said, they’ve shown willing to spend high-end money for the right players. Even though they’ll pay Strasburgh $35MM a season through 2026, and Corbin escalating salaries of $23.4MM, $24.4MM and $35.4MM through 2024, the Nats have some long-term payroll flexibility. Schezer’s $42MM deal comes off the books after this season, as does deals for Brad Hand, Starlin Castro, Daniel Hudson, Yan Gomes, Jon Lester, Alex Avila, Josh Harrison, and Zimmerman. They can also takes a $3MM buyout for Kyle Schwarber over an $11MM option. That’s a total of $73.6MM that could come off the books following 2021. Of course, in that circumstance, Rizzo would also have to back-fill nine roster spots.
Quick Hits: Mets, Lindor, Red Sox, Cordero, González
The Mets and Francisco Lindor will explore extension talks “in earnest” this week, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Lindor has set opening day as the deadline for an extension, but the Mets have not appeared overly concerned by the limited timetable thus far. They are presumably confident in their ability to work something out in a short amount of time, or less concerned with the prospect of Lindor hitting free agency. If there were a year to allow a star like Lindor to test the market, after all, next winter is the time as there are plenty of potential options in the much-vaunted 2022 free agent class. While we continue to wait for progress on this front, let’s check in on some roster news from the Red Sox…
- Newly-acquired Franchy Cordero may not be ready for opening day, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Cordero has yet to clear COVID-19 protocols. It would be understandable to be judicious with someone in Cordero’s position – a not-yet established big-league regular joining a new franchise. Especially considering Cordero’s spotty injury history, the Red Sox may want to prioritize getting Cordero’s year started with a head full of steam. The Red Sox are planning to start the season with a short bench, but Cordero’s delay could mean an early roster spot for Michael Chavis or Marcus Wilson. By adding Marwin González and Kiké Hernandez this winter, the Red Sox have afforded themselves plenty of roster flexibility.
- González figures to find himself playing left field against lefties even when Cordero returns, writes the Athletic’s Chad Jennings. But he won’t be much help in center, whereas Cordero could see some time in the middle. While they wait for Cordero – assuming Jarren Duran doesn’t make the roster – Boston is without a clear every down option in center. Alex Verdugo and Kiké are the two players on the roster most clearly prepped for the spot, but Boston does seem to favor Duran joining the team at some point during the 2021 season. Not only has the youngster received favorable comparisons to Grady Sizemore this winter, but he’s gone 5-for-11 with a .500 OBP through their first six spring games. Though that means very little in terms of statistical significance, first impressions at this level can certainly impact an organization’s viewpoint on a player.
Nationals Release Jeremy Jeffress
The Nationals have released right-hander Jeremy Jeffress, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports. The move was made due to “personnel reasons,” GM Mike Rizzo said in a statement.
Jeffress only signed his minor league contract with the Nats back on February 22, and would have earned at least $1.25MM in guaranteed salary had he made Washington’s MLB roster. While the timing of the release is somewhat unusual, it could be that the Nationals made a quick decision on Jeffress and simply chose to cut him now rather than prolonging his stay in camp. Jeffress may also now get something of an early jump on catching on with another team, though several other veteran relief pitchers are still available.
Looking to pitch in his 12th Major League season, Jeffress posted a 1.54 ERA over 23 1/3 innings with the Cubs last season, though numerous advanced metrics (ranging from a 4.96 SIERA to a .161 BABIP) indicated that a lot of good fortune went into Jeffress’ sterling ERA. It was something of a reversal of his 2019 season, as the secondary statistics indicated that Jeffress pitched better than his 5.02 ERA over 52 innings with the Brewers.
Jeffress has a career 3.08 ERA and 56.6% grounder rate over 424 1/3 career frames with five different clubs, with the majority (304 2/3 IP) of that work over parts of seven seasons with Milwaukee. Reports back in January indicated that multiple clubs were considering Jeffress, so one of those teams could again come calling with a minor league deal now that the 33-year-old is back on the market.
AL Notes: White Sox, Angels, Ward, Tigers, Greiner
The White Sox probably won’t make any more additions before Opening Day, general manager Rick Hahn told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. While Hahn cautioned the front office would never foreclose the possibility of another pickup, it seems they’re content with the group of players already in the organization. “We still have conversations outside to see if there’s a move that makes sense, but the far more likely result is the 26 we break with are from the group that’s in camp,” Hahn said.
Some more from the American League:
- Taylor Ward started at catcher in the Angels’ spring training contest this afternoon, notes Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. A catcher at Fresno State, Ward moved to third base after the 2017 minor league season. He has also gotten time at the three other corner positions but hadn’t worked behind the plate since initially moving off catcher. It doesn’t seem Ward will get much playing time there in the regular season, Bollinger writes, but simply having the ability to pick up a few innings in emergency situations could help his case to win a utility role out of camp. Max Stassi, Kurt Suzuki and Anthony Bemboom are the current backstops on the Angels’ 40-man roster.
- Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner was hit in the face by a pitch in this afternoon’s spring training contest, Jason Beck of MLB.com was among those to relay. There is no current diagnosis on his status, but Greiner was able to walk off the field under his own power, as Keegan Matheson of MLB.com noted. Greiner is in competition with Jake Rogers and non-roster invitees Eric Haase and Dustin Garneau for the backup job behind Wilson Ramos.
NL Injury Notes: Soroka, Mikolas, Kelly, Martinez
Mike Soroka threw two innings in “simulated game conditions” this morning, reports David O’Brien of the Athletic. That marks a key milestone in the 23-year-old’s recovery from the ruptured Achilles that ended his 2020 season last August. It remains unclear precisely when Soroka will be ready to pitch this year, although O’Brien notes there has been “widespread speculation” of a late April or early May return. Soroka has a 2.86 ERA/4.33 SIERA over his first 214 big league innings.
The latest on some other health situations around the National League:
- Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas had been expected to throw a bullpen session today, but that’ll be pushed back to Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat were among those to note. Manager Mike Shildt said the right-hander feels good but wouldn’t guarantee Mikolas will be ready for Opening Day. Mikolas missed the entire 2020 season after undergoing surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his forearm, but the current issue is a “creaky” shoulder, notes Zachary Silver of MLB.com.
- Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly looks unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). The right-hander has been dealing with shoulder soreness, but he has been able to throw a few bullpen sessions recently, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The hard-throwing Kelly spent a month on the injured list last season with shoulder inflammation.
- José Martínez has a “twisted left knee” after colliding with an umpire during today’s Spring Training contest, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. He’ll likely go for an MRI tomorrow. The Mets signed the 32-year-old Martínez this winter after he struggled through a down 2020 season split between the Rays and Cubs. A significant injury would be a blow to his chances of earning a backup first base/corner outfield role this spring.
Top Remaining MLB Free Agents
The Astros’ agreement with Jake Odorizzi on a three-year contract yesterday removed the top remaining free agent from the market. Even into the second week of spring training games, though, there are a few potentially valuable players available to teams.
- Rick Porcello: MLBTR’s #46 free agent entering the offseason, Porcello made 12 starts for the Mets in 2020. His 5.64 ERA isn’t eye-catching, but Porcello logged a more respectable 4.45 SIERA. The 32-year-old isn’t a particularly exciting option at this stage of his career, but he’s been an extremely durable innings-eater, and we’re entering a year where reliable innings might be more valuable than ever coming off the shortened season.
- Cole Hamels: Hamels is the other of MLBTR’s top 50 free agents still unsigned, having placed 47th on the list. 2020 was a lost season for Hamels, who was limited to a single start by shoulder issues. He was still plenty productive as recently as 2019, though.
- Shane Greene: The rumor mill has been surprisingly quiet for the reliable Greene. His peripherals don’t support the 2.60 ERA he put up for the Braves last season, and it’s alarming that his strikeout rate fell by six points last year. Greene has been something of a bullpen workhorse in recent years, though, and he generally does a decent job avoiding hard contact.
- Maikel Franco: The 28-year-old didn’t live up to expectations as the regular third baseman in Philadelphia. But he had a decent 2020 season after signing with the Royals, hitting .278/.321/.457 with eight home runs in 243 plate appearances. The Orioles are among the teams interested in Franco, whose market is now “heating up” after a slow winter.
- Jedd Gyorko: Gyorko’s name hasn’t appeared on MLBTR’s pages since the Brewers declined his club option last October. That’s a bit surprising given Gyorko’s performance in limited playing time last season. The 32-year-old hit a very productive .248/.333/.504 and looks like a decent right-handed platoon option at the corner infield spots.
There are a handful more who could plausibly claim to be the top free agent remaining. Roberto Osuna, Yasiel Puig, Edwin Encarnación and Homer Bailey are among the others unsigned. How does the MLBTR readership feel about the remaining crop of free agents?
(poll link for app users)
Who Is The Top Remaining Free Agent?
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Shane Greene 27% (4,520)
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Cole Hamels 26% (4,284)
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Maikel Franco 17% (2,887)
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Rick Porcello 14% (2,323)
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Other (specify in comments) 9% (1,489)
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Jedd Gyorko 6% (1,024)
Total votes: 16,527
Pirates Acquire Duane Underwood, Designate Carson Fulmer
The Pirates announced the acquisition of reliever Duane Underwood Jr. from the Cubs. First base prospect Shendrik Apostel will go to Chicago in return. To create 40-man roster space, Pittsburgh designated right-hander Carson Fulmer for assignment.
Underwood, 26, has thrown 36.1 innings out of the Chicago bullpen over the past three seasons. His 5.20 ERA isn’t particularly impressive, but Underwood has shown some promising peripherals. The right-hander has struck out an impressive 27.7% of hitters at the MLB level against a solid 7.7% walk rate. He was at his best last season, racking up strikeouts at a 30.7% clip while walking only 6.8% of batters. The right-hander averages just under 95 MPH on his fastball and also features a curveball and changeup, the latter of which has gotten plenty of whiffs in limited major league action.
Nevertheless, the Cubs designated Underwood for assignment earlier in the week. He never managed to stake a claim to a permanent spot in the Chicago bullpen, thanks largely to persistent trouble keeping the ball in the yard. Underwood is also out of options, meaning he can’t be sent to the minor leagues without being exposed to other teams. That’s less a concern for the rebuilding Pirates than it was for the playoff-hopeful Cubs.
Acquiring Underwood bumps Fulmer from the Pittsburgh roster for the second time in six months. The former eighth overall pick has been claimed off waivers by the Tigers, Pirates (twice) and Orioles going back to last July but hasn’t found a permanent home. Teams clearly remain intrigued by his promise, though. Fulmer has just a 6.34 ERA with poor strikeout (18.9%) and walk (13.9%) numbers over 105 MLB innings. Like Underwood, he is out of options. Any acquiring team must therefore keep him on the active roster or else again offer him to other clubs.
In exchange for Underwood, the Cubs pick up Apostel, a 20-year-old first baseman who signed with the Pirates out of Curacao. He had a .252/.381/.463 line in the Dominican Summer League between 2018-19. His older brother Sherten Apostel also originally signed with the Pirates and made his MLB debut last season with the Rangers.
AL West Notes: Seager, Bregman, Lowrie, Murphy
Since it seems unlikely that the Mariners will exercise their $15MM club option on Kyle Seager for the 2022 season, the third baseman could very well be entering his 11th and final season in a Seattle uniform. Seager told Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times that he is focused on baseball rather than any contractual possibilities, but did say that if he does leave the M’s, he wants to go out with only positive feelings between himself and the organization. This wasn’t exactly helped by the recent description of Seager as “overpaid” by former Mariners president/CEO Kevin Mather, and while Seager disagreed with the label, he seemed to shrug off the criticism. “You certainly don’t love hearing comments about you like that….but that stuff is out of my control. And if I got frustrated every time someone complained about me, I’d be having a tough go of it,” Seager said.
Beyond just leaving on a high note off the field, Seager naturally would also love some more success on the field — the M’s have enjoyed just three winning seasons in Seager’s decade with the team, and haven’t reached the postseason. The rebuilding Mariners may not be quite ready to contend just yet, and Seager is something of a difficult trade candidate since his 2022 club option vests into a guarantee if he is dealt. (Plus, Seager will gain full no-trade rights roughly three months into the 2021 season, as he is on pace to achieve 10-and-5 status.) The third baseman said that he hasn’t spoken with GM Jerry Dipoto about trade possibilities or the club option, but Seager figures that without the vesting clause, he would have been moved a long time ago as part of Seattle’s roster overhaul.
More from around the AL West…
- Alex Bregman has been nursing a balky lefty hamstring in camp, and the Astros star tells MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters that the injury first occurred in early January. After being careful throughout the offseason and during Spring Training, Bregman felt his hamstring was around 90 percent healed and he is planning to soon get some games under his belt in preparation for Opening Day. Bregman also noted that he has been “trying to clean up running form…whether it’s posture or working on my hips and stuff like that” to avoid more hamstring injuries in the future, as he missed over two weeks last season due to a right hamstring strain.
- Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie could play in his first game of the spring by Tuesday, if the veteran gets through base-running activities today without any setbacks. Oakland manager Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters that today’s drill is “kind of the last hurdle for” Lowrie in being cleared for action. Lowrie underwent knee surgery in October, as he looks to finally escape the knee problems that plagued him in 2019 and 2020 as a member of the Mets. After appearing in only nine games in 2019, Lowrie didn’t play at all last season.
- In another Athletics health update, Sean Murphy has been catching bullpens and will hit soft toss on Sunday, according to Melvin. Murphy is recovering from a collapsed lung and a subsequent surgery in the offseason, and while it isn’t yet known when he might appear in a Spring Training game, Melvin said the catcher is “moving along nicely.”
COVID Notes: 3/7/21
The latest on coronavirus-related situations around baseball…
Latest Updates
- Right-hander Pedro Strop is being held out of the Cubs‘ training camp due to COVID protocol violations, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports (Twitter link). In regards to the earlier item about Franmil Reyes, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reports that a now-deleted social media post revealed that Strop and Reyes were out together. A fixture in the Cubs’ bullpen from 2013-19, Strop rejoined the team on a minor league deal last month after pitching for the Reds in 2020.
Earlier Today
- Jose Ramirez and Franmil Reyes are both being held out of Indians training camp for breaking health and safety protocols, manager Terry Francona told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mandy Bell and the Akron Beacon Journal’s Ryan Lewis). The players self-reported their violations, which included dining together at a restaurant and a haircut for Reyes on Friday. Ramirez and Reyes will have to test negative for COVID-19 before returning to camp, with Francona saying that he hopes to know more specifics later today about possible return dates.
- The Red Sox officially removed catcher Kevin Plawecki from the COVID-19 injured list and returned Plawecki to the 40-man roster. A roster spot was created yesterday when the Blue Jays plucked reliever Joel Payamps away from the Sox on a waiver claim. Plawecki already cleared health protocols and returned to training with the team over a week ago.